the love of new things
I went shopping yesterday and about 1/2 or more of the food I bought I have never bought or tried before in my life! It was exciting. I was a bit overwhelmed at the grocery store trying to find the right things and not pick the wrong things. I took deep breaths and realized I didn't have to get it perfect and that any changes I make are in the right direction. I was also really worried I was going to spend WAY too much money, I had a number in my head that I thought it would add up to and as I kept throwing things in the cart I began to get worried. When I finished checking out I was INCREDIBLY surprised to find that it was 1/2 as much as I thought it would be! I was thrilled!!
Here are some of the new foods I picked up!
Here is a list of all the foods I've never tried or purchased before:
Sprouted Bread
Cous Cous
White Beans
Black Eyed Peas
Long Grin Brown Rice
Basmati Rice
Coconut
Barley
Avocado
Almond Milk
Raw Almonds
Whole Wheat Pitas
Red Pears
Rolled Oats
Whole Wheat Pasta
Greek Yogurt ( holy crap this stuff is AMAZING)
There may be much more, but that is all I can think of right now. I wasn't able to find ALOT of the things I was looking for at the local grocery store. I was a little bummed because I didn't want to make a special trip down town (30 min away).
After shopping Dave and I both went to the gym and got in a sweaty workout. I can't tell you HOW GOOD I FELT. SO SO GOOD! I took my Little Booky
Elliptical: 35 Minutes (Dave didn't want to stay an an entire hour)
Abs (Whiddle Middle) :10 minutes
Arms: 2 sets of 12 triceps dips
My arms were burning by the end! The ab workout totally works your arms too, which is great…I love two in ones!!
After the gym we walked to the grocery store that is connected to the gym and we passed by a store that intrigued me. On the way out of the grocery store we decided to stop in the store. It was a health store, with ALL THE FOODS I EVER NEEDED IN IT! It had every single thing on my list! I was SO SO SO HAPPY! I went to town. We spent a lot of money, but i got a lot of things that will last me a very long time. I have never tried all most all of these things.
Take a look…
I asked so many questions while I was at the health food store. The lady really helped me a lot. Before I left I asked her if they ever do any informational classes. She told me the did not do any classes, but the owner of the store does free nutritional counseling! WHAT!! FREE? Yes that is right. I gave the lady my name and number and with in 30 minutes of leaving the sore, she called! I wasn't able to pick up the phone..(cus It was lost at the time), but I am going to give her a call this morning! HOW EXCITING!!
As soon as I got home, I opened all of my new products and gave each one a taste. I have been reading for months about all of these products, so you can imagine my excitement to try them!
Want a review? You're getting one!
Agave: This is so yummy. I love this stuff. I can't believe I never knew it existed! It is so much better than honey or any other sweetener for that matter!!
Brown Rice Syrup: This had an odd taste by itself. It was sweet but kinda weird. I can see this tasting really good when cooking or mixing it with something else.
Flax Seed: I had to get quite a few in my mouth to really taste them. Have you ever picked a piece of grass and bitten on the white at the bottom? That is what flax seeds taste like to me…I Like them!
Chia Seed: I don't think these really have a taste (which is great because you can add them to anything!)
Chunky Almond Butter: I never liked chunky peanut butter, but this rocks! I had a slice of bread with a bit of almond butter and a drizzle of agave…oh my it was so good!
Coconut Oil: I think this might be my favorite. It smells and even tastes so good! I rubbed in on my arms and dave rubbed it on his elbows (He has irritation on his elbows) we want to see if it helps! I can't wait to use this stuff!
Sunflower Seeds: I have had these before, and I love them. I am going to use them in my granola bars and many other things!
Rice Chips: Long ago when Dave and I first started dating he used to eat these. I remember how much I LOVED them, but have not had them since then. We tore these open as soon as we got home. Yum these are goooouuud!
