As for me, J, and Hud, we are doing really well over here. I am one of those people who is really enjoying a lot of aspects of this quarantine, mostly because I finally have the time and space to pour absolutely all of my energy into my healing. My body has been asking, begging, pleading for this for a long time and most days I wake up with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and happiness to be able to just be.

I have also been receiving tons of creative ideas during this time and have been inspired to try new things, create in the kitchen, make fun YouTube videos, create this free healing guide, have a blast on TIK TOK, and record all of the TBB podcast solo episodes. Key word: SOLO episodes… because something in my heart keeps telling me to keep my energy really, really close to home right now and allow this space for my body to simply breathe and be. Comment below and let me know what solo ep topics you’d like to see me cover during this time… I am recording a bunch this week to get ahead!

Also, just because I am having such an enjoyable time being home doesn’t mean the reality and severity of what’s going on in the world is lost on me. We had a really tragic event happen in our building over the weekend that shook me to my core. I will leave it at that for now out of respect for our neighbor and his family. It was COVID related we assume, and I have not been able to get it off of my mind since it happened.

It was a big reminder to m that people are struggling right now in many ways, and it gives me even more motivation and inspiration to be a light during dark times. It’s the least I can do after living through the dark night or my own soul for the last several years. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: living with Lyme is VERY SIMILAR to living in quarantine. I have a whole podcast episode about that here, if you are interested in hearing more.

Anyway, in the spirit of keeping it LIGHT… I shared this brownie batter banana bread recipe on Instagram last week and HOLYYYY mother!! I have never seen you guys remake a recipe so quickly and abundantly in all of my years of blogging! It is so fun to see. Keep the remakes and the pics and vids coming, it is so fun to connect in community during this time.

You guys, they’re innsaaaannee!!

I also want to make it a point to include all of my recipes I share on IG on the blog so they will be forever searchable here! Gotta have that HUB, you know.

And by the way if you are loving these recipes, I want to remind you that I made the code TBBLOVE for 11% off of my vegan recipe ebook & detox program & everything in TBB digital store right now to be sure you can get in on the magic during this downtime.

OKAY, RECIPE! BTW WE ALSO MADE THESE IN MUFFIN FORM WHICH YOU CAN FIND HERE!

And and, you can find a quick 15 second video on how to make these on my TIK TOK, which is fun.

AS ALWAYS, they are vegan, SOS-free, gluten-free, whole food plant based, and heavenly!!

CHUNKY BROWNIE BATTER BANANA BREAD LOAF //

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled gluten free oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3 large mashed bananas
1/2 cup almond butter (or sub any nut or seed butter you have!)
3 tbsp cacao powder
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax, 6 tablespoons water)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp almond milk
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or crushed up sugar free vegan chocolate)

Method:
• Pre heat oven to 350 degrees, and mix your flax seed with water to make the flax egg.
• Set aside and add all ingredients into the blender minus the chocolate chips.
• Add flax egg when it’s ready (about 5 mins), blend, and then pour into bowl to add chocolate chips.
• Pour into parchment paper lined loaf pan, bake for about 45-50 mins or until golden brown on top, let cool, and ENJOY!!

Ok, who is going to make these?! And what should I make next?! Also let me know how you are doing below. Here for you guys always, and always sending my love. Now and always.  

I am HOME from my water fast (woo!!!!) and I cannot wait to recap it for you. I have been letting it all sink in that I did it, I finished my 14 day water fast and came out strong. I have so much to share and haven’t yet found the right words to do so. But I can guarantee you that post will be coming sometime this week, along with a podcast episode about it & a YouTube video because I vlogged the whole thing!

That’s right… I said YOUTUBE! Because TBB is coming back to YouTube! I am thrilled about this and was super inspired to revamp my videos for a few reasons.

For one, I think it’s an incredible way to connect. Right now with everyone going on in the world and all of us being at home, I know we are yearning for that human to human connection. I definitely think that is what makes podcasts so incredible, but there is also something special and tangible about seeing someone via video!

Secondly, when I was water fasting I watched YouTube like it was my JOB! I was so inspired by the vegan YouTubers on there and the communities they’ve created, and the fun and profesh ways they edit their videos (I am definitely still in learning mode). As you can imagine, when water fasting looking at food is kind of like drooling over a little slice of HEAVEN… and for me since I am so, so passionate about the plant-based way of life and the plant-based healing properties it was also a great time to just do my “research” in the space of vegan cooking videos.

So let’s just say after my fast I was elated to get home and start VLOGGING! Jonathan, my husband, is a pretty private person although you’d never know it when you see him on my Instagram and other videos. So it is kind a big deal that I got him to do this video with me, and basically convinced him to do a Vegan Couple’s Cooking Show (!!!!) on YouTube with me, which is another fun idea that came to me while I was away.

I am sure many times it will be just me in the cooking vids, but when I can wrangle J into them with me I definitely will. I think it’s so fun to have two of us in the video with two diff perspectives — there’s me, who is obsessed with all things health and wellness and basically lives for the taste of straight kale. And there’s him, who is all about the healthy vegan food but also loves to gorge on sugary treats and vegan sausage alternatives, etc. AKA his taste buds are what probably many people watching are more in line with!

So when he gave these Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Blender Muffins a 9.5 out of 10 (which you will see in the video)… YOU KNOW THEY ARE GOOD! And he doesn’t even like chocolate!!!

Here we are in all of our wedding glory… this picture definitely describes us to a T.

AND without further ado, I think you guys are going to have to watch the video!!!!

Also, as promised, the recipe is posted here as well!! I thought it would be fun to do a “parry on the top, party on the bottom” style and make the bottom layer chocolate, with the top layer banana!! This makes them extra fun and different, because why not?

FYI they turned out a bit green because apparently when you bake sunflower butter, the baked good turns out green! I did not know that and was shocked when I saw the color, but OMG WOW they are so freakin’ tasty. I had two for breakfast this morning!! And can’t wait to have another tonight for dessert.

Vegan Banana Blender Muffin Recipe // Party On the Top, Party on the Bottom!

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled gluten free oats

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

3 large mashed bananas

1/2 cup sunflower butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 flax eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp hemp milk

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

3 tbsp cacao powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare your muffin tin with muffin tin liners.

Make your flax egg by combining two tablespoons of flax meal with six tablespoons of water. Set aside in fridge to firm.

Add all ingredients (besides the chocolate chips and cacao powder) to a high speed blender.

Remove flax egg when ready (5-10 minutes) and add in, then blend until desired consistency is formed.

Pour half of the mixture into a bowl, and then in the blender add the cacao powder for the bottom layer of the muffins. Blend until smooth.

Stir in chocolate chips to both layers.

Add chocolate layer into the bottom of your muffin tin liners, and then top that layer with the banana layer.

Bake for anywhere between 18 – 23 minutes or until the top starts to turn golden brown.

Pop them out of the oven, let them cool, and enjoy!

Okay, enjooooyyyy the video!! PLEASE let us know any & all requests you have for our next video! We are up for anything! Also, we would love if you would comment on the YouTube video & subscribe to the channel to show us some love — we are YT newbies and excited to pour our love and creativity and energy into it from here forward! XO

It’s almost the weekend already, ahhhh! Where has the week gone?! And like really, where has the month gone? It is wild to me how fast August has flown by, and that it’s already Labor Day Weekend.

And on that note, that my wedding is now basically two months away… my bachelorette in one month… and by November I will be a married woman on my honeymoon! Absolutely wild. Exciting in the best way, and just crazy how fast time can go.

It has been a big week over here in TBB world. I had my last new podcast solo episode go live before the hiatus I will be taking for the rest of the year, and it has been EMOTIONAL. I feel relieved, excited, devastated, uneasy, and slightly unsure about my decision all at once. In my heart I know that I made this decision from a deep place of necessity, but it’s still hard & sad to step away.

Anyway, more on that another day. Most of this week has been dedicated to resting after my bridal shower last weekend (which was amazing and so special), and to doing some wedding planning & prepping for Hawaii next week! Eek!

Recipe Tiiiime!! & HEALTH BENEFIT TALK of MATCHA & TURMERIC //

Today I am going to share some DELISH recipes with you that have been getting me through the last few weeks, featuring one of my current favorite brands FURTHER FOOD. And the amazing thing is, they are offering 20% off to all TBB readers as a special LDW discount using the code BLONDE at this link!

What you need, need from their site is the Turmeric Tonic & Mindful Matcha. I will give you some recipes using them below, but first I want to tell you why they are so awesome.

First of all they are both vegan, ethically sourced, and packed with the highest quality ingredients. The brand sources all of their ingredients themselves – they literally know their wheatgrass farm. I mean, how amazing is that?!

TURMERIC TONIC BENEFITS //

In addition, they are both 100% sugar-free. Which for my SOS-free lifestyle is an actual must. Their Turmeric Tonic is the only golden milk blend on the market to be 100% sugar-free, so obviously when I heard that I went crazy because I could finalllllyyy hop on this golden milk train!

This is a good reminder that it’s important for people to really read the ingredients on products, because a lot of brands (even big brands!) throw in maltodextrin or other forms of sugar. Their blends taste amazing on their own, vibrant, clean, and DELICIOUS!

Their Turmeric Tonic is boosted with yummy herbs like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, black pepper for max absorption, and boswellia (for pain relief) and schisandra berry (for immunity). Their Turmeric Tonic fights inflammation in the skin, bones, joints, and gut, boosts immunity, helps to prevent colds, and aids in digestion.

MINDFUL MATCHA BENEFITS //

Thennnn their Mindful Matcha (also, isn’t that a cute name?) is boosted with ashwagandha, cordyceps mushrooms, wheatgrass and ginger. All of which I am obsessed with for many reasons. Matcha with it’s naturally occurring L-theanine, when combined with ashwagandha and cordyceps promotes daily stress and anxiety relief along a sense of focus and energy without the jitters.

THIS BRAND IS AWESOME //

Also a little about the brand, Further Food is one of the only women-owned & operated supplement company on the market. They donate a portion of their proceeds each year to a chronic illness non-profit within their community. In addition, they are the only supplement company that has committed to creating 100% post-consumer recycled and eco-friendly packaging for our supplements within the next 3 years.

HOW FREAKIN’ COOL IS THAT?!?!?

I love them. Like on all levels, I really, realllllly love them.

& they are super kind people! This is a huge plus and always a must in my book.

OKAY NOW RECIPE TIME FOR REAL!

TURMERIC TONIC OATMEAL DELICIOUSNESS //

I have been really loving blending the Turmeric Tonic with delicious, warming oatmeal and making a yummy adaptogenic superfood oatmeal breakfast. It’s simple, delicious, anti-inflammatory, and gut-friendly. My sensitive stomach has been loving all of the warming herbs in the morning.

This is amazing for de-bloating and aiding with digestion, so this is the perfect pre or post-weekend (especially holiday weekend) go-to.

The recipe is super simple. All you need is…

Ingredients //

1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats

1 scoop Further Foods Turmeric Tonic (code BLONDE for discount)

1 cup water or nut milk (I love using a rich, creamy cashew mylk)

Optional toppings: cinnamon, coconut shreds, cacao nibs, bananas, anything you desire!

Method //

Boil the oats in water or nut milk until thoroughly cooked, and then stir in the Turmeric Tonic. Top with whichever oatmeal toppings you desire, and enjoy!

SUPER CRAEAMY MINDFUL MATCHA LATTE //

This goes well with the oatmeal or all on its own. And because matcha is a clean source of caffeine, I can have this a bit later in the afternoon as well without being up all night. But mostly I prefer my matcha in the mornings with my breakfast or while journaling, stretching, or meditating.

This Matcha blend is the ULTIMATE DETOX (after LDW, anyone?!) because of the wheatgrass and ashwagandha that it has.

Ingredients //

1/2 cup creamy cashew milk (or nut milk of choice)

1/2 cup hot water

1 scoop Mindful Matcha (code BLONDE for a discount)

Method //

Heat the water in a tea kettle or over the stove until nice & hot, and then add the nut milk into a frother if you have one. I like to stir the matcha into the hot water (or blend if you prefer), pour into a mug, and then pour the frothed nut milk over the matcha! YUMMMMM enjoy that creaminess and the clean energy you will get from it!

Okay, there you have it! Two anti-inflammatory recipes that are great for de-bloating and aiding with digestion. I hope you love them as much as I do. Be sure to use the code BLONDE at this link to support the incredible brand Further Food, who I am so honored to have partnered with on this post! What are you loves up to this weekend?!

A lot to unpack, I know. My sleepy Lyme brain has been on overdrive thinking about it all.

I’m sharing my thoughts here because truthfully, I started this blog over half a decade ago to normalize being healthy in a world where “wellness” isn’t or at least wasn’t often considered cool or normal.

Hilariously enough, wellness has become a pretty cool topic over the last several years. I of course am thrilled about that, but the very niche subject I started my blog about still gets a lot of flack: veganism, but specifically veganism in relation to a sick/struggling/healing body.

You guys may not know this if you haven’t been here reading since the beginning, but I started my blog to share that the plant based way of life had helped heal me in many ways from lifelong chronic stomach, gut, and digestion issues. I found veganism in college and explored it deeply before I started my blog, then thought it would be cool to have an online space to talk about being plant based AND being social, fresh out of college, going to bars, doing all the “cool & normal stuff” while also prioritizing my health and wellness.

