Race | Bridge to Brews 2015 | Terrapin Events

April 12, 2015 by Lindsay Ingalls 9 Comments

Race season has officially started at the Ingalweather house! We were up bright and early Sunday morning in route to Neil and Edith’s first races of the 2015 season the Bridge to Brews 8K and Kids 1/2 Miler.

The kids race was on the small side and a bit over priced $12(!!) but Edith had fun once she started running so it was worth it. After Edith’s race we watched the start of the 8K/10K race to watch Neil cross the starting line. I was pretty impressed with the organization of the race and how quickly everyone got across the starting line. Once Neil passed us it was time to find coffee while Neil did the hard work for running over the Fremont and Steel Bridges. We made it back to the finish line and watched as the runners crossed the finish line and finally Neil crossed as well.

After the race we headed to the post-race beer festival which included a beer mug and give drink tickets. Side note if you ever do this race get your ID checked and bracelet before you start the race so you can avoid the lines. Since it was 9:30am and I didn’t just run a race I passed on buying my own cup and beer tickets but I did steal a few sips of Neil’s beer.

Once Neil had finished his beers and bowl of soup we headed out to lunch and then home for an unsuccessful nap time. On our drive home Neil and I discussed doing this race next year and hope that we can figure out a way for the both of us to run it.

Next of big race on Neil’s agenda is The Helvetia Half and we have five fun run 5K’s already planned as well. As for my race I am working with a physical therapist right now but I’m not sure that it’s going to happen. I may or may not decide to walk the course but we will see (side note more on PT next week).

Did you race this weekend? Any big races planned this year?

PDX Sites & Eats | VegFest 2014

September 29, 2014 by Lindsay Ingalls Leave a Comment

It’s been a long time since I did a PDX Sites & Eats feature and well I have a few more pending. This weekend we headed to the annual Northwest VegFest. This was the 10th year of the fest and I imagine it was their best. We went last year and thought it was okay. This year however was a huge improvement.

We stopped in and chatted with lots of vendors and of course tried lots of samples (some yummier than others).

We stopped in to grab a sample of Made in Nature‘s new Fusion snacks and remember how I was talking about wanting to try the Mediterranean one? Well I picked up a sample and it will be one of my snacks today (I will report back).

We tried stopped into try an old favorite, Vital Juice Co (see my post here), and tried a few of their new flavors. We were loving the new Vital Almond with Citrus; it would be a perfect start to the morning. We also had to have a sample of the coconut water because it’s seriously the best coconut water I have ever had. I just saw that they have a kids line and I must locate some for Edith because I think she would go nuts for them.

We had to stop and try a few new things like olive & sea salt, pepperoni and cheese pizza kale chips.

And we tried a new yummy bar from Nii Bars that we are on a mission to locate. Edith tried just about every bar and we had to actually pick her up and remove her from the table are because she was ready to swipe a plate. I loved all the flavors but my favorite was the Almond Chocolate Chip.

We didn’t end up making it to see any of the speakers just due to time and having two little children in tow. We were going to try and take Edith to the kids yoga class but I went to yoga in the morning and then we were just running a little behind and didn’t make it over to VegFest until the class had already started (or maybe even ended). We had a great time visiting all the exhibitors, trying new products and running into friends. Looking forward to going again next year!

Local friends did you make it out to VegFest? Non-local friends have you ever been to a VegFest? Neil and I always wanted to go to VegFest in Toronto but never made it when we were back East. We did however make an (almost) yearly trip to Boston VegFest before Edith was born.

Whole Foods Market // Greenway // Tigard, OR

May 20, 2014 by Lindsay Ingalls 8 Comments

Who loves Whole Foods? I know I do. I love the shopping experience, the store layout, the friendly staff and the quality of food. When we lived across the street from Whole Foods you could easily find me there a few days per week and now even 9 months after moving to a new home the rare time I visit our former local Whole Foods I have staff members who remember me (that’s how often I was there).

Of course when I was invited to a media sneak peek of the new Whole Foods opening in Tigard, OR I had to go and check it out. The store is opening up tomorrow (May 21st) and let me tell you this store is pretty awesome. While it has some of the same features as your standard Whole Foods it also has some different things you won’t find at every Whole Foods or at least at the ones here in the Portland area.

Can we talk about how beautiful these signs are? Seriously!

They are also hand drawn/colored local artists.

Check out the awesome bulk area.

Plus they have their own nut butter grinding station.

With the most amazing chocolate hazelnut nut butter.

Seriously you have to come to this store just for this one item alone. We were lucky to sample it and Edith may have sneaked an extra sample or two.The wine and beer section was pretty impressive and had me longing for a nice glass of red or crisp white (I am counting down the weeks -10 more if you’re keeping track).

