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Showing posts from November 1, 2016

Eating My Way Through Austin with VERTS

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Hi, guys! I had SUCH an amazing time in Austin last week. What an awesome city. I already want to go back! I had the opportunity to visit (and eat my way through) Austin, thanks to VERTS Mediterranean Grill . VERTS? Never heard of it? It was new to me too, and it’s because VERTS is an Austin-based fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant. They serve healthy, customizable pitas, salads, and bowls, and all of their food is made from scratch daily using fresh, all-natural ingredients– everything from sauces and toppings to meats and falafel.     In 2011, just days after graduating college, co-founders Michael Heyne and Dominik Stein launched VERTS with the simple idea of recreating the popular food they missed from their native Europe and making it available for American consumers. Since then, VERTS has grown to 33 locations across Texas with a goal of expanding to 200 restaurants by 2020 in cities including Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia. Ok, so I bet you’re wondering wh

Why the Blood-Brain Barrier Is So Critical (and How to Maintain It)

Asian Pesto Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps

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Nourishing and delicious, these Asian Pesto Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps are packed with protein, fiber and skin-friendly beta carotene to give your complexion a healthy glow into fall and beyond! In addition to one of fall’s favorite foods, sweet potatoes, these Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps contain heart-healthy oats, flax seeds and cashew nuts. Oh, and about that Asian pesto sauce, fair warning: You may want to eat it by the spoonful. It’s that good! I used a combo of dark-meat and white-meat chicken, along with some egg, ground oats and ground flax seed, to keep the meatballs moist. But feel free to experiment with all-white-meat or all-dark-meat chicken, and to sub almond flour for the oats if you prefer a grain-free version. The pesto sauce is easily made ahead of time, as are the meatballs, so you can pull the recipe together quickly to enjoy it as a complete meal for lunch or dinner whenever you’re ready to eat. Asian Pesto Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps Serves 4 As

Ghost-O-Ween

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We had such a festive Halloween ’round here!! Mazen LOVED it. He’s at that perfect age for holidays now, and he had a great time from breakfast to bedtime. I started the day with a smoothie – And then snapped a few pictures at the preschool Halloween parade. All the kids walk through in their costumes. It’s the cutest event all year! Mazen spent the day going “Woooooooo” like a ghost! I worked through the morning and rested my legs after Sunday soccer. Mondays are my new favorite day of the week because I take a total rest day, although I usually get in some walking to the school and back, which is good to stretch! Lunch at home was leftovers from the night before – panko turbot (this was the best fish I’ve had all year!), sautéed spinach with melted feta, and Red, Hot, Blues. After I picked M up from school, we relaxed for a bit before getting back into costume to head to the University of Virginia lawn. Karen made Mazen’s costume this year, and he got a lot of compliments

Clean Eating Caraway Seed Pork Chops Recipe

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I’m always looking for a new way to make pork chops. They are super easy for me to have on hand, so I try to get as creative as I can with them because it’s something we are eating often these days.… Read more → from The Gracious Pantry http://ift.tt/2dY4cA6