Green Street Smoked Meats

Last week, a group of friends and I decided to get together and grab food/drinks after work. There are a lot of new, interesting and delicious places that are popping up everywhere, but the West Loop seems to keep hitting it right on the mark. If you are unfamiliar with the West Loop of Chicago, it is directly west of the loop (shocker) and is home to some of the best food/restaurants in the city: Au Cheval (known for their incredible bacon cheeseburger), Girl & The Goat/ Little Goat (Stephanie Izard’s famed dish – pig face), Avec (bacon-wrapped dates), The Publican (Serrano Ham and Beer), RM Champagne Salon, Nellcote, The Aviary, … just to name a few 😉

We all decided that we wanted something low-key, but with awesome food and drinks, so Green Street Smoked Meats it was.  I had not yet been to GSSM, but as an avid lover of all things barbecue I was on board.

The first cool thing about this place is that the entrance is in an alley.  An alley that has been transformed into an outdoor eating mecca with communal picnic tables and twinkle lights galore.  When you enter, you are immediately greeted by a bearded staff member who explains the order of events – get in line and pick out your meat/sides, then go to the bar to order your drinks.

(blurry – I was so excited! … but you get the idea)

The smell inside the building was intoxicating and seeing the giant smokers with chefs pulling out delicious, succulent meats almost made me go weak at the knees – how could I decide what to order?!

Since we went right after work, the line went by fast and before I knew it I had decided on pork ribs with a side of potato salad and house made spicy pickles. – I’m literally drooling right now just thinking about it.

We passed by the bar to grab some margaritas and beers and headed outside to snag a table.

Fist of all, the sides were AWESOME.  I could have eaten two containers of the pickles which were not super spicy, but had a good kick from the spice/vinegar combination.  The potato salad was light, not overly dressed with heavy mayo and the potatoes themselves were perfectly cooked – love red-skinned potatoes.

The ribs, oh those ribs.  Do you see that rub?! They were phenomenal.  Juicy and succulent, you bet I took off all that meat straight down to the bone.

I had little bites of other dishes that were around me as well – smoked brisket, broccoli salad, frito pie (oh, yes).  Everything was phenomenal and BONUS under $20!

We took our time eating through our plates, going back up to the bar for a second round and enjoying the beautiful weather.  I’m fairly certain we could have sat there all night if it wasn’t for that dog at home we needed to take care of at home…

If you are ever in Chicago and are looking for a fun place to grab food/drinks, I highly recommend making your way over to the West Loop.   Stroll around, take it all in and wander over to Green Street Smoked Meats for some amazing smoked meats and strong drinks in a causal setting.  You won’t regret it!

Channeling my Inner Olivia Pope

This week is the first week in a very long time in which I don’t have anything scheduled after work except getting some kind of fitness in, cooking and hanging out with Bailey and B.  I’m pretty damn excited about it, too.  Remember the days when your weekends didn’t consist of engagement parties, bachelorette parties, weddings, baby showers?  Yah, me either.

While I love attending all of these events, the busy adult syndrome I have blogged about before has definitely creeped into my life.  This is why I enjoy the little things during the week, like being able to come home veg out on the couch and watch reruns of Gilmore Girls or pouring myself a glass of red wine, popping some popcorn, slipping into some comfy clothes and reading the latest Bon Appetit magazine.

(image source)

Olivia Pope anyone?

This way when the busy weekend rolls around, I feel energized and excited!

A low key week also means a good week for planning out meals and fitness:

Monday – Soccer; Flank Steak with Asparagus

Tuesday – Group Training at DHF; Smoked Sausage, Kale and Cider Quinoa Skillet by Iowa Girl Eats (so excited to make this!!!!)

