Give Healthy Eating a Chance in 2010

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We have started to notice a number of changes occurring in the world of food and eating… Maybe you have too?

It started with a garden… First Lady Michelle Obama planted a vegetable garden in an effort to help kids (and all Americans) eat more veggies on a daily basis. We thought this was a great idea, and have seen Ms. Obama interviewed on various news programs as a result. We have even seen her talking about this garden on Sesame Street!
Then the books started to appear.

You know how it goes…  you start to see stuff on TV and then read something, and then you mention it to a friend, and then someone else says “hey I like that and also…” and it just keeps snowballing and growing around you as you start to gather up more and more great information??
This is happening to us right now.

We are attracting, stumbling into and are being recommended by friends,  a number of books that are sending us a similar message:
For optimum health, we must  watch what we eat
Now this is not new information… most people have heard this at one time or another in their lives…. We did, but we ignored this simple truth… we continued to eat items that we knew were not good for us in excess…  OK not the way to eat when you want to  live to  130 years old, right?
Here is the list of books that we are currently reading,  re-reading, discussing and debating together:

  • The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno
  • Food Matters by Mark Bittman
  • Jamie’s Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver

There are still more books that we  are interested in checking out, but right now these three are the current books spread all over the kitchen table in our apartment. We feel that they are all just oozing with information… ready for us to soak up like a sponge.

So to confirm: We are going to take  on this challenge to better health in 2010 and beyond.

We wanted to make some heath/ lifestyle changes at the start of 2010, and out blog Living Trader Joe’s is just one way we are keeping on  track, accountable and on the right path.  We are choosing to re-examine what we are eating on a daily basis for optimum health. Hey… not only for the health of our bodies, but for our financial health as well as our planet’s well being.
Now the “eat healthy” message that are in each of these books  is not that new, but WOW this year, it has sunk in for the both of us.  Confession:  this healthy outlook and our receptiveness to new, better nutritional  ideas could be based in part to the fact we both also turned 40-something this year….

Nah….  These plans just “click”…. They all give  sound nutritional advice and common sense at the core of all these plans.  And not before time, right? … Who else is sick of the fad diets with strict instructions and dubious meals planning…
Anyway, this time the messages worked.

We are finally making the connection between our health and our planet’s health. We are finally measuring the difference between feeling energetic or feeling sluggish and tired after a meal. We are finally seeing the positive effects from healthy eating in our healthy bank balance. All these positive effects are showing themselves in a more concrete way that is furthering our commitment to this new healthy lifestyle of eating.
We are making lasting changes to our diet, our shopping and our lives!
Now we will be posting more in-depth information this week about each of these books so you can see what all the excitement is about with each of these healthy eating lifestyles…

Come join us… Let’s get healthy together!

Trader Joe’s Beef, Bean & Cheese Dip

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Trader Joes Beef, Bean and Cheese Dip

Trader Joes Beef, Bean and Cheese Dip

When you think of bean dip, do you think hot or cold?

Well, we usually serve this  dip  cold, made with beans, cheese, salsa and if it’s a “special” occasion, maybe sour cream or guacamole on top. This is fantastic during a hot summer, but eeks! it’s cold out folks!

So we were pleased to find this product at Trader Joe’s:  Trader Joe’s Taco Seasoned Beef, Bean & Cheese Dip.

We were looking for something new, to devour at 5pm as we waited for the rest of our group to assemble for a late night birthday dinner.   Also the Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics would be on that night, and nothing says “Party Food” like watching the Olympics. So we were searching for something rich and delicious to help us celebrate our many events that evening.

Now ironically we found this lovely item mixed in with the frozen snacks and appetizers.  We were looking for something new and different that would heat up easy/quick and be a little more filling than some that we usually purchase.

This item lived up to all our hopes…

We warmed it up from frozen and it was very quick in the microwave (only 4 minutes).  The contents of the tray were not a big blob of  “stuff” either. You could see the cheese, the green onions and sour cream patches. It actually looked very good and home made-ish…. Not exactly as beautiful as the package leads you to believe, but still presentable….

