Nic's Noshes

Man o Man

2009-12-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

So I have been so bad about posting anything and I have decided that I really need to start again. So I am just writing this to add to my blog and when I get home from Christmas I will start again. And the first new post will be a wish list for 2010. I have read a couple of other blogs that I follow and I read what these women have accomplished in their lives and I finally realize that you will not get what what by sitting on the sidelines but by getting in their and getting your hands dirty and off you a**!!!

Merry Christmas

Day 2

2009-06-10T04:18:00.000-07:00

So I figured I would try and break up this post a bit since it will be overwhelming to me and you...lol. So we got up the next morning and walked to breakfast. One of the best parts about this whole trip was that we got to walk everywhere. I burned off everything I ate! So included in the B&B were coupons for breakfast every morning. We decided on Rather Sweet. Its was off the beaten path and to get there you had to travel through this garden. Holy cow that place was heaven. The pastries, pies, cookies, scones, Kolaches (pillowy yeasted buns with sweet or savory fillings) were incredible. It was hard to pick just one. So we stepped up to the counter and decided on a peach scone, sausage and cheese Kolaches and a pineapple Kolaches (My first ever..lol!)

The peach scone was so crumbly and sugary. It had a great crust and the filling was so sweet but not overly so. You could really tell that the peaches were not canned but fresh. We did find out later on that she uses organic ingredients and mostly local products.

I will just throw into this post that the next morning we went back and got a peach Kolaches and the same sausage and cheese Kolaches. I just could not get enough. The Kolaches was very different from anything that I had had before. It was amazing to taste how different the savory and sweet pastries were and to know that the dough was made the same way. I definitely liked the peach better than the pineapple.

On the way back we stopped at this little bakery named Dietz Bakery. We went in and the price list over the counter was crazy. At first I thought maybe they had kept the original up there for show since this was a small town and a lot of the shops and restaurants had tried to keep the authentic feel. But nope those were the prices. 55 cents for a cinnamon roll, 65 cents for a twist, $2 for homemade wheat bread! It was nuts and the place openned at 8am and usually sold out at 10...lol. We were able to get two rolls the next morning but when we got there at 9 they were almost completely sold out.

Walking around the town was great. The people were so nice and the shops were really interesting. We walked back to the house and stopped off at a shop called Chocolat. Really there was not other name needed. You walked in and it was totally sensory overload. There was so much to chose from. I could have stayed in there for hours..lol. They had these dark chocolat liquid filled candies that were incredible. I sampled the Cabernet and it was amazing, you could really taste the flavor of the wine. The upside down truffles, with the filling on the outside, were velvety and flavorful and I think we ended up going back at least two more times...lol.

Lunch was Italian. Seriously there was so much to chose from it was great. We tried to sample all the different types of food and we managed to do pretty well..lol. So back to lunch at . When you walked in you really felt that you had just found a local spot. Very laid back, not touristy and the food was excellent. We ended up with a cup of the tomato basil soup. You could totally taste the fresh basil. It was a tad salty but the flavor of tomato and basil was really good. We then moved on to a fresh caprese salad with mozzerella, tomato, basil in a balsamic vinegrette. And to finish it off we shared a triple mousse dessert. Yum!!

Just got there...

2009-06-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

side note...giveaway. Peanut Butter and Jenny is doing a 300th post giveaway!!! Click Here to check it out.

Just got back on Sunday evening from my trip to Fredericksburg TX. I had so much fun! I went down to visit my friend Anne and see a part of the US that I had never been too. The weather was awesome not a cloud in the sky, well, until I was leaving but I was leaving..lol! I am hoping to finish this post this evening but we are having some severe weather so I will be shutting down for a bit. Okay I am back. That was friggin crazy weather. Complete with winds, rain and hail.

Anyway, so I hate to fly. Okay so really I am scared to fly..lol. That whole not being in control and up really really high definitely not for me. But I did it! I have to admit the trip there was pretty much a blur since I left MD at 5:30 am and had not slept at all that night, so I did nap on the flight. I got a pretty cool pic coming into TX from my seat.

I was so happy when we finally landed in San Antonio and I was off the plane at least for the next 4 days!

I had never met Anne in person so it was totally an adventure trying to find her in the parking area out of the airport. I was so excited to finally meet her and we totally hit it off. I knew this was going to be a great trip!

Since we don't have Sonic's in MD the first thing I wanted to get was a Vanilla Diet Coke! That would be the start of many over the weekend.

We got into Fredericksburg later that day to check into the Bed and Breakfast and get settled before dinner. It was so amazing. The house was beautiful, built back in the 1920's and finally portioned off into the B&B in the 1980's. The decor was quaint and rustic. And the beds were huge!

We got dressed and decided on Mexican for dinner. We went to Mamacita's. Its a chain restaurant that serves great mexican food. When you first walk up, fun music is piped through to the outside inviting guests to come in and enjoy the chips and salsa and sangria. We sat down to a dinner of salsa, queso and quesadillas. We ended up splitting the order and it was more than enough. Food was good. I have had better queso and the sangria was a bit dry but overall a I had a great time.

Shari's Berries

2009-06-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

So I almost forgot!! A coworker of mine got these amazing chocolate dipped strawberries from a client and she was nice enough to share! They were awesome. The strawberries were big and sweet and the chocolate was thick and delicious.

I will definitely buy some of these for the next big holiday or any day for that matter. You can visit the website here, for more information and how to order. They offer nearly 200 products ranging from the signature berries, to hand dipped cookies, truffles, cheesecakes and Strawberry Roses. And for those baseball lovers out there they are now offering theses special dipped strawberries:

How flippin' cute are those!!!! They have great gift baskets and they even have sugar free chocolate. Its amazing and definitely worth a look.

Thoughts...Ideas...New Stuff...

