Mexican, Beer, and Baseball

Have you entered my Bob’s Red Mill giveaway yet?

Hi friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend; we took advantage of the weather and spent a lot of time outside.

Friday night we hit up a Mexican joint for dinner called Cancun. They, as with many restaurants in the area, pride themselves on their local, organic ingredients. I got a humungo salad that puts Chipotle to shame!

They also have a ridiculous salsa bar.

Photo Credit: Yelp

Saturday we played in wine country. Though we didn’t go for any tastings, we just spent the day walking around Healdsburg and Santa Rosa; they’re such cute little towns. We stopped at SHED for lunch which was such a fun place! Not only do they have a small cafe and take out food, they also sell kitchen, gardening, and other home goods plus they have their own fermentation bar. You know I got their home brewed black tea ginger kombucha.

I loved how colorful the salads were! My favorite was on the left; golden beets, watermelon radish, asparagus, and lima beans in a light vinaigrette. It was a bit pricey there for what it was, but everything tasted great.

On our way back home, we hit a ton of traffic. Luckily it was as we approached Petaluma, so we took a detour a grabbed some beer while we waited for the traffic to die down.

Not a bad way to pass the time 😉

Yesterday was for baseball. We opted for the Giants’ opening weekend instead of opening day and the weather was amazing!

The game started off pretty slow but the Giants’ ended up pulling out a big win in the bottom of the 10th with a walk off home run! Funny story.. I was at an Orioles game with my dad and Nathan 8 years ago. My dad and I almost never left games early but Nathan had to get up real early so we made an exception. We ended up missing a walk off home run which, at that point, my dad had never seen. To this day, he still won’t let Nathan live it down, even though he’s seen quite a few! It’s been a running joke ever since.

At least he’s happy 😉 Seeing the walk off definitely made me miss my dad. I wish that he was there with us! With that, I leave you some Orioles lovin’.

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Leftovers
Monday – Passover Seder [we found one to go to! Yay!]
Tuesday – Mediterranean smothered chicken over zucchini noodles
Wednesday – Balsamic grilled flank steak with roasted carrots
Thursday – Margarita chicken with lime cauli rice  and guacamole
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

What did you do over the weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #75: We Did It Right

I think in the process of running my parents all around the bay area, we ran ourselves into the ground a little too. Unfortunately, they’re heading back home today and as much as I may need a little more sleep, I don’t want them to go. It has really felt so much more like home with them here. If I had my whole family with me, I wouldn’t think twice about where I was. Anywhere. I miss ’em already but Nathan and I both made sure we did it right!

There was some healthy food…

…some home cooked meals…

…some brunching…

…a little pizza…

…more than one ice cream/gelato trip…

…LOTS of Asian food…

…a few drinks all around…

…and so many incredible memories.

I absolutely cannot wait to see them again. It’s been such a great week. Cheers!

Food for Thought

Where is your favorite place to take out-of-town visitors?

Mom and Dad Do San Francisco

I’ve been a bit MIA on the social media scene for the past few days since my parents have gotten into town, but I make up for it with pictures!

Wednesday

Biking is good for your ass.

First view of the bridge!

Biggest sweet potato I ever done seen!

Thursday

Feeding the fam before a day of drinking. Killer frittata!

Bear Republic beer samplers! #1 and #2 for the day.

Cheers!

Doin’ wine country.

Mom and Dad doin’ wine country.

Lagunitas beer sample #1.. #3 for the day.

Lagunitas beer sampler #2. Made it #4 for the day and Dad could hardly wait 😉

Friday

Dragged em to the beach.

The boys went climbing and we took a sit.

One of the many beautiful dishes at Iyasare.

Saturday

Ran around town with Mom while the boys took a rest day. So much good food!

Sunday

GET ME OUT! Oh.. there’s the door.

He looks a little too happy to be behind bars. Ha!

Blueberry kombucha on tap to top off a delicious lunch at The Plant.

Buena Vista Cafe. Home of the original Irish coffee.

Cheers! Again!

We may or may not be drinking and walking them into the ground. And you bet your butt we’re headed to more breweries and doing lots more walking tomorrow. But we’re having a great time and I love having them here!

Food for Thought

What is your favorite thing to do when you have out-of-town visitors?

