tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59781807921857369022024-03-13T04:42:20.523-07:00lizzy's adventures in foode.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-6984934299651931422013-02-28T19:53:00.001-08:002013-02-28T19:53:38.464-08:00dish soaperic hates the trader joe's dish soap. and vocalizes this opinion almost every day. <br />
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its true, its not very sudsy. but it does work. i don't think we'll be buying it again. its our second try, one with the lavender, now with the orange, and its just not good enough. <br />
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we really liked the method dish soap. its got the awesome pump, though not a foaming pump. we need to find a 'green' version with the foaming pump so eric stops using the foaming hand soap as dish soap. i think we can get the foamy bottle and make it ourselves from normal dish soap, i'll have to look into it. we'd probably use less dish soap in the long run that way. <br />
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has anybody else used a foamy bottle and made their own foaming dish soap?e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-17095708294361284532013-02-26T08:48:00.002-08:002013-02-26T08:48:27.963-08:00breakfast adventureswe've either been a bisquick or from scratch pancake makers. this morning mini and i made pancakes using trader joe's buttermilk pancake mix. i just used the recipe as it is on the box, no special additions, no jazzing it up. they were BORING! not horrible, just fairly flavor free. usually we throw in some vanilla, maybe some sugar, brown sugar if we're feeling saucy, but i wanted their base-line pancake just to see what we're working with here. next batch will be getting the fancy additions, because these were just... bland. minerva didn't mind them at all, she ate 2 of them without complaint, or even seemingly noticing that they were different from the usual. e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-25041746598787891682013-02-16T20:44:00.002-08:002013-02-16T20:46:37.898-08:00trader joe's liquid laundry detergenti am in love with trader joe's laundry detergent! (liquid) you could use it in an HE machine, it smells fabulous with lavender essential oil, and it works pretty well, too! i'm routinely impressed with what washes out of our clothes without any added effort. plus, perhaps one of the key selling points, its <i>cheap</i>! we're talking less than $10 for 64 loads of laundry. <br />
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i belong to a cloth diaper group, and every single time somebody asks for opinions about detergents, i always pipe up about trader joe's laundry detergent. i have the powder, too, as i've heard it suggested that the powder is better for cloth, but really i haven't noticed any specific difference. so i just switch them off, depending on my mood, and how dirty the diapers are that particular load. (heheheh load heheheheh) so far so good on both accounts, but the powder is unscented! where's the fun in that!?<br />
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i don't care if i become a millionaire and can afford any kind of washer and detergent that i want, i will still use trader joe's. e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-39383513691803765992013-02-15T11:22:00.000-08:002013-02-26T08:40:43.064-08:00shiny happy hairi have never been a brand-loyal hair product user for any length of time. i switch back and forth, use new products, fall in love, find something new, fall in love with that, and on and on. for the past few years, i've been experimenting with trader joe's and whole foods shampoos and conditioners. both are eco-friendly, no animal testing, contain organic ingredients, no SLS, parabens, all the goods. so whats the difference?<br />
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trader joe's tea tree tingle shampoo and conditioner<br />
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this is our go-to shampoo and conditioner. its refreshing, its organic, and it leaves our hair soft, shiny, and clean.<br />
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whole foods mint conditioner<br />
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last year, i bought the lavender shampoo and conditioner, and i was not pleased. the shampoo SUCKED! so i didn't buy either again. but i did remember the conditioner being ok, so i tried it again, as its fairly inexpensive, plus this time i noticed that they have multiple formulas. maybe this is new? either way, i got the normal to dry hair conditioner this time. i'm pleasantly surprised. my hair is shiny and super soft. eric, however, has been a bit greasier than usual. perhaps he needs to stick with the trader joe's. e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-53733153538091373032012-05-16T12:55:00.000-07:002012-05-16T12:55:03.379-07:00happy snackie timeso, last night i made myself something delightful! <br />
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1 banana, sliced into roughly1/2 inch pieces<br />
1/4 cup rolled oats (uncooked oatmeal)<br />
chocolate syrup<br />
ice cream<br />
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toss the banana pieces in the oats. top ice cream with oat-y bananas. top both with chocolate syrup. nom. nom. and nom some more.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-33124091252460578152012-02-23T21:47:00.001-08:002012-02-23T21:47:24.195-08:00eric and i have come to the conclusion that trader joe's dishwasher powder is the best stuff ever. it works better than every other dishwasher liquid or powder we've tried in the 3 years we've been here. of course, all are combined with lemi-shine since we've got crazy hard water, but all others still left spots or cloudiness. no more, my friends, no more! plus this stuff is 'green' so i don't have to worry about what kind of crap is on my daughter's bottles, bowls, and spoons, as well as out in the environment. <div>
