These flavorful, filling lettuce wraps are made with crispy chickpeas, diced avocado & tomato, & dairy free cheese made from cashews! They're perfect for a low-calorie, nutritious dinner or appetizer. If there's one food that I usually recommend to people to eat more of, it's beans. They're so healthy and versatile, and it's so easy to incorporate beans into my dinners. I use black beans in Mexican dishes all the time, but the bean that I probably like the most is garbanzo. There's just one problem: My husband, who I've slowly turned into a black bean eater, isn't crazy about chickpeas. Sometimes I'm sneaky about getting him to eat chickpeas, and I've learned that he likes them in certain ways. After I typed that sentence, I realized that I sound like I'm talking about a 3-year ... [Read More]
vegan recipes
Blueberry Granola, Berry & Coconut Yogurt Parfaits {vegan + gf}
Happy Friday! What do all of my fellow American readers have planned for the 4th of July weekend? It kind of feels strange for it to fall on a Tuesday this year, and I don't have anything too exciting planned. Besides working on some freelance recipe development & blog stuff, I'm hoping to spend some time outdoors to enjoy the weather - I'm thinking perhaps some time at the beach, a bike ride with the hubby, and soaking up the sun in my backyard poolside. Oh, and my hubby will undoubtedly force me to watch episodes of the HBO John Adams series. It happens every year & he's been putting it on TV late-night all week (much to my dismay!). Naturally, I'm sure that my holiday weekend will include some good eats. Today's recipe is an ode to America: red, white & blue yogurt parfait ... [Read More]
Blueberry Cashew Butter Energy Balls + 5 Of My Favorite Vegan, Gluten Free Energy Bite Recipes
When it comes to my eating patterns, I'm definitely more of small meals & snacks kinda girl. I like to eat every 3-4 hours, and feel like my body operates best this way. If I eat a big meal, my belly feels heavy and too full, but when I eat smaller meals & snacks throughout the day, I feel great. Because of this, I always have lots of snacks around: in my purse, gym bag, car and obviously my pantry. Having healthy snacks around is the key to me not getting hangry! One of my favorite kind of snacks is energy balls. I like to whip up a batch during the weekend to have on hand throughout the week. But since I get bored easily, I like to switch up my energy bite combos & am constantly coming up with new kinds. My latest energy ball creation are these Blueberry Cashew ... [Read More]
Healthy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cinnamon Cookies {vegan}
Does anyone else just all of a sudden get in the mood for baking sometimes? The measuring and mixing, pouring and stirring, baking and cooling. The smells of something delicious coming together and the anticipation of taste testing. It's therapeutic to me. Last week as I was jotting down a bunch of things to nab at the food store and planning out what healthy snacks I'd make this week, I got bitten by the baking bug. And I didn't feel like just following a recipe, I was in the mood for experimenting and getting creative. Today's recipe is a result of that baking bug. These cookies center around a few of my favorite things: the combination of chocolate + peanut butter & cinnamon. Cinnamon is without a doubt my favorite spice. I'm constantly sprinkling some on my fruit, in my smoothies, ... [Read More]
Potato Black Bean Soup [vegan + gluten free]
Lately the weather in the San Diego area has been nuts. Rain, rain, and more rain for the past month! This is usually the "rainy" season - though I use that term loosely - but this has been more rain than I've seen in my 7+ years in California. For the state, this is good news! California's reservoirs are swelling for the first time in half a decade, and the drought we've been in for years might be over if Mother Nature keeps it up. With all of the rain lately, a few things have been happening in my world. For one, my dog has been super whiny and energetic. She literally does sprints around the house when it's raining out, and cries at the door yet doesn't want to go outside and get wet... not that I blame her, I've been missing our outdoor workouts too. Secondly, my ... [Read More]
The Best of 2016: Favorite Recipes, Workouts, Adventures & More
Happy New Year! I hope that 2017 is off to a great start for you. I'm back in California after a week and a half on the east coast for holiday vacation, and ready to see what wonderful things this year has in store for me. Since I love to reflect on the positives of the year at the start of a new one, today we're looking back at my 2016 favorites! Recipes. When I think about favorite recipe posts, what pops into my mind are the recipes that I shared with loved ones, made numerous times and couldn't get enough of! My top 5 recipes of 2016 that were popular on the blog are... Mini Pretzel Twists with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce. I had a thing for soft pretzels in 2016! Mediterranean Feta & Lemon Hummus Dip. After creating this dip for a health coaching event, I ... [Read More]