My journey hasn’t been so linear from there. I stopped being vegan for a while which many of you know about. I wrote a book about dealing with orthorexia and very much became a poster child (thanks to the media, not to me) for “walking away from veganism,” and for some semblance of eating intuitively.

But there is so much to the story that many people simply do not know. If you follow me closely then you probably do, but even so it is hard to articulate just quite how sick my body started to get during those years of switching from veganism to a non-vegan way of life.

And let’s just get one thing straight here: veganism didn’t make me sick, and eating meat and other non-vegan foods didn’t make me sick. I believe that extreme stress took a toll on my body plus a VERY quick departure from veganism into full-blown non-vegan foods way too fast. The whole situation wreaked absolute havoc on my body.

During this time I placed a lot of trust into doctors and nutritionists and others who very much led me toward a meat and fat centric way of eating (aka lots of keto vibes). I talked a lot about intuitive eating. Heck, I still believe in intuitive eating… but not the way some people talk about it.

What I have realized most recently is that EVERY circle of “food labels” comes along with a certain amount of snarkiness, holier than thou attitude, and quite frankly… issues. I used to get hate from the vegan community when I stopped being vegan, and I thought it was a vegan thing. Now I get hate (more subtle but it’s there) from the “intuitive eating” and “anti-diet” cultures and ways of life because I am deeply, severely, chronically ill and am turning to food as medicine to heal me. Also because life and intuition and the universe has lead me back to… none other than a fully plant-based diet.

I am sharing this all with you because yet again, five and a half years after the inception of my blog, I want to normalize this conversation and tell you that YES, IT IS OKAY TO BE THE GIRL WHO BRINGS HER OWN SALAD TO A FRIENDSGIVING. Not only is it okay, it’s fucking cool. It’s amazing when you know what your body needs, and you know what you need to do about it to avoid anxiety or making anyone or especially yourself uncomfortable in social situations.

You can place a huge amount of emphasis on your health and the food that may nourish or heal you, AND be a normal, living, breathing, regular human in society. Placing a huge emphasis on what you eat is not in itself dangerous, it is not something to be avoided.

I heard something recently that really struck a chord, although I quickly tried to let it go and not take it in as my own hurt to ruminate about. It said something along the lines of, “Fuck [a long list of things I won’t mention and also] veganism and the celery juice trend. Intuitive eating and real label dropping is the only healthy approach to diminishing food fears and living a life without anxiety.”

I was thinking, “Hmmm… plant based foods and celery juice, for a chronically ill person, can be fucking life changing. Not for every chronically ill person, but it should be at least given a fair shot. You can eat intuitively and drink celery juice. You can be intuitively led to drinking celery juice. You can be plant based and be deeply intuitive with it the entire way through.”

Secondly… if I ate whatever I wanted and went buck wild around food the way I did four years ago when I “dropped the vegan label,” I would be so sick I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed. Because my body is SICK. I know I don’t speak for everyone here, but I have mold growing on my organs. I have Lyme bugs legitimately chewing away at my BRAIN. I have inflammation that makes it damn near impossible to sleep at night because it it makes my skin so, so, severely and painfully itchy.

Currently I can’t tolerate sugar and I can’t tolerate foods that have salt or oil in them. I could probably tolerate some fish but I can’t risk any mercury, factory farmed or genetically modified contaminants, or even pollution from our very unclean oceans. That is my current situation. I believe wholeheartedly that everyone must listen to their gut and find their own “intuitive” approach, and also include lots and and lots of fresh fruits and veggies, unless allergies or food intolerances apply.

ANYWAY this whole saga brings me to a story that happened yesterday when I was with Jonathan at the farmer’s market…

We had spent the previous day making food for a Friendsgiving that we went to. I made cookies and a banana bread that I can’t currently eat on my Medical Medium Protocol and I was cool with it, even though it still kind of sucks to make food that you can’t eat but looks really delish to you.

The next day we were at the farmer’s market and I saw this really cute cookie stand that I used to always get vegan cookies from. It’s healthy, it’s all good stuff. But for my current protocol, specific to Lyme disease and inflammation, this new protocol that I am really trying to give a shot… it had ingredients that I shouldn’t eat. That I told Jonathan to make sure I stayed away from so that I could really give this thing a fair chance.

I bought the cookies, I ate them, thinking, “IT’S THANKSGIVING WEEK, I will do what I want!!” and guess what? I felt like shit. We got home, he looked at the box, and he called me out for buying cookies with ingredients that I can’t really eat right now (just like I asked him to).

The whole thing made me feel like crying. Part of me for a second got dramatic and woe is me and felt like, “Why can’t I enjoy a simple treat from the farmer’s market? Why am I so sick?”

