Five Things Friday {7/25}

Happy Friday! Today starts my weekend, Nathan is working from home, and the weather has been gorgeous here so we’re hoping to sneak out mid-day for some sunshine. We’re both ready for some relaxation.

1. Tomorrow we’re headed out on another road trip down to Carmel. It’s one of the places we’ve been talking about exploring but just haven’t made the trip yet. Like I said, the weather’s been beautiful so we’re planning on leaving early, grabbing some lunch when we get there, and laying out on a blanket on the beach. Relaxation at its finest. [Maybe a bottle o’ wine, too?] If you have any suggestions for restaurants or other places to go in Carmel, we’re all ears!
2. I recently received a pair of PRO Compression socks to review as part of the #KeepItTight Campaign with Fit Approach. To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure how much I really expected them to help. But after a bunch of shifts at work this week where I’m on my feet for hours at a time, as well as my workouts, slipping these bad boys on at the end of the day has really made a difference.
   

   With a little O’s action in the background!

   The idea that compression socks increase blood flow to your legs has been proven and dare I say my calves and feet have felt less tired and sore by the next morning. If you want to give them a try for yourself, use code PINK at checkout for 40% off your entire order!

3. I killed the salted caramel brownie brittle. Which, of course, means there was brittle dust at the bottom of the bag just begging to be sprinkled on some PB&J yogurt. Obviously. Best idea ever.
   

   Bloobs, figs, & brittle dust.

   

   Cherries & brittle dust.

4. My Swanson 45th Anniversary giveaway ends Sunday night. Don’t miss out on your chance to win a $45 gift card to get some awesome products!
   
5. Baby girl. [And her mama.] That is all.
   

   1 month till squeezes!

Food for Thought
What are your plans for this weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #95: Killer Sweet Tooth

Don’t forget to enter my Swanson Vitamins giveaway!

It’s all in the title. I’m telling you, my sweet tooth has been out of control lately. Especially at night!

Breakfast

The usual. Oatmeal, egg whites, banana, nut butters, coffee. It’s pretty much heaven.

Lunch

My lunch spread. On the floor of the break room at work haha. I mixed up some tuna with apricot bbq sauce and kefir to spread on a rice cake and had some leftover bbq mix for veggie dipping. It was delish.

Afternoon Snack

I came home to a box of Cookies & Cream Quest Bars [from my Swanson order.. don’t forget to enter the giveaway!] so obviously I popped one in the oven right away. Holy moly I forgot how good these things are!

Dinner

Another new take on the baked turkey meatballs with zucchini noodles, no-cook tomato sauce, and freshly shredded parm. It was SO good! I used half turkey italian sausage and half regular ground turkey for extra flavor. This version is a keeper, for sure!

Let the dessert games begin!

Up first, a fig with almond butter. Because everything is better with nut butter!

Followed by a bunch of peaches and plums.

And finished off with salted caramel brownie brittle with peanut butter. No time for pictures of this.. just eating. It’s too delicious! But who am I to turn down chocolate, peanut butter, and salted caramel? I mean, really! I’m actually glad that the bag of brownie brittle is almost gone so I can control myself again! Ha!

Food for Thought

What food is your biggest weakness?

A “Crazy” New Years Eve

Remember I mentioned recapping my crazy New Years Eve? I guess you could say it was crazy in its own right..

We had never really gone out for NYE, it was always spent with my family for dinner and then with friends afterward to watch the ball drop. Since we’re still newbies around here, we decided to give the whole crazy night out a go! Boot & Shoe Service, a restaurant that is known for their pizza, was having a cassoulet dinner followed by a dance party with live music at their sister restaurant, Penrose, across the street. Sounds like a good time, right? Sold!

Dinner was fabulous but unfortunately the lighting was not so I decided to spare you and show smaller pictures. You’re welcome 😉

Dinner came with a drink ticket for the “josephine baker”—spumante, bonal, & cane sugar. It’s not the drink that I would have chosen from the list but it was fabulous! The sparkling wine cocktail was a nice, light way to start the night. Not long after we arrived, they began passing the hor d’oeuvres. The gougère—mini cheese pastries—were warm and light.. perfect for popping! The caramelized onion tart was loaded with flavor and really, you can’t go wrong with caramelized onion and a crunchy crust.

