Costco Samples

Yesterday I was running dangerously low on avocados and dog food. I set out for my regular Costco run then stopped myself. It was lunch time, my favorite time for Costco. I have convinced myself that those tiny bite-sized samples don’t have enough calories to make a difference. Anything eaten while standing up, or even better yet while walking, doesn’t count. Common knowledge.  I’ve actually planned Costco trips around lunch time and brought kids (mine as well as others) with me to enjoy a free meal that involves no preparation or clean up. The kids get to try new foods but mainly just like to eat with their hands. Most of the sample providers are nice folks who just smile when you come back for seconds or thirds. If you’re fairly inconspicuous and allow a few minutes between visits (go ahead and do a full lap) they usually don’t even notice. If you’re feeling a little guilty you can just throw one of their demo items in your cart and all is forgiven. (Does this still constitute a free lunch?) Ultimately, all that fancy rationalization goes out the window when I leave the store feeling stuffed and a little yucky. Even with all that walking.

Anyway, I stopped myself from going. I chose to go in the evening instead. When all the nice sample providers were home entertaining their significant others with tales of people like me. Because what I am slowly, painfully becoming aware of is this: there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.


Wednesday August 15th was my wedding anniversary. Twenty-six years ago I started my new life with hubby, Brandon. On wednesday, I started my new life without all my favorite rationalizations. Goodbye my lovely little enablers!

Day 1  weight:150

B: shake made with pears, spinach, ginger and rejuvelac.
S: more of the same shake
L: Big salad with romaine, corn, avocado, bell pepper, sunflower seeds, salsa, cucumbers, cilantro and my homemade cashew tomatillo dressing. This was a raw version of my beloved Cafe Rio dressing. Not the same but pretty darn good.
S: Kale chips. This batch was so good I even caught Makai eating a few. He usually makes gagging noises at the mention of anything raw.
D: Raw red bell pepper, pine nut, avocado and curry soup. Love, love, love my new Blendtec blender.

Hiked my 3-mile loop trail.

Day 2  weight: 148 - down two pounds in one day
B: shake made with cranberries, gogi berries, strawberries, cashews, coconut water, and chia seeds.
S: more of the same shake
L: Another awesome salad just like yesterday.
S: Kale chips
D: Same raw veggie soup from yesterday.

I swam 3,000 yards in the pool.

Note: After writing the Costco blog I went to Walmart. They now carry young Thai coconuts (good news) and they were giving out samples of fudge-covered oreos (bad news).