One of my favorite autumn activities in apple picking. There's this little town in San Diego County called Julian where I like to visit a family apple orchard to pick some fruit, wine taste at a few of their small wineries, and have an obligatory slice of apple pie - because pie is what Julian is known for. Unfortunately, when I went to plan out an apple picking day at the start of fall, I was sad to see that none of the family orchards were open in Julian for U-Pick due to a shortage of crop from the drought. While I was totally bummed about it, we luckily still have local farms around at farmers markets and such sharing their sweet, SoCal apples. Now that it actually feels like fall here, I'm all about apples (and pumpkin and squash too). While we get mild seasonal changes compared to ... [Read More]
vegan recipes
Red, White & Blue Pancakes [Vegan & Gluten Free]
Does anyone else feel like the month of June just flew by?! I can't believe that the 4th of July is already coming up at the end of this week! To celebrate Independence Day and get into a festive spirit, I came up with a red, white & blue recipe of one of my favorite meals... pancakes! I haven't posted a pancake recipe in awhile, and trust me when I tell you that this one is deeeelicious. I've seen red, white & blue pancake commercials around for chain restaurants lately, and had the itch to come up with my own homemade version that's gluten free, vegan, healthy and light. ... [Read More]
Tropical Avocado Fruit Salsa + BUBBA’s NEW Veggie Burgers
This post brought to you by BUBBA Burger. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Foodie Loves Fitness. One of the many things that I love about summertime is how it's the prime season for grilling. I find it so relaxing to throw some delicious food on my grill, sprawl out on a recliner in my backyard and sip on a glass of wine while it's cooking, then enjoy a leisurely meal on my patio. Lately I've been a grilling fool - throwing everything from corn and asparagus to peaches and zucchini on my grill. One of my favorite things to grill is veggie burgers. Of all the types of veggie burgers out there, black bean burgers are definitely my favorite kind. What I love about black beans is that they're hearty and filling. They're rich in fiber, protein, folic acid, and a slew of ... [Read More]
Sweet & Spicy 4-Ingredient Trail Mix
Hi there! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. My weekend was filled with things like experimenting in the kitchen, gardening & house stuff, a beach date with friends on what turned out to be a cloudy day, playing tennis, eating dinner at one of my favorite healthy cafes and watching movies. It was the first time in three weeks that I got to hang out with my Marine without either of us having work or being away, and it was not too shabby of a weekend! Any who, onto today's topic: trail mix. It's one of those grab and go snacks that can be a healthy bite to give you lots of energy, but it can also be not all that nutritious if it's loaded with stuff like M&Ms. I generally like my trail mixes pretty simple: some type of fruit, some type of nut, usually a little ... [Read More]
Cocoa Banana Blueberry Protein Pudding
Happy Friday!! I'm currently en route to Miami for my friend Meaghan's bachelorette party - I haven't seen her since last fall and am really excited to have an awesome girls' weekend! - but I have a yummy recipe to share with you guys... If you read this blog often at all, you probably already know that I love making dessert-like recipes that are actually healthy and can be eaten as snacks or meals as well. Enter Cocoa Banana Blueberry Protein Pudding. Blue Diamond recently sent me their dark chocolate almonds as well as sea salt almonds to try, and not surprisingly, I'm kind of in love with the dark chocolate ones. ... [Read More]
Avocado & Chickpea Salad Cups
Happy Friday! I'm very much looking forward to the weekend, because later today my hubby and I are heading out on a little weekend getaway. It's a place just a few hours away from home that we've never been to before.... Palm Springs! Just a couple of days full of what will hopefully be fun: relaxation, hiking, good food and exploring a new area. But first, onto today's recipe! This recipe will provide you with a good dose of produce. It's vegan, gluten free, nutritious, and simple to throw together. Call me a nut, but it seems kind of fancy to me because it involves scooping the salad mixture back into the avocado skins. And speaking of nuts, recently Blue Diamond sent me a few boxes of their Almond Nut Thins to play around with. They're gluten free nut & rice ... [Read More]