Postcards from Bunny: Macro-Nutrient Meal Delivery from HercuLean Meal Prep

BBQ Salmon

Bunny awoke with a start. The light in her room seemed odd and everything was strangely silent. Throwing open the curtains, she saw that everything outside was covered in a thick blanket of snow. "Now I remember why I don't usually come to Chicago in the middle of the winter!" she said aloud.

Indeed, she had been underground for quite some time (literally underground, that is, as she had been helping her archaeologist husband to explore the catacombs under Paris for several months) and had only intended to stop over in Chicago for a quick hot dog and slice of pizza. But with several inches of the white stuff turning all of Chicago into the North Pole, she knew there would be no escaping her lodgings anytime soon.

Turkey Scramble

The house she was staying in just happened to belong to a dear friend who was world class body builder and who was off competing on the pageant circuit. "The snow's still coming down pretty heavily," she told him over the phone, "Do you mind if I raid your fridge? I'm getting a little peckish and I don't want to make some poor delivery person wade through this mess." "Go ahead! Actually, you may find something you'll really like in the freezer. Help yourself!" said her muscle bound chum.

That was when Bunny discovered his stash of HercuLean meals. Curious, she extracted one of the packages from the freezer and examined it. The meals, it seemed, were specially designed for those wishing to consume mostly low fat, high protein foods. There was an abundance of meaty options, from steak and chicken to salmon and tilapia, and each came with the amount of proteins, fats, and carbs listed quite clearly on the front.

Shredded Steak

HercuLean, it turned out, was founded by a pair of brothers; one a chef and the other a body builder. Together, they combined their knowledge of nutrition and flavor to create a line of freshly prepared and flash frozen meals that would help people who were trying to live healthier lives get a head start. Though the company is based in Indiana, they recently started delivering to Chicago, packing their frozen meals into specially insulated boxes and shipping them overnight to ensure their freshness. Best of all, in addition to a large variety of entree options, they offer a pretty extensive variety of breakfast options.

Not being able to resist a little tasting, Bunny heated up a few of the meals. For the breakfasts, she particularly enjoyed the Turkey Chili served over egg whites, which was hearty and well spiced, and the Chicken Sausage, which had a strong fennel flavor and was nicely complimented by a side of shredded sweet potatoes. Venturing into the dinner options, Bunny favored the Curry Tilapia with sauteed spinach and a side of wild rice, and the Pesto Chicken with green beans. Overall, she was very impressed by how flavorful all of the meals were, and she loved that the packaging was microwave and oven safe, meaning she could heat the meals straight from the freezer without any other prep work or plating.

Curried Tilapia

Chicken Sausage

In fact, Bunny consumed so much protein that day that she was suddenly filled with energy. Not wanting to waste such a surge of vivaciousness, she headed outside and began to shovel the snow, and by day's end, she had actually cleared a path out of the house! "Well, I guess now I could go get that hot dog and pizza," she said, "But I did see HercuLean Cod Burger in freezer... I think I'll stay inside after all."

Pesto Chicken

The writer's of this blog were sent products free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Postcards from Bunny: Step Up Shine and Dine 2017

It was time once again for the Step Up Women's Network event of the year, Shine and Dine, and Bunny was speeding her way to the party in a single engine plane flown by an ex-Blue Angel. "Can this thing go any faster?" she yelled to her pal in the pilot's seat. "No," he yelled back, "But it can do this!" And suddenly, the plane was spinning in mid air and spewing colored smoke from its rear, forming the sentence Bunny is running a tad bit late! in the blue Chicago sky. "You have to warn me before you do that again!" Bunny chided him, "I dropped one of my earrings!"


Eventually, Bunny made it to the new home of the Shine and Dine event, Revel Fulton Market. As in past years, she was greeted at the door by smiling girls in orange, the very girls Step Up Women's Network benefits. The first order of business was to scope out the vast array of offerings from the restaurants from all across town who had come to support the event. Chef Cory Morris maned the table for Ronero, serving up a delicious tuna ceviche with lime and corn in a coconut broth. At Terzo Piano table, Carolina Diaz brought a red pepper rigatoni. Christine Cikowski of Honey Butter Fried Chicken, who served as the chef/partner for the evening, came with her stellar plate of Fried Chicken Nachos (which Bunny may or may not have had seconds of). New comers to the event, like Eden, Butcher and Larder, and ASAP Poke were big hits as well, with lines moving steadily past their tables all night. Offerings from Duck Duck Goat, La Sirena Clandestina, and Found Kitchen greeted guests as they took their seats for the main presentation. Favorites like Bang Bang Pie, Floriole, and Sixteen provided sweet treats to round out the savory plates.

