Tag Archives: costco

Costco, Trader Joe’s and Other Various Food Finds

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I’m still busy as hell but thought I’d drop a quick post with some new food finds!  You can click here to see all my posts about various food finds I’ve had

Costco Food Finds:

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All yogurt is not created equal in my eyes, and Fage is the BEST.  It is also EXPENSIVE. Costco has a 3 LB tub for $5.99 which really puts the price in line with regular yogurt you find at the regular grocery store! Score!

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I love these things on salad!  15 are 3 Smartpoints but totally worth it for me.  They also have these at Trader Joe’s, but Costco is much closer to me and I only do Trader Joe runs every other month or so.  It is nice to have another place where I can get these!

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Food Finds – Costco

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I have a love hate relationship with Costco.  I mean, you can get some great deals, right?

Yeah, but then they can make you fall in love with something and then BAM it’s GONE! Not cool Costco, not cool!

Anyway, here are my favorite things that I always get from Costco!

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I’m so not a protein bar kind of person.  What I am is a candy bar kind of person, and when I just want a candy bar these are my go to.  Robert Irvine Fortifx Fit Crunch Peanut Butter Bars are 6 Smartpoints but you would swear they are as much as a regular candy bar, which is 1,294,089 points.

Make sure you get the right one because there are others that are way higher in points.  Scan your packages people!

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Food Find – Premier Protein

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So this has been one of my staples since rejoining back in February.  Everyone has their vice, their trigger when they are trying to lose weight, and mine is coffee.

I love coffee.  I mean I seriously love coffee.

The problem is I love all the stuff that comes with it – the flavored creamers, the sugar, the whipped cream.

It is amazing to me that I was probably drinking most of my Smartpoints in creamer before!  Seriously!  It’s a miracle that I did’t have more than 59 pounds to lose.

As a veteran Weight Watcher I knew this.  I tried all kinds of things when I was on the program before to make my coffee tolerable.  I remember buying those Swiss Miss light hot chocolate packets and using those, until I started noticing the big blobs of undisovable junk and it totally freaked me out.

So I knew I needed a way to make this work, and the people in my meeting kept talking about this Premier stuff.  Yeah, yeah chemicals blah blah.  I’ll take a minimal amount of chemicals over 59 pounds of fat thank you.

I actually really do try to stay away from that stuff and with the few exceptions I do.  But this, this I need.

I don’t ever drink them as protein shakes, I just put them in my coffee.  I love the chocolate one.  Vanilla is good too, strawberry is decent, and I found banana to be repulsive.

So if you find yourself needing a decent sub for your coffee, that’s my recommendation.  At only 2 Smartpoints it’s not bad.  I’ve found them the cheapest at Costco, but I’ve heard that Sam’s Club sells them at a good price too.

If you all have any tricks to jazz up your coffee please please leave it in the comments!

Easy and Fast Veggie Stir Fry

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So I work a lot.  Like a 40 hour work week is a vacation for me.  At our meeting this week someone mentioned how much we eat out now.

We never ate out when I was a kid in the 80’s.  Unless it was someone’s birthday or an anniversary we ate home cooked meals, and none of us had weight problems.  We ate dessert every night for God’s sake!

I fell into the take out routine in my 30’s, and it’s also when I packed it on.  Even when you are trying to eat healthy they add so much salt and oil and the tears of puppies that even if you don’t eat huge portions (which they usually are) you don’t have a hope in hell of maintaining or good God losing weight.

I’m hungry when I get home, and if I haven’t prepped something, or I don’t want to wait an hour for something to be done, or sometimes I’m just to damn tired to cook I make this.  This is my go-to recipe on those nights when I’m hangry and just over it.

I can have this from prep to my plate in 10 minutes, and it’s GOOD.  I keep brown rice in my fridge at all times – just to be prepared and because I eat this at least once a week!

The most important thing about this is to have everything ready to go and measured out. I put my seasonings in a ramekin, and have everything else out with the measuring spoons.

What is completely awesome about this is you can adjust your rice or your oil or your egg beaters if you have a lot or a little points.

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Food Find – Crunchmaster Rice Crackers

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So I like to eat clean most of the time.  I don’t do a lot of processed foods but I’m, you know, human so sometimes I just want some junk.

Crunchy, salty, bad for you goodness.

I found the Crunchmaster Rice Crackers at Costco, and they are delicious.  It’ll only cost you 3 Weight Watcher Smartpoints for 18 of these bad boys.

