I'm baaackkk with Pesto Squoodles & Weekend Recapsss!

Oh hey yall! Remember me? I used to blog here until Wedding/Binge Drinking Tour 2014 took its toll and I slept for a few days then hopped on a plane for ATL for my college BFF's wedding. If you followed on Instagram you saw how awesome and beautiful this wedding was, but just in case you don't I'll photo dump below haaa.

I gotta confess, I have been eating about as dirty and eating can get. And not exercising. But I guess a cool thing about being this age is that when I realized my clothes fit differently there was no meltdown or anything, I was like "welp that's what happens, I've pulled it together once I can pull it together again!"

So here I am trying to pull it together. This is the squasta with homemade pesto:

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins (for the sausages)
Servings: 3

Ingredients:

• 2 Squashes (squashi? squash?) ($3.00), sliced into "squoodles" with the mandolin or knife
• 4 clean chicken sausages (I use Al Fresco from Wal Mart) ($5.00)
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced ($1.50)
• 2 large tomatoes, diced ($2.00)
• 1/2 onion, sliced ($.50)

For the pesto:

• 2 cups fresh basil 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup fresh parmesan

Cook your squoodles. Cook the sausage as according to the package (I grilled mine) and slice into bite size pieces. Saute the onion slices for about 5 minutes, then add in the mushrooms for another 3 minutes. The mushroom/onion concoction with tomatoes and sausage.

Combine all the ingredients for the pesto in a blender or food processor. I use the $20 Oster 6706 6-Cup Plastic Jar 10-Speed Blender from Amazon and blend until saucey.

Toss all the ingredients together and enjoy!

And now for my weekend photo dump:

Before I left for ATL I went to an ON POINT happy hour at 14K! Look at all this delicious food! I had DUCK TACOS. YES.

Said bye to Andi and hit the road (skies?) for ATL!!

The first night we went to Sweetwater Brewery where you pay $10 for 6 beers. SAY WHAT? I loovvvve the 420 and the summer blueberry beer (Nadine help me out- what is that called? I know you know!)

The best man sported this all weekend:

Rehearsal dined at Wahoo Grill in Decatur (YUM) and I died over this groom's cake. Can I have Andi as a wedding topper for my cake?

Hair appointments started at 7:30. We are so fortunate that the groom's mom lives right by the church in a beautiful condo:

We took pix at Piedmont Park and could not have asked for a more beautiful day! This is the only picture I could find from the photoshoot (the groom got all his groomsmen matching undies that have a zipper pocket for a flask):

I successfully did my own hair thanks to this youtube tutorial (any other curly haired people out there HATE getting their hair done because they always straighten it and it frizzes out in 5 minutes?):

The reception was held at the Trolley Barn in Decatur. Beautiful.

And we rode around the city for a few hours in a trolley with the wedding party. It was a blast and I want to figure out how to do something like this at my wedding!

So tell me: how do you get back on track after you've fallen waaayyyy off track?

Clean Eating Sweet Potato "Burgers" + Weekend Recap

Soo it's almost August and this is really confusing to me?? I have a 3 day work week as I'm flying to Atlanta on Thursday to be in one of my college BFF's weddings (her bachelorette party was in Charleston 2 weeks ago)! I am zoo excited (and a tiny bit nervous that the bridesmaid dress isn't going to fit considering I have done nothing but travel/eat/drink my face off for the last 8 weeks).

Anyway, last week I made these sweet potato "burgers" as my lunch for the week and they were delicious paired with spinach, tomatoes, avocado, and of course Greek Yogurt. Sidenote: I wonder if I'll ever get tired of Greek Yogurt and/or avocados?

