Category Archives: Best Of

Nakd Bars

When we were preparing for our trip to Europe last month, I made sure to pack all the snacks and paleo bars to get us through the 10 days we would be there.  But what I didn’t account for is the fact that I literally would not be able to eat anything on the flight over and that we would find ourselves in France on a National Holiday when everything was closed.  So needless to say, by the time we got to London, my trusty bag of snacks was gone.  Enter Nakd Bars.

Nakd BarsOne of the things the Englishman and I love to do when we travel is visit grocery stores.  In France, we spent a significant time in Carrefour and as soon as we arrived in London, we made a beeline for Tesco to stock up on goods for our Air BnB.  I was looking for some grain-free bars to replenish my stash and stumbled upon Nakd Bars.  Not only was the cheeky packaging great, the bars were made with minimal ingredients which is an automatic win in my book.  Plus, they had all sorts of fun flavors like Rhubarb and Custard and Cocoa Orange.

And I have to say, these bars are quite delicious!  They are lower in sugar than some of their American counterparts, and it was the perfect snack to keep me going through the remainder of our travels.  In fact, I bought a few more to get me through the flight home, and Virgin Atlantic surprised me by having a Nakd Bar in one of our snack boxes (which was much appreciated since I had just watched the Englishman eat a tasty ice cream bar an hour earlier).

nakd bar flavorsNaturally when I arrived home I immediately reached out to the Nakd Bars team to see if they had any distribution in the US.  While the bars aren’t in stores, you can order them online….OR you can win a sampler pack for yourself right now!

Nakd bars PackagingThe Nakd Bars team was kind enough to send me a box of bars to enjoy and are offering one lucky winner their own sampler box!  This will include their more traditional gluten-free bars as well as some of their “crunch” bars with soy protein.  And with so many delicious flavors offered, chances are you’ll fall in love with the bars as fast as I did. Word on the street is there’s a new Bakewell Tart flavor I can’t wait to try!

nakd wholefoods logoa Rafflecopter giveaway

  Offer open to U.S. residents only.  Ends 7/2/15.

Dinner at La Cave a Champagne

So I have one more France post that I feel I must share.  While in Epernay (my new favorite place), the Englishman and I had an amazing anniversary dinner at La Cave a Champagne at an insanely affordable price.  In fact, our dinner at La Cave a Champagne may rank as one of my top meals in LIFE.

La Cave a Champagne is a small, nondescript restaurant tucked away off a side street in the heart of Epernay.  In fact, we walked by it twice because we weren’t even sure it was open!  We saw someone else go inside so we quickly followed suit into the cozy restaurant that only seats about 30 people.

anniversary dinnerOnce we were seated we were presented with a variety of prix fixe three course menus ranging in price.  The Englishman and I both decided on one of the cheaper menus, which was three courses for roughly 25 euros a person.  It was also at this point I realized we were dining in a Michelin-star restaurant which was pretty exciting.  I should also note that all the pictures were taken with my cell phone camera since taking pictures of your food isn’t exactly the most popular thing to do in France.

We started our evening off with a glass of champagne, because when in Epernay, you drink champagne.  And of course it was delicious.

la cave a champagne champagneFor our first course, I had ordered the foie salad, and for some reason in my head I spaced out that “foie” means liver, but I actually really liked it!  The salad had chicken liver, bacon, lettuce and tomatoes and was dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette.  It was also my first time ever having chicken liver and I am pleased to report it did not disappoint.

foie saladThe Englishman ordered a seafood flan, which is exactly what it sounds like: seafood prepared in the same consistency as flan.  I’m used to traditional Mexican flan so this was a little strange for me, but the flavor was really good.

seafood flanFor the entrée course, I had to go with boeuf bourguignon, which came with some parsnip puree and potato gratin and it was outstanding.  I’m pretty sure I used my spoon to lap up every last bit of sauce.

beef burgundyThe Englishman went with salmon in a creamy sauce with lentils and potatoes.  We both shared bites of each other’s dishes and agreed they were fantastic.  But salmon is always a winner in my book so I knew I would like it.

salmon and lentilsThen it was time for dessert.  You can’t go to France and not indulge in the fromage, so naturally we ordered 3 different cheeses for dessert.  I’m pretty sure I housed the camembert all on my own.

fromageWe also ordered a trio of fresh fruit sorbet to go with our cheese.  It ended up being the perfect sweet and salty pairing and we found ourselves having bites of cheese followed quickly by a bite of sorbet.  Perfection.

sorbetI was beyond impressed with our dinner at La Cave a Champagne.  The food was top-notch and there wasn’t one dish we didn’t like.  We dined there on a Monday evening and by the time we left it was packed, which is just a true testament to how great the food is.

If you ever find yourself in Epernay, you MUST dine at this restaurant.  The quality of food and price can’t be beat.

Where have you had your most memorable meal aka where do I need to eat next?

