Wrapping up the IFBC experience: Saturday night and Sunday at the International Food Blogger Conference

Just a few closing pictures from Saturday evening and Sunday at the International Food Bloggers Conference held in Seattle, WA from August 27 to 29, 2010.

Secret Sherry Society Pre-Dinner Reception

I have never had the opportunity to experience Sherry paired with foods before. Nor did I realize there were so many different types of Sherry! From a cocktail made with Sherry, Mandarine Napoleon, drops of salt water and a grapefruit peel that was paired with spicy tuna empanadas to the Dios Baco Amontillado Sherry paired with tortilla espanola. This event expanded my Sherry and pairing horizons.

Emilio Lustau "Peninsula" Palo Cortado Sherry with Lamb Meatball

Williams and Humbert "Dry Sack 15" Sweet Old Oloroso Sherry - Croque Monsieur with Manchego and Serrano Ham

Saturday Night Keynote Address

James Oseland was a captivating speaker, telling us about his story but also the stories of his interactions with food bloggers around the globe. He shared what he loved about food blogging and inspired the room. I have read Saveur before but became a subscribe that night!

Keynote Speaker: Saveur Magazine Editor in Chief James Oseland

Saturday Winemakers Dinner

Saturday night dinner was a variety of small plates from amazing Seattle and Sonoma area chefs. Unfortunately it was really dark, so the photographs were difficult to capture. I loved Chef Holly Smith's Wagyu Beef Cheeks with Polenta Stuffed Dog Mountain Squash Blossoms, but alas the lighting did not. Nor was I able to share the images of Chef Ethan Stowell's Beef Carpaccio which was also flavorful. However I was able to share some other images of the evening.

Images from Opening Night at IFBC

Friday was a long day between travel and touring Seattle, but I wanted to leave you pictures from the first day of the International Food Bloggers Conference:

Rishi Loose Leaf Tea

Bacon Peanut Brittle from Sir Fancis Bacon and the National Peanut Board

Oktoberfest Beer

American Lamb

Watermelon and Tomato Salad

Tuna Salad

Rodney Strong Zinfandel

Chilled Melon Soup with Chef Jeff Mall of Zin

Watermelon Gazpacho with Chef Josh Silvers of Syrah Bistro and Jackson's Bar and Oven

Red Velvet Cupcake from Cupcake Love

Walla Walla Wines

Hook's Blue Cheese and Cashew Brittle pairing from Wisconsin

Carr Valley Cheddar and Kettle Corn pairing from Wisconsin

Tonnino Tuna Asian Slaw

Celebrating Alaskan Seafood with a slider

Geoduck Crudo from Taylor Shellfish (it's pronounced gooeyduck)

Keynote Morgan Spurlock gets real with the audience (and the Pomtinis!)

Fave Five and a Progresso Soup Giveaway

About a month ago I received an opportunity to try 15 different Progresso soups courtesy of Progresso and MyBlogSpark. Much like any other product I have investigated, I needed to ensure that this baby lived up to my standards by trying all of the different soups out. A couple of versions have been travel staples of mine for years (who doesn't love a giant pop-top can of soup for under 150 calories after a long day of work?), but there were new flavors to explore as well!

Before I give you my five favorites, I wanted to let you know that Progresso is currently giving away a makeover trip for two to New York. Just click here and you can enter to win until March 15. There are also printable coupons that you should definitely check out (I know I have).

While every soup I tried was pretty tasty for canned soups, I will confess to doctoring a couple by adding extra veggies. Bulking up canned soups is an easy way to up the fullness factor and sneak in some extra goodness. Whether it's adding a can of no-salt-added green beans, pouring in some frozen mixed veggies, or tossing in some fresh spinach... I love to sneak in the vegetables.

My five favorites, in no particular order: Traditional Chicken Barley, Light Zesty Southwestern-Style Vegetable, Light Chicken Noodle, Light Italian-Style Vegetable, and Light Chicken and Dumplings. I am a sucker for the light soups... and who can blame me? If you are counting Weight Watcher points, you are looking at a zero point snack for a cup of warm goodness. A whole can is less than 200 calories!

All of the soups were full of flavor, unlike some other light soups I have tried. Depending on the soup, many are MSG free. Some don't have soy and some are vegetarian. I'll give the calories/fat/fiber/protein for my five favorites, but I would encourage readers to check out labels before purchasing soups to consume.

The two vegetable soups both made great sides to grilled cheese sandwiches. The Italian-Style has pasta while the Southwestern-Style has beans. Both had lots of vegetables and flavorful broths. The Chicken Noodle and Chicken Barley were filling with big chunks of chicken and chunky vegetables. I enjoyed the mini dumplings in the Chicken and Dumpling soup, it took me back to my grandmother's Hungarian dumplings. I only with they were bigger and there were more of them. However, I guess that would defeat the purpose of it being a light soup?

MyBlogSpark and Progresso were kind enough to offer one Uncovering Food reader an opportunity to try out a couple of soups for free! One reader will receive a gift box containing two Progresso soups, a super sweet Progresso mug (that holds the whole can of soup... love it!), and a jump rope that measures the number of jumps you do (can't wait for the knee to heal to try this bad boy out). In other words, see that picture above this post? That's the promo picture I was sent of the giveaway!

So how can you be the lucky winner?

1. Post a comment saying one SOUPer thing about yourself. I think it is important that we take pride in ourselves so I want to know why you think you are amazing.

2. Follow Uncovering Food and let me know you are on the list *wink*

3. Share the giveaway with your friends! Link back or cc me in an email if you don't have a blog. You can also tweet about the giveaway for extra chances (no more than once a day!) and make sure you include @UncoveringFood in the tweet!

The contest will end on March 7th at 11:59pm PST. I should be all done with the massive debate tournament I am hosting and life should begin to normalize again. Luckily, I used the Progresso coupon to stock up on some soups so I will not starve this week :o)

Nutritional Stats for my Fave Five (all stats are for the full can... because let's not kids ourselves, one serving is not enough! if you want the stats for a one cup serving, just divide these in half):

Traditional Chicken Barley: 160 calories/2g fat/4g fiber/14g protein

Light Zesty Southwestern-Style Vegetable: 120 calories/1g fat/8g fiber/6g protein

Light Chicken Noodle: 140 calories/3g fat/4g fiber/10g protein

Light Chicken & Dumpling: 160 calories/3g fat/4g fiber/12g protein

Light Italian-Style Vegetable: 120 calories/0g fat/8g fiber/4g protein

Boundless Health with Oatmega 3 Bars

Between teaching and hitting the gym, I have been on the hunt for healthy food bars that pack a nutritional punch. With so many bars on the market, it has been a tasty search for a caloric reasonable bar that contains fiber, protein and other health benefits to make eating a bar worth the money and meal substitution.

Available in Texas stores but also online, Boundless Nutrition has answered the call with their 190 calorie Oatmega 3 Wellness Bar. The bar contains 5 grams of fiber and 14 grams of what they call "time release" protein. I am not sure how long that time release is supposed to last, but couple this bar with a glass of water and I was full for hours!

The bar also contains 300mg of ocean-sourced Omega-3s, 150mg of Green Tea antioxidants, 25% of your RDA of calcium, prebiotic inulin, and contains 100% natural non-GMO products (44% organic). It is cold-processed is low on the glycemic index. It really packs a nutritional punch, doesn't it?

This small family owned company

And how does it taste? The texture is like cookie dough, with a little crunch from the nuts that are used. There are three flavors: Dark Chocolate Mint, Mocha, and Dark Chocolate Peanut. The Dark Chocolate Mint brought back memories of Thin Mint cookies, only more flavorful (and healthy). The chocolate is rich with light hints of mint throughout the bar. The Mocha could easily be my afternoon workout snack, and pick-me up. The rich coffee hints filled my mouth even after the bar was consumed. Finally, the Chocolate Peanut was like a healthy candy bar. I would have liked more peanut (says the nut addict) but it was delicious and killed my candy craving.

If you are interested in purchasing Oatmega 3 bars, check out where you can pick some up. Or win them here at Uncovering Food!

