Here are some of my other grocery highlights…

- A Fresh Pineapple:  Juicy, tropical deliciousness!  Pineapple is an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of dietary fiber.  I definitely prefer fresh pineapple over canned any day!  Of course, you can eat pineapple as is but there are many other ways you can enjoy pineapple such as in salads, added in a stir-fry, grilled, or mixed with cottage cheese or yogurt.

- Bag of Clementines:  This citrus fruit is a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and fiber.  For more information, check out Corrinne’s post on this fab fruit!  I usually throw one or two in my purse to have as a on-the-go snack.

- Green Monster Ingredients:  I’m still loving my green smoothies.  I have been fulfilling my green monster cravings almost daily so a big bag of spinach and bunch of bananas were definitely called for!  Spinach is a great source of beta-carotene and also provides fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and potassium.  Bananas provide potassium, vitamin C, folate, and fiber. 

- Kashi’s Pumpkin Pie Bars:  These are pretty tasty with some great nutritionals- check out the fiber!

 - SIGG Bottle Brush:  For weeks, I have been on the hunt for a long, narrow brush that can clean my SIGG.  Finally, I found a perfect fit!

Do you ever get excited about purchasing cleaning products?  I get excited over anything that will make my life easier.

New Orleans is having a consistently cold winter which is pretty unusual.  It’s not crazy for us to reach 80 degrees on a random day in January.  The weather forecast projects lows in the 20s this week!!!  I wonder if we might see some snow again this year… we had some last year; I was working all day at the hospital while everyone else was leaving school/work early to play in the snow.

Hope everyone is starting off the first week of 2010 on the right foot!  I have some yoga on my agenda this afternoon after I stop at the library to check out a “how to learn Spanish” book.

Have you made any progress on your 2010 goals?

Kasey

-Raspberries

-Blackberries

-Kiwi

-Pineapple

-Pomegranate

-Grapes

The pineapple was on sale for $2.99!  I may also incorporate some fruit that Cory brought home from his Dad’s house over the weekend…

Two big bags full of oranges, grapefruit, and lemons!  I actually used a few of the lemons to clean and remove some tea stains from my favorite mug (Thanks to the advice of the head chef at the hospital!)…

Overall, it worked well but there a still a couple stains lingering.

Some other fun things I got from the grocery…

Oh, Lemon Bar Larabar, you complete me!!! 

I love these 100 Calorie guacamole packs!!!  They brought our Taco Tuesday night to a whole new level of deliciousness.  Check out the stellar nutritionals… healthy fat, fiber, some vitamins/minerals!

I also stocked up on wine.

I have said it once and I’ll say it again… Whole Foods has the best wine!  Out of the hundreds dozens of bottles I have bought (and drank) from WF, I have only disliked one (Harthill Farms Cabernet)!

Peanut butter was also on my grocery list.

Today is our cookie swap at work!  So, last night was a baking frenzy.  After a failed recipe attempt (too much flour), I found a great peanut butter cookie recipe on my Big Oven iPhone application.

How did I live before the iPhone?!

I hope the girls at work like them!  I’m off to a busy day at work then I’m off for two days!!!

Are you doing any holiday baking?

What’s your favorite phone application?

Kasey

After several phone calls to customer service, I finally made it to the grocery for my weekly visit.  There are a few items I’m especially excited about…

