Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Blueberry Protein Tart + WIAW

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Happy 4th of July!

I wasn’t going to post today, but how could I miss my favorite day of the week – Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday.

Last week I talked a lot about the nutrition plan I’m on to achieve my new fitness goal (competing in a figure competition).  I’m still packing in the protein and keeping it (mostly) vegetarian.  I’m struggling to find a wider variety of protein sources.

One thing I noticed last week was that my skin is breaking out from the increase in dairy.  Greek yogurt and cottage cheese had become protein-staples.  I’m aiming to just cut back a bit this week, limiting it to 1-2 servings of dairy per day, to see if that helps.

Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme for July is of “Food, Fun, and Fitness.”  Girl reads my mind with these themes!

Check out my protein-filled fuel below; then click here to the WIAW round-up on Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s fitness treats!

Meal 1:

Last week I talked about how I’m now eating 7 meals a day.  Meal 1 occurred yesterday at 8am.  Knowing I had an appointment with my trainer later, I focused on getting as much energy as possible from my morning eats.

Workout energy can be quite tasty!

This is a Blueberry Protein Tart.  I ate it for breakfast, but it would make one helluva dessert too!
The inspiration for this creation was Tessa’s own creation.  I am not allowed the peanut butter she added, and I needed to reduce the size because when you eat 7 meals a day they need to be a tad smaller (yet still protein rich – that’s a whole other challenge).
Despite the omission of peanut butter, my crust was fantastically chewy and fudgey.  And the “cream filling” was just perfect.  If you haven’t invested in peanut flour, you should do so ASAP.  I’m not kidding.
Recipe at the bottom of this post.

Meal 2:

This was my pre-workout meal.  In effort to limit the dairy, I made a massive tomato and egg white scramble with basil and a drizzle of balsamic.  I’m also allowed 1 T of sunflower seeds, which I sprinkled on top of the mix.

Meal 3:

This meal is like lunch.  Since it was also my post-workout meal, a protein smoothie was in order.  I have to eat immediately after my workout to build muscle, so portability is key.  I also packed cereal for some carbs to top my smoothie and a water mixed with Amino Energy to drink during and after the workout for energy and recovery.

This is one of my new favorite smoothies.  Carrot Cake.  I’ve tried it before, but I think this particular combo is the winner.  A couple more trials and I’ll post the recipe.

It did get the thumbs up from both trainers who sampled it.

Meal 4:

This is like an afternoon snack.  That means I can have a protein source (25g) and a 3/4 C serving of veggies.  Hmmmm… a protein-packed nori roll?  Is that possible?

Yes, yes it is.  I mixed a scoop of protein powder and ~1 tsp of wasabi with water to form a paste.

I slathered my nori rolls with it and filled them with sprouts, beets, raw asparagus, and raw cauliflower.  Not too shabby for a snack on the fly!

Meal 5:

Usually I have some sort of dinner in mind, but today I was drawing a blank on where my dinner protein would come from.  My protein ended up being partially in the form of beans, and some of the secret was in the sauce.

Note: I know several will comment that I should eat more to beans, quinoa, and lentils for vegetarian/vegan protein sources.  The problem with that is that they count as carbs.  I am limited to 3/4 C of carbs at meals 1, 3, and 5.  3/4 a cup of beans is about 12g of protein.  That leaves 8-13g protein I’d still need for that meal!

For this protein-rich salad, I combined 1/2 cup of fava beans and cannellini beans with 3 oz Greek yogurt, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and lavar flakes.  Then I tossed it all with beets, sprouts, green pepper, and onion.  Topped with 1/4 C edamame, basil, more nooch, and red pepper flakes.

Sort of like a bean-based chicken salad.  Sort of.

Meal 6:

By this time of day I am sick of eating.  That’s something I never thought I’d say!  Meal 6 was a quick scramble of soy-based ground “beef,” egg whites, and zucchini topped with nooch and radish.

Meal 7:

Last meal.  This – I am told – is my “dessert.”  I’ve pulled some good ones, but tonight I was just proud of myself for getting in the 7th meal.  Typically I’m too stuffed by meal 6 to get anything else in mah belly.

