A Goodbye to Baked Goods

I'm publicly declaring that I am going on strike from baked goods for a week. I started yesterday and it was just for the day but when I realized how hard it felt, I recognized the need to extend my strike.

I have frequently bragged that I don't love pastries (chocolate croissants to indulge my Francophile moods aside) because I grew up in a house with a constant supply of them. That's why I am one of those people who believes that banning kids from eating certain foods is not the way to go. Don't "they" get that the more you withhold something the more it is desired? Why does that logic somehow not apply to children? Based on my previous bragging, I was really shocked to assess my intake of baked goods Sunday through Tuesday. It could be argued that pastries and baked goods are not specifically one and the same but they are, at the very least, very close cousins who like to have sleepovers and make fun of their grandparents together. So when I realized I had eaten multiple apple cider donuts, a cupcake, banana bread, a muffin and a bagel within such a short span of time, some major alarms started sounding in my head.

Now I can blame it on lots of things, sure. Excuse #1: I went to a big fair on Sunday and part of the tradition is to buy apple cider donuts; they are delicious and a native food in the land of New England apple picking. Excuse #2: I haven't grocery shopped in a week and half so I have to eat whatever food is made available to me at work. The first Monday of each month is staff breakfast at work and we are gifted with both free bagels and a free hour of work time to sit, socialize and eat. That happened this week and even though I was at a doctor's appointment, I don't look a free bagel gift horse in the mouth so I asked my friend to hide one for me for when I came in later. That's called planning ahead, folks. Excuse #3: As I wrote about here, Tuesdays can be nuts at work, often referred to as Trauma Tuesdays, so when some treats were there to soothe my raw emotions, it just made sense.

Work can be the worst/best as there are always baked goods. When I went to the kitchen recently there were three bags of cookies-chocolate chip, peanut butter chip, and brownie cookies. Next to those there was a bag of mystery flavored white cookies that appeared to be home made. A little ways down in another plastic bag were some brownies. And all the leftover bagels are in the freezer, calling my name since I didn't have time to pack food for my 12 hour work day today and wouldn't have had much to draw from anyway since I haven't shopped.

So even though there are still some cider donuts in a bag in my office, I am sadly going to watch them age without enjoying them. It feels sad to even write that. But I need to prove to myself that baked goods don't control me. What can't you resist??

Things I think you should know today

Things I think you should know today:
1. Atlantic City might have a time vortex. I had a girls' weekend there this past Friday through Sunday and it was simultaneously both the fastest and slowest 40 hours of the year. I think it siphoned some of my lifeforce/energy in exchange, though.
2. Paris was an amazing city (that I have still yet to write about) but there was so much to see that  I think it overloaded the culture part of my brain. Now all I want is beach vacations and to stare vacantly until someone catches me, thinks I am staring at them and I get all flustered.
3. Boloco has a nutella milkshake.
4. And Panera Bread's peach smoothie is pretty much the perfect food when it's too hot to eat a real meal. Of course that's because I can't easily access Jamba Juice, which would trump all. I have written to them twice and suggested they bring a location to the swanky mall in Natick, MA, which is far more accessible for me than the 2 college locations they currently offer in Boston. How do I get them on board? Will you all write to them for me, too?

Nothing tastes as good as thin feels....except a Blizzard

It amuses me that I can go three weeks feeling so overwhelmed that I consider never writing a blog post again and then one day I wake up and think of all the things I want to blog about. Therefore, I am now officially considering blogging a sign of health. If I feel good enough to want to blog, my stress level must be manageable.

Last week my stress level was not manageable. I was in one of those places where you are either very hostile or crying. One of the themes this blog revolves around is self-care. It's a very social workery term but it's got a great meaning that everyone should adopt. Self care is what it sounds like: taking care of yourself. But it's really more about the awareness of the ways you are already doing it or making a conscious effort to do more. Or, really, acknowledging that you need to take care of yourself because things are hard and taking care of yourself helps.

For example, yesterday I had a crappy afternoon of working with a struggling mom and facing stupid restrictions from big systems that are supposed to help such as the welfare/homelessness system. As I was driving away from a maddening meeting, I turned on the radio to help distract me. The first verbal commentary from the dj was about how it's  hard to believe Rihanna playing a "tough girl" in the movie Battleship after "you know who did you know what". If I began to tell you how infuriating I found this, it would be a very long, very unfunny post about social injustice so I will spare you but I really hope anyone reading this recognizes how un-okay that is! Someone isn't weak because they were victimized.

Needless to say, I needed to do some self-care STAT. Lucky for me, I just happen to drive by a Dairy Queen on my way between jobs. A good friend often jokes about "eating her feelings" and that's so what I did. And you know those people who say "nothing tastes as good as thin feels"? They lied. You know how you look back at pictures and think "wow, I looked good" but you remember that, at the time, you didn't think you looked good? When you are thin, you often don't feel thin enough. That doesn't feel good! But a Blizzard....it really did feel good. By the last spoonful I was even dreaming up new Ryan Gosling Tumblrs!! That's a drastic turn around and you can't even deny it.  

Stop creeping up on me like that!

Why are the holidays being so sneaky this year? Wasn't it just Halloween? How is it possible that Christmas is less than two weeks away??

Is it age that makes time seem to go by faster? Or is it the weather being warmer that has duped me? I have noticed from writing this blog, actually, that weather is kind of like a default excuse for me. Though I should certainly add that I have no idea how you do it, fair weather friends. If it's not bitterly cold outside, hopefully with some white stuff accumulated somewhere, how does Santa know where to find you?

Speaking of, I'm 96% certain that Santa drove by me in Natick, Massachusetts this morning. Along the famous marathon route, as a matter of fact. Although he was definitely not running. It's not the time of year for him to be focused on fitness. He and his fluffy white beard and joyous countenance drove by me in a Jeep Cherokee-like vehicle. It was so convincing that I even looked in my mirrors to catch a glimpse of the back of his car and he had Christmas stickers on his bumper! Could the North Pole just be an alibi location?

Anyway, my apologies for the abundance of question marks present in this post. In related holiday news, I finally put my tree up Saturday. There are even white lights on my stair banister. There's something very warm about Christmas lights that is both exciting and calming at the same time. It makes me want to drink hot chocolate, which I have yet to have this season. Dunkin Donuts is selling a mint hot chocolate this year and I'm waiting for a special occasion to indulge.

At lunch today, we were talking about why Christmas is the season of mint. I am not a huge mint flavor fan year round but in December, if you put crushed candy canes on something, it makes it 15 times more tasty and valuable. We even have some peppermint ice cream in the freezer, a most decadent treat. But unlike the delectable Cadbury mini eggs that are so precious because they can only be found around Easter and in limited supplies even then, we can get our hands on peppermint all the time so why is it so hyped up in December? I move that we incorporate it into celebrations all year long.

What's more domestic than making apple pie?

Nothing says "I'm domestic" more than preparing apple pie from scratch. It conjures up every image of a 50's house wife wearing an apron with perfectly curled hair in a suburban subdivision that I can think of. In reality, I would run away from fitting into such an image and have a severe lack of domestic intuition but I'm trying to become more "at home" in the kitchen and when I have a success, I am quite proud of myself.
Lucky for me, a woman from church volunteered to be my apple-pie-making-coach. She is an expert in my book, having grown up with a fruit farming father and a pie making mother, so I really couldn't ask for a more ideal leader. I had never even cored an apple so my coach truly had her work cut out for her!
The pictures ended up out of order but I will walk you through it......

STEP 7: Bake. We made a second pie more of the Dutch Apple persuasion for Hubby's enjoyment. I took it home, tossed it in the oven for about an hour and we both had a late night apple delight before the first episode of the new season of The Walking Dead. Amazing show, and, if I do say so myself, AMAZING PIE!!!!! Hubby really liked it and he's picky so I was extra proud. And I thought it was pretty scrumptious, too. Or maybe I could just taste all the heart I put into it:)

STEP 5: Sugar and butter!!!

STEP 4: Pie crust rolled out and placed in pie tin, apples and crust meet for the first time.I was ridiculously awful at using the rolling pin on the crust. I did, however, use my rolling pin like a foam roller on my hamstrings on Friday night and it was really helpful:)

STEP 3: Cut your apples. Again, having never even cored an apple, I felt a bit arthritic at the end of peeling about four of them. Thank goodness for the help or I might have thrown in the towel at this point.

STEP 1: Wash your apples

STEP 2: Dough. We used a "miracle dough" recipe that included vinegar and I was told this was extra hearty and forgiving. Putting the Crisco in was pretty revolting but 1 3/4 cups spread over 5 pie crusts eases the pain a little, I guess.

STEP 6: Pie crust on top, fluting on edges (tougher than it looks) and knife hole decor on top and viola!! I actually bagged this one to stick in the freezer. How much apple pie can a family of two really consume at once?

The Best Tapas Bar in Massachusetts and a taste of Morocco in Boston

This weekend was filled with birthday celebrations and restaurant trips that were reminiscent of my recent Spain trip. Both places were fabulous so I have some recommendations for good eats in the Boston/Worcester area.
Friday night we went to Tangierino Restuarant followed by heading downstairs to the Koullshi Lounge. This is a Moroccan establishment in Charlestown, Ma. The menu was a little pricey for me: meals were around $30. The harira soup appetizer was excellent, as was the hummus. Next time I think I would stop there and not even get an entree. My favorite part was eating on a couch and being greeted by the resident belly dancer! Downstairs is a hookah lounge with lots of atmosphere but music so loud it was hard for our group of 9 to keep the conversation going. I guess I should mention that the Moroccan theme is relevant because when we were in Seville, we were only about 2 hours from Morocco. We ardently tried to make a side trip but we were unable to change our Ryan Air flight. Booooo Ryan Air.
Saturday night a group went to Bocado Tapas Bar in Worcester, Ma. They had a great package where we got to choose 4 meats or cheeses, 8 tapas, 1 paella and 2 desserts for $125. It was meant for 4 people but more than filled 6 girls! I feel a little guilty admitting it but the tapas were some of the tastiest I've had-both at other tapas spots and even en Espana! The pan con tomate is always high on my fave list but we also had some out of this world fried honeyed goat cheese. I have all sorts of analogies about the lengths I would go to for this cheese but they are all so outlandish, they are gross when written out. Suffice it to say, it was incredible. Truly incredible. Also very tasty: rice balls, a panko crusted mac and cheese, and a duck dish. They had all sorts of interesting flavored Sangrias which kept most of the ladies jovial, as well.
I love conjuring up travel memories via my taste buds!

Bbq Dessert Poll: Please Vote

I need your help today. Tomorrow I am going to a bbq and am bringing a dessert but haven't decided what to bring yet.
Should it be:
a. oreo truffles
b. devils food cookies with mint frosting
c. caramel popcorn (which would be my first time making it)
d. muddy buddy mix
e. other (im open to suggestions)
Please vote as soon as you can so I can make it tonight:)
And, for the record, I think this is my first non-travel related post in like 6 weeks. Then again by saying that did I just make it travel related? Tricky

A weekend by the Sea

The weather on Cape Cod was amazing this weekend! After experiencing 4 days of rain on Magaluf beach in Mallorca, Spain a couple weeks ago, I was not encouraged Friday night when it started pouring on my first night in Dennisport. Me and my soon-to-be-married friend (from elementary school! hooray for deep roots!) sat in a quintessential seafood shack sipping clam chowder (yes, pronounced chowda in these parts) and munching some very yummy onion rings while it just dumped down rain. Thankfully, Saturday we woke to clear skies and moderate temps. Our very affordable hotel had a private beach that we chilled on all day and it was lovely.
Have you ever read the Bernstein Bears book "too much birthday"? That's kind of how I felt last night. Too much sun + too much fun and I was down for the count last night. It afforded me the opportunity to see the movie the Bucket List, though. Have you ever seen it? I super enjoyed it-great lessons on living your life to the fullest and seeing the world. It was a bit of a silly scene, though, as the bachelorette slept and I cried, watching the end of the movie in a hotel room.
I really think it should be June in Massachusetts at all times! The windows are open, the birds are chirping, there's not an ounce of humidity in the air, and we ate dinner on the deck.
I hope you all had as relaxing and glorious a weekend as I did!

Just a minor setback...

Just a minor setback in the stress-less initiative, that is. Although I wrote about stressing less yesterday, it has actually been an unnamed resolution in my life for a few weeks. Therefore, it's actually less bad to have a set back today than it seems. It's not like I just came up with the plan to be less stressed yesterday and here I go, the next day, failing. I guess from the tone of this intro, though, that you can sense that failure. I'm kind of manic.