1. Sabra’s Chipotle Hummus-  If you like your hummus with a kick, you should definitely try this flavor.  Cory loves this flavor!  I enjoy hummus with whole grain crackers (such as Kashi), whole wheat pita bread, fresh bell pepper sticks, or carrot sticks.
2. Roasted Cashews-  I have been rotating between pumpkin seeds and almonds lately.  When I spotted this bag of cashews at the grocery, I was ready to spice things up a bit.  Is it me or do some brands of nuts taste better than others?  Call me crazy but I am not a fan of Planters nuts.
3. Terra Sweet Potato Chips-  After reading Gina’s post on Terra chips, I knew I had to try them soon.  Wow… these chips are so good. Cory said and I quote, “These are so delicious!”  He actually requested that I hide the bag after a few minutes.  With “No Salt Added”, the chips contained only 10 mg Sodium per serving.  The standard “Low Sodium Diet” allows up to 2,000 mg Sodium per day.  While they do contain 11 grams fat per serving, only 1 gram of fat is saturated fat with the rest unsaturated fat (0 trans fat).  Did I mention there is 3 grams of fiber per serving?  I think I’m in love <3
4. Butternut Squash-  I made sure to buy another one while it was still in season because I was craving butternut squash fries!!! 
5. Luna Lemon Zest Bar-  My local grocery store does not carry Larabars (Gasp!).  I have been craving the Larabar Lemon Bar so I settled for the Luna’s version of a lemon bar.  It was good but I still prefer Larabars!
6. Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Wine-  This bottle was on sale for $6.29!  Of course, I had a glass when I got home.  The verdict- A good wine with a great price!

What are your grocery store highlights?

Kasey

Here is what filled my cart this week…

• Ginger
• Zucchini
• Spinach
• Bananas
• Pink Lady Apples
• Satsumas
• Asparagus
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Grapes
• Pomegranate

• Lean stew beef
• Eggs
• Almond Milk
• Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
• Honey Sunshine cereal
• Puffins cereal
• Couscous
• 0% Greek Yogurt
• Almond Butter
• Blackberry Fruit Spread
• Whole Wheat Macaroni & Cheese
• Garlic Hummus
• Naan
• Larabars
• Clif Nectar bar
• Foil

The grocery bill was within our budget…

Some things I’m planning with my grocery loot…

Breakfast

• Cereal and Almond Milk or Greek Yogurt with Fruit (Bananas, Pomegranate Seeds, Berries)
• Scrambled Eggs with Whole Wheat Waffle spread with Almond Butter

Each morning, I start my day with cereal, milk, and fruit.  Sure, I like oatmeal… but I LOVE cereal!  During the work week, I avoid a breakfast that is time consuming to prepare such as eggs.

Lunch

• Almond Butter and Fruit Spread Roll with Whole Wheat Tortillas
• Spinach Salad with Pomegranate Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds

For lunch, I eat for free at work which cuts down on groceries and planning.

Dinner

• Ginger Stir-fry Beef served over Couscous
• Naan pizza with Spinach and Zucchini
• Hummus wrap with Naan and Spinach
• Grilled Chicken with Macaroni & Cheese and Roasted Asparagus

Snacks

• Greek Yogurt with Fruit (Pomegranate Seeds, Berries)
• Banana or Apple with Almond Butter
• Satsuma and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
• Larabars!!!

What was in your grocery cart this week?  Do your groceries translate into healthy meals?

Kasey

After spending 45 minutes in paradise, I came home with…

raspberries, strawberries, pink lady apples, grapes, squash, zucchini, kiwis, persimmon, satsumas, avocado, spinach, bananas, onion, tomatoes 

shredded mozzarella, naan bread, almonds, Amy’s soups, wine, honey, Larabars, pomegranate juice, Kashi crackers, whole wheat pasta, red wine vinegar, almond milk, Annie’s whole wheat macaroni and cheese, Kashi cookies, whole wheat bread x 2

I pretty much stuck to my grocery list, but I also got some fun things to try for the first time…

1. Persimmon…  I’ll let you know what I think

2. Naan bread… this was soooooo good (post coming very soon)

3. Amy’s Soups- No Chicken Noodle and Minestrone… you gotta have soup in the house during the winter! I was impressed with the Minestrone’s “Light in Sodium” stats.  Usually regular canned soups are anywhere between 500 mg to 1200 gm sodium per serving.  Amy’s Minestrone has 290 mg per serving.  I’ll let you after I try it about the taste.  I could not find the “Light in Sodium” No Chicken Noodle

Something that was not a “first” for me but I still wanted to share…

 Riven Rock’s Cabernet Sauvignon- This wine is very good and very cheap… only $5.99 per bottle! WF has the best wine selection.

