When I first became a vegetarian, I was 10 years old. I was raised in a family of meat eaters (my sister has since become a vegetarian and my mom is mostly one), but I knew from early on that eating animals wasn't for me. I can remember so clearly sitting at my parents' kitchen table for dinner, poking at a pork chop looking at the veiny colors, picturing the pig running around at a farm, and not feeling right about eating him. I was probably 7 at the time. Once I went meat-free, I never went back. But I do remember feeling almost embarrassed if I was at a friends' house or a BBQ and had to tell people that I wouldn't be eating a hamburger. I think I mostly didn't want to draw attention to the fact that I was different, or be a pain in the ass to have over for dinner for that ... [Read More]
Archives for May 2017
10 Recipes to Try This Memorial Day Weekend
Who else is looking forward to their holiday weekend? Today's post shares some healthy summery recipe ideas to try! If you're a blogger that shares a lot of your personal life and adventures, having a blog is like having an online diary of travels and fun (...ya know, a diary that other people read that is!), and sometimes it's neat to look back at what I was doing at this time in another year. Looking back at past Memorial Day weekends, I went on vacation to Mexico last year (surprised my love for his 30th with the trip!), spent the weekend with friends during a deployment of my hubby's another year, and went on a wine tasting getaway to Napa and hiked around at Muir Woods when I was living in the Bay Area. This year, I have some fun things planned for Memorial Day ... [Read More]
Chocolate Chip Cherry Almond Muffins {vegan + gf}
Hello, hello! How was your weekend? With temperatures in the 80s, mine was a summery few days! My outdoorsy weekend activities included a few hours relaxing at the beach, tennis workout with my hubs, long walk at the park with my pup and gardening work. Indoors, I did some blog and photography work, and the hubs and I watched a movie and a few episodes of our current TV obsessions, House of Cards and Westworld. Who else is into those? We just recently started watching both, so we have a lot of episodes to keep us entertained during low-key nights for awhile! I also got some baking and recipe creation experimenting in, including the recipe I'm sharing today: chocolate chip cherry almond muffins. Actually, over the past week I've been a recipe creatin' machine! It seems like I tend to ... [Read More]
Cashew Cake Batter Fruit Dip {Vegan + Gluten Free}
With the summer produce starting to pop up in markets around town, I've been loving all of the fruit lately. Sweet cherries, strawberries, and peaches have been my favorite. Nature's candy is the best! So naturally with all of my fruit consumption in recent weeks, I had to make fruit dip. Dipping fruit into a decadent tasting dip is one of my favorite desserts, especially when it's healthy like today's recipe! I've been making a lot of cake batter recipes lately, including a few batches of energy bites, smoothies, and now, this fruit dip. I also think that cake batter cookies may be in my baking future. To get that cake batter flavor, I combined cashew butter with shredded coconut, maple syrup, vanilla dairy-free yogurt, vanilla extract and cashew milk. ... [Read More]
Be an Adventurer, Wherever You Are {Weekend Recap}
I like to think of myself as an adventurer. I love exploring new places (I have constant wanderlust!), doing "dare devil" kinds of things, and looking at life as one big adventure. Many come up with lots of reasons as to why they can't travel, move somewhere new, or be more adventurous in general. People have jobs they don't want to lose, family they're afraid to leave, and a pretty fixed vision of what "home" looks like. There's no doubt that taking risks is scary, and there's comfort in the familiar. I've also noticed that people like to look at this kind of stuff in a "lucky you" kind of way - as in, it's great that I have the ability to do it, but it's not possible for them. "You're traveling to XYZ? Do it now while you're young!" "You're thinking of moving to XYZ? ... [Read More]
The Cycling + Strength Circuit Workout of Threes
What kind of workouts have you been getting into lately? I've noticed that when I get crazy busy, I tend to stop getting as creative with my workouts. And since April was a hectic month for me, my workouts were not all that exciting. I had been going to some fun classes that were challenging me, but the first thing that goes when my schedule is packed is fitness studio visits. After all, not having to drive to studios saves time in my day! I was also traveling for half of the month, during which I snuck in quick morning workouts before full days. Oh, but I did go on an awesome hike during my quickie getaway to Idyllwild! No matter how busy I am, I make it a priority to workout. I tell myself, no excuses! Truth be told, I have exercise ADHD, so my "boring" workout stretch is ... [Read More]
