Food at Blend Retreat

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Itz Linz

Food at Blend Retreat – riveting title, I know! There was tons of tasty food at Blend, so it most definitely deserves itz own post. Plus, I’m linking up to Jenn’s WIAW party at Peas and Crayons, so it all works out! I’ll go through day by day and give you the highlights. I was introduced to many new brands this weekend (as well as kindled my love for some oldies but goodies!) so be sure to check them out!

Friday Blend Food:

I arrived too late to make it to the snack break sponsored by Attune Foods with Justin’s Nut Butter, but I can only image how delicious that was. I did, however, make it in time for Silk’s Cocktail Hour. Annette and I both sipped on Strawberry Mint Slushes made with unsweetened Silk almond milk, strawberries, mint leaves, agave, lime juice, and tequila (optional).

They weren’t overly sweet like some frozen drinks. In fact, these would be a refreshing summertime drink! There were also tasty appetizers – fresh vegetables with a couple different sauces for dipping, summer rolls, and black bean burgers (totally my favorite, but somehow I managed to miss a picture of them – too busy scarfing, probably).

Aren’t the mason jars with veggies cute? I like that idea. Next, we headed to the Escala Ballroom for a four-course dinner buffet. I’m sure you’re thinking, “Ugh, a buffet?” No, no. This was not a normal buffet. This was a gourmet buffet with totally healthy and different options. Obviously I had to try a bit of it all…

On my plate: salad, roasted veggies, wheatberry salad, halibut, and a quinoa cake (my fav). I also had a bowl of carrot ginger soup. I expected it to be cold, but it was served warm and was really good. The ginger was not overpowering at all and I enjoyed the soup more than I thought I would! We had three options for dessert, but the best was the panna cotta made with Chobani.

Am I the only one who has never heard of panna cotta before? Well, whatever it was, it was delicious! It was creamy and decadent and wonderful! Oh, I also had a couple bites of the apple crisp!

Saturday Blend Food:

We had a breakfast sponsored by Muesli Fusion and The Laughing Cow. Muesli Fusion was a new-to-me brand and the website describes muesli as a ready-to-eat cereal consisting of a base of oats and whole grains mixed with variety of ingredients including nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and sweets.

Muesli Fusion has several flavors and even gave us a bag in our swag to take home! I added Silk almond milk to mine and thought it was great; I can definitely see myself eating this for breakfasts at home. Itz super easy to make (add milk or yogurt), itz loaded with nutrients, and it tastes good! They don’t add sugar to it besides the natural sugar in fruit.

I’ve had Laughing Cow cheese wedges before, but had never tried their new cream cheese spreads. The individual wedges are perfect for portion control. I tried Strawberries & Cream and Cinnamon Cream. The strawberry one tasted like strawberry cream cheese (because that’s what it was) and the cinnamon cream one made my bagel taste like a cinnamon bun – delish!

There was a representative passing out mini bottles of BluePrint Cleanse green juice. Their green juice contains kale, apple, ginger, romaine, spinach, cucumber, celery, parsley, and lemon. A lot of girls thought it tasted way too “green” for them, but I do like the taste of greens, so I enjoyed it. Later, we tried samples of the rest of their juices and they were fabulous. Here are the other flavors:

Pineapple Apple Mint: pretty sweet
Beet Apple Carrot Lemon Ginger: very beet-ish
Lemon Cayenne Agave: packs a kick!
Cashew Vanilla Cinnamon Agave: creamy goodness
Lime Ginger Lemon Agave: tastes like lemonade

Two thumbs up, BluePrint – I like your juice!

Lunch and dinner on Saturday were on our own. There was lots of munching going on throughout the day between Chobani and digging into our swag, so we never officially sat down to eat lunch exactly. By the time dinner rolled around, we were definitely ready! Annette recommended we try Cafe Rio as itz a favorite of hers. Annette, Meg, Sara, and I all ordered salads that were seriously massive.

It was served in a whole wheat tortilla and stuffed with lettuce, black beans, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, and guacamole. I wish there was a Cafe Rio in St. Louis!

Naturally, we had to go out for ice cream on Saturday night. We went to Java Cow and I ordered a scoop of Dulce de Leche and Purple Cow (blackberry ice cream with dark and white chocolate pieces). Darn cow tried to sneak a bite…

The ice cream was creamy and good, but it doesn’t rank in the top three on my list. You know I’m a sucker for those cake batter or birthday cake flavors!

