Bon Appétit Bermuda

Let's start with the food from our tropical getaway to Bermuda! Here's some of the delicious meals my family and I had the pleasure of enjoying while on vaca: 

Grilled fig and whipped goat cheese salad with balsamic glaze

Grilled peach stuffed with crab

Appetizer: sushi grade ahi tuna with squash chips and a spicy aioli 

Fresh fish was the best part about the eats in Bermuda. This dish featured seared tuna with broccolini, carrots, and sweet potato risotto (to die for!!)

Baked scallops with spinach and side beet salad

Linguini con shrimp, mussels, and scallops

Beautiful fruit salad with homemade banana bread enjoyed on the beach :) 

Roasted beat salad with balsamic and candied peanuts

Fish tasting trio (from right to left)- grouper, plank salmon, and tuna *salmon was the best!

Now just for the other fun pics of beautiful Bermuda ...

View of the bay from our hotel room 

Love them <3

Happy birthday Mama!!

Perfectly clear blue water surrounding the island

Moped riding! 

Riding on a sail boat with Captain Caleb!

The Best Salmon Recipe You'll Ever Meet

OK so my friends and I usually get together at least a few times a week and cook dinner together. It used to be that we would only make one thing: quinoa with sautéed veggies and some sort of cheese mixed in there (there's always cheese). But this summer we have been really trying to expand our culinary horizons, and what a success it's been. We've made everything from quinoa stuffed peppers and white bean stuffed sweet potatoes, to cauliflower pizza, and mahi-mahi with pineapple salsa. Last night, we decided to try our luck with a new salmon recipe and let me tell you...it's my favorite thing we've ever made. 

I found the recipe for this salmon dish on pinterest, but we modified it a bit to what I had in my pantry. If you like salmon, try it out and you won't be sorry!! 

Honey Thyme Salmon Recipe: 

Ingredients-

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp garlic powder (or 3 garlic cloves)

1 tblsp olive oil

1 tblsp red wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

1 tblsp dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste 

3 salmon filets 

Instructions-

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees 
• In a small bowl, mix together ingredients  
• Place salmon filets in baking dish on top of a large piece of tinfoil 
• Pour marinade over the salmon and wrap tin foil around salmon (creating almost a chamber for it to cook in)
• Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes

OR 

• Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes
• Transfer to grill and cook for another 7-10 minutes 

We did the second cooking option and finished off the salmon on the grill. It gave a great finish to the fish, creating an almost caramelized seared top from that honey in the marinade. 

The finished product: 

We whipped up a quinoa+wild rice mix, and roasted asparagus and portobello mushrooms as our veggie. It was truly the meal from heaven.

And just because I'm eating lunch while writing this post...

here's today's lunch: 

 TJ's whole wheat wrap with sun-dried tomato pesto, hummus, spinach, and tuna. Fresh cut apple and strawberries on the side!

Yum!! 

If you're in the B'More area and didn't know... it's restaurant week!! So tonight I'm going out to dinner with friends to Sotto Sopra! They boast "contemporary italian cuisine" and their restaurant week menu looks to die for. No clue how I'm going to choose just three things to try...but a 3 course meal at a fancy restaurant for just $30?! I'll take it. 

More updates to come!! Ciao! 

☀ Summer Lovin' ☀

As always, first and foremost are the foodie updates! 

Dinner at Atwater's in Belvedere Square Market. They specialize in local foods so the menu is always changing. They also make the most amazing bread. I always pick up a loaf from them when I'm at Belvedere. 

I started with the crap and corn soup. It had a great tomato based broth with a kick to it. I loved every bite...especially those that involved dipping that hunk of sunflower seed bread into the bowl. 

For my main course I had this amazing salad with slivered almonds, goat cheese, and fresh blueberries. Perfect for a light summer salad.

We finished off the meal with a shared vegan brown and cup of café au lait ice cream. it was gone way too fast to get a picture.

After dinner it was time for a movie we've been dying to see...Begin Again. It was SOOO GOOOD. I highly recommend it, especially for anyone who is interested in the music industry. It was truly great. I laughed, I cried, and I went home and immediately bought the soundtrack. See it before it's out of theaters!!! 

Lunch event at work! They had great vegetarian options including an assortment of salads, wraps, and a baked tofu in a curry sauce. I opted for the veggie wrap, salad, and some fruit. Along with a chocolate chip cookie after because I couldn't resist :) 

I've been really into oatmeal again lately. I found this new kind that I like a lot that's made by the same company that makes my favorite granola. 

Purely Elizabeth 

I also added a little bit of flax seed and almond milk...along with a sliced banana and sprinkle of cinnamon on top!

Another lunch, but this one was at home after work. This reminds me so much of a little kid's lunch and I love it. I am such a sucker for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but this one is a little bit healthier than the traditional ;) It's sunflower spelt bread (from Atwater's Bakery) with almond butter and blackberry jam from the FM. On the side was a cup of greek yogurt with berries and the TJ's honey whole wheat pretzel sticks that are so addicting it's not even funny. 

Girl's night out at the Owl Bar! 

Pink lemonade drank in a mason jar!

My pretties 

Many a'mason jar

Friend <3

Beach time in Sea Isle, NJ!! 

First night's dinner was right up my alley....baked salmon marinated in soy sauce, olive oil, lemon, and a little bit of brown sugar. On the side was brown rice, baked asparagus and carrots with FM guac.

There is something so right about a smoothie on the beach. There was a shop a short beach walk away that made fresh smoothies with REAL fruit..not that fake syrupy stuff. I got the pineapple one with pineapple, mango, banana, and oj. So refreshing!

What would a beach trip be without the fro-yo?! Honestly I could probably get froyo every night and not get tired of it...but it does give me a stomach ache so I actually can't get it every night no matter how badly I want to. Every once in a while is ok though! Here's what was in this heavenly mixture....

