BAoK, Farmers Market, and Homemade Vegan Multigrain Bread Filed under ( BAoK, Bread )

Itssssss Friday! How exciting :) Any good weekend plans? Other than teaching and brunch, my weekend is wide open.

I wanted to send a HUGE thank you to Krista for one of the best BAoK ever! She saw my post noting that I couldn't find canned pumpkin in my area and she sent me TWO cans, an adorable card, and a bundle of fun teas:

Thank you so much Krista! After work today, I headed to the Daniel Island farmers market with Lindsay. We got some coffee and then hit up all the local food stands:

We also got a sample of homemade pickles with salsa on top:

I wanted one of everything! But I came home with purple potatoes, amazing carrots, blackberries, Brussels sprouts and grass fed beef (for the man):

It was also just a lot of fun to walk around in the heat and chat with Lindsay.

I ran home to take care of Frank and then headed out to teach class. After cleaning myself up and making dinner, I got started on a bread creation that I thought up while at work today ;)

Multi Grain Bread (Vegan or Not)

Ingredients

• ¾ cup flax seed meal
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup unbleached AP flour
• 1 cup oats
• ½ cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 2/3 cups milk (regular, soy, almond, whatever you’ve got)
• ½ cup molasses or honey

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Mix dry and wet ingredients separately, then combine.
• Spray a loaf pan and pour in batter.
• Bake for 45 minutes- 1 hour.
• Let loaf cool completely before slicing.
  
  

The bread turned out pretty nice! Its (obviously) a dark bread with an interesting combination of textures and flavors and is just slightly sweet.

I'm off to work. Afterwards, I am food shoping for the week and picking Josh up from the airport (hes been at a work trip allll week)- can't wait to see him!

Everything but...and a Giveaway! Filed under ( BAoK, Breakfast, Dessert, Healthy, Vegetables )

Hi guys! Friday at last!! I have lots to cover, so I'll try to keep the words to a minimum.

First up, have you heard about Sabrina's I Love Salad! Challenge? Go to her blog and check it out. My contribution? One of my favorite mixes- a Greek type salad containing spinach, cucumbers, artichokes, carrots, feta cheese & dried cherries, topped with olive oil and vinegar:

Second, I saw this recipe on the Fruit Not Fat blog for granola bars and knew I wanted to give them a go. I followed the recipe exactly (for once) and used two varieties of Galaxy Granola:

The outcome:

These bars PUFF up big time!! They're yummy, but more cakey like than granola bar like:

Third, lots of fun BAoK action going on:

• Lindsay gave Madeline two fun BAoK gifts that really made her day!
• Janetha (queen of BAoK in my book) gave Lauren a fun Starbucks gift card for her birthday
• Melissa sent Sarah some Odwalla bars (because she can't get them in Canada)
• And my fellow future housewife ;) Julie sent me the SWEETEST package containing TJs coffee (love it!) and the best protein powder flavor ever...because she knows how much Josh enjoys it hahaha (you're the best!)

Keep the BAoK going! Emails, cards, anything! Share the blogger love.

Ok, finally...for the giveaway! I mentioned previously that I had won tickets to the 2010 Taste of the Nation in Greenville, SC. I have one ticket to giveaway! If you want the ticket, please leave a comment below letting me know! The contest will be open until Monday, April 26 at noon. The winner will be randomly selected.

Have a great weekend!! What are you up to?

BAoK, BBQ, Key Lime Tartlets Filed under ( BAoK, Dessert, product review )

Hi friends! Hope you are enjoying your weekend so far! Mine has been lovely. Yesterday, I received a FABULOUS BAoK gift from Allie. The gift contained tons of tea, two zing bars, and two of her soon to be famous Allie Bars (which are seriously out of this world amazing). Thank you so much Allie!!

I wanted to mention two additional BAoK taking place around blog world:

• Alisa (whose guilt free banana bread will be featured in a future post), sent an email to a fellow blogger to thank them for being such a great support and inspiration.
• Janetha saw Kailey (snackface) write on Brooke's (homegirls) wall that she could not find a specific color of nail polish. So, Janetha found it online and ordered it and had it shipped to her house (so sweet!)

Have you done a BAoK? Email it to me at Itzyskitchen at gmail dot com!

Last night we had friends over for a BBQ. I didn't take very good pictures (whoops), but here are just a few)- I made beef burgers for the boys, a chicken sandwich for my friend Mandi (shout out ;)), and a rice burger for myself:

Unfortunately...the burger was very cardboardy. I guess I'll stick to making my own meat free burgers at home!

I made up a spinach and strawberry salad:

And placed almonds, feta, and Maria's dressing on the side:

I also laid out some pickles:

Grilled up some buns and pineapple:

and asparagus.

Dinner was great! Mandi brought over some coconut lemon bars for dessert that were DELICIOUS.

This morning, I taught Body Step & Pump and baked up some mini key lime tartlets for my Uncle whose birthday is today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE GARY!!!):

I also spent a ton of time outside (its gorgeous out) and listened to the new Body Step music to prep for our practice tomorrow and launch on Monday. Now I'm debating whether to go to the Family Circle Cup (women's pro tennis) or relax with Josh... decisions, decisions! I'm also on the way to deliver the tartlets and a bottle of my Uncle's favorite beverage :)

What are you up to?

Easy Pasta Salad, BAoK, Charleston Meet up Filed under ( BAoK, Healthy, Italian, Vegetables, vegetarian )

First off, thank you all for letting me know your hopes/aspirations for the next five years. Sounds like a lot of you have some big plans!! As for me, five years from now, I'd love to be generally healthy & happy, have A kid, and still be spending tons of times with Josh & Frank.

I love making up pasta salads because they make for a filling meal, you can make them ahead of time (in fact they taste much better if they have more time to set in the fridge), and you can always switch up the ingredients based on what you have on hand. You can make them with or without meat. I placed ham in this recipe for Josh’s salad since my parents had given him some to take home after our Easter dinner. For a vegetarian substitute, I used chickpeas for my own version

Simple Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• ¼ box pasta (any shape will do)
• Cooked/cubed meat or beans (recommend chickpeas)
• 1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
• Other leftover veggies- I used Brussels sprouts
• Cubed cheese- I used mozzarella
• 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt & Pepper or other desired spices
• Parmesan cheese to top

Directions:
Cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain and let cool. In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, S&P/spices. Add in pasta, meat/beans, vegetables and cheese and toss to coat. Cover and place in fridge until you’re ready to serve. If you’d like, top with Parmesan cheese.

Josh’s salad:

I’m glad the weekend is approaching. What are you up to this weekend? My plans are sort of up in the air. Teaching attack today, step Saturday, otherwise??

Also, have you participated in BAoK??? If so, shoot me an email letting me know what you did. My first BAoK recipient, the awesome Melissa, received her package. I sent out a second box on Wednesday. I will be doing a recap post soon to talk about some of the other BAoK going on.

Any other Charleston area readers or foodie bloggers out there? Interested in a meet up? Email me at Itzyskitchen at gmail dot com.