Servings: 6 patties

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins (to bake the potato) + 20 minutes (to cook the patties)

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sweet sweet potato, mashed (I did this by microwaving 1 sweet potato for 10 minutes) ($1.00)
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and mashed in a bowl ($1.00)
• 2/3 cup oat flour (old fashioned oats in the blender)
• 1/3 cup whole old fashioned oats
• 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
• 1 tablespoon garlic seasoning
• dash of salt and pepper

Combine the mashed potato and mashed garbanzo beans in a large bowl and mix well. Add the oat flour and oats and mix (I mixed with a spoon- no fancy tools here) until you have a pretty thick consistency going. 

Form the mixture into 6 flat patties and cook over medium heat in a non-stick pan (I always use coconut oil spray) for about 10 minutes on each side. Note: I didn't have any problems with mine falling apart but if you do, just add more oats.

So the weekend was pretty mellow. Friday afternoon, Harrison, Andi and I battled miz traffic on I-95 to get home to Richmond.

I had all kinds of grand plans for our trip such as: meeting up with friends Friday night to go to the bars, haircut, brunch with friends, dinner party, neighbor's play, more partying. However we were both exhausted and slept most of Saturday (much needed) sooo only 2 things on my agenda happened, and that's ok. Learning to live with things not going according to plan here..

We were in town to see my neighbor in a teen production of Footloose and had a few cocktails with the neighbors before heading to the performance. Our neighbor Pete had tried this cocktail in Canada and it was so delicious (3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol liqueur (it's an orangey tasting thing), and a splash of club soda. So refreshing!):

Then we headed over to the production and it was incredible. The dedication and talent that we saw was insane, and who doesn't love Footloose?? 

Confession: I cried about 5 times during the play. Does this happen to anyone else? Live performances of all kinds (especially involving kids) just make me so overwhelmingly happy and the waterworks start. #embarrassing

Family after the play- that's our neighbor Claire the star in the middle!

Afterwards we stayed up for awhile drinking then hit the road Sunday morning to get back to DC. Since I'll be gone for Harrison's birthday (August 1st- we're separated for 2 different weddings womp womp), we are currently celebrating 10 Days of Harrison and last night I tried to make my own version of his favorite cake which is KFC Chocolate Chip Cake. Turned out pretty good! Recipe and recap of 10 Days coming next week!

Clean Snacking: Taste of Nature Snack Bars

Clean snacking on vacation = strugglecity, am I right?? Thankfully I got my hands on these Taste of Nature clean eating snack bars to try just in time for my Charleston trip. We had our own little tasting party and took the leftovers to the beach.

Not only were these a great clean snack, they were clutch on the beach because unlike fruit, veggies and yogurt(my go-to clean snacks), they don't get mushy or go bad from sitting in my bag in the heat all day.

So here's the scoop on Taste of Nature: They work with family farmers to create delicious, certified organic, gluten-free certified, non-gmo project verified snack bars with real, nuts, fruits and grains that you can see (and under 200 calories, too). Nothing artificial, no fillers and no chemicals (say whaat? in a SNACK BAR?). As an organic snack bar, they contain more nutrients and vitamins than the average not organic snack.

According to a recent Taste of Nature survey, Americans struggle to snack nutritiously (guilty) and their top consideration when snacking is taste (very guilty). Let me tell you, I was not missing out on any tastes with these puppies. My favorite flavor was Himalayan Goji Summit- it was the perfect balance of fruit and nuts (hi sweet and salty!).

These snack bars come in 5 other flavors:  Brazilian Nut Festival (close 2nd favorite), California Almond Valley, Quebec Cranberry Carnival, Canadian Maple Forest, and Persian Pomegranate Garden. They retail for $1.99 and are available at fine natural food product stores and grocery retailers (click here for where to buy). I found mine at Yes! Organic Market across the street from my work and at Whole Foods down the street. 

