Trader Joe's Haul

It is finally here, THE Trader Joe's that I have read about in all of the skinny people's  health blogs! Trader Joe's seemed to be the health nut's paradise and then some! I mean, it seemed all of the best hummus dips, Ezekiel breads and fage 0% yogurts lived in Trader Joes---so of course I yearned for the day Houston, TX would be blessed with such a glorified Whole Foods Store (oops did I say that?!)

So yesterday, I packed up the kids *PAUSE*---strike 1, this is where I went wrong. You just don't take two toddlers to a store like this, unless you are running in and running out. I feel as if I already stand out in "health nut" stores--clearly I don't fit the description of the average health nut. Secondly, although we went during SAHM (stay at home mommy) hours, I still felt some kind of way about shoppers staring at us as if they have never seen a mom and two toddlers shopping, reading labels and sampling a food ----yeah so what, we sampled the mac and cheese 3 times AND whipped through the spiced apple cider fill up station a few times--so what! I guess I have to realize that stores like this don't the average "Sam's Club" shoppers state of mind.

Health store nut's--IMO, seem to have a little arrogance about them, a bit too uptight for me and my crew (crew= me and kids), but none the less "WE AIN'T GO--IN' NO-- WHERE" (do me a favor, go back and read that in your best P.Diddy voice-thanks).

Anyway, I packed up the kids and headed to Trader Joe's! So, first off I did a little research before we left and found out Trader Joe's was housed in a historic theater building that was renovated into a grocery store. Cool, I thought as I grabbed my sneakers because I just knew this store was going to GI-NORMOUS!

Well, not so much--I kind of figured when I saw the small shopping carts-you know the bougie shopping carts, y'all know what I mean--the little ones that hold a bottle of wine and a loaf of french bread, yeah those.....So I stuff my two over grown toddlers into this thing and we roll on  into the sliding doors and I hear the angles sing  'AHHHHHH' and they stop once I realize this store is NOT big at all--but don't let that fool you.

Ok, picture the biggest H-E-B or Krogers you have ever been too--now picture the "specialty food" section, yeah those 5 aisles w/ the shiny flooring and then add one frozen food aisle plus a mini- fruit and veggie section--ok there you have it, Trader Joes! Yes, it is NOT, I repeat NOT a one stop shop for groceries, like Whole Foods (I never thought I'd utter those words--I'm not a Whole Fooder). Yeah, this place is more of a specialty store for the "extras" on your shopping list and a great place for your basic healthy kitchen staples like whole wheat flour and free range eggs at an AWESOME price.

However, this store is not for name brand freaks because 90% of what they sell is their private brand --Trader' Joes. Which is ok with me.

All in all I give the store a B+.

Plus
excellent selection of free range dairy products
nice selection of unprocessed foods
frozen food selections have no artificial preservatives etc. and they taste GREAT!
nice, clean store with neatly stocked shelves
nice staff and sample ladies
mac n cheese
mac n chees
mac n chees lol

Negs
Although poultry and meats were "clean" as in no hormones etc--they were pre-packed and shipped from God know's where--I like to buy local
Same for the produce, the little they did have were pre-packed and not local. Also, there is very little to choose from
The lines were a bit long, but that is to be expected

Will I go back---for sure! We ran out of mac and cheese already. It's for the kids of course ;)

Will I bring the kids? Hell no :) For real, the place is not kid friendly--no H-E-B buddy bucks or nothing!

Here are some pics! Enjoy!

Pic 1--So they have a $2 wine section--I repeat, the have a $2 wine section! I indulged---mommy wine-o style!
Pic 2-- They have a great selection of ORGANIC frozen veggies--YES!! Also, I used the fire roasted peppers and onions yesterday for dinner and my hubby loved them!
Pic 3- We are bean soup eaters in my house, so I was ecstatic to see such a great selection of organic canned beans. I make a "slap ya mama good" Mexican 3 bean soup!
Pic 4--I got all of this for about $60  sshh don't tell my husband which is----too much for our house budget, simply b/c I only spend about $30 every week and a half for groceries--meaning meat and vegetables. So as I stated earlier, this is not a store to 'make groceries'-- Houston slang!I have been in Houston too long!

I hope this helps! Go see it for yourself! Tell them The Urban Health-a-nista sent ya--They won't know who I am--promise!

Eating to Live and not the other way around!

I love these things!

SIMPLE.

Eating to live and not the other way around.

When "I Do" turns to "I Don't".....We need a REVIVAL!

While in my lab (aka my kitchen) I found myself reminiscing about dishes that I used to FIX for my husband while we were dating. He joking teases me about after "I DO" came "I DON'T eat that, that and that" LOL Oh well brotha, it is a new day! Back then, five years ago, eating healthy was not on my agenda. I loved to cook but in retrospect I can admit that I was an expert "food fixer upper" back then I called it cooking :)

Examples of food I would FIX:
Boxed Mac n Cheese
Canned Green beans
Canned Corn
Boxed stuffing
Boxed Pancakes

Heck, I even got good at it and fixed complex dishes like:
Enchiladas with canned chili and processed cheese product <--My Husband's Favorite :)
Casseroles with canned cream of mushroom that contained MSG

And the list goes on. If you notice, food that has to be "fixed" are usually PROCESSED FOODS that lack nutrients are are packed with excess SODIUM, CARBS and extra junk that are not meant to be consumed daily.