Wednesday – Run after work; homemade Turkey and Rice Soup

Thursday – Gym in the a.m.; leftover soup and salad

Friday – Rest; Mushroom and Cheddar Quiche

Saturday – I will be at a bachelorette party all day – Brian will be at a bachelor party all day (coincidentally for the other Lindsay and Brian in our lives) 🙂

Sunday – Spin class in the a.m.; Shrimp Fajitas

Last night, I had a soccer game right after work and the craziest thing happened.  It went from 80 degrees to 50 degrees in, I kid you not, and hour.  WE WON! Which was awesome, but when we left the field the wind was going crazy the weather was a changin’ and then these two ladies and their catchy song popped into my head:

Of course, nothing bad happened except the Chiefs killed New England in Monday Night Football and SPOILER ALERT: Castle was kidnapped and doesn’t remember what happened?!  Crazy.

In other totally random news, a couple weeks ago, my coworker who is training for the New York City Marathon told me about all of these runners who have been embracing barefoot running around the city because they believe running in shoes is not good for them.  Last night I saw MY FIRST barefoot runner in Chicago.  I tried to snag a picture but he we too fast and it was too dark.  Damn.

Love and Marriage

Today is just one of those mornings I didn’t want to get out of bed. I wanted to wake up and for it to be Saturday morning all over again. My little sister, Kristan, came in town from Charlotte, North Carolina to celebrate one of our closest family friends getting married.

I haven’t seen my sister since the end of July so to say that I was excited to spend the weekend with her was an understatement.

We brunched, shopped and of course partied.

The wedding ceremony and reception was held at the gorgeous Salvage One venue in Chicago. If you are unfamiliar with this particular spot, it’s a vintage furniture store that they transform on the weekends. All the furniture was eclectically mismatched, but uniquely cool and retro. There were chandeliers of all shapes and sizes hanging from the ceiling and even a pair of old church bells.

My favorite detail, however, was the marquee Chicago sign in the courtyard.

The ceremony was quick, but beautiful. The bride, a lover of all things French, chose classic French bistro music as her background to the ceremony.  The mother and fathers of the bride/groom wrote touching letters addressed to the couple and a Willie Nelson song was even recited before two pronounced their vows.

Everything was beautiful.

I feel extremely fortune to say that I still have friends from when I was in grade school. That we have been through dress up plays, middle school fads, first time love, first time heartbreak and all that there is in between together. All the way to marrying the love of her life… It’s truly special.

Fall Recipe Round-up

Well, kids.

Gone are the days of overworked AC units, humid L rides, crop tops (can I get an amen?) and weekend beach trips. Fall is officially here. While some may be bummed about this realization, I am a true Midwest lady and openly embrace the change of seasons.

My dad is on a mountain bike trip with his buddies in Wisconsin this week and sent this picture to our family last night.

C’mon…it’s gorgeous!

In honor of this significant change in season I’ve decided to round-up a bunch of my favorite fall recipes from different chefs and cooks that will hopefully inspire you to embrace the cooler weather and all it’s glory.

Here we go!

Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad – Smitten Kitchen

This recipe is perfect for bring-to-work lunches and fall potlucks.

Balsamic-Roasted Brussels Sprouts – Ina Garten

I love anything roasted with balsamic vinegar on it.  Perfection.

Potato-Apple Latkes – Cooking Light

I’m a sucker for good Jewish food, and love how easy this recipe is to make at home.

Beef and Butternut Squash Stew – Giada De Laurentiis

I’ve made this recipe for Brian and I on holidays or for a special date night at home.

Honey-Bourbon Toddy – Bon Appetit

Perfect to bring to a tailgate!  Go BEARS!

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas– Skinnytaste

Hellooo Tex-Mex and butternut squash?  Genius combo.

5 Ingredient Breakfast-stuffed Acorn Squash – PaleOMG

Easy, but impressive breakfast.

Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix – Eating Bird Food

My go-to snack to bring on road trips, to work or to gift to friends.

 

Hope you enjoy some of my favorites… go fourth and eat!

Try it out Tuesday – DHF Lakeview

I love trying out new gyms/fitness trends as much as the next person, but as I mentioned last week it is really important for me to be consistent in my fitness routine in order to see results.  Since signing up for the Spartan Race, which is on November 1st, I’ve been looking to find a gym that would really help me develop skills I’ll need for the race.  For a long time I considered joining a local CrossFit box, but wasn’t sure which box to choose and I couldn’t get into the beginners course.

