New Addiction: Delicious Energy Bites

I have been trying to eat and snack healthier these days... but I have been having trouble with sweet and carb cravings. So I wanted to find something that was an alternative to stuffing my face with both cravings. I found a great recipe on none other than Pinterest... Nourishing Energy Bites.

I was so excited that these included coconut oil, my brother has been raving about it for months now and I am finally ready to jump on the bandwagon. The recipe is listed below I made one tweak and used Agave instead of raw honey because I didn't have any in the kitchen.  I love this recipe because it is no bake, easy and all the flavors I love.

       Ingredients

• 1 cup smooth peanut butter (or other nut butter)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey, preferably raw
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• dash of salt
• ~2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
• ~1/2 cup chocolate chips, raisins or other add-ins (optional)

Simple Directions

• Stir peanut butter, oil and honey together until smooth
• Add flaxseed, coconut and salt and stir
• And add the oats and any other goodies... I added a few chocolate chips
• Roll into bite size balls and freeze 

These Energy Bites are delicious and surprisingly filling. They are the perfect snack for me because that are both savory and sweet. The best thing about the recipe above is that you can add and subtract as you want. I am already on my second batch... and I free a third one in the works. Do yourself a favor and try them out!

New Review: Blueacre Seafood

I was so excited when I woke up today and realized I had a dinner date planned with my friends Tassoula and Jason in Seattle. It made getting up for my morning workout a little bit easier. Today's workout was pretty simple... Warmup for a mile at 5.8, run .5 mile at 6.5, run .5 at 6.0 and cool down for a mile at 5.8-6.0. This workout burns tons of calories! ENJOY.

As dinner approached I decided that I didn't want to walk .5 mile in my heals so I decided to figure out a bus route that I could take to dinner. I simply had to walk 2 blocks and jump on a number of buses to get me to my destination and it was free... wink wink.

I have drove past Blueacre Seafood tons of times and always wanted to try it so tonight was the perfect night. I didn't walk in with a huge appetite which was a bit disappointing because as you know this girl likes to eat. Our server was very knowledgeable and likable which is the best combination. As I scanned the menu I decided to get an appetizer and salad.

I ordered the Three Beet Salad with oranges and fennel salad topped with bleu cheese. I did pick off the cheese but the mixture of fennel salad and the colorful beets was delightful and beautiful.

I decided that since I was at a seafood restaurant I should probably order seafood. I went with the Voodoo Galvaston Gulf Shrimp appetizer because the server highly recommended it. The shrimp was served over stone ground grits... which was concerning to me because I had never tasted grits. But the server said if you haven't tried grits you have to give them a shot they are very similar to polenta. I took his advice and I was not disappointed the shrimp were huge and full of spice, flavors and the polenta was pretty tasty too. Plus look at the presentation... isn't just picture perfect.

Atmosphere: Blueacre has a trendy yet laid back atmosphere.
Food: The menu is quite robust and all the seafood looked top-notch. For example my shrimp were ginormous and Tassoula's Fish & Chips were the real deal.
Price: This is a more upscale spot so you will be paying upwards of $25 for all entrees but it is worth it because everything is fresh and the serving size is huge. You could definitely get two meals out of an entree.
Service: I had a great experience with the service at Blueacre Seafood. As I said my server was very knowledgeable, helpful and easy to talk to.

I recommend that every seafood lover try Blueacre Seafood and if you are on budget try out there happy hour and you won't be disappointed.

NEW REVIEW: Johnny's Luncheonette

This weekend I booked a last minute to trip to see my favorite brother and his family... okay the real reason is because I love his wife and two little girls equally and they are the dose of family I needed. Every time I head to Boston we try and so a fun brunch... and this trip was no different. My sister-in-law (aka my sister) picked a great spot called Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton.

We headed out around 9AM on Sunday to try and avoid long waits with the two girls (2.5 and 7 months). And it worked out perfect because street parking was free and the wait for a giant booth was less than 15 minutes. We timed it perfectly. Kelly and I had studied this menu the night before and dared my ultra healthy brother to try the '18 Wheeler' which included pretty much everything you could think of... stay tuned to see if he actually kept his word.

Johnny's is definitely a "Real" diner and I loved everything about it. Including the decor, service and all day long breakfast. It was so hard to decide what to get because they had everything you could dream of.

I decided to order the "Filene's Special," which included a blueberries muffin that was warmed up on the griddle, 3 scrambled eggs, bacon and a fruit salad. Please note that Filene's is pronounced Fi-Leans! :) The blueberry muffin was amazing... not healthy in anyway shape or form. Two thumbs up!

