Monthly Archives: April 2012

Real Life Style: Look Foxy In A Bathing Suit – No Starving or Exercise Required

Ah yes, but how does one *begin* bathing suit season??

Y’all, whether you like it or not, bathing suit season is fast approaching. Does this put a little panic in your heart? Let’s stuff that panic back down where it came from!

I have never had The Perfect Figure, and I will admit that bathing suit season definitely takes some mental gymnastics, but I have never let the fear of not looking like a supermodel kill my mojo, for me or a partner, as I like to have fun with romantic partners or dates which are easy to get from a Asian sex dating site online, that’s why buy male sex toys could be a great option for this.

Wanna know how to do it? Good. Because I have a lot to say. 🙂

1. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Please don’t tell me you look terrible in a bathing suit if you you are buying some crappily cut, $18 number that you picked up at Costco while you were restocking the eggs and lettuce in your fridge. Let’s actually make an effort, shall we?

Step One: Buy yourself an Investment Suit. You deserve it.

This doesn’t mean you have to spend a million dollars (Ok, so I will admit, I *have* found flattering suits at Costco before) but buy yourself a suit that is going to do you a favor —  because they are available. Slim your waist, call attention to your fabulous rack, make yourself look like you are 6 feet tall. Your bathing suit, just like your clothing, should accentuate the positive. For dive trips, you can find quality woman wetsuit at Buy4Outdoors. Maybe even more so than your actual clothing because there is SO MUCH LESS OF IT.

Look for a bathing suit that is worth wearing, and TREAT YO SELF!

2. Don’t Trade Experiences for Comfort + Always Be Prepared

One of the major obstacles to overcome when buying an Investment Suit is that we would rather just skip wearing a bathing suit altogether than buying a nice one that makes us feel good. But that is a GIANT CONCESSION. A life concession, you all. Over a bathing suit! Don’t trade a great experience that requires a bathing suit to stay home and in your comfort zone, you can also learn how to use kegel weights as an exercise and you will feel the difference in your body in no time.

This is not living! Don’t hand over your power to a skimpy piece of spandex!

But how can we get excited about a bathing suit experience if we don’t even have one — if we just avoid the purchase altogether? I’m not saying that once you buy a nice bathing suit you will want to walk up and down your street in it — that will take a little more time (HA!) — but if you never get yourself one, you are missing out! Buy yourself something pretty and allow yourself to be excited about it more if you’re using it for a date or to meet someone as you can meet for sex online easily if you use the right app.

Speaking of mentally preparing yourself…

3. Focus On What You’ll Be Doing, Not How You Are Feeling About Your Thighs

I’m not gonna lie, this is an act of discipline. But honestly it’s a worthwhile act of discipline to practice. Why are you even getting into this bathing suit anyway? Are you taking a romantic trip with your spouse? Swimming outside with your kids? Are you having a girls weekend on the beach? Are you going waterskiing with a group of friends?

Remember what you are doing, and focus on gratitude for THAT. Somewhere there is someone who would LOVE to be doing what you are doing in that moment. Vacation is a great time to practice communicating better as a couple. Do you really want to waste that precious time and experience fretting over what other people *might* be thinking about your body?

Don’t waste your time! Be in the moment. Allow yourself to enjoy your life.

4. Make A Bit Of An Effort, But In The End Realize That Nobody Cares

If you were going on a hot date with your spouse, you’d pay attention to what you are wearing, right? If you were heading to a job interview, you may take a little extra care with your hair. Well if you are attending an event where you will be required to wear a bathing suit — ROCK THE HELL OUT OF IT. Grab your cute shades, wear some adorable sandals, find a fabulous cover up. Accessorize! My favorite aviator glasses prescription is from Glasses Hut. Pay attention to the details — it will only help how awesome you feel about yourself in the process.

But in the end, remember that most other people are also fretting about what they look like. No one is worried about what YOUR thighs look like, and if they are — well that’s their problem. And you don’t need to spend a moment of your time worried about it. And if the doubt creeps in, focus on what you’re doing, who you are with and then bask in your  luckiness!