Last week, I attended a new-to-me gym called DHF Lakeview through my ClassPass subscription.  The owner, Dan Hicks, believes in a training philosophy that incorporates 5 building blocks of success in each workout:

1. Functional Movement
2. Strength
3. High Intensity
4. Total Body
5. Always Changing

All of those sounded good to me, so I decided to check it out.

DHF Lakeview is in East Lakeview which is super convenient for me to get to and from (a must for me to continuously go to any gym).  It’s a small studio, I’m talking 900 square feet, but Dan really incorporates every area of the gym into each circuit he creates.

I signed up for a ‘Group Session’ which usually contains about 6 people, but that day we only had 3 – which was awesome – more individual attention.  Dan quickly introduced himself and so did the other two men in my group before we got started.  Our workout started with warming up on the TRX bands – fitness tools I rarely use but truly love.  Most of his warm-up just involved body weight, but when we got into the high intensity circuit, he started to incorporate a lot more weights, kettlebells and a weird looking machine in the corner.

So what was is this machine I’m talking about?

from Ironcompany.com

It’s called Surge Performance Training.  There are so many different exercises you can do with this thing, that I really can’t even explain it in words.  Visit their website to see what I’m talking about – the machine is intense and you literally use your entire body in the different movements.  Loved it.

The circuit moved quickly and we performed all different kinds of movements from rowing, box jumps, squats, lunges, push-ups, the ab workout where your feet are on those moving discs… lots of fun stuff.

Overall, I loved it.  I left a complete sweaty mess, but felt great.  I plan on going to DHF at least 2-3x per week alternating between my running workouts and a yoga class here and there.  Hopefully all of these movements help increase my mobility (my squats suck) and prepare me for the big Spartan Race in November!

What studios or gyms do you incorporate into your fitness routine?

Oh, and p.s. – GO BEARS!

Race for the Cure 5k

This weekend, my college girlfriends and I signed up to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Lombard, IL.  This event was special for two reasons:

1. We are all Zeta Tau Alpha alums and Breast Cancer Awareness is our philanthropy.  In college, we used to charter a large bus to pick us up in Normal, IL (Illinois State University) and drive us to the Race for the Cure event in Chicago.

2. One of our closest friends had this philanthropy hit home when her mother was diagnosed earlier this summer.

Since it’s not always easy to get all of us in the same place for an extended period of time, we decided to make a ‘weekend’ out of it.  My friends and I whom live in the city drove out to the burbs Saturday to hang out with several of our other friends to have a good ol’ fashioned girls sleep over.  Wine, cheese and chick flick movies were all involved.

The next morning we were up bright and early to get to the event by 8:00 a.m and to meet Brian who drove up to participate.  The race start and finish was located in a mall parking lot, which was really the perfect spot because no one is at the mall at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning.  The lot was full of women and men alike dressed to the nines in full out pink.  Pink socks, skirts, homemade pants, boas, ribbons, hats… you name it.  There was a large stage where people were dancing and playing music, getting pumped up for the race and lots of vendors there handing out free goodies.

At 8:30 a.m., the race began!

5k’s are really such fun races.  It’s a long enough distance to get in a good workout, but not too long where I feel like i’m going to pass out.

A lot of the people racing with me were super friendly, giving each other high-fives and screaming out encouraging mantras.  It was an all-around feel good kind of race, especially because you knew that the donations were going towards such a wonderful cause.

The course took us out of the mall parking lot and into the surrounding neighborhood.  It was a pretty perfect day to go running except for a few strong gusts of wind here and there.  I wasn’t complaining though 😉

I had an awesome time running the race.  Surprisingly, the cheese and wine combo from the night before was not hindering my stride and I ended up running a pretty decent race!  I didn’t PR my 5k time, but I did place 3rd in my age group which was pretty neat.

