Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Maple Bacon Pancake Cookies

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Cheating gets a bad wrap.

 

Cheat day, that is.  That cheatin’ man doesn’t deserve a second look.  

This cheat day weekend was a little spread out… but I had trainer-blessings in my quest to gain more weight.

 

Saturday was Take Your Mom to the Gym Day.  This Saturday Mom joined me at my gym for a workout, and scheduled time with my trainer to being a program of her own.  Mother-Daughter Beast Mode = ON.

 

 

Mamma has gotten on pain relief (she was sidelined for a long time after a bad surgery), and has decided to refocus on fitness and building muscle.  I am SO proud of her!

 

 

After out workout we headed to Buford Highway, Atlanta’s ethnic food mecca, for a refuel.  Korean BBQ at Hae Woon Dae (5805 Buford Hwy., Doraville, GA 30340, 770-451-7957).  If you’re in ATL, I highly recommend it – don’t be scared by the fact that you practically have to turn into a “Gentleman’s Club” to get there.

 

 

If you’ve never experienced an authentic Korean BBQ meal, I cannot recommend it enough.  They cook the meat over charcoal at your table (they also have tofu), and serve it with a boat-load of tasty sides like cabbage kimchi, cucumber kimchi, pickled radishes, sprouts, lettuce, and soy bean paste.  Also, don’t skip the Korean pancakes.  The egg and flour-based pancakes are traditionally laced with scallions, but often include other add-ins.  Ours also contained carrots, zucchini, and kimchi.

 

Sunday my friends Summer and Annette had a baby shower celebrating the impending arrival of TWINS!

 

 

I had the honor of creating a few desserts… I may have gotten a little carried away with the baking, but it is fun to cut loose and get creative with the full-fat sugar-loaded treats every once in a while.

If you follow me on Instragram, you may have seen this shot of my grocery basket on Friday night:

 

 

You may have also seen the following scene as I cooked.  This is what happens when you’re frying bacon, creaming an obscene amount of butter and sugar, and it’s time for your 20g of protein (yup – that’s salmon).

 

 

The bacon and the creamed deliciousness were for 2 things that I could eat 24×7 and never tire of (though my waist line may say otherwise):  Maple Bacon Pancake Cookies and Banana S’More Nut Bars.

 

 

These S’more Bars are the best I’ve ever had.  I only wish I could take credit for the recipe!  They are the ingenious work of Eric Wolitzky from Cake & Ale in Decatur, GA.

The restaurant serves some of the best food in Atlanta (they are responsible for getting me to like seafood), but their bakery was recently recognized by Bon Appetite as one of the best in America.

 

 

The only liberties I took were to replace the milk chocolate with dark, use plain peanuts instead of salted, and toast the marshmallows before mixing them into the fudge-y chocolate-banana-peanut butter fudge.  Next time you have the occasion to go all-out with a dessert, MAKE THIS.  Click here for the full recipe.

 

Creation #2 was my own.  A pancake in cookie form.  It’s like breakfast for dessert.  I cooked bacon for the first time in years (I’m not actually a bacon fanatic as this post would indicate).  The only downside is that my condo STILL smells like bacon. 🙂

 

 

Maple syrup is a must with pancakes, so I added extract to  mine to acheive that deep sweetness.  I wasn’t sure I’d want to add anything else, as bacon is potent stuff… but I decided to stir in some dark chocolate chips.  What’s better that chocolate chip pancakes?

 

 

Sweet, salty and indulgently amazing, these chewy cookies are fit for any cheat day.  I’d say my trainer agrees since his sample were gone almost as fast as I could hand him the baggie.

Recipe at the bottom.

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First we need to recap what I did to EARN that incredible day of cheats!  No huge news to recap this week.  It was a good week of workouts, and I’m excited to keep seeing gains as I keep pushing and amp up the protein.

I don’t ever get to see my back, so I recruited Mom to take a pic while we were at the gym this weekend:

 

 

Workout Recap (9/4 – 9/9):

  • Tuesday – Shoulders/Butt, 1.5 mile walk
  • Wednesday – Chest/Biceps, Calf raises, 100 push-ups
  • Thursday – Legs (with trainer), 2 mile walk
  • Friday – Back/Triceps, Calf raises
  • Saturday – Shoulders/Butt
  • Sunday – Chest/Biceps, Calves

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancake Cookies

  • 1/2 C butter, softened
  • 1 1/3 C granulated sugar
  • 2 Large eggs
  • 2 C pancake mix
  • 1 tsp maple extract
  • 12 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1/3 C dark chocolate chips

 

Cream butter and sugar together in large mixing bowl. Beat in egg and maple extract, mixing well.