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trader joe's liquid laundry detergent is also fabulous. it smells amazing, because of the lavender oil, and its rated very highly for use on cloth diapers. w00t! no expensive detergent for us, we got this all under control on the cheap! we've become very good at that. </div>
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now, i realize neither of those things are food, but both are bought in a food store, and both are used on things that in some form or another interact with food. to make things matchy matchy though, i'll post about food, too.</div>
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TRADER JOE'S COOKIE BUTTER! GO GET SOME! NOW!!!! </div>e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-59161116579876190152011-02-25T04:02:00.000-08:002011-02-25T04:02:13.542-08:00another round at trader joe'swell... we tried trader joe's polenta provencal. it wasn't bad. but i don't think i would buy it again. the little polenta balls didn't really taste like anything, and there wasn't nearly enough spinach. the cream sauce was also a little strange. all in all, not a waste, but not a repeat buy, either. <br />
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trader ming's spicy szechuan style beef & broccoli, however, is bangin'. that i highly recommend.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-70910120813518490822011-02-16T16:18:00.000-08:002011-02-16T16:18:30.204-08:00what a twist!tonight i write from my kitchen. that's right. lizzy is in the kitchen, and not just to get something from the fridge. <br />
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lizzy made dinner.<br />
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don't get scared, now, the house is still standing.<br />
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in the oven as we speak is <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mac-and-cheese-recipe2/index.html">ina garten's mac and cheese.</a> fancy, no?<br />
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i'm pretty sure i screwed up somewhere along the way, as the cheese sauce was not as cheesy as it was saucy with pieces of cheese in it, but i mixed it in with the pasta, and put more cheese on top before adding the tomatoes and breadcrumbs. (yes, i made them myself. aw snap!) hopefully it won't kill us. better still, it might just taste good.<br />
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but i will have to get back to you on that one.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-57877195465718011772011-02-03T08:26:00.000-08:002011-02-03T08:28:32.541-08:00don josea friend of my mom and russell said don jose was their favorite mexican restaurant. so, the other night, we decided to go there instead of driving all the way to tinga. i had been there once before and was not impressed, but i thought perhaps it was worth a second try.<br />
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i was definitely underwhelmed.<br />
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everything was just... alright. except the refried beans. they were really tasty. everything else just kind of fell flat. my beef enchiladas were good, but lacking in flavor besides salt and cheese. i expected the red sauce to taste like more. eric got one of the platters, a chicken tamale, a chili relleno, and a cheese enchilada. he liked the cheese enchilada the best out of the 3. i tried a bite of the chicken tamale, it was better than my beef enchiladas. <br />
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in the end, we were full, but not satisfied. next time, we will just make the trip to tinga.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-87473476738857301182011-01-30T19:03:00.000-08:002011-01-30T19:03:51.374-08:00lovey's pizzai am a big fan of <a href="http://www.loveyspizza.com/">lovey's</a> white pie with spinach. it's a yummy thing. <br />
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(their plain pizza is also quite delicious, if you're not into the whole sauceless pizza thing.)e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-32874229661638743512011-01-27T15:34:00.000-08:002011-01-27T15:34:03.305-08:00today's episode: tomatoes and challahyes, i realize these things don't entirely go together. but they are two of our recent purchases at trader joe's. <br />
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first lets start with the trader joe's whole peeled plum tomatoes with basil. they fit the bill so far for puttanesca. though, recently, we discovered <a href="http://umamigirl.com/2011/01/carolyn-cope-npr-interview-canned-tomatoes.html">something about canned tomatoes</a>. when you look for a brand of canned tomatoes, you want the ingredients list to read 'tomatoes, salt.' unfortunately, trader joe's felt the need to add citric acid and calcium citrate. this will be our only adventures with these tomatoes. (the tutto rosso we usually buy also have citric acid in them. my goal the next time we need tomatoes is find a brand that's just tomatoes and salt.)<br />
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our next new adventure in TJ's is the challah rolls. they're quite lovely! slightly sweet and soft, yet dense, with that nice shiney challah crust. great for sandwiches, dinner rolls, buttered roll for breakfast, whatever you need. i highly recommend them.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-73854473046739681272010-11-14T18:12:00.000-08:002010-11-14T18:14:00.310-08:00more trader joe's.today i had the chicken enchiladas with organic sour cream, both tj's products. <br />
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quite delightful! they probably would have been even better if i didn't overcook them in the super nuker. <br />