2009-06-03T05:10:00.000-07:00

So I have been checking out other blogs and reading as much as I can to see how to improve mine and I have decided that I need to start writing the way I used to write. I love to write and I always have. When I was younger I wanted to be an author. I have a way that I write and I had been going away from that to try and make it sound more professional and I don't want to do that anymore..lol. I want it to sound like me! So that the first light bulb that came on. The second was that I am right now trying to train for the Falmouth Road Race in Cape Cod, MA this August. I had run this last year in 70 minutes. Its 7.1 miles so my 10 minute mile was great for me! This year I had wanted to run it in around an hour but seems like my legs have other ideas. So a little back story. Please sit down, relax, grab a drink and just read.....

So three years ago, wow I can't believe it has been that long, I decided that I wanted to run the race with my dad. You see both of my sister's had run with him already and I was the only one who hadn't done it. So I decided that I would be smart and train for 6 months for the race. I always wanted to be a runner. I would see people outside running and it looked so freeing and just amazing. But alas, I am not a runner. At all. Nope. Not even close. I have never gotten to the point where your legs just take over and you seem to be able to run forever. For me every step is tough, every mile seems so long and my body rebels every thought of running. So I started slow. I started on a treadmill. Yep that little machine that seems so nice and non threatening sitting there looking all innocent. Little did I know that there was a beast lurking inside. The days went on and I kept running. Some days I thought I would die and others I just thought I would throw up. About 2 months into training I noticed that my shins were hurting me when I wasn't running. Now they had been bothering me for a bit while I was running but I just figured my legs where not used to being told they had to run so they might be putting up a fight. I went to the doctors and she said that I had shin splints and I had to take a 2 week rest. Fine, whatever, I would put up my running shoes for 2 weeks and take a break. I continued to bike during that time and my legs continued to get worse. I went and had a bone density test done. So for everyone who has not had the pleasure of this let me just give you this imagine. Imagine the most uncomfortable table you have ever seen and just think of how it would feel to have to lie on it for 45 minutes and not move at all. Not one single flinch. And of course before the torture of laying there you have to get a shot full of dye so they can see your bones. Fun stuff. Results...negative. Nothing wrong. Next was the orthopedic. Xrays first and again nothing. So there I am sitting in the office and he squeezes my knee and I flew of the table. I told him he did that again and I might have to kick him..lol. So MRI's were in order. And not just one MRI but 6. Yes 6. That is 6 hours of my time laying strapped to a bed in a room under a machine. Man I was loving this.

Diagnoses....stress fractures both legs. Yep both of them. Same spot same fracture. Prescription...crutches for a year. So the time for the race came up and my whole family decided to run that year, since I was unable to. Now mind you I was the only one who had trained so I was in the best shape..lol. But they did it and not one could walk for the next 2 days! Fast forward to last year and I ran and I love/hated every minute. So I vowed that I would do it faster this year. Fast forward to now and I am training but I am struggling. See when you stress fracture anything and when you get shin splints you get them all the time. So I have to frequently take breaks from running.

So lets wrap this up. I have taken up a bunch of your time. I am calling out to all runners, new and seasoned. I need your help. I would love to hear how you trained for your races. How you started into running. And how you have overcome any problems that seem to get into your way.

I started this as a food blog and it will stay a food blog but I will add my training in here now as well.

Happy Eating...Happy Running.

A Recap and Secret Bloggie Goodies

2009-06-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

So I decided to do this post as a recap of the past two days and I will post pics tonite as I am already in my office and are not able to do that from here..lol. Well I shouldn't be writing from here either but its 7:45am and I had to get in early since my dog needs to go to the vet this morning. So I am here making up the time. Anywoo, so Sunday after the great drinking fest of 09' we got home, rather we flew home, and I decided that I wanted something yummy for lunch but not involved. Pizza it is!!! We had to go get the pups from the in-laws so we made a special trip to Wholefoods and got my favorite pizza. American Flatbread. It is so good and I have not been able to find it anywhere but at Wholefoods so they have me in their clutches...insert evil laugh here. So I added some cherries, my new favorite fruit, and some strawberries and bam lunch!

So as not to have dinner feel less then adequate I decided I had not had sushi in forever. I called up Edo Sushi and ordered the Chirashi Sushi. Its a ball of sushi rice with about 10 to 15 pieces of fish and some edamame. It was so yummy and I felt good eating it. I will say that I only ate about a 1/2 cup of the rice but enjoyed all of the fish.

Okay so lets move on to the good stuff....MY SECRET BLOGGIE GOODIES! I was having such a day at work (when don't I..lol) that I ran home during lunch and what did I see at my door but a package for me. Yes a package just for me. I was so excited that I ripped open the box and first thing I see is Chocolate Peppermint Lar Bars. I love those and then I got to the Luna Chocolate Peppermint Cookie, which I promtly ate then and there. So good! And some dark chocolate. And yes it was 80% dark. Oh so yummy and delicious. Thank you so much Emma. I will be checking out your site definitely. http://fruitveggielife.blogspot.com/

That was such a great idea and a wonderful part of my day. I would love to do them again.

Giveaway time!!! Leslie over at Jacksons World is giving away a great Bed Bath and Beyond basket! Click here to enter.

New Jersey Wineries and Barrel Tastings

2009-06-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we traveled up to Northern New Jersey to visit with my sis and to check out some local wineries. Trip time usually 4 to 4 1/2 hours....our time 3..lol. We left here at 5 am and flew up there. I love no traffic!!!

Our first stop was Westfall Winery. We were going there for the First Barrel Tasting of the Summer season. I was so excited I had never tried wine before it was ready to bottle. We sat down outside and enjoyed a pinic. My sister and her boyfriend had made great sandwiches for everyone and had also packed pineapple slices, pickles and chips. It was a great way to fill the belly before the wine feast began.

