E: Weekend & Pregnancy Update

I always consider the weekend to unofficially start on Thursday afternoon :). Thursday, I met up with Lindsay to walk the bridge.  It was SO much fun to catch up with her. The walk started off sunny and ended with rain!! It was actually quite comical. It was raining so hard by the time we got back to our cars, we didn’t even grab a picture. Here is a soaking me:

Thursday night, we had breakfast for dinner. I had scrambled eggs in a tortilla (needed more protein for the baby) and made a batch of Beth’s Peanut Butter Flour pancakes for Josh. He said they were yummy (I had a little nibble and concur!):

Friday was the usual: gym, work, food store, errands & time with Josh! Fabulous :)

Saturday, Mandi, Bryan, Josh, myself & friends headed to Brewvival (aka Beer Fest). We all went to Brewvival last year and had a blast.  This year, I was obviously DD, but still enjoyed the bands and beautiful weather. Pictures from the event: It was crowded right from the start:

They had tons more vendors this year and fun food, including two food trucks:

 

The weather was perfect (sunny and almost 70 degrees) and everyone enjoyed the beer (while I enjoyed my water ;)):

Adorable Mandi and her beer can necklace:

Me & Mandi:

 

Mandi & Bryan:

Josh & I:

I snuck a few snacks into the festival including these EatStrong products (disclaimer: we received these samples for free):

 

I love that they’re “made from all natural, rich and nourishing ingredients(from the EatStrong website).” The consistency of the bar is very interesting and melts in your mouth. The snack mix is a fun combination of nuts, seeds and chocolate drops. They were perfect for the festival.

After the festival, we went out to dinner at Mellow Mushroom and then called it a night.

Today, we have a blogger meet up at our favorite spot, Charleston’s Cafe!! I’m excited to see all of the ladies. More information to come tomorrow!

Pregnancy Update:  Week 18

 

I find myself starting to spill things on my stomach more often these days :) I forget its there sometimes ;). We get to find out the sex of the baby this upcoming week and we CAN’T wait. Whether pink or blue, we’re super excited- but the more details we find out about this little guy/girl, the more excited we get! Things that have surprised me: Random bouts of hunger.

Tell me about your weekend!

M: Honey Basil Vinaigrette & Chobani Greek Yogurt

Ever since I had 5 Loaves’ sweet basil and honey vinaigrette I have been searching and experimenting to find a recipe that tasted just like it! I do believe I successfully did that – still not quite as good as theirs, but hey, it gives it a run for it’s money =)

I used Crisco’s Light Olive Oil, which was a perfect base for the dressing (disclaimer: we received this product for free from Foodbuzz and Crisco). Final product:

And served drizzled atop a salad made of baby spring greens and spinach, chopped asparagus, walnuts, blue cheese crumbles, dried cranberries, and mandarin orange segments. Yum!!! Sweet and full of basil goodness!

Honey Basil Vinaigrette

slightly adapted from All Recipes

3/4 cup olive oil

scant 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup honey

3 TB chopped fresh basil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients in a jar. Secure top and shake until well combined. (You can also just whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl as well if you don’t have a jar available.) Can serve immediately or after it’s been chilled in the fridge!

Erica and I also recently received an incredible opportunity to sample Chobani’s new Greek yogurt flavors! (Disclaimer: we received these products for free) We were so excited for this since we both LOVE Greek yogurt, especially theirs! And how adorable is that lunch box?

Erica’s review:

“Josh and I were very excited to try the new Chobani flavors, as we’ve been Chobani fans for years. Of the flavors we tried, our ranking is as follows:

1. Black Cherry

2. Honey nana

3. Mango

4. Very Berry

5. Lemon

The black cherry and honey nana flavors were our absolute favorites! In fact, I’ve been trying to purchase the black cherry since sampling, and it’s often sold out! The honey nana was a close second! I love the smaller size (great as a side at lunch) and the flavor is subtle, but tasty. My go-to Chobani right now is the 0% plain and I add in a little maple syrup! You can’t beat the creaminess, taste, and protein packed awesomeness of Chobani!”

As for Bryan and myself, can I just say that we are now officially Chobani-exclusive in our household? Once Bryan saw the protein factor he was completely sold. Usually the Greek yogurts we try tend to be sort of runny or somewhat flavor-less or overly-tart. Chobani gets all of these factors perfected!

The honey nana was by far our favorite! Even though it is marketed for kids (which is great! Who doesn’t want to feed their children more healthy foods?!) it is a perfect snack for adults alike! Fantastic atop a breakfast parfait =)

Our ranking was exactly like Josh and Erica’s, except a little switch-a-roo between the honey nana and black cherry.

Go out and try these new flavors! They get a A plus on the thickness/creaminess/texture factor as well as their great flavors, and the additional protein packed goodness is such an awesome plus! They are really unmatched by any other Greek yogurt (in my opinion of course) =)

Happy Saturday!