Back From Atlanta

Had a great trip to Atlanta!

On Friday night, we went to dinner at Varasano's, a pizzeria in Buckhead. It is one of the Elite 8 Pizzerias in the US by Everyday with Rachael Ray, voted best pizza in Atlanta by Jezebel Magazine, and named one of the 14 Best New Restaurants by Atlanta Magazine.

I wish I could toss pizza dough.

Will is intensely studying the menu.

To drink, we ordered a glass of the Evodia Grenache, which came highly recommended by our waitress. 

Vino!

I started out with the spinach salad- pecans, gorgonzola, and raspberry vinaigrette. Loved it!

We split the Chica Bella pizza- ricotta, mozzarella, arugula, and lemon. We also added sweet roasted peppers, which was a great choice. It was amazing- some of the best pizza I've ever had!

The crust was so thin and delicious!

After dinner, we went over to Mary Alice's apartment and had a fun time talking and hanging out!

On Saturday morning, we did what all cool 22 and 23 year olds do on the weekend- went to the library for a book sale and Trader Joe's to grocery shop.

Here's What I Bought:

Golden Roasted Milled Flaxseed with Blueberries, Arborio Rice (dying to make risotto!), Pumpkin Pancake & Waffle Mix, Pesto, Pumpkin Butter, Creamy Almond Butter with Sea Salt, Fig Butter, Dark Chocolate with Caramel & Black Sea Salt, and a bottle of Trader Joe's Charles Shaw Blend Cabernet Sauvignon or "Two Buck Chuck" as they call it.

I've talked about YEAH! Burger so much, Will was dying to try it out for lunch on Saturday.

We went to the Midtown location, and it was packed! We waited in line to order for 10-15 minutes.

I tried to document Will's first YEAH! Burger experience, but he didn't want to cooperate.

He's not a fan of candid photos, but he was a fan of the food!

I got a turkey burger sans the bun and added lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms, and avocado. Of course, had to get the sweet potato fries too!

Delicious as always. 

After lunch, we went over to Will's grandparents house to watch the Auburn vs. Georgia game. It was so fun getting to meet them- they were so nice!

On Saturday night, we went to dinner at Two Urban Licks, a super hip and trendy restaurant in Virginia Highlands. They even had a fun jazz band playing music! We ended up having a great table with a view that overlooked the city of Atlanta.

We split the Lamb Lollipops as an appetizer. They were topped with a goat cheese cream and raspberry balsamic jam.

Oh so good.

I ordered the Tuna as my entrée- it was seared medium rare and came with edamame, cucumber, bok choy, spicy peanuts, and spicy sesame dressing.

It was really good, but they were not kidding when they said spicy!

I made Will take a picture of his BBQ chicken and macaroni and cheese.

Comfort food. I tried a bite of the mac n cheese- delish!

We really thought about ordering a "non pumpkin dessert", but we just couldn't resist when Spiced Pumpkin Creme Brulee was on the dessert menu.

Loved dipping the gingersnap cookies in the creme brulee!

On Sunday, Will and I met his grandparents for lunch at the Capital City Club, a beautiful country club in Buckhead.

They had a beautiful Sunday brunch buffet!

It was a gorgeous day and we stopped to take pictures outside after lunch.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Repetitive

Can't believe the week is halfway over!

Despite the disappointing loss on Saturday, I still had a great time at the game!

Will and I in front of the Alpha Chi house.

Since living on my own, my meals have gotten a lot more repetitive. I eat the same foods over and over, but I'm doing my best to make them as healthy and creative as possible. I'm buying a lot more frozen fruits and veggies (still as nutritionally adequate-they're frozen at peak freshness!!), and I can't frequent Whole Foods/Fresh Market quite as much as I used to, but I'm making it work. 

Yogurt/Cereal Creations:

Raspberry Chobani Greek yogurt, Oatmeal Squares, sliced banana, frozen blueberries, almond butter.