Almond Milk: I didn't get to use the almond milk yet, but I'll let ya know what I think
Peppermint Oil: Dave picked up some peppermint oil. Someone at his works rubs a bit of this on their fan and it fills the room with peppermint smells. He went to town on my car air vents and different places throughout the house. I LOVE the smell of peppermint…(but I do not like the taste!)
I was seriously so happy and excited last night. I LOVED all of my new purchases and I can't wait to use them all! I felt so great about what I had found and the HUGE change I had made to our grocery items! I was also so excited because last night I made my first Cous Cous! It was tasty tasty! I even took a picture of it cus I was so proud of myself (not that its hard at all) but I was just super excited!!
Since I had never made it before I didn't really know what it would taste like or what to do with it. I grilled up some mushrooms and red peppers and then stuffed the pitas with the veggies, cous cous and then topped it off with some sauce. It was great! I was seriously glowing because I was so proud of myself, just all together for trying. ha! Dave was laughing at me because I was basically skipping around the house because I was so excited!
Ok so now its time that I call on you for help. I need YOUR recipes. You kinda have an idea of what I have on hand (I have a bunch of other stuff I didn't take pictures of too, so don't worry) I'll also be getting more this weekend. So from the bottom of my heart, I'm asking you to leave me a comment with your favorite (Easy…i'm just a beginner) recipe? I'd love to get your best of best recipe/s and give them a whirl! I am trying to get Dave on board with everything and he is being SO WONDERFUL, but I know if I keep giving him yummy food, he will start to enjoy foods that are better for him and as we change certain things, it will be easier for him. I need your help! I am going to look around today and try and find some recipes, but I think the best ones will come from you! So, think about your favorite recipe, then leave me a comment with it! Thank you thank you! I can't wait to get them!!
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Cindy on 2009.11.19
I am SO FLIPPIN PROUD of you chickie! WAY TO GO!
go to my recipes tab and there my fav's as of late.
you got the fixin's for some smoothies too…bananas, avos and greens. Did you get some fresh spinach? You need to get on the green smoothie train.
what appliances do you have? A blender? a food processor? those two will come in handy…a rice steamer? a mini one works wonders for some rices and cereal grains.
NICE NICE JOB
Cindy´s last blog ..The Nothing
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is on 2009.11.19
You've never had avocado?! Or whole wheat pasta?! Ohmigosh! This was a very productive trip.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is´s last blog ..It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas.
katherine on 2009.11.19
Congrats on all the awesome grocery store finds and I can't wait to hear all about the FREE nutritional counselor – so cool!
My favorite easy recipes usually include basic stir frys or sautes. You could chop a pepper or two, saute it with coconut oil or olive oil. Toss in some onion, tofu and broccoli, two spoonfuls of almond butter (crunchy works just as well as smooth) and a packet of soy sauce with a splash of water to create an almond sauce. A few dashes of tobasco or sriracha (if you have it) will make a nice Asian-inspired stir fry. You could serve it over rice, pasta or soba noodles.
Enjoy!
katherine´s last blog ..Roasty Toasty
Tasha - The Clean Eating Mama on 2009.11.19
All of your groceries look great! Congrats on your first shopping trip to stock up your very own kitchen!
PS – I wrote a post last night about donating to the homeless that I thought you would enjoy reading
Tasha – The Clean Eating Mama´s last blog ..Stuff the Truck – feed the hungry!
Natalie on 2009.11.19
Yes I bought spinache, yes I have a blender, food processor and rice maker! I just never use them (besides the blender). Ha! I’m so excited to use all my stuff!! I will go to your recipe page and be a-printing!
Natalie on 2009.11.19
Hey jess. I have had an avocado, just never bought one. I don’t like them too much..so I thought I could add them to foods that I do like and enjoy them. I have had whole wheat pasta, just never bought it either!! Lol!!
janetha on 2009.11.19
WOW you sure got a lot of great stuff! where is this health food store and what is it called? i am in awe that you have never tried avocado, ww pasta, or greek yogurt! yummm. and almond milk is all i drink. it is the best! sunflower market has the big jugs of it for cheap. as does the smiths marketplace in bountiful. i tried a red pear for my first time last weekend.. i gotta say they were good but i like my bartlets better! have a great day nat!
janetha´s last blog ..slow cooking.
