Healthy Chicks

Last night, I attended my very first Boston Bloggers Meet + Greet, which took place at the ever so chic Sonsie on Newbury. I have been to other local blogger events in the past, but never one hosted by Boston Bloggers, so I was excited to try something new. On that note, I had also never been to Sonsie before but have always heard great things about this little hot spot.

I must say, the event was unlike any blogger event I’d ever gone to before. First and foremost, it was PACKED, which while intimidating at first glance, was a good way to push myself out of my comfort zone.  In addition, there were more than 60 bloggers there, all with different backgrounds and passions which was a breath of fresh air compared to some events I’d been to in the past with ALL healthy living bloggers, or ALL fashion bloggers.

The best part was that one of my best friends, who’s also a blogger and lives in the North End, Megan (Balanced in Boston) came with her boyfriend Ross (Ross Donovan Photography) for their very first blogger event! I was so happy to see them there, even though we tried to meet new people and not simply stay in a clique all night. I think it’s safe to say we did good!

As I sipped my Pinot Grigio, I worked my way around the crowded, dimly lit room to talk to as many bloggers as I could. It was a great way to tell people how excited I am about my new health coaching venture,  spread the word about Healthy Chicks, and make fabulous connections. The event planner’s gave us individual booklets of each blogger attending, along with their blog URL and twitter name which was a great way to keep track of who you’ve talked to! I especially enjoyed chatting with Clair from Finding Clarity since we have so much in common with lots of the same interests. Her blog is beautiful and definitely a creative inspiration.

It was also wonderful bumping into Elina from Healthy and Sane to talk about her latest cooking venture (she’s starting her own company too!), Ryan from EPHAS who started his own company that shares stories and connects people around the world through real-life, raw photographs, and this husband and wife duo Jon and Lindsey from Beantown Eats who blog about all the best food and cocktails in the city!

As you can see, there was quite the variety of people there, which I love. If everyone is the same, life gets boring, ya know?

Speaking of boring, I decided to jazz up the typical caprese salad into something a little more creative for dinner this week (as you know I’m a huge fan of changing up my recipes), and I thought I’d share this super easy, take-it-to-go remix with you!

What Ya Need:

• 1/2 ready-t0-go avocado, chopped
• 1 small roma tomato, sliced into thin wedges
• 1/2 c. fresh baby spinach
• handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
• a few slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 TB olive oil mixed with 1 TB balsamic vinegar
• pinenuts to taste (optional)
• salt & pepper

I enjoyed the salad with a side of Ezekiel bread spread with Trader Joe’s 3-Layer hummus.

Enjoy your day,

Rachel