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to clarify, our microwave is ridiculously powerful. in order for things not to be overdone, you have to subtract roughly a minute from the cook time. <br />
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i made the mistake of cooking the enchiladas at the 6 minutes of the recommended 6-8. so, they were a bit dried out. BUT! still delicious! and they smelled so yummy that my brother-in-law came downstairs asking if there was any left. alas, not a bite! <br />
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he says the tj's steak burritos are great. i haven't tried them yet, though...<br />
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i am also drinking tj's unsweetened iced black tea. it tastes homemade right outta the bottle, but i've thrown in some mint leaves for an extra somethin' somethin'.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-20466716693390392222010-11-03T07:16:00.000-07:002010-11-03T07:16:35.637-07:00penangso, this is far overdue, but i just realized i never wrote about it...<br />
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last sunday, the 24th, kate, moko, nick, eric, and i went to <a href="http://www.penangcuisine.com/">penang</a> in east hanover. kate had a good idea by suggesting it, we hadn't been there in a minute. plus, nick had never eaten malaysian food before.<br />
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as usual, we got the roti canai, which is always lovely. its this crispy yet chewy pancake, which you dip into a chicken curry sauce. i could drink the sauce. its that good. nick liked it enough to eat the piece of chicken on the bone at the bottom of the bowl. <br />
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we also had the chicken penang satay, which is good, but i've had better. the chicken tends to be a bit oddly textured. i'm not sure if its a marinade issue, or the way its cooked. its not bad, by any means, its just... strange. <br />
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we wanted the honey squid, because that's just awesome, but that night they were out. this is ok. next time. <br />
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kate got the shrimp puff as an appetizer. i wasn't a big fan. if you like shrimp toast, you'd like it, but i'm a picky bitch when it comes to shrimp toast. <br />
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for dinner i got pad thai. i was very much in the mood for something warm and noodley. i thought about the red curry, because that's also delightful, but i just didn't want chicken for dinner.<br />
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nick went the safe route and got the sesame chicken. it was the closest thing he found to the only other asian food he's eaten, chinese. <br />
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eric got hokkien char mee, which is another noodle dish. its made with big thick noodles, as well as shrimp, squid, pork, and veggies, in a soy sauce reduction of sorts. he enjoyed it, no leftovers. <br />
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truth be told, i don't remember what anyone else got. all i know is kate threatened moko not to touch her leftovers, because she wanted to eat hers for lunch the next day.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-86391038168133168892010-10-12T21:09:00.000-07:002010-10-13T15:18:29.513-07:00warwick valley winerythe <a href="http://www.wvwinery.com/">warwick valley winery</a> has to be one of my favorite destinations on a beautiful day. its a gorgeous drive to a gorgeous winery with gorgeous scenery and gorgeous wine! <br />
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this past sunday, we hit up the winery after spending a few hours apple picking down the road at och's orchard. there were a bunch of us, so we found a nice big shady spot under some trees. we spread out a blanket, bought some wine, beverages, and food, and had ourselves a lovely little picnic. <br />
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our red was their red dirt red. its a table wine, "mineraly"as eric puts it, but once it breathes, its beautiful. we had some left the next day, and it was even better. the fruit notes could really come out, and it made a spectacular drink for both our picnic under the trees, and our lunch out on the deck the next day. <br />
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for our picnic spread, we had 4 sandwiches and a pizza.<br />
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the first sandwich was sliced turkey breast, bacon, cheddar, cranberry chutney, and honey mustard. we had to get 2 of them because one didn't suffice, we all wanted a piece. <br />
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the rest of the sandwiches are not on their usual menu, but were delicious all the same. there was a roast beef, cheddar, horseradish, and carmelized onion sandwich that was wonderful, and definitely filling. they did not skimp on any of the ingredients. the roast beef was tender, too. <br />
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then, there was a waldorf chicken salad sandwich. i avoided it, as i am not a fan of waldorf salad in any form, but will, michelle, and maria loved it. even sean was munching on the chicken chunks falling out of michelle's half. <br />
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then, there was a lobster roll of sorts, on a ciabatta hot dog bun. will didn't expect much of it, as we were at a winery not a seafood market, but he was pleasantly surprised in the quality of the lobster and devoured it before anyone else could snag a bite. <br />
