BBQ, Brunch & Blogger Meet Up Filed under ( BBQ, blogger meet up, Breakfast, Restaurant Review )

Hello! How has your weekend been? Mine has been busy,  but mostly good! Josh’s Parents and  Brother have been in town and we’ve been spending a lot of time with them. They took Josh back to the doctors on Saturday and he has some more issues going on with his ankle, so we’ve been laying a bit low to give him time to rest.

Saturday morning, I taught Body Step and Pump and both Lindsay and Shannon came to class. So fun to have them both there! A little while ago I won a Jay Robb giveaway on Lindsay’s blog and should brought me the goods. Look at all that protein (wahoo!). The prize pack also came with bars, a shaker and mixer ball and a hot Jay Robb tank. Lindsay and I have plans to rock our tanks together sometime soon. Thank you Lindsay and Jay Robb!!

Saturday also involved a trip to Charleston’s Cafe and Home Team BBQ on Sullivan’s Island. Since Josh’s Brother and Dad had to hit the road pretty early (Josh’s Mom is hanging around for a bit to help take care of Josh), the two meals took place a little close together for me…so I ended up mostly just being a spectator.

 

The gang at the restaurant:

 

  The inside of the restaurant has very cool decor. It looks like a great combination of an Island-y Grill and an old school BBQ joint. Josh ordered the pulled pork platter with macaroni and cheese, cucumber and tomato salad (for me) and a corn muffin:

The restaurant also provides multiple sauces to choose from:

Everyone really enjoyed their meals.

 

This morning, I met the other Charleston Bloggers for a meet up at Fat Hen on Johns Island.

I was excited for another great Sunday morning brunch out.

 

The restaurant serves water in jars, which I absolutely love:

And they have great old school diner coffee mugs:

  We all took our time sorting through the menu options and specials. Christina had a tough time deciding what to order:

I was really in the mood for scrambled eggs, so I got some (and they were creamy and fantastic) with a side of fruit and a million cups of coffee :)

 

Amelia’s husband was nice enough to serve as our professional photographer outside the restaurant. The ladies: Blair, Lindsay, Amelia, Christina & Myself:

 

Love these ladies! I think this picture captures a little more of our true personalities haha

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Eggo Pizza Review, Tofu Xpress & Meals Filed under ( BBQ, Beef, Breakfast, product review, soy, Vegan, vegetarian )

This is going to be a bit of a packed post! First off, even though I do not post every day, I do cook daily. I wanted to show  you a few of the dishes that have been coming out of my kitchen as of late:

Turkey Stir Fry for Josh (ground turkey, water chestnuts, baby corn, stir fry sauce, sesame seeds) over couscous:

Lots of fresh fruit bowls (ok…this isn’t cooking- but definitely noteworthy ;)):

Ground beef & jalapeno burgers for Josh. Burgers were topped with American cheese and placed on toasted, homemade focaccia bread. Served with pickles & corn:

 

Last night, I tried making up some homemade tofu for me using the Tofu Xpress I won from the fabulous and (almost) married Janetha (big early congrats to Janetha- hope the wedding and honeymoon are incredible!):

The press was SO easy to use! I placed a block of Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu into the press and placed it into the fridge for a couple hours (Tofu Xpress recommends letting the press sit for at least an hour, but you can press overnight as well):

Next, I dumped out the water:

Covered the tofu with a little oil, garlic powder & Italian seasoning and cooked at 425 for ~25 minutes flipping once:

 

I planned to eat it with a little marinara sauce….

but it was just…..ick. Tonight, I’m going to try again and use it in a stir fry (which is how I’ve had it out at restaurants before). If I’m still not feeling it, I’m going to give it another go using either one of Averie or Broccoli Hut’s recipes. I ended up making a loaded sweet potato instead and served it with a mega bowl of melon & yogurt :).

Josh had been away on a business trip and was more excited than even I was about the Eggo Real Fruit Pizza’s we had received:

He asked if he could sample the first pizza, Strawberry Granola. Since he was super hungry, we followed the microwave vs. oven cooking directions. The outcome (sorry, the pizza broke a bit from shipping):

 

According to Eggo, “Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas are an all-in-one combination of fruit and warm toasted granola on an oven baked cinnamon and maple-flavored crust.” Josh thought the flavor of the pizza was awesome- like a parfait in pizza form. The pizzas come in individual packages and retail at $2.79 (according to this website). We both thought this was a bit steep for a single pizza. Josh said he would purchase the pizzas if there was a 2/$3.50 type deal.

