Working Woman Grocery List

Well guys, it's Monday, and Mondays can sometimes be hard, going back to school or work after a too-short weekend, but I hope you found something in your day to make you smile. I managed to get a great night's sleep last night (thanks to going to sleep before 9pm), and I got to school nice and early, where I managed to check a few things off of my to-do list. I also made one of my co-workers smile with some of my Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Brownie Bars, recipe courtesy of Baker's Royale.

I got all of the grading done that I had intended to do over the weekend, so it was mainly picking up copies, numbering my vocabulary quizzes, and making sure that I had everything ready to go for the rest of the day. 

It was as good a Monday as any, and I managed to beat the gray day with an after school run around my neighborhood. I have been running, running, running, both in an effort to train for my upcoming half marathon (six days!!!), as well as in an effort to keep up with my goal of running 2,015 (but really 1,0007.5) miles this year. I am hoping to sneak in a swim tomorrow to give my legs a little bit of a rest, but it can sometimes be difficult to snag a lane at the MAC, so we shall see!

Anyway, I wanted to pop in and share my "Working Woman" grocery list with you guys. It doesn't look a whole lot different than my "College Student" grocery list, but I don't hold that title anymore (sadly), so I was inspired to share with you guys what I take with me to eat on a typical work day. Obviously, I don't take all of these things to school with me, nor is this an exact list of what I eat each week. This is just a general list of what I might gravitate toward at the grocery store. My list may be a little skewed, as I do live with my parents, so I don't often (okay, hardly ever) make my own dinner. I included items that I would purchase if I were to cook my own dinner because after all, it wasn't too long ago when I was responsible for every meal. But I won't lie, it's kind of nice to step back into that "kid" role again.

You may notice that I do not include fish on this list. I love fish, and I typically order it whenever I eat out at restaurants. I am always a little bit hesitant to cook it up myself, just because I don't want to give myself food poisoning. There's just not time for that! Again, this is a very broad list, and there are certainly things that I did not include on this list, but I hope this is even a little bit of a help to you if you are out in the working world and don't know where to start. Woman cannot survive on Lean Cuisine meals alone.

P.S. For all of my Houston readers, how pumped are y'all for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo concert lineup? I was THRILLED to see that Brad Paisley will be coming back this year, and I am excited about a couple of artists as well. It's almost my favorite time of year!

Return Of The Plumcot

Happy Saturday! It has sure been one long week, and though I am back at SRD for work, weekends are the easiest, so I can't hate four hours set aside for me to simply read and blog.

Yesterday after work I walked over to Gregory to swim (the Gregory pool is certainly one of the main things I will miss about UT), before returning home to shower, cook up a dinner of zucchini, squash, and chicken sausage,

and head up North to see The Fault In Our Stars with some of my YoungLife girls. I read the book last summer and absolutely loved it, so I was anxious to see how the movie compared.

While I obviously think the book is better (John Green just has such a way with words), I thought the movie was just wonderful. It was so incredibly sad, yet so sweet at the same time, and I managed to hold it together pretty well until the very end. Augustus gave Hazel a forever within the numbered days, and I absolutely recommend seeing this movie (and reading the book, of course).

(Source)

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I was pretty worn out from this past week, so I went to sleep shortly after returning home from the movie. I woke up around 7:20am, headed out the door for a beautiful morning walk around Town Lake,

stopped by the grocery store to stock up on a few items so that I can do some cooking and baking later,

and made my way over to SRD to work the first shift of the day.

Breakfast

Breakfast looks a little bit different today - we still have our scrambled egg whites and spinach as the star of the show,

but I did a little dance at the grocery store last week when I saw plumcots on display. For those of you who are not familiar with plumcots (I wasn't until my friend Alex introduced me to them), they are a natural cross hybrid between plums and apricots. They are very sweet and very refreshing. They are only in season from June to September, so I know they will be making a regular appearance on my grocery list this summer.

I might even try to do some baking with them, so I'll be sure to keep you updated on how that endeavor goes!

And on that note, I'm going to get back to my book - I finally found one that has made me want to keep reading, and I can't seem to put it down!

College Student Grocery List

Happy Tuesday to my favorite readers! Because I am working from 8am to 6pm today, and I wasn't quite feeling waking up in the 5:00 hour today to squeeze in a workout before work, I have something else on the blogging agenda for you today.

The word "fro-yo" may be included in my blog name, but I am generally a very healthy eater (I am all about the occasional indulgence). I love food, and I love creating healthy variations of my favorite dishes. In addition to loving food, I also love going grocery shopping, though I am not sure many of my roommates feel the same way. The only downside is the fact that more often than not, I find myself at the grocery store with none of our reusable grocery bags in sight. I really do appreciate Austin's effort to "go green," but selfishly, I find it a little frustrating at times, though I am sure there are plenty of ways to combat my forgetfulness.

But that is beside the point, and the subject of reusable grocery bags is not enough to keep me away from the grocery store. I love making grocery lists each week, which often includes special ingredients for a new recipe, but it also always contains nearly the same staple items each and every week.

I never buy all of the items on this list at one time, but they are just a sample of what I might have available to me in my pantry or refrigerator at any given time. The fruit found on my list may vary depending on what is in and out of season, but apples and bananas always make my list. I just recently discovered an apple that rivals the Honeycrisp, which is perfect timing, because Honeycrisps are just about to go out of season. I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried about my daily apple intake! The vegetables rarely change, though if I am feeling adventurous, I might opt for some asparagus as well. However, as I am sure you are all aware, I love my dairy-free pizza, and I need all of the vegetables listed in order to make it.

Hands down, my favorite snack 

Peanut butter is obviously one of my very favorite things, and I probably have it every day, in some shape or form. I am also very partial to black beans, corns, and salsa, because any kind of meat can be added to it, and I have a delicious meal ready in just minutes.

As for the extra virgin olive oil, I use that to sauté absolutely anything, and I generally top anything I make with lemon pepper. Meats, vegetables, eggs, pizza - it all tastes good, and when I use pepper, I am not tempted to sprinkle salt on top of anything. Not that I ever really crave salt, but still, lemon pepper is that good that it makes me forget about salt altogether.

So, there you have it. A look into a college student's grocery shopping. The amount I spend varies each week, but I will admit that it is close to $70, depending on what I might need to stock up on that week. Many of the items on this list last for many weeks at a time, while others, mainly produce, have to be restocked each week. I am very lucky to have parents that give me grocery money so generously, because they know how important healthy eating is to me. I also try and honor their generosity by not eating out as often as I used to, and using up the food in my refrigerator before it goes bad. My mom gets on me when I let food go bad at home, but I rarely let it go bad when I am at school.

Lunch

And speaking of food, let's talk about lunch today. One of the perks of working at SRD is getting to enjoy their delicious meals, but often times, I prefer bringing my own lunch, or bringing a tortilla to make a healthy wrap. Today, however, I went downstairs around 2:00pm and made myself a grilled chicken salad, topped with tomatoes, green bell peppers, black olives, and balsamic vinegar. It was delicious, and I am hoping it, along with a slew of other snacks, will fuel me through these last two hours of work.

I am hoping to squeeze in either a run at Town Lake or a swim at Gregory after I finish here, followed by a trip to the grocery store for a few special items. Have a great Tuesday!