Eating my way through Disney's California Adventure's Food and Wine Festival 2017

Ready to Eat and Drink!

Bring on the Food!

Food & Wine Festival Passport

So I'll preface this post by stating that I did go last year to the Food & Wine Festival, but that I felt this year's was more popular and more delicious.  If you have a chance to check it out, I highly recommend it!  I will start with the booths I tried, and what I tried from each booth.  I may go back later into the month to try more, so stay tuned, as there may be more reviews to come.

Also, if you are going and planning on trying out the food and drinks from the various booths, I highly recommend picking up one of these handy dandy Food & Wine Festival Tasting Passports. It has a bit more information that the pamphlets they are handing out, such as the various specialty drinks that are served at each kiosk in addition to the food and the map of the different kiosk locations. The Passport also denotes which of the food items are gluten-friendly and/or vegetarian. You can get the passport from a kiosk and they are FREE! 

Note:  My friend and I arrived at the park at 11am. The Festival begain at 10:30. Even between 10:30-11:30 they had already ran out of quite a bit of food, so you may need to check back for what you really want to try.

Our Method:

We walked all the way to the last koisk towards the boardwalk and then worked our way back towards Carthay Circle and around to Hollywood land to hit the LA Styles Booth. 

Off the Cob

JackFruit Carnia Banh Mi Nachos

This was our first stop and it was delicious! It was less crowded as it was all the way at the end of the boardwalk.  We picked up two of the savory food items here.  The JackFruit Carnita Banh Mi Nachos with Cilantro Crema and "Pickled" de Gallo and Sweet Corn Nuggets with Beef Chili, Spring Onions & Sour Cream. 

The Nachos: I have always been a fan of JackFruit but had never had it cooked into carnitas before. I am so glad I got these! They were very good. The flavors all worked well together. It was both a bit savory and sweet and was a great way to start the day.  If you are not a fan of more asian influenced flavors, you may not like these that much, but for me, I love it, and I was happy. 

Sweet Corn Nuggets with Chili
(Photo Credit: DB)

The Corn Nuggets: These were the perfect combination of savory! The bean chili topped with green onions and sour cream really paired well with the sweet taste of the corn.  The chili was very good, and even the corn nuggets eaten without being covered in chili were very good alone. 

Both of the items at this booth were great. 

Lemon Grove

Lemon Macaron and Mule

This is one of the more popular booths. We wanted to try both the Cauliflower and the Duck Confit, but they were sold out at the time.  I did order the Meyer Lemon Macaron with Blueberry Marmalade, Meyer Lemon Cream & Blueberry Dust as well as the Meyer Lemon Ginger Mule. Both were pretty good. 

The Macaron was so good at first bite. I really enjoyed the blueberry dust with the Lemon Cream and Lemon Macaron, however I was not a huge fan of the blueberry marmalade. I think the macaron would have been perfect without the change in texture in the center. 

The Mule was great! It was a perfect first drink at the Festival. It was a bit spicy and the flavors really worked perfectly together. 

Pork Belly Bao

Garlic Kissed 

This was one of the best dishes I tried on this day.  It was so delicious. I will start with the fact that I am a huge Bao fan.  I love it. So when I tried the Black Garlic & Soy-Braised Pork Belly Bao with Pickled Vegetables, I was already sold, really.  It was very flavorful. I would say that they only negatives to this item is the line.  Also, it is really a hit or miss on how fatty the pork is that you get. Mine was a bit fattier than my friends, but it was still delicious.  If this sounds like something you would be interested in trying, do it.

LA Style

After we did most of the booths on the main drag, we headed to the LA Style booth that is tucked away near Stage 17 and the Monster's Inc. ride.  When we got there, the line for this tucked away booth wasn't very long. SCORE!  By this time, my friend and I were a bit full, so we decided to split the Korean Barbecue Beef Short Rib Tacos with Kimchi Slaw.  The flavors in this item were very similar to the Bao, but was still delicious in its own right. If you are more a fan of beef than pork, then this would be a great option for you to get those classic flavors without the pork. 

Overall, these were pretty delicious, but did have a similar flavor to the Bao.

Sweet & Sourdough

After we walked around for a bit longer, we swung back around and headed to Sweet & Sourdough. We both wanted to try the White Cheddar Lager Soup in the Mini Boudin Sourdough Boule.  I am glad we did wind up back here. This soup was amazing. The flavors were solid.  This is a bit of a heavier item, so this is what we finished with. The Bread bowl was great without being chewy, and really made the soup that much better. 

Overall

Overall, I would recommend spending some time at this year's Food and Wine Festival. I feel that it was much better than the attempts made in previous years.  Go venture around and pick up a map and a passport and find things to expand your taste buds. Many of the things we tried were delcious, and I know you can find one, or many, things that you will love just as much as I/we did.  

