Just wanted to post a quick note about those who lost their lives on 9-11-2001.

I don’t think I will ever forget where I was that day or at that minute. I was in a computer training class for a new job when Aaron called my cell phone to tell me that a plane had hit the twin towers. I don’t think I really grasped what he was saying at the time. I remember thinking like a 4-seater plane or something like that. He said it was a jet, like a commercial jet. Since I was in a computer class I was able to get online to see what was going on. Needless to say that we didn’t learn a whole lot about the software we were supposed to be learning about that day. All I could think about were the people on the plane, then the 2nd plane, then when the towers fell, all those who couldn’t make it out. The the plane in Pennslyvania. Then the Pentagon. I just wanted to go home and be with my family, hold them close to me and never let them out of my sight again. All I did for the next few days was watch the news, in shock and in horror that something like this could happen in our country. We were so much more vulnerable than I had ever imagined.

So today I am taking some time to remember those who lost their lives and their loved ones. We will never forget you.

The other day after pulling into a parking lot at Outback Steakhouse, I noticed steam spewing out from the front of my car. Not from under the hood, but from the grate area, right above the license plate. Fortunately my Step Dad and Mom were meeting us and were able to help assess the situation. If you know me at all, you know that I am mechanically challenged. I can check the level of oil in my car and the air pressure in my tires and that is about the extent of my knowledge on cars. SD (Step Dad) asks me to pop the hood and he checks things out. Radiator is full, nothing seems amiss. Yet there is still a nice, loud hissing sound coming from the front of my car. We decide to go in and sit down to let the car cool down before doing anything else. When we come back out, Jon gets down on his hands and knees to listen for the sound and notices a dent/hole, about the size of a bullet (which is was not), in what we thought at the time was some kind of filter (turns out to be the condensing unit). I put a paper towel over the hole and the hissing stops. Okay, now we know where it is coming from. I called Aaron and we discuss calling the dealer the next day.

Fast forward to Wednesday (yesterday). I had an appointment to take the van in at 9 PM last night (who knew they made appts. that late?). I brought it in and told the guy what happened. By this point my A/C was no longer working either. BTW, I drive a 2007 Odyssey, so I figured the A/C had something to do with the other issue, as one would think that it should still work after just being 1 year old. I sat around the dealer for about 15 minutes before they came to tell me the bad news. The condensing unit needed replaced. That, combined with labor was going to cost us $800+ tax! OUCH!!!! Aaron talked with the guy and asked why this condensing unit is so exposed that a rock can go through it and cause it to be replaced. All Hondas are like this, the guy said. Nice.

So, this expense, plus my recent dental issues (another whole post to the tune of $3500), well, there goes my deck. We have been wanting to put a deck on the back of the house for a while and have recently gotten some quotes. Well, after these unexpected expenses, I think that will have to wait for a while.

If there is a positive to this all or a silver lining, the guy at the Honda dealer didn’t charge us for the rental car I am driving until I get my van back. 😉

I saw this on GF Goodness and had to participate! I love this kind of stuff! It excites me almost as much as getting mail (not the bill part of the mail, but the other fun stuff) or getting brand new school supplies! So, here I go….

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.

5) Pass it on!

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie
3. Tofu Scramble (intolerant to lots of soy)
4. Haggis Let’s make that HELL TO THE NO!!
5. Mangosteen Hopefully soon!
6. Creme brulee
7. Fondue
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
12. Authentic soba noodles
13. PB&J
14. Aloo gobi
15. Taco from a street cart
16. Boba Tea
17. Black truffle just recently and WOW I really need to have more of that and SOON!
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes Apple wine..from Bucks County, PA
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoesJust last week for the first time! YUM-O
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans all the time topped with cheese & Frank’s Red Hot
25. Knish
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Caviar
29. Baklava Never and sadly now that I am GF, I want to and can’t! WAH! I don’t know that I could make this GF or that anyone has successfully.
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango
34. Sauerkraut Love, but none of the peeps in my house do and they hate the smell, so I can’t really have it much
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries – I still occasionally have a few when I can find them GF
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120
46. Stroopwafle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear-
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey
54. Sheese
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi ~ would love to have some GF!!
57. Piña colada
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores!
62. Soy curls
63 Chickpea cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake—
68. Smoked tofu-
69. Fried plantain—
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies – LOVE
73. Absinthe
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can
76. Pomegranate–
77. Fauxstess Cupcake
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes
83. Tings
84. A meal at Candle 79
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and cheese
88. Flowers Too many allergies, probably shouldn’t eat them
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate
91. Seitan
92. Kimchi
93. Butterscotch chips
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with chocolate no, but that sounds AMAZING!
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough Used to eat this all the time! We kept frozen cookie dough where I used to work and we ate it frozen like that all the time!