And if you feel yourself being critical about someone else’s swimsuit attire (hey, this is real life, it happens)– well quit that. But consider it an act of kindness to yourself. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just rock our cute suits, and enjoy the water with our friends/family/loved ones without fear of judgment? So help make that happen, and don’t be a part of the crappy part of swimsuit season. And then hold your head high in your awesome bathing suit and enjoy yourself but if you you want to keep your husbands attentions, consider taking with this vibrating bullet too.

So friends, those are my best tips. Navigate swimsuit season with some courage! You can do it!

*****
Do any of you have tips to share? Your favorite place to find investment suits? Cute cover up suggestions? Jedi Mind Tricks you use? Spill the beans in the comments!


What’s For Dinner?

It’s a green smoothie kind of week around here for breakfast. The weather is supposed to be in the high 70s/low 80s all week so for the rest of the meal planning, I am pretty committed to cool refreshment, grilling and enjoying of eating green things outdoors.

Untitled

Just a quick note, I’m linking to a lot of “inspired by” recipes. I’m adapting most of them to make them Paleo (leaving out croutons, substituting sweet potatoes for regular potatoes, etc) but I just wanted to clarify that. I actually find a lot of Paleo cooking inspiration from completely un-Paleo cookbooks. My current favorite: Tyler Florence Family Meal. I’ve been flipping through it all week with excitement! Don’t let non-paleo recipes bum you out — let them inspire your cooking.

Ok, random sidebar over. Let’s talk about what’s going on the table:

Monday
Lunch: Taco Salad, obviously.
Dinner: Grilled Flank Steak + Steamed Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts Salad

Tuesday
Lunch: Grilled Flank Steak Salad
Dinner: Spicy Grilled Turkey Burgers with Snappy Crunchy Coleslaw (mayo free!) and Sliced Cucumbers with Lemon Pepper

Wednesday
Lunch: Chicken Chorizo with Sauteed Zucchini
Dinner: Grilled Chicken BLT Salads with Avocado

Thursday
Lunch: Greek Salads
Dinner: Curried Ground Turkey with Sweet Potatoes served over Sauteed Rainbow Chard

Friday
Lunch: Chipotle Salads
Dinner: Grilled Honey Chipotle Chicken + Veggie Must Go

Saturday
Lunch: Brunch!
Dinner: Wild Card.

Sunday:
Shop!

*****

What’s cooking in your neck of the woods?

11 Comments
POSTED IN:


The Rest of Portland

You are still sick from all of the Food Truck Food, aren’t you? I was too, and then we had to go to dinner at The Kennedy School. Nothing worse that being full and being forced to dine! But we made the best of it and bellied up to the bar and enjoyed a Negroni for Him and a Sazerac for Her.

photo

The Kennedy School is a blast. It’s a restaurant/hotel/theater/bar/all in one house of entertainment that is basically a remodeled old elementary school. The rooms are themed (“detention” is the cigar bar…sweet!) and despite the fact that we were still full from lunch, we did enjoy a nice meal. There were a number of parties related to SCAA going on, but most of us opted for a reasonable night in (HA!) because we had to get up early the next day.

photo

Saturday was GORGEOUS right from the start and the ladies headed off to the Women In Coffee Breakfast and then of course afterward we had to make a pit stop at VooDoo Doughnuts — I mean, we couldn’t let the boys at home starve right?
Untitled
If you think I look dorkily excited about donuts, you should have seen my aunt:
photo
HA! I love that picture.
I have to admit though, VooDoo was…only ok. I do enjoy a good donut, they are my personal kryponite actually, but the donuts there were just average. I’m sure I would probably get fired from the Food Network for saying that, but I’ve had better. SLO Donut Company, you still own the #1 spot in my heart!

After DonutGate 2012 — the afternoon ended up being pretty mellow. We got to enjoy some porch time at the house and to rest up for the mess of parties we were going to attend that night.
photo

A good amount of relaxation (ok and epic napping!) later, the entire crew ended up back at the house to fuel up before the parties:
photo

The first was hosted by Torani, (which is where my cousin’s fiance Gina works…Hi Gina!) and it was downtown at a hotel called The Nines. They have a gorgeous rooftop bar and we enjoyed the scenery, the cocktails and of course, the company!

Untitled
Untitled

The party was a success, and so we moved on to the next one hosted by Monin.

Untitled
Another success full of tasty beverages and delicious looking food!

