Food Truck Picnic

I’ll start this post with a recap of today’s workouts because it was a bit of change of pace for me. I received an email from one of my fellow teacher trainees last night that she was going to the studio this morning to practice ashtanga (there was no class scheduled). I wasn’t planning on practicing ashtanga today but I decided forego my normal “Wednesday morning no early workouts/sleep in routine” and join her. Big mistake. I just don’t think I was mentally committed to my practice because it was not good and did not feel good. I ended up rolling up my mat after 45 minutes and going home. I’m usually not a quitter and will struggle through but it just wasn’t happening this morning.

It was a beautiful day in Charlotte. I was able to leave work on time so I took advantage of the nice temperatures and daylight and went for a run with Sullie. It was awesome. No Garmin, no iPod – just me and Sullie enjoying an easy, relaxing run. I felt so refreshed and energized after. So my body surprised me today – it said “no thank you” to yoga and “yes please” to running.

Breakfast at my desk.

Overnight oats and a soy latte from Starbucks. I always bring coffee from home but this morning I wanted to bring a co-worker coffee to thank her for helping me out on a lot of things lately. It was a delicious treat! 🙂

Brandon saw a Tweet that a the Grateful Growers Harvest Moon food truck was going to be near our offices at lunch today. We had heard so many great things about it and Southern Living even named it one of the best food trucks in the South. We had to give it a try!

Grateful Growers is a local farm that is passionate about providing quality meat and produce that is responsibly and ethically raised/grown. The following highlights are found on their site.

• Pigs are free to roam, root, and play in the sunshine and fresh air. The breeds we raise were especially selected for superior meat quality and hardiness for outdoor living.
• Chickens are free ranging, producing delicious, nutritious meat and eggs.
• Produce is grown without synthetic pesticides, weed controls, or chemical fertilizers. We believe food is a valuable gift, and shouldn’t be laced with poisons!

You can find Grateful Growers products at Charlotte-area farmers markets, specialty retailers and restaurants.

The guys running the truck were really nice and we enjoyed chatting with them. We were excited to learn that they’re going to be in this location every Wednesday for the next few months and that the menu changes weekly.

I went for the blackened mahi tacos and Brandon had the pulled pork carnitas.

With food in hand we decided to take advantage of the amazing weather and head to the park for a picnic.

We decided that Wednesday picnic lunches are going to become a new tradition for us! It was so nice to soak up some sunshine on our lunch break.

Brandon’s pork carnitas with Grateful Growers pork, caramelized onions and local salsa.

My blackenedd mahi tacos were incredible! The tortillas were soft and fluffy and the mahi was seasoned beautifully. The cumin creme fraiche was the perfect touch.

We finished off lunch by splitting an oatmeal toffee pecan cookie.

Brandon pretty much had to drag me off of this blanket and back to the office. I could have stayed out there all day!

Have you tried food from a food truck? They are really popular right now and I hear about them all the time. We will definitely be visiting the Harvest Moon truck again very soon.

I made a healthy, meatless dinner after my run with Sullie this evening.

I sauteed onion and garlic and added red quinoa, salt and water. I let that simmer for 20 minutes and then stirred in chopped olives, sundried tomatoes and feta. I topped it with roasted eggplant, plain yogurt and hummus and served it over a bed of spinach. I love quiona bowls!

One last thing…lululemon is gearing up for their Commit30 Challenge in April. To get everyone excited, the Charlotte, Raleigh and Asheville showrooms are featuring ambassador challenges every day in March. Today was my day to have a challenge featured. Read about how I decided to get certified to teach BodyPump and how that challenge changed my life!