Busy Mom Life Hack - ClickList & Kroger

Convenience is a necessity for me these days!  anything that can make my life run even the tiniest bit smoother, reduce stress & anxiety, and allow me to spend more time with my fast-growing family, i’m all for it.  speaking of my fast growing family, we eat a lot, so i cook… a lot!  i’m in the grocery store every single week shopping for either my family or for our meal prep clients. unlike everybody i know, i actually enjoy the grocery shopping experience, haha.  realistically though, i can’t always take my sweet time and stroll down aisle after aisle, especially when my kids are present.  some days i literally need to run in and out, and just getting in and out of the car can be a big deal with young kids.  then once we get inside, that’s a whole new ball game :) . 

This is why i love and depend on ClickList.  it’s an online grocery ordering service from Kroger that’s crazy convenient and works with my busy, mom of three lifestyle.  follow my Instagram Stories today to see how easy it is to use or check out the YouTube video (to be uploaded soon!).  i normally create my grocery list on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings when i’m getting my life together for the week, and schedule to pick up our items the following or the same day. Kroger welcomes the use of digital coupons and the product prices are the exact same as if you were shopping in the store.  the 4.95 service fee is waived for your first three orders, and there is no minimum or maximum amount to spend!  love. that. my grocery hauls range in size depending on the number of clients i have that week, and we normally need the same basic items at home. ClickList lets me save a particular grocery list and i am able to reorder it as needed with the click of a button.  it’s one less thing i have to worry about and can allocate that time to my family or the other 2 billion things on my never-ending to-do list. 

after logging into my account, selecting my saved list or creating a whole new one, i simply pull up to the ClickList parking spot at the pickup time/location i selected, and call the number posted on that designated spot. i let Chiso do the honors this time.

super quick wait, and the associate promptly comes out to greet us. he/she goes over any changes or substitutions on my order, loads up my groceries, and we're done!  let's say i specifically ordered half a dozen eggs.  if there were no more half-dozen cartons available,  i would be upgraded to one dozen eggs, and i'd pay the half carton egg price.  win-win! check out the ClickList FAQ page for more details. Kroger has proven that quality is their top priority by hand selecting all produce, meat, and/or seafood items with great care.  quality is a must and is extremely important to me!  i require the freshest ingredients for my clients and my family’s meals, and unblemished produce is needed for my food photography and blogging.  i can trust that my items are stored appropriately until pickup time rolls around. 

 now i can get right home to cook, sit down, and eat dinner with my family with the time i would have used shopping in the store.  now that is time well spent in my busy mom book.

Q: would you utilize the ClickList service?  if you are already familiar with it, share your experience below!

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WFM - Post Oak

well hello,

WHOLE FOODS MARKET POST OAK!

 i caught wind that this location was coming waaaaaay back in 2007 just before Sonny and i got married.  we were deciding on where to live and in the middle of taking a tour of some galleria area condos when the sales associate dropped the WFM bomb. i wanted to live in the area JUST for that reason! i didn't know it wouldn't come to fruition for another 7 years lol, but nevertheless, it's time.

i snagged the pic above from @WholeFoodsHOU's twitter page cause i realized i didn't get any exterior pics! whoops.  it was actually raining when i pulled up for my private tour and i had Dego with me and no umbrella, naturally :( . anyway, our tour guide, Kate, and another lady blogger were waiting in the front of the store to get crackin'.  i'd like to give a big thanks to Jeanette Webster for hooking me up with the tour!  so, here.we.go.

an escalator flows right up to the very front of the store via the parking garage, just like in the Landmark Austin store.  Sonny and i actually took a pic in front of it from our 7th wedding anni travels this past September, remember!  Kate was sent to help open up the new store from the Lamar location as well. awesomeness.

first stop, fresh produce.  if i enter a grocery store from any other department it throws me completely off.  i must start here. #weirdo

 just look at all those colors. everywhere you turn!  everything screams FRESH. they put so much emphasis on detail and it shows.  walking into this department just makes me feel healthier.

 i thought these satsuma oranges were gorgeous and deserved a photo. why he mad though? j/k, j/k

an adorable juice bar with cold-pressed juices and smoothies sits on the outskirts of the produce department.  i wanted to purchase a juicer at one point in time but i don't want it to be one of those appliances i use once and forget i even have.  i'd rather eat my calories than drink them so smoothies and juices are rare for me anyway. having someone else prepare it (and clean it up) is working perfectly at the moment lol.  the top pic was during our tour and the bottom pic was from thursday morning's grand opening. yep, #iwasthere

all things wine & beer is stationed in between the produce and seafood departments.

