I had a Peanut Butter Party!!!

This is definitely a post you do not want to miss!  I am not sure which party is better honestly ~ My Holey Donuts Party or My PB Party ~ Both are fantastic and I highly recommend you all have them :D !!

While working away today the package that my co-workers and I ordered from PB Loco finally arrived!!!!

We divided up the order so we each got TWO Peanut Butters.  You can do the same and score a FREE JAR deal that PB Loco is offering my readers. All you have to do is buy 5 jars and you get the 6th jar FREE. Now for one person that seems like alot, but, do, what we did. There are 3 of us so we each picked 2 jars each and will share the cost of only 5 jars – not a bad deal, right?! Just go to pbloco.com and order 6 ore more jars and use this code “BLOG709” when checking out. Offer is good until July 10, 2009! 

Here are the TWO I picked.

White Chocolate Raspberry

 

Check out the White Chocolate Chunks you can see on the bottom!

Now here is the fantastic surprise I discovered once I opened it.  There are ACTUAL Raspberries IN the peanut butter along with TONS of White Chocolate! Fantastic!

Sumatra Cinnamon Raisin

 

You can see the Cinnamon and the Raisins in the bottom of the jar, just waiting to be mixed together with the creamy PB.  It is LOADED with BIG Plump Raisins!

 

But, you know half the fun is SHARING!  So of course we opened ALL the jars and sampled away.  I did keep my tastes super small ~ 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp.  Here are the other flavors.

Dark Chocolate Duo

 

Which looked surprisingly different on the bottom than what I would have thought.  I expected it to be all chocolate throughout.  However, I have to admit, I was digging seeing BIG chocolate chunks!

Opening the jar made all our mouths drop!  Rich chocolate goodness plus peanut butter plus chocolate chunks – Here is the “layer” of chocolate on top of the jar.

The Final Flavor was Cocoa Banana ~ Banana + pb+chocolate = LOVE!

 

I LOVED what I saw when I opened the jar ~ smooth creaminess with a ton of layers of flavor and fun!

REVIEWS:

* My personal favorite out of these is the Dark Chocolate Duo ~ It’s fantastic and I could easily eat this from the jar.

* I thought I’d LOVE the Cinnamon Raisin the best and I do love the cinnamon/pb combo. However, I can taste the saltiness since I usually eat nut butters without anything in them but nuts.

* We all agreed the White Chocolate Raspberry was tasty and my other 3 co-workers who tried it do not even like White Chocolate. Now that says something.

* I was impressed with the Cocoa Banana. I wasn’t sure if I’d like the combo due to the banana flavoring that would be added. However, it reminds me of having chocolate peanut butter on laffy taffy. It’s super creamy and rich without an overpowering banana taste. I bet it would be FANTASTIC in baking.

My TWO Favorite PB & Co PB’s are:

• Cinnamon Raisin Swirl
• The Bees Knees

My TWO favorite PB Loco PB’s are:

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
• Dark Chocolate Duo

As I am sure you all guessed ~ we LOVE PB Loco and PB&Co! To me here is the main difference between the two brands. If you like a “saltier” peanut butter go with PB Loco. If you like a sweeter peanut butter go with PB& Co. 

Honestly though ~ either route you go, I honestly believe that they are worth it and a fun alternative to regular nut butter.  I bet they are amazing to BAKE with! 

I plan on ordering them ONLINE when my stash runs out since I cannot find them in stores near me.

As you can guess, I needed a little something to go with all my peanut butter.  So I portioned out a small 1 Weight Watcher Point of TJ’s Cinnamon Cats – Love these little guys!

After all the pb consumption, I knew a workout was in order!

When you can do nothing else, just walk!  I heard someone say that one time and it really stuck with me.  I have sort of been in an exercise funk lately as in NOTHING sounds good to do.  I usually resort to trying a new class (nope – didn’t appeal) or rotating on cardio equipment (hah!) or just doing a fun DVD (um, no!)  I told myself that I WAS working out today no matter what…when I walked outside – it was AMAZING!  There was a slight breeze and it was only in the mid 80’s….so, that is what I did – I walked and walked!  It was probably the most therapeutic walk I have ever taken.  I really paid attention to my surroundings as though I was looking through a camera lens.  I WISH I had my camera so I could have shared it with you all.  When all was said and done, I completely 4 miles and burned 414 calories – woohoo!

I came back to one of the best lunches ~ I know I say that alot, but, this lunch was amazing.  I was seriously sad when it was all over :(

Peanutty Broccoli Slaw

2 c colorful Rainbow Slaw

2 Tbsp TJ’s Spicy Lowfat Peanut Vinaigrette

Freshly Ground Pepper

FANTASTIC!  Just when I didn’t think it could get any better, I had two leftover Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Shells ~ MMMMMMM!

I really think these get better the next day – so good, I highly recommend them.  All together with my favorite Penguin Fizzy Water.

For dessert, I had a “cherry plum” ~ I am really not sure what they are called.  We have a bunch of these trees outside our office and I brought a couple in for my co-worker to try.

Check out how amazingly red they are on the inside.  They are so sweet and then you bite into the skin and it’s super tart.  It was a fun ending to my meal.

