Simple Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Hey!! It's almost Friday, which means it's almost time for Tampa RiverFest! 

All my giveaways for the 3 different events have ended and winners started being announced last night! 

I'm so excited that I can share the love and fun (Thanks to the Tampa Bay Bloggers) with you all! With so much going on and a way to spread the love even more, I FINALLY created a Facebook page this this little blog. That means go LIKE IT! :) 

Speaking of social media, if you follow me on Instagram, you know I have some wonderful plants growing in the backyard, and that I made this delicious eggplant last week using our very own eggplants! See how much you miss when you don't follow on Instagram?! :)

I have truly enjoyed growing all the vegetables and fruits that I want on my TowerGardens, and the best part is that my girls enjoy it just as much as me!

I honestly think they devoured this Eggplant Parmesan (2 servings!) due to them picking it themselves! Isn't that neat?!

This recipe received many compliments at the dinner table, and even though it takes awhile to make, it was worth every minute and every 5 second interruption. 

Eggplant Parmesan

What you’ll need:

5 small eggplants OR 2-3 large
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 eggs
⅔ cup almond milk
4 cups whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
28 oz of your favorite simple marinara sauce (In a hurry, I use La FamigliaDelGrosso brand)
8 oz. reduced fat sliced provolone
1½ cups shredded Italian cheese blend
Cooking Spray

What you do:

Preheat oven to 400.
Cut off top/stem of eggplant and slice lengthwise into ¼ in pieces.
Prepare 3 bowls for breading eggplant.
Place flour in 1st bowl, beat eggs and milk in 2nd bowl, and the crumbs in the 3rd bowl.
Dip each eggplant slice in flour, egg, and then crumbs. Make sure each piece of fully coated in each bowl.(This is a great step for kids to help!)
Place eggplant on greased baking sheets. (I used 3 baking sheets)
Lightly spray eggplant pieces with a coat of cooking oil spray.
Bake for 12 minutes, flip and bake another 8 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.

In a lasagna/cake pan, cover bottom with 1 cup sauce.
Place eggplant in a single layer, making sure there is little overlap.
Spoon more sauce on top and then layer with provolone slices.
Top with eggplant, then sauce, and provolone again.
Top with rest of the eggplant, sauce, and the shredded Italian cheese blend.
Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes.
Take out of oven and ENJOY after slightly cooled!

XOXO


**Giveaway winners**
Congrats to Jenny @ MetamorFIT on winning 2 FREE registrations to the Cigar City Fun Run!
Congrats to Chelsea Lund & Kristi Griffith on winning 2 FREE General Admission tickets to the Tampa Bay Bloody Mary Festival!
An email is headed your way!

Race Recap: ColorMeRad5k

*As a member of Tampa Bay Bloggers, I received complimentary registrations to the ColorMeRad5k event mentioned in this post in exchange for social media love and this recap review. As always, all opinions are my own.*

Two weekends ago I put a team together of friends to run the ColorMeRad5k here in Tampa.

After going through the website looking at pictures and sending them to my friends, I was so excited to run the ColorMeRad5k with my friends and kids! Actually walk...not run. 

I knew I wasn't going to run this race because

1. It's not timed so what's the point? :)

2. I wanted my kids to have the option of not sitting in the stroller

3. My friends, who are not "runners", were gracing me with their presence. 

Being my first color run I envisioned color bombs going off everywhere, having a blast and crossing the finish line looking like a tie dyed mess! 

This is how it went:

Our start time was 9:10 and when we walked up to the starting area there wasn't much going on. We were the 2^nd to last group to start so maybe that’s why it was so lackluster? We must have missed the excitement. Just a guy on a microphone, talking about the colors packs and gels, letting small crowds thru the start line every 5 minutes or so. 

Side note: My pregnant friend went up for a water while we were standing around in the heat and got turned down...what?! I know the volunteers were probably told not to give out water before the race but come on! Have some common sense when you see an obviously pregnant women standing in the heat asking for water. 

Before starting, Sophia and Kennedy got comfortable in the double stroller pushed by Angelo, and Harper went into the other stroller pushed by Katie. That left Nelps in my arms. She was not having it with the stroller that morning and so I thought "ok, she'll for sure walk some of this course...right?" 