See, now wasn’t that fun!

That is my daughter’s newest expression. I am sure she learned it from her older brother, who probably learned it from that song on the radio. I am not even sure who sings (or raps) that song as I write this. Anyway, Hannah must have said this 4 times today when I was around. I was literally laughing out loud everytime I heard her. Hearing that out of my 6 year old’s mouth is just too funny!

I can use that phrase, “Oh Snap”, to describe my latest baking semi-flop. I set out to make pumpkin muffins today to use up some open pumpkin that I had in the fridge. I used a recipe that I modified, apparently not well enough, and they just didn’t work. They didn’t really set in the middle. Maybe another 5-10 minutes in the oven?? Not sure if they would have been burnt on the top by then, but my suspicion is that they would have been close. Also, I had intended to add in my extra spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg) and just plain didn’t. LOL! So, they look really, really pretty, but, they need some work. I am going to show you them, but I am not going to share the recipe until I get it right and tasting the way it should have tasted today. Fortunatly it only made 7 muffins and I hadn’t doubled the recipe. I did freeze the rest of them. I will either eat them (maybe toasting them will finish up the inside) or use them for something like stuffing or who knows!

Pumpkin Flop Muffins

Onto dinner. Dinner was not a flop. Dinner was glorious! I don’t know the last time I used “glorious” to describe my food, but it just seems to fit. I made homemade lasagna (gluten-free, of course), green beans, spinach salad and Chebe Foccacia bread. The kids inhaled their food. I honestly don’t think I have ever seen Hannah eat that fast! She even said something about my giving her too much lasagna when she sat down; next thing I know it was gone!

Nice, warm, yummy, gooey, italian mess!!

My Plate, with cabernet, of course:

Gluten-Free Lasagna

1 package Tinkyada Lasagna Noodles
1 – 1.5 pounds ground beef or turkey or pork or sausage
2.5 – 3 jars of Prego 3 Cheese Sauce
3 large cloves of garlic
Oregano
Basil
2 small containers of Ricotta Cheese (I used low-fat; you could use cottage cheese)
6 cups of mozzerella/italian cheese (I used 2% low-fat cheese)
Parmesan Cheese (I used a block, so I just kept shredding more when I needed it, I didn’t measure)

1. Brown ground meat; add chopped garlic and saute until meat is done. Add your sauce jars. Add 1-2 tsps basil and oregano. Cook on med-low for 30-40 minutes or so.
3. Cook your lasagna noodles.
4. Mix ricotta cheese with 1 tsp each basil & oregano; add in 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
5. Preheat oven to 350 – 375 (I baked mine on 350 for the first 30 – 40 minutes, then cranked up the oven to 375 for the remaining time).
6. Layer your sauce, noodles, ricotta, mozzerella and parmesan cheese. Repeat once more. Then add just another layer of sauce, noodles, sauce and cheese on top.
7. Cover and bake for 30-40 minutes. Check after that time. If the lasagna isn’t bubbly, turn up the heat to 375 and cook for another 10 – 20 minutes. Uncover for the last 10 minutes to brown up the top.
8. Let lasagna sit for 10 minutes or so before slicing. Enjoy!

***You need to use 2 small pans or 1 large lasagna pan (I used this). This made 12 good size pieces, probably close to 3 inches by 2.5 or 3 inches. I purposely made this much so that I could freeze half of the casserole in individual servings.

