November 29, 2016

Trader Joe's haul

Well, I'm still physically sick with a cold, but I feel a lot better about the vegan challenge, so I'm in a more positive place mentally (and not as crabby!).

Jerry was off work yesterday, and after we took the kids to school, we decided to go to Trader Joe's. I really wanted to get some of their black bean and corn enchiladas. I bought some the last time I went, and loved them! They also happen to be vegan. I had been feeling so frustrated about not having anything quick and easy to eat, so I just wanted to get some convenience items. I know that prepared foods aren't exactly the healthiest choices, but if I'm going to stick to this challenge through the end of December, I need the convenient option once in a while.

Here are the vegan items I picked up at Trader Joe's:


Last year for Christmas, I made an amazing apple cinnamon roll bake for breakfast, and it uses canned cinnamon rolls. I was thrilled to see that I can try making a vegan version of it this year, because Trader Joe's has vegan cinnamon rolls. The other stuff is just to give me some options throughout the month when I need something easy and convenient, so that I don't get frustrated with the whole challenge.

After Trader Joe's, we went to REI. Neither of us had ever been to one before, but I knew it was some sort of sporting good store, so I was curious to check it out. Holy cow, it is such a great store!! There are SO many things for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, which made me wish I was a hiker. But there were also things for runners that I'd never seen in a store before (like a Camelbak--I'd only ever seen those online). I didn't buy anything, but my mental wish list is about a mile long now ;)

As I said on my last post, I headed out for a run when I finished writing it. It didn't go very well! My cold made it feel hard to breathe, and my energy was still zapped, so I ended up just running a lone mile that day. Yesterday, I rested. Today, I'm still feeling sick, but my energy is coming back.

Since I've been resting so much lately, I decided to try running again today. I couldn't believe how nice the weather was!


For being the end of November, I'm shocked that it's been so warm here. I took it very easy on the run (keeping my heart rate under 146 bpm) and my pace was extra slow today, but I was able to do three miles and I felt like I probably could do three more. It felt really good to get some exercise!

I haven't been doing a very good job with the whole MAF experiment. All of my running has been at my MAF heart rate, but I know I'm not doing enough mileage to make a difference. I'm going to try and pick it up now that my energy is getting back to normal.


My friend Dean (a blog reader and Ragnar SoCal teammate) is an ambassador for the Glass City Marathon/Half Marathon/Relay, and he's giving away two free entries to the races. Dean is running the full marathon, and I'm running the relay. It's an awesome race! Anyway, here is the link to Dean's giveaway post if you want to enter to win one of the entries.


Finally, I got an email from a blog reader named Lisa a couple of days ago that totally made my day! I asked her permission to share it. She wrote:
"Hi Katie - I just wanted to say thanks so much for sharing information about Dogs on Deployment. Thanks to you, I am now taking care of a sweet dog for a naval reserve soldier who is in training and will deploy in February, returning in September.  I cannot imagine how stressful training and deployment is on its own, let alone the worry of leaving family, children and pets behind, so it is my pleasure to be able to take one thing off the list of concerns for someone serving our country."
Things like this make me so happy to learn about the good people in the world :)

5 comments:

  1. Check this article on phone hacking app, to get the latest update on the topic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love trader Joes and I love the weather here in NC today -- it's 80! Sunny and warm!

    How weird?

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  3. Thanks for this post! I have a list of yummy things I keep hearing about at TJs, I see some items in your photo I am adding.

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  4. I love Trader Joes. Glad to see you found some good vegan options. Sometimes convenience is everything when trying to stick to a new plan!

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  5. Trader's Joe is my best on-the-go shop for healthy foods! And I am glad that Lisa volunteered to board a pet while our soldiers are serving our country! These pets needed our attention, love, and care while their real owners are fighting a courageous battle to protect our country.

    ReplyDelete

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