3 on Thursday: My family thinks I'm weird...

What 3 foods do you eat that are weird? What foods do you eat that other people would think are strange?

I think I eat pretty normal foods according to bloggers' standards, but my family thinks I eat the wackiest things and don't eat normal foods like rice. 

What my family thinks is weird...
1. Plain Fage 0% yogurt
2. Goat cheese
3. Canned sardines
4. Lamb


Usually it's more of the combination of foods I eat than the actual food I eat.

What you may think is weird...
4 Jackfruit. I love this stuff.


I also have weird eating habits that you all may find normal. I dip in to the PB jar a lot and I eat the bottom pieces of bags of granola FIRST. I like saving the clusters for later.


Do you and your family have similar eating habits? My friend Sara and her family have a fridge stocked with food I could eat too. My family has strange Asian preserves sometimes.

Back for seconds... and thirds!

Bikram, twice this week! It went much better yesterday though. I thought I was ready for toe stand, but my hips are not. One day I will get back to it...

Today I struggled to drive 25 minutes to barre. I dislike waking up earlier to drive there, but I love the studio. My last barre class wasn't impressive. I gave it another try today and it was pretty good. I had to shower after because I actually broke a good sweat!

Third time & third flavor this week.

I like PB strawberry the most and this one the least. I want a box of the PB strawberry but it's $5.99 at Target. :/ 

Afterwards, I headed to do paperwork for my summer gig. I was greeted by a middle/high school friend who is super friendly and kinda hot. Tastes change. We were always on good terms but if he had been there to interview me, like he was supposed to, I would have died of nervousness. 

I stopped by Wicked 'Wiches. I got That Wich with turkey and avocado. Half for yesterday's dinner and half for today's lunch. It's a basic sandwich but delicious.

Then it was off to work. Three days in a row. I'm glad for a few days off and next Tuesday off (traded)!

Cake batter & fudge Only 8 froyo from CdM Yogurt

 

Night cap. It's a come back!*

*When I first started hanging out with my history family, they would drink at bars that only served beer. I hated beer back then and was glad to have found the Lambic Framboise. I drank it all the time and graduated to other beers, partly because it was expensive and partly because I wanted to try other beer.

What is your favorite beverage? Alcoholic and non-alcoholic? I drink water all the time. My favorite mainstream beer is easily Dos Equis Amber. Sometimes it's not even about the beer, it's about my experiences with the beer. ;)

May Foodie Penpal: Trade Joe's Favorites

Every month, I rip open and devour all the contents of my Foodie Penpal package before I take a picture. I have to backtrack and eventually end up with bad photos. This month I did okay.

I came home after my PM job and found a nicely put together box from Amber of Hungry 4 A Healthy Life. She packaged everything so beautifully in pretty tissue paper! I loved unwrapping each item.

The goods:

• 3 cookie cutters. Sadly, I haven't been baking since moving back. I do need to work on my cut-out cookies.
• 3 fruit leathers shared between me, my dad (visiting), and my little cousin.
• 2 spices. I love the cinnamon sugar one, but I'm not sure what to make with the 21 Seasoning Salute. Any ideas?
• 2 Greens+ bars. I've never tried these. I like the taste of the energy bar. They're calorie-dense, like all bars, so I do what I always do - eat a few bites for a sugar/energy fix. :)
• Maple sugar. New product I believe. When I bake I'll try it out...
• Powerberries. I've purchased these before. Yum.
• Locally made jalapeno popcorn. I love spicy so this was perfect. I devoured this while watching a movie.

These went first!

Amber sent me her favorite Trader Joe's items, which got me to thinking - what are my favorites and what are yours? Off the top of my head:

• Cookie Butter
• Sea Salt & Turbinado Dark Chocolate Almonds
• Astounding Multi-Flavor Joe Joe's Cookies
• Tricolor Quinoa
• Chocolate Croissants
• Bistro Biscuits
• Cat Cookies
• Sunflower Butter

Check out the box I sent to Jessica Is Baking - I even took a quick picture. I thought it was cute. :)

Here are the Foodie Penpals details:
-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
-Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. 

