Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Ellen Show

by Meghann on March 28, 2010

Happy Birthday Katy!!

Katy turned the big 2-3 today and I was honored to help her celebrate with lunch at Press 101.

(Kelly came too!… and Katy’s husband Adam is behind the camera )

Press 101 is the cutest sandwich shop off of Dr. Phillip’s Blvd in Orlando. I’ve been there once before over a year ago and loved it! I’m not sure why it took me so long to return, but I’m glad we decided to meet there today.

I was pretty hungry when we sat down and the Mango Chicken pressed sandwich immediately jumped out at me on the menu

Lightly blackened chicken breast, jalapeno havarti cheese, caramelized onion, piquallo sweet peppers, cilanto, mango chutney on ciabatta bread..

This sandwich definitely had that sweet and savory combo that I love so much in sandwiches. The chicken and mango combination were of course amazing, but really struck out at me was the crusty bread pressed with the sandwich. Usually when I order a pressed sandwich I expect a greasy sandwich that has been drenched in oil, but this did not fit that description at all. It was perfectly crusty, chewy, and delicious.

All sandwiches come with a light salad.

The birthday girl requested Menchies after lunch and what the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets.

I think they knew I was coming because they had all my favorite flavors waiting just for me.

Well.. except peanut butter. I guess you can’t win them all.

Love me some Menchies.

Guess came to Orlando this weekend?!?!

ELLEN!!

I desperately tried to find tickets to the taping of her shows almost as soon as I discovered she would be in town, but had no luck. Bummer.

Fortunately I was playing around online and discovered they would be taping the shows in CityWalk and the band performances were open to everyone. Score! It got even better when we discovered one of the bands performing was Rascal Flats. I am a HUGE Rascal Flats fan and even though I just saw them in concert last July, I wasn’t about to pass up a chance to seem them (for free) in concert again.

The four of us figured Ellen would be taping in one area of the park and Rascal Flats would be performing in a completey different location. We were pleasantly surprised when that wasn’t the case at all.

We may not have been in the actual seated audience, but we were able to watch the show being taped from the distance.

We were even close enough to have Ellen dance right by us!

Too bad we didn’t get as close to the featured guest (Mario Lopez) or that he wasn’t shirtless.

Unfortunately it started raining pretty hard right before Rascal Flatts were set to perform. We were able to listen and sing along, but there were too many umbrellas to get a great shot.

I did manage to capture Ellen introducing Rascal Flatts on film.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mzt1-FZB8E]

I think the four of us had a blast watching Ellen and Rascal Flats. Nothing like free entertaining to brighten our day! I hope Ellen returns to Orlando soon!!

A couple of years ago my Mom made a delicious Leek & Potato Soup that was tasty and satisfying. When I saw leeks at the Farmers’ Market yesterday my Mom’s soup popped in my head and I thought it would be fun to try and healthify the soup for dinner tonight.

Mom’s Leek and Potato Soup Healthified

2 Leeks sliced thin
1 pound of Potatoes (I used red creamer potatoes)
2 gloves of Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Mushrooms
4 cups Vegetable Broth
1/2 cup Plain Yogurt
Thyme
S&P
Cheese & Peanuts (for garnish)

Start with the leeks.

Add them to a large pot with a little olive oil and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.

While the leeks are heating up, begin chopping the potatoes.

Add the potatoes, mushrooms, spices and vegetable broth to a pot.

Bring it all to a boil and then back to a simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes I added the yogurt and took the hand held blender to the soup until it was creamy

Garnish with cheese and peanuts.

Enjoy!

Thin Mints and Dried Kiwi for dessert.

I’m wiped.

Good night!!

{ 40 comments }

Don't Stop, Make it Pop

by Meghann on March 28, 2010

Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy

Just rocked 16 miles, I’m gonna hit this city

Woop Woop!

The original plan was to run the 16 miles with Ashley before she had to be at work at 10:00am, but when she texted me at 5:00am saying she had to bail, I reset my alarm and enjoyed another hour of well deserved sleep.

Trust me, it makes a big difference starting a run in the daylight rather than the dark.

Before I headed out the door I fueled up with a bagel thin, Naturally Nutty Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter, strawberries, and dark chocolate chips.

The trailhead I had my heart set on this morning was only 3 miles from my apartment. I’m not sure why this has never occurred to me before, but instead of driving the short distance this morning – which I have done in the past – I decided to run to the trail head.

Since I had so many miles to cover this morning the extra 6 miles to and from the trail was a welcomed addition to my usual routine. For some reason knowing I only had to run 5 miles on the trail before turning around instead of 8 made me feel a lot better.

The run itself was great. Just like last week it was 100% mental on whether I could cover the distance or not. My body was great and found a comfortable rhythm that kept me chugging along. My head was the only thing that had to be reminded I could do this.

What am I going to do when I have to do almost double this distance next weekend? Yikes! Luckily I will be running the first half with a big group of friends and Ashley will be with me for the second. Plus it’s a trail race which means it will be very chill with no pressure. If Ashley and I are already promising each other if we need to walk, then we will walk.

My post-run breakfast was epic.

My heart was set on a smoothie. A delicious, rich smoothie that would cool me down and fill me up.

In the blender

Frozen Strawberries
Spinach
Almond Milk
Peanut Butter
Amazing Grass Chocolate Superfood Powder

Chocolate + Peanut Butter + Strawberries = my favorite smoothie combination. It’s like drinking dessert.

With my ‘dessert’ I had two thin slices of Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread and an egg white puff.

This meal was just what I needed.

Bondi Bands Revisited

My experience with Bondi Bands haven’t been very good in the past. I purchased an adorable multi-colored Bondi Band at the Disney Expo back in January. The head band refused to stay on my head at the race and despite multiple attempts at wearing the headband several ways on runs, during cycling, and even during yoga, the darn thing wouldn’t stay on my head!

I’ve heard so many great things about Bondi Bands and couldn’t understand why i was having such trouble wearing mine. Last night Ashley – who just started working with the Bondi Band company – took me aside and explained it all.

Turns out there are two different types of Bondi Bands: the fashion bondi bands that are thin and come in fun designs & colors and the running bondi bands that are a bit thicker and have a grip to them.

See the difference?

Turns out the one I had purchased was of the fashion variety. Ashley was sweet and gave me a sample of their running version to test and compare.

I promised her I would test it on my run this morning.

I’m happy to report 16 miles later and the bondi band never budged! Success!!

Lesson learned: When you shop for a Bondi Band at your next race expo be sure to feel them out. If they feel thin and light, they are probably NOT going to stay on your head, but if they feel thick and grippy, then you are good to go!

If you have any more questions be sure to contact Ashley at ashleysickles@gmail.com She knows everything there is to know about them!

{ 40 comments }

Foodbuzz 24,24,24 Goes Vegan

March 28, 2010

I <3 Foodbuzz for several reasons. 1 – They link food bloggers from all over the world 2 – They throw one hell of a festival (can’t wait until November!) 3 – They pay for the lovely ad on the right of this window (—>) that essentially covers all of the great food as I more »

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