JELLY BELLY!!!

I recently worked on some adorable pieces for The Daily Meal all about Jelly Belly.  These include great ideas about party decorating, goody bags, and crafts all using Jelly Belly jelly beans.  And it’s not just for kids! Check out the Champagne and Draft Beer flavors for awesome cocktail ideas as well as the bridal party crafts.

Jelly Belly 1

This one is all about how to entertain with Jelly Bellys, this one is about throwing a kids’ birthday party using Jelly Bellys (check out the CAKE!), and this one offers tons of fun decorating tips.

Jelly it up!!

How to Eat at the Forge on the “Cheap”…

 

 

Let’s face it – date nights can be expensive.  Dinner + drinks + babysitter adds up.  But they are VERY necessary, and if you find ways to keep the dinner bill manageable, you’ll go even more often!  So, here is an option that’s a fun way to enjoy the ambience and delicious food of one of Miami’s fanciest and best Steakhouses without spending months of budgeted “date night dollars”.

The Forge - and its hot new chef Christopher Lee – has just introduced a bar menu, which offers a  “less formal, more social” setting at the famed Miami eatery.  Several tasty dishes from the renowned kitchen are now being offered at the bar along with some of the best wine and cocktails in Miami.  The Kiucumber cocktail was truly the best drink I’ve had in a while, and my husband loved the Hot and Dirty (imagine your own pun).

Our favorite dishes were the Mini Salmon Tartare Tacos with avocado, pineapple, and kimchi, The “Fried Chicken” Dumplings with maple scallion dipping sauce (did not expect to love those so much) and the French Onion soup – you just don’t see this a lot in Miami, but it really hit the spot!

Best of all, the bar menu is available during The Forge’s Veuve Clicquot Happy Hour, which offers $50 bottles, $10 glasses, and $7 special cocktails every Friday night from 6-9PM.  Click below for the menu – most dishes are around $10-$13, with the juicy 10 oz burger topping out at $23.  I definitely recommend getting 4-5 items for a couple (the burger is huge, though, if you go in that direction).

So go get a sitter on a Friday, hit the happy hour, sit next to each other at the bar, and enjoy delish drinks and dinner at a major Miami hotspot for under $100.  And don’t forget to look up at those breathtaking chandeliers!

The Forge_Bar Menu

Eco-Friendly, Vegetarian Food & Wine Festival with Alicia Silverstone!

For once, Miami is ahead of the curve on the healthy and eco-friendly food scene! Hoorah! This weekend is the Seed Food & Wine Festival 2014. And celebs and chefs like Alicia Silverstone, Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, vegan Ironman athlete Brendan Brazier will be there to talk food and demonstrate recipes. It’s all (see below for exception) taking place in tents at Midtown Miami.  

Seed Food and Wine Miami, presented by Whole Foods Market, is a weekend experience for guests who want to sip, savor and learn about conscious plant-based living. All activities were carefully crafted by the Festival Advisory Council to take guests through a one-of-a-kind journey from cooking demonstrations, wine, beer and spirits tastings to body care, workshops, yoga, urban gardening and more. Event Schedule SFWFs line-up features something for everyone and showcases the beauty of the tropical paradise that is Miami and her beaches. Everything served during the festival will be VEGAN and whenever possible organic and non-gmo.

Best of all, Sunday, October 19th, is Sprouts Kids Day presented by Whole Foods Market

A fun afternoon for the entire family: Kids take part in an interactive learning experiences,  from planting their own, container gardens at the hands-on gardening lab, trying their hand at yoga and making their very own veggie pizzas, kids foods by Jugofresh, and hitting up the Bunnie Cake’s cupcake lab to decorate and munch on organic, vegan, gluten-free cupcakes. All in a beautiful setting!

This is from 2pm to 5pm at Miami Beach Botanical Gardens 2000 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach $10 in advance / $15 at the door

Saturday October 18th is Festival Day.  Your ticket includes feature FREE wine and craft beer tastings, FREE food sampling from all participants, lifestyle products, green living, crafts, a farmer’s market, the Savor VIP lounge, FREE Strongbow Beer Garden and the 22 Day Nutrition music stage, plus two tents featuring a variety of seminars and cooking and gardening demos.

11am to 7pm 

Midtown Miami Tents – 29th Street and 1st Avenue,

For more info visit http://www.seedfoodandwine.com/festival/

South Beach Seafood Festival

OK, we all know about the huge Sobe Wine & Food Festival that happens in February, but that one can be expensive and isn’t really about the local food scene.  The 2nd annual Hess Select South Beach Seafood Festival – which launches next week – its quite the opposite. Tickets start at $25 for general admission and go up to $150 for the super-duper VIP events.  There is even a kids’ village. The whole event fundraises for the #EatSmart campaign, which is something parents should be VERY concerned about.

Taking place October 22-25, 2014, the main festival is on Saturday the 25th from 1-9 p.m.  Guests will enter a tent on 7th and Ocean in South Beach by walking thru a Retail Village featuring pop up shops from festival partners and enter into the main festival grounds which will be surrounded by 10 mini cafes from signature local restaurants, multiple bars, a live entertainment stage, interactive zones, and more. The selected restaurants will have tents with garden seating and showcase 2-3 generous portions of their signature menu dishes of choice that are priced between $5-$10.

Additional seafood pairing brands will showcase samplings and a demo stage will celebrate the expertise from the selected restaurant and partner brand chefs, Hess sommeliers, and signature mixologists from participating spirit brands. Unique pairing activities will be available along with multiple interactive villages, a GOYA kids zone filled with activities, a Health Village showcasing Doctors Hospital, Walgreens, & Equinox, cool down stations, and much more.

Participating restaurants over the course of the festival include Joe’s Stone Crab, Oceanaire, Naked Taco, Alta Mar, City Hall, Red, and many more. All info can be found on sobeseafoodfest.com

Additional lead-in events include a Seafood Shuffle on Thursday October 23rd and the newly-announced Chef Showdown at the Seafood & Sneakers Ball on Friday October 24th.  The Chef Showdown will bring together some of the area’s most beloved restaurants as their chefs compete head to head for the title of the best seafood dishes in various categories, and will be hosted by Celebrity Chef Ralph Pagano. Attendees will participate in the public vote as guests will visit the tasting stations around the event space showcasing the 12 participating restaurants, sample their signature dishes showcased on the demo stages, and vote on who is the best in each category. In addition, there will be signature raw bars, featured wine and cocktails, interactive zones, a fashion show featuring #MadeinMiami brands, and more. All sustainable seafood for the event will be provided by event sponsor, Whole Foods.

New Wynwood Cafe- MIAM

Seems like everything is happening this month, no? A cute new Cafe & Boutique has opened in Wynwood and is getting lots of buzz. Miam Café & Boutique, located inside the Wynwood building, features yummies such as sandwiches, salads, muffins,  pastries and delicious coffee from Eternity Coffee Roasters

MIAM describes itself as “a place where people can gather and enjoy fresh and homemade food and drinks all day long in a relaxed atmosphere. Whether you crave a wholesome breakfast, a healthy lunch or freshly-prepared afternoon snack, Miam brings made-to-order and homemade dishes to Wynwood made from the best organic and locally sourced ingredients available.”

Additionally, “Miam’s boutique area showcases some of the best fine grocery products like wines, honeys, oils and much more sourced from all over the United States. Miam is bringing together the purity of what cooking and eating should taste like.”

Miami needs more cute little places like these – LOVE IT!!

Great Event: Eating, Shopping, Benefitting Cancer

Saks Fifth Avenue, MIAMI Magazine and The Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center are hosting a “Key to the Cure” Event on Wednesday, October 15th from 6-9 p.m. in Bal Harbor.  

Tons of delicious bites, only $25, and 100% of admission proceeds going to The Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Great Idea for a ladies night!! Info below

Music and Arts Festival This Weekend: III Points

Remember when you used to go see live music and feel cool? Well, III Points Festival – taking place this weekend, looks like a super fun and well-organinzed event (which we all know can be surprising for Miami), and it’s FREE!  

Definitely babysitter worthy, but if not – they have a roller-skating rink for all ages!

3 days * 68 Acts * 1 Warehouse * 4 Stages * 33 + Art & Tech Activation Sites * 1 Beer Garden * 1 Roller-Skating Rink * 5,000 Attendees * 1 Neighborhood

The three-day celebration of music, art, and technology takes place in the Wynwood Arts District. Dedicated to bringing fans, artists, and companies together, III Points represents a space where the convergence of great mind and innovators from each of these creative worlds can manifest their vision into new, colorful and playful ways. The festival is spread across more than 33 venues and is fully integrated within the community. This multi-venue / multi-genre music festival will feature unique and interactive events that are FREE to the public – from tech sites, lectures, art exhibitions, gaming stations, free happy hours, DJ mixing lessons, and more…(like BBQ-ing with Questlove and a Film collab with Jamie xx & Fourtet).

Check out the website for full schedule and information – http://iiipoints.com

Eva Longoria at Seasalt and Pepper

In case you haven’t been to Miami’s hottest spot – Seasalt and Pepper, worry not – it’s still hot.  (And apparently, the recent controversy surrounding the locale hasn’t slowed them down a bit).

This weekend, Eva Longoria and her boyfriend Jose Antonio Baston were seen dining at the Miami River restaurant.

According to a source, the couple, “Looked very much in love and were kissing throughout their dinner.”  What did they eat?? Well, they dined on Osetra Caviar, Fresh Albacore Tuna Salad, Pata Negra, Chilean Sea Bass Casserole, and the Black Cod Casserole.

And while the fact that she drank nothing but water may lead to pregnancy speculation, the raw fish and tuna kind of puts that to rest…

RedBike: New Spinning Studio in Brickell

For all your spinning fans out there, a cool new studio has opened on Brickell called RedBike.

RedBike is the first dedicated indoor cycling studio in Brickell.  RedBike’s 45-minute full-body workout takes riders on a wild ride in an intimate and energizing environment, adding a yoga-based mental component of spirituality and inspirational coaching for a complete mind-body workout.

The 3,500 sq. ft space includes a state-of-the-art sound and video system, showers and changing areas. RedBike will further set itself apart from the average indoor cycling studio, offering a full range of amenities:

  • In-house nutritionist to help you design a complete lifestyle diet and exercise plan based on your personal fitness goals
  • Juice bar where riders can enjoy fresh cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and health food in both indoor and outdoor seating areas
  • Complimentary plastic reusable water bottle that can be refilled at RedBike’s purified water fountains
  • Spa area complete with spacious locker rooms, plenty of high-pressure rain head showers, and a full line of luxury L’Occitane bath products and amenities
  • Complimentary cycling shoe rental

Single rides ($23) are available for purchase, as well as 5-ride ($115), 10-ride ($220), 20-ride ($400), 40-ride ($720) and monthly-unlimited packages ($210). The first class is always free, so riders have nothing to lose, but 45 minutes.

Expanding -RedBike is located at 1399 SW 1st Ave, Miami, FL 33130. Please visit www.redbikestudios.com to learn more and schedule a time to enjoy this unique riding experience firsthand. Follow RedBike on Facebook.com/RedBike, as well as on Instagram and Twitter via @RedBikeStudios.

Mercury vs. Omega 3s

Eating seafood has become something of a science.  We’ve long been told it’s one of the healthiest foods out there, but thanks to a variety of pollutions (paging BP) and over-fishing, the exact foods you’re buying to give your family important health benefits can actually be extremely harmful.  Or, in the case of many farmed fishes these days, the health benefits simply aren’t present anymore (farmed Salmon, for instance, doesn’t contain Omega 3’s – the exact reason Salmon is so good for you).

So, many of the previous recommendations for how much fish to eat and what fish to eat simply don’t apply anymore.  Too much mercury – now present in almost all fish – acts as a neurotoxin, interfering with the brain and nervous system.  This is especially harmful and dangerous for children, whose brains are forming rapidly and pregnant women. (Read more from the NDRC).

Luckily, EWG (one of my favorite companies/websites), just introduced a cool seafood calculator to help you decide how much seafood is safe for you and your children, as well as which kinds of fish to eat and when.  They also have a general guide and information about the newest data on this important topic.

READ UP.  As people are wondering what causes the rise of autism, asthma and allergies in children – mercury will likely come out to be a top contender.