Froyo: georgia peach, creamy coconut, vanilla mint. Toppings: blackberries, mochi (who knew these were so good?!), and gummy bears!

*Fun fact: gummy bears are my favorite candy. I love putting them in the refrigerator so they get a little cold. Mmmmmm I could eat a whole bag in one sitting. 

The workouts have included runs on the boardwalk, hot yoga, and a few strength training sessions with Joey. Trying to mix things up and keep it interesting! 

For funzies: 

It's a Mo-ritto

Get it? Like a burrito....ok it's funny.

And Mo obviously was NOT thrilled.

I love this quote from the cleanprogram instagram page:

It rings so true. Whether you are continuing healthy eating habits or just getting started, this is a great quote to keep in mind. I always say that clean, smart eating is a lifestyle (NOT a diet), but this quote made me realize that it's also an art. It may not always turn out perfect or beautiful, but if it makes any part of you-mind, body, or soul-feel beautiful, then it's always worth it, and I love that. 

Have a good week!! I'm off to Bermuda on Wednesday, so more tropical updates to come later  :D

"Everybody Wants to be a Cat"

I have come to learn recently that cats sleep all day, everyday. I think they're really cute when they sleep so I take far too many pictures of Joey's cats sleeping in different cute positions. I don't know what else to do with them but put them here, so enjoy. 

Gump

Moses

Nap time with Mo 

Gump sleeps in the weirdest positions

Honestly,  I wish I could sleep as much as they do! Instead, my day-to-day summer schedule is breakfast, work, lunch, LSAT, gym, dinner, LSAT, TV, sleep. There are a few variations on that depending on what my friends and I are doing, but by 10pm, I'm exhausted and ready to crawl into bed. 

Somewhere in all of that, I got to meet my family at the beach for the 4th, and have some pretty amazing meals...

Dinner before leaving for the beach was made by my friend Alice and I. This delicious meal included salmon stuffed with feta and spinach, sautéed broccolini and summer squash, with whipped sweet potatoes (my absolute favorite food lately). 

Then it was time to drive to Cape May to spend time with family and friends <3

Morning run along the pier 

Seafood dinner! We tackled live lobster this time...and I mean literally tackled them. It was quite the ordeal getting those live guys into the pot. 

They were huge!! 

In addition to the giant lobsters, we also had clams, seared scallops, and raw oysters (which I didn't partake in..not a huge fan of raw oysters). Everything was so delicious and I was stuffed afterwards!

It was a rainy day on our second day at the beach so we found ways to entertain ourselves indoors...not sure why we thought this was a good idea?

Beautiful Cape May Sunset 

While shopping in the town of Cape May, I saw this sign and laughed because it's SO true for me. I have become a coffee addict and it's pathetic.

Dinner  on our last night in Cape May was at the Blue Pig Tavern. They offered a lot of great options from freshly caught seafood to pasta and a great cheese board :) 

Dad wanted me to take a picture of his dinner. Linguini bolonaise which he said was very good!

Duncan's seafood pasta was awesome but...

My perfectly grilled swordfish with beat risotto was probably the most amazing dish I've had from a restaurant in forever. I ate every bite and hardly wanted to share any of it!

On our way out of town, we stopped in a little shop that boasted fresh fruit smoothies and vegan ice cream! I got their green smoothie and it was perfectly refreshing and a nice change of pace from all the heavy food I ate over the weekend. Sometimes all I need is a green pick-me-up to feel like I have reset my digestion in a way.

Spinach, almond milk, pineapple, banana, and ice!

We also stopped into a peanut-butter shop on our way out of Cape May. Yes you read that right...a PEANUT BUTTER SHOP. It was awesome. They had all different types of nut butters and flavored peanut butters. Along with other peanut products, jams, and peanut butter baked goods. AND you could taste anything!! I should have taken pictures but I was honestly so overwhelmed/excited to be in there that I didn't even think to get out my camera. It was heaven on earth. I ended up leaving with their classic salted peanut butter and their hazelnut butter which actually didn't have any hazelnuts in it. I swear it's better than Nutella. 

Back in Balty for weekend lunch with friends at Artifact Coffee. It's a favorite of my friends', but it was my first time going and I was not disappointed! I started with a soy honey lavender latte and shared a bran muffin with Es. For my main, I ordered this sandwich: Spike's greenhouse on spelt bread with kale, onion, cheddar, cucumber, shaved summer squash, and special sauce. It was really substantial for being vegetarian..definitely kept me full until dinner time.

Cooking dinner with Es (per usual)-broiled talapia with TJ's pineapple mango salsa (highly recommend it!) with a side of quinoa and baked asparagus with shaved parmesan. We have really been stepping up our cooking game! Go us.

Dooby's coffee is my favorite in Baltimore and lucky for me, it's on my way to work! It's definitely a pricy soy vanilla latté but the quality makes it worth it. If you live in the B'more area and enjoy a really good cup of coffee, I highly recommend it. *They also have really good oatmeal and baked goods :)

Maybe it's time I talk about some fitness stuff since this blog is supposed to be about healthy living. I get too carried away with the food sometimes! 

So the workouts as of late have been really varied-

1. Running outside *when it's not too hot* 

Last week I went on a trail run with my favorite running buddy, Katie, who is back from her semester abroad in Chile. It was so nice to run with her again and catch up on our semester apart. So happy she's back and excited for more runs this year!

2. Strength training with Joey

-no pics but it kicks my ass

3. Circuits complements of Kayla Itsines

-these are great quick cardio sessions that get your heart rate up and your muscles on fire...especially leg day!

Trying really hard to look happy after a Kayla workout but secretly dying.