Grocery shopping therapy.

First off, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who commented or just allowed me to vent on my last post. I really appreciate the support :) I figured out a way to cheer myself up, because today was GROCERY DAY!!!

Kara's Grocery Trip
TRADER JOE'S:

• Canned garbonzo beans
• (3) Lara Bars
• Some daffodils (I decided to treat myself and liven up my desk)
• Baby spinach
• (3) bananas

GIANT:

• (2) Portobella mushroom caps
• Lite firm tofu
• (3) Fuji apples
• Scallions
• Tomato
• Brussels sprouts
• Sweet potato
• Avocado
• Vanilla ice cream
• Decaf English breakfast tea*
• Cinnamon Raisin Swirl PB(!!!)
• Kashi U Cereal
• Annie's Whole wheat and white cheddar shells
• Eggs
• (4) Chobani
• Kashi 7 grain rice pilaf*
• Blueberries

*on sale

Not everything is in the photo because one of my roommates was in the kitchen so I started to put some stuff away so I didn't look like a weirdo (my roommates don't know about the blog). I was surprised that I bought so little. Usually I have much bigger shopping trips. I do have a lot of things already that I need to use up, so I guess I was just keeping those things in mind.

And look at these gorgeous daffodils!! They've already started opening up since I got them home.

In between breakfast and lunch I had an apple and a Cashew Cookie Lara Bar, which is my favorite so far. I also got a tall soy Chai because I was exhausted.

I am TRYING to stay away from caffeine as much as possible, but I really wanted some this morning.

Lunch was a salad of baby spinach, baby carrots, cukes, blueberries, feta, and balsamic vinaigrette.

AND a half sandwich of just whole grain bread and CINNAMON RAISIN PEANUT BUTTER.

I have been holding myself back from buying any more nut butter until I use some up (I now have 4 open jars...) but I can only resist for so long. And it was so worth it. I didn't get any raisins in this one, but it was delicious and had great texture. Also has less calories than regular peanut butter. Hmmmm.

Blog news:
Be sure to check out julie golean's giveaway of some of her favorite things! I love her blog and I think this giveaway is awesome!

I need to get some things together for my evening class at 4pm. It's my least favorite class, but I'll probably bring my computer with me and occupy myself. Shhhh :) Have a good rest of your day!

Grillin' and bakin'.

Once again, I think that I was pretty productive today. I am amazing myself at how focused I've been, but still giving myself time to do things that I enjoy :)

Like I said, I REALLY wanted to try out the Griddler tonight. Unfortunately, I don't really have any grillables. I settled for making the pan-fried tofu and grilling some zucchini to throw in.

I served it on top of the Thai Pilaf from TJ's which was made with lime and coconut milk. Yum. This dish had so many fun flavors in it. I love the spiciness and the lime together :)

Also served with TJ's Naan, from the frozen section, with some Smart Balance. Also: yummm.

After dinner I needed a little chocolate boost, and I really didn't drink much of my cocoa earlier so I got into a few dark chocolate kisses.

But here comes the best part. In an attempt to win over my oven after my failed AB, I decided to attempt making cupcakes based on this recipe. I used Dark Chocolate Dreams instead of Nutella, though.

Here's the batter. It was more like a muffin or quick bread:

Batter topped with PB:

Swirled it in:

20 minutes later:

Annnd of course I ate one :) Here's what it looks like inside:

Very good. I feel kinda guilty, like I canceled out my good workout that I had earlier, but I need to just be ok with it and realize that my HC buds are going to be some happy campers when I show up with these bad boys.

Alrighty, time to wind down. If I don't I'll be wired all night!

Beat the snow!

Alrighty. I beat the snow. I didn't realize that we are supposed to be getting over 6", so it would be nice if classes are canceled tomorrow :)

I went over to the Potomac Adventist Book and Health Food Store (finally!), but I didn't actually end up buying anything. I felt a little overwhelmed by the crowd of people and I like to have the chance to slow down and browse. Plus I didn't really need much that they had. Another time, especially if I keep seeing it on Foods That Fit. I did go to TJ's though, and picked up some odds and ends that I knew that I could get cheap there.

I picked up a few bars that I've been wanting to try. And of course I ate one as a snack on the way home :)

The LaraBar Cashew Cookie bar was my first experience with LaraBars. I've been seeing them forever, but I always thought they seemed pricey or too good to be true. I caved after reading about how much everyone loves them, though. And it was really good. Very soft with a nice cashew flavor. I seriously can't believe that it's just cashews and dates. Makes me wonder if I could make them...

When I got home, a little voice kept telling me to eat vegetables, but I really wanted to have something warm and sweet.

Whole wheat english muffin with Peanut Butter and Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams, 1/2 banana and a kiwi on the side. I'll have some veggies later :)

Time to tackle the rest of my chores!

360 degrees.

I feel like I got so much done already today! I exchanged a dress and got some shopping done at Target, plus went to class, worked out, and did yoga. Complete opposite of yesterday.

In there I squeezed in lunch. That was in a hurry because I was sort of running late for class, so I just re-heated some of the left over Greek Couscous that I made before.

I also got some of those Vanilla Bean Almonds in before yoga. Seriously: so good. And nothing crazy or artificial (didn't have time to take a photo).

Currently eating some plain yogurt mixed with TJ's chunky spiced apples. Not the most beautiful food, but it's good!

In my head, I have so many things that I want to do for the rest of the day. I really want to ride this wave of energy while it lasts!

Stats: 20 min eliptical, 20 min treadmill, 60 min yoga