My pants are too tight today so I'm feeling a little less sassy. My hair is too flat. It's a stunning day outside and I'm locked at my desk, watching people in bathing suits at the water park through my window. Surely, it's just minutes until the ice cream man shows up to rub salt in my wound. Clients at work decided to burst forth with creative problems yesterday, spilling into today. I have to work a 12 hour day. I feel pretty guilty about eating Chinese food three days this week. Peking ravioli are kind of my new obsession.

Here's the good news: Last night I went to a comedy show and laughed until I cried. I particularly recommend a young comedian from Providence, Rhode Island named Daniel Martin. This weekend I am going to the Cape, aka Cape Cod, for a girl's weekend/mini bachelorette party for one of my best friends. That is something fabulous to look forward to. So, hopefully today's setback is just for the day. As my favorite leading lady, Scarlett O'Hara would say, "After all, tomorrow IS another day".

Tortilla Espanola

The Spanish Tortilla Is the Best of All Omelets - Fine Cooking Recipes, Techniques and Tips

I'm a super picky eater, which can be a hindrance when traveling. Tortilla Espanola was my go-to food in Spain. It's eggs, potato and onion that come looking like a slice of pie. It looks like the lovechild of an omelet and a quiche. I haven't tried this recipe yet but hope that by putting it up here, I will hang on to it and give it a go very soon.

Guest Post! Is it sausage? Is it grits?

Sarah, author of the blog "I mean really happy" is a guest blogger today! Sarah is an amazing mother of three little ones (including twins!). She is a superwoman who makes her own granola, her kids clothes, and even a teepee for them. She and I met at BYU my freshman year and she has been amazingly non judgmental and loving over the last decade plus. I love her story about travel......enjoy!


 The thing that I like about travelling to new places is that it humbles me.  I usually think that I have life and people and stuff all figured out, but it's nice to know that this is not the case.  People are living lives quite unlike mine and they're happy and I'm happy and we're all good.  One experience that I had in a Jackson, Mississippi Wal-Mart made one of these differences very apparent.  I will write it in play form so you can act it out with your friends and family.

Me: (approaching Wal-Mart employee)  Excuse me, do you have tofu?

Wal-Mart Employee #1:  I'm sorry?

Me:  Do you carry tofu? 

1:  I'm sorry, is that a food?

Me:  (somewhat embarrassed)  Yes, it's made of soy, it's a vegetarian-type product.  It's white, and comes in a little white box with water surrounding it.

1:  Hmmm, I may have to call someone on this.

Me:  Okay, sorry.  It's usually in the refrigerator section.  [at this point I am beginning to realize that I am the problem- I mean, why didn't I just look near the produce instead of by the vast carnivorous stretch of turkey necks and pigs' feet?  I do not know]

1:  (gets on his walkie talkie- some confusion about the purpose of the call ensues)  Okay, Linda will be here in a minute, she's just in cereals.

Me:  Thank you

Linda:  Now, what is it that you all are looking for?

Me:  Tofu

1:  We have some vegetarian-type products in the frozen foods- sausage and such.

Me:  It's a vegetarian food- it's white and packed in water in a white plastic box.  It's refrigerated.

Linda:  Now, I know that you're telling me that it's a food, but what type of a food is it?  I mean, is it a sausage?  Is it a grits?

Wal-Mart Employee #2:  (sidling up)  What is it that you all are looking for?

Me:  Tofu?

#2:  Oh yes, we have tofu.  It's in the produce section.

Me:  (thanking #1 and Linda- but forgetting to say sir and ma'am)  Well, I don't know why I didn't look there first.

#2 was very helpful in the tofu search, and after some confusion between it and the won ton wrappers, Lucy and I were able to leave Wal-Mart with our vegetarian protein source in tow.