what a gorgeous display and wide variety of fresh, responsibly farmed seafood.  they know exactly where it comes from, what it was fed, and more importantly, what is wasn't fed!

making visually appealing and enticing food on a large-scale is no easy task; what a JOB someone has. they do it well though, right?

a few things you should know about WFM's meat & poultry:

no antibiotics -- ever

no supplemental growth hormones

no animal byproducts in feed

raised on pasture or range for at least 2/3 of the animal's life.

we stayed around the perimeter for the most part; the aisles (packaged goods) are in the very center of the store.  only one aisle really matters though.

#thebulkaisle #findmehere #myfavorite #sometimesiwishitwasnt #scoophappy

there were a few more highlights on our way to the cheese department like:

 the holiday table!  TG and Christmas are pretty much here. get those orders in! sides, main dishes, desserts... endless options.

stopped for an #usie. i hear you, Kate, promise.

   oooh just snacking and dropping crumbs on top of Dego's head.

we made it! cheese, cheese, cheese,

and then chocolates (among all other things sugar) in the bakery.  such an incredible amount of detail goes into the dessert decor!  another fun job.

well this is new! WFM is never afraid to try new things, that's for darn sure.  there's something unique about every single location, and this gigantic wood-fire oven in the Souvlaki Grill definitely makes WFMPO stand out.  and the fact that it looks like a storm trooper. maybe it's just me.

they still make sandwiches, pizza, and sushi, no doubt, as well as prepared foods and their world-famous salad bar.

i don't know why i was expecting to leave the tour with dinner though, smh! wishful thinking.  everything was wrapped up nice and tight.

 

but on the morning of the grand opening it was ON.

  i tried the Red Eye Boost which is made of spinach, beets, carrot juice, lemon juice. it was REALLY good.  extremely refreshing after my workout that morning.  i got some citrus collard greens, harvest salad (cabbage slaw mix with dried cranberries), scrambled eggs, plantains, and some of the most tender, smoked brisket i've ever had.  YUM.  the mango salsa was from the taco bar and it was scrumptious too. they have a bunch of salsas to choose from that range in heat. what taco bar?

this one.  you order what you like from those monitors and there are sandwiches to choose from too.  on the other side of that wall is something that has been getting so much press...

WFMPO is the first grocery store with an in-house brewery!  Kate mentioned that several times during the tour as they are super proud of this accomplishment!

once you pay for your goods and head past the registers to the winding staircase, you'll arrive at the last stop of our tour.

the 2nd floor seating area to relax with friends & fam and enjoy your goods.  such a fantastic view of the entire store from the balcony.  i'm feeling the big orange, oversized chairs too! this is why i don't have an eye for interior decorating though.  if i had seen these chairs in a furniture store solo i'd be like 'ok, WHO would ever buy that??'

if you don't head upstairs to eat, then back down the escalator ya go to the parking garage.

thanks a bunch, Kate!  she was such a gracious, genuine, and knowledgable tour guide.

so what's in my goodie bag?!

1. WFM Brewing Company Glass
2. Green Plate Foods Nubblers: all natural Cherry Chocolate fruit bites
3. Empire Mayonaaise White Truffle 
4. Enfusia Lemongrass fizz & foam bath bomb

1. Popcorn Indiana Sriracha Popcorn
2. 365 Mismatched Sandwich Cremes
3. Peace Water
4. if you made it to the grand opening that morning then you walked away with one of these adorable bags too.

click play to see my very first vlog ;)

[wpvideo P5AFWHI7]

thanks for reading and watching and i hope you thoroughly enjoy the new Whole Foods Market Post Oak as much as i DO!!! let me know what you think!

l

Sprouts Farmers Market *KATY*

 

that is HILARIOUS cause you know it's true!!!!  however this is also how stuff gets lost. forever.

i made Chiso some lemon-blueberry french toast Thursday morning that i cannot stop thinking about!  we will prolly have it for Easter breakfast tomorrow too.  this recipe will certainly be in the Fit Foodie Le ebook, and the nutritional stats are bananas! see? 156 cals, 3g fat, 6g fiber, 21g carbs, and 10 grams of protein! and yep for the whole she-bang.  2 slices of bread and all the toppings.

