Fresh & Fit Cooking Class

My best friend turned 30 yesterday and for her birthday her loving boyfriend got us a group cooking class. Probably one of the coolest gifts I've ever received for someone else's birthday :)  We took a Fresh & Fit class at L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda. The class was taught by Chef Nichole Ferrigno and she was incredibly knowledgeable and offered a plethora of tips/ideas on how to make everyday cooking healthier.  In addition to being a chef she is also a holistic health coach. 

Ingredients for our lentil salad. 

Come to momma! I dream of having a Viking cooktop like the one above, but I'll never have a family big enough to justify the cost or space. 

I could do some serious damage with these babies. 

Prepping the eggplant

My bestie skillfully peeling the beets. 

First course: spiced lentil salad with beets, walnuts, and feta.  Honestly I can count the number of times I've had beets in my life on hand and after this salad I plan on drastically increasing my beet consumption. 

Second course: Asian soba noodle soup with tofu and veggies. I learned that these soba noodles were buckwheat and gluten free! Who knew! I sure didn't. 

Third course: roasted eggplant roll-ups with spicy tomato sauce, herbs, ricotta, and parmesan cheese. Confession: I've never cooked eggplant before. The hubs has cooked it a few times on the grill, but I've never been the one to actually cook it. That is also going to change.  

Fourth course: orange and grapefruit with lime mascarpone and honey. 

This was the first cooking class I've ever taken and I certainly hope it isn't my last. I consider myself a much better baker than cook and the eagerness I have to try new recipes begins and ends with baking. Like many people I am completely lost when trying to navigate fresh herbs and trying to break the repetitive cycle of what's for dinner. 

I know one of the biggest complaints of using high quality ingredients and making everything from scratch is the sticker price. Organic is expensive! Grass feed meats are even more expensive! But no matter how many daily vitamins I take I know that the additional cost of using high quality ingredients to create a well balanced meat is worth it. 

My goal is to start with a few simple, yet healthy meals each month and little by little get healthier. It's going to be tough, but it needs to be done.

I highly recommend to anyone in the Washington DC area to take a class with Chef Nichole Ferrigno. My friends and I stayed after the class and talked nutrition for extreme athletes and I came away with some really great tips. For starters, I'm picking up some buckwheat this weekend! I'll be honest I wrote off buckwheat completely based on it's name alone and now that I know it's gluten free I'm looking forward to bringing it into my stomach life. 

Do you have any suggestions for healthier cooking? What's your go-to healthy dinner? 

Beach Essentials

Sunscreen // Book // Oakley "Sweet Spot" Shades // Eco Swim Bathing Suit  // Hat // Larabar (gluten free goodness) // Gum // American Made Matters key chain bottle opener (you never know when you need a beer) // Splendid bag to hold more sunscreen, chapstick, keys, wallet, etc. // Beach Towels 

Beach umbrella. The only way I could survive on the beach during prime sun light hours. Beach chair not pictured, but also necessary. 

My hubs might be the only person in the world who doesn't wear sandals/flip flops/sneakers to the beach. At least his Sperry's are colorful! 

A little bit of waves and clean sand. Not like I went in the water or anything. 

Random sidebar: this is the most I've gone to the beach in one year. Yes, a whopping two times. I haven't bought a bathing suit in six years so when it came time for this last beach trip I knew I needed a new bathing suit. One of the things I absolutely love about blogging is being introduced to new brands. A big thank you goes out to Mrs. American Made for introducing me to Eco Swim by Aqua Green. 

Not only does Eco Swim company make all of their bathing suits in the United States, but they also use sustainable building practices, recycled materials, and they participate in beach and ocean clean-up activities. Eco Swim for the win! I love my new suit so much that I'm already eyeing up this polka dot number to purchase next. 

I'm pretty sure if I buy two bathing suits in one year that means I should really learn how to swim sometime here soon. 

All I know is I came home with the beach with zero sunburn and that makes me a winner in my book. Even if I got my butt handed to me in Pac Man and Banana Grams. 

What are your beach essentials?  A bottle of water didn't make it into my picture, but that's always a must. 

Signs your at a birthday party

Friday night I met up with friends, old and new, and celebrated Meaghan's birthday. The night had all the standard birthday party festivities that one would expect for a 25 year old. How are my friends so young? Wait, let's not pull at that thread. 