We then paid our 5 dollars and got a great glass and moved to the Barrel Room. I have to mentioned that this Winery also breeds horses. When we pulled up the horses were outside to greet us. I think one really wanted our attention!

Anyway, back to the wine. So we go inside and this tasting is for reds. Now I am not a huge fan of red, tends to give me a headache, so I was a little leary but I did fine a couple that I would have a glass of with dinner. I don't think the tasting guide cared for our group to much, we were rowdy! My mom came in and grabbed the list and started to describe all of the wines. She then turns to him and say "Wait is this your job"...lol!! My husband, who doesn't care for wine that much, even got into the tasting. He was even chewing the wine for the flavor..lol. So much fun.

Then we went into the shop were the owner had another good 15 bottles of wine for us to try and that tasting was free!! I love anything free..lol. I ended up with a bottle of Sangria to take home. It was a little sweet but not overly so and had a great citrus finish. A dangerous bottle to have around a cookout..lol.

After hanging out a bit with my parents we said goodbye and the four of us went on to the next stop.

Ventimiglia Vineyard. My sister had told me that when you first pull up to the winery you really feel like you are just pulling up to someone's house. She was right! They had chickens in the side yard, some grapes growing in the backyard and a few tables out front for people to sit and enjoy the wine.

This tasting was also 5 dollars and we got to sample 14 different types of wine. I learned so much. The owner's of this winery are so personable and you can tell the amount of heart and soul that go into his wines. We were even lucky enough to go down and get another barrel tasting! I wish I would have been able to take a couple of those home that day. But I will wait til they get bottled and enjoy!

Since my sister and her boyfriend (okay Monique and Jason...so much easier...lol!) had gone there a couple of times we totally took that over as well. By the end we were pouring the wine!! I loved the Carignane, which is a red. I was so excited to find one that I loved. It was smooth, crisp and a little tart but with no linger at all. I bought a bottle of that and of the Chardonnay. Their Chardonnay has grapefruit tones...grapefruit is one of my favorites!! It was crazy to learn the number of different types of grapes that they use in the wines. And they make it all by hand. For the sorting to the crushing to the bottling.

It was such a great day and I really enjoyed learning about the wines. I can't wait for them to come visit here again and for us to try some local wineries in MD.

So I totally want to post my eats on Sunday when I got back from NJ but I am beat and my Hubby just got me a lavender tea and I am going to relax and read and relax...lol.

Just a quickie

2009-05-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

I had a day at work, but I am trying to stay positive since I get to see my sister tomorrow and go to a couple wineries around the area!! I am wicked excited. So today's food was just leftovers in the fridge but I got my latte this morning. Man I love a good latte and Java Journey's does the best! They have great flavors of regular and decaf. Which if you are are decaf. drinker you know that the flavors are hard to come by. They have a list each season with different types of lattes but they will make whatever flavor you want with any of the beans that are on hand. This morning I got a large non-fat german chocolate cake latte, 2 shots reg. 1 shot decaf. and sugar free coconut syrup. I mean to start off the day with chocolate and coconut and not feel guilty is the greatest!! So if you are ever in MD on Owings Mills Boulevard, stop in. You will not be disappointed.

From the website:

Serving delicious varieties of fine quality coffee and tea, along with tempting pastries.

.....Meet with friends over a cappuccino and biscotti

.....Enjoy a latte while working on your laptop

.....Purchase fragrant tea and aromatic coffee beans to brew at home, or a bagel and a great cup of "java" to go!

A few of my favorite things.

2009-05-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

Hi! So I decided that today's post would just be a list of a few of my favorite things. I have been eating pretty much the same stuff since Monday and seriously how many pictures of the same pancakes and I post...lol!! So I figure I will just jot down a couple of items and then maybe post a pic or two later.

Chocolate Mint Clif Bars...yum!
Chocolate Peppermint Luna Bars...can we see a theme coming..lol.
Nut butters..any and all I am wide variety nut lover (okay don't take out of context...lol)
Puffins... Seriously I can eat the whole box in one sitting.
Dark Chocolate. Like super dark...close to bakers chocolate as you can get!
Cookbooks. I have a ton but I love them and I am so addicted.

Okay so I will actually post what I had for breakfast and lunch today. So breakfast was a wrap with 2 eggs, spinach and goat cheese. Of course I forgot my camera so we can just imagine how it looked..lol. Lunch was chicken soup from Ellie Krieger. ( I know but her cookbook rocks and I made a ton of stuff) I did modify it a bit. I added broccoli and left out the celery and used couscous rather than orzo since I had it on hand. I paired that with a slice of walnut bread and yum lunch!!

I totally have to share...I went to Trader Joe's yesterday and found the greatest dark chocolate ever. It comes pre cut into wedges and for 2 wedges it is only 70 calories. Since it is dark chocolate with a hint of heat, 2 is plenty to satisfy your sweet tooth. The chocolate has hints of ancho and chipotle peppers with a kick of cinamon. If you love heat and chocolate this is the perfect match. It is not hot but has a slow burn to enhance the deep chocolate flavor. So good!!!

What is some of your favorite things?

Giveaways!!!

Great basket of food giveaway at livin lovely and healthy!
"These baskets are full of sun dried fruits, fruit bars, apricot kernels and I see some chocolates in there too"

Danica is giving away Gnu bars. Click Here!

One Frugal Foodie is giving away some Go Max Go candy bars. Click Her e!

An Apple a Day is doing the Last Giveway in May...man I am a poet!! Click Here for some last chance goodies.

Missy is giving away a great new Click Espresso Protein Drink. Click Here for some energy!

Back to work

2009-05-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post since most of today's meals were what I had already eaten yesterday...lol. But more pics and a recap.

