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
Cocoa Cherry Watermelon Smoothie
Sweet ripe cherries, how I love you so. The same goes for smoothies. While I drink them year-round since I live in SoCal where it never gets really cold, my smoothie habit has been in serious full swing since summer started. I usually drink one a day, and lately my smoothies have been extra summery. A week or two ago I bought a huge watermelon. I was eating a lot of it on its own when I was hot and sweaty from working out or being outside in the hot sun or in my simple and favorite (and super refreshing!) strawberry watermelon smoothie. But I wanted to come up a new way to enjoy watermelon. And sweet cherries. And smoothies... which led to today's recipe! A couple of months ago I went to a fitness event and ZICO was there giving out coconut water samples. In all honesty, I've never been ... [Read More]
Watermelon Cucumber Mint Juice
Lately I've been obsessed with watermelon - and rightly so I think, as it's such a refreshing summertime fruit. You may have noticed this because of my frequent mention of watermelon smoothies. Can't.stop.making.them! Besides blending smoothies, making salads like this one with it, and eating watermelon all on its own, I've also thrown it in my juicer a bunch of times lately. Does anyone else drink fresh juice out of a wine glass? I realized that I haven't posted a juice recipe in awhile, but that's not because I haven't been juicing. It's more so because for a few months there, I got a little boring with my juices: always apple, carrots, and ginger, and then I'd often thrown in spinach or cucumber. When I realized that I was in a juicing rut, I decided to get a little ... [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]
Mexican-Style Twice Baked Potatoes
It's official, my favorite summertime food obsessions are back in full swing for the season. Over the weekend, I made a strawberry watermelon smoothie not once, but twice. The first time, I made one to quench my thirst while lounging around in my pool for the first time since we moved in a month ago. It was awesome! The second time, my hubby and I had just gotten back from a hike, and a watermelon smoothie sounded like the perfect way to rehydrate. I predict that this smoothie will be back many, many times the next couple of months. Also on the topic of fruit obsessions, I just love pineapple and snacked on it all weekend as well... And then there's my somewhat recent summer food obsession: corn. I never really liked it growing up, and always felt like I could take it or leave it. ... [Read More]
Jumping on the Watermelon Salad Bandwagon
Happy Friday! First off, I've got to share what I'm munching on... I made oatmeal peanut butter banana cookies from PB Fingers , with just a couple changes. First, her recipe makes four dozen cookies. I do NOT need 48 damn cookies in my apartment with just me here! So, I made 6 instead, which was a smart move... these babies are delicious and I could probably eat a dozen if I made that many! I also subbed her egg for a flax egg and added chocolate chips to mine (because in my opinion, desserts are always better with chocolate chips added in). They came out so yummy, so if you're looking for a cookie recipe, make these! Moving on to dinner... Now that summer is around the corner, I keep seeing watermelon salads popping up everywhere. I find it to be an interesting salad mix ... [Read More]