Yeah…

Obviously other things are getting in the way. It’s driving me insane how inconsistent I am about blogging over here and I think that may mean something.

This little blog used to be my outlet. It was a place where I shared my ventures into healthy cooking and weight loss struggles and successes. I loved the sense of community over here (thank you all so much for all your amazing comments!) and it’s the reason I’ve been continuing to blog for all these years.

But… my life is full now. I’m learning every day about myself while trying to grow my little business. I’m learning about what’s important and what’s just noise in my head that drives me to do more and more until I no longer can.  It’s all been hard and amazing and luckily I have the most supportive husband who keeps me grounded and reminds me about priorities.

And so, I think it’s time to move on. I’m not saying goodbye because that feels really final, so I’m going to say “until later!” I’m taking an indefinite break during which I will continue blogging over on Satisfied Cravings and possibly over on Russian Bites. And then we’ll see if all I needed was a break or if my priorities have permanently changed.

Thank you all again! And if I don’t “talk” to you soon (over on your blogs) then I hope you have a fabulous summer. Follow your heart and your dreams. And if you don’t have a defined dream, keep searching until something clicks and makes you the happiest you’ve been. Do it. It’s worth it!

PS – If you want to keep in touch, follow me on twitter and over at the Satisfied Cravings blog.

Ok, I’m signing off. Love you all!

MWA

~Elina

Two of the above are the stars in a delicious recipe for a three cheese pizza with spinach and garlic scapes. Check it out over on Satisfied Cravings!

You know how after traveling for a while you really crave home? The ordinary things, like being able to sleep in your own bed and cook for yourself? By the end of our Eurotrip, I even missed bootcamp (so happy I love working out) and my business. With every city we left, I was sad to go yet ready to move on.

And now I miss those daily pastries, al fresco drinks in the middle of the day and long long walks. Guess what? I can still get away with doing all 3! I really should sometime…

Last month I was asked for a Russian Napoleon cake recipe so I immediately emailed my mom and set up a date for us to make it. I’m good like that (also I really like cake). It’s actually originally a French dessert (Russian food has a lot of French influences) but the traditional Russian version seems to be a bit easier (although it has 4 layers vs 2) and has a bit of a different look. With using store-bought puff pastry dough, the whole thing comes together in a cinch and will be gobbled up even quicker! That’s a fact. [See how the styled photos are only of a few tiny pieces? Yeah, that’s because that’s all that was left! Too good.]

So what’s a Russian Napoleon cake? It’s pretty much 4 layers of puff pastry layered with custard cream (creme patissiere). Bake the puff pastry according to instructions on the package, make the custard cream (eggs, milk, sugar, flour, butter) and then layer the two. Easy!

The last piece of puff pastry gets crumbled to create this fun topping:

Let the whole thing stand in the fridge overnight so the puff pastry softens a bit from the custard and the layers really meld together. The result is a cool, creamy, buttery dessert that’s unbelievably addictive!

I want a piece right now!!

Printable recipe

Do you ever miss home while on vacation? Ever had Napoleon cake? It’s gooooood; I hope you try it!

How gorgeous is that?!! I’m blogging over at Satisfied Cravings (my very first post there!!) about what I did with this week’s loot so please stop by and say hello. Thank ya!

PS – I’m still missing a few ThinkThin giveaway winners so if you entered, please check this post again (first paragraph!) to see if you’re one of them… and if you are, email me!

Let’s start with the first city – Amsterdam.

This was my breakfast pretty much every day – a gorgeous coffee with a pan au chocolat from Coffee Connection. Heaven.

And if you’re ever in Amsterdam you have to (promise me!) try Wok to Walk. It’s basically a take-out stir-fry place but it’s incredible. Do it!

Amsterdam is a huge biking city. Did you know I can’t ride a bike? True story.

Adam was really tempted to get a burger from this vending machine

Lunch:

I wanted to take this little dog back to Boston with me. He was soooo cute!

Designer coke anyone?

Restaurants right outside of our hotel

Of course nightly drinks were enjoyed out there

As you can see from the above pictures, our food during our few days in Amsterdam was sort of a mishmash of things. We did go out to one nice dinner at Seasons during out second night (heh, the first review that comes up on TripAdvisor is Adam’s. Awesome).

Asparagus bruschetta with a creamy dill, lemon and caper sauce

Oven roasted salmon, sauteed mushrooms, red wine sauce and figs

Sticky toffee pudding

Everything was really fresh and seasonal. The asparagus brushetta (from their asparagus menu!) was my favorite followed by dessert. Both were winners! My date was pretty awesome too

Side note: I’m linking to Trip Advisor for most of the spots because that’s how we found these places. Their City Guide app was a serious life saver – it worked offline on our iphones, had built-in maps with GPS and guides us to the best spots all over the city. We really missed it in the cities it wasn’t available for!

After 2 nights in Amsterdam, we hopped on the train to Brussels.

What is Belgium known for? Beer, Belgian fires, chocolate, Belgium waffles and mussels. You better believe we tried them all!

Not bad! Duckfat’s Belgian waffles are better.

The famous Delirium bar – Adam was in serious heaven!

Our first dinner:

The menu was 100% in French so I ordered bruschett, thinking it was bruschetta. Nope friends – apparently it means a meat skewer (and I’m sorry, I am certain I’m mispelling it but it’s very close). Oh well, the fun was eating with the locals and people watching We also found some mussels later but apparently they escaped my camera.

We also visited the Cantillon brewery which is right in Brussels and I tried the first lambics I’ve ever liked.

