After yesterday’s WOD, a couple of my CrossFit friends and I drove to Northborough to visit the Wegmans. It was about an hour away, so we hit up Cumberland Farm for some post-WOD beverages. I added coconut and chocolate syrup and milk to my iced coffee. Mmm!
The three of us had lots to talk about on the drive, so the time passed quickly and, before we knew it, we were pulling into the parking lot of Wegmans. Hooray! We were pumped.
The produce section greeted us as we walked through the front door of Wegmans. The space was bright, open, and colorful with a good mix of both organic and conventional produce.
For the most part, the produce prices were cheaper than Stop & Shop. Just to give you an idea: bananas were $0.49/pound, sweet potatoes were $0.99/pound, and 4 avocados were $5.99.
After shopping the produce section, we found our way to the Mediterranean Bar (olive, hummus, and other deliciousness) and bakery.
There were so many amazing options at the bakery. I wanted to try them all! It took me a little while to decide what I wanted (cupcake with tie-dye frosting? mini chocolate dome cake?), but I eventually decided on cookies and bought a couple of them for Mal and me.
Other highlights from our trip:
Bulk bins!
Freshly ground nut butter.
Candy! So much candy!
The warehouse of booze!
Holy moly, the booze warehouse was massive and it had everything, including a zillion kinds of flavored vodka and my very favorite pumpkin beer.
And $6 bottles of wine! Yes, please!
We spent about an hour wandering around the store and oooh-ing and awww-ing about things we saw. If I had to describe Wegmans, I’d say it was a cross between Stop & Shop, Whole Foods, and Target. It had all of your usual grocery products along with specialty items and prepared foods, but with some home goods and cooking/entertaining pieces mixed it. I think I even saw some exercise equipment? Anyway, once we finished shopping, we paid for our groceries, put them in the car, and then went back inside to the Market Café for lunch.
The Market Café was quite an experience. There were so many food options! There were sandwiches, pizza, and all that jazz, but what I really loved was all of the different salad and hot bars. Everything was the same price per pound, so I helped myself to a little bit of everything.
Lunch highlights: curried chicken salad, pulled pork, mac & cheese, roasted veggies, roasted Brussels sprouts and apple salad, General Tso’s chicken, spaghetti squash gratin, baked tofu, and roasted butternut squash. It was a fabulous lunch!
And here’s what I bought!
Fun stuff:
Tuscan Gorgonzola Dip
Garlic Simmer Sauce – going to try it with stir fry!
Ground dark chocolate peanut butter
Wine + beer
Cookie Monster cookie!
When I got home, I wanted to try some of my purchases, so I dug into the honey roasted almonds.
And then took a couple of bites of the dark chocolate peanut butter, which wasn’t super chocolaty, but still delicious!
Snack
A little while later, I snacked on some raw veggies with some leftover basil guacamole (recipe will be on Health tomorrow).
Dinner
When dinnertime rolled around, I cooked up some frozen veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and Brussels sprouts), added some roasted chickpeas, and then topped it all with a big scoop of Tuscan Gorgonzola Dip, which was the bomb! I give it an A+.
I also ate some roasted sweet potatoes with dinner.
For dessert, I devoured Cookie Monster’s face.
And then ate a couple of rectangles of Hershey’s chocolate with almonds. Once I start eating sugar, I can’t stop!
Health News & Views
When I’m out with my friends at a bar or restaurant, sometimes I just don’t feel like drinking alcohol. Maybe I’m watching my calories or I have plans to work out early the next morning. In this type of setting, I always feel a little awkward if I don’t have a drink in my hand though.
At home or a house party, I usually have plenty of ingredients to make a tasty “mocktail” (an alcohol-free beverage that looks just like a cocktail), but when I’m out with my friends, I don’t readily have coconut water and cherry juice at my disposal.
Of course, I don’t want to miss out on having fun with my friends, so I started to get creative with my drink orders. Here are some of my go-to “mocktails” that you might like too! (I swear, no one will know the difference, but you, and your body will thank you later!)
5 Great Alcohol-Free “Mocktails” to Sip
Question of the Day
What new delicious food(s) have you recently discovered?
P.S. Just wanted to share this article that a friend of mine sent me the other day: The Now of CrossFit. The author talks about finding “inner peace through an ass-kicking workout.” I can definitey relate!