Look who we bumped into in Asheville!!! Jenna !! Actually, the whole trip was planned but we wanted to keep it a surprise from all you bloggers 🙂
But first, an Asheville recap:
Friday Lunch @ Rosetta’s Kitchen
In my opinion, Asheville had more cool, funky and healthy restaurants per square foot than any other city. We chose Rosetta’s Kitchen specifically for the peanut butter tofu – it did not disappoint!
I can’t even really describe what it was like – maybe a peanut butter smoky BBQ sauce with chunks of peanuts? It was amazing.
My tofu came with kale and mashed potatoes and gravy. I could tell the gravy was made with nutritional yeast! I ate about 1/3 of the tofu, all of the kale and only about 2 bites of the taters.
I also got a side salad, which I ate all of, minus all the gross raw onions they couldn’t take out and told me they were easy to pick off – not so much!
We got sweet potato fries for the table and I had about 5 of those…yum!
The husband got a Tempeh Reuben – amazing!
And he got a beer – this beer rocked! I had about 5 sips of that too. It wasn’t a light lunch 🙁
Tradition
We’ve been to Asheville every summer minus last year for 4 years. Here’s the traditional photo I take on Wall Street every time 🙂
2008:
2006: (Around 125 lbs)
2005: (At the beginning of my weight loss! In the mid 130’s)
Snack
While shopping around we got some frozen custard. I totally didn’t need it, but it tasted good. Mine was Rum Coconut ! I only had about half of this guy and gave the rest to Karen.
Movement
We got back to the B&B around 4:00 and I was pooped. But the husband said he was going biking on the two mountain bikes they provided so I couldn’t let him go off and exercise without me!
We ended up biking for over and hour and I’m so glad I went. We were right near the UNC-Asheville campus and scouted out our run for the morning while getting to see the campus for the first time.
After we showered, etc. I enjoyed about 2 oz of wine on the porch while we waited for our dinner reservations. Sorry for being all leg here!
Headed to dinner 🙂
Dinner @ Cucina 24
We dined at a wonderful new Italian restaurant called Cucina 24 .
Started with a glass of Rosso –
We all split some antipasto – cod fritter, fava bean on crustini, olive tampenade, and beats with hazelnuts.
Karen wanted to try this asparagus + egg appetizer – it was pretty good.
I ordered a second glass of Pinot Nero since the pours there were small. Unlike most modern restaurants, it was the proper portion of about 5 oz instead of 6-8 oz sometimes!
My entree was FABULOUS!!!!!!!! Seared tuna with a compote of roasted (buttered!) eggplant , cauliflower , pine nuts, golden raisins, currants and arugula = ENTREE OF THE YEAR! I shared some of the tuna but I ended up eating most of the dish. I also tasted the husband’s rabbit polenta.
And we ended the night with some taleggio cheese ! Jenna had recommended it a while back and I have been looking for it on menus since. It was like a stinky brie! I had about 2 bites of the cheese with a dab of jam and a bite of crostini
Run + Breakfast
The husband and I set out on a 4.5 mile-ish run. Felt good.
Then we headed in for breakfast at the B&B –
Fruit cups with lemon and strawbery yogurt. I think those are sprinkles on top!? It was kind of strange. I ate all of it, knowing what followed wasn’t that light.
Also underneath is an almond tart. I had about half of it – delicious, but not really what I want to eat for breakfast.
I also finished Karen’s fruit – she’s not a fruit eater.
Hot tea with OJ . Since I’m a fan of chewing, I don’t drink juice that often, but every now and then I need a good glass of OJ!
Breakfast was turkey sausage (homemade but the chef who runs the B&B) and Dutch Baby Corn Cakes. I had 1 bite of the sausage (not my thing) and half of the pancake, which was way too rich. We weren’t that impressed with this meal.
Jenna Arrives!
We had a blast getting to play in person!! Jenna is just like you’d imagine her: sweet and cool as a cucumber. Our day was quite the foodie fest. Of course we headed straight for the best restaurant in Asheville: The Laughing Seed.
It was quite the foodie lunch – we took 20 minutes to decide what to get! The husband was on DOUBLE camera duty all day – and we felt like we were in a photo shoot at times 🙂
We started with some Sweet Potato Pakoras made with curry –
I had 1.5 –
For lunch I ordered the Low-Country Roll-ups : A sweet and tangy tofu barbecue wrapped in whole wheat tortillas with Monterey Jack cheese, topped with tahini mustard sauce. Served with a tossed salad and brown rice. They were awesome!! We did a lot of sharing, so I probably ate 1 whole roll-up, most of my salad and not much of the brown rice.
The inside –
The husband got the Caribbean Empanada : An island inspired filling of curried butternut squash, fresh spinach and fire roasted tomato mojo, wrapped on a whole wheat flour tortilla and topped with slow cooked organic black beans and vegan cilantro sour cream. I had a few bites of that as well. Along with some of Jenna’s sandwich (see EatLiveRun.com for the photo
) Anndd a sip of the husband’s beer.
We scouted out a wine tasting for dessert! We tried 4 different wines – about 1 oz each. I think we all liked the Frei Brothers Chardonnay the best!
For more excitement, we decided to hit up Asheville’s Chocolate Fetish !
As usual, it took us a while to decide what to get:
I got the most amazing chocolate disc – with toffee inside!! I had about 3 bites and saved/shared the rest.
And for kicks, we took a photo of our matching Kashi bars – figures we’d have the same emergency snack in our purses!
Once we parted with Jenna at the Grove Park Resort where her family was playing golf (I got to meet Ryan briefly when he dropped her off in the morning – he was cute and seems like a really fun guy!) Karen hadn’t had lunch so we stopped into the cafe there for her to get a sandwich. I drank an ENTIRE bottle of Pellegrino and started to feel a little sick…
Aches + Pains
Turns out I AM sick 😥 I started to feel worse and worse on the car ride home. Karen and I though it might have been the sausage at breakfast that neither of us liked. Within 20 minutes of getting home, the aches started, followed by the chills and zapped energy . I got in bed – freezing in 90* July heat – while the husband got me blankets and a thermometer. Turns out our thermometer was dead. He biked to Harris Teeter for ginger ale and a new thermometer and decided mid-way there that the meat thermometer would do just fine. So 10 minutes later I had our Williams-Sonoma talking meat thermometer under my tongue! Despite how horrible I felt, it was quite hilarious to proclaim "your food is ready" like the talking thermometer does.
Apparently my fever was 104* . I haven’t felt this sick since I was a child. I slept most of the evening and woke up around midnight having to go to the bathroom. I should have used a bed pan or something because I should not have gotten up. I felt faint, then nauseaous and ended up throwing up everything I’d eaten that day. But then I felt a little better. I got up again around 6 and blacked out again. Now I’ve started just crawling to the bathroom because I am so weak!
This morning I’m all achy and my fever is down to 100*-ish, but I still feel pretty horrible. The husband brought me breakfast in bed when I got a little appetite back –
Toast with jam, banana + PB and watermelon
I hope I am better by tonight because I have a huge week of classes coming up – including 2 finals and 1 test. I can’t afford to miss a single class.
This post has zapped all of my energy again (I’m blogging in bed with my laptop) so I’m going to rest and see how I feel in a few hours.
Sami says
Ohh no!
I’ve just recovered from my concussion and now you are sick. =[
I really enjoyed all the pictures. =]
My mom and I sat at the exact same table at The Laughing Seed!
Haha, I just think that’s really exciting.
We actually went to The Chocolate Fetish too.
I had the dark chocolate plum, basil chocolate and wasabi chocolate. Yum!
We wanted to try Cucina 24 and Rosetta’s Kitchen but there just wasn’t enough time.
Ohh well, I suppose we will just have to return.
I hope your illness passes quickly.
I had mono during finals so I know how you feel about the tests coming up.
Feel better!
Meghan says
Ah, Kath, sorry to hear that your feeling (extremely) under the weather. It always seems to happen at the most inconvenient times, does it not? Hey, at least you got to have a fabulous weekend, right? Hope you’re feeling your best very soon!
Gena says
Oh no! Feel better Kath. Could be mild food poisoning from that sausage, or just a sudden bug. Drink ginger tea for your stomach and try to stay quiet.
In happier news, Asheville looks so great from these photos that I’m considering a long weekend there when I get some vacation time in the fall!
Alison says
So fun that you and Jenna got to meet!! I’m sorry you are feeling so sick. Ugh. I hope you fee better soon!
Justy2003 says
Looks like you guys had a great weekend…and how fun that you and Jenna finally got to meet! Too bad it had to end with you not feeling well 🙁 Hope you feel better soon…especially with your busy week ahead!
polly says
hi Kath! I love the hammock picture and you and Jenna are too cute. So fun that Matt was the poperazzi (spelling?) for you two. 🙂
I pray you feel better very soon. Take care. Only one week of class left and hopefully lots of sleep between each class!
adria says
Oh my, it’s no fun getting sick like that on your vacation- I hope you feel better soon!