Slowly stir in pancake mix.  Fold in the crumbled bacon and chocolate chips.

Drop by the spoonful (~1.5 T) onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for 12 mins.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

***

Back on track!  I’m determined to make this the cleanest week ever, and to keep increasing my weight.

What is your favorite “cheat?”

Have you ever had Korean BBQ?

 

Oatmeal Cookie Dough in a Glass

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You guys have the best ideas.

I make a LOT of shakes and smoothies (what distinguishes the two, btw?).  Would you believe that you don’t even see half of the craziness I blend up?

There are the favorites that end up in steady rotation:

Apple Pie Smoothie

Banana-Maple-Ginger (pictured with Lisa’s raw cookie dough ball)

Roasted Beet and Orange Smoothie

My all-time favorite… 

Liquid Sweet Potato Pie

And my new favorite…

Carrot Cake Batter Shake

Which brings me back to the subject of the day.  When I posted the Carrot Cake Batter recipe, Allie commented that she’s more of a cookie than a cake girl.  She requested an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Shake.

I owe her big time for that request, because this is GOOD.  The test batches weren’t too painful to drink either.

Appropriate for breakfast or dessert, this is one tasty batter.  The mix of oats, banana, flax, and coconut flour give it a fabulously doughy texture.  I almost wanted to pop the mix in the oven once I blended it.

Nutritional yeast may seem like a weird addition, but it have a rich, nutty taste that compliments the sweet flavors in this dough.  The vanilla and cinnamon add to the cookie flavor, and – if you have it – the butter extract just adds a hint of “fresh from the oven.”

Confession: I don’t like raisins (or any dried fruit for that matter).  Feel free to blend a few in for added cookie sweetness, but I – being a good blogger – bought 19 cents of raisins from the bulk bin for a topping to enhance the photo accommodate Allie’s request. 😉

***In any of these shakes, you may leave out the protein powder.  I like the addition because a) protein is good for muscle building/recovery and b) it make it more filling.***

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Oatmeal Cookie Shake

  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1/3 C rolled oats (use gluten-free for a GF shake)
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 T ground flax
  • 1 T coconut flour
  • 1.5 tsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp butter extract
  • 7-8 drops liquid stevia
  • 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk (or other liquid)
  • Ice, to taste
  • 1/8 tsp Guar Gum (optional, but this will make your smoothie thicker)
  • Toppings: crushed walnuts, raisins, cacao nibs (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a high-seed blender and blend until smooth.

Add toppings and drink your dough!

Makes 1 smoothie.

***

Another confession: I didn’t like oatmeal cookies until I was an adult.  I did; however, always like oatmeal.

Have you tried any of these smoothies?

If you could make a recipe request of any blogger, what would it be?

Simply Happy Its Friday

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It’s a hard day to be appreciative.

Today marks 4 years since we lost my dad to cancer.  It seems the perfect time to focus on things that make me happy, especially since my dad always made me smile.

I’m copying a billion other bloggers completing the A-Z Simple Things That Make Me Happy quiz.

 

A – Antennas.  I’m busy and cheap.  That has equated to me not having cable for nearly 3 years.  I did invest $20 in an antenna so I can watch the basics (ABC, NBC, etc.), and that keeps me satisfied.

B –  Baseball.  I love baseball, even when my team can’t consistently beat the Cubs.  What’s up, Braves?!

C – Chocolate.  Need I say more?

D – Dad.  Anyone who tells you the pain of losing a parent will get easier is a liar.  However, I am grateful every day that I had such a great man in my life for nearly 26 years.  I couldn’t have asked for a better role model and coach.

At The Cloister @ Sea Island for Father’s Day years ago. He’d probably kill me for posting a pic of him in a robe… bwhahaha!

E – ESP.  Maybe not in the crazy sense, but the sort that just nudges you to go left instead of right.  Those times you look back on and thank god some inexplicable pull made you chose path A over B.

F – Food.  I love food.  Creating it, looking at it, eating it.  Food is the shit.

G – Goose & Fox.  It’s my sister and her boyfriend’s band and they make me smile.  They are really good!  I’m not just saying that because she’s my sister.

H – Hair Stylist.  I love mine.  Her name is Karen.  I’ve been going to her since I was 15.  I’d drive an hour to go see my friend and get my hair rocked.