Of course, there were really only 50 people in my age group… but I’ll still take it!

After the race, we hung out for a while.  Enjoyed roaming the tents eating fresh watermelon, coffee and donuts.

Check out these amazing watermelon carvings!  The man who created these did them live so you could watch him make one from start-to-finish.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday.  I love my college friends so much and am so glad we continue to stay best friends even though 4 years has already passed since we got to live carelessly at our old stomping grounds.

 

How to stick to your fitness routine

Hello Hello!

Last week, my company wrapped up our 60-Day fitness challenge.  The event was a success!  We had over 50 employees stay committed during the entire challenge and some of our employees saw amazing results (I’m talking over 8% body fat loss and several inches off their waist and hips).

The question that now burns deeply in all of our minds is… now what?  Well, we have a major product release and user conference coming up in less than a month, so our kFit program is taking a breather so people don’t feel overwhelmed.

The answer: get into a routine as quickly as possible.

Staying active, staying motivated and staying in great shape is all about routine and consistency.  For some, the kFit 60 Day Challenge was the first consistent program they had followed in several years.  All I gotta say is DON’T BREAK THE HABIT!  Here are some helpful tips on how to maintain an active lifestyle.

1.  Join. Join. Join. Join.

Join a gym, box, running club, studio, or league.  Join something that is going to help you stay consistent a couple days out of the week.  Currently, I belong to a gym, play on a coed soccer team Monday nights and joined the ClassPass program so I can find out what types of fitness studios I really enjoy.  I love love love HIIT conditioning and using heavy weights to build my strength.  I was so happy to find that by joining ClassPass I was able to find a HIIT studio winner … more on that later.

2.  Mark your calendar.

Nothing holds me as accountable as creating a calendar of my weekly workouts and posting it somewhere public.  If I come home early and Brian see’s that I have a 5 mile run written down, he won’t let me sit on the couch and blow it off.

3.  Find a buddy!

One of my favorite things about our 60-Day challenge was the fact that it was group training.  We all supported each other, did the same damn bear crawls together and we were engaged and excited to be there.  If you can find a friend, spouse, significant other who wants to be just as committed to an active lifestyle as you, it will make your fitness routine that much more fun!  Hell, maybe you will find someone through joining a studio or league.  Cough cough. Do it.

4.  Measure yourself.

When you take your hip, waist and body fat measurements and re-evaluate yourself every month, it really shows how much effort and commitment you are putting into your routine.  The body fat % scale does not lie, folks…

5.  Make it fun!

Don’t run every day if you freaking hate running!  Do activities that you truly enjoy and will make you go back and do it again.  I can’t tell you how awesome it is to try out new fitness classes (spin, barre, conditioning, strength, pilates, yoga, CrossFit) and find something you truly become passionate about.

Now that I’ve given my little rant, let’s hold myself accountable – shall we?

This weeks workouts:

Sunday – 60 minute spin class/body pump at GO Cycle.

Monday – Soccer.  (I got a stomach bug this night and only played half a game, but it’s better than nothing!)

Tuesday – 3.2 mile run.

Wednesday – 60 minute conditioning class at my new favorite… DHF Lakeview! (Again, more on that later).

Today – 4 mile run.

Friday – Rest.

Saturday – 45 minute spin class at Go Cycle

Now go out there and get. it. done.

Quick Beef Bourguignon with Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Tis’ the season for soups, stews, french oven meals and cast iron dishes.  If you’re like me, and have a 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. day job, there is not enough time in the day to make a decadent dish that takes 3 hours.  I too love home cooked meals after a long day at work, so I’m always surfing food websites for ideas on how to cook quick week-night meals.  After having a serious craving for Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon recently, I decided to come up with a quicker version that wouldn’t have me bent over the stove for half the day.