After opening a can of vegetables, I found myself having to "doctor up" the vegetable to disguise the "canned taste". This became second nature.

Thank God for a REVIVAL in my kitchen!

While on this journey of eating clean, I no longer FIX food, I simply cook food. Eating fresh, real nutrients does not require fixing because it is not BROKEN! Real food from the earth requires no FIXING, just a little TLC- The Love for Cooking!

Yes I know cooking requires time, but it is worth it.....Your family is worth it. Your kids are worth it. YOU are worth it.

No time?

Simple. 

MAKE TIME!

"Eating to LIVE and NOT the other way around!"

#300Club ---Meal # 2

This could be considered lunch according to tradition, but for the sake of the #300Club this is simply meal #2. I have found that titles like lunch may trigger a signal to eat things that are not the most nutritious, especially when out of habit we may be used to unhealthy foods.

I can recall telling myself that I should eat a heavy lunch and then have "just a salad" for dinner...however when dinner rolled around I had another excuse as to why "just a salad" was not enough. It was a vicious cycle I tell you. I think this is one of the benefits of the #300Club because all meals are treated equal. There are no more "heavy lunches" "light dinners" and or "big breakfasts" they are all equal. Since they are equal, why name them.....If I called meal #2 a snack, then that may trigger my brain to want "snack" food. Although there are healthy snacks like nuts and fruit...unfortunately my mind is not there yet to equate a "snack" to a bowl of fresh fruit...Well sometimes I may, but most of the time.... nope.

Here's meal #2

I tried this egg back recipe and it was delicious!

Spinach and Mozzarella Egg Bake

3 eggs- 210 calories
A bunch of Spinach (1 cup)- 7 cal
Low-fat Mozzarella cheese- 40 cal
Large cup of room temp water

Quick and easy. I cut it into portions and will refrigerate the rest for another meal later on today.

The 300 Club--Breakfast

As promised, I will keep you all posted on my 300 calorie meals. Remember, I am eating only 300 calories every 3 hours. I must admit, it is spring break for me and I wanted to start this on Monday but uuummmmm....yeah. I have eaten all of the wrong things this past week, but after recieving news that Dre' Diva (me) will be in THE NYC in June I knew I had to get my act together! I have to look totally fab for this event :) #TeamNYC


So here goes breakfast:

small box of cheerios (unsweetened) 120 cal
1 cup milk 120 cal
2 tbs of sugar 40 cals
1/2 large orange 25 cals
1 glass of room temp water (will do post on that later)

I will post my next meal in about 3 hours. My schedule is every 3 hours! What are your 300 calories meals?

When eating right goes WRONG!

So I'm back from hibernation. Those winter months were hard on a sista, what can I say. As for progress what progress?!? LOL Well, I have progressed some but MAITAINED a whole bunch.

Bad news: My pantry looks like this again

Why this is a bad thing...well refer back to my post http://pigfeetandeggs.blogspot.com/2011/07/case-of-empty-pantry.html Yeah..so my eating clean habit has degressed alot since the holidays. It all started with Thanksgiving and went down hill from there... sad face.

GOOD NEWS! I did catch myself before I rolled <---No Pun Intended--completely downhill. Yep, it is something about once you change your mind and realize that all of the processed foods and junk food is NOT, I repeat, NOT MY FRIND. NO ES MI AMIGO!

So this weekend I plan to do some SPRING cleaning in the pantry and donate the processed food to someone who appreciates it. Also, I have also had a new revelation........wait for it......





I EAT TOO MUCH!

Like seriously, I thought because I was eating This:



And not THAT:



I figured I had the green light to eat until I was satisfied. However, after doing some research and looking at my clothes size stay the same and not going down #FRUSTRATEDMUCH, it dawned on me. I had heard it before PORTION CONTROL but I didn't think it matttered, since I was eating healthy etc. I guess I was wrong. My three meals a day are going BYE-BYE. HELLO 6 meals a day @ 300calories each. This sounds like alot of food but it really isn't...Let me break it down in Big Girl Terms (No shade--hell I'm still fat--for a limited time only of course #HEYYY) LOL

SO 4real-4real:

1 spicy breast from THE DEVIL Popeye's = 420 calories

1 double cheeseburger from THE DEVIL'S ASSISTANT McDonald's = 440 calories

1 slice of pizza (panned, supreme of course) = 420 calories

Again I repeat, 300 calories IS NOT a lot of food! Especially when you are trying to stay under 300 calories at one sitting. It is ALMOST impossible to eat out (Trust, I tried & yeah, it's not worth it!) So I have come up with some quick 300 calorie meals that I will share with you next post.......I AM BACK FOR REAL THIS TIME! #PROMISE!

What are some 300 calorie meals that you can think of? Let's talk!!

Eating to LIVE & Not the Other way around!