Happy Wednesday all! Thanks for the ideas on how to use Wheat Berries. I pretty much think I want to try them all ~ roasted as a snack, as cereal, in a stir fry and “fried” rice. Who knew they were so versatile, but, it really does makes sense as they can be treated like brown rice.
Is it weird that I can be running late to catch the train, but, I STILL will make sure I make up a delicious eggwich to take with me BEFORE I leave the house?! LOL…For the record, I made it to the train stop with 3 minutes to spare 
* 2 slices of Trader Joe’s FF Multi-Grain Bread (3 points+)
* 1 “fried” egg (2 points+)
Since my back is incredibly sore and I will be resting it until the weekend, we stopped at Pete’s Coffee on the way in.
So, the Pete’s people really don’t get it.
“ME”: I’ll have an Iced Medium Non-Fat Decaf Latte with 1 Pump of Mocha
INSERT BLANK STARE FROM PETE’S BARISTA AND LONG PAUSE
“PETE’S BARISTA” ~ Looking at me like I am the “ODD” one and says
ohhhh, so you want a “mocha.”
“ME” ~ Um, sure, as long as it’s only one pump of mocha
“PETE’S BARISTA” ~ Well, that’s definitely NOT a latte.
Insert me with a blank stare thinking…..Imagine if I told you, It’s a DIRTY LATTE and the people at Starbuck’s know what I am talking about LOL.
I know…not nice, but, it was early, I was tired and they drive me insane by making 1 coffee at a time versus multi-tasking and making them all at once 
I also don’t dig that their lattes are 1 more Points+ than Starbuck’s (4 points+)
Today we headed out for lunch on my quest to try a new place each week until I have tried all the restaurants at our new digs.
I think I fell IN LOVE with the Pasta Shop ~ it might be my favorite new place in Berkeley!
It’s a real “meat market” Sorry I couldn’t resist LOL…..
I think I could spend hours scouring the store looking at all the COOL stuff they have.
I think you can order just about anything here and have them heat to serve.
I resisted the desserts even when I saw the Lemon Curd Tart!
I have never been to a place where they make/sell pasta like this. It is perfect for people like me who cannot decide what to buy because you can mix and match!
The rest of the store just has so many cool seasonings, sauces, bulk bins like these and more….mostly organic which I think is just plain awesome!
The main reason we came here was for their salad bar ~ it’s like a small version of Whole Foods but A LOT cheaper at only $6.99/lb.
Let me start by saying I DID go to the Pasta Shop but I have salad over pasta!
I probably shouldn’t go here when I am starving because I tried almost everything
Here is what is in the box :
* Organic Greens (the entire bottom layer)
* Organic Shredded Carrots (next layer you can’t see)
* 3 Organic Cherry Tomatoes
* 1 Tbsp toasted almond slivers (1 points+)
* 1 Tbsp toasted walnuts (1 points+)
* 1 Tbsp shredded cheese (1 points+)
* 1 Tbsp Garbanzo Beans (0 points+)
* 1/2 an egg (1 points+)
* a few homemade croutons (0 points+)
* Balsamic vinegar as my dressing
See, I was doing good up to this point. Then, I got a little crazy with their prepared salads because they all looked amazing. I got a small scoop of each. I estimated these at 7 points+ for any oils, butters, etc that might have been used with the veggies.
* Far right, 4 polenta squares (2 points+)
* Snap Peas and Mushrooms in a Garlic Balsamic Marinade (1 points+)
* Lemon Broccoli Tomato Salad (1 points+)
* Asparagus pasta salad (2 points+)
* The SWEETEST Roasted Carrots and Butternut Squash I’ve ever tasted (1 points+)
I actually had bought some of their grilled chicken to go with my salad.
But, I only had about 2 pieces since my salad was enough.
Mid afternoon this package from Jo’s Candies finally got opened.
I actually bought these at Pete’s when we first moved in because EACH SQUARE is ONLY 2 points+
Dark Chocolate Caramel with huge chunks of sea salt ~ 100 Million % worth EVERY bite!
I let The Husband pick from our list of dinners tonight. He said he was craving mexican and we could go to Chipotle or I could make this Five Ingredient Fiesta Enchilada Skillet.
I LOVE Chipotle and could eat it EVERY DAY…..However, since we spent the ENTIRE weekend eating out in Reno, I cooked up this skillet in 15 minutes!
1 cup = 5 points+ of cheesy enchilada goodness!
