Fun Trip

I had so much fun on my quick little visit to Atlanta! It was a fun relaxing getaway but still really productive at the same time.

Here's my trip in a nutshell:

Lunch before I left:

Panera Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich. I like their Tomato Basil Bread. I'd never had it before. It's good.

Dinner in Atlanta Night 1:

Dinner at Figo, an adorable neighborhood Italian restaurant located in the historical Vinings district. It had a trendier and different feel than your normal Italian place, but it was still casual and laid back at the same time. I loved it.

I created my own pasta dish, choosing whole wheat fusili with primavera sauce and also had a glass of the house red. The sauce consisted of fresh tomatoes, broccoli, green peas, spinach, garlic, EVOO, basil, and white wine and all the pasta is handmade!

 I didn't realize I was supposed to tell the guy when to stop sprinkling the parmesan cheese on my pasta, so I got a little more than I wanted-but it was good all mixed up! I <3 whole wheat pasta.

Frozen Yogurt:

Yoforia features only nonfat organic natural Stonyfield yogurt! Stonyfield is my favorite yogurt brand, so obviously I was in a state of yoforia.

I got a mix of taro, ferroro rocher, and cookies and cream topped with chocolate chips, mochi, crushed graham cracker, strawberries, and banana. 

Breakfast:

Dunkin' Donuts makes good coffee (it used to be the only kind I would buy). And their Veggie Egg White Omelet Flatbread Sandwiches aren't too bad either.

Lunch:

A vegetarian lunch at World Peace Cafe. Gotta love my reflection in the window.

I got the grilled veggie sandwich and cup of kale, mushroom, and lentil soup.

The sandwich was filled with carrot, zucchini, onion, roasted red pepper, portabello mushrooms, and melted mozzarella. Yum.

Kale + lentils? Talk about a power soup right there.

Dinner Night 2:

Dara and her mom were in Atlanta for a girl's trip, so we met up with them at Seasons 52 for dinner last night. It was such a cool restaurant. The menu changes with each season, and everything on the menu is under 475 calories! We nutrition majors could appreciate that.

Reunited at last!

We all split the caramelized crab & shrimp stuffed mushrooms and a basil & parmesan cheese crispbread to start.

 I ordered the cedar plank salmon, which came with carrots, asparagus, and potatoes. It was fabulous!

I love mini desserts-I got chocolate PB mousse. Yummm. Anything with Reese's is heaven on earth!

I was sad to leave this morning, but hopefully I'll be back soon.

With that said- I'm taking the RD exam soon, and I have lots of other stuff going on, so I'm taking a little week or two hiatus. Due to my extensive follower base (sarcasm), I'm sure many will be crushed by my absence (sarcasm again). Don't worry though-I'll be back soon, and I'm sure I'll continue to still take pics of all my really good eats to share when I return-but I just really don't have time to keep up with this and focus on everything else the way I should.

See you guys soon!

Quick Update

Just popping in to say hello!

I'm leaving for Atlanta to visit Mary Alice later this afternoon. She just moved there this week, and I'm so excited to see her!

I haven't really been doing the best job of taking pictures of food lately, but here's a few meals from the week:

Earlier this week, Laura and I tried to go to Rojo for dinner, but it's closed on Mondays. Apparently, Monday is not the cool week night to go out to eat, because a lot of other Birmingham restaurants are also closed on Mondays. We ended up at Cocina Superior, which was still a great place!

I got a sangria, because they're delicious.

We split shrimp fajitas that we requested on whole wheat tortillas. They were really good!

Did you really think we weren't going to get ice cream? We went to Mountain Brook Creamery for Only 8 frozen yogurt. I got toasted coconut topped with granola. I received an adequate amount of granola topping, which made up for last time.

Taziki's grilled chicken feast with rice and salad

Veggie goat cheese scramble and whole wheat toast topped with Crofter's Raspberry Spread and sliced banana

Fresh Market Rotisserie Chicken Salad with Mary's Gone Crackers and veggies

Taziki's Mediterranean Salad with grilled tilapia

Overnight oats topped with strawberries, blueberries, and almond butter

See you in Atlanta! I'm sure I'll have lots of good food to report, especially after the last time I went to Atlanta.

Positivity

Why yesterday was awesome:

• I went to church with my family and heard a great sermon.
• I ate this delectable grilled chicken pita with tabouli from The Pita Stop for lunch. Pita bread + hummus was also enjoyed.

• I saw Midnight in Paris. I may be a little biased since I just went to Paris, but I absolutely LOVED this movie! Owen Wilson was so great!

• I went on a glorious evening walk around my neighborhood. It was lovely.
• I ate cereal for dinner, and it was exactly what I wanted. I also ate some carrots + sunflower seed butter.

Barbara's Shredded Oats, skim milk, almonds, nectarine, sliced banana.

• The Holiday was on TV, and I tuned in just in time to watch my favorite part.

Precious.

Glasses=sexy. End of story.

• Continuing my laziness, I watched the Next Food Network Star. It's probably the foodie in me, but there's just something about this show that's so addicting! I was shocked that top contender Orchid went home last week, but I'm placing my bets on Susie now!
• I ended my night with Chocolove Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate. Enough said.

Why today is/will be awesome:

• I made Gracie's Best Ever Waffle Sandwich for breakfast. It was my first time using Van's Waffles, and I loved them-definitely a step up from the Eggo's Whole Wheat Waffles I used to buy in high school! 

Sweet potato, banana, and PB sandwiched in between two whole wheat waffles later drizzled in maple syrup. Yeah, I think I've made my point.

• I went to the gym for an early morning workout. I even got some studying done, as I flipped through my notecards on the bike!
• I took home the leftover fruit tray from Katie's lingerie shower and have been eating massive amounts of cantaloupe ever since. It's the perfect summer snack.
• I had a shrimp and avocado salad with marcona almonds + lots of other delightful veggies for lunch today.

I was really sad when I finished this salad:(

• I tried a new-to-me product: Barbara's Fruit and Yogurt Bars.

YUM-they're like a denser, more wholesome Nutrigrain bar!

• I got a free coffee at Panera today with my MyPanera Rewards Card!
• I have a dinner date with Laura at Rojo! They have a fantastic black bean burger I've been dreaming about all day.
• The Bachelorette comes on tonight! TEAM JP, ALL THE WAY!!! Although, I also adore Ben, the winemaker (who wouldn't want a winemaker for a hubby?) and think Ames is a total stud.

Katie's Lingerie Shower

I went to my first lingerie shower yesterday! We opened presents, played lots of fun games, and just had fun talking and catching up.

I knew there would be a lot of good food at the party, but it wasn't until later in the afternoon, so I had a light lunch to tide me over.

Salad with carrots, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, Dr. Praeger's Bombay Curry Veggie Burger, avocado, and salsa. I kinda intermixed Indian and Mexican cuisine, but it worked!

We had a really nice spread of food and cute table decorations.

We had pork slider sandwiches, a mix of cucumber, chicken salad, and pimento cheese tea sandwiches, chicken fingers, fruit, spinach and artichoke dip, hummus, and pita chips.

And cupcakes and brownies on the dessert end. 

There was a raspberry lemonade punch.

And mimosas-my favorite!

Katie got some sexy lingerie.

And body cream, of course.

The girls!

Me and the bride to be!

Just having some fun with balloons?

I had so much fun, and I can't wait until the Bachelorette party-just two more weeks!

Travel Reflections

Hello friends!

After being home a couple of days and having some time to think about my trip, here's an overview of each city I visited:

Nice: Nice probably had the prettiest views out of everywhere I went and the prettiest ocean water I've ever seen. The French Riviera is one of the most beautiful places in the world! I liked that it had an Italian influence, especially in terms of the food-pizza, pasta, gelato, wine-all my favorites. I loved walking around, especially through Old Town Nice. It was a great place to just relax and had a resort-type feel. If you love the beach, this is the place for you! If you love seeing sights and a faster pace of life, you may prefer Paris or London. I'm more of a city gal myself.

Paris: I mean, Paris is just Paris. To me, it was every bit as enchanting, magical, romantic, and charming as everyone says it is. And Paris at night is just unbelievable. I WILL go back, and I WILL be with a love interest! Sorry parents, it's just not the same. There's just so much to see. I don't even really consider myself an art person, but I found myself fascinated in all the art museums. The people are trendy, sophisticated, and fabulous. Not to mention, nice! Everyone we met was so helpful. I'm a big fan of sidewalk cafés and macaroons, goat cheese salads, and omelettes topped my list of favorite foods. Paris is the most visited city in the world, and I can see why!

London: Seconds upon arrival in London, I already knew I loved it. Being the most "American like" European country, I instantly felt at home there. I have a slight fascination with British culture, especially the Royal family. I'm also kind of obsessed with accents, and I wish I spoke with one. England is home to some of my favorite artists (Mumford & Sons, Coldplay, The Beatles, Elton John, Spice Girls-yeah, that's right) and some of my favorite movies (The Holiday, Pride and Prejudice, Notting Hill, Love Actually). All the delicious vegetarian food was a highlight-I already miss Food For Thought! I also loved learning about all the history that took place there, being the most interesting (to me) and relevant to my life. If I had to choose a city outside of the US to live, London would be it.

Recent Eats:

Banana chia oats with blueberries and sunflower seed butter.

Whole Foods salad bar loaded up with grilled veggies, squash salad, asparagus, chickpea and roasted vegetable salad, tortellini, and curried tofu.

Strawberry Oikos topped with Arrowhead Mills Almond Squares.

Veggie lasagna adapted from this recipe. I healthified it up by using whole wheat lasagna noodles, part skim ricotta, part skim mozzarella and adding spinach and an extra can of tomatoes!

Berries + Chocolove dark chocolate.

Stonyfield yogurt with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, Arrowhead Mills Almond Squares, and Justin's Maple AB.

Vanilla Oikos, Love Grown Foods Apple Walnut Delight, berries, Justin's Maple AB. Got my red, white, and blue breakfast a week late!

Fuji apple slices.

Dr. Praeger's Bombay Curry Veggie Burger on a sandwich thin with brussels sprouts on the side (they were frozen veggies for the sake of convenience). I'm a recent fan of all things curry, and these burgers were no exception!

In other news: Has anyone heard about the controversial editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that suggests obese children should be taken away from their parents and put in foster care?

I actually think that taking a child out of his own home would be taking things a little too far and causing more harm than good. However, I could see where this would be necessary in cases of abuse or neglect or if a parent was incapable of taking care of his child. Like all other things, I guess it would depend on the situation.

Man, it's crazy how out of hand this whole obesity issue has gotten. I guess I have my work cut out for me!