1/2 banana covered in Greek yogurt and frozen with bowl of peanut butter protein pudding (protein powder, peanut flour, almond milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon).

Blueberry Protein Tart - delicious (mostly) make-ahead clean breakfast!

Blueberry Protein Tart

For the Crust:

  • 1/4 C cereal
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 T vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 2 T unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or liquid of choice)
  • 5-6 drops vanilla liquid stevia (or your favorite sweetener)
For the Cream:
  • 3 oz (1/2 container) Greek yogurt
  • 1 T peanut flour
  • 5-6 drops vanilla liquid stevia

For the Crust:

Place your favorite cereal in a blender and mix until it’s dust.  Pour into a small bowl and stir in cinnamon, protein powder, and chia seeds.  Stir in stevia and milk.  (Note: You may have to adjust liquid amounts depending on the powder and cereal you use.)  It should form a sticky ball.  

Spread the crust mixture evenly across a small plate (~1/4 in thick).  Refrigerate over night, or at least 20 mins.

For the Cream:

In a small bowl combine yogurt, peanut flour (you could sub more protein powder here), and stevia.  

Spread evenly atop your crust.
Top with the fruit of your choice and enjoy!

Makes 1 serving.

Approximate nutritionals (without toppings; can vary widely depending on cereal, powder, and yogurt used): 219 calories, 6.9g fat, 22.4g carbohydrates, 6.8g fiber, 4.3g sugar, 23.6g protein

***

In case you’re curious, I managed 154.5 g of protein with these eats. BAM.

How do you refuel post-workout?

What is your favorite 4th of July dish?

A Protein-Filled Wednesday + a Snack Giveaway!

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Snacking is the new name of the game for me.

Yesterday I revealed my new fitness goal to you all – to compete in a figure competition.  This means HUGE change in my plant-based diet.  Now I have to focus more on protein than plants, and I’m eating constantly… but my goal is to to keep to a vegetarian protein diet.

The Basic Plan:

  • 7 “meals” per day (I eat every 2 hours)
  • 20-25g of protein at each meal
  • 120 oz of water daily
  • 1 serving of fruit for the first 2 meals, and at meal 7 (“dessert”)
  • 1 serving of veggies for meals 3-6
  • 1/2 C carbs at meal 1, 3, 5, and 7 (beans, lentils, and sweet potatoes count as carbs)
  • Limited fats – flax at meal 1, nuts at meal 2, olive oil at meals 3 and 5

The good parts: no calorie counting or macro tracking; I get a cheat day once a week; I already love protein shakes

The hard parts: only eating 1 serving of veggies at a time is hard; eating that much protein on a veg diet is REALLY hard; eating all the time sounds fun at first, but I am really never hungry (except for when I wake up); eating every two hours take a ton of planning; all of that water has me running to the bathroom every 30 mins.

Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme of “Sensible Snacking” this month is just perfect for my new plan.  I am snacking all day!

Check out a day in  the food life of a wanna-be figure competitor; then click here to hop on to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s day of eats!

Meal 1:

Janetha hipped me to the fact that I was appropriately celebrating National Chocolate Pudding Day at breakfast

I made a chocolate-peanut butter protein pudding/spread to top my Ezekial bread.  This was accompanied by 1/2 cup of cherries (good for inflammation/muscle recovery).

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pudding:

  • 1 T GNC Soy chocolate protein powder (check out the review here)
  • 1 T peanut flour
  • 1 T ground flax seed
  • 2 T unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Meal 2:

It’s blueberry season!  They are so sweet right now, making of an especially tasty shake… even if it did splash on my brand-new white shirt.  Note to self: don’t drink smoothies and drive.

Blueberry-Ginger Smoothie

  • 1 scoop Vega vanilla protein powder (see review here)
  • 1/2 C blueberries
  • 1 in piece of fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 C spinach (I “cheated” and added veggies… I can’t help myself!)
  • 1 T sunflower seeds
  • Ice + water, to taste

Meal 3:

Leftovers!  Some of you may have seen the vegan quiche I posted on Instagram.  With a chickpea flour base, this high-protein dish made 6 slices which I will be bringing for lunch all week.  I enjoyed it with a side of sprouts.  For those that asked, I promise the recipe will come tomorrow!