The short trek from the start to the first color, yellow, was so empty and kind of a early buzzkill for the run. I was trying to scope out how the course went and didn't see much going on. Where were the huge color explosions?! And the heat...Thank goodness the second half of the course was shaded! 

Once we got to the color station, we quickly realized that if you weren't walking right by the color throwers on the outsides, you would come out of the color station perfectly clean.

At some stations the color bombers were SITTING DOWN! You had to stop, get color thrown on you, and then proceed.

Angelo, Chad, and Katie ran ahead of us to keep the girls occupied in the strollers. We saw them on the course about half way through and the stroller was completely color bombed with orange and the girls looked like they were having too much fun in that stroller!

At one color station Alisha walked right in front of a color thrower to get color bombed. He looked at her face, looked at her belly, and went "bam! Color bombed to the boobs!" This gave us a good laugh! 

On the last color station before the finish line I was irritated that some people weren't all tie-dyed and skittle-like. So I ran up to the box of colored corn starch and color bombed people on my own! Was this allowed? Probably not, but at that point I wasn't about to take an “after picture” with people still resembling Mr. Clean.

Action shot towards the finish line!

All in all, I think the run was OK. And I'm probably writing all this still thinking about my aching arm from holding Nelpe the entire time. 

Tip: Don't carry an 18 month old child through a 5k run.

BUT, would I do it again? Yeah, why not? :)

After Pictures

XOXO

Tampa RiverFest 2015 Weekend

If you saw my last Giveaway Post for the Cigar City (Fun)Run, (<--Clicky if you haven't) then you know this weekend in Downtown Tampa is kind of a big deal with so many activities going on! Activities for the young and young at heart!

Keep reading to see what's happening this weekend in Tampa and so many chances to win free entries!

Saturday, May 2nd & 3rd

Tampa Downtown Carnival! Experience an urban city carnival!

Hours: Saturday 10:00am - 10:00pm / Sunday 10:00am - 6:00pm

Classic carnival games & rides

Food, music, drinks, and fun for the whole family!

Sound like fun?! 

I am sharing 4 WEEKEND Unlimited ride Wristbands! ($100 value)

Want them?!  There is a GIVEAWAY post on my NEW Facebook page! Like It & Enter!

Sunday, May 3rd:

Cigar City Fun Run - This 2 mile fun run starts at 10:00 a.m at The Pier at Cotanchobee Park. 

Click the link and comment on the previous post to enter for 2 FREE registrations! ($70 value)

Bloody Mary Festival - Enjoy unlimited samples of the best bloody mary concoctions from Tampa's best restaurants. Then vote(or die) for the best to win an award! 

If you're not a Bloody Mary fan, don't you worry! There will be mimosas (my favorite), and brunch foods from your favorite restaurants like Datz, Boca, Acropolis, and Ellas for purchase! 

Sound like your drink of choice?! 

Comment on THIS POST and tell me where your favorite Tampa Brunch spot is to WIN 2 General Admission Tickets to Sunday's Tampa Bloody Mary Fest. ($70 value)
*Giveaway closes on 04/29 at midnight. Winner announced in 04/30 post.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED

*As a member of Tampa Bay Bloggers, I received complimentary registrations to all Tampa RiverFest events mentioned in this post.in exchange for social media and blog love.All opinions are my own.

Family Disney Weekend

Hey y'all!

This weekend was a DISNEY weekend! All last week we had a little countdown going with Sophia and every morning she'd wake up and say "How many more days till Disney?!" 

The weekend finally came and off we went to the happiest place on earth...

Can't you feel the excitement?! Obviously Sophia was a little more into it than Nelps was. But they both still had fun! 

We had originally planned to take a Disney vacation when Sophia got out of school, but that falls on Memorial Day weekend and going to Disney on a holiday weekend is something I would never want to do. 