Breakfast was a large black coffee with 3 Whole Wheat Pancakes smeared with Strawberry sauce.

Lunch: Buffalo meatballs, spinach, tomato and green goddess dressing

Dinner was a chicken soup with broccoli, carrots, israeli couscous and a slice of walnut bread with some goat cheese spread....I will add that pic later..lol.

And of course to finish it off and to show it one more time, those S'mores!!!!

So this evening I went to the gym and tried one of Tina's, carrotsncake.com, running workouts. Holy Moly I am beat! It was great. I plan on doing another one tomorrow.

Prep prep and more prep...

2009-05-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

Man today was rough...lol. I always feel like I need a vacation after a vacation. So yesterday I decided to spend the day prepping food for the week. It also gave me great stuff to add to my blog and some awesome pics. I broke out the cookbooks and decided on Whole Wheat pancakes with fresh farm market strawberry sauce from the The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger. Yum!!! I made the whole batch and froze two portions, which was great for this morning. I just popped them in the toaster and bam breakfast.

The strawberry sauce was so simple. I just took 1tb of honey and a pint of fresh strawberries and heated them up in a sauce pan until the strawberries were mushy and easy to mash.

Then for lunch I made a seafood salad with scallops, lobster and shrimp. I put that over a bed of farm fresh spinach with some homemade basil pesto. I finished it off with the slice of walnut wheat bread with a smear of goat cheese.

I had some buffalo that I had to use up so I made a bunch of meatballs. I had mine over some spinach and tomato with a drizzle of green goddess dressing, also an Ellie Krieger recipe. It was a great food day.

After dinner I grabbed the fruit and just cut it all up to make it easier for this week. I love grab and go. I also decided to try out a s'more recipe that I got from Alice from sweet life. Man those were friggin the best!!!!

I mean seriously how good do those look!?!

Brew at the Zoo!

2009-05-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been so crazy that I haven't even had a chance to post about Brew at the Zoo. My sister and her boyfriend came to visit and we went to the Baltimore Zoo on Saturday. It was a blast. We walked around the zoo first and saw all of the animals and even got to feed a giraffe!!

We were walking into the zoo and everyone was staring at the ground. It was a huge snake just crawling along the walkway! We were joking that he had finally just made a break for it and escaped.

This is the giraffe that we got to feed. It was really good and something I never thought that I would do!

Then we headed into the area for Brew at the Zoo!! This was our second event and let me just say that it gets better and better. We started by enjoying some Dangerously Delicious Pies. I had seen him on the Food Network and had wanted to try the pies. I was not disappointed. It was so friggin good. Of course I had to get the Baltimore Bomb. It had crushed up Berger Cookies, a Baltimore staple. Yum!!! I shared it with everyone since a couple of bites was all I needed.

Then we hit the beer and wine tents. You get a 40z shot glass when you enter and its free tastings all afternoon. I think we sampled just about everyone..lol!

There were a bunch of different wineries this time around, so it was a great mix of wines and beers. For a complete list of all of the local beers and wines just click the link to Brew at the Zoo above. So about 2 hours later we decided that we had tried all that there was to offer and we were definitely feeling the sun and the booze..lol. So off to home we went. It was such a great trip and I am hoping that it becomes a tradition each year!

This is how photo's turn out after a few...lol!!! I love it.

I have spent most of today prepping and preparing food for the week. I can't wait to put up the pics from today.

Party Party Party

2009-05-23T06:02:00.000-07:00

So I went to my brother-in-laws 40th surprise birthday and it was really fun. I didn't drink or eat anything since it was a bar and the food was totally not worth it. So we came home around midnight, stopped by the grocery store and got some pizza, and cracked open a few bottles of wine. So yeah I don't really drink so this morning was rough..lol! A big bottle of Powerade Zero, a bunch of Tylenol and some fruit salad I am starting to feel a little more normal.

A yummy mix of watermelon, cantaloupe, blackberries and melon.

I have no pictures from yesterday at all since it was clean like the wind day. I ended up eating some yummy oatmeal at 7:30 am than a sandwich at 5:00 pm and then some pizza at 12:30am. I was all over the place..lol. Today is Brew at the Zoo and I am wicked excited. I will definitely have brew and zoo pictures from that.

So I am posted my yummy breakfast that I had on Thursday since its so pretty I have to put it in here..lol.

This mix was really great. Banana, almonds and raisins. I will definitely make that again.

For lunch I had a salad that I made from my garden! I added raspberries and thin asparagus that I had picked up from the farmer's market. I can't wait until I start getting veggies from my CSA!

***Giveaway giveaway so Sarah is giving away some Sonny & Joes hummus! A whole sample package.

Off to get ready for the zoo!!

Friday is finally here

2009-05-22T03:47:00.001-07:00

I am so excited its Friday! I have my sister coming into town, my other sister's husband's 40th birthday party and Brew at the Zoo all this weekend!!!

So Danica is having a great giveaway.
"The contest you all have been waiting for since I went to the rockin' Hungry-Girl Book signing! I am giving away one signed copy of Hungry-Girls NEW 200 Under 200 Cookbook."

The first cookbook was great I can imagine the recipes in this one!

Another great giveaway....Zesty is giving away 10 hours of Blog Consulting/Design Makeover, which is awesome and something that I need desperately!

The weekend is almost here...

2009-05-21T04:32:00.000-07:00

So yesterday started off great. I got up had a wonderful run (I am gearing up for the Falmouth Road Race in August) and was totally looking forward to pancakes! So I decided to run off course with my recipe and yeah not a good idea..lol.