Quick Beef Bourguignon with Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. beef tenderloin; cubed into 2-inch pieces
• 1 oz package of mushrooms; quartered
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. fresh chopped thyme
• 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
• 2 tbs. water
• 2 tbs. flour
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tbs. butter, divided
• 1 tbs. tomato paste
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

1.  Fill a large pot with water, place sweet potatoes in them cover and boil over medium-high heat.  Cook for 10 minutes or until fork tender.  Drain the potatoes and keep them in the pot to stay warm.

2.  Using a paper towel, pat the cubed beef pieces dry and season with salt and pepper.

3.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tbsp. butter to melt, then add beef cubes and brown on each side – about 3-4 minutes.  Remove beef from pan and set aside.

4.  Add mushrooms to pan and cook until brown – about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and thyme and cook for 1 more minute.  Add tomato paste and wine and cook until liquid is reduced to half.  Be sure to scrap all the brown bits off the pan and stir to combine.

5.  After liquid has reduced, add beef broth and bring to a boil.

6.  In a separate small bowl, combine the water and flour.  Whisk together and add to the pan.  Cook for 2 minutes – stirring constantly.  Add beef back to pan and cook until desired doneness.

7.  Add remaining butter to sweet potatoes along with almond milk, salt and pepper.  Mash together until light and fluffy.

8.  Serve beef and sauce over mashed sweet potatoes.  Sprinkle with fresh thyme and enjoy!

Seriously nothing better than a home cooked meal.  🙂

 

Beer, Workout, Eat, Repeat.

Hi, friends!

This weekend was an interesting one to say the least… and as I type up this post the Bears are off to a piss poor start, so let’s hope that changes by the time I’m done here.

Friday after work, a group of friends and I had tickets to go to the ‘Lions, Tigers and Brews’ beer festival at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  If you live in Chicago, then you know Friday was just an awful, awful day to be outside.  It was 55 degrees, windy and rainy.  Yuck.  I had a sweater and leather jacket on, but that really was not enough to block the piercing wind while holding a cold beer.  Needless to say, the “festival” was very short lived for me and my crew.  We managed to snag about 3 or 4 beers (the lines were outrageous considering the weather), and visited the lions.

He was the best part of the fest.

The low-key Friday was okay by me because we had ANOTHER beer festival to go to on Saturday, and luckily this one was indoors 🙂

The Chicago Beer Festival was held on Saturday in the Great Hall at Union Station.  There were two sessions you could attend and my friends and I choose the 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. time slot.  Day drinking at it’s finest.

The Great Hall is huge and there were at least 50 different breweries at the event.  Including:

• Lagunitas Brewing
• 3 Sheeps Brewing Co.
• Summit Brewing Co.
• Dark Horse Brewing Co.
• Off Color Brewing
• Finch’s Beer Co.
• Atlas Brewing Company
• Penrose Brewing Company
• Founders Brewing
• Rogue
• Transient Artisan Ales
• Local Option
• Bell’s
• Upland Brewing Co.

… and so much more.

Upon entering the event, we received our ‘tasting’ mugs, which were actually a really decent size for tasting pours!

We took our time pretty much sampling every vendor.  I sampled all kinds of IPA’s, Saisons, Porter’s, Cider’s, etc.

My favorites from the day were:

• P.2 Pale Ale from Penrose Brewing Company
• Really Cool Waterslides IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing
• Crooked Tree IPA from Dark Horse BRewing
• Rasberry Ale from Dark Horse Brewing
• en Seine Pearis Saison from Bucket List Brewing

So yummy!  We had an absolute blast at the event – it’s always fun to go with such a great group of people!

After our 4 hours were up, we were HUNGRY (and severely buzzed) so food was in order.  We headed over the Haymarket Brewery, because clearly we had no had enough beer yet, and ate some delicious pizza.

After that Brian and I headed home to let Bailey out and uhhhhh pass out.  🙂

I was up bright and early Sunday morning to immediately start working off all of the beer/pizza that was in my body.

First, a long morning walk with Bailey.

