What I Ate Wednesday #77: Mental Health Day

Yesterday was a good day. Honestly, if there is an idea of what California living should be, this was it. I had an appointment scheduled to get some work done on my car. Usually that means sitting around waiting, but no problem, I’ll head down to the lake for a run! Ironic that I decide to go for a run after Monday’s post, but it sounded better than sitting around and the weather has been gorgeous! As much as I love routine, it was so nice to get a workout in outside of the gym.

I had a quick bite to eat before heading out since I knew it would be a little while until I could start my run and then have breakfast. Ezekiel english muffins are my new favorite with some homemade coconut cashew butter

and sliced banana.

#running

A friend posted on Facebook asking if she was the only person that doesn’t stop to take a picture when she runs and wanted to know if that means she didn’t actually run because there’s no proof. Ha! I had to take a picture for her yesterday.

As I finished up my run, I ran into one of Oakland’s finest, Ms. Carla Birnberg. It was a nice surprise and always a treat to have a few minutes to catch up with her. By this time I was practically ravenous and had my heart set on the hot bar at Whole Foods. I knew they had a breakfast sweet potato dish, but by the time I got there, it was gone. So I just loaded up on everything else, per usual.

Whole Foods hot bar for the win!

Scrambled eggs > scrambled tofu. Lesson learned. My wonderfully relaxing morning continued into the afternoon as I met Nathan for a walk around the lake. I’d taken my car to a place right near his office so by the time it was ready, he was ready for a break from work. It was such a nice treat to enjoy a Tuesday afternoon with him.

Enjoying some Tuesday sunshine.

After our walk, I ran home for shower, lunch, and laundry. I knew that was all the time I’d have before I had to go turn around and pick him up from work, but it was so great to be outside all morning. I swear, I hardly sat down until 2pm!

Wilted kale is the new black.

I’m loving wilted kale right now with basically the contents of my fridge. I’ve also rediscovered my love for nori. It’s so good on my salads and I can’t stop eating it right out of the package too. The salty crunch really hits the spot.. I may have gone through a couple packages in the past couple days haha.

I had a super colorful dinner planned and while I knew there was a going to be quite a bit of prep work going into it, it was absolutely worth it!

ALL THE COLOR!

I’ve made these baked turkey meatballs before and they’re great to have in the freezer. We love leftovers in this house! I was also excited to try purple cauliflower.. I assumed it wouldn’t taste any different, but it was just fun to have. I also had a butternut squash staring me in the face for the past week so I decided to make some zucchini and squash noodles. It was SO good! Not to mention, Nathan isn’t a huge fan of any of those veggies and he cleared his plate. Mission accomplished!

It wasn’t my most productive day, but such a relaxing day and I absolutely loved spending so much time in the sunshine. It really can do wonders for your mood! Hey there, unusually extra positive attitude 😉 I’ll take it. And more days just like this one.

Food for Thought

Does weather change your attitude?

What I Ate Wednesday #74: Our Valentine’s Feast

One of the reasons I love Valentine’s Day is because everyone loves showing off their “best meal ever.” Certainly I’m no different and I can guarantee you our dinner and dessert.. and drinks.. were all fabulous! We always make an effort to come up with a menu together, Nathan takes over the protein, we work together on the sides, and I’m in charge of dessert. It’s my favorite. And when everything comes out perfectly, it’s that much better!

I got dressed up.. right down to the shoes 😉

Nice angle, yes? Haha

Appetizer

We cheers-ed to our 10th Valentine’s Day together with Lagranja sparkles.

Don’t be fooled by the small pour. We smashed that bottle!

I love their red wines and figured I couldn’t go wrong trying this. We also demolished an awesomely tasty plate.

Truffle gouda, grapes, balsamic jam from Italy, smoked almonds, & nut thins.

The chunks of truffle in the cheese took us right back to Italy. That cheese is really something special!

Entree

To make the crust, we threw pistachios, rosemary, and garlic into the food processor. I think we both could have polished off a plate of the crust by itself. That’s always a good sign!

We hit the pan.

The flip. Check out that crust!

The final product! Pistachio-crusted lamb with cherry port sauce, Moroccan wheat berry salad, and roasted carrots & butternut squash.

The flavors of each pieces blended so well. I love the bite that the wheat berries have, the carrots and squash were roasted just right, and the lamb. Ooooh the lamb. Nathan couldn’t have cooked it more perfectly. It was medium rare and the crust had such a nice crunch. The cherry port sauce was flavorful and not sweet at all. I could have eaten more!

Dessert

More to drink? Beer goes well with dessert, right?

One of our faves.

What wouldn’t go with bourbon banana cheesecake?

Bourbon banana cheesecake with bourbon coconut cream, cinnamon,
and dark chocolate shavings.

I thought that amount of chocolate looked nice for my picture but I immediately added more before I actually sat down to eat it. It was so creamy and I’m happy to report that it’s actually not so bad for you either! I’ll be sharing the recipe this week 😉

My valentine.

After just a few drinks [ha!] and with full bellies, we cozied up on the couch to watch the first episode of House of Cards [holy moly!] I hope you had as great of a day as we did. Perfect way to kick off the weekend!

Food for Thought

What were your plans for Valentine’s Day?
Do you stay in or go out to celebrate?

Link Love #23

Have you entered my Peanut Butter & Co. giveaway yet?

Wow, I don’t even know where yesterday went! I’m so glad we finally got a break from the constant rain. I was able to take a walk to Berkeley Bowl in the middle of the day and it was much warmer than I expected. Good and bad when you layer up like I do.. definitely blasted the fan when I got home haha. I also came home to a wonderful package thanks to Kaila and NuNaturals. Can’t wait to try these out!

Health

Warning: 7 “Healthy” Habits that are Stressing Your Metabolism – Living the Nourished Life

Warning: 7 “Healthy” Habits that are Stressing Your Metabolism – Living the Nourished Life
Confession of a Food Addict – Wellness Today
Renewing Your Training with Recovery – Workout Nirvana
Food Shaming and Comparison – The Real Life RD
The Bloat Cure – Dr. Oz

Fitness

30 Minute Body Pumping Workout – CandyFit via Burnbrae Farms

30 Minute Body Pumping Workout – CandyFit via Burnbrae Farms
Sprinting Vs Running: What You Need To Know – Lifting Revolution
Total Body Workout – Peanut Butter Fingers
20-Minute HIIT Workout – Pumps & Iron
Fabulously Fit Friday Treadmill Workout – Treats With a Twist

Food

15 Easy, Healthy Vegetarian Dinner Ideas – Minimalist Baker

15 Easy, Healthy Vegetarian Dinner Ideas – Minimalist Baker
Roasted Sweet Potato, Quinoa, and Kale Salad – Eat Yourself Skinny
Butternut Squash and Spelt Salad with Goat Cheese and Toasted Almonds – The Lemon Bowl
Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Butter – “Baby Delight Butter”– The Smart Kitchen via Delights & Delectables
Grain Free Chocolate Coconut Chia Bread – Cotter Crunch

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts from last week?

Link Love #14

Congrats to the giveaway winner, Lauren! Please email me at Brittany@BarrAndTable.com with your mailing address to claim your prize!

Now it’s time for some more link love.. the internet is a wonderful place, yes? 🙂

Health

4 Reasons Your Gluten-Free Diet is Keeping You Miserable – Sarah Kay Hoffman

4 Reasons Your Gluten-Free Diet is Keeping You Miserable – Sarah Kay Hoffman
I Need Five Wake Up Calls Daily – Olive to Run
One Thing at a Time – Wellness Today
I Got Six-Pack Abs in Six Weeks. Here’s How I Feel One Year Later. – Derek Flanzraich via Greatist
10 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Results in the Gym – FitKnitChick

Fitness

Work It Out: 15 Minutes Is All It Takes – Sprint 2 the Table

Work It Out: 15 Minutes Is All It Takes – Sprint 2 the Table
Swing It WOD – Blonde Ponytail
5 Workouts to Help Increase Speed – Tina Reale
Slow Ascent Workout: Negatives In November – Lifting Revolution

Food

Creamy Eggplant & Caramelized Onion Dip – Minimalist Baker

Creamy Eggplant & Caramelized Onion Dip – Minimalist Baker
Toasted Brazil & Coconut Butter – The Smart Kitchen
Brussels Sprout & Sunchoke Salad – Love & Lemons
Quinoa, Kale, and Bacon Stuffed Butternut Squash – Rachel Cooks
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lentil Blondies – Ambitious Kitchen

Food for Thought

What was your favorite post from the past week?

Link Love #12

I always start my Link Love posts at the beginning of the week, often time before my current weeks’ post is published. This week, my post filled up so quickly! I love the blogosphere and everything that it has to offer.