My brother did order the "18 Wheeler" which included 3 eggs, 2 flapjacks, homefries, 2 pieces of toast and canadian bacon. Did I forget to mention that my brother rarely eats carbs of this kind... this made both Kelly and I so happy! Check out what an "18 Wheeler" looks like. :)

Kelly decided to order Coconut French Toast with a side of hash to get or sweet and savory fix. I just love her appetite! Her french toast was delicious and not to sweet. Definitely would recommend it. The girls started to lose their minds when the food arrived so we ate quickly but we all enjoyed our food and experience at Johnny's Luncheonette.

New Review: The Village Cafe in Redmond

Today I headed to the gym super early for an intense treadmill workout. I love to hate this workout... because is 60 minutes long and just goes on forever. :) Check it out:

Minutes	Pace
0:00-10:00	Warm-up jog; 5.0 MPH.
10:00-10:20	Sprint at 7.5 MPH.
10:20-11:20	Jog at 5.0 MPH.
11:20-14:00	Repeat minutes 10:00-11:20 twice.
14:00-17:00	Jog at 5.0 MPH.
17:00-27:00	Run at 6.5 MPH.
27:00-31:00	Jog at 5.0 MPH.
31:00-35:00	Run at 6.5 MPH.
35:00-39:00	Jog at 5.0 MPH.
39:00-55:00	Repeat minutes 31:00-39:00 twice.
55:00-60:00	Gradually slow pace to cool down at jog/walk.

After my workout I got all beautified for my hot brunch date with Tassoula my Foodie partner in crime. We chose to eat at The Village Cafe in Redmond today. I got there around 10:30PM and there was a line out the door which is always a great sign. I put my name in and the wait was around 20 minutes, which isn't that bad.

Tassoula and I chatted about pretty much everything and agreed that we were in love this spot. It was a neighborhood diner that served traditional breakfast. The wait went by quickly because we again just talked. :) On a side note how adorable is Tassoula... she made me a homemade valentine. So freaking cute! I just love her so much.

We both decided to go with carb friendly menu items. I ordered a half order of swedish pancakes and decided to make it a combo with 2 scrambled eggs and bacon! Yummo!! When my plates came out I was so happy. I have never had swedish pancakes before so the 'lingonberries sauce' was a delighful topping and made my swedish pancakes even more memorable. My breakfast was perfection!!

Village Square Cafe

Service: Friendly, attentive and helpful.
Atmosphere: I loved the old school diner feel to this place... which meant its focus is squarely on the food!
Food: The menu options were plentiful and once you decided believe me you won't be disappointed! Swedish pancakes and Blitz Berry Waffle were both delicious.
Price: This place is definitely affordable... with tax and tip I ended up paying $18 again a generous tip was included.

New Review: Broadway Grill

Tonight I headed to Capitol Hill to meet up with the beautiful Kristin. She had a ticket to the UW Basketball game... but before the big game we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Grill on Broadway. I just love Capitol Hill because everything you could ever want is walking distance.
The Grill on Broadway was pretty empty tonight but I am guessing that was because we were eating around 6PM. As we walked in I immediately told Kristin I wanted to come back in the summer because they have an awesome patio!

The atmosphere was trendy yet rustic and casual. We both decided to order of (3) sliders and share an order of sweet potato fries. Oh don't forget we both ordered a beer too... I mean that is a must. I ordered the Turkey Meatloaf sliders and I wasn't disappointed. They were flavorful and juicy! I couldn't finish all the sliders but I did eat every piece of meatloaf.

I can't wait to try the other fries next time.

After our quick dinner we headed to the UW game on public transit which I LOVE. :) We got to the game and our seats just in time for player introductions and Kristin knew pretty much everything about every player. Which was super helpful to a non-fan and UW Basketball virgin. I had so much fun at the game dancing, cheering and just being plain ridiculous.



The game, public transportation and great food made for the most wonderful Saturday date night.

Broadway Grill
Service: Great our waiter was super attentive and very knowledgeable about the menu.
Atomosphere: Trendy and laid back all at once. Pretty much the perfect setting for a quick delicious dinner.
Food: The menu was quite extensive for a smaller restaurant. I recommend ordering the sliders because they are filling and full of flavor and playful. They had meatloaf, Ahi Tuna, Pulled Pork and regular sliders.
Price: This place was reasonable with prices... I think we got out of there paying only $20 with tip each. We gave generous tips because the server was great and the food was out of the kitchen in no time.

