FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Football And Chicken Wings?

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After a steamy day of taking new blonde blog photos with Patrick (you should check his website out, he’s AMAZING) and Justin, it was time for some cold beers and football.

We made it a middle school affair by meeting up with the other Kristens, both of who I met at the fresh age of 11.  It’s crazy to think it’s possible to know people for 17 years and counting.   And I love that years can pass and we can still reunite and be just as silly as the day we met.

I was craving wing sauce like nobody’s business and I didn’t hold back, not one bit.  I’m still eating about 99% dairy free and 90-ish% meat free since the LA meat debacle. But since hearing Dawn Jackson Blatner, author of The Flexitarian Diet, speak at HLS, I’ve decided that it’s not the end of the world if I occasionally do the meat thing on special occasions.

And if Gator Football isn’t a special occasion, then by golly, what is??

What are your favorite special, splurging occasions?

Everyday Veggie Tray

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A few weeks ago before I left for a DC work trip, I remembered that I had a long overdue Clearly Fresh Bag review in my queue.  I chopped a leftover onion in half, put one piece in a Ziploc, the other in a Clearly Fresh Bag, and presumably grabbed my luggage and rushed out the door.  When I returned a week later, the Clearly Fresh Bag onion (on the right) was clearly the winner.

Now fast forward to hearing Dawn Jackson Blatner speak at the Healthy Living Summit last Saturday…  Of the many amazing mantras I took away from her session, there was one in particular that I felt I should start practicing immediately: everyday veggie tray.

The concept behind ‘everyday veggie tray’ is that veggies that are already washed and chopped are just as accessible when you’re busy as a packaged snack.  Seems simple, I know, but most healthy living concepts are simple, so simple that they’re easily forgotten.

My every day veggie tray consists of radishes, cucumber, and broccoli – precut for perfect hummus scoopage.  I’m also very excited because prior to my Clearly Fresh Bag experiment I would have been very hesitant about chopping this many veggies in advance.

Do you think an every day veggie tray would work for you?  What kinds of veggies would you prep for the week?

The Summit Top Five, In Pictures

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1.  Staying four to a room – If I would have reserved a hotel room for just myself, I wouldn’t have met three super awesome, highly diverse, healthy blogging friends.  Getting to know a ton of new amazing women, specifically my roommates, was my hands-down favorite part of HLS.

2.  The food –  Every aspect of the food was perfect: quantity, timing, variety, freshness.  You name the detail, it was considered.  I had not one ‘I wish I had’ moment during the entire day, which is rare.  It also made me questions why conference food is traditionally so yuck.

3.  Hearing Dawn Jackson Blatner speak – Dawn tops my list of impressive public speakers.  The fact that her food philosophies are directly in line with my own may be a slight cause of bias, but her knowledge of the subject, confidence, and ability to hold the attention of our group for two 1-hour sessions is undeniable.  A major HLS highlight is that we got to chatting at the almond butter buffet and I was able to tell Dawn, at her request, specific reasons why I enjoyed her as a presenter.  She is thebomb.com.

4.  Twitter – Can you believe #HLS was a trending hashtag in Philadelphia this weekend?!  I loved the ability to connect with people that I would have otherwise not known how reach and read their thoughts on the conference/Philadelphia/etc. throughout the weekend.  We’re so hip!!

5.  Motivation – Although I never officially met Freya of Brit Chick Runs, I can now understand why she traveled all the way from the UK to be at this very event.  EVERY attendee brought their own set of experiences, successes, motivators, struggles, insecurities – we’re all real people and weren’t expected to be anything other than real people.  Meaning, nobody here had it all figured out, but we all had the common goal of striving to be better, balancing our struggles with a new found friend’s motivators and getting one step closer to healthier, happier.

I can’t thank Meghann enough for not only planning, but encouraging me to attend, The Healthy Living Summit.  This event is truly one of a kind.  I’m sad to leave my new friends, but I am reassured by the proven power of bloggers keeping in touch in the virtual world.

See you next year HLS-ers! XOXO