Our hotel: Hyatt Grand Cypress Hotel 
I can't say better things about this hotel It's about a mile outside of Disney and has so much to do! We've stayed here the past 3 times we came to Disney and I don't know if I'll ever stray from it (maybe...). They have gorgeous pools (multiple) with a slide, waterfalls, and rope bridge, a little beach with paddle boarding, canoes, sailboats, etc., biking and running trails, and probably the best Cucumber Collins drink and quesadillas I've ever had.  That's not even the whole list, but now you know why I absolutely love this hotel in Orlando. Kid Friendly Mania and I think Nelp's enjoyed the pool more than Disney...sad but true at that age. 

Disney Parks: 
Animal Kingdom- I was really excited for this since I had never been. The first thing we did when the park opened was head straight to the back of the park to get in line for Kilimanjaro Safaris and I'm glad we did! We waited maybe 10 minutes to do the safari and once we got back, the wait time had already gone to 110 minutes! Isn't that NUTS?! So, now you know when to do the Kilimanjaro Safari. We got fast passes for Finding Nemo Musical, It's Tough to be a Bug, and Festival of Lion King. 

People were telling us that It's Tough to be a Bug was dark and maybe too scary for the girls. So we nixed that one and went to Finding Nemo. Kennedy and Nelps fell asleep while Sophia seemed to enjoy it. We started walking around the park to see some animals and had another two hours before Lion Kind fastpass. It was hot, and waiting hours to see the Lion King show didn't seem like something we wanted to do. So we left the park and went to the hotel pool. Best decision of the day!

Magic Kingdom
If you have kids until the age of 4, Magic Kingdom is really the place to be! They have so many rides that the whole family can do together with no height requirements. There are a good amount with height requirements, but still enough for us to do to pack an entire day.

It's a Small World Ride

Prince Charming Regal Carousel

It was an over all great weekend at Disney! 

Exhausting and hot but good fun! 

The lines weren't too long for anything on Sunday at Magic Kingdom, so FastPasses weren't really needed except for Meeting Princesses, Peter Pan, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Everything else had a 10-30 minute wait. 

It rained later in the afternoon while we were in TomorrowLand and I think that cleared out some people. 

I hope you all had a great weekend with friends and family!! Here's to a productive week until the next one!

XOXO

Some of My Favorite Things EVER!

Happy Friday y'all! 

It's a beautiful day over here and what better way to start your Friday than with a trip to Target? To answer my own question: I don't know! :)

Some of my favorite activities have reappeared in my life this week and so it just makes sense to make them my FRIDAY FAVES!

Outdoor running. 
Wednesday, on Earth Day, we took a six mile run outside. It was sweaty and glorious! Ever since we moved, we do most of our running on the dreaded treadmill. At first we tried to get a long outdoor run in at least once a week, but then our weekends have been crazy booked and it slowly started becoming an every 2-3 week thing. I can't express enough how much I LOVE running outside and running around new areas and scenery. It just needs to become a priority in our life because it's seriously like a little therapy session for me. My mind clears and it's so calming! No thinking..just running!

Cooking.
I finally got in the kitchen yesterday and boy did I...I spent a whole 3 hours baking and making food! That actually seems like an entire lifetime when kids interrupt you every couple seconds. I made Gluten Free Zucchini muffins and Eggplant Parmesan. I'll be posting the recipes this coming week! 

Faves On The Web:
Full House Reunion?! Stop!

Tampa Made This List!

Just Adorable 

Hope you all have an amazing weekend!!

XOXO

Join me: Cigar City River(Fun) Run

May 2nd and 3rd is going to be a weekend to remember in downtown Tampa.  The Downtown Carnival, Cigar City RiverRun, and Bloody Mary Festival will all be packed into this gigantic RiverFest weekend! You don't want to miss it! And You don't have to! ;)

I will have many giveaways between now and Monday for FREE entries into these lively events! 

Let's get the fun started now!

Since I'm a runner, you know I'm SUPER excited for the The Inaugural Cigar City Brewing Tampa River (FUN) Run! 

It's a 2 mile course along the brand new, beautiful Tampa Riverwalk on the Riverfront in downtown Tampa! 