By this time, we were ready for a couple more cocktails. I went for the “elevator to the gallows” [Caitlin would be proud!]—islay scotch, housemade french prune brandy, & génépi—and Nathan chose “the upright”—amaro montenegro, cocchi rosa, suze, & lemon. After he took one sip of my drink, I agreed to share. What can I say? I’m good at choosing cocktails! I grabbed a couple of dungeness crab bites on endive with creme fraiche and an oyster on the half shell; these were my least favorite of the hor d’oeuvres.. I really enjoyed the warm bites more and I’m not a big fan of creme fraiche. I suffered through it to get the crab though!

After cocktail hour, we were seated at a long family-style table where we shared a charcuterie plate with the couple next to us. I was already being “that girl” taking pictures of everything so I thought I’d spare Nathan and not take a picture of the shared plate too! Included on the plate was duck liver pate, rabbit terrine [the best!], whole grain mustard, mini gherkins, pickled carrots, and crostini. We’ve grown to really love terrine so we definitely enjoyed this starter.

Next up was the frisee salad with marinated beets and perigord truffles. It was lightly dressed and topped with crunchy garlic chips which really pulled everything together. Unfortunately, the truffle didn’t really add anything to the dish but I loved it anyway and ended up eating most of Nathan’s beets too! The star of the meal, the cassoulet, was served next. Nathan and I shared the big ceramic pot filled with pork belly, duck, and white beans, and you bet we polished it off! It was a hearty dish and the meat fell right off the bone. There were also plenty of crispy bits which added a nice crunchy texture to the stew.

We finished off our meal with vol au vent with poached pears. We were both so full but it was too good to waste! Not too sweet and the layer of homemade whipped cream under the pears gave the dessert a nice balance. And as if that wasn’t enough, they also brought us stuffed figs. I’m not sure what they were stuffed with, but I could have eaten 100 of them!

After we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant around 11:15, we decided we were perfectly happy to head back to the hotel [yes, we’re old] and have a quiet end to the night watching the ball drop.. in New York. So bizarre that they just replayed the ball dropping in Times Square! But hey, I guess no one else does it quite like they do in New York!

Cheers to 2014!

Food for Thought

Do you have any big plans for 2014?

We’re looking forward to getting settled in California and having lots of friends and family come visit!

Link Love #7

Another week, another set of fabulous posts!

Health

You can’t out-train a bad diet.

6 Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Exercise As Your #1 Weight Loss Tool – JillFit
How to Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle – Muscle Evo
Keeping Fit After It’s Off: Create Your WHY – MizFit
Why Sugar Isn’t the Entire Story – Shape
How Bad Are Your Fitness Habits? – Prevention

Fitness

The Dream Shuffle Workout – Lifting Revolution

Dream BIG: The Dream Shuffle Workout – Lifting Revolution
5 Tips for Morning Workouts [+ Training Update] – Better with Veggies
Bootcamp Workout – Fitness Perks
10-Minute Booty Burning Workout – Carrots ‘N’ Cake
TRX Workout – Peanut Butter Fingers

Food

Baked Fig Plantain Bread Pudding – Purely Twins

Baked Fig Plantain Bread Pudding – Purely Twins
Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake – Half Baked Harvest
Black-Bottom Coconut Cream Tart [Vegan, GF] – Cafe Johnsonia
Fall Harvest Brussels Sprouts – Peanut Butter & Peppers
Apple Pie Quinoa Breakfast Bowl – Love & Zest

And if you missed the post on Surviving Whole Foods, definitely check it out! 😉

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts of the week?

What I Ate Wednesday #48: Cajun Chicken Pasta and a Giveaway

I have to admit, this week’s eats have really not been too exciting. Good thing I have some pictures from last week! And maybe a little treat for you 😉

Breakfast
Protein-packed TVP oats with homemade pumpkin seed butter, coconut peanut spread, Sunbutter, & a little granola.

Morning Snack
Plain cho with a little stevia, cinnamon, and fresh cherries. I loveee cherry season.. which also happens to be fig season. Amazing.

Lunch
Ezekial wrap full of baby kale, red pepper, carrots, cucumber, crunchy sprouts, leftover coconut curry sauce, and grilled tofu. This is the first time I’ve tried Ezekial wraps and I love them! I wrap everything up with foil around it to hold it all together and throw it in the toaster oven for 15-20 minutes to get everything warmed through.

I also love taking wraps to work; I bring a container of all of my veggies and protein and have a little assembly line in the office kitchen. I also tend to bring too much so I end up with a little side salad too! 🙂

Afternoon Snack
Barre bars are wonderful and this Black Swan chocolate berry bar was the perfect snack microwaved for 10 seconds. I love that they are made with all natural ingredients. Any time I can have a little sweet treat and it’s healthy, I’m a happy girl!

Dinner
Mara’s Pasta recently sent me a package of a few different cuts of their whole wheat pasta; I knew I wanted to figure out a light and delicious recipe to try it out. This cajun chicken pasta came together to quickly and easily. The pasta has great flavor and the perfect bite. It was a great addition to this dish. Be on the lookout for a recipe coming soon! 😉

I’m excited to be able to offer one of my readers a package of this wonderful pasta as well. To enter the giveaway, click here!

Don’t forget to join the email list to stay up-to-date with their latest products and visit Mara’s Pasta on Pinterest for some more great recipe ideas!

Food for Thought

What is your favorite pasta dish?
Have you ever tried Mara’s Pasta before?

Disclaimer: Mara’s Pasta provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Foodie Friday: Charoset. The Jewish Larabar.

One of the staples on the sedar table, and part of the sedar plate, is the charoset. It is meant to represent the mortar used by the Israelites in Ancient Egypt. There are 2 main kinds of charoset; Ashkenazi, made from chopped apples, walnuts, honey, and spices, and Sephardic, which is more of a paste made with dates and figs.

Growing up, my family always had the Ashkenazi version, but in more recent years we’ve also had the Sephardic version on the table. As soon as I tasted this, I instantly fell in love. I’m telling you, it’s like a homemade Jewish Larabar! How could it be bad?

Charoset

Makes approximately 4 cups

Ingredients
– 1 cup pitted dates
– 1 cup figs
– 1 cup dried apricots
– 1 cup golden raisins
– 1 bananas
– 1 cup pistachios
– 1/2 cup crystallized ginger
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 1 tsp cardamom
– Rind and juice of 1 orange
– 1 cup or more port or Passover wine
– Honey to taste

Directions
Add all ingredients into a large food processor and process until relatively smooth. You do still want to have some bits of pistachio and dried fruit. It’s like a delicious surprise 🙂

I’m telling you, if you’re a fan of Larabars, you have to make this! It is definitely a crowd pleaser and I plan on having it on hand year-round now! So glad I got the recipe from my cousin, Amy!

Food for Thought

Have you ever made your own homemade fruit and nut bars? What is your favorite combination of ingredients?

National Peanut Butter Day {Giveaway!}

Today might just be my most favorite day of the year; National Peanut Butter Day. There’s nothing I love more than opening a fresh jar of peanut butter and, of course, grabbing a spoon for that very first bite. Ok, maybe first few bites.. thanks, Mom 😉

There actually was a time that I sent my mom this picture. She totally understood and I’m sure her response was something along the lines of “mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!” So you see, peanut butter has always had a special place in my heart. And not only is it delicious, it’s also quite good for you!

In honor of National Peanut Butter Day, I have not only compiled a list of peanut butter delicious recipes from my blog for your quick browsing pleasure, but I also have a very special giveaway! First things first.

Peanut Butter Recipes

• Hail Merry Peanut Butter Coconut Banana Bites
• Healthy Banana Peanut Butter Cups*
• Peanut Chili Baked Tofu*
• Tilapia Stir-Fry with Chili Peanut Sauce*
• Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake*

And don’t forget to top all of your oatmeal with a deliciously large scoop of peanut butter for maximum dining pleasure! You know I added a little extra to my breakfast this morning.. it’s only right.

*These recipes use peanut flour, but that can be substituted with peanut butter.

And now for the giveaway! Peanut Butter & Co. was kind enough to send me a few samples to review [practically a dream come true!] and offer one lucky reader the chance to win 3 jars! It was a tough choice, but in the end, I went for White Chocolate Wonderful, Mighty Maple, and Old Fashioned Smooth. These proved to be fantastic choices!

I started out trying the White Chocolate Wonderful, which happens to be very appropriately named; it was absolutely wonderful! Next I tried the Mighty Maple, and while I didn’t think it would be able to get better than the White Chocolate Wonderful, it did! Holy moly, this one is so good! Finally, the Old Fashioned Smooth; full of peanuty flavor as the only two ingredients are peanuts and salt. I love that! And now I’m offering one of you the chance to try all of these fantastic flavors!

Peanut Butter & Co. Giveaway

How to Enter

You have up to 5 chances to enter! Be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Entries will be accepted through Thursday, January 31st, 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be chosen on Friday, February 1st.

1. Leave a comment telling me which flavor you’re most excited to try. (Mandatory)

2. Follow @PeanutButterCo and @BarrAndTable on Twitter and leave a comment telling me. (Optional)

3. Like Peanut Butter & Co. and Barr & Table on Facebook and leave a comment telling me. (Optional)

4. Follow Peanut Butter & Co. and Barr & Table on Pinterest and leave a separate comment telling me. (Optional)

5. Tweet “I entered to win some @PeanutButterCo from @BarrAndTable and you can too! http://wp.me/p2mo7x-g2” and leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet. (Optional)

*Giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. Winner has 48 hours to contact me and claim prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Happy National Peanut Butter Day! Eat up! 😉

Foodie Friday: Chocolate Protein Oats

I already have my breakfast planned for tomorrow.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and while this week I’ve been on a protein pancake kick, I’m ready to start the weekend with my favorite breakfast; chocolate protein oats.

More specifically, Coach’s Oats. I’ve recently been introduced to these little lovely bites and don’t ever want to go back to regular oats again. These oats aren’t rolled, but they aren’t steel cut either. They do, however, have that same texture and bite as steel cut oats, which is my favorite, but cook in no time like rolled oats!

Coach’s Oats are prepared in an entirely new way. The groats are toasted to bring the natural sugars to the surface of the oat, then cracked into small pieces. This patented Cracked n’ Toasted™ process means that Coach’s Oats are never mushy, always naturally delicious and cook in just 3 to 5 minutes on a stovetop or in the microwave.

Chocolate Protein Oats

Serves 1

Ingredients
3 egg whites
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup almond milk (Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla is my favorite!)
1/2 banana, mashed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup oats (Coach’s Oats are my favorite, of course!)

Optional Toppings
1/2 tbsp nut butter (I love Earth Balance Coconut Peanut Spread)
Fruit – figs, banana, strawberries, blueberries, etc
1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
Sprinkling of ground cinnamon

Directions
Heat a small pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add your 3 egg whites and cook through, mashing into small pieces. Once cooked, put the egg whites in a bowl off to the side.

Turn heat to high and add water, almond milk, mashed banana, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and oats to the pot. Stir to incorporate everything and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the head to low and stir until everything has just about come together. For the last minute of cooking, add your egg whites back in and stir well.

Pour everything into a bowl and top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

I immediately top mine with peanut butter.. I truly believe melty peanut butter is the best thing in the world.

Speak Up!

What are your favorite oatmeal toppings? Do you change them up or always reach for the same thing?

What I Ate Wednesday #14 – Rainy Day Adventures

We had some awesome plans last Saturday to rise and shine super early and head to Rehoboth Beach for the day. We haven’t been to the beach at all this summer so I was looking forward to it all week!

And then the weather forecast changed. To rain. All day. What do you even do when you’re at the beach and it’s raining? Exactly.

Well, fine then! We slept in, had a nice, relaxing morning, and then packed up and headed over to Alexandria, VA for the day! For what, you ask? Wine.

But not just any wine. Trader Joe’s Two-Buck Chuck. Yep. We drove 1.5 hrs each way for Trader Joe’s wine. Don’t worry, we got some good eats on the way too!

[Breakfast]
Cinnamon protein Coach’s Oats, topped (of course) with Earth Balance coconut peanut spread and fig. Naturally, I had my Tone It Up Bombshell Spell and some coffee with almond milk on the side. Perfect way to start the day!

[Snack]
A relaxing morning turned into a very late lunch, so I munched on some baby carrots in the car. Nothing exciting.. or worth picturing.

[Lunch]
Here’s the exciting part. We googled for a good 30 minutes looking for the best place to go for lunch and ended up at Caphe Banh Mi. If you’re in the Alexandria area, definitely go!

We started out with a vegetarian summer roll with tofu, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, and other veggies with a peanut dipping sauce. The sauce made it for me.. anything peanut [butter] related is a big green light! For our meals, we both tried pho (our first time!) Nathan got the traditional and I got the chicken. Traditional is the way to go! The beef was so rich and delicious and I could have eaten all of his! But instead, I ate all of mine. Topped with bean sprouts and fresh Thai basil. YUM!

[Snack]
Old towne is such a cute place! We walked around looking for a place to get a sweet treat and found Pop’s. Peanut butter chocolate pretzel ice cream. This is no joke. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of it (because I ate it too quickly), but that sample picture will do. I would make the drive for the ice cream.