Sunday Blend Food:

Sunday’s breakfast was sponsored by Chobani and they put together a wonderful spread. There was an omelette bar with a sauce using plain Chobani. There were the new Chobani Flips & Bites. There were Chobani smoothies (two flavors: peanut butter and blood orange – both crazy thick and delicious!) There were Chobani pancakes. There was Chobani oatmeal. And there were all the Chobani fixins’!

Again, I had to sample a bit of it all! Nobody went hungry (or thirsty!), that’s for sure! Green Mountain sponsored coffee and tea all weekend and BP Cleanse green juice was available again, as well. I wish I could have an unlimited supply of it all in my kitchen. That would be amazing!

You’d think we wouldn’t be hungry after all this food, but when lunchtime rolled around me, Laura, Katie, Christine, and Michelle went to Whole Foods which was on the way to the airport. Whole Foods is always a solid choice.

I put together a nice brown box with lots of variety for lunch.

At the airport I snacked on some of Blue Diamond’s new flavored almonds. They come in strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and toasted coconut. Lindsay brought tons of sample bags to Blend and I was excited to try them. The flavors do sound a little strange for almonds, that was my initial thought. However, after tasting them I was pleasantly surprised! They’re just mildly sweet and almonds (of course) always make a great, healthy snack.

I’ll miss having all of that amazing food available to me, but luckily I did come home with a huge bag full of swag from our generous sponsors, so I’ll get to munch on the goodies for a bit longer. When itz gone, then I’ll cry. ~~Maybe~~. ~~Probably~~. Definitely.

A major thank you goes to all of the awesome sponsors – you all rock!

Which brands have you tried that sponsored Blend? Any favorites?

New Headband + Yummy Food

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Itz Linz

Look who’s sporting a brand new gorgeous headband! (Yummy food below.)

This girl! Last night I went to the Athleta launch party in St. Louis as this is their first store in Missouri. The store was packed and they were on a strict ”one in, one out” policy per a fire code. I ended up waiting about ten minutes before being let in, but munched on some tasty appetizers and a glass of wine that was being served to everyone who was waiting. Now that’s good customer service! The headband was the only thing I bought since the dressing room lines were super long, as well. I was definitely impressed by their clothing selection. It was functional, the material felt good, and it was totally fashionable. I’d be comfortable wearing it to the gym and out running errands. Thumbs up, Athleta!

Now on to the yummy food part of this post. Itz WIAW over at Peas and Crayons!

Breakfast: Vanilla Spinach Protein Smoothie made with Vega Sport protein powder. I won a giveaway from Amanda’s blog Run to the Finish and was sent an awesome Vega package. This protein knocks my socks off, seriously. It has some of the best stats I’ve seen in protein powders (per scoop): 130 calories, 6 grams carbs, and 25 grams protein! Itz loaded, I tell ya!

Love the green glow and it tastes good, too! In the smoothie went one scoop of the vanilla Vega Sport protein powder, ice, banana, maca powder, flaxseed, handfuls of fresh spinach, and vanilla almond milk. Winner winner!

Lunch: Hodgepodge crockpot dish served over fresh spinach and topped with plain Chobani greek yogurt. It seems to be a staple around here, but itz just so darn easy to make! I literally throw in whatever I have on hand. This week it was dry white beans, dry black beans, frozen veggie mix, diced onion, leeks, diced tomatoes, celery, cabbage, garlic, red pepper, uncooked brown rice, and chicken broth and let it cook for four hours on low. Wah-lah! Lunches all week are made!

Snack: Chobani came out with these new “Bite” cups and I’ve been searching the local stores for them. I finally found one flavor: Fig with Orange Zest and omg itz so good! It tastes mostly orange, but there are fig bits mixed in to sweeten the cup.

Now if only I can get my hands on the new Chobani Flips – still can’t find those!

Dinner: Jonny and I went to a Thai restaurant (Thai Kitchen) on Monday evening as we had a Groupon that needed to be used. We were the only ones in the restaurant at first… not generally a good sign, especially in combination with a Groupon. I ordered the “Ginger” dish with stir-fried garlic, onions, mushrooms, carrots, shredded baby ginger, and zucchini. White rice on the side.

