Hi friends! Have you been experiencing a heatwave in your neck of the woods? It has been hot and also unusually humid here in the San Diego area, and while I know that many of you have no sympathy for Southern Californians complaining about weather since we have it so good overall, let me tell you... having no air conditioning is not fun when a heatwave rolls around! I wouldn't mind it being hot out if I had some coolness to retreat to inside. Yup, you heard me right! My house has no air conditioning. This concept is pretty foreign to most Americans, but living near the coast in San Diego usually equates to cool breezes and mild temperatures. I don't think anyone in my neighborhood has A/C, and it's pretty manageable except for the couple weeks out of the year when it's over 90 degrees - ... [Read More]
summertime recipes
10 Healthy Recipes to Cool You Down This Summer
Can you believe we're already a week into July? I don't know about the weather in your neck of the woods, but in the San Diego area, things are feeling very warm & summery! Today seems like the perfect time to share some recipes that'll help cool you off and keep you hydrated all summer long. They're some of my favorite fruity smoothie, sorbet and "nice" cream recipes. Let's get to it! Chocolate Hemp Cake Batter Super Smoothie. This smoothie is made with banana, peanut butter, hemp hearts, and Bob's Red Mill chocolate protein powder. It get its healthy cake batter-y taste to it from cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and cinnamon - one of my favorite combinations for baked goods & smoothies! << Get the recipe here. Mango Sorbet. This easy sorbet requires just ... [Read More]
Peaches & Cream Muffins [gf]
All of us have a few pretty useless talents up our sleeves, and one of mine is knowing the lyrics to about a million songs. I can hear a song once or twice and forever have the words in my vault of a brain. For some reason I'm especially good at remembering lyrics from songs that came out when I was in middle school and high school. I attribute this partly to my strange but good memory, and partly to my musical abilities thanks to playing the piano from age 4 up. Do you know when my lyrical memory comes in handy? When I'm driving with my hubby listening to the Pop2K and 90's stations on Sirius XM radio. They play nonstop music from all of the 90s and 2000s, and it's nothing short of awesome. Usually as I rap Ashanti and Ja Rule tunes, A looks at me and shakes his head as he asks, "How the ... [Read More]
Watermelon Raspberry Lemonade
Well, it's officially summer in the northern hemisphere! And boy, does it feel like it here in California! Yesterday I went to the beach for a few hours, and with the temperature hitting 90, it was the most umbrellas I've seen at the beach all year. The sun has been feeling super strong, and I'll be seeing days of 80 degrees or higher for the foreseeable future. I have a non-stop smoothie obsession, and in the summertime, my love for cold blender drinks only heightens. When it's particularly hot and sunny out, I find the most refreshing thing to be watermelon. It's high in nutrients and antioxidants and low in calories! Side note: I just joined Snapchat (& have no clue what I'm doing!). Connect with me on there @ fitfoodienicole. I've also turned my hubby into a watermelon smoothie ... [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]