. thinking out loud #32 .

by Amanda @ .running with spoons. on May 23, 2013

1. I have some pretty expensive foodie habits, with these Barefruit apple chips being one of those…

Barefruit Apple Chips
Apple Chips

So imagine my absolute glee when I came across them at Winners (Canadian equivalent of TJMaxx) the other day a really good price. I may or may not have gone a little overboard in stocking up, but hey… it was all in the name of saving money.

Stocked Up Apple Chips

Now if only I could cut back on my snacking habit. Notice how 4 of the bags are already empty? Crack, people… crack.

2. Another fantastic find that I’m pretty sure made me squeak with excitement? This iPhone cover…

Panda Phone Case

I have a huge weakness for anything and everything cute and/or cuddly, so you better believe I was all over this. It’s a little cumbersome, but so cute that I’ll make it work if it kills me, especially because it goes so well with my lucky panda keychain… which was completely unplanned.

Panda Key Chain
We Have Cookies

3. Also unplanned? A mid week trip to the mall.

Shopping Haul

Infinity scarf – Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Touchable hairspray – OPI I Theadora You – Philosophy Vitamin C powder – Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Tipsy

Oh wow. So I know this is starting to look a little bad, but I promise I’m not a shopaholic (denial?). Food and beauty items just happen to be my weakness… along with cute accessories. We all have our things. I don’t go out to eat/drink much, and very rarely buy new clothes, so this is where most of my spending money goes.

4. If only my allergies would follow suit and disappear just as easily. As much as I love this time of the year, it’s pretty much a nightmare when it comes to my allergies. Actually, I shouldn’t even say that – my allergies haven’t been bad ever since I cleaned up my diet, so I only really suffer from puffy eyes and an occasional sneeze, but seeing this when I touch pretty much any flat surface in my home kind of freaks me out nonetheless…

Pollen

Nothing like a nice coat of pollen to spruce up your interior decor. Needless to say, I’ll be keeping my windows closed for a little while.

5. Does anyone else find that the longer they sit still, the more tired they become? I swear… I end up feeling way more exhausted after a day of sitting at the computer than I do after a day of running around taking care of errands. I have no idea why that is – it’s just another one of those inexplicable mysteries of life – kind of like how one sock always managed to vanish between the dryer and my bedroom…

6. Does anyone remember this dying breed?

Payphone

The ever-endangered pay phone. Kudos if you remember them, and bonus points if you have memories of scrambling for change at 3 AM so that you could use one. Oh! And do you remember counting the rings and trying to time it so that you could hang up before it went to voicemail and ate your quarter? Good times.

7. And while we’re reminiscing… who remembers these guys?

Mr Sketch Markers

I was looking for staples (??) the other day when I came across my old Mr. Sketch markers. The best part? They still smell. Does anyone remember fighting for the best smelling ones in school? The red, or pink, or baby blue ones? And what the heck is up with the black one? I know it’s supposed to smell like black liquorice, but dang… it stinks.

8. I couldn’t think of a song to share with you guys this week, so I hit shuffle on my iPod and this is the first song that popped up.

Yes… I have very strange and eclectic taste in music.

9. But at least I’m not crazy enough to count the calories in my dog’s diet…

Low Calorie Dog Snacks

Hey, hey! Less than 10 calories per treat! Is this like a dog’s version of our 100-calorie snack packs? Because if it is, I can’t imagine it tastes any good. But I digress. I realize that being overweight is just as bad for animals as it is for us, but calories? Really?!? Do people actually know how many calories their pets should be eating? Can you calculate your dog’s BMR or your cat’s burn rate? This is just taking calorie-counting to a whole new level.

10. Did you know… that 0% yogurt is a lot more sour than 2%?

Low Fat Oikos

I had to make an emergency grocery run to pick up some yogurt after work the other day, and they were all out of plain 2% so I grabbed a tub of 0% to tide me over. It does the job, but dang… All I can say is thank goodness I’m over my -everything-has-to-be-fat-free-phase.

Happy Thursday, friends!

. – . – . – .

What are some of your more expensive foodie splurges? Kombucha and almond butter are a few of mine.
What kind of iPhone cover do you have?
What do you spend most of your money on? Food? Clothes? Shoes? Makeup? Collectible action figures?
Do you suffer from allergies around this time of year?

{ 83 comments }

. WIAW … from the depths of the pantry .

by Amanda @ .running with spoons. on May 22, 2013

Blogging has been good to me.

