Monday, February 28, 2011

E: White Bean & Spinach Crock Pot Soup & Blogger Meet up

Normally, I would be sad that it is Monday “already”….but I’m so excited for our doctors appointment later this week…that there are no complaints from over here today! I’m thinking about doing a guess the babies sex giveaway. The prize would be a homemade baked good (your choice: vegan almond butter chocolate chunk cookies, vegan chocolate, chocolate chip pumpkin muffins or peanut butter flour chocolate chip cookies)- would y’all be interested? If I get a good response, I will put the giveaway up on Wednesday!! Two things I want to share with you:

1) Blogger brunch at Charleston’s Cafe.

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I had been looking forward to this get together for quite some time! Unfortunately, a few people couldn’t make it last minute, but a great time was had by all who made it out. The cafe already had a longgg line at 9:30:

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I started my meal with a great cup of decaf:

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And ordered oatmeal with strawberries and skim for breakfast:

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All the ladies!! Me (+bump), Blair, Lindsay and Mandi:

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2) I made a very tasty & healthy soup the other night that I must share! I found this crock pot/slow cooker white bean & spinach soup recipe through FitnessMagazine.com. The soup does not contain a lot of ingredients but packs great flavor! I followed the directions almost exactly. I did use a TJs rice mixture instead of just brown rice and I added in 1/8 teaspoon of ground red pepper (for just a tiny bit of kick- I’m a red pepper addict ;)). The outcome:

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Not gorgeous- but so good! Josh loved it too. Along side our soup, we each had fruit (peaches for Josh, cantaloupe for me) & a baked tortilla (cut into “chips). Josh also had a string cheese and two peanut butter flour chocolate chip cookies:

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A wonderful meal! We had this for dinner on Friday and enjoyed leftovers on Sunday. I’m off to teach Body Pump. Enjoy the last day of February!

38 comments:

Jessica @ How Sweet said...

What a fun meetup! And your soup looks delish too.

Averie said...

awwww the meetup looks wonderful! and your bump, tooooo cute!!

and of course, creative awesome job on the soup! yummmy!

Gen said...

The blogger meetup looks fun! If anyone's ever in Recife, call me up! =P
That soup looks yummy, too!!!!

The Purple Carrot said...

I think a guess the baby's sex giveaway would be neat, I would participate! ;) So excited for you to find out!

Looks like you had a great meetup with some delish food. Have a great Monday :]

Heather said...

What a fun meetup - tell Lindsey I miss her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wanted to make soup for dinner last night but ended up being too lazy. :) Maybe this week?

The Blonde Duck said...

I love white beans!

Stephanie @cookinfanatic said...

love this soup! ugh i wish the man would eat spinach, i have to be really sneaky when i try to put it into food haha. i may have to try this one night that he works late bc it sounds so good!

lee said...

I would love to try one of your baked goods, so I think you should have a contest. Plus, I already guessed in your last post!

Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean said...

yay giveaway!!

Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg said...

Looks like you had a great weekend-- your bump is so cute!!

Heather (Where's the Beach) said...

How fun on the meet up. I used to read Lindsay's blog (now it's restricted?). I wish there were more bloggers around here that I could meet.

Kerr said...

ahhh I am so sad I missed it! bad bad dirty martinis got me.

Amelia said...

I am so bummed that Kevin's stomach was off. All of you ladies (and mystery baby) look awesome! We need to find time to get together before I leave. I'll even bribe Josh with a key lime pie if he wants to tag along. ;)

Annie said...

oh erica your soups are always so delicious looking!

and that oatmeal?

so jealous!

Renee Paj said...

awe Erica, you are seriously the cutest with that baby bump! how exciting to learn the babys sex! I think you should do the giveaway...it would be fun! :)

Heather @ Get Healthy with Heather said...

I think your soup looks great and delicious too! Glad you had a fun meetup.
I can't wait to hear about your baby's sex! A guessing giveaway would be fun :)

Priyanka said...

Yay for blogger meetups! sounds like an amazing giveaway too. I would be totally up for it.

KatiePerk said...

That looks delicious!! Glad you gals had fun.

Sarah said...

MMM the soup looks so good! I love white beans, I want to try it.

You look so great!! I think a giveaway is a fun idea, do it.

choose to be happy blog said...

the meetup looks like so much fun! so jealous!

Maria said...

Glad you had a fun meet up!

Anonymous said...

Looks like the meetup was a lot of fun! You and the bump look adorable!

Beth @ DiningAndDishing said...

Your little bump is adorable Erica!! I think a guess the sex contest would be super fun :). Looking forward to hearing the good news!

Anonymous said...

That soup recipe sounds delicious! I 'll have to make it before the weather gets too warm! (Ah! I love saying that!)

Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking said...

Congratulations on your pregnancy, Erica! What a fun meetup and a wonderful looking soup. You have a beautiful blog and I’m so glad to have found it. I’m looking forward to exploring your recipes and seeing more! :) - Georgia

Corey @ the runners cookie said...

Your weekend looks so fun and what beautiful weather!! I cannot wait for spring to happen in the northeast. I would absolutely be interested in the "guess the baby's sex" game :) Sounds fun!

Simply Life said...

Looks a fun meet-up with the bloggers!

Oh I'd definitely be interested in that giveaway!

Julie said...

oh that soup sounds SO good! i just had peanut curry soup mmm :) you've totally got me hooked on loving soup haha thank you!

and josh's dinner reminds me (for some weird reason) of the lunchables hahaha just because he's got a bit of everything there!

gahhh i'm SO excited for you to find out!!!!!!!!! i don't want to participate in the baked goods giveaway because i can't wait to hear hahahahahahahahaha selfish of me?

fittingbackin said...

Fun meet up! Hate the long line though - boo. The soup looks great - I love anything slowcooker and Ithink the picture is good!!

teresa said...

what a fun meetup! everything looks so good, i love the soup you made, especially with the sprinkling of parm cheese! have a wonderful week!

Natalie said...

too funny-tonight we had a white bean, spinach, and pesto soup. i LOVED it! yours looks great too!

Holly said...

Of COURSE I would love a chance to win some baked goods! :-) Can't wait for you to find out boy/girl....you are going to have some major shopping to do next weekend, lady!

So fun that you girls all got to meet up, too! And that soup looks delicious. Bookmarking now!

Megan D said...

I would love that meal! I've always liked string cheese haha. And your oatmeal looks so pretty with the strawberries on top!
Also you should definitely do that giveaway! :)

Katie said...

Your breakfasts out always look so fun! And nice to incorporate a blog meetup in, too.

I really need to get a crockpot/slow-cooker. It would save so much time, and everything I've seen people make (like your soup!) always looks so good.

Laural (bhealthier) said...

I love the (+bump). What a great meet up! Tasty soup too. I think the giveaway would be super fun. I'm so excited for you for your appointment!

Krista said...

The blogger brunch sounds like it weas fun! And look at the gorgeous weather you have....

The soup sounds right up my alley, too. :)

Paige said...

Sounds like a fun meetup!! And I know I sound like a broken record, but you seriously look gorgeous/adorable :)

CaSaundraLeigh said...

Wow--that cafe is definitely the place to go. Looks like you all had a great time!