Recent Trader Joe’s Favorites

While I maintain a membership to Seattle’s wonderful Central Co-op and do make an effort to shop there for bulk stuff and produce, if I’m honest, most of my grocery shopping goes down at Trader Joe’s.

#basic, I know, but low prices + a bounty of healthy options + compact and easy to navigate = grocery heaven. The Capitol Hill Trader Joe’s parking garage does make me want to shank someone, but that’s not enough of an issue to keep me away.

Here is a little roundup of some recent TJ’s faves.

Hot & Sweet Mustard
Possibly the perfect mustard. A delight on sandwiches, burgers etc. but I also like to use this as salad dressing. Pretty healthy and a little goes a long way.

Mustard Perfection

Mustard Perfection

Jalapeno Stuffed Olives
I like to keep assorted jars of salty shit around to keep life interesting and this is a very satisfying option if you like a little heat. Amazing savory snack or chopped up in salads.

Spicy good times

Spicy good times

Organic Frozen Chopped Spinach
Great to throw into smoothies: spinach flavor is way easier to cover with a little fruit than kale flavor. This is a perfect purchase if you don’t drink smoothies every day and want to avoid a rotting bag of greens situation.

Blend me

Blend me

Spelt Risotto
Kind of a random find but so tasty as a healthy, easy meal. Takes like five minutes to make. Very flavorful with a nice, chewy texture courtesy the spelt.

Yum

Yum

Organic Baked Tofu
I keep this around as easy protein for salads or sandwiches. Short ingredient list. Processed soy is shady but I think tofu eaten once or twice a week is legit as a vegetarian protein source.

I'm much too lazy to bake my own

I’m much too lazy to bake my own

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzels
I don’t buy these often because they encompass a perfect, deadly trifecta of my food weaknesses and I will kill the bag embarrassingly quickly. They are SO GOOD.

Holy shit yes

Holy shit yes

Cool Shit on the Internet

Sup. I’m kinda tired, bloated and pregnant-feeling. Good times!

Definitely making this for my kid someday. I think she'll be impressed.

Definitely making this for my kid someday. I think she’ll be impressed.


But hey, it’s almost Friday. Here is a little roundup of some things that recently caught my eye online:

1. Monochromatic fruit salad (Cup of Jo)
Doesn’t that look pretty? Totally stealing this for a brunch gathering. Maybe I should throw a brunch gathering…

2. Where Seattle chefs go for cheap eats (Eater)
Great, mostly under the radar spots.

3. City guides (Roll with Jen)
Delightful guides to San Francisco, Portland, Victoria B.C. and more.

4. Dresses to wear to summer weddings (The New Potato)
I still have a couple more weddings to go to this summer, you?

5. Tips for hosting overnight guests (Cupcakes and Cashmere)
How to not be a shitty hostess. I definitely need to follow the part about leaving remote control instructions so I don’t have to explain mine to my dad every time he stays with us.

Recipe Roundup

Behold, some recipes I have made and enjoyed lately. Fruit is the theme here, apparently. Pregnancy makes me want sweet things and fruit is allegedly healthier than a “sharing size” bag of peanut butter M&Ms. Blah.

Also there is just so much delicious fruit in season right now and I want to eat it all. Summer in Seattle is the best!

Blueberry Pie (from The New Potato)

Here’s a secret (is it a secret?): fruit pies are a super easy dessert that will impress the shit out of people. You can go with a store bought crust but I went for the glory and made it from scratch, which wasn’t painful at all.

PIE TIME YUM

PIE TIME YUM


This pie was effing tasty. Serve with ice cream. Duh.

Pie friend needed way longer to bake than the recipe calls for; just keep an eye on it. I’d wrap the crust in foil at some point near the end so it doesn’t burn.

PB and J Breakfast Smoothie (adapted from something I saw on former Real Housewife of Atlanta Kim Zolciak Biermann’s Instagram, don’t judge me)

This was hearty, refreshing, and pink. Winner!

Blend:
1 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1 banana, ideally frozen
½ cup berries, fresh or frozen
½ cup ice
½ cup plain or Greek yogurt (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP rolled oats (optional)
2 TBSP peanut butter

Burrata and Stone Fruit Salad

I kinda made this up though there are a lot of different versions floating around the internets. This is great for a BBQ, summer dinner party, or when you need dinner but don’t feel like turning on your oven which for me has been most days of late.

