My goodness, I forgot to post a picture of Bill’s homemade iced coffee this morning. Here’s a glimpse, almost gone.

Bill said the coffee was weak, but I didn’t think so. It saved me from almost falling asleep on the highway this morning to work (I kid you not). Plus, it stayed cold for about four hours. This was taken right before my last sip at 11:45 a.m. (yes, it takes me that long to drink my morning coffee).

I should also note that this is Week 3 of NO ASPARATAME. I have had some Sweet n’ Low in an iced latte here or there – but as far as my morning coffee? Nothing, nada, zilch. No cancer sugar! Yes! I will admit that I miss it – but it’s one of those “out of sight, out of mind” kind of things. I just didn’t buy anymore, and since it’s not there – I don’t use it. Funny how it works that easily.

My lunches have been slightly unsatisfying lately, so I decided to bring more variety with me today. I started with a small ham and swiss cheese sandwich on fresh bread from Harris Teeter.

On the side were some leftover peas from last night’s dinner.

… and you guessed it, more fresh strawberries!

This should keep my mouth entertained for a while .

I’m saving a special treat for my afternoon snack. A Peanut- Peanut Butter Granola bar. You read that right. It’s all about peanuts.

Link Love

I was sad to see that Top Chef Contestant Spike Mendelsohn was evicted from his apartment. I mean, I sort of believe his story – but it’s also just weird.

I’m sure that by now everyone is going crazy over the ZestyCook Blog Makeover. Oh, what’s that? You haven’t heard? Get over there now! I promise you some superstar skills. Check out my header as an example!

I think that most bloggers will look at this list and say, “I knew that would be on it!” But it’s always good to check yourself. You never know the 10 Healthy Foods that that could be Sneaking Calories Into Your Diet.

Question

Are you/have you ever been addicted to artificial sweeteners?

No judgment here! Just curious!

I am going to try and describe my day using one sentence per picture. Let’s see how this goes.

After a 3-mile run around the neighborhood this morning, I came home to a delicious egg sandwich (I hear egg “sammys” are no longer the thing to say) made by Bill that included an everything bagel, ham steak and an egg.

I got a haircut that I think I like but am not totally yet convinced.

Scone ditched his collar on the floor in rebellion.

I made a new bean salad using garbanzo, pinto and pink beans.

The pink beans weren’t so pink but instead a brownish red color.

I had yet another sandwich type meal for lunch/dinner.

I made my sandwich with naan, which ended up being the best idea ever.

We drove to Thomas Sweet in Georgetown for the best ice cream ever.

I got my favorite – a nonfat oreo yogurt.

I also:

• did my taxes (and I am going to buy a new computer!! Wee!)
• bought bridal gifts for Katie and Kristen
• hung out with Scone and Bill quite a bit

I am considering the day a success

Now it’s time for a movie and gearing up for my 8-mile run in the AM!

How was your Saturday?

We are completely out of food in the apartment right now, and I was dreading having to buy lunch. I am a total tight wad when it comes to weekly spending; I just don’t do it. I am much more likely to have shopping sprees on the weekend than ever buying anything mid week.

Needless to say, I brought a huge whopping salad – some remnants of yesterday’s lunch – with me for lunch today. But when I thought about the salad, all I could think about was how badly I wanted a sandwich. So I splurged and spent $5 on a turkey sandwich on multi-grain bread.

This looks like a lot food, but I didn’t eat it all of the salad. I actually ate about half and plan on saving the rest for tomorrow.

This salad was still just as good as yesterday. What is it about red wine vinegar anyway?

And the magnificent sandwich. Bill will absolutely die when he sees this, but I really wanted a pickle on my sando.

And of course they only had spears, but the worker willingly put two on my sandwich (in addition to one on the side).

Cha-Ching! I loved this sandwich. I slathered it in ketchup too but decided not too take photos of that ugly mess Plus I use an extreme amount of ketchup.

Product Review: Stonyfield Farm Organic Oikos

Kristina from Stonyfield Farm sent me some coupons a few weeks ago to try a few of the Stonyfield Farms products. I have always been a fan of Stonyfield, though I will admit to not really buying their yogurt since I found Chobani. I decided to give it a try after getting four coupons for free yogurts in the mail.

The packing is cute, however, the large font of “Oikos” almost makes you forget that this is a Stonyfield product. And isn’t there an Oikos brand out there already? I’m not sure. I do like the colors of the packaging, and I’ve always been a fan of their logo.

The consistency of the yogurt is pretty similar to other greek yogurts I’ve had. Nice, thick and creamy.

I will admit that I had Heather and Mark’s video in my mind as I did my own tasting. And the first thing I thought?…….

…. wow, this is sour. It really was sour. Maybe this is because it’s the vanilla flavor? As I continued eating it got better, but I could still taste the sourness. I wonder if this is the same with the blueberry and honey? Can you weigh in?

I did think this yogurt was excellent once I added my cereal add-in.

CONCLUSION: I wouldn’t say that I didn’t like Oikos, but I don’t like sour yogurt that much. I am a real sucker for sweet. I think I would buy Oikos if it were on sale or if Chobani wasn’t available.

Welcome to a New Food Blogger

Ashley was one of my first bosses in the newspaper bizz – at the good ole’ college paper back in Pennsylvania. She was tough on me, taught me a lot about AP Style and layout and then went on her way to make her mark on the newspaper world. I heard from her sporadically through Facebook and kept tabs on her through friends. A good friend of both of ours, Kelsey, mentioned something to me about Ashley losing a great deal of weight – and I thought that was great. One thing lead to another, and we got to emailing again – and before I knew it, Ashley had started her own blog. Can you imagine my excitement?

Care to give Ashley a big warm welcome to the food blogsophere? I promise you will enjoy her weight loss story, her unique fashion sense and her passion for leading a healthy lifestyle. Go over and take a peak!:

Fashionably Fit

See you at dinner!