Another awesome feature is beer on draft and you can buy growlers! There are going to be four local beers on tap ready for you take home. For the wine lovers there will be growler fills for a few different wines as well!Check out the sandwich options. For my vegan friends doesn’t that reuben sound insane? Neil and I are already making plans to stop in and try one out when the store officially opens.
For my coffee, smoothie and/or juice lovers there is a bar just for you at this Whole Foods. Also something I learned (probably old news) but non-dairy milks DO NOT cost extra for coffee drinks!!Okay I saved the best for last. Check out this insane outdoor seating area. Seriously so beautiful! I have never seen anything like this before and if I lived just a little bit closer you can bet I would be here regularly to work and/or relax. I didn’t get a good interior shot but the inside sitting area is pretty awesome as well and has as really communal feel which is great for larger parties.Okay so that is my sneak peek for you of the new Whole Foods Greenway in Tigard. I am hoping to head out tomorrow for the grand opening which is at 9am and take advantage of all the grand opening deals. Who’s with me?

Whole Foods Market- Greenway

12220 SW Scholls Ferry Road

Tigard, OR 97223

Native Foods Clackamas Town Center // Plus a Giveaway

May 19, 2014 by Lindsay Ingalls 10 Comments

Disclaimer: My family was provided with VIP passes for dinner last week. All opinions are my own as always!

Prior to moving out to Portland I had heard about Native Foods but since there are currently none the East Coast (there are however two opening in D.C. soon) we had never been. We were thrilled to first try Native Foods at their Bridgeport location last year but since we don’t make it down to Bridgeport Village very often we haven’t been back. Needless to say I was thrilled to see that they had a new location at the Clackamas Town Center which is close to where we live in SE Portland.

Now the Clackamas Town Center Native Foods doesn’t officially open until May 21st but they have been doing VIP events since last week to give people a sneak peek of their new restaurant and the food. We received VIP passes for last Wednesday night and we were able to sample a variety of items.

Starters:

Butternut Polenta BitesSaigon Roll

Entrees:

Twister Wrap with Side Salad

Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger with Seasoned FriesKids Mac and Cheese with Broccoli

Drinks:

Lavender Lemonade & Watermelon Fresca

Dessert:

Peanut Butter Parfait

Thoughts on the Food:

We really liked both of the starters that we ordered and I would definitely get the Saigon Rolls again. I was actually a little surprised I liked them so much but they were really good. As for the entrees neither of us enjoyed the Twister Wrap it was a little boring and by the time I ate my half (we were sharing) mine was super soggy and I ended up eating two bites before removing the “chicken” and eating that on it’s own. The side salad that came with our Twister Wrap was good though!

I really liked the Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger despite it not being what I think of when I want a vegan burger. It isn’t so much of a burger but rather a sliced seitan sandwich, either way I thought it was tasty and I was glad we ordered it because I don’t think I would have had we not been at the VIP event (aka it was free). The side of fries that came with the Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger where meh. They were super salty and just not great fries. Edith enjoyed her mac and cheese and Neil and I both had a bite and thought it tasted good.

Lastly dessert and drinks. Neil chose the lavender lemonade which was SO good I made him go get more because while Edith enjoyed her kids size watermelon fresca I just didn’t love it. As for dessert we all loved the Peanut Butter Parfait and some little munchin decided to devour it before we even got more than two bites. We also got a sticky toffee cake that we took home with us and shared after Edith went to bed. It was so good!

Service:

The service was great! Super friendly, super efficient and helpful!

Overall:

Overall we had a good experience at Native Foods. I have to say we would probably get a meal of lemonade, starters and desserts because those were our overall favorites but there are so many things on the menu to try like the Chicken Run Ranch <–regretting not getting this after hearing other people rave about it. Also umm have you see the colossal nachos? I think we need to try those too!

Giveaway:

Since many of you guys out there don’t have a Native Foods near you they have agreed to send out one of their cookbooks to one lucky reader!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PDX Sites: Hiking Forest Park

August 3, 2013 by Lindsay Ingalls 1 Comment

The following post is sponsored by Fitfluential LLC on behalf of Polar. As always all opinions are my own.

Can you believe I have lived in Portland for seven months now and I had yet to take advantage of the great hiking trails until today? I know I think it’s pretty crazy too. Actually not only had I not been hiking in Portland yet but I hadn’t been hiking since the summer before getting pregnant. Yeah count’em that was was TWO years ago!! Crazy right?

I actually haven’t always been all that into hiking and I honestly wouldn’t say that I’m all that into it now but I do enjoy getting out once in awhile. Neil is the real lover of hiking and most of the time I go because he wants to. I tend to go out a little begrudgingly but always end up having an amazing time – hmm maybe I should take a mental note of that.