what Easter dish will you be making?

it's HEEEEERE!!! so i've been seeing the back of this building for MONTHS and had no earthy idea that it would be home to Sprouts Katy.  it's in the same lot as one of my gyms so you know what that means :lol: .  i literally pulled out of the gym parking lot, turned on my gps, and she made me turn right back in. #blondemoment!  anyway, the  future frequent trips won't do crazy damage  cause these prices.... WOW.  i was blown away.

something tells me these aren't just grand opening prices either!  you can even go to their website and print out your own coupons before hand.  also, Lifetime Fitness members get 5 dollars off their total bill at this location! not sure how long that lasts, but you can login to the Lifetime website and print out that coupon yourself too.

we walked through the doors and immediately went left to the bread section.  i found these new, 80 calorie light flour tortillas by La Tortilla Factory and i was not thinking straight and only got one package.  they were amazing and i have so many recipes for these guys!

i didn't take a pic of EVERYTHING this time lol, just a few landscape type shots.  the store isn't too big and i kinda like it that way. i go in HEB and get lost for hours but since everything is so close together in here, i'm in and out. i appreciate that.

sample mode ON.

just taking a peek! didn't grab any THIS time, but i'm glad to see they have multiple Arctic Zero flavors instead of just maple vanilla.  AND they have those 85 cal bars too!

we visited every single department (trust me).  the produce section was nothing short of amazing cause again, those prices! best i've ever seen. anyway, this was our last stop before heading to check out. popcorn!  i planned on getting a bag of Popcorn Indiana Kettle Corn and i was eyeing the bacon ranch flavor too until i saw these:

really now? olive oil, parmesan & garlic, and sea salt flavors.  awesomeness!  i'm on my second bag of parmesan garlic in 3 days. it's good.

first Sprouts shopping trip is a wrap!

one mo landscape shot at the front registers.

one of the kindest sales associates brought Chiso a cup of gummy bears while we waited! that was extremely nice of him.

indeed!

got another free grand opening grocery bag to add to my collection.  great experience, great store, and we will TOTALLY be back! a lot.

i got outta there with some good stuff- Justin's nut butters were 79 cents instead of the usual 99, cuties were just 3 bucks for that big crate, the cherry tomatoes were a whopping ONE dollar each, strawberries and blueberries were 2 for 3, and those bags of mini peppers were 2 for 5. yessssss!

i immediately whipped out those tortillas and went to work on these grilled chicken burritos.

alfalfa sprouts, tomato, grilled chicken, and homemade guac all rolled up.

the next day, Good Friday, we did an early family gym date.  we made grilled quesadillas  for our post workout meal this time!  Sprouts pineapples salsa and greek yogurt for dipping on the side.

and for dessert....

how did those get in there?

HAPPY EASTER, y'all!!!

le

WFM KATY <3

feast your eyes on the awesomeness that is Whole Foods Market............. KATY, TX.

i pulled up like 3 minutes before go time and hopped my butt right on in line.

they had some great grand opening deals, and fresh wild salmon was one of them!  they were selling like hot cakes under that tent up there for 5.99 a lb.

as i neared the door, i heard....music?  there was a live orchestra back there, even though you can't tell at all from this pic.  that's how WFM does it!  it didn't make the weather any warmer, but it was a nice touch.

this is the very first pic of the madness once i stepped foot in the store.  this is NOTHIN!  there were still a ton of peeps behind me.

:shock: the freshest produce ever in life :shock:

beautiful berries!

how can you not want one of everything?

so i was caught on camera using my own camera. (l)  #awkward!   i have no idea what station he was affiliated with but i do hope it was a major network LOL

beans, beans, the musical fruit!

the beloved bulk bins.  i couldn't pass up getting a couple scoops of pumpkin flax granola.

this is THE cleanest this area will ever be in life. lol

ok i have a confession.  my phone straight DIED a few minutes after i took this pic and i was devastated. seriously.  i went to bed with a full battery and did not put it on the charger and because i have soooooo much crap on my phone these days and have yet to order an SD card.  which means my battery is toast in a matter of hours. soooooo, i sped through the store and came back a few hours later with my bro for lunch.  hey i had a dr's appointment and was out anyway ;)

 i'll pick back up where i left off-

fresh

meat!

would i like a sample?  do you know who i am?

'air chilled' is a new term i said i'd google later. the tender was super juicy!

right, Matt?

and wow, that camera man was still there.

 these were so cute. and true.

we rounded a corner of the store and walked past the gourmet grilled cheese and specialty beer station.

it was a little after lunch time here and the store was CRACKIN'.

and then we saw a walking banana and had to get a pic!  and yes...i've officially been #photobombed by the lovely shopper behind us.

twice, smh!!!! who does these types of things!? i thought you only photobombed people you know!

we kept going and passed the delectable desserts...

just looking!

they had pizza samples left and right, mmmmm.

next up was the prepared foods section.

man...food presentation at its finest. *DROOLING*

this was matt's incentive for coming with me. free lunch!  he got a sammich at the sammich station.

gettin' mo samples...sushi samples.

it was a shrimp, avocado,  multigrain rice roll; lovely combo!

we turned around and saw several fresh food bars like the olive one above,

and this multicultural one.  variety is something WF never lacks!

so many overwhelming options to choose from.

 and uuuuuuuuweeeeeeee that 8.49 per lb. hurts my HEART!  especially when i remember when it was 2.99.........

last thing on this side of the store was the cool coffee bar.

more samples on the way to checkout- this tasted like kombaucha soda. not bad!

i meant to get some canned tuna while i was there so i cut through the frozen foods aisle and ran into this thing-  i thought it just rotated commercials and advertisements all day long, but nope, i touched the screen and was wowed immediately!

'touch a produce item for recipes and information.'

um, OK!!!

recipes, ideas, and tips galore! what a fantastic tool!

wait, how did i end up here?  focus!!!

got the tuna and headed to checkout, but not before passing up the to-go bakery case.... YUMMERS

seating area was CRAY-CRAY so we went home to eat.

i'm sure this area will be boomin' once Houston weather warms back up.

more samples outside!? of course! just some grilled fillet mignon, no big deal.

they even have their very own food truck(s).  i'm not surprised!

smelled amazing...

i'll save it for the next trip.

OH, a lady was standing at the door on our way out with a basket FULL of free grocery bags!  i loved this pattern the second i saw it.

juuuust expanding my grocery bag collection.

see, i didn't do too bad at all! this was nothin.

tuna, kettlecorn, bell peppers (5 for 5 dollar deal), pumpkin flax granola, and a loaf of seeduction bread for my mama.

aaaand the very last #foodie shot- half of Matt's reuben flat bread wrap. delish!

i think ALL but like one of my friends can stand grocery shopping lol!

Q: have you ever attended a store's grand opening? any store!

le

WFM FTW

AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!  a WHOLE FOODS MARKET is opening up on my sida town!!!!!

*high five* to my friend Carla for texting me this golden nugget of info as i had no idea, smh! this is both good & bad according to Sonny but i already promised myself to not go HAM in there.  i am asked repeatedly what my grocery bill is like as a few readers assumed i do all my shopping in Whole Foods and Trader Joes and that is sooooo not the case guys! i use both of these havens as specialty stores ONLY.  i'm a crazy foodie and grocery shopping is fun to me, but i have my limits :lol:.   i oogle at and am intrigued by weird, quirky, healthy & indulgent food combos, seasonings, snacks, treats, and all things FOOD. exhibit A:

this is currently in my snack corner and this is why i get *side-eyes* when i get home. you and i both know that nobody needs this stuff. all natural, double chocolate cookies, fig butter, chocolate covered pretzels, raspberry fruit spread, nori wraps....

let's be clear- i get my fresh produce and staple items from HEB, Wally World (Walmart), Sams, Fiesta,  Kroger... i'll even go to Food Town or the like if they are having a fantastic sale and the produce looks presentable. i don't by organic (severely overpriced in my opinion and i've seen, read, and tasted evidence to prove that the 'regular' produce is equal to or greater!) and that keeps my bill low.  the organic produce business is BOOMING!!!! but, it won't get any of my hard-earned money.

i often wonder what i'd be doing now had i not started this blog or had i postponed my decision yet again to compete in that bikini competition last Sept.  there are great moves, and then there are lessons.  you'll never know though if you don't step out on faith.  sometimes you can step out at your own pace, and sometimes you are evicted immediately, ready or not!

go boldly and confidently in the direction of your dreams!!!! don't let the fear of the unknown keep you from moving forward....only fear standing still.

Q: what is your favorite SPECIALTY store?

come on, i wanna hear from you so i can go check it out too!

le