The verdict? It was very gingery, kind of overpoweringly so. Jonny liked his dish, but I don’t think we’ll be running back there any time soon.

Snack/Dessert: LÄRABAR sent me a few of their new ALT bars. ALT signifies Alternative Protein Bar. Itz the first-ever bar with added protein from LÄRABAR! Many bar brands use soy or whey protein, but ALT uses an alternative protein source: peas. Vegan, gluten-free, dairy free, and non-GMO. Pretty cool, right?

This was AMAZING! Dense, moist, chewy, absolutely delicious. In addition to the Cinnamon Apple Crisp, there is also Lemon Pound Cake, Peanut Butter Cookie, and Pumpkin Pie, all of which I’m sure are ridiculously delicious. I’ll be purchasing these on my own, for sure.

Have you tried the new ALT bars? How about the Chobani Bites or Flips?

Nashville Eats

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Itz Linz

Today’s WIAW party is heading to Nashville! Yesterday, I recapped my recent Nashville trip, and today you get to see what I ate. Lots of good eats!

One place that was a “must” when visiting Nashville was Marché Artisan Foods. Marché is a European-style cafe and marketplace serving breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner in the heart of Historic East Nashville. It was super busy on Saturday morning (an hour-long wait), so instead we brunched there on Sunday. I ordered the Migas Hash which had scrambled egg, potato, tortilla, cheddar, and pico de gallo.

Great decision! It was so tasty, I did not want it to end. The tortilla bits were thrown in there and cooked with the eggs and potatoes. I need to try this at home.

Lunch on Saturday was eaten at Calypso where their motto is, “Eat Better, Be Better.” Calypso Cafe offers fast, affordable meals that are good for you! For over 24 years, their restaurants have been serving up Cuban black beans, bountiful salads, rotisserie chicken, island burgers, and vegetarian side items in the Nashville area. Their mission is simple: high quality, hearty, healthy dishes at a reasonable price in a fun, relaxed, and efficient setting. Plus, I loved the style of the restaurant!

For lunch I ordered their “beans & three” where I got to choose my three sides alongside my Cuban black beans. Here’s what I went with:

Martinique Callaloo: mustard greens with tomatoes and onions
Boija Muffins: Carribean sweet corn bread topped with coconut
Bean & Corn Salad: mix of various beans and corn in a cilantro vinaigrette

The entire plate was just six bucks and absolutely delicious! The muffins were a tiny bit dry, the greens were almost a little sweet, and the black beans and corn salad were awesome! I would definitely recommend this place for not your typical lunch!

For our big night out on Saturday, we went to Cabana for dinner. I kept it simple and substantial with a burger and fries for dinner since we had a long night ahead.

The burger and fries were good, but nothing to write home about. However, the actual ambiance at Cabana is what made the evening! We had our own cabana where we could draw a sheer curtain around us to make for a private dining experience. It was cool because we could even plug our phone in to play our own music. Eating with ten people can be tricky, but not with the cabana. We were all close without being squished. Great place for a large party!

That’s it! Those were my Nashville eats!

What were some of your tasty eats as of late?

Key Lime Pie Protein Smoothie

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Itz Linz

Hi there, friends! Itz been absolutely gorgeous in St. Louis these past couple of days. We’re talkin’ blue skies, blazing sun, and temperatures in the 80′s. Oh yes! These warmer temps have prompted a smoothie-lovin’ craze in me lately. (Who am I kidding? I love smoothies all year round!) Anyway, I have one today that is just puuurfect for the summer. In fact, it makes me want to be on a beach somewhere…

About a month ago I was doing a product review for GNC’s Total Lean Orange Cream Protein powder. I quickly became obsessed with making Orange Cream Protein for a nightly dessert. After running out of the powder, I headed to GNC to pick up more when a new flavor caught my eye: Key Lime. I snatched up (aka bought) two bags. I love it!

I listed the general recipe for the smoothie, but of course you can make modifications where you see fit. I add maca powder and flaxseed for an extra punch of nutrition, and I’m sure it’d be very delicious with almond or dairy milk, as well. The banana is a must as it adds the creamy component, and the graham cracker crumbs sprinkled on top totally make the “pie” part of the key lime pie protein smoothie.