Mmmmmm

Skyr: A miracle food

Skyr

I try to make my posts entertaining but sometimes it's more important to just get down to business. I am pretty sure I have found a miracle product and I think it's only right that I share the news. On a more selfish level, I figure if more people buy said miracle product, maybe it will get easier to find.
Skyr is one of my finds from Iceland. It was one of the only things I could eat, actually. It's very much like yogurt but it's technically a soft cheese. That sounds gross but go with me on this one. It's 150 calories and 16 grams of protein!! (Actually I found one that is 100 calories and 14 grams of protein).
I don't love to eat meat so getting that much protein in one place is pretty amazing to me-that's more than tuna!
The best part is that it's really yummy. I don't love most yogurts. The whole Greek yogurt movement is totally lost on me. Skyr is smooth and creamy and filling. I prefer strawberry, fyi.
So, here's where I have found it: the brand I prefer is Skyr.is and I found it at Whole Foods. I couldn't find any brand at Trader Joe's, another healthier grocery store. It's not carried many mainstream places but I stumbled upon a brand called Siggi's at Stop and Shop this week. They didn't have any plain strawberry; they had more exotic flavors. I will be trying that later in the week.
Oh, I think I forgot to tell you why it's a miracle food. Everyone in Iceland looked like a Viking to me and Hubby. The first day we were there, a group of high school kids was on a field trip to the same tourist attraction as us and they were ALL (no exaggeration on this one) taller than us. Then, one day while watching Icelandic TV, since we didn't get anything else, we saw this competition they do there with 12-15 year olds doing like 100 push ups and rope pulls and other beastly feats. Natives eat tons of skyr and they can do this stuff. I ate some on Monday for breakfast and lifted weights for an hour that night, increasing my weight on almost every body part. I also ran 2 consecutive miles, which I haven't done in a couple months due to my laziness. I just felt like Thor!!!
So, I think you should run out and buy some and try to scale a building or run a marathon-it will help.

Did you know?

That armpit hair only grows to be an inch and half long?
That spit can help clear up a zit?
Icelandic Skyr is sold at Whole Foods?
Appendicitis can be caused by a virus and, therefore, contagious?
The Situation is getting his own spin off show?
(I learned the first two from Allure magazine while I was at the hairdresser-I'm not a weirdo researching armpit hair. I like to give credit where credit is due when I can)
Just some food for thought as you head into your weekend.....Hope it's a great one!!

Happy Monday!

For once, I actually feel like my weekend was long! I didn't do much that is noteworthy this weekend. What about you?
Here's what I did do:
I slept a lot. I think I have the sleep equivalent of a tapeworm. The need for sleep is really insatiable. I took naps both weekend days. In fact, I went to church yesterday and was basically excused to go home by my mom and my bishop because I was so tired I was like out of it. You would think I was doing something exciting on Saturday night! But no, I stayed in all day Saturday, with the exception of a walk to the grocery store.
Oh, and I bought frames for the products of my Etsy binge last month. I got three really cute pieces that now just need to find their home on the wall. One piece was a larger, odder size. I looked into matting and framing it but it was going to have to be a custom order. Do you have any idea what that costs?????? Coo Coo amounts. So, while it would have looked nicer matted and in a frame to size, I trimmed the edges and crammed it into a regular frame and saved $230. I'm sure it wouldn't have looked $230 worth of nicer so I feel great about my decision.
I made a yummy fruit salad to mimic one that I had at work last week. I skipped the raspberries, my favorite, because they were $4.99 for a small package. I did include pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and grapes. Yum. I also made my favorite salad and some chicken and ravioli. That should feed me for a couple days:)
I caught up on a bunch of DVRd shows. I adore my DVR and the convenience it has brought to my life. Remember when you had to run home for your favorite show? Or worse, you had to find someone to tape it for you?? I watched  hours of Secret Millionaire. So good and inspirational. I finally watched the Teen Mom 2 reunion show, a show on the Challenger from January and an episode of the Colony that has been on there for months.
To balance out the tv time, I did also read. I wish time would stand still when I read. I really want to keep seeing what happens with the story but you can't really multitask while reading so I never have enough time. Or it segues to a nap.
So, I hope your weekend was as restful as mine and perhaps more noteworthy!

