Top Five Brazilian Restaurants in Utah!

If you have had the chance to listen to today's Podcast Episode I take you on a Utah Brazilian Food Tour... 

Top Five Brazilian Restaurants in Utah

That’s right, today I get to share with you all my favorite spots... 

1. Sweet Spot Bakery

I’m going to start by taking you to The Sweet Spot, which is in Sandy. This cute little restaurant has this São Paulo/ Rio vibe as soon as you walk in. The owners are the most friendly too. So you walk in sit down, and they will come to you! The food here varies from lunch, dinner, as well as “Brazilian street foods” & Desserts. 

Here are my go tos:

• Pão de queijo
• Coxinha
• Pastel
• Feijoada Special 

Every Saturday they have a “Feijoada” special which is our favorite dish as it comes with rice, beans, a mixture of meats, collard greens, and farofa. They also have “Prato feito” which is where you get to pick what you want on your plate. It will most likely come with rice and beans, then you pick your proteins for the sides. Lastly, you can enjoy one of their delicious cakes, passion fruit moose, or the Brazilian staple aka brigadeiro!

Monday 11AM–7PM
Tuesday 11AM–7PM
Wednesday 11AM–7PM
Thursday 11AM–7PM
Friday 11AM–9PM
Saturday 11AM–7PM
Sunday Closed

Price range: $10-30

Address: 664 E Union Square, Sandy, UT 84070

2. Braza Grill 

Next, we are going up to Murray, we are stopping at Braza Grill. I’ve known the owner since I was young. 

He is welcoming and gives you that family feels when you walk in. His name is Junior and if you go over there tell him I said hi! So now that you are here, you get to enjoy “rodízio” style food. And what this means is that you get to fill up your plates with different meats that are being brought to you by the servers. 

On top of that, they have a buffet when you get to pick from salads, rice and beans, fried banana, pão de queijo, and many more staples. You better come hungry because you will eat so many delicious things! Then for beverages, you can either enjoy the Brazilian staple which is the Guarana soda, or you can get one of the freshly squeezed juices. My favorite is passion fruit or guava! They also offer delicious desserts if you have room for it.

Salt Lake City, UT 84107
Monday 11AM–9PM
Tuesday 11AM–9PM
Wednesday 11AM–9PM
Thursday 11AM–9PM
Friday 11AM–9PM
Saturday 11AM–9PM
Sunday Closed

Price range: $15-30

Address: 5927 S.State Street Murray, UT

Also, there is currently a Groupon for Braza Grill where you get $11.50 for $20 Worth of Brazilian Food and Drinks at Braza Grill

3. La Pequenita Market 
Next, we get to go downstate street towards Salt Lake City. We are stopping at La Pequenita Market, which is a hidden gem for Brazilians in Utah. They have a whole section in the back dedicated to Brazilian food for really cheap! For sure the cheapest place in town! You can get juice, chocolate, snacks, seasoning, pão de queijo mixes, Havaianas aka the comfiest flip flops, and, depending on the season you can enjoy a few out our staples such as Ovo de Páscoa (aka chocolate Easter eggs) and panettones (aka Christmas fruit cakes).


Monday 9AM–8:30PM
Tuesday 9AM–8:30PM
Wednesday 9AM–8:30PM
Thursday 9AM–8:30PM
Friday 9AM–8:30PM
Saturday 9AM–8:30PM
Sunday 10AM–3PM

Price range: $5-15

Address:2740 State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84115

4. Rodizio Grill

By now you are probably hungry again! So I’m going to take you to Rodízio. Which it has 3 locations in Utah: SLC, Provo, and American fork. For those of you that don’t know what Rodizio means and maybe didn’t understand my explanation for the last location, I took it to the interwebs to get the correct term for you: a rodízio restaurant refers to a Brazilian style steakhouse restaurant. Customers pay a fixed price, and waiters bring samples of food to each customer several times throughout the meal until the customers signal that they have had enough. So yeah, delicious and lots of food!

Price range: 

• Lunch Menu:$21.99. Dinner Menu:$26.99.
• Lunch Menu:$16.99. Dinner Menu:$18.99.
• 7-11 yrs. $9.99 all day. $5.99 all day.

Address: There are 3 locations. So check out their site and see what location is closer to you as operation hours! Lastly, it looks like there are Groupons for 2 out of 3 Rodizio Locations. Check it out here! 

5. Tucanos Brazilian Grill 

Tucanos, which is much like Rodizio and Braza grill with the same exact concept. If you have attended a Utah Brazilian Festival then for sure you have tried their delicious food! It’s right at the getaway by the movie theater and if you order a plate there it usually includes an assortment of french bread, cheese bread, fried bananas, unlimited salad festival, and the full Churrasco (aka Rodizio) Selections.