The dinner I made on Monday night turned into my lunches for the week. I sautéed an onion while cooking ground turkey meat and added garlic, a frozen veggie mix, roasted salsa from Trader Joe’s, and brown rice. I served it on top of fresh spinach and plopped a dollop of plain Chobani on top with a little sprinkle of red pepper.

Simple yet delicious and nutritious – my kind of meal!

Love Grown Foods was kind enough to sponsor my school’s Wellness Wednesday. They provided us with four bags each of their five granola flavors: Sweet Cranberry Pecan, Raisin Almond Crunch, Cocoa Goodness, Simply Oats, and Apple Walnut Delight. I’ve been receiving tons of e-mails exclaiming how delicious the granola is, so itz safe to say it was a big hit! Thanks, Love Grown Foods!

While dinner was in the makin’ last night, I tweeted in excitement. Then after, I instagrammed in delight. Jonny was on the grill and I was in the kitchen. Teamwork. I bought chipotle burgers from Whole Foods over the weekend because they were on sale. (Whole Foods has the best weekend sales.) Jonny said these were possibly the best burgers he’s ever had. They were enormous and oh so tasty.

I made kale chips with red pepper and nutritional yeast. I roast them at 375 for 8 minutes or so. I also made Goat Cheese & Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms. Burgers and mushrooms go so well together, agree?

Are you a key lime fan? What do you think goes best with burgers?

Throw It All In

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Itz Linz

Last week I featured meals to eat in a pinch - few ingredients and minimal prep work. This week I’ve been much better about preparing meals. Like usual, I haven’t followed recipes, but instead, I’ve started with an idea and began throwing foods in. And then I find other foods and throw them in, too. Itz worked out for me. So let’s get this WIAW party started!

Throw it all in BREAKFAST: Oats in a jar! I had just a smidge of almond butter left, so oooobviously I needed to prepare oats in a jar. I started with oats, then started throwing it all in. I added vanilla almond milk, chia seeds, frozen blueberries, maca powder, Designer Whey french vanilla protein powder, and cinnamon.

Not a pretty picture, but it was a pretty stellar combination.

Throw it all in LUNCH: Finally, I prepared a real, veggie-packed lunch. I spiralized zucchini then began throwing it all in. I added red and orange peppers, sunflower seeds, tuna, garbanzo beans, and plain Chobani mixed with lime juice for a pseudo-dressing.

Another not super pretty picture, but let me tell you: this was a salad BEAST!

Throw it all in DINNER: Not sure what to call this one, but Jonny said it was restaurant-worthy. Here’s how it all started: I was talking to my grandma on the phone and she was telling me about this incredible sauce she made. Well, I started by following her directions, but then got carried away and kept throwing in other foods. In the mix: spinach, cherry tomatoes, garlic, onion, black beans, red pepper, cabbage, brown rice, quinoa, and parmesan cheese.

I’ll make it again, actually write down the recipe, come up with a name, and share it with you. Because itz just that good.

What’s the last meal you’ve just thrown it all in?

In a Pinch

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Itz Linz

Itz been a busy week over here with before and after school meetings and activities, so my cooking has been pretty nonexistent lately. Needless to say, the title of today’s What I Ate Wednesday post is, “In a pinch!” Here we go now:

In a pinch… for breakfast, I eat cereal. How much easier than that can ya get? Usually cereal doesn’t keep me full long enough, but Attune Food’s Raisin Bran has pretty decent stats … and two bowls helps, too!

Totally loving that strawberries are back in season. Scored a pint for a buck at the Farmer’s Market last weekend!

In a pinch.. for lunch, sandwiches seal the deal! I shmeared a thick layer of almond butter on one piece and sliced fresh strawberries on the other. Wah-lah! PB&J, you got nothin’ on this!

And a side of Passion Fruit Chobani to round out my lunch.

Passion Fruit may be my favorite Cho flavor. I love the little crunchy seeds in there!

In a pinch… Schwan’s Home Delivery totally comes to the rescue!! This was by far my fanciest meal of the day, but it, too, came together in a pinch!

I tried the Shrimp and Vegetable Skillet Meal. I chose this meal to taste because itz something I wouldn’t really cook at home for a couple of reasons. First, I never cook shrimp. Why? I have no good reason. Also, I don’t cook a ton of pasta at home, though I’m definitely not opposed to eating it. I figured the meal sounded good and was different than what we usually have, I’d give it a shot! Itz a winner!