Anyways a few weeks ago Neil got out for his first hike in Portland with Edith while I stayed home and cleaned the house (wahoo for cleaning…umm not.) So this weekend we decided to get out together and hit up the same trail but in the opposite direction which led us from the Audubon Society up to Pittock Mansion.Let me tell you this hike wasn’t really that challenging but when you haven’t worked out consistently for a few weeks…err months… it was a bit more challenging than it should have been. To add to my challenge I decided to be the one to carry Edith on my back and holy sweaty mess was I by the time we got to the top.I have to say it was worth it though; I mean check out that view!!So now I have one hike in the books and I’m back on track to keep up on my weekly workouts. I have to say that it’s also a little more motivating when you take the time to track your workouts like I did with my new Polar RC3 GPS watch. I loved that I could track the elevation gain, the distance, my heart rate and how many calories I burned. Now I’m ready to conquer all 70 miles of Forest Park trails!

Are you a hiker or wannabe hiker? Where is your favorite spot to hike?

If you’d like to buy this great running GPS click ::here:: and use code: “fitfluential” during checkout for a 25% discount! This discount is valid only on the RC3 GPS and will expire on 8/10

PDX Sites & Eats: The Cheese Plate

May 28, 2013 by Lindsay Ingalls 2 Comments

I really thought when we moved to Portland that we would spend all of our time trying the various vegan friendly food carts but honestly we have only been to a handful. While we are trying to make a better effort to diversify our food cart experiences we seem to keep coming back to The Cheese Plate.

Yes you read that correctly, The Cheese Plate.

It doesn’t seem like it would be a very vegan friendly place and at first I was skeptical of it as well but they actually have a lot of vegan options on their menu including an amazing cheese plate. This plate has a selection of their housemade crackers, housemade cashew cheese, Heidi Ho’s feta, housemade pickles and Missionary Chocolates.

I mean how could you not want to eat all of that? Plus they make two super delicious vegan grilled cheeses.

On top of that they are right next to our favorite Portland brewery Captured By Porches and if you aren’t into cheese there is an Indian cart (also vegan friendly) next door as well as a retro food cart.

Bonus on (at least) Friday nights and Sunday afternoons there are local musicians who come out to play in this little food pod area. We also love how baby/child friendly the area is so of course we will keep returning.

Although we love The Cheese Plate I guess we should try some new places as well, although we did buy two Living Socials’ for The Cheese Plate that we will be using. What are your favorite vegan friendly Portland food carts?

PDX Sites & Eats: Proper Eats

May 20, 2013 by Lindsay Ingalls 2 Comments

We’re moving! Neil landed a new awesome job that is in NE Portland so we are going to move once our lease is up in October (or maybe sooner) so until then we have decided to explore a variety of different neighbourhoods that have piqued our interest. This past weekend we decided to head to St. Johns for brunch and a little wandering.

Our main purpose of heading to St. Johns was to finally try the (mostly) vegan restaurant Proper Eats. We had actually planned to go to a different spot for breakfast and then found ourselves heading towards St. Johns so we decided to take advantage of the situation and try something new.

We picked a nice table near the back of the restaurant, grabbed a few building blocks for Edith to play with, ordered beverages and then perused the menu. After taking note of about 10 things that I would have liked to order, I narrowed it down to the tempeh scramble and the biscuits with gravy. I decided to ask our waitress which she would recommend between the two and before I could even finish asking she enthusiastically directed me towards the biscuits with gravy, she was so enthusiastic about it that Neil switched his tofu scramble order to the biscuits as well. They also had a great kids section so we ordered Edith a quinoa, black bean and cashew cheese burrito.

We watched as other patrons food arrived and I added to the list of dishes I wanted to try on our next visit (yes I was already making plans to visit again just based on the menu and other peoples’ orders). Finally our meals arrived and I couldn’t have been more impressed. The biscuits with gravy came with lots of yummy kale and veggies. Edith’s burrito came with a few pieces of fruit and was topped with avocado slices.

We all dug in and Neil threatened to steal some of mine if I didn’t watch out. Neil and I just about licked our plates clean and probably (most definitely) would have done so had we been at home. The biscuits were so delicious and the gravy was amazing. The best part is, I felt satisfied but not heavy and super full at the end of my meal. Edith also loved her burrito and devoured about half of it (okay I may have stolen a few bites). I was pretty impressed with the burrito and would have even ordered it for myself. I loved that it wasn’t salty and that it came with the avocado and fruit as well. I ended up eating the leftover burrito for dinner topped with an embarrassing amount of Aardvark Hot Sauce, so good.

After our delicious dining experience, we decided to take some photos of us in our Ergobaby carriers and took a little stroll around the area. We walked over to the St. Johns bridge, which is really beautiful and alone is worth the drive up to St. Johns. We also went to a few thrift/vintage stores where I found myself a top and a few vintage rompers for Edith. We had a great late morning/afternoon in St. Johns and we have added it to our ever growing list of potential areas to move.

If you are a PDX local, which neighborhood do you live in and why do you love it?

If you aren’t a local, tell me what your strategy is when looking to move to a new area.

Naturally Lindsay

PDX Sites & Eats