Kashi Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon, skim milk, sliced banana, frozen blueberries, and walnuts for some Omega-3 action.

Strawberry Chobani Greek yogurt, 1/3 C oats, 1/2 sliced banana, frozen strawberries, Love Grown Foods Raisin Almond Crunch granola, 1 T almond butter.

Scrambled Eggs + Veggies:

Scrambled eggs are so easy and filling. I eat them a lot.

Obviously.

Veggie Bowl MIxtures:

 Sautéed spinach, roasted sweet potatoes, onions, and Brussels spouts, chicken sausage, and BBQ sauce all mixed together. Amazingness.

Spinach Salads:

Spinach salad topped with leftover sweet potatoes, Brussels, and onions, goat cheese, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, a Dr. Praeger's California Burger, and Whole Foods No Oil Balsamic Dressing. Soooo freaking good.

I've also been eating lots of apples, KIND bars, and dark chocolate but haven't been taking the time to photograph them.

I did meet a friend for lunch one day this week at Edgar's. I ordered the Chicken Avocado Wrap with fruit and slaw.

Just for fun:

So maybe it's the nutrition nerd in me, but how adorable are these veggie ornaments from Anthropologie? 

Yes, nothing spreads Christmas cheer like artichokes, figs, and onions hanging from your tree.

LOVE.

So much to look forward to: 

1) My dresser is finally getting here tomorrow, which means my room will finally be organized, and I can show you pictures!

2) I'm going to Atlanta this weekend and Will is coming too! I always have so much fun on my trips to the ATL- can't wait to visit MA and Callie, and of course, stock up on Trader Joe's almond butter!

3) Have some exciting news to share next week!

Biggest Game of the Year

Hope you're having a great weekend! Just thought I would give you a quick update of the rest of my week:

Meals Eaten Out:

On Tuesday night, I went to Bottega Cafe. I ordered the fish of the day, which was redfish. I'd never had redfish before and really ordered it just to get the sides, farro and autumn vegetables. The whole meal ended up being amazingly good!

My perfect meal- fish, whole grains, veggies.

And of course, I had to have room to split dessert. I've been going crazy with pumpkin desserts lately, but I'm kind of ok with that.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with gingersnap-pecan crust! Perfection.

Last night, Laura and I went to dinner at a new restaurant, Ollie Irene. The restaurant had a really cool atmosphere and all ingredients are locally sourced!

To start, we shared the Crostini- pickled cherry tomatoes, whipped herb ricotta, and olive tapenade. 

Loved the herb ricotta!

For my main course, I chose the Ricotta Gnocchi- Cullman sweet potatoes, Virginia ham, pumpkin seeds, fried sage, brown butter, and grana padano. It was delicious!

Gnocchi, sweet potatoes, pumpkin seeds- these three foods in combination make my heart happy.

Meals Eaten at Home:

Whole Foods Lentil Soup (LOVED this soup and the nutrition facts!!) and spinach salad with carrots, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and Whole Foods No Oil Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Scrambled eggs with sautéed mushrooms and peppers, cheddar cheese, and salsa.

Stonyfield 0% Vanilla yogurt with frozen blueberries and cashews.

Other great parts of my week:

This "You Are Beautiful" grafitti makes me happy every time I drive by.

Morning walk through Jemison Park with my friend, Killette.

Girl's time (talking, wine, bruschetta, and pita chips with hummus) around the outside fire. Such a fun night!

Headed to Tuscaloosa in a few hours with Will for the Alabama-LSU game- it's going to be crazy! Happy Saturday and Roll Tide!

Baked Zucchini Marinara

Looking for an easy, healthy way to spice up a vegetable dish?

Here ya go:

Ingredients:

• 3 zucchini, sliced
• 4 squash, sliced
• 1 1/2 C tomato sauce
• 1 C part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 4 T parmesan cheese

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350º F. Wash and slice zucchini and squash.

2) Assemble veggies into a baking dish and add 1 1/2 C tomato sauce.

3) Sprinkle 1/2 C part skim mozzarella and 4 T parmesan cheese on top.

4) Bake for 35 minutes at 350º F.

So easy!

Served with chicken parmesan and vino for a complete meal.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

Yesterday, I was feeling really domestic and got the urge to bake. Obviously, I wanted to make something involving pumpkin.

I found this Pumpkin Bar recipe a few years ago and have made them every Thanksgiving since then. They've always been a crowd-pleaser! I love this recipe because it's easy and relatively quick to make. The bars are super fluffy and moist (sorry to everyone who hates that word), and the icing is creamy and delicious!

It isn't exactly my healthiest recipe ever, but I did use 1/3 less fat cream cheese- that counts for something right? Next time I might try mixing 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 oil and 1/2 applesauce, and use 2 eggs + 1 egg white to lighten things up. I also think OJ and orange zest might be a nice addition to the icing. Or maybe chopped pecans. Ohhhh, the possibilities.

Ingredients:

Bars:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 C granulated sugar
• 1 C vegetable oil
• 15 oz can pumpkin
• 2 C sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Icing:

• 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 C butter or margarine, softened
• 2 C sifted powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Everything you need.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

1) Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy.

2) Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.

3) Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at a low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.

4) Spread the batter into a greased 13 x 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Note: I probably ended up baking them about 40 minutes until the middle was done.

5) While the bars are baking, make the icing. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.

6) Add the sugar and mix at a low speed until combined.

7) Stir in the vanilla and mix again.

8) Spread the icing on completely cooled pumpkin bars.

9) I recommend refrigerating the bars an hour or so before eating. Enjoy!!!

Deliciousness. Someone please come eat my leftovers before I eat the entire pan by myself!

If you're a fan of pumpkin, go make this recipe immediately- it will not disappoint!

Cookie Swap

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! Can't believe it's already November- crazy how fast time flies by!

The weather is beautiful, so I've really been trying to get back into a running schedule. I want to run a half marathon at the beginning of next year- Mercedes, Disney, Seaside- I haven't decided which one yet. Today I ran 5 miles- I'm slowly starting to increase my mileage. My pace is definitely not as fast as it used to be, but it feels good to get back in the swing of things.

I love running at my new favorite place, Jemison Park- but to be honest, I really don't like running by myself. I miss running with Mary Alice, the best training partner ever! Seriously, I had some of the best conversations and some of my favorite memories of college were during our long runs around UA's campus. It's just more enjoyable when you're running with someone else. I'm trying to like the whole running by yourself thing more though- I guess it's good "me time".

Meals Eaten in my New Apartment:

Scrambled eggs with cheddar and salsa and sautéed spinach, mushrooms, and bell peppers.

1/2 C oats prepped with water and 2 spoonfuls of Stonyfield 0% French Vanilla yogurt. I really like the texture/consistency yogurt gives to oats-try it out! Toppings included ground flax, sliced banana, Hail Merry Cranberry Orange Grawnola, and 1 T SmartBalance Crunchy PB.

Chicken Salad Salad- spinach, carrots, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, Whole Foods chicken salad, and Zoe's Greek dressing.

Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake Frozen Dinner- plantains, black beans, sweet potato, kale, Kashi 7 whole grain amaranth and polenta, and spicy adobo sauce. It was pretty tasty but didn't keep me full for long!

Toast spread with Smart Balance Crunchy PB and Sunbutter and a sliced banana.

Dr. Praeger's California Burger on a spelt tortilla with melted cheese, peppers, and salsa. Apple slices on the side.

In other news, I read about the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2011 on Brittany's blog and signed up today. 

Basically, you get matched up with 3 other bloggers- you ship them a dozen homemade cookies and you get homemade cookies in return. Sounds like a win-win situation to me. Such a fun way to meet other bloggers, and of course, eat lots of cookies!

Interested? Sign up here.

Have a great day!