Feel free to comment or reach out to me if you have any questions!  @engrbrianne_fit on Instagram :)

My Experiences with a Country Heat Beachbody Challenge

Country Heat, Beachbody, Shakeology and Me

Let me start by just prefacing this.  I was a little apprehensive (like I assume many of you are) about signging up to do a beachbody challenge.  I have incorporated some of their other programs such as Insanity, P90X and T25 into my workout routine for some time, but I have never actually completed an entire challenge start to finish and followed the nutrition plan.  Let me tell you.. I WAS DOING IT WRONG BEFORE NOW.  I am here to share my experiences with using the workouts, the shakes and the nutrition plan for anyone who may be interested in learning a little more about it.

The Before and Current ( I'm always a work in progress, in more ways than one :)  )

Inches Lost by Part

Weight:

Starting Weight: 195.8

End ChallengeWeight: 187.2

Total Weight Lost During 30 days of Country Heat: 8.6 lbs

Average Weight Lost per week:  2.04 lbs

My weight loss is super average and what is considered healthy and safe by most professionals.

Inches:

Total Inches Lost: 7.6

Where I was mentally/physically

I had just finished buying and renovating my house. I had gradually put on 50+ lbs over the last two years in preparation for the move as well as too much gluttony with my main squeeze (you can see him in other posts here on my blog).  I had been active up until that point, training and running half marathons and always at the gym, until I just stopped doing it all. I couldnt tell you why, I'm still not really sure why I did, but I do know the effect that it had.  It was harder to move, harder to get going. I felt like garbage ALL.THE.TIME. So I knew something had to change. 

I was emotionally broken as well, as I weighed more than I have ever weighed before. I am pretty sure I was over 200lbs but I avoided a scale for a bit, until I started going to the gym again, and when I did weigh in.. it showed me as 198.9.  This was a huge shock for me. I had never seen my weight crawl that high. I think before this time, the last high number I had seen on myself was 188 in 2013, and that was also scary to me.  

This prompted me to go into overdrive. I was working out 4-5 days a week and using a calorie counting app to monitor my intake and my progress. Well, there wasn't a whole lot of progress. I think in 5 weeks I lost maybe 3 lbs. I hit bottom. I know, as most know, that the older you get, the harder things get, but I mean, I am only in my 30s!

My Thoughts During the Workouts

For any beginner to fitness, I really recommend this workout program! The steps are pretty easy to follow, and the program itself eases you into harder combinations week by week (so it isn't all thrown at your at once). I think that Autumn is great, as well as many of the background dancers and the modifier Julie. On the topic of the modifier- she does a great job of showing you the moves as low impact as possible, and the editing crew did a great job of showing her on the moves that you may be more likely to modify (mostly jumping moves). The program comes with additional videos to learn the steps prior to pushing play. I didnt actually use the step videos, as I have a dance background and can pick up choreography relatively quickly (with the exception of wacky feet which I have yet to master).  I really loved the dance conditioning video as I felt like it was more true to my dance roots with many plies and releves through in there. 

I used a Fitbit to track my calorie burn, and I actually burned less than the estimated 300 for the program. My calorie burn would range from 225-275 on average, unless I also did Dance Conditioning, in which I would hit around 450 calories burned. I basically just recalculated my portion container needs based on the calories (which actually didn't change).  More about the portion control system below!

My Thoughts on the Portion Control System

The portion control system is WAY FREAKING EASIER to use than a scale.  With the whole challenge pack, you are given a meal plan guide to help you figure out your calorie goal which tells you how many of each container you need daily.  It is based off your weight and expected calorie burn, then calculates in a deficit.  I was in the 1500 calorie level, which always seemed like enough food.  Included in the meal plan is also 3 days worth of sample plans (which is actually more as each meal lists 2-3 different options). The goal is to eat 3 main meals, and 2 snacks. This system, and similar methods, always works well with me, as I tend to want to eat snacks.  I love the portion containers MUCH better than having to use measuring cups and a scale to portion, as it is much easier to just plop a bunch of food in the container and dump it on your plate.

Overall, it is an easy system to follow, and I will continue to use it when I start the 21 Day Fix this next week!

My Thoughts on the Shakeology Shakes

So I was like most people out there about the shakeology shakes- skeptical, but now.. I AM A BELIEVER. Anyone who knows me knows I have some serious stomach issues. I had been diagnosed with IBS and many other issues related to that.  I always had an upset stomach and felt poorly at least one day a week, but now I feel so much better! Shakeology is not just a protein shake or a meal replacement. It is a game changer.  I no longer need coffee first thing in the morning, I haven't had an upset stomach in I can't tell you how long, and the vitamins and minerals keep my immune system strong.  Even when all my co-workers were getting sick around me, I managed to stay germ free (it's the way to be!).  Overall, I love these shakes, and I am so happy 

Want to try it with me?

If you are interested in joining me or one of the challenge groups I run, please contact me at engrbriannefit@gmail.com or through the link to the left (shop) or below.  

I hope to hear from you. :)

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My Review on the Aladdin's Oasis Main Street Electrical Parade Dining Package

In short: WORTH IT.

Shhhh!!! It is Starting!

Get Excited!

Such a Classic.

Planning!

with a Disney Duck (not Donald)

So I had made the decision to use Disney Holiday Tickets that my Cast Member other half had received to go to Disneyland with my mom, my best friend, and her mother. Since the Main Street Electrical Parade is back for a limited time, my mom wanted to see it, as she remembers it from her time as kid.  

Now we were planning on attending the weekend after the parade returned, so it was going to be crowded and people would most likely line up hours before the parade start to ensure they got a spot. Since we knew this would be the case, we starting looking for dining packages (similar to what they had with the Paint the Night parade and Fantasmic and what they continue to do in California Adventure with World of Color).  My mom took to the internet and came across the two dining/viewing packages that they offer.  The Aladdin's Oasis package and the Blue Bayou package. As we have done Blue Bayou in the past, and weren't really looking for that level of dining, we discussed with our Disney partners, and decided on Aladdin's Oasis. 

We chose 4:30pm for our reservation as this guaranteed us the early parade viewing. Since we were braving the park with my seven month pregnant best friend, this was the best option.  

Disney Day!

Relaxing on a bench at the Hub

We started our day at California Adventure because we knew we would be spending all evening at Disneyland.  We went ahead and headed to get a fastpass for the new Soaring Over the World then headed to Carsland. Our mothers wanted to ride Racers, so we waited and ate delicious things from the Cozy Cones.  My friend had their pretzel bites and I have pizza flavored popcorn (SO.GOOD.). After we ate we went to Little Mermaid and then to Soaring.  The new soaring is awesome. There just happens to be a lot of things that jump in your face, so if that tends to bother you, you have been warned. 

After soaring we headed to Disneyland. I know we did a few rides here, but I honestly cant remember the order. I know in the day we did Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Small World- Disneyland is fun like that. 

When was almost time to eat so we headed to Aladdin's Oasis to order our food. More about that below:

Same menu is used for MSEP

Aladdin's Oasis and the Parade Viewing Dining Package: 

So we went to get in line at the kiosk where you order the To-Go packages (if you didnt know that they are to-go meals, now you are aware).  The only downfall to this was the wait. I think we must have waited at least 20 minutes to order our food, as the individuals in front of us must have been ordering for small armies. 

When it was time to order, I actually wasn't too impressed with the menu options, I believe they have herb-marinated chicken breast, a meat lasagna and a vegetarian lasagna for adults, and they had a grilled chicken breast, spaghetti with marinara and macaroni and cheese for the kids. I believe the prices shown might be slightly less than the new charges ( I used a discount, so I am unsure what they were).  

I ended up ordering off of the kids menu (with no issues- some kept saying that Disney wouldn't allow this, but I had no issues). I got the macaroni and cheese. It was actually super delicious.  Included with the kids plate (which is in a super convenient carry container since it was to-go) is macaroni and cheese- a ton of it, mixed fruit, a roll and butter, steamed green beans and a delicious Mickey cookie.  If you are actually feeding a child with this meal, it is definitely enough food for two of them, as it was enough for me, and I was quite full.  

Instead of just grabbing and going with our meal, we asked to dine at the oasis and was given a table number.  We had no problems finding a large table in the shade under the patio.  We sat our numbers on the table and a server came and brought us our beverages, utensils and after just enough time to sing the chours from "A Whole New World" our food was out!

It was a nice little sit down "grab and go".

Mickey and the Magical Map

After our little dining excursion we headed to watch Mickey and the Magical Map. The three ladies I was with had never seen it, and as I was toting around a very pregnant best friend, sitting down was a good option nearing the end of the day.  We walked to Fantasyland and I got hot chocolate and sat down and we all watched Mickey chase a spot around a Map. They all really enjoyed it, and I completely recommend this little show if you haven't seen it. The music is fantastic and it is super cute. 

After the Map, I am pretty sure this is when we rode Small World, as we needed to kill some time before we could enter the preferred viewing area for the dining package.

Parade Viewing with the Dining Package

So there are two dining packages that are offered for the Main Street Electrical Parade viewing. One is where we were, and the other (honestly I don't even know where the other is- but its included with the Blue Bayou dining package).  The viewing location for the Aladdin Dining Package is the large terrace right next to It's a Small World.  If you are staring directly at the Small World clock, the terrace is to your immediate right.  The large gates between the two are where the parade begins, so you are the first group to see it step down.  Honestly our view was great, and we were able to sit and rest on the steps before it started (we got there about an hour early).  We watched it, were mesmerized, and it was overall a fantastic day. 

Final Thoughts

I have told numerous people that if they really want to watch the parade, and don't want to worry about setting up camp 3 hours before the parade begins for a great spot to do this dining package. My food was delicious and the view is great.  As always, feel free to comment if you have an questions!