#GirlsNightIn // Mocktails

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Pregnancy has really had me thinking about mocktails. I don’t know what it is about being pregnant that has me craving interesting drinks, maybe it’s all the water I have to drink? Anyways I have been in the mood for mocktails and have been making them regularly at home and ordering one often when we go out.

I prefer my mocktails fresh, fruity or citrusy and not too sweet. They can be super complex and interesting or simple like seltzer, lime and cranberry juice. One of the best mocktails I have had lately was when we were in Vermont and it was a combination of seltzer, fresh grapefruit juice, fresh orange juice and just a splash of cranberry juice for color. Bonus mocktails mean I can have a few without feeling guilty (or tipsy) and can share with Edith if I want.

All this mocktail talk though had me crafting ideas for a fun Girl’s Night In with mocktails or mocktails that could be turned into cocktails. Pair these mocktails with fresh and tasty appetizers such as fresh rolls, veggies and hummus, stuffed mushrooms or light salads. Add in a game or a movie and it sounds like the making of a perfect Girls’ Night In.

Here are a few mocktail recipes that I have been lusting after and ones that I think would be perfect for a Girls’ Night in.

Let’s talk about a few of these mocktails:

  • Cucumber Mojitos: cool and super refreshing! This is the perfect summer recipe using fresh and easy ingredients. It is also a beautiful drink so it would be perfect to enjoy with friends. Pair it with some spicy appetizers for a perfect combo.
  • Acai Grapefruit Raspberry Mocktails: This is exactly the type of mocktail that I crave. Made with at Trop50 Raspberry Açaí juice blend it is lightly sweet with a tart component to balance it all out. It would be wonderful paired with some fresh veggies, dip and pita or light salads.
  • Cantaloupe-Ginger Spritzer:  This mocktail caught my eye immediately because it’s not often that you find a drink made with cantaloupe. It is also so beautiful that it will impress your guests! This would pair well with some Asian dishes such as fresh rolls, dumplings or seasoned edamame pods.

I hope that these mocktails help to inspire your next Girls’ Night In and for additional inspiration check out the Trop50 collection on Foodie.

What is your favorite type of mocktail?

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Trop50 via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Trop50.

 

Cinco de Mayo- National Enchilada Day

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I know Cinco de Mayo isn’t until tomorrow but I wanted to share this recipe in case you were in need of a last minute Enchilada recipe to celebrate National Enchilada Day and Cinco de Mayo.

enchiladas
I could eat Mexican food everyday if my husband let me but alas I am the cook and he only likes it once in awhile so when I do make it I like to go all out. Although not completely traditional this recipe is wildly delicious and a  little spicy so I recommend serving with non-dairy or dairy sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (if you do the whole dairy thing).

Serves 4-6
Red Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3oz chili pods
  • 1-28oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 10 unsulfered Turkish apricots
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup vegetable broth or water

Ingredients for Enchiladas:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 8oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 8oz baby spinach
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • Red sauce (recipe above)
  • 12 corn tortillas
  • 2 cups shredded vegan pepper jack cheese

Directions:

For the sauce: Remove the stems and seeds from chili pods. Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water; let sit for 10 minutes. Place apricots in a bowl and cover with boiling water; let sit for 10 minutes. Heat the olive oil in the saute pan over medium heat and add the onions; cook for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and cook uncovered for 3 minutes. Drain the chili pods and apricots and place in a blender. Add the tomato mixture, lemon juice and vegetable broth to the blender and puree. Use as is or strain through a mesh  sieve for a smoother sauce.

Preheat oven to 425F.

For the Filling: Heat the olive oil in the saute pan over medium heat and add the onions; cook for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Add the mushrooms, cover, spin and reduce heat to low; cook for 3 minutes. Add the spinach, return the cover, spin and cook for 3 minutes.

Assemble:

Place a layer of sauce on the bottom of the roasting pan.
Dip both sides of the tortilla into the red sauce (you may want to wear gloves for this) and then fill with about 2 tablespoons of the mushroom and spinach mixture; roll and place in the roasting pan. Repeat until all of the tortillas are filled.
Top with the remaining sauce and then sprinkle with a layer of pepper jack cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Friday I’m In Love: Vega Bars

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Disclaimer: This post was made possible by Fit Approach and Vega. I received a variety of Vega Bars to try and review on my blog. No other compensation was provided. As always all opinions are my own!

Happy Friday! Who is excited for the weekend? I am! I have a few events this weekend and plan on enjoying some quiet time with my family and my new computer – my old Mac officially died earlier this week and my new one should be here sometime today.
So let’s get down to the love of the day: Vega Bars.