While the quiche is high-protein, it’s not quite high enough.  No worries – it gave me an opportunity to have dessert with my meal.  A little sweet and a little savory, I loved this cardamom-laced treat!

Cardamom-Cinnamon Cottage Cheese Mix

  • 1/2 C cottage cheese
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom
  • 4-5 drops NuNaturals orange liquid stevia
  • 1 T unsweetened So Delicious coconut milk

Meal 4:

Here is where it gets hard to keep eating.  At this point I’ve downed 60g of protein and I’m feeling satisfied.  However, I’m not even half way through my daily meals!

Remember this seitan chorizo I made a couple of months ago?  I froze what I couldn’t eat for future uses.  I’m beyond happy I did that!  It gave me the protein I needed for the meal, re-heating well and retaining its flavor and moisture.  It was fantastic with the last of my Ultimate Veggie Trail Mix.

Meal 5:

I had an appointment with my trainer at 8p (more legs – OMG), so I wanted my dinner-time meal to be easy to digest.  That can only mean on thing.  Liquid Sweet Potato Pie-Shake.  Meal 5 requires veggies, carbs, and protein.

Since sweet potatoes count as a carb, I ate a side of celery sticks as well.

Meal 6:

This also served as my post-workout recovery meal.  It was also my favorite meal of the day!  This rendition of overnight (over-day?) oats was cool and refreshing after a excruciating really hard workout.  If you’re from Georgia, you know it doesn’t get any better than peaches and cream this time of year.

Creamy Peach-Ginger Overnight Protein Oats

  • 1 peach, mashed
  • 1 scoop GNC Whey vanilla protein powder (see review here)
  • 1/3 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/4 cup raw oats
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 4-5 drops vanilla liquid stevia
Stir it all together and allow to chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Meal 7:

I cheated.  I ate meal 7 as meal 6 (fruit, carbs, and protein).  Truth be told, I’m having a really hard time working in 7 meals.  I am hitting the protein goal of 150 grams, so I’m not going to worry about it until I’m told otherwise.  🙂

Now for the part you really wanted to hear about – the giveaway!

I was contacted by Special K just before heading to Chile with an opportunity to try their new granola bar.  I don’t eat a lot of processed foods/bars, but I was intrigued by their new concept.  They sent me the samples just in time for me to pack these up as a tasty plane snack.

Of course, I shared with my concierge, Kim, who was in love with the sweet treats.  She couldn’t believe that the bars are just 110 calories and contain only 7g of sugar.  Perfect for sating your mid-afternoon sweet tooth.  They also deliver 4g of fiber and 4g of protein.

My favorite part? The Special K Granola Bars come in my favorite flavors – Dark Chocolate and Chocolatey Peanut Butter.  The chocolate-peanut butter will rock your socks off.  

Yes, they are processed and they have more than 5 ingredients.  If you’re that isn’t a problem for you, you will be really happy with these bars.  They have a great crunch and won’t leave you feeling weighed down.

The lovely people at Special K have offered to let one reader try a box of each flavor.  Here’s how to enter to win:

  1. Follow me on Twitter or Subscribe to the Sprint 2 the Table RSS feed or email
  2. Tweet: You could say something like: I’ve entered to win 2 boxes of @SpecialKUS granola bars at @sprint2thetable http://wp.me/p16jDn-1po #giveaway
  3. Be Social: Twitter Follow Special K, Pinterest Follow Me and/or Pin Something of Mine, Instagram Follow Me
  4. Comment: What is your favorite sweet tooth satisfier?

Please leave a *separate comment* for each entry!

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Monday, July 2nd.  The winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 3rd.

***

And again with the sore legs/glutes.  Thank god the counter is close enough to my toilet to provide support for lowering down.

Do you prefer to eat 3 solid meals, or snack throughout the day?

What is your favorite protein-rich meal?

Chilean Cooking School + WIAW

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It took several days, but we located Chilean food.

As I said in my first recap post, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of Chilean food in Chile.

Determined food-lovers, my travel mates and I did mange to find some more “authentic” eats after making our way to the Chilean coastal towns of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.

For What I Ate Wednesday this week, I am jumping ahead in our travel story to share some tasty Chilean treats with you.  The highlight was an amazing cooking class with the fabulous Boris.  This may not be true snacking, but I eat more snacks than meals when traveling so I can try EVERYTHING.

Check out my Chilean eats below; then click here to hop on to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see what the rest of the blog world else ate Wednesday!

Breakfast:

We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast in a neighborhood that was right in between Valpo and Vina.  It was built in 1934, and has since been restored to a fabulous accommodation.  Doesn’t this looks like a Crate & Barrel magazine? 

Casa Olga provided us breakfast each morning.  We were served strawberry yogurt, pears, passion fruit, bananas, kiwi, cereal, toast, jam, ham and cheese (I passed on this – too much for breakfast!), coffee, and – best of all – freshly squeezed orange juice.

Here is the view we enjoyed every morning:

Their dog, Shay, wanted a seat at the table too!

Funny side note: when I asked for water at breakfast, they asked if I drank too much… they are not accustomed to drinking water in Chile!

Lunch:

This is the experience I have been most excited to share with you guys!

Katherine had to leave early, so Julia and I kept ourselves entertained by taking a Chilean cooking class.  The company, Chilean Cuisine, offers hands-on cooking classes in Valparaiso.  Our charismatic Chilean instructor, Boris, took us to the kitchen to choose the menu before escorting us to the local market to purchase the ingredients.

Much to my surprise, Boris had found my blog via my email signature and read up on it in advance!  He even read the “About Me” section and learned that I do NOT like white potatoes.

“Today we are NOT going to eat potatoes” was written on the board. How cool is that?

Boris lead us through a cookbook to help us choose the menu.  We decided on making cheese empanadas, Chilean pebre (salsa), hake fish terrine with avocado carpaccio, pumpkin and cranberry bean stew… and green chili and basil pisco sours. 🙂

First up, the market.  In the rain.  I don’t take public transportation often (Atlanta isn’t conducive to that)… and I especially don’t take it in the rain.  However, Boris kept us so entertained and energized that I hardly minded!  He also hung our wet jackets and shoes by the fire place to dry while we cooked – thank you, Boris!

Left to right, clockwise: Boris with a fish head, the market, Calabaza pumpkin, Calabaza trash (it was everywhere!),  fruit stand, a massive bucket of CHIA, eggs for sale, drying my jacket, and thawing our feet

Back at the kitchen, we began to prepare the meal feast.

A few fun highlights:

  • See my socks in the first pic?  Those were borrowed from the owner, Martin, because our shoes were soaked and it was too cold to cook barefoot.  Thank you again, Martin!
  • I love empanadas.  I cannot wait to try some fun combos here at home, and to try them baked.  Boris wasn’t amused when I started adding ingredients to the cheese… but the chilis and some cumin were really good additions!
  • We used a lot of merkén.  Merkén is a unique spice blend native to Chile consisting of dried and smoked red chilies (ají cacho de cabra or goat’s horn), toasted coriander seeds, cumin and salt.  I loved it and brought home a couple of bags!
  • The fish terrine was cooked like a poor man’s sous vide.  We wrapped the fish mixture (fish, onions, bread crumbs, egg, spices) in plastic wrap and placed it in simmering water for ~10 minutes.  Very cool method – I can’t wait to try it with other items.
  • I was in charge of seasoning the stew.  You all know how I love heat… I added so much merkén that is made Boris tear up… I thought it was perfecto. 🙂
  • Boris surprised me with beets – he saw me admiring them at the market and snuck them into our bag.  They were wonderful simply boiled with olive oil and salt.

We took a ton of this food to-go to share with our Navy officer-friends.  We were told it was a nice break from ship food. 🙂

Clockwise, Left to Right: Boris (a classically trained dancer) teaching us a dance while shaking chili-basil piscos, raising a glass to surviving the dance, Julia rolling out empanada dough, empanada pre-fry, frying empanadas, the final product (plus some sopapillas), eating our delicious empanada (topped with salsa), fish terrine (pre-slicing), terrines and avocado salad, salsa and beets, pumpkin bean stew (one of the most delicious things I ate on this trip), taking a bite, mas vino, Boris with dessert, dessert – lucuma ice cream with meringue.

