Healthy and Sane

Taste of the Nation, Boston 2012

May 9th, 2012

Before I dive in to this post, I just wanted to get a few logistics out of the way. The winners of the ThinkThin bar giveaway are Katie, Carol B, Leah, Krlock, Lara, Marcie, Ashleigh, Rene and Maryz. Ladies, please email me your addresses to elina@healthyandsane.com!

Also, if you live in the Boston area and are still looking for a special Mother’s Day gift, I’m now offering gift certificates for private cooking lessons. Maybe you can even join your mom for the class? I think that would be crazy fun!

Ook, now that we got that stuff out of the way, can I tell you about my favorite foodie event of the year? Yup, it’s that time again – Taste of the Nation recap time that is!

[Yup, this was an ice sculpture. I definitely thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread.]

I rave about how much I love this charitable event (see 2010 and 2011 recaps here in case you’re bored) but this year given my involvement with Cooking Matters which is part of Share Our Strength, I was even more excited to attend! Btw, before I forget – I did receive press tickets but I am always honest (just ask all of the friends that we convinced to purchase tickets this year and join us!) – it is a fantastic time, every time, and is such a great way to raise money for a fantastic cause!

Sliders galore

Compared to previous years there were definitely fewer tables (although still plenty; it’s still pretty much impossible to try every single thing) and the theme of the evening appeared to be sliders – meat + pickled veggie type combos and straight up slowly braised meat between soft little buns. Pretty much all were delicious although it got a bit tiresome at the end, especially when nearly identical dishes were presented. I felt a little bad for the restaurants because on a stand-alone basis, they were all stars.

Lucky’s Lounge pork belly sliders with pickled vegetables, diakon sprouts, and kung-pao sauce

Del Frisco’s steak sliders

Myers + Chang korean bbq sloppy jo

Whole Foods smoked pork hum bao

Cambridge School of Culinary Arts – least favorite of the bunch

Favorite restaurants I’m now even more in love with

Trina’s Starlite Lounge tomato soup with grilled cheese – so simple yet so perfect!

Trina’s was on my 30 by 30 list so I already had the pleasure of checking out the restaurant (love the decor, the service and the fabulous cocktails). This made me really want to go back!

The Franklin Café crispy pig ear chicharrones – were a fun change from all the sliders

Flour Bakery milky way tartes. I’m obsessed with these guys- they are sweet, light and creamy!! The recipe is in the Flour bakery cookbook (Bridget was actually the one to get me hooked on this stuff when she made it for Megan’s party one day).

Places I really need to make sure I visit now!

Meatball on crouton from Jodie Adam’s of Rialto & Trade

The crouton was super crunchy which shocked me but this was playful and delicious!

Slow cooked beef over corn bread from Gargoyles

Scooped to order whoopie pie ice cream sandwiches

To die. For.

For some reason I can’t find them online now Sad smile

Thirsty Thursday

Some booze was consumed. It’s open bar so we had to do “a little” tasting Winking smile We won’t name any names but someone (not me) was a bit slow the next morning. We didn’t get to NY until 7:30pm the next day, despite all the original plans to leave early in the AM and spend the day in the city (my sister was getting married the following day).

Local hard cider. A little dry with a hint of honey. Yum! Smile

Like I said, there was a bit of drinking

Randomness

Made by Mr. Hamersley himself

Everyone loved this mac & cheese. I’ll stick to their usual leek free kind though (Church is pretty awesome!)

Bianca and Meghan

There were so many other blog friends at the event. I loved seeing familiar faces and of course comparing notes on the dishes not to be missed!

Katie – the pastry chef at Tremont 647 (we volunteered together with Cooking Matters!)

I think they served a deconstructed caesar salad sandwich with house cured bacon. Does this look right to you? I was in a food coma by about this time…

Shady Oaks Organics sells locally cultivated specialty mushrooms (sold at local farmers markets and online). The founders also happen to be from Newburyport where Adam is from Smile

Meh

Tavolo lobster cream lasagna – pretty bland for such a promising dish

Jason made a passive aggressive remark about everyone being a food blogger these days. Way to make me feel special, Jason!

Craigie on Main made hob knobs again! They are crazy delicious but they’ve served them at every food fest I’ve been to. Can we see something else, please?

Surprise

Brasserie Jo pork belly pate with pickled carrots was actually surprisingly delicious, despite the fact that I don’t love the place (I’ve been there several times since it’s one of the closets places to my condo, and found their brunch to be great but dinner a waste!). I liked the mustard bite of these little babies!

And there you have it. Despite a bit less variety this year, we still had a really fantastic time. I hope you check out the SOS website to find a Taste of the Nation event near you!

Which dish would you want to try first?

Chicken sausage and veggie stuffed manicotti

May 1st, 2012

When it comes to losing weight, I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s rarely as easy as knowing what to do and just following through. Our lives get in the way, our emotions get the best of us, and then there are these cravings that seem to come out of no where (you haven’t had pizza in years and all of a sudden that’s all you can think of, now that it’s “off limits.” <– this is of course hypothetical because I eat pizza at least once a month ) So yes, it’s a journey. Sometimes on a long and winding road. We, I, may fall and backtrack but it’s important to get back up and keep moving forward. My favorite way to do that is by preparing something crazy delicious that tastes completely sinful but is actually quite good for you! And of course I believe that no matter your health goals, it’s really important to satisfy cravings! Always and forever. No carrot sticks for dinner in this household (although I am having carrot fries with oven fried chicken tonight)!!

