Category Archives: Meals

The Caitlins/Kaitlins Meet Again

CT residents, remember to enter my giveaway for two lawn tickets to the Talcott Mountain Music Festival!

As you may have seen in Kaitlin‘s MIMM post, I paid her a visit over the holiday weekend and stayed over Saturday to Sunday. I enjoyed the leisurely car ride down to the 203 and arrived around 4pm – just enough time for us to pay a visit to the pool of Kaitlin’s best friend (and maid of honor). I enjoyed meeting and chatting with Kaitlin’s friends from home, and sipped on Cisco Brewers Summer of Lager, a new-to-me light lager. It definitely hit the spot on such a humid day, but made me a bit sleepy. I rallied though, because then it was off to a summer cookout at the home of Kaitlin’s mom’s best friend, Linda!

Kaitlin's fiance Jeff was with us during my visit too!

Kaitlin’s fiance Jeff was with us during my visit too!

We instantly dove into an amazing spread of apps, along with glasses of chilled summery rose. Along with the below-pictured bruschetta (on farmers market bread!), we snacked on cheese & crackers, TJ’s spinach & artichoke dip, and homemade onion dip. I could’ve made a meal out of all of it!

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Grilled Whole Foods Wild Sockeye Salmon

I received wild sockeye salmon from Whole Foods Market free of charge. This is not a compensated post and all opinions are my own.

Firstly I must address the supportive comments and tweets I received in response to yesterday’s post. THANK YOU! It felt good to get it all off my chest and put my fears out in the open. After my post went up, Maria tweeted me a link to a Kris Carr article containing a nifty acronym…FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real. LOVE that! Fear is so often based on what is false and I’m feeling totally inspired to keep the acronym in mind today and beyond. Let’s get on with today’s blogging!

I worked with the three Hartford area Whole Foods stores (Glastonbury, West Hartford center, and Bishops Corner) previously during a one-day sale on shrimp. We teamed up again to promote the latest one-day sale, which took place last Friday 6/21 – wild sockeye salmon for just $11.99/lb!

Now that’s a LOT of salmon!

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It’s OK…To Act Like A Healthy Living Blogger!

Awhile back I wrote a post about healthy living blogger stereotypes “It’s OK!” to break. You guys gave me tons of great feedback – in fact, my girl Kelly even wrote her own take on it today! But there’s also lots of healthy living blogger stereotypes that I will be the first to admit I help perpetuate. After all, stereotypes exist because there are enough people out there to bring them about in the first place! So here are the ones I’m partially “responsible” for keeping alive…

I’m obsessed with brussels sprouts. You knew baby cabbages would get the first mention, right? Lay ’em on me. I could sit down with a bowl of roasted brussels and just eat them all day. My digestive system would hate me but my taste buds would looooove me.

Raw to roasted!

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I Bestow Upon You a Giveaway!

I received a March Bestowed box for free to review. This is not a compensated post and all opinions about the service are my own.

Oh my goodness, I loved loved LOOOOOVED reading your “Hey, It’s OK!” contributions in the comments of yesterday’s post! Keep ’em coming and I encourage EVERYONE to do a post in that format or any format telling the healthy living blog world just how many stereotypes you break. And heck, I might even do a post soon on the stereotypes I embrace, because there sure are plenty of those too. Brussels sprouts, anyone?

I’m sure you’ve seen reviews/giveaways of Bestowed, a subscription service in which a box of fun, nutritious food finds are delivered monthly to your door. Even if you’ve read other opinions, I hope you’re still interested in reading mine, especially since I am offering a giveaway!

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This is the third monthly food subscription box I’ve tried – I’ve also reviewed Knoshbox and Love With Food. Though Love With Food was cheapest ($10 vs the monthly Bestowed price of $19), the products in the Bestowed box are definitely of higher quality, so the price point makes sense. I opened my box and was excited to see familiar brands I’ve always wanted to try, like Artisana.

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It’s OK!…Healthy Living Blogger Version

Kaitlin and Sarah both recently did posts about the healthy living blogger stereotypes that DON’T fit them, and I totally love the idea. I wanted to do my own post with a version of their idea in Glamour‘s “It’s OK!” format. I love that feature and what it’s all about – very #sorrynotsorry. Which by the way, now pops up on my iPhone as soon as I type the word “sorry”. Guess I’m #sorrynotsorry a lot, huh?

So hey healthy living bloggers – it’s OK…

…to think oatmeal is extremely boring and lame. I know, I can add stuff to it to make it more exciting, but I just don’t feel like it.

…to hate running. Music is just not enough to keep me entertained, nor is scenery.

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Good Bean, Good Giveaway

Awhile back I entered a Lil Veggie Patch giveaway for assorted The Good Bean products, and was bummed out when I didn’t win. Sometimes I enter blog giveaways because it’s easy to do so, but I REALLY wanted to win that one! I am chickpea-obsessed and picky about bars, but the nutrition stats on The Good Bean Fruit & No-Nut Bars looked fabulous. Just 130 calories per bar (perfect amount for crumbling into a nighttime bowl of pudding or Chobani), 11 or 12 grams of sugar (I’ve seen much worse), and 5g of protein. And ever since sampling dried Chickpea Snacks at CT Veg Fest last spring, I have been seeking out more flavors of those adorable crunchy butts (come on, chickpeas totally look like butts).

Now do you agree with me?   Source

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On a Snacky Quest!

One of my favorite parts of being a Fitfluential Ambassador is – not gonna lie – getting the chance to participate in product review campaigns! I enjoy receiving fitness gear or healthy eats in the mail as much as the next girl, so I jumped all over this Quest Nutrition campaign and embarked on a Quest to try the super-generous variety and amount of protein-packed tastes they sent my way.

To be honest – Quest’s branding at first was a bit of a turn-off to me. I am not a user of protein powders or supplements and a visit to their website gave me a GNC/Vitamin Shoppe vibe. But I’d already heard a ton of positive reactions to Quest bars from some of my favorite bloggers, so I certainly wanted to try them for myself.

#allthebars

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WIAW Goes Nuttz!

So about yesterday’s post…I did great with my goals! Then I forgot to drink my ACV this morning. Bah. BUT that doesn’t mean I won’t have it today. There’s always tonight, friends!

Fitfluential Ambassadors all over the blogosphere have been showing they’re nuttz for Nuttzo, and I don’t blame them. I’ve gotten in on a piece of the action myself – or shall I say a jar of it?

In today’s What I Ate Wednesday post (thanks for hosting Jenn!), I want to talk about a nut butter I’ve been eating on more days than just Wednesday. Ever since receiving this jar of heaven in the mail a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been using it in snacks – or as a snack – almost daily.

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WIAW: The Olden Days

Your comments on yesterday’s post seriously blew me away! And my mom too – I read some aloud to her and she was pleasantly surprised by the fact that some of you called her inspiring. Thank you so much for your support and for sharing your own struggles with feeling inadequate about doing “enough” cardio. Together we can learn to love and congratulate ourselves for WHATEVER workout we do, be it HIIT or a gorgeous afternoon walk!

And after that workout, it’s perfectly acceptable to drink wine in our workout clothes.

Now it’s time for a BLAST FROM THE PAST edition of What I Ate Wednesday. Thanks Jen for hosting the WIAW party each week!

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Marvelous Dinners at Home (MIMM)

Today I’m partaking in the beautiful mama-to-be Katie‘s Marvelous In My Monday linkup, and sharing more daily-life stuff!

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I had a couple of great dinners out this weekend (which you may have seen on Instagram) with friends and family, but on most weeknights you will find me at home enjoying my mother’s wonderful cooking and my father’s excellent grilling skills. Here’s a look at five of my favorite types of meals to have for dinner at home in front of the DVR, cozy on the couch! NOTE: Wine is included with all, even if not pictured 😉

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Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

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Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

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