Bites of My Life

Let’s talk about the stages of last week. Monday was business as usual with work and part 1 of The Bachelor finale. Tuesday was normal until I got home from work, had a snack, went on a walk and then got a wave of feeling so weak and nauseous (this same thing happened two weeks ago). Friends came over for part 2 of The Bachelor finale and I got sick the second they left. Wednesday was weird trying to feel better after a long night.

Thursday I spiraled out after working from home, watching way to much news and unrealistically convincing myself that I had coronavirus. Like full on spiral, taking my temperature every hour, calling my parents bawling, it was terrible. I was already planning on driving home Friday for another shower I was hosting, but it couldn’t come soon enough. Woke up early Friday to drive home to OKC, in the pouring rain the whole time might I add), and headed straight to work to do recon on the effects of COVID-19. We had a concert planned at work Friday night and a big St. Patrick’s Day party Saturday that we had to cancel. Being in the hospitality industry right now is wild.

Saturday I attempted to go on normally with two events I had, but came home after the day and showered, rested and tried to recover after the crazy week. Needless to say life is weird and scary and uncertain right now. I’m staying with my parents for moral support to help get through the next few days of unknown. If you are anxious right now, I feel you. I keep saying it, but we are all in this together and everyone’s feelings, emotions, concerns and decisions are all valid.

I’m also working on a Self-Distance To-Do list to help get through the next few weeks, hoping to throw them all in a blog post to share this week. Here’s to utilizing the extra time we have!

-Chugged this pedialyte Wednesday after a second hit of the stomach bug Tuesday. ElectroLIT made me LOL.
-Amazon find! These little pearl huggies are only $23!
-My friend Annie, yes Annie, posted her recipe for these Vegan Blueberry Muffins last week. I’ve been craving. muffins so I had to make them. I made a few substitutions, like using GF flour and almond milk. They turned out great.
-The new Siggi’s dairy free yogurt is SO good. One of the lowest in sugar dairy free yogurts I’ve found. Bought at Whole Foods. Made a yogurt bowl for lunch last week with vanilla yogurt, this fiber cereal that I love (and found at TJs), frozen raspberries and chia seeds.
-Another weekend another shower for one of my best friends! Starting to really get this host thing down. By nature I typically get designated the food, but it’s been so fun. We did a “Sarah Brunch” theme for Sarah Beth and it was perfect. Mimosas, coffee bar, mini chicken and waffles, deviled eggs, donuts, fruit and a cheese board of course!
-Bestie since 1st grade!
-Finally tried “the cookies” as my first social distancing baking project. They were great. Hype is real. It’s like perfect CCCs and shortbread cookies had a baby. And I love shortbread. Started baking to find out my parent’s were out of vanilla so made these with almond extract and added some sliced almonds to the dough. They came out so light and good.
-Going to try really really hard to not only eat cookies and carbs during the next month, but being home so much makes me crave comfort food and cooking indulgent dishes. Here’s a salad to try and stay on track.
-Read this book cover to cover by the fire Sunday night. SB gifted the hosts of her shower this book and it is actually a really great book. I fear cooking for large groups and this book walks you through how to do it seamlessly.

Annie

I Tried Every Trader Joe's Salad Kit and Want You To Know My Favorite

Okay so maybe not every salad kit. I suppose Caesar salad and coleslaw would fall into the “salad kit” category, but those seemed like a cop-out. I also omitted the saute kits. I limited this research to the tall skinny (do you know what I mean?) salad kits intended to be more of a meal or hefty side. I tried a majority of their current offerings. The only one I didn’t try was the Peanut and Crispy Noodle Salad Kit, because of #peanutallergy.

First, a few tips for eating Trader Joe’s salad kits. Tip #1, I recommend tossing the pre-packaged dressing. They give you way too much to dress the amount of the salad in the bag. Salads are typically a healthy option, but the salad dressing can make a salad go from good to bad, quick. Every dressing I saw in these kits had sugar in them. Not that I don’t eat sugar, but I don’t want to expend my sugar consumption in a salad dressing. A little olive and vinegar is all you need. I noted how I dressed each salad as I reviewed them.

Tip #2, beef them up with extra greens. I brought these salads for lunch most days and they are the perfect amount to get 2 servings out of one bag. At $2.99 to $3.99 a bag, a $2 or less lunch is a win. However, I would add to their volume by buying an extra bag of spinach to make the salad a little bigger.

Tip #3, add protein/healthy fats. These are all great with avocado, some shredded rotisserie chicken, chopped up turkey burger, chicken sausage, shrimp, salmon, you name it.

Sesame Crunch Chopped Salad Kit
bok choy, savoy cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, sesame sticks, cashews and nori seaweed flakes with toasted sesame ginger vinaigrette

This kit was surprising. The flavors were bolder than I thought and the nori seaweed flakes gave it an interesting kick. I would buy again, but it wasn’t my favorite. It would be a good green addition to an Asian meal. For instance, paired alongside TJs coveted Mandarin Orange Chicken or potstickers.

I added avocado and used coconut aminos to dress my salad.

Southwestern Chopped Salad Kit
green cabbage, romaine, cotija cheese, roasted pepitas, tortilla strips, green onion, cilantro and a southwest avocado dressing

This salad is a Trader Joe’s staple and comes up on several lists for the top items to try at TJs. My friend Maddie who inspired this whole blog post told me it was her favorite, but wanted me to research the other options out there to help her break out of her routine of buying this same salad every time. For good reason, it’s great and would make for a great side dish to Tex Mex or barbecue.

I added avocado and used salsa for the dressing! It would be great with shredded chicken, grilled shrimp or taco meat.

Tahini, Pepita & Apricot Slaw Kit
shredded carrots, broccoli stalks, green cabbage & kale with a tahini orange dressing

You had me at tahini. I stinking love tahini. Even though the only tahini part of this salad was in the dressing…which I threw away. The apricot was also the subtle star of this salad show.

I didn’t have any tahini but I 100% would have done a drizzle of apple cider vinegar and tahini if I had it. Instead, I did apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, and olive oil. With it being a slaw and having stiffer vegetables, it needed a thicker creamier dressing to break through them, than just a vinaigrette. I added avocado too of course.

Veggies & Greens Salad Kit
crisp & crunchy blend of veggies including cauliflower & Brussels sprouts with radcchio, kale, dried pear crumbles, pistachios & honey ginger dressing

This salad was an underdog that came out being one of my favorites. It seemed underwhelming with a name like “veggies & greens,” but I was pleasantly surprised. I had forgotten about the dried pear and thought it was dried ginger (which I love). Either way, it was the perfect sweet note. The pistachios were salty and roasted. I wish there were more.

I ate this with avocado and made a simple dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. This is my go-to dressing. Like I mentioned above, this too needed a thicker dressing with all of the stiff greens. I even heated this salad up for 30 seconds in the microwave. May sound weird, but I kind of enjoy eating salads warm and it too helped break down the stiff greens a bit. This would make an excellent easy side dish or with a piece of grilled salmon over the top.

Organic Mediterranean Style Salad Kit
Romaine lettuce, shredded broccoli stalks, radicchio, celery, seasoned flatbread strips, feta cheese, dried tomatoes and roasted chickpeas with a red wine vinaigrette.

This is in rotation as one of my favorite Trader Joe’s Salad Kits! I love greek salads and Mediterranean food in general. The dried tomatoes were a fun surprise and the seasoned flatbread added just a little crunch without being carb-heavy.

Yellow Curry Chopped Salad
Mixed cabbage and carrots with naan chips, cashews, golden raisins & yellow curry ginger lime vinaigrette.

I love a curry moment and had bigger expectations for this salad that what delivered. I actually didn’t toss the dressing that came with this salad, but I did only drizzle a tiny amount. I wanted that good curry flavor, however it lent way more sweet than rich and spicy and savory like I want from curry. The naan chips were also hard as a rock and not quite what I was wanting.

Lemony Arugula Basil Salad Kit
Arugula, rainbow ribbon carrots, almonds and parmesan cheese with a basil lemon vinaigrette.

This is one of the more versatile TJs salad kit. It may be my all time favorite. It’s the perfect base for an entree salad if you beef it up with avocado, and more veggies. I love it as an easy side dish for pan seared salmon.

Buffalo Ranch Chopped Salad
Green cabbage, romaine lettuce, cauliflower stalks, celery, kale, carrots & blue cheese crumbles with a buffalo ranch dressing.

I am not usually a buffalo or a ranch girl when it comes to flavors, but I wanted to give all salad kits a fair shot. I tried the dressing on this salad and it was not for me, so I set it aside and drizzled this with a little barbecue sauce. Delicious honestly, but I love barbecue sauce. Some shredded chicken, extra carrots, and chopped celery would be great added to this salad. If you are a buffalo aficionado, some crock-pot chicken shredded with buffalo sauce would be awesome here.

Suggestions on what my next Trader Joe’s quest should be? Chips? (after lent of course because I gave up these little kryptonites) Dip? Frozen food?

Annie

updated 8/24/20

Bites of My Life

Quick and busy week coming off New York last week Then had truly a great great weekend with all of my very best friends in town. We were celebrating baby Ralph on the way, but it doubled as an impromptu girls weekend. Just what I needed.

-When work research means a triple order of In-N-Out french fries, you know you have the job for you.
-Rent the Runway unlimited strikes again. I did RTR last spring and I’m back on. With my New York trip and 85,000 weddings and showers and events in the next few months, it’s truly the best. It makes me feel good that I always have something to wear and not spending a ton of money on things I’ll probably wear once. TBH it’s fun to get to “shop” every week and get the navy blue bag in the mail full of 4 brand new pieces. I ordered 3 dress options for things last week and this fun jacket. Something I’d never buy but loved the chance to wear.
-Bed of spinach, quinoa, roasted brussels, chickpeas and drizzle of tahini. So simple and easy if you roast the brussels and cook the quinoa in advance.
-Wait weren’t we just 22 living on Mahler Pl. without a care in the world? How are you having a baby????
-Kind of obsessed with how cute Madeline’s animal themed baby shower turned out. Complete with jungle-inspired flowers and animal crackers!
-RTR dress number 2 for the weekend. Daylight savings happened and I’m leaning in to spring. I’ve already re-arranged my closet to bring out my spring shoes and clothes.
-Taxes, check. Thank goodness.
-Made Jess Kane’s (social media director for Cupcakes and Cashmere) sister’s Maca Bars. Jess posted them a few weeks ago and I was intrigued. Cashews, dates, a little lemon and a lot of maca. I’ve been having one with lunch as something sweet each day this week.
-Two angels, I got to shower Sunday night. I met Kelly and Devon from The Pilates Barre and both are off to take on their next stage of life. Love that I got to get to know them.

Bites of My Life

When your mom calls you a few weeks ago and says she and your dad booked a trip to New York and flights are $200 round trip, you go. Such a fun weekend in New York getting to see my sister and her husbands new-ish place and spend the weekend with family! After being in OKC at the beginning of the week for work, then catching a stomach bug, pushing through a few work days back in Dallas, then it was off to New York!

-Monday night in Norman speaking at OU KKG chapter meeting with my sidekick. We spoke on tips for getting a job, life in marketing and how to get paid doing social media!
-Recipe and development for The Social Order’s newest concept.
-100% satisfied with this impulse Barefood Contessa mug purchase.
-Miso Instant Ramen from Trader Joes. Add broccoli or a green veggie of your choice to the broth. And then stock your pantry with these. So good.
-Off to Brooklyn in a Brooklyn sweatshirt. Really leaning into the final destination.
-Officially that person bringing my own cooked food on the plane. I opted for a cooked sweet potato with almond butter. Filling and smell level at a low.
-Cliche Brooklyn graffiti photo, check.
-DATE CAKE. We stayed in on Saturday night. Claire and Mike baked this cake from the Gjelina cookbook to go with dinner.
-My sister’s bathroom is a mirror selfie waiting to happen.
-Trying to live in a city where eating bagels is more the norm. I’ve been a big proponent of more carbs in 2020.
-Anyone else an orange wine enthusiast like me?
-Great last meal at Win Son to end a great trip!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Bites, fun mail, home decor and weekend at home. February is short to begin with, but flying by. Off to see my sister in New York this weekend and I cannot wait!

-Clean out the fridge lunch full of fiber and healthy fats: cup-ish of black beans, 1/2 an avocado, grape tomatoes, non-dairy cheese and salsa!
-The temperature has not really gotten warmer, but back on a smoothie kick!
-Got the invite for Gray Malin’s meet-and-greet feat. his Mambo Taxi print at Mi Cocina last week. This picture doesn’t show off the print or the event, but more guac please!
-Happy little mail day with a belated Valentine from my bestie Maddie!
-Mail day part 2 with this book I can’t wait to read on the plane to New York this weekend.
-Always love getting my Bon Appetit magazine in the mail, but especially loved this issue.
-New end tables that I’m still not over. Check out their before and after in last week’s post.
-All the home talk last week, bedroom officially revamped.
-Got in town Friday and stayed in to cook for mom and dad. Made The Defined Dish’s Walnut Crusted Scallops with Butternut Squash Puree from her book with this Bibb Lettuce salad that is the new go to side salad.
-Four Graces now Core Pilates in Oklahoma City used to be one of my favorite studios. It was my gateway to my love of pilates. It’s new owner, new name and new studio decor is all perfect and loved getting to sneak in a class!
-Aunt Annie sleepover!!
-Cheers to Trinian and Carson!

Annie