Tonight’s agenda is super fun!

* Check out NY&Co ~ The first Tuesday of every month they have 15% off for gold members. Plus I have a 25% off coupon and a $25 reward to use ~ yeah!  Now hopefully I can find something.

* Grilling fun…..Plus Healthy Homemade Onion Rings!

* Put up my interview post already :D

Be sure to enter my Amazing Grass Giveaway……it ends tonight at midnight!

Catch you all later tonight!

I can’t believe I slept 16 hours….

For anyone who knows me, they know I am a stander 6-8 person. My body doesn’t let me sleep much past 8 hours, in fact, 8 hours is sleeping in usually. I am always jealous of those who say they can sleep for hours at any time of day. So, let me go back to the rest of yesterday to get caught up.

I tried to keep it healthy for my mid morning snack with a Low-Fat Sargento Colby Cheese Square (1 WWP) and a nectarine that was crunchy and sweet – my favorite way. I don’t like mushy fruit.

Then, it was off to sushi! I have been looking forward to sushi ALL month long and was pretty bummed that I probably wouldn’t be able to taste it.I did have high hopes that the spice (hello Wasabi & Sriyachi Sauce) would help clear my nose. We went to the usual place, Sushi Mambo!

I started off with a nice, hot bowl of miso soup. I LOVE miso – it really does have the best flavor even when you can’t taste it :D

Then, came the 3 rolls from their “Feeling Special Menu” that we all shared. The best way to have sushi, I think, is to go with alot of people because then you can sample several rolls ~ YUM!

From left to right – we started with the High Roller - Tempura Shrimp and Cucumber, topped with slices of Tuna and Salmon, Zesty Sauce, and sprinkled with Crab. Did you know this is the only way I can eat crab?!

Then came the Supercalifragilistic - Crab and Tempura Shrimp Roll topped with Salmon, Maguro, with sweet Sesame Sauce and Wake Me. Check out that delish raw ahi!

And we finished with the Diablo - Spicy Tuna, Salmon, and Hamachi Roasted with a Zesty Sauce plus AVOCADO to cool this hot & spicy roll! It’s loaded with Sriyachi Sauce.

We usually mix up our rolls that we order (sort of LOL) but The Volcano is ALWAYS something we get and share. My co-worker asked for it extra spicy today (and I think she was trying to torture my nose better – it was soooo hot!)

So here is how everything tasted to me – spicy, salty, cool, sweet, crunchy and HOT! That’s about it. Sadly even with wasabi added it did NOTHING for my nose. It was such a bummer to have such fantastic sushi and NOT be able to taste it! I had 2 pieces of each roll and 1/4 of the Volcano before I gave up. I just imagined in my head how good it really was LOL.

My afternoon snack was more get better NOW stuff. The Emergen-C from my co-worker and some Organic Echinacea Tea.

But wait – it gets better!!! I brought my new jar of PB Loco Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter with me to work with promises to share a little with my friends. I squealed like a school girl (in my head of course so my co-workers wouldn’t think I was crazy) when I opened the jar.

How good does this look?! (yes, I licked the lid too! I can’t waste!)

Slightly mixed up and with a BIG spoonful to show you the “CHUNKS: of cookie dough + chocolate + peanutty goodness!

NO I didn’t eat that HUGE spoonful (although I really wanted too!). I slowly set the spoon back down and spooned out the proper amount to eat straight from the jar :D

OMG ~ Absolutely AMAZING!! Seriously, words cannot describe how good this peanut butter is. It’s super decadent, rich, creamy, chocolately and it tastes just like dessert in a jar. My co-worker put hers on apple slices and I stole one. Awesome – I forgot to take a picture in my excited….we all sort of agreed that this might just be “orgasmically” good. Um, can I say that on my blog?! Seriously…..this stuff might just be the best PB I’ve ever had.

Now here is the cool part. We all liked it so much that we decided to go in together and take advantage of the FREE JAR deal that PB Loco is offering my readers. All you have to do is buy 5 jars and you get the 6th jar FREE. Now for one person that seems like alot, but, do, what we did. There are 3 of us so we each picked 2 jars each and will share the cost of only 5 jars – not a bad deal, right?! Just go to pbloco.com and order 6 ore more jars and use this code “BLOG709” when checking out. Offer is good until July 10, 2009!

I will be sure to provide more reviews when our jars come in – I am thinking I may just need to bake using some of this – how amazing would that be?! Or maybe just make something like banana bread and top it with THIS PB! Their site has some fantastic recipes as well – so be sure to check them out.

I missed out but I got a Free lunch!

Today’s Farmer’s Market Friday was seriously rockin’ in the office. I pretty much felt the need to get a little bit of everything! Check out how beautiful this fruit is……

Above ~ BIg nectarine, GIGANTIC Pluot, Strawberries, Blueberries, Rainier Cherries and pistacios. PLUS, an Aprium and an Italian Prune (aka Sugar Plum).

It was really hard to decide what to pick for snack, but, I opted for the cherries and berries plus the pistacios ~ so good! I really feel like fruit is at it’s prime right now – LOVE it!

