Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Daily Eats, Dramas & Trader Joe's (April 7th)

I've actually been eating well this week, as opposed to last week, when I was too stressed to eat much at all! And this morning I braved the crowds and headed to Trader Joe's and got a huge haul (posted below)! Plus, there is something else I want to address... This is going to be a LONG post, so please indulge me! First, here are some of my eats over the past few days...

I had something old and something new at Qi Asian Eatery the other day...


Spring rolls (which I always get).


And instead of my usual pineapple fried rice, I tried their pad see euw dish, which was very similar to the black or broad rice noodle dish that I get at Spice and Sea Thai Bistro. Only, their's was a little more seasoned... garlic, I think. Either way, it was very good and I'd definitely get it again!


I had another slice of Mom's delicious cheesecake (that she made for Easter) with strawberries! With the strawberries added, it almost tasted like strawberry shortcake cheesecake, which is really spectacular! :)


And I had lunch down in Soho the other day at Famous Ben's Pizzeria (which is always worth the crowds!).


For dinner the other night I decided to pair something healthy was something that's, well.. not. Blake's macaroni & cheese with a Birds Eye Steamfresh baby potato veggie blend!

And now, on to my Trader Joe's haul!


Challah Rolls, swiss cheese, pasta medley, Fage 0% yogurts x 2, and eggplant parmesan.


Garden vegetable lasagne x 2 (one of my faves!), spinach & broccoli quiches, and their meatless corn dogs.


Chocolate lava cakes, ice cream sandwiches, chocolate chip brownie bowls, macaroons, 100 calorie milk chocolate bars, and a Toblerone. (Yes, I went a little nuts, but I plan on making my sweets haul last for a while... I do like to have a bit every day though. ;)


Multigrain waffles (which I'm looking forward to trying) and chocolate chips (these are mainly for baking and yogurt parfaits, because Lord knows I got enough chocolate pictured above! lol).

And now on to today's daily eats...

Breakfast:
I decided to try Energy Kitchen, because I've heard good things about it. I went to the one in the West Village (on Christopher St.). My friend Missy recommended the wraps there and she was right, they are good. I got a veggie egg wrap with egg whites, mushrooms, broccoli, and american cheese on a whole wheat wrap (once again stealing Missy's idea! lol). It was good, however, the service was not.

For starters, I was basically the only person there. Yet the service was really, really slow. Which begs the question, how bad does this place get during busy times?! And because I was at Trader Joe's earlier this morning, I didn't get over to Energy Kitchen until a little after 11, having a late breakfast. While the veggie wrap and my choice of toppings was supposed to only come to $3.98, I was informed that since it was after 11 (by 5 minutes or so!) I now had to pay $6.51!! My life will go on, and in the grand scheme of things it's not THAT much money, but that still sucks. And the worst part is, that after taking forever and overcharging me, they forgot to add the cheese (which they had no problem charging me extra for!). Then when they added it back in, it wasn't melted properly...

So, the upshot is, I wasn't too thrilled with my experience there, but I may go back again or try another location one of these days. Anyways, here's the wrap that I went to so much trouble for! lol


Lunch:
I had one of the Trader Joe's meatless corn dogs with a Mott's peach medley apple sauce. I really thought this tasted like the corn dogs I used to eat as a kid! So I give them two thumbs up!


Snack(s):
I had a few of Trader Joe's macaroons... they are vanilla and chocolate, and very tasty might I add!


I also had one of my beloved Whole Foods 365 brand strawberry fruit bars! These are essential on days like today (WAY too hot in my opinion!).


Dinner:
I had Trader Joe's eggplant parmesan with some mini penne pasta along side (I cooked my own pasta and sauce separately). I thought their eggplant parmesan was very good! Usually nothing compares to my Mom's version, but these were pretty close. And so easy to make too (just 2-3 minutes in the microwave!). (Oh and I couldn't finish all this food, I'm guilty of rarely finishing what I'm eating!)


Dessert:
I had one of Trader Joe's ice cream sandwiches... this was DELICIOUS! Enough said!


