Not only is my co-op one of the best in the country (it’s true) it is pretty much my personal playground. No matter how many times I go I can easily spend countless hours wandering the aisles checking for the latest and greatest new foods, products, miracles, etc.

I prefer to go by myself because then I don’t have anyone rushing me but the other night we went after a long Monday at work. Dinner was planned but the plans quickly changed when I saw garbanzo stew in the hot bar. I was sold and made up something about how it would just be too late to make something from scratch. The taster wanted nothing to do with garbanzo stew and settled on some turkey meatballs that he would doctor up at home with onion, peppers, pepperoni, garlic and sauce. Both of us were happy with our own choices and we ate within 15 minutes of arriving home. I knew I couldn’t make salmon that fast!

Garbanzo Stew over steamed veggies.

Lots of broccolini because I love it.

Tasters turkey-meat-ball-sauce over whole-wheat noodles.

PS. This was not an approved portion…

Finding this protein powder was SO much fun! I had an “internet date” with Holly from The Healthy Everythingtarian and it was a perfect first date in my opinion She is as much fun in person as she conveys through her blog. I hope to see her again soon, I’ll probably be needing some more Wisconsin goodies in the near future! We met at this great little store called Fromagination that has great foodie finds, local cheese and products and sandwiches to go. Totally my type of store. We grabbed some sandwiches and went to walk the Farmer’s Market.

I loved the packaging on this product (I know, it happened again – hey, I’m a sucker for great packaging!) but I also loved the fact that they use whey from local farms (like Organic Valley), have a short ingredient list, are sweetened with stevia and there are no wacky protein powder ingredients. I’m not a huge protein powder person but after I lift mega weights do yoga or check my emails sometimes I need a little protein! At first I tried the fair trade dark chocolate mixed with almond milk and it was good but I thought I would like it better in a smoothie so I took it back home, blended it with frozen banana and enjoyed the next day. One packet has 20 grams of protein and was a great addition to my smoothie. Next to try is yumberry and I can’t wait!  Check out the website here – you can order online if you can’t get to Wisco anytime soon.