This post was sponsored by Heluva Good! Dip as part of an Influencer Activation, like always, all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
So chips and dips… I will use any portal necessary to get the biggest bite from my dip, anyone else with me on this???
I’m proud of my snacking skills, my hosting abilities, and how HUMBLE I sound right now haha I’m also really passionate about working with companies that are philanthropic. You’ve seen me talk about this during the release of my Gift Guides this month so you’ll understand why I’m proud to have teamed up with Heluva Good! Dips and Walmart today!
I love that we’re helping to raise awareness about 1) their delicious dips and 2) ’tis the season of giving and Heluva Good! Dip will be donating a portion of sales to Toys for Tots that will run through the remainder of the year. I mean, talk about my two favorite things teaming up … spreading dips and spreading joy.
Dips make for delicious snacks perfect for anytime aka when everyone is waiting for dinner to be made this holiday season, just set out some chips (and some pita, oh and some crackers too) and Heluva Good! Dips for them. This is a for sure crowd pleaser every time!
Easy snacking, a time to gather around the table and catch up with friends and family, chips and dip are nostalgic for me. During this time of year when we can’t be with our families due to the pandemic, it’s so wonderful to have some tradition here at home. My mom always had her favorites in the fridge and can you guess what it was? French Onion! That’s my go-to flavor as well, it’s so creamy and SO yummy.
If you’re passionate about benefitting great causes and supporting brands that are like minded, please join me in purchasing your Heluva Good! Dip at Walmart or Walmart.com (pssst available for pick up or Walmart grocery delivery) and help donate to Toys for Tots this month. How convenient and wonderful it is to do some good, simply by purchasing something your family will enjoy while helping to make someone else’s holiday just as wonderful.
It’s a Heluva Holiday to give back … see what I did there? 😉
Happy holidays from me and mine to you and yours <3
Chia seeds, they’re in everything! Skin care, desserts, and yummy breakfast items so I thought today I’d share with you my easy and delicious home made chia seed pudding! And if you know me than you KNOW of course I added in chocolate 😉
Chia seeds are extremely rich in antioxidants and minerals, they’re a great source of essential fatty acids, aaaand I do love it as a bit of crunch in my shakes. This recipe is my recent go-to for breakfast on the road and it’s the perfect post-workout treat! Big pros: low in sugar, gluten free, dairy free, and vegan! Say wuuut! I also decided to toss in cocoa powder and raspberries to curb my sugar cravings, and makes it extra satiating. You can also add in sliced almonds or toasted walnuts… goin’ for that crunch factor again. And any time I can add chocolate, I will! Method: – 4 TBSP Chia seeds (I like the texture so more chia seeds doesn’t bother me) – 1 1/2 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk (have you tried the almond coconut milk combo?!) – rasberries – 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder – dash of cinnamon – and if you like your pudding sweet you can use some stevia or honey but I omitted it for this recipe – toasted walnuts, sliced almonds, or whatever nut you prefer…crunchy!
Combine the chia seeds with the almond milk, raspberries, cocoa powder, nuts, and cinnamon in a glass jar with a lid. Give it a good shake to combine the ingredients well and let it sit in the refrigerator over night. Tadaaa, enjoy!
This recipe made about two really big servings which is perfect for meal prepping. It’s filling, super healthy, and so simple to make. Try it out, let me know what you think, and TAG me with your creations! Chia seed pudding… make it? Order it? Like it? Leave it?
It’s a new decade darlings, can you believe it?! Welcome to 2020… we’re in it and we’re also just coming off of a two week break where we didn’t know what day it was, what time it was, and if we were ever going to change out of footed pj’s. So now that we’re back into the full swing of things I want to share a few of my personal goals with you. I think it’s so wonderful when we can get real with each other and spark creativity in one another. I read a great quote the other day that had so many meanings to me, “one year closes so another can open”.
So good right? So one of my goals this year is to travel more, to hit reset on my mind and my heart when I need it, and to not feel guilty about it. Even if it’s just jumping in my car and visiting a neighboring city, I’ve got to do it in the name of adventure. I was inspired to take more time to explore my own city when Discover Torrance reached out to me for a staycation. ‘Ummm yes please’, is what I think I responded with.
The idea of a staycation always encourages me to relax without worrying about taking a flight out or being too far away from family and financial responsibilities. So I packed my bags and headed to the Best Western Plus Avita Suites in Torrance. Sweet Suites, it’s an award-winning-all-suite boutique hotel and was so close to everything I wanted to do during my stay I couldn’t wait to get there. So with my itinerary in hand I checked into my suite and found it very difficult to peel myself from the cozy bed to hit the town on our night one haha.
