random foodie finds.

The commencement of my final undergraduate year of college has changed me, I think. I have this incessant desire to always be changing things up. This could mean going apple picking (and also eating the freshest, most plush, heavenly cider doughnuts to exist on this earth) on a gorgeous sunny Saturday, whiling away three hours at Brother Jimmy's BBQ with frozen margaritas and nachos on hump day, staying up till 5am unexpectedly, or establishing a weekly routine of getting lunch with the best friend before starting a long week.

I just noticed that most of my best days involve food in some capacity. I don't think I'd have a food blog if I weren't super into it .. right?

Today was another such day. Some of the random foodie finds in this post are from today, others are from early September when I spent too much time in visited a Fairway Market.

I'm literally just propped up on my bed, nibbling on what's left of this dessert plate. The items are:
- chocolate chip walnut cookie (1 regular + 1 chocolate covered & walnut dipped)
- pomegranate rugula (pomegranate?! I haven't eaten it yet)
- brownie bite in my hand
- half piece of raspberry kirpnel (.. kirfel .. krifel? I forgot what it was called and attempted Googling it to no avail)

It can be the simplest things that put you in good moods. You just gotta find what it is that makes you happy ... and then do more of it. For me, I incorporate routine and spontaneity to enjoy my time the most. I try hard to establish a routine of healthy eating, regular exercise and sleep. But the events of everyday can't get too similar or else I feel like my life is rolling around on a single plane and not going higher ... which I know it can.

I hope you enjoy my random food-related finds. I love sharing opinions, so comment if you have any! I also hope you find what makes you get the most outta life. It makes all the difference. :)

I scooped random stuff into this container from the olive bar. Random is the theme right now.

There's a dolmade (just one), pitted kalamata olives (will eat these for the rest of my life), olive tapenade (SO GOOD), some sundried tomato pieces, brined cipollini onions at the bottom, and you can see a hint of roasted garlic cloves nestled next to the whole olives.

I have also been a fan of olives and feta, but never like I was during and after my trip to Greece. Since then, hummus, feta and olives (kalamata, to be precise, although I am experimenting to see what else I like) have been staples in my fridge. All those on a toasted sandwich thin with a squeeze of lemon? Perfection.

In that picture, I filled two sandwich thin halves with a balsamic roasted portobello mushroom, and added the usual suspects - black bean hummus, crumbled feta, olive tapenade, and because you can never have enough olives, I also added kalamata olives.

Thankfully, I don't eat salt with anything else (and I mean basically literally anything else) during the day, so I don't bloat too badly. Exercise + water help too.

All of the above are from Wegman's. The below are from Fairway Market, which is also a great foodie place to shop.

I don't really drink anything besides water, milk, and amaretto sours (NOT EVERY DAY ... although I wish, they're delicious). And the rare times I do, I don't like sparkling anything, so I think the only reason I picked this up was because "lemon ginger" sounds healing and therapeutic. This was okay. Not worth the money. I still don't like sparkling anything.

This Ghirardelli bar I picked up after discussing dark chocolate with a doctor I was shadowing one time. The bar is dark, but not super dark. The cabarnet flavor comes across as sweet to me, more than anything. But it is enjoyable. The name just exudes class -"Cabarnet Matinee."

That little round next to it is goat cheese with honey. The honey sort of acts like a natural preservative I feel, as I had a normal goat cheese round that was smaller and went bad faster. This goat cheese was disappointing, because it was not nearly as tart and pungently distinct as regular goat cheese, although that's to be expected because the honey really mellows out the flavor. It would be delicious for dessert crostini, with a light smear of raspberry jam, crushed pistachio nuts, and maybe an additional drizzle of a flowery honey.

2% coconut, 2% banana, and 0% honey - all blended

Let me preface this by saying I really like yogurt, and I do enjoy Greek yogurt, including Chobani. They are usually 10 for $10, so I pick more up as I'm running out. I recently saw these new flavors. They are all blended. The coconut one (I was in the process of eating) was delicious! I loved it. I usually only get 0%, so the extra fat really made a difference in creaminess and mouthfeel to me. Also, there are little shreds of coconut in it which add a sense of authenticity.

I have had a 0% blended lemon one too - citric acid + yogurt, you say? Yes, odd. The flavors seem a little contrasting when eating too, but if you like lemon, you will enjoy it. There are bits of lemon flesh in there, too. Would probably be great for a lemon yogurt cake.

Hope you enjoyed this super long post! Let me know if you get (or have tried) any of the things here!