Our last stop — an Irish bar. You know what happens when your last stop of a cocktail filled evening is at an Irish bar, right? I’m pretty sure this photo says it all:
Ooooh. So that's why I have this giant headache. Got it.
It was at this Irish Bar that I learned a very valuable lesson though. Let me pass it on to you in case you ever need to know it: If you want to learn to Riverdance like a professional, you can either spend your entire life training with professionals, or you can pound a couple of pints of Guinness and request that the live band plays Shipping Up to Boston. The latter seemed to work swimmingly for our party. Valuable time saved.

You should have seen that dance floor! I’m sad I don’t have photos.

This was a fun stop, but at about 1:30 in the morning I turn into a pumpkin! So we headed home…um, I mean to the food trucks across the street and enjoyed a roast beef sandwich with FRENCH FRIES INSIDE OF IT. I just don’t know who thinks up these things, but at 1:30 am it felt like brilliance.
True.

We survived the night, headed to bed, and the next morning it was time to pack up and head home. We were sad to get on the plane, but it was time to get back to real life.
Untitled

This vacation, as fun as it was, really underscored how much I love the routine of my life. It’s fun to eat junk food, drink too much champagne and have good times with friends and family, but that will be the last time for a while that I really go crazy on my body. We’ve officially been home for a week and I am ALMOST feeling recovered. The Monday after we got home I immediately hit Coscto and threw everything green in that store into my cart.
Untitled

Whole foods, I’ve missed you!

It’s back to our scheduled programming around here starting tomorrow. It’s a new month (almost) and I have a whole new feeling of dedication towards making healthy choices and pushing my body to the limits in the gym, rather than at a food cart.

I’m looking forward to it!

6 Comments
POSTED IN:


Portland Day Two – The Day With All Of The Eating

So the house is full of cocktails and enormous…this is where we left off, yes?
(BTW, want to rent this house yourself? I highly recommend it for a big group trip. Cozy beds, creature comforts and historic charm. Check out the VRBO listing if you’ll be in the area.)

Ok. Let’s carry on.

We enjoyed a few drinks and then headed down to the Opening Ceremonies of the SCAA Conference.
photo
It was held at the Oregon Convention Center which was about a mile away from our house. Over the next couple of days Garrett and I walked to and from the conference, and I have to say it was so nice to be in an area so walkable and also full of public transportation. Sacramento Suburbs — you could use a lesson or two!

That night we decided we needed to hit up some food trucks. Unfortunately between 8 people with 7 smart phones, we couldn’t seem to find our way there, so we ended up back at home ordering a pizza. WOMP WOMP! We woke up with high hopes for the food adventures the following day, and we were not disappointed.

Garrett and I squeezed in a workout the next morning while the rest of our crew took some classes.
Rainy run!
We had hoped to squeeze in a WOD at a local CrossFit box, but in the end a rainy run had to suffice. The neighborhood where we stayed is full of huge tree lined streets and beautiful historic houses, so it was awesome scenery and a fun run.
photo

We wandered down to a little coffee shop and enjoyed some pretty cappuccinos and then made our way back home to get ready for the day!
photo

We made it down to the Convention Center in time to check out some of the finalists in the United States Barista Championship. Did you know this was a thing? These people take their coffee very seriously — it’s a full contact sport.
photo
On a funny note though, the whole conference was a bit of a Hipsters Paradise. So many pairs of skinny jeans! Vests! Mustachioed men slurping espresso — it was a comedy sketch waiting to happen. Next year we decided we should all collaborate on a booth selling mustache wax. Obviously we would become overnight millionaires.

After watching the Barista Champions’ concoctions for a bit, we sampled all the Roaster’s Guild Coffees of the Year.
photo
There were some delicious options, all brewed using the pour over method — which we saw EVERYWHERE this weekend — and we drank them with abandon! But we learned quickly that Coffee Conventions are serious business and you have to pay attention to your body. It’s like wine tasting but with MORE CAFFEINE! By lunch, I *needed* to get some food in my system! We met up with our group, and all hopped on the train to head Food Truck Mecca, and you all — it was life changing. And I say that without an ounce of hyperbole.

It was an entire city block filled with gourmet food trucks. So many that we had to take a lap first to size up the situation. It seems they were all ready for high volumes of people as well, with plenty of food stored in what we were told was a 5 Gallon Food Safe Plastic Pail with Tear Tab Lid. Interesting seeing food stored this way, but as they would explain to us, it is how restaurants often manage large supplies of ingredients, and is perfectly clean and safe. I found it quite intriguing as I have never worked in any aspect of the food industry at any point.