My next article will share in detail all of my recommendations for where to go, what to do, things to eat, best desserts to find, and local favorites in Torrance. Today I want to share my experience at this beautiful hotel and share that you can book with them here!
I wouldn’t usually describe lobbies as inviting and beautiful but let me tell you, this lobby was inviting, comfortable, and beautiful. I actually blurted out at the front desk, “how pretty is this?! I have to take some photos before I check in”.
It was bright and festive, the staff was so welcoming… and so was this cushy bed! Every room is a suite so they each have a seating area, office area, and kitchenette. Here’s a fun walk through…more like dance through of my room! Imagine Mariah Carey’s voice singing as I dance you about the suite.
Once I settled in and unpacked… P.S. am I the only one who get SO excited about hotels that I have to unpack all of my belongings before doing anything else? AKA I hang my clothes in the closet, utilize the robe, put my keys in the safe, and place all of my toiletries out ha! I’m saving the rest of my excitement to share all of the things we did, the foods we ate, the drinks we drank, the desserts we hunted, ALL the things that we took in during our time in Torrance.
For today you get to hear me dish all about these digs and the hospitality and generosity we were shown while on our staycation at the Best Western Plus Avita Suites in Torrance. Can we just talk about how much joy complimentary breakfasts bring us all? Haha talk about breakfast, this was a full blown buffet with options like home-made waffles, a yogurt and bagel station, fresh fruit, and every cereal and topping you can imagine.
I indulged and had a little bit of everything Cafe Avita had to offer, here’s a peek above. After all that yummy food I had to get some cardio in and build energy for the day’s events to eat our way through the town! It’s so nice when the place you’re staying at has a gym, it encourages you to stick with your goals, and it completely helps that they have weights and not just a standard treadmill…yayy options!
It was truly so relaxing to stay at this destination for two nights and made coming back after a fun filled day of adventures and foodie times just all the more spectacular. I do hope you get a chance to visit our home away from home, Torrance which is just a town over from us. The staff, the amenities, the views, the food, all of it … I’m so grateful to have been able to relax for a few days before heading back to reality of the grind and hustle.
This was just before the holidays and could not have come at a more necessary time. Please scroll back through and enjoy the images, I hope you loved my dancing walk through of our suite, and come back on Monday for my complete guide to Torrance <3
Staycations… you ever been on one? What is a destination close to home that you’ve been dreaming of visiting? I hope Los Angeles is on your list and I hope you check out Torrance and where I stayed while you’re here!
I’m admittedly not a person who usually orders salad, makes salad, or particularly even enjoys the word salad. I’m such a brat I know, maybe it’s because I was forced to eat LIVER + veggies as a child, or because I just get angrier with every bite I take of dry-crunchy ass-weirdly textured leaves. Whatever it is, this is the only way I’ll eat ‘salad’.
Emphasis on the quotation marks because a lot of people will argue that this is not a salad…nay I say, it is. Google the definition, promise this is a salad and PS I do love veggies, just not in a boring way. Raw is best I know I know, but I’m just happy to be eating veggies at all mkay. I actually prefer them all cooked up in a nice tomato sauce to throw over any dish or blended together with fruit for a refreshing dessert shake. AND like this, a veggie bowl:
This recipe is so easy I didn’t even create a recipe card because this is what it comes down to: use everything you have in your fridge! This is perfect for using all of the veggies and leftovers you already have, like a goulash… minus the pasta part and the sauce part. So okay not like a goulash, buuut it’s just as delicious 😉
All I did was stir fry all of the veggies together in some coconut oil, roasted the broccoli and chick peas (topped with turmeric & fresh garlic), made a coconut curried quinoa (cooked quinoa in coconut milk + cumin + turmeric spices), and then topped it with avocado and tzatziki! You can add whatever other protein you like but this particular recipe is a gluten free, vegan (coconut based tzatziki), protein packed bowl of goodness (and SALAD) and I LOVE it! See…I DO eat salad!
Mix it all together and enjoy <3
Please share with me your favorite salad recipes, how you most enjoy the leafy stuff, and what I can add to mine to make them less salad-y 😉
We were always the kids in school who got cafeteria breakfasts and lunches because it was FREE! I think that is the exact moment in my life when I became obsessed with packaged foods LOL I’m not kidding, I love cafeteria food, airplane food, gas station food… maybe I just love food. That could be it too.
But I’d always envied the kids whose parents packed them a Lunchable, with a juice box, and a treat. Well baby is all grown up and thank goodness as an adult I can just relive all those moments and make them MY WAY! You want chocolate for lunch?! No problem!
