Good morning!
Thank you all so much for your birthday wishes yesterday! I ended up having a great day.
After breakfast, Eric told me to put on my spandex shorts. I could only assume that good things were going to follow!
He put my new gear on my bike…
Bike bag and tire pump are now on my bike:
The bike bag now contains a bike tube and a swiss-army type bike tool.
Eric revealed that he was taking me through our try-a-tri route! We have been meaning to go for a while now, but the rain from the past two weeks has prevented us.
The 2.5k run will be done on a trail, which we weren’t aware of. I love running on trails!
We saw the water where we will be doing the open-water swim! *GULP*
We both got nervous thinking about it and tried to imagine what 375 metres looked like.
*gulp, gulp*
Gorgeous.
After the trail ride, we had a picnic lunch that Eric packed earlier.
He took these pictures beforehand…
Our picnic lunch contained:
- 2 apples
- 2 Raw and GF Glo Bars
- Salsa + hummus
- Homemade trail mix (apricot, almonds, raisins)
- Chips
- Cashew butter and blueberry jam sandwich (to split)
Look what we saw!
We got home hours later and I had a minor incident with my sunglasses.
Eric surprised me with CSA half share at Plan B Organic farm! You might remember me gushing about it last year. I was really shocked because I thought he forgot that I even mentioned it. It begins on June 2nd and carries on through until October. The gift that keeps on giving!
I have wanted to support a local organic farmer for a long time now. This makes me very happy. :wub:
We will be picking up a box from the farm every Wednesday. They also have tours of the farm that we would like to go on. Eric said it ‘brings him out of his comfort zone’ because he knows I am going to be getting him to eat all kinds of weird veggies. :lol: True, dat!
As for the Vita-Mix— my new GF + Raw Glo Bars require the use of a blender and my current Kitchen aid blender doesn’t do the job very well. I am toying around with the idea of using some of my tax return money to get a new blender, but I haven’t decided when I am going to get one though. I also haven’t decided whether I want a Vita-mix or a Blend-tec…I hear great things about Blend-tecs too!
After lounging around outside for a bit longer, it was time to make dinner. We decided to cook together and make something very light and summery.
Quinoa Summer Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 English cuke
- 1 large tomato
- 6 green onions, chopped
- 4 tbsp dried cranberries
- Italian Seasonings
- Sea Salt and pepper
- Sweet and Tangy All-Purpose Dressing (we doubled it)
Directions: Rinse and cook quinoa according to package directions. Chop veggies. Mix together with dressing and serve. Serves 2.
It was fabbbbbulous and very easy.
I also had two brewskis!
In my next post, I will show you what we had for dessert. It left us with chocolate all over our hands and faces and sitting on the couch with our hands on our bellies.
Have a great start to your week!
Wow! What a great birthday!!! Enjoy your CSA box, we had one for a while and it was AWESOME! I was like a kid on Christmas when we got our bin!
What a great gift, love it!
As far as blenders: I have a VitaMix 5200 and love it (obviously!). BlendTecs are also great. I know several people who swear they’re better than VitaMixes. I also know that when the hubs and I both worked in food service in yonder years (me in a smoothie place, he in a shake place), both of our stores used BlendTecs. Sooo basically no matter what you go with, it’s a win win. :) (I also know from research that BlendTecs are cheaper, but VitaMixes have longer warranties.)
great tops thank you. I noticed that the BT’s are about $50 cheaper I think. But I didnt know VMs have a longer warranty. I agree that you really cant go wrong with either..
oops I meant great ‘tips’ ;)
Angela – a birthday well-spent! I have to agree that you are going to LOVE your CSA box. It is such a great way to really become an active part of your community. I just finished doing research on purchasing local/organic produce from major/large stores vs. directly from the farmer. I think your experience might just confirm my findings! I am really excited for you and I have no doubt that you will find many creative and exciting ways to bring out the best in your beautiful food. I can’t wait to see the results! Happy birthday again!
Ahh! That is an AMAZING surprise! My aunt gives me part of her CSA delivery and it’s aaaamaaazzziiiingggg!!
CSA is the BEST GIFT EVER! I am so jealous!!!
What a fun birthday! And you even got some gorgeous weather. :) Your husband seems like the perfect match for you – so sweet!
I’m excited to see how your CSA turns out! I noticed Jenna from Eat, Live, Run is doing something similar. I’m planting a garden this year, but it might be nice to receive some ‘surprises’ throughout the summer, too. Yay for veggies!
Get the Vita-Mix! We just bought it two weeks ago from costco in the states and its AMAZING! We use it twice a day! We saved about $150 by making the trip to costo in the states when they were doing the demo there.
Good luck :)
Aww, what a wonderful day!
And what a wonderful husband to plan such a great day :)
Now that’s my kind of birthday celebration. The great outdoors, good food, and local farm produce? Can it get much better? I want to steal your birthday for my own. :) Hope you had am AMAZING birthday!
Wow. What an excellent birthday. SO fun + unique. You look completely adorable with pigtail braids!! I’ve never used a blend tec but love love my vita-mix! ;) I also love using soup crocks for bowls!
Happy belated birthday!
Your day sounds so fabulous. And I love the CSA gift idea! I’ve been looking and hoping to find one that’s convenient for me to get to in the Toronto area but the only one I can find is a bit out of my single-household price range. :(
But who knows, maybe I can find someone to split! I love the idea of picking up a box of groceries every week from Ontario. :)
-Alison
Your hubby is so sweet! Happy belated birthday and it looks like you had a faboosh one!
What a great day! What a great gift your hubby gave you :D
xo
K
It sounds like you had a fantastic birthday!!!
Wow what an awesome bday! Those little geese are too cute and the landscaping is amazing!!
Can’t wait to read about that dessert!
What an awesome day!! Glad you had fun, birthday’s are the best!
I am toying with the vitamix idea too… soooooo much $$$$$$$$$$$$$ but everyone says they are totally worth it!!
Looks like a super fun day!
I just signed up for my 1/2 share CSA this weekend! I can’t wait to see what they put in the box. I’m loving the pics of your quinoa salad. Summer’s finally here!
What a special day!!Happy birthday,girl!!(well,belated):-)cc