Shopping extravaganza!

After a mini-hiatus in Chicago, I am so excited to be back in town and reunited with my new and ever so beloved MacBook Air! Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend, I new have a computer that doesn't have to be plugged into the wall to stay alive. Win.

It was frustrating for me, and probably even more frustrating for him. You know that little magnet that keeps your computer plugged into the wall? Well, every time that would come out, my computer would power down and I would lose everything. So annoying. 

Right before I left for Chicago last week, I was drawing near the end of all of my pictures uploading for a post (a solid 30 min of patiently (?) waiting), and I accidentally moved my leg. The black screen greeted me with that horrid noise...that, you-just-lost-power-and-all-of-your-work-and-no-it-won't-magically-be-there-when-you-turn-it-back-on noise. Oh how I hate that noise. The noises that came out of my mouth immediately after aren't appropriate for most ears, so I won't bother going into too much detail. But let's just say that if my computer had feelings, it would probably be in shock, and definitely rethinking it's worth in the world. 

Mike happened to be in the room - now this wasn't his first time seeing this - but I clearly left a lasting impression as I stomped out of the room yelling "I hate you computer, I don't even want to play with you anymore."

That night after I got home from work, he greeted me with a present...a new MacBook Air!! I was so excited, but told him it was too much and I couldn't accept it. He assured me that it was more for his sanity than mine, and that to stop being silly...and I had no choice because he wasn't taking it back anyways. Ok fine, I'll keep it :). Best boyfriend ever award goes to him this month!

So onto my shopping trip that I did before I left...oh boy did I get some goodies! After wayyyyy too long in the grocery store, and wayyyyy too much money spent, I was sure that I had enough to make it through a few power bar creations.

Mmmmmm look at all of that healthy goodness.

Some local honey and some maple syrup...

Dried fruit from the bulk bins at my local Whole Foods Market.

Goji berries, pitted dates, strawberry rhubarb pieces (my FAVORITE, these I just ate because they were too good to stop eating hah), and some papaya spears.

The pitted dates - super sweet and gooey, with an almost grainy mouthfeel.

Crunchy, slightly sweet, a little tangy.

Cacao nibs...aka bits and pieces of 100% cocoa beans. No added sugar or anything! Actually, nothing else at all is added to them.

These guys taste like super dark chocolate and have the slightest hint of nuttiness, but in a crunchy package.

This was my first time trying Jay Robb's egg white protein powder. I have tried other egg white protein powders before, but his is expensive and known to be awesome because of the high protein content and minimal added ingredients. I purchased at the Vitamin Shoppe this time because I was looking at all of the different kinds and they have a great selection, but from now on I will buy from Amazon, their prices are a bit better.

Non-GMO and stevia sweetened are winners in my book, These days I try and avoid any added sweetener besides Stevia.

Nuts of course! I love Trader Joe's selection when it comes to nuts and dried fruits, the prices are amazing and it happens to be a few stores down from where I work!

The 50% less salt makes an amazing almond butter, by the way.

Some puffed kamut and some cocoa powder. I have been a fan of puffed kamut (puffed wheat, puffed corn, basically anything puffed) for a long time now. A cup of cereal for 50 calories? Yes please.

Most of the recipes in this book call for natural cocoa powder rather than Dutch process cocoa powder, but it is for taste, so use what you have on hand. Not sure? Dutch process will be a dark brown, almost black. Natural cocoa powder is lighter and looks brownish-red.

Now is when I started getting out of hand, because my first recipe definitely didn't call for these ingredients. But hey, I'll use them eventually! Or eat them as a snack...I love snacks.

And I couldn't resist some chocolate! No, I probably didn't need a pound of it.

I love dark chocolate, and this is the kind I prefer to eat. Just far enough away from baking chocolate to be edible in my world. I find it very, VERY hard to overeat this dark of chocolate.

And here are some staples that I had on hand. Old fashioned oats, almond milk from TJ's (my new favorite), coconut oil spray, and coconut oil.

And that's all for now! I'm sure my purchasing will get out of hand. I'll have to cut back on my lululemon purchases...yikes. 

Coming soon, a clif-like bar that will be a great pre- or post-workout bite, without all of the weird ingredients and in a smaller package. I don't know about you, but I don't need 300 calories after a volleyball game. I am eating it to tie me over until my next meal, not as a meal itself. But if you are looking for a bigger bar, just don't cut them as small! :)