Field Trip: Running Shoe Shopping

So a couple of Saturdays ago, my Mom and I went of a field trip in search of new running, well in my case jogging shoes. We ventured to Sports Authority to make our purchases, and in less than 30 minutes we departed the store with running shoes in hand. Believe it or not, hunger tends to encourage quick decisions.

After our brief shopping excursion, we decided to try a new restaurant...Mimi's Cafe!

Okay, so a new restaurant...and of course my first priority entails searching the menu for healthier choices. Now a days, most restaurants tailor their menus to meet the needs of those seeking a healthier lifestyle. And sure enough, Mimi's serves healthy lifestyle friendly meals found in the Just Enough section of the menu. Even better, the menu also lists the nutrition facts for the Just Enough meals!

I started my meal with a most delicious salad:

For my main course I chose the Sweet and Sour Chicken entree. The low level of sodium heavily influenced my decision:

My mom ordered the Chicken Piccata:

After devouring our meals my Mom and I burned off our lunch calories by power shopping.

We wrapped up our power shopping in order for me to pick the boys up from dance rehearsal. Unfortunately, I headed home to late to squeeze in a run and try out my new kicks.

 Kicks: shoes that are ill. Ill meaning tha bomb.

The next day, my kicks and I hit the pavement running at the park. My new shoes made a world of difference and I kicked some asphalt. Truth be told, I needed new shoes months ago. According to my mom runners should replace their shoes ever 300 to 400 miles or every 6 months. Wearing shoes toe up from the floor up increases your chance of running related injuries.

Toe up from the floor up: to be bad looking or messed up.

Signs of that your running shoes may be Toe Up From the Floor Up:

• Painful runs that cause your knees or shins to hurt.
• High shoe mileage
• Just plain worn out!

To prevent my new kicks from wearing out before their time, I plan to buy an additional pair of running shoes and rotate the two.

Did you know you can donate your old running shoes to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe and Soles for Souls? You learn something new everyday.

What kind of shoes do you wear for your workouts or runs?

Field Trip: Making Good Choices

Yesterday, my day off, afforded me a field trip to the 99¢ store!

 I consider my trek to the 99¢ store a field trip since I live about 25 minutes away. I love the $ Store and the 99¢ Only Store, but buyer BEWARE...CHECK the EXPIRATION DATES!! Several months ago I popped into this same 99¢ Only and I spied some Sugar Free Jello singles sitting on the shelf. I thought to myself, jello singles would make for a quick and easy dessert. Well I picked up a box and happened  to look at the date...EXPIRED! O well. No Jello for me :-(

Anyway, when I shop at these type of bargain stores I remind myself  to not go overboard by throwing crap (crap=junk food) into the basket. I usually set a limit of $20 bucks. Last night, I found myself losing my mind while walking down aisle #1...the condiment aisle. This particular 99¢ sells lots of Asian and Hispanic condiments. On a previous trip I purchased this White Soy Sauce...I have yet try it. 

Last night I found theses bad boys, which expire at the end of April, so I will be a salad eating fool!

I tried the Hearty Italian flavor today with my grilled chicken wrap. Umm...YUM!

Grilled Chicken Wrap

1 La Banderita tortilla

3 oz grilled chicken

14 oz mozzarella cheese

5 large olives

1 TBSP Hearty Italian Boutiful

1 roma tomato

First, I layered all of the ingredients into this huge 1pt wrap I found at Wal-Mart.  The package read soft taco, but the tortilla was big enough to be used as a wrap.

Initially, I rolled the bulging wrap and shoved it into my Redi Set Go. When I opened my Redi Set Go, the wrap lay there opened swirling in juices, probably from the dressing. so, I decided to scrape the contents from the soggy wrap into another tortilla...pictured below

Next I rolled the wrap...

And then I devoured it...

Back to my shopping excursion...with the good comes the bad. Although I discovered some new healthy food finds, so many unhealthy food choices fill the aisles. And of course I wanted to eat everything I saw. Truth be told, I am guilty of a big no-no. I showed up at the store a little hungry...a big no-no. When you arrive at any place of business hungry, the food starts talking to you.  But last night, I talked back and said, "NO!" Instead of buying this...

I got that (pictured below)...Japanese rice crackers. These crackers taste great on salads, but I like to eat them by themselves too. They satisfy that crunch satisfaction I get from eating chips.

As I wrapped up my trip and paid for my purchases, something caught my eye...

Yes, a 99¢ pregnancy test...lol. Looking at that test made me wonder about the reliability of the results. But trust ME...I DO NOT, I repeat, I DO NOT want to find out...lol.

I mainly visit my local bargain stores to find recipe ingredients at discounted prices. Some recipes I find call for items not used in everyday meals.  For example, I planned to make a dish with rice wine vinegar, but as a single parent spending $3 & $4 bucks on a bottle of vinegar used for one recipe seems like an extravagance. Some of the local $ Stores carry rice wine vinegar as well as other recipe ingredients. 

Well folks...that concludes my field trip post. I would love to take a weekly field trip and post, but every time I write about a new weekly posting idea, the idea usually falls by the wayside...lol. Oh by the way, today's weigh in revealed a loss of 1.2 lbs.

What treasure(s) have you discovered at your local discount store?