Hi friends! Another weekend has flown by, and it was a good one for me. I kicked off my weekend with a much needed massage at the student massage school near me, San Jose National Holistic Institute. The students perform whatever massage they've been working on in school, and this time it was a Swedish massage. The masseuse did a good job of working on all of my achy muscles for an hour -- for $20. Needless to say, it was awesome! Afterwards I headed over to the mall to spoil myself a little, and I picked up a new Athleta workout top and some beauty loot from LUSH and Benefit Cosmetics. I'm kind of in love with LUSH. I spent some time in there playing around with things and wound up nabbing a facial cleanser and seaweed mask that I tested out and loved this weekend. I don't go shopping ... [Read More]
vegetarian
Meatout: Eat Vegan For a Day
Hi friends! I first heard about Meatout last night via Twitter when I was in a state of exhaustion, so I'm way late on posting info about this... but better late than never to help spread the word right? So just what is Meatout? Meatout is a day of international observance with a purpose of exposing the public to the joys and benefits of a plant-based diet, while promoting the availability and selection alternatives to meat and dairy in mainstream grocery stores, restaurants and catering operations. Meatout has been observed every year since 1985 and has become the world's largest annual grassroots diet education campaign. Meatout is a movement led by Farm Animals Rights Movement (FARM), with a goal of getting 25,000 people to participate in the pledge. Partipants pledge to ... [Read More]
Red Swiss Chard, Chickpea & Leek Soup {vegan}
When I was younger, I wasn't quite as into health as I am now. Luckily, I grew up in a health-conscious family with parents who exercised often and ate well. Our dinners almost always include nutritious vegetables. I remember feeling embarrassed as a kid when my friends came over and we didn't have an abundance of Oreos and Doritos in our pantry to nosh on like most of their houses did. I used to roll my eyes at my mom when she would take a bite of something super healthy and say, "Mmmm delicious! And it's so good for you!" I was convinced that she sabotaged herself into loving vegetables because of their nutrition content. Keep in mind, I became a vegetarian at age 10, and while I ate veggies and had a decently healthy diet for a kid, I wasn't exactly in love with broccoli and ... [Read More]
Mediterranean Pasta with Lemon Ricotta [Gluten Free]
Happy March! Doesn't it feel like February just flew by? Since I began trying out a gluten free diet (a discussion on my experience with going gluten free to come soon!), I've tried a bunch of different GF pastas. I know that some people feel ehh about pasta and can take it or leave it, but I am not one of those people. Two of the GF pasta brands that I've liked thus far are Tinkyada and TruRoots. I don't care for that overly corn-y taste to some of the gluten free pastas, and these two brands are on-point with offering a similar tasting pasta alternative to the real, gluten-filled kind. My carb-loving self enjoys whipping up healthy, yummy pasta dishes, and I didn't want to be completely missing my pasta fill just because I'm experimenting with a gluten free diet. For this dinner, ... [Read More]
Sweet ‘n Salty Roasted Chickpeas
Hi friends! Hope you had a fabulous Valentine's Day weekend. My V Day was nice and low key. I made tomato basil soup and asparagus risotto for a cozy dinner at home, and we drank a bottle of California zinfandel from Cline Cellars.... ...and we enjoyed strawberries, chocolate and port for dessert. My hubby got me gorgeous pink roses that I've been staring at all weekend, and I surprised him by booking a getaway to Lake Tahoe for this weekend. Adam has been there for work and raved about how beautiful it is, and I've never been there, so I thought it'd be an awesome spot to spend a long weekend. It's actually totally coincidental that I booked the trip right around V Day, but we're definitely looking forward to it! Other yummy highlights of my weekend were a Mexican salad.... ... [Read More]
Sweet Potato, Kale & Pasta Soup {vegan}
This fall and winter more than any others in the past, I've been a soup eating machine. When eating out, I keep going for the soup on the menu. At home, there have been countless lentil, tomato & spinach soup dinners, and then there have been some soup experimentations, like zucchini puree and tonight's recipe: sweet potato, kale and pasta soup. This soup has so much goodness in it - including antioxidants, iron, fiber, Vitamin K, B6, A, C and D, calcium, magnesium, potassium... and the list goes on. Let's just say that it's nutritious! This recipe came about because I had a bag of tuscan kale about to be past its prime in my fridge. I decided that it would pair well with sweet potato and pasta in a soup. Celery, onion and basil came into the picture because they're soup staples to ... [Read More]