Friday Night Girls Date

This whole week I had been looking forward to hooking up with my bestie... the one and only Mary! I had planned a menu and crafts to win her over.
So I decided to host a Friday Night Girls Date at my house. On the agenda was wine, dinner, dessert and CRAFTS. Pinterest my newest addiction has really given me all sorts of motivation to do lots of DIY crafts and experiment with lots of recipes. So I was excited to make a DIY T-Shirt Scraf and new dessert Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips.
Mary and I tag teamed creating the Maragarita Pizza, she cut the cheese (no pun intended) and tomatoes while I was saucing up the pizza and trimming the basil. And in 20 minutes... we had the most delicious pizza out of the oven.

Homemade pizza is way better!

Next up was a fun dessert recipe I found on Pinterest: Cinnamon Chips with Fruit Salsa. Super easy and pretty healthy! First you pick a variety of fruits you love and chop them up (1 apple, 6 strawberries, 1/2 cup of blueberries and 2 kiwi's) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees! When all the chopping is done mix in about a tablespoon of fruit preserves (I choose sugar free strawberries) and drizzled a couple of teaspoons of white sugar over the fruit... mix well and let sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Next step make triangles out of (2) whole wheat flour tortilla. Spray or spread butter over each chip and then top with the desired amount of cinnamon and sugar and then put in the oven for 8-10 minutes. And then you have a light and somewhat healthy dessert!

This is my new favorite dessert!

Next up was crafting... all you need is scissors and an XL T-shirt (old or new) I chose to work with a new Mens T-Shirt from Old Navy that was only $8. I have seen numerous tutorial on how to make these but Beauty Divine has my favorite tutorial. Here is my attempt to show the tutorial through images... below.

1) Cut the bottom seam of with scissors and then cut 1 1/2 inch strips on the T-Shirt leaving about a 1/2 inch at the end.

2) Stretch out the strips

3) See Step 5 on the Divine Beauty Tutorial.

4) Wrap the scraf around your neck twice and now you have a very fashionable scarf! I love mine.

I love girly nights filled with great friends and creative DIY projects that make you feel crafty. I think we have a new traditional brewing. :)

New Review: Tilicum Place Cafe

I got my day started off right today... my friend Kristin invited me to join her for a spinning class at Gold's Gym on Capitol Hill. I haven't been to a spin class in 2012 so I was happy to join her. Our instructor Amber was amazing. I couldn't believe she was 17 weeks pregnant and kicking my butt in spinning. Watching her was just the motivation I needed to sweat like a maniac and push myself just a little bit harder.

After a killer workout I headed to Tilicum Place Cafe for a Saturday brunch with a handful of my besties... and a few babies! Tassoula of course planned this adventure for us and believe me this spot dissappoint. This boutique cafe was quaint, friendly and offered some great brunch menu items.

Brunch started off with french-press coffee served with a small shortbread cookie that was to die for. And then the madness of getting two babies settled that were under 12 months. :) Just joking they were the best behaved babies I have ever seen.

Adrian and Eleana's babies are the cutest!

After catching up for a bit we all decided to order off this amazing menu. I decided to go with the Portobello Mushroom Sandwich topped with herbed goat cheese and a sweet balsamic drizzle. This sandwich was amazing. I couldn't believe I didn't pick a breakfast item. I guess there is a first for everything.

My meal was fresh, light and tasty. The combination of goat cheese, spicy arugula and sweet balsamic drizzle over the mushrooms was great. The flavors blended together perfectly. I also loved how they served this sandwich open faced. The serving was quite large but I managed to eat the salad and sandwich less half the bread. The other ladies ordered a dutch baby, cornmeal pancakes, strata and a breakfast plate. We all raved about our meals! The babies were so polite, they allowed us girls to catch up and gossip. ;) I miss seeing these girls everyday at work but I am hopeful that these get togethers will become more frequent! I love you Mary, Eleana, Adrian and Tassoula.

Tilicum Place Cafe earned a great review from me.

Service: Knowledgeable, friendly and accomodating (very baby friendly).
Food: Great variety of menu items with the freshest ingredients. Checkout their specials!
Drinks: The coffee was great and I was told the Bloody Mary's were spicy yet tasty.
Atmosphere: Quaint, laid back and authentic.
Price: The prices are very reasonable. I ended up paying $14 with tax and tip!

Spinning, Tilicum Place Cafe and spending time with the girls was the best way to start my Saturday off right.