I put it in the pan and tasted the batter, picked up my phone and ordered an egg white avocado wrap from the Flying Avocado! It was really yummy. I did have one issue. Normally the breakfast meal comes with a little side of berries but yesterday mine came with some red skinned potatoes. So I ended up tasting the small one and it was good but definitely not berries. Of course I had forgotten my camera at home. (I know seriously how does one that blogs about food forget to take pictures of food..ugh)

Lunch was a wrap with some thin sliced pastrami and a slice of cheddar. I snacked on protein bars and some delish apricots. I was so excited when I went into Giant and saw they finally had fresh apricots. I love them!!

I ran around after work and when I finally got home at 7:30 my husband had made quesadillas. I was so happy and ready to eat! They were filled with ground turkey and lite mozzarella cheese and topped with mango salsa, tomato salsa, avocado and some fresh cilantro from the garden.

I love how he does presentation. Any time he makes dinner he always likes it to look good..lol.
For dessert he went and got me some almond biscotti and a tea from Java Journeys. He is so good to me.

It was time for bed. Looks like the pup was already there!!!!

Happy noshing!

Flowers....

2009-05-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

Man I am in love with taking photos of flowers. I know its not super food related but I have to share....

Okay so a couple of food photos...cilantro from my garden:

Mint:

Happy Tuesday!

Bonefish....

2009-05-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

So tonite was just one of those nites that I did not want to cook. So my husband suggest we eat out. But where to go, where to go. I knew I didn't want to blow my whole day with eating some take out pizza or burgers. So I decide on Bonefish Grill. What a great decision!! I ended up getting the tuna sashimi for my appetizer and a salmon salad for my entree. We then split some strawberry shortcake for dessert. So good and I feel great!

Salmon with some chimichurri sauce over a bed of mixed greens, asparagus, green beans, fennel and some goat cheese...can you say yum!!!

Another shot

So yeah I forgot to take pictures of the strawberry shortcake. I don't think that it lasted that long on my plate..lol. What a great meal!

Alysa's Baby shower

2009-05-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty bland food day. Must go grocery shopping!! So, I will share pics of the baby shower I went to on Saturday. Its funny how when you have friends your age and they start to have babies, its hard to imagine them as adults and parents. But she is going to make a great mom!

Some healthy eats!

I mean how cute is that idea. Life Savers and Good and Plenty's

And the favors had the picture of Madilyn. There were some really cute ideas and games.

I followed the advice of the other blogger's and had a piece of the one thing that I wouldn't normally make at home...spanikopita! It was really yummy and I didn't feel guilty at all.

There she is!

Happy Eating!

Owings Mills Farmer's Market

2009-05-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

This morning was the Grand Opening of the Owings Mills Farmer's Market!

I was so excited to see who would be there and what goodies would be offered. When I first got there I was taken over by the beauty and fragrance of fresh flowers. They were gorgeous. They offered hanging baskets, plants to grow and fresh cut. The prices were very reasonable and the selection was varied. I ended up buying two of the fresh cut flowers to put in my kitchen.

Hanging plants

Hanging plants

Fresh cut

I then moved on to the next booth that offered some very unusual spreads. Infused Spreads by E 2. They are a company based out of Baltimore that makes jellys, jams, marmalades and spreads to put on anything from bread to meat. The items offered are definitely not your run of the mill spreads. I sampled the orange chipotle and another one with mango. They were both delish. However, I ended up buying the Grapefruit, jalapeno mint marmalade and the Christmas morning Sweet Potato Butter! I can't wait to try them. The flavors are unique but balanced. The orange chipotle was a interest mix of citrus with a hit of heat. I am not to into super sweet spreads the heat took it down a notch and really brought out the orange flavor. I will definitely be going back for more. If you are interested in contacting them: infusedspread@yahoo.com

Yum!!!

I moved to my left and found a table of Msprity's spa Luxuries. Homemade scrubs, soups, lotions and gels. The smells were incredible and the fact that the products are homemade with natural ingredients was even better. I was given a sample of the lotion ( I love samples!) and liked it so much that I ended up buying a few products. I walked away with some lip balm ( the woman who made the products said it was the best!) and some microderm facial cream. I can't wait to try them. She also offers pamper parties! I am totally booking one. I love the fact that I can get a bunch of my friends together to drink wine and relax. Book me one today!!!

The next stop was a table with information about Grass-fed Beef and Lamb.

KOL (Kosher Organic-raised Local Foods)

We are a values-based business. We believe that people, animals and the environment should benefit in every step of our production. More and more health benefits are being found with sustainable, 100% grassfed meat. We produce post-industrial beef and lamb sourced from local family-owned farms who organically raise their animals entirely on pasture. Our animals receive no hormones, antibiotics, animal biproducts or preservatives. In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, the animals are shechted and kashered within 2 hours of the farms on which they were raised; the products are wrapped with minimal packaging.

You can go on the website and place an order. They have drop offs once a month. They are working on the website and in about 8 weeks you will be able to go online and order and have the products shipped directly to your house.

So moving right along..lol. I couldn't help but notice a table with the biggest, reddest and juicest looking strawberries. These were definitely not the strawberries that you would get in the plastic packaging at the grocery store. These looked delish! I grabbed up two containers. Of course one for me and one for my husband. I knew there would be no sharing..lol! And snagged a bunch of asparagus as well.

I then went to the Mallow Munchies tent (mallowmunchies@yahoo.com) and found what will probably be my husband's favorite treat. She had 6 different and delish types of rice crisp treats. They included original, PB&J, Dipped, Marble, Caramallow and Crunch. Each with its only unique flavor and toppings. The best part is that the marshmallows are made from SCRATCH which gives this treat a very fresh and homemade taste.

I rounded out my trip with a stop at the Springfield Farm stand. They have organic free-range eggs, butter, chicken, turkey, beef and wild game. You can order from the farm website and they will bring it to the Farmer's Market each week. The best part is you know where your meat is coming from.