While $1.99 is a little steep for a snack bar, this is definitely a great option for vacay snacks. $1.99 is cheaper than any other snack (healthy OR unhealthy) at the airport, and most beach stands and restaurants don't offer healthy snack options. Plus it's easy to pack- I've made the mistake of packing a peach and plum in my carry-on (security check = fruit ends up at the bottom of my bag = bruised fruits and juice covered Kindle) and this was a much better option. Plus on vacation I usually grab the most convenient snack which is a (not clean) single serving of chips that costs ~$1.50 and keeps me full for approximately 35 minutes. Or I stop at the most convenient place- McDonald's?- where the healthiest snack option is snack wraps at $1.60 that also keep me full for 35 minutes and give me zero energy/nutrients/all that good stuff. 

Speaking of energy I ate these one morning before my beach run (YES I ran on vacation! Once..) and I stayed full the whole run and after. These were super filling, and for a clean snack I would definitely buy these again.

Running is not so horrible when this is your view.

So tell me: what do you snack on at the airport? How do you stay healthy on vacay? 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Goat Cheese + Apple + Honey Drizzle "pizza" LIIIIIKKEEEE WHAT

You know how Trader Joe's does samples at lunch time? Well last week they had this quinoa-goat cheese-bean concoction and I have been on a goat cheese kick ever since. As I was drooling over Pinterest pictures of goat cheese plates I came up with this baby and oooommmmgggg. I died a little with every bite, it was that good.

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 tortilla (I use Ezekiel)
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 apple, diced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 onion, sliced thin
• 1 Tablespoon honey

Caramelize the onion slices (do this by heating them slowly over low heat with a little bit of oil until they are brownish). Combine the water and apple in a small frying pan and cook the apples over medium heat, covered, for about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook a little longer until the water cooks off.

Brush the olive oil on the tortilla. Cover the tortilla with the apples, onion and cheeses. Drizzle honey over the top and pop it in the toaster oven (or real oven) at 350 for about 5 minutes. Trust me, you're going to die. It's so. so. GOOD.

Linking up at Delicious Dish Tuesday and Tuesday Recipe Swap

Clean Spaghetti = Squoodles + Meat Sauce and a weekend recap

Last week I mentioned squoodles + meat sauce being my favorite meal of the week- my friend Maggie brought me squash from her mom's garden so I made it out of those, something about knowing my own friend picked the squash out of her garden made the squoodles taste so much better!

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 3 large squashes (squash? squashi?) (FREE from your bff's garden)
• 1 lb lean ground turkey ($3.50)
• 1/2 onion, chopped ($.50)
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped ($.50)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, diced ($1.00)
• 1 jar clean pasta sauce (I get mine at Trader Joe's for $1.89)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Season the ground turkey with the Italian seasoning and parsley. Brown the meat over medium-high heat. Once the meat is almost browned, add the green pepper and onion to the pan. Stir constantly over the medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, add the jar of sauce and garlic. Cook for an addition 5-7 minutes over medium heat.

While the sauce is cooking, slice the squashes long-way into thin strips, then chop those thin strips into about 4 long skinny strips like this:

Toss the squoodles with the olive oil, salt and pepper then microwave for 2 minutes or until tender.

Once the meat sauce is done cooking, top your squoodles with it and enjoy! We also sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top and enjoyed with 2 buck chuck. Life is good!

This weekend was the first time I was at home with no major plans, visitors, weddings, etc in over 2 months!! It was so great! Friday I had a half day at work and stayed hungover until 10 pm so spent some quality time with Olivia and Elliot and the rest of the SVU crew.

Saturday we went to my friends' wedding brunch. They got married a few weeks ago in Seattle but we couldn't go because Harrison was the best man in another wedding so I was so glad we got to celebrate with them! 

Harrison and I grabbed lunch at Ted's Bulletin where we had- wait for this- homemade bacon and peanut butter poptarts. Liiiiikeee whaaaat

Then we did a little bar hopping for a friends' bday and I tried all kinds of new beers, my favorite being the 312 Urban Wheat.

I bopped over to Bethesda to meet up with other friends for the World Cup and we turned it into an all-night affair ending with karaoke, always a good night.

