cheese – Page 2

Saturday and Sunday I visited the tasting tents at the Food and Wine Festival. I miiiight have snuck in Saturday… shhhh!

The gates of heaven

The food was all good, but I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more variety.

There’s only so much fried chicken and BBQ I can consume.

Indian-Spiced Fried Chicken and Waffles = worth it

An exception to the “too much fried” rule is the above Indian-Spiced Fried Chicken and Waffles by Asha Gomez of Spice Route Supper Club. I have GOT to check out one of her events ASAP. Rumor has it she may be looking for a restaurant space…

Celeb Highlight: I got to meet Chef Norman Van Aken (the father of fusion… I shook his hand!).

Food Highlight: The beer, cheeses, and desserts (duh).

Best beer – New Heaven

The cheese spread (pun intended)

Coming to Whole Foods ATL soon!

I wish I’d done a better job remembering to photograph… there’s was just so much to eat! 🙂

My favorites beer/cheese/dessert:

Wild Heaven Craft Beers – I’d had these before, but Invocation and Ode to Mercy are the two brews offered by this new Decatur, GA-based brewery. If you find them, drink them immediately. It’s the best new beer I’ve tasted in a long time.
Sweet Grass Dairy’s Truffled Chevre – Decadently delicious. There’s no other way to describe this. Need proof? They are complete OUT for the season. 🙁
The Hungry Peach’s Peach Cobbler Cupcake – Moist, flavorful, light… ~~dignity is the only thing that kept me from devouring their whole display~~
High Road Craft Ice Cream – Every flavor was good (I shamelessly sampled everything), but if I had to cheese I’d say don’t miss the Caffeine Cacao and the French Toast (JUST like your mamma’s… in ice cream-form). Good news for Georgian’s – they are coming soon to Whole Foods! #godblesswholefoods

I had a great time hanging out with 2 new friends on Saturday and the Lippy crew on Sunday. (Nathan’s wife, Chelsee = coolest chick ever.)

Me and Nathan Lippy. Our hair matches a little.

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If you ever wonder if your “clean” way of eating really makes a difference, eat like I did all weekend. Monday I woke up feeling like crap. Too. Much. Rich. Food.

I seriously almost hurled during the flight to my client meeting.

At least it was better than it would have been: I ran 5 miles Saturday morning, took an hour walk that afternoon, played 2 ball games Sunday morning, and then ran 3.5 miles. I should re-name this blog Run-Eat-Repeat. 🙂

I’m trying to mini-detox this week. It’s not working so well since I’ve been traveling, but I’m definitely eating much cleaner than I did this weekend! Monday I drank my breakfast (not in a noon-game tailgating way) before rushing to the airport:

Some days, you just need a green smoothie. This was one of those days.

I did my P90X Ab Ripper X (best ab workout ever, btw), followed by my 75 push-ups (are you doing yours?!). Then ~~chugged~~ enjoyed this refreshing smoothie.

Mango-Almond Smoothie

1/2 champagne mango
1/2 banana
1 C fresh spinach
1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp Maca
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp almond extract
water (adjust to desired consistency)

Put it in a blender. Pour into glass. Top with your favorite crunchy treat (I love this low-sugar citrus-granola).

Drink up!

***

More like what I gorged on this weekend… but whatever… 🙂

Even though we’re already mid-week, this may be a timely discussion question given the upcoming long weekend…

How do you detox after a weekend of indulgence?

Want to know the single most effective exercise you can do to flatten your belly?

Plank. I swear by it.

Side Plank

The above was my side plank yesterday morning. My form is usually a little better… it’s hard to plank and take a picture of yourself in the mirror! 🙂

Here’s my daily recipe for a bikini belly***:

Regular plank – 2:30 mins
Left-Side Plank – 1:30 mins
Right-Side Plank – 1:30 mins

***In my opinion. Don’t sue me if it doesn’t make you look like Jackie Warner!***

The thing to remember when planking is to keep your butt down – don’t be sticking it in the air. Don’t sag it to the ground either though. You want to be in a perfect line. Your elbows should be directly in line with your shoulders (it will help keep them from hurting!). Keep your hands relaxed.

Same goes for the hips when side planking.

Keep them in line – no sticking them wayyy up or sagging wayyy down. Straight. Line. The elbow on the floor should be directly in line with your shoulder.

Don’t start with a 2:30 min plank if you are new to planking. Start with what you can do and work your way up.

Form is important here or you won’t be effective. 2 minutes with bad form is just a waste of 2 mins.

Growing up, Mom used to feed my sisters and me chicken fingers with a dip made of honey and mayo.

We didn’t like mustard.

This is my 7-year old mental state: Mayo + Honey = Delicacy. Cheese = Terrible.

I’ve mentioned before how picky I was. I didn’t even like CHEESE. Thankfully, I grew out of that.

Mom shares my passion for all things cheesy, so for Mother’s Day I got her her very own basket ‘o fancy cheese!

The nice ladies at Star Provisions, a specialty market in Atlanta, let me taste until I found just the right ones for the basket. It was hard work, but I sacrificed for Mom.

In the basket:

Valdeon – Cow AND goat’s milk blue cheese from Spain. This spicy, buttery blue is wrapped in sycamore leaves. It is hands down then best blue I’ve ever tasted.
Winnimere – Cow’s milk from Jasper Hill in Vermont (made seasonally – Nov-April). Washed with lambic-style beer and wrapped in strip of spruce bark cut, it has a fantastic woodsy taste.
Wabash Cannonball – Goat’s milk cheese from Capriole Farm in Indiana. It has 3 layers of goodness, the last being a rind of gorgeous ash and mold.
Little Martha – Salty cow’s milk from Flat Creek Lodge in Swainsboro, GA; named by Star Provisions after the Allman Brothers’ song.
Potter’s Crackers – Hazelnut Graham
Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Bar – Dark with Salt and Pepper

Did anyone else’s stomach just growl?

There are all TOTALLY different cheeses… but if I were forced to choose a favorite it would be the Cannonball. The layers added so much to the complexity. It’s like nothing I’ve had before.

Mom! Which is your fav?!

***

I’m running to a meeting, so the Mother’s Day Brunch review is coming tomorrow!

What do you find to be the most effective ab exercise? Do you plank?

What is your favorite cheese?

Tasting, Tasting 1-2

Mango-Almond Smoothie

Bikini Belly Secret

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