Let the Celebration Begin!

I have officially completed my 5 Before 25 Challenge but more on that in a sec. Yesterday was the official start of my birthday month week. I was really excited for the party that my friend Jason and I hosted. His actual birthday was yesterday and we had decided to celebrate the big 2-5 together since so many of our friends overlap.

I started my day off with this amazing egg sandwich. It is 2 pieces of toast with 1/2 a slice of 2% provolone on one slice and TJ's eggplant and pepper spread on the other. I had 3 egg whites with a handful of spinach in between, with some hot sauce for added heat. It was a wonderfully savory breakfast to balance out Thursday's sweetness.

The rest of the day flew by and before I knew it it was party time!  Jason chose a Mexican themed fiesta and we prepared a few snacks for our friends, including chips with guacamole, salsa, and a 6-layer vegetarian bean dip that I healthified by omitting sour cream and using less cheese on top. I nibbled here and there and those snacks were dinner.

Here's a few highlights of the night:

This morning I had plans with these lovely ladies to go berry picking out in Maryland. I had never been berry picking before and knew this would be a great activity to complete my 5 Before 25 Challenge! It was great to share in the fun with Liz and Jacquie.

We had originally planned to go later in the day but I was up early than planned by some miracle so we decided to go before it got too hot.  All I was craving was fresh fruit so I had a pear, a few cherries, and strawberry tossed in 1/4c plain fat free yogurt with toast and Earth Balance. Not what I should have wanted to eat but it satisfied my craving perfectly.

I met up with Liz who so graciously drove us out to Larriland Farm in Woodbine. We had a great car ride, chatting the whole time there and back, and soon found Jacquie amidst the black raspberry bushes.

We picked black raspberries, beets, and blueberries which was so fun! All you do is pluck the berries off the bushes and pull the beets out of the ground. I can't wait to use my goodies this week (and freeze some too)!

We ended up picking our fruit at the heat of the day around 12:45 and made our way back to DC around 2. Somewhere in the midst of traffic, Liz and I got the brilliant idea to pick up salads from Whole Foods. She's a genius, I tell ya. This beauty had:

• spinach and romaine
• balsamic tofu
• mixed bean salad
• carrots, cucumber, artichoke hearts, and marinated beets
• white and black beans
• vegan rice salad
• Asian cole slaw
• parm

I didn't eat it until I got home but this was exactly what I was craving, plus about a liter of water!

For a treat to continue cooling down I had this lime fruit bar from Trader Joe's.

Time to rest up before another party tonight!

What has been the highlight of your weekend so far?