Now these crunchy bits of heaven have got quite the kick, so if spicy isn’t your thing you probably won’t enjoy these.  They are incredibly flavorful, and I use a wedge of Laughing Cow to cut the heat and it’s a snack that seems totally naughty but is so nice!

Opa! Chicken Sandwich

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So Costco has this awesome Kirkland chunk chicken in an 8 oz can.  Of course you get like 6 of them when you buy them, so I wanted to get some different recipes.

This is one of my favorites!  You can either do it as a “scramble” like shown in my picture, or you can make patties out of it.  When I’m in a hurry I just do three scoops (I use my ice cream scooper which is 1/4 cup) with a table spoon of oil, crisp it up, and it’s all good!

I use Joseph brand flat bread which is out of this world!  I get it from Walmart, and it is by the deli counter.  2 points each and worth it!

This is my go to dish when I have nothing in the house.  I try to make it up a head of time so it’s ready to cook.  It is so filling.  I mean I am STUFFED when I eat this and it’s so mouth-wateringly flavorful that I am completely satisfied when I eat it!

Opa! Chicken Sandwich – 5-6 points

1 8 oz can Kirkland Chunk Chicken

1 Green Pepper (diced)

1 Small White Onion (diced)

1 Egg

1/2 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

1 Tablespoon Wildtree Opa! Seasoning (or Greek seasoning found at your grocery store)

Grapeseed Oil (I use garlic infused)

Tzatziki Seasoning

1 Cup Greek Yogurt (Plain, Non-Fat)

1/2 cucumber (seeded and grated)

1 Tablespoon Wildtree Tzatziki Seasoning (or brand found at your grocery store)

Garnish:

Tomatoes

Lettuce

1 Joseph Whole Wheat Flat Bread

Directions:

Combined all the ingredients for the Tzatziki dip and put in a  container.  Let the dip sit at least an hour in the refrigerator before serving.

Saute onions and peppers for 3 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Break up canned chicken with a fork, and mix in Opa! seasoning, egg, bread crumbs, and the cooled peppers.  Let sit in the refrigerator for at least a half an hour.

If you make patties out of this mixture they are one point each.  Heat pan with 1 tablespoon of oil.  Form 9 patties from mixture, cooking 3-4 minutes on each side to make sure they are cooked through.  Each patty is one point.  They aren’t near as good reheated, so I do mine the scrambled way most of the time.

If going for the scramble, heat one teaspoon of oil and add the amount of chicken you would like – 3/4 cup is perfect for the Joseph wrap.  Crisp it up until cooked through and add to your flatbread with your choice of garnishes.

The Tzatziki dip is free for 2 tablespoons or 1 point for 3.  I love it so I usually take the hit and have 3 tablespoons!

Sometimes I use Wildtree seasonings in my recipes.  I always try to put a substitute for them, but if you would like to try Wildtree check out my Wildtree site!

 

 

Smart Swap – Rice Rollers

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So I’m not a big fan of processed food.  Back in the day when Weight Watchers first started the “CORE” program it really changed the way I view food and how I eat.  Even after I fell of the wagon and was dragged for miles and miles I still ate a mostly whole food, cooked from scratch diet.

That being said, sometimes you just have to do a smart swap – swapping out a high point item for a more point friendly option.

Breakfast is a big deal for me.  I may have grown up in the Chicagoland area, but my family is from the south and skipping breakfast was not an option.  Ever.  Growing up that way I have to eat in the morning.

During my work days I always have the same thing.  1 cup of Kirkland Greek Yogurt (from Costco) mixed with one cup of blueberries, a dash of vanilla, and a drop of stevia extract.  That is 3 points, which is really good for that amount of food.  I’m a texture person though.  I have to have something besides mush, so I’d add 1/4 cup granola, which gave my breakfast a 4 point boost.

Now I have no problems having a 10 point breakfast on my days off, but during the week…when I don’t have time to cook and am going just for nourishment… Nope!

So I found these rice rollers while at Costco, and they save me 2 points.  Each rice roller is just 2 points.  I break it up into smaller chunks and add it to my yogurt.  I get the texture and it is really more filling.

Never mind that they kind of remind me of that Sugar Snap cereal from when I was a kid.  Oh yeah, they are delicious, something I never thought I’d say about a rice cake kind of deal!

You can find these at Costco sometimes.  It has been hit or miss for me so I started ordering from this link to Bamboo Lane Crunchy Rice Rollers: 3.5oz 8 Packs of 8 Rollers“>Amazon.  They have become to important in my daily routine to run out!

I’m hoping to have at least one Smart Swap a week, so be sure to check back!