Feeling Fine Friday: 6 of the Best Fall Finds at Trader Joe’s

Look, there are any number of terms floating around now to describe the type of person who loves pumpkin and all things Fall, but I’m going to be a rebel here and call this tribe of (often) ladies simply Objectively Correct. Or maybe #ObjectivelyCorrect. Heck I’ll even settle for BASICally correct, if you catch my drift.

Now that that’s out of the way, welcome to the unequivocally best time to set foot into your local Trader Joe’s. I read the entire Fearless Flyer ad for this month cover to cover on my flight home and I STILL wasn’t fully prepared for the childlike glee that overtook me as I wandered the store (I did however stop myself from buying them out of every item labeled ‘pumpkin’ so that’s good at least). Here is my highly UNobjective list of what you should check out at TJ’s.

Honest Imperfect Produce Delivery Review

If you’ve been on the internet or in grocery stores at all in the past few years, you’ve likely seen the many options out there for food delivery companies. Everything from the advanced restaurant delivery of UberEats to the meal kits like Hello Fresh to grocery deliveries from Instacart. One of my favorites has been community supported agriculture, or CSAs for short.

CSAs provide not only seasonal produce that’s often organic, they also allow you to buy local and support farmers in your area. There are some estimates that an apple travels 1500 miles on average from the time it’s picked to the first bite the average American takes of it. That’s a whole lot of non-renewable resources that go into getting an apple into your lunchbox, especially if you live within 100 miles of farmland.

Farmers Markets

One great place to get local fruits, vegetables and more is a farmer’s market, but to be totally honest I just really have never made it fit into my schedule to hit one of them up during a busy day of grocery shopping. So, point to the CSA box for the delivery option (or even just the option to pick up your box at a local grocery store).

Grab Bag CSA Boxes

Now, I’ve tried a CSA box previously. It made me feel very ‘Portland’ and ‘Adult’ and subsequently ‘Stressed Out To All Hell.’ I liked the challenge of figuring out how to use a bunch of random produce in a given week, but when I found myself frantically googling how to use up a metric ton of garlic scapes (a search that came right after looking up what on Earth a garlic scape was) I threw in the towel.

Enter: Imperfect Produce

I had a friend send me her referral link since she knew I had struggled with CSAs before but was hoping to come across something workable. Imperfect Produce had everything going for it. The only quirk? All the produce was just a little bit too funny looking to sell in stores. Color me intrigued, I wanted to see what all the hype was about with this ugly agriculture.

• Delivery option every week or every other week, could place on hold for vacation
• Variety of box sizes so you don’t have to eat vegetables nonstop to use them up
• Customizable, no garlic scapes if you don’t want them
• Organic and non-organic options
• Largely local produce
• Inexpensive

So I took the plunge, ordered my first box, and literally jumped up and down like a kid on Christmas morning when it arrived. If you’d like to get $10 off your first order, you can use my referral code here!

The delivery was kind of cool, you get a text message alert when they’re about to arrive with your box which is very convenient if you live in an apartment complex. The box itself was cold to the touch, so I knew they didn’t just have my food wilting in a hot vehicle most of the day (the arrived in the evening, my selected time frame).

I had gotten the opportunity to go and select the contents of my box earlier in the week, meaning I knew what to plan my meals around for the coming week to include them.

We went for apples, peaches & plums for morning snacks and breakfast add-ons, bell peppers & carrots for Mr Never Cooks to dip into hummus, and butternut squash & red onions for me to roast up for a couple of lunches. Everything was surprisingly normal-looking, and the flavor was excellent. The carrots were even sweeter than what I was used to!

Final Thoughts?

I’m definitely sticking with this! We easily used up our box of produce in a week, it worked around a busy travel schedule, and the quality was excellent. Plus, the price and convenience just can’t be beat. If I can also help reduce food waste in the process, then I think I’ve found my perfectly Imperfect Produce soulmate.

5 Unusual Sources of Motivation

Have you ever read a book that light a fire under you to get up and change something about your life? Listened to an utterly inspiring TED talk that makes something in your head finally click? Watched a documentary that made you put down whatever it was you were eating and never touch it again?

Yeah, me neither.

Look, I try to read the motivational tomes my book club seems to hold so near and dear, but aside from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (which I skimmed) I just can’t get into them. So instead of trying to find inspiration in all the normal places, I decided to work with the brain I was born and epigenetically raised with.

Feeling Fine Friday: 5 Things Summer Taught Us About Making That Fall Bucket List

The official beginning of Fall is right around the corner (7 days, 7 hours, and 2 minutes but who’s counting) which means that it’s time to revisit any Summer bucket lists you might have made. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t need written out aspirations to get off your phone and exploring somewhere or something fun, I applaud you. If, however, you often need your Fitbit or that annoying little Netflix are you still there message to remind you that you’ve spent all weekend glued to your couch, then seasonal bucket lists can help avoid that feeling of dread as Summer draws to a close.

