Hello! I'm feeling very excited to fly home and see my family tomorrow! I know that while I'm on my trip I'll be indulging a lot and not exercising as much (especially with frigid temperatures in Jersey and my crazy pup not being with me to nudge me to take her on walks!). That's perfectly fine and I'm looking forward to the vacation, but knowing this, I have been mindful in making some of my meals extra healthy and produce-packed lately. For one thing, I've been eating a lot of veggies to help build up my immune system a bit and protect myself from getting sick while I'm traveling and around so many people during the holidays. For another thing, eating really healthy meals helps balance out the sweets that have inevitably been present in my life more so than usual. Yesterday I made ... [Read More]
vegetarian recipes
Goat Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Blossom Crostini
There are certain foods that people immersed in the healthy living world tend to be obsessed with... things that the average person isn't even aware of. Take nut butter for example. Every healthy foodie not only knows about nut butter, but probably has a dozen jars of it in their pantry at any given time. But use the term "nut butter" with a random person and ask them what their favorite is, and prepare for them to look at you like you have three heads. That's because they probably know about peanut butter, but that's all about it when it comes to nuts being processed into a smooth, creamy and dreamy spread. Foods like hemp and chia seeds are another example. If you normally have these in your kitchen, you're probably a health nut foodie. During a stint visiting my family ... [Read More]
My Annual Halloween Themed Night In + Italian Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Hi friends! How was your weekend? Mine just flew by and involved a major purchase: a new car! I didn't mention it at the time, but I had a scary car accident experience last month that left me fine but totaled the Toyota Corolla that I drove for 11 years. I had been wanting a new car for awhile but couldn't really justify looking for one since my current car was running fine, so the accident forced me to get one. Everything happens for a reason, and I'm pretty excited to now own a Hyundai Sonata. It's a hybrid car, which the environmentalist in me loves. Besides spending an entire day at the car dealership, highlights of my weekend were short hikes on both Friday and Sunday evening.... ...nabbing a sweet Batgirl Halloween costume for my Dingo... ...which surprisingly, she didn't seem ... [Read More]
Spicy Vegetable Wonton Soup {vegan}
A couple of weeks ago, I awoke to a rare sound in Southern California that had me confused about where I was for a moment... pouring rain. I don't mind a rainy day here and there - especially when the area is in a serious drought that has caused the water company to restrict the days that I can water my plants - and I find it especially nice to wake up to the sound of rain. I didn't want to get out of bed, but my mind was immediately awakened to thoughts of food (surprise, surprise!), more specifically the idea of soup. The rain stopped about 10 minutes later and the sun was shining the rest of the day, but I had made up my mind that I was in the mood for soup for dinner. Around 11 hours later, I was in the kitchen chopping broccoli and folding wonton wraps with a very attentive ... [Read More]
Creamy Raspberry Chia Smoothie
While every man, woman, and child is talking about making soup and eating pumpkin everything (both of which I love, might I add), it is feeling steamy here in California. The past several days it has been 90 degrees with a strong, shining sun above - which is hot for San Diego County and the weather-spoiled residents of this area! I definitely will be happy to see 65-75 degree days come back, especially since my house has no air conditioning and it has felt toasty at home. Until that time comes, my smoothie habit is in overdrive, and I'm going to just keep sharing the new recipes I've come up with for refreshing liquid meals. Sound good to you? ... [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]