Itz super easy to cook, too, and only takes a few minutes as you throw everything in the skillet. I wanted to bulk it up a little (and add more vegetables since my day was clearly lacking in that department!), so I added a bag of broccoli slaw to the hot mix.

There was enough sauce to lightly coat the added vegetables and broccoli slaw really doesn’t change the taste at all. It merely bulks up the meal, provides more nutrition, and adds a bit of a crunch. Schwan’s delivery made dinner super easy!

In a pinch… for dessert, Schwan’s came to the rescue again! They have a LiveSmart line which has minimal additives or preservatives, moderate calories, sodium, and fat, and zero grams trans fat. Their LiveSmart line is pretty extensive and has quite the selection for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, soups, snacks, sushi, pizza, sides, and much, much more. I was sent their LiveSmart Strawberry Cheesecake Low-Fat Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Mmm mmm mmm! Can’t really ever go wrong with ice cream sandwiches, eh?

Because I love you (and FitFluential & Schwan’s does, too!) we have a coupon code for you to use with your next Schwan’s order: Use code KIMH2 for $5.00 off $25.00 or $10.00 off $50.00. Sweet deal!

What foods do you eat in a pinch? Have you ever ordered from Schwan’s before?

***FitFluential & Schwan’s provided me with the products for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.

Vino Nadoz French Wine Dinner

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Itz Linz

Sorry for the disappearing act yesterday – I blame Vino Nadoz and their French Wine Dinner! On Tuesday night they had their monthly wine dinner featuring wines from France paired perfectly with each of their four courses. Yes, wine pairings with each of the four courses. That’s a lot of wine for this girl, so I went home and went to bed with a happy belly and an empty blog post.

Anyway, I’m back and ready to tell ya all about it! I met my friend Jessica and this was both of our first times at a wine dinner event. I know nothing, and I mean NOTHING about wine. I know that I like cabs and pinot noirs and that’s about it. Jessica and I got there a few minutes early and took pictures while we waited for the others.

There was one long table set up for all the guests. This was fun because we had the chance to talk with a few other people, and it made it easy to listen to Dana Atwell from Vinoteca St. Louis explain the wines, where they are from, and some brief history. There was a screen with a map of France that was shown where we would “travel” throughout the evening. The quote of the evening she shared was, “Laissez le vin de se faire – Let the wine make itself.”

Chef Chris introduced each course and, as always, loves talking about food; you can tell they’re both so passionate about what they do!

First Course: Celeriac soup with caviar paired with NV Baron de Breban Brut Rose from Provence. So celeriac is the bulb of celery and the soup was really good. It was definitely rich, creamy, and delicious. The caviar provided a salty touch, but was not overpowering. The sparkling wine was not as sweet as I would have thought, and paired nicely with the soup.

Second Course: Seared scallops with butter poached baby carrots and peas paired with Chateau Soucherie Anjou Blanc from Loire. As Chris introduced this course he told us about the scallops, baby carrots, English peas, and, “Copious amounts of butter! I’d like to say ‘I’m sorry,’ but I’m not!” You know I love Nadoz’s scallops, and this was no different! Chris was very accommodating to Jess’s shellfish allergy and made her a slice of pork belly instead. Her belly was happy.

The wine was totally dry and I’ll use Dana’s words because I don’t know how else to describe wine, “Itz piercingly refreshing and totally embodies Spring.” (Ok, maybe I threw in the “itz.”)

Third Course: Steak frites with truffle butter paired with Chateau La Rame from Bordeaux. Mmm steak and fries, baby! This was perfect for our third glass of wine; I definitely needed something to soak it all up! The wine was a 60% merlot and 40% cab blend aged for a year in neutral oak.

Fourth Course: Blueberry and meyer lemon clafoutis paired with Domaine de Fenouillet Muscat de Beames de Venise from Southern Rhone. Itz a french muffin baked in a dish with blueberry compote with honey floral lemon zest. Delish. The wine was a dessert wine, so it was on the sweeter side and was very grapey and tasty!

