According to the weather people, yesterday was supposed to be a complete washout here in Boston. Our weekend planning revolved around that forecast. I would work, hubs would work on his Master’s assignment for the week, and we would spend much of our time housebound. Imagine our surprise and delight when we woke up on Saturday morning to a perfect blue sky and bright sunshine. We quickly got ready, downed POM Wonderful green monsters, and headed to the river for the Head of the Charles. The Head of the Charles is an annual autumn rowing competition that brings rowers from all over the world. If nice out, it is a great way to spend an autumn day, watching the rowers, maybe stopping somewhere in Cambridge for lunch, and enjoying the outdoors before the long winter sets in. Even more of an incentive than the bright day was the fact that the Galway Rowing Club was competing in this year’s races. The hubs rowed in Galway for many years and still loves the sport. If it wasn’t so incredibly time consuming, I would say that he would row for a club here in Boston. Anyway, we left the house, drove over to the Cambridge side of the river, parked the car, and walked along the river until we found a good spot for race watching.
Even one of my POM Wonderful samples came along. 
It was an absolutely gorgeous day, just a nip in the air, but it felt so good to be outside! While we waited for the race that the Galway men were in, we crossed the street to get a coffee at Starbucks. I had the Clover Sumatra coffee with a packet of sugar in the raw and some skim milk. It was okay, but not great. We also shared a chicken salad sandwich and sat outside to enjoy the sunshine. I made a new friend. 
I don’t think he was as interested in me as he was in the sandwich, but he didn’t get any of it. Isn’t he gorgeous?! Finally, we headed back to the river and got to see Galway row by.
And that was it. I think the watching the races part of the Head of the Charles is a bit boring because the boats start at different times and it all goes by time. Its not like watching a marathon or other running race where you can actually see the tension between the top contenders and can cheer them on to a victory.Still the atmosphere is great, and if you are ever in town for this weekend, I would definitely recommend it! Our car just happened to be close to the Cambridge Trader Joe’s, so I also got the shopping for the week done. 
Our haul included TJ’s apple chicken sausage, whole wheat flour for baking, spinach for smoothies, butter lettuce and heirloom tomatoes for salads, whole wheat pizza dough for POM pizzas, cheese ravioli for a Rachael Ray inspired easy ravioli lasagna, miniature potatoes for roasting, truffle and mushroom flatbread, pumpkin for pumpkin pie yogurt, lots of TJ’s teas, and a new product for me, Trader Joe’s Super Red Drink Powder, an antioxidant supplement. With all of the travel I have coming up from November to January, I am searching for new ways to stay healthy and energized. Hopefully this will be good addition to a healthy diet, green monsters, and chia tea.
This flatbread pizza is sooooooo good! At $4.99 it is a steal, with its earthy truffle-y goodness. I love grocery shopping, but I also love getting it out of the way and having a well-stocked house for the week so that meals, especially the ones that I bring to work, are easy. Looking at our groceries last night and being at home with my husband made me feel one thing, lucky. I sometimes am overwhelmed at how lucky we are to have each other, as much food as we need, a warm place to live, and work that helps to provide what we need. Today was the washout we expected. I went dog walking with dogs who did NOT want to be outside. It is quite chilly; I think I may have seen some snow mixed in with the rain. Can I tell you how glad I am that I did not run the Newport Half Marathon today? Gina was running the entire marathon down there today, and I hope she had a great race! I am off now to eat one of my favorite things on the planet, Bueno y Sano tacos, brought back from Amherst by my friend MVO. Up this week, another Blue Diamond review, my trip to the Willamette Valley
wine region, Montreal restaurant reviews, my first POM recipe, and a giveaway I am VERY excited for. Hint – the prize is something from a baker I think we have all been following over the past few months who JUST starting shipping to the US. Any guesses? 😉 I also start my food writing class tomorrow after work, so I will be sure to tell you about that. Who knows, I may even have to post an assignment or two! Have a good night and a great Monday bloggies!
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Tags: Boston, Food, giveaway, Trader Joe's
You may have noticed that all of the meals I have blogged about thus far are restaurant meals. While I LOVE the entire experience of eating out and trying new places, my typical eating day does not always contain rich, amazing meals. I am a veg aholic and have learned loads from the various blogs, cooking magazines, and books I have read.
I don’t plan on blogging all of my meals for now, and think the ladies who do are amazing but way more organized than I am! My eating style is grazing. I get full fast and am starving just as quickly, so having healthy, tasty food on hand is key to the happiness of anyone who has to deal with me! Below I have included a list of staples that I look forward to eating each week:
Green monster smoothie- (thanks Angela from Oh She Glows!)
Mine vary, but they tend to include silken tofu, collard greens that have been quickly steamed and cooled, baby spinach, half a banana, frozen pineapple or blueberries, water, and ground flaxseed.
Homemade muesli
A delightful mix of oats and grains (from Trader Joe’s) soaked overnight in soy, almond or regular milk, then mixed with TJ’s 0% fat Greek style yogurt, a few drops of blue agave nectar (TJ’s again!) and topped with chopped fresh fruit and toasted almonds.
Bean and veggie dishes
The easiest and best meals for the hubby and I are ones that we can make lots of and freeze or eat for lunch later in the week. This could mean a curry, chock full of broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, beans, and pineapple or my super easy kitchen sink veggie chili. I rarely follow a recipe completely, and the cookbook reading that I do is often just to get concepts that I can tweak. This makes me a horrendous baker, but fortunately we have some great local bakeries!
Snacks: Trader Joe’s fruit leather with fiber, a handful of toasted almonds, TJ’s protein bread with some almond butter, fruits and veggies with hummus or dipped in yogurt, plus the occasional (okay daily) whole grain crackers spread with Nutella
Though I never eat beef and rarely eat pork or chicken, I would not consider myself a vegetarian. I gravitate towards lots of healthy foods and have finally found a great balance between my 10-11 veggies a day and that triple creme brie and glass of wine. 🙂
Tags: Food, Health Food, Trader Joe's
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