So this is what Saturday morning looks like

And this is what a fridge after vacation looks like. It's deceiving because all the containers are actually food accessories. They all require something else and don't make a meal in and of themselves. I think the biggest tragedy is no milk. I left hubby a voicemail last night to see if he would bring some home but does he listen to voicemails? No. He goes to the movies instead.
So I'm sitting here eating Cream of Wheat because it's the only thing in the house that can stand alone. Luckily, Golden Girls surprised me on TV and it's sunny out so those things are working in my favor.
It's way earlier than I should be up if I have no purpose because Iceland is 4 hours ahead so I'm all thrown off. One of the cats has woken me up, coughing up hairballs, both nights I have been home. This morning it was at 5 am. I have to get up and clean and soothe. Then the kitten starts attacking my feet. So I watched a DVRd special on Annie Lebovitz. I am sure I didn't spell that correctly but I think you know who I am talking about: the amazing photographer. When I tried to go back to sleep, I went to turn on the sound machine that I swear by and, lo and behold, the burning smell I noticed when I plugged it into the converter thing for the European plug actually shorted out and killed my sound machine.
So, in addition to the dire need for grocery shopping, I now have an excuse to go to Target for a new sound machine, too. Trouble is, I don't think I can leave the house this early on a Saturday without someone else expecting me to be somewhere based on the sheer principle of it.
Instead, I am going to do the vacation hangover appropriate thing to do: scavenge off what I can find left in the house to sustain my body, watch a little of "the girls", keep my eye mask on the top of my head like a headband, and enjoy the sunshine!

More Random Tidbits

Last week I decided I want to be in a flash mob. I am insanely jealous of anyone who has performed the Thriller dance as part of a large group. Unfortunately, most of the flash mobs seem to happen on the west coast. However, I still signed up to be in the know in case one comes near my doorstep. Keep you posted!

Also, last week I engaged in a peanut butter debate on facebook. Fatty vs Reduced fat, natural vs sugary. Regardless of your personal preference, you have to admit that it's amusing that people could have such strong opinions about a nut butter that it would spark a public forum debate weighing the merits and disadvantages of different options. Don't even get me started on the peanut allergy classrooms.....

Have you all heard of the new Ben and Jerry's flavor, Late Night Snack, inspired by Jimmy Fallon? It's phenomenal! Picture this: vanilla ice cream with swirls of salty caramel (not just normal caramel deliciousness) and then there are chocolate covered clumps of.....wait for it.......POTATO CHIPS! I'm not a big chip fan. Most days I prefer sweet over salty but to have them make an appearance in your ice cream is an entirely different story. The unexpectedness of it is so fun that I can't help but dig for gold in my pint carton. And it's only a few seconds of potato chip goodness in your mouth before you are back to the ice creaminess of it all. Wow, I have to hand it to those guys on this one and recommend strongly that you get yourself some to sample.

The sweet/salty debate reminds me of a sweet/savory debate we have at my office once a month during staff breakfast. The first Monday of every month, one of the head honchos buys all the rest of the staff bagels and fruit, juice and such. It kind of makes me smile that the Executive Director, the highest honcho, sometimes slips in a box of pop tarts, too, as she believes they are valid breakfast food. Something about someone so legit giving something so unlegit street cred pleases me. Anyway, back to the debate...we have to get a whole bag of everything bagels and then a second bag for the "others" include anything sweet. The same pop tart toting woman scoffs at sugary bagels' existence. I like a good french toast bagel from Panera (with whom I am currently waging a morals war with online) but for breakfast, it has to be an everything bagel, no?

PS-the war with Panera is that my MyPanera card earned me a free "coffee, tea, or soda". Since I don't partake of most of those beverages, I asked for a lemonade and was told NO! I now have an ongoing conversation with Panera employees and customers nationwide regarding the lemonade debate.

How is it that 90% of this post ended up being about food?

Living with a Basketball Coach

sometimes you come home to scenes like this

so you have to comfort yourself by eating this for dinner

What kind of food would you consider eating off the floor?

Ok, if it was a pretty clean floor, non carpeted, in my own home or the home of someone even cleaner, I would eat most dry foods. At least I'm keeping it real!

Now picture this: a carpeted floor in an office you have vacuumed 2 or 3 times in about as many years? I almost reached down for a piece of muddy buddy (chex with melted chocolate and peanut butter, covered in powdered sugar). I had the good sense to stop myself but if it had been the last piece, this might be a very different blog post.

Ode to Minneolas

I have been Muddy Buddy free for two days now. No Goldfish, either! Instead, I just snacked on the most delicious minneola on the planet. What's the difference between a minneola and an orange? I wondered that, too. So I put Google to work and found a whole website dedicated to fruit. The citrus page www.thefruitpages.com told me that a minneola is actually a mix between a tangerine and a grapefruit. Funny thing is, I  have never had either one of those! Maybe I will pick them up to sample on my next grocery trip. I think it would be fabulous if I could fall in love with grapefruit and go on one of those grapefruit diets!