Hi friends! Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of my readers in the U.S.! I am really looking forward to a couple of days home with my hubby. We don't have too much on the agenda, which is great since last weekend we were away in Palm Springs, and next weekend I'll be in Miami celebrating my best friend's bachelorette party (can't wait!), so I'm hoping to have some fun out and about in San Diego and a pretty low-key holiday weekend. I had planned on doing a last recap of my DietBet today, but then I realized that it's almost Memorial Day and I had shot a recipe on red, white & blue dishware earlier this week that would be great to whip up for a small holiday gathering... ...so, this deliciousness seemed more appropriate today instead! Plus, Fridays seem like the best days ... [Read More]
snack recipes
Gram’s Anadama Bread
"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." - Dr. Seuss Tomorrow marks a year since my grandma passed away, so today it felt fitting to share with you the recipe for a homemade bread that she often baked. Before last year, I had never experienced the heartache of losing someone really close to me. Sure, there'd been acquaintances, family friends, and relatives that had passed away, but before my grandma died, I hadn't felt what it was like to go through real grief with another person dying - the kind that hits you like a mack truck on random days at random times, when all of a sudden it dawns on you that a person that you loved so much is gone. ... [Read More]
Blueberry Almond Granola
Recipe creation is a funny thing sometimes. At times, I come up with an idea for a recipe moments before and I just throw ingredients together. Other times, I have a recipe in my head for weeks and weeks that I just have a feeling will be a winner that I will want to share on here, but it takes me awhile to actually make and photograph it. The latter was the case with this granola. When I randomly threw a bag of dried blueberries into my shopping cart one day, the idea of making granola with them immediately popped into my head... but then I wound up eating all the blueberries before I could get to making any granola. Oops. So then I had to wait until the next time I found myself in a food store with dried blues to make this recipe. But, the next time I went to make this ... [Read More]
Cinnamon Almond Butter Date Truffles
Hey friends! Hope that you had a fabulous weekend. A highlight of my last few days included meeting up with my friend Trish and her little pup for a hiking doggie date.... Temperatures were in the 80s on Saturday, but it didn't feel too hot because it was nice and breezy. Harley wasn't slowed down by the warm weather and was her usual maniac, super friendly self. Another fun thing I did over the weekend was volunteer with a group called CropSwap. The organization is dedicated to harvesting produce from farms, which would have otherwise gone to waste, and getting it to people who can't afford to buy fresh fruit and veggies. As a health coach whose passionate about the importance of nutrition and eating a healthy diet full of whole foods, I wanted to get involved because I ... [Read More]
Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew Granola Cups
“Believe that you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt Hello, and Happy Presidents Day to all of you fellow Americans! How did you all spend your Valentine's Day? My hubby and I decided to head to the beach to celebrate the occasion. He surfed while I caught up on a few magazines (more specifically, I dreamed up our next vacation while reading Islands, then read a Self issue with Cameron Diaz that has been sitting in my magazine rack for a year and a half), then we had a picnic and watched the sunset. Noshing on good food with my hubby + perfect weather + a bottle of refreshing riesling + a beautiful sunset = the perfect low-key Valentine's Day in my book. Speaking of the beach, lately a bunch of you have asked me about the weather in the San Diego area this time of the ... [Read More]
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Date Bites
Any time I have guests in town, I make sure to have some good meal ideas, ingredients on hand to prepare to prepare those yummy meals, and restaurants ideas for a couple of delicious meals out. I'm pretty sure that anyone that knows me expects nothing less - After all, I call myself a foodie for a reason! :) When my mother-in-law was in town visiting a few weeks ago, we enjoyed some pretty awesome eats. We strolled around at the Vista Farmers Market one day.... ... [Read More]