Packing an adult version of the Lunchables is super easy- you basically deconstruct a sandwich 😉 Throw in some nuts + a treat and you’re ready to go!
So the deal is, I really try to have a lean protein, complex carb, and healthy fat at every meal. Emphasis on ‘try’. Sometimes it doesn’t happen and I’m eating a protein bar or a a bento box from Starbies. I know the ‘lean protein, complex blah blah blah‘ is all I talk about, but it’s true! It’s how I help ensure I’m getting in all my nutrients AND helps me be flexible for when I want pizza or a dessert. Or both.
Some ideas for quick and easy back to school lunches for yourself, your kiddo, or your college student is:
pb&j + fruit + chocolate (this is from Trader Joe’s and one entire bar is 100 cals) – not that I’m counting, but if you were, there you have it <3
tuna salad + corn & black bean medley + leafy green friends
almond butter + rice cakes + fruit
yakisoba noodles + veggies + peanuts on top or sunflower seeds (only thing not pictured. we actually at them for lunch and Joe didn’t know it was for this post *face palm)
If you or your kiddo is a picky eater, swap out the boring fruit they won’t eat for blueberries or strawberries. Corrine would eat those without fail while she avoided her green beans. She also really loved fried rice instead of yakisoba noodles so try that too! Mac and cheese and hotdogs were a staple in my daughter’s child hood (and still are lets be real) because as long as she was eating I didn’t care what it was. She was EATING … hallelu!
Are you ready for back to school season to begin? Next week I’ll share my back to school easy outfits!
Love it or leave it Valentine’s Day is this Sunday and there’s been a flood of holiday themed treats and DIY posts. Who am I to stop the momentum? We’re celebrating Galentine’s Day today so grab your favorite gal pals, a bubbly drink, and lets start baking!
Today’s menu includes frosted cinna-hearts, pita heart-wiches, and a dessert skewer … not in the shape of a heart. See, we’re themed! Hearts everywhere!
For your frosted hearts you’ll need one package of cinnamon rolls and some sprinkles!
Unravel the cinnamon bun and split it into two halves and then shape the two into a heart!
Bake per the directions on the packaging and then drizzle the frosting over top and sprinkle with ALL the sprinkles!
These pita heart-wiches are super easy and super yummy! Just take 2 pitas and layer them up with turkey, cheese, cucumber, or whatever your favorite fillings are. Then cut them up and enjoy! They’re especially enjoyable when you use a heart shaped cookie cutter!
I sliced a few of these in half which made them look like broken hearts, which still tasted delicious AND fit the theme of my next post ‘the achy-breaky Valentine’.
The macaroons were from Trader Joe’s and after you thaw them out it’s as if you picked them up fresh from the bakery! Salted caramel is my favorite!
For the dessert skewers just take a paper straw (I got these from the dollar store) and stack your favorite pastries, alternating between them. I chose snickerdoodles and blueberry muffins! Almond milk and another straw for sipping and we were set!
That red glowing drink you see in the background is cherry-cranberry juice spiked with our favorite vodka!
I hope this inspires you to enjoy a holiday with your friends, Valentine’s day ins’t just for lovers! It’s a day to celebrate all the loves! If you really don’t feel like celebrating and you just hate the holiday all together, then I have a post for you on Sunday (yes ON Valentine’s Day, see what I did there) with menu items like Bleeding Heart Brownies and Sour Cherry Puckers, so stay tuned for that!
Here is my most recent video, our first installment of Pinterest DIY-Not! I made Melt My Marshmallow treats and Cherry Whiskey Smashes! They were just as delicious and they sound!
Do you have any plans for Valentine’s Day? A Galentine’s day celebration perhaps? Share with me your plans so we can all live vicariously through one another and P.S. if you aren’t Subscribed to me on YouTube please do, I post videos twice a week! See, so much sharing! xx
I’m not sure what my current obsession with what everyone’s eating these days is all about, but it’s freaking me out. I genuinely am so curious about what everyone’s eating in a day, how much, what foods, how do they prepare it, what do they consider ‘clean’ eating? I hate the phrase ‘clean eating’ because it can be so confusing to me. Like 80 avocados and 17 bananas in a day, I wouldn’t do it, but to someone somewhere, THAT is clean eating and they don’t understand why they’re having digestive issues. Am I climbing the crazy tree alone here?
