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!
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!