* WIN FREE ORGANIC GROCERIES FOR A YEAR ~ CLICK HERE TO ENTER!
Q’s
What is your favorite salad bar ingredient to add to any salad?
I absolutely LOVE and ALWAYS add no matter what salad I have TWO things. Nuts ~ especially if they are toasted Shredded carrots and lots of them. I actually used to LOVE that combo so much, I went to salad bars to eat shredded carrots with ranch and sunflower seeds growing up.
MOVIE TIME!!!
Night all!
I love BEETS!!! My other favorite salad bar add ins are mushrooms and spicy peppers!
That market looks AMAZING! WOW! That salad was a DEAL! YUM YUM!
OMG that salad was really lookin’ over the top! I also like beets and chick peas from the salad bar! That chicken also looked wonderful!! You are so lucky to have such great eateries near-by your job!
Haha, I hate when you go into coffee shops and they have no idea how to make coffee drinks. They always look at me like I’m crazy when I order a misto. I guess S-bux terminology isn’t for everyone! 🙂
That’s okay about running late and still making your egg sandwich. Usually I’m running late and still stop to check Danica’s Daily. :o)
I love, love, love dark chocolate and sea salt! Too funny about the folks at Petes!
I like beets on my salad and garbanzo beans.
I just launched my new and improved blog! I hope you stop by and take a look. Be sure to click on the recipe tab at the top, I have a new recipe navigation page that makes it super simple to browse recipes!
The Pete’s coffee thing made me laugh because the same thing happens to me at both Starbucks in my town. I ask for the latte with one pump mocha. They look at me oddly and say “So you want a nonfat mocha with no whip and 1 pump mocha?”. I say “Yes, but isn’t it easier to just say nonfat latte with 1 pump mocha?”. They say, “Well, we have to ring it up as a mocha.”. Whatever, just give me the coffee! Happens every single time. They are starting to wear me down.
ah…there is nothing in the world that compares to fresh pasta! We are lucky here…Ohio City Pasta is a local company that makes incredible fresh pasta that many of the local restaurants use, as well as many stores selling it retail.
Fav salad topping?….IDK…I like to veggie it up with every zero point veggie I can find on the salad bar! I do like Ruby Tuesdays croutons though, and usually pop a few on top if I am there.
Oh my…that enchilada skillet looks A-MAZING!!! I’m totally going to put that stuff on the grocery list!!!!!!!!!!!
The enchilada skillet looks awesome but I have a question about leftovers. We are a family of 4, half of which eat less than a full serving together (just 3 & 6 years old.) How do you & your husband handle recipes that make more than a couple of servings? Does he take them for lunch the next day? Do you ever eat them (your lunches always look way more amazing than leftovers!)? Thanks!
Oh, have to second the beets & garbanzo beans as favorite salad toppings. Those are followed closely by candied nuts & avocado slices.
Hi Shannon,
It depends. My Husband often eats multiple servings. In the past when I made this enchilada skillet, I ate one serving and he ate the rest. If there are leftovers, 1 of 5 things happens.
1. One of us has them for lunch. I actually sometimes make leftovers on purpose just so I can have extra for the next day at lunch.
2. We have leftovers the next night which I am ALWAYS happy to do – no cooking involved!
3. I will use them to make another dish the next day. If we have leftover “meats”, I make tacos, burritos, salads or use them in a casserole. If we have leftover spaghetti, I’ve topped it with cheese, baked it and made a spaghetti pizza. I LOVE using leftover vegetables in soup (Chicken Potsticker Soup) or a veggie based soup.
4. I freeze the single servings to take for lunch or to have for dinner another night when there isn’t time to cook or it’s just me.
5. I share them with friends or family….they are always happy to stop by to eat or have me bring them some to have so they don’t have to cook.
Danica
I’m a sucker for hummus at salad bars!
I love celery and olives on my salads. I am always so disappointed when a salad bar doesn’t have them.
Hi Danica. Wow…that market looks amazing. I’d kill a whole lotta time and drop a whole lotta money there I’m sure!!! Have a great rest of the day.
That market looks SO yummy! I wish we had some prepared food places around us.
…and, I just paused the T.V. to read the future hubby your dialogue with the Peet’s barista – I can’t stop laughing. We have Peet’s here in Boston and they just don’t seem to “get” anything as a rule. I have to say, the other night we stopped at a starbucks and I ordered a dirty latte but with coconut syrup instead and it was soooo yummy – still thinking of a name for it as my new regular order 😉
hehe thanks for saying wednesday 😉