I have been in such a baking mood lately and I can’t seem to stop. It is becoming a problem b/c we can’t eat the stuff fast enough! LOL! I am going to have to slow down or start to freeze at least half of my projects. Jon is not objecting in the least. This week I have Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies on the plan to bake (they have no flour in them!). I found the recipe on the forum at Celiac.com. When I make it and share it here, I will have to go back and look to see who posted it. For breakfast this week Jon will be eating Chocolate Chip Banana Pumpkin Bread and maybe pancakes. I have a few new things I want to try for pancakes, including some pumpkin/oatmeal combos. Onto the plan:

Sunday ~ Outback Steakhouse after seeing the Sound of Music

Monday ~ Homemade Lasagna, steamed green beans, salad & foccacia bread

Tuesday ~ grilled BBQ chicken breast, cheesy chili potatoes, broccoli & salad

Wednesday ~ Cheeseburger in Paradise after ice skating. This is getting a little old. I can’t believe I said that. I need to change up what I am ordering. I usually get salmon. Perhaps a bacon cheeseburger & fries or a grilled skirt steak salad this week.

Thursday ~ Blackened salmon, steamed brown jasmine rice, broccoli, salad & french rolls

Friday ~ Crockpot Pot Roast, potatoes & carrots with salad & french rolls.

Saturday ~ Grilled burgers on GF Buns (another new recipe from the Silly Yak group that I am going to try), sweet potato fries (homemade for the first time, usually I buy Alexia frozen), steamed veggies and salad.

I also want to give homemade Pesto a try in the very near future. I love basil and have seen some good recipes lately for Pesto. Not sure anyone in my house will eat it besides me, so I need to either make a small amount or make sure it keeps well in the fridge for at least a little while. I will get some more descriptions and recipes of things up this week as we go along, if they work out, that is. I am due for a flop any day now! LOL!!

Ah…The Sound of Music! Today we (the kids and I) went to see The Sound of Music play in a little theater in Grove City called Little Theatre Off Broadway. What a wonderful play! One of the nuns, Sister Margaretta, Mistress of Postulants, was played by someone we know (my step-brother’s wife, to be techinically correct; would that be my step-sister-in-law??). I was worried that Hannah wouldn’t be able to sit through the play, but she did awesome! It was Jon who was a little antsy, but I’ll give him a break, he did have a headache and it was a long play.

After the play we had plans to go eat at Red Robin for dinner. We headed out and since we were on a side of town that I wasn’t very familiar with, I was following my Mom & Step Dad, Joe. As we were driving down the road I saw an Outback Steakhouse that immediately caught my eye! YAY!! We decided to eat there instead. Their GF menu is extensive and some locations in the US are even offering GF breads & pastas (unfortunately, not ours). I don’t get to eat at Outback very often b/c they are very close by, so I was excited to go there. Jon ordered the 1/2 rack of Baby Back ribs and caesar salad. I ordered the grilled salmon, steamed veggies (no seasoning) and salad. Most of their dressing are GF too! I usually get the Alice Springs Chicken, but I was in a salmon mood tonight. Probably better b/c it was much less food and I brought some of the Walnut Cake with Praline Frosting for us all to have for dessert. It was a great meal. 🙂

Now I am off to do my weekly menu plan that I hope to be back tonight to post, but I am whooped, so it may not be up until tomorrow.

So while I was busy baking today, it dawned on me that I had chicken breasts defrosting in the fridge and no real plan for them. I wanted to do something relatively fast, as I had spent enough time in the kitchen today. So, I decided to make a grilled chicken fettucine alfredo. Actually, to be technically correct, I used spaghetti noodles, not fettucine, b/c I didn’t have enough for everyone. 😉 This meal was simple, yummy and quick. An added bonus…I can keep the chicken separate from the noodles & sauce for Miss Picky (that would be Hannah, if you hadn’t guessed).

Grilled Chicken Fettucine Alfredo

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast
Dry Rub (Garlic Powder, Basil, Salt & Pepper)
1 Jar Classico Alfredo Sauce (It is GF, as are all of Classico’s Sauces)
Brown Rice Pasta (I used Trader Joe’s Spaghetti tonight)

1. Pound chicken to tenderize it. Season both sides with dry rub.
2. Warm Sauce on stove
3. Bring water to a boil for pasta (add a little EVOO to keep pasta from sticking)
4. Grill chicken 6-8 minutes per side
5. Boil pasta & drain when done
6. Top pasta with alfredo sauce & sliced grilled chicken
7. Serve with veggies & salad.

Here is a picture of my plate. I served with Parmesan Broiled Tomatoes and Roasted Brussels Sprouts (which may have been roasted a little too long due to my not paying attention..LOL):

For dessert, see the post right after this….Buckeyes & Baking. YUM!!!

Phew…..Ohio State skated by. I was a little worried at halftime today. We really didn’t sit and watch the game start to finish, but it was on when I was eating out for lunch and we saw the halftime score before heading home. So, I started my baking and watching the game. My baking must have been the magic ticket, as the Bucks started to come back. 😉 Just kidding. I have been wanting to try this recipe from Cooking Light for Walnut Cake with Praline Frosting for a while, so that is on the list to bake today. Also, I have a couple of very ripe bananas, so I made a banana bread for Jon to eat for breakfast this week. I tweaked it a little for fall and added some pumpkin to it….YUM! Speaking of fall, I am getting super excited for pie baking (especially thanks to Whole Foods Bakehouse GF Frozen Pie Crusts; I passed these puppies off to very picky relatives last year with rave reviews), cookie baking and fudge making. Oh, the fudge, can’t wait for the fudge. Not only is there chocolate fudge, but peanut butter too. I can’t decide which I love more. These are recipes that my Grandmother (Dad’s Mom) used to make and when I eat them, I am reminded of her. It makes me smile. 🙂 I am seriously going to have to step up the cardio at the gym come the end of October through my birthday (Jan. 9th for those who are curious), as it will be a 3-month long eating fest.

On to the goods. First I made the banana bread. This recipe was one I found on the forums at Celiac.com and was posted by Sue. Her SIL gave her the recipe and she converted it to a GF recipe and it was a hit! I have made some changes to it. I used Pamela’s baking mix for most of my quick breads & cakes and I didn’t have 1 1/2 cups of bananas, so I used half bananas, half pumpkin. I also used shaved semi-sweet chocolate on top instead of choc olate chips because the last time I put chocolate chips on top, they made my bread sink in those areas. The shaved semi-sweet chocolate seemed to work much better. Jon almost fell out of his chair he loved this so much. The combination of the pumpkin & banana makes this so moist. A lot of times I will add butter to my plain banana nut bread when I eat it, there is no need for anything at all on this bread. Here are some pics and the recipe for the bread:

Banana/Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, pre-baking, pre-chocolate shavings

Banana/Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, pre-baking, after chocolate shavings

Banana/Pumpkin/Chocolate Chip Bread after baking:

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 3/4 cups rice flour (Or Pamela’s Baking Mix)
1 tsp. baking soda ( only add 3/4 tsp if using Pamela’s)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder (don’t add any if using Pamela’s)
5 TBSP butter (softened)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium) **I did 3/4 cup bananas, 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream **I used whole milk b/c like a dumb a$$ I bought buttermilk, not heavy cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided **I used about 2/3 cup and did the Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate bar shaved on top
1/2 tsp. xantham gum (omit if using Pamela’s)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 9×5 inch loaf pan with crisco, set aside

2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; stir to mix well.

3. Place butter in large bowl; beat at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugars; beat in egg
and egg whites. Reduce speed to low; beat in bananas. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture in 2
additions alternately with heavy cream. Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips.

4. Spoon batter into prepared pan; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 chocolate chips (**or chocolate shavings). Bake 55 to 60 minutes
or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack; remove
from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Now, onto the Walnut Cake with Praline Frosting. OMG…this cake was truly TDF (to die for). I can’t believe I found the recipe in Cooking Light, of all places. The kids loved it. I can’t say that I blame them. So moist, so sweet, so yummy!! The only thing that I would change next time is to put it in a smaller pan (they call for a 13 x 9 pan, I would almost use and 8 x 11 if you have one), the cake is thinner than the pictures in Cooking Light show, but still super yummy. This is perfect for fall, perfect for company, or just for yourself if you feel like having a treat.

