After my dress fitting and bit of bridal shop browsing, Jen’s sister and cousins joined us for lunch. I don’t think that the rest of the bridesmaid’s quite understood the concept of my blog – I guess photographing food does seem a little odd Anywayyy, we drove around Doylestown a little bit before settling on the Cross Keys Diner for lunch. The diner was located in what seemed to be an old house – loved the cute wooden porch!

Behind the counter, the day’s specials were listed on a chalkboard.  Cute!

I was hungry for some hearty diner food, so I ordered the Vegetarian Rachel sandwich. It contained two slices of rye bread with swiss cheese, sauerkraut, onions, and tomato stuffed in the middle. The bread was buttered and the sammy was grilled until everything inside was hot and the outside was crispy. It was good, but a little bit greasy! But I guess that’s to be expected at a diner I enjoyed the pickles that were served alongside, but passed on the chips. I’m a big french fry fan, but for some reason I’ve never liked potato chips all that much.

The soon-to-be maid of honor, Jess, ordered the grilled chicken salad. Don’t all those veggies look so fresh and colorful? I was very impressed with the quality of this salad!

Jen ordered a classic diner breakfast. I like that she eats her eggs with ketchup! My philosophy is: the more ketchup, the better! Plus ketchup (and all cooked tomato products) contain a healthy dose of lycopene. Lycopene is a phytochemical (a carotenoid to be exact!) that is thought to prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration). Yum!

The bride’s side of the bridal party: Joe (brideman), Adrienne (bridesmaid), Jen (the bride!), Krissy (bridesmaid), Jess (maid of honor), and me (bridesmaid)! I think I have a mouth full of gum in this photo. Oops!

The wedding isn’t until next June, but the next year should be full of fun planning! I’m already plotting bachelorette party activities

After we arrived back in Wilkes-Barre, I headed up to the mall for one of my favorite treats: chocolate covered frozen banana! I ordered my banana dipped in dark chocolate, peanut butter, and rolled in peanuts. It was very decadent, but at least the banana counts as a fruit! I enjoyed my banana as I walked around the mall and Target.

My chocolate peanut banana snack kept me full until about 8 o’clock when it was time for dinner. I offered to cook dinner for my family and corn on the cob, turkey burgers with tomatoes, onions, and cheese were on the menu. I enjoyed my turkey burger on 1/2 toasted whole grain bun. With lots of ketchup for dipping, of course! I used Jen and Jesse’s Ranch Turkey Burgers for inspiration. I mixed a pound of  lean ground turkey breast with some diced raw onions and 1/2 packet of ranch dip seasoning. I formed 4 patties and cooked them on the George Forman grill. Topped with cheese and veggies, they passed my family’s taste test! Or so they told me

After dinner, I went to see The Hangover with some friends. It was a very funny movie. If you’re looking to laugh non-stop for 90 minutes, I highly recommend it!

When I arrived home, it was after midnight and I was in need of a midnight snack: yogi detox spice tea and a piece of buttered cinnamon swirl toast. Mmm.

Sunday was a bit hectic, so I’m just posting the highlights! After a solid 9 hours of sleep, I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee on the back porch. I sat in the sun and it was a great way to start the day! For breakfast I chowed down on 1/2 cantaloupe filled with a Stonyfield Oikos greek yogurt (vanilla), and a Kashi crunchy almond granola bar.

After I digested a bit, I grabbed an icy cold water bottle and set off on a brisky 40 minute walk. My leg was feeling a little stiff and achey and I didn’t want to push it by running two days in a row. When I returned home, I stretched and did 3 x 10 single leg squats, lunges, push-ups, tricep dips, and abs. Pheww! I was one sweaty girl afterwards. The next few hours were a whirlwind of showering, packing, and driving, so I forgot to take photos of lunch and snacks, but check out these peanut butter truffle brownies that I made. I made these this weekend so I could share with my family. Otherwise, I might be tempted to eat all of them myself!

After sitting in bumper to bumper traffic near the GW Bridge for nearly 2 hours (uggghhhh), I finally arrived home and unpacked the car. It was already 9pm and I was starving! I threw together a quick salad of lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and egg salad. To make the egg salad I mixed 2 chopped egg whites and 1 chopped egg with 1 Tbs mayo, 1 tsp mustard, and S & P. Quick and easy!

In other news, I’m headed to the Healthy Living Blogger Summit in Boston August 14-15. Woo hoo! The event is sponsored by some of one favorite companies (Stonyfield Farm yogurt!). On the agenda:

On Friday, August 14, the 125 attendees will be treated to an amazing ice-breaker cocktail party at a swanky Boston restaurant.

On Saturday, August 15, attendees will attend a day-long “conference” with tons of fun activities, product taste tests, informational speakers, and more. The day includes a Stonyfield and Mix My Granola breakfast bar, a lovely lunch, and a PM snack.

Plus we’ll be getting a swag bag from the summit sponsors(Stonyfield Farm, Zesty Cook, Food Buzz, Mix My Granola, Barney Butter, Amy’s Kitchen, Amazing Grass, Vega Foods, Pro Bar, Nanny’s Cucina, Oh! Nuts, and Pom Wonderful).

Hooray, I can’t wait to meet other food and fitness bloggers and spend a weekend in Boston!

 Hope your return to the work week is a good one