From the monthly archives:

December 2009

Ringing in 2010

by Eating Bird Food on December 31, 2009

Thank you guys so much for all your well wishes on my last post. Losing a loved one is never easy but seeing your kind comments definitely brought a smile to my face. Isaac attended the ceremony with me, we grabbed lunch and then headed back to Richmond to unwind for the rest of the day.

We decided to get lunch at one of my favorite spots in Fredericksburg – Sammy T’s! It’s a cute little restaurant and bar in the downtown area near University of Mary Washington. They have a vast menu with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, which is the main reason I love it so much. I’ve mentioned it on the blog before, but it was quite a while ago so if you are a new reader I’m sure you missed the post.

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I ordered the Bean and Grain Burger- it was served on a multi-grain roll with their lemon tahini sauce and the standard burger toppings (lettuce, onion, and tomato).

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The burger itself was good, but not the best thing I’ve ordered off their menu so I probably wouldn’t order it again. In case you ever drop in to Sammy T’s, I’d recommend the Ellen Salad, Camper’s Special, or Spinach Foldover – all of which are delicious. Also their lemon tahini sauce is divine. It can’t be too hard to make so I’ll definitely be recreating that at home in the near future.

Isaac ordered a large basket of sweet potato fries for the table, which I was excited about. I’m sure you all know by now that sweet potato fries are something I can’t resist. They’re just so sweet and delicious!

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I really enjoyed these because of their small shoestring cut, plus they were hot straight from the fryer. I devoured my fair share with an ample amount of ketchup, of course.

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I’ve been switching up my breakfast eats lately and today was no different. I ended up having some cottage cheese, 1/2 a banana, and 1/2 an Ezekiel sprouted muffin.

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The muffin was smothered with a bit of my new favorite combo, sun butter and orange marmalade.

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This was such a satisfying and filling meal. I really liked having the three things with different flavors to eat – saltiness from the cottage cheese, and sweetness from the banana and muffin. It was tasty little breakfast!

Can you believe that today is the last day of 2009? This year just went by so quickly. It’s strange but as I grow older the years seem to go by faster and faster- I can’t imagine how fast years are going to go by when I’m 100. They’ll probably seem like minutes. :)

As you know from my last post, Isaac and I were still undecided about what to do for New Year’s eve. Well fear not, because we now have plans. We are going to visit a mutual friend that lives on a farm in Poquoson, VA. We’ll be ringing in 2010 with he and his family down on the farm! I’m unsure what to expect, but I think it will be a grand ol’ time.

I don’t have any New Year’s Resolutions this year. I’ve set them before and I think they do work for some people – the start of a new year is a good time to refocus your goals and look back on the things you’ve accomplished over the past year. I do have some personal goals that I would like to work on in 2010, but for me, if I notice that I need to change something I like to make strides toward changing it right away rather than waiting for a specific day to get started.

Do you have any specific goals for 2010, fill me in by leaving a comment with your resolution!

- Brittany

PS. Be safe and have a HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!!!!

{ 16 comments }

The Tea Spot: Red Rocks

by Eating Bird Food on December 29, 2009

I woke this morning and decided to meet up with an old pal I haven’t seen in a while, Mr. Stove Top Oats.

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This bowl was the standard oatmeal / oatbran combo with 1/2 a banana cooked in and topped with Zaydie’s Almond Blueberry Granola, sunflower seeds and TJ’s Sun butter! It’s funny because all the almonds and blueberries have been picked out of my granola at this point, but it still tastes sweet, nutty and delicious.

In other news, I received the coolest gift for Christmas from one of my best friends who spent the majority of 2009 working in Estes Park. Both items she gave me- a mug and loose leaf tea, were from Colorado.

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I’m a sucker for pretty mugs so I absolutely adored this gift.

And the tea she gave me is from The Tea Spot, a Boulder, CO based company that was founded by a cancer survivor drawn to the health benefits of tea during her recovery. Their line of full leaf teas include organic and Fair-Trade Certified™ estate teas and hand-crafted signature blends. The company is committed to clean, sustainable, and fair manufacturing standards and 10% of every sale is donated in-kind to cancer wellness and community programs.

She got me The TeaSpot Red Rocks, Rooibos Loose Leaf Tea With Vanilla & Almond Bits, as it was a favorite of hers while in CO.

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It’s a caffeine-free, South African red rooibos tea with vanilla, and small pieces of almonds. I love naturally sweet teas and I think it’s so cool that this one has bits of real almonds. The tea is relatively sweet on it’s own but I added a couple drops of SweetLeaf Stevia and the extra sweetness completely enhanced all the flavors. I’m excited to have this tea on hand as it will be perfect when I’m craving something sweet after a meal.

Here’s the description from The Tea Spot website: Our blend of naturally caffeine–free South African red rooibos, vanilla, and almond bits is an herbal delight! Rooibos is full of antioxidants and healthy minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, and fluoride. It has a wonderfully smooth flavor, and is a great cold buster as well as thirst quencher. It brews into a dark red liquor and has a naturally sweet, earthy scent, reminiscent of pipe–tobacco. You cannot over–steep this tea (the longer the better!) and it is fantastic by itself, or with cream and a bit of sweetener. Red Rocks is the perfect, healthy, all-around herbal tea – a favorite amongst athletes and as mom’s choice for children.

I know I’ve seen The Tea Spot Tea at one of the organic grocery stores that I go to but I can’t remember which. From looking at store locations on the website it looks as thought they are in many Whole Food’s locations so that is probably were I have seen these cute little tins before. After trying the Red Rocks flavor and loving it, I’m excited to try out some of the others, particularly the Climber’s High, Holiday Spice Rooibos, and Meditative Mind. They even have one for all you Twilight fans- Organic New Moon Darjeeling. ;)

On a side note, my uncle who was sick passed away. Isaac and I will be attending the viewing tonight, staying the night with my Dad, and attending the funeral tomorrow. With that said, posting may be sporadic.

- Brittany

PS. What are your plans for New Year’s this year? Our plans are still up in the air and we really don’t have many options. Perhaps you all can inspire us with your ideas?!?

{ 21 comments }

Frothy

December 29, 2009

Before leaving the beach house yesterday morning I had a frothy non-fat cappuccino and a bowl of Kashi go lean creamy truly vanilla oats with blueberries. Do you spy my knitting project on the table? I can’t wait to show you all my first “real” knitting project once it’s complete. Any guesses as to what [...]

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Yumminess and Crafts

December 26, 2009

Although the sun wasn’t shining here at the beach today, the day was still full of relaxation, creativity, and deliciousness. I woke up to a gentle hatha yoga sess from yoga download, a non-fat cappuccino, and buckwheat pancakes. Doesn’t get much better than that! Blueberry, almond buckwheat pancakes will pure maple syrup to be exact! [...]

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Happy Shopping Day

December 26, 2009

Christmas morning I awoke to an excited bed buddy ready to open presents. No, not Olive- Isaac! We turned on the Christmas music, made coffee, breakfast and then OPENED the gifts. It was totally fun and Santa did an excellent job this year. The highlights were a stability ball Image source and a DVD to [...]

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Merry Merry Christmas

December 25, 2009

Isaac, Olive, and I have been on a world wind tour over the past few days traveling to see family for the holidays. We stayed at my Dad’s place on Wednesday night after visiting my Uncle at the hospital and then traveled to visit the rest of my family. We stopped for a quick lunch [...]

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