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One winner will get to sample all three Oatmega 3 bars, courtesy of Boundless Nutrition.

To enter, comment on this post with why you would like to try Oatmega 3 bars. This is mandatory to gain additional entries.

For an extra entries:
1. Link back to your blog! Post that link here!
2. Become a follower of Uncovering Food! Comment here to earn the entry.
3. Post Uncovering Food's badge on your web site for TWO additional entries. Comment here twice with the link to your blog.
4. Final entry? Tweet about this giveaway! Link @UncoveringFood to your tweet for credit! You can do this once a day until the contest ends.

Contest ends Sunday, August 9 at 11:59pm PST. Good luck!

It's my 100 post party and I'll give away gifts if I want to!

Uncovering Food has been up and running for almost a year. After a slow start, I finally feel like the blog has begun to form an identity. Food has become so complicated and confusing. Low fat, low carb, high fiber, transfats, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, gluten free, vegan, raw, organic, sustainably grown, cost conscious, salmonella, antioxidants, 100-calorie pack, free range, omegas, probiotics, whole wheat... while some of these terms are as old as food itself, the truth behind many of them can be downright confusing.

At the 100 post milestone, I feel, as any good educator should, that it is time to evaluate and assess my work. To set new goals to acheive and improve. And if you keep reading, there is a chance for you to help!

My personal goal is to provide more informative articles that help readers uncover more of the truths behind the food buzz. I also want to take readers on an exploration of more foods that are off the beaten path. But I still plan on sharing healthy low calorie recipes and fabulous product finds.

Here's how you can help! I am hosting a 100-post giveaway for one lucky reader. The box will benefit your body both inside and out. While the gifts for inside the body are some of my favorite foods (I will also include a One bar if I get another shipment in time!), I'll fess up that the gifts for the outside were a gift I was recently given. But now they can be yours!

Goodies for the Inside
1 6 oz jar of Vintage Vine Shiraz Jelly
1 100-calorie pack Blue Diamond Raw Almonds
1 100-calorie pack Emerald Walnut and Almond Blend
1 Orange and Cranberry Gnu Bar
1 box Krusteaz Cranberry Orange muffin mix
1 TLC Pumpkin Pie Bar
1 Chocolate Brownie Cliff Z Bar
1 Chocolate Chip Cliff Z Bar
I was also gifted this book with dozens of brownie recipes. Since brownies are not my dessert of choice, I can't vouch for the book. However the pictures are fabulous!

Goodies for the Outside
Mission Gallery Blueberry Scent Candle
The Body Shop Sugar and Spice Shimmer Soap
Victoria's Secret Romatic Wish Shower Gel (8oz)
Victoria's Secret Romatic Wish Body Splash (8oz)
Victoria's Secret Romatic Wish Body Lotion (8oz)

How do you win? There are plenty of ways to earn entries!

1. Leave a comment on this post (only comments on this post will be counted) with either a topic or food you would like covered by Uncovering Food. If have any additional suggestions or assessments, toss those in as well! Please make sure your email is either in your profile or I have a way to contact you if you win.

The first way is the only way to access all of the other entry methods. Also, if you do earn additional entries using the methods below, please let me know!

2. Follow Uncovering Food by clicking on the box to the left for THREE additional entries! If you are already a follower, remind me when you post below and you get your three entries!
3. Tweet on Twitter up to once a day for an additional entry.
4. Follow Uncovering Food on Twitter for another TWO entries. If you already follow Uncovering Food, remind me down below for your two entries!
5. Link back to this post for another entry per blog post that links.
6. Add Uncovering Food to your blog's blogroll for another TWO entries.

This contest will run for two weeks and will end on April 27th at midnight. Every entry will be assigned a number and I will use the random number generator at random.org to select the winner. The winner will be announced on the 28th here at Uncovering Food and on Twitter.

An Amazing Value: One Organic Food Bars

Very rarely do I find a bar that I have to buy more of immeadiately after sampling. One that I email and Twitter about after the third bite. One that I want to savor bite by bite, every chew, until I am sad that it is gone but so fully satisfied that I am happy at the same time.

