Amazing Grass Review

**I’m leaving Friday morning for a weekend trip to my old college!  I haven’t been there since I graduated in May, and I have three friends having birthdays this weekend!  My boyfriend and myself are headed there and I CAN’T WAIT!  I need to relax, be with friends, and have some drinks!!   To tide ya over until a weekend recap of sorts, here’s a product review!*** Have a great rest of your week, and weekend folks!  I’ll be reading, no worries!

About a month ago I requested some samples from Amazing Grass, after seeing them all over the blogworld.  I was intrigued by all the energy bloggers seemed to get from these little packets and bars, and the veggies packed in there certainly didn’t hurt!

When I received my Amazing Grass package in the mail, it by far exceeded my expectations!  I thought maybe I’d get a packet or two; I had no idea I’d get the full package I’d seen floating around the blogosphere!  I was ecstatic!

I received several packets of the following:

Organic Wheat Grass Powder

Green Superfood Blend

Berry Green Superfood Blend

Chocolate Green Superfood Blend

Amazing Meal Original Blend

Amazing Meal Pomegranate Mango Infusion Blend

Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion Blend

Organic Green Superfood Whole Foods Energy Bar

Organic Green Superfood Chocolate Whole Foods Energy Bar

Cool Amazing Grass Shaker!

Organic Wheat Grass

According to the Amazing Grass Website:

“Wheat Grass: Whole leaf wheat grass powder when grown, processed and stored under optimal conditions is considered one of the most potent leafy green vegetables available. Wheat grass powder is an excellent concentrated food source of beta-carotene, calcium, chlorophyll, fiber, iron and vitamin K. It is also a very good source of protein, vitamin C, vitamin B-12, folic acid, vitamin B-6, trace minerals and contains all essential amino acids. Dehydrated wheat grass has been used for over 50 years as a vitamin and mineral supplement.”

The Organic Wheat Grass packets that I was sent were awesome!  These probably had the most “grassy” flavor of all the flavors I tried, which makes sense.  These gave a little something extra to my morning smoothies, for only 30 calories.  Can’t beat that!  When you don’t want an overpowering fruit or chocolate flavor, I highly recommend these.

Green Superfood

Amazing Grass says:

“A full spectrum of alkalizing green superfoods, antioxidant rich fruits, and support herbs unite with Acai and Maca to provide a powerful dose of whole food nutrition. Complete with pre & probiotics and digestive enzymes to ensure rapid nutrient absorption and healthy digestion.

Green SuperFood: All natural and organic ingredients include organic wheat grass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella (cracked cell-wall), organic broccoli, organic pure acai from Sambazon, organic maca, organic carrot, organic beet, raspberry, rose hips, pineapple, green tea, acerola cherry, organic flax seed powder, apple pectin fiber, F.O.S. (from chicory root), L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, siberian eleuthero root and peppermint.  100% Vegan.”

The Green Superfood packets I got were also good!  I felt like these were a slightly less grassy version of the wheat grass.  Tasty and packed full of nutrients.

Berry Green Superfood

Amazing Grass says:

“A full spectrum of alkalizing green superfoods, antioxidant rich fruits, and support herbs unite with organic Acai and Goji berries to provide a powerful dose of whole food nutrition with a delicious berry taste. Complete with pre & probiotics and digestive enzymes to ensure rapid nutrient absorption and healthy digestion.

Berry Green SuperFood: All natural and organic ingredients include organic wheat grass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella (cracked cell-wall), organic broccoli, organic acai from Sambazon, organic maca, organic carrot, organic beet, raspberry, organic rose hips, pineapple, organic goji berries, green tea, acerola cherry, organic flax seed powder, apple pectin fiber, F.O.S. (from chicory root), L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, siberian eleuthero root, peppermint and other natural flavors. 100% Vegan.”

I enjoyed these Berry Green Superfood packets a lot.  I thought the berry flavor added just enough sweetness to the smoothie to not be overpowering, and you didn’t taste any grassy taste at all!  Thumbs up!

Chocolate Green Superfood

Amazing Grass says:

“A full spectrum of alkalizing green superfoods, antioxidant rich fruits, and support herbs unite with organic Acai, Maca and Cacao to provide a powerful dose of whole food nutrition with a delicious dark chocolate taste. Complete with pre & probiotics and digestive enzymes to ensure rapid nutrient absorption and healthy digestion.

Chocolate Green SuperFood: All natural and organic ingredients include organic wheat grass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella (cracked cell-wall), organic broccoli, organic dutch cocoa, organic redwood cocoa, organic cacao, natural chocolate flavoring, organic acai from Sambazon, organic maca, organic carrot, organic beet, raspberry, organic rose hips, pineapple, green tea, acerola cherry, organic flax seed powder, organic oat fiber, apple pectin fiber, F.O.S. (from chicory root), L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, siberian eleuthero root, peppermint and organic sea salt. 100% Vegan.”

My thoughts on the Chocolate Green Superfood? A-mazing.  I am a chocolate girl at heart, so these were spot on for what I was looking for in a smoothie.  I love anything chocolate, so these added a great dose of that (plus greens!) to my morning monster, without a ton of cals and fat. 

Amazing Meal Original Blend

Amazing Grass says:

“Amazing Meal Original Blend is a powerful and satisfying blend of Green SuperFoods, plant based protein, phytonutrient rich fruits & vegetables, digestive enzymes and probiotics. For a nutritional breakdown see below.

10 grams of complete protein, 6 grams of fiber in every serving.

Full spectrum of Green SuperFoods – wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa & kale.

Organic Super Fruits – Goji & Açaí berries.

Great source of chlorophyll, antioxidants and essential fatty acids.

100% whole food nutrition – no fillers or isolated vitamins.Main Ingredients

Protein Blend – 15,000 mg
Organic Hemp Protein Powder, Organic Rice Protein
Greens Blend – 3,100 mg
Organic Wheat Grass, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Kale, Organic Alfalfa

Antioxidant Fruit & Vegetable Blend – 2,800 mg
Organic Açaí, Organic Carrot, Organic Blueberry, Organic Goji, Organic Rose Hips, Organic Maca, Organic Banana

Organic Flax Seed Powder – 500 mg
Digestive enzyme blend – 20 mg
Other Ingredients
Organic Guar Gum, Organic Madagascar Vanilla”

The Original Blends (also in Chocolate and Pomegranate Mango Infusions–nutritionals not listed here) were probably my favorites of the pack.  The original blends added 110 calories to my smoothie, plus 10g of protein and some fiber!  These helped my smoothies keep me more satisfied throughout the morning and added some great flavor too!  While the Original Blend added a bit of a grassy taste, the Pom Mango and Chocolate Infusions added some great flavors, and really kicked the green monsters up a notch or two.

Organic Green Superfood Energy Bars

Amazing Grass says:

Our Green SuperFood Energy Bar – Chocolate is a premium blend of nature’s more nourishing and delicious SuperFoods. One caddy contains 12 – 60 gram bars.

230 calorie bar 9 grams of fats (healthy omegas) 5 grams of protein. 27 grams of sugar nly 2 grams is from the cane sugar) 37 grams of carbohydratesWe’ve taken our alkalizing Green SuperFood, with antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables and combined them in a bar that will satisfy your hunger and deliver nutrients to your body the way Mother Nature intended…unprocessed, organic and delicious.

These Superfood Bars were awesome!  Although the taste wasn’t 100% typical of a nutrition bar (much more…earthy) I really enjoyed it!  Even though they aren’t huge, they are dense, and you can taste (especially in the regular flavor) the earth I guess!  I preferred the chocolate one (obviously) but liked them both a lot!  I’d probably buy them occasionally if I saw them in stores, and they were on sale.

The overall thoughts

Overall, I am extremely grateful to Amazing Grass for giving me the opportunity to sample all of their wonderful products!  Each and every one was a bit unique in flavor (and sometimes texture!) and I can definitely feel the health benefits seeping into my bloodstream haha.  These were great products, although a bit expensive.  I liked the products, but unfortunately cannot afford to purchase these products (except maybe a stray packet or two) in bulk As much as I would love to have these infusions in my smoothies on the regular; it’s just not something I can afford right now Sadness!  I definitely recommend trying their products at least once though, so it might be worth the splurge for you if you can get your hands on some.  And the cute shaker that came with the samples is awesome and completely spill-proof!! Can’t beat that (especially if you’re klutzy )  My rating?  Two big thumbs up! Thanks again Amazing Grass for the opportunity to sample your lovely goods!   Feel free to send some more if the whim every strikes haha

It’s a Wonderful Life

Finally, it’s time for a recap!  It’s about time, right?  Sorry about that ladies; I’ve just been so busy!  Graduate school and work combined is a bit more than I bargained for, but I believe after some adjusting, I’ll manage.  It will be a long road these next 2 years, but a girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do to get that Master’s degree, ya know?? I do apologize in advance for the lack of posts that I’m positive will happen within the next few months.  I barely have time to hit up the gym combined with school/work/studying, let alone blog, that sadly posts will only be about once a week But I love blogging too much to give it up completely (as I realized on my prior hiatus), and I read/comment daily, so I’ll be around, never fear!  As always you can contact me at balancemycake@gmail.com if you need me in between posts!  Okay enough chit chat, more food pics!

Blueberry Chobani, Kashi waffle with PB and mashed banana

California Club Pizza on Honey Wheat Dough at California Pizza Kitch with the boyfriend!

Greek Pizza, minus the chicken, at CPK

Creamy hummus appetizer with pizza pita wedges at CPK

Lots of green monsters

Lots of Lunas

Mmmm fresh melon!

Oatmeal mess with oat bran, wheat bran, PB, jam, banana, cinn...

Spinach salad with Sabra hummus and a Morningstar Farms Black Bean burger

Obviously these aren’t all my meals for the past week or two haha.  I’ve also consumed lots of fro yo, Adora calcium disks, Quiznos/Subway, etc.  I’ve had a bit of trouble keeping up with working out as consistently since school started.  I have tried VERY hard to maintain my 5-day a week workouts, but with school I”ve been getting about 4 a week.  Which I’m okay with, if I tweak my eating habits a bit to improve them.  I’ve just been craving sleep lately (no surprise there) so that’s been winning out more times than not with 5 am jaunts to the gym.  It’s all about balance though, so I’ll figure it out!  If it’s four days, it’s four days, something’s better than nothing! My classes have been going well, although one or two are going to be particularly challenging.  One is the traditional challenging…it’s statistics so it’s just hard, but the other challenges me because it takes me out of my social comfort zone, so we’ll see how that goes.

How have you all been?  I’ve been reading your blogs, so I mostly know, but anything else going on?  How has everyone that has recently started school (of any kind) faring?  How do you manage school, work (whether it’s a part-time/full-time job, athletics, activities etc.) working out, and spending time with your family and friends? Do you find it difficult to manage?

I took a cue from the lovely Janetha B. and will most likely be having her cottage cheese/chickpea/ranch seasoning mix tonight!  I’m intrigued!

Have a great rest of your (hopefully long!) weekend, and I’ll talk to you soon

Oh yeah, and don’t forget that my good friend Kristin of KristinsNibbles has moved!! PLEASE update your Google Readers/favorites to reflect this:www.kristinsnibbles.wordpress.com, or it won’t work!! Save it as this!

IMPORTANT!!!

My good friend Kristin, who writes the KristinsNibbles blog, has switched from Blogger to WordPress and it’s giving her some major issues!!  If you have Google Reader, you must re-subscribe to www.kristinsnibbles.wordpress.com, even though she has the domain name kristinsnibbles.com.  It just won’t come up in Reader that way for whatever reason.  So, if you want to see her new posts (and contests soon I hear!!) make sure you update your Readers/favorites lists/whatever to www.kristinsnibbles.wordpress.com

Thanks everyone!!!

Energizer Bunny

Hey all!  I am SO ridiculously swamped with reading/HW for grad school that I have barely enough time to sleep, let along blog!  I never knew how much work graduate school would entail, especially combined with my job!

I’m hoping to do a recap/update this weekend sometime (3 day weekend holler!), so bare with me a little longer everyone!

I’ve been trying to keep up with Google Reader and I had to hit the dreaded mark all as read button a few times recently *shudder.* It’s an awful feeling when you don’t even have time for blogs!

I’m on a break in between classes, and I need to get back to work.

I HAVE been reading, not really commenting much, but I’m still here!!

TTY all soon!

Update!

Hey everyone! I know I’ve been MIA for a few days, and sadly I will be for a few more!  I am currently sitting in my university library in the midst of my 12 hour school day.  After a 20 minute internet struggle…here I am!

I’d love to update you with some food pics, but honestly they’re saved elsewhere, and they’ve been pretty boring!  I’ll give you a quick rundown of what I’ve been chomping on:

Green monsters (in the evenings)

Sourdough bread with Smart Balance

Veggie pizza (frozen and delicious!)

Chicken sausage! (First real piece of meat in months (TWSS?)

Waffles and whole wheat bagels with PB/J/Banana/Flax

Lunas

Chobani (bought the Pineapple, just gotta try it out!!!)

Handfuls of TJs PB Pretzels and Trail Mix here and there

That’s about it!  Told ya eats have been boring! Not NEARLY as many fruits/veggies as I prefer but at least I”m getting some in with my daily (now nightly!) green monsters.

I’ve only had two classes so far (one yesterday morning, one this morning), but so far they’ve been okay.  This morning I had a statistics class (grad level WTF!?) but my professor is so nice, that I think it’ll be doable for a non-mathematician like myself

I’m grabbing some lunch with my friend at this awesome veggie cafe up the street that I’ve heard great things about!  I already have reviewed the menu and have some ideas picked out (Helloooo baked falafel!?) Then I’m off to two more 3 hour courses, back to back. Oy vey.  And they’ve totally been keeping us the first day the full time.  I know, I know, if we only meet once a week I should stop my complaining.  At least they give us a break to stretch!

I’m taking a half day at work tomorrow and heading out to see le boyfriend for a day and a half

I can’t wait!! Makes this loooooong day seem so much more worth it!  And a very big THANK YOU to those of you that wished me luck on my first day!! SO sweet; you guys rock!

Needless to say, I won’t be posting this weekend (maybe Sunday), but I’ll try to capture as many pics as I can for a recap.  I’m on the road to being a very busy gal, but I won’t leave you all hanging!

Have a fantastic day!!

In the Fast Lane

Hellooo my loves!  I hope you all had fabulous weekends! I know I’ve had better ones, but hey, you can’t win them all.

No need to whine about my lackluster weekend…I got some shopping in which is always for the better

My eats for the weekend were the usual fare…normal stuff, with a little less structure.  I didn’t capture all my eats but I got these two lovely photos for ya

Low-Fat Veggie Burrito eaten at the mall...black beans, lettuce, pico de gallo on a wheat wrap. Surprisingly healthy for the mall! Didn't eat the chips.

The burrito originially came with yellow rice, but I opted out for lettuce instead.

Green monsters were consumed, snacky items (TJs PB pretzels anyone!?), no fro yo surprisingly…

Whole wheat wrap with Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Veggie burger, tomatoes and some Laughing Cow Cheese

I just realized these pictures kinda suck…two similar looking wraps were all I managed to capture.  Oh well!

The second wrap has asparagus (raw…great idea Kelly!) and some tomatoes from our garden, with the last of my Sabra hummus for dipping.  Alongside, a quickly ripening plum.

Here starts another long week….but wait! Yup, that’s right, I start graduate school this week! Craziness, I know.  I don’t feel like a grad student!  I honestly can’t wait!  I have always loved the fall…everything about it, especially the “back-to-school” feeling!! It’s awesome, and September (rather than January) will always signify a new year to me

I still will be working 30 hours a week, and going to school full time.  I know, I know, but I have no choice!  Girl’s gotta have the $$ to live, ya know?  I only am going to school 2 days a week (Wednesday mornings and allllll day Thursday).  Luckily, my classes were scheduled so that I could do them (aside from one) all in one day.  Great for getting work hours in, sucky for being on campus for twelve hours on Thursdays.  Oh well, whatev.  Plenty of internet time!!   And studying time once the semester kicks off, I’m sure.

So this is my first week of my new schedule.  Although technically classes start today, I don’t go in until Wednesday.  I really can’t wait to dive into my career, and actually get some training/information relevant to what I want to do!

And although this week’s a busy one, it will be worth it, because I’m making the trip to see my boyfriend this weekend, so it makes everything worth it

Hope you all have a great workday/first day of school!!

See Ya in Two Years

Happy Friday bloggy blogersons!  (yeah I dunno). It’s another Friday, another weekend, and for some, the last weekend of the summer.   Including myself!  Thanks for all the well wishes on my grad orientation yesterday…I am studying school guidance counseling, and its a 2 year program.  I’m very excited about it!  My orientation was very informative, and I found out that for the next two years (more emphasis on the 2nd year 2010-2011) I’ll pretty much be a hermit.  But whatev, a hermit with a Masters Degree!! My second year will include a 20 hr/week internship at a school, plus 3 classes, and I need to hold some sort of a 20-30/hr a week PT job that actually pays to support myself.  Fun fun.  I think that far ahead, or I will begin to realize that I may be living in a box.

Anywho!  Onto the eats as of late.  I got quite ill yesterday morning (thanks large fro yo mix my brother got my Wednesday night!  Tasty, but evil).  I also tried to have a green monster for breakfast…yeah not a good idea.  Never soothe an upset tummy (due to too much dairy and artificial sweeteners) with more dairy. Ugh.  Needless to say, I made it to my early orientation in one piece thanks to some medicine :-\

After getting my student ID, books, and parking permit, I wandered around my new campus for a bit trying to find my class buildings and whatnot.  My orientation ran from 10am-1pm, and lunch was catered.  I had a diet pepsi,  1/2 of a grilled veggie and hummus wrap (quite delicious!), and a small wedge of cheese.  Not that much, and no pics for obvious reasons…don’t wanna freak out my new classmates!

After arriving home, I was pooped.  I plopped onto bed with my laptop, some TV, and a Trader Joe’s Trek Mix I love Antioxidants granola bar

A big bowl of cherries and some random handfuls of TJs Trailmix were also consumed.  I vegged out for the afternoon, and actually can’t remember at all what I ate for dinner.  Totally coming up blank.  Verrrrrry odd.

I also worked out at the gym for a quick 40 minutes at 5 am yesterday.

Today was a standard day.  Fridays are one of my two off days from the gym each week.  I have to be at work a half hour earlier on Fridays, and there’s just no way I could push my wakeup time even earlier than 5 am.  Sorry.  So I slept til a glorious 6:20 (remember high school when that felt so early!?) and threw on some clothes (YEAH cas Fridays!) and had myself a tasty little breakfast

2 Blueberry Kashi waffles, one with 1/2 tbsp Naturally More PB, the other with 1/2 tbsp Mighty Maple PB, each with 1/4 smashed banana, 1 tsp flax, and a drizz of SF maple syrup

Served with a small glass of Light Plain Soymilk, and my daily Women’s multivitamin!