I – Internet.  I vaguely remember going to the yellow pages for the pizza delivery number… weird.

J – Juice Plus.  It’s the supplement I take everyday and I swear I haven’t gotten sick since I started using these rather than regular multi-vitamins.

K – Kombucha.  It’s no secret I’m in love with the stuff.  Good for the digestion, if you know what I mean.

L – Legs.  I’m grateful that I have 2 strong legs that carry me wherever I want to go.

M – Music.  It can evoke emotion in me faster than anything else – smiles, laughter, or choked up with tears.

N – No Limits.  The only thing holding you back is you.  Once you own that, you can do anything.

O – Oatmeal.  Arguably the most versatile food.  It can be sweet, savory, spicy… you can blend it in smoothies, turn it into flour, cook it in your eggs.  In the words of the Texas Pete lady, “I put that shit on everything.”

P –  Protein Shakes.  Without them, I would NEVER be able to get the 150g pf protein a day that I need while training.  And you can easily funk them up like I did with this Zucchini Bread Smoothie.

Q – Quality Time.  We are pulled in some many directions, it’s nice to be able to take time to relax and really talk to those you love.

R – Recipage.  It makes life so much easier… even though I’m still only half way through transferring my recipes.

S – Summer Storms.  I love a good thunderstorm to lull me to sleep (and they cool down the city!).

T – Teams.  I love playing on a team.  Solo sports/workouts are great, but the camaraderie of a good team is something I hope everyone can experience in life.

U – Underwear.  Can you imagine how uncomfortable jeans would be without it?

V – Vacations.  I love traveling and seeing new parts of the world.  Like Navy ships in Chile!

W – Weight lifting.  It’s my favorite workout.  Lifting makes me feel confident and strong.

X – Xylitol.  This all-natural sugar-replacer allows me to have sweet treats without all the sugar.  Like my favorite Granola Cookies. 

Y – Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market.  This local market is open year-round and is THE spot to go in Atlanta for fresh, cheap produce, flours, and chia seeds.  They always have things I’ve never heard of, which I consider to be an added bonus.

Z – Zero.  I don’t drink soda… but I do love a Coke Zero with a bag of pretzels on an airplane.

***

My Strawberry Smoked Almond Tart made the FoodBuzz Top 9 yesterday!  Thank you SO  much for the Buzz! 🙂

How about you?  What simple thing are appreciating today?

Any fun weekend plans, or lots of lying low after the 4th/Canada Day?

Will Blog for Food

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Food is my favorite topic.

 

 

When I was my friend Parita @ My Inner Shakti post this quiz about her food preferences… well, I was a little too jazzed to fill it out.  Honestly, I probably would have completed it even if I wasn’t going to share it on the blog.

***Warning: there are a lot of yummy junk food-related questions.  Do not fill this out late at night near a plate of brownies.  Not that I would know anything about that.***

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Coke or Pepsi?  I quit drinking soda at least 8 years ago… but Coke is far superior to Pepsi.

Lemonade or Fruit Punch?  I don’t drink a lot of juice either, but I do love homemade lemonade on a hot day.

Carmel Apple or Cotton Candy?  It’s been years since I’ve had either!  I have to say the caramel apple wins – that used to be a “treat” for us as kids when my parents took us to the mountains.

Butterfinger or Snickers?  Really tough… but I’m going with Snickers.  Especially if it’s frozen.

Pudding and Jell-O?  No contest – chocolate pudding.  I cannot stand jell-o (sorry, Bill Cosby).

Turkey or Chicken?  I haven’t had either since Janurary-ish, but I always preferred chicken to turkey.  Turkey is always dry!

American or Provolone Cheese?  Neither?  I like stronger cheeses such as goat, gouda, and really funky blues.

Crackers or Cookies?  Silly survey.  Cookies > Crackers.  Particularly if they are homemade and chocolate.  Like these Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies:

 

Pretzels or Chips?  Chips – but they have to be the fancy kind from places like Whole Foods – Sweet Potato or Salt & Pepper flavors are my favorite.  No Lays here!

Mexican food or Japanese food?  Yet another silly question.  I love Mexican.  The hotter the better.  I even eat it for breakfast in this Raw Mexican Bulgur Bowl:

 

Chinese food or Italian food?  Italian food.  In Italy.  Did you check out my food and wine tour back in October?