Allie says
get well kath! so glad you enjoyed yet another trip to asheville (and enjoyed some of my faves from growing up there!) – i love that you and jenna got to meet up. crazy how the blog world actually transfers into our real lives!
april says
I just wanted to say your waistline is definetly not showing all your snacking..its tiny! And i hope you feel better soon! Drink a lot of fluids!
Amy sweet potato says
Kath I hope you feel well soon & that you take it easy today, that looked like sun a delightfully fun trip!
On a sidenote, I recently realized just how much I love your blog when our power was out for a few days after a storm, and your site was the first one I went to when I found a place with wireless!
Thanks for keeping up such an informative, encouraging blog throughout your crazy summer classes.
Karen says
Looks like a lovely time. Sorry you are not feeling well. Hope you are better soon.
Amy sweet potato says
Oh right (sorry for the double-comment), this is a very delayed question but I remember you mentioning that you had heard of pb2 and would probably continue using the regular kind of peanut butter, in part to maintain a focus on whole foods.
You also mentioned having researched pb2 and so I was interested in what you discovered, as the ingredients are just peanuts, sugar, and salt–is the process that goes into removing much of the pb fats the part of the product that deviates from a whole-food focus?
Sorry this is so wordy but I was just curious because I’d also like to maintain a whole-foods focus through my meals & wasn’t sure whether pb2 could fit into that goal…thanks!
lara says
Kath, why do you look like you are 17?? What are your beauty secrets? Is it all the wine? 😛
Also, I noticed in one of the pics you are drinking from a nalgene bottle. What do you think about the BPA controversy?
Sweetsandsweats says
I think your post just made me starving.
And you look FABULOUS!!! I loved the weight changes photos.
Julz says
Oh my Goodness! That is frightening! I hope you feel better asap! You never get sick as you’re such a prime example of health kath! You’ll be back to business in no time! Just be easy on your body and your mind while you recover 🙂
By the way, you do look A.MAZING!
sarah says
i’m so sorry you’re sick! hope you feel better SOON!
and i am so amazed you had the strength for that amazing post. so much good stuff in there — i am DEFINITELY going to both the laughing seed and the italian place you tried on our trip in 3 weeks . . . can’t wait!
lots of rest, fluids (something with electrolytes, preferably) and tlc from matt . . . get well!
hk says
Best of luck for a speedy recovery!! Sorry, being sick as a dog is always a bummer, get well and rest up! Love the post, such an exciting weekend 🙂
Em says
I loved this post!! It was so fun hearing about your trip, your adventures, fine dining, and meeting Jenna!! I really hope you feel better Kath!!
Cute breakfast plate too. Sometimes presentation is everything!!
Rest up!
Becky says
I have been reading your blog for a few months now and really enjoy it. We live a couple hours from Asheville and love it. I also love The Laughing Seed. Love the blog, just wanted to say hi!
emily says
thanks for such a detailed post, especially since you’re so sick! sounds like food poisoning maybe? i hope you get better soon, take it easy for a couple days.
magpie says
Feel better soon! Your weekend looks like it was so fun up until getting sick. Thanks for all the great pics and descriptions 🙂
dietquestion says
May I ask if you weighed 151 at your high point and the old photo you took is in the mid 130s wouldn’t that be at the half-way point of your diet journey (unless you dropped that first 15 lbs pretty quickly?
anna says
Oh, I’m sorry you’re still sick. That’s NO FUN, especially not with a big week ahead. But at least it came at the end of your trip….looks like you had a fab time in Asheville. It looks so pretty, and yummy!
Every Gym's Nightmare says
wow, when worlds collide.
Aw, im sorry you are sick. That’s horrible. I havent been that sick in a long time. i probably just jinxed myself. REST!
Danielle says
Oh no, Kath, I really hope you feel better soon!
Before the sick bug struck it looks like you had a fabulous foodie time! I did notice that you and Jenna were going to be in the same place and I was thinking how fun it would be if 2 of my favorite bloggers met up, thanks for making my wish come true ;).
Kath says
Thanks all – you guys are too sweet.
Gena ,
Definitely plan a trip to A-ville, but you must visit me in Charlotte too 🙂
Amy sweet potato,
Thanks for the nice comment – I’d go nuts without power and blog too!