Sunday I did some massive cleaning and planted some herbs to grow myself (after asking above-mentioned Maggie 10,000 questions):

Andi had a play date with a neighbor named Ruby and they were adorable as usual- Andi clearly loves the camera, look how she is looking at it! That's my little diva!

And that was it! This week I am SUPER PUMPED because it's one of my college BFF's bachelorette parties in CHARLESTON!! I'm flying out Thursday afternoon and cannot freaking waaaiiiittt!

Linking up today with Biana, Leeann, Kimberlee

Beets + Greens Dilla (sounds weird but tastes amaze FOR REAL)

Ok first of all let me get this off my chest: there are a lot of confessions wrapped in this quesadilla.

1. I may or may not have played accomplice after my friend's wedding, egging her on to open a wedding gift when her husband wasn't there and to tell him we didn't realize it was a wedding gift
2. It may or may not have been a really really sweet book from his sister, that included all of their family's favorite recipes (yes we were feeling super guilty at this point)
3. I may or may not have taken a picture of a recipe to try
4. This is that recipe with some of my own little touches
5. I don't think the married couple has even tried it.
6. At first I couldn't stop laughing at the name "beet quesadilla" because I picture a quesadilla full of these guys:

Servings: 4 quesadillas

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized beets, unpeeled and sliced thin
• Beet stems (I cut off below the leaf and chopped it up)
• 1/2 can black beans, drained
• 1.5 Cup of greens (I removed beet greens from the stems and used kale removed from the stems), sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• Goat Cheese (to taste)
• Tortillas (I always eat Ezekiel)
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Heat coconut oil in a frying pan. Add the onions, beets and stems over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Next add the garlic, beans, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley and greens and mix well over the medium heat for about 5-7  minutes (still stirring constantly). 

Heap the mixture onto the quesadillas and add goat cheese to taste. I can't even believe how much I liked these! Harrison thinks he hates beets (surprise!) but even liked this!

Ok so I am newly really into beets so  question: What are other good ways to eat beets?

Best Clean Eating Breakfast Burrito EVA + Best 4th of July Weekend EVA Recap

Oh hay Monday, I was hoping you'd forget to come this week! Womp womp. This weekend while experiencing a massive hangover I concocted a breakfast burrito that fixed everything (the lifesaver also could have been the bloody mary that accompanied the burrito but I think it was a team effort).

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, baked (I poked a few holes in mine and threw it in the microwave for 8 minutes- hangovers do not allow for oven waits) ($.80)
• 1/2 Cup Black Beans ($.50)
• 2 Eggs, cooked over easy (or however you like your eggs)
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon onion salt
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tortilla (I use Ezekiel tortillas)

Scoop the sweet potato out of the skin and spread it evenly over the tortilla (your sweet potato should be soft and cooked through, if it isn't microwave it a little longer). Layer the black beans on top of the sweet potato, then add the eggs, then add a layer of salsa. Sprinkle the seasonings on top, roll up and enjoy (a full stomach and less of a hangover).

Soooo 4th of July was awesome this weekend! I live across from a big park (in DC! I know!) that has a giant open field where people shot off huge fireworks all night. We cooked out with a bunch of friends and my parents came too! It was a blast (pun intended, man I'm funny).

tried to capture it on my iphone...not so much

Saturday was my mom's birthday and I was so excited to celebrate with family and friends in DC! We did bottomless mimosa brunch at Chadwick's followed by kayaking on the Potomac. Could not have asked for a more perfect day.

Then I had some epic CHICKEN AND (red velvet) WAFFLES- WHAT - at a new restaurant near my house called Smith Public Trust:

Sunday Andi had a friend over and I died from cuteness. Meet Eva:

Sunday night we had a little Netflix binge and I watched E-mail Order Bride. Just trust me on this one. It's worth the hour.

Tell me: do you have any good clean eating hangover remedies? What should I watch on my next Netflix binge?

Linking up today with Bella, Bianna, LeeAnn, Kimberlee, Wendy, Secret Blogger Club