Food

Being A Foodie + Gifts For My Sister-In-Law

First of all, thank you so much if you commented on my last post! I am going to be replying to comments over the next few days, but I was just blown away by everyone’s advice and encouragement on sharing info about our pregnancy. I love blogging not only because it’s like a digital journal, but for the friendships I’ve made with blogging friends and readers over the years. It’s just very special, you know?

Okay, so I actually have pictures of food! I used to blog about food all. the. time., but I think I developed interests in other things over the years like dogs, gardening, photography, and …. dogs and started blogging about those things more than just food and cooking 24/7. Okay, I’m rambling. Here are some things I’ve cooked, ate, or drank lately.

Chettinad chicken masala

Chettinad chicken masala from this cookbook. I have to admit, I was so intimidated when I started looking through the cookbook since it’s really authentically Indian and kind of felt like reading a different language, but I’m glad I tried this recipe! Do you like Indian food?

Chocolate peanut butter oatmeal with banana

I’m totally cringing at the lighting of this picture, but it’s too delicious not to share. I cooked oatmeal with a banana (and saved a few slices for topping) and cocoa powder, then drizzled it with peanut butter and topped it with banana slices. Jimmy and I call it my gourmet oatmeal 🙂

Iced vanilla latte from Sheetz

A decaf iced vanilla latte from Sheetz. I think Sheetz is only in a few states on the east coast, but it’s a gas station with pretty decent made-to-order food and drinks! My only gripe with Sheetz is that the above coffee is a medium and seemed so small compared to the medium Dunkin’ Donuts latte I shared in my last post, haha.

Stuffed Peppers

Alright, last food related thing! My sister texted me last night to tell me she made the stuffed pepper recipe from my blog and it made my day.

Now onto gifts for my sister-in-law! I think I mentioned I was on the hunt for gifts for her birthday a few posts back. Her birthday is now less than a week away, so I’m tying up loose ends and putting finishing touches on her gifts. I’m 99% sure she doesn’t read my blog, so I think it’s safe to share pictures 😉

Cat necklace with initials in rose gold from Etsy

I bought her this personalized cat necklace on Etsy and think it’s absolutely adorable. It’s from the shop Lovassion and each cat has an initial on it that stands for each of her and my brother’s cats. The one on the left has an “S” for Simba and the one on the right has a “G” for Gemma.

I also ordered her this sign and bought her this body scrub from Bath and Body Works.

Coffee bean body scrub from Bath and Body Works and All you need is love and a golden retriever sign from Amazon Primitives By Kathy

As you can probably guess, she loves cats, dogs, and coffee! I’ll probably be on the lookout for a few other things this weekend. Maybe some good coffee or her favorite candy?

As if this post wasn’t long enough, I have one last thing to share. A vlog! I filmed it yesterday. I showed the cooking process for the Indian chicken, Jimmy and I met our birth doula (!), it snowed in Pittsburgh, and much more. I’m just having so much fun with these 🙂

What are you doing this weekend?
What’s the best thing you’ve cooked or ate lately?

Nature’s Bakery Review and Giveaway

I absolutely love Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars. I first tried the bars when I was looking for an on-the-go snack to bring with me on my trip to Savannah. I finished a box of the blueberry Fig Bars within days and was hooked.

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I decided to reach out to Nature’s Bakery to do a review and giveaway on the blog because I want you guys to try these bars. They’re seriously delicious.

What I love about Nature’s Bakery is that their bars have simple ingredients. When I’m running errands all day, at work, or traveling, I love that I can reach for a Fig Bar and know that I’m getting a quality snack that isn’t going to leave me with a sugar crash in an hour.

Nature’s Bakery has three lines of products–Whole Wheat Fig Bars, Gluten Free Fig Bars, and Whole Grain Brownies. Every product is Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan, soy free, and kosher. I could go on and on, but if you want to learn more about any specific product, you can explore them here.

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I was sent several boxes of the Whole Wheat Fig Bars to review, and asked my family to help me taste test one Sunday afternoon. We all tried a few different flavors, which was fun.

By the end of the tasting, everyone had their own favorite. I thought that was pretty neat. The blueberry, raspberry, and apple cinnamon flavors were big hits with everyone.

Here are our notes on each flavor!

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Now onto the giveaway!

Nature’s Bakery is going to give one winner a prize of 5 6-pack boxes of Fig Bars and/or Brownies in the flavors of the winner’s choosing. As a note, Nature’s Bakery only ships to the United States and Canada.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I will be randomly choosing a winner on Monday September 19th!