I’m grateful for…

I have to admit, while I hoped to participate fully in Elf 4 Health, it’s been really tough. I’ve been doing so much running around over the past week looking for a place to live and any downtime that I have is spent searching for more places to visit or skyping with my family. Or doing both at the same time. That said, today’s Elf 4 Health challenge is to make a list of 20 things I’m grateful for. I just couldn’t skip this one.

1. Skype. Maybe it seems weird that this is first on my list, but since moving across the country, I couldn’t be happier to have this technology. I talk to my parents on skype a few times a day and have been able to see the rest of my family and some friends.
2. Jilly. Speaking of skype and the rest of my family, the baby is here!! I’m sad I wasn’t able to be at the hospital with everyone but I did, at the very least, get to see the baby girl when she was just hours old. She’s such a cute little nugget and I’m so incredibly happy for my brother and sister-in-law. They couldn’t be happier and I know they’re going to be amazing parents.
   

   Really, how perfectly adorable is that face?!

3. Nathan. Obviously I’m a fan, but he’s been really great with this move. He has his job and is starting to create his routine while I’m trying to figure everything out. He couldn’t be more encouraging and supportive of me trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Not to mention he knows how to make me smile and takes me on road trips to breweries!
   

   Our first farmers’ market trip. Many more to come!

4. My parents. To say they weren’t thrilled about the move is an understatement but they’ve been great. They put us up at their house for a few days before the move and the day after Thanksgiving, they woke up bright dark and early to take us to the airport. They have given all the support they can possibly muster up and I love em.
   

   3 generations – baby girl, daddy, and grandpa.

5. My grandparents. I got to skype with my maternal grandparents when they were at the hospital visiting Jilly and even though everyone was totally confused as to how to hold the iPad and what to do, it was great to see them so happy with their great grandbaby. And I know my grandfather on my dad’s side couldn’t be more excited to visit the new family soon!
6. Jessie. She’s one of my best friends and knows what it’s like to move all over the country and away from family. She knows what homesick feels like and even though I was texting her last night at 10pm, I have to remember that it was 1am for her. Her texts may have been influenced by a bit of wine, but those are the best kind, right?
   

   Miss her.

7. The gym. The hotel where we’re staying actually has a decent enough gym and my workouts are making me feel more normal. I like to pretend like I have some sort of routine 😉
   

   I can only use one machine at a time anyway..

8. FREE FOOD! Our hotel has breakfast included everyday and dinner/drinks included Monday-Thursday. Breakfast is fine.. I always have my oatmeal but Nathan is learning to deal. Dinner is.. well.. we’ve eaten it once. But they do have a decent salad bar so I’ll take it. Free is free!
9. Whole Foods. There’s one right around the corner from Nathan’s office and I’ve been able to get a few small things to cook up quickly as well as some food from the hot bar and we’re practically living the dream over here! [I’m just happy to eat all of their roasted veggies!]
   

   And they have kombucha on tap!

10. Beautiful scenery. I’ve been loving all of the views of the water and mountains as I’ve been driving through San Francisco by myself, but driving with Nathan yesterday and seeing his reactions really made it even more special.
    

    The hills here are terrifying to drive!

11. Healthy lunches. They’re everywhere in SF! I love trying all of the new places.
    

    Evolution Fresh has a cafe here and it’s amazing!

12. Almond milk lattes. Really, they’re just great.
    

    The best.

13. Chocolate and peanut butter. And marshmallow! This homemade s’mores peanut butter cup was out of this world!
    

    I need to make these.. genius!

14. Beer. Nathan and I took a little road trip yesterday to Lagunitas and Russian River. They both make some mighty fine beer and serve awesome food too! We split a roasted veggie pesto sandwich at Lagunitas and then a crispy crust vegan pizza at Russian River. Great way to spend a Saturday!
    

    So tasty!

15. Our king size bed. We definitely took it for granted and didn’t realize until we started sharing a queen size bed at the hotel. I can’t wait to get ours back!
16. The rest of our furniture. I miss the cozy feeling of sitting on my own sofa. Soon enough, though. Soon enough.
17. PayByPhone. While I don’t love having to pay for parking everywhere I go right now, it’s definitely much easier when I can just pay my meter from my phone when I’m 10 blocks away!
18. Guest bloggers. Like I said, I’ve been slacking lately and it’s nice to have such a wonderful community to help me pick up some of the slack and keep you all happy 😉 [P.S. I have one more coming!]
19. Social media. I love reading blogs and haven’t been reading as much lately, but as Caitlin reminded me, they’ll be there when I get back to it!
20. You all! I’m so happy to have you reading my blog even with my lack of attention lately. Thanks for sticking around 🙂

I’d say that’s a whole lot of marvelous, huh?