Mon-Fri 11am-3pm

Lunch (Per Person) $15.95
Dinner (Per Person) $22.95

Address: 162 South 400 West SLC, UT

BONUS: TUSHAR EXPRESS

Last but certainly not least, Tushar is more of a casual and quick bite restaurant. They have “Prato Feito” and the famous Brazilian snacks and desserts. The price range is around $10 dollars for a plate with a skewer of meat or pineapple. Rice and beans.

Address: 1078 W 10400 S, South Jordan, UT 84095

Are you hungry yet? Haha

I’ll finish with this, even though we have a wide variety of Brazilian restaurants here in Utah, nothing ever beats my mamas cooking!

Hope you are enjoying this series as I share my Top Five Places/Foods of Utah each week! If you are don’t forget to rate and subscribe to us on Apple podcast.

What about you, which one of these restaurants is your favorite?

xo,

Karina 

How to teach your son to be respectful at an early age

How to teach your son to be respectful at an early age

Respect is learned at an early age. This is respect for parents, peers, animals. The list can go on and on. We learn how to respect from our early years and it carries into adulthood. Teaching your son to be respectful of women may seem a little crazy when he’s just a toddler, but that will set the foundation for the rest of his life. If you can start early, his future girlfriends and eventually wife will be appreciative. 

Here are some things you can do to start the process very early on: 

Lead by example. 

If we show respect to our children, other adults and especially women, our sons will teach them the same behaviors. Show our sons that we do not talk bad about women, call them names and especially do not hit or threaten them. 

Speak kindly. 

Regardless of who you are talking to, speak kindly. Use please and thank you. Try to stay away from using negative words like shut up or the like. 

Talk about disrespect. 

If you see a man on TV being disrespectful to a woman, talk about it. This could be the same if you see someone in a public place. Talk to your son and ask him what he thinks. Ask him how he thinks the woman feels in his situation. It is also a good idea to ask him if he thinks it would be okay for a man to treat his mom/sister in this manner. 

Offer help. 

Teach your son at an early age that if sees someone, especially a woman that needs help to go and offer help. This goes back to helping an elder cross the road but can be as simple as assisting someone that has dropped something or even smiling at someone that looks like they are having a bad day. 

Monitor internet usage. 

With today's technology takeover (aka Youtube) this is usually a given to watch what your kids are doing on the internet, but think about this...most boys are exposed to pornography by the age of 11. This isn’t the same as the old school Playboy magazines. This is hardcore, sometimes violent acts against women. This is a good topic to discuss at an early age. Let them know that this does exist but that it isn’t real life. Explain how healthy relationships are structured and what should be expected.

Don’t allow sexism. 

It may seem like a joke to say “get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich” but these types of jokes can be harmful. If you hear your son make a joke about “women drivers” or other sexist comments, call them out on it. Ensure you set your son straight in regards to how he should talk to and about women.    

We hope that if you have a son, and have been researching on this specific topic online, today's blog post has helped you in some way. Don't forget to leave your questions in the comments!

xo,

Karina

50 songs for sexy time!

“Intimacy is the capacity to be rather weird with someone - and finding that that's ok with them.” ~Alain de Boston

Here is a Sexy Time Play List to get you and your partner in the mood:

1.  “No Diggity” by Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre

2.  Ride” by Ciara feat. Ludacris

3.  “Earned It” by The Weeknd

4.  “Lost Without U” by Robin Thicke

5.  Sexual Healing by Marvin Gay

6.  “Good For You” by Selena Gomez feat. A$AP Rocky

7.  You’re Makin’ Me High” by Toni Braxton

8.  Bed by J. Holiday

9.  "Strip It Down," Luke Bryan

10.   "Thinking About You," Frank Ocean

11.   "Slow Motion" by Trey Songz

12.   "Come a Little Closer," Dierks Bentley

13.   "Wicked Games" by The Weeknd

14.   If you can't say no By Lenny Kravitz

15.   Let Me Love You By Ariana Grande, Little Wayne

16.   Needed Me By Rihanna

17.   Often By The Weekend

18.   You Shook Me by Led Zeppelin

19.   Bloodstream by Stateless

20.   The Jack by AC/DC

21.   Do I Wanna Know? ARTIC

22.   "Best I Ever Had," Drake

23.   "I Don't Want This Night to End," Luke Bryan

24.   "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum

25.   "F*** You All The Time (Shlomo Remix)" by Jeremih

26.   "Let's Get it on" by Marvin Gaye

27.   "Amazed," Lonestar

28.   "Speakers," Sam Hunt

29.   "Wicked Games" by Chris Isaak

30.   Buttons by The Pussycat Dolls Featuring Snoop Dogg

31.   Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding

32.   "Let's Stay Together," Al Green

33.   "Some Kind of Drug" by G-Eazy

34.   Drunk In Love by Beyonce

35.   "Nirvana" Sam Smith

36.   "Let's Spend the Night Together" by The Rolling Stones

37.   Touch My Body by Mariah Carey

38.   "Fade Into You" Mazzy Star

39.   "Rehab" Rihanna

40.   "Shut It Down" by Drake featuring The-Dream

41.   Birthday Sex by Jeremih

42.   "Climax" by Usher

43.   "Trumpets" by Jason DeRulo

44.   "Bump n' Grind" by R. Kelly

45.   "In the Morning" by J. Cole

46.   "Turn Your Lights Down Low" by Bob Marley & Lauryn Hill

47.   "Pony" by Ginuwine

48.   “Talk Is Cheap” by Chet Faker

49.   “Gravity” by John Mayer

50.   “I Put A Spell On You” by Annie Lennox 

How to play 20 QUESTIONS with your partner

This short story is taken from my self-published dating book... I've decided to add parts of the book to my blog so that you'll get to enjoy reading all my fun stories!

“Dating is about finding who you are, and who others are. If you show up in a masquerade outfit, neither is going to happen.” ~Henry Cloud

One of my favorites “ice breaker” games is called 20 Questions. Especially when you are still getting to know each other. I can assure you that I played this game with every single guy I dated. It is a texting game, so it is perfect for you to play after a long day and you’re just laying in bed relaxing. The purpose of this game is to get to know your partner by asking questions you might be too shy or afraid to ask face-to-face. There are different ways to play this game, but I decided to create my own version and it goes like this:

You each think of 20 questions, then you take turns texting each person the question. The opponent can also answer the question being asked (this makes it extra fun). This game can either be very PG13 or rated R. It’s up to you and your date. It’s all about how comfortable you are with each other. Fun right? Okay, so I decided to come up with a list of questions that you should ask your partner. It will start out easy then get steamy as we go down the list. You decide the order you want to go! Don’t be shy!

1. What is your favorite TV Show?

2. What is your favorite Food?

3. If you could spend one day in someone else’s shoes, who would it be and why?

4. If you had to describe yourself only using three words what would it be?

5. If you could be an expert at anything, what would it be?

6. What did you think was silly until you tried it?

7. Who is your favorite author?

8. Do you have a Bucket List? Name one thing on it!

9.  If you could teleport anywhere in the world right now where would it be?

10. What’s the most ridiculous fact you know?

11. What are your views on Marriage? Kids?

12.  What is the craziest place you’ve had sex at?

13.  What is your biggest fantasy?

14. Do you like dirty talk?

15. What is your favorite position?

16. Do you prefer to cuddle or make out?

17.  What is your favorite place to be touched?

18. What is your biggest turn on?

19.  What do you think is attractive about me?

20. Have you ever had a friend with benefits?

Honestly, this list could go on and on. I just want you to get your imagination going. Think of questions you have always wanted to ask someone then ask away. I promise you this game will keep you and your partner entertained and guess what? When you meet face-to-face again there will be fireworks!

Tips from a content creator - lauryncakes

Here is the thing, up until now I have interviewed several people for my podcast show. Every single one of them brings me a new perspective. Their passions, hopes, and dreams ignite the fire in me. I leave every studio session inspired and ready to take on the World! Today's guest was no different.

Lauryn took a chance on me. She was one of the first people I reached out to while in the process of re-launching the Nina Talks Podcast. I remember sitting on my phone one-night scrolling through Instagram and thinking: 

"Who will take me seriously? This is a completely new direction and I don't have a lot of work to show for it. I'm going into it blind with just my words as well as hopes for the future."

I scroll past @lauryncakes on Instagram and add her to my list of "must haves" for the podcast. I have followed Lauryn long enough to know how much of a badass she is and that she is also kind, knowledgable in her craft, and just puts out so much positivity that I thought to myself: My listeners will LOVE her!

So I slid into her DM's I fangirled big time and went about my day... I honestly wasn't expecting her to respond to me right away because she is such a big influencer that probably gets many messages a day, but much to my surprise she responded and was all in! I had to take a double take because someone that I look up to was actually coming on my little show and was going to give my listeners her tips? what? I immediately froze and was elated with joy! 

