Trader Joe's Adventure

I think I am getting sick.  Why this prompted an urgent trip to Trader Joe's, I can't say really, but it did, and my quest was simple--SOUP.

TJ's is a great store, especially if you like wine.  I suppose they are sorta on the Whole Foods bandwagon of promoting organic, local, etc., but they aren't nearly as hippy-dippy.  Instead, they have a lot of interesting pre-made foods (frozen and prepared) as well as a random assortment of sorta gourmet items.  Like, you can't get peanuts there, but you can find Marcona Almonds and 40 other varieties of fancy nuts.  Fancy nuts.  Hee hee.

Anyway, people love and hate the store.  I love it, probably because it's right by my office and is always tempting me with new, worldly things to try (and CHEESE.  they have lots of cheese).  Anyway, TJ's has these boxed soups that always have caught my eye, because they're in a box, but also because they're kinda interesting flavors and seem a step up from Campbell's.  Like Carrot & Ginger, Butternut Squash, Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper. The threat of cold made me less adventurous--I really wanted that carrot soup--and directed me toward the Creamy Tomato. But, since I love TJ's, I couldn't stop there, and wandered the store for another 15 minutes talking myself out of buying many things...and loosing the debate a handful of other times.

My entire lunch, and a few other snacks that are now stashed in my desk drawer, represent my TJ extravaganza:

Multigrain Entertainment Crackers.  My favorite cracker, currently.  They're big and seedy, slightly sweet, and addictingly crunchy.  I've been eating a lot of them with light mini Baby-Bel cheese and Dijon mustard.  Three are a perfect snack.

Light Mini Baby-Bel Cheese.  Not a TJ brand, but a nice little snack to keep in the office fridge.  Each one only has 35 calories (I think) and can be "thirded" to fit on top of three Entertainment crackers.

Creamy Tomato Soup.  The TJ brand.  Although it says creamy, the soup itself isn't loaded with fat--just 1.5 grams in a 1-cup serving, fairly low caloric content, and low sodium (for canned soup, anyway).  Since I can't consider 1 cup a sufficient serving of soup, I ate about 1.5 cups (restraint) so this box should get me until Thursday's lunch. Overall, it's pretty good--maybe a little dull in flavor (I kept wishing for something acidic to squeeze into it) but, still, altogether satisfying with the aforementioned accouterments.

Miso Soup and a Ginger Chicken Bowl are awaiting their turn to GET IN MAH BELLEH.  Soon, my chickadees, very soon.

New recipe time for dinner tonight!  Hope to have good things to report tomorrow.