Step Up CEO Jenni Luke first took the stage to thank all the sponsors and walk the crowd through just some of the accomplishments of the program and the girls that the program benefits in the previous year. Several alumni of the program spoke about how much the network of mentors helped them through their education and into stable and important careers while groups of orange clad girls currently in the program looked on with stars in their eyes, dreaming of the day they too would be honored for their hard work and success.

The evening wore down with a live musical performance, which got everyone up and dancing. All told, the evening raised more than $350,000 for Step Up Women's Network, a truly admirable sum. Bunny made a promise to herself to once again find a way to attend this spectacular event next year (and every year after that) so that she never misses any stories of the incredible girls who are continuously given such wonderful opportunities through Step Up to grow to their full potential.

To see lots of pictures from the event, visit the Bunny and Brandy Facebook Page. You can also check recaps to previous Shine and Dine events to see how this year measured up.

The writers of this blog were invited to attend the event free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Postcards from Bunny: Pangea Nutrition and GIVEAWAY!

Ingredients delivered by Amazon Fresh

"Where on earth has Bunny been?" we hear you cry, and it's an understandable query, seeing as how she has been mysteriously absent almost this entire year. The truth is Bunny went deep underground late last year, to a place where social media dared not tread. And we mean "deep underground" quite literally, as Bunny has spent the last several months living in the deepest caverns of Spain, Italy, Greece, and all along the Mediterranean, helping her beloved Benedict research the fossils of all the ancient animals that once called them home. "I did start to miss sunlight after a little while," Bunny giggles, "But I don't think I've ever slept better! Also, being so far down that none of my electronic devices could pick up any signal certainly was a blessing and a curse. On the one side, I didn't have to read any distressing news or angry online rants, but I was also cut off from all my favorite food sites! The first thing I did every time we surfaced was to binge on all the delicious food I could find!"

Roasted chicken with sauteed veggies and quinoa

After a while, Bunny actually began to notice something: Even though she was gorging on piles of food as they moved across the continent, she was actually feeling better than she had in ages. She felt spry and alert and light on her feet. Why was this, she wondered, especially when upon returning to the States, she immediately began to feel sluggish and weighed down. Was it that the clean, well balanced eating habits of the people on that side of the world had had such a profound effect on her disposition?

As it turns out, many nutritionists consider the eating habits of Mediterranean people to be some of the healthiest in the world. Dr. Christos Mantzoros, a global obesity, diabetes and metabolism pioneer and Professor at Harvard Medical School, is one of those people, and that is why he recently co-founded a one of a kind meal kit delivery service called Pangea Nutrition, which takes everything about the Mediterranean way of treating food and translates it into an easy to follow guide to healthy eating.

Quinoa and radicchio salad with balsamic vinaigrette 

Bunny decided to give this service a try to see if her energy would indeed return to what it had been. The thing she appreciated right away was that she didn't need to worry about any of the meal planning. All of the ingredients for the recipes where ordered by Pangea Nutrition through Amazon Fresh and came straight to Bunny's doorstep. One week's worth of the service included recipes for three dinners and three lunches, all of which had over lapping ingredients to simplify preparation and minimize waste. All that was left was for her to prepare the meals.

The recipes Bunny received consisted of two chicken focused dinners and one salmon focused dinner, with a variety of salads for lunches and some nuts for snacking. All of the dishes were quite easy to create from the recipe cards, though they did take some time to prep. Bunny liked that there was a little bit of room in the recipes and with the ingredients she was sent to add a little more flavor here or there in order to customize the dishes to her personal taste. And because each recipe was built to feed two people, Bunny and Benedict were both able to reap the rewards of the plan.

Roasted chicken with quinoa and feta, raisins, and baby spinach

Glazed apple and arugula salad with walnuts 

Walnut crusted salmon with wilted garlicky greens

Beet and feta salad with pinto beans

Over all, Bunny loved the simplicity of Pangea Nutrition. Her one complaint was that she would have liked a little more direction when it came to breakfast. Since the plan only included instructions for snacks, lunches, and dinners, breakfast was sort of left up in the air, and as Bunny had seen first hand, there were plenty of fresh and healthy ways of enjoying a Mediterranean inspired early morning meal. Never the less, Bunny was so delighted with Pangea Nutrition that she wanted to give the chance to try it out to one of her readers!

GIVEAWAY INSTRUCTIONS: Give the Pangea Nutrition Facebook page a like, then visit the Pangea Nutrition Website to make sure Amazon Fresh delivers to your area. Finally, leave us a comment below telling us what you hope to get out of trying Pangea Nutrition (make sure you also leave something like your email address or a social media handle so we can get in touch with you if you win). We will pick a winner around noon CST on Friday June 16th. Good luck!

The writers of this blog were sent products free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Postcards from Bunny: Last Minute Foodie Gifts

Bunny was in a last minute scramble. It was a week before Christmas and she hadn't finished her Christmas shopping, owing to a few too many hours spent in airports being tossed back and forth between flights. "I thought I had a few more days! Oh goodness, what am I going to do now?" she squealed as she glanced at the date on her phone after her latest 12 hour flight had ended. "There's only one thing for it. Time to do dive into cyberspace and spend some money! But where to start?"

That was when Bunny suddenly remembered the brunch basket Brandy had sent her in the summer. "Wasn't that an absolute treat?" she thought to herself. "Brunch is such a universally great foodie gift because it combines sweet and savory things, so there's a little something to please every palate. But I do have friends who certainly prefer one over the other. Hmmmm..."

For those on her list with a sweet tooth, Bunny eyed the Holiday Popcorn Sampler from King of Pop, a collection of 10 wintery flavors in snack sized bags. This was no decorative tin with the standard caramel, butter, and cheese dusted popcorn. No, this collection included flavors like Dark Chocolate Peppermint, Gingerbread Spice, Cinnamon Bun, and Eggnog. Bunny really loved how shareable this gift was, making it an easy present for a larger group or family. The smaller sized bags also ensured that the gift receiver could continue to enjoy the popcorn for some time to come without having to worry about it going stale.

For the savory fiends, Bunny had to get the Bloody Mary gift basket from Gourmet Gift Baskets. Not only was this a brilliant gift for brunch fans, it also made a perfect snack pack for game days. The bottle of spicy Bloody Mary mix was accompanied by nibbles and garnishes like peppery cheeses, summer sausage, sour dough pretzel pieces, and roasted peanuts. Bunny could perfectly picture a table laid out with all the fixings for a Bloody Mary bar, ready to be massacred by a gaggle of blood thirsty football fans on New Year's Day.

Bunny was mostly relieved to discover that both of these sites offered expedited shipping, meaning that even though she had left her shopping for the last minute, there was still a good chance that the presents would arrive by Christmas day. "There now, I feel so much better," she sighed. It wasn't until she had been in the air for five hours or so that she suddenly remembered she hadn't bought anything for Brandy, setting off yet another wave of panicked internet shopping. "Quick! Someone call Sky Mall!"

The writers of this blog were sent products free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Pumpkin Fest Brunch at Chez Moi

Brandy gets pretty picky about her pumpkin intake during the fall.  She used to be as big a fan as anyone else of the classic autumn flavor, but once it became over played and watered down, she found herself leaving the pumpkin spice behind.  "People don't seem to understand that the joy of pumpkin is the subtly sweet, earthy squash flavor that is complimented by, rather than masked by, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and the like," says Brandy, "It's so flexible, so perfectly between the line of sweet and savory, and that is why we've grown to love pumpkin in the first place!"

So when Brandy heard that Chez Moi (home of the only Bloody Mary she'll ever drink) was hosting a Pumpkin Fest with special pumpkin themed brunch and dinner items, she felt it was her civic duty to check it out.  The special menus are running through October 30th with drinks, entrees, and desserts, all featuring the fall's favorite gourde.

Brandy started off her meal with a drink called The Great Pumpkin, a twist on a mimosa with Grand Marnier and a spiced pumpkin semifreddo.  The spice in the drink combined with the sparkling wine and the sweetness of the liqueur made for an almost apple cider like flavor, but the aftertaste was distinctly pumpkin.  "A crisp drink for a crisp fall morning," Brandy sighed with satisfaction.

Starting off sweet, Brandy sampled the Pumpkin Pancakes with cinnamon butter.  Despite pumpkin pancakes being a fairly common fall brunch item these days, this dish differentiated itself by the use of fresh pumpkin mixed into the pancakes, rather than pumpkin puree, with a few more pieces of pumpkin and fresh fruit to top them off.  This meant that not only was one experiencing pumpkin flavor, but also the texture, a rarity in most sweet pumpkin dishes.  The cinnamon butter was just subtle enough to not overwhelm the delicate flavor, and Brandy felt that a good slick of maple syrup really helped to bring the pancakes to life in all their autumn glory.

Next up was the Pumpkin Omelette, an intimidating and adventurous option.  "I don't know that I've ever had squash in an omelette before," Brandy commented, "But I'm certainly wiling to try everything once."  As it turned out, the tiny bit of sweetness from the pumpkin really enhanced the dish, especially when paired with some earthy pumpkin mushrooms and a delightfully nutty cheese.  "How perfectly fall!" Brandy exclaimed, once again reveling in the use of fresh pumpkin rather than a more processed form, "Perhaps next year I can convince Chez Moi to do this same combination of flavors in their oh so delightful quiche!"

Finishing up the entrees, Brandy ordered up the special version of Chez Moi's decadent French Toast, this time topped with a pumpkin pie flavored mascarpone.  This was definitely the dish for the pumpkin spice lovers of the world, as the light and fluffy mascarpone really set off the eggy, buttery toast, and the pops of flavor from the fresh fruit scattered around the plate.  "I adored this French toast the first time I tried it," said Brandy, "But I love this version just as much.  They're like fraternal twins, similar in looks, but each with their own distinct personality."

Lastly, Brandy finished with one last sugary indulgence, the Pumpkin Crème Brûlée.  There was nothing too complicated about this dish, just a delightfully aerated cream, infused with plenty of pumpkiny goodness, and topped with a perfect burnt sugar crust.  "This all just goes to show exactly how versatile pumpkin is," Brandy commented, "Sweet or savory, when a skilled chef is the one bringing out that elusive, delicate flavor, it's hard to go wrong."

There's only four more chances to check out the special Pumpkin Fest brunch menu at Chez Moi, but the dinner menu is available every night until the 30th of October.

The writers of this blog were invited by the restaurant to dine free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.
 

Postcards from Bunny: Dinner at Macello Ristorante and Pizzeria

Summer was taking one of its last breaths of the year when Bunny arrived in Chicago one evening for a brief layover between flights from Saint Thomas and Caracas.  "Everybody seems to already have plans for the evening," she grumbled, checking messages on her phone, "Oh well.  Perhaps its time for a date night with myself!"

She'd been craving Italian food since a brief stop in Milan a few months previous, so she chose to visit Macello in the West Loop.  Situated a little father west than most of the other trendy West Loop bastions, Macello featured a small deli at the front, a beautiful dining room just beyond the entrance, and a patio out back.

Bunny was struck first by the beautiful light streaming into the dining room via the triangular skylights over head.  At the back of the space, the open kitchen and wood fire oven added a warmth to the atmosphere that instantly made Bunny feel right at home.  The old world decor of exposed brick, concrete floors, and dark warm woods was brought to life with various pops of color throughout, like the glass panels on the windows, the giant painted lanterns hanging from the ceiling, the swirling murals along the walls, or the embedded bits of colored glass in the floor that positively mesmerized Bunny.

Inspired by the colors around her, Bunny picked out an equally colorful cocktail to kick off her meal; the Island Getaway made with pineapple and blue curacao.  Though not traditionally Italian, Bunny quite liked the fruity, sweet, and whimsical flavor.  "Is it artisan and natural and gourmet?  No," Bunny posited, "But is it fun?  Absolutely!"

Bunny started off her meal with a pair of cheesy appetizers; the Carciofi Ripieni and the Caprese di Burrata.  The Carciofi Ripieni, or stuffed artichokes, were very tender with a nice, nutty cheese both inside and on top.  The flavor was bright, citrusy, and almost sweet from being cooked in a white wine sauce.  The caprese was very fresh and rich with the uber creamy burrata taking the place of the more traditional mozzarella.  The herbiness of the basil was the dominant flavor along with a sprinkling of fresh pepper and some olive oil.  Bunny only wished for a firmer tomato at the base, as the slices beneath the cheese were on the watery side, but some brighter and more flavorful grape tomatoes on the top helped to compensate.

Instead of settling for one entree, Bunny decided to order two half servings of pasta so that she could try get the most out of her evening on her own.  First she tried the Braciole Beef Orecchette, a hearty dish with a bright and acidic tomato based sauce that was packed full of veggies for a classic Italian flavor.  Bunny loved how tender the beef rolls were, breaking apart easily with just her fork, while the pasta had been cooked to perfection with just a touch of chew to it.  Secondly, she sampled the Tartufata Laganelle, a linguini like pasta with a curly edge dressed with a truffle pesto, sausage, mushrooms, and a wedge of creamy goat cheese.  In this dish, Bunny felt that the pasta was the true star with the truffle flavor enhancing rather than overpowering everything.  The spiced sausage was a lovely accompaniment as was the goat cheese, which added a nice bite to an otherwise earthy, but light dish.

Lastly, Bunny finished off her meal with a dessert called Tartufo di Nocciola, a multi layered ball of ice cream coated in coco powder in order to resemble a truffle and topped with a spiked caramel sauce.  Though the texture of the dessert was a little grainy (Bunny suspected it hadn't frozen quite right) the flavor was pure hazelnut bliss with a nice boozy kick from the caramel.  "One would think this would be perfect for a chocoholic, but it's actually more nutty than anything else," she mused, sipping on an espresso.

Finally, she kicked back with a Limoncello and listened as a lovely young man played the accordian just behind her.  "I was so worried I wouldn't have company tonight," she laughed to herself, "But one can never be truly alone when there's a plate of food chock full of someone's love and passion in front of you."

The writers of this blog were invited to dine by the restaurant free of charge in exchange for an honest review.