Pie or Cake?  Cake.  The chocolate kind.  Though one of my favorite quotes is about pie: “When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it’s not, mmmmmmmm, boy.” – Jack Handy

Ice Cream or Cookies?  It’s seasonal – I love a fresh-baked cookie, but on a hot summer day ice cream wins every time.  Either way, it must involve chocolate. 🙂

Pasta or Pizza?  Pizza – but it must be “real” Italian-style pizza.  No Pizza Hut here.

Soda or Juice?  Kombucha!!!

Chocolate Bars or Chocolate Truffles?  Truffles.  Dark chocolate and filled with something boozy like whiskey ganache.  This quiz is making me HUNGRY.

Apples or Bananas?  Apples!  I love them as a pre-workout snack.

Salad or Soup?  Salad… unless it’s really cold outside.  Then I want this Butternut-Apple Soup:

 

Cauliflower or Broccoli?  Just a year ago I would have said neither.  However, with all of the fun cauliflower recipes floating around the blog-world lately, I’ve caved.  I love cauliflower.  Still won’t touch the cooked broccoli (raw is ok).

Onion Rings or French Fries?  Onion rings of they aren’t too greasy.  Fries if they are sweet potato and have a kick to them.

Blizzard or McFlurry?  Blizzard!  With Snickers.  I’ve never even had a McFlurry.

Fried or Poached Eggs?  Fried eggs – cooked perfectly and over an english muffin with truffle salt.

Crepes or Pancakes? Pancakes!  Can’t beat a fluffy stack covered in syrup green slime protein icing and blueberry sauce:

 

Hashbrowns or Roasted Potatoes?  I don’t actually like potatoes, so I’m going with hashbrowns “well-done” (so you can’t tell they are potatoes) with onions and jalapeno.

Oatmeal or Cereal?  Oatmeal.  No contest!

***

Don’t forget to enter my NuNaturals giveaway – there are 4 chances to win the new NuNaturals Orange and Lemon Liquid Stevias!  Click here to enter.

How about you?  Pick a couple and tell me more about what you love to eat!

Did anyone else watch Dancing with the Stars last night?  It’s so weird to see Urkel all grown up!

 

Narcissism + WIAW

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Facebook is an indicator of narcissism.

Raise your hand if you’re in trouble…

According to a recent study, there is a link between the number of “friends” you have and narcissism.  The participants were assessed on the based on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI).  Who knew that even existed?!

The study wasn’t fully representative, but the theory is that a high friend count indicates you need excessive attention.

Clearly these people never played in a ~100 person roller derby league or went to grad school.  That’s like 50% of my friend count!

 

But I digress.  Today is the last  green themed What I Ate Wednesday!  Give my day of eats some attention, and then give Jenn’s blog some attention by clicking here to see what everyone chowed down on.

 

Breakfast:

I was in a rush, so I did a quick 15 min HIIT workout before breakfast… which left me starving.  I scarfed another Raspberry Barked Oatmeal To-Go (perfect in-a-hurry-meal), along with slices of the best grapefruit I’ve ever eaten.

This fruit was so sweet I couldn’t believe it wasn’t an orange or maybe an Ugli fruit.

Lunch:

Again with the busy theme, I ate lunch on the road.  Literally – I was driving with my knees with a cell phone in one hand and my burrito bowl in the other.

Safe, I know… at least is didn’t try to take a picture!

I wish I had gotten a pic because Willy’s is the only Mexi-rito chain I have seen that offers tofu.  Vegan tofu burrito bowl, FTW.

Snacks:

Random, but yummy:

  • Cashews
  • Squash sticks dipped in marinara
  • TJ’s Sweet Potato Chips + Eggplant Garlic Dip (sooooo good!)
  • Grapes
  • Beer… it was a pre-tennis snack! 🙂
  • Rick’s Picks Mean Beans – spicy pickle green beans

Dinner:

A quick post-tennis veggie stir-fry served with apple slices, and seed bread over a bed of mixed greens.

In my quickie stir-fry:

  • Yellow cauliflower
  • Squash and zucchini
  • Collard greens
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Liquid aminos
  • Thyme
  • S+P

Dessert:

One of these Chewy Granola Cookies from the freezer.  I love a low-sugar quickie dessert.  I may have had 2.

***

In the theme of narcissism…. it’s the last time I’ll post my weekly vote plea.  A nomination as a “Best Healthy Eating Blog” for the 2012 Fitterati Blog Awards on FitnessMagazine.com blew me away.  I know I’m never going to reach the 1000+ vote mark, but I’d be honored if you felt inclined to click here and vote for me. 🙂

What is your favorite burrito-chain order?