Back to the birthday fun:

1. Drinks aplenty at Southern Hospitality. I started the night off with a Sparkling Ginger (Prosecco, ginger infused Turbinado syrup, candied ginger served in a champagne flute) and it was so good that I need to figure out how to make this at home.

(amazing Sangria at Southern Hospitality in Adams Morgan)

2. Cool bar lights.  Seriously, I've always wanted a massive light in my house, but my low ceilings are not on the same page.  My parents have a massive two-story foyer and it's a life goal to buy them a huge light to show off their high ceiling.

3.  Fashionable clutches and pink gifts. Seriously, I think everyone at the bar picked up and coveted Ashley's gold clutch complete with gold knuckles.  I may or may not have said more than once that if a brawl started this was the clutch you wanted in your hands to protect yourself.  It seems I'm always mentally prepared to get out of a jam.

4-6. Cell phone & instragram mania, Happy Birthday singing, and candle blowing out traditions.

7. Food! Absolutely amazing pecan pie.  I should have gotten a picture of it, but almost everyone in our party got the Mac & Cheese and it received rave reviews.

8. Shots! These were some sort of coffee liquor shots and let me tell you after a long day of work and then heading out for dinner and drinks this was the perfect pick me up.

9. Smirky bartenders.

10. Girls nights with my train buddy! Friday night was out in DC and then Saturday night was PJ party to watch The Hunger Games in suburbia.  Thanks to Jodi for taking the picture above.  Chances are if I find a nice brick wall at a bar I'm going to want to take a picture in front of it.

Happy Birthday Meaghan! At 25 you can rent a car and not have to pay an underage fee. Welcome to your mid-twenties ... it's an awesome time.

What happens in Kentucky

is good for the soul.

After running the Flying Pig Marathon my bestie, Bee, and I retreated south to her dad's horse farm in Kentucky.  The two and a half-days we spent there were probably some of the more relaxing moments I've had since starting my first adult job!

Marathon recovery time at a winery?!?! Don't mind if I do! 

Nuzzling the velvet on a horses nose. Done! 

Checking out the cutest lawnmower of all time. Done! 

Hanging out with a real shoe maker. Done! 

Finding a picturesque little spot.  Done!

Noticing a horse has something stuff in their teeth. Done! 

Watching a horse successfully untie himself from a post. Done! 

Watching said horse when you come up to him and realize he's saying to himself, "I'm so busted."  Done! 

Witness someone get on a horse for the first time. Done! 

Lounging around for synchronized back scratch time. Done! 

Root on a friend who's not successful at figure 8s in a round pen. Done! 

Having said friend's one-eyed horse call you out on your laughter. Done! 

Scaring the daylights out of the farm's cats. Done!

Horseback rides through the woods. Well, not done for me, but done for others! 

 Letting your best friend enjoy some father-daughter-bonding time. Done!

Taking a walk along the road with my dear friend Canon and two dogs. Done! 

 Enjoying a quick summer storm. Done!  Seriously, it POURED for five minutes and then went back to sunshine.

Laughing at how someone can go fishing and talk on a cell phone at the same time. Done! 

Realizing your best friend is secretly a master catfisher. Done! Seriously I caught a single catfish worth eating and Bee caught four! That doesn't include how many she caught that were deemed too small. 

Enjoying the freshiest catfish I've had in years. Done! 

Leaving a book outside in a downpour.  Well, Bee did!  I brought my book back inside pre-storm.

Just enjoying watching the rain come down. Done! 

Enjoying fresh picked strawberries from the patch in the backyard. Done! 

 Making strawberry scones in the must functional kitchen of all time. Done!

 Quality hammock time. Done! Done! and more DONE!

Seeing horses from almost every window in the house. Done!

Being absolutely inspired by all the marathon posters hanging in the house, including the hallway of Boston. Done!

Kentucky was so green. So gorgeous.  So calm. So peaceful.  Bee's dad and stepmom completely spoiled us and it was so nice to not have to do anything at all.  No alarm clocks, no bed times, and a whole lot of wine made for an amazing time.  The beautiful horses grazing around the yard certainly didn't harm things either.