Fast Food for Foodies

Yesterday after lunch, my mom and I went to the Vera Bradley store to use our birthday coupons (we're both June bugs!). I ended up getting the Get Carried Away tote in Java Blue to use for our trip to Nice, Paris, and London at the end of this month.

Once we got back home, I studied for the RD exam and ate this snack:

Super Fruits Oikos with blueberries

We continued our girl's day into the night. I suggested we go see Water for Elephants, because I just finished reading the book. We wanted to grab a quick dinner before the movie, so naturally we went to Whole Foods. I wasn't really in the mood for a salad and nothing on the hot bar caught my eye. But then I walked by the pizza station and lo and behold-they were pulling a spinach and mushroom pizza out of the brick oven!

Meant to be.

While we were eating last night, I realized that one of the reasons I like Whole Foods so much is because it's like a fast food restaurant for foodies. Even I can admit, it can be really hard to cook every night with a busy schedule and sometimes you just want to pick up something quick and convenient. But Whole Foods takes a different approach to "fast food"-they have so many different options (salad bar, hot bar, sushi, pizza-how can you ever decide?) and you never have to worry about eating fake food with weird ingredients. Making sure you get enough fruits, veggies, whole grains, and healthy fats in your meal is never an issue. They also have free wi-fi, so you can get work done or study and it's totally normal to eat there by yourself. And if you ever need a little pick me up, coffee, cookies, and gelato are at your disposal. It's not always super cheap (although, pizza is only $3.99 a slice-not bad), but I for one am willing to fork over a little extra cash for good health-I'll be saving myself money in health care costs later in life.

I really liked Water for Elephants! As always, the movie was slightly different than the book, but I still really enjoyed it. I also liked watching Robert Pattinson play a role other than Edward in the Twilight Saga-he was great in this movie! And way more adorable without all the creepy eye makeup.

I sneaked in a Vitamin Water Zero and Chocolove bar into the movie. No big deal. Btw, this is the BEST dark chocolate!

Even though it's like 104º outside, I made banana pumpkin oat bran with chia seeds for breakfast this morning. It was topped with TJ's Sunflower Seed Butter and 1/2 sliced banana. The picture didn't turn out very pretty, but it was a very satisfying and delicious breakfast.

I went to late church with the fam this morning and afterwards, we ate lunch at P.F. Chang's. I ate breakfast at 8 this morning, and we didn't sit down for lunch until about 1:30. I normally do not like to wait that long between meals, so my stomach was definitely growling and ready for lunch! I ordered the lunch special of Buddha's Feast, which is baked tofu and mixed vegetables served over brown rice. It also came with a cup of egg drop soup. They were both delicious, so I guess it was well worth the wait!

This afternoon consisted of a sweat sesh at the gym, lots of studying, and watermelon.

Dinner was a sandwich on two slices of Rudi's 14 grain (it's really good-kinda reminds me of Great Harvest bread!) with Sunflower Seed Butter and Crofter's Raspberry Spread, carrots from the Farmer's Market, and apple slices.

Current Music Obsession: Mumford & Sons. I've had the Sigh No More album on repeat for about a week now. This kind of works out, because I'm going to their concert in Atlanta on June 12 with Mary Alice!!! She's been doing some serious work in the kitchen this summer, so go check out her recipe page for new ideas!

Now for a little Next Food Network Star + dark chocolate...

Banana Pudding Bliss

The wedding shower was nice last night. It was a Southern themed fish fry, and it was decorated really pretty. I loved all the sunflowers (whenever I get married, there WILL be sunflowers!) My parents helped host the party, so we got to take some home!

Sunflowers always brighten my day!

I mostly just talked and mingled while I was there. I didn't eat anything (seeing as how the menu consisted only of fried chicken, fried fish, french fries, and hushpuppies) and only stayed for about an hour or so.

On the way to the shower

After I left, I met up with Laura and Callie at Baha Burger. We sat outside and enjoyed listening to live music-it was a nice chill, low-key atmosphere. I love that Baha Burger puts a healthy and creative twist on an old classic. They have salmon, lamb, chicken, and turkey burgers on the menu (all of which I've previously had). Last night I ordered the Portabello and Eggplant Veggie Burger on a whole wheat bun with a side of cantaloupe. The burger was also topped with havarti cheese, caramelized vidalia onions, and roasted red peppers. It was delicious but really hard to eat, so I ended up just eating most of it with a fork. Probably not your first date food of choice.

