The blogging community is amazing. I can’t tell you how many incredibly inspiring people I’ve met in the virtual blogosphere. I feel like I have so many great friends, and yet, I haven’t physically met most of them.
That’s why I LOVE going to health and fitness events and blogger conferences, like the Fitness Blogger Meet & Tweet, BlogFest, and Blend. These events allow me to meet people I’ve only chatted with in the digital space, to connect with people in real life, and form stronger bonds.
Then one day I got to thinking, I live in a big city filled with bloggers. I don’t need to wait for a big event to meet them; I can plan my own event! Hence planning for my very own NYC Blogger Brunch commenced!
A full how-to-plan-a-blogger-event is in the works, but for now I’ll give you a quick recap and some snaps.
First things first: the attendees. There were a few last minute cancelations (as happens with even planning), but I couldn’t have asked for a better group of gals.
From left to right:
Me
Danielle from CheerFit Training – We’d connected through email and then officially met at the Meet & Tweet.
Amber from Exsoycise – I’ve been following her blog and social posts for a while and was excited to meet her in person and find out that she only lives a few blocks away!
Mari from Namaste Mari – I met Mari at the Meet & Tweet, as well and loved her right off the bat!
Jocelyn from An Unprocessed Life – Jocelyn and I met at a Well & Good event a few months back. We’ve been chatting via instagram about getting together for a while and finally did!
Angela from Runner In Denial – I can’t believe I hadn’t seen Angela since BlogFest! Love her so much and can’t wait to cheer her on the NYC Marathon in a few days!!
Next up, the entertainment! Most health and fitness bloggers love to experiment and learn about new things, so I thought a class on doTERRA essential oils would be awesome. I got hooked on doTERRA at Blend and have wanted to learn more about them myself. The amazing Julie (who makes a living off selling these oils!) came out all the way from Utah to lead the class.
She gave us all scans that told us what markers in our bodies were out of whack and what oils could help fix them. 28 of my 70 markers fell outside the “good zone” (<— that’s not the technical term, obvs), which apparently is pretty good (anything under 30 is considered pretty normal, but the closer to 0 the better!). 20 of these out-of-whack markers could get brought into the “good zone” by Cypress oil! I looked up the benefits of Cypress oil and it’s kind of creepy how much I think this oil will help me – but I’ll save that for another post!
Last but certainly not least is the food!
- Yogurt Bar (just plain, nonfat greek yogurt with Vanilla NuNaturals, fruit, and Kind granola)
- Gluten-Free Avocado Sesame Toast (similar to this recipe but with toast vs. a wrap).
- Mini Broccoli and Cheddar Quiches (based of this recipe)
- Vegan and Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins made with Lemon doTERRA! (recipe below).
- Raw Caramel Mocha Bars – Not to toot my own horn, but these were AMAZING. Ok… toot toot! (recipe coming soon!)
- Raw Carob Maca Energy Bites (recipe coming soon!)
- Mimosas and Iced Tea
I may have gone a bit overboard with the amount of food I made, but hey, I won’t complain about some leftovers (and neither will my co-workers!)
Overall, I think my little brunch was a success! The class was fun, the food was yummy (I hope!), and most importantly, I think I made new real life friends! Thank you so much to all the ladies that came and a special big thanks to Julie for coming all the way out to teach us about doTERRA!
Side Note: If you would like to purchase doTERRA Essential Oils, check out my little shopping site here. If you have any questions about essential oils, would like more info on them, or would like to join my doTERRA team, shoot me an email (fitfulfocus@gmail.com)! I’m also planning on starting an Essential Oil Series here on Fitful Focus, so let me know if there are any oils you’d like me to highlight or any ailments you’d like me to focus on!
I’ll leave you with the Lemon Blueberry Muffin recipe and a reminder to check out the Puritan’s Pride GIVEAWAY!
- 2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour (I used Bob Red Mill)
- 1 tsp xantham gum
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup brown rice syrup
- 8 drops lemon doTERRA essential oil
- 1/3 c apple sauce
- 1 c almond milk (or milk of choice)
- ½ cup vegan margarine, melted (I used Smart Balance)
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix flour, xantham gum, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, mix brown rice syrup, essential oil, apple sauce, milk, and margarine.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Gently fold in blueberries.
- Line a muffin tin and fill each tin about 2/3 of the way.
- Bake for 25 minutes, cool, and enjoy!
- 138 Calories, 4.3g Fat, 24.4g Carb, 2.7g Fiber, 2.4g Protein
Take me to NYC to get some of these #vegan, #glutenfree Lemon Blueberry muffins made with @doTERRA!
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Let’s Chat:
Have you ever met a digital friend in real life?
Ever planned an event like this?
Are you an essential oil user? Which oils do use?
This post is linked up with Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck.