I’m running around like a chicken….well you know the rest 🙂 And suddenly it’s pouring outside, which doesn’t make for a walking-friendly afternoon!
We made it out of Costco at $70 – not bad!! In the cart:
- Tomato paste (bulk pack)
- Crushed tomatoes (6 pack)
- OATS! (These will last us about 2 months – for only $6.50!)
- Stonyfield yogurts for the hub (I think a 12 pack of the low-fats?)
- Peanuts in the shell (5 lb bag)
- Raisins (2 big bags)
- Earth-friendly laundry detergent (met a woman who LOVES is and it is all-natural, high efficiency and was only $12.99 for like 200 loads!?)
- 2 all-natural whole chickens
Then I hit the grocery store by myself. Sorry no photos today because I’m in a rush! I bought PAM High Heat cooking spray only to discover it has partially hydrogenated blah blah in it. It will be returned this week! But otherwise I got a ton of fresh produce, milk, and some Breyers All-Natural Vanilla Ice Cream for our parents dinner dessert!
2pm Lunch
Lunch was rushed….but good!! Quite good for throwing together quickly!
Frozen (thawed and heated) squash and mushroom leftover soup. These thick soups freeze really well in a freezer zip lock back, flat on a cookie sheet and then stacked.
Plus apple and cinnamon –
CRACKERS!!! They are chewier than they are crunchy. And being a chew person, that suits me JUST fine. Great flavor too!
And a mini dill pickle 😉 Just got those today on sale. I love pickles!
All together –
Lunch was roughly 425 kcal, 16 grams fiber, 13 grams protein.
Gotta run!! See you guys with the breast cancer dinner recap either late tonight or first thing in the AM.
Justy2003 says
Sounds like you’ve got a busy day/week ahead!
Enjoy your break!
PS-I’m super jealous of all the homemade crackers/breads! Send some my way!
Tara says
Kath, I heard from a coworker this week that the laundry detergent you bought there is actually the least expensive one at Costco. That’s good news!
Anyway, have you ever thought of canning your own foods? My husband and I can our own tomatoes, corn, pears, jam, green beans, and PICKLES. So two of the items you bought today we’ve canned. It tastes so much better when you can food (versus buying canned), although I am writing from California, where we are surrounded by farms and go pick the produce ourselves!
Liz says
Breyers All-Natural Vanilla is the best!! Not very many ingredients either! yum!
Leng says
$70 at costco!? That’s amazing. Whenever I go there I always end up spending around 2-3 hundred dollars! well, I don’t go there often…but still really good.
Ally says
The rain caught me off guard as well Kath! I’m so glad I got my run in earlier today.
I went shopping as well… what else can you do on rainy days? 😛
Ok, back to the Duke game!
VeggieGirl says
Great-looking lunch (I sound like a broken-record, don’t I, haha) – those crackers look and sound ESPECIALLY divine!! Nothing beats homemade.
Ahh, stay out of the rain, Kath!! And enjoy the rest of your Saturday :0)
KarenR says
A cookie sheet for your soups! Funny, my frozen bags of soups are always a funky ridged shape on one side from the freezer rack!
I’m trying to muster up sympathy for your rain, but I woke up to snow, so…
I know there are a lot of tea lovers here so I’ll share that I am drinking my favorite right now. Believe it or not, it’s the tea they serve you at Aveda in the mall. It’s so delicious I bought a jar! I also have one of those Perfect Tea Makers from Teavana, which I just love. Has anyone seen these things? They’re so clever!
JennK. says
KarenR — I have a perfect tea maker too! Many of the Teavana teas are incredible, and I know you can order them online if you don’t have Teavana near you, so for all you tea lovers…check out their website:
JennK. says
Hmm…not sure why the website didn’t post!
http://www.teavana.com/
Stacey says
To anyone who knows the answer, I accidentally bought Flax Meal instead of Flaxseeds today and I was wondering if anyone knows any differences on use or perhaps any major nutritional differences? I don’t seem to notice any but I don’t have a bag of seeds to compare it to.
Susa says
The crackers look SO GOOD!!! 🙂
Kiala says
Those tea pushers at Aveda always make me too mad to drink the tea. I just want to get my exfoliant and leave. Is that too much to ask?
Megan says
Wow, only $70 at Costco! Way to go. I rarely shop there but when I do I always spend a ton.
I had apple and cinnamon for lunch too! It is a great combo.
Romina says
Gosh I hate it so much when I buy something to find out that it has something like trans fats in it!
Your meal looks wonderfully balanced! =)
Frannie says
Kath –
I had meant to post this thought earlier this week when I saw a conversation in the comments section dissecting your possible income levels. One comment called this blog self-serving, and I am sure you have not taken this to heart or anything, but I would like to tell you that a blog that helps at least one person is NOT self serving (although I’m sure you benefit from it as a photo-food log of sorts too :)). I actually steal lunch ideas from you quite often (love the pumpkin/yogurt idea and the variety of lunches you manage to put together). Today my mother called with a concern over my 12 yr old brother eating too much sugar at breakfast and crashing later in the day and I told her about your whipped banana oats and toppings. She said she’ll help him make the oats and see if it gets better. Thank you so much for this service you do for all of us who are interested in food and nutrition.
Finally, your financial situation is your business and I respect that. Personally, I am also a graduate student on an assistantship, I am unmarried and live by myself and pay all of my own bills. If I cut your grocery bills in half (as I am not feeding 2 people), they are roughly equivalent to yours and I feel that it is a large portion of my budget, but I choose to alot that money towards eating well as a sort of “insurance” for my future. I firmly believe that eating well is a good decision that will benefit me and save me money in the future.
Thanks!
Tina says
The crackers look like they came out great! Sorry, if we kept you up late. Thanks, again! We might be visiting this spring! 🙂
linds says
Hi Kath! I feel I must post this recipe because I know how much you love chewy 🙂 These cookies are actually amazing- crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and completely fat-free without sacrificing any of the taste. Hope you have a great Spring Break!
Super Chewy Ginger Cookies
Ingredients:
Coarse sugar
1 cup flour (can sub in 1/4 ww flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp plus 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon soy milk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Steps:
(1)Using a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.
(2)In a separate bowl, combine the ‘wet’ ingredients: oil, applesauce, vanilla, molasses, soy milk, and brown sugar.
(3)Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Stir until well combined, but do not overmix.
(4)Dough with be very sticky, so refrigerate it for half an hour and then continue, or simply wet your hands and handle the dough as little as possible. Drop tablespoon sized-amounts of dough in a small bowl filled with a handful (up to ½ cup, though you probably won’t need that much) coarse sugar (or just regular white sugar). Roll dough to make a sugar-covered ball.
(5)Gently flatten ball and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Allow several centimetres of space between cookies.
(6)Bake for 10 minutes at 350°, until bottoms of cookies are light brown. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely. Cookies taste best after being refrigerated overnight (aka resist the urge to eat them all hot out of the oven!). Makes about 15 cookies.
linds says
oh ignore the ‘oil’ in step 2, forgot to edit that part 🙂
KarenR says
Kiala, you’re missing out. I know the first several times I went in there I was the same way (I was also looking for exfoliant. Hee.) But now, I’m like “hand over the tea, back off with the exfoliant!”
Tara says
Just pulled the seeded crackers out of the oven and you are right, they were chewy! Hubbie took a taste and immediately asked that I spinkle salt on them (-: They are delicious! And my place smells great!
Anyway, guys, they were SOOOOO easy to make!! Although I noticed in the picture that you were rolling it without flour. I had to brush the counter with flour because it was sticking sooo much. But it looks like they turned out well. They had a little bit of flour on them, so I tossed them with olive oil after the 20 minutes of cooking and threw them back in for a few. After tasting them, I could see that there are many opportunities for adding more flavors (onion powder? JUST KIDDING KATH!).
Anyway, thanks for the great recipe! I tried to make potato buns. I put the starter in the oven with the light on and OOPS, I started the oven for the crackers! So that’s destroyed…but thank goodness the glass bowl didn’t shatter. Oye, I guess only cook 1 thing at once. It’s an ambitious Saturday.
Tara says
PS When they turn dark brown, they are burning! I thought they were just crisping, but they get a really bad taste.
Amy A. says
Haha Aww, I used to work at an Aveda store….and drink that tea all day long It is so good! Don’t hate on the tea pushers!! They only push the tea so strongly because corporate protocol requires it, and corporate sends out secret shoppers to make sure the protocol is followed.
But try it — it’s organic, caffeine-free and sugar-free, and naturally sweet from the licorice root and peppermint. And don’t say you don’t like licorice…you just have to try it!
And hey, the tea pushing was worth it for the ridiculously amazing discount I got there. I really miss that discount!
Elizabeth says
Hi Aveda Tea Lovers! I love that tea, but I didn’t know I could buy it and have it at home! Can you guys tell me what its formal name is and where I can find it? (My Aveda salon doesn’t sell it, as far as I know).
Thanks! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!
Kiala says
I think it’s called the Aveda Comfort Tea and you can probably get it from your friendly neighborhood internet.
Sarah says
linds—that cookie recipe sounds amazing! I love a good ginger cookie, so I can’t wait to give those a try. 😀
Susa says
Kiala thanks for making me laugh on a Sunday before 8 a.m. ! 🙂
Linds the recipe sounds great-thanks for sharing. I will have to make these! I always use just ww flour in my recipes and my kiddo does not seem to mind at all.
Kath says
Tara,
We haven’t canned our own foods, but I could see that being a possibility in the future!
KarenR,
Snow would be fun to play in!
I love the Aveda tea too!! But the price tag got me..
Frannie,
Thanks for your nice comment 🙂
linds ,
I LOVE ginger cookies and definitely saved this recipe. Thanks!
Tara ,
Glad you liked the crackers!! We sprayed our counter with cooking spray – worked like a non-stick charm 🙂 Onion power = 👿 A few of ours got a little too brown too.
Kath