The After Party + The Rest of my Weekend

After dinner on Saturday night, we headed to the after party at Good People Brewery, where they had all kinds of flashy signs welcoming us to the event.

We were greeted at the door and given these adorable little beer glasses to take home as a souvenir.

I think this was a Coffee Oatmeal Stout.

They had several different tables set up with different cheeses/appetizers to pair with different beers throughout the night. You could just take your glass up to the bar, ask for your choice of beer, and then go to the table whose cheese selection was paired with that beer.

At this point in the night, I was pretty full, so I didn't eat or drink much- just a few sips and nibbles here and there. We ended up calling it a pretty early night because Brittany had to drive back to Tuscaloosa, and we were both exhausted.

I was so tired that I slept in on Sunday and did essentially nothing all morning. Apparently, eating and sitting down all day wears me out.

I was productive the latter half of the day though- I cleaned, went to yoga, went on a 3 mile run with Will, ate at Whole Foods for dinner, and worked on homework the rest of the night.

Sunday Eats:

Quaker Oatmeal Squares, skim milk, banana, raspberries, blueberries, Love Grown Foods Sweet Cranberry Pecan granola.

Scrambled eggs with sautéed portabello mushrooms and spinach, avocado, and goat cheese on a Multigrain Flatout wrap. I also had an apple.

Fajita beef with onion and peppers, sage stuffing, grilled green beans, corn salad, sautéed kale, broccoli pomodoro with sun dried tomatoes. Yum!

When we were leaving Whole Foods, we naturally decided that we wanted cookies. The guy just so happened to be taking away the old cookies and putting out new cookies. He told us we could have the broken cookies for free! I had a PB Chocolate Chip cookie, and it was delicious as always!

Yesterday, it was my parents' 30th anniversary- my dad is out of town, so I met my mom for lunch at Bottega Cafe after class. 

I ordered the Nicoise salad. It was filled with all kinds of healthy stuff, like greens, medium rare tuna, hardboiled egg, chickpeas, roasted peppers, roasted white potatoes and sweet potatoes, radishes, and olives (which I avoided).

For dinner last night, I tried Whole Foods Vegan Three-Bean Adobe Chili that I bought the other day. It was super filling and had just the right amount of kick without being overly spicy. I'm such a fan of WF homemade soups- I love that the sodium content isn't through the roof!

Perfect with whole grain toast.

I just got back from spin class a little while ago and ate my overnight oats while I was writing this post. I'm always sad when I take the last bite :(

Love Grown Foods granola is one of the best things on earth.

I guess you're all caught up now- hope you have a great day!

Food Blog South

Had so much fun at Food Blog South this weekend! It is the second largest food blogging conference in the United States, and there were people there from California, New York, Chicago, and Massachusetts.




Just a warning- this post is going to be very very long.

Brittany came down on Friday, and we went to the pre-party at Jim N Nick's. I have dined at Jim 'N Nick's on many occasions in my lifetime, but I'd never eaten at the 5 Points location. It was completely different than any of the other locations I've been to before- it definitely had a more urban, downtown feel.

I ordered a glass of the Liberty School Chardonnay- aromas of green apple, caramel and pie spice, followed by notes of pear and honey- and munched on some appetizers when we first arrived.

Later, I ended up ordering the Pig in the Garden Salad with BBQ chicken and vinaigrette dressing. We also got a complimentary basket of their famous cheese biscuits.

On Saturday morning, the conference officially started. The event was held in Old Car Heaven, a really cool warehouse with antique cars on display.

The first session I attended was about camera phone photography. The speaker was Colleen Duffley, the owner of Studio b. in Alys Beach, Florida. I really want to go now. I thought this session was really interesting because I use my camera phone to document all the food I post. I learned that "iPhoneography" is a real branded term and found some really cool apps for my phone. No expensive equipment necessary!

The second session was about blog design. Basically, what I took away is that my blog design could be a lot better, but I don't really have the time or money to do anything about it right now.

After the second session, it was lunch time! Lunch was catered from Shindigs, a local food truck that goes to a different location in Birmingham each day of the week. Go check out their website- their menu is amazing!

I filled my plate with spinach salad with pom seeds, oranges, and fried goat cheese, broccoli rabe, spaghetti squash, some kind of grain with mushrooms and butternut squash, and short ribs. Dessert was tiramisu with hazelnuts and lemon whipped cream. Everything was fabulous!!