This run is perfect for just about everyone! Since it's 2 miles long, it's going to be fun for runners and "non-runners" of all kinds. Plus you get to enjoy a Cigar City Beer at the end! #local 

Along with that tasty, cold beer, you'll receive a RiverRun T-shirt (who doesn't love all race shirts?!), and a beer opener medal to show off you're accomplishment AND open someone's beer...because you have manners.

Sound like fun? Wanna do it?! Let's do it!

I am sharing 2 FREE Registrations for the FunRun on May 3rd! 

For a chance to win: Comment on this post and let me know the last race you did OR if this will be your first!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED. :)

XOXO

A Week Of Nothing; 10 Things You Can Do Without Plans

When you're a mother with young kids, every day is different. And it's only different because that's the way you make it. 

I'm guilty of packing our calendars with play dates, lunch dates, appointment's, etc. and it actually ends up with me getting a tad overwhelmed. If I feel this way, do my kids?!

Recently I started thinking about Summer and "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE GOING TO DO?!" entered my mind. I started thinking about summer camp, weekend getaways, what kind of annual passes we have, and all other things moms think about when Summer starts peaking around the corner. 

Then I thought, how about we just make a week of NOTHING! Doesn't that sound nice?Sometimes you have to wipe your calendar clean and keep it that way for a few days. It's good for both you and the kids. They don't need constant zoo trips, lunch dates to eat french fries, or pool days. Those are all super fun but it's easy to get burnt out. 

When I don't have anything on the calendar for a day and someone asks me what I'm doing, I quickly say "Nothing". As in "nothing, so don't ask me to do anything."

But am I really doing nothing? Days with "no plans" means I can do things that I need/want to get done. 

10 Things You Can Do Without Plans

1. Get random hours of work done. To me, this means going to the office and entering data into Quickbooks and/or balancing bank accounts. If the girls are with me at the office they are either destroying the office, watching tv, or eating all the office snacks.

2. Clean up the house a little bit more. Pick up toys and put them in their designated toy binds, clean yogurt stains off the couch, and tiny hand prints off glass doors. 

3. Do some laundry; get that load of laundry finally out of the dryer, hang up that pile of clothes over there, or  put the clothes away in the correct drawers.

4. Actually make dinner, or cook a meal that doesn't consist of mac-n-cheese or something out of the crockpot (although always very tasty).

5. Sit down.

6. Snuggle, make funny faces, play airplane, and giggle on the floor. 

7. Catch up on Scandal or other shows taking up all my DVR space while the girls "cook" me cupcakes and soup in their play kitchen.

8. Go outside and play in the backyard with the dogs. Blow bubbles or paint the porch with chalk. 

9. Have a picnic in the backyard. Nothing formal. Just grab a towel, water, and pretzels and go sit in the backyard. 

10. Pop popcorn and watch a movie. OR, clean out the fridge and pantry while the kids are mesmerized by a Disney classic. :)

All these might sound like plans, but this is all stuff you can do without making plans! Isn't it great? 

What is your favorite thing to do when you don't have plans?

XOXO

Tuesday Thoughts

Welcome to this week's edition of...

Tuesday Thoughts:

The Boston Marathon was yesterday #MarathonMonday and I absolutely LOVED reading and watching all the incredible stories about some of the runners.How inspiring are these individuals, along with so many others?! Wow! 
Final Runner
Survivor Crosses Finsih Line

I feel like I haven't cooked a meal in weeks! It's actually been since Thursday, which is incredibly long for me! The weekends get so busy that take out is the only sane option, and then plans get made during the week (which I'm kind of against), but that's life sometimes and when friends want to catch up, most of the time, you need to go catch up! It's just one of those weeks that isn't slowing down.

I hate it when you open up a package that is supposed to be resealable, and totally ruin the seal while you open it. I let out a "dammit!" when that happens. #FirstWorldProblems

You don't realize stuff until it changes. Little things. Like really little. And I'm talking about grocery store layouts. The closest Publix to us now, after the move, is different than the Publix I used to frequent while living at our old house. I'm NOT liking the Publix I go to now. Even though it's bigger, I miss my old smaller Publix and knowing exactly where everything was. The current Publix is also a lot busier and food items are so picked over. Can you believe there has been NO strawberries the past two times I've gone grocery shopping?! The horror! #FirstWorldProbelms 

I hope you all have a great Tuesday and stay dry Tampa!

