Cold watermelon is one of the best things about summer. So sweet and refreshing, with a boost of health benefits as well! It’s super easy to blend up some fresh watermelon and create some delicious drinks. Use this recipe as a base and feel free to add a shot of rum or vodka to make it a cocktail, or add in a splash of soda water for some bubbles.
Chia pudding is one of the easiest ways to work superfoods into your diet - not to mention how incredibly tasty and versatile it is to make! It takes virtually 5 minutes to whip together, and then all you've got to do is have enough patience to let it chill in the fridge for a few hours. I like to make my pudding at night so that there's no waiting ;) Chia pudding works beautifully as an alternative to overnight oats, cereal, or your morning yogurt for breakfast; or really wonderful as dessert.
The only thing you need to remember when making chia pudding is a simple ratio of 1 cup milk to 4 tbsp chia seeds. You can use any type of milk, such as coconut, almond, rice, soy, or cow :) You can stir in greek yogurt for some more texture and fluff. When it comes to flavoring your pudding, anything goes! Blend up some fresh fruit, use chocolate, mint, peanut butter, nutella... the list goes on and on.
An easy treat for Valentine's Day is to toss some raspberries into the blender and add them to your pudding. Serve it with fresh mint, or shaved chocolate for a sweet, healthy treat. Watch the video below to find out how :)
Ch-ch-ch-chia :) I know you've heard me rave about chia seeds since forever, but rightfully so! They are an absolute nutritional powerhouse - an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, magnesium, zinc, iron, protein, and calcium. The craziest thing about itty bitty chia seeds is that they are FULL of fiber. Just one oz of chia seeds contains 10 grams of fiber. Why is this important? Because they have the ability to soak up 27 times their weight in liquid and bloat up! They form a thick gel that can be used in tons of recipes.
Chia Seed Pudding sets up in about 4 hours, so this is a great idea for overnight prep. You can keep the pudding in the fridge for 3 days. If you love the texture of rice or tapioca pudding, you'll love chia pudding!
I had a delicious Lychee Smash at a Vietnamese restaurant with my girlfriend Tracy, and it inspired me to recreate the drink at home. These flavor profiles are perfect with each other; fizzy ginger and bright, fresh mint, tart lime juice and sweet lychee fruit. This drink can easily become a cocktail with 2 oz ounce of rum, making it a twist on a Mojito or Caipirinha. Let's get drinkin :)
Cheese. I think it's safe to say that for some, cheese is its own food group! Cheddar, Gruyere, Jack, Parmesan, Cotija, Brie, Fontina, Feta, Mozzarella...the options are deliciously endless. One of my favorites is Halloumi, which is a semi-soft, brined cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk. Because of its high melting point, it can easily be fried or grilled. Grilled cheese.
Halloumi is salty, and really wonderful when paired with mint. It's nice to eat during the warm months. The flavor of the cheese is perfect with fruit like grapes, watermelon, figs, and strawberries. Today's recipe is a surprising mixture of flavors that really play off each other and create a fun dish where spicy meets sweet and salty. This would be beautiful when served at brunch or as an appetizer . The macerated strawberries get a little kick from Serrano pepper, and fresh mint and cilantro top it all off. Let's get cookin :)
Alright are you ready to impress everyone in your family, including yourself? Time to make some homemade ravioli! Don’t worry, we aren’t making fresh pasta dough - this is an easy and accessible recipe that will become one of your favorite staples! In keeping with this beautiful warm weather, I’ve kept the filling nice and light for this dish. After devouring all the ravs, I’m definitely going to adapt this recipe and make a heartier fall ravioli in the near future!
These babies are so simple to throw together. It’s as easy as blending the filling ingredients together, and sandwiching a healthy dollop in between two paper thin wonton wraps. Seal them up and toss them in boiling water for about 3 minutes, and serve it any way you like! Today I’ll show you how to make a brown butter sauce with accents of what else, but bacon :) You can also serve these homemade ravioli in broth for a heartwarming meal. Let’s get cookin! :)
I’ve teamed up with the ladies over at MISSBISH for their #MISSDISH series! I’ll be sharing delicious, easy, and healthy recipes on their blog every month :) With that said, it’s officially summer! It’s hella hot outside, and one of my favorite things to make on a hot day is a refreshing Watermelon Feta Salad! Don’t get it twisted, you don’t have to do the crazy grid presentation to enjoy this, but it’s a really fun option for entertaining. This recipe is super easy to throw together and is gorgeous when tossed together in a bowl. There’s something so refreshing about cold, ripe watermelon that’s sprinkled with just a touch of salt, mixed with salty feta, cool cucumber and melon, and creamy avocado. Thin slivers of red onion give the salad a little bite, and fresh mint brings the perfect brightness. A lil drizzle of good balsamic vinegar is all you need to bring it together. Simple, delicious, perfect for summer!
It’s watermelon season! Watermelon is available year round, but its peak season is May through August. Watermelon is one of my favorite fruits! It has a ton of nutritional benefits, such as a significant source of the antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamin C. It contains lycopene, and is composed of 92% water, making it great for snacking on during warm weather since it helps to keep you hydrated.
Watermelon is soo versatile! You can make smoothies, salsas, sorbets, salads, on its own with lime and salt, or into a refreshing cocktail! This margarita is a crowd pleaser - the perfect mix of sweet and tart - with a good amount of booze that’ll get your party goin.
Summer is just around the corner! Warmer weather often means showing off a little more skin, and I’ve got the perfect homemade lip/body scrub that will have your skin glowing. It’s entirely organic and better yet, totally edible :) Using my basic recipe for a skin scrub, you can customize it to your scent/flavor preferences! I love peppermint because of its effervescence, but vanilla, lavender, almond, coconut, lemon, orange, raspberry, strawberry, and even pumpkin pie extracts would be amazing in this scrub! It’s fun to whip up homemade treatments for your skin because it leaves out all the chemicals found in store bought products. Your skin is your largest organ, and whatever you put on it is easily absorbed into your system. My skin is extremely sensitive so I love finding new ways to DIY with natural ingredients.
Summer is officially here and that means COCKTAILS. In San Francisco, summer doesn’t necessarily exist until September, when we have Indian Summer: warmer weather and beautiful sunsets. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a nice summer drink after work :)
I wanted to try experiment with some different recipes that incorporated Brancamenta this summer, and here is a really delicious one that will have you reaching for another glass. It’s a nice little spin on iced tea spiked with bourbon, Brancamenta, and finished off with refreshing mint. I made a batch after work last week and I was so surprised at how well balanced it tasted, and how much of a punch it packed. I ended up making quite a few glasses that night :)
