Now that it's spring and half the world is starting to get out of freezing temperatures and polar vortex slumps, smoothie season is getting underway. I know what you're thinking: I live in California and can pretty much drink smoothies year-round. But the truth is, here in the south bay area, the temperature swings are pretty nutty. It'll get up to 75-80 degrees during the day, then drop down to 35-40 degrees at night. Literally, the temperature doubles most days! When I first moved here I couldn't believe it. While I drank smoothies somewhat often during winter, my smoothie habit wasn't nearly as frequent as it has been the last few weeks and will be probably until late fall. You see, the house I'm living in stays really cool - as in, it's 80 degrees out but I'll work from my office ... [Read More]
healthy recipes
Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie [Vegan]
My hubby and I have a very serious, ongoing debate in our household. You see, we're both grown ups that like eating PB & J sandwiches -- though I make mine a banana, PB & J sandwich because it seems more adult to add a fruit into the mix -- but he only likes grape jelly. I, on the other hand, think grape jelly is gross and prefer strawberry or raspberry jelly. PB & J sandwiches happen to be our go-to thing to pack if we're on the road, going to the beach or anything like that, so it has come up many times and usually starts something like this: Me: "Babe, we're out of grape jelly. Should I just put strawberry on your sandwiches?" Him: "Nah, I don't like strawberry jelly." Me: "Stop the madness...How do you not like strawberry jelly??" When my hubby's ... [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]
Banana Berry Yogurt Matcha Smoothie
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Though I didn't go to any St. Paddy's Day parades this year, the Irish in me wanted to add a little green into my afternoon in honor of the holiday. A few days ago, Kiss Me Organics sent me some of their matcha green tea powder to try out. Some stats on matcha: It's the highest quality powdered green tea out there and is considered a powerful superfood. It's been a Japanese cultural norm since the 12th century. It's an antioxidant powerhouse. In fact, my package notes that matcha has 137x the antioxidants of brewed green tea -- whoa right! Made of chlorophyll-rich tea leaves, matcha is ground into a fine powder using the entire leaf. Its natural properties are thought to cause an increase in energy and physical endurance, as well as a metabolism boost. I'll ... [Read More]
Cinnamon Raisin Granola [Vegan & Gluten Free]
Nearly all of the billion people on the planet who have eaten it say this, but granola is seriously addicting. Despite knowing this, I got in a granola munching mood recently and couldn't resist whipping up a new homemade version: cinnamon raisin flaxseed granola. Since it's well documented on here that I'm cinnamon obsessed and eat it on nearly everything, it shouldn't be a surprise that this granola is full of cinnamon-y goodness. I decided to use a sweetener I haven't used in awhile: brown rice syrup. A few tidbits about it: Brown rice syrup is made by culturing cooked rice with enzymes to break down the starches, then straining off the liquid and reducing it by cooking until the desired consistency is reached. It's vegan and gluten-free. It has a sticky consistency ... [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]