Don’t ask me to actually pronounce any of the wines or describe them in any more depth than I already did. Like I said, I’m not wine connoisseur, but I did thoroughly enjoy the eating and drinking at Nadoz. The only downside was that it was on a week night which made waking up the next morning a bit tougher. All in all, such a fun experience and I’d highly recommend attending a wine dinner. Plus, at Vino Nadoz itz just $45 which is such a great price for the amount of food and wine we had!

Have you ever been to a dinner where each course had a specially paired wine? What’s your favorite wine? I’m a red girl, all the way!

Eating in Scottsdale

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Itz Linz

Itz WIAW Scottsdale Edition! We certainly have been eating good here in Scottsdale, Arizona, but that really shouldn’t be any surprise to you with how much we love food.

Our first meal was at D’Lish Drive Thru: healthy on-the-go kitchen and coffee-house. My brother Justin told us this was a “must visit” place, and he was totally right. We loved it so much we went twice!

The first time I ordered the Veggie D’Lite wrap with chicken and the second time I ordered the Veggie Burrito. They were both mighty tasty, but the star of the place was the Breakfast Buzz shake that contains vitamins, protein, milk, peanut butter, banana, and chocolate. If you go to D’Lish you have got to order this. Unbelievable. In fact, I’m pretty sure we’re going to go for the third time this morning…

We spent many of our days poolside. Justin is king of the grill and made us some burgers that were the bomb diggity. We coupled it with a vegetable mix he also made and chips.

Dinners were always a fiasco as they usually are when trying to accompany a party of 9 + a baby, but we definitely made do and even got some awesome jumping pictures and a surprise photobomb one night!

Citizen Public House is a contemporary, upscale version of the traditional public house nestled in Old Town Scottsdale. We ordered several appetizers, one of them being fondue with pears, bread, and meat. For my entrée, I opted for the Original Chopped Salad. The ingredients of corn, couscous, smoked salmon, asiago, pepitas, tomatoes, arugula, and currants came in rows and our waiter mixed it up at the table.

Justin cooked one dinner for us in his apartment. He told us he’d just make a “quick and easy” dinner, and he sure whipped up quite the meal! He started us off with appetizers of crab cakes and bruschetta and mozzarella bites before serving spinach, cous cous, garlic bread, and salmon. What a chef!

We also ate at Oregano’s per the recommendation of a few kind readers and it turned out to be a fabulous little pizza joint. Unfortunately, we were too full to order the infamous Pizookie, but we were quite impressed with their massive thin crust pizza.

My Big Fat Greek Restaurant was dinner one night, but no pictures were taken during that meal. Itz ok because last time we were here, we ate there and it was featured in this post. The last dinner that I do have to show you is from Don & Charlie’s. Famous for ribs and we know why! I also ordered a salad, but snagged several ribs from Jonny’s plate.

I told you itz been a vacation of good eats!

What’s your favorite spot you’ve been to while on vacation?

Soggy Salad Eater

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Itz Linz

Me oh my I was on the phone with Apple support for an hour and a half last night after visiting the Apple store (which was no help). Jeff from Apple support was so kind, patient, and helpful while he walked me through a million steps. My iPhone said it was almost out of space, and I knew that was an error considering I have nothing but pictures on my phone and only 600 at that. Long story short, we deleted everything off my phone, restored it back to the factory settings, and then brought my pictures back. Now I just have to put Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook back on. You know, the really important apps.

Anyway, we leave town tomorrow for Arizona, so I planned on getting a lot done last night, but that obviously didn’t happen. So today’s WIAW post will be short and sweet and there’s an awesome giveaway comin’ at ya tomorrow! Stay tuned, folks!

Breakfast: Super thick coconut flour pancake topped with Designer Whey white chocolate protein powder sauce. (Mix protein with water until a “saucy” consistency is reached.)

Lunch: Since we’re leaving town tomorrow, our kitchen is a bit bare. So bare that I’ve been taking cereal to work for lunch this week. I’m not a huge cereal fan because there’s just not a ton of nutritional benefits with it, but I do like Special K’s protein plus cereal. It packs 10 grams of protein in one serving (and I eat two servings… at least).

Fresh berries make anything taste better and look prettier, agree?

Attune Foods sponsors Wellness Wednesday today at school. They graciously provided staff members with Erewhon Raising Bran Cereal and Erewhon Organic Honey Grahams. Their philosphy is, “If what you eat is good, and pure, and true to its source, all else will follow.” All cereals are organic and made with non-GMO ingredients.

