Sometimes keeping it simple is where it's at - in the kitchen and in life. I do enjoy getting fancy in the kitchen using lots of different ingredients, but I also enjoy easy creations and recipes that are delicious simplicity at its finest. Take today's recipe: easy homemade Italian croutons. It's a 5-ingredient recipe that comes together in 15 minutes flat, and it brings great flavor and crunchiness to salads. I've made these croutons a bunch this year, including as part of a brunch that I put together when we had family visiting. I also made these croutons as part of an Italian salad that I brought to Easter festivities, and it was a hit. My older brother, who became a vegan last year, ate this salad and declared that if it was the only thing he could eat out of all of the food, he'd ... [Read More]
salads
Asian Sesame Noodle Salad
Hello! I'm feeling very excited to fly home and see my family tomorrow! I know that while I'm on my trip I'll be indulging a lot and not exercising as much (especially with frigid temperatures in Jersey and my crazy pup not being with me to nudge me to take her on walks!). That's perfectly fine and I'm looking forward to the vacation, but knowing this, I have been mindful in making some of my meals extra healthy and produce-packed lately. For one thing, I've been eating a lot of veggies to help build up my immune system a bit and protect myself from getting sick while I'm traveling and around so many people during the holidays. For another thing, eating really healthy meals helps balance out the sweets that have inevitably been present in my life more so than usual. Yesterday I made ... [Read More]
Dinner in 10: Black Bean Burger, Cheddar & Ranch Salad
From time to time, people I know will bring up my blog and say things like, "All of your recipes look great, but I think they're too complicated for me." While the word "complicated" when referring to cooking is very subjective, and I feel like most of my recipes are not all that difficult or time consuming, I do understand that some people don't enjoy preparing a meal or care to be savvy in the kitchen, and simply want to be able to eat something they can feel good about that took 15 minutes or less to make. Guess what? Healthy eating does not have to be time consuming. Sure, it may take more work than, say, pulling through a drive-thru, but it doesn't need to be a huge, intricate task to make a nutritious dinner. In fact, a lot of my dinners are thrown together really easily. I have a ... [Read More]
Watermelon, Feta & Mint Salad + 4th of July Weekend Recap
Hi everyone! I hope that all of you American readers had a great 4th of July weekend, and that everyone else has had a fabulous last couple of days as well. On the workout front, my long weekend included a mountain biking + swimming workout on Sunday... ...my first ever TRX class on Friday morning (more on that sometime soon!), and hiking with my pup on a hot but breezy Saturday. Fun and food-wise, my weekend included Sunday afternoon wine tasting with friends, followed by tempeh tacos with sweet potato fries from a cute vegan joint we found... ...spinach and artichoke dip making, muffin baking (also more on that later on!), and having another couple and their adorable baby over to hang out poolside on the 4th. My drink of choice that day was sangria.... ...and I made salsa and ... [Read More]
Kale Salad with Strawberries, Goat Cheese & Almonds
"Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life." The 10 days that I've spent in Jersey have been extremely tough for my family and me. My grandma passed away last Friday. To be honest, at the moment I don't feel like writing about my heart aching. I'd rather talk about cute babies, my wonderful family, and a yummy kale salad, so that is what I'm sharing with you today. On a positive note, going through this has reminded me what an amazing family I have. I am so grateful and lucky to have my wonderful family and to be close with them. Given the reason I flew to the east coast, I spent a lot of time at the hospital and hanging out with family members, and the quality time I got to spend with them was ... [Read More]
Roasted Sweet Potato & Farro Salad
Hi there! Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was exactly what I wanted it to be: productive yet also relaxing. Since I'm flying to the East coast this upcoming weekend for the holidays (!!!), I wanted to get some Christmas shopping done and clean my house - check, check. Since it has been SO chilly in the Bay Area and I'm a baby in the cold weather, I didn't have any outdoor workouts besides long walks with Harley, but I did do at-home workouts both yesterday and today. I probably look like such a nut awesome jumping around my living room doing burpees and pushups while watching football... hey, whatever works up a sweat right?! A lot of good food made its way into my belly this weekend, including: A post-workout bowl of goodness: chopped apple & banana sprinkled with cinnamon, ... [Read More]