Interview with Robert Irvine & a Subway/Avocado Giveaway!
PIN IT!Phew. That’s a mouthful! But do I have an EXCITING post for you today! I have an awesome interview to share with Robert Irvine! Well, let me re-phrase that, I do not, my amazing PR AGENT/BFF/Guest blogger Shannon does! Plus, she has some amazing photos from the event! Oh, and that’s not all (I sound like I’m selling something on an infomercial), I have a GIVEAWAY for y’all too! So, let’s get the fun started!
Hi guys! Shannon here!
I was lucky enough to meet with Robert Irvine, host of Restaurant Impossible and Dinner Impossible on the Food Network, last week (that’s me sharing a longing glance with him above) to chat about avocados, blogging and how he stays so insanely fit. It was amazing because one of the first thing he said to us bloggers was this.
“You know blogging is really important because it educates people, just like TV…I think there are some amazing bloggers who are better than TV shows, because I think you take it more serious than some of the professionals.”
I think we could agree to that. For most of us, this is simply more fun! I mean, who else gets to dedicate a day to write about their favorite recipes, or outfits or experience? For my good friend Claire, I know blogging isn’t’ just something to do, it’s her life, her dream, her passion. So to say she takes it pretty serious is an understatement.
Now, we could talk blogging for hours, but we’re hear to talk about something delicious, something I know Claire loves (have you seen this pasta?) The avocado. Which ties in perfectly to this interview I had last Friday with Robert Irvine. You see, he doesn’t just like the avocado, he loves it. Enough to eat it everyday for 85 days.
Irvine teamed up with Subway Restaurants for the challenge in an effort to promote health, nutrition, and of course our favorite avocado in the Subway ADD-vocado challenge.
“Avocados have such great properties, you know? Vitamin B, vitamin K vitamin E; it’s good for your body,” Irvine said.
In addition to promoting the challenge last Friday in Universal’s City Walk in LA, Robert was actually making the sandwiches too! Yep, he was donning a Subway t-shirt and was whipping up sandwiches for hungry folks. Oh, and he was paying for the ones that had avocado!
“People say ‘oh you know an avocado, it’s full of fat,’ but it’s a good fat. We all go around and eat French fries, you know, but we won’t eat avocados,” Irvine said.
Most of us are more familiar with Irvine in his role as the hard ass restaurant rebuilder. So while we are aware of how fit he is, we are not always aware of his expertise in nutrition. Which is strange, considering the size of his biceps.
It was this expertise that drove Irvine to team up with Subway, agreeing to show the benefits and versatility of avocados.
“I paired with Subway because of nutrition. I believe in the calorie counts that they do and the protein numbers and I also believe that because they are on every corner, no matter where I am, if I want a sandwich I can get the same sandwich no matter where I go to,” Irvine said.
It is not only his calorie counting that adds to Irvine’s expert fitness, but also his gym schedule (every day but Sunday) and his ability to think ahead, which he urges parents and everyone else to do as well.
“You buy your product on a Sunday, you take a couple of hours to prep your meals in advance; you know you can cook rice in advance, you can cook pastas in advance. So when you get home dinner only takes 10 minutes,“ He suggested.
And if you are wondering how to incorporate that little green fruit into dinner, Irvine spouted out a host of delicious sounding delectable’s avocados could be used in.
“You can make soufflés, you can make dressings from this, salads, sandwiches, you can make pies with this, you can make ice cream. You can pretty much do anything with an avocado because its not got a sweetness, sourness, or bitterness to it. It’s just endless,” Irvine pointed out.
Photo op! Some great tips were also given about the tricky little fruit. Irvine suggests buying avocados more firm so they will be ripe by the time you eat them later in the week. He also claims that if you keep the skin, prepare the avocado then seal the meat of the fruit and other additions back into the skin and wrap it with plastic wrap, the avocado will not brown!
I’d listen to him if I were you. In addition to eating tons of avocados, Robert has also teamed up with Michelle Obama fully supporting the first lady’s initiative against childhood obesity, and showing his support for her “Choose My Plate” and “Let’s Move” programs. To catch more or Irvine on the go, tweet him at @Robertirvine1.
GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Thanks Shannon for the INCREDIBLE photos and the amazing interview! Now, it’s time to share what you guys can win!