Friendship. Inspiration. Motivation. Creativity. It’s gotten to a point where it’s hard to imagine my life without it. Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad; and the bad in this case is the fact that blogging has also left me with a pantry that’s become not only cluttered, but cluttered with foods that I’m not quite sure what to do with.

Pantry Grains

Millet – Amaranth – Polenta – Bulgur

Pantry Cereals

Quinoa flakes – Brown rice flakes – Mighty tasty hot cereal – 7 grain hot cereal

Pantry Flours

Garbanzo flour – Coconut flour – Carob powder

Pantry Nuts

Almonds – Barney Butter – Sunbutter – Chia seeds – Hemp seeds – Vega  smoothie mix

We’ve all been there, right? We see something splashed across the pages of the blog world and then rush out to buy it only to discover that we’re not really all that crazy about it? And there are like 823.9 servings in the bag? Yeah. I’m looking at you, chia seeds *stank eye* So our unfortunate purchase sits forgotten, getting pushed to the back of our pantry while we continue to stock up on more misses, until we eventually find ourselves waist deep in “what-the-heck-do-I-do-with-this”…

Amaranth

I bought that bag of amaranth over 6 months ago and haven’t even opened it yet. I don’t know if I like amaranth or not… all I know is that I heard great things about it (typical) so I picked up a bag only to spend some more time thinking about it and coming to the conclusion that… I’m not sure if I’d like the texture – the individual grains are so tiny! But see, I remember thinking the same thing about steel cut oats before I finally tried them, and they’re now my favorite variety…

Steel Cut Oats

But we’ll address amaranth later. I guess I’m just afraid of not liking something and forcing myself to eat it anyways; but really… who would actually enjoy that? I’ve choked down all manner of nasties in the name of health and I’d really prefer not to do it anymore… But you gotta do what you gotta do, and I gotta spring clean my pantry. Since the garbage bin isn’t really an option and I can only pawn off so much of my “new age rabbit food” onto my parents (they’re old-fashioned “meat and potatoes” kind of Europeans), I need to come up with tasty alternatives. So that’s what I’ve been doing…

WIAW

Normally, I don’t like to mess with breakfast. It’s my favorite meal, a lot is riding on it. I mean, why risk starting out the day on a sour note? Because we’re a clean freak on a mission…

Oats and Quinoa

A combination of quick oats and quinoa flakes to make eggy banana oats, topped with homemade applesauce, roasted almond butter, and cinnamon.

I’ll admit to only going 50% on this one – 50% oats and 50% quinoa flakes. Verdict? What quinoa flakes? I honestly couldn’t even tell they were in there. Maybe this won’t be so painful after all. But really, with the right toppings, anything becomes edible.

Snack time. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not the biggest fan of eating nuts on their own – too dry and unsatisfying. Solution? Combine them with tastier things like dates, oats, and chocolate…

Cookie Dough Bites

Chocolate chip cookie dough bites.

And yes, chocolate is completely acceptable at 9:30 AM. Acceptable and highly recommended. Bonus points for being able to sneak it in to lunch, too…

Vega Shake

Into the blender: 1 cup milk, ½ banana, 1 serving Vega choc-a-lot smoothie mix, 1 Tbsp. coconut flour, 1 Tbsp. cocoa, 1 Tbsp. almond butter.

I’ve stopped relying on protein/supplement powders in my daily diet, but I still have a decent collection of them left over from back in the day, and I’ve been trying to sneak them in here and there in an effort to get rid of them. Shakes are a perfect way to do that, in addition to being a great opportunity to get rid of some unloved almond butter…

Barney Butter, I don’t like you – you taste and feel like plastic. You don’t hold a candle to my beloved Maisie Jane’s, and it pains me to realize that I still have a full jar of you sitting in my pantry.

Barney Butter

Stank eye, Barney Butter… stank eye.

But a spoonful of sugar blueberry jam makes the medicine Barney Butter go down…

ABJ Toast

As does chasing it with my beloved coffee…

Foamy Cappuccino

Dry cappuccino.

Dinners are tricky. Mostly because I’m pretty tired when I get home from work and not really willing to get all that creative with my meals. All I can say is thank goodness for leftovers and pre-cooked batches of grains…

Italian Stuffed Chicken

I always forget how much I love bulgur – it has a wonderfully chewy texture accompanied by a wonderfully nutty taste. I paired it with an Italian stuffed chicken breast that I made on the weekend and some steamed green beans covered with a simple alfredo sauce. Delicious. Well, aside from the fact that the beans were a little freezer burnt… but I guess that’s to be expected when you keep them buried in the depths of the freezer for a few months too many. Ahh well… again, nothing a healthy helping of toppings can’t fix.

