Shredded Brussels Sprout & Green Apple Salad With Avocado & Pomegranate Seeds

Ever have those moments in life where you realize your vegetable consumption is WAY too scanty?

I usually feel this way after a holiday full of cookies, a birthday full of cake, or a vacation where I’ve favored margaritas over food groups. Or, heck… sometimes there’s no explanation at all. A girl just needs a serious veggie-vention (like, intervention…but, with veggies. It’s a stretch. I know) from time to time.  It’s in these moments that I find myself with insatiable veggie cravings. Like, standing at the kitchen counter shoveling handfuls of plain spring mix into my mouth. Or, shotgunning carrots like a frat boy would do beers. So, I figure I might as well stop grazing like an uncontrollable fridge-savvy rabbit and get down with a giant salad instead.  […]

Lemon Roasted Salmon With Pepita Pesto Quinoa & Tomatoes

Lately I’ve felt like I’ve been stewing in some sort of creative rut.

The words aren’t flowing freely from my fingers. Perhaps this is why I’ve signed up to write an entire novel in the month of November. Clearly, I’m a glutton for punishment. The graph of my current word count tells me that I will most likely be finishing this “novel” (I use quotations since my “novel” has turned out to be  a collection of non-fiction stories about my very real, very awkward life) sometime around mid December. Nothing inspires a person more than being approximately sixteen days behind on a writing project when you’re already suffering from an intense bout of writer’s block. Can you see my sarcastic-smirk face right now? Because, that. Is hibernation an option for humans? I kind of want to sign up. Maybe they have a month dedicated to napping. Count this girl in.  […]

Roasted Kabocha Squash, Carrot & Ginger Soup With Lamb Meatballs

So, I haven’t eaten eggs, tomatoes, peppers, white potatoes, eggplant, grains, dairy or nuts in about twelve days.

I’m doing a bit of an elimination diet in order to detect some suspected food allergies. I’m not going to lie to you, it could be easier. In the past twelve days I’ve realized I feel slightly paralyzed without eggs and I put tomatoes in nearly everything. But, in the hopes of not freaking out and attempting to sell my kidney on the black market for a plate of runny-yolked gold, I’ve been trying my best to make satiating meals that aren’t lacking in flavor. However, I’d like to reiterate that taking away things like tomatoes and chili powder and paprika make me feel like I’m cooking with a couple of those lobster claw oven mitts on. A little clumsy. A little frustrated. A little confused as to why I have lobster claws instead of hands. I’m sure there were like a zillion better, more coherent similes that I could have used right there. But, of course, I went oven mitts. Oy. […]

Grain-Free Chai-Spiced Pumpkin Pie Tartlets With Coconut Whipped Cream {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo}

Last night I went to the beach to see the sun go down. My husband and I drove to the ocean in nothing but flip flops and light summer clothes. The car thermometer was still reading eighty five as we approached the Golden Gate Bridge. Finally, when we parked the car, the temp had come down somewhere in the seventies. I grabbed a scarf, removed my flip flops, grabbed his hand, and wandered down the beach towards the waves, toes squishing in the warm sand. We dipped our feet in the ocean and watched the waves get larger. The sun went down just like you’d imagine a summer night’s sky—fiery red with bits of orange and gold lining the clouds. We stood there waiting for the sun to finally tip its hat and dip under the horizon. We spotted dolphins playing in the waves. Dolphins. Because, clearly the beautiful sunset and the early fall beach night wasn’t epic enough. Dolphins. Not kidding. Just three little dolphins kicking it in the sunset like it’s no big deal (you can sneak a peek of this beach-y sunset on Instagram–although, my iPhone couldn’t quite capture the magic).

The moral of this story is: It’s still pretty much summer and I’m eating pumpkin pie. Also, dolphins!?! Nature is a gross show off.  […]