$20 Subway gift card, courtesy of Subway and Catalyst PR
An avocado starter set with 6 California avocados, a peeler and recipe guide, courtesy of ME! [Valued at over $40]
Tadaa! The lucky winner will be able to try some of Subway’s delicious new avocado sandwiches and then try their hand at whipping up a dish with this amazing fruit at home! Tweet Mr. Irvine, I’m sure he’d be happy to share some recipes!
How to win:
- Leave a comment saying your favorite way to use avocados. [Be sure to leave a valid email so I can contact you if you win!]
Additional entries:
- Follow me (@realnutritioncg) on twitter
- Follow Subway (@subway) on twitter
- Follow me on Pinterest (clairev13)
- Tweet: “I just read an interview w/ @robertirvine1 and entered to win avocado @subway prizes from @realnutritioncg! Enter here http://bit.ly/MNz6lr”
And leave a comment saying you did! Giveaway ends Wednesday, June 20th at midnight. Good luck!
Eat Skinny: Light Peanut Butter Jelly Bars Recipe
Guys, do I have the best 2 days of your bloggy blog life EVER coming up. For one, I have a delicious recipe for peanut butter jelly bars for your viewing pleasure today.
Secondly, I’m sharing the Robert Irvine interview tomorrow AND doing a giveaway! Wahoo! Free stuff! So please be sure to check out the ol’ blogski tomorrow to see what you can win 🙂
Now let’s talk peanut butter jelly. And you can’t actually do that without this…
I was dancing around to this in the kitchen as I prepared the bars this morning. I mean, I know I’m not the only person to think of that immediately now. Thanks interwebs! So guys, I love peanut butter and jelly. I mean, I know, bold unique statement there. But it’s so good and brings back happy waves of nostalgia with each delicious bite. In fact, I’ve even made my favorite sandwich into a muffin too! Despite awful photographs (pre-DSLR days), those muffins were good. But not even close to being as good as these.
I mean, look at them! Look at them in all their jelly and peanuty glory!
They taste like the sandwich on steroids. Or like the sandwich won the lottery, moved to Beverly Hills and got a makeover. Stunning, but with all those delicious flavors you grew up on. Honestly, just the best dessert ever.
Plus, these are light to boot! Made with mostly whole wheat flour, unsweetened applesauce and low-sodium peanut butter, these gooey, sweet and decadent bars only look bad for you. Aren’t those the best desserts?
Plus, you can totally eat these at lunch. I mean, they are peanut butter and jelly. Right? So pack them up all tight in a little ziplock and tote them to work in your handy dandy monogrammed lunch box. (Don’t judge me).
Recipe adapted from My Recipes.
Peanut butter and jelly bars
Yields about 18-20 bars.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup low sodium peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup AP flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Dash of salt
- 1 1/4 cup strawberry rhubarb jam
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, beat applesauce, butter, brown sugar and white sugar until mixture is fluffy and creamy. Add egg, vanilla and peanut butter and beat until mixture is fully combined.
- In another bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until the batter is mixed.
- Place about 1/2 the batter onto the bottom of the prepared pan, using a spatula or your hands to push it so it covers the bottom. Spread jam over the dough. Carefully spread the rest of the dough over the jam (or just crumble it over). Then, sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
- Bake for about 45 – 55 minutes, or until jam is bubbly and the dough is browned. Let cool completely before you cut into bars. Serve and enjoy!
Nutritional information per bar:
Calories: 161
Fat: 8.2 grams
Carbohydrates: 18.7 grams
Fiber: 1.75 grams
Protein: 4.55 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 4
Cyber Envy: My Food Blogger’s Perspective
Happy Tuesday, folks! Today’s been a so-so day thus far, but a lot of that has to do with what I’m hear to chat about y’all with! Plus, it’s Tuesday. I don’t feel as strong distaste for Tuesday as I do for Monday, but it’s certainly not a favorite.
I mean, who isn’t with me there? So, today, as you can allude from the title, doesn’t bring with it delicious recipes. In fact, we’re going to have a little chatski about something I know every single one of us bloggers feels at one point in our online lives.
CYBER ENVY.
[via Pinterest]
I read this amazing article on She Knows yesterday about this very topic and got the wheels rolling for me. That article was written for moms but I think cyber envy is something that plagues all of us who spend a lot of time online and who have built large online communities. Like I’ve said before, especially in the food blogging world, it’s hard not to feel envy and jealousy over some of our peer’s success!
