Whole Foods Market // Greenway // Tigard, OR

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Who loves Whole Foods? I know I do. I love the shopping experience, the store layout, the friendly staff and the quality of food. When we lived across the street from Whole Foods you could easily find me there a few days per week and now even 9 months after moving to a new home the rare time I visit our former local Whole Foods I have staff members who remember me (that’s how often I was there).

WFMGreenwayOf course when I was invited to a media sneak peek of the new Whole Foods opening in Tigard, OR I had to go and check it out. The store is opening up tomorrow (May 21st) and let me tell you this store is pretty awesome. While it has some of the same features as your standard Whole Foods it also has some different things you won’t find at every Whole Foods or at least at the ones here in the Portland area.

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Can we talk about how beautiful these signs are? Seriously!

They are also hand drawn/colored local artists.

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Check out the awesome bulk area.

Plus they have their own nut butter grinding station.IMG_7605 IMG_7609

With the most amazing chocolate hazelnut nut butter.

Seriously you have to come to this store just for this one item alone. We were lucky to sample it and Edith may have sneaked an extra sample or two.IMG_7611The wine and beer section was pretty impressive and had me longing for a nice glass of red or crisp white (I am counting down the weeks -10 more if you’re keeping track).

IMG_7612 Another awesome feature is beer on draft and you can buy growlers! There are going to be four local beers on tap ready for you take home. For the wine lovers there will be growler fills for a few different wines as well!IMG_7617Check out the sandwich options. For my vegan friends doesn’t that reuben sound insane? Neil and I are already making plans to stop in and try one out when the store officially opens.
WFMGreenway SandwichesFor my coffee, smoothie and/or juice lovers there is a bar just for you at this Whole Foods. Also something I learned (probably old news) but non-dairy milks DO NOT cost extra for coffee drinks!!IMG_7624Okay I saved the best for last. Check out this insane outdoor seating area. Seriously so beautiful! I have never seen anything like this before and if I lived just a little bit closer you can bet I would be here regularly to work and/or relax. I didn’t get a good interior shot but the inside sitting area is pretty awesome as well and has as really communal feel which is great for larger parties.WFMGreenway Beautiful Outside AreaOkay so that is my sneak peek for you of the new Whole Foods Greenway in Tigard. I am hoping to head out tomorrow for the grand opening which is at 9am and take advantage of all the grand opening deals. Who’s with me?

Whole Foods Market- Greenway
12220 SW Scholls Ferry Road
Tigard, OR 97223

Native Foods Clackamas Town Center // Plus a Giveaway

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Disclaimer: My family was provided with VIP passes for dinner last week. All opinions are my own as always!

Prior to moving out to Portland I had heard about Native Foods but since there are currently none the East Coast (there are however two opening in D.C. soon) we had never been. We were thrilled to first try Native Foods at their Bridgeport location last year but since we don’t make it down to Bridgeport Village very often we haven’t been back. Needless to say I was thrilled to see that they had a new location at the Clackamas Town Center which is close to where we live in SE Portland.

Now the Clackamas Town Center Native Foods doesn’t officially open until May 21st but they have been doing VIP events since last week to give people a sneak peek of their new restaurant and the food. We received VIP passes for last Wednesday night and we were able to sample a variety of items.

Starters:

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Butternut Polenta BitesIMG_7587Saigon Roll

Entrees:

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Twister Wrap with Side SaladIMG_7586

Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger with Seasoned FriesIMG_7588Kids Mac and Cheese with Broccoli

Drinks:

IMG_7578Lavender Lemonade & Watermelon Fresca

Dessert:

IMG_7580Peanut Butter Parfait

Thoughts on the Food:

We really liked both of the starters that we ordered and I would definitely get the Saigon Rolls again. I was actually a little surprised I liked them so much but they were really good. As for the entrees neither of us enjoyed the Twister Wrap it was a little boring and by the time I ate my half (we were sharing) mine was super soggy and I ended up eating two bites before removing the “chicken” and eating that on it’s own. The side salad that came with our Twister Wrap was good though!

I really liked the Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger despite it not being what I think of when I want a vegan burger.  It isn’t so much of a burger but rather a sliced seitan sandwich, either way I thought it was tasty and I was glad we ordered it because I don’t think I would have had we not been at the VIP event (aka it was free). The side of fries that came with the Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger where meh. They were super salty and just not great fries. Edith enjoyed her mac and cheese and Neil and I both had a bite and thought it tasted good.

Lastly dessert and drinks. Neil chose the lavender lemonade which was SO good I made him go get more because while Edith enjoyed her kids size watermelon fresca I just didn’t love it. As for dessert we all loved the Peanut Butter Parfait and some little munchin decided to devour it before we even got more than two bites. We also got a sticky toffee cake that we took home with us and shared after Edith went to bed. It was so good!