Last but not least, I’ve been ending my days with a big bowl of mixed cereal and milk…

Nightly Cereal

Kashi Honey Sunshine – Kashi Flakes & Berries – Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls.

My cereal collection is getting a little out of hand… I currently have something like 8 open boxes in my pantry, and while I go through my favorites like nobody’s business, the ones I don’t care for end up sitting around and going stale. I’ve been picking away at them slowly but surely, and while they’re not as good as my beloved Cinnamon Harvest or Puffins, cereal is still cereal (read: I can’t complain).

And that, my good friends, is a little glimpse into my pantry cleanup what I’ve been eating lately. Now head on over to Jenn’s to see some more delicious eats, and I’ll see you again tomorrow!

. – . – . – .

What are some blog world inspired misses for you? I have quite a few, but I’m happy to no longer be investing in all of the crazy expensive superfoods and powders I used to buy :shock:
What’s one thing sitting in your pantry right now that you don’t know what to do with?
Have you tried bulgur or any of the less popular grains like amaranth, millet, buckwheat, etc?

{ 101 comments }

. you won’t find happiness in a smaller pair of jeans .

May 20, 2013
Thumbnail image for . you won’t find happiness in a smaller pair of jeans .

Let’s talk about people. Or, more specifically, people’s weight. When you meet someone, what’s the first thought that pops into your head? There are probably a good handful of them, but I’m willing to bet with a reasonable amount of certainty that none of them are along the lines of: “Ahhh, now there’s a nice [...]

91 comments Read the full article →

. photo an hour – 5/18 .

May 19, 2013
Thumbnail image for . photo an hour – 5/18 .

6 AM… Morning tea. Yes, I wake up ridiculously early, even on weekends. 7 AM… It’s almond butter jelly time! Aka: breakfast. 8 AM… Lazy Saturday morning. Pink PJs [equals] love. 9 AM… Time to get to work. 10 AM… Breaking for a snack. 11 AM… Soaking up some vitamin D. 12 PM… Finding uses for spotty bananas. 1 PM… Putting my [...]

66 comments Read the full article →

. thinking out loud #31 .

May 16, 2013
Thumbnail image for . thinking out loud #31 .

What does it say about me when my favorite posts to write are those that come in random bullet form? Thursday, you’re a godsend. 1. Relationships are all about compromise, so this morning… I compromised… Plain Greek yogurt, eggy banana oats, Kashi cinnamon Harvest, homemade applesauce, and almond butter. I couldn’t decide between cereal or [...]

93 comments Read the full article →

. WIAW … it’s nice not to care .

May 15, 2013
Thumbnail image for . WIAW … it’s nice not to care .

Confession: I did it again… … I played with your heart, got lost in the game. Oh baby, baby. Oops you think I’m in… err… sorry, but sometimes I miss that song. And I can’t believe I just admitted to listening to Britney Spears in my younger years. I wasn’t a huge fan of hers or anything, [...]

94 comments Read the full article →

. i cheated on cereal .

May 14, 2013
Thumbnail image for . i cheated on cereal .

You are looking at the face of a guilty woman… I cheated. On cereal. I cheated on cereal. But I can explain! Maybe. Ever since I came back to the blog world after my year-long hiatus, there have only been a handful of instances where I’ve had something other than cereal for breakfast, and most of [...]

95 comments Read the full article →

. opening pandora’s box .

May 13, 2013
Thumbnail image for . opening pandora’s box .

Intros are hard. I’ve already spent something like 20 minutes trying to come up with an intro to this post, and I’m no closer now than I was when I started. Well, that’s only partially true. The truth is that I spent about 20 seconds trying to come up with an intro before getting distracted [...]

76 comments Read the full article →

. let kids be kids .

May 10, 2013
Thumbnail image for . let kids be kids .

Blogging inspiration can come from the most random places and at the most random times. While browsing the net. While sitting in rush hour traffic [and going out of my mind]. While washing my hair (this one is the most annoying). And, most recently, while standing in line at the gas station. So there I [...]

127 comments Read the full article →

. thinking out loud #30 .

May 9, 2013
Thumbnail image for . thinking out loud #30 .

Aaaaaaaand GO! 1. I can’t even begin to thank you guys for all of the sweet comments you left on my last post. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to look back and realize how far you’ve come, especially when you pair that with reading the success stories of others. Don’t laugh, but I’ve got [...]

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
104 comments Read the full article →