Garrett and I decided our strategy would be to get one of every thing we wanted, and then just split it. Our eyes…well…they were much much bigger than our stomachs, to say the least. What can I say, we enjoy the Go Big or Go Home attitude when it comes to culinary pursuits.

We started out small with a little Bacon Maple Waffle.
Diptic
Innocent. Delicious. An amuse bouche, if you will.

The we moved on to a hot bag of cinnamon sugar mini donuts while we decided on our next stop, just because they smelled good.
photo

Then we ran in to the rest of my cousins who were enjoying some Lamb Gyros — WHICH ARE MY FAVORITE — and they were gushing about how amazing they were in such a convincing manner that Garrett and I couldn’t pass those up, right?
photo

Nope, says Garrett. It’s a must.

But the piece de resistance — the entire reason we had come to this grouping of food trucks, were for the Pork Belly Sandwiches at The People’s Pig.
photo

They did not disappoint.

Delicious crispy pork belly on a ciabatta roll that was soft on the inside but with the perfect crustiness outside. Add some fennel pollen and arugula that was tossed with THE MOST DELICIOUS lemon vinaigrette, and you have one sandwich worth writing home about. I will recreate that vinaigrette all summer long, I’m sure of it. Get me to some arugula!
photo

A week later, I am still thinking about this sandwich.

And just because neither us have an self control at all, apparently, we followed it up with Banana Nilla Wafer Pudding from a BBQ cart. Why not, at that point?
photo

You are sick right now for us, aren’t you? As a group, at that point, we were mostly just blissed out!

photo

But a few hours later when we had to go out to a business-y dinner, we were NOT so blissed out thinking about food. But that story will have to come next, because I’m too full from looking at these photos to tell it.

I wasn’t joking when I said we went big on this vacay. A week later and we are still recovering. 🙂 I hit up a workout this morning for the first time in a week and it was brutal! It’s so crazy how quickly you can get out of good habits, and how difficult it can be to get back on the horse.

While I definitely think it will be a while before we go crazy trying ALL THE FOOD like this again, I did enjoy the opportunity to taste so many diverse things over this weekend. I discovered Curtido, which I plan to make at home some time soon, I can’t wait to make some Gyro Salads in the future, and I may even try my hand at cooking my own Pork Belly.

Good food inspires me! I just have to figure out how to balance inspiration and…well, good health. This weekend was overwhelming in the inspiration department, not so much in the health department. Portland has a great coffee culture and a great food culture. I think if you love either of those things (AND WE DO!) it’s a town that can’t be missed.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about our awesome dining experience at The Kennedy School (so cute! and we DEFINITELY got detention!) and of course we’ll have to talk about VooDoo Doughnuts. DUH.


Our Trip to Portland — Day One

As we flew back to Sacramento from Portland on Sunday night, Garrett looked over at me sleepy eyed and said “Man, it feels like we left our house months ago.” Even though we were only gone 4 days, so much happened while we were in Portland that it felt like a much longer vacation. If I’m going to tell you all about it, I think I should probably start from the beginning.

Why We Were There

So our trip up wasn’t solely for pleasure, there was actually a little bit of business mixed in. You see my aunts, Amy + Elizabeth, own a super awesome company that distributes specialty coffee & tea and related products. (Sidebar: It was actually my aunt Amy that got me first job in coffee when I was 16. More than that though, I stayed in the industry for over 10 years because she really taught me how to turn my love of coffee into an actual career. And then to top it all off, it’s where I met Garrett so you know: I owe her.)

They were taking their company (half of whom are my family members) up to Portland for the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual event. Since both Garrett and I have a long shared appreciation for Specialty Coffee (and since he still works in the industry) she invited us to go. And how could we say no! Family vacation, for the win!

photo

The Trip

We headed to the airport with smiles on our faces and our bags packed!

photo

I was so excited to throw a mess of magazines I had been wanting to read in my bag and just chill out for an hour with a cocktail and lounge on the plane. Unfortunately that’s not exactly how it went down.

photo

We had gotten to the airport about 90 minutes before our plane departed. I was kind of anxious about that because I’m the type of person who likes to be there with a couple of hours to spare. Judge away, I’m an annoying traveler!

photo

So since “we had time” and A-Boarding Passes at the ready for our Southwest Cattle Call, we decided to stop and get some lunch. The indulgent eating began with a little snack from a local favorite Burgers & Brew:

photo

They have an airport lounge and we grabbed our plates of yumminess and about 45 minutes before our scheduled departure (and only halfway into my burger) Garrett looked up and said “Uh…it says our plane is boarding right now.”