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Service:

The service was great! Super friendly, super efficient and helpful!

Overall:

Overall we had a good experience at Native Foods. I have to say we would probably get a meal of lemonade, starters and desserts because those were our overall favorites but there are so many things on the menu to try like the Chicken Run Ranch <–regretting not getting this after hearing other people rave about it. Also umm have you see the colossal nachos? I think we need to try those too!

Giveaway:

Since many of you guys out there don’t have a Native Foods near you they have agreed to send out one of their cookbooks to one lucky reader!

nativefoodscookbook
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Post Ideas // When I Need Inspiration

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I have notebooks filled with blog ideas and yet I often find myself struggling to write. Often this struggle isn’t because I am feeling uninspired (although sometimes that is the case) it’s more often that I am tired out and unfocused. When this happens I look elsewhere for inspiration to help me get more focused and back on track for example my Currently posts.

I have been working on creating a resource list and have been taking advantage of Pinterest to keep track of a variety of resources.

Follow Running With Tongs’s board BLOG | Tips on Pinterest.

Other helpful ways to help me stay inspired is by hearing back from you all! So please take a moment and share with me something you’d love to read about on the blog. Maybe you’d like to read more about weekly workouts, prenatal workouts, recipes (specific, general, an ingredient), my healthy living tips, day in the life, meals, sites and eats around Portland, basically anything that you want to read- share below!

Giveaway & Review // Mamma Chia

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Disclaimer: As part of a FitFluential campaign, I received a Mamma Chia gift set in exchange for my honest review and for the purpose of a giveaway. The opinions shared are my own.

Mamma Chia Yum EaterCha-Cha-Cha Chia!

I just had to. Now we aren’t talking about those pets that were popular in the 80’s/90’s and apparently are still on the market. We are talking about the good stuff. The stuff that you eat. Chia seeds are packed with Omega-3s and are an excellent source of dietary fiber, complete protein and antioxidants, the ancient seed was held in high esteem by both the Mayans and Aztecs for increasing vitality and strength.

IMG_7160Now this isn’t the first time I have talked about Mamma Chia on the blog; the first time was back in March of 2013 when I told you how much I loved the Chia Squeeze. Guess what? We still love them around here. They have become a weekly purchase around our house for Edith and myself (and sometimes Neil if he is lucky enough to get one before they are gone). Edith has one about every other day as a snack (her favorite) and I have 1-2 per week usually as an on the go snack whether we are out at the playground or I am out for a nice long walk.

I usually buy the Green Magic or the Blackberry Bliss but since trying the two new flavors Mango Coconut and Wild Raspberry I am anxiously awaiting their arrival to our local stores. Seriously they are both super delicious.

IMG_7147A new exciting feature from Mamma Chia their new organic bagged chia. You can purchase white or black chia seeds and they are so much fun to use to create your own recipes or just to simple sprinkle on a salad or yogurt or add to a smoothie (what I usually do). If you’re looking for recipe inspiration Janie Hoffman the Mamma Chia founder and CEO just realized a book called Chia Vitality. I haven’t finished reading the book yet but so far it’s a really great read and if you so desire there is a 30 day meal plan that centers around chia seeds and improving your health that you can follow.

mammachiasqueezeGiveaway:

Fitfluential Giveaway

Total retail value: $75


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Mother’s Day Weekend

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Happy Monday! I’m seriously exhausted today and I don’t know if it was the terrible sleep I got while away, the running around all weekend or just the third trimester slump – or maybe it’s a combo of everything? Anyways I am wishing I could have a coffee IV right now but I don’t think my midwife or body would approve.

IMG_7299This past weekend Neil, Edith and I escaped to the coast for a little family get away. We hadn’t planned to do any more trips away before baby #2’s arrival but at the last minute we decided to use our gift certificate to the Surfsand Resort that my hardworking husband received as a gift from work. Since the cost of rooms there are a little out of our normal vacationing budget we had planned to just go to the coast for one night but around lunch time on Friday I suggested to Neil (who apparently was already looking into hotels) that we might go for an extra night away. We agreed and decided to extend our weekend as an early anniversary celebration. We found a room in Seaside and headed there once Neil got out of work, which was early thankfully!

IMG_7339The forecast for the weekend was pretty ominous but it didn’t matter we were ready to enjoy a little family time away. it rained the entire drive to Seaside and then off and on all evening. I checked the weather forecast one more time (just in case) to see what Saturday would be like and again it predicted rain however to our delight it ended up being the most beautiful day!!

Seaside-MothersDayWeekend-ToddlerWearing-KissesWe decided to spend Saturday in what has become our favorite spot in Oregon –> Astoria. You might be familiar with Astoria from the 80’s film The Goonies or Arnie’s Kindergarten Cop. Anyways over the past 13 months we have visited Astoria three times and we are seriously in love.

