My friend gave me this bar to try. She kind of liked it and wanted to know my thoughts.
Cross section
The cross section made me excited to eat the bar.
The macros – 190 calories per bar, 8 g fat, 200 mg Sodium, 14 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 16 G protein. Not horrible but not the best.
Now for the taste. It was DELICIOUS! However, it was not filling. A Snickers holds me over better but also has worse macros. I think I would eat one of these bars occasionally as a treat.
Have you tried them? Let me know what you think in the comments.
If you are like me, money isn’t going as far as it used to. Between the pandemic, supply chain problems, grocery prices, trying to deal with the aftermath of a Cat. 5 hurricane – our wallets are getting hit hard.
A few weeks ago I started researching how we could eat healthy for less. I’m now challenging myself to find ways to cut food costs yet still eat nutritious food. I’m going to add the tips, tricks, and recipes to This Life so you can use them too.
First thing I had to do was stop being a food snob. Yes, I love Publix. Their bakery bread is the best grocery store bread where I live. However, their prices can get a little steep. So, we have started shopping at Walmart and, my new favorite, Aldi.
My next change was to stop ordering DoorDash and Seamless. Since the hurricane, our kitchen sink has been messed up. Doing dishes has become more of a chore due to having to keep two buckets under the sink and dump them after we do dishes. It just seemed easier and less messy to order delivery and not need to wash dishes. Now, doing that once in a while isn’t bad, but 3-5 times a week for six months is. I priced the cost of food delivery and what it cost to buy and pick up. A breakfast taco from Dunkin is $2.99 at the restaurant. If you order through DoorDash, it is $4.48. That is $1.49 more! That doesn’t count the delivery cost and the driver tip. Needless to say, no more DoorDash.
Grocery delivery became so helpful during the pandemic. Unfortunately, it became more of a lazy thing for me. Who wants to go to the store and be around people??? YUCK. Thanks to pandemic isolation, I’ve become more antisocial. However the cost of the convenience is too high. That, too, has been cancelled.
So, we are doing a lot or research now on frugal recipes and which stores have better pricing. Stay tuned for recipes, tips, and tricks on how to be frugal. If you have any tips, tricks, and/or recipes, please share in the comments below.
If you know me, you k no ow I love lemon flavored EVERYTHING! I had really high hopes for the Lemon Delight Think! Bars.
Lemon Delight Think! Bar macros
First, the macros. A little higher in calories than I would have liked and I was disappointed that there was NO FIBER at all.
Cross section
So, was the taste worth the calories and lack of fiber?
In my opinion, no. The texture was weird and there was not enough lemon flavor for me. To me, it was like eating a sawdust bar that was dunked in lemon water. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion.
This is a bar that I won’t be trying again. That doesn’t mean you won’t like it. If you have tried it and like it, good. Maybe you can share your thoughts on what you like in the comments.
This past Saturday, Mike and I visited The Celery Fields in Sarasota, FL. It is a very interesting nature park that used to be used to grow celery and other vegetables back in the early 1900s. It is currently used for flood water mitigation. Of course, all that water and swampy land make a great wildlife habitat.
The Nature Center itself is at the bottom of a big hill. The day we were visiting, there were a bunch of people running the hill, both straight up and up the curved path. Mike went up while I spent time in the nature gazebo.
The hillThe view of the area around the hillView of the gazebo by the bird feeders from the top of the hill
Sitting in the gazebo watching the birds on the feeders was so fun. We, unfortunately, had missed the Painted Buntings and Indigo Buntings by 5 minutes! However we did get to see Nanday Parakeets up close.
Nanday Parakeets
There were grackles, common ground doves, catbirds, and red-winged blackbirds. Bluebirds were seen but I did not get a good picture of one.
Across the street from the nature center as well as down their road from the nature center, are boardwalks. You can walk out and see the different species of water fowl, egrets, sandpipers and such.
Common gallinule nest with babyTri-color heronGlossy ibisBlack-necked stiltBlue winged tealAmerican CootSand hill Crane coupleRed shouldered hawk
We had a lovely visit to the Celery Fields and we can’t wait to go back. If you are ever in the area, you should check them out.
Do you have a favorite local place where you like to go and be a tourist for the day? Where is it? Share in the comments.
As I continue with my journey to get healthier and lose weight, I have been trying different food and different strategies and sharing them here. My newest strategy is practicing mindful eating.
What is mindful eating? Mindful eating is paying attention to the food you eat and using all of your senses when doing so. The opposite of mindful eating is mindless eating. We’ve all done that, right? Rough day at work. Start cooking dinner and sit down to watch TV…with a bag of chips or box of cookies. The next thing you know, you have eaten the entire box or bag. You don’t even remember tasting the food. Yeah, that’s really mindless.
So, how do you practice mindful eating? Here’s what I’ve been doing. I choose one meal a day to practice this. Today I chose to practice at lunch. The steps I followed:
No distractions – turn off the phone, tv, radio and computer. I eat in silence if I can.
Today I am having a ham salad sandwich. I will incorporate all my senses while I eat the sandwich:
Touch: The sandwich is cold because it was in the refrigerator. The bread is whole grain with seeds so it had texture.
Sight: I can see the seeds and the air bubbles in the bread. I can see the creaminess of the ham salad. There are pimentos in the salad that are red and make the salad look pretty.
Hearing: The crust of the bread is crunchy when I bite into it.
Smell: The bread smells so fresh and there is a tangy smell to the ham salad.
Taste: As I bite into the crunchy crust and feel the soft and creamy ham salad, the nutty flavor of the bread and the tangy ham salad hit my tastebuds. Delicious.
I take my time eating my sandwich, savoring every bite.
The sandwich fills me up and once I finish it, I am full.
I feel satisfied and thoroughly enjoyed my meal.
That is how I practiced today. Have you tried anything similar? If you have, how has mindful eating helped you to eat healthier, enjoy your food more, and helped you lose weight? Do you have any tips or tricks you would like to share regarding mindful eating? Please comment below.
Which animal would you compare yourself to and why?
In all honesty, I would have a hard time picking just one animal.
The first animal that comes to mind is the sloth. Not because I’m lazy, at least not all the time, but because I am slow. I’m not quite as slow as this sloth, but there are days that I feel it is an accurate portrayal of me.
Animal number two is the T-Rex. It’s the tiny little arms that I identify with. I can’t reach ANYTHING!
Another animal I can relate to is the Mockingbird. No, I don’t always mock people but I do tend to make up songs about my day…all day long. It is an endearing and annoying quality of mine.
Next up, the slime mold. Not because I’m disgusting or slimy (at least not today). It’s because the slime mold works smarter not harder. A slime mold can figure out the fastest way through a maze. Did you know that? Sure enough, a single cell organism without a “brain” is considered intelligent. Here’s is an article about it. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210223121643.htm
I find ways to get the job done faster and easier by slinking through the maze like a slime mold.
My final animal is the bear. I admire their ability to nap through the bad weather. I too am a fan of napping and I don’t like to be cold. Therefore, an animal that sleeps through Winter is definitely a friend of mine
So, that’s my story. How about YOU?
And, if you know me, comment below and let me know what animal you would compare me to.
This {_______} life 