Cooking with Sun Basket

It’s no secret that I like to cook. I am all about using the finest organic products from this website for my overall health and cooking too.  I love creating healthy recipes and getting creative in the kitchen.  However there have been some times where I feel like I’m in a bit of a rut and just end up doing the same recipe over and over again.  When the team at Sun Basket reached out and asked if I would be interested in trying their service, I was intrigued.  So here’s my experience cooking with Sun Basket.

cooking with sun basketSun Basket is a meal delivery service that specializes in seasonal food from the Pacific coast.  All the ingredients in your delivery are from local farms and organic when possible.  Another cool thing about Sun Basket is you can choose your menu based on your dietary preferences.  I ended up going with the Paleo menu, but Sun Basket also offers a gluten-free and vegetarian menus, which are great for anyone with dietary restrictions.

cooking with sun basket bagsMy week came with 3 different meals and all the ingredients to prepare them.  The meals I ended up with were: Italian Sausage and Sauteed Kale, Chicken and Poached Eggs with Sweet Potato Hash and Vietnamese Fisherman’s Stew. Knives had created artistically delicious meals which are among the best ones I have savored till date; uncertain of the magic that it carries, if it is of the taste, texture or tenderness.

As promised, my delivery from Uber delivery arrived with all of the ingredients already portioned out.

sun basket bagFor our first dinner we went with the Italian sausage and sauteed kale and it was delicious! It was super easy to throw together and we had a delicious dinner in no time.

cooking with sun basket dishSince we had both worked out that day we also added a sweet potato for a little extra starch (per the recommendation on our recipe card) which was the perfect complement to the meal.  I also loved that the pork sausage came from Niman Ranch; it really shows how much Sun Basket prides itself on providing the best quality ingredients possible.

sun basket final mealFor the chicken and potato hash, the chicken was Mary’s organic and the cod provided in for the Vietnamese stew was organic as well which was great.  Each recipe took roughly a 1/2 hr to cook and there was plenty for two people.

So now here’s the fun stuff.  Sun Basket is offering one lucky reader a chance to win one FREE week of Sun Basket meals (that’s 3 meals for 2 people, a $60 value).  All you have to do is enter below (open to US residents only, sorry!).  And if you don’t win you can still get a pretty sweet 20% discount here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks again to Sun Basket for hosting this giveaway and providing such delicious meals!  I’m already feeling more inspired in the kitchen!

Things I learned from my first Crossfit Competition

This past weekend, the Englishman and I participated in our first official crossfit competition hosted by our own box, Crossfit Vibe.  We “technically” participated last year, but had to do the workouts in advance as we were in Maui on our honeymoon on the day of the event.  It was an awesome, humbling and exhausting experience.  And while we finished nowhere near the top, we both felt proud at the end that we made it through.

Here are some things I learned from my first crossfit competition:

1. Prepare to be humbled.

first crossfit competition

photo cred: crossfit vibe

We registered for the “fun” division, and while I know I’m not the best crossfitter out there, I was incredibly humbled by all of the amazing athletes in the fun and RX division.  The way they flew through the movements with ease when I was struggling through my front squats was crazy.  I definitely have a lot to work on.

2. Doing 3 WODs in a day is hard.

crossfit competitionNormally at crossfit we do 1 WOD (work out of the day) at 6am and then we are done.  This was 3 WODs broken up over the course of a day and while all of them were quite short (12 min or less) it was still challenging to gear up to do your final workout at 1:30PM when you are used to working out first thing in the morning.  Not to mention by that point you are pretty sore!

3.  Resting and refueling is key.

crossfit competition

photo cred: crossfit vibe

When I run races, they are always first thing in the morning so normally I don’t each much and then refuel after.  When you are doing a crossfit competition, it’s an all day event so you have to time your eating in between workouts.  The Englishman and I still have a lot of work to do on this, but we experimented with protein shakes and easy digestible foods like eggs, granola bars and some fruit.  I don’t like having a ton of food in my stomach when working out so it was definitely a bit tricky.  Plus, in between cheering for everyone you had to make sure you were resting/warming up for the next event.

4. Having a good partner is crucial.

crossfit competitionI feel so lucky that the Englishman and I could compete together as a team.  We were able to brush off nerves and just have fun with it.  Communication was key during some of the workouts so we set up a game plan ahead of time so when we were in the thick of it we could just power through.  Also: coming up with a good team name is important (ours was Titus Andromedon).

5. The crossfit community is awesome.

crossfit competitionI was so inspired by how many people came out to cheer us on.  It was awesome to have the support from our own friends and box, but to have other people cheering for us during the workouts was great.  And fun!  It’s truly a great community and it’s so nice to know that people have your back, regardless of if you finish first or last.

So there you have it! Our first crossfit competition is in the books and it was a great learning experience overall.  Fellow crossfitters: have you competed before?  Any tips and tricks for competition day?