yummy and healthy? Inconceivable!

Yesterday was the healthiest day I've had in a long time. I am sore and hungry today, but all for good reasons.

I ate breakfast, which I never do. 
Ok, I drank a yogurt drink and ate a tangerine - but that counts!

I had a salad for lunch even if it was from a food truck
Cast Iron has salads! Who knew? I might have to opt for the Notorious P.I.G. next time (3 kinds of pork on a burger), but the jerk chicken salad was damn good.

I took TWO exercise classes
O2 is the new ESAC I guess? A few ladies I work with go, and they offer a number of classes along with their regular gym equipment. I need someone telling me what to do so I tried out a barre class followed by body pump. Barre is like a yoga/ballet/aerobic combo, and body pump is lunges/squats/push ups/all the other fun stuff... with weights. It was HARD, but GOOD. Today I am sore all over, but it's a good sore. I'd really like to be healthier, so I'll consider this a step in the right direction.

I cooked a gluten free and vegan dinner that was delicious. 
I found this recipe in a magazine and wanted to try it out and it was a total success! All the separate parts seemed super strange to me as I was putting it together, but man oh man - this recipe is a keeper. Martha Stewart wins again, and this one is getting added to the recipe book.

You can find the recipe here: Quinoa Bowl with Tahini Dressing

I used a whole cucumber and a whole avocado, and it was enough for two big dinner portions and two small lunch portions.


Now I just need to keep this healthy train going...

Mac Off

We bought tickets to the Mac and Cheese festival this year. Yes, my dreams have come true, and there is entire festival dedicated to macaroni and cheese. Plus they have beer? Plus the weather is gorgeous? Plus my handsome husband is my date? I was a happy Happy HAPPY camper.

And then we got there. Whomp whomp.

Ok, I can't be too much of a debbie downer, but as good as Charleston is about throwing amazing food events, they are not so good at organizing them. There was about 10 different lines to get into the event, all with different purposes, and no signage. All the lines spilled into the street, with shuttles trying to get past, people yelling, and inevitably cutting in line. Our only saving grace was that we had printed out tickets beforehand so once we found the right line (third try!) we were ushered to the front and let in. 

Another line for over-21 bracelets, another line for food & beverage tickets, another line for a much needed cold beer, and we finally made it to the first mac and cheese line. And only 45 minutes later we had our first taste! It was a bitter 45 minutes for us, but not gonna lie, we were in the Crave line, and it was GOOD and thankfully worth the wait. Perfectly al dente spiral paste, in a cheesy delicious sauce, topped with Parmesan, for $1. We got three. 

I'm very torn about this event in general. The weather was perfect, the offerings were great, and the mac and cheese was oh-so-delicious, but the lines made everything painful. 

Here is a general shot of the crowd.

We were able to try 3 different mac and cheese samples, which were all delicious and hard to beat at $1 each, but we definitely spent the majority of our time just waiting in line. Granted, the silver lining is that people are pretty amazing. We struck up a number of conversations, met a few Buckeye fans, and Brad even got pulled aside for a cheers to the Buckeys. Man, I love this city. 

I did fall head over heels over a local vendor who makes Charleston prints, so I bought a few cards and a 8x10 Charleston print of the Ravenel bridge that I have big plans for in the house once we move in... Hooray!