Here are the five things I learned while trying to check everything off of my own list.

1. Make sure your Bucket List aligns with your health & fitness goals

Okay, so maybe you wanted to try every microbrewery in your city. Or check out all the local wineries. Picnic in the park with your beloved (spouse, partner, friend or dog). If your list has you eating cheese and drinking cocktails just to keep up, perhaps you were a little too ambitious when you made it. For every item on your list that involves a bit of a treat, add on another that contributes to your overall wellness.

Adding in physical activities like hiking, trying new workout classes, or simply taking more walks with your loved ones can help you stay in line with your health goals. Pick a farm-to-table restaurant to try, or maybe plan a dinner night in using only seasonal produce. Balance is how these healthy habits become permanent lifestyles.

Table for One

Self-love, selfishness, or just plain loneliness

This guest post is brought to us by my wonderful and talented friend Julianne.

A few weeks ago, I sat in a coffee shop in a small town in Vermont staring out the window. I had tasked myself to enjoy my quiet time. All I had to do was spend fifteen minutes here and I could consider it a success. I sat there and stared out the window imagining all the good I was doing for myself. Cue the internal monologue.

Feeling Fine Friday: 3 Health Myths, 1 Truth & A Bonus Recommend

You know, this little segment technically started as a way for me to pull together my favorite things from the week all in one place, but not-so-secretly I’m a major grouch with bad science. Look, it’s not my fault, I’ve just been in this biz for 5 years and don’t take too kindly to people abusing and misusing it.

Photo by Osha Key on Unsplash

1. Turmeric makes a tasty dinner–and that’s it.

Wedding Wednesday: 5 Challenges of an Early Fall Wedding

Depending on where you live, Fall can take any number of shapes by the time October rolls around. In the Pacific Northwest, it can be even more unpredictable than in places like my home state of Arizona. My fiancé and I never really expected to have to push our date this far back, but I’d encourage any couples out there to keep an open mind to the opportunity if it arises. There are a million reasons why it’s the perfect time of year for many, though it does have its drawbacks.

Feeling Fine Friday: 5 Health Science Myths Introduced by Bad Scientists

Ever felt overwhelmed in one of those inevitable Facebook arguments with your* Aunt Barb** when she pulls out a link to scientific-seeming articles showing you why there totally are chemtrails from planes that are killing us all? I kid you not I had to look up what that was a few months back.

Yeah, bad science has existed for as long as people have had hypotheses about the way literally anything works as far as I can tell. We thought that teething was a leading cause of death for babies for a long time, people. Oh, and we treated them with, essentially, heroine.

With that in mind, I figured I’d pull together a list of some of my favorite health-related myths, from the bizarre to the truly awful. Some of these are pretty well-known, and others are a little less mainstream.

Photo by kazuend on Unsplash

1. Back off my burgers, man.

Wedding Wednesday {Free Download} :: Finding Your Venue Spreadsheet

Photo by Anne Edgar on Unsplash

When Mr Never Cooks and I started looking at thinking about pondering the idea of where we would tie the knot, it didn’t take long for us to get buried under a mountain of historical buildings and ballrooms. Last week I shared the 7 strategies we used to find and book our perfect wedding venue in no time at all. It’s amazing how many vendor search engines there are (like The Knot), let alone the number of ceremony and reception sites in your area.

If you’re following one of the top pieces of advice from my last post, you’ll be quickly sorting through tons of options and reaching out to plenty of venue representatives in the process.

How to Plan For a Healthy Vacation

This week has become filled suddenly with dinners out at our wedding venue, re-testing a few recipes from last week before they go up on the blog, and a family vacation over Labor Day weekend to the Oregon Coast. Work in my lab has picked up a bit as well, so I’m heading to the rental house a few days after my fiancé.

I put up a travel guide to Oceanside and the Oregon Coast last year, and I’m hoping that this trip will be just as rejuvenating. I’m lucky that Mr Never Cooks has a wonderful extended family who in fact do love to cook, drink some good wine, and play a few games of Spades long into the night.

One struggle I know many of my friends in the wellness world have is striking a balance with food and fitness that makes them happiest on vacations. Instead of a menu plan this week, I thought I might share some of the tips I use to maintain my health without ruining the whole idea of a vacation in the first place.

1. Begin at the End

Photo by Zack Minor on Unsplash

Okay so that was a little confusing. What I mean is that you need to have a solid plan for after your vacation is over. I don’t mean a crash diet, a juice cleanse, or a punishing gym session.