Lately I Love

I love Wildfox's Spring Lookbook inspired by Clueless. Click through it on Refinery 29. 

I constantly am pinning black on black outfits - yet I've never tried to pull it off. It's my goal before Spring. 

Definitely in need of a pair of tortoise cat eye sunglasses. Preferably Celine. 

I was sick so I took it easy this weekend. One perk of spending countless hours in bed - lots of blogging gets accomplished :)

 

I usually try to eat low carb & as healthy as possible, but I recently fell off track. What better time to start again than the beginning of a new year? My boyfriend & I are being very strict all of January. Like, no cheat meals-no alcohol-almost paleo type of strict. Frittatas (like these) are one of our favorites for breakfast. I'm sure I'll share more recipes & information in the future.

My boyfriend should be on this list every week :) and how cute are these bowls?

Happy Tuesday! Enjoy your day.

What I'm Craving: Holiday Cocktails

After a long hard day of work a cocktail is sometimes a must have. Lately, I have been very festive with my drinks (mainly craft beers!) and am hoping to make some of these in the next few weeks. Hope everyone has a great weekend! -M

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Lately I Love

This week has been almost completely stress free - which is rare! I think it's because I've decided to stop worrying, slow down, and just relax. Some might call it lazy, but I say relaxing ;) My mind is constantly going in a million different directions - and sometimes it's nice to just shut off, gather my thoughts, and do almost nothing.

Lately I Love

• Wine Nights - One of my favorite things is having laid back nights just watching TV with my boyfriend. Tuesday we caught up on Homeland and tonight we're going to watch last nights X Factor performances and the results show :) Does anyone else watch X Factor? My favorite is Carly Rose! 

• Dark Manicures - Something about the chilly weather makes me want to go dark. I've always loved OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark.

• Daytime Sparkle - I've mentioned before that my workplace is pretty casual, so it's fun to add some sparkle to dress up my look (yesterday's sparkle via my Instagram)

• Back to Breakfast - Breakfast is my favorite meal, but I've totally been slacking. Mainly because I want to sleep as late as possible. This week I've been trying to wake up a little earlier so that I have time to make & enjoy the most important meal of the day. 

• Relaxing Playlists - I love listening to Pandora while at work. It helps me stay focused while also feeling relaxed. Plus I think it makes 5 o clock come faster! The Avett Brothers station has been on repeat for me lately. 

What have you been loving lately?
For more of what I'm loving, follow me on Pinterest & Instagram! -O

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What I'm Craving: Smoothies!

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen my new obsession with a blender.... Pathetic, I know, but this thing is amazing! Every morning I have been making smoothies with anything you can imagine and they taste great!!!! I feel energized and ready for the day. Lets be real, half the stuff in the smoothie I LOOOOVEE but don't eat it nearly enough.

  For this smoothie I put in, lemon, pineapple, kale, wheat grass, avocado, green grapes, pear, apple, cucumber, flax oil, bee pollen, ginger, agave nectar, apple juice and ice.

The best thing about smoothies is you can put in whatever you want. This morning I mixed it up and took out pineapple and grapes and added a banana and spinach instead. If you have a great smoothie combo I would love to know! -M

P.S: We use the Vitamix blender...this thing is expensive but seriously the best thing we have in the kitchen. We can make anything from juice, smoothies, sauce, ICE CREAM, soup....you name it, it can make it. But the 2 main things I LOVE and I mean LOVE about this blender is that you can put in a whole apple or pear and it chops it up! (seeds and stem...apparently they are good for you.) You barely have to prep anything--huge time saver! AND....it takes less than a minute to clean it after! These 2 simple things are a game changer when I am in a rush in the morning!! Maybe I should become a sales rep for this company...I am seriously obsessed!

What I'm Craving: Fruit Turnovers

Like Olivia, I am going to start a weekly post of What I'm Craving! It could be food I made or food I HOPE to make. :) My first post is fruit turnovers. A few weeks ago my sister and I found this pie press (picture above) at Target and thought it would be a great addition to our kitchen.  It indeed was! (You don't need a pie press to do this!!!! It was a $5 find that makes it easier, but not necessary!) This recipe was included with the pie press.
 
Click below for the recipe!

