Munch On!

One of these days I will do a MidWeek Munchies on a Wednesday! But for now Thursday is the new Wednesday! I walked up and down the big hill for the first time yesterday morning, and aside from some anxiety over the dorkiness of my "look", it felt great, and I think this will be an easy habit to start. The apartment building I live in has a little gym, and I could use the treadmill and put it on a steep incline, but there is just something about an actual hill, and the fresh air that appeals so much more to me. I feel like the fresh air helps create more endorphins.
After my walk, I felt motivated to get my Trader Joe's trip out of the way, since it's going to rain all week, and at least yesterday it was only an almost non-existent mist. I love going to Trader Joe's early in the morning when it's not so busy. I feel like I can read stuff and look at things.

My first Brussels tree! 

I need to take a moment here to try to articulate the deliciousness that is the South African style potato chip. This wins the Munchies award for the week in my opinion. They are perfection, there is nothing I would change. First of all, if I'm dipping my chips, of course I want a thicker, heartier chip. But if the chips are going down straight with no dip, I like a nice, light crispy chip. Sometimes I don't want the thicker crunch of a kettle chip. These are light, and crisp but also not suuuuuper oily like Lays. But they aren't not oily like baked or fat free chips. Now, the flavor. It's like the best BBQ potato chip you've ever had, perfected a million times more. The first thing you taste is the delicious smoky flavor, followed by garlic. Like a real garlic flavor, not man made garlic flavor. I can also taste the herbiness, thanks to parsley and basil. They are delicious, and I can't believe it took me this long to try these. These are so good, I can't imagine eating any other chip after tasting these. Don't worry if you don't love spice, they aren't spicy, just smoky and flavorful.

I decided to go super retro and try these hash brown "patties". Jennifer from My Blissful Journey was talking about hash brown patties, and it made me get a weird craving. These are a real novelty for me! They were under two dollars, so it was hard to say no to myself.

I used to dream of Trader Joe's frozen Gyoza when I lived in Erie.I tried a brand they sold at The Co-Op, and they just weren't as good, and the price wasn't as good either!

There were a few odds and ends I didn't take pictures of because the kitties were starting to want their counter back. It was boring stuff like bananas, and celery, and also some Holistic care crunchy food for the felines. As you see above I got some chocolate chips, I'm going to try to recreate the Trader Joe's frozen chocolate covered banana bites! They were such a delicious treat, and after doing some webz surfing, it seems easy enough to do. Trader Joe's has the best prices for vegan chocolate chips! I know people might get bored of me going on and on about them, but I after having Joe in my life, and then no Joe for a few years, I  will never take them for granted!

I also found this card there. Have you ever looked at their card selection? I love them. I bought this for myself. I am tending to myself, hoping for something wonderful to take root.It's hanging on my eggplant wall as a reminder!
Happy Thursday!