Category Archives: Adventure

The Way We Travel

When I look back over the travels of my life, the most memorable journeys have yielded new or stronger friendships and oftentimes were not expected to be SO significant. One would think that travels to foreign and exotic lands, or the ones with the most luxurious accommodations would be reason to rank a trip in the top 3. For the Carpenter and myself, there are 3 common themes in super successful sojourns: 1. When we meet some cool, new people that turn into lifetime friends. Shout out to our super special airbnb hosts/now friends from Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Colorado,… Read More

Blueberry Picking Agriventure

The highlight of our weekend was visiting the farmstead of Mary’s Berries to stock up on enough blueberries to freeze until next summer.  I ordered 10 lbs. of blueberries this summer from the local Kiwanis fundraiser, thinking that 10 lbs. would get us halfway through the winter of making our morning super-power smoothies.  I don’t know what I was thinking because we are not even through the summer and I have drained my blueberry supply.  Thankfully in central North Carolina we have an extended blueberry season and there are u-pick places within 20 minutes of our home. I was connected… Read More

A Taste of Inspiration

I am hosting a contest at work in which co-workers have one Powerpoint slide to respond to the question ‘What Inspires You?’  As I have been pondering my own answer and a way to articulate how FOOD actually inspires me, I came across a picture I took from my New Zealand trip last Fall that certainly screams inspiration to me.  I have next to zero photography skills, let alone food photography skills but despite my lack of an artistic eye the picture of my meal below stands out nonetheless.  The meal was SO well composed that a rookie photographer couldn’t… Read More

De-constructed Spring Roll Salad & Gluten-Free Travel to China

In the world of gluten free living there are some ethnic food groups that cater to the gluten intolerant…and Southeast Asian cuisine is not one of them.  The Carpenter and I were planning a trip to Shanghai a couple of years ago and I quickly learned that in the gluten free blog world Shanghai is considered the most challenging city to travel to if you have a gluten allergy.  Yikes! When I think of the stereotypical Southeast Asian meal it’s something like rice, steamed veggies and fish.  Truth be told Shanghai cuisine is epitomized by the use of alcohol in… Read More

Travel Snacks for the Air

You are looking at a picture of our healthy travel snack loot from our recent trip to Illinois. Over the years I have traveled A LOT and I must say that as a health conscious person it has always been challenging to find healthy, whole foods in the airport. However, until I was diagnosed with a gluten and dairy allergy a couple of years ago-the challenge to find food in the airport became even greater. I have tried to make do for the last couple of years. My food search stories include locating the nearest smoothie (sans dairy) joint 2… Read More