Lettuce Wraps in Different Yummy Ways

Mango Avocado Chicken Wrap (left)
Apple Grape Cashew Chicken Wrap (right)

Apples + Grapes + Cashews

Mango Pineapple Salsa

                                                 

Tessamae's Ranch Dressing
for the Grape & Apple Wrap

I know its fall and these are more of a summer kinda dish, but I can't stop making these 2 variations of lettuce wraps that are easy and delicious! For both lettuce wraps I used the same kind of chicken sautéed in soy sauce and sesame seeds. You can season it however you would like. When chicken is cooking prepare the other ingredients.

So here are the quick simple steps for the Grape and Apple wrap.
Chop up grapes, apples, and cashews (or any nut of choice to give it a crunchy texture). Add the Tessamae's Ranch dressing. Take a piece of lettuce and add the chopped food with the chicken and Voila!

For the next wrap I chopped up avocados and used this mango pineapple salsa I got from Whole Foods. You can easily make it yourself-- mangos, pineapples, cilantro, salt, pepper, lemon juice, peppers, jalapeno, and olive oil. Add it all together with the chicken on the lettuce and enjoy! Beware the mango pineapple salsa has a slight hot kick. Well for me a big hot kick (I'm a baby when it comes to hot things but I'm trying to train my taste buds!). But these are a great light crisp meal. I really love lettuce wraps because the food inside is so warm and tasty while the outside lettuce wrap is so crispy and refreshing. mm mm good!

P.S. This dressing is a must have in your refrigerator! Its an olive oil based dressing with ranch flavoring, which means its a healthy and a GOOD version of ranch dressing. Like I said, it is a must have! :)

Dinner is Served!

Turbot Fish

Mushroom Medley

Banana and PB dessert

So I recently moved in with my sister and her family and I have been in charge of making "healthy" food for us. Sunday when we were at Whole Foods and they had a sample of this fish. It was SO yummy we just had to bring some home. Its called Turbot Fish and it was SUPER easy to make (just like the rest of the meal!) Here is my version....

Turbot Fish

Put burner on medium heat and put olive oil and butter in the skillet. 

Put flour on both sides of the fish and then place it in the skillet.

It takes about 5 minutes on one side and then a minute or two on the other side. Like I said, it does not take long! Just make sure it is lightly brown on both sides and cooked all the way through. The fish will seriously just fall apart (notice picture above). It's so light, delicate, flakey, and delicious!

Mushroom Medley

Ahh I love mushrooms. This recipe I found on pinterest and it is my go to side dish! It is so tasty and makes my tummy feel good afterwards! :) Check out the recipe here. It is very simple and very good!  

Spinach

All you do is take spinach and put olive oil over it and scrunch it! Sounds weird but its an easy way to eat spinach and has a good taste to it. Its a must try, promise! 

Rutabaga (the yellow stuff)

Rutabaga is a vegetable that I sadly don't eat enough. It is really good...almost like a sweet potato but not really. Try it out for yourself! All you do is boil them until soft. Drain the water out and mash them up and add a little butter! It is like a different version of mashed potatoes! :) 

Dessert (not in my picture)

I made a peanut butter sandwich with bananas as the bread and then froze them. They were the perfect sweet and light treat after a healthy dinner! 

Hope you enjoy! -M

Labor Day Recipes

Top Left: Margaritas

Top Right: Sangrias and Fruit Kabobs

Bottom Left:  Kabobs, Green beans & Mushrooms

Bottom Right: Dubbel Beer 

Labor Day weekend is almost here and I am sure everyone is attending some type of BBQ or party! If you are hosting or wanting to bring something to a party, here are some recipes for these amazing drinks above. My sister-in-law had a party Sunday and had these drinks. We have been drinking Sangrias and Margaritas the last few nights! Doesn't fit into our diet, but they are so yummy we can't get enough of them. Spice up the drinks by adding fruit kabobs! If you don't have time to make these drinks grab some nice craft beer. No matter what you drink or eat, we hope you enjoy your weekend with your friends and family. -M

Sangrias

1 bottle of Pinot Noir (any red wine you prefer)

8 oz of Peach Schnapps or Triple Sec

2 oranges sliced 

Other fruit of choice

(we have tried lemons, limes, apples, and raspberries)

Margaritas

2 Cups of Tequila

2 Tsp Margarita Salt

1 2 Liter Diet 7-Up

2 Containers of Crystal Light Lemonade

2 Limes

(We added slices of lemons as seen in picture above!)

PS: I am not a big Margarita fan, but I could drink this all the time! It doesn't have that bitter sour mix taste!