Food for Thought

What are you grateful for?

What I Ate Wednesday #23 – Catching Up & Thanksgiving Brews

Holy slacker, it’s been a while since we’ve chatted! It’s been a crazy week and a half that unfortunately included a back injury. I subsequently dubbed last week the week of eating everything in site, which makes this week the week of getting back on track. I must be crazy thinking now is a good time to plan on getting back on track with Thanksgiving being Thursday, but hey, no time like the present, right?!

And speaking of Thanksgiving, as the resident “beer snobs” of the family, Nathan and I are always asked for beer pairings. We’ve been doing our Thanksgiving beer pairing research and I’m happy to share with you our top 5 finds! But first.. the eats.

[Breakfast]
Back to basics. My Tone It Up pumpkin protein pancake with banana slices and peanut fluff [2 tbsp peanut flour*, 1 packet stevia, & water to reach desired consistency]

[Lunch]
Kale salad with spaghetti squash, lots of veggies, and Powercakes Tahini Nooch sauce. This has been my favorite go-to dressing as of late. It’s packed with tons of protein and flavor.. think garlicky kale from Whole Foods. YUM!

[Dinner]
Roasted salmon with honey almond spaghetti squash. Simple but full of flavor!

[Snacks]
Grapefruit. (Not pictured)
Green Protein Piña Colada.. a Greeña Colada, if you will 😉

Quick recipe! Protein Greeña Colada
– 1 Premier Protein vanilla shake
– 1/2 frozen banana
– 1/4 cup pineapple chunks
– 2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
– 1 cup spinach
– 2-4 ice cubes

Throw everything in your blender and froth up! This baby packs a 32g protein punch! Perfect for your workout days.

Apple and peanut fluff*.

*Peanut flour can be found on iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 to receive $5 off of your first order.

Thanksgiving Brews

When pairing beverages with food, most people immediately consider wine. Beer is often an afterthought, but not in our house! I’ve been researching the top beers to pair with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and I think I’ve found the list that’ll make even your pickiest beer-drinker happy!

1. Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen
   

   Ayinger Oktoberfest-Marzen

   This is an easy-drinking, copper-colored beer that isn’t overpowering. It will compliment everything on your table from sweet potatoes to a hearty sausage stuffing, with its notes of caramel and smooth, subtle hops. At 5.8% ABV, this will be an all-around crowd-pleaser.

   Can’t find Ayinger? Look for Paulaner or Sam Adams!

2. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
   

   Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

   If you’re looking for a beer with a little more punch to stand up to your stuffing, SNPA is the way to go. A touch of citrus flavor and a slightly bitter, but balanced, taste provides a crisp, clean finish.

   Can’t find Sierra Nevada? Look for Flying Dog or Lagunitas!

3. Sierra Nevada Kellerweis
   

   Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

   A beer that’s always found in our house, Kellerweis will satisfy any drinker’s taste. This fresh, crisp beer is a great way to start the evening paired with a creamy goat cheese or brie (which should definitely be on any list of appetizers!) It’s also the perfect way to end the night; with its subtle notes of banana and clove, you have the perfect companion to spiced desserts like pumpkin pie.

   Can’t find Sierra Nevada? Look for Paulaner or Victory!

4. Ommegang Abbey Ale
   

   Ommegang Abbey Ale

   You can’t go wrong with a Belgian-style beer; especially if you’re talking Ommegang Abbey Dubbel. Another beer that can stand up to the lighter dishes as well as heavier, this well-balanced beer with notes of fruits and molasses will pack a punch at 8.2% ABV.

   Can’t find Ommegang? Look for New Belgium or Chimay!

5. Rogue Chocolate Stout
   
   

   Rogue Chocolate Stout

   For those guests looking to go to the dark side, this chocolate stout is the way to go! It’s a silky, smooth beer with notes of chocolate and espresso. It is a perfect compliment to dessert, but can also stand up to the heavier dishes.

   Can’t find Rogue? Look for Evolution or Sam Adams!

Food for Thought

What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving? Do you prefer beer or wine paired with your dinner? What is your favorite beer?