"Sustainable agricultural methods are practiced where the animals are given nothing which is not natural – no hormones, antibiotics, chemicals, etc. All animals are offered free-range during the grass growing season. In addition to chicken eggs, seasonal duck eggs and seasonal goose eggs, chicken, turkey, duck and seasonal goose are raised for meat. Beef (grass-fed and natural), grass-fed lamb, pork and rabbit are also available. All animals are treated humanely, allowed to associate with each other and cared for when sick using homeopathic remedies first."
Spring Field Farm website

So this morning I had 2 organic free range eggs with some hand picked strawberries and a slice of homemade french herb bread! It was so good. I even went into my garden and added some fresh thyme, oregano and chive! You can't get much fresher than that.

It was so yummy!!

Down on the Farm

2009-05-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

So I decided today to post a few pics from the farm. I was there a bit early for my work hours so I walked around and enjoyed the outdoors. It was beautiful, peaceful and a wonderful way to start my day! Hope you enjoy! I promise more food later..lol.

Rows of green beans

I am off to get ready for Alysa's baby shower.

Tahina's

2009-05-16T03:43:00.000-07:00

So I am getting ready to go to the farm again this Saturday morning. I am fueling up with a peanut butter and jelly wrap and a big bottle of water. I am not sure what I will be doing today but it looks like rain so that should make it interesting..lol!

Review: So last nite I went to Tahina's for the first time. The menu is small. You either get chicken, beef or falafel in pita or salad bowl. The tops, on the other hand, are numerous and interesting. I settled on a falafel salad bowl topped with marinated cucumber and tomato, sprouts, straight cucumber and a spicy feta sauce. The sauce and veggies were great. The lettuce was mostly iceberg with a few other greens thrown in. The falafel looked like it had been fried which made it dry and hard with not too much flavor. They give you 4 big ones and I ended up eating two. I think if it was baked it would have been better. Since I was getting a salad bowl I decided that I would treat myself to some eggplant fries. I knew that even through it was eggplant, being fried just took out all the nutritional qualities..lol. They were okay. My husband liked them and even commented on the grease taste. That was the problem. The flavor of eggplant was not even there it just tasted greasy. I will say though the condiment bar was excellent. They have a bunch of different sauces and I tried the spicy garlic (my fav.) and the cucumber wasabi. So all in all I would have to give it about a C. I do believe that you can go in there and get something healthy. I think I will try the chicken next time.

Let the harvest begin

2009-05-14T05:58:00.000-07:00

So this morning I woke up late. Must be in the air. I was just reading Carrotsncake.com and she ended up missing her alarm as well..lol! I was thinking this was going to be a rough day but it hadn't even started so I took a deep breath and changed my outlook. When I got outside I saw my first tomato!!! I am so excited. When we purchased the house it came with a pond out front. Last year I tried my hand at fish and after killing them all ( I was so upset) I decided this year to fill the pond in and plant a garden. I just could not kill another fish. So my garden is blooming!

My first tomato!

Thyme
Gerber Daisy

News from last nite. I went to a Passion Party. I have been to a couple but this one was by far the best. The woman running the party was amazing. She just made everyone feel at ease and comfortable. I can't post to many pictures of things since this is a G rated site...lol.

Started the day with my staple bowl of oatmeal but this time I added some pureed carrots and raisins. Tasted like carrot cake. It was really good, definitely will do that again.

Lunch I took some help from Amy's and had a frozen meal. It was surprisingly good for being a premade lunch. I was impressed. Will definitely have to look for that again.

So I may or may not have just eaten 6 cookies..lol. And were they cooked..not so much. I swear I just can't leave cookie dough alone. So yeah that was my treat!

Happy eating!

Happy Tuesday

2009-05-12T09:24:00.001-07:00

I have been so bad the past few days with pics..lol. I promise to post some for yesterday and today this evening!

Started the day with a great cardio session at the gym. Goal this week is to burn at least 500 calories each session. So I broke out the heart rate monitor and kicked my butt for 50 minutes. I am hoping that my hamstring will start to feel better so that I can run tomorrow. The race is only a few months away!

So after the gym I had a great big bowl of oatmeal. I added banana, blueberries and a tablespoon of peanut butter...yum!

I need to bring some prettier dishes to work.

Lunch was a Flatout wrap with some turkey breast, hummus, fat free feta cheese and spinach. I threw a couple of red pepper and zucchini sticks in there for some crunch. I will tell you raw zucchini is really not my thing..lol. Snack was some Skyr.is greek yogurt with a handful of Peanut Butter Puffins.

It is fat free with over 20 grams of protein and comes with a cute little spoon.

I would like to share a great find that I made at Wholefoods this past weekend. I found these Dark Chocolate Calcium chews. They are delish. Its great for that chocolate craving and each one only has 30 calories and 500mg of Calcium!

Adora

I have been trying to type my paper for my nutrition class and I just keep getting side track..writing my blog!! So dinner is up in the air. I really haven't figured out what I want, but I am definitely leaving towards cereal again...lol. Maybe I will go get some smoked salmon and make some yummy cream cheese crackers with a salad on the side. That is an idea.

I finally decided! Salmon on Wasa crackers, with sliced red onion, spinach and low fat cream cheese. I roasted some broccolini for my side and had a cup of mango gazpacho to finish it off. For dessert I made a ricotta creme with fresh blackberries, blueberries and a kiwi. I added some mint from my garden. Delish!!!!

Lovely greens......

Ricotta creme with berries and mint

Mint from my garden

Happy noshing!!!

Mother's day.... a day late.

2009-05-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

So I meant to post yesterday but again my day was just too crazy. I play softball in a mixed league and we have double headers on Sunday. That means I am out on the field from 9 to about 12. I had a great time. We won both games!! It was cold but really fun.

My team!

Eats yesterday were pretty boring. I had a carrot cake bar with some cherries for breakfast.