Overall, I stayed within our budget- spending $104.01

What are some “new foods” you recently bought from the grocery?

Kasey

I usually pick my fruit based on what looks good and what is on sale. 

After over an hour at the grocery, I came home with…

Okay, so there was a quite a bit of deviation from the list… 

• whole wheat pitas (goes perfectly with hummus)
• tortilla chips instead of tortillas (I love Whole Food’s tortilla chips)
• whole wheat waffles and pancakes (had a coupon)
• Annie’s whole wheat mac & cheese (easy side dish and so good)
• Pad Thai noodles (I have an abundance of shrimp in the freezer)
• red bell peppers (on sale)
• sesame oil (thinking of doing a stir fry with the red pepper & shrimp)
• pomegranate juice (had a coupon)
• rotisserie chicken (more on that at a later post)
• Ben and Jerry’s Americone Dream ice cream (Cory’s favorite… he deserved a treat!)

Hope you enjoyed my justifications and rationalizations (in parentheses) for not sticking to the list! 

Dietitian at Whole Foods  =  Dangerous!

Good news is that the house is fully stocked with healthy staples… including wine!

It’s so hard to keep our wine holder stocked!  Hope everyone is having a great week

   -Local Satsumas

   -Organic Kiwis, Raspberries, Strawberries, Spinach, Zuchinni

   -Bananas

   -Almond Milk

   -Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal- one of my favorite cereals.

   -Guacamole packets

   -Larabars- I am obsessed with larabars… they are a great, quick snacks and made with 100% real fruit & nuts.

   -Annie’s Whole Wheat Mac & Cheese

   -Pad Thai Noodles- I like to bulk up these noodles with shrimp and lots of veggies.

   -Almonds

   -Lean ground meat- for our weekly Taco Thursday Dinner!

   -2 bottles of Wine- Cory and I are huge vino lovers

   -Specialty Gouda Cheese- I sampled this in the store and decided it was a perfect food pairing for the wine.

   -Onion, Tomatoes, Chili Peppers, Mexican Cheese Blend, & Light Sour Cream-  all for an Avocado & Crab Quesadillas recipe I plan on making this week.  Can you believe I couldn’t find low fat shredded cheese at Whole Foods?!

   -Papertowels

All of this for $82 (before tax)… I took advantage of some sales and had a couple coupons.  Luckily, the freezer is stocked with local crab, shrimp, and fish.  The fridge still has lots of staples like eggs, WW (whole wheat) tortillas, WW pasta, WW bread, and my beloved almond butter

Hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying some nice weather!

~Kasey

So think about it… what did you eat yesterday?  Were the foods eaten less healthy than your healthy intentions?  A lot of times not having a plan is what to blame.  The planning begins with your grocery list.  If you do not buy fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains from the grocery, it is likely you will not consume fruits, vegetables, and whole grains on a regular basis.  Some of my weekly grocery staples include:

 -100% Whole Grain Bread

-100% Whole Grain Tortillas

-Whole Grain Cereal (As a general rule, I recommend a cereal with at least 3 grams of fiber)

-Brown Rice

-Beans

-Hummus

-Skim Milk or Almond Milk

-Nonfat or Low fat cheese and yogurt

-All Natural Peanut Butter or Almond Butter (I love almond butter!)

 -Fresh Fruit (bananas, grapes, kiwis, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, & raspberries are just a few that make frequent appearances in my house)

-Fresh or Frozen Vegetables (spinach, sugar snap peas, asparagus, carrots, and cucumbers are in my regulation rotation)

-Nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts)

-Eggs

-Lean Meats (chicken, turkey, extra lean ground meat)

-Fish and Shrimp

Aiming for the least processed foods is always a great strategy at the grocery market.  The outside parameter of the store is where I buy the bulk of grocery items… there you can find fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, low fat/nonfat dairy, and eggs.  Also, generally the fewer ingredients listed on the Nutrition Facts Label the better.  If you cannot pronounce an ingredient, it is probably highly processed.

Next time you are at the grocery, remember your good intentions of eating healthy and make them happen.

~Kasey