The pizzas are also pretty calorie dense. The Strawberry granola contains 400 calories, 12 g of fat, 6 g of saturated fat, 390 mg of sodium and 18 g of sugar (according to the back of the box).

I will let you know my opinion when I give the Mixed Berry Granola a go!

What are you up to this weekend? I have some teaching to do (Attack Friday, Step & Pump Saturday). I am hoping to go to brunch after teaching on Saturday and Sunday I want to get some sun. Have a great one!

BBQ in a Bowl, Uncle Sam Granola Bars & Giveaway Filed under ( BBQ, chicken, giveaway, product review )

A short week means Friday is here faster than usual- love that! Any weekend plans? We’re going to a minor league baseball game and having brunch with my parents. Otherwise?

Last night, I had lots of random leftovers including baked chicken, corn on the cob, brown rice and pineapple. I decided to throw them in a stir fry of sorts with additional frozen vegetables and barbeque sauce. The mixture was topped with shredded cheddar:

 

This was really yummy!

Recently, the people at Attune Foods sent me three boxes of Uncle Sam cereal to taste test (disclaimer: I received this cereal for free): Original, Honey Almond & Strawberry.

According to the Attune website, Uncle Sam cereal is “An American Original since 1908, Uncle Sam has nourished families for over 100 years! Red winter wheat berries with flaxseeds make this a wholesome high fiber & heart-healthy cereal. “ Josh and I tried all of the cereals on their own with either milk or almond milk:

 

 

We really enjoyed the original, but thought it was a little on the plain side and definitely needs some fruit or something else to pick it up a bit.

The strawberry was sweet and tasty!! It reminded me a bit of Special K Red Berries cereal.

We used the honey almond in a yogurt parfait- it was a great switch up for granola:

 

I also used the plain in my usual snack/granola bar recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups oats
• ½ cup Uncle Sam cereal
• 1/4 wheat germ (if you don’t have wheat germ on hand, feel free to add in more oats or flour instead)
• ½ cup all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds  (you can sub in any kind of seed or nut for the sunflower/pumpkin seeds)
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup oil (you could also use applesauce)
• 2 eggs or ½ cup egg substitute (or 2 tablespoons ground flax mixed with 6 tablespoons of water)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together first 9 ingredients.  Add in eggs and oil. Mix well (mixture will be just wet enough, if you feel like you need a little additional wetness, add in a tablespoon or two of applesauce).

Spray a baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Press mixture into the bottom.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

The outcome:

 

A fun switch up! Thank you Attune!!

Want to try Attune cereal?? All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Monday, July 11, telling me how you enjoy your cereal. You DO NOT need to have a blog to enter. Open to US residents only. Winner will be randomly selected.

Love & Pregnancy Update/VLOG- Week 36 Filed under ( BBQ, pregnancy, Restaurant Review )

Happy Sunday! I usually am not a big Sunday fan (since Monday comes next ), but having Monday off gives Sunday a whole new meaning! I want to share with you some things I am LOVING this weekend:

1. I used Averie’s guidance and cut up my first whole pineapple (thanks Averie!):

 

2. There are a few cantaloupes & watermelons starting to grow in our garden, I hope they make it!

 

3. Saturday dinner with friends (including Mandi, Amelia and their men). We went to Smoky Oak:

M trying Josh’s goblet of beer:

We tried their delicious onion rings:

J got a pork platter:

And I got a garden salad:

and turkey and black bean soup with cornbread:

 

For some reason, I didn’t take any pictures of the group! Bahhh!

 

4. Time with Josh & Frank!

 

 

Pregnancy Update- Week 36:

The belly is going to blowwwwwww…..

 

And VLOG:

Links mentioned in the VLOG:

Sabrina’s Blog Post

Pregnancy Weight Gain: What to Expect

Pregnancy Weight Tracker