I have been eating food all.day.long. I am completely STUFFED right now from all the awesome offerings.
Breakfast
Complete with delicious offerings from Quaker, Stonyfield, & Thomas’s – all HLS sponsors. :)
Fresh Fruits
OATS!
Complete with toppings :)
My Goods:
I crumbled half of my blueberry muffin over the oats, which were already topped with a little brown sugar, raisins, granola, almond butter, and berries. I like to call it my “Everything But The Kitchen Sink” Oats bowl. ;)
After breakfast, it was time for the sessions to get started.
One of the sessions I took today was on photography, so I was able to play around a little bit with some of my camera settings. I was quite surprised, actually, by all the settings my little point and shoot camera has on it! I definitely walked away with some new tips. :)
I definitely still have a lot to learn, but hey, it’s a start, right? Maybe someday I’ll save up enough money for an SLR…
After the photography session it was time for, what else, but more FOOD!
Lunch
The spread at lunch was absolutely AMAZING! There were so many different choices, I had such a hard time trying to decide what to go for…so I actually pretty much ended up with a little bit of everything. :)
Desserts!!!
My ENORMOUS plate…
HUGE pickle (insert giggle here)
Nothing better than a roasted veggie sandwich with provolone. Oh.my.gosh. delicious!
Desserts!
Don’t let this plate fool you…I most definitely went back for about 4 more little pieces. They were all so delicious, I felt like I needed to try them all! Hey, I’m human, not perfect. ;)
After lunch, there were some fun giveaways, and guess who actually won something?!? MEEEE!!!
A snazzy Oikos apron, tote bag, and a copy of the DVD Food Inc., which I’ve really been wanting to watch. YAY for free stuff!
Oh yes, speaking of free stuff…check out all this SWAG I’m leaving with!
Vega!
Glo Bars!!!
My afternoon session was a very informative panel discussion, led by Anne, Heather, Julie, Sana, & Andrea. There were a lot of great and informative topics discussed about the blog world.
My next session was led by Chandra on the 5 W’s of Strength Training. Chandra was a phenomenal speaker, and gave a wealth of good information in her presentation. I’ll be featuring a post with all of her main points very soon!
Next was a break, with what else but…more FOOD!
These Tangy Taco Salad Bites were out of this WORLD! I honestly was so full from lunch, but after Julie told me how good they were, I knew better than to pass one up. I definitely need to re-create these babies at home…the hubby would definitely be a fan! :)
Breaks not only meant food. They also meant time to BLOG and hook up computers to recharge your batteries. ;)
Me & Caitlin, who also gave me some great tips for my first Indian Food Feast tonight. Hopefully I can work up a little more of an appetite after my day full of eating…
Who am I kidding, I’m sure that will not be a problem. :shock:
Neinke & I just got back from another nice casual stroll down the streets of Chicago. It really is such a pretty area.
After getting back to the room, I wanted to snack on one of these babies that I snagged earlier today…Gina’s macaroons!
Gina, these things are INCREDIBLE!!! I had to stop myself from eating the whole bag…I think knowing that I have a full Indian Food Feast ahead of me helped. ;)
Time to get ready!!!
Ashley says
Love the recap…so sad we didn’t get to meet!
Shanna, like Banana says
All the eats look incredible especially the grilled veggies!
Hillary [Nutrition Nut on the Run] says
Now I’m craving oatmeal! : ) So excited about my swag too – plane food!
Chicago Cuisine Critique says
Yum. I definitely need to attend HLS next year. This looks awesome!
Katie says
I’m super jealous of all the food you got to eat there! Not to mention all the free stuff that you left with!
Lin says
Hi Courtney! I’m so glad I got to feast Indian style with you :-). Since I’m a total food geek, I just searched your entries for Bobby Flay lol.
Courtney says
HAHA!
It was such a blast last night! So glad we were able to feast together. :)
Holly at Greek Yogurt and Apple Slices says
This looks like SO MUCH FUN!! Lovin’ all of the different food options…and an oatmeal bar..ahhhh…poerfect :D