Madison, WI Trip #ChooseDreams

Hi Everyone,

As you may know last weekend I hopped on a plane from San Francisco and headed to Madison, Wisconsin for a food demo at DreamBank.  It was an amazing experience and I couldn’t wait to share it with you.  I was invited to the event by Isabel from Family Foodie, who has created #SundaySupper.  I also met up with Denise from Run DMT and Katie from Ruffles & Truffles. The girls are just amazing and so sweet!  I can’t wait to meet up with them again.  Here we are at the Madison, WI airport.

When we arrived the first thing we had to do is prep for the food demo the next day. So we all got together and made a game plan. Guess where we went shopping for some of the food? None other than Trader Joe’s! Isabel has never been to a Trader Joe’s. I thought that was crazy and she must simply must go!! So off to TJ’s we went!

The Trader Joe’s was the same as any other Trader Joe’s which kind of surprised me. I thought it would have different food, but nope it’s the same. So we picked up a few items and off to Isabel’s friend, Michele’s house to start prepping. Here is our cart from TJ’s.

The recipes we were making were a few different styles of Caprese and the award-winning Strawberry and Bacon Salad with Strawberry Poppyseed Dressing. Amazing Salad! It was fun prepping it all together. I was in charge of bread, he he and chopping! Here is Denise making the bacon. Ohhhhh bacon!!

You’ll have to forgive the photos. I used my cell phone to take the picture. You can also catch more of the event on my Instagram page. After prepping we went to a nice dinner, but honestly I was pretty full from snacking. The next morning we got up bright and early and headed to the Dane County Farmers Market to pick up some fresh produce! Guys, if you ever go to Madison, you have to go to the Farmers Market! It is huge!! I have been to some pretty unique, big Farmers Markets but this one blew them out of the water. You can go to my Instagram page to see the photos. After the Farmers Market we headed to the DreamBank, which happens to be across the street from the State Capitol building and Farmers Market. We finished up with some food prep and started to set up. Here is me getting ready for the food demo.

The reason behind our demo is talking about healthy living, food, fitness and being together as a family and achieving your dreams. I honestly wasn’t sure what the #ChooseDreams campaign really meant until I went the American Family Insurance DreamBank. It’s truly remarkable.  DreamBank is a place for dreamers to come together to help build successful and sustainable communities. They believe in the power of individual dreams – those ideas and passions that enrich our personal lives – to be used for positive change in our families and our communities. They have classes to help the community and help you achieve your dreams. If I lived in Madison, I would be sure to go to some of their classes. It’s such a wonderful thing for you, the people and the community. I honestly think there should be a DreamBank where you live. Here is a picture of the DreamBank chandelier. This is where you write your dreams on a cloud that holds a key. The key chain is than hung on the chandelier. You can read everybody’s dreams on it. It’s beautiful.

They also have food and treats, water and soda for those who visit. They also have a play area for the kids. Here is one of the DreamBank suckers that is chocolate dipped marshmallows. Yes I picked one up, I had too! 🙂

Here is a picture of my Bread Salad that we served.

Here is a picture of the caprese style dish with avocado.

Here is a photo of the winning recipe, Strawberry and Bacon Salad with Strawberry Poppyseed Dressing.

At the end of the event, we served the people who came to watch our demo. I had so much fun! It was quite an experience and I hope one day to be able to do this again. It just felt wonderful because I know I may have helped or inspired someone.

After the event, we girls decided to be a little goofy and played around in the kids area. They had these cute little masks, so we decided to take a funny picture with them. As you can see I’m pretty tall compared to everyone. lol

After our big day, we had to celebrate so we went to Brocach on Monroe for dinner. Oh my gosh the menu was outrageous! Oh and the food is out of this world. I know I said I was going to eat healthy on this trip, well I blew that idea. I ordered the Hail Mary Hamburger, which was fried onion rings, burger, bacon, bbq sauce and fried cheese. It just seemed like fun! I had to get it. I was laughing so hard when I was eating it. Here is the picture. Please don’t judge me, this was a one time opportunity! I do not eat like this everyday. Actually this was the first fat burger I have ever eaten like this. It was so good and fun!

Here is a picture of Katie and Isabel! Cheers Girls, I miss you!!

Here is Denise and I. We both had sangria, I had it with white wine and she had it with red. I have to say it didn’t go well with my burger.

My one last picture is me eating Beer Cheese and soft pretzels. I blew my diet this weekend! But I have been healthy all week!

I thought I would share with you the live demo of the event. I think you will enjoy it and I am very proud to be apart of it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSD6ca-VOa8

I highly recommend checking out the Health and Fitness #ChooseDreams Pinterest board to get more ideas on fresh, beautiful recipes for living a healthy lifestyle. You can go here to check it out!!

You can also check out AM Fam Social Media Sites below:

• Website
• Linkedin
• Youtube
• Google+
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Pinterest

One last thing I want to share with you are the recipes that I made for American Family Insurance #ChooseDreams campaign.

Strawberry Basil Pasta Salad

Zucchini Meat Lasagna

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Popsicle

Fresh Watermelon and Chicken Salad

Chopped Chicken Garden Salad

Basmati Rice and Vegetable Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers

Caprese Chicken and Panzanella Salad

Have a wonderful day and a fabulous weekend!

Toodles,

Jennifer