XOXO

Boating Lessons & Weekend Recap

Hey guys!!

Happy Monday! I actually feel some what rested on this Monday, even after a day out on the boat. I went to sleep earlier than usual last night (around 9 pm) and woke up before my alarm (husband) woke me up.

The weekend was filled with colorful runs, house planning (never ending), and boating. 

Friday night was super low-key since Angelo had a soccer game. I went to Panera to pick up dinner and was drawn to their new "Broth bowls". I got the Soba Nooble bowl with Edamame. It was tasty! This meal doesn't look like a Panera meal, does it?!

Saturday we woke up early to go to the ColorMeRad5k! It was a great time and look for a Race Recap post later this week!

Sunday we woke up early AGAIN and headed out for a boating day! We all didn't even think about checking the marine forecast (dummies) and the winds were outrageous! We made it to Eggmont Key and were waiting for fellow boaters to show up. A text came through saying none of them were going out there because the chop was too much. I guess we were the only adventurers? to actually go there. The island was almost empty and after sighting an almost capsized boat, we called it a day and slowly made our way back to dock. 

Over the past year or so we've learned many many lessons about boating due to trial and error. So boating lesson of the day is to check marine forecast before every boat trip...any winds over 10 mph is not what we want. 

It was still a good time!

I hope you all day a wonderful weekend!

XOXO

Happy Anniversary to us!

Hey y'all! TGIF!
First, did you watch Scandal last night?! Oh..em..gee! 

Onward..

I'm going to dedicate this Friday Faves post to my husband and our 7 year wedding anniversary! We got married on April 19, 2008 at Tradewinds Resort on St.Pete beach. 

The years go by and we keep building this wonderful life together. We have so much to be thankful for and still so much life ahead of us! 

Every year gets better as we discover more things to love about each other, grow our amazing family, and strengthen our bond that defines forever! 

Cheers to my wonderful husband and our relationship! :)

Other Friday Faves...Because it's the blog law :)

Avocado Toast! This has been breakfast two days this week and it's so simply delicious!! Super healthy and filling too :) Just a piece of toast with a mashed up avocado on top. Salt & peppered to taste.

Margaritas! Who doesn't love margs?! I splurged and ordered one on Wednesday night at Hablo Taco in Channelside. They remind me of Summer, sun, and fun!

Sentimental Coffee Cups? The other day I made myself a coffee in this cup. You're like "whats the big deal?!" WELL, when I was sitting there drinking it, it dawned on me that I bought MY mom this cup like 15 years ago! And now I'm a mom, using it. Is that corny? This post is all about corny!  :) Makes you sit and look back on life for the few seconds before your child drives a toy lawn mower into your shins. 

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!! We will be running the ColorMeRad 5K Saturday, boat day on Sunday, and taking the weekend a little further with anniversary celebrating on Monday!

XOXO

Salad Toppings for the Not So Basic

Since the beginning of March, I think I've had salad almost every day. Between the parents and I, there are 5 tower gardens in the backyard. This means there is an abundance of lettuce and other vegetables growing faster than we can eat them right now. Good problems to have. 

Salad is like yogurt and oatmeal, in the sense that you can basically top it with anything you're feeling at the moment and not feel like you're eating the same thing day after day. 

What does an average salad consist of? I'm going to go with the three main ingredients of a salad. Lettuce. Tomato. Cucumber. With just those three vegetables, you have your basic salad. Real basic. So, let's not be so basic and... 

Add EXTRA to Your bowl of Basic

1. Nuts 
Perfect for an extra crunch! Almonds, walnuts, and pecans not only give your salad life but they are packed with heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids. To be extra fancy, you can roast the nuts before putting on your salad.

2. Seeds
Pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, or sesame seeds add texture and protein!


3. Roasted Chickpeas
I call these veggie croutons. Drain, wash, and dry a can of chickpeas. Spread on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 400. Season with salt and whatever other season you'd like. 

