Giveaway – Your Favorite Takeout!

Happy Long Weekend!

I love this weather! It’s finally FINALLY feeling like summer. I guess technically it’s not summer yet, but it’s Memorial Day weekend and for most people this is the unofficial start of summer :)

I’m going to be ringing in the holiday weekend with my first HALF MARATHON!!!

I can’t believe it’s tomorrow!! Brian and I are heading down to Boston shortly to pick up our race packets and check out the expo :)

I’m actually really glad the race starts at 8am tomorrow morning, because the weather’s only JUST warmed up so most of our long runs have been in much cooler weather…I hope it doesn't screw us up too much.

This week I’ve drank a lot of these…

Mmmm homemade iced lattes. Look how cool the milk looks combining with the espresso and ice!

Most of the time I don’t bother frothing milk just for the topping…but sometimes I do ;)

Some random breakfasts

• 1/2 honey wheat bagel. 1/4 with PB and J, 1/4 with chive cream cheese.


• homemade biscotti

Another day, another latte. This time no foam, but in a beer goblet!

• whole wheat cinnamon raisin breakfast thin


• 1 egg


• 1 slice cheddar cheese


• 1 slice ham

This breakfast sandwich was the bomb.

Yogurt & Berries

Specifically:

• 0% Plain Chobani


• raspberries


• blueberries


• sliced almonds


• drizzle of honey

First peaches of the season!! They aren’t local (but from Georgia!), but man…they were incredible.

You can see how juice it was!! I think a perfectly ripe peach could possibly be my most favorite fruit of all time….at least top 3.

Ok enough randomness.

Some days the most effort you want to put into lunch or dinner is pulling a menu from the drawer and calling in an order.

There’s nothing wrong with that my friend ;)

Signpost.com has offered to do a giveaway for Y&B readers!!

If you’re in the Boston area I would definitely recommend signing up for Signpost! You get daily emails letting you know about deals and bargains all around town. It’s not always for-sale deals like the one I’m giving away, but maybe it’s what restaurant is having half price appetizers or other limited time deals that you may never hear about.

Now for the giveaway!

What could be better than half of at your favorite takeout spots?! For $5, you’ll receive a $10 coupon code applicable to any delivery order from Allmenus.com. Essentially, it’s like getting that next order of sushi, pad thai, pizza or burritos at 50% off. Allmenus.com has partnered with hundreds of restaurants in the city, such as b.good, Elephant Walk, Cafeteria Boston, Modern Pastry Shop and more, so you'll be sure to find a restaurant that fits your cravings.

Three lucky readers will each win one of these deals. If you just can't wait to see if you've won, and want to purchase now, you can view the deal here.

Ways to win (leave a comment for each entry)

• Leave a comment telling me your favorite thing to order for take-out!


• Follow me on twitter @yogurtberries


• Tweet about the giveaway, be sure to mention @yogurtberries and @SignpostBOS


• Mention the giveaway in a blog post

Other important info:

• You do NOT need to have a blog for this.


• But you probably should be local to the Boston area to enjoy the benefits if you win :)

I’ll choose 3 winners on Wednesday June 1st by 10:00 PM EST.

Good Luck!!

Honey Cornmeal Pancakes and Snow

Holy Snow Storm!

I’m sure you’ve heard by now (or experienced it yourself), but New England got DUMPED on early this morning, and through the day.  By 9AM there was easily 18”-20” on our driveway and that doesn’t include the much higher mounds created by the plows.

For only the second time EVER, my office closed due to the weather…I was shocked and excited!!  SNOW DAY!  Brian stayed home too, the roads were awful.

(me in full on snow gear out in the back yard)

Before diving into some shoveling action, we took Bromley out to do his business.  The snow was clearly over his head but he still loves to try to jump through it.  Eventually we carried him to the plowed road. 

(he loves sticking his face in it!)

We realized that shoveling this heavy snow was going to be quite the undertaking so an energizing breakfast was much needed.

Ever since I received this amazing box from Chobani, I’ve had this idea for pancakes and was dying to create them!

The cornmeal adds its own sweetness, and along with the honey makes for a delicious pancake which ends up a tad sweeter than a classic pancake.  I usually go for “less sweet” foods, and these are by no means too sweet…they are awesome, and you don’t even need as much maple syrup!  (can’t believe I just said that)    It’s like cornbread meets pancake. 