PB2 kind of depends on how “strict” you want to be with whole foods. I’d say technically it’s not a “whole food” if the PB is removed, but it’s also minimally processed (meaning something was just taken out and no chemicals/preservatives were added) so I think it’s fine if you want to eat it. My biggest problem is that the fat is the most important part of PB’s staying power and mouthfeel so I’d rather just have the real thing. But then again, I’ve never tried the stuff. Maybe I should.
lara ,
That’s funny you say that because the lady at the Grove Park yesterday was telling us the drink specials and looked at the husband and I and said “Wait, you guys can’t drink can you?” And I said “Why yes, we’re both 25!” and she said “Wow, you look 18”. I think I just have a young face.
As for Nalgenes, I hate them because they smell but the husband has one that he uses. I’m not that worried about the plastic thing, but I did switch to Sigg bottles and love them so much more. They don’t flavor the water or absorb flavors.
sarah ,
Be sure to blog about your Asheville meals so we can hear about them! Laughing Seed is not-to miss. It’s worth the wait if there is one.
Becky ,
Hello back to you 🙂
Kath
Saima says
Hope you recover for the hectic week ahead of you. Looks like I’m the only one with this query– does Jenna blog as well?
Kath says
Saima ,
Yes, it’s EatLiveRun.com. She’s also in school to become a pastry chef!
K
Claire says
Feel better Kath! It looks like you had a lot of fun minus the sickness though. I really have never been down south (except Florida for track in high school and hilton head for lacrosse) and this post has made me want to go! All your meals sound pretty fabulous.
Kath says
Claire ,
You should plan a visit – it really is a different world! I recommend Asheville, Charleston or Savannah 🙂
Kath
Rose says
Hi Kath – Hope you are feeling a tad better at this point… It sounds like your weekend was fantastic! I really enjoyed your blog post, especially because my boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Asheville sometime in August. We just had some friends move there… and I’ve never been. Should be great!
Rest up! Feel better!
Deb says
Kath, I was also wondering the same thing that dietquestion was wondering. Incidentally you said you might weigh yourself about a week ago, but then that huge bru-ha ha developed (remember!!?? Or rather, how could you forget!!? Ha ha) and I guess it got lost in the shuffle. Just wondering… Thanks.
Kath says
Dietquestion and Deb,
Sorry for skipping your question! I was reading comments via Blackberry earlier and it’s hard to star ones to respond to.
I dropped the first 10 or so pounds very quickly, and then the next 10 came off fairly easily. That photo was early fall, so it was probably 25% of the way through my year and a few months total journey. The last 10 took more diligent work 🙂
Deb, how could I forget! Did I say I was going to weigh myself soon? I don’t remember!
Kath
Hayley says
Yours and Jenna’s blogs are my absolute favorites!! I’m so excited to see the 2 of you together. How fun was your trip! I loved seeing the pics..you guys are awesome. 🙂
Deb says
Thanks to your weekend away, I’ve begun reading Jenna’s blog and think it’s cool too. Both of you have such a nice balanced approach. And your hubby is a gem (but everyone knows that alread ;-D). Hope you are feeling better. I guess it was something you ate if you are already feeling better!
Deb says
Hee hee Kath, you’re funny. Hey I think it’s amazing all the stuff you DO share with the class. Once after a vacation, I had my husband look at the scale as I stepped on it b/c I would possibly be too traumatized if it was “bad” and asked him to write it down to tell me in a week or so after I could get myself back to my normal eating. I told a girlfriend this story and she was HORRIFIED!! She said she would NEVER let her husband know how much she weighed (!!???) and trust me, she was like 5’9″ and about 130 soaking wet- all muscle! So we’re all different in how we react to that bizarre measuring implement! 🙂
JLynn says
Kath-I so have that same blue dress from Ann Taylor Loft!
Anne P says
my goodness, my two favorite bloggers together!!! how fun 🙂 i am jealous, i wish i could have been there to hang out with you lovely ladies!
Hilary says
Hi Kath! I just stumbled upon your blog looking for recipes and saw this asheville post! I happen to live in Asheville and you visited 2 of my favorite restaurants here!!! (Rossetta’s: sweet potato fries + homemade ketchup…yes please!) I’m glad you enjoyed our lovely town!
I have also had a similar weight loss to you which I achieved through running and learning about nutrition. Anywho your blog looks great!
Maggie @ Say Yes to Salad says
I remember this post from wayyyyyy back in 2008!! I cannot believe it’s been so long. You guys are so cute. 🙂