I Heart Trader Joe's

Light Yoplait Yogurt w/Lowfat Granola

Corn w/Lowfat Cheese
Bush's Baked Beans - Vegetarian
** I know these last 2 sound kind of strange. Sometimes I just really like eating canned food. It's quick and easy and I think it's delicious. Although not all agree so I'll just leave it at that.

Thai Shrimp Gyozas, Prig Khing Green Beans, and Brown Rice
** This was a delicious and healthy Trader Joe's dinner. If there is anyone left in the world who does not shop at Trader Joe's yet, stop what you are doing right now and go. I am a huge fan of this store. For some reason I think a few people group this store in with Whole Foods and assume it's just as pricey - but you couldn't be more wrong. Trader Joe's is some of the most affordable grocery shopping you can do. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE WHOLE FOODS but I can't quite afford it at the moment so I wont get into that right now.
Ok so back to TJ's. I would highly suggest that you start off by taking a stroll down the frozen foods aisle. It is nothing like the frozen foods you would find at a grocery store. It is SO much better. The food tastes better, is better for you, and is definitely cheaper. I just can't say enough.
The Thai Shrimp Gyozas and the Green Beans both came from TJ's frozen foods. I am obsessed with these gyoza's. I have been buying them for years. They come in veggie too. Super low in calories and WW Pts. This was my first time buying the green beans and as expected they were delicious as well. And then obvi the brown rice.. nothing special to report there.
Trader Joe's is always my go-to when whenever I throw a party, dinner party, etc. They have lots of dips and things like that. They've also got a lot of little hour d'oeuvres (that is weird word to spell) in the frozen section. Everything there is just so quick and easy to make you really can't go wrong.
A quick warning about TJ's though... If you buy any fresh produce or fruit there eat it right away. It will go bad quickly. I'm not sure what they do differently than regular grocery stores but I just know it's pretty much always the case. So don't buy more than you need.
Last thing and then I'm done. Don't leave the store without buying yourself at least 2 (or 6) bottles of Charles Shaw wine aka "Two Buck Chuck." No joke - it costs $1.99. It's not the best wine you'll ever have in your life but knowing that you only paid $1.99 for it makes it taste a whole lot better.

Oh yeah that reminds me... I did have some wine with dinner too. Maybe half a bottle or so?

Tuesday

I am starting to think that I may need something new to do. Something to shake things up - eating wise. Maybe like a little lose 5 lbs goal for myself? I didn't really feel like going on any sort of official diet right now but I don't know how much anyone really wants to read about me sitting around eating like a fat ass all day. So maybe just a quickie challenge. Lose 5 lbs in 2 weeks? That's do-able I think. I will think about it some more. Maybe do something really crazy like start it on Friday. I mean... who starts a diet on a Friday? Anyway... we'll see.

Breakfast Sandwich
** 2 pieces of low cal Sara Lee bread, 1 slice of 2% Kraft cheese, approx 1/3 cup of Egg Beaters, sliced tomatoes. Another delicious breakfast. Although I'm starting to think that I need to ease up on how much bread I've been eating lately - even though it is low cal and high fiber.

Went to one of my favorite local sushi spots for lunch. Sushi Fix. The greatest thing about Sushi Fix is that it's located in Little Italy (where I live) and is pretty much the only non Italian restaurant in the whole area. And since Sushi is my favorite food and Italian is least favorite food... well let's just say I'm very happy to have it there. And best of all they deliver. I mean sushi being delivered to my door is really something special.
Anyway, had a very nice lunch here with one my bff's, Lauren, after we went on a very long walk all along the harbor downtown. Between the two of us this is what we had:
- Fire Roll: Spicy krab with cucumber topped with spicy tuna
- Spicy Crunchy Cali Roll: California roll topped with crunchies, spicy and eel sauce
- Cucumber Salad
- Seaweed Salad
- Edamame
I can't really say we made the best choices possible on the rolls, at least not when it comes to dieting. But we didn't finish it all which is quite unusual for me when it comes to sushi. So maybe that made up for it. Probably not but oh well. I never regret a good sushi meal.

