Hello from the West coast! I got back to San Diego last night after having a fantastic stay in Jersey. My Monday has been nonstop, and started off with me picking up my very excited puppy from the pet resort. Okay, I might have been very excited too... I missed my Harley girl the past few weeks! A few shots from last weekend at my family's shore house: I'm happy I got to spend a good amount of time with my cutie pie nephew during my trip. The last time I saw him he was just a little munchkin! I can't even deal with his sun outfit: I had an amazing time with my family and friends, and I think I miss them already. But let's face it, the past 2 weeks of my life have included too much food and booze, and not enough working out and sleep. It's not like I didn't eat ... [Read More]
salad
Stacked Apple, Goat Cheese & Pecan Salad
Earlier I felt like creating a healthy meal that looked fun & fancy, and this is what I came up with - isn't it pretty?! Stacked Apple, Goat Cheese & Pecan Salad What you need: 1 apple 1 oz goat cheese 2 TBSP chopped pecans, toasted 6 pitted dates, sliced 1 celery stalk 1/2 TBSP honey 1/2 TBSP apple cider vinegar 1 TSP lemon juice sea salt Thinly slice the apple and celery stalk. Begin to form layers - first placing the apple, then topping it with some goat cheese, pecans, dates, and celery slices. Do this until you start to feel like you're playing Jenga, the salad edition (ha!), then decorate the sides of the apple tower with some of each ingredient. Whisk the vinegar, honey, lemon juice, and sea salt together. Pour the dressing ... [Read More]
Jujubes (Not the Candy)
One of my favorite things about the Little Italy farmer's market is that I'm always finding new fruits and veggies I've never made myself, eaten before, or even ever heard of. Almost every time I go, I come home with something new to try. Last weekend, I came across a stand that had fruit called jujubes. No, I'm not talking about the artificial candy. Also known as the red/Chinese/Korean/Indian date, the dried fruit first caught my eye because of its dark red color. After reading the chart above them that listed all their nutritional benefits, I was curious to try one. High in antioxidants and various vitamins, including vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin B2, jujubes aren't as sweet and sticky as the typical date. The inside of the fruit is sort of spongy. Today I sliced some jujubes up ... [Read More]
Quinoa Salad, A Dog Fight, and Dark Chocolate Dreams
Hi friends! My random blog title is reflective of the mood I am in. Ever feel like your brain is going in 10 different directions? Then you get it! Before I get to my tasty quinoa salad dinner, here are some things I must discuss: #1 - My Memorial Day evening hike turned out to be pretty adventurous, mainly because Harley got attacked by another dog! OK, attacked sounds sort of dramatic since there was no blood shed, but it was a bit scary at the time. The situation: We were hiking at the toughest part of Kwaay Paay Summit, where it's super steep and narrow, and came across a guy with his dog. Harley and I stopped a bit away to see how to go about this, as there's no way that 2 people and 2 dogs can cross each other at this point in the hike. There's barely room for 1 person really. ... [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]
Fancy Pants Lunch: Fennel, Apple, & Feta Salad
Ok, perhaps this salad really isn't fancy at all. But to someone whose lunches usually consist of a smoothie or yogurt with fruit, consumed while plugging away at a work project, it felt like it to me. Taking the few minutes to chop up fruits and veggies and then sitting at my kitchen table to eat in the middle of a weekday is a rare occurrence, but today I did just that. Combining licorice-like fennel, salty feta cheese, tart apple, sweet figs, and just a hint of crunchy pecans, this salad packs a lot of tasty flavors. I didn't feel the need to add a lot of dressing to it, and ate mine with just a squirt of balsamic vinegar. Fennel, Apple & Feta Salad 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced 1/2 Granny Smith apple, chopped 6 pitted dates, sliced 1 oz crumbled Feta cheese 1 ... [Read More]