45 minutes before departure? WTF, Southwest?

We dumped our burgers in kind of a panic and headed over there and sure enough, our gate was totally empty. The entire plane had boarded. We were the last two people on the plane basically and had to squeeze in to crappy middle seats nowhere near each other and then SIT IN A SWELTERING PLANE FOR 45 MINUTES until we took off.

It was not a happy way to start a trip.

Luckily my seat neighbor took pity on me and handed over a drink coupon, which I promptly redeemed for a gin and tonic.

The Arrival

90 minutes later though, we were in Portland and there was no sign of sweltering heat!

photo

So we hopped in a rain soaked cab and headed to our house in the Irvington District.

photo

When we arrived, we were floored to see our digs:

photo

It was a 5500 square foot historic mansion with three stories. There were 10 of us staying there and by the time we arrived it was stocked full of cocktails and good conversation and we were ready to get the weekend started. If this house was to be any indicator, we’d be living large and indulging over the next four days.

And spoiler alert: We Were Correct.

I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you about the SCAA Event, the food we ate, and the craziness that ensued over the weekend!

13 Comments
POSTED IN:


What’s For Dinner – Portland Aftermath Edition

photo

You guys.

This weekend I ate one half of a roast beef sandwich. That had french fries INSIDE OF IT.

At 1:30 in the morning.

photo

Are you surprised that over half of my meals this week involve salad? Because you really should not be. Let me just clarify that the french fry filled fourth meal? Was one of TWELVE MEALS I ate in Portland. Many others coming from similar food trucks and donut shops, to boot. Oh god.

I remember a couple of years ago, Garrett and I drove down to San Francisco mid week to see one of our favorite bands perform. Then we drove home after midnight, went to sleep and got up the next morning to go to work. About 5 minutes into getting ready we both looked at each other and said:

“We are too old for this shit.”

And now, we only see bands we like during the week if they are local. Or if it is an out of town show, we spend the night and don’t work the next day. We don’t quite recover like we used to! What I’m getting to here is that this Food Filled Vacation yielded a similar sentiment when we woke up this morning. We eat too clean, too regularly to enjoy a dive off the deep end into the donut box these days. So that may be the last time we go nuts and try ALL OF THE FOOD in a 72 hour period. We’ll see.

My digestive system is mad at me, but all in all we had such a great time! I can’t wait to tell you all about it but I’m currently nursing a gluten hangover and we have no groceries in the fridge, and someone needs to handle that. Also, I’m pretty sure my pants don’t fit anymore, so I should probably figure out what I’m wearing to work tomorrow. 🙂

Until then, here’s what we’re noshing on this week:

Monday
Lunch: Taco Salad I’m minutes away from consuming this bliss. YES!
Dinner: Grilled Chicken + Asparagus + Salad

Tuesday
Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad
Dinner: Spanikopita Turkey Burgers + Zucchini/Squash/Shallot Saute

Wednesday
Lunch: Greek Salad
Dinner: Salmon Burgers + Cucumber and Tomato Salad + Leftover Zuchini

Thursday
Lunch: Spinach Salads
Dinner: A friend is in town tonight: Wild Card!

Friday
Lunch: Leftovers.
Dinner: Fiesta Grilled Chicken + Roasted Cauliflower + Salad

Saturday
Lunch: Brunch
Dinner: Weekend Burgers + Salad + Sweet Potato Fries

Sunday
Shop!

*****

What’s cooking in your neck of the woods this week?

9 Comments
POSTED IN: ,


Fun Things to Read on Friday

Untitled

Hi Friends!