It is probably one of my favorite protein bar recipes.

Some salmon on Wasa crisp and lite crackers with some lite veggie cream cheese and olives for a snack. Then we went over to my mother-in-law's and had some bbq. I had some sweet potato, steak and a piece of corn. I started that with a big bowl of salad. For a sweet treat I had another chocolate covered strawberry and 1/2 of a bite size cannoli. It was very good. I came home so tired and ready for bed but I still wanted something but I didn't want a huge piece of cake or anything to heavy. I decided on a half a cup of yogurt cheese mixed with truvia and vanilla. I added cherries, kiwi and blackberries and shaved a bit of chocolate on top. So good!!!

How good does that look!!

Back to today. Today was a day. The kind of day when you get home you just want to get into your pj's and lay in bed...lol. Foods today were boring to say the least. And I don't really feel all that creative this evening. I am leaning towards a big bowl of cereal with some berries. I just got some of Barbara's peanut butter puffins. They are so addicting it will be hard not to eat the whole box!

I had to hide the box. I seriously would have finished it.

I promise better stuff tomorrow..!!!

Fun at the Farm

2009-05-09T16:11:00.001-07:00

Today was my first day of working on the farm. I am doing a CSA workshare this year for Cromwell Valley Farms in Baltimore Maryland. I will be working all growing season and in return I get free organic veggies!!! This morning I fueled up with a Flat out wrap spread with a 1tb of peanut butter and a banana. For some protein I added 2 TJ Cage free egg whites.

90 calories and I love that these wraps with stretch over the filling without breaking.

Then it was off to the farm. Today was the weeding of the raspberry plants. I was like sure this should be easy...lol. Little did I know that Thistles love raspberry plants and Thistles have little tiny sharp thorns. But it was a great experience and the people I met were really awesome and from all walk's of life. I fueled up during my weeding with some new Power Ade Zero and after we finished I had a protien bar. Then it was off to Wholefoods!

Can you tell the weed from the raspberry plant?

I have such a busy day planned. When I got home from the grocery store, I ran to the gym and lifted. I am doing a NROLFW program and the lifts are short and sweet, so I was in and out in about 30 minutes. I stopped at Java Journeys and got a non fat, sugar free iced german chocolate latte..yum and picked up a frozen hot chocolate for my husband. On the way out I turned to the car next to me and I swear to you, Santa was sitting shotgun..lol. It was this giant Santa statue that was seatbelted in and just chilling waiting for the driver!

So since it was already 2:30 by the time I got home I decided lunch would be easy. I had just picked up a new frozen pizza that I was itching to try.

Its made in Vermont

The was taken right out of the box. Looks good enough to eat.

It was so good and the crust is flatbread. The whole pizza only had 600 calories so there was no guilt in eating the whole thing.

Then I made some carrot cake protein bars. I got the recipe from the oxgyen forum. This is a version of Jamie Eason's.
1 cup soy flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
3 egg whites
3/4 c splenda
1/2 c ff ricotta cheese
2 4oz jars of pureed carrots (baby food)
2 scoops vanilla whey (I used Nector)
1/4 c raisins

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 8x8 in baking pan with pam. Mix the dry ingredients together, mix the wet ingredients together, then combine. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Makes 8 bars.

140 cal 5 fat 11 carbs 14 prot.

Dinner was again made by my husband. We had chicken kabob's with corn on the cob. For my starter I had a salad (this I made) and some yummy olives.

This salad had spinach, yellow and orange peppers, sundried tomatoes, feta cheese and two strawberries. It was so good it didn't need any dressing. The two green olives were stuffed with garlic.

The kabob had some chicken, onions and green peppers. He added some garlic spice to mine.

And to finish this off I had a carrot cake protein bar with 2tb of yogurt mixed with stevia and a huge chocolate covered strawberry!!!

What a great way to end a Saturday!

By the way did you catch the new dishware? I figured if I am going to photograph everything I might as well make it as pretty as possible..lol!!!!

Doing a happy friday dance...

2009-05-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

I just grabbed a drink with a co-worker and I totally am not in the mood to write..lol. It was an ocean trust martini ($1.00 goes to the ocean trust-so you have to drink one, you are saving the world) from Bonefish Grill. Delish. Write more later........okay I am back!

So this morning started off with a bowl of yummy oats. I mixed in a banana and some blueberries. I can't remember the last time I just had some oatmeal. I also added a non-fat sugar free german chocolate latte to my meal. So delish and totally held me over til my snack.

Focus..hello..where is the focus..lol

I snacked on some almonds and then lunch was a toss up. I did not have time to make anything this morning and my fridge was down to a head of lettuce and some eggs..lol. So I decided I had not had Subway in a while so I went there and got a 6in veggie sandwich on wheat. It was really good.

Wheat bread with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, pickles, banana peppers and some spicy mustard.

The afternoon snack was a staple. Apple with peanut butter on a slice of toast. As noted previously I went out for a drink with a co-worker right after work. Much needed after the day that I had..lol. It was so good and so pretty I am so bummed that I forgot my camera. I will just have to make sure to go get another one soon!

Dinner, made by my husband, was a beef and veggie kabob. I included a spinach salad with some fat free feta and sliced strawberries. He had to leave for an errand and when he got back he surprised me with a cup of yummy decaf coffee and a gluten free, lactose free brownie from Java Journeys. Such a nice guy!!!

So this was my first 300 day. I decided that instead of really counting, I would just make all of my meals around 300 calories. This way if I have 5 during the course of the day I will be at 1500 calories total or if I feel a bit hungrier I will stop at 1800.

Today is just one of those days....

2009-05-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today was an okay food day. I had my favorite cottage cheese pancakes for breakfast:

So good and they didn't burn!