Betty on 2009.11.19
Yay!! How exciting! I recently started trying new things too. I have to saw the Almond Milk is the best!!! I make Green Monsters almost every morning.
Betty´s last blog ..Persistence
Desiree on 2009.11.19
Hi Natalie! I recently came across your blog and now check it on a daily basis. I tried your recipe for the green monster last week and loved it! Couscous is one of my favorites. I received an amazing recipe from a classmate in nursing school and get requests for it all the time. It has black beans in it, so thought you might like it. Here's the link to the recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Bean-and-Couscous-Salad/Detail.aspx
I got so tired of squeezing them.
You can change how many servings you want on the website to fit your crowd. I ALWAYS at least double the sauce recipe and then add salt and pepper to taste at the end. I also end up adding more cumin at the end but be careful – you can add too much.
Chicken – we cut chicken breast up and marinate them in fresh lime juice, red wine vinegar and oregano. Marinate as long as you want, then grill. You can keep it vegetarian by omitting the chicken and using vegetable stock.
DO NOT BUY LIME JUICE. It can be a pain in the booty but buy fresh limes and use the juice. We actually bought a lime juicer tool for this recipe
ENJOY! P.S. Be sure to rinse the black beans or else your cous cous will look very dirty.
Hope you have a great day!
-Desiree
Stephanie on 2009.11.19
Looks like you got some great stuff girl!! I adore basmati rice…. we use it all the time for everything! I have a really easy but absolutely delicious recipe for black beans w/ coconut rice that The Man and I just adore (as do my parents, they request it all the time
) — added bonus, easiest recipe EVAH!
http://cookinfanatic.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/coco-nutty/
You can add any spices you like to the beans to make 'em hot as you like too!
Hope you're having a great week
Stephanie´s last blog ..On the highway to food coma city…
Evan Thomas on 2009.11.19
Glad to hear you liked greek yogurt! I feel like it's a dessert sometimes
I've never had sprouted bread, I hope you like it and mention how it is.
My favorite easy recipe, hmmm, for dessert I'd say http://foodmakesfunfuel.com/recipes/moist-moist-pumpkin-bread or for meals I'd say http://foodmakesfunfuel.com/recipes/poppin-popovers. You really can't get easier than 4 ingredient popovers!
Evan Thomas´s last blog ..What Makes A Good Day?
Bernadette on 2009.11.19
Good job on the shopping! How fun!
Just remember, in order for the flax seeds to do any good they need to be ground up… otherwise they will pass right through without giving you any benefit…
xoxo
Julia on 2009.11.19
Couscous is one of my favorites! You can find some couscous-recipes on my blog, try them! Let me know if you need any advice:)
http://julialivingfree.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/just-some-eats/
and
http://julialivingfree.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/17/
xxx Julia (Taste of Living)
Julia´s last blog ..Chicken in autumn
Mellissa on 2009.11.19
Good job trying all this new food!
Mellissa´s last blog ..40 Green Chefs under 40
Riss on 2009.11.19
You are just too cute!! So excited about all your health food goodies, and I can't wait to see how you're going to use them!!
Riss´s last blog ..Eclectic Bowl x 2
Katherine on 2009.11.19
YAY! SO happy for you and your new change. It's kind of exciting, isn't it? It's exciting for me when I try something new too. Like squash. That post is coming. I really like my granola bar recipe which uses brown rice syrup and makes it taste WONDERFUL. Seriously. It's a must try. And you can alter it to your own tastes too. It's on my blog. Looking forward to hearing about your new meals!
Katherine´s last blog ..Make Your Own Granola Bars
Kelly on 2009.11.21
Yay! Trying new foods is so exciting. The cous cous pita pockets look great!
Kelly´s last blog ..Aunt Irma & PMS Escape