Then, a spin/pump class at Go Cycle courtesy of my ClassPass subscription.  The class I signed up for was called ‘Go Pump’ and was 40 minutes of cycling followed by 20 minutes of weights.  Go Cycle is not just a spin studio, they have lots of other combo classes such as:

• Go Core: 30 minutes of cycling followed by 20 minutes of core
• TRX Training
• TRX Express
• Go Yo: 40 minutes of cycling followed by 20 minutes of yoga
• Go Ripped: Alternating intervals of cycling and weights

My instructor was Sara B. and she was AWESOME!  High energy, tons of fun… she even danced during some songs!  I absolutely loved the class.  I left SUPER sweaty and my booty was on fiiirreee.  I will definitely be going back and can’t wait to try out all the other different types of classes.

Welp, the Bears still aren’t doing good, but it’s only the 2nd quarter.  Here’s hoping they big home the W!

 

 

ClassPass – Fitness at your fingertips

Last week, when I returned from my wild and wonderful vacation, I was offered the opportunity to attend the ClassPass launch party at Flywheel spin studio in the Gold Coast.  ClassPass is a fitness start up that helps people find fitness classes that they love. For $99 a month, you get 10 classes you can use to visit any studio that you want. Some of these studios include:

• Pure Barre
• 105F Bikram
• Atlas Performance
• Bar Method
• Chicago Kettlebell Club
• DHF Lakeview
• Exhale Chicago
• Go Cycle Studio
• South Loop Crossfit
• Core Chicago Pilates
• … and so much more!

Most studios have two or three locations around Chicago, so you can find a class that is close to where you live or where you work.  Currently, ClassPass is available in Chicago, Boston, New York, L.A. and San Francisco.

When I arrived at the launch party, I was informed that the spin class I was supposed to attend was already full!  I’m not going to lie, I was really bummed and a little annoyed until they handed me a sweet swag bag and offered me a free ClassPass monthly trial.

Ummm, okay!  (p.s. not the biggest fan of the hashtag, but the tank top and water bottle are super cute)

Last night, I attended my first class of the month – Pure Barre in Lakeview.

I’ve heard a lot about barre classes and have actually attended one a while back, but knew there was a lot of hype surrounding this specific studio.  I was excited to try something new and nervous at the same time because I knew a lot of the moves require flexibility, and that is just an area I do not excel in 🙂

When I got to the studio, I was immediately greeted by one of the instructors.  The first thing she asked me was, “Is this your first time at Pure Barre?”  A little embarrassed to admit it I replied “yes” and was immediately glad to hear I was not the only one.  The instructor took me around the studio and introduced me to the instructor who would be leading the class.  They showed me what types of equipment I would need and a little bit of what to expect throughout the class.  I was very impressed with how nice and helpful everyone was.

Since the instructors did a good job of engaging me, I decided to go ahead and buy a pair of their signature socks (yes, I’m a sucker for new fitness stuff).

I loved all the fun colors I got to choose from and have to admit that they class would have been a lot harder without them.  The grips on the bottom help you grip to the carpet so you aren’t sliding around during the workout.

Once the class started, I noticed that I guessed the correct attire to wear to class.  Lies – I Google imaged ‘Pure Barre” and saw that everyone in class was wearing some sort of tights and a tank.  I’m a nerd.

Now to the fun part – the class itself.  It was definitely challenging in a way that will probably have an awesome effect on my abs and thighs, but it’s not one of those classes that you leave completely drenched in sweat… unless I was doing everything wrong.

Everything is done in little movements and high repetitions.  After 2 minutes of making the same small, controlled motion you definitely start to feel it… and may even start to shake!  “Shaking is changing”, or so they say!

The class moved at a very fast pace so that I never really got bored or lost focus.

Overall, I had a lot of fun and will definitely go again.  I may, however, pair the class with a run outside or some other type of cardio because I felt like I needed something else to round out the workout.

I’ve already mapped out the other classes I want to try through ClassPass at other studios that are close to me.  I’m really excited to try new things and find out if there is something else out there I could add to my regular routine.

I’ll be sure to let you all know how the rest of my ClassPass experience goes… stay tuned!