This weekend, for example, I really struggled with cyber envy. For one, a lot of my food friends were in Seattle for BlogHer food. So, every-time I opened my phone, I was reminded by tweets, Facebook posts and Instagram pics of how amazing the conference was. Then, I was reminded of all the amazing sponsorships and freebies some bloggers got. It was depressing, to say the least. I hate to admit this but I let those feelings win and felt really down on Sunday, especially.
[via Pinterest]
It’s really hard not to let it control you. It’s hard not to let amazing photos, other’s success and seemingly perfect lives send you into a spiraling fit of sadness (or straight into a pint of ice cream or bottle of wine). I was feeling crappy this weekend and yesterday, but then I read that article and it all just snapped. One of the biggest points I took away from it was this simple fact: what people post on Facebook, Twitter, blogs and Instagram are their best lives. You aren’t going to see someone post a status saying “My husband and I got into a huge fight over money.” Or “my child is failing at school” or “I’m 10,000 in credit card debt”. You’re going to see photos of their perfect vacation, their child’s little league trophy and a new Kate Spade Bag.
That card sums it up PERFECTLY. Very few people put unappealing, unflattering photos of themselves online. Very few people point out the gaping flaws in their life. No one is perfect. No one. No one’s lives are perfect. People fight with their significant others, they lose their jobs and gain weight and spend more than they should. They go through horrific times. But they aren’t going to write about that online. So when you’re feeling inadequate about someone’s “perfect” post, remember, they aren’t perfect. You’re just seeing the glossy magazine ad of their lives.
[via Pinterest]
Another important point I struggle with daily is just unplugging and doing something about it. When I start to feel depressed about the state of my own life because of something I see online, I don’t immediately unplug, which is one of my biggest problems. Staring at photos of someone’s amazing vacation isn’t going to make me feel better about the fact I haven’t been on one in a year. Or reading about someones awesome weight loss journey isn’t going to make me magically lose those last 10 pounds. I think one of the most important take-aways of this little diatribe and the article on She Knows is this. If you aren’t happy with your own life and are constantly envious of others, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
[via Pinterest]
It’s not an easy thing to do, trust me, I struggle. But using that envy and that jealousy to fuel your own passions is one of the best ways to turn those negative feelings into something positive. Sunday night when I was weeping at Instagram because I wasn’t on a sponsored vacation on a resort, I got up and made cupcakes. I turned those sad, jealous, crippling envious feelings into something delicious. Cooking and crafting, for me, are my outlets. When I’m sad, angry or bummed, I bake or create something delicious on the stove. Or, I grab some ribbon or spoons and make something beautiful. I try my very best to turn those feelings into something that will make my life better.
[via Pinterest]
I’m not perfect in how i deal with cyber envy, but like I said, no one is! I just try each day to use those negative, loathing feelings towards bettering myself and bettering my life. All you can do is try to live your very best, happiest and most perfectly imperfect life. You don’t get the chance to wake up in someone else’s body and why the heck would you?
This sums up everything and more.
[via Pinterest]
The only thing standing in the way of you and your dream life is you! So smash those stupid feelings of envy and make it happen!
Eat Skinny: Spicy Tofu Parmesan [& Some Exciting News!]
Hi guys! Got a short and sweet little tofu Parmesan recipe for y’all today since I’ve got quite a full agenda (shocking news there, right?) How was your weekend? Mine was good, a little busy. Had to finish up some work yesterday. But I mean, I can’t complain. This is what my job was for yesterday.
Turned a boring circle mirror and some plastic spoons into a statement mirror! It was a pain in the ass to make, but I’m really happy with the turnout! Now, before we hop on over to the delicious recipe, I have one more teensy little thing to share.
That’s right! I’m on the agenda for this years HLS! If you can remember, last year was my first time at the conference (recap 1 here and 2 here) and it was honestly such an incredible weekend! I mean, how can you not have fun with people who love the same things you do? Well this year, they have asked me to help moderate the ice breaker session! I’m pumped. As a newbie last year, it was terribly overwhelming so I’m going to do all I can to help make everyone feel great, comfortable and amazing. I mean, we all are those things anyway, right?
Okay, enough blab blab from me, let’s talk tofu. Because guys, tofu is the bees knees, the apple of my eye, the sweet to my strawberry. Okay. I’m done. But really, I like it. And I like it even more when it’s crusted with deliciousness and served over pasta.