If you’re interested in participating for June, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

WIAW: Couponing & Cravings

Words cannot explain how bloated I've been the last couple of days. :/ Sometimes this happens. It hurts and I just have to deal with a not-so-great body image.

I found and ate some great food though so I'll just take a nap and hope my belly disappears tomorrow.

Check out what I found at Sprouts: Love Grown granola. I finally get to use my coupons!

I love the Nut Thins, but these were on sale and I had a coupon!

Something else on sale: Vega Sport protein bar. The regular price put me off.

I convinced my mom to buy us beignets from Lynda Sandwich to share with my family.

At night, I took time to paint my nails. The nail polish (Wet N Wild's wet cement) was only 99 cents at Walgreens and comes with the coveted flat brush! I didn't apply a top coat as usual.

Today's breakfast was a low carb wrap with hardboiled egg whites (+ a yolk), 1/2 avocado, & lettuce.

I made quinoa with shrimp for lunch and Only 8 froyo from CdM Yogurt to finish (cake batter & chocolate fudge flavors).

My dinner was dismal: just 1/2 container of canned chicken with steamed broc. I added a half order of sweet potato fries from The Veggie Grill.

After deleting MyFitnessPal, I was still hesitant about eating foods I love, primarily frozen yogurt and sweet potato fries. I've been craving them lately and yes, gone crazy over it. Thankfully, the froyo is the Only 8 brand!

Pinteresting Wednesday: Let's just have sangria

 

New nail color idea! ...if I have the colors.

Source: nymag.com via Julie on Pinterest

I love these dip. This one uses potatoes - probably won't make it then.

Source: ohsheglows.com via Julie on Pinterest

Vanilla vanilla bean cake, on the other hand, sounds good especially if it's from Sweetapolita.

Source: sweetapolita.com via Julie on Pinterest

Black bean wrapped up.

Source: theleangreenbean.com via Julie on Pinterest

Modern kitchen with a touch of retro. Is that a microwave or a TV on the 3rd rack?

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Julie on Pinterest

Did you notice - dining room to bedroom?

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Julie on Pinterest

Love the furniture!

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Julie on Pinterest

Outdoor party. Very much hippie.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Julie on Pinterest

Seems like too much work. Let's just have sangria.

Source: treehugger.com via Julie on Pinterest

Sunday hometown adventures

I woke up on time but ended up laying down till too late for Bikram. I had an Amy's Southwestern breakfast burrito (my fave one) over greens.

Dad and I started the morning at the swap meet. Dad used to go all the time and try to get me to wake up early to go with him. It was unsuccessful. Today we just went to walk around.

 

I suggested going to the OC Marketplace on the fairgrounds. Much bigger with new stuff.

Since I missed the farmer's market yesterday, I was glad to see some produce today. I got a bag of small avocados for $2! Perfect for my late lunch/early dinner: chicken wrap with avocado!

Final stop, the Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival in Santa Ana. I love the arts district and wish I could spend more time, except I tired my dad out.

I bought a $5 clutch from Bungalow 360. She had bags and backpacks for $10 and wallets for $5 too. I saw these at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and couldn't believe they were so cheap!

I ate a snack (lite string cheese and cinnamon almonds) and took a quick nap before I headed to work.

After work fro-yo from CDM Yogurt. They have the Only 8 brand in cake batter & coconut! Last time I encountered this brand was in Salvo, NC in the summer of 2010. Great trip out to the coast with my roomie and visiting my friend Drew. Definitely will need to frequent this place.

On the way home, I grabbed a bag of Alexia spicy sweet potato fries with my $1 off coupon. I was craving sweet potato fries yesterday and bought them at Native Foods. Unfortunately, those were not as great as Seabirds Truck. I liked these home-baked ones much more.