I hustled to work, turned down the weekly Friday breakfast offer (ordering out egg sandwiches from a deli), and did a whole lotta nothing.  Fridays are usually pretty quiet in the office, so I jam out to Pandora in my office, do some work, and it’s generally a good time.  I was feeling hungry around 11:30, so I had 1/2 of a Zone Perfect Dark Chocolate Almond Bar…no pic, it pretty much looked like poop, but tasted like a dream.

Lunch

Clif White Chocolate Macadamia, warmed up

Plate o' edamame

Cherries!!! The last of them So good.

Good lunch; took awhile to consume which is usually a plus in my book!  I hightailed it off to my Friday afternoon meeting, and then proceeded to get caught in a huge thunderstorm/tornado warning on my half hour commute home. Fan-freakin-tastic.  Honestly, EVERY Friday afternoon this summer, aside from maybe two, I’ve gotten caught in bad rain on my way home.  Suckage, but I made it home.  I collapsed on the couch with a book for awhile, and rubbed my puppy’s belly

I had something brand new for dinner!! I was craving eggs (usually I just have egg whites…very rarely do I have whole eggs) with a runny yolk (even rarer) so I knew..I had to try savory oats!  I got some funny responses…I nose turn up from Mom and an “Ew” from the boyfriend, but I forged on forward.

Awful picture! 1/2 plus a little cup oats cooked with water, some pepper, one laughing cow cheese mixed in, 1 slightly runny egg, and some salsa!

The verdict? Amazing!  I really liked them! I also sprinkled a little parm on top.  This kind of reminded me of ramen noodles in taste! Odd.  And the consistency was spot on (I like my oats a bit sticky).  I highly recommend…sweet oats and savory oats are completely different animals, so no worries about feeling strange about trying them out!

I ended the night with watching He’s Just Not That Into You with my Mom, and having lots of Peanut M&Ms and a few dark chocolate TJs edamame.  Now blog reading and What Not to Wear watching shall ensue.  Have a great weekend lovelies!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Hence, why I will be showing mostly pics in this post!  I’m just sleepy, busy, and feeling lazy!  I’ll let them speak [mostly] for themselves!

Sprouted wheat wrap with greens, red peppers, sundried tomatos, guac, jicama (yum!), and a lentil (?) side from a new wrap place for lunch

Up close...mmmm.

Spring vegetable cous cous (SO tasty!), basil mozzerella veggie burger on a pita with hum, corn on the cob eaten cold

Up close with the cous

Leftover Diet Pepsi 0 in the office fridge...so sue me.

Slice green pepper from the garden, tomato from the garden

More pom Chobs (recycled pic)

Last pizza veggie burger on pita with spinach and sabra hum

Kashi Trail Mix Bar Snackie

And much more, naturally! Hope everyone’s having a fabulous week!  (Happy  Hump Day!)

I have my graduate school orientation tomorrow, pretty much all day, so I had to take the day off work.  I’ll be getting there very early (8:30 am) because even though my orientation doesn’t start until 10am, I found out that it’s the same day as freshman move-in day.  OY.  Nothing at all against freshman, but it’s gonna make for long waits and lines just about everywhere, and some horrible parking.  SO instead of doing these things after my orientation, I’ll be doing them before to beat the crowds.    So getting up to hit the gym at 5:30 am is most definitely still in the cards.  See you all lata!!

Our Mini Vacation

You ladies are all awesome!! Thank you so much for your lovely, sweet, and supportive comments regarding me and my guy!   We are really two peas in a pod, and this mini vacation was MUCH needed for the both of us!

I didn’t take any pictures of the four days (Thursday-Saturday) that we were together, but be assured that Chinese food, ice cream, Subway (veggie sub!), pita chips with hummus, green monsters, Chobs, vegetable lasagna, carrot cake, and mucho alcohol (lotsa wine and fruity drinks!) were consumed And, to be accountable, I did not go to the gym Thursday-Saturday.  We stayed pretty active, and my eating is also a bit more sporadic when we visit so although there were a few too many indulgences (example:  alcohol), I had an amazing time and have gotten back on track today, and that’s what counts!

