Blend Retreat | Blogger+Friend = Blend

Hey everyone! It’s hard to believe that just a week ago things were kicking off for the first annual Blend Retreat. We all wish we could go back and relive the fun!

Today we have a special post from one of our fabulous attendees, Kelly of The No Sugar Sweet Life. She put her swag bag goodies to good use with a great recipe! Enjoy!

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First I prepared the Honeydew Caprese Salad, and refrigerated it to marinate while the chicken baked:

Full Honeydew Caprese Salad recipe can be found here. Look at how beautiful these tomatoes looked. They were soooooo sweet. I seriously could have eaten the entire container in one sitting!

Then I prepared the chicken. I found this new breadcrumbs/cheese combo pack at the grocery store – which intrigued me. It seemed so easy that I had to buy it. They have a bunch of different flavors/varieties in the shredded cheese section.

I followed the directions on the packaging – rinsed the skinless chicken breasts in water, then shook them around in the bag (one at a time) with the cheese & breadcrumbs. Then I laid them on a foil covered baking sheet, and sprinkled the remaining cheese on the top of each one… and baked at 350 for 28 minutes. They look so yummy, even uncooked!

And remember that Blend swag? Well, here’s a picture of the actual bag/contents (thanks to Lauren who was thinking ahead before diving in to the contents to actually take a picture!) It was jam-packed and weighed like 15 pounds!

One of the items in the bag was Bob’s Red Mill – pearl couscous. I decided this would be a perfect compliment/ “bed” to my chicken parmesan.

I cooked the CousCous as directed, and then topped it with Giada’s Pepper & Eggplant spread and 1 cup of Bertolli Organic tomato sauce.

I made a quick reduction sauce to go on the chicken, made with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar, and 1 cup tomato sauce. I just stirred it as it thickened for about 8 minutes over low heat.

And the final product turned out just beautifully. I think I really did impress my dad! And he LOVED the Honeydew Caprese Salad. The chicken was super tender, the couscous just the perfect amount of “grain”, and the caprese salad pure perfection. Yay me!! Ha!

Ingredients:

For the Honeydew Caprese Salad:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
10 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
5 cloves garlic, minced
10 fresh basil leaves, minced (I didn’t have any fresh basil this time, so I subbed in 1 Tbsp of minced prepared basil that comes in a tube).
16 oz block of mozzarella cheese, cut up into 1 inch pieces
1 cup diced honeydew melon, ripe

For the Chicken Parmesean and CousCous:

4 – 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg of Kraft’s new Fresh Take Cheese & Breadcrumb Mix, Italian Parmesan flavor
I jar of tomato sauce (I used Bertolli’s Organic)
1 small jar (6.35oz) of Giada’s Tomato & Eggplant Spread
1 16oz bag of Bob’s Red Mill Pearl CousCous

Directions:

Prepare Honeydew Caprese Salad. Directions here.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare Chicken according to Kraft’s Fresh Take packaging – which is basically: rinse chicken breasts in water. Coat breasts with breadcrumb/cheese mixture. Put on a baking sheet. Bake for 28 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Cook Pearl Couscous according to the packaging – which is basically to boil a specific amount of water, then add in couscous. Let boil/simmer for 20 minutes or until the couscous has absorbed all the water.
Once the couscous has absorbed the water, mix in all of Giada’s Tomato and Eggplant spread + 1 cup of tomato sauce.
Plate by scooping out a “bed” of couscous, flatten with a serving spoon. Top with one chicken breast. Serve with a side of Honeydew Caprese Salad.

Perfecto!

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Special thanks to Kelly for sharing her recipe! Be sure to check out her blog, The No Sugar Sweet Life, for more great recipes.

If you made something fabulous with your swag and would like your recipe published here, please email blendretreat@gmail.com!

Have a wonderful weekend!

XO, Janetha, Katie, Lindsay

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A Big Fat Thank You

Posted on May 10, 2012 by lindsaymwright | 14 Comments

This post isn’t about sucking up.

It isn’t about scoring points with major companies.

This post is about saying THANK YOU!

For being humble. Admitting that we couldn’t have done any of this without some help.

The BLEND 2012 Swag Bags were….EPIC.

They seriously weighed 30 pounds. We were worried the handles might break.

Attendees brought extra carry-on bags just to take these swag bags home.

EPIC.

Let’s break it down (in no particular order):

1. Beanitos, @Beanitos, https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Beanitos

2. DRY Soda, @DRYSoda, https://www.facebook.com/#!/DRYSoda

3. fitmixer, @fitmixer, https://www.facebook.com/#!/fitmixer

4. NuNaturals, @NuNaturals, https://www.facebook.com/#!/NuNaturals

5. Lush Nuts, @lushgourmetfoods, https://www.facebook.com/#!/lushgourmetfoods

6. Nuts About Granola, @Nutsboutgranola, https://www.facebook.com/#!/NutsAboutGranola

7. Bob’s Red Mill, @bobsredmill, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bobs-Red-Mill/

8. Probar, @theprobar, https://www.facebook.com/theprobar

9. Pure Bliss Eats, @pureblisseats, https://www.facebook.com/PureBlissEats

10. Core Power, @corepower, https://www.facebook.com/CorePower

11. Twin Cakes Bakery, @TwinCakes, https://www.facebook.com/twincakesbakery

12. Colorado Fudge Maker, https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoFudgeMaker

13. mix1, @mix1, https://www.facebook.com/mix1life

14. Popchips, @popchips, https://www.facebook.com/popchips

15. Cascadian Farm, @cascadianfarm , https://www.facebook.com/CascadianFarm

16. Zesty Blog Consulting, @zestycook , https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zesty-Cook/189962824409505?sk=wall