Peanut and I had fun playing today... he was really wild (maybe because of the weather change?). He did slow down for me to get a few pics of him by the sink for his drinks (and in this hot weather, there are many of them!).



P.S. Someone made a nasty comment to me about my photography on my last post (and I removed it). The only reason I brought this up is because I can't believe that a person has nothing better to do than to insult my photography! Do you not realize I'm taking these pictures off of a freaking CELL PHONE?! What kind of pictures do you expect to see?! I don't even have a separate digital camera for God sakes! I never claimed to be a professional photographer! It's simply amazing the crap that people will come up with.

Anyways, I just wanted to vent about that, because 99.9% of people I've met in the blogging world have been GREAT. However, there are a few trouble makers out there (so I've heard from other bloggers) that have nothing better to do than to post nasty comments out of jealousy, to try to bring people down. These people are very sad and insecure. They are the same people who like to call girls "fat" or "ugly" to make themselves feel better, no doubt. Oh well, sticks and stones!

Here's a picture that I took on my Macbook instead! See, I'm still smiling! :)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry someone was such a jerk to you! But good for you for not letting it get to you! Who needs people like that?

Peanut is adorable! My cat has been crazy lately, too. He's been racing around the house for noooo reason and jumping out at me from around corners! And, guess what? He also likes to drink out of sinks. Whenever I can't find him, I just turn on the water, and he comes running!

Have a great night!

Missy said...

Sorry about that negative comment! People need to get a life. You look so pretty in that last picture!

Sorry you had a bad experience at Energy Kitchen. I've had a bad one before and wrote a letter. They sent me a gift card. I recommend doing the same!!

MJC said...

Missy ~ Thanks! That's interesting you had a bad experience there too! I might write a letter, since it worked for you.

Anonymous said...

Sorry you were subject to a nasty comment... some people really have nothing better to do with their time than insult others, I guess. :/

Never too hot!! Though I get a headache just thinking of TJ's...

<3 <3

Tori said...

Haha, go Marina! Tell off all those haters! I haven't had a particularly mean comment on my blog (yet), but I hope if I ever do it's not so harsh, that I can just brush it off. But I can be a little sensitive :)

<3 Tori

lynn @ the actors diet said...

isn't it weird how places that are empty are slow?

Katie said...

Boo, don't listen to that garbage.

I went to the same Energy Kitchen last summer when I was working in the neighborhood... I got a salad, and was sad when it rang up a $11 bill! But, I like the idea of healthy fast food... even if it's not always so "fast."

Anonymous said...

OMG I love epic trader joe's runs like that! I like to make their sweet/dessert products last a while too. I bet we would make great TJ's shopping companions. The egplant parm sounds good! Eggplants are in season during the summer so I'll get some from the farmer's market and make it. Yum.

Sorry about the mean comment. No fun. You look beautiful in that picture though! Glowing!

MJC said...

Caronae ~ Thanks! I'd love to go to Trader Joe's with you! I'm always jealous of the people with shopping companions! lol We can talk about it more Sunday. ;)

Anonymous said...

Gosh, I dn't get the point of negativity. I don't know.. I just think it's icky. Anyway, I'm glad you're still smiling and you look gorgeous in that picture :D By the way, that TJ's haul looks awesome and your picture just made me want an ice cream sandwich so badly! It's perfect because it's finally warming up. I just want to walk through the park with an ice sandwich.. and cone lol. I'm interested to see what you do with the challah rolls :D I love challah bread!! So yummy!

p.s. update on my next NY visit.. I'm hoping it'll be in May and by that time I'll be done with school so I won't have to worry about that :D

Sophia Lee said...

What...the...heck...of all the things, why photography? I mean, if they don't like your pics, why even bother to visit? Jeezus! Negative sayers just need to stay away from blogs if it pains them so much.

By the way, you're gorgeous. :-)

And I LOVE Pad See Ew! I'm glad you gave it a try!

MJC said...

Katharina ~ Just e-mail me before you come to NYC and we can make plans! :)