Mexican Candy
Ok.. so those who have known me since I was a kid know that this is yet another one of my "food" obsessions. Mexican candy is in no way good for you and I would not suggest that anyone start eating it. Although most people I know (other than a few and you know who you are) think that it tastes disgusting. It's not really that high in calories but it's just not good. It consists of a lot of sugar and chili powder and other unknown ingredients. I don't eat it all the time but when I come across some of my favorite kinds it's almost impossible for me to resist. So I'm just going to leave it at that.

Frozen Yogurt!
Yay I love love love fro yo! I love it all - sweet, tart, whatever. Yogurtland is one of my faves. I made sure to get a little bit cause I tend to go a little overboard when it's self-serve. I did, of course, top it with fresh strawberries and chocolate sprinkles. Mmmm.

A few bites of a Lean Cuisine Pizza

Dinner Salad
This is one of those times when I just dove into my fridge and used whatever I had that was fresh and close to going bad. Not bad yet - don't worry. But I hate throwing away food so I wanted to make sure I used what I had before I had to do that. Here is what I threw together:
Green Pepper
Orange Pepper
Persian Cucumbers
Tomato
Jalapenos
Corn
Grilled chicken strips tossed in buffalo wing sauce
Galeo's Miso Dressing - really good salad dressing. Great for a low cal coleslaw.

That's all I've got. See you later friends!

Uh-oh. Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays

Since it's Monday I feel like I should have some sort of goals set for the week. I think I'd like to focus on getting to the gym this week as well as continuing to eat at home as much as possible. Maybe I should even say that I'm gonna try to not spend any money on food this week at all. Like no grocery shopping or anything. That'll be tough. Maybe impossible?

9:30am: Yoplait Light Yogurt & Low Fat Granola
** This is a really nice, really light breakfast. Comes out to 5 WW pts. I'm pretty picky about yogurt because I absolutely hate when there are pieces of fruit in it. So far Fiber One and Yoplait Light Thick and Creamy are my top two picks.

1:00pm: Leftover Lo Mein
** I decided it was best to save money by not throwing away my leftovers. Plus I went to the gym today so I figured that made it ok.

2:30pm: Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich

4:00pm: Think Thin Bar
** This is a really good high protein energy type bar. It tastes like a candy bar and is actually good for you. All the flavors are delicious but my favorite is anything chocolate or peanut butter. I think it's got around 240 calories or so which makes for a pretty good small meal.
(Yes Sophy this came from your house. Can we consider it my payment for running your errands?)

5:00pm: Quite a few handfuls of Oriental Trail Mix
** This was not in my plan. I was stopping by my cute little local market, which I love even though it's over priced, for some milk. I couldn't help myself when I saw the trail mix because I just love it so so much. So, of course, as soon as I got home I just sat around and snacked on it. It's spicy and delicious. Yum.
(I guess my plan for not spending any money on food this week is shot. Oh well that didn't sound like much fun anyway.)

7:30pm: Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Soup
** Yum Yum Yum Yum! I was so impressed with this soup. It's low sodium which usually means I'd have to add salt to it (which would kind of defeat the purpose of the low sodium thing.) Anyway, it did not need salt at all. It was very satisfying and only 5 WW Pts for the entire can. It has chunks of tomatoes in it which I think makes it so much better than regular tomato soup. I added some chopped up basil leaves and just a few shakes of low fat Parmesan cheese.
You can find Amy's soups in most grocery stores along with the other canned soups.