IMG_7476 astoria-bagelsOur adventure in Astoria started with a stop to the 14th Street Coffee House for a (second breakfast) and coffee. Then we were off to the Columbia River Maritime Museum which we had heard was pretty great but had never visited on our previous trips. We were seriously impressed with the museum and all three of us had a blast. We will be back!

IMG_7493After the museum we decided to take the Astoria Riverfront Trolley which we were able to pick up right outside the maritime museum. We had never really considered riding the trolley until this trip and Edith’s love of all things trains (choo choo!). We were pleasantly surprised to find that the trolley was actually a lot of fun and something we will be doing again. We were hungry so we only ended up doing half of the ride (you can get on and off all day for only $2pp).  Next time we are in Astoria we will be riding again.

Our last stop in Astoria before heading to Cannon Beach was at Buoy Brewing Company, a new brewery that just opened this year. We stopped in for lunch, beer (for Neil) and to see the sea lion that lives under their building. The food was insanely good, Neil loved the beer and we all loved the sea lion. Now you might be wondering how does a sea lion live under the brewery? Well the brewery is in an old building that is literally over the water so when the owners were renovating they decided to put in a glass floor in one spot where you can look down into the water and there is one giant sea lion who loves to stay there and sometimes you can see as many as 20 sea lions there at one time. Processed with Rookie

After lunch we headed straight to Cannon Beach and to our hotel. We were about 20 minutes early to check in so we went straight to the beach to get a view of Haystack Rock and for Edith to play a little ball. Once we were able to get into our room I took advantage of it being Mother’s Day weekend and decided to take a soak in the giant tub with a view of the ocean while Neil and Edith headed back to the beach to play in the sand. That evening we got some dinner and called it an early night.

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Sunday (Mother’s Day) Neil went for a run and Edith and I played in our room for awhile. Once Neil returned we headed back to the beach for awhile to play in the sand. We decided to head back to Portland early to get lunch since while the beach is beautiful the food options are lacking so we were in need of a good meal. We spent Mother’s Day eating, grocery shopping and enjoying some time in the sun.

IMG_7539What did you do this weekend? How did you spend Mother’s Day? Happy Mother’s Day to all the mama’s and mama’s to be!

Check out more snapshots from our weekend over on Naturally Family.

Five Things Friday: Thoughts, Toddlers, Workouts, Blogs and Food!

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Astoria-Blue ScorcherThis post was inspired by Nicole.

Is it finally Friday? This has been quite the week!

5 Thoughts in my head:

  • We have someone coming to fix our pantry door in an hour or so and our landlord decided that this would be a good time to do “an inspection” and I am less than impressed.
  • I’m wondering what time Bowery Bagels opens tomorrow morning so we can pick up jalapeno salt bagels with vegan savory cashew spread for our road trip.
  • Wishing that we could head to the coast RIGHT NOW and not have home repairs, inspections, work (for Neil) and have to get our car serviced before we can FINALLY just be there.
  • Thinking a latte sounds really good right now.
  • Also thinking I just want to sit on the couch and watch TV today but alas not a (good) option for a SAHM.Astoria-Sunset

5 Things about Raising a Toddler:

  • They force you to take a deep breath and relax because if you don’t you’ll go crazy.
  • They surprise you everyday with someone new they have learned- this week Edith sang (her version) of Rock-a-bye baby.
  • They often have impressive eating habits and I swear Edith has at least two stomachs. This morning she had two bowls of oatmeal and stole a number of bites from my and Neil’s breakfasts.
  • They are surprisingly helpful especially if you ask them if they want to be your helper. Edith helped me with laundry and putting away dishes yesterday.
  • Sometimes I need coffee and The Lorax to make it through the day.Mamma Chia Yum Eater

5 Foods I Ate This week:

  • Homemade vegan mac and cheese. I have had it twice this week and we have leftovers for lunch. What can I say? It’s that good.
  • Nectarines. Seriously one of my favorite fruits and when I saw them at Whole Foods for a good deal AND they smelled amazing of course I had to buy some.
  • Cuban Food. We had a mini family date night out and tried a Cuban place that has lots of vegan options. It was decent but a little greasy for us.
  • Graham Crackers. I don’t know why but I had this crazy craving for them so I bought a box on Sunday and well between the three of us that box didn’t stand a chance.
  • Ranch Kale & Cabbage Slaw. I have been making this the past few nights and it’s simply vegan ranch dressing, shredded kale, shredded green cabbage, shredded carrots, a little garlic powder and a bit of red wine vinegar. YUM!

5 Workouts to try:

5 Blog Posts to Read:

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother’s Day to all the new mamas, old mamas and mamas-to-be! xo.