Want extra time? Plated...

So i've been trying to find ways to simplify my weeknights. One of which being finding ways to still have a healthy lifestyle BUT not spend all my eveing time at the grocery store, or finding recipes. So I took a look at my calendar and realized I had 2 crazy weeks so the perfect time to see how plated could help me out. Verdict: AMAZING!

Even with a gluten free diet I was able to find 2 good new recipes for us to try. My goal of course being to try some new things since they send you a test recipe that I can trust a bit more than some of my finds on pinterest.

Everything arrives pre-portioned in a box delivered to my house on the weekends, or office if I pick a weekday delivery.

My favorite part aside from the simplicity was the amount of food NOT wasted since they sent me for example just the tablespoon of tomato paste I needed not leaving me with 2/3 of a can sitting in my fridge for a week until I realize i'm likely not going to need it again anytime soon.

Both meals a success and husband approved even with new foods thrown in there like eggplant! Winning recipes, great instructions, and an easier night after work for us -- definitely doing again!

Also makes a great gift for new mom's etc. Try it out -- https://www.plated.com/invites/db9240

THE Vitamix

So you  might have passed by that amazing demo in Costco or that magical aisle in Bed Bath & Beyond and thought "Is it worth it?" Well I want to tell you that yes, yes it is.

I recently bought a Vitamix and I can tell you that I love it and use it often. That being said it's only worth it if you will use it (captain obvious yes) but I have plenty of machines that I also thought I would love this much that I don't use (insert juicer and dehydrator).

Things I love

• I can literally eat a salad for breakfast and it's AWESOME. I don't love vegetables so this is great.
• I can add supplements that I need for that day or how i'm feeling -- my favorites Chia seeds, PB2, protein powder, flax seed, etc
• When fruit starts to spoil or i'm about to go on a trip I can freeze it and use it later -- wasting less!
• It's healthy!

The above container has my favorite go to smoothie -- frozen banana, 1 cup almond milk, 1 spoon PB2 (or almond butter), chia seeds, flax seed and 2 handfuls of spinach/kale mix. Also you can easily add in frozen strawberries or blueberries to the above (with a bit of extra water) and it's very good.

Gluten Free Vegas -- Take 1

As promised I want to blog more about the restaurants and research I do when I travel. Not only does this help me when I go back to some places but I depend on blogs and lists when I travel to know there is more than boiled chicken and dressing free lettuce to eat. :) Plus the best part about travel is the food!

This trip I stayed at the Venetian since our show was in the sands. I was glad I did because not only is it beautiful it was a rare rain (flooding) in Vegas so was nice to not go outside.

Bouchon Bistro
It was great french food (and I was with 2 Parisians) so it goes beyond even my definition of good french. Not the biggest menu but they knew what they could do and were very knowledgable and went above and beyond to ensure I was safe. I had a salad with chèvre to start, and bread. For my main dish I had a trout with haricot verts which was very well done. For dessert (A++) I had three little chocolate 'bouchons' that were amazing little molton chocolate type dessert bites.

I also went back for lunch one day before the show started and had a great cobb salad. I also had the amazing chocolate dish again...I mean why not?

Canyon Grill
I had breakfast here one morning and it was very good. Labeled menu that had bread.

Sushi Samba
I ate at sushi samba in the far end of the Palazzo mall one day, it's dangerously close to the most amazing brands so walk with a purpose! They had a dedicate menu that was very large and were able to many things especially the rolls.

I got one roll that sounded amazing -- EL TOPO® salmon, jalapeño, shiso leaf, fresh melted mozzerella, crispy onion  They left off the crispy onion and I was fine! The roll was good don't get me wrong but there was barely any salmon on there and a  lot of cheese. The sauces though were very good and it had a great spice! I also got an avacado roll which was great, and had gluten free soy sauce. I tried the cocunut rice as well but was unimipressed as it wasn't the sticky rice consistency I had been told, and had scallions in it which were overpowering. 


Aureole
This place was amazing -- I mean you walk into a wine tower to start it all, which if you order one that is really high a 'wine angel' goes up and gets it. And the wine list is so big it has to be stored on an ipad and ordered by number -- very nice!

I started with a cheese plate which was 12 small bites of cheese served with bread. The bread was similar to little cheese bread balls and they were great. For my dinner I continued on my cheese fest and got blue cheese crusted filet mignon with mashed potatoes. For dessert I got a pineapple creme brulee which was so so but a coworker got the chocolate plate and I was able to steal a peanut butter ice cream ball dipped in chocolate...heavenly.

It was amazing an amazing meal and my favorite part of this restaurant was that the waiter was extremely discreet on any gluten related questions or changes I needed allowing it to not be a big deal at a work dinner which I greatly appreciate.


Take 2 coming when I go back to Vegas in November!

Big things coming!

Behind this door my handy husband is creating something very fun! More to come....

Fitbit Challenge

Ok so this might just be a challenge with myself -- but honestly those are what motivate me the most.

I spent the last 3 years being a fairly competitive triathlete/marathon runner and decided I just need a bit less structure in my life. That being said it also meant I need to be much more aware of my eating and ensuring i'm getting in a bit of healthy activity at the same time.

Hence the entrance of the fitbit. I just got it but I do like it so far! For the nerdy triathlete in me it has fun metrics and tracking that even encouraged me to go for a 1 mile run (ok really slow walk/jog) today! Yes, yes must keep life simple and easy but also allows me to be healthy!

I start riding horses again next week which i'm very excited about but I think this will also keep me aware of my exercise levels and has a food plan for times I want extra help (reality)!

Need a Photographer?

So my other passion besides eating and crafting is photography. I have loved seeing life behind the camera since I was 10 years old.

So to promote my other blog i'm letting you all know!


http://nicolebsmithphotography.com/

https://www.facebook.com/NicoleBSmithPhotography


Ya know in case you don't get enough of me here... :)

Boring old pots

So i've been trying to garden a bit lately. This ultimate goal is to keep them alive to at least enjoy them a bit as I don't have a good history. I got inspired the other day with some fancy garden store pots to see what I could do with our plain pots.

Turns out it is EASY!

I built a 3 sided box (sorry was before my blogging idea and don't have pics) and picked up Valspar's outdoor spray paint

Did one coat and came back about an hour later for round 2

Love the update and the color it gave to my backyard -- more to come for sure!

NoGlu - Paris

My company is based in Paris and I am lucky enough to 'have' to go generally 3 times  year. I found this amazing dedicated restaurant on the most amazing little passageway near Galeries Lafayette.

I try to go every time i'm in Paris now and have yet to be disappointing. As a gluten free diner being able to not worry but also enjoy a warm chocolate cake dessert is worth whatever it takes you to get there! http://www.noglu.fr/

Last trip

Peach/Mozzarella salad, Mac and Cheese with chèvre and parmesan, and chocolate cake...yes I walked home

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First Chalk Paint Project

So recently I decided furniture was really expensive and my house needs some so I needed to explore putting a fresh coat of 'make up' on some of my own pieces and knowing how to turn garage sale furniture awesome.

So I have an end table that I want to upgrade but decided finding a test project to 'learn from' would be a better place to start. Glad I did!

I read countless blogs (hence why I feel I now need to give back!) and made some key decisions.

1. using chalk paint instead of latex
2. Using home depot brushes not the fancy special chalk paint brushes
3. Not using the fancy wax but painting on minwax polycrylic to finish it up

So with those big decisions I was off!

Step 1 -- find furniture! My sister in law was in town and we found this little gem in an estate sale

And away I went! I decided with this one I wanted to practice all the techniques so I decided to sand/stain the flat parts and paint the legs white.

So once this little table got sanded (and I got husband approval I wasn't just avoiding spots because I was way over it) it was time to stain

I got it stained and went on to painting the legs -- note you have to swap the blue tape around in between so staining took minimal time but taping took some time. Waited a day for the stain to set and was FINALLY ready for the fun part - chalk paint! I went with Annie Sloan for my first go round since it seems to be the preferred brand but will be open to other brands next, and eventually want to try making my own.

Finally the last step of sealing with the minwax and I was all set! I did 2 coats of this.

Things I wish I knew/learned
1. Sanding will take some time but is worth it
2. Chalk paint drys FAST, I mean really fast
3. Do the 1.5 coats method I found after learning fact 2 next time
4. Use a foam roller whenever possible. Had to use foam brush for this round since those cute little legs are touch to paint.
5. The paint will clump, be sure to smooth before you move to another spot (see note 2)
6. When sealing do all the paint portions first THEN the stain as the stain can pull through and get on your pretty white paint

But it was all worth it! Final Product!

Welcome!

So I use blogs....a alot and figured it was time for me to return the favor.

One my first returns is going to be about my 'project' of painting a garage sale piece of furniture. Aside from crafts I plan to discuss my other favorite past time - finding amazing gluten free restaurants around the world.

To Be Continued...