Health

Replace Skinny with Healthy – Olive to Run

Replace Skinny with Healthy – Olive to Run
Why Losing Weight Might NOT be the Answer – MusselFIT
“Knowing” Versus “Doing” – JillFit
Don’t Let the “Fat Burning Zone” Deceive You – PFIT blog
How to have a healthy relationship with the scales – Keeping Healthy, Getting Stylish

Fitness

5 Days of Full-Body Workouts – Health

Gonna Make You Sweat: 5 Days of Full-Body Workouts – Health
Yoga Fit ARMS – My Healthy Nest
30 Variations of Lunges – Lifting Revolution
22 Kick-Ass Kettlebell Exercises – Greatist
10 Ways to Become a Faster Runner – FitSugar

Food

Braised Chicken with Noodles & Vegetables – Notions & Notations of a Novice Cook

Making Dakjjim (닭찜) / Braised Chicken with Noodles & Vegetables – Notions & Notations of a Novice Cook
Spiced Chocolate Popcorn – Gimme Some Oven
Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprout, and Bread Stuffing with Apples – Food52
Apple Nut Porridge – Running to the Kitchen
Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad with Soft-Boiled Eggs – Naturally Ella

Food for Thought

Do you have a favorite post from the past week?

What I Ate Wednesday #32: Groupon Date Night

Have you entered my Peanut Butter & Co. giveaway yet?

I don’t know about you, but for me, sometimes Groupon is wayyy off on their deals for months, and sometimes they’re spot on. For months. Which means we end up with a ton of deals! On Saturday, we decided to cash in. Impromptu date night courtesy of Groupon? Sure!

[Breakfast]
Oh, like you really expected to see something other than a sweet breakfast scramble? Of course, my lightened version of it..

I also snuck a Powerball before my workout 🙂 Have you tried them yet? So tasty!

[Lunch]
I had planned on meeting my brother at Panera and devouring another Power Chicken Hummus Bowl [so good!] from their hidden menu, but when I walked around the place for 10 minutes without finding a single seat open, I decided to hit the road!

Off to Cosi! I always like to pretend like I’ll try something new there, but their Asian Salmon Salad is so delicious that I just stick to that. Creature of habit? Me? 😉

[Dinner]
We braved the cold and headed out, Groupon in hand, to Blue Hill Tavern. We started off with some hot, fresh rolls. I snagged the walnut raisin before Nathan even had a chance! I was feeling awfully fancy so I ordered myself an elderflower white cosmopolitan. Sounds fancy, tasted like a cosmo.

Appetizer
Garde Manger – Chicken and pork terrine with spicy homemade ketchup & smoked duck breast with candied orange jam and walnut raisin crostini.

Entree
Seared blackened tuna with grilled baby bok choy, rice, and butternut squash puree. Do you see the size of those pieces of tuna?! Fabulous. I ate it all!

Nathan ordered a rabbit and dumpling stew. It was so full of flavor and definitely very filling! He was lucky enough to end up with some leftover.

Dessert
I really had no choice in the matter. It was being ordered whether I liked it or not! [Spoiler alert: I liked it!] Really though, what’s not to like about a cinnamon butter tart with homemade cinnamon ice cream? Exactly. There is nothing to not like!

[Snacks]
– Carrots & a Laughing Cow veggie wedge
– A piece of black bean powerbake mixed with some coconut peanut spread. It was heavenly!

Food for Thought

Do you make my purchases on Groupon or other similar websites?

Foodie Friday: Roasted Squash Stew with Turkey & Baby Kale

Between the cold weather and feeling a bit under the weather this past week, I’ve been jonesing for some soups and stews to warm me up. As always, I head over to Pinterest and browse my most recent 3000 recipes that I’ve pinned (out of control!) and this baby caught my eye.

Squash stew? Done! I was missing a few of the ingredients from the original recipe so I took a stab at my own version and was rather pleased with the end result.

Roasted Squash Stew with Turkey & Baby Kale

Serves 4
Adapted from Cookin’ Canuck

Ingredients
2 tbsp EVOO, divided
2 small delicata squashes, diced [About 3 cups]
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1/4 lb ground turkey or chicken [I used Jennie-O Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast]
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14oz can diced tomatoes, not drained [I used Muir Glen Organic Red and Yellow Diced Tomatoes]
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups baby kale or spinach

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss your diced squash on a baking sheet with 1 tbsp EVOO and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Put the sheet in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, tossing a few times.

