Tag Archives: guest post

Treble in the Kitchen Guest Post

I was worried about not having time to post today. Then I realized that I did a guest post for Tara of Treble in the Kitchen (while she was away on her HONEYMOON!) and never told you all about it. I have rescued myself!

So this post is a cop-out. Please head over to my guest post on Tara’s blog and read up on my top five cocktails I’ve tried recently. Yeah, obviously I wrote about that. Restaurants making an appearance in this post include Beachland Tavern, Krust, Max Fish, and Rooftop120!

Good Bean Winner and Guest Post

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I’m enjoying my day off of work – and remembering the reason we have this holiday in the first place. People who fight for our country are braver than I can describe with mere words. After all, actions DO speak louder than words; soldiers’ selfless actions are the greatest gift our country could ever ask for.

Giveaway Winner

Thanks to those who entered the giveaway for three prize packs from The Good BeanOur winners are Danielle of It’s a Harleyyy Life, Lacey of Life Hands You Limes, and Jessica! Congrats ladies – I will be contacting you about getting your prize pack of three dried Chickpea Snacks and two Fruit & No-Nut Bars. Remember if you didn’t win and want to order The Good Bean products online, you can do so through Amazon and get free shipping on your order of $25 or more.

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Devours by Devan Victoria – Recipe Guest Post!

One of my friends from college, Devan, is a fellow foodie with a flair for cooking. She is an incredible chef and recipe creator. I am so excited to have this fabulous girl guest blogging for me today! Without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Diva Dev and her wonderful eats.

Me with bunny ears and Devan hanging out at the bar during college – my state here is questionable.

I have a confession, I’m obsessed with food: knee deep, head over heels, so very in love with the smell, taste, texture and “mmm” sensations of the countless meals placed on plates before me. But I’m not obsessed with just any food. Yes, lover of all things chocolate, cheese and a tapas fiend  nonetheless, I am excited about the food I create. My creative juices go crazy in the kitchen. Kitchen wiz kid on an appetite high. Unleash my brain overloaded with ideas and eager hands in a stocked kitchen with a full fridge, plentiful pantry and succulent spices galore and watch out for magic. Today, on a sunny lazy Sunday, the magic came out to play.

I DARE YOU TO MAKE THIS, but only if you aren’t embarrassed to experience a food-gasm. A food-gasm is a great thing, but I’m sure you knew that. I bet you’ve experienced a lot of them. Who isn’t ashamed of bulging eyes and the OHMYGODDD that tries to escape your mouth full of the food that just consumed every feeling in your body? It’s a magical thing that comes from magical food and magical tastes. This dish is vibrant, a full on dining experience and an original recipe I want to share with you.

With fall in full swing, farmers markets exploding with fresh produce and seasonal flavors taking over menus, I got inspired. Seasonal ingredientsare the best ingredients to get. Not only are they in season, but they’re DELICIOUS! FRESH! IN SEASON! USE THEM! Cabbage, root vegetables, cranberries, kiwi, pears, broccoli! Fall fruits and vegetables are just waiting at the grocery stores and farmers markets for you to snatch them up and make something sexy with them ;).

Cranberry Gremolata Pork Chops

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fresh cranberries, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely diced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 pound boneless pork chops
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

  1. Combine fresh cranberries, rosemary, orange juice/zest, and honey in a small mixing bowl and stir to make the Gremolata. Set aside.
  2. Season both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat a skillet with butter and olive oil on medium heat. Add pork chops.
  4. Cook pork chops 4 minutes each side or until cooked through (note: a little pink is safe for pork!).
  5. Remove from heat. Top pork chops with heaping spoonful of Gremolata and serve!

