First Time at Trader Joe's

I was up until 4:00 a.m. today trying to figure out and organize my blog, so I didn't wake up until 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. My mother woke me up reminding me that I was accompanying her to Trader Joe's, which she's been bugging me about since a year or two ago when my aunt residing in California boasted about her pantry closet full of Speculoos Cookie Butter. 

I got out of bed a couple minutes later and found her in my father's room on the phone with a credit card company. We were trying to get a card which won't charge extra for any foreign transactions since we're leaving for the Philippines in a month.
Gosh I didn't even realize there are only 30 more days and we're off to the land where I was born and spent the first 10 years of my life in. After 9.25 years I finally get to rediscover and relive what I think were the most amazing 10 years of my life - talk about living in the past… (but that'll be another post…).

I took my puppy Gizmo out for a potty break, got back inside to change clothes, brushed my teeth and did my hair (which was a hassle because I'm at that stage where my hair can neither be classified as long nor short), and, almost forgetting the most important meal of the day, made myself a breakfast smoothie.

I'm trying to lose weight so that I'll look like I was from the States when I go back to the Philippines (okay not really, but kinda really), so I've been "working out" and trying all different kinds of diets. One of my diets include drinking smoothies made from different types of fruits and vegetables. It's really helpful that my father bought me a Nutribullet a year ago, because it's easier to clean than those huge blenders. Plus, I can just whip up something anytime. 

This morning my fruit smoothie breakfast contained:

• Pineapple
• Melon
• Raspberries
• Banana
• Grapes

I just whipped something up really quickly because everyone suddenly was ready to leave and I still haven't had my breakfast. We also didn't have that many fruits left, hence why we were going to Trader Joe's. We were really only going to Kroger to buy me my fruits, but I've also been wanting to buy our pantry closet it's well deserved share of the Speculoos Cookie Butter. So off we went.

I was amazed at Trader Joe's. Maybe it was because it was my first time at the store and because everyone's been talking about it and their famed cookie butter, but man we stayed there for a couple hours even though the store isn't very big. There were only about 4 to 5 aisles in the store: The produce and bakery section on one aisle with a little eatery at the back, a frozen foods section, an aisle for where all your breakfast, sauce, and seasoning needs are, and a dairy and meats section which also included the chips and the winery section in one aisle. I probably missed another one, but what I thought was a trip to only get myself some fruits and the Speculoos Cookie Butter became a couple hour venture. 

At the end of the day, we only spent $100.18 and I was so content because my mother, my sister and I bought so many food items (and a cute tote that we could bring and use to the beach(: ) with the knowledge that these are of great quality - and for only $100.18. At Kroger I would've spent $75.00 on fewer than 10 items. 

I only found out later by my father that Trader Joe's was supposed to offer cheap prices. No wonder!

So a few of the things be bought were:

• Fruits
• Melon
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Pears
• Blueberries
• Pineapple (Kroger)
• Strawberries (Kroger)
• Bananas (Kroger)
• Coconut Milk
• Mint Leaves
• Veggie Chips
• Pita Chips
• Goat Cheese and Isle of the Man(?) Cheese
• Speculoos Cookie Butter(s)
• Sourdough Multi Grain Bread
• Turkey Breasts
• Lettuce (Kroger)
• Special K Cereal (Kroger)

I'm pretty sure we bought more things. This list consisted most of what I bought for myself… hehe… 

We also stopped by Old Navy because they have cheap bathing suits and I'm in dire need of a couple pair. I didn't get to buy one though. It's really not a good idea to buy anything while you're still in the process of losing weight. I hope the clothes I bought during the Memorial Day sale don't go to waste and would still fit me. Well at least I'm being positive about losing weight(:

For dinner the mother and myself prepared pita tacos. For meat we used chicken and ground beef. We bought a taco seasoning for the ground beef. I'm being a health food junky at the moment and I usually wouldn't approve. You can always substitute spices and we actually have the spices needed at home. We were in a hurry though because my father was due to come home from work.

I also prepared a healthy smoothie for the sister and myself. I should probably name my smoothies, but I just randomly put different fruits and veggies together randomly. I always surprise myself with the taste and I haven't come across anything bad yet. I guess I'm still a newbie but you can try the smoothie I tried if you want. I have to warn though that this smoothie turns jello-like if left for long, so try to consume it right as it comes out of your Nutribullet or blender. I'm not sure if it's because of the coconut milk or the flax seeds.

• Spinach
• Coconut Milk
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Banana
• Pineapples
• 5 tbsp Flax Seeds

I think the flavors kinda meshed together. A couple of days ago, I've omitted banana from my smoothies and they're so much better. Bananas have these strong flavor. Let's try something new tomorrow and stick with something that will complement each other(: