JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY 44

OK, so it's so hot in my apartment that I took a nap this evening at 6. Woke up when the dog casually mentioned that he'd like to go outside ... at 8:30!! Holy mackerel. So I took him out, then came in and putzed around on the computer... now it's 9:30 PM, and I realize that I forgot to eat supper. I realized it because suddenly I'm hungry! My long nap notwithstanding, I would like to go to bed at a reasonable hour, and I don't dare eat this close to lying-down time, or the Evil Acid will get me!! :(

Anyway, here is what I ate today:

BREAKFAST
Sarah's Great Smoothie Idea:
1 c. plain non-fat yogurt
1/2 serving mixed berries, still frozen
2 T. crunchy peanut butter*
1 banana (my own addition -- it was getting pretty soft and needed to be eaten)
1/4 c. Grape Nuts cereal

Tossed it all into my mini processor and out came the most delectable smoothie EVER. Cool and refreshing with just the right amount of crunch! YUMMMMM.

*Side commentary about the peanut butter. Back in the early days of this blog, Rachel suggested to me an affordable alternative to Whole Foods' expensive natural peanut butter: Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter, which I tried, and LOVED.

This last Sunday I decided to try Trader Joe's here in Alexandria. First, I would like to say that I did not like the store as much as I thought I would. Maybe it's just that particular store in swanky Old Town, but the prices weren't that great, every other package of fresh strawberries had several moldy ones in there (ew!), and the store doesn't carry sesame seeds OR tahini!! I asked three different employees (because I couldn't believe the first two negative responses!), and they all said nope, don't carry sesame seeds. Don't carry tahini. Whaa?? Found 'em both at my little McGruder's. Figures.

ANYway, I bought some Trader Joe's natural peanut butter, and it doesn't have nearly the flavor and crunch of Smucker's. Same ingredients, btw: peanuts, salt. Period. Smucker's does have more sodium, 120 mg vs. TJ's 45, but TJ's is more soupy, too, after rigorous stirring and refrigeration, it's still soupy, and you can get whole spoonfuls without ANY chunks of nuts, which makes me sad. :(

And that's my unsolicited review of Trader Joe's AND their peanut butter.