Dressed-Up Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound of bacon ( maple or smoked)
  • 1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic, diced
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground sage
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 small head purple cabbage, shredded
  • 2 cups Brussels sprouts, sliced/shredded
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Cook bacon in a skillet. Drain and let cool before crumbling.
  2. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add butter, olive oil, garlic, sage and onions. Stir and cook 3 minutes.
  3. Add cabbage and Brussels sprouts to pan. Stir together and let wilt 5 minutes.
  4. Add butter and mix in 1 minute.
  5. Add balsamic, red wine vinegar, and dash of salt and pepper. Mix. Continue cooking 2 minutes.
  6. Season to taste, remove from heat and serve with crumbled bacon on top.

Thank you so much to the talented Devan for dreaming up these inspired fall dishes! I know some of you (myself included) have snow outside your window right now, but winter is not yet here and fall dishes must be taken advantage of and enjoyed for as long as possible! If you make either/both of Devan’s recipes, be sure to share them with me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in an email!

Which of the two recipes do you think you’d enjoy most?

What’s your favorite fall meal?

What else do you think the cranberry Gremolata would be good on?

Guest Post – Measure Success on the Inside – Giveaway!

I’m honored to have a very special guest posting for me today – Amanda, the founder of Grow Soul Beautiful. I’m sure you know all about this site from her hugely popular Instagram #YogaADay challenge. I guest posted for her in the past and love doing little post exchanges like this. She even has a giveaway for you! Enjoy and take it away Amanda!

Marathon Finisher Photos

Somewhere along the way over the past 32 years, I turned into one of those people. The fitness freak that runs 9 marathons in 14 months. Don’t ask me how it happened- I certainly didn’t set out with such a fanatical goal. It was probably the culmination and the peak of my need to over-achieve. I’d already proved I could graduate tops in my engineering class. I’d already proved I could land a fabulous job and a handsome husband. I’d already proved I could travel the world, own a fancy house, and run the Houston marathon each January. And yet, somehow, I was still out to prove something to somebody every time I crossed the finish line after 26.2 miles.

It was near the end of this madness that it really started sinking in that life is about more than things I can achieve and prove to others. Despite all the impressive accomplishments and even a satisfying new PR time in the hellacious Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon, it wasn’t enough. I’d finally swung to the extreme of success by the world’s standards, only to find out I’d been measuring it wrong all all long. It was time for me to re-define success on my own terms.

Grow Soul Beautiful - Yoga Photography Photos

I could whip out calculus formulas like nobody’s business, but couldn’t find an ounce of creativity inside. I could pound out all those miles of running, but I still hated my body and could barely touch my toes. I had the dream life on the outside, yet I was empty, scared, and hollow on the inside. Slowly, week by week, I started a journey of self-discovery and doing a lot of inside work instead of outside work. Journaling, coaching, vision boards, retreats and e-courses helped me find myself, re-define how I wanted success to look in my life, find ways to ignite my creativity, how to trust myself and my intuition, and most importantly, why self-love is the most important thing I could ever accomplish.

Self-Love Self-Care Creativity Inspiration Health

To say it’s been life-changing is an understatement. It’s not some giant shift I noticed one day, but it’s gradual slow, evolution of how I see myself and what healthy means to me. It’s more than fitting in my skinny jeans, running marathons, or even being successful by the world’s standard. Healthy is about body, soul, mind, and spirit. I now place as much importance on meditating as I do track workouts. I value stretching myself artistically as much as I do stretching my body during yoga. I avoid filling my heart and mind with bad thoughts and experiences as much as I avoid sticking toxic and unsavory things in my mouth. My health is now evaluated beyond the physical to include my emotional well-being, my spirituality, my sexuality, my relationships, my inner creative genius, and my thought life and connection to self.

Photography Creativity Inspiration Prompts

Over the last year, the idea of Grow Soul Beautiful was borne out of my passion to share with others that health is more than exercise and self-love is more important than achievements. I wanted to encourage and inspire readers to spend just as much effort making their inside beautiful as they do their outside. My passions are yoga & photography- both incredible outlets to connect the mind+body, nurture the soul, and encourage us to be playful and creative. I strongly believe that we can share stories about ourselves and capture valuable memories through simple photos, and the power of photography, especially self-portraits, can nourish our creative juices.

Giveaway

I’m so excited to give away a set of Vision Quest Photo Assignment Cards with 36 prompts for Personal, Spiritual, and Artistic Growth to one lucky reader. Entries close tomorrow (10/26/12, Friday) at 11:59PM EST. To enter, you can do the following and leave a comment for each:

  • Comment here with your favorite yoga pose (mandatory).
  • Follow @GrowSoulBeauty on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
  • Follow Grow, Soul, Beautiful on Pinterest and comment here saying you did.
  • Follow Grow, Soul, Beautiful on Google+ and comment here saying you did.
  • Follow @GrowSoulBeautiful on Instagram and comment here saying you did.

General Giveaway Rules: No Purchase Necessary. This giveaway is only open to residents of the continental United States. The email addresses that are collected for this giveaway will only be used for the purpose of contacting the winner and will never be given out to anyone nor sold. The winner will be randomly chosen and contacted via email. The winner will have 72 hours to respond. Please make sure you check your junk mail folder.

Thank you to Amanda for the beautiful post and inspiring message – and the lovely giveaway! Good luck to all who enter!

Manic Monday

ZOMG. You know that song Manic Monday? This is not “just another Manic Monday”. This is THE Manic Monday. So I am just going to say a few things:

  1. I’m going to Barcelona Wine Bar tonight for a Patio Party grilling class at their outdoor seating area with their talented chef, Jason Welch. The cocktail and/or glass of wine I have will be much needed. As will that yummy food! Got any grilling questions for me to ask Jason? Comment with them here or tweet them to me by 7PM tonight (the event’s start)! I will ask him and hopefully report back with some useful tips.
  2. I guest posted for Janetha of Meals & Moves on Friday. I’m still pretty awestruck because I have been reading her blog since 2010, when I first started reading healthy living blogs. So to be writing for her still has me dizzy with glee. I shared the recipe for that red sangria I made last month and know that a few of you were looking for that, so head on over 😀 there’s also other options for drinks to order out this summer.
  3. If you  haven’t entered my Mikarose giveaway for a $50 gift certificate, you are crazy. AND you still have time (til tomorrow night at 11:59PM EST) for me to declare you sane, so go enter!
  4. I hope to do a post on Wednesday recapping my Baltimore weekend in the form of photos. Yup, Wordless Wednesday. Yup, alliteration. For an advance preview, check out my Instagram account, because I was doing mass-uploads periodically up until last night. But it was an amazing time. I didn’t miss out on a thing and am proud of myself for that.

Repping the Orioles at work today in honor of my trip!

How’s your Monday going? 

Color Me Rad on the Fitfluential Blog!

“Real life” job is SUPER busy today. So I’m copping out and linking you to another place where you can read a post from yours truly: the Fitfluential blog! And if you weren’t already reading it, well…that’s a problem 😉

Check out my recap of the Color Me Rad 5K in Braintree, MA, held this past Sunday! Team Fitfluential represented and rocked it!

My colorful #PROOF.

Don’t forget to comment over on that post! I’ll be checking them!

May Foodie Pen Pals – What I Sent (Guest Post)

This month, I sent my May Foodie Pen Pals box to a blog reader, Renee. Since she doesn’t have a blog, I asked her if she’d be interested in guest posting for me on what I sent her, per Foodie Pen Pal Program originator Lindsay‘s suggestion. Thankfully, she agreed! Please enjoy this post about what I sent her way!

Hello everyone!! My name is Renee and I am so excited to be guest blogging on CaitPlusAte.

I am here to reveal the contents of my very first Foodie Pen Pal package.

I felt like a kid at Christmas waiting for the mail to come anticipating the arrival of this unknown package.

When it arrived I was so excited, since I didn’t get home until 10:00pm!

I opened the box very carefully, as not to harm the products inside.

This was my first peek!!

I was actually shocked at how much I had received. I loved the fact that there was more than just food!

I had told Cait I am trying to live a healthy lifestyle and she definitely helped contribute with the fantastic items in the box!

(This picture was actually taken the day after, so I have to tell you there is one item missing. A Think Thin snack bar. I ate it then remembered I had to take some photos. We will just pretend it is there.)

The only thing I have ever had in the box was the California Raisins; I love Raisins so I was very excited to receive them WITH a raisin cookbook!!!

I opened up the Fiber One 80 Calorie cereal and took a handful. SOLD!! So good. I could definitely see myself eating that with milk or mixed into yogurt.

Other items that I had to resist eating all at once were: Fiber One Brownie, Pure Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar and Snapea Crisps (very interesting can’t wait to try that).

Love Grown Granola is AMAZING. As I read the label I noticed there are no strange additives. I don’t think I have ever had something that unprocessed aside from fresh fruit and vegetables. Super tasty, I’ll have to look for it in my area!

An Herbal Tea Blend from New York City. I love tea so much!!! I even have a fancy tea ball!!!

The leaves definitely give off a sweet aroma of Chocolate and Coconut.

Judy’s Best Garlic Butter contains dried herbs, spices and butter that you can mix with olive oil and toss with pasta and chicken, or pretty much whatever. Garlic pretty much runs through my veins so I’m VERY excited to try this.

Cait also included some cute pink straws that I definitely put to good use on one of the 80 Degree days we had this past weekend!

A SELF magazine with Bethany Frankle on the cover, I know her Skinny Girl products quite well.

An awesome Oakley water bottle that is flexible and foldable, you could definitely bring it ANYWHERE! All in all I was SUPER pleased and so excited about my Foodie Pen Pal gift, it has been so great to chat and follow Cait on her blog!

THANKS SO MUCH!!  HAPPY EATING!!! RENEE

And thank YOU Renee for posting! Happy eating indeed 🙂 Have you ever tried any of the products I sent Renee? I know they may be familiar to some of you – some are from my adventures in NYC earlier this month!

#RBKFITBLOG and Guest Post!

Some of you may remember that I announced that I am attending an event at Fitness Magazine HQ in NYC with other FitFluential Ambassadors on May 9. Well, the good news just keeps rolling in. I’m proud to share that in the same week, on May 11 (thank goodness I have vacation time left!), I will be heading to Boston with my road trip buddy Heather to join other FFAs at Reebok World Headquarters!!

Pinch me. Will I really be THERE?! Source.

In the days leading up to the event I will have the chance to test out and review Reebok apparel and sneakers, and at the event itself I’ll be meeting Reebok executives, trying out new workouts and products, and fangirling over bonding with bloggers I have been following for years. PINCH ME.

After the event, I’ll be heading back to Heather’s and staying there so that we can spend Saturday together. I’m hoping for the chance to have her kick my butt in one of her Mind, Body, Barre classes. Visiting her favorite local spots, Wildflour and Garden Grille, is a given.

I feel so grateful for the success I’m seeing so early in my “blog career”. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and who keeps reading!!! I’m proud to be a part of the FitFluential community and the overall blog community in general. I can’t say it enough, so I’m going to stop now 😉

Note the Chobani creepin’ in the corner…

I’m out for today (when it comes to posting that is), but please take a second to head over to Katie’s blog, Healthy Heddleston, and check out the guest post I did for her on SMART goals! I actually put something I learned this semester to use in “real life” 😀

What is the biggest opportunity that blogging has brought you? If you don’t blog, what’s the most recent big opportunity you’ve received?

Busy Blogger

Busy blogger = bad blogger = another blogger cop-out post. Seriously, I have so much fun stuff from this past weekend to share with you guys, as in three post’s worth, and no time to do it. #bloggerproblems!

TK Grand Smash at Trumbull Kitchen last night – Grand Marnier, muddled mint, and lemon. Wonderful!

Hey, I’m busy living life and having fun! Yeah there’s work and class, but there’s also the good times that keep coming, which give me tons of material to blog about – and then proceed to delay said blogging. What can ya do?!

Trumbull Kitchen’s special stone pie of the night – with duck!

So please to enjoy (as the lovely Carla Binberg says) the above random photos from last night, and check out the following:

How do you handle blogging when life gets too busy?

January Foodie Pen Pals – Guest Post!

Please enjoy a guest post from blog reader Rachel, describing what I sent her for January’s foodie pen pal exchange! 

Hi Cait Plus Ate Readers!

I am not a blogger, but I AM a blog stalker.  In the last year, I have begun reading a number of healthy living blogs in an effort to strengthen my own healthy living habits. So…I jumped at the chance to interact with some of my favorite bloggers and other foodie fanatics by participating as a Foodie Pen Pal.

I’m a vegetarian who lives in the Midwest, where veg-friendly fare is sparse. I’m always looking for ways to spruce up my menus so that I avoid my own fruit and vegetable overkill, which happens more than I care to admit.  The problem is, I never get tired of fruits and vegetables.  Finding a balance by incorporating sources of healthy protein and whole grains is my weakness.

I let Caitlin know ahead of time that I was a vegetarian but that I had virtually no other food aversions. She didn’t miss a beat and completely hit the nail on the head with my pen pal package.  Here’s a look at the wonderful foodie bliss as it arrived.

But don’t let the picture fool you – none of those items stayed in the box for moment longer than it took to say, “Cheese!”

The Chocolove Peppermint in Dark Chocolate bar was immediately deposited in my lunch box, and I have devoured a small piece (only with great restraint and in an effort to make it last longer) each day after my lunch at work.

Ahhh..peppermint and chocolate!

The Pumpkin Seed-Snack also went with me to work.  I’m keeping them in my snack drawer for when hunger pains strike mid-afternoon. They’re full of protein, iron, and other essentials that vegetarians often lack.

The lentil chips accompanied me to a Trivia Night fundraiser the following evening, and I have to agree with Caitlin. These may be a new “obsession” of mine as well. My fellow trivia team members agreed.

The coffee – oh, the coffee.  First, let me tell you that I am not a regular coffee drinker. I grab a cup at work only if I’m cold and need some warming up.  I might occasionally sneak in a pumpkin latte when out with my girlfriends.  It’s not that I don’t like the taste, obviously, it’s more that I’m afraid of establishing what so many people seem to refer to as “an addiction.”  I don’t want to start something I can’t stop.  Well, thanks to Caitlin, IT HAS BEGUN.

I borrowed a coffee-maker from my mom. She doesn’t drink coffee either but keeps it on hand for guests.  Even though it’s 30 degrees in the St. Louisarea at the moment, iced coffee sounded good. I used Tina’s tutorial, and this morning, I downed two glasses of  iced almond milk-stevia-coconut coffee goodness. Whoa.  This could be bad.  For someone who features virtually no caffeine in her diet, two glasses had my heart aflutter for the entire day. But it was totally worth it. I’ve just got to remember that whole moderation thing. 🙂

As for the chocolate-covered pretzels and coconut water – well, I have big plans for both of them.  The pretzels will either find their way into my belly as an after-dinner snack or possibly in some variation of Jessica’s Peanut Butter Fudge Pretzel Brownies.  Since summer can’t get here fast enough, the coconut water will make an appearance in a smoothie I’ve been lusting for over at Mama Pea‘s.

See…told you I was a blog stalker.

Thanks again to Caitlin for the delicious goodies and the opportunity to blab incessantly about food to people who might actually give a darn and appreciate my food-appreciative tangents (unlike the hubs – who tends to stare at me blankly, albeit lovingly during an episode).

And thank you to Rachel for being kind enough to put this guest post together for me! How cute is she?