Cookies or No Cookies: That is the Question

My most recent food shipment, plus a bottle of vitamins

I joined Imperfect Foods in January and got every other week deliveries until the last few weeks, when I began weekly deliveries. They have really, really healthy foods and I am so appreciative that I can get fresh fruits and vegetables and great protein delivered at reasonable prices. They rarely have many sweets, so it's not usually a temptation. But we know this isn't usually. 

In this week's box I saw two small boxes of cookies. One was milk chocolate and melty caramel and the other is a package of dark chocolate wafer bars. I need them, don't I? I've eaten almost no sweets or chips this entire time and I'm not wanting to go on a junk food binge -- I'd like to wear the same clothes in July -- but...

 Is one package of cookies so bad?

Sincerely,

Cookie-less in New York

Last night I was leaning to definitely adding a package of cookies to my shipment. I have until noon tomorrow to order and the delivery will arrive sometime on Monday. So far, I have apples, oranges, onions, spinach, kale, pears, salmon and sliced turkey and a loaf of bread. I've gotten pretty creative with my air fryer and have made air fryer apple crisp, and I'm looking forward to varying my air fryer creations with pear crisp. Tonight I'm leaning away from ordering the cookies, and seeing if I can go another week without bringing sweets into my house. One of my friends suggested I could get them and then share them with my neighbors, but we're being very prudent about not going into each other's apartments. One of my neighbors has picked up food for me and she has left it outside my door and I have left newspapers outside her door.

Have you changed your eating habits? I have in many ways. I cook all the time now, which seems to be the new norm for those of us who are staying put. I am much more conscious of waste -- a habit that I know will carry over -- and I'm trying to eat as healthy as possible to keep my immune system happy and strong.

The box pictured above is from a website that sells healthy food. Thrive Market offers "healthy" foods and I've used them for no-sugar and low-carb options. I don't order a lot from them, but when they offered a discount, free shipping and lots of interesting shelf stable protein I ordered. I was happy to find my pumpkin flax Kodiak cakes and I'm experimenting with Right Rice and Banzo, which is rice made from chickpeas. If anyone is interested in ordering from Thrive, this link would give you 25% off, and for full disclosure I would get a $25.00 credit. Thrive is especially useful if you are looking for items for a special diet, e.g., gluten-free or ketogenic.

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care of yourself. Much love and wash your hands!

Farmers Market Time

  

One of the pleasures of BlogHer was meeting and getting to know bloggers from throughout the country. I enjoyed a wonderful conversation with Lucy Hendry, blogger at Lucy's in the Kitchen. We had a great time talking and discovered our mutual love of healthy eating and vegetables. Lucy graciously offered a copy of her terrific cookbook, The Farmer's Market Cookbook -- a link is on her blog page -- for a giveaway for the citizens of Buttercupland. 

It's an easy peasy giveaway. Please be a follower of Buttercupland -- via Google+, Bloglovin or directly on the blog and leave a comment mentioning your favorite purchase from a farmers market. This month I'm looking for stone fruits. Love all the peaches, nectarines and plums of this time of the summer. There's an extra entry for Instagram followers  -- just mention you're following Buttercup in your comment. I will choose a winner next Thursday, August 10, so please be sure to leave your comment by Wednesday, August 9.   

I live near three different farmers markets and I pass by at least one every week. I visited the 97th Street market last week and found lots of goodies. The organizers were featuring summer squash and shared cooking tips and recipes.
 

I'm not a beet fan -- though I keep trying to learn to love eating them -- except when it comes to photographs. I love the look of beets using a Snapseed postcard filter. 

I am a radish and lettuce fan, especially when they are freshly picked.

My August calendar is very uncrowded. Top of the list is reading -- so many books are calling me -- decluttering, catching up on medical appointments and finding a few new iced coffee places. I've neglected my coffee explorations and I plan to change that in August.

 

What are your August plans?

 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a fabulous Friday!

 

 

Summer's Bounty

Between Weight Watchers, exercise and trying -- and generally succeeding -- to eat healthier, I've spent less time this year eating out and more time visiting my local fruit and vegetable stand. There's a lot more than fruit and vegetables, but I've found the local market has a terrific assortment of local and organic produce. This isn't always easy to get and especially at prices comparable, or better, than supermarkets.

Today's bounty included some real treasures. I only came away with two peaches from an orchard in New Jersey. These are among the best peaches I've ever had and I wait for them to be in season, a wait that's so worth it. But I was entranced by these beautiful tomatoes from Pennsylvania. I resisted buying them, as I've found I need to buy only what I can use in a few days and dislike letting any of these jewels go to waste. I've also been snacking on the red peppers. They're not local, but so healthy and delicious. 

A lot of the fruit in the back row is shipped from California, but there were also plums and apricots from Long Island. The farms of Long Island are rapidly disappearing, but there are fabulous farm stands there, and especially good corn at this time of year.

But I still do get around the city and keep an eye for goodies to share with my Buttercupland friends. Yesterday I was at the dentist and even though I was there less than a month ago I noticed a new and very elegant pastry and sandwich restaurant, Francois Payard Bakery, a couple of blocks away. I settled for an iced coffee but the temptation was enormous to try a piece of cake...

Lemon is one of my all-time favorite flavors.

 

 ...Or buy a jar of jam to take home. Though very simple I was taken with the packaging and the Wild Strawberry called out to me. 

 

 

The product that was most appealing were the ice cream sandwiches made with Payard's signature macarons. I resisted, but I'm thinking of returning before the end of the summer. Happily, I don't have another dental appointment until December, but I think this sweet is worth a trip. I'm debating whether I would pick Salted Caramel or Espresso Brownie, but I'm leaning to the Espresso Brownie. Which flavor would you choose?  

 

There were beautiful cakes and tarts, but the ice cream sandwiches went to the top of my list.   

 

I'm keeping cool dreaming of ice cream sandwiches. I hope the thoughts keeping you cool are equally sweet. As ever, thanks for visiting and wishes for a sweet Thursday!