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the pizza was the four cheese pizza, gouda, gorgonzola, mozzarella, and swiss with a red sauce. (you can get it with white sauce, too) i could have eaten the entire pizza by myself. the crust was as good as anything you'd find in the best pizzaria, and the combination of cheeses created such interest on the tongue that you just wanted to keep eating. <br />
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their fries were also spectacular. will and eric think there is beef tallow in the fry oil. yessie and i were just concerned with eating them all. most of the sandwiches came with a little green salad and an orzo, olive, and feta salad. the green salad had potential, but it was kind of soggy. i had a bite and left the rest to everyone else. the orzo salad was sadly lacking in anything but orzo. the little bits of olive and feta spiced things up a bit, but it would have benefited with more of those two things.<br />
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i'm already dreaming of another weekend that involves a trip to the winery. but maybe it could be a less busy weekend....e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-15133389399310120062010-09-28T10:56:00.000-07:002010-09-28T11:01:36.998-07:00trader joe'stoday for lunch, i had trader joe's reduced guilt pizza primavera. i always expect yummy things from trader joe's, and this lived up to that expectation. it wasn't all cardboardy like so many frozen "diet" pizzas can be. it was loaded with veggies like eggplant, peppers, and zucchini. the sauce was good, the crust was crispy, it was delightful! there wasn't much in the way of cheese, but for 250 calories and 7 grams of fat, they can't afford much! especially because it was real cheese, not some diet crap. anyway, i'm definitely going to buy this again, and i suggest you buy it, too.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-23358142271833330292010-09-12T18:24:00.000-07:002010-09-12T18:24:09.304-07:00winei count food along with wine. the two do go together splendidly.<br />
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tonight, we had <a href="http://www.donandsons.com/threeloosescrews/smokingloon/chardonnay.php">smoking loon chardonnay</a>. not the best, but for $8.99, quite lovely. smooth, but almost too smooth. as eric stated, "there's not enough body." this, however, makes for an excellently subtle cooking wine, if you're like me and don't want to fully taste white wine in sauces.<br />
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friday night at tyler's party, there was <a href="http://www.barefootwine.com/our-wines/overview/red/PinotNoir.html">barefoot pinot noir</a>. i'm not a huge fan of their wines, but they're they kind of wines where once you pop, who cares? i actually did enjoy the pinot noir, which i drank out of a little half-pint glass from <a href="http://www.crickethillbrewery.com/">cricket hill</a> while sitting around the very lovely fire bowl in the back yard. i would buy it. <br />
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one of my all-time favorite wines is <a href="http://www.wineweekly.com/wine-reviews/a-fiery-wine-garnacha-de-fuego/">garnacha de fuego</a>! it is awesome. end of story.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-50964262549112530952010-09-07T21:16:00.000-07:002010-09-07T21:18:22.165-07:00i love the pig!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.unclewills.com/">uncle will's pancake house</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">is, as usual, absolutely fantastic. you have to be prepared to either wait or get up early, though. one day we waited 15 minutes at 8:45, another's time was 45 minutes at 10. once you're in, though, the food flies out of the kitchen. i highly recommend the redneck benedict. two biscuits cut in half, with chopped up ham and tomatoes, sausage gravy, and 2 eggs on top. the pancakes are also delightful, some of the best i've ever had. when you sit down, they ask if you'd like some coffee, cups for which are already on the table, and the coffee is strong and spicy. water is served out of handled mason jars. if you ask nicely, you can eat breakfast with the pig, a ceramic pig on a wheeled chair. usually i don't ask, because there's always oodles of kids in there who are waiting their turn to eat with the pig. if i'm there with my mom and russell, however, we eat with the pig. russell lives to eat with the pig. i simply live to eat.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">p.s. - the website for uncle will's is unfinished and the background and side pictures are not of the restaurant! just so you know, cuz the interior is vastly different from the slick asian-inspired restaurant behind their name on the website... </span>e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5978180792185736902.post-18928606984228360172010-08-24T21:57:00.000-07:002010-08-24T21:57:52.621-07:00healthy snacking!<a href="http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/snacks/low-calorie/9-healthy-on-the-go-snacks/?sssdmh=dm17.465618&esrc=nwfitdailytip082410&email=1874593331">low calorie snacks</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/snacks/healthy/essentials-for-healthy-snacking/?sssdmh=dm17.465618&esrc=nwfitdailytip082410&email=1874593331">essentials for healthy snacking</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/nutrition/the-you-can-do-it-diet-snacks/?sssdmh=dm17.465618&esrc=nwfitdailytip082410&email=1874593331">healthy snacks</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/nutrition/the-you-can-do-it-diet-snacks/?sssdmh=dm17.465618&esrc=nwfitdailytip082410&email=1874593331">fueling your workout</a><br />
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just a few things to give you a hand... don't worry, the fat kid stuff will follow.e.molinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03271143778617021315noreply@blogger.com0