One major staple appliance in my kitchen is a blender. Smoothies are one of my favorite healthy go-to ideas for a quick meal or snack. I also mix pancake batters in my blender, and I usually make pancakes a few times a week. So when my blender finally conked out recently, deciding which new blender to buy was a big decision in my household. It was a blessing that my Kitchen Aid blender finally officially died, because honestly, the blender had been not been working well lately. I was getting frustrated with drinking protein smoothies with chunks of ice and frozen banana pieces in it. A foodie like me always gets excited for a new kitchen appliance, but I was extra excited for this one! After some research, I decided on a Ninja BL740 blender. In the past few years, I’ve had a few Magic ... [Read More]
Archives for December 2013
Pumpkin Pie Spice Date Balls
Happy Fridayyyy! I am super excited for the weekend, because tomorrow I'm flying out to New Jersey and will be there spending a few weeks there with my family and friends. I'm always a last minute packer, so I've got a lot of packing to do, some work to get done, a workout to fit in, and early Christmas presents to exchange with my hubby tonight... but first, let's talk dessert, shall we? With all of the sweets that surround the holidays - from baking Christmas cookies to holiday parties full of goodies - I find myself just in the mood for a little something sweet. Who am I kidding, I usually am craving something sweet anyways, but even more so lately. There were cupcakes last weekend, and last night I baked these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (<--post from the beginning of my blogging ... [Read More]
Work it Out Wednesday: The 20-Minute Warm Me Up Winter Workout
There are a lot of w's in my post title huh? Apparently I'm in the mood for a good alliteration this evening! Today I had a little "me" time and got a massage and a manicure. Thanks to Groupon, my hour-long deep tissue massage was only $25...how can you not love that right?! Since I knew I wouldn't feel like working out or have time to after my couple hours of pampering, I planned on doing a workout first thing in the morning so I could still fit exercise time in for the day. I rolled out of bed this morning and first did my favorite YouTube AM yoga video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xfqio9l3x4 I've followed this video a bunch of times, and I always feel so stretched out and ready for the day after it! Harley moved her blanket to be right on top of my yoga mat, and then ... [Read More]
Jazzy Vegetarian Classics Cookbook Recipes & Review
"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." - Luciano Pavarotti As someone who loves to spend time whipping up healthy, delicious food in the kitchen, I own a number of cookbooks that I constantly flip through for recipe ideas and inspiration. And I'm always on the lookout for new ones to check out. Recently, my friends at BenBella Books sent me a copy of Jazzy Vegetarian Classics, a book that came out a few months ago. The cookbook features vegan recipes from Laura Theodore -- a host, writer, and producer on Public Television show Jazzy Vegetarian. Laura states her mission to simply be: making the world a better place, one recipe at a time, and describes her recipes to be, "based on fruits, ... [Read More]
Roasted Sweet Potato & Farro Salad
Hi there! Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was exactly what I wanted it to be: productive yet also relaxing. Since I'm flying to the East coast this upcoming weekend for the holidays (!!!), I wanted to get some Christmas shopping done and clean my house - check, check. Since it has been SO chilly in the Bay Area and I'm a baby in the cold weather, I didn't have any outdoor workouts besides long walks with Harley, but I did do at-home workouts both yesterday and today. I probably look like such a nut awesome jumping around my living room doing burpees and pushups while watching football... hey, whatever works up a sweat right?! A lot of good food made its way into my belly this weekend, including: A post-workout bowl of goodness: chopped apple & banana sprinkled with cinnamon, ... [Read More]
Five Facts Friday
Happy weekend! I'm sitting by my roaring fireplace with my Christmas tree lit, wrapped up in a warm blanket, hanging out with my little family. Not too shabby for a cozy Friday night at home! Like my new yogi Santa ornament? I'm hopping on the "Five Facts Friday" bandwagon tonight and sharing some random stuff from happenings of the week, so here we go: #1 -- In honor of the passing of the great Nelson Mandela, here are a couple of quotes from him that I love: "Education is the most powerful weapon, which we can use to change the world." "I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward." "Resentment is like drinking poison and then ... [Read More]