We certainly will enjoy these tasty, healthy snacks – thanks, Attune Foods!

Dinner: Leftovers from my parents’ house. Leftovers are seriously the best. Jonny and I both love and eat any and all leftovers. (Just ask either of our parents. We never decline leftovers!) Last night was leftover barbecue chicken (thanks, Dad!), leftover salad (thanks, Mom!), and a few bites of leftover unpictured pasta. Yes, I am a soggy salad eater. I do spruce up soggy salads by adding fresh spinach, kale, cabbage, or any kind of green, really. Last night was shredded cabbage that I needed to use up.

Are you a soggy salad eater?

Dinner at Vino Nadoz Wine Bar

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Itz Linz

As promised, today I’m going to share dinner from the weekend when my family dined at Vino Nadoz Wine Bar here in St. Louis. (Itz not WIAW today – itz what I ate at Nadoz!) I’ve raved about it before, and our dinner was no different. The menu is on the smaller side, but this allows them to specialize in each item; there’s also enough variety within the menu that it appeals to many different tastes.

The time, care, and effort that goes into each dish is apparent as the plates are as visually appealing as they are delicious. The menu is created and inspired by Chef Chris DiMercurio who I had the chance to meet and talk with during our blogger meet up. He’s quite the talented guy!

Photo by Janice Person

Another good thing about having a small menu is that when you go as a party of eight, you get to sample almost everything. And that’s just what we did! I’m pretty sure there were only a few items that were not ordered between all of us. Of course, we started with appetizers. My choice was the Winter Vegetable Bruschetta as it looked so good when Clare ordered it last time. It had roasted vegetables, fennel, caramelized onions, butter glazed turnips, and a balsamic reduction with goat cheese mousse. The flavors worked perfectly together and the goat cheese nor the onions were overpowering. Definitely will order this again!

My family also ordered the Thai Style Wings, Flatbread Pizza, and Bone Marrow. The wings and pizza great; I did not taste the marrow. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I know itz a delicacy and my dad said it was good, but I just couldn’t get down like that. I will show you a picture though since itz not a common dish.

Next were the salads. I knew between the many appetizers and my entre it would be more than enough food, but everyone else ordered and shared salads, so Jonny and I did the same. There are four salads on the menu and three were ordered at our table. Jonny and I went with the Beet Salad which had roasted beets with micro greens, mint, toasted pistachios, goat cheese mousse, and sherry vinaigrette.

I especially liked the salad since itz so different than anything I’d make at home or order elsewhere. The Pear Salad was also tasty with their homemade blue cheese dressing.

We had quite a variety for dinner, as well. My brothers ordered steaks, my mom went with salmon, Jonny and my dad had the half Amish chicken, and my sister and I ordered sea scallops. (In typical seester fashion, she copied what I ordered.) I was debating between the salmon and scallops, and I had scallops last time and knew they were awesome. Plus, I knew my mom would share a bite of salmon. She did and the scallops did not disappoint! Just look at the beauties!

The scallops were laid on a butternut squash puree, and decorated with charred cherry tomatoes with ancho chili and lime roasted corn. Seriously can’t go wrong with this dish! Even though we couldn’t eat any more, dessert came. One of every.single.thing.on.the.menu. No joke. No complaints here though! Listen to the spread: White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Carmelized Apple Cake, several flavors of sorbet, and my personal favorite: Brown Butter Cake with salted caramel ice cream and bourbon caramel sauce.

Itz funny actually; we were passing the desserts all around the table, and after awhile Justin noticed that the said dessert hadn’t made it to his end of the table yet. That was not an accident. It was definitely a favorite of the family. So good and I drool just thinking about it again.

What’s the best way to end an already fabulous meal? Champagne!

Oh, I didn’t even touch on the wines, but yes itz a wine bar. We enjoyed a few bottles between all of us as their wine selection is huge and can be bought by the glass or bottle at such reasonable prices. To say we thoroughly enjoyed the meal would be an understatement. If you’re in St. Louis, I highly recommend having dinner at Vino Nadoz Wine Bar. Call me; I’ll go with ya!

What from the menu most appeals to you? Best meal you’ve eaten out lately?

Conscious Box giveaway is still open!

Itz Linz

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