This (chicken) sausage and veggie stuffed manicotti was Italian comfort food at its best without the artery clogging or calorie busting properties (by the way, I’m back to calorie counting to get into tip top summer… or 30th birthday… shape). I started following the above linked recipe from Cooking Light but decided to cut the amount of sausage down by 1/3, and then ramped up the veggies. Italian food is good like that – once you cover it in cheese and sauce, it will all be gobbled up in no time!

So after browning the sausage for a few minutes, in went a whole container of chopped mushrooms, one yellow bell pepper and a few minutes later – 2 cups of baby spinach. The hardest part was not eating this whole mixture before stuffing it into manicotti! I persevered (even though it was a bit time consuming) and eventually dinner was on the table. Man, this was goooood!

My changes created even lighter manicotti (220 cals/pop) full of delicious nutrients. Between the spicy sausage, loads of veggies, tangy tomato sauce, creamy bechamel (made with skim milk!) and cheese, it definitely felt like a treat. Adam said this was the best meal I’ve made in a while (although he says it often ). This dish would be a great contender for my cooking parties because it would be fun to make as a team while chatting away (perhaps with a glass of red wine!). I’m thinking an easier and quicker version may be coming next though for those of us that don’t find an hour+ of hands-on cooking relaxing.

Oh and did I mention this meal is freezer friendly and reheats beautifully? All that time paid off for sure!

How much time do you usually spend making a meal?

PS- There is just one day left of the thinkThin giveaway – make sure you enter it!

thinkThin® thinkWellness bar giveaway

April 25th, 2012

Are you a bar person? I am! Smile

While I almost always have a little baggie of almonds in my purse (and if I plan ahead maybe even some fruit), given the seemingly unlimited variety of bars available, I just love how exciting and convenient they make on the go snacking! In the mood for something hearty? Go for a protein packed bar. Cravings a candy bar but looking for a healthier alternative? They make those too… and they may even keep you full for a few hours.

For a while I had boxes full of every kind of bar you can think of. And then one day I decided that I should just make my own to save on cost while having fun in the kitchen (I like the whole cooking thing in case you haven’t noticed). I did it once. They were gone in days. And then it’s taken me months to make any again. Other more urgent things seem to occupy my time.

So when I was contacted about reviewing thinkThin bars, I decided to give ‘em ago. And once I got my little stash of 6, I quickly remembered what a TREAT having bars is. So many flavors. So much fun. And no work required. Sometimes the price of convenience is well worth it! The bar monster was reborn. Winking smile

So let’s talk about thinThin bars. I’ve seen the high protein ones around for a few years now. These natural bars pack 20 grams of protein. They are coated in chocolate and the insides have a texture that reminds of the inside of the peanut butter cup. The cookies & creme (as per below) has chunks of cookies on the inside but the texture is always the same. They reminded me a lot of the Promax bars I used to eat like it was my job about 6 years ago. They have a slight protein powder taste which is impossible to describe – like something is slightly off when compared to a candy bar, but also incredibly addictive. I seriously love them and plan on buying them by the box to curb my sweet tooth in a healthier way. Also, going back to the “I should really make my own” argument, I wouldn’t even know where to start with these so they are definitely worth a purchase if you like them.

I loved all 3 varieties sent to me but if I were to rank them – it’d be caramel fudge, creamy peanut butter, then the favorite – cookies & crème. Big fan of that one in particular! Smile

Now the crunchy bars are more standard granola bars – packed with nuts and dried fruit and sweetened with brown rice syrup (lower on the glycemic index). In general, these are soft and chewy with the “crunch” coming from soy crisps (think rice crispies!).

I liked that these bars were not cloyingly sweet like some of their competitors, and that they contained about 8 grams of protein (not as high as the creamy bars but again – higher than most of the other similar bars on the market).

This guy got a little smooshed in my purse but it was still delicious Smile

Would you like a chance to win some thinkThin bars? 10 lucky Healthy and Sane readers (yes, TEN!) will win a Weight Wellness sampler consisting of 2 thinkThin® Protein Bars & 2 thinkThin® Crunch Bars. Pretty awesome if you ask me! Smile

Here are the rules!

Mandatory for entry:

1) Like Think Products on Facebook and follow @thinkproducts on twitter

2) Leave a comment on this post telling me you’ve done the above. Feel free to also tell me what your favorite on the go-snack is, and if it’s a bar, what your favorite bar is (purchased or made).

Additional optional entries (to increase your chances of winning!):

3) Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (a link to this post must be included to qualify)

4) Pin this post on Pinterest

5) Subscribe to Healthy and Sane by email

6) Like Healthy and Sane on Facebook.

7) Link to this post on your Facebook page.

Add Healthy and Sane to your blogroll.

9 ) Link to this post on your blog, if you have one. If you don’t, let someone else know about this giveaway and tell me so in the comments section after they’ve entered the giveaway.

Please leave a separate comment on this post for each qualifying entry. This giveaway is open to US residents only (sorry!) and ends at midnight on Wed, May 2. I will randomly choose 10 winners (woohoo!) using random.org and announce them in the following post. Good luck!