Vega Bar Family Shot

I recently had the opportunity to try four different types of bars which included: Vega Snack Bar, Vega One Bar, Vega Sport Energy Bar, and Vega Protein Bar. Now I am not new to Vega, my husband and I have been long time consumers and fans of Vega products but I honestly haven’t really given the bars a try. Mostly we buy protein powders and the Vega Sport products but I think that might change now.

VegaSnackBarLet’s start with my favourite bar of the four- the Vega Snack Bar. This bar is brand new and I absolutely loved it. Seriously one of the best snack bars I have had recently and perfect for on the go or a quick snack while chasing my toddler. Speaking of toddlers, Edith also enjoyed sharing the Vega Snack Bars with me. I sampled two flavours of this bar: dark chocolate mixed nuts and sea salt and the cranberry almond. Both flavours were tasty but which one do you think I preferred? The chocolate one obviously! There are three other flavours that I now need to try once they are in stores. Which Snack Bar do you want to try first?

On to my next favourite bar- the Vega One Bar. I was a little hesitant when I opened this bar because I mean it looks like a glorified candy bar, so I mean how healthy can it really be? While it is coated in chocolate and might look and even taste like a candy bar it is also filled with protein, fiber, omega 3’s and lots of other vitamins and minerals that keep you satisfied.VegaOneBar

I was out and about yesterday running errands so I through one in my bag to try and of course mid-morning I was getting hangry for a second breakfast (pregnant + 6am wake up = two breakfasts) so I broke out my Chocolate Cherry Almond Vega One Bar. Let’s just say this was oh so good AND it gave me the pick me up I needed and kept me satisfied until lunch. I also was sent a Chocolate Peanut Butter one that I handed off to Neil because I can’t stomach PB right now and he enjoyed it and shared a bite with E who went nuts for it.

VegaSportEnergy

Third kind I tried was the Vega Sport Energy Bars and well I liked them but I didn’t love them. These bars are part of the Vega Sport series which have three categories: Prepare, Sustain & Recover. The Vega Sport Energy Bars are part of the Sustain category so they are intended to be eaten mid activity to help provide you with the energy needed to complete your workouts. They come in two flavours Chocolate Coconut Almond and Apple Cherry; of the two I preferred the chocolate. I can’t see myself buying these right now because I didn’t love them for snacking on and I am not currently doing any workouts that require fueling mid-workout. I do however think that these are perfect for those who are long distance runners or cyclist or hikers who need a snack to provide them with energy and is easy to eat and digest.

The last bar I received was the Vega Protein Bar which is also part of the Vega Sports series. It is intended to be eaten post workout for recovery. These bars are filled with protein and nutrients to help recharge you and repair your muscles post workout. Now I received two of these bars and realized just before I started this post that I didn’t get to try either of them because someone (I’m looking at you Neil) ate both of them before I had a chance to even sample them! What I can tell you is that he enjoyed both the Chocolate Coconut and Chocolate Mint flavours that he tried. Now I really was looking forward to the Chocolate Coconut flavour so I guess I’ll have to get my hands on one so I can actually try it out.

Vega Sport Bar- All

Have you tried Vega bars or products? What are your favourite? What kind of bar would you most like to try? I plan on stocking up on Vega One and Vega Snack bars for postpartum nursing snacks because I know with a toddler and a newborn I’m going to need quick and easy snacks on hand and I remember newborn nursing hunger with E was 10x worse than pregnancy hunger.

Get Your Good Going with Blue Diamond Almonds

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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. All opinions are my own.

I can’t believe that just last week we were in Vermont  in 50 degree weather and now we are back in Portland and it has been in the high 70’s/low 80’s. Beautiful weather of course means spending lots of time outside soaking up the sun, playing at the park and feeding the ducks and geese.

Blue Diamond AlmondsEdith and I have been getting out every afternoon for a nice walk before stopping at the park to run around and play ball. Of course a trip to the park is never complete without some sort of snack and lately our go to has been Blue Diamond Almonds. I love them and Edith has taken a liking to them as well.

I know some of you are thinking you let your 21 month old eat almonds? Won’t she choke? Yes I do and she is actually a really great nut eater. I of course supervise and never leave her alone because they are indeed a choking hazard but she loves them, especially the wasabi soy flavour.

Blue Diamond Almonds

Off to the Farmer’s Market!

We seem to take almonds with us every where, not just to the park. We took them on our trip to Vermont, on hikes, trips to the farmers market, basically they are with us at all times. Having a snack with me at all times stops me from getting hangry (no one wants to be around a hungry pregnant lady), helps keep E from getting hangry (hungry toddler = worse than a hungry pregnant lady), and it helps me to stay healthy instead of buying some convince snack out.

The favourite Blue Diamond Almond flavour around our house is wasabi soy but you can also find us toting around natural and lightly salted. Seriously individual packages make life so much easier.

How do you get your good going? How to do keep healthy when you’re out and about?

Currently 4.30.14

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Currently: 27 Weeks Pregnant but here is a photo at 26 Weeks.

Currently: 27 Weeks Pregnant but here is a photo at 26 Weeks.

Thinking about: The ever growing to do list that I need to get to work on and the piles of laundry that need to be washed. After 10 days of being away I am super behind on a lot of things and I just haven’t had a chance to catch up. I am hoping I might find a little time this weekend but we also have a busy weekend ahead of us!

Feeling:  I am feeling GOOD. I am 27 weeks pregnant today and I feel good. I am also feeling a little sickness coming on though which isn’t a surprise since both E and N are nursing mild colds right now. I am also feeling anxious because in 13+/- weeks we will be welcoming a new family member- HOLY CRAP.

Watching: I have been The Following with Neil via Netflix and we started a weekly Friday night tradition to have a mini date night at home and catch up on The Black List. Also for guilty pleasure I just caught up on Switched at Birth via Netflix.

Reading: I have actually been reading lately. I know shocking. I finished The Casual Vacancy while we were away and I am half way through Orange is The New Black (and no I have not watched the series yet). I would love suggestions for new books!

Looking forward to:  The PDX bloggers event this weekend where I hope to learn a few new photography tricks. I am also looking forward to Mother’s Day Weekend because we are heading to the coast for a Mother’s Day/Anniversary/Father’s Day night away at the beach thanks to a gift certificate Neil received from work at Christmas time.

Making me happy: The beautiful weather. Hearing and watching E sing Rock-a-Bye Baby aka Rock Baby – seriously melts my heart. My amazing and supportive husband.

What are you doing currently?

This post was inspired by Sometimes Sweet.

Foodie: 12 Spring Salad Recipes

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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Foodie. All opinions are my own.

After being away for 10 days and eating out more and just not our usual meals we have been ready for greens, greens and salads. I actually stocked up with a big container of organic mixed greens, baby spinach, baby arugula, dino kale and curly kale.  We have been making salads daily and of course I’m always looking for more inspiration on how I can jazz up a salad recipe. Here are 12 Spring Salad Recipes that I am currently getting inspired by:

Let’s talk about a few of these Spring Salad recipes:

What are your favorite spring salad recipes or ingredients? I love radishes especially Easter radishes because of the variety of colors.  I also am just loving all the spring greens and asparagus!

VT Sites & Eats: Montpelier

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When Neil and I first moved (back for me) to Vermont we ended up living in the state capital of Montpelier. While it wasn’t our favorite place to live as newlyweds it has always been one of our favorite Vermont cities. We loved living within walking distance to the downtown shops and restaurants and the co-op. When we saw a deal for one of our favorite Montpelier spots pop up on Localvore Today, a Vermont deal site, we decided to jump at the deal and planned a day trip to Montpelier.

Our first stop in Montpelier was to our Localvore Today deal spot,Three Penny Taproom, one of our favorite spots and totally worth the drive to Montpelier. When we lived in Montpelier Three Penny was just a small taproom with bar seating for about 20 or so people and the fall before we moved it expanded and now has a dining area.

VT-Montpelier-ThreePennyOutside VT-Montpelier-ThreePennyTap-Part1ofBeerMenu

While I longingly perused the three boards of beer options I of course ended up with a non-alcoholic option- Rookie’s Rootbeer. While not one of my favorite Vermont beers Rookie’s is a Vermont made rootbeer that is just so good and I have enjoyed far to many on this trip.

VT-Montpelier-ThreePennyTap-RookiesRootBeer

To go with my rootbeer I had the falafel with greens which was good. My parents had the burger, a small order of spicy wings and salad and they really enjoyed their food as well. I look forward to returning to Three Penny when I am not pregnant so that I can actually enjoy a Vermont beer. VT-Montpelier-ThreePennyTap-Falafel

After lunch we wondered around Montpelier stopping into our favorite shops which included Zutano where I picked up a few hats for baby #2, Bear Pond Books and Splash Naturals. Of course we had to make a stop at Hunger Mountain Coop to browse and pick up some of our favorite bagels.

VT-Montpelier-Splash VT-Montpelier-FamilyPhoto2

Family bridge photo!

Coming up: Adventures in Burlington and Stowe/Waterbury!