Here are some of my favorite blog posts from Lauryn's blog: How to get invited to Events

10 ways to use double sided fashion tape & How to maintain an active lifestyle when you are busy

Now onto today's episode: 

Until next Tuesday, 

XO

Nina 

RAINBOW CHIA PUDDING RECIPE

                                                                   RAINBOW CHIA PUDDING

Talk about a colorful and happy way to start the day!  Who wouldn't have a smile on their face when this was in front of them.  These pudding cups make a fabulous breakfast, or snack, and young and old alike will appreciate the colors and flavors of this really pretty, really healthy pudding.  This should make even the picky eaters happy.  Try it and see, you're going to love this.

Chia seeds are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, rich in antioxidants, and they provide fiber, iron, and calcium. Omega-3 fatty acids help raise HDL cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol that protects against heart attack and stroke.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

1 pint of fresh ripe Strawberries
1 16 ounces can of organic mandarin oranges
2 large Kiwi's
1 pint of fresh blueberries
2 Tablespoons of Matcha powder
2 cups of Chia seeds
4 cups of Soy milk (you can use almond or whole milk if preferred)
Stevia
Honey
8 - 10 small glass containers (or containers of your choice)

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:

In a medium bowl, mix the Chia seeds with the milk, and a Tablespoon of honey, cover and place in the refrigerator (NOTE - if the Chia pudding is too thick, add a little more Milk to thin). 

Wash the strawberries, remove the stems, and slice them into a bowl, reserving the juice in the bowl as you slice.  Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of Stevia, cover and set aside. Rinse the Kiwi's, dry with a paper towel, and slice the Kiwi's into a bowl, and set aside. Wash the Blueberries, and place on paper towels to dry.   Assemble the cups of pudding:  Remove the pudding from the refrigerator, and add a couple of Tablespoons to the bottom of the containers.  Spoon the strawberry juice evenly into the cups, over the pudding, and stir to make the pudding pink. Place three or four slices of strawberries on top of the pudding.  In a small dish, add about 1 cup of pudding and place half of the Mandarin oranges in the bowl, along with the juice from the can.  Smash the oranges into the pudding, which will turn the pudding a light orange color. Place even amounts of the pudding and mashed oranges into the containers, and top evenly with the remaining oranges.  In a small bowl, place 1 - 2 cups of the Chia pudding, and several slices of the Kiwi, and mash them into the pudding.  Add the Matcha powder, and mix well, turning the pudding green.  Place the pudding evenly in the containers, on top of the orange layer, and place remaining Kiwi - chopped, evenly in containers on top of the green layer of pudding.  Place half of the blueberries in the remaining pudding, and mash them into the pudding, creating the blue/purple color for the final layer of the pudding cup.  Place the blue/purple pudding evenly in the containers, and top with remaining blueberries.  Drizzle with honey, and serve.  Enjoy!

NOTE:  We used 6 - 8-ounce containers for the pudding cups.  Depending on the size of your containers, you may want to divide the pudding evenly into separate bowls before you add the fruits, and juices to make sure the same amount is mixed.  If you find you'll need more pudding, simply make 3 cups of Chia seeds, with 6 cups of milk, and 2 Tablespoons of Honey.   You will need larger quantities of fruit, and juices to color the pudding, but you can adjust accordingly, as you make the pudding layers.  If you want a brighter color, simply add more mashed fruit and fruit juice to the pudding.  You can also add natural food coloring found at your local health food store if you prefer really bright colors.  If you prefer, you can mix the pudding and the fruits to be mashed along with the fruit juice in a blender or food processor, instead of mashing the pudding/fruit by hand.

Makes approximately  8 - 10 six to eight-ounce servings. Larger containers will make 6 - 8 pudding cups, smaller containers will make 10 - 12 pudding cups.

Don't forget that fruit is natures candy and you should be enjoying it daily!

xo, 

Nina

How to Pinterest with Annette Barney - Pinconcierge

Have you been wanting to learn more about Pinterest and how you can use it to drive traffic to your site? Well, you're in for a treat!

