My Charleston + The RUN.

Hi Everyone! I know I’m late in saying so, but I hope you guys all enjoyed Labor Day weekend! I sure did! First though, congratulations to my beautiful fellow Seattle-ite and wonderful vegan with benefits friend over at Blissful Britt, you have won the Tasty Bite giveaway! 🙂 🙂 I can’t find a contact email address, so hit me up at megbek@fitnesscreatures.com so I can get your foodies to you! I checked, they have vegan options! 🙂

As my fellow crEATure mentioned, we escaped to Charleston this weekend. I can’t even begin to tell you how all how absolutely amazing my time there was. I fell in love with the city for numerous reasons which I will conveniently list out for you.

1. The candy stores. They are everywhere. Priorities folks – there’s a reason this is #1 in my recap. And the candy stores are perfectly accompanied with an equal ratio of ice cream/gelato/froyo shops. It’s literally the perfect place in the whole wide world.

 

I got a big old bag the first night and it lasted me the entire weekend!

2. The scenery. I can’t describe how absolutely beautiful the city is and I got the chance to do my long run through it bright and early on Saturday morning – before the sun was up and before the local shops were open. I had such an out of body experience along the water and I felt so emotionally empowered and capable of accomplishing anything. This run was my third favorite run in my entire life time and I can happily smile about every part of this run, even the fact that I was way too hungover Oops.

Serenity is the best and that’s exactly what I got. Roughly four miles of my run were on this path along the water. It was truly breathtaking and I even saw a dolphin. Could a long run get any better?

Some other beautiful shots from my run:

 

I couldn’t get over how unrealistic those trees looked.. Nature is so picturesque.

  If there is a better way to explore a city, I don’t want to know what it is. This was perfection and I had the best runner’s high ever. #runningWINS

3. The fun places to just hang back and relax at night – the options are limitless in this city! And, they are all seemingly quaint and entertaining.

Me and mah man!

 

 

Rebekah and Isaac were the pool champs of the night!

Those were our friends that came with us and we all stayed together. The rooftop bar scene in Charleston is amazing! 🙂

4. The water! And the water activities! We went to Folly Beach both days.

I even paddle boarded!

 

It was as equally challenging as it was fun and I am craving the next opportunity I get to do it!

Hanging with the crEATure!

5. The food! 🙂 All of it was good, but as thorough as my co blogger was with pictures of food, I was a slacker. Though, this buffet merited pictures… It doesn’t look like much but it was perfect. That crepe looking thing on the right was the only thing I got seconds of… Stellar.

 

Poached eggs are typically too runny for me but these were just right! I do like some good #yolkporn but the white parts must be fully cooked or I freak.

So there it was, whoooooomp, there it was. 🙂 Charleston is amazing and I cannot wait to return (also, why have I never been there before?! It’s so close… Sheesh, Meghan). But really, there are wonderful beaches AND a legitimate night scene (not a fist pumping club, jumping kind either, but the good, grown up kind…. I’ve never been anywhere like it before and I’m grateful I got to go this weekend!

What was your favorite part of this past weekend?

Where’s your favorite place to travel and why?

Candy – I can’t live without it. Can you? I don’t play favorites, I love it all.

-Meghan

Two Wrongs = Right?

Exhibit A:

Sweet potatoes with Brussels sprouts and eggs? Mismatched, definitely.

Exhibit B:

All different kinds of colors and textured workout gear. Mismatched, definitely.

Back to what I called ‘Exhibit A’. What?!? Mixing SWEET potatoes with salty Brussels sprouts and eggs? Well, last night, after some inspiration from this recipe, my friends and I concocted this sweet potato hash. It was breakfast for dinner, more commonly known as BRINNER!

2 sweet potatoes
6 cups shredded Brussels
1/4 cup diced white onion
garlic powder
salt
pepper
a bit of olive oil
eggs (depending on how many you’re serving, this was for four people)

All I did was bake the Brussels like I normally do and while that was happening I sautéed the diced onions and cubed sweet potatoes with all the salt, pepper and garlic powder.  In another pan I made the eggs so it could all be served hot! I wish I could be more exact with these instructions, but let’s be real – you’re unlikely to make something healthy off this blog after my candy confession yesterday. 🙂 My credibility is shot!

But, I think I can claim some of it back with this workout I did. On to ‘Exhibit B’ – the totally random, mismatched gym outfit. Oh, please don’t think I care, I just normally have such cute running outfits (that’s part of the reason I run!! Ha!) that when I wear something so unmatched and frumpy, it’s picture worthy. Either that, or I’m still just a big narcissist who loves selfies. You can choose for yourself.

This sucker took about 46 minutes (yeah, I timed it!) and I did about 3 miles, give or take. I was beat after this.

Why is it that treadmills KICK MY BUTT but pavement does not? I don’t get it.

