Tag Archives: trader joes

Pumpkin Spice Latte Ain’t Got Nothing on Me

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Last night I went to Trader Joe’s in search of:

cinnamon (Fail! What’s up with all the cinnamon sticks?),

produce (Win!),

and a little neighborly love (Win! Employees at Trader Joe’s are so nice).

But I also found something I wasn’t looking for…20111003-105213.jpg

It seems like the whole food/healthy living blog community is obsessed with pumpkin. Everyone on Facebook is jubilant over the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. I only tried pumpkin pie last year and have never touched a can of pumpkin in my life, but the pie was pretty decent so I figured I’d give this a go.

Steel cut oatmeal is my favorite breakfast in the cooler months. Its warm, filling and can be adapted a million ways. I figured pumpkin cinnamon oatmeal couldn’t be wrong, and oh, was I right.20111003-105228.jpg

Brown sugar makes everything better.20111003-105202.jpg

Meet the newest edition to my pantry and oatmeal flavor arsenal, the pumpkin pie spice!
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Toasted pecans add some nice crunch and healthy fat. 20111003-105153.jpg

I went a little too crazy with the pumpkin and the oatmeal seemed to disappear. I decided to split up the serving into two dishes and add a little extra plain oatmeal. Extra cinnamon never hurt anyone. 20111003-105139.jpg

And just because I was a little nervous about my first big pumpkin breakfast, I decided to bring a little insurance.

Behold: the pb chocolate dreams honey sammie.20111003-105131.jpg

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Honey drizzle. Hellz, yes. 20111003-105107.jpgThe oatmeal came out amazing, but after Law Firm Fit Club I was seriously craving coffee. (Our trainer, Celine, kicked our ass! 15 minutes of running followed by 40 minutes of intense circuit training.)

I am currently enjoyed the final slurps of a grande soy latte. (Forget the pumpkin spice latte! I’ve got plenty of pumpkin spice of my own!) I also inhaled another shakey shakey smoothie. (Fit club makes me hungry!) Oatmeal will have to be consumed at lunch or as a pm snack.

Does anyone else bring food with them to work and then get distracted by other yummy things? At least I resisted the pumpkin cheese cake muffin staring me in the face while I waited for my latte. :)

Question of the day:

  • Have you caught the pumpkin spirit? What’s your favorite way to enjoy pumpkin?
  • Suggestions on what I should I do with the leftover 3/4 can of pumpkin in my fridge?

CopyWRONG: copyright issues for a new blogger

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This morning I almost got tackled in Trader Joes! Okay, so there was more of a stern warning than a secret-service-like take down. Still, being reprimanded by the Trader Joes security guard is a really uncomfortable way to start the day.

It came about, ironically, with me trying to squeeze in a photo-worthy am post because the great one I drafted late into the night needed more time. It needed more pictures and video to be precise. The upcoming post is text heavy and I wanted to find some great pictures and a few YouTube clips to illustrate my points.

It occurred to me that I can’t just use any pictures I find on the Internet that suit my fancy. I need permission of the owner because of a little thing called intellectual property law. Then I realized how very little I know about IP rights, particularly in the blog world.

I know I own the rights to my own photos. Apparently, that does not give me the right to take photos of whatever I want. While standing in line at Trader Joes I decided I should take a picture of the beautiful vaulted ceiling. This TJ’s used to be a bank and I’ve always felt it a shame that most Manhattanites don’t make it across the river to 14th street’s less crowded and more beautiful counterpart in Brooklyn.

20110823-091028.jpgSee? (I took it fast so it’s a little blurry. I was more concerned with shoppers thinking I’m weird than violating IP though, I swear.)

I was immediately told no one is permitted to take pictures. Whaaa? Of the ceiling? “NO pictures, Miss.”

I thought he was going to confiscate my phone and stomp on it to prove his point.

Sheesh. Okay, i will not take any more. He didn’t ask me to delete the picture so I interpret this to mean I have const to use the one picture.

I told the cashier about my experience and he almost died laughing. Apparently, this happens a few times a day. (Is this why they hire a security guard? To keep the photo happy tweeters/bloggers/facebookers in line with the law? He seriously seems to serve no other purpose.) The cashier was unsure, but thought it probably had something to do with the rights of the artists who draw the advertisements for the store. Good point. I did not think of that. (A tired lawyer is apparently not a very good lawyer.)

I still managed to grab all the produce I need for the week. Thank goodness I’m back in blueberry business.

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It was a really rushed morning, but I manage to chug a smoothie and prepare some snacks for the day. Those apple slices are going to get smothered in almond butter around 3pm :)

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So, lawyer friends and bloggers in the know, any tips on how to do copy-RIGHT? Is anything on YouTube fair game? Can I borrow any picture as long as I attribute the source & link to it or do I need to actually ask permission? Can I take a picture of things I see in public? In private places if I am an invitee and there is no explicit prohibition? Please respond in comments if you have some insight!

I clearly have some blogger etiquette/legal learning to do.

In the meantime, stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on how to make it to the gym, especially in the morning. (Maaaaybe with some media if I get some helpful comments ;) )

Fueling Friday

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(Written primarily Friday, August 3, 2011.)

I woke up this morning extra early, extra sleepy, and extra hungry. It’s been a while since I hit up TJ’s, so my fridge was seriously lacking anything delicious and readily converted into workout fuel. (I was sorely disappointed when I reached into the freezer and realized I polished off the last two frozen chocolate peanut butter chews the night before.)

Then, I remembered reading on Fitsugar that eating chocolate before working out is amazing workout fuel! Well what do you know? I just happen to have dark chocolate on hand at all times. Yum.

I (slowly) walked over to the gym and decided it was a strength training day.

I’ve been doing a ton of running lately because its the easiest workout to squeeze in when the snooze button gets the best of me. It’s the workout for when I don’t have the luxury of making a decision; I just need to get out and get moving.

I completed the following exercises, 2 or 3 sets of each, in about 40 minutes:

  • Pec fly machine (30 lbs)
  • Pull up assist (50 lbs)
  • Decline bench press (bar +10 lbs)
  • Cable lunge lat pull back (No idea what this is actually called, but my old trainer showed it to me and it. is. brutal.) (25 lbs)
  • Lateral pullback machine (25 lbs)
  • Cable seated low row (30 lbs)
  • Squat, curl, press (15 lbs each hand)
  • Chest fly left lift crunch combo on the mat (7.5 lbs each hand)
  • Lat pull back machine (50 lbs)
  • Plank (45 seconds x 3)
  • Cardio in between sets: sets of 30 jumping jax, 20 sec mountain climbers and 20 sec plank twists
Random strength workouts are usually based on a combination of (1) which exercises I love and hate and (2) where things are located. For example, peck fly goes first because I love it and pull up assist goes next because I usually hate it. The sequence pretty much follows the gym floor plan. The only reason Lat pull back machine and planks got added to the mix is because the machine is on the way to the towel drop and the mat area is close to the gym exit. Sometimes, if I see I have a few more minutes on the clock as I’m already calling it quits I can get myself to squeeze in a few more moves :)  It was a pretty killer workout and I started feeling the chest soreness by 4pm!
The best thing about my morning workout routine is that TJ is right between the gym and my apartment :) Because I’m always crunched for time the staff rarely sees me in any condition other than makeupless, clad in sweaty workout wear and chugging my whistling purple klean kanteen water bottle. Morning is me time and I’ve got to get The Goods.
The Goods:
Yes, I like fruit. I have had a smoothie for breakfast for 3 weeks straight now and each day I love it more. I didn’t get any leafy greens because I still had some kale and romaine in the fridge and planned to hit the farmer’s market Saturday morning. (Yes, I like food shopping.)
Breakfast: Since I switched up my morning workout (cardio to strength), i decided to switch up my smoothie. I had three objectives for this today’s smoothie fuel: Less veggie, more protein, and CHOCOLATE.
Ingredients: 1 frozen banana, 4 sm fresh strawberries, 1 TBS natural PB, 1 TBS chia seeds, 3/4 cup plain almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 4 leaves kale (dino, stems removed), 3/4 scoop chocolate amazing grass, 4 ice cubes, loooooong drizzle of honey.
Outcome: YUM! It’s green, yes, but I have gotten used to that. This looked like a mint chip milkshake. It didn’t TASTE quite like a milkshake, but it also didn’t taste like kale. Win. I drank two full glasses (one before my shower and one afterwards while I got ready for work).
Cheers to Friday!