FoodFash

FoodFash is a food and travel blog based in Austin, TX.

Day Trip From Austin – Kingsland, TX

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While it’s easy to get caught up in all Austin has to offer, it’s also important to make time for exploring the rest of Texas. And because we don’t have an infinite amount of time {and I’m guessing that you don’t either}, we’ve made a commitment to get out there and experience things together. Even if it’s just a day trip. Because, most likely, there’s only time for a day trip.

The formula for our day trips are a pretty simple: within a few hours from Austin, must include nature, must include food. Kingsland made for a pretty perfect day trip from Austin because it was only an hour drive, is the home of Longhorn Cavern State Park, and also has a restaurant that is in the house from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I wasn’t expecting much from Grand Central Cafe because, from a distance, it seemed like it was going to be super touristy. But other than a few themed cocktails on the bar menu and some movie memorabilia scattered about, it felt like a cozy local spot. The menu was giant and included your typical American staples: burgers, sandwiches, salads. I ordered the chicken fried chicken and Kody ordered the reuben. And we both Leatherface lemonaded it up because… When in Rome.

And while nothing on the menu blew my mind, that wasn’t why we were there nor was that the expectation. But everything about our time at Grand Central Cafe was pleasant. The green beans that were served with the chicken fried chicken brought back happy memories of when my great grandmother would spend winters with us in Florida {big positive!}. And I can’t recall a time in Austin where a boozy lunch for two was under $35.

After lunch, we traveled about ten minutes down the road to Longhorn Cavern Sate Park. We both looked at pictures earlier in the week, but the park was immediately cooler than we were expecting. There were a few buildings/structures to gaze at before entering the cave. And the entrance to the cave itself was pretty grand.

There were quite a bit of stairs that led to the cave entrance. And sink holes created tunnels of light that illuminated rock, while allowing greens to grow. Per the website, we intended to do a self-guided tour. But when we arrived at the entrance we were greeted with a locked gate.

So heads up, the only way to enter the cave is through a guided tour which costs $16 per adult and about 90 minutes of your time. Both important things to note before making the trip.

But it was apparent as the tour began that the caves would be difficult to navigate on your own. Not only was it very dark and sometimes slippery, but there were a ton of details that we would have missed had we walked around solo.

All said and done, we were away from home for about five hours and spent under $75 – a total win in my book! Regarding kids, Kody and I both agreed that this tour might be a little long for Haven {age 4}, but we still could have managed had she been there.

What to bring?

  • Closed toed shoes that have a decent grip. We wore Vans and Converse and were totally fine, but I was so thankful I didn’t wear boots.
  • Layers, especially in cooler temps. The cave was much warmer than we expected.
  • Water bottle. The tour is between 60 and 90 minutes with no access to water. There’s a gift shop, but a reusable water bottle is the way to go!
  • A fun playlist. Fresh out of tunes? Click here for one of my go-to lists!

Tyson Chicken Tenders with Homemade Sauces

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tyson Foods, Inc. All opinions are entirely my own.

Last May, when my boyfriend and I moved in together, I gained two new roommates: my boyfriend and his three year old daughter. And while not much has changed in our kitchen since the move {she’s less picky than we are!}, there have been a few noticeable differences.

The most obvious difference is the need to accommodate all three of our taste buds. Daily, I could eat salmon and broccoli, my boyfriend could eat tacos, and the little one could eat pea mac and cheese. And because it’s super easy to get burned out on each other’s preferences, we have our go-to meet-in-the-middle dishes: spaghetti, pizza, and chicken.

Now that I’m responsible for purchasing groceries for a tiny, growing human, I am extra concerned about what types of products I bring home. While grocery shopping at H-E-B, I shop mostly around the grocery store perimeter, buying largely from the produce department and butcher department. But, like everyone, I don’t always have time to cook a meal from scratch. And that is where freezer items come in extra handy.

Knowing that Tyson® crispy chicken strips and Tyson chicken nuggets are made from 100% natural* ingredients (*no artificial ingredients, minimally processed) and no antibiotics ever makes them a super easy choice for busy nights. When paired with a frozen green veggie and some homemade sauces, it’s a guaranteed agreed upon meal.

The people who make Tyson chicken products have had a strong heritage of raising chicken since 1935.  Check out this video to learn more!

It’s also worth noting how frequently I’ve seen “no added XYZ” on other product packaging lately. That type of messaging is confusing and leads me to believe the brand is trying to skirt around certain ingredients. With that said, I REALLY appreciate that Tyson chicken has clear “NO ANTIOBIOTICS EVER” messaging on specially marked product packaging. In addition to Tyson crispy chicken strips, Tyson also makes nuggets, Any’tizers® snacks, and drumsticks that are raised with no antibiotics ever and made with 100% all natural ingredients. Please check for specially marked packages indicating 100% all natural ingredients and no antibiotics ever.

And since Tyson crispy chicken trips are made with 100% natural* ingredients and no antibiotics ever, it only makes sense to pair them with sauces that are also free from artificial ingredients. The little one loves barbeque, my boyfriend loves sweet and sour, and I love honey mustard. I already have a go-to homemade cherry barbeque sauce and honey mustard sauce recipes, but I wanted to develop a sweet and sour sauce that was made with real fruit {not juice} and had a super small ingredient list. We were all incredibly pleased with the sweet and sour sauce recipe below and I can’t wait to add it to our regular line up of Tyson chicken strip sauces!

Easy, Complete Side Dishes

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This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Alexia.

I can’t seem to find the time for intricate side dishes lately. Whenever we cook at home, it is pretty much guaranteed that we’ll serve a protein with a sautéed green veggie. Sometimes I’ll go above and beyond with mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash. But I seriously can’t imagine preparing a protein and TWO lovely veggie sides {especially on a weeknight}. Which is why I was so excited to try Alexia’s complete side dishes.