While I’m in Portland, I thought you could use a few fun links to ring in your Friday. Gateway to the weekend, YESSSSSSSSSS…

1. Speaking of my vacation, I found this Geek’s Guide to Portland ages ago and I’m so happy to have an excuse to use it. Is it odd how excited I am to EAT in Portland? Detox is scheduled for Monday. 🙂

2. I have been on a bad book binge lately (aren’t those the worst?) so I downloaded a bunch of free books based on this list of The 100 Best First Lines From Novels

3. I love when people break down Food Photography for dummies. Hi, I’m a dummy.

4. The Curator’s Code — attribution on the internet is always such a interesting topic, and in some ways the wild west. Interesting thoughts here.

5. Interesting thoughts on Book Cover Trends & The Female Body. I had never really thought about it. Kelly brings up some great points.

6. Apropos of nothing, if you like Brussels Sprouts, please make this salad.

7. Speaking of food (wait, am I ever not?) I want to try these Cinnamon Chipotle Sliders.

*****
Well, that’s all I can think of at the moment. Did you read anything fabulous this week?


Sometimes Whole Foods Makes Me Hate Myself

photo
Whole Foods is 1 of 2 grocery stores convenient to my house. I don’t usually opt to go there as a first choice because it is more expensive for most items, but there are times it’s a must. I’ll need something in particular, only sold there, so I might as well just pick up a few things while I’m at it.

The other day it was cacao nibs. Not sold at my local grocer, so I hopped over to Whole Foods and picked up a few impulse buys (and a few other legit items that were *actually* on my list) and walked out $50 poorer, with only ONE bag full of groceries, and feeling like a walking cliche as I hopped into my Subaru.

photo

Cacao Nibs
Probiotic Supplement
Chard
Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Carrots
Almond Milk
Sauerkraut
Organic Wildflower Honey
Sweet Potato Chips

I’m one bottle of Patchouli oil away from being a proud hippie.


Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

flank steak

As much as I like to talk about making things from scratch and DIYing and…wait, I rarely talk about DIYing, that was a bold face lie. So, let’s start over — as much as I like to think about DIYing and taking the time to make things from scratch and “enjoying the process” and all that — sometimes I just really love convenience. In the kitchen, this translates to a love of meals that come together quickly, yet are still full of flavor. So now that the weather is heating up I want to talk about a MAJOR FAVORITE in our household.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak.

Can we talk about Flank steak for a minute? I mean, why wouldn’t we be talking about Flank steak — what else do you talk about around the water cooler on a Wednesday, right? Flank steak is one of those long and flat steaks that come from the abdominal area of a cow, and because ab muscles are *supposed* to be all rock hard and stuff, it can be a little tough. But if you treat it right, it will make your night — and yes, that is a poem I just wrote. Who wants to offer me a book deal on my poetry collection?

What that means to you, my friends, is that flank steak loves a good marinade. And I’m going to tell you about the best one I know of. It’s originally from Simply Recipes (who I love because on top of being brilliant, she’s from Carmichael — AWESOME!) but I make a substitution to keep it Paleo. Yo. (That was poem number two. You’re welcome.)

The thing I love about this marinade is that it involves simple ingredients, it’s quick to mix up and you can drop your flank steak in there in the morning, on your lunch break, or even the night before as it imparts awesome flavor. Heck I’ve popped my marinating steak in the fridge at 4:30 when I get off work and still had dinner on the table before 7. So it is super versatile! (Just don’t do more than 24 because the acidity of the marinade will start breaking the proteins in your meat down. No bueno.)

Enough talk though, let’s get to the goods, shall we?

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak
adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
* 1/3 cup coconut aminos
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 pounds flank steak
* Kosher salt
* Garlic pepper (or just regular black pepper and garlic powder)

Method

1. Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch diagonal knife cuts about an inch apart across the grain of the meat. Mix up your marinade and pour it over your steak in a large freezer bag. Pop in the fridge and leave for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

When it’s time to grill:

2. Grease your grill with olive oil (You can use a brush or just oil on a paper towel) and then preheat the grill on high for about 10 minutes. Flank steak likes high direct heat. This is awesome and practically fool-proof. Another reason I love this recipe.

3. Take the steak out of the marinade bag and generously season both sides with salt and garlic pepper. Garlic pepper is so darn awesome, you should try it. But if you don’t have it – salt, pepper and garlic powder will work just fine. Again be liberal with these seasonings. They make a nice tasty crust on the outside.