We spent time at the lake, drove my brother around a lot (NOT in the plan but oh well!), got my car inspected and oil changed, did some shopping, had drinks with friends, had a romantic dinner alone…all in all a fantastic time, and I’m very sad it’s over

Back on track today though!  This morning I woke up bright and early at 6:30 am to head to the gym (opens at 7 on the weekends).

I did a sweaty 35 mins on the elliptical, and 15 mins power walking on an incline on the treaddie.  I then did a couple ab machines (3 sets, 12 reps each)

Total Calorie Burn: 460

After a shower and eyebrow plucking (haha) I whipped out the breakfast I though up last night:

Breakfast cookie!

I used to make these a lot last year, but have gotten off the bandwagon for whatever reason lately.  This baby has 1/3 cup oats, a big scoop of pumpkin, 1 scoop TJs chocolate protein powder, 1/2 tbsp flax, cinnamon, splash of skim milk, 1/2 tbsp Naturally More Peanut Butter, 1/2 sliced banana, and a little SF maple.  This morning I had this topped with a little more SF Maple and some cherries on the side…delish!

I ran to a big job lot kind of store…it rocked! I got two new workout shirts for 5 and 7 bucks each!! So great!  I need some new workout clothes but just can’t see spending so much dough on a freakin’ sports bra!! So these were perfect.  I also picked up some Mighty Maple PB for $3.50 (!!), and some Bob’s wheat bran that I’ve heard good things about!  1/4 cup of this stuff (added to pretty much anything you want…oats, cold cereal, baking etc.) is only 30 cals (much like flax) and has a whopping 6g of fiber!  A-mazing!

After this we also headed to the health foods store which was right next door…ugh.  For a gal trying to pinch her pennies, this was NOT a good combination!!  I gotta start leaving my wallet at home!

I picked up a few little things at the store, but held back in a major way.  I only spent $20, so I can’t really complain as that was pretty much my grocery shop for the week.  I got Organic Bananas for  49 cents/lb!! They were in the bin that were on their way out…brown, overly ripe, and I got 6 huge organic ones for 95 cents!! I just slice them and freeze for smoothies anyway, so this worked out crazy well! I also got organic spinach (only kind they had; I usually get regular to save $$$), some Luna and a Larabar (same prices as I pay at the regular store so it’s all good), some random organic plain, low-fat yogurt for cheap that was made locally!  And only 100 cals per cup, and 8g of protein!  Score!

I came home and chillaxed, tidied my room a bit, and put some pictures in frames and hung them   I have also been catching up on my reader (hellooooo 200 posts!) and being very jelly towards all the bloggers that got to attend the Healthy Living Summit! All the bloggers that attended posted very thorough recaps, and I enjoyed reading every last one!  Lucky ladies!! Well, maybe next year!

Lunch was inspired due to the melting heat New York is finally experiencing!

Green monster: 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 5 ice cubes, 1 scoop TJs chocolate protein powder, 1/2 banana, few random frozen fruit bites, 2 cups spinach

1 sliced red pepper, piece of whole wheat Naan, and little scoopettes of various flavors of hummus!

Great, well-rounded, refreshing meal!

…although it didn’t last me very long About 2 hours later it was time for a Cookies N Cream Delight Luna Bar! Now THAT hit the spot

I ran to Marshall’s with my Mom…a mixed blessing yet again!  I DO NOT have the money to spend whatsoever, however I DO need some jeans for the upcoming fall (grad school AND work…need to be able to wear them both places on some days) and I happened to find two pairs that fit amazingly.  Jeans hardly ever fit my perfectly, as I’m 5′4″, pear shaped (hey booty!), and usually have trouble finding jeans, so this was a miracle.  AND to top it all off…they were dirt cheap!  I love Marshall’s!  So I sucked it up, bought them (and maaaaaybe a $7 cute hat) and now I’m good!

