How We Got Down in Hotlanta

As you know, Shaun and I took a little trip to Atlanta over MLK weekend. I had to go down there for work, so the man joined me to enjoy the weekend. Though some people may know Atlanta by Hotlanta, I assure you, hot it was not. The weekend we were there, it was more like Icelanta.

Anyhow, I worked Friday and then we went to the Buckhead Diner for dinner. It was out of this world. So out of this world, in fact, that I accidentally deleted the delicious photos that I took of our food. It's like it was too good to be real. Oh well. In all my blogging days thus far, it's the first time I've ever done that. But let me just tell you that if you are ever in Atlanta, the Buckhead Diner is where it's at.

So aside from eating lots of fried chicken and white chocolate banana cream pie (yep, it happened), we also took in some sights after I finished working on Saturday, starting with the Coca Cola Museum. Did you know that Atlanta is the home of Coca Cola? I didn't either. But it is, so they have a fun museum, and more importantly a tasting rom.

With countless artifacts, this was one of my favorite displays...the vintage Coke dispensers and refrigerators! I would love one of these for my house.

 The whole story of Coca Cola was strewn throughout the exhibit. Since this guy is a history buff, it was right up his alley. And who would have thought that a scientist with a dream of creating a soft drink would turn it into the most recognized brand in the world?! Perhaps its the brand manager in me, but I found the old advertisements and entire story to be extremely fascinating.

As a treat, they also featured the Olympic torch from the 1996 Olympics, which Shaun ran right up to snatch hold, while I snapped away...cool right?

And I'm obviously wanting some of the bronzed cup Coke. Don't you think everything would be better in bronzed or gilded cups?

And then we headed into the Coke room. Nope, it wasn't a den of illegal substances. Good thing too, because that would have been awkward. Instead, it was a room full of these pods, each of which denoted a continent or territory and the flavors of Coca Cola that are found there.

I have to say, we thought this was pretty awesome. I didn't even realize that there were so many international flavors, be it good or semi-disgusting tasting.

A little boy came over and warned Shaun not to try the Italian version, but that of course just fueled the fire of Shaun wanting to try it. So he did. It wasn't pretty. The boy was right. The moral of the story is: Kids know their sugar. Take their advice.

After our tums were coated with sugary goodness, we hit up Slice Downtown for some pizza and beer to take in the Steelers-Ravens game. PBR tall boys for 2.50? Don't mind if I do.

I know, who leaves New York and orders pizza? Apparently we just can't let it go.

After pizza 'n beer time, we headed over to the Georgia Dome for the Falcons-Packers game! When Shaun suggested we try to get tickets...and told me the game was in a dome stadium so we wouldn't have to sit in the cold..., I was all yes please! Despite the obnoxious girl behind us and her incessant 'Go Pack Go!' throughout the. entire. game. over. and. over., and despite the fact that my faux-Falcon fanning was short lived due to the beating they took by the Packers, it was a ton of fun and such a special experience to be at a game so full of energy!

If you ever have the means of going to a playoff game, regardless of the team, I say do it!

Plus, at non-New York stadiums, they think its a good idea to give people long sharp sticks to wave around. I was into it and figured that in itself was a once in a lifetime opportunity since I'm fairly positive that would never be permitted in Giants Stadium!

So there you have it. A lot accomplished in a little bit of time. We were able to change our flight on Sunday to make it home in time for the Jets-Patriots game, and no regrets on that one! Even though it was for a short time, I loved traveling and giving Atlanta a little look-see. I find it fascinating to see other places and how other people live, even within our own country! Oh, and of course, for the food! So what about you? Do you like traveling? What is your favorite part?

Roasted Vegetables + Lemon Feta Quinoa

Well it's Tuesday and I don't know about you but I feel as though it should be Thursday, no? Last night I worked a little late, came home and caught up on Shameless followed by Castle. Is anyone watching these shows? Castle is one of my favorites (can never get enough Nathan Fillion) and this week's Shameless really solidified its place in our TV viewing schedule.

Aside from wishing the weekend would hurry up, I want to tell you about how I hate cold lunch. It's true. I'm a hot lunch kind of girl. I'm typically not a big salad eater, unless its accompanied by something else on the side. So in order to keep the whole bring-your-lunch-to-work thing going, sometimes I have to get a little creative.

My current love? Roasted vegetables and lemon feta quinoa. Both can be made on Sunday and packed away for a few days of lunches. Oh and they couldn't be easier.

Lemon Feta Quinoa
1 shallot, finely diced
1 C quinoa
2 C vegetable broth (though since the cans are sold in 14 oz, I use that and a 1/4 C water to make up the diff)
1 lemon
1 tsp dried basil
1/3 C crumbled feta cheese
olive oil + light butter

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the shallots and cook a few minutes until soft. Pour in the vegetable broth and quinoa. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat to simmer for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon, basil and feta.

I also think this would be utterly fabulous with some chopped up tomatoes, string beans, asparagus or any other green vegetable! Perhaps even some spinach or kale!

Roasted Vegetables
*Adapted from Cooking Light
3 sweet potatoes, cubed
3-4 parsnips (depending on size - I had particularly dinky parsnips for this batch), peeled and sliced
1 1/2-2 C carrots, sliced
1 onion, chopped into cubes
1/4 C honey
3 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prep your vegetables.

With all vegetables chopped up, mix them together in a big mixing bowl. Add honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Pour in the vegetables.

Roast for about 30 minutes or more, depending on size of the vegetables and until they are tender and starting to carmelize.

These are so delicious and reheat in a snap in the microwave. The honey really brings out the sweetness in these vegetables while the onion balances that out. Paired with a piece or fruit or Greek yogurt, this is a fabulous, filling and well-rounded lunch!

So there you have it. Two easy peasy recipes that are perfect for a quick lunch or even a weeknight dinner! What do you think? And for the question of the day: Are you a cold or hot lunch person? What are your go-to's?

What We Ate Last Week

Well friends, let's just say that the Humiston house is a depressed one this morning after last night's Jets game. Luckily I didn't add fuel to the fire with a lame-o, faux green cake...

but overall, the Jets loss was one giant bummer.

On a more exciting note, today marks the end of meatless week. I've learned a few things over the last week:

1. Giving up meat was not very difficult. We found so many other options to keep us on track that I didn't once miss chicken, ground turkey or even burgers.

2. It's all about the plan. I had a pretty tight meal plan for the week and even when it got side tracked (by my refusal to cook on Friday evening after work), we still had no problems keeping the course.

3. I don't think I could ever give up meat forever. While I'm not planning to run right out for a chicken sandwich this afternoon, I still maintain that I could never truly give up meat for good. I love meatballs. And a solid steak. And dang it, I love a good cheeseburger. But I can certainly cut some of the daily meat-intake  out in favor of a more veggie-based diet. After all, I lost 3 lbs this week, so that has to mean something.

So want to know how it went down? Here's what we ate over the last week.

What We Ate Last Week
Monday
Lunch: peanut butter & jelly on a sandwich thin, 2 clementines
Dinner: mushroom and onion frittata with broccoli and cauliflower

Tuesday
Lunch: Black-eyed pea & kale soup, roasted sweet potatoes, parsnips & carrots
Dinner: My bro-in-law was over so the boys ordered pizza. I stole a small slice and had a little brown rice & bean casserole.

Wednesday
Lunch: Brown rice & bean casserole and roasted sweet potatoes, parsnips and carrots were involved.
Dinner: I had dinner at La Carbonara with a good friend. We shared a buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad and for dinner, I had rigatoni with eggplant, tomatoes and fresh ricotta. Definitely not missing meat here.

Thursday
Lunch: I was in Philly for work and had a tomato and mozzarella sandwich with salad.
Dinner: Homemade pizza. I picked up some whole wheat pizza dough, layered on some sauce, low fat cheese and mushrooms.

Friday
Lunch: Black-eyed pea & kale soup
Dinner: I originally planned to make a vegetable stir fry but refused to cook, so we ordered Indian food. We got a palak paneer (spinach with cheese cubes), an okra and cauliflower dish and garlic naan.

Saturday
Lunch: We were on the go, so we had some bananas, Babybel cheese and clementines. (This is not recommended as a full lunch! We were starving and super sleepy after a morning workout)
Dinner: We went to Cara Mia in NYC - I had eggplant parm, he had a mushroom papardelle dish.

Sunday
Lunch: I made yummy eggs, toast, and cut up fruit for brunch, post-gym.
Dinner - We had a hodge podge of game day eats, including crab dip, homemade potato chips and coconut shrimp.

So there you have it. The roundup of our Meatless Challenge. Oh and to add more protein, we ate a lot of Chobani Greek yogurt. Overall, both Shaun and I loved all the food that we ate this week! We tried lots of new dishes and kept it interesting. So what do you think? Did you eat any new/fun/exciting dishes over the last week?