cooking ala mel

healthy recipes and the occasional craft

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Our Wedding 5.13.17 — an Overview

June 15, 2017

Finally!!  If you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to all year… here we go — we got married!!  Our wedding day was perfect for us… be prepared as the wedding takes over the blog for a couple weeks as I recap what I was doing all this time! 😉

Our Wedding | cookingalamel.com

Who knew that planning a wedding would take up so much time?!  I spent the past year creating every last detail, making sure everything was personalized to fit Alex and me — this meant a geeky themed ceremony, book flower bouquets and centerpieces, carefully picked wine and beer menus, homemade favors, music lists… It really didn’t seem like much when I was doing it, because I had SO much fun, but looking back, boyyy was it a lot!

Today, I’ll just share a brief look into our day, and I’ll be following up with more posts to go more into the finer details of our day!  All photos (except for a few of details I’ll be sharing later) were taken my the amazing Mandy Brisco of Amanda Brisco Photography.  If you are looking for a wedding photographer in the Pittsburgh, PA area, look no further.  Mandy was so amazing to work with, and you could not get better quality photos.  She knows how to capture your day in a way that really stays true to you, capturing your raw emotions, rather than posing you like crazy!  She did give us a little guidance, which is good, because Alex and I are totally awkward together anytime a camera comes around, haha!  Now, BE PREPARED.  You’re about to see A LOT OF PHOTOS! 🙂

[Read more…]

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Chicken Tinga (Chipotle Shredded Chicken)

March 15, 2017

This chicken tinga is one of my all-time favorite dishes to make on a busy weeknight.  Shredded chicken with a spicy, chipotle tomato sauce on top of a crisp tostada shell with sour cream, lettuce, and cheese… you can’t go wrong.  It takes about an hour from start to finish, and it makes enough for plenty of leftovers!

Chicken Tinga (Chipotle Shredded Chicken) | cookingalamel.com

The first time I had Tinga was in Seattle back in 2009 right after I graduated high school when I was visiting my dear, dear friends.  They made it with slow-cooked pork, which was melt in your mouth delicious.  This is a slightly quicker version with chicken, but it is no less flavorful.  It is still one of my favorite dishes to this day!  I still have yet to remake it with pork, but I definitely need to, because it was totally amazing. [Read more…]

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Shakeology Balls

February 19, 2017

Today, I’ve got these chocolate peanut butter Shakeology balls that are PERFECT for on-the-go snacking and long days when you just need a little boost in energy!  You only need a few ingredients and about 20 minutes from start to finish to have a great healthy and energy-packed snack to keep you going through the week.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Shakeology Balls | cookingalamel.com

If you follow me on social media, you’ll have seen that I just recently became a Beachbody coach.  I’ve been doing Beachbody programs for years, but I never tried Shakeology, and I never did any of the challenge groups that coaches host monthly.  When Beachbody came out with their All-Access pass around the new year, I decided to get that AND jump into my first experience with a challenge group so that I could be held accountable in preparing for my wedding and honeymoon this May (sweating for the wedding like crazy 😛 ).  I ended up LOVING the challenge group so much, getting to discuss workouts daily with such an encouraging group of girls, staying on track, and actually seeing some crazy results by the end of it! [Read more…]

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Welcome to
cooking a la mel!
I'm Melinda, a baking, fitness, and reading-obsessed pharmacist, crazy cat lady, and geek. This is my little place on the internet to share mostly healthy recipes and the occasional geeky craft. I am all about balance in every aspect of life, especially when it comes to food! More>>

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