Dinner:

I lied.  The Chilean food ends here.  For dinner we met up with the Navy boys for a final farewell.  Dinner was at an Italian Place called Pasta e Vino.  This was the #1 spot recommended to us – by travelers and Chileans alike!

It was quite good!  Those Chileans know their Italian food.

Clockwise, Left to Right: Restaurant window, beautiful candle in the window, the dining room, menu, wine of the evening – a big 2007 Chilean red blend, amuse – pumpkin soup, bruschetta topped with prosciutto, bell pepper filled with goat cheese and prawn and wrapped in phyllo, my entrée: the eggplant gnocchi in goat cheese sauce with toasted almonds, Captain’s entrée: pumpkin ravioli with sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese (my favorite of the night), Julia’s entrée: spinach fettuccine with ham and walnut (spelled “wall nut” on the English menu) in a cheese sauce, XO’s entrée: fettuccine with ham in a white wine-lemon sauce with parmesan crisps, apple crumble with chocolate ice cream and caramel, panna cotta topped with a berry compote, sambuca en fuego x2.

Snacks:

Like I said, we basically snacked our way through the entire trip.  My favorites?

Banana Split Gelato

Never enough empanadas!

***

Are you beginning to understand why I had to do a juice cleanse when we returned? 🙂  One more recap to go – the tour of the US Navy ship!!!

Have you ever taken a cooking class in another country?

Do you prefer to stay at hotels or bed & breakfasts when you travel?

Zombies are Coming + WIAW

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Zombies have taken over the South.

Well, the idea of zombies has.  Seriously – zombies are “cool” now.  Clearly I am not cool because I don’t get it.  They taped an episode of some zombie TV show outside of my office a few months ago, people are all about zombie movies… and today I saw this while driving:

If they are coming, at least I was behind a Zombie Apocalypse Response Vehicle.

Time for something I DO understand: What I Ate Wednesday.  How about a zombie themed WIAW next, Jenn?

Check out my eats below; then click here to hop on to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see what everyone else ate Wednesday!

Breakfast:

I had an appointment with a trainer later in the afternoon, so this morning I skipped over my traditional protein smoothie in favor of the last Pumpkin Zucchini Muffin in my freezer.

I topped it with a peanut icing (peanut flour, almond milk, and cinnamon), and enjoyed it with Banana Cream Pie yogurt… which I stirred more peanut flour and cinnamon into.  Nom.

Lunch:

Total salad porn.  It tasted just as decadent as it looks.

In my salad:

  • Spinach
  • Cabbage
  • Alfalfa sprouts
  • Tomato
  • Sprouted adzuki beans
  • Cashew pieces
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Local, farm-fresh runny egg

Dinner:

After the first Italian Baked Broccoli Slaw win, I had to try it again.

This one was similar, but I used a few different veggies.  I think I like this even better!  The red onion was the perfect addition.  Other additions:

  • 1/2 package broccoli slaw
  • Portobello mushroom
  • Alfalfa sprouts
  • Zucchini
  • Radishes
  • Red onion
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Herbs de Provence
  • 1 C roasted garlic marinara sauce
 I just realized how weird that combo sounds… but really, what isn’t good when slathered in marinara sauce?

Snacks:

It was a snack-y day.  This may not look like much, but check out my lunch and dinner.  You better believe I snacked on all those veggies while I was chopping them for each meal.

Clockwise from the top left: Sweet Potato Pie Protein Shake (in a bowl with a cherry on top), watermelon (the first perfect one of the season!), Fitmixer Berry BCAA Powder mixed in water, carrot sticks, and a new late-night muffin creation (recipe to come).

***

Needless to say, I just got carried away stocked up at the Farmer’s Market.  You would think I had a family of 5 with all the veggies in my fridge.

Are zombies “in” where you live?  Do you get it?

What is the best thing you ate this Wednesday?

ACL Tear + WIAW

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It doesn’t happen often, but yesterday I almost cried.