And finally, to wrap up this lovely Wednesday with some LOVE, I received a wonderful giveaway from Her Happy Balance (I think a lot of you know her, she’s pretty much the most fabulous girl ever!). I’ve never tried this product so when she had a giveaway I was so excited! And I won! And look at how cute she was – including a heartfelt letter and all!

People like her, and like all you out there reading, have become such an important part of my life over these past few months of blogging and I am so grateful to be a part of such a supportive, happy, REAL community of healthy living/cooking/running/exercising bloggers. 🙂

And for the record, those things are PHENOMENAL. They taste like cookies. I’m almost mad that I have a whole box of these because, as I’ve said before, I have no self control with sweets. YUM.

What’s your favorite ‘mismatched’ meal?

What’s the best kind of ‘brinner’ to you?

Do you prefer treadmills or outdoors when you run?

-Meghan

Saturday Morning Sprouts

Today’s post title makes me want to crawl back in bed and pretend it’s still Saturday morning – back when sleeping in is OK and there is no work to be done. Alas, it is the dreadful Monday morning instead and my weekend wishes are moot. So it goes. At least I have a yummy recipe to share this morning!

When given the choice between a sweet breakfast or a savory breakfast, I typically opt for savory. Give me an omelet over pancakes 90% of the time and I’m a happy girl. This weekend was no different – savory eggs and sprouts!

Breakfast Sprouts and Eggs

This served one person, ME!
2 eggs
salt & pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 cups shredded Brussels sprouts

It’s PALEO, too!

First, put the olive oil in the pan and then dump the shredded Brussels in there. Let them sauté for about 10 minutes until they begin to brown and add salt and pepper, to taste.

Then begin to cook your eggs. I was feeling frisky so I made mine sunny side up, but over easy/medium would also work. The yolk serves as a sauce, though, so it’s crucial to leave the yolk runny for this breakfast.

Next step – plate up! The sprouts had been browned just enough and the eggs were ready to go after about 8 minutes. Nice, quick and easy.

Looking at that now makes me hungry. Who doesn’t love a good egg dish?

And if you’re a sauce/condiments freak like me, you’ll put hot sauce ALL over this bad boy.

I may or may not be addicted to this stuff…

 

I do declare – it’s like heaven in a bottle!

In case you guys were wondering, MegBek ventured out into club land this weekend and indulged in an abundance of fun times all night long. Thankfully, no one made a late night trip to Waffle House or else we’d be in big blog trouble. Want to see? Good thing you do, because here comes of plethora of pictures with fabulous people, including the infamous Mollie Hannah!

The whole ‘gang’?

MEGBEK themselves!!

Bek and her wonderful Isaac man boyfriend. 🙂

The one and only gorgeous CA (Charlotte Anne, in case you were wondering, CA for short).

Selfies aren’t as bad if you’re with a friend, right?? No, they still are? Eh, what can you do. My narcissism reigns more supreme than public opinion of selfies.

Fun times! 🙂

-Meghan

Sunday = Recipes

Sunday was a day for experimenting and improvisation! Upon waking up, I made an omelet for my boyfriend and me to share. I just sautéed  up some onions, red and green peppers, and mushrooms!

Those smell so good – and I just use a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper to season them. Then I poured three eggs on top and threw on some spinach.

Once it’s cooked all the way through, I flip it in half, smash it down and serve it! Voila!

Strawberries and blueberries are really doing it for me lately. They are so yummy! Oh, and I topped the omelet off with some avocado for staying power.

After running a few errands with some friends and getting my nails done (YAY, it was needed desperately!), I pondered on some dinner choices. I used my co-bloggers Paleo cookbook to find something fun to make – and I found something that sounded so wonderful:

After Kroger management searched far and wide for the garama masala with no luck, we gave up on trying to make this recipe. We even called Publix and they didn’t have any either. Sheesh. I guess I’ll know from now on that I can’t count on grocery stores to carry this spice. Anyway, with salmon to cook still, we picked up some veggies and figured we’d just make a simple salmon dish.

Roasted Broccoli, Mushrooms, Sweet Potato Chips and Dijon Mustard Spiced Salmon

I put sliced mushrooms and broccoli on one pan (very important that parchment paper is used – not foil!) to bake for 16 minutes. They were both tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper.

The sweet potato chips are a bit of a time consuming task – but worth it! Once peeled, the potato goes into a food processor to create slices (much easier than doing it by hand!!).

I laid every single one out individually, and of course, didn’t get a picture because my hands were covered in olive oil, cinnamon and sea salt. They came out perfectly.

The salmon was a bit of a wild card. What were we going to do to make it? We had some Dijon mustard leftover from last week’s recipe and wanted to incorporate that flavor because it really added a kick to the salmon. So, we covered salmon in that, olive oil, and every spice we could find! I think it was basil, parsley, pepper and salt…

That turned into a beautiful and colorful dinner!

See! Those sweet potato chips turned out perfectly! And I will leave you with one picture of this deliciousness:

Yum.

-Meghan