Hi friends! Hope you that you had a great weekend. Mine was pretty low-key: did some schoolwork (got 100% on my second test!) and stuff around/for the house, went hiking, got some beach time in and just enjoyed the summertime weather. And speaking of summer, today's recipe is most definitely seasonally appropriate. I came up with this salad after having recently eaten a strawberry basil Greek yogurt. I loved the flavor combo, and when I picked up strawberries during my next grocery store run, I started thinking about pairing local strawberries with basil from my backyard for a dish. In general, I like to switch things up in the kitchen, but this just isn't the case when it comes to salad dressings. My go-to dressing mix is extra virgin olive oil + fresh lemon juice + balsamic ... [Read More]
vegan
Mint Chocolate Chip Date Balls
Hey friends, how's it going? Greetings from the east coast -- my parents' house in Jersey to be exact. Things around here are pretty up and down. As I talked about in my last post, I flew here because my sweet little grandma is really sick. When I'm not at the hospital or working, I've been trying to do things that soothe my soul a bit and help me keep it together. This includes fitting in an at-home workout this morning, going for a long walk with my brother's girlfriend and their newborn baby yesterday, and having brunch with a close girlfriend today. Yesterday after being at the hospital, I wanted to try to take my mind off of my grandma for a bit, so I decided to spend time in the kitchen whipping up some snacks and dinner for my family. My mom got a food processor last year that she ... [Read More]
Meatless Monday Recipe Idea: Black Bean Veggie Tacos with Cashew Cream [Gluten Free]
Hi friends! Another weekend has flown by, and it was a good one for me. I kicked off my weekend with a much needed massage at the student massage school near me, San Jose National Holistic Institute. The students perform whatever massage they've been working on in school, and this time it was a Swedish massage. The masseuse did a good job of working on all of my achy muscles for an hour -- for $20. Needless to say, it was awesome! Afterwards I headed over to the mall to spoil myself a little, and I picked up a new Athleta workout top and some beauty loot from LUSH and Benefit Cosmetics. I'm kind of in love with LUSH. I spent some time in there playing around with things and wound up nabbing a facial cleanser and seaweed mask that I tested out and loved this weekend. I don't go shopping ... [Read More]
Meatout: Eat Vegan For a Day
Hi friends! I first heard about Meatout last night via Twitter when I was in a state of exhaustion, so I'm way late on posting info about this... but better late than never to help spread the word right? So just what is Meatout? Meatout is a day of international observance with a purpose of exposing the public to the joys and benefits of a plant-based diet, while promoting the availability and selection alternatives to meat and dairy in mainstream grocery stores, restaurants and catering operations. Meatout has been observed every year since 1985 and has become the world's largest annual grassroots diet education campaign. Meatout is a movement led by Farm Animals Rights Movement (FARM), with a goal of getting 25,000 people to participate in the pledge. Partipants pledge to ... [Read More]
Red Swiss Chard, Chickpea & Leek Soup {vegan}
When I was younger, I wasn't quite as into health as I am now. Luckily, I grew up in a health-conscious family with parents who exercised often and ate well. Our dinners almost always include nutritious vegetables. I remember feeling embarrassed as a kid when my friends came over and we didn't have an abundance of Oreos and Doritos in our pantry to nosh on like most of their houses did. I used to roll my eyes at my mom when she would take a bite of something super healthy and say, "Mmmm delicious! And it's so good for you!" I was convinced that she sabotaged herself into loving vegetables because of their nutrition content. Keep in mind, I became a vegetarian at age 10, and while I ate veggies and had a decently healthy diet for a kid, I wasn't exactly in love with broccoli and ... [Read More]
Sweet ‘n Salty Roasted Chickpeas
Hi friends! Hope you had a fabulous Valentine's Day weekend. My V Day was nice and low key. I made tomato basil soup and asparagus risotto for a cozy dinner at home, and we drank a bottle of California zinfandel from Cline Cellars.... ...and we enjoyed strawberries, chocolate and port for dessert. My hubby got me gorgeous pink roses that I've been staring at all weekend, and I surprised him by booking a getaway to Lake Tahoe for this weekend. Adam has been there for work and raved about how beautiful it is, and I've never been there, so I thought it'd be an awesome spot to spend a long weekend. It's actually totally coincidental that I booked the trip right around V Day, but we're definitely looking forward to it! Other yummy highlights of my weekend were a Mexican salad.... ... [Read More]