More specifically, when I do find such a bar, very rarely is the bar sold at an affordable cost. Made with organic ingredients. Free of trans fats, refined sugars, high fructose corn syrupand preservatives. And prepared fresh daily through cold processing!

When I first communicated with Organic Food Bar, I was interested in learning more about the Active Greens and Omega-3 Flax bars. The names just seemed so.... healthy? But Eric over at Organic Food Bar was convinced my readers and I would fall in love with the One line, a low cost and all organic line of bars. Eric was right about one thing... a girl has to watch her wallet these days. These bars are only 86 cents when you buy a box of twelve (and only $1.19 if you buy them individually) online. When he told me they were gluten free, soy free, dairy free and peanut free... I KNEW I had to try them. I have friends with a number of allergies and if these were as amazing as they sounded, I would have to tell the world!

Lucky for me, the happy taste tester, and all of my amazing readers, the One Organic Food Bars are worthy of gracing the screen of Uncovering Food. Although don't create too big a demand, because this girl still wants to be able to get her hands on some of them!

Raspberry Muffin Crunch

Okay so while the first picture on the blog is one I took, I loved how the graphics on the company web site included the ingredients that go into the bar! The Raspberry Muffin Crunch was my favorite all around bar. It was sweet without being too sweet. The raspberry pieces just popped in my mouth and combined with the organic non-glutton cereals and granola, it was the perfect texture. The bar consistency was firm but soft, creating a satisfying mini meal and a perfect pre-workout snack. Did I mention it has 500mg of Omega Threes and is Vegan? When reviewing my notes, the first thing written in caps across the top of the page was: YUM!!!

Ingredients: Certified Organic Ingredients: Organic Raspberry Granola (Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Organic Raisins, Organic Raspberries, Organic Oat Bran, Organic Crispy Brown Rice) Organic Rice Syrup, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Millet, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Flax, Organic Acacia Fiber and Organic Freeze Dried Raspberry Juice.

Nutritional Information: 180 calories/4.5 grams fat/3 grams fiber/5 grams protein

Chocolate Macaroon Crunch

Coconut lovers beware! The Chocolate Macaroon Crunch Bar is full of this fabulous ingredient! Complete with more probiotics than a serving of yogurt, this bar was my second favorite of the line. Every mouthful was chocolate and coconut. I felt like I was being so bad! It was definitely more cookie like, which was good when I was looking for something to enjoy with a good cup of Teavana Earl Grey Creme tea for afternoon tea time. It is also very filling for a bar. After enjoying it with my tea, I wasn't hungry for hours!

Ingredients: Certified Organic Ingredients: Organic Rice Syrup, Organic Coconut, Organic Coconut Almond Granola (Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Barley Flakes, Organic Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Organic Raisins, Organic Almonds, Organic Coconut, Organic Oat Bran, Organic Sunflower Seeds) Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Millet, Organic Chocolate Chips (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Cocoa Butter), Organic Acacia Fiber and Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086.

Nutritional Information: 210 calories/10 grams fat/6 grams fiber/2 grams protein

Blueberry Muffin Crunch

Another quality bar in the line, the Blueberry Muffin Crunch Bar also boasts heart healthy Omega 3s. This was my least favorite in the line, as it was definitely sweeter than the raspberry bar with less pop from the fruit. The bar does have a nuttier texture though which I enjoyed and savored. When I say it was least favorite, let me be clear that I would still buy and eat these Vegan babies. The texture is a bit chewier (although I did get a couple larger chunks of almonds - yum!) and the bar was a bit darker in color from the blueberries. However it also left me satiated and with a fresh burst of energy!

Ingredients: Certified Organic Ingredients: Organic Blueberry Almond Granola (Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Organic Raisins, Organic Apples, Organic Almonds, Organic Oat Bran, Organic Blueberries, Organic Sunflower Seeds) Organic Rice Syrup, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Millet, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Flax, Organic Acacia Fiber and Organic Freeze Dried Blueberry Juice.

Nutritional Information: 180 calories/4.5 grams fat/6 grams fiber/3 grams protein

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