Fun Facts Friday

I’m trading in a week of Foodie Friday for a week of Fun Facts. Bear with me while I piece my apartment back together and get everything going again 🙂

1. This has definitely been an interesting week. I didn’t mind having a hurricane day on Monday and getting a late start to the work day on Tuesday, but unfortunately Sandy has left my living room in shambles. Being halfway up a high-rise, I certainly didn’t expect to have any flooding, but below is the scene this morning.
   

   Say hello to the industrial fan and dehumidifier!

2. I’m well aware that things could be worse. Way worse. So because all we ended up with was some flooding, I’m quite grateful and definitely thinking about those without heat, power, etc.
3. My coconut oil giveaway winner never claimed her prize so I’ve selected a new one! Congrats to Jayme Myers!! Please contact me at Brittany@BarrAndTable.com by Monday, November 5, at 11:59 PM EST with you mailing address to claim your prize!
4. I made Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Yogurt Cupcakes(mini style!) from Skinnytaste for my company’s Halloween potluck and they were a rousing success! I plan on making them again very soon! You should too.
   

   Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Yogurt Cupcakes via Skinnytaste

5. Tomorrow is National Sandwich Day which sounds like the perfect day to make some Mango Chipotle Chicken Salad, right? Right!
   

   Mango Chipotle Chicken Salad

6. And of course National Sandwich Day is followed by National Candy Day. But since we’re trying to be healthy here, I might have to whip up some Healthy Banana Peanut Butter Cups😉
   

   Healthy Banana Peanut Butter Cups

7. This Asian Rubbed Turkeymight be happening this weekend. With a little chicken, of course. I really don’t think Nathan would mind at all! How awesome does it look?!
   

   Asian Rubbed Turkey

8. Finally, I’m absolutely loving Barr Bites. If you’re in the Baltimore area and are interested in getting in on this, hit me up!

Food for Thought

What are your plans this weekend? Were you affected at all by Sandy?

Riding Out the Storm

It’s National Oatmeal Day and other than a snow storm, I don’t think there’s better weather to celebrate! Welcome, Sandy!

If you’re a North Eastern-er, grab yourself a nice hot cup of coffee (or tea), a big bowl of oatmeal, and hunker down. Speaking of hunkering down, I think I’ve heard the newscasters say that approximately 10 times in the last hour. Sounds like a drinking game if I’ve ever heard one..

A few of my favorite go-to oatmeal recipes are below. Not only are they super filling, they’re also chock full of protein (about 20g per bowl!) which makes them a great pre- or post-workout meal.

Chocolate Protein Oats

Pumpkin Spice Latte Proatmeal

And what else is there to do when you’re stuck inside all day but cook and bake? I did plenty of that yesterday for my Barr Bites clients so I wanted to share a few recipes that I’ve made recently that would be great for a rainy day.. or week.

Baked Pasta with Sausage & Spinach via SkinnyTaste.com

This is a new recipe for this week’s menu, but with tons of leftovers, I’ve been able to taste it and can confirm that it’s fantastic! I love Gina’s recipes; they’re delicious and healthy and are always sure to be crowd pleasers.

Cajun Chicken Pasta on the Lighter Side via SkinnyTaste.com

The Cajun Chicken Pasta is a recipe I’ve been making for a while now. It’s a big hit in my house and I was so excited when it went over just as well for Barr Bites.

Mayan Harvest Bake via Eating Bird Food

Finally, another deliciously comforting dish that was a big hit was Brittany’s copycat version of Kashi’s Mayan Harvest Bake. Having these hearty vegetables over top of a bulgar wheat and quinoa combo makes it a great stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal without being too heavy. I’ll definitely be making this one for myself soon!

Food for Thought

Are you stuck inside as Sandy passes? What are you doing to pass the time?

Barr Bites: A New Venture

Holy moly, it’s been too long since my last post! Between crazy projects at work and the Orioles games (so sad!), last week was insane and I missed my blog so much. In the meantime, I’ve taken on a new business venture. It was kind of an accident, but there are no complaints here!

There are only so many times I could hear “If I pay you, will you make my lunches?” until I respond, “No. Really. I will!”

And that’s how Barr Bites was born.

Last week, I made one of my coworkers 3 lunches for the week:

• Holiday Kale Salad
• Red Pepper Salmon Pasta
• Salmon Tacos with Avocado Pineapple Coleslaw

I adjusted the recipes to her likes and dislikes and was pleased to have gotten rave reviews and a request for more meals this week! This is huge coming from a picky pregnant lady 😉

And even more exciting, not only did she request meals for this week, but word spread and I ended up with 3 additional coworkers asking for meals! Nathan loves it too.. he is definitely enjoying reaping all of the benefits of having 1 or 2 extra servings of each dish in the house!

But I’d have to say my favorite part of the entire process, besides making everyone so happy, is getting to test out new recipes. I recently posted a Weekender Top 5; my list of recipes that I wanted to test out over the weekend, but it doesn’t always work out since Nathan and I can only eat so much! By making food for other people, I get to try out even more recipes that I’ve been oogling.

This week’s menu is another fun mix:

• Cajun Chicken Pasta (a favorite in our house!)
• Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili
• Spicy Peanut Portabello Kale Rice Bowl

So far, so good! Though there are a few small kinks to work out of the system (like my fridge situation..), I look forward to continuing to grow.

Uh oh.. looks like I need more room!

Food for Thought

What is your most recent exciting venture, business or otherwise?