• Food,  Gardening,  Lunch

    My Ultimate Tomato Salad

    In my humble opinion, the tomato is the perfect food. Don’t @ me, I stand by that statement and I have loved tomatoes since I was old enough to eat solid foods. They are full of nutrients and are delicious in any form, sundried, raw right off the vine, sliced on a sandwich, stewed, roasted, sauced, in soup form, in salsa, as ketchup…I mean the list is endless. I may just be the biggest tomato fan in the entire world…no exaggeration. My dad used to grow tomatoes in his garden when we were kids and when I was old enough and out of the house, the first thing I wanted…

  • Breakfast,  Food

    My Favorite Baked Oatmeal Recipe

    Baked oatmeal is relatively new to me. Usually in the mornings I like to just make mine on the stove but on a cold weekend like this one, baked oatmeal seemed like just what I needed. If you like banana bread you’ll love this recipe! INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick oats) 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped Sprinkle of cardamom Sprinkle of cinnamon Good pinch of salt 1 1/2 cups milk of your choice 1/2 melted butter 1 egg, whisked 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup maple syrup or liquid sweetener of your choice 1 banana Preheat the oven to 350Β° F. Grease and 8″ x 8″ baking dish…

  • Food

    The BEST Roast Chicken and a Delicious Side Dish

    Now that the days are getting colder, cozy food is on my mind. I love roast chicken, it is super easy to throw together and there are usually leftovers that can be used for other means for a few days after! This recipe is one of my all-time favorites. The flavors in this recipe are easily interchangeable in the event you don’t have my specific ingredients, you really can’t go wrong. The goat cheese mixture helps to keep the chicken so succulent and adds so much flavor to the meat. Give this a try, I know you’ll love it! Ingredients 5-6 lb Whole Chicken 1 head of garlic 4 oz…

  • Breakfast,  Food

    My Current Go To Breakfast

    I LOVE when the weather begins to change from summer to fall. The mornings are crisp and the days are short and everything seems to get a bit cozier. Naturally, things in the kitchen become a bit cozier as well. Oats are a go to for me all year round but this time of year I like to enjoy them warmed up with seasonal toppings and flavors. This recipe is the one I turn to time and again, the mild sweetness of the frozen banana pairs so well with the cinnamon and the soluble fiber from the oats, banana, and ground flax seed keeps me full until lunchtime. Ingredients: 1/2…

  • Food,  Life

    Another Honest Food Diary

    Last week I shared a new approach I am trying to my life. One huge hurdle I want to overcome is my negative relationship with food. I have been so focused on restricting myself and implementing impossible rules just to turn around and a few days later (in some cases the same day) after a junk food binge hating myself because I can’t understand why I don’t have the will power to stick to my plan. The truth is, I have stopped listening to my body and I’ve been trying to force her to do things she clearly doesn’t want to do. I need to strip things way back to…

  • Food

    Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding

    I’m going to be cliche here and say that pumpkin spice is one of my favorite fall flavors. While deciding what I was going to have for breakfast this week I knew I wanted to include pumpkin spice in somehow. Cue this yummy chia pudding recipe! I know the texture of chia seeds may turn some people off but trust me…the flavor will make you forget about the texture. Mixing the pecans in also gives a nice crunch which helps as well. Make it the night before and enjoy the fall flavor the next day for breakfast! Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding 1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree 1 cup Milk (I used…

  • Fitness,  Life

    Getting Back On Track After Vacation

    After a much needed break from real life it feels really great to be back and creating new content for my little corner of the internet! Our 3 1/2 week European vacation and the sweetest and most romantic marriage proposal πŸ™‚ was just what I needed to recharge my batteries and get excited and motivated to make positive changes in my life. Before we left for vacation I was not eating as well as I would have liked and I had not worked out consistently for quite some time. I was not feeling good about myself which didn’t help in the motivation department. Of course while on vacation I didn’t…

  • Food

    5 Lessons From An Honest Food Diary

    Sometimes we can be in denial about the food choices we make and even how much food we consume on a given day. I kept a food diary for a few weeks and some glaring bad habits stood out. I have never been one to count calories or keep a detailed account of every single thing I am putting in my body but keeping this diary has really opened my eyes to what exactly I have been putting into my body and just how much too! The truth is sometimes hard to swallow (pun intended!) but it’s absolutely necessary to help you see where you may be falling short. Here…

  • Food,  Life

    Favorite Cookbooks

    By now you know I have a weakness for buying personal development books. But you probably also could guess that I also have an obsession with cookbooks. I could spend hours in the cookbook section at the library and prefer that over the cookbook section at the book store mostly because I cannot buy the books at the library (Gotta save that $ for Spain and France in September!!). Another dangerous territory in my quest for all the cookbooks is Amazon and I find myself browsing and adding to my cart and before I know it there’s like 10 books in there and my order total is ridiculous! As it…

  • Food

    Toast- Four Ways

    Who doesn’t love a good piece of toast with delicious toppings on it?! I love the classic peanut butter and jelly combination but I have decided to branch out and try some new ones and I have not been disappointed yet! Toast is what I tend to gravitate towards on the weekends when I am making breakfast. It is simple, takes absolutely no time to put together, and the topping possibilities are seriously endless. For these I used a whole wheat french bread but you can really use any type of bread that strikes your fancy. I used our old trusty toaster to toast these pieces of bread but the…