Now I must give credit where credit is due. I have always looked around online for good diet and food websites. There are a lot of great ones out there - especially if you're on Weight Watchers. About 4 years ago I stumbled upon a site that quickly moved to the top of my list of favorites and has kept that spot ever since. www.hungry-girl.com is a website and online newsletter which I subscribe to and rave about to anyone who will listen. It's as if the creator, Lisa Lillien, made this site just for me! She sends out daily emails with great tips and tricks for girls like me who love to eat.
A lot of the products and recipes that I use and love have come from Hungry Girl. She also has a great cookbook that is full of recipes as well as a ton of other fun tidbits about dieting and such. I would definitely recommend signing up for the emails as well as getting the book. The emails are free and the book is very reasonably priced. And she's got another book coming out very soon - April I think.
One more honorable mention and I'll be done for the day. For anyone out there on Weight Watchers a really good site to keep bookmarked is www.dwlz.com. Her name is Dottie and from the looks of the site she's been on WW since before I was born. But she's got almost everything covered when it comes to points. When I'm on WW I check this site all the time for restaurant points. She updates it often and has A LOT of restaurants on there. This is a very good resource for anyone who's counting.


Well it's time for me to switch my focus over to the highly anticipated season finale of The Bachelor. Aaaahhh who will he choose?

Thanks for reading! See ya soon. =)

Sunday Funday

After 2 nights of drinking, Sunday Funday takes on a a bit of a different meaning for me than it used to. It means a day to relax and enjoy. And a day to stay away from alcohol at all costs. I just can't hang like I used to, you know?
Just a quick non-food related note... I started my day off by laying at my pool (it was a really nice day here - 75 and sunny) for a bit and continuing my now rapidly growing obsession with reading Twilight. I am reading Twilight thanks to the very high recommendations it got from one of my best friends in life, Kayla, and from my lil sis Casey. I did go see the movie first which made it a bit difficult for me to read the book right after. But now it's been a while and I can confidently say that the movie was great but the book is much much better! Thanks for the tip on this one ladies.

9:00am: Light String Cheese

11:00am: Fiber Gourmet Rotini w/Olives and Marinara
** Pretty small portion of this. I think I only had about a cup of cooked Rotini left from last week.

1:00pm: Mango Chicken Salad from Zanzibar Cafe
** For any local San Diego-ans I highly highly recommend this restaurant. I've been going to Zanzibar since I was a kid when it first opened. There are 2 locations one in Pacific Beach and one in Downtown - East Village to be exact. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food is always delicious and fresh. This is what was in my yummy salad:
MANGO CHICKEN SALAD: GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST, SLICED MANGO, CUCUMBER, JICAMA, GOAT CHEESE, ROASTED ALMONDS & SUN-DRIED CHERRIES, SERVED ON A BED OF MIXED GREENS WITH A SIDE OF SUN-DRIED CHERRY VINAIGRETTE
I mean seriously - how good does that look? Anyway, definitely check it out. www.zanzibarcafe.com


4:00pm Turkey & Pickle Sandwich
** Why am I so obsessed with this meal? Again it was made with my low cal Sara Lee bread, Light Miracle Whip, Oven Roasted Turkey, 1/2 of a pickle, and this time I threw in 1 slice of Kraft Cheese - 2% of course.

7:30pm: Sesame Chicken, Broccoli, White Rice, and Low Mein Noodles with Chicken & Shrimp
** Yes - we ordered Chinese delivery. I know this is not a diet friendly meal at all. I mean if I told you the WW Pts in just one serving of Sesame Chicken you would probably die. But like I said, I'm not trying to diet right now so no need to freak out. I still like to make good and healthy decisions when I eat, but sometimes you really just want Chinese delivery. So.
The real dilemma is this... what do I do with the leftovers in my fridge? Reheat them for lunch today (Monday) and have another not so diet friendly meal OR throw them away to avoid the temptation but feel bad about wasting food and money. Hm... any suggestions?
BTW.. if you're looking for good Chinese delivery in San Diego this is the spot. It's called China Too. They don't really have a website so I tracked down another site that's got their menu.
http://www.campusfood.com/restaurant.asp?campusid=527&mlid=244232

Well the weekend is finally over. Can't really say I did too much for my waistline over the last 3 days but at least I had a good time. Right?

