Oh springtime, how I adore you. Gazing at all of the colors outside lately instantly puts me in a good mood. My rose bushes have been blooming like crazy, and every time I step into my backyard and see new flowers blooming, I practically squeal with delight. What can I say, I'm a dork nature lover! It'd be nice if my sinuses didn't hurt every day from my allergies bugging out this time of the year, but I'll focus on the good parts of spring here... ...which leads me to today's post: a recipe ode to the lovely springtime! I know I've said it before, but I just love soup. It's such a great way to throw a ton of veggies and goodness into one filling, nutrient dense meal. For this recipe, I incorporated a lot of different veggies. I used some herbs from my garden and played ... [Read More]
Archives for April 2016
Inn at Sonoma Review + My Favorite California Road Trip ’16 Eats
As a California transplant, I'm always in awe of how vast and beautiful this state is. Having been born and raised in New Jersey where you can drive from the top of the state to the bottom in a couple of hours, it's amazing to me how massive California is. There are so many awesome places to visit and explore, and we've gone on many weekend getaways and vacations without even leaving state lines. This was the case two weeks ago, when my hubby and I set off on a California road trip vacation. We traveled from San Diego up to San Francisco to meet my parents, who flew in from the East coast, stayed there a night, then headed into wine country for the remainder of the week. We elected to stay in Sonoma at the Inn at Sonoma, which I was excited about because while I had wine ... [Read More]
San Diego Spotlight on Lotus Cafe & Juice Bar
Hi friends! Today I'm sharing another installment of my San Diego Spotlight series, when I talk about a local restaurant, bar, dessert spot, or winery that I love. Today we're heading to the town of Encinitas to talk about Lotus Cafe & Juice Bar. Lotus Cafe is one of my favorites eateries around here. When I'm out & about running errands or just don't feel like cooking and want a healthy meal, I head to Lotus. Located in the heart of the action in Encinitas a block away from the beach, Lotus Cafe is a casual, affordable restaurant that serves fresh, healthy, natural food. It has lots of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options, but also offers fish, chicken and turkey items. Patrons place their orders at the counter, get a table number, and pick up water, utensils, and ... [Read More]
Injury Report! A Broken Foot Bone Bummer
Injuries. Just about all of us experience them at some point - especially those that lead a super active lifestyle. I've only had a few of them in my life, but they seem to come back to haunt me... Two weeks ago I found out that I have a new foot injury - well, a new old foot injury that is. It was a couple of years ago that I initially went to a doc to figure out why my foot kept feeling achy, and was diagnosed with sesamoidiitis. I explained it in this post awhile back, but basically it's the chronic inflammation of these small bones within tendons by my big toe called sesamoids. (source) Back then, I reluctantly wore a boot for a good 6 weeks to let it rest and went to physical therapy to strengthen my foot, ankle, achilles, and calf (which is also an issue), and initially it ... [Read More]
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brown Rice Crispy Squares [vegan, gf]
Hi friends! Long time no talk. I'm home from my vacation - what an awesome time it was! - so I'm back to normal life at home in SoCal for a few weeks before my next trip (Vegas for work). I'll be recapping my wine country vacay soon on the blog, but today? Let's talk chocolate peanut butter treats! Since we were going to be in the car traveling a lot on vacation, I made sure to pack lots of snacks. I always pack some sort of snacks on trips, but between the long drive from the San Diego area up to San Francisco, then heading up to Sonoma, then driving around wine country vino tasting for a bunch of days, then lastly making the trip back home, I knew that snacks would be a necessity. And today's recipe made the cut to travel with us in my bag of goodies! I also just made another batch of ... [Read More]