Walnut Cake with Praline Frosting

9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups) **I used Pamela’s Baking Mix
2 tsp Xanthan Gum (I didn’t use this b/c I used Pamela’s and it has guar gum in it)
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
7 TBSP butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup 1% low-fat buttermilk
6 TBSP chopped walnuts, toasted
Cooking Spray

Frosting:
½ cup packed brown sugar
6 TBSP 1% low-fat milk, divided
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP light corn syrup
Dash of salt
2 cups powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP chopped walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. To prepare cake, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda and ½ tsp salt, stirring well with a whisk.
3. Place 7 TBSP butter, 1 cup sugar and ¼ cup brown sugar in a mixing bowl; beat at a med-high speed with a mixer until light & fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in egg white. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning & ending with flour mixture. Fold in 6TBSP walnuts. Scrape batter in a 13 x 9 inch pan coated with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 350 for 28 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
5. To prepare frosting, place ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup milk, 2 TBSP butter, corn syrup and dash of salt in a saucepan over med-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook 2 minutes. Scrape brown sugar mixture into a bowl. Add remaining 2 TBSP milk and powdered sugar; beat with a mixer at high speed 2 minutes or until slightly cooled and thick. Beat in ½ tsp vanilla. Spread frosting in an even layer over cooled cake; sprinkle with 2 TBSP chopped walnuts. Let the cake stand until the frosting sets; cut into squares. Yield: 16 servings. Calories: 306; Fat 9 g; Protein 4 g; Carb 52 g.

Walnut Cake Pre-baking

Walnut Cake After baking, pre-frosting

Walnut Cake Frosted (still in pan)

Walnut Cake & Chocolate Chip Banana Pumpkin Bread on my plate:

I am going to post another post with our main course in it. It was a pretty quick go-to meal for Chicken Fettucine Alfredo. YUM! We finished off that meal with the cake & bread.

Tonight for dinner we had Marinated Spicy Pork Chops with baked potatoes, steamed green beans, salad and toasted GF French Rolls with butter from Trader Joe’s. YUM! The pork chops came out wonderfully on the grill. Boy, I am going to miss grilling come winter time! The GF French Rolls from Trader Joe’s weren’t bad. They were horrible room temperature, but heated up in the toaster oven at 350 for 5-8 minutes and then toasted in the toaster oven for a few minutes to brown up, they were pretty good. Not a ton of flavor, but good with butter and with a meal. I can’t see eating these alone, but maybe as a base for a tuna melt, PB & J or something with a lot of flavor. Texture is not bad. Price was under $4. I think they were $3.49 for 4. I split one with Jon.

A picture of the chops:

I used boneless pork loin chops that I had Aaron cut from a boneless pork loin a few weeks back. I have used bone-in chops for this recipe before, though I think I prefer the boneless…they were definitely more tender.

Marinated Spicy Pork Chops**Recipe found on allrecipes.com

3/4 cup soy sauce (La Choy is GF; note ~ you want to use low-sodium here or it will be too salty)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili sauce (I use just under a TBSP of chili powder b/c I didn’t have any sauce)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
8 center cut pork chops

1. Whisk together in a bowl the first 5 ingredients. Pour over pork chops and place in fridge to marinate for a minimum of 6 hours, even overnight if you want.

2. Heat up grill and grill for about 6-10 minutes per side, depending on thickness of chop. (as you see in my pic, I cut open my chops to make sure they were done 🙂 ).