It took me 2 months to get into the ortho Dr., but I finally made it.  After an hour-long wait (grrrr…), I was called back to the exam room.  The Doc was great (he’s a talker, which explains the wait).  He does a lot of work on the Atlanta Braves, among other sports teams.  Unfortunately that resume didn’t lessen my injury.

The Dr. actually said I was pushing my body to the extreme… and that made me feel proud.  Isn’t there a quote about taking up too much room if you’re not living on the edge? 😉

It turn out that the pain is my left knee is due to a torn ACL.  I always thought that when you tear an ACL you couldn’t even walk!  Apparently there are varying degrees of tears.

Next step is to go for an MRI to confirm the extent of the damage – he’s betting I have some lateral meniscus repair work that needs to be done too.  I can’t even get in for that consult until late June (hazards of choosing a popular Dr.), which puts me having surgery around August.  4-6 months after that I’ll be back in fighting shape.  That’s 2013.  Ugh.

Nonetheless, I’m pretty depressed.  I was hoping it was just a strained something.  At least I have What I Ate Wednesday to make me smile. (Jenn, can I get  a hug??) 

Check out my eats below; then click here to hope on over to our host – Jenn @ Peas and Crayons – to see what everyone else ate Wednesday (or – more than likely – Tuesday).

Breakfast:

I was told that plyo probably isn’t be best thing for me to be doing with a torn ACL (that explains all the knee pain after…).  Good thing I got in one last P90X Plyometrics workout pre-doctor visit this morning!

I re-fueled with a Laura-style Frapp: loaded with protein and spinach!  Yes, it looks weird.  But it was good.

Green Protein Frapp

  • 1 C chilled coffee
  • One scoop vanilla protein powder
  • Giant handful spinach
  • 1.2 large banana
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp guar gum (to thicken)
  • Ice

Lunch:

Salad.  In a box.  It seems simple, but eating right out of the container make me happy.  If only I could get a salad into an almost-empty PB jar.

In my box:

  • Mixed greens
  • Asparagus
  • Cauliflower
  • Cucumber
  • Tempeh croutons (lemon-pepper tempeh, sautéed in a pan and cooled)
  • Hummus dressing (1 T spinach hummus + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar)

Dinner:

I’ve been eating almost totally vegan since the Food & Wine Festival gut-buster.  The availability of local farm-fresh eggs at this weekend’s farmer’s market in the park was too much to pass up.

Dinner was an egg scramble with hatch chili salsa, sautéed kale, Daiya pepper jack cheese, red pepper flakes served over a sprouted grain tortilla.

Snacks:

There were many, but I was too depressed and too busy at work to take pics: lots of cashews, kombucha, dried sea weed, Think Thin bar… and some other depression-snacks stuff I can’t remember.

***

Have you ever had knee surgery?

If you are vegan/vegetarian, what food do you “miss” the most?  If you’re NOT , which food most keeps you from trying (if any)?

What I Tasted Wednesday (Food & Wine Edition)

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So. Much. Food.

Atlanta’s Food & Wine Festival may be pricey, but you definitely get your money’s worth.  3 days of education followed by tasting tents.

What’s more is that the restaurants rotate – so all 3 days of tasting are different!  Gluttony ensued.  Seriously – I still had a food baby until this morning.

Corinne, Adam from UVA Imports, and me

It’s only natural that I do a final (maybe… there’s so much to share!) recap of the festival for What I Ate Wednesday this week.

Though it might be shorter to write a “what I didn’t eat” post. 😉

 

Check out my eats below; then click here to hope on over to our host – Jenn @ Peas and Crayons – to see the tasty treats everyone else in blog-land has been noshing on lately.

 

Tasting Tents, Day 1:

Clockwise, from the top left:

  • Delta wine tasting and a bacon brownie
  • Balcones whiskey samples (from an amazing Texas distillery – new favorite!)
  • Paco’s Tacos from Charlotte, NC – their Ghost Pepper Salsa almost made me cry
  • High Cotton from Greenville, SC brought a delicious chilled English pea soup with citrus-cured smoked salmon and almond brittle
  • Harvest on Main from Blue Ridge, GA impressed me with the ramp biscuit they served alongside Applewood smoked BBQ

Clockwise, from the top left:

Tasting Tents, Day 2:

I woke up still full after the tents and the Pig Out dinner… but I powered through like a fat kid champ.

Clockwise, from the top left:

  • Canoe was up first with scallops over an edamame corn salad (the first scallop I have ever liked!)
  • I wish I could remember whose this was – the tuna tartar was perfect with that sauce and foam
  • Crook’s Corner from Chapel Hill, NC surprised me with a schnitzel with a perfectly crisp yet cheesy crust; the tamale wasn’t the best I’ve had, but certainly the prettiest
  • The star of the day – a terrine smorgasbord from Kevin Outzs and The Spotted Trotter (this alone made a temporary return to meat-eating worth it).

Update: I found Kevin’s list of the 7 terrines served on their site: (1) ChiChili Pork Belly with Calabrian Pancetta; (2) Rabbit and Pork Belly with Lardo and Pistachios with Aspic Blanc d’Apple; (3) Leek with Rabbit and Pork Belly & Black & Pink Pepper Creme; (4) Pork Belly with Mayhaw and Mayhaw Aspic; (5) Pork Belly and Rabbit with Apple and Fresh Sage; (6) Pork Belly Champagne Wrapped in Coppa; and (7) Cheeky Belly ~ Beef Cheek with Pork Belly and Rabbit Liver. #2 was my fav – nom.

Tasting Tents, Day 3:

By now I had slowed down a lot.  Mom and I went together for Mother’s Day… the thought of food was almost too much to take so I did a tasting of her tastes.  In fact, I didn’t take a single picture until we were half way through.

Clockwise, from the top left

  • Sliders from Bocado (this place serves the best burger in ATL)
  • Some sort of ham deliciousness served with socca (I’ve never seen that out of a Southern cook before!)
  • Bistro AIX from Jacksonville, FL offered a Moroccan spice-rubbed pork shoulder with harissa-marinated watermelon salad and crispy pappadam (this may sound weird, but that flavorful cracker was one of the best things I ate that day)
  • A rare find – white wine that I loved
  • Crispy pig ears from The Spotted Trotter (really good, but I was too freaked out to take more than a bite).

And…

…scene:

***

And that, my friends, is how you become impregnated with a 3 day food baby.

Would you have tried the crispy pig’s ear?

Has anyone else had a 3 day food baby?  Moderation who?!

Blender-Free Blend WIAW

By

A Blend weekend (ironically) meant I actually ate nothing blended.

 

You don’t realize how addicted you are to morning green smoothies until you don’t have it.  Starting your day with carbs vs. greens feels different… not that I didn’t enjoy the spread we were treated to.  It was an epically fabulous departure from my norm. 🙂

 

The only thing that could have made last weekend better was if my girl Jenn @ Peas and Crayons had been able to come.  My What I Ate Wednesday this week is all about What I Ate at Blend.  Dedicated to Jenn, since we missed her so.

 

Check out my eats below; then click here to see what everyone else enjoyed for WIAW.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

Breakfast:

No smoothies, but it was fruit-filled!  We had mangoes, blueberries, strawberries, and the best pineapple I’ve had this season.  All of that plus some almond butter made for a killer oatmeal bowl.

 

 

I couldn’t decide what to have, so I went back for round 2.  Those muffins you see were homemade by the Xagave crew – the carrot muffin (let’s be honest – it was a cupcake) was out-of-this-world.

There was also a lot of tasty fuel provided by Green Mountain Coffee.  I really loved the Double Black Diamond blend!

 

 

Lunch:

Local joint Mountain Sun was our lunch destination on Saturday.  We showed up with a huge group that was ravenous from a 4 mile hike.  Most restaurant staff would have run screaming from the building, but these guys were so cool.  Lauren and I knew we were in love with this spot when the bartender said she LOVED giving people beer tastes.  *swoon*

 

 

After finally selecting a beer (a pale ale called “Kind“), we sat down to order.  Just when I thought the place couldn’t get better we found out that they have a hummus of the day (rosemary – it was delish) AND the server actually encouraged us to make modifications.  Ashley and I split the special Cinco de Mayo burger and subbed the meat patty for the veggie.

 

 

The East Coast crew was still adjusting to the time zone, so we ran next door to the The Cup for double espressos.  They came with the cutest mini biscottis!

 

Snacks:

Beer counts as a snack, right?

Lauren and her hubby hipped us to a great local brewery called Avery.  This place was awesome – 21 beers on tap, $1 for a 4 oz taste, and a delicious menu.  We came, we toured, we tasted.

 

 

See the bottom left pic?  Those are sweet potato tater tots.  And that dip?  Super-star Heather had them blend hummus and avocado together and then topped it with hot sauce to make us an amazing dip.

Dinner:

We stopped in at Rio Grande to get our obligatory Mexican fill.  Honestly, I wasn’t even hungry at this point… but Cinco de Mayo isn’t complete without fajitas!  And margaritas.

It may be a chain, but I was impressed – the vegetarian fajitas came with an incredibly tasty grilled Portobello mushroom and grilled zucchini.

 

 

Aaaaaand… maybe some tequila shots.  Disguises have been added to protect the identity of the not-so-innocent.

Gotta celebrate new tattoos.  No, I didn’t get another… I won’t let the cat out of the bag as to who did.  It looks good though. 🙂

***

I miss you, my Cinco de Blenders!!!  (P.S. I can’t remember who took these group shots… please claim them and I’ll give credit!!!  Sorry…) 

Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

Do you eat greens in the morning?  Would it throw you off to switch it up to carbs? 

 

Cocoa Krispies Protein Pudding + WIAW

By

This is what I came home to:

 

 

Apparently my hot water heater went bad while I was at work and leaked all over my floor and down the wall of the unit below mine.  Lovely.

Soooo… I was going to have a recipe for you today, but that will have to wait for tomorrow.

 

Jenn @ Peas and Crayons is making me smile through my check-writing sadness with her What I Ate Wednesday.

 

Check out my eats below; then click here to see what everyone else enjoyed for WIAW.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

Breakfast:

I made a smoothie.  It was green…

The flavor was Strawberry-Basil.  I wouldn’t recommend it.  In fact, I didn’t even take a pic.  Last week’s Banana-Maple-Ginger was much better:

 

 

Lunch:

Clearly I’m addicted to collard green wraps… but this week’s was different!  I used a Mexican-inspired hummus in it!  That hummus is the recipe that was coming today but will instead come tomorrow.  The flood took away my picture-taking light.

 

 

My co-workers and I took out lunch outside.  They appeared skeptical of my “wrap,” but I offered a bite and it was met with a reasonable amount of approval. 🙂

 

Snacks:

I have discovered I like to eat constantly throughout the day.  I snacked it up all afternoon.  Unpictured are some cashews, pineapple, and my daily kombucha.

Pictures below is cottage cheese with nuts, apple, lavar, and some rice cakes.

 

Dinner:

I had a fancier plan, but the flood changed it… however, this lentil salad wasn’t bad for a late dinner in a hurry!

 

 

In the mix was French green lentils, pepper jack Daiya cheese, broccoli sprouts, beets, shallots, celery, olive oil, lemon juice, basil, and S&P.  Translation: I scavenged my fridge.

 

Dessert:

This was seriously the highlight of my day.  The picture doesn’t look like much, but let me assure you… this was hard-core deliciousness.  It tasted like one of my favorite childhood cereals – Cocoa Krispies.

 

Cocoa Krispies Protein Pudding

  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • 1 T carob powder
  • 1/4 C cereal
  • 3/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 6-7 drops vanilla stevia
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt

 

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl, pressing down slightly to break up cereal a bit.  Place in fridge for 15-20 minutes to allow liquid to soak in.

Remove from fridge, stir, and devour.

***

Thank you all so much for the comments about my tattoo yesterday.  It is a really special piece to me. 🙂

Who do you call when things break at your house?  I had a moment of panic wondering what my next move should be!

What was your favorite childhood cereal? 

***

Don’t forget – click here to enter to win May’s healthy snack box in the NatureBox giveaway!

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