Today I kept the promise to myself and headed out at lunch for a nice long walk. I am super proud of myself because I even passed on going with my co-workers to Mammarella’s! I knocked out 4 miles and I felt completely amazing and proud of myself for sticking to my guns. I really paid attention to my surroundings ~ the breeze, all the flowers, the smell of the dry grass and the cute bunny rabbit that SCARED me by jumping out and running in front of me :D….Should’ve taken the camera for sure.

I didn’t completely skip out on Mammarella’s though as I had my co-workers pick me up something new to try ~ Their Cobb Salad “lettuce, tomato, bacon, chicken breast, hardboiled egg, blue cheese, with the Brown Derby Vinaigrette”

For those of you who know me, I don’t do stinky cheese ~ bleh! So, I requested to have the stinky cheese removed and mozzarella added. Since the salads are pre-made when ordered to go they gave them a side of mozzarella. Next time, I’ll have them order my salad for their and get a to-go box because stinky cheese stinks up the salad. Here is my salad made-over with the stinky cheese removed and the mozzarella added.

I LOVE how they use a good quality chicken breast, grill it up and season it with AVOCADO!!!

The Brown Derby Vinaigrette is a creamy tasting spicy brown mustard vinaigrette that is light. I LOVED the dressing and used my fork to dip it with each bite.

I LOVE that they use bio-degradable silverware too ~ Two Thumbs Up for Mammarella’s for being environmentally friendly.

My co-workers came back with the COOLEST story to tell me. When they were ordering the Mammarella’s Manager came out and talked to them.

She asked one of my co-workers who she remembered from our last visit if she was me and if she had a blog. My friend said, no, but, this to-go salad is hers. They said the Manager was really nice and she gave us ALL FREE LUNCH passes for our next visit to thank me for my Blog Review. That is just so cool…I also made their Facebook Wall too – Click HERE to check it out ~ fun!

OH and they also got to see Francis Coppola himself *sigh* I completely missed out on my first Blog Celebrity Status Sighting (LOL) and should’ve gone to eat with my co-worker’s versus walking……

No worries though, I will definitely be going back and will have more to share with you all. Thanks again Mammarella’s ~ You all rock and it’s only your first week open – woohoo!

I also had my Farmer’s Market nectarine with TWO Dove Chocolate’s for dessert.

I decided to get a little creative with my Dove Dark Chocolate and topped it with a small drop of PB LOCO Dark Chocolate Duo! OMG ~ This might just be the best way I have ever had chocolate and PB ~ So decadent and delicious….smooth creamy peanut butter that tastes like a dark chocolate recess pb cup on top of creamy DOVE Chocolate ~ So good! I highly recommend you try this.

And my Dove Quote was perfect ~ I am definitely saving this one and adding it to the collection.

Here is some more FRIDAY FUN for you all!

* FANTASTIC giveaway ~ Custom Yoga Mat and 2 Yoga DVD’s – click HERE.

* One of the coolest ideas in blogging ~ Check out the Greatest Giveaways Blog that is a blog devoted purely to GIVEAWAYS you can find around the blogosphere!!! Click HERE!

I am not sure of our plans tonight but I know they will include a little R&R and possibly some homemade Caprese Pizza….it’s just a craving I have!

Just a little bit longer and the weekend begins……yeah!

We won a Whole Foods Gift Card!!!

Just call me Bond, James Bond, Agent 007 and I had a side kick on today’s Mission.  The prize up for grabs was a $25 gift card to Whole Foods……The mission…..to tag as many Annie’s Natural Products with promotional coupons that everyone can enjoy….snap a picture and submit it in a top secret email disclosing our location. (BTW ~ Check out those SUPER SALES PRICES on Annie’s loot!!!  Make a note to stock up because it’s the prime season and the discounts are everywhere!)

We made a special stop at lunch to “tag” the suspects and guess what ~ We won, we won!!!!  How cute is the little bag that the gift card comes in…..We cannot wait to hit up the salad bar at Whole Foods for FREE~ woohoo!

 

We were obviously famished after having such a big task!  We popped over to BuckHorn’s Grill for a fantastic Yik Yak Salad “An oriental salad with south of the border flair; a crisp mix of greens, cabbages, jicama, red peppers, snow peas, tossed with sweet sesame dressing & topped with toasted almonds”.  LOVE this salad but I could only finish about 2/3’sof it with a few bites of the tortilla.

I think we have come to the conclusion that all afternoons need to include some Gourmet Peanut Butter!!!  Today we broke out our 4 jars of PB and topped some chocolate wafer cookies.  I selected PB LOCO’s Chocolate Chip Cookie dough as my topper, but, I may have snuck a small spoon of the Dark Chocolate Duo or the Cocoa Banana too!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! Ok, well, the cookie wasn’t as good as topping a Dove Dark Chocolate, but, it wasn’t too bad!

 

Today flew by and I STILL have so much to do.  I am not sure of the plans for dinner tonight but it is definitely going to be something that is cool and doesn’t heat up the house.  I have to rummage the freezer and pantry.

See you all later ~ I am hoping to have some special posts ready to go for you all to check out tonight – yeah!