I deemed this conference should be called Blogfeast because of all the amazing food I have been eating! :)
The Healthy Living Summit conference today was a great time. Major props to all of the organizers, speakers, and attendees. Everything was so well organized and well done. I left inspired by so many amazing women! Also a big thank you to Amazing Grass who sponsored a portion of my trip to the conference. Keep your eyes peeled for a special promo code on Amazing Grass and Glo Bars coming up soon!
Morning group shot:
Sabrina, is basically a domestic goddess.
I love Anne P’s t-shirt!
The line-up for lunch was HUGE, so we passed the time by finding out if our forearm was really equal to the size of our foot.
I looked at my long forearm and said no way. I was wrong! ;)
Getting closer…mmmmmm. So close yet so far away.
I piled my plate as high as humanly possible. Just when I thought I couldn’t fit anymore food on it, I added another scoop of the chickpea salad. lol.
Dear me.
I had roasted veggies, quinoa salad, chickpea salad, fruit salad, salad-salad (lol)…all mixed together and truly an epic lunch.
I ate every bite and then went back and got more chickpeas.
After lunch I met up with Eric and we went out for lunch (for him!) and then we explored the city. He got a wrap at Freshii and he loved it.
I had an apple for dessert!
Fun fact when I travel: You will rarely ever see me without food in my purse! I always have a Glo Bar and apple as emergency stash.
The sessions at the conference were so well done. I hear that they will be posting the videos of all the sessions online and PowerPoint, so I will link to it when I see it on their website. I took a ton of notes to share with you and I just read some over and they make NO SENSE at all. Note fail. ;)
My favourite line of the entire conference said by Rebecca in the sports nutrition session (LOVED her!!!!!)
I love that quote. I should add it to my quotes page because it really means a lot to me. She works with a lot of athletes suffering from eating disorders and her talk was just so moving.
Canadian Bloggers!! All from Toronto. :)
Miranda, Callie, Sarah, Susan. So fun.
I also promised to show you the lovely foodie goodies I bought yesterday!
First up, Trader Joe’s! My first time setting foot in the store and it did not disappoint. :)
I was told I must buy this sunflower seed butter! I was hesitant because I tried making it before and it was so bitter, but this one has a bit of sugar in it. ;) I knew I forgot something!
This chocolate rocks my world.
Oh dear me. Seriously. I can’t.
I was told these mangos were the best because not only are they dried mangos, but they are chewy and not too tough. They were quite possibly the best dried fruit I have ever had in my life. I hid the bags.
Carrot ginger bran muffins.
Eric didn’t care for this muffin, but I thought it was good. He thought it was too dense.
I loved the muffin ‘lip’ here!
I also was given vegan macaroons from Gina and Val! I am saving them for a special moment. ;)
And finally, the chocolate I purchased at Vosges!
Tonight I organized a meet-up at Karyn’s on Green. We have the upstairs lounge booked off. I can’t wait for more delicious food (I think this is all I have been saying since in Chicago!!!) and new friends. My goal tonight is to get to bed at a reasonable hour and stop acting like I am 19 again. ;) Have a great night!
Looks like you had a great time, that plate of food looked delicious!!! I love Trader Joe’s, the mango slices are delicious, I definitely don’t get there enough! ;)
I love that quote by Rebecca. gosh, I would have loved to have listened to her speak. Thats the mantra I’ve been focusing on through my struggles. I’m going to post that somewhere I can see it everyday.
So much fun! I love all the tasty looking food. I’d say a dense muffin is better than than a cakey one! The lip makes it all the better.
I had no idea you were behind the GLO bars! Duh! ;)
I know you said you moved from the city to a smaller place – how do you find that? Are what is your job/profession??
Wow the sunflower seed butter sounds amazing- I love sunflower seeds- love it when they are in nice seedy bread. You seem to have a massive range of things in the US that we dont get here in the UK.
Ah well, will have to load up my suitcase next time I travel!
I always find it amazing just how ravenous I get when I attend conferences. I’m not sure if it’s all the sitting and listening and networking and walking, or if it’s that they always have amazing spreads and I want to eat it all! The food at HLS, not surprisingly, looks delicious!
My appetite is cranked up for all of the sitting around that occurs in things like that. I have no idea why, but at least the food at the HLS looks AMAZING! And healthy!
Trader Joe’s = HEAVEN! And I don’t have one either. It’s like playtime when I get to go in. My boyfriend gives me a time limit, haha! He knows I could live in there. Anyhoo, I just wanted to say that you are such an adorable person and I really appreciate your honesty and postitive personality in the blogsphere! :) Have fun at HLS!
I miss Chicago! My sister used to live there and I’d visit her. When she said she was moving back, I told her “Where am I going to go on vacation now?” I love that city! Have fun!
1) your outfit in the picture with the apple is adorable! 2) That quote made my day. That is exactly what I have been trying to do in my life right now so seeing it in quote form was perfect. and 3) I am going to have to get those mango slices immediately! I love mangos and your description of them was enough to make me crave them for the rest of the day haha. How did the sunflower butter taste?
Angela, it was lovely to meet you this morning! On the train ride home I did think of a few downtown restaurants that I really like if you’re looking for a few places to round out your Chicago dining experiences: Ben Pao (good Chinese food, great drinks, schwanky atmosphere); Rock Bottom (good beer and soft pretzel appetizers); Sweetwater (really close to the hotel, good salads and pretzel apps (I really like pretzels:)), and if Eric’s jonesing for steak at any point, the Kinzie Chop House is great (though I’m not sure how they would be w/ vegan or veg options). Enjoy the rest of your stay (and your upcoming deep-dish experience)!
LOL at “notes fail” — it made me think of the notes I took in college. Even when the material was still fresh in my mind I had no idea what I was writing! haha.
Great lunch — I love when everything can be mixed together into one big feast.
That chocolate is some of my favorite — let me know if you ever want more, I’d be happy to send some to you :)
Have you tried the dried mango slices at the bulk barn? They have ones that have no sugar in them and are just mango and they totally rock my world!
The forearm/foot ratio random fact is hilarious, isn’t it? :)
You’re SO gorgeous!
It was so nice to meet you in person! I hope to see you again soon!!
Thanks for the super sweet shout out!
Way to represent Canada ladies!