Honey Cornmeal Oat Pancakes
(adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl:

• 3/4 cup White Whole Wheat Flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup old fashion rolled oats
• 2 T sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• dash of cinnamon if you like

In another bowl, whisk together:

• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 6 oz. container Honey flavored Greek Yogurt (like Chobani)
• 2 T canola oil
• 1 T honey
• 1 cup skim milk

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.  Now I like to let the batter sit for about 10 min.  This helps the cornmeal and oats soften up a bit.  If the batter thickens up too much, add more milk 1T at a time.  The batter should be on the thin side.

Heat a non-stick pan/griddle over medium heat, and pour about 1/4 cup of batter on to pan.  My pan only held 2 4” pancakes at a time.  Cook until bubbles form on the edges, flip, and continue until pancakes are golden brown.  At first my pancakes weren’t cooking all the way through, so I had to turn the heat down to med/med-low.

Enjoy with your favorite toppings!

Funny I usually do NOT like butter on pancakes (waffles, French toast) but the cornmeal sweetness is perfect with a little melty salted butter on top. 

But I can’t forget the chocolate chips.

And this guy…my love.  

Ok, then it was time to shovel.

I’ve read that shoveling snow burns 400 calories/hour.  Well if that’s the case, I burned a CRAP TON of calories today!!  It took us almost 3 hours total (with a break in the middle) and we still only did about 2/3 of the driveway…only up past our cars, and a path to the door.  Man, it was deep and heavy! Brian then went out one more time this afternoon, to get the rest. 

I needed a substantial lunch…

I made a monster salad with:

• Mixed greens
• shredded carrot
• cucumber
• shredded sharp cheddar and a few pieces of dill havarti
• tossed with lemon juice + olive oil

 

I also baked up 2 Bell and Evans chicken tenders that I picked up at the store a few weeks ago to try.  It was a good protein addition, and I made up a little ranch dipping sauce on the side.

I didn’t measure but the ranch included:

• non-fat Greek yogurt (such as Chobani)
• light mayo
• salt
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• dried parley
• splash of white vinegar

Came out really good actually!

Also on the side was a small sweet ‘tader…always a good move. 

You know what else is critical on a snow day…

Hot cocoa with LOTS of mini marshmallows!  Mmmm, they all melted together and then I ate them with a spoon of course.

Even though half of my day was spent shoveling, it was still a nice break in the work week.  Back to the grind tomorrow!   

Random, but what are your favorite homemade salad dressings???  I was trying to make up something different today but didn’t like anything I tried so I went to my trusty lemon juice and olive oil.

Holiday Staycation

I have this whole week off from work!  My office decided to close this week as it is traditionally a slow week (unfortunately that means forced vacation time :/…) but I guess if I wasn’t “forced” to take this time off I never would be having a glorious staycataion!  I always carefully track my vacation time to save for trips, but never really just have time off at home!  I don’t know why either because it’s AMAZING!
Even better when the husband takes 2 days off as well…like on Monday, there was basically a blizzard from Sunday afternoon into Monday so we did a whole lot of NOTHING!
Except shoveling and taking the dog out…Bromley loves the snow it’s hilarious, the snow was almost taller than him so he was hopping in and out of it.
He also got covered!

I love how the white snow on his face makes it so you can’t see much of his mouth
and shake off…

The greatest aspect of being home this week is actually being able to cook…breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
Let’s see, I’ll start with the not-so-great item from Sunday night.
I was sent a whole box of delicious Chobani Greek yogurt a few weeks ago and adding it to recipes here and there.  Delicious.  One meal I was dying to try is a beef Stroganoff using Chobani instead of sour cream.  Simple right?
Well I picked the wrong recipe as my base…woops.  It was an Ellie Krieger recipe and until now I’ve loved everything of hers I have made.  However I made the mistake of not looking it up online for reviews first (if I had I would have known!)
I only have shots of the prep…
(new shiny pan :)


And that my friends is where the photos end because I was so pre-occupied with saving this meal!  and I did!!
The main problem was WAY too much liquid and not enough thickening agent, so when I initially added the yogurt it just broke up/curdled.  Basically I strained out almost all of the excess liquid with a spoon, added another container of yogurt and then it was fine :)  It was actually quite tasty and I want to try again.
Onto Monday morning.  As I said before we had about 20” of snow and the winds were ridiculous! (a shingle even got ripped off our roof!)
This makes snow bearable:

Leftover Christmas sticky bun

and freshly made cappuccinos
(like my new post-Christmas sale placemats from Crate and Barrel??)