4. Fruits. 
While you can add dried fruit or candied fruits, those are usually coated in a bunch of sugar. Fresh fruits work best and the options are limitless. Some of my favorites on salads are apples, pears, strawberries, mandarin oranges. 


5. Parmesan Crisps
Giada knows what she's talking about with this recipe. It takes 10 minutes!

6. Chips or Strips
While not the healthiest options, chips are a great way to make your salad different than yesterdays. Pita chips, tortilla strips, crushed up Doritos (did I just say that?) are great options!

7. Other Vegetables
Carrots, onions, broccoli, snap peas, asparagus, zucchini, radish, peppers. Need I go on?

8. Beans
Chickpeas are a bean, but don't stop there! Black beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans can also add protein & taste to your salad! By simply adding black beans and tortilla strips, you've got yourself a healthy taco salad!

9. Egg
Slice up some hard boiled eggs or more protein options for that bowl of lettuce!  

Last but CERTAINLY not least, and probably the best thing to ever happen to (some of) us...

10. Cheese.
For people who don't like salad, cheese is a good way to get them to eat it! Add some crumbled cheese on a salad and your meat eater men and picky kids may actually ask for salad with their dinners! Feta and cheddar are my favorites. 

While this list does not contain any meat, meat is also an obvious and delicious way to spruce up your bowl of basic. Bacon...no other words needed.

XOXO

Photographer For a Day

Hump Day or "It's not Friday yet?!" Day? :)

I hope you are all doing well! 

What am I writing an email right now?!Let me start over...

Hey guys! :) 

The past few days I've been sucked into work while at the computer. While I haven't been at the computer I've been playing photographer, working out, and just being extremely tired. For some reason I can't shake this tiredness the past few days. I'm talking the kind of tired that you feel like you could sit back and fall asleep at any given moment. My eyeballs hurt...It's weird and I feel like I need an IV of espresso. Pronto!

About the whole photographer thing...

I was persuaded by Alisha to take her family maternity photos. We started out on Monday afternoon, but because of rain we had to reschedule the other half of the shoot for this evening. So call me photographer for the next few days..will ya? Please? :) 

I actually love taking pictures, but before I took Alisha's on Monday I told her I was used to taking pictures of chicken...and uh..pizza! You know, objects that don't really move or have opinions. FOOD! But I think it's been a fun experience, in a good way. I'm no professional but I can fake it for a few days.  

This post was totally random! :-/ I'll be back tomorrow with a regular, non random, blog post! Pinky promise!

Is it Friday yet?!

XOXO

Weekend Recap: First Boat Day of 2015

Hello friends! How was your weekend? 

Friday and Saturday were jammed so I decided to basically not move on Sunday. And sometimes that's what you have to do! Especially when your body is sunburned :-/ No bueno!

Friday started off just like any other weekday. School for Sophia and work for the rest of us. Friday after work we headed to the Plant City Relay for Life to honor our good friend's sister. The Megan Carpenter princess tent gives princess makeovers and pictures with the Strawberry Queens! Sophia was in heaven!

Saturday we woke up early to take the boat out for the FIRST time this year! It's been headache after headache with our boat, so we bite the bullet and bought a new one a couple weeks ago. Hopefully this one is better to us. ;) We took it out to Eggmont Key and the water was beyond beautiful!! It's probably the best water I've seen on this side of Florida.

Saturday night, sunburned and tired, we went to the Best of Tampa Bay event at the Straz Center. We were working there representing CakePops by Lu. Angelo is a selling machine and basically took over the booth handing out cake pops and talking to people. :) It was an awesome event with so much good food and drinks! We will definitely be back next year! Besides the cake pops being the BEST things there, the Prime Rib Tacos from Bar 700 were amazing! Yummy House had the biggest "samples", giving us an entire plate with 4 different samples on them.

Sunday was a sleep in day, thank goodness! I literally didn't want to move or put on clothes because of my sunburn. We had a family dinner and made smoked ribs, massaged kale salad, and sweet potato fries. We drove to Toppers Ice Cream to get dessert and end the weekend on a delicious ice cream note!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Now it's back to the weekday grind!

XOXO