I Need A Drink

And it's Friday. Which means less to me now than it once did. But sometimes I still pretend and treat it the same...

8:00am: Light String Cheese

9:00am: Fiber One Bar

10:30am: Leftover Rotini Pasta
** So I woke up really hungry today. Not in the mood for eggs so I just fished around for something else. The first two were good snacks but I was still hungry a bit later. I know some may find it odd that I'm eating pasta in the morning. But the truth is I can pretty much always eat dinner food for breakfast. I mean, I'd eat sushi first thing in the morning if I could.

1:30pm: String Cheese and Skinny Cow Ice Cream
** This is just one of those days when all I want to do is eat. So instead of making real meals I just eat random snacks. It's not very good. But this is precisely the reason why I buy all this "diet" food. That way when I'm having one of these days I know I'm at least better off than running over to Jack In The Box and getting a Jacky's Spicy Chicken sandwich with curly fries and buttermilk ranch dipping sauce. Right? Although that meal is just so delicious. It's unreal.

3:30pm: Kashi Bar

**Disclaimer: It is now Sunday morning. I am going to post as honestly as I can regarding the last day and a half. Or at least what I can remember =)**

The rest of the day on Friday consisted of the following meals and beverages:
5-6 Bud Lights
711 Sushi
1 glass of Champagne
Don't really want to remember how many shots of Vodka and Jagermeister (gross.)

Saturday:
Breakfast Burrito
1/2 of a BBQ Chicken Salad
A few bites of boneless buffalo chicken strips (YUM)
A bite of BBQ Chicken Pizza
(Hi Mike! Hi Tim! Did I get everything?)
String cheese
Broccoli w/ Kraft 2% slice of cheese
A couple pieces of turkey
About an entire bottle of red wine
Lean Cuisine Pizza

Wow. So there you have it. I know it's not very pretty but dammit I'm only human!

Eating In

Since I went to the grocery store yesterday and obvi purchased way more than I was supposed to, the goal for today is to eat all meals at home. With no job and almost nothing to do but job search, there really is no reason this should be a problem. Especially since I have a ridiculous amount of leftovers from last night. Like a lot.

8:30am: Egg Beaters Omelette w/Jalapenos & Reduced Fat Feta and a Persian Cucumber
** Delicious but somewhat small breakfast. I'll probably have some yogurt soon. A little tip for anyone watching their sodium intake... I almost always use Morton Lite Salt instead of real salt. It's got like 50% less sodium (or something close to that) than regular salt. Totally tastes the same and no one ever notices the difference when I use it in recipes. Very low pt meal. 2-3 pts.

1:00pm: Turkey & Pickle Sandwich; Israeli Salad
** I am stuffed. Such a good lunch. My sandwich was made with my low cal Sara Lee Bread, Light Miracle Whip, Dijonnaise mustard, oven roasted turkey, and a pickle.
My version of an Israeli Salad consists of: cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, fat free feta. Dressing: EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil - yes I watch Rachael Ray. I'm unemployed leave me alone.) So... EVOO, rice vinegar, lemon juice, and a splash of balsamic. Season with salt & pep.
Very satisfied. May even hold off eating again until dinner. Although I would love something sweet. After a salty meal like that I almost always want something sweet. Like maybe a WW or Skinny Cow ice cream treat. Mmmmmm....

3:00pm: WW 2pt Chocolate Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Thank God for portion control packaging. Otherwise I'd sit here and eat a whole carton of this.

6:00pm: Light String Cheese and Leftover Asparagus & Red Pepper (from last night's dinner)
** I was starving. I can definitely say that knowing I'd have to put whatever I ate in the journal stopped me from doing anything terrible. Like having 3 string cheeses instead of just 1. So... yay me!