It’s my own healthy take on chicken parmigiana. And really, what doesn’t taste good crusted in deliciousness and served over pasta?
Instead of pan frying it in oil, loading it up with cheese and serving it on a platter of sauce, I decided to opt for a healthier way of preparation. Bake the tofu, bread it with parmesan and serve it over pasta with some no-sodium added Muir Glen tomatoes. Each bite is crispy, spicy and succulent, without all the added fat.
Cuz I mean it’s bathing suit season after all, isn’t it hard enough squeezing into a two piece without feeling bloated and gross after eating a fatty meal?
CLICK HERE FOR THE DELICIOUS RECIPE! And make sure you check out the other awesome featured recipes on She Knows, created and taste tested by yours truly!
Nutritional information per tofu patty and 1/2 cup pasta:
Calories: 279.5
Fat: 6.12 grams
Carbohydrates: 35.5 grams
Fiber: 1 gram
Protein: 10 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 6
Eat Skinny: Pasta with Roasted Beets and Chobani
Happy Friday! How’s your day shaping up? I’ve got an amazing beet and CHOBANI recipe to share with y’all, as well as a full agenda with 3 recipes to make, shoot and style! Plus, I have to get my colleague (my PR agent Shannon aka one of my best friends since college) ready for a pretty big interview this afternoon! She’s going to be meeting THIS guy…
Oh, you know, just Robert freakin’ Irvine. I was contacted by my friends at Subway (who are also sending me some fabulous stuff to giveaway next week!) to do an interview with this guy! However, the event is in LA so I’m sending my PR consultant (haha!) on behalf of this blog to get an IN PERSON interview to talk about his newest challenge with Subway to promote avocado season! Freaking awesome, right? I’m so excited to share the interview with you guys on Monday!
Now, while I wait anxiously for the interview to be over so I can get the SCOOP from her, I’m going to share some amazing pasta with you. Guys, let me warn you before you freak, it’s really…purple. But don’t worry, that’s normal.
So gorgeous, right? I know, it looks like it shouldn’t be that color. And I get it. But guys, it’s natural. Unlike my hair color.
I saw an idea for this recipe first on one of my favorite little bloggys, Bev Cooks. I was completely amazed by it and knew I had to have it. Just absolutely had to make it. Except, I wanted something a little different for the sauce. A little creamier, tangier, with a bit of zest. So, naturally, I added in some 2% Chobani and some lemon. And guys! It made this. This beautiful sauce in front of your eyes.
Can you believe it? Can you flipping believe the look of this? It reminds me of something they’d eat in those fields of candy in Willy Wonka, right? Just drink it? Except, it’s beets. So the children wouldn’t be as stoked to eat it.
Before I digress further, let’s talk about this sauce. Guys, if you love beets, you’ll love this. [And how can you not, these vegetables are magical!]
Okay, well, they are a little scary looking. They look like scary huge bug aliens, don’t they? Well, once you roast them, remove their skins, pulse them with Chobani and other delicious things, they look less horrifying and more pretty. See!
And one more photo for good measure.
If you don’t like beets, you won’t like this. It’s very beety, but still creamy with a tang of zest and garlic and onion and AWESOME. It’s just awesome. So, make it. And wow your friends with it’s beauty. I mean, it’s almost too pretty to eat. ALMOST.
Pasta with Roasted Beets and Chobani
Serves about 5.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces of spaghetti noodles
- 4 large beets, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup plain Chobani (2% is best)
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- Liberal dashes of salt and pepper
- 5 basil leaves, finely chopped
Directions:
- Cook pasta for about 8 minutes in boiling water, or until soft. Rinse and set aside.
- Rinse beets with water. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place beets on a lightly greased roasting pan with skin on. Place in the oven and roast for 35 – 40 minutes, or until beets have softened.
- Let cool. With gloves on (so you don’t stain your hands) gently peel away the skin of the beets. Place the whole beets into the base of a food processor. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and onions. Pulse until it resembles a puree. Add in yogurt, lemon zest and chopped basil. Puree again until mixture is fully combined. Taste test and add additional salt or lemon zest if need be.
- Pour mixture over pasta, garnish with extra basil leaves and enjoy!
Nutritional information per 1 cup serving:
Calories: 181
Fat: 7 grams
Carbohydrates: 45 grams
Fiber: 3.5 grams
Protein: 8 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 7
