Healthful Bites

Are you attending this year’s Fitbloggin conference? If so, save the date for Friday at 4 p.m.—I will be speaking on a panel about “Blogging From Hobby to Career.” It’s an honor to be included in such great company for the seminar (Andrea Metcalf, Kelly Olexa and Liz Neporent, not to mention the magnificent moderator Carla Birnberg).

If you’re not planning to be in Baltimore for the event, you can follow along on Twitter, where attendees will be tweeting about the events and the fun—simply look for the #fitbloggin hashtag! I’ll try to tweet a bit @karla522 as well :)

I look forward to reconnecting with those of you I met at last year’s event and can’t wait to meet more of the blog world! Will I see you there?

As everyone reading knows by now, I spent last weekend in Baltimore livin’ it up at Fitbloggin. The seminars at the conference were helpful, the food was tasty and the company was fantastic! Here’s a brief overview of some of the bites I took and great people I met while soaking up the sun in Maryland…

When I hopped on my plane from Chicago, I saw someone sitting right in front of me with a notebook with “Fitbloggin” written across the top of the page. What a coincidence! I introduced myself to Mary (right, from A Merry Life) and we made our way to the beautiful Marriott together after arriving in Baltimore. We ran into several other perky and fantastic bloggers in the lobby including Jen (left, from Prior Fat Girl) Dr. Mo from Foot Dr 69 and Gracie from Girl Meets Health. All amazing ladies and chatting with them was a great way to kick off the weekend!

After meeting even more blog idols, my roommate Danielle from Danielle Abroad and one of her fun friends found this gem in Baltimore’s Little Italy:

How cute is Cafe Gia? We were drawn in by the adorable decorations and stuck around once we saw that it was chosen as “Baltimore’s Best Italian Restaurant” of 2009 in City Paper.

Opting for something new (can you believe I’ve never had this before?), I ordered gnocchi with marinara. The pasta-like potato bites were tender and delicious. Comfort food at its best! Another plus: the reasonable portion size of gnocchi was perfect and the carbohydrates were served with plenty of extra lycopene-packed sauce—just how I like my pasta!

In between the seminars at Fitbloggin (for more recaps about the conference click here!) I enjoyed lunch with the fabulous Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point and Operation Beautiful, among other great newfound blog friends. My meal included roasted vegetables, a grilled vegetable sandwich on focaccia and a cup of wild mushroom soup. It was all delicious, but the soup tasted extra good since the hotel conference rooms were quite chilly! I had some wonderful fresh fruit for dessert as well.

After all of the blog talk, networking and a super busy week prior to my trip, I was ready for a quiet stroll along the waterfront that evening. I set out to clear my mind (which exercise/movement almost always does) and find a bite to eat.

We had a cocktail party at the end of the conference, so I had some snacks there and throughout the afternoon…so when I stumbled upon Mr. Yogato, I knew that was the perfect place to top off my tasty day! 

I was not disappointed. The atmosphere was SO fun (Connect Four during or after dining?) and the toppings were colorful, appetizing and yummy! I opted for a medium blackberry yogurt with kiwi and blueberries. The best part? I joined in on one of their “Rules of Yogato” and received a 10 percent discount for answering a trivia question correctly. Too bad I couldn’t do the physical challenge which would have racked up 50 percent off! You know I tried and tried—no shame folks—but I must just need to practice standing on the tippy toes of one foot with my eyes closed just a bit longer to have it mastered. Next time Yogato physical challenge, I will have you beat ;)

Beautiful view at dusk along the waterfront!

The next morning Danielle (right) and I woke up bright and early to attend a yoga session led by Diets in Review’s Heather. I later sweated to a 10 Minute Solution half-hour class and got ready to head back to the Midwest. 

It was lovely to meet so many kindred spirits and since returning, it has been fascinating to check out all of their blogs! I hope that we can all meet in person again very soon.

Thank you to Roni, Fitbloggin mastermind, and Diets in Review for generously holding the contest that won me a ticket to the conference! Good news everyone: Roni just announced on Twitter that Fitbloggin ‘11 is a go! Will you be attending?

That’s right, Healthful Bites and I are taking a trip to the East Coast for the weekend. Why? I won a ticket to Fitbloggin from Diets in Review!

I’m hoping to return with a wealth of new friends (I mean, look at all the amazing people coming!) and great ideas to make the blog more awesome. But for now, I’m hoping to fit all of my things for the weekend in one bag to carry on ;) 

So please bear with me as I take a blog break until Tuesday…but know that I’ll be thinking of you all this weekend as I brainstorm/learn ways to be a better blogger!

Get ready, cause here I come.