7:00pm: Leftover Cheese Rotini from last night
** Still good tonight. I added a little bit of garlic pasta sauce to it just to switch things up. I forgot to mention last night that the pasta I used to make this recipe is Fiber Gourmet pasta. This is by far the best high fiber light pasta I have ever tried. Only 2 pts per serving and definitely tastes just as good as the real thing. So far I have not been able to find this in stores anywhere so I order it online. It is definitely worth the extra effort of ordering online. If you're placing an order make sure to also get their Mac & Cheese. It's so so so good and totally diet friendly. www.fibergourmet.com

8:00pm: Fiber One Yogurt
**Good for breakfast, snack, dessert... whenever!

Mission for the day accomplished. No money spent on food and overall a good day of eating.

Also - if anyone wants any of the recipes for the foods I'm eating or questions about where to find anything please let me know! I love being able to help people out when it comes to eating healthy. Or just eating in general.

Thanks for reading! See you soon.

PS... Another added benefit I have discovered from doing this is that once I post for the day it pretty much stops me from any late night snacking. Cause I mean if I eat after I post then when would I write about it? And if I don't write about it then I'd be lying! =)

Day 1

So it's Day 1 of my official food journal plan. Keeping a food journal is one thing but keeping one that pretty much anyone can read is quite another. I got up today around 7:45am. It's already been an hour and I have yet to eat anything. Even though I woke up feeling hungry - like stomach growling and everything. Which BTW is one the best feelings in the world when you're trying to lose weight. Well, for me it is. Anyway, it's almost like I'm scared to eat cause I know I'm gonna have to tell you guys about it. But don't worry I'll eat soon enough. Starving myself was never a skill I was fortunate enough to have.

9am: 2 pieces of Rocky Mtn Toast w/ onions and 1/2 of a tomato
** Anyone who has ever been on an overnight with Camp Ramah will know what Rocky Mtn Toast is. For everyone else please let me explain. You put a hole in a piece of toast and crack an egg into it while it's on the pan. I spray the pan a few times with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray first. Fry the whole thing in the pan and you're done. It is DELICIOUS. I know it's sometimes called other things but it'll always be Rocky Mtn Toast to me. You can see the whole thing in the picture. One more thing... I very rarely use real eggs. It's almost always Egg Beaters for me. But this one of those times when you need real eggs. And for anyone who's counting (which is not me right now) this meal comes out to 5 WW Pts. 4 pts for the eggs and 1 pt for the bread (Sara Lee 45 Calories Delightful Wheat Bread.) I don't count points for vegetables like onions and tomatoes.

11:30am: Fiber One Nonfat Yogurt - Peach Flavor
** 80 Calories. Lots of fiber. 1 pt. Yum.

4:00pm: 8pc Spicy Tuna Roll & Seaweed Salad
** I have a major addiction to sushi. Restaurant sushi, grocery store sushi, even 711 sushi - which is different from grocery store sushi. This time around it was grocery store sushi. Once I'm home with my groceries one of my favorite things to do is have a small sushi meal while putting everything away. It's just so good.
Speaking of grocery shopping... if anyone knows of a way that I could get paid to go grocery shopping, please, let me know! Even if I'm shopping for someone else, I still absolutely love doing it. Does that job exist - professional grocery shopper? Probably not huh.

7:00: Creamy Cheese Rotini w/Broccoli & Chicken and Roasted Asparagus w/Red Peppers & Lemon
** Both from a WW cookbook. Everything made with low and fat free cheese and lots of spices. Took a little longer than expected to cook but turned out pretty good. I really love cooking new recipes. Hopefully someday I'll be able to make this stuff without having to follow a recipe, but for now I'll stick to my cook books. For points purposes my guess is it was around 7 or 8 pts total. I didn't really measure out my portion but I think that's pretty accurate.

7:45: Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich
** 2 pts. Great dessert.

Well that's it for me today. Thanks for reading. See ya tomorrow!