OK it would have looked more home made if we had placed the dip into a glass container, and not used  the little plastic tray….

As far as taste, it was wonderful. Everyone in our group agreed that it was in fact a “winner” and several people said that they would purchase this in the future.  In fact the only “problem” we had was to remember to take a  picture before we finished the entire tray!

Trader Joe's Beef, Bean & Cheese Dip

Trader Joe's Beef, Bean & Cheese Dip

So two thumbs up for Trader Joe’s Taco Seasoned Beef, Bean & Cheese Dip

View from a fridge

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Trader Joe's in the fridge

Some friends were over last night, and over the course of dinner, peeked into the fridge. Now we normally tidy up the fridge when we have company over, as a rule. But this time, we were not prepared for the reaction.

Our friends were shocked!

We really did have stuff from Trader Joe’s in our fridge. And more than just one item. In fact, there were plenty of goodies from Trader Joe’s on the first shelf alone…

OK here is a list of our favorite things that are in the fridge right now:

Creamy Peanut Butter

Dijon Mustard

Salsa Authentica

Sour Cream

Pesto

Butter

Blackberry Jam

Lemon Curd

The last item, the Lemon Curd, is not a normal purchase, but rather an experiment or splurge. An item to brighten up a cold winter’s day. However, it is soo good, it is  well on its way to becoming a “regular” purchase. It is THICK and tangy and just delish.   We have tried it a number of different ways and each way is better than the last.  The best way so far,  was when we made crepes with the Trader Joe’s pancake mix (just added extra water to the regular recipe on the box until the batter was THIN and made the crepes in a small, 8 inch pan).

Once all the crepes were made, we just spread them thinly with the lemon curd, and folded them in half and then in half again.  The were rich and just amazing… We also tried the crepes with a lemon curd/ blackberry jam center. They too were good, but were a little sweet overall.

Next time we are planning to try some unsweetened whip cream to the lemon curd and use that mixture in the crepes.

We hope you have enjoyed this voyage into the fridge too see all the Trader Joe’s products we use.

An Easy & Tasty Lunch Idea

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Trader Joe's Garlic & Herb chicken sausages

Today’s tasty lunch idea came directly from Trader Joe’s!

After the great taste of those Mango Sausages, we checked out the chicken sausage section to see what other great sausages were available.  We chose this package: Trader Joe’s Garlic and Herb Chicken Sausages.

These are fully cooked sausages that only took about 10 minutes to heat up in a pan on the stove.  Our guess is that you could heat them in the microwave even quicker.  They would also be a great lunch to take to work, as they are “Break Room OK” meaning they heat up quick and do not have a strong smell.

Anyway we just heated them up and browned them a little in a pan and served them with Trader Joe’s Dijon mustard, and a little side salad with a fresh lemon-Dijon mustard dressing.

Here is the recipe for the side salad:

Salad stuff that you like such as:  Baby spinach leaves, sliced baby carrots, sliced cucumbers or zucchini (we used zucchini as they just looked better at Trader Joe’s), cherry tomatoes and red onion slices.  Use amounts that make sense for the number of people you are serving. Or try…. We were just making lunch for the two of us, and we still have way to much salad. Oh well, perhaps it is a start towards tonight’s dinner?

Fresh Lemon-Dijon salad dressing:

In a  bowl squeeze out the juice from one small or 1/2 of a large lemon. Remove any seeds that come with the juice.  This should be about two tablespoons of lemon juice. Then add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard (or more if you like) and a little salt and pepper. Wisk together. Add olive oil, about 4 Tablespoons in a thin stream while you are whisking at the same time.   Taste the dressing on a piece of spinach or a carrot and see if you need more oil. Add more oil, until the dressing has a nice balance, and you enjoy the taste.

Toss the salad with about 1/2 the dressing and then see if you need more. If you still have some dry leafs, then add another spoonful of dressing and re-toss.

These were a nice mild sausage, that had good flavor without being super-strong flavored.

And like we already said, we served the salad and the sausage with a little extra mustard on the side…. Yum!

Have you tried these sausages? What did you think?