Another item I picked up: Luna fiber bar in peanut butter strawberry. I didn't realize this one had PB too! Can't wait to try it.

I downloaded Mockingjay on audiobook. I can't wait to "read" it since I had to return my copy to the library last week. For now, I'm off to watch the crazies on "America's Got Talent."

BIG DEAL Guest Post on Fitnessista & Friday Survey

A guest post published on [BIG DEAL] Fitnessista about the Nia Technique. I wrote about my experiences with NIA as an alternative. It is not part of my typical workout routine but one I dabble in when it's available. I mostly enjoyed the instructors and the vibe. Has anyone tried the NIA technique?

 

Opened this up last night and that was the end of it. Too hoppy = throwaway. :/

Breakfast: 100-cal packet of oats with a banana and chocolate PB.

Lots of snacks: Trader Joe's cinnamon almonds...

And a TJMaxx find: Love Grown's Sweet Cranberry Pecan. The only flavor I hadn't tried. The cherries are tart.

This week's nail color. I was uninspired so my toes are the same sparkly red.

And now for a Friday survey from Ashley!

Coke or Pepsi?

If I ever drink it, I'll have Coke Zero. Otherwise, I avoid sodas unless it's Zevia.

Lemonade or Fruit Punch?

Fresh lemonade!

Caramel Apple or Cotton Candy?

I absolutely love caramel apples. First off, I love apples and then caramel? Whoa.

Butterfinger or Snickers?

Snickers. For some reason I don't like Butterfingers even though they're peanut butter based. Too crunchy.

Pudding and Jell-O?

Pudding is much better.

Turkey or Chicken?

I eat more chicken but prefer the taste of turkey.

American or Provolone Cheese?

American. My favorite is goat cheese though.

Crackers or Cookies?

I like cookies more but am willing to eat more crackers because I don't get addicted.

Pretzels or Chips?

Tortilla chips, especially hint of jalapeno tortilla chips. I had some Cabo blue corn chips with Trader Joe's brand new crab dip! Yum!

 

 

Mexican food or Japanese food?

I find Mexican food so much more versatile. All I can think of with Japanese food is sushi. There's also udon and soba noodles, but I don't eat noodles.

Chinese food or Italian food?

I like pizza a lot. I got my fill of Chinese food growing up.

Pie or Cake?

Cake. Pie is too sweet. The exception is pumpkin pie.

Ice cream or Cookies?

Ice cream! Cookie dough is typically my favorite. I am a bigger sucker for fro-yo especially low-carb PB that I got last night. :)

Pasta or Pizza?

Pizza! I used to love pasta but gave it up years ago. I just had pizza today! Unfortunately, this wasn't very good and that was such a surprise because it's usually delicious at Mother's.

The other part of my dinner: 2 of the 4 buffalo "wings."

Soda or Juice?

I don't drink either very much. I'm more likely to drink a Zevia so I guess soda.

Chocolate Bars or Chocolate Truffles?

Bars. I don't like the soft center of truffles.

Apples or Bananas?

I eat more bananas now because apples are not in season. I'm really picky about how my apples look.

Salad or Soup?

Salads made at home. They're overpriced at restaurants. I never consider soup a real meal.

Cauliflower or Broccoli?

Broccoli is better.

Onion Rings or French Fries?

I love sweet potato fries. Onion rings are too greasy.

Blizzard or McFlurry?

Neither. Blizzard because we have a cool teacher with that name.

Fried or Poached Eggs?

I made tons of poached eggs for Daring Cooks once and love the runny yolks.

Crepes or Pancakes?

Pancakes all the way. Crepes are too eggy and thin.

Hashbrowns or Roasted Potatoes?

I don't eat white potatoes so how about roasted sweet potatoes?

Oatmeal or Cereal?

Oatmeal. Cereals can be too sugary.