4. Drop your steak on the hot grill. I use a gas grill and I grill the entire time with the cover open. The breakdown goes a little something like this for a perfectly medium rare steak:

Grill for 2-3 minutes, then turn the steak 90°
Grill for 2-3 minutes, and flip over
Grill for 2-3 minutes, then turn the steak 90°
Grill for 2-3 minutes, and you’re done.

Yes, I use a timer. Yes I enjoy criss-crossed grill marks. You might too?

Diptic

4. We are a medium rare household, and it’s a good thing too because flank steak gets a little tough if you over cook it. Adapt your cooking time from the suggestion above to your household’s liking. Then take it off the grill and place it on a cutting board (it’s efficient!), then cover it with foil and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

5. Slice across the grain, and at a slight diagonal and enjoy!

6. And if you REALLY like convenience, enjoy on paper plates out in the back yard like we did! CONVENIENCE FOR THE WIN!

photo

*****

How do you usually prepare flank steak? I love this recipe so much, we hardly ever deviate. But I am totally open to suggestions! Pass your recipes along.


April Favorites

April is shaping up to be a pretty awesome month. I’ve had some workout PRs, there is lots of cooking going on in my kitchen, and the sun is finally shining! Of course now that it is we are heading to Portland where there is rain in the forecast, but WHO CARES? Because April has been a very very good month.

Here are some things that are keeping the smile on my face:

1. Old Navy Workout Tanks
Diptic
I’ve mentioned my love of Old Navy workout clothes before. No they don’t compare to the MAGIC of Lululemon, but they are affordable and awesome. And also way better quality than their actual clothes, in my experience, which is sort of sad. Anyway, on the suggestion of one of my gym buddies I picked up one of these tanks in a few different colors recently and you all, THEY ARE SO CUTE! Also very flattering if you are not “excited” about working out in a tank top. They are forgiving around the mid section, come up high enough to camouflage any random arm chub (WHAT?) and I just love them. Get thee to Old Navy before it gets sweltering and they are all gone. For $14 — you can’t go wrong.

2. A Friday Night Cocktail

Also THIS? 2 Thumbs Up.
I’ve really been making a concerted effort to eat well during the week. Not to say I go hog-wild on the weekend, but during the week I’m clean as a whistle, trying to focus on nourishing meals, tough workouts, working hard at my job and sleeping a lot. But come Friday night I’ve been REEEEEEEEALLY enjoying the ritual of a cocktail. Cracking open a bottle of wine with Garrett or pouring a skinny cosmo over ice — it doesn’t matter — just something to acknowledge 5 days of good work. It’s been great! And I’ve been enjoying it so much that Garrett and I are going to collaborate on some cocktail recipes for the blog every Friday in May. Well, collaborate in the sense that I’m going to make some drinks and he is going to drink them. So that should be fun. I’ve been pinning ideas like a mad woman.

3. Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Almond Milk
photo

Despite the numerous adjectives necessary to describe this beverage, it is remarkably simple and delicious. And because there are so many words on the box, I’m going to say very few here. But what I will say: IT IS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

4. PB+J Smoothies
PB+J Smoothie Time!

I don’t know why I call these PB + J Smoothies because there is neither peanut butter nor jelly in there. Weird. But it is still THE BOMB and it is reminiscent of a good PB+J, but with more chocolate and less gluten.

All you do? Blend up 8 oz of almond milk, 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, 1 cup of frozen mixed berries, 2 TBS of Almond Butter. It sounds kind of strange. It tastes kind of AMAZING!

5. Fresh Flowers in My House

It's ridiculous how happy a change of table runner & a cheap bouquet can make me.
Tulips, specifically.

I just love them! And they are $4.99 at Trader Joe’s and I buy them every time I see them and I think to myself often, how can you NOT be happy when these are just nonchalantly hanging out on your kitchen table? It’s very hard. Spring is such a great time to have fresh flowers just hanging out!

6. Cover Girl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm – AKA the Taylor Swift Lipgloss

Untitled

I actually bought this in a 3 pack at Costco on a whim but I gave one to my mom. So! Only 2. In “Hibiscus” and “Grenache.” And they are a delight. Feels like chapstick with a hint of color. Always a favorite.

*****

And that’s all for now! What stuff is keeping the smile on your face lately?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
6 Comments
POSTED IN: