Girl Meets Life | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

perfect pairings {with new TWISTOS Snack Bites} + a giveaway!

27 March, 2014 by Gracie

After a long day at the office or running around on meetings, there’s nothing better than a relaxing evening at home, complete with a comforting meal. I don’t know about you, but a big bowl of soup is just about as comforting as it gets.

The other day I came home after a snowy, work-filled Monday, so I decided to make a big pot of one of my favorite soups – Easy Butternut Squash Soup. I’ve followed this recipe a few times, and it really is so easy! But more importantly, it is comforting and delicious. I finish mine off with a drizzle of Sriracha.

Whenever I have soup, though, I always like to pair it with something crunchy and flavorful. I was recently sent a bag of TWISTOS™ baked snack bites to try, so I figured I’d see if they paired well with the soup.

The TWISTOS™ snack bites turned out to be such a great pairing to go with my soup! The combination of the warm soup and light & crispy textured snack bites made for the perfect addition to my soup. Not to mention the creamy goodness of asiago gave the TWISTOS™ a delicious twist to the sweetness of the butternut squash.

The TWISTOS™ were so great on my soup that I topped my salad with them too. The TWISTOS™ Parmesan & Garlic flavored snack bites made for a fun alternative to croutons, adding the perfect crunch and sharp Parmesan flavor to every bite.

TWISTOS™ baked snacks come in three flavors: TWISTOS™ Parmesan & Garlic Flavored Snack Bites, TWISTOS™ Asiago Flavored Snack Bites and TWISTOS™ Bruschetta Flavored Snack Bites.

I added the Asiago flavor to my soup, Parmesan & Garlic to my salad, and really enjoyed eating the TWISTOS™ Bruschetta Flavored snack bites on their own. The tomato, garlic and basil flavors almost taste as if you’re eating real bruschetta!

What creative way would you enjoy eating TWISTOS™ Snack Bites?

Leave your answer in the comments section for the chance to win a bag of each flavor of TWISTOS™ snack bites for yourself!

How to enter:

1) Leave your answer in the comments section
2) Tweet about the giveaway: “I entered @alagracie’s #Twistos giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/oxhoyh9” and leave a comment with the link to your tweet.

~~The giveaway will end on Thursday April 3rd, so get your entries in! The winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Good luck~~

Winner has been chosen and contacted!

This post is brought to you by a partnership with Frito-Lay & Girl Meets Life. All opinions are my own.
Please note I was compensated for this post.

#LEAN14: those famous 2 ingredient cookies.

24 March, 2014 by Gracie 15 Comments

Back in February I made 3 Ingredient Banana Bread Cookies, inspired by these famous 2 ingredient cookies. I’ve seen the super short recipe for these cookies ALL over Pinterest, so I figured it must be a good one!

I’ll be honest – I thought that these would at least be a decent healthy cookie alternative, but not necessarily the best tasting. But it turns out that they are SO delicious!

All you need is 2 ripe (mashed) bananas and 1 cup of oats. Combine well, form into cookies and bake on a greased baking sheet for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

I added dark chocolate chips and shredded coconut to mine to make them a bit more sweet and hearty.

These definitely have a strong banana flavor, so if you don’t love banana these might not be for you. I love them, though, especially with the balance of flavor from the dark chocolate and coconut add-ins.

I can’t stop eating these cookies! But that’s okay because they’re like, really healthy 😉

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Have you tried these two ingredient cookies? What mix-ins would you add?

#LEAN14: “nothin’ fancy” HIIT workout.

21 March, 2014 by Gracie 4 Comments

Back in December I shared my go-to HIIT treadmill workout. It’s a great one that I still do often!

Sometimes, though, I need my workouts to be as basic as possible in order for me to actual exercise at all. While my last HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout varied throughout 3 speeds, this super simple one keeps it at just 2.

No thinking, no pushing lots of buttons, just some good old fashioned intervals.

This can be easily adjusted to your fitness level by speed (give or take 0.5) and/or add incline!

Please note that I am *not* a trainer or fitness expert, this is just a workout based on my own knowledge and experience that has personally worked for me. Please consult a doctor before starting any fitness routine.

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Are you a fan of HIIT? What’s your favorite form of cardio?

what i’m loving right now.

20 March, 2014 by Gracie 9 Comments

ombré lips.

For my birthday Erica got me this great dual lipstick from Bite, which is perfect for doing easy ombré lips.

It was so simple - I just did the dark (red) shade on the outside of my lips, and the lighter (fuschia) shade on the inside. It’s not as fancy as the ombré lips/tutorials I’ve seen on makeup blogs, but it does the trick. Voila!

ribbon hair ties.

ALSO a gift from Erica…thanks E 😉

Um, why didn’t anyone tell me about these things sooner?! They’re so much better than regular hair ties as they don’t break or leave creases in your hair. Not to mention they just look cuter in your hair and/or on your wrist.

vaseline spray & go moisturizer.

Ok – this stuff is a game changer. I’m slightly OCD about using body lotion every day, and Vaseline Spray & Go makes it SO much easier. I still love regular body lotion and body butters, but when I’m in a rush this is great for quick application *and* quick drying.

I’ve only tried the Cocoa Radiant one, which I love – it smells like cocoa butter!

roasted veggies.

Nothin’ fancy or new here, just good old big bowls of roasted vegetables. I’ve mentioned before how roasting vegetables (with lots of spices) is the best way to make them taste good, and lately I’ve been making big batches ahead of time.

Smothered with some Annie’s Goddess dressing = perfection.

(I have a great guide to roasting vegetables on this post)

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What are you loving right now? Any of these things?

a {birth}day in the life.

19 March, 2014 by Gracie 8 Comments

First of all, thanks so much for the birthday wishes! You all are the sweetest

My birthday started out as just any other Tuesday. I went to the gym super early and took in my beautiful city right after sunrise.

When I got home I had a breakfast of a green smoothie + one of these imploded (yet delicious) muffins I made the other day.

(Hopefully I can perfect these and share the recipe soon!)

The rest of my day was pretty standard, but with tons of birthday love via phone calls, social media, flowers, and emojis

As I mentioned yesterday, I got my laundry and groceries delivered.

It’s not me, it’s my walkup.

The rest of the day was spent doing the norm – working, Pinning, and getting excited for a birthday celebration with my friends.

When I was done work I spent a few hours listening to podcasts and just reflecting on the past year. I love reading back in my journal about all of the amazing things God has done!

Then it was time to get all dolled up. I wore this beautiful kimono Rachel got me from LF. Since it’s still technically winter I wore it with all black, but I can’t wait to rock this with some cutoff shorts and a messy top knot!

For dinner we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Candle 79. I hadn’t been there in about 4 years (since going with Gabriela), and had been craving it for…about 4 years, haha. It’s not always easy to find people who trust me when I say that the (all vegan) food there is incredible, but I knew my girl friends would be up for the challenge 😉

What we got:

Guacamole Timbale – poblano-guacamole, chipotle black beans, jicama-cucumber salsa, plantain chips, ranchero sauce.

Wild Mushroom & Vegetable Fricassee - soft polenta, truffled almond cheese. (unpictured)

Live Zucchini Enchiladas – cashew cheese, crunchy sprouts, avocado, cashew sour cream, toasted pumpkin seeds, cucumber-jicama salsa, chipotle-tomato sauce.

Chickpea Crepe - filled with sauteed wild mushrooms, grilled chili tempeh, butternut squash, and spinach with a garlic truffle aoli.

(Definitely the winner of the entrees.)

And for my birthday, we went to town on the desserts. From left to right:

Mexican Chocolate Brownie - caramelized bananas, french vanilla ice cream, candied pecans, chocolate-ancho sauce

Live Pear Pie - nut granola crust, vanilla-cashew cream, candied almonds, huckleberry ice cream

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss - chocolate & peanut butter mousse, salted peanut-caramel crust, berry coulis

Each and every bite was so, SO delicious. While I’m still a meat-eater, there’s just something about the flavors, textures, and freshness of vegan food that I love so much.

After dinner we headed back downtown to Rose Bar in the Gramercy Park Hotel. I don’t go to Rose Bar often, but it’s beautiful and more celebratory than our normal go-to bars. They also had live music, which I just love.

Some more friends met up with us for what turned out to be the perfect little birthday night I can’t remember the last time I *didn’t* have a big party for my birthday, so I actually enjoyed keeping it low key this year.

Thanks again to everyone for the birthday wishes! xoxo

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How did you celebrate your last birthday?

it’s my birthday and i’ll blog if i want to.

18 March, 2014 by Gracie 28 Comments

I didn’t have a blog post planned for today because…well, it’s my birthday, and I gave myself the day off from planning. But I got that blogging bug! It’s part of who I am, what can I say?

So here are some random updates/thoughts swirling through my head on this March 18, 2014. Forgive me if it seems a bit scrambled (you technically have to, since it’s my birthday and all).

First of all, I feel the need to confess that I got my laundry AND my groceries delivered today, and not because it’s a “special” day. Even though it costs the same, it makes me feel pretentious.

My roombud Rachel left out gifts and a card for me last night so I had them to wake up to this morning. She’s the best!

My latest Huffington Post article was published yesterday. Read why I think asking/answering questions is better than giving/getting advice when it comes to dating and relationships – 10 Questions To Ask (And Keep Asking) In Dating Relationships.

It’s so so so so SO freeing not caring what other people think. I didn’t even realize I cared as much as I do (did). I’m still working on my people-pleasing tendencies, but I’m getting there!

I’m quite positive I’m addicted to my iPhone. Thinking I should work on that.

I want to start doing videos on GML. Whaddya think?

I refuse to call them “vlogs,” though. That word hurts my ears (and eyes).

Sometimes I wish I worked slower. I speed through everything, then end up doing more work throughout the day. Yes I’m productive, but sometimes it makes my brain hurt.

Whenever I worry about the future, I instantly look back at what God has already done in my life. He’s never failed and has only ever exceedingly blessed me.

Is it summer yet?

I should probably start looking into planning summer vacation(s).

Sometimes I think about writing a book, but the idea of it is way too overwhelming. That’s what blogs are for, right?

And sometimes I wish I was an E! News correspondent. Or maybe that girl that travels around the world partying. What’s that show called again?

I like crying. I really do. I don’t cry often, and it’s usually more out of joy than sorrow.

What can make me cry on a dime is thinking about how much I love my family and friends. Yep, I’m a sap.

Sometimes I entertain the thought of moving, but definitely not any time soon. I love my life in NYC.

My printer keeps making really weird noises but it’s not turned on…

Okay, it stopped.

I have a list in my iPad of my favorite movies. You know, just in case I forget.

I’m really excited to celebrate my birthday tonight!

I’m deliberating whether or not I’m actually going to publish this post, mostly because this was supposed to be “fun facts,” but it turned into straight up rambling…

Whatever. It’s my birthday 😉

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Your turn! Give me a completely random thought/life update!