After fueling on sticky buns and caffeine, Brian and I tackled the driveway.  Shoveling is rough, but I just think about the great workout I’m getting!  400 calories/hour…yes!!  1.5 hours later…Breakfast #2 
Yogurt Parfait:

• 1 container 0% Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 green apple, chopped
• 1/2 banana, chopped
• cantaloupe chunks
• Bob’s Red Mill Muesli
• maple syrup drizzle

 
even had time to layer it all pretty
It’s also been hard to stay out of the Christmas treats!  I mean look what Brian got me…LOOK!!
Dark chocolate covered marzipan!!!!!   This stuff is incredible!!!!!  He went to the Hotel Chocolat on Newbury St in Boston…if you can get there I highly recommend this if you love all things dark chocolate and almond as I do.

Well I think that’s a long enough post for now :)
Happy Wednesday!  (why oh why does the week fly by so fast when you’re not at work???)
Today I’ve been doing some home organizing…what do you like to do when you have extra time off at home??

Yoga Back-Up Plan

I had big plans for Day 2 of the 31-Day Yoga Challenge...I was going to go to my 90 minute Hot Yoga class! Plus this Hot Class (mon evening) is always hotter than the Saturday morning class so I like it even better!! I just love the heat and sweating :)

Well I rushed to get there, even ran a little through the icky snowy sidewalks, and because of the snow it was apparently moved up an hour...class was almost over :)
(guess I should of checked the website)! Lesson Learned.

I was SO bummed...but I came home, went into my room, shut the door, dimmed the lights, layed out my mat and did 30 min Power Yoga #1. This was definitely more challenging than anything I've done to date...worked my arms, legs, and core a lot more than normal, but I really liked it. Plus I think my frustration from not getting to my Hot class made me focus better on my breathing and I was a lot more focused than normal.

Day 2 - complete!

Not too exciting on the food front today...but still delicious as usual; I find it pointless to eat foods that you don't LOVE, which is why it takes me so long to pack my lunch sometimes haha...I have to have all the little components to make my meals and snacks complete.

Breakfast, I was a bit rushed to pack breakfast with the snow storm looming on my morning commute, so I packed a quick one:

• Vanilla Chobani
• Strawberries
• Bare Naked Fruit and Nut granola sprinkle
• ...perfect

No pics of lunch or snack...I'll just let you know it was left overs from Dinner last night at Mom's: Roast Chicken and Roast Veggies! Oh, and a little piece of Pie...and 2 rolly pollies I ate during the day :)

After Yoga tonight I had a finger food dinner

• 1/2 Spinach Flat Out wrap with seafood salad
• 1 sliced small tomato
• 1 pickle spear
• 1 slice prosciutto, 1 slice fresh mozzarella, 1/2 slice salami from my leftover antipasti I had for dinner the other night in the North End
• a few of TJ's Roasted Gorgonzola crackers

Delicious!!For dessert I FINALLY opened up my box of Chocolate Vita-Top Muffin Tops!! I bought them like over a month ago and just opened them tonight!! I had one, with some Spread Cookies and Cream PB!!Ok, I LOVE these! They totally satisfy that craving for warm/chocolaty/baked good without tasting super rich or sweet!

mmmmmmmmm melty chocolate!

Now some bizzzzzzzzzzness!

Tomorrow will be the last day for the Yo-Plus Giveaway!!

Other Giveaways...
Krista is giving away an AWESOME gift pack!! I want that damn coconut spread!

One Frugal Foodie is giving away a TON of loot...I'd be happy with just 1 breakfast cookie!

Last but CERTAINLY not least, the amazing Heather at Hangry Pants gave me a Kreative Blogger Award!!! I was SO SO SO excited to see it on her site one day, and it felt so great to be recognized by such an awesome blogger!

Thank you SO SO much Heather!!

Well I've seen this award around the blog world ALOT lately...so its hard to think of people to pass it on to. So, I think I will share it with a few bloggers that I've had the pleasure of meeting in REAL LIFE recently!

Sabrina at Rhodey Girl Tests
Shannon at Tri To Cook
Elina at Healthy and Sane
and
Sarah at Our Kitchen Adventures

Big blog love to my local girls!