So I thought in the interest of keeping up with a trend that has piqued my interest, I’d share with you what I eat in a day. This is what I’m eating this week and the kind of meals I consumed last week as I’m in a Lacey Stone Fitness bootcamp, the last two week camp of the year and I’m all IN! You’ll notice I didn’t mention how many calories I have in a day because honestly it doesn’t matter. My caloric intake and my fitness goals are going to be different from everyone else’s so I thought I’d spare you the drama of explaining my daily breakdown of it all and just show you the food, when I’m eating it, and how I’m eating it…. the answer is with my fingers!
You’ll also notice I’m using My Fitness Pal (not spon, ha must disclose this just because) because I’m tired of ‘guesstimating’ what my eating habits are doing for me. How many calories am I consuming in a day? Where are my nutrients coming from? How many grams of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs am I having? WHERE IS IT ALL COMING FROM?! I had no idea, so I downloaded the dang app and decided that for two weeks I’d track my meals and give myself a more accurate layout of what I’m doing that’s both good and bad for me.
I personally love meal prep because of the convenience. And the fact that it saves me time and money. We did the math and for us 6 ladies to meal prep 4 meals a day for 5 days, it cost us $79 each…for the week! Whoa, hey babyyy yes count me in! On days like yesterday and today where I’m cleaning the house or plowing through a day of work and to-do’s it really does help me to just heat the meal up and move on with my life. My hand is raised right now because I’ve become that person who sets an alarm to eat every 3 hours or so. Honestly, I do it because I forget, or I get too busy that I’ll munch on a snack aka a sugary treat and then by the end of the day I’ve gone the entire day without eating real food. So this helps!
So it goes down like this: after a fasted workout I’ll have my breakfast, then lunch, then a midday snack, then dinner. Four meals a day, either over 12 hours (8-8) or over the entire day depending on travel and my intermittent fasting streaks.
Breakfast: Egg white frittatas, fruit, coffee
Lunch: Lean protein, complex carb, healthy fat (this is every meal actually) and on this day I had a turkey burger with a Portabella mushroom open faced ‘bun’, some grilled veggies, salsa, and sweet potato fries
Midday snack: Veggies with hummus (I did zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers)
Dinner: Lentils with brown rice, hummus and a spinach salad (I used the spinach leaves like a tortilla and wrapped the hummus in the leaves like a lil baby taco!)
*Also featured as another meal option to have is another meal we prepped, bbq pulled chicken with grilled veggies, corn and black beans, with sweet potato cubes (they had cinnamon on them omgawww noms!) Also not featured, the healthy snacks I’ll munch on throughout the day if I’m ravenous and don’t want to eat my arm off.
And that’s what I had for the day. It may not sound exciting but honestly it was delicious and super nutritious, and I feel so energetic and good already just after this last week of eating this way. The bloat has gone away and I feel like my peppy self.
Have you meal prepped? Do you love it? Have recipes to share? Would you like the recipes for the meals I had today?
Halloween is this week and I’m all for an easy themed cocktail just as much as I’m up for an easy costume! This is the Vampiress Kiss, it’s delicious, Rum-my, sweet, and you’ll just need one… kinda like that vampiress kiss, only takes one.
What you’ll need:
– Captain Morgan’s White Rum
– Coconut Rum
– Ice
– Kahlua
– coconut essence
– Milk
For the Vampiress Kiss Drizzle:
– Sugar
– Cherry juice
Method: add ice to a tumbler and combine an oz of white rum with an oz of coconut rum, splash of coconut essence, half an oz kahlua, 1/4 cup milk, and SHAKE
For the drizzle you’ll combine one part sugar to two parts juice in a small pot and boil the mixture until thickened. Then drizzle that goodness into a martini glass and try not to lick the pot. Or do!
I hope you enjoyed this easy and not so spooky Halloween themed cocktail and have a safe and happy Halloween babes!
What are your plans? Staying in or braving the chilly weather and going trick or treating?
Earlier this year we took a 30 day Vegan challenge and I say “we” because I basically forced my family to do it with me. Corrine’s been a pescatarian since she was 12 so this is something that was easier for her to manage and she actually loved it.
You’d be surprised by how much animal bi-product is in everything, which made it difficult at times but we did it! We experimented with a whole new way to prepare food in it’s deliciousness, and I think moving forward I’ll stay dairy free . . . just hurts my tummy.
So Corriney made me this delicious vegan milk shake for me the other night because I was craving McDonald’s mcflurry and she advised me against it lol
You’ll need:
Nada Moo dairy free ice cream (we went with my favorite – mint chocolate chip)
Coconut flakes
Almond milk
Blend them all together, measurements depending on how thick or thin you like your milkshakes, garnish with some fresh mint and you’re set!
Have you tried going dairy free, gluten free, or vegan? How did it go?