17. Hanna’s Herb Shop, @HannasHerbShop, https://www.facebook.com/HannasHerbShop

18. Optimum Nutrition, @Team_Optimum, https://www.facebook.com/teamoptimumnutrition

19. Pangea Organics, @PangeaOrganics, https://www.facebook.com/pangeaorganicsmalaysia

20. The Simply Bar, @thesimplybar, https://www.facebook.com/SimplyBar

21. Cheribundi, @cheribundi, https://www.facebook.com/cheribundi

22. Bobo’s Oat Bars, @BobosOatBars, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bobos-Oat-Bars/81113707241

23. Larabar, @larabar, https://www.facebook.com/Larabar

24. Xagave, @xagave, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Xagave-Premium-Agave-Nectar/105387691325

25. Chobani, @chobani, https://www.facebook.com/Chobani

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Janetha, Katie and I are completely aware that we need support. A swag bag donation. A sponsor’s fee.

That’s how these things work.

But, if I learned anything over the past weekend, after meeting with company representatives and really getting to know the PEOPLE behind the LOGOs, it’s this:

Positive, mutually-beneficial relationships go a long way.

Companies need bloggers. Bloggers need companies.

Do we hope that company reps are reading this post and smiling?

Of course.

Would we like all of these companies to work with us again next year?

You betcha!

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Thankful, grateful, humbled, in awe…all the things we are.

Fake, exclusive, ungrateful…all the things we are not.

BLEND 2013 is on the horizon.

Be on the lookout.

splendid…lindsay

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BLEND 2012 – A Blogger’s Perspective

Posted on May 7, 2012 by lindsaymwright | 6 Comments

While Janetha, Katie, and I are busy getting pictures and thoughts organized (and decompressing after this HUGE event), we’d like to share one blogger’s perspective of the weekend! Sarah, from The Smart Kitchen, wrote such a beautiful, heartfelt post, that we just HAD to share it!

Enjoy her recap!

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Describe Blend 2012 in one word?

Amazing.*

*Highly generic and what most elementary school teachers might call a “dead” adjective, needing to be buried in favor of something jazzier, inspiring 10-year-olds to tear through thesauri—yes, that is a word—in search of a word whose meaning they don’t understand, but that both Merriam AND Webster assure is an equivalent match, not taking into account the need to account for connotation as well as definition.

Given more words, I’d also add:

Uplifting

Blissful

Relaxing

Warm

Challenging

Inspiring

….and FUN! (of course)

From me, and from the other bloggers who attended this Boulder-based blogger (and blog reader/supporter/friend) retreat, organized by the even-more-lovely-in-person Lindsay, Janetha, and Katie, I’m sure you’ll be reading posts about various aspects of the weekend focusing on different events or meals, and written from different backgrounds, viewpoints, and perspectives.

But for now, I will just say this*

*Mostly because I’m writing this on the plane, sans pictures, and by the time I get home to import some, it will be late on Sunday night. 5:45 comes all too quickly, and first graders don’t understand the sentence, “I’m exhausted. Please work independently for a minute at your seats so I can sit down.”

This past weekend was just what I needed.

I was able to reconnect with old friends, meet bloggers in person for the first time who I’ve only just begun to “know” through twitter and blog reading, and find kindred spirits in both them, and people whose names and faces (and online musings) were entirely new to me.

The feeling of it all was simply one of community and friendship. We were there to connect to one another outside of blogging, despite it being the one commonality we all shared.

I laughed with people about the quirky foods I like to eat and tried to convince people that pickled peanut butter or nutritional yeast on top of pomegranate salsa really are delicious concepts.

I had conversations late into the night about life and change and insecurity.

I felt no judgment in what I looked like, what clothes I was wearing, or what my job/relationship status/income was.

I didn’t get left out of any cliques, because there weren’t any.

I wasn’t looked down upon because I only have 400 hits a day on my blog to someone else’s 4,000.

The support and enthusiasm of everyone uplifted me to accomplish some incredible fitness feats that I never thought I could tackle.

I ate vegan cupcakes and hiked a mountain and did yoga and went to the Farmer’s Market and had my picture taken with a giant metal rooster.

This was no ordinary blogger conference.

Yes, get a lot of free food and fitness-related goodies, and yes, I DID spend three hours trying to figure out how I was going to fit everything I wanted to take home into my bag, with the conclusion that I could always “feed the airport” if I was over the weight limit.

(Just under 50lbs! I totally could have fit in another bag of granola….)

Yes, I took an insane amount of pictures and handed out business cards and made connections to PR execs and sponsors.

And yes, I was there because of my blog.

But there were no ‘sessions,’ no feeling of ‘what can your blog do for MY blog?’ underlying my conversations, and I spent so much time in workout clothes, without make-up, that when I finally attempted to ‘do’ my hair I don’t think people recognized me.

They said we wouldn’t learn anything about ‘how to improve our blogs,’ or ‘how to become a better blogger,’ but ladies, you were wrong.

Because what I took away from Blend 2012—aside from the excessive amount of Probars that I won in the raffle—was this:

The best way to be a ‘better’ blogger is to blog because you love it, stay true to yourself, and know that the best thing about blogging isn’t how many people comment daily or how many opportunities to review products come your way…it is the community you become a part of the moment you first start writing.*

*Or reading!