Alexia used to be my go-to brand for dinner rolls {bring them back, please!}. And they’re the only brand of sweet potato fries on my radar. So when I saw they started making complete side dishes that are VERY similar to what I’d make at home, I couldn’t wait to try them!

Other than the flavor profiles being very similar to what I would cook, I appreciate that Alexia products are non-GMO, gluten free, and contain organic dairy ingredients. And, since we try to steer clear of the microwave, I liked that a handful of the complete side dishes have reasonable stovetop cook times. But for those who depend on the microwave, all of the side dishes cook in less than 10 minutes.

The two side dishes that we sampled were the cauliflower risotto with parmesan and sea salt and mashed butternut squash with butter and brown sugar. And, served along side homemade pork tenderloin, they made for quite a special Sunday supper. So special, that we brought everything outside and dined al fresco to celebrate the slow-approaching Texas fall weather.

The mashed butternut squash was the family favorite. I let Haven sample a spoonful before I plated our meal and she couldn’t stop asking “when is it going to be time for squash?”. Even while we were taking pictures, she couldn’t keep her hands off that squash! And I really enjoyed the cauliflower risotto because it’s so creative. There are plenty of frozen cauliflower rice options available, but then you’re left to find and make a recipe on your own. Alexia complete side dishes are just that – complete. And because they’re complete, you can put all your focus into a delicious main dish.

And that brings me to our pork tenderloin! I used this FoodFash recipe for the brined and seared pork tenderloin within this post. And then I sliced the pork and served it on a bed of sautéed onions and mushrooms. And together, with the cauliflower risotto and mashed butternut squash, it made for a delicious veggie-filled meal!

Alexia complete side dishes can be found at Giant Eagle, Kroger, Meijer and other fine grocers. In Austin, I’ve purchased Alexia products at Whole Foods and Central Market.

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Alexia.

 

Creating Quality Instagram Content – A Letter of Encouragement

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Let me be the millionth person to shout off the virtual rooftops about how much Instagram sucks right now! Reach and engagement are both down 90% of the time and the other 10% of time, when a post is successful, it’s unexplainable and unrepeatable. Posting a new picture on your gallery causes the most useless and preventable anxiety on the planet. Thoughts race: “Did I post at the right time?”, “Have I changed up my hashtags enough?”, “I should have posted another burger pic.”, “How is my burger pic not doing well?”. I can’t tell you how many times in the past few weeks I’ve said “I’ve never seen engagement this low before.”.  I don’t even love burgers that much.

How did I get here?  

Matcha ice cream waffle cone sandwiches from @asahiimports. 📸 @foodfash. Tag #eateratx for regrams.

A post shared by Eater Austin (@eateraustin) on

I’m in a constant state of reeling in out of control, social media-induced emotions. There’s a cool down period that’s followed by asking myself, “Why did I start FoodFash in the first place?”. And the answer to that is so simple. Before page views and new followers and email subscribers and likes were a thing…

 

I started a blog to CREATE.

I started a blog to get comfortable hanging out with my bad, bad self. I started a blog to pick up a camera and re-familiarize myself with the world of apertures and shutter speeds. I started a blog to document the life I wanted to live. I started a blog to become more comfortable in the kitchen and better able to nourish my body, a body that felt worn out and sick in my mid-20s.

I started a blog with the intention of giving, not getting. 

I haven’t yet come to terms with low engagement, but I assure you that coming to terms is in progress. For one, I’m posting less. I used to post on Instagram every day before 8am, which turned out to be a really sh*tty way to start the day. Lately, I post 3-ish times per week at whatever time of day I can afford an hour of comment moderation and engaging with other accounts.

In addition to posting less, I’m switching the focus back from getting to giving. I will…

Continue the commitment to create quality content.

There was a brief time when creating quality content was incentivized by the hopes of getting reposted by an account with a massive following. And while reposts by large accounts yield little to no new followers in 2017, they still serve a purpose for an account like mine, an account that currently has a large focus on highlighting local food businesses.

My account’s reach may be the type of low that gets me down these days, but creating repost worthy content gives businesses I love a greater chance at exponential exposure. For Austin locals, Eater Austin posts a ton of community generated content and they are rockstars at providing visible photo credit. And nationally, I’ve had luck with FoodBeast and food-specific Infatuation accounts (@icecream, @burger, @tacos, @pizza). The reposts embedded within this post have literally provided nothing other than a virtual pat on the back. But when I switch the focus back from getting to giving, reposts fulfill my original intention.

What was your original social media intention?

And because not all of my content is repost-able {I still have some home-cooked meals and sponsored content sprinkled about}, I’ve come up with a list to skim down when I’m frustrated. Because when I’m frustrated, it’s likely that I’ve lost sight of my original intention.

  • Use creating content as an opportunity to hone your skills. The more content you create, the better you’ll be at composition, styling, editing, etc. If you’re avoiding a certain style or technique, research tutorials or sign up for a class.
  • Engage with your local Instagram community in real life. There’s comfort and joy in surrounding yourself with like-minded creators.
  • Use low engagement as an excuse to explore content outside of your niche. If engagement is low regardless of what you post, the pressure of posting that burger pic is greatly reduced.
  • Don’t be a slave to content. If creating content or posting content results in more negative feelings than positive, take a break.
  • Create more blog content. You own your blog and you own your subscriber list. Also, remember how it felt to write this post, a post not intended for Instagram.
  • Avoid comparing yourself to others. People display the best parts of their lives on social media, but rarely show the sacrifices and struggles that made the best parts possible.

Find a way back to your original intention.