I think I may have found a wrench in my “dump everything and move to Boulder as quickly as humanly possible” dream.
Bailey informed me that there are, in fact, no Trader Joe’s in Colorado! And I’m just not sure how I would cope with that.
Case in point: yesterday’s grocery shopping extravaganza!
Left to right: TJ’s white bean & basil hummus, dolmas, fresh mozzerella balls (hehehe… balls.), 2 cans of light coconut milk, jar of peanut sate sauce, can o’ pineapple.
Jalapeno chicken sausage (yum!), frozen mushroom ravioli (to add to my stash of I-don’t-wanna-cook back-ups in the freezer), bacon ends & pieces (for cooking — much cheaper than whole bacon!), ground turkey breast, chicken breast tenders.
Kale, sliced mango, brussels sprouts, two limes ($0.39 each!), two kiwis, baby bell peppers (literally the cutest thing ever), mini heirloom tomatoes, and seedless red grapes (tucked behind the tomatoes, you can’t see ’em.)
Misc: Garlic-infused olive oil, maple syrup, wasabi almonds (!!), whole wheat hot dog buns.
And ALL of that (which really is quite a lot!) for less than $80! I. Love. Trader. Joe’s. After doing my happy-pantry-dance, I got to enjoy this view for the next hour or so:
BAHAHA. Love you, Reema!
We went to Sweetwater Tavern, where I indulged just a little much. But if you saw my daily eats from last night, you can kind of tell I had adjusted my day to account for eating out. I just didn’t factor in that I would desperately be needing one of these by the end of the day:
Hehe. I drank half of their prickly pear frozen marg (which was more than enough for me — is it possible my alcohol tolerance is still in Boulder?) before Reema graciously helped me out.
I got crab cakes! They were about one-tenth the size of the gargantuan crab cakes I had in Baltimore, but unlike those, Sweetwater’s have like, zero breading on the inside, so you know you’re getting your money’s worth.
I swapped out the regular fries that came with it for sweet ‘tater ones. Plus cole slaw. Ate it all. Totally delicious, totally worth it.
What’s your favorite going-out-to-eat indulgence?
Sushi’s kind of a no-brainer for me, so I don’t really count it as an answer to this question, haha. So I guess I would say that I love me some crab cakes, and seafood in general will always be my choice. That section of the menu is always the first to jump out at me, hehe. I imagine that most men would probably be a pretty easy guess: STEAK!
(hehehe…balls)
I love Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Grocery shopping is SO fun and I look forward to it every week. It looks like you stocked up on some amazing stuff!
I like perusing yelp and bookmarking must-trys. I never go to the same restaurant twice unless I really like it since I don’t eat out that often (budget and waist friendly) unless I’m traveling. That’s part of the reason why I hate it so much when I eat out and am disappointed lol!
Have a wonderful Tuesday.
I wish I was better about not eating out, because you’re so right — it’s very expensive AND not exactly that conducive to dieting. But I looooove restaurants just as much as I love cooking. Dilemma!
but you resisted ozzie rolls! that’s all that matters! 😉
Urk… Well actually… I knew I forgot to mention something… Heh… heh… ::sob:: 😉
“forgot” eh?
I really did forget! ‘Cause I didn’t take a picture of it. Guess even a pic of the empty bread basket would have served as my shameful reminder, haha. I’ll make sure to do that next time.
I love both TJ’s and Sweetwater! Good choices!
Sad you didn’t pick up the broccoli slaw at TJs – not only do I use it for the stir fry but I made “spaghetti” with it. I used jarred sauce plus fresh veggies and ground beef and poured on top of the broccoli slaw. My tummy doesn’t like carbs so this was a great substitute.
I usually get a monster salad at Sweetwater but my going out indulgence is steak or dessert, things I don’t make at home.
AUGH! I knew I forgot something! Next time, next time… good tips on using it as “pasta” though! I never would have thought of that. This fall I really want to try using spaghetti squash as, you know, spaghetti too! 😀
I am a cheeseburger girl. And also a fries with ketchup and mayo girl.
My other go-to dining out meal is the turkey croissant sandwich (turkey, BLT, avocado, and mayo)–love it.
Mmmm, that sounds amazing! Croissantwiches are amazing… but so much worse for you than regular bread sandwiches haha
Haha, I know, but you did ask for my favorite *indulgence* 🙂
I heart Trader Joe’s like whoa! and my going out to eat indulgence is usually something fried- especially french fries!
You and your pomme frites 😉
Trader Joe’s is wonderful! I love finding new things there all of the time. Things I had no idea I needed but the minute I see them I realize I’m not sure how I lived life without them! A great example…seaweed snacks. MMmm…
I know, you walk in with no idea of what you need and walk out with 2 full shopping bags, hahaha. It’s amazing!
The no TJ’s factor is the main thing stopping me from moving to CO. However, I guess I could have friends send me non perishables?
Let’s rally for them to build one there, and then move there together! 😀
So, I wrote a post a couple months ago documenting my journey to Trader Joe’s. I had never been to one because we don’t have them in CO, as you know… I got all hyped up, and thought one was reallly close to our hotel in San Diego. I ended up spending literally (not a Chris Traeger literally — LITERALLY) 7 hours bussing and walking about 6 miles while carrying roughly 100 pounds of groceries around the city. It was kind of pathetic/sad/awkward/hilarious/sweaty/bad A/dedication embodied. I then proceeded to make a hobo fridge out of my bathtub to keep the goods fresh. They were delicious. Annnnd SCENE.
Moral of the story: you are lucky to have a TJ’s. Or, you know…just some sanity. Wish they would have had some of that on sale when I was there…
Bahaha 😀
HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAAAA. You are LITERALLY the most hilarious person ever. (Anne Perkins!)
Thanks Gretchen for the share