I had Pinterest expert Annette Barney stop by the studio and share all of her tips and tricks to help you succeed. It was a very detailed conversation and she didn't hold anything back. I asked everything that needs to be known about how to use Pinterest successfully for your business and how to truly drive traffic! She has a great Pinterest Strategies Business named " Pin Concierge" that does the following:

"We help influencers concentrate their time on content creation by managing their Pinterest presence online.  Adjusting to the changing platform, tracking analytic results and advising you on trends,  we can keep the power of Pinterest referral traffic coming to your business. "

Also, can you count how many times I say the word Interesting? Because I say it a lot! ha

Here are some good reads I found on her site: 

https://www.pinconcierge.com/podcast/healthy-food-bloggers-on-pinterest

https://www.pinconcierge.com/podcast/promoted-pins-website-prep

Annette also "fun blogs" and it is known as the Origami Foodie on the internet, check out this awesome blog: 

https://favemom.com/about/origami-foodie/

Find Annette online:  
Business: https://www.pinconcierge.com/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/pinconcierge/ 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/pinconcierge/ 

Listen to her episode below and let us know what you think! Don't forget to rate and subscribe if you really enjoyed it!

5 Ways to show self-love on a daily basis

In order to be truly happy in life, we must first love ourselves.  Loving ourselves doesn’t mean being egotistical or a narcissist.  It means showing yourself self-love and truly being happy in your own skin.  This is easier for some people but with a little daily maintenance, self-love will become natural and all aspects of your life will begin to fall into place.  

When we seek acceptance from others, it is very difficult to ever truly be happy in our own skin.  We have to unconditionally love who we are, the good and the bad.  If we focus on our accomplishments and achievements instead of comparing ourselves to others, we can truly be happy in many areas of our lives.  

If you were to ask me about my weight a year ago, I would have taken offense to it. I was going through this weird stage due to all the health problems that prohibited me to be at the gym six days a week (hence the weight gain). We often compare ourselves to our peers, celebrities, Instagram models, athletes and honestly up until the summer of last year, I was in the same spot and was self-conscious about my image (even though there was nothing I could do about it due to my health).

That quickly changed once I accepted that this is my body and I should be proud of it! It also changed because I started to show self-love daily. So, if you are struggling with this right now, here are some ways you can begin to practice self-love on a daily basis:

Accept Yourself.  This isn’t always easy but accepting that you have strengths and weaknesses and that is okay is the first step in truly loving yourself.  Not everyone is good at math or cooking or maybe even walking and chewing gum at the same time, but for every person that isn’t good at one of those, there is another that is.  That is okay.

Set Boundaries.  Every relationship you are in, whether it be friendly or romantic should have a set of boundaries.  If you are not okay with something, stand up for yourself.  If you don’t like how someone is treating you, talking to you or making you feel it is okay to tell them that.

Set Personal Quality Time.  Everyone needs time for themselves.  We all need hobbies and time to do the things that make us happy.  Ensuring you have time to either do a hobby, read a book or just meditate can help you to relieve stress, Make time for YOU.

Talk to yourself.  No, you don’t need to walk around having a full-on conversation with yourself, but you should take the time to check in with yourself.  Listen to yourself and pay attention to ensure you are getting what you need.  Are you feeling down?  Figure out what it is that is making you sad or stressed.  Paying attention to yourself and getting to the core problem can make a huge difference in your overall well-being.

Be kind.  It’s easy to beat yourself up when you make a mistake, or something doesn’t work out as planned.  Have patience with yourself and understand that it isn’t the end of the world.  We make mistakes but we learn and move forward.  It is okay to not always be perfect.  It’s easy to give someone else understanding, but you must do the same with yourself.  Speak to yourself kindly and with patience.  Reflect and learn.

The pictures you are seeing in today's post would have never been put on my blog had I not been on feeling confident in my own skin. I'm wearing a set from TOMBOY X Earth Day Collection in the whale shark print. 

ABOUT TOMBOY X:

TomboyX was founded the way many brands are, trying to fill a need that had gone unfilled for far too long. We asked ourselves, “How hard can it be to make good underwear?” And by that, we meant underwear that fit regular bodies and fit how we saw ourselves. And underwear that anybody could feel comfortable in, regardless of where they fell on the size or gender spectrum.   In trying to fill a need, we unwittingly unleashed an outpouring of emotion. 

ECO-FRIENDLY 

The majority of our cotton underwear and swimwear are Oeko-tex 100 certified—a highly-regarded international standard for non-toxic fabrics. Additionally, the process that gives our activewear it's quickdry, antibicrobial and moisture-wicking properties uses crab and shrimp shells instead of finishing with synthetic chemicals. Our luxury MicroModal fabric is made out of sustainably harvested and processed Beechwood fibers. And our Signature Prints use a water-based, earth-conscious method, recycling water well above the standards required. We are always looking for the greenest, cleanest method for everything we make.

SHOP HERE:

xo,

Nina

Disclosure: Nina Talks LLC was gifted TomboyX product for an honest review. All opinions and decisions for sharing my thoughts about it on the blog are my own.