After lunch, we walked around the vendors and stocked up on lots of cool stuff, such as Jim 'N Nick's Cheese Biscuit Mix, Roland Black Bean Quinoa, and Zatarain's Jambalaya.

The most exciting part of my day? I had a foodie celeb sighting.

Justin from the Next Food Network Star was working one of the vendors! We chatted. I told him I loved the show. It was great. I was still too scared to ask him for a picture, so I just took some creepy shots from across the room instead.

We also got samples of the most amazing craft ice cream from High Road. I tried the Bourbon Brown Sugar ice cream, and it rocked my world.

The third session was about recipe development. The speaker was Virginia Willis, who is a very big deal in the culinary world. She has inspired me to cook a real meal using a real recipe- not just throw every veggie in my kitchen into a bowl and call it "dinner."

The fourth session was a beer tasting featuring beer from Good People Brewery, Birmingham's own local brewery! We sampled 3 different beers, Good People Brown Ale, Good People I.P.A. and Snake Handler. I only had a few sips of each, but I think I liked the Good People Brown Ale the best. I learned all about food pairings and that sometimes beer tastes better at room temperature.

The last session was about creating and marketing your own brand. The owner of Indie Candy talked to us and made me really want to go get some organic all-natural chocolate that's free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.

Then it was snack time. What's a food blogger conference without snack time? Our snack was the most delicious sugared pecans ever from Pecans! I would highly recommend ordering some from their website. I also got a few samples of their pecan butter, which I tested in my overnight oats this morning. It was amazing, but then again, I haven't met a nut butter I don't like.

After the conference was over, Brittany and I went to dinner at La Paz. I ordered a Skinny Girl Margarita and half of a Mexican quesadilla- served on a tomato basil tortilla and filled with all kinds of veggies. Using all of the knowledge we gained at the conference, we put our dim lighting photography skills into practice.

Then we went to the after-party at Good People Brewery, but I'll save that for my next post!

Eat More Bison

Last night, I did end up going to the evening yoga class. Mostly because this happened in my apartment, and I needed to de-stress.

That's just our living room ceiling caving in with a nice little scenic waterfall. No big deal.

Yoga was relaxing and wonderful, like it always is.

Then I went to Dram with Will and some other people and ordered a bison burger with mixed greens. I didn't take a picture because I was trying to make new friends and didn't want them to think I was too weird just yet. I don't order burgers at restaurants very often, but I've heard how good Dram's burgers were and had to try one. I loved it and would definitely order it again! 

Reasons to eat bison: It has less calories, fat, and cholesterol, while having more protein, iron, and nutrients than other meats!

I woke up this morning and went to yoga again because I'm trying to get better at the different poses (I am learning things like when the instructor says "low hover", you don't just collapse to the floor. This is very good to know.), and I feel energized for the rest of the day. I decided not to do my 30 minutes of cardio because I would be too rushed, and I didn't feel like getting to the gym before 6 this morning. When I got home, I ate a bowl of Kashi Cinnamon Crumble with skim milk, sliced banana, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and almonds.

Then I went to work, ran errands, cleaned, etc. Now I'm just drinking green tea, relaxing, catching up on emails/class stuff, and waiting for Brittany to get here. She is staying with me this weekend for Food Blog South. This is my very first blogger meet up, so it's very exciting!

We're going to Jim 'N Nick's 5 Points later tonight for a pre-conference dinner/party. I am looking forward to their amazing cheese biscuits!

The Pantry

This must be my week of trying new restaurants! 

Today after class, I met my mom for lunch at The Pantry, a new restaurant that has exciting words like hemp seeds, daikon, and kohlrabi on the menu. I'm so excited that Birmingham is stepping up its game in the healthy restaurants department!

I ordered an iced tea sweetened with Stevia to drink.

The owner made us salads with all kinds of different greens, a shot of lentil soup, tomato basil crackers, and lavender shallot vinaigrette. It's amazing how something soooo simple can taste so delicious. Freshness makes a difference, people!

She was going to add quinoa to the salad too but she forgot, so she brought it out to us later to add to our salads.

We also got to sample some goat cheese ice cream! I'm pretty sure everyone is aware of my deep affinity for goat cheese and ice cream, so of course, I thought it tasted phenomenal.

Here is my weekly workout plan:

Monday: 4 mile run (complete)

Tuesday: spin class + arm weights (complete)

Wednesday: vinyasa flow yoga (complete)

Thursday: spin class + arm weights + an evening yoga class...maybe

Friday: yoga + 30 mins cardio

Saturday: off

Sunday: yoga + 3 mile run (maybe?)

Official half marathon training starts in 2 weeks!

Here are some other meals I've eaten this week:

Wild Alaskan Salmon Burger on a whole-wheat sandwich thin with sautéed spinach, portabellos, and goat cheese.

Overnight Oats + Coffee. 

In the mix: 1/3 C oats. 1/3 C skim milk, 1/ 3 C Stonyfield Nonfat Vanilla yogurt, 1 T ground flax, 1 T crunchy PB, sliced banana, blueberries, strawberries. I wanted to add granola on top but I don't have any, so I added some Kashi Cinnamon Crumble for some crunch.

Two eggs sunny side up (why do they always turn out so ugly?) on a whole-wheat sandwich thin with Crofter's Strawberry Spread and roasted sweet potato round and Brussels on the side.

Dinner packed for class- brown rice, black beans, roasted sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, sunflower seeds, bbq sauce. 

Post class snack- Stonyfield 0% Vanilla yogurt, blueberries, slivered almonds, chocolate chunks.

Just got back from a 3.5 hour stats class and am about to fall into bed. Hope you have a great night!

Golden Temple

Even though I still eat meat, it's no secret that I love a good vegetarian meal.

Some of my favorite vegetarian restaurants include:

Candle 79 in New York.

Cafe Sunflower in Atlanta.

World Peace Cafe in Atlanta.

Food For Thought in London. I also loved it this time. And this time.

Mildred's in London.

I just got really nostalgic reading over my travel posts from the past year. I'm ready for another trip!

As you may have guessed, Birmingham AL, is not exactly the most vegetarian-friendly city in the world.  However, there is one exclusively vegetarian restaurant here (also vegan-friendly) called Golden Temple. It's located downtown and is just a short drive from UAB's campus. Class gets out at 11 on Mondays, so I decided to head over there after class and try it out.

Look who I ran into:

Daddy-O and I had the same brilliant idea to get a delicious vegetarian meal! As my mom would say, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

I ordered the Golden Temple Stack, a bowl of brown rice, black beans, Monterey Jack cheese, salsa, and guacamole. I asked for it without sour cream. I decided to order the "large bowl" because the "small bowl" looked too small, but when my order came out, I immediately regretted my decision. This bowl was PACKED full! I could only eat about half and boxed up the rest for leftovers.

MMMM. Plant-based protein!

My dad ordered Red Beans and Rice which was the special of the day. It also came with a side salad and brown rice tortilla. I tried a bite, and it was really good!

Overall, it was a great lunch, and it was fun having a surprise dining companion! The food was healthy and hearty, and there are several more items on the menu that I want to try. They also have a smoothie and juice bar, so I might start making this a regular lunch spot. 

Definitely one of Birmingham's best-kept secrets- I can't believe I didn't know about this place until a few months ago! 

Weekend

This weekend consisted of:

My favorite Saturday lunch spot: Organic Harvest. I pass it on the way home from work and couldn't resist pulling over.

1/2 Organic Spinach and Jack Panini (Applegate Farms smoked turkey, Monterey Jack cheese, veganaise (I swear this stuff is actually good), and spinach on Big Sky 3 Seed Bread) with Mushroom and Brown Rice soup. All of the soups are homemade, healthy, and really delicious- I hate salty soups!

Homemade Dinner:

This time I sat back and let Will do all the cooking. I was impressed with his culinary skills.

On the Menu: teriyaki chicken meatballs, sweet potato fries, and broccoli slaw with Greek dressing. It was a good meal!

The table looked so pretty!

Frozen Yogurt:

Espresso and vanilla with toasted coconut and dark chocolate chips.

Post-church lunch at V. Richard's:

I ordered the salad plate with grilled chicken salad, broccoli salad, dilled cucumber salad, and Moroccan chickpea salad. Kombucha to drink!

Also included: laundry, grocery shopping, downward dogs and sun salutations (love yoga!), oatmeal cottage cheese pancakes (no recipe or pictures yet cause I'm still making some adjustments), and lots of homework!