Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice relaxing weekend. My dad and sister were in town this weekend! My sister had a break between summer session at UF and Fall session, so they took a road trip through Charleston and West Virginia on the way up to Philadelphia to bring me my car. We definitely ate well this weekend...

Friday night I took my family around the Chestnut Hill area where I live and we ate dinner at Earth Bread & Brewery . It's a funky little place! They brew their own beer and specialize in flatbreads. It also reminds me of home (Gainesville) a little bit because their menus are placed in old quirky story books, like The Top (#1 favorite restaurant of all time.) We started with a cheese plate and I got the house wine.

Side note: the house wine is a blend and they call it 'draft wine,' meaning that it's kept in a bag inside of a big keg. I was a little skeptical at first, but it was delicious. Smooth and easy to drink. I don't think I could tell the difference between bagged wine and a $150 bottle. Unless of course it's Franzia.

The cheese plate was awesome! Honey, homemade jam, a brie and a goat cheese.

We also tried out an amazing black bean curry dip that I'm going to try to recreate at home. For my dinner, I ordered the Summer Smash flatbread because it sounded so interesting. It had pea pesto, yellow squash, mint, lemon, pine nuts, mozzarella and a honey balsamic glaze. It was incredible! The honey balsamic really made it.

After dinner, we took the train back into center city and realized that the Ben & Jerry's shop was right across the street from the hotel my dad and sister were staying at. The Tonight Dough all the way.

Saturday started on a sweaty note - Julia came to my Super Circuits class at Sweat Fitness! We worked up an appetite. To be quite honest, I felt like all we did for the rest of the day Saturday was eat! We had brunch at Continental Diner and then made our way down to the Italian Market after digesting in Rittenhouse Park. Couldn't go to the Italian Market without getting a cannoli!

Once we made our way back toward the hotel (Dad and sister had to catch the airport train at 5:30) we needed a cold beer and another snack. We ended up at Monk's Cafe. Such an AWESOME bar. They have more than 200 beers on their menu and beer battered chicken fingers. Super dark inside though so no pics, but such a great bar in Philly!

I live for the weekends full of good company and good food. There's nothing better!

- Rach

What was the high light of your weekend?

It's hump day (YAY two more days until the weekend) and I've got another yummy recipe for you!

I started today bright and early with a 3 mile run. I've been absolutely loving my runs lately, in case you were wondering. I think what has made running so great in the last few weeks is getting to explore a whole new neighborhood. If you're ever in Philadelphia, take a day to explore the Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill area - it's gorgeous! As much as I love being in the city, the new area that I live in is more suburban, and it's such a breath of fresh air. I don't have to wait to cross the streets in the mornings and the greenery is amazing. It's fun to run past all of the little bakeries, boutiques and little markets. I also like to run down the streets where the "millionaires" live - looking at the big homes takes my mind off of all the HILLS.

After running, I came back to shower real quick and didn't really have time to cook anything for breakfast, so I threw together this easy bowl before catching the train to work. The high-protein main ingredient is...cottage cheese! I didn't want to title this post "Cottage Cheese Bowl" because I have a feeling that a lot of people get grossed out by cottage cheese. You shouldn't be - it's delicious! And super versatile. And packs a punch of protein.

Anyway, I threw together about a cup of cottage cheese, 1/2 a banana, 1 small plum, blueberries, a handful of chopped walnuts, a sprinkle of coconut and a drizzle of honey. It's a refreshing breakfast or snack. I would much rather eat fruit with cottage cheese or ricotta cheese than yogurt - is that weird? Who cares. I LOVE CHEESE.

Okay enjoy :)

-Rach

Cottage cheese - love it or hate it? 

How do you get your protein in the morning?

Happy Monday! I know you need a little extra energy (who doesn't on a Monday afternoon?), so I'm sharing these delicious Trail Mix Energy Muffins. They could also be called "clean out your pantry muffins" because there's a lot of fun add-ins in these. Why skimp on all that goodness? The more the merrier! These are perfect for that pre-workout munch or even as part of your breakfast! They're full of complex carbs, healthy fats and natural sugar.

Here's what you'll need: 

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup regular flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 oz. dark chocolate or about 1/4-1/3 cup (I used 1/2 of a large hershey's dark chocolate bar and chopped it up)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup egg whites
• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup raw honey

Here's what to do: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Mix together all of the dry ingredients
• Add in the greek yogurt, honey and eggs
• Mix together well - the consistency should be thick
• Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray (or line with muffin liners)
• Spoon in the batter to fill the muffin tin about 3/4 the way to the top
• Bake for 18 minutes, or until golden brown

I will definitely be making these again for next week!

Enjoy :)

- Rach