The weather is warming up. Pack away those rain boots, dust off that blender and get to making some smoothies. They are the perfect way to jam pack your day with all sorts of healthy stuff in a special frosty, summery package. They’re so easy to put together and everyone just loves them. Am I right? I can put anything in a smoothie and my kids will drink it with a smile and not one of those little fake crooked … Read more
I try not to buy sweets. I like that Michael Pollan rule about how if you’re going to indulge, save it for things you make yourself. I think he underestimated my readiness to bake, but I like the idea—don’t buy chemically enhanced crap out of the vending machine that you’ll scarf down walking back to your desk. Make yourself something nice that you can savor. I am a creature of habit, and my habit is to have something tasty on … Read more
Native Foods has arrived in San Diego! Maybe you have one where you come from, but an entirely vegan-friendly restaurant is a hard to find around here. It’s such a luxury to walk into a restaurant and be able to order absolutely anything without meticulously scouring the menu and playing twenty questions with your server. I couldn’t be happier that kinda freedom has finally made it’s way to our suburban neck of the woods. In the interest of saving a … Read more
Popcorn, easiest snack in the world just got easier, thanks to a tip on Pinterest. Apparently the microwave popcorn industry is a sham, like so many other “easy” foods. You can take a simple paper bag, like the kind we use to take our lunches in before every three year old had their own stainless steel bento box, am I right?! Super cute and all, but I digress. Take your very simple and absurdly inexpensive brown paper lunch bag, add … Read more
This week the newest member of our family turned one. That thing that every person you know (and don’t know in line at Target) says about it going by way too fast is true. Completely true. We had a great day celebrating and we couldn’t have made it happen without the help of Isa Chandra and Terry Hope Romero’s Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It’s a must own for all your celebrations. This birthday, we went with the basic … Read more
I’m over spending a small fortune on kale chips. Excellent snack, but the mark-up on those salty bits is out of control. I can and will make my own! And so will you. Add in some homemade potato chips for good measure and we just about have a party on our hands. Naturally (and ironically) on the evening before embarking on my spontaneous snack making adventure, I had been dissing the mandoline in a serious way. I think I may … Read more
This was an exceptional week by relaxational (I made that word up) and meteorological standards. For a few days no one in our house had a cold. The weather was amazing — 80 degrees on Saturday. We all cut out a little early on Friday afternoon for a walk in the sun and a strawberry sorbet at one of our favorite little spots. We made it to the beach for a perfect burrito sunset picnic. Yoga for the first time … Read more
I’ll be the first to admit that it took me YEARS to learn how to make rice. Yes, rice. What should be the most insanely easy thing under the stars to cook I was miserable at. Sticky, check. Burnt, check. Hard, check. I made every misstep in the book. I tried stove-top methods, rice cookers, rinsing, not-rinsing, jasmine, short grain, basmati. Ugh. I was exhausted and tired of eating lame rice. Somehow, I had the most success with short grain … Read more
Like the bagels from a previous post, this is another case of “buy it or make it.” I became slightly obsessed with making my own Lärabars because my three year old is bonkers for them and they don’t come cheap! Plus they rank high on my radar for natural ingredients and portability. Luckily I came across this great feature on Chow and decided to get to work. Basically, it’s like making rice crispy bars: super simple, but kind of a … Read more
Growing up in the Midwest, the weather was far from what I’ve come to expect in California — weeks of snow, sleet, hail and rain. Early on I began to pass the time indoors indulging in one of my first loves; baking. With one of those little blue boxes of Jiffy cake mix, I would have a sugary production line moving through my Easy Bake oven that would’ve had even a Keebler elf envious. Decades later, there’s something completely relaxing … Read more