Let’s talk Facebook… do you believe the theory?  How narcissistic are you?

Monday Mentions

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In typical fashion, I spent the weekend on the go.

 

Between the summer-ish weather and having to sit in the office all week, I couldn’t get enough of the great outdoors.  All of the St. Patrick’s festivities and running events made it feel like spring festival season!

Here’s a little highlight reel:

 

1. Dining Out Vegan

I’m still rocking the vegan thing and have gotten some cool meals.

 

 

The first pic is from the best Thai restaurant in Atlanta – Panita Thai.  It looks like a shack from the outside, but the food is incredible.  I ordered my eggplant-tofu dish “Thai hot.”  Cindy, the owner/our server looked skeptic but did as requested.  That may be the last time I order something THAT spicy… but my ego I ate it.  Cindy was impressed.

 

The bottom 2 pics are from ONE Midtown Kitchen.  The service-level was absolutely incredible.  Chef Drew VanLeuvan created a custom appetizer and entrée for me.  Or server, Bernadette, even brought out apple slices and asparagus stalks for me to munch on pre-dinner since I couldn’t eat the bread sticks!

My app consisted of roasted apples with ginger sorbet and roasted cabbage.  The entrée that Chef created was an asparagus salad with pickled strawberries, orange segments, toasted hazelnuts, sugar snaps, micro greens, and a balsamic reduction.  It was a lot of apples and asparagus, but it was fantastic.

Note: Chef Drew is leaving soon to start is his own restaurant.  Sad news for ONE, but very exciting for the talented chef.   I’ll be frequenting his new spot (and ONE, of course).

 

2. Baking Bender

The baking bug hit me.  I made Sarah’s Sweet Potato Soda Bread (with just a little creative recipe-license – sooo good), a new oatmeal thing (recipe coming tomorrow!), and my Chewy Granola Cookies.

Who says you have to be running to carb-load?!

 

3. Summer in the Winter

Technically this is still winter.  Atlanta didn’t get that memo – it was in the 80s all weekend!  Some dude in the condo across from me was in the pool (see evidence below).  I went on a long walk in the park with a friend on St. Patrick’s Day.  As you might imagine, we saw many entertaining things.  The pic below is some sort of photo shoot that was happening.  Doesn’t it look like the guy is photographing her butt?!

 

 

4. Cheerleading

The Publix Marathon & Half Marathon were this weekend.  I rolled out of bed early to cheer on fellow bloggers Heather, Lindsay, Lee, and Tina.  It was my first time cheerleading a race, and I was surprised at how much fun it was to spectate and encourage the runners.  I somehow missed Heather and Lindsay.  Tina waved and she powered by in her hot pink socks… I was busy stuffing my face like a fat kid with a muffin and missed the pic.  Fail.

I did get Lee!  She claimed she was struggling, but she looked fantastic!

 

 

5. Refuel

Refuel brunch without running is totally acceptable, right?  I joined the runners for brunch at Stone Soup Kitchen.  Heather found this gem – they had several vegan options, all delicious.  Heather and Kirk (her husband, who also ran) ordered Vegos Rancheros that looked to-die-for.  I had a tofu scramble with green peppers, red onion, jalapenos, mushrooms, arugula, and red hot sauce.  It was SO good.  I also had a side of grits, but discovered that vegan grits aren’t my favorite.

 

L to R: me, Tina, Lee, Kirk, Heather, Lindsay, and little Clara

 

You may have noticed the coffee.  The caffeine break is officially over. 🙂

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The workouts were pretty good this week.  I was missing my weight workouts.  CrossFit means I don’t have the time or energy to do both most days.  Friday and Saturday I decided to skip the CrossFit and return to my trusty weights. I was shocked to find during Saturday’s P90X Chest/Tri workout that I could actually do more push-ups!

 

 

The BodyRock videos continue to get better and better.  I love that they are adding “bonus” rounds and using some weights now!  That makes some of these solid 30-45 mins workouts.  It may seem like I slacked on the push ups, but between BodyRock ad CrossFit I got my fill. 🙂

 

Workout Recap (3/5 – 3/18):

 

***

There’s something about this weather that makes me believe I shouldn’t have to go to work tomorrow.

Did you run a race the weekend?  How did it go?

Does it feel like summer where you live?  Are you happy about it, or missing a true winter?

 

Be My Veggie Valentine – a Giveaway!

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I’ve been excited to announce this for weeks.

 

Cookie Underground and I would love for you to be our Veggie Valentines!

You may remember me posting about the Atlanta Underground Market where I first discovered Cookie Underground.

 

 

The fabulous Kim has built a business around making (delicious) cookies out of vegetables.  Each cookie is ~50 calories and filled with good, clean vitamins and nutrients from fresh veggies.  Thank God because I could eat a whole box.

 

 

Forget flowers, nothing says “I love you” like cookies.

The Giveaway:  You’ll get 15 bright pink Almond “Heart Beet” cookies (their top seller) and 15 light pink Grapefruit Fennel cookies.

 

 

There are 3 boxes up for grabs!  Receive up to 4 entries by:

 

  1. Follow me on Twitter or Subscribe to the Sprint 2 the Table RSS feed OR via email
  2. Facebook: Like Cookie Underground and share this post
  3. Tweet: You could say something like: I’ve entered to win 1 of 3 “Be My Veggie Valentine” cookie boxes from Cookie Underground and @sprint2thetable http://wp.me/p16jDn-158
  4. Comment: What is your dream veggie-cookie flavor?

 

Please leave a *separate comment* for each entry!

The giveaway will be open until Thursday February 9 at midnight with the winner announced on Friday January 10.

 

You can also order your own “Be My Veggie Valentine” Box for $12.  Order by February 10 to receive by Valentine’s Day.  To place your order, email to kim@cookieunderground.com.

***Cookie Underground does offer gluten-free and vegan cookies; however, the giveaway is for the “classic” cookie.***

***

These are seriously delicious cookies.  I wish I could enter to win.

Do you have big plans for Valentines Day?

What is your dream veggie-cookie flavor?

 

Guilty as Charged

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Are you a Foodie?

 

Watch Shit Foodies Say for help deciding:

 

If I’m guilty of saying nearly everything in that video… am I a Foodie?

Just please tell me I’m not intolerable… 🙂

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Speaking of foodies… we had an Atlanta Blogger Potluck on Saturday night.

It was awesome to get to try the food from the people whose posts make my stomach growl.

Photo Courtesy Lee @ inmytummy.com

 

In attendance: Emily (former blogger), Tina, Stacy, Carol, Traci, Laura (another former blogger), Alayna, and me.

 

Lee was the photog… and was also nice enough to offer up her house to us, which was fantastic because we could all sit around a coffee table and talk.  It’s hard to have a group conversation in noisy restaurants at long tables!

 

 

The food was delicious, as you might imagine.

 

At our table:

  • Sweet Potato Tot Casserole from Stacy (Mama Pea recipe!)
  • Greek salad from Tina
  • Japanese Sweet Potato Casserole from Alanya (which is going to be in her cookbook!)
  • Broccoli Salad from Carol
  • Spinach Balls from Laura
  • Spinach and Artichoke Dip from Lee
  • Olive tapenade on toasts from Traci *I think*
  • Brie and apples on water crackers from Emily *I think*
  • My Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
  • My Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies
  • Nutella Sandwich Cookies from Laura *I think*
  • Carrot cake from Alanya

 

My plate didn’t have an inch of room to spare…

 

 

And you better believe I cleaned my dessert plate too!

 

 

We sat around talking and eating for 4 hours!  Topic ranged from running to general gossip to horror stories.  Seriously – do NOT ever see the Human Centipede.

As you might imagine, it was all amazing and I left Lee’s house smiling and stuffed.

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Now that the gluttony portion of this post is complete… it’s time for the workout recap.

The Dr. said to take 2 weeks off of running and focus on correcting the balance or strength between my hamstrings and quads, so I’ve been good.  Today’s 70 degree Southern California-esque weather made me miss running a lot, but I did get out for a good walk.  And a treat.

 

 

Workout Recap (1/30 – 2/5)

***

Three exciting things to cover:

  1. Thanks to all for the “Buzz.”  I made the FoodBuzz twice this weekend!!!  Check it out here and here. 
  2. I actually wrote a weekend post in honor of the #ChocolateLove Bloghop.  Check out my Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies here and link up your favorite chocolate recipe.
  3. Stay tuned for an AWESOME giveaway tomorrow!!!


What did you think of the Super Bowl?  (By Super Bowl I mean Madonna’s rockin’ performance.)

 

If you could have a dream-blogger potluck, who are a couple of bloggers you would invite?

 

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Chickpeas are the base of this colorful summer salad, which is packed with seasonal flavor.  Serve this simple Cherry-Balsamic Chickpea Salad as a delicious vegetarian side or light meal.
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