While your squash is roasting, heat a large pot over medium heat with the remaining 1 tbsp EVOO. Once heated, add your diced onion and saute until translucent. Add the ground turkey to the pot and season with salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Once the turkey is completely cooked through, add the minced garlic. When the garlic becomes fragrant, add the can of tomatoes and chicken stock.

By this time, your squash should be just about finished roasting. Remove from the oven and add 3/4 of the roasted squash to the pot. Smash the remaining 1/4 squash until smooth and add to the pot. This is used as a thickener in the soup. Make sure everything is well incorporated and finally stir in the baby kale until wilted. Adjust any seasonings to taste and feel free to add more stock or water if you want the soup to be thinner.

This soup is great with a scoop of quinoa mixed in or with some crunchy roasted chick peas on top!

Nutritional Information
Per serving

198 Calories  /  8g Fat  /  26g Carbs  /  15g Fiber  /  7g Sugar  /  11g Protein

Just My Imagination Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Joanna Murnan for winning a pair of custom hammered metal earrings from Just My Imagination!

Joanna Murnan said :
The triples are adorable in the mixed metals – very cute!

Please email me at Brittany@BarrAndTable.com within the next 48 hours with your mailing address as well as which pair of hoops you want and in what metal; silver, gold, or mixed! And don’t forget, it may be too late for holiday shopping, but it’s never too late to treat yourself to some new one-of-a-kind jewels 😉

What I Ate Wednesday #24 – Thanksgiving Feast

This year might have been my most successful Thanksgiving ever. For the first time, probably ever in my life, I didn’t overeat and it was amazing! It also left me wanting more. Usually I’m all Thanksgiving-food’ed out after we have our 2 dinners, but this year I feel like I could eat Thanksgiving dinner a few more times.

One of the biggest tips I’ve always heard on not overeating is to eat all of your meals as you would normally. So that’s what I attempted to do.

[Breakfast]
Tina from Carrots ‘N’ Cake said it perfectly..

“…a good breakfast sets the tone for my day.”

Since I’ve tried her Sweet Breakfast Scramble, I haven’t turned back. It’s amazing.. my favorites are with spaghetti squash and pumpkin, topped with 1 tbsp peanut butter. Usually two different kinds of peanut butter to mix it up 🙂

[Lunch]
Peanut butter cup protein shake.

[Snacks]
Carrots and an apple.

[Dinner]
Thank goodness for Thanksgiving! I loved the menu this year; of course we had our staples, but some new side dishes popped up too.

• Deep fried turkey
• Sausage stuffing (secret recipe!)
• Roasted sweet potatoes
• Roasted broccoli
• Roasted asparagus
• Winter panzanella salad
• Cranberry relish

Check out my plate above.. I definitely had a little extra of a few things, but I couldn’t believe I walked away with white space on my plate!

This year I jumped at the opportunity to make a few items for the night, partially in an attempt to have a few healthier items on the table.

I brought one of my favorite winter salads; winter panzanella from smitten kitchen. I also wanted to bring a healthy dessert so I made my Kind Apple Crisp. And then the healthy options ended. My homemade peanut butter cups are an absolute must ever year. I’ve been making them since I was a kid and have perfected them in the last few years. Nathan said they were the best this year, but I think he tells me that every year! I’ll keep him around.. 😉

Mom slicing the turkey!

My brother deep fries the turkeys outside and as soon as they come in, everyone starts swarming the kitchen.

“Oh, this piece is going to fall off. I should grab it before it falls..”

And as soon as my mom starts slicing, you’d think we were a bunch of vultures that hadn’t eaten in days! Who knows, maybe some of us haven’t eaten in days in preparation? It’s well worth the wait!

[Dessert]

Along with my peanut butter cups and apple crisp, there was also a deconstructed pumpkin pie in the cutest little cups, chocolate chip banana bread courtesy of my brother’s girlfriend, and a pumpkin roll. My aunt makes this roll special for Nathan every year, so you can imagine our panic when we saw her facebook status in the early afternoon..

“First attempt at pumpkin roll a failure and dumped in trash. Helper off to the Giant for more sugar. I know Nathan is counting on me!”

I’m pleased to report that her second attempt was a success! Luckily, I convinced Nathan ahead of time to split the desserts with me so I was able to try a little bit of everything. And boy can my family bake! Seriously. We’re good!

What a great holiday! I’m so thankful for my wonderful family, especially since they’re such great cooks and bakers 😉

Food for Thought

What are you thankful for this year?

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?