1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 cup ground oats
3/4 cup egg whites (or 4 egg whites)
1 scoop protein powder (optional)
1 scoop super seed or ground flax
water

Mix all ingredients together slowly adding water to obtain the texture of pancake batter. I add stevia, cinnamon and vanilla to mine. Spray pan with pam and cook. Makes 1 serving about 3 good size pancakes or 5/6 little ones. I have also added banana to the batter to jazz it up sometimes!

and followed that with a shake and then some turkey meatloaf, that my husband made, with spinach and half of a cucumber for lunch

Seriously where do they find this plates...lol.

1lb ground turkey burger 1/2 oats 1 egg white 1/2 salsa 1/4 cup ketchup (optional spread on top) mix by hand until incorporated and then spread into loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350.

An apple with some protein packed almond butter on a slice of ezekiel was my afternoon snack and yes we can not forget the iced half caf. coffee from Java Journey's. I really have become a coffee snob! Their's is just so good and much needed by 2:30 today.

Do you like my paper towel plate..lol

and tonite's dinner is a salad with grilled shrimp from the Artful gourmet bistro (one of my favs) and Im sure a cookie, knowing my husband..lol.

Spinach, goat cheese, apples, strawberries, pecans and grilled shrimp

Yep a cookie and a bowl of ice cream with some berries and a piece of 70% dark chocolate. Man, I told you it has just been one of those days. Okay now that it's is written down it does not seem that bad. Quite good actually.

And in the next section it will be my frustration of not losing...as I am eating ice cream..lol. Balance baby its all about balance!

But I have been stuck at 155 for the past 3 days and I don't want to count calories. I can't tell you how much I don't want to count but I figured something had to be off so I counted everything except dinner and I am already over 1500! Man I want to eat clean and not count and this is a lifestyle change but I have to get control of my snacks. I need to buy new containers..lol. I need pretty little containers to put 200 calorie or less snacks in. I seriously have a weakness for dishware!

So this is definitely a work in progress and I will just have to see what works for me and I can have increased my protein lately and I can tell you that is not working. I noticed that I have had a lot of protein powders and I need to go back to the less processed foods.

You know you have to clean

2009-05-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

So today was the first day that I have actually taken pictures of all of the food that I ate. It was an eye opening experience..lol! First let me say you definitely realize how clean or how dirty your kitchen counters are when you have to photograph them. Also today made me really think about the types of containers and dishes that I eat off of and out of. I like that I became more aware.

So before I get to the good stuff, I figured a little background might be nice. So I when I was younger I was extremely active. I played three sports year round up until Junior year in Highschool. I blew out my ankle sliding into home plate and that was it for my sport career. I never really worried to much about my weight but I still had moments that I remember watching what I ate. College..yes college...ah the dreaded freshman 15. Well for me it was more about the freshman 30. I worked to get that off and on again for the next few years. Then I decided to enter a fitness competition about a year ago and had a blast. Unfortunately all of my bad habits that I had been able to suppress came roaring out and I put on the 30 pounds that I had taken off. I have finally gained control (well I am still working on that..lol) and decided that this is a lifestyle change not a diet. I love food. I love everything about food. The smell, the taste, the texture, the look. I love books and magazines about food. I watch cooking shows and read blogs. I love coming up with cleaner versions of the decadent treats I know I struggle with. And this is the next step and I can't wait to take it. oh yeah and I am hoping to compete again in October and this time walk away with a trophy. So on to the good stuff.....

This morning was oatmeal bake and strawberries. I had wanted a banana but traded for a large non fat, sugar free rainforest crunch latte...yum...in my Bubba Keg mug.

Seriously don't you love the plate circa 1970. I have promised myself for this month, starting on earth day, no more paper plates. Note to self bring in pretty dishes to photograph tomorrow.

I then was supposed to follow that with a shake but my work got in the way and before I knew it, it was time for lunch on the menu was healthy egg salad on ezekiel with cucumbers for crunch.

Egg salad
1/4 cup low fat whipped cottage cheese
1 tb non-fat milk
1tb dijon mustard
1tb pickle relish
pinch of curry powder
pinch of salt
4 egg whites and 1 egg yolk chopped

Mix all ingredients until blended. Add chopped egg. Enjoy!

Snack was an apple with a 1tb of natural peanut butter and half a scoop of banana protein powder. Mix with a little water and spread on apple.

Dinner was easier. I finished my final this evening and the last thing I wanted to do was make a big meal so it was Trader Joe's Cioppino. To think that they were going to discontinue this item. Its a great mix of yummy seafood in a tomato based broth. Says two servings but seriously can't stop at one..lol. But low in calorie so no bad feelings about eating it all. I added a half a wheat roll and dinner is done.

Had to put it in a better dish..I mean come on it looks so good....

And to finish it all off a bowl of fresh blueberries and blackberries with a wedge..or two..of 70% dark baker's chocolate.

So yummy and so fresh.

So yeah I did have a banana but I figured everyone knows what a banana looks like..lol.

Happy Eating!

Day 1

2009-05-05T19:31:00.001-07:00

So this is the first blog on my new spot. This will totally be a work in progress. I can't wait to start posting pics of my favorite noshes. I am doing a 30 day clean eat challenge and this is day 7.

Noshes for today
1. Oatmeal bake (recipe from http://marialouisepeters.blogspot.com)
2. 1 cup coconut milk (yum!) 1/2 a frozen banana, 1 scoop choc. whey, 1 scoop superseed
3. Turkey meatloaf with spinach and 1 cup brown rice
4. 1 tb peanut butter, apple and 1 slice ezekiel
5. shrimp with bok choy, mushrooms, edamame, red peppers with tamari
6. 1 square 70% dark baker chocolate, handful of pecan, almonds and currants

I will try and start posting pictures of my noshes and share my recipes with everyone. I love food and can't wait to start with this and see where it goes!