What I’m Loving This Thursday

Hey there everyone!

I’m so glad you all got a kick out of my trip down memory lane yesterday.  I’m a big fan of hopping down that particular lane now and then, so thanks for obliging my guilty pleasure.

In a not so guilty manner, I made today’s lunch knowing that tonight I’d be enjoying a few beers and maybe an appetizer (or two) at the Sam Adams Octoberfest Meetup tonight at Rockfish!

Beastly salad or salad beast, now you don't have to choose!

In today’s delicious lunch was:

  • Spinach
  • Red pepper
  • Green pepper
  • Lowfat mexican blend cheese
  • Reduced Sodium Bush’s Black Beans (my very favorite of all beans)
  • Half a small avocado
  • Some crumbled chips (but more on them soon)
  • Salsa!

A virtual fiesta in the mouth.

As I was making this little jewel, I looked around my kitchen and noticed a few new products that I’m a big fan of and wanted to share with the WORLD (or the several of you that read what I’m writing!!)

First up, something I’ve talked about before:

Actually the perfect pinch

I use this McCormick Perfect Pinch Cajun Seasoning on just about everything lately (including my reduced sodium beans… kind of defeats the purpose of the reduced sodium, I know.)  I threw it on my blackened cod the other night and it just rocked my face off.  Ryan likes it because it’s spicy too.  And really, it’s very versatile.  Use it instead of salt and pepper, or instead of taco seasoning.

Trader Joes, you did me right again!

After my picture, I crumbled a few of these Spicy Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips on top of my salad.  They aren’t actually very spicy, they just crumble deliciously in my mouth, and it’s nearly impossible to not eat 100 in one sitting.  That could be good or bad for you, depending on what you’re looking for in a chip.  For me, it’s a little of both.  I love the little flax seeds in it, and the texture of the chips is great. Also, the ingredient list is totally natural normal everyday stuff.  Wins, all around.

Spinach artichoke HUMMUS?!

I’ve discussed my love for Sabra hummus many times (and tweeted too.  I’m like a Sabra groupie.)  But until yesterday, I’d never seen this particular flavor in a store before!  Well, the moment I saw it, I grabbed it and clutched it to my bosom like a mother who’d saved her child from a burning house (read: Death grip.) I have only tried it with the aforementioned spicy chips, so the jury’s still out (too much flavor from the vehicle).  I’m hoping to get something plainer this weekend and give it a real focused taste.  Stay tuned.

Lime popcorn? It's a crazy hybrid like that coronarita I had!!

This popcorn totally reminds me of those Hint of Lime Tostitos.  Only better.  I love popcorn, I love lime and citrus flavors, and LOOK they even rimmed everything in salt!!  Great treat for watching a movie, and each mini bag has only 190 calories.  Better than popping that MOVIE THEATER BLAST O’ BUTTER that I used to like, and with much more flavors.

Finally, the coup de gras:

Fiber One 80 Calorie Cereal!

This Fiber One 80 Calorie cereal is AH-MAZING! It tastes like honey and crunch and awesome, AND has 40% of my daily fiber! I even added strawberries, like the picture suggested, it was perfect. Sweet, crunch, filling.  I used to eat the Fiber One original literally EVERY DAY when I first started Weight Watchers.  That was 60 calories but tasted like sticks and twigs.

Morning Delight

This has at LEAST 400 calories more worth of flavor, but only 20 more actual real live calories.  I plan on buying 100 boxes as they’re currently on sale at Harris Teeter (and you can get a coupon for Fiber One Here!)
Ok, so those are my most recent tasty MVPs….

How about you?  Any new products you’re digging?

Lunchspiration and Zumba Gear!

After coming back from a long weekend, it’s always hard for me to get back into the swing of eating things.  My cupboards are usually bare, I did my best to empty out the fridge before we left, and I’m so exhausted that the idea of a long grocery trip is often beaten by the idea of a nap.  These past few days were no different.

I flew back to RDU on a slightly later flight than usual and arrived around 1:25, so was able to be back to work by 2pm.  Truly, the Southwest Airlines route from RDU to Philly and back is unbelievably easy, frequently very cheap/on sale, and never takes longer than 1.5 hours.  I can’t even talk about how convenient it’s made living 300+ miles away from my family.  But, as they’ve yet to add personal masseuses and white noise machines on the flight, I still find myself tuckered out after a day of traveling.  I managed to grab some of the “essentials” last night at the store:

Most. Random. Essentials. Ever.

Truly, though, I was just getting what was on sale as I knew, fairly soon, the changing of the sales would occur (as it does every Wednesday).  That left me with a still fairly bare cupboard.  Then, right before lunch, it hit me.

Flatout Wrap: Unwrapped

The Full Monty

  • Flatout Wrap (light Italian)
  • Egg scramble inside with: red pepper slices, sauteed spinach, salt and peppah
  • Reduced fat Sargento 4 cheese blend
  • Carrot (cut myself!)
  • Sabra Hummus from yesterday’s shopping trip

I’ve tried hummus of all kinds, Athenos, non-name brand, Trader Joes, Harris Teeter…. they don’t hold a candle to the creaminess of Sabra, and the rich nutty taste of this particular flavor (Roasted Pine Nut).  Now it’s gluten free, too, which doesn’t really effect THIS GIRL too much, but worth mentioning for everyone else out there!

I also got an awesome package in the mail….

Zumba Nation, baby!

A brand new Zumba shirt (and bracelet, not pictured!) from the ladies over at Zumba Goodness.  Big thanks to the girls, Sarah and Kasey, and congratulations to them for a year in the Zum-biz!!

Can’t wait until next Tuesday when I can rock it out at Zumba class at O2 Fitness (the new instructor KICKED MY ASS last week, so I’m ready for her to bring it again.)

Workout plans tonight are a little tough, as I’m on call from 5pm-9am tomorrow morning and have to be by my phone/a computer all night…. maybe that’ll give me some time to whip up a healthy meal and finally unpack my life as I’ve been living out of my suitcase lately.

How do you get inspiration for lunch time variety? I’ll be honest, I saw a tweet from FlatoutBread and another from Sabra Hummus  and it just hit me.

Do you have any gear particular to the workouts you do?  I have seen instructors rocking the official Les Mills gear, and I want the Body Attack shirts SO BAD. So if anyone else wants a 6’1″ blonde (who’s currently rocking quite the suntan) to model their Les Mills attire…. just gimme a call.  Or a tweet.

Back to work, overtime today to make up for my unbearable lateness of being yesterday.

(If you caught that pun, you win!!)