Hello, week № 5! This week has an obvious military slant, but is not restricted to military life – it’s just some favorites that benefit our military-flavored life.
Today I want to tell you briefly why Mister Jupiter and I love Huel, T-Mobile, Nespresso machines, Pick-up Pools, and RXBARs. If you’ve been curious about any of these please read on! If you’re not familiar then I invite you to come in and see why these are a few of our favorite things.
Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links; I may earn a tiny commission from purchases.
Here are my five military-related favorites this week:
- Huel vs. Soylent
- T-Mobile cell service
- Nespresso machine
- Pickup Pools
- RXBARs
— HUEL VS. SOYLENT
We’ve tried some meal replacements because we don’t always have time for meals, and we didn’t know anyone else trying these so we paved that road for ourselves.
By the way – the “we” I mention is Mister Jupiter and I. When I was in college I didn’t always have time for a thoughtful meal, and Mister doesn’t always have time for a leisurely lunch – these time constraints lead us to meal replacements.
We tried Soylent first. I was attracted to the sustainability of soy beans and lentils, and Mister was fond of the ready-to-drink formulation that we could easily buy online. But neither of us were fully satisfied, and later we decided to be a soy-free house (minus occasional soy sauce). Oh – Soylent also uses sucralose, so it’s a no-go for me.
Then we found Huel and liked their offerings more. I liked the micronutrients, and Mister preferred the flavor. Of the two, we prefer Huel mixed with milk! Mister Jupiter has Huel for lunch at least twice a week, and I have a Huel snack every few months – not often enough to buy me a separate flavor. Also, I avoid artificial sugars, and Huel makes a Black Edition that uses coconut sugar instead of headache-inducing chemicals. Win win!
— T-MOBILE CELLULAR SERVICE
This was a mild surprise for me, because I was used to paying $100/month to AT&T for reliable service – I got comfortable and didn’t shop around for years. When Mister Jupiter and I decided to get a shared plan we did shop around and T-Mobile got our patronage.
Coverage – Not great to be honest. I generally have enough service to get by, but there are areas that I know I won’t have any service…like all of Little Rock Air Force Base. I get random service on base, but not enough to rely on. If I am running errands up there I let my husband know that I’ll be on base thus going dark and will communicate when I can. Coverage at home is generally bad too, but they can lend you a signal booster and we always need one.
Pricing – Amazing military plans! This is why we stay. We get enough coverage to function, while saving a boatload of money.
https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/military-discount-plans
International – Free texting while traveling! Combine free international texting with iMessages over wifi Mister Jupiter can text with each other and our families just as easily in Tokyo as in Texas. Really.
☞ Related: Food Photos from Tokyo Japan
Fun stuff – T-Mobile Tuesdays is an app that offers random freebies on Tuesdays. I forget most weeks, but when I remember I come home with freebie sunglasses, or get a free ice cream in the afternoon. T-Mobile also pays for your Nexflix account (Basic or Standard depends on your T-Mobile coverage plan).
Phones – Mister and I are simple folks who enjoy our iPhones, but don’t need the newest devices. When I feel like having a new phone I walk in to a store, state my intent, and walk out with a new phone (and amended plan that absorbs the new phone cost) within an hour.
So overall, crappy signal on base (especially in government buildings), but everything else is simple, cheap, and easy. I have enough coverage to use Waze nearly everywhere, so it’s not a big deal that I can’t text from the Commissary.
☞ Related: DeCA Commissary: Pros & Cons
— NESPRESSO MACHINE
Nespresso machines are the Keurig of espresso; they use pods and are very convenient.
I didn’t really think about Nespresso machines until I saw one in a friend’s house. They picked up the habit when they lived in Italy, and their Italian friends used Nespresso machines in their homes. How could I doubt the choice of experts?! I didn’t; I trusted them.
So I finally got one when we moved to the ‘burbs and couldn’t reasonably walk to any cafes. I picked a white Essenza Mini, and I buy pods anytime I see them because I am not devout to any particular maker. I buy miscellaneous Italian pods on Amazon, Kroger’s Private Selection brand, Nespresso proper, and Williams Sonoma brand. Of these pod makers I prefer Williams Sonoma because I like their decaf, really enjoy the vanilla pods, and can recycle the used aluminum pods in-store. Plus, they have fun seasonal flavors.
I drink drip coffee everyday, and proper espresso maybe once a month. In the middle is my Nespresso habit, and it’s here to stay. I would recommend a Nespresso machine to any regular coffee drinker who has counter space for a new lover appliance.
— PICK-UP POOLS, pickuppools.com
Shameless plug – especially since I no longer have a pickup truck.
One of Mister Jupiter and my friends built Pick-up Pools from the ground up, and Tommy went on ABC’s Shark Tank and got a deal to work with Mark Cuban that helped him expand the business. So if you have a pickup and want to show people how to really tailgate or camp – go grab yourself a Pickup Pool and get ready to hear the “oohs” and “ahhhs.” You’ll look cool while supporting a military-owned small business. Made in USA!
No truck? No problem. They have shirts and koozies too.
— RXBARS
I used to snack often, and liked the convenience of bars. RXBARs became a quick favorite because the ingredients were simple and not full of mystery additives.
I buy various bars for Mister Jupiter, but I don’t eat these anymore (I cut out all snacks when I started intermittent fasting). He doesn’t fast, but he doesn’t always have time for a meal at work either. Every few months I resupply his snack bars and RXBARs are always included. I can buy these easily in my usual grocery stores, and the maple sea salt always tempts me to break my fast early.
According to the website (rxbar.com/shop/) I haven’t seen all of their offerings. Maple sea salt is a house favorite, but I suspect that coffee chocolate or chocolate hazelnut may oust maple from the number one spot! I’ll pop back and update when I can expand my flavor horizons.
Looking for something specific? Scan the Picks of the Week, Index.
Otherwise, here are more picks if you’re feeling clicky:
Lady Jupiter 