3. Serve! Simple, easy & yummy!!

I had some errands to run today and while they weren’t super close to Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s, I decided to make them part of my trip. With the cost of gas, I don’t go to those stores as much as I used to. They are about 15 – 20 minutes away and that is too far when you are paying $3.50+/gallon of gas and drive a mini-van. I always go into these places excited to see what kinds of new, fun GF treats they have. Most of the time I come out close to empty handed. This happens for a few reasons. First, I tend to overstock. You certainly won’t go hungry in my house. Second, the item or treat is a great idea and looks good, but then I rationalize that for less $$, I can make the same thing and it will most likely taste even better than what is sitting right in front of me; this is where I get some of my baking & cooking inspiration. Third, the stuff is just too dang expensive!

My first stop was Trader Joe’s. I always hit their bread section first hoping for some kind of miracle, but never find anything that comes close to my beloved Pamela’s Wheat Free Bread. I did pick up some GF French Rolls that Jon and I will toast and have with our dinner tonight. I’ll let you know how that goes. I am not overly optimistic. I usually make Chebe Foccacia or homemade corn bread if we want bread. I was just thinking of the convenience factor b/c I have a meeting at school tonight. As I was walking along, I came across the sample stand and they were sampling Fage Greek Yogurt and Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Granola. I picked up a cup…YUM!! The granola was really good. I believe that it is $3.49 per package, pretty reasonable compared to the stuff I bought last week, Enjoy Life for $4.99, same size. The Fage was also really good, but very expensive. I passed, since yogurt and I are not getting along lately. I picked up some GF pasta, can’t let that stock get low when it is $1.99/package at TJ’s. Much cheaper than other places in Columbus. Then in the frozen food aisle, I stumbled upon some Chocolate Meringue cookies. They say “no gluten ingredients” right on them. They were under $3. I took a chance. Even though I love the baked goods I make, I had to give these a try, as I have never even tempted to make meringue anything. Maybe that is one thing to add to my list of must try in 2009. I will put that right up there with making homemade cinnamon rolls. 🙂 So I had a couple of the cookies after lunch…OMG….I was very impressed!! They are a little on the sweet side, but hey, that is why I was eating a cookie, b/c I wanted something sweet! They are low in fat and only have 30 calories per cookie! The box says the serving size is 4 (I love when they have larger serving sizes, then I don’t feel like such a pig!). I would say these are a definite buy again treat. Here is a picture of the box:

I was also looking for Lara Bars while on my excursion today. I usually by the Jocalat ones in bulk online, but my other favs are cheaper to buy in local stores when on sale. Trader Joe’s used to have a pretty decent selection, not so much today. They had 4 different ones to choose from and none really jumped out and said “Buy me!” They had apple pie (yuck), cherry pie (yuck), chocolate (have a bunch) and pistachio (don’t like pistachios at all). I guess I will stick to buying them at Raisin Rack where they have about 15 different kinds to choose from.

On to Whole Foods. This store is just amazing. It is almost overwhelming with all the different sights and smells. I could spend days walking up and down the aisles. My Dad and his friends call it “Whole Paycheck” b/c it is so expensive…LOL! I started in the produce section and picked up some beautiful, local, heirloom tomatoes. YUM! I grabbed some goat’s milk yogurt (marked gluten-free right on the container) since real yogurt has been bothering my stomach lately. BTW, if this doesn’t work, I give up on yogurt, and I really love it! Then I came across some Envirokidz Crispy Rice Bars. I have had the chocolate, berry and PB ones before, but they have a new flavor out……Peanut Choco Drizzle. OMG! I love the new Leapin Lemur Peanut Butter & Chocolate cereal, so I figured these would rock too. Boy, was I right!!! They are just the right amount of peanut butter and even have peanuts in the bar! The chocolate is just right on top, a drizzle, not a coating. These were not cheap (and not on sale like the other Envirokidz bars) at $4.99 for 6 bars, but I had to give them a try. Now, I must hide them from Jon….LOL! Just kidding!

When I got home from my outing, I was starving. I made myself a wrap with a Food for Life Brown Rice Tortilla. I put in some heirloom tomatoes, turkey, swiss cheese, spinach & Frank’s Red Hot. I had some sauteed spinach & blue corn chips along side. Oh, and don’t mind the rip in the tortilla. These normally don’t rip very easily, but someone had crinkled it up in the fridge in the way back. Wonder who that could have been??

Off to make dinner now.