But I think the highlight of my night was:

Whole Foods Banana Pudding! 

If you think this looks disgusting, think again-one of the best banana puddings I've ever had! There were even chunks of cake in there, which made it even more awesome than it already was! I demolished this in record-breaking time.

Breakfast this morning was two slices of Rudi's 14 grain bread topped with PB & Co Cinnamon Raisin Swirl and a sliced banana.

After eating breakfast, I met up with Callie at the Mt. Laurel Farmer's Market. It was really cute!

I walked away with squash, carrots, peaches, and tomatoes-all of summer's best!

My mom and I were out and about today and ended up having a very spontaneous lunch at ORE, a new restaurant in Crestline opened by former American Idol winner, Taylor Hicks. Let me just say that this is one of the coolest restaurants in Birmingham. It's named after iron ore, because steel is Birmingham's main industry.

The bar looked like it would be hoppin' at night.

They even had a cool lounge area.

This totally made my day when I saw this in the restroom! (I couldn't fit the "y" and "o").

Everything on the menu looked good, but when I saw crab and avocado in the same sentence, I knew I had to get the ORE Crab Salad. It was to die for. 

My mom got the Chicken Cobb Sandwich, and she said it was one of the best lunches of her life. I tried a few of her homemade chips, and they were pretty darn good.

On top of the cool decor and delectable food, we had excellent service! Our waiter was so nice and let me keep a copy of the brunch, lunch, and dinner menu. Two noteworthy dinner entrees include Grilled Salmon with sugar snap pea succotash and spinach and a Vegetable Plate. I will definitely be back in the near future!

Off to go do things. Have a great Saturday!

Whole Foods Obsession

It's good to be back home!

Here a few of my eats from yesterday:

Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal. I actually think they do a pretty good job with their oatmeal! I wished I'd had a banana and nut butter to go on top, but I'll take what I can.

Chick-fil-a Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich and apple. Chick-fil-a is my favorite fast food option when on the road!

When I got home, I needed some nutrients STAT. I made a Green Monster (well, it's actually kinda purple) made with 2 C spinach, a banana, blackberries, 1 T chia seeds, and 1 C unsweetened almond milk. I also headed straight to the gym after unpacking my stuff. With the combination of a little sweat and a smoothie, I instantly felt better!

I met some friends later at Surin West to celebrate Jody and Caroline's 22nd birthday! I ordered the Veggie Delight and added shrimp. The Veggie Delight is a Thai stir-fry consisting of broccoli, carrots, onion, baby corn, celery, green beans, cabbage, bean sprouts, and zucchini in a light Thai sauce. Delicious! Oh, how I love Thai food.

Afterwards, we walked to The J. Clyde, one of Birmingham's coolest bars. I had never been before and was in love from the moment I walked inside! It's like a bigger version of The Alcove. It has a tavern-esque ambiance with a chill, relaxing vibe, a young 20-something crowd, and an extensive beer menu. I ordered the Terrapin Sunray Wheat, which is brewed in Athens, GA. It was fruity, sweet, and made for a refreshing summer beverage. I thought it tasted like a strawberry banana smoothie!

Me and the birthday girl

Breakfast this morning was oatmeal made with 1/2 C oats and 1 C water. Toppings included 1/2 sliced banana, blackberries, slivered almonds, and TJ's Sunflower Seed Butter.

My mom and I both had the same brilliant idea to eat lunch at Whole Foods today. Great minds think alike! I hit up the salad bar and filled up with lots of yummy stuff like sun dried tomato couscous, black bean and corn salad, grilled eggplant, beets, multigrain tabouli, broccoli crunch salad, and cranberry tuna salad. 

And a Vegan Almond Cookie. I've been wanting to try one forever, but every time I go to Whole Foods, they seem to be out. Couldn't let this opportunity pass me by! Whenever I purchase a cookie at Whole Foods, I'm somehow convinced they're healthy and low-cal. Probably not, but I'll let myself keep thinking that.

Every time I walk in Whole Foods, I feel like a little kid in a candy store. I could literally spend hours in there. Last summer when I interned in Chicago, there was a Whole Foods a few blocks away from where I lived, and I went on a triweekly basis (ok ok, some weeks it was a daily occurrence)! Of course I picked up some goodies today, but I'll talk about those tomorrow.

I'm blogging from Panera Bread right now and am spending the rest of the afternoon studying for the RD exam!