The lambic love continued for the rest of our trip. First with a Pecherese (peach) lambic (unpictured). And then with a kriek (cherry!!!) lambic. Slightly sweet and incredibly refershing. Kind of like a beer sangria.

Man I want another one right now!

The most memorable meal in our short stay in Belgium was from Selecto. After being spoiled by the Tripadvisor app in Amsterdam, we felt a little aimless without one in Brussels but this restaurant was across the street from the bar we had drinks at and the second I saw people’s dishes, I knew it would be perfect. I didn’t take very good pictures but it was a 5 star dinner. And apprently a lot of people agree with me because it’s #26 out of nearly 1,300 restaurants in the city.

Also, it was our first time successfully navigating a complicated menu in French (thank god for the dictionary app!) so that was fun too!

Did I forget something else? Oh yeah…

Unfortunately despite my big smile, this waffle was stale. Oh well – we had no lack of food on this trip!

Some scenery pics of Brussels…

We also took a day trip to Bruges which was super easy and incredibly beautiful! Jen happened to be there at the same time but we were unable to meet up because I had no cell reception and we had no wifi in our Brussels hotel Adam and I still had a blast exploring this medieval town for a few hours.

Stunning, right?

After 2 nights in Belgium, it was once again time to hop on the train. To Paris this time!

Adam and I have actually been to Paris before so we did nothing touristy, just explored a few neighborhoods and of course ate our little hearts (stomachs?) out.

Our hotel was in the heart of St Germain neighborhood, which was full of cafes, bars, restaurants and boutiques. We had an amazing time eating our way through the city!

Luxemberg gardens nearby

On our first trip to Paris together (nearly 7 years ago!) we stayed in the Latin Quarter area, so we decided to go back and see how it’s doing See the Comfort Inn in the background? That was it. Smallest hotel room ever. But still in Paris

Side street we had dinner on 7 years ago. Good memories. The Latin Quarter was even more fun this time than I remembered. A lot younger and more laid back than St Germain which is kind of fancy.

Eventually we made it to the Pantheon area because we wanted to recreate an old picture. This one was a pretty priceless one of me. Apparently I give this look to Adam a lot.

And here is another gem of a picture. Can you spot me?

We were a little tipsy looking at the pictures that night and we thought those 2 were the funniest thing we’ve ever seen. Haha

No trip to Paris is complete without crepes. This one was filled with chocolate and topped with poached pears. I die.

Gelato was always shaped like a flower. This was was from a local chain – Amorino, which we’ve seen all over France for the rest of the trip (and of course sampled).

Best macarons of my life. The salted caramel butter was to die for. Ugh, I want another one asap!!

Oh and I did have some vegetables on the trip. Paul (sort of like Panera in the US) was a very reliable source for my morning coffee and pain au chocolat in the morning and an occasional baguette or salad for lunch.

Time for another train to Avignon. This is where our week long trip to South of France began. I think this post is long enough so I’m going to tell you that we rented a car and covered Avignon, Aix en Provence, Pont du Gard, Cannes, Nice, St Tropez, Les Baux, Monaco and probably a few more places I’m forgetting right now. Best meal of the trip was hands down at Le Cosi in Cannes. This was the most flawless meal – the place deserves Michelin stars! Another fun thing we did was take a day-long wine tour from Avignon Wine Tours. It was a really fun way to explore the area even if I did get food poisoning mid-day (unrelated to the tour) and wanted to die for the last few hours (I was still a trouper and sampled the wines, etc). Francois was the man and we continue to quote him in the most French accent possible. You should do it if you ever go to Provence!

Ok enjoy the pics!

Wine on tap (locals bring milk jugs to fill up every week!)

We had a mini-aparent in Aix-en Provence so I cooked dinner one night.

And since our layover in Dublin was crazy long, we decided to get a hotel and spend the night.

As annapealing as it sounds, the corned beef and cabbage with potato dumplings from Gallagher’s Boxty House was incredible. And our waiter Bobby was awesome too. Oh and although we definitely picked up some French in the last 2 weeks, speaking English again was pretty nice.

A few last pics of Dublin for the road…

Phew, that was long. And fun. I hope you enjoyed this little (right) recap. And let me know if you have any questions… or if anything in particular is catching your eye. One of the best trips Adam and I have ever gone on for sure!!

Next up – a recipe. It’s been a little while, huh?

Oh and remember that 30 by 30 list I made when I turned 29? It was one hefty list and I got through most of it (and I’m ok with whatever I didn’t get to – I’m sure in my thirties I’ll learn even more about prioritizing in life and letting go of perfection). Check the link to the original post for updates on my progress.

Last but not least – what’s a birthday celebration without something sweet? It’s spring so I’m sharing this light strawberry lemon shortcake dessert. I made it a few weeks ago for a spring-themed dinner with Shannon and Kerstin. It was light and refreshing and everyone really enjoyed it (including myself). Strawberry shortcake is actually one of Adam’s favorites so I know I’ll be making it again this summer with local strawberries.

Happy birthday to me!!

How have you guys been? Any fun desserts consumed lately? I need to know!

You can find more details here.

I hope you sign up and listen in tomorrow. And if you’re not around, a playback of the call will also be available for those that sign up.

Edited to add: You can listen to the free playback by calling 805-399-1299 and entering 152214 as your access code.

Yay, ok – I’m off to do last minute prep for my cooking lesson party tonight!

Have an awesome weekend, ok?

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

Thirsty Thursday

Some booze was consumed. It’s open bar so we had to do “a little” tasting  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!

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

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?

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!

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.

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!

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

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!

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.

8) 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!