My tum’s starting to rumble now, so I’m betting (yup!) it’s nearly dinnertime!  I’m not sure what I want…I’m thinking something easy and cool like a tuna or veggie burger wrap.  We shall see!!

I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to tackle the upcoming week!  See you all later!

Like a Little Kid on Christmas

Hey my loves!! What’s shakin’?

The day has almost arrived!  Tomorrow I begin my 4-Day weekend and my boyfriend is coming to visit!!   We only live about 2.5 hours apart, but we both work full time and then some, so it’s hard to coordinate times to visit.  He’s staying for 3 days, and I couldn’t be happier! I’m so excited; I feel like a little kid on Christmas!

Anywho, enough mush, onto the eats!

B-fast was my usual:  green monster (more purpley today) and a Luna Sunrise Vanilla Almond later in the AM.

1/2 cup plain TJs greek yogurt, 1/2 banana, handful spinach, handful bloobs, Amazing Grass Berry Infusion

Recycled pic!

Work wasn’t too crazazy today, just the usual hoopla.  I ran out to the store on my lunch break to replenish my spinach stash for my green monsters, and to pick up a few things for Miss Janetha’s Prize! 

I hustled back to the office a little before 2 pm, as there was supposed to be a new hire arriving that I was going to show the ropes to.  I realized on the way back that this didn’t leave me much time to eat, but whatev.  So we waited…and waited…and the gal never showed!  My co-worker checked her e-mail an hour after the girl was to arrive, and she had e-mailed back right before she was to be at the office stating that due to school obligations, she would not be able to work with us.  I totally understand the school thang, but wtf!? How bout a phone call girlie?  SIGH.  This actually presents a pretty big problemo for us, as this girl was filling in for me the one day a week I can’t come to the office due to my Master’s program starting in 2 weeks.  SO now we have to go through the entire interview process again, and we’re kinda on a time crunch!  Ahh people, gotta love them!

Anyway, enough ranting about work!  We all have our ups and downs in that department I’m sure!  Lunch was eaten leisurely, as I had nothing else to do at that time, and it was tas-ty!

Salad with a bed of baby spinach, home grown cherry tomatoes, bloobs, a blob of roasted red pepper hummus, and a Gardenburger

On the side I had a Pomegranate Chobani and some strawberries for dipping.  As while as this ginormous iced tea

5 servings demolished, "0" calories, and chock full of Splenda, but it was delicious!

Work ended well, then I came home, chatted with Moms, and hopped on a floatie in the pool for a little Rachael Ray (my female crush…I wanna BE her!) magazine and some Cosmo (my not-so guilty pleasure!).  It was so relaxing!  I then had some cleaning to do, laundry to throw in, and clothes to organize!  By the time I got around to dinner (in my very hot house!) I just wanted something cold and quick!

Dinner: Yogurt "mess:" Strawberry Chobani, 1/2 tbsp flax, big handful bloobs (3rd time today!), handful PB Puffins (on sale for $2.50 a box woo hoo!), couple small handfuls of TJs trail mix, handful Craisins, and 1/2 tbsp Naturally More PB drizzled on top

Nice and comforting!

I enjoyed this is my air conditioned bedroom with Friends on DVD and a glass of agua

A few more stray handfuls of chocolate edamame, almonds, trail mix and Puffins, as well as 1/4 of a TJs Raspberry/Blueberry muffin made their way into my mouth while packing (just wrote snacking haha) my lunch for tomorrow.  Gotta quit with the stray handfuls of stuff…it SO adds up!

I will most likely not be posting from tomorrow until probably Sunday.  I want to spend all of my time with my boyfriend, friends, and familia, and a little blogging break never hurt anybody!   Although I think my Google Reader will be aching after this hiatus…tons of catch-up to do, but I don’t mind one bit

I hope you all have fabulous weekends/rest of the week and do something nice for yourself tomorrow (and every day!), no matter what it is…you DESERVE it! Goodnight loves!