[Dinner]
Late lunch + snack = late [lazy] dinner. Steamed some broccoli in the microwave, topped it with chicken and bbq sauce, and called it a day!

[Summer Staple]
Wine! Yep, I went there. Every summer day is better with a glass of wine.

Trader Joe’s in Maryland doesn’t sell wine and we’ve heard so many good things about it. But the biggest thing is that we’re trying to find every way to cut back on our wedding budget, so when Nathan heard about Two-Buck Chuck taking home a big prize, we knew we had to give it a try.

Results are in! And it was totally worth the drive. Wedding attendants, get ready for some Two-Buck Chuck! 🙂

Speak Up!

Where is your favorite place to day-trip? Have you ever taken a day trip for a meal? … Or a drink? 😉

What I Ate Wednesday #13 – Birthday Edition!

It’s my birthday!

Or, at least it was yesterday. And what better way to celebrate then with some of my favorite foods and sharing them with you today.

[Breakfast]
For such an important day, I had to make sure to have my most favorite breakfast. Chocolate protein Coach’s Oats, topped with Earth Balance Coconut Peanut Spread and a fig, plus my Bombshell Spell on the side!

And no worries, I would never keep something so delicious from you. The recipe is coming soon 🙂

[Snack]
Grapefruit (not pictured)

[Lunch]
My lovely friend, Jessie, offered to take me out to lunch for my birthday. I decided to check out Brio, which happens to be right around the corner from both of our offices. I’d never made it over there, but I will definitely be going back! I got the Wood Grilled Salmon Salad, exchanging grilled chicken for the salmon. I was shocked when it came out; so many times I’m disappointed in the size of “entree” salads at restaurants, but this salad was huge! And super delicious. And the steaming hot sourdough bread to start out didn’t hurt either!

[Snack]
Vega One Chocolate Nutritional Shake. I have to say, I was quite impressed with the flavor of this shake. It was my first time trying this brand, and really any vegan brand of protein for that matter, and I’m looking forward to trying the other flavors!

[Birthday Flowers!]
He done good. Real good 🙂 Nathan definitely knows me well enough by now (almost 9 years!) to know that I’m not interested in a bouquet of roses. I just love all of the colors!

[Dinner]
Oh heyyyy awesome birthday dinner!

In the spirit of trying new things, we went to Dogwood for dinner last night. Neither of us had ever been there before, but we’ve heard so many good things about it over the years and I’m so glad we finally made it!

The meal started with a deliciously dense homemade bread served with mango butter; a little bit of sweet and a little bit of savory. I ordered the Summer Squeeze, a cocktail of watermelon juice, lemon juice, basil, and house-infused citron vodka. I’m a sucker for any kind of watermelon or cucumber cocktail so I had this one picked out before we even sat down!

For my first course, I chose the Grilled Summer Ratatouille.

Local summer squashes, eggplant & tomato, fresh basil

Nathan described this as a “hug in a bowl.” It was so fresh and flavorful; it was really the perfect comfort dish for a summer evening. Not to mention, it is vegan and gluten-free. For those of you Baltimorian’s out there that are vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free, I would highly recommend Dogwood; everything on their menu is noted, and they even have an entire vegan prix-fixe menu!

For my entree, I was between a few options, but landed on the Pan-seared Wild-caught Swordfish per our waiter’s suggestion.

North Carolina swordfish served with ruby grapefruit, jicama and avocado salad, baby arugula and yukon gold potatoes

He definitely did not steer me wrong! The fish was cooked perfectly, the salad was light and fresh, and the potatoes were creamy and flavorful. And those sauces were divine. I topped off my entree with a glass of white wine recommended, again, by the waiter; a little sweet to play off of the sweetness of the fish.

Dessert was an amazing coconut cake. And if you’re like Nathan or me, you immediately just thought of the coconut cake episode of Good Eats. I will be trying Alton Brown’s recipe very soon.. I couldn’t get enough of the cake!

Oh, and that glass of prosecco? On the house.

As if the food wasn’t wonderful enough, the service at Dogwood was the icing on the (coconut) cake! They were all very attentive and friendly, and always willing to share a recommendation. This restuarant gets a huge Barr & Table seal of approval. I can’t wait to go back!

[Summer Staples]
FIGS!

I completely forgot how much I love fresh figs and have reminded myself in the past week. I could have eaten the entire box in one sitting, but instead I decided to space them out and savor them. Oh, and Nathan doesn’t like them. Darn.. more for me!

Speak Up!

What is a food for which you’ve recently re-discovered your love?