Kaytee Says… Eat!

I’ve got my Pandora Holiday station on. I’m wearing Christmas socks. It’s snowing outside. It’s December 2nd. Seriously?

I’ve already given my mother the official Christmas list… it’s quite short. New Moleskine planner, new yoga mat, a fleece (in dark gray or black)… that’s about it. The rest of the list is all cookbooks! My list includes:

• Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything
• Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess
• Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home
• and Real Simple’s Meals Made Easy

I always try to include a few options in case she can’t find one or if she finds a great deal— my mom is the queen of coupons. What are your must have cookbooks?

Everyone has been posting their goals, and maybe I am a bit cynical (me? never!) but I am referring to mine as a wish list. I know that I am the only one with the power to make it happen, but I really wish it wasn’t going to be so darn hard!

• Do not go crazy.
• Do not overdo it with the indulgent foods. (I didn’t at Thanksgiving and there is no need to start that now.)
• Do not totally forget to exercise. (It’s going to be hard, but I can make time.)
• Drink water. Drink a glass of orange juice. Mostly… keep myself healthy. There is no time for being sick!
• Do not be mad at people because I am busy. It is not their fault.

I have been looking at this holiday season and getting a little overwhelmed. I’m in the heat of dead week right now, with finals next week. Woohoo! Nope. I start a Winter Session the very next Monday. I get about a week and a half off for Christmas, from both the Winter Session and work. Time for family, time for friends and food and presents… oh, and time to go meet my future in-laws. I have not been stressed about it until yesterday when I realized how soon it was. I am very excited to meet them and I am sure we will have a great New Years together.

I am also excited because I AM GOING TO DISNEYWORLD. Anthony and I are going while we’re in Florida visiting his parents. I am considering this my first trip, because the only time I’ve been, I was three years old and I have no recollection of the trip other than eating raisin bran for breakfast every day and watching Crocodile Dundee on tv at the hotel. (I was a weird kid.) Any suggestions for things I must do? I can’t wait.

I have my very first Christmas party of the season on Saturday and I have a feeling things are only going to get more and more crazy from here. What’s on your Christmas list this season?

P.S. I feel like a jerk because I’ve hardly commented on anyone’s blog lately. Mostly I’ve been hiding because I was embarrassed about not blogging, but I’ll be back! I promise!

I’m sure you’ve all seen the the title trending topic on Twitter, but I could never fit all the wonderful things for which I am thankful into 140 characters. I know I have flaked out on this blog without warning, so I thank all of you in advance for not forgetting about me. : )

I’m thankful for my education, but more importantly for the fact that graduation is finally within reach. FINALLY!!

I’m thankful for my enormous family that just continues to grow and grow. There have been two new babies born this year, one wedding, and there are two babies expected in 2010. My family is really indescribable… They really deserve their own post.

I’m thankful for all the amazing opportunities I’ve had to travel this year: Austin, Houston, LA, & New York, plus Orlando & San Francisco in the near future. Not to mention the wonderful friends who made all these trips special. I love you guys!

I’m unbelievably thankful for my Soup, who has been the best boyfriend I could ask for this past year. He’s totally changed my life and I look forward to the changes that are to come.

I’m thankful for my dogs, their health, and their affection. I say it every day, but I wish everyone was excited to see me as my dogs are.

I’m thankful for Macbooks and iPhones and Volkswagon Jettas and red ballpoint pens (for editing) and food television and Cooking Light magazine and my job (even on the hard days) and classic American literature and libraries and DALLAS COWBOYS FOOTBALL!

Oh, and I am thankful for food. Not just for the ridiculously indulgent foods of Thanksgiving, but for the staples of my diet, without which I’d probably starve. Oatmeal, almond butter, bananas, frozen berries, Flat Out wraps, brown rice, frozen Brussels sprouts and green beans, lots of different soups, clementines, Oikos yogurt and Kozy Shack pudding, and most of all, the holy trifecta that is hummus, feta, and baby spinach… I love all of you. I’m also thankful for a healthy relationship with food, that will allow me to bounce back after a day of delicious Southern food.

Happy Thanksgiving, you guys! Eat guiltlessly today… Enjoy it : )

This morning I needed to buy hangers. Due to my newly organized closet and an addition of a few new things, thanks to the awesome Gap Give & Get Sale, I was officially out of hangers. For any normal person, this would not be a big deal. But of course, any normal person would probably not be blogging about it either, huh. : )

I went back and forth over and over about where to get said hangers. Ikea, Target, Container Store… ugh, decisions. Finally someone told me to buck it up and go to Walmart on a Saturday. Plastic hangers 10/$1.25? Totally worth it.

Keep in mind, I only needed hangers. Plain plastic hangers. I also got a laundry bag, a shoe rack, and some coat hangers.

Oh, and some groceries.

After my beloved Albertson’s was taken away, I have been struggling to find a place to get my staples. The closest Whole Foods or Market Street is a good 30 minutes away. The closest Kroger is about 10, but it’s really nothing special and the entire surrounding area is under construction. We also have Walmart and Target, but I have always been a little bit apprehensive about buying groceries at a place where “grocery” is merely a section of the store. Seem odd to anyone else? I looked around for a bit and decided it probably was an okay place to buy some things… I couldn’t convince myself to buy meat or produce there.

Not only did Walmart have the basic things I needed, like frozen berries and popcorn kernels, they had a few things I had been looking everywhere for, like Flat Out Wraps and 4 packs of Oikos. And not just any Oikos, but HONEY Oikos! YES!

So maybe it’s not so weird to buy groceries at Walmart after all. This is what I got there…

Wheat Thins vegetable fiber crackers, HONEY OIKOS!, Pacific Natural creamy tomato soup, Reese canned artichoke hearts, Kozy Shack pudding, popcorn kernels, Sabra, Laughing Cow & Multigrain/Flax Flat Outs

When I got home, I discovered I was home alone. My stomach was grumbling a little bit, so I decided to try something else new… a Green Monster! I am pretty sure my family would think I had gone off the depend, and I didn’t want them saying “I told you so” if it didn’t turn out well. I was nervous.

Still not totally convinced that the spinach taste wouldn’t be noticeable, I went for Angela’s Blueberry Green Monster, subbing mixed berries. I had forgotten about the whole blender situation. This is our blender.

This thing has to be older than I am. I decided to go for it anyway.

I loaded up my spinach, berries, banana, a little 2% milk, and then some ice and went for it. (I only made half a recipe.) Still slightly apprehensive, I added a quick squirt of honey.

It did not go as well as I hoped. 1) It leaked a little bit, which was probably just my own lack of super-old-blender skills. 2) The spinach didn’t blend all the way. It’s hard to forget you’re drinking spinach when there are big leaf pieces floating around in there. Luckily, I love spinach, so I dealt with it.

My first ever greenish brownish monster!

Final verdict? Total win. I couldn’t taste the spinach at all. The flavor was sweet and wonderful. I haven’t tried the regular Green Monster, but I totally recommend this one if you haven’t tried one yet. I loved it. Hopefully, I’ll be having one of these for breakfast a few times a week! Maybe, hopefully, it will warrant upgrading the family blender.

So, while shopping at Walmart and drinking a smoothie is hardly adventurous, I’m still pretty happy with both of the new things I tried. How about you? Try anything new?

Do any of you regularly shop for groceries at places like Walmart, Target, or Costco? Do you buy your produce there too? I’m so used to having a grocery store close by, I’ve never had to before!

One last thing: the other day a coworker told me I peel my banana like a monkey. Whatever that means. I’ve really just always done it this way. Anyone else?