Salad. Let's pretend the blurry effect was intentional and not the byproduct of a greasy iPhone lens.

Salad. Let’s pretend the blurry effect was intentional and not the byproduct of a greasy iPhone lens.


Salad:
Greens (I like arugula)
Sliced stone fruit, whatever’s ripe and delicious
Chopped basil
Sliced heirloom or cherry tomatoes
Burrata, ripped in chunks to a size of your liking

Dressing:
Equal parts lemon juice or champagne vinegar, and olive oil
1 TBSP or so honey or agave nectar
Salt/pepper to taste
You can throw in a splash of OJ if you have that around
A little minced shallot would also be nice

SPEECY SPICY MEATBALL*

*That would be a reference to Small Town Security, one of the greatest reality television shows of our time. It has tragically been cancelled by AMC and if you haven’t ever seen an episode, I send you my condolences, because it was truly amazing. I am Facebook friends with Dennis Starr, one of the show’s characters, a relationship that is pretty much the pinnacle of my social media existence.

Anyway, I made some delicious, healthy meatballs last night and I will now share the recipe, which I concocted on my own. Proud day. I eyeballed all of the amounts; you can’t really screw this up.

Mix together:

  • ½ lb ground meat (I used grass fed organic beef because ground meat is super effing shady)
  • 3 minced garlic cloves
  • Chunk of minced onion
  • Couple handfuls chopped spinach (you could use kale or whatever)
  • An ounce or two of feta
  • An egg
  • 1-2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1-2 TBSP Italian seasoning
  • Salt, pepper

This formed about six 1.5 inch-ish balls, which I then baked at 400 for about 25 minutes on a foil lined pan that I sprayed with TJ’s finest coconut oil spray.

We ate them atop spaghetti squash with marinara. Salad with ranch dressing (it was organic ranch, to be fair) on the side lest this meal become TOO healthy.

Belly

Belly

I took no meatball photos but will leave you with a photo of another ball of sorts: my preggo belly.

What To Do in Vegas When You Can’t Drink

I have some news: I’m 14 weeks and a few days pregnant. Exciting shit! I’ve been feeling pretty good. I was lucky and never experienced morning sickness, so that was awesome. Instead, I’ve been eating enough for about three people so I’ll probably be one of the preggos who gains like 70 lbs.

Aria Is Nice

Aria Is Nice

In tangentially related news, the husband had to go to Vegas for a work thing and I decided to tag along, reasoning that impromptu trips will soon be a relic of the past. And he was staying at the Aria. If it had been Treasure Island or something I would have passed.

Tried Shake Shack. Overrated.

Tried Shake Shack. Overrated.

So what does one do alone in Vegas? When you can’t booze it up? I guess I could have gone to a show (and if Britney wasn’t dark that week I would have seriously considered that one), but I basically walked around, ate, shopped, and sat by the pool. It was pretty delightful. Granted it would have been more delightful with a cocktail in hand, and by the trip’s end I was feeling slightly resentful towards the endless hordes of drunkards dotting the strip, the pool and the casinos, but overall I had a grand time. However I am already plotting a post baby Vegas trip of debauchery that will involve a lot of day drinking. As soon as I lose the 70 lbs….

This (booze free!) concoction cost 15$.

This (booze free!) concoction cost 15$.

Shit Is Bananas

I think I may have a banana obsession. I’ve been mowing through bunches of them every week. There are none in my hanging fruit basket right now and it’s making me mildly anxious. I do have a few frozen though so the situation hasn’t devolved into a Level 3 panic yet.

Bananas really are pretty spectacular though. So creamy! Delightful in a smoothie. Or paired with one of the best foods ever, peanut butter. Quite a dynamic duo, those two. Yeah, I have an issue.

Granola, or vomit? Granola. Delicious granola.

Granola, or vomit? Granola. Delicious granola.

You can also freeze them and then blend them into a (healthier) ice cream type goo that everyone seems to be obsessed with, but I am lazy and hate scraping that shit out of my Vitamix so I usually skip this one.

Bananas also make a really good substitution for sweet/fatty stuff in baked goods, as it turns out. Hence the success of these two recipes. Totally delicious and pretty healthy:

Banana Bread Muffin Tops, Oh She Glows

I added raisins and walnuts in place of the chocolate chips as I am not to be trusted around leftover chocolate.

Banana Nut Granola, Nutrition Stripped

So good and barely any oil/sugar, because of the bananas. Magical! I threw some raisins into this one as well.