But then I thought better of it, and remembered that if I wanted a treat it was really quite simple: I could make one. I have plenty of recipes that are very inclusive of my protocol and the diseases and issues I am dealing with. This protocol is not about restriction, it’s about doing the work (hard work at times) to make my food and infuse love (very important) and take the TIME to make things for myself that will nourish my body and also nourish my soul.

So… insert these cookies. These cookies are really special to me, because I came up with this recipe right after I realized the farmer’s market cookies were not going to cut it for me. Heading to Thanksgiving with my family later this week in Carmel, I want some treats for myself too! I know I won’t be able to eat the sugar-laden pies and cookies and whatevers that I would have been able to a few years ago… so this week I am meal prepping some good stuff to bring with me!

The point of this post is: no matter how you eat, don’t let anyone bully you about it. Lately, I have felt subliminally BULLIED by the anti-diet culture. When I did my water fast earlier this year, for my health and to try to heal from a sickness that is literally killing parts of me inside and out, I had an “anti-diet health coach” CREW, like 30 of them, bashing the absolute hell out of me. Posting photos of me, ridiculing me, calling me dangerous.

How sick is that?

Bullying/hating on ANYONE is not healthy.

That is the kind of stuff that messes with health for real: anger, bullying, lashing out, feeling such intense anxiety toward others that you want to call them names and write nasty posts about them.

I am used to all of that stuff, but I am here to tell you if you experience it too… we are stronger than that. We will rise above that hate (which is really just someone else’s insecurity). True health, true spiritual growth and evolvement and happiness… is our acceptance that not everyone is going to celebrate what we do, but as long as we celebrate it, from a true and authentic place, then we are good.

If you’re the girl who gets made fun of at work for her overnight oats with spirulina and goji berries, this is for you. If you’re the guy whose girlfriend’s family doesn’t understand him at all because he is going to eat a plant-based meal on Thanksgiving… this one is for you.

And if you’re anything like me, just out there trying to figure it all out, letting go of the labels and focusing on healing and realizing that food IS MEDICINE, and plants are medicine, and juices are medicine, and healing humans like the Medical Medium know what’s up… then this is really, really for you.

And to be radically honest with you? THIS ONE IS FOR ME. I needed to work through these emotions and process, and I do feel a lot better now.

I will have a Medical Medium update coming soon!! For now, enjoy the recipe for these cookies and I hope you make them on Thanksgiving if they sound good to you.

SOS-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Medical Medium approved too as far as I know!!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup almond flour (or any flour of your choice)

1/4 cup maple syrup (or I used date syrup if you can find it~)

1/4 cup crushed chocolate (I used Addictive Wellness, use code BLONDE for a discount!)

1/4 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

2 tbsp carob powder (just to make it more chocolatey!)

2 tbsp almond milk (unless it is liquidy enough already, use your discretion)

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix all ingredients minus the crushed chocolate in a big bowl until a thick batter forms. Add almond milk if you feel it is too thick. Add more almond flour if it is too watery.

Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly dispersed.

Place cookies onto a baking sheet (will make 8-10 ish cookies) lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Pop them out, let them cool, and enjoy!!

Alright guys this post is very near and dear to my heart, so I hope you enjoy and I hope you got something out of it. I was just listening to Oprah & Gwyneth Paltrow on the Goop Podcast (IDOLS !!!!) and Oprah said that with every story you tell, keep your audience in mind and make sure there is an “A-HA” moment for them to resonate with. I hope this story had that for you!! Or at least the recipe. Love you guys so much and thank you for being here!

But my healing journey at True North Health Center in Santa Rosa, CA (where I was doing a 2-week water fast) was so intense, I knew I needed to draw my energy inward and experience the healing solely for me… not only so I could heal without the added pressure of sharing the whole experience at once, but also because I wanted to let it sink in and see how it worked for me in the end before I told you guys what it was like!

It’s like doing research by living my life and exploring every avenue of healing… it’s awesome, but there is no possible way to rush it and still give you credible experiential information. So for ONCE in my life I have had to be patient and let it all sink in before sharing it far and wide. And in many ways, that has felt really GOOD! Being quiet about this experience has allowed it to do deep internal healing work in a way that has been so beyond necessary for me at this stage of my life.

I will be breaking down the whole water fast for you guys in an upcoming post, AND a YouTube video (I vlogged every few days while I was there), AND a podcast episode so I promise you will be getting all the details when the time is right. It won’t be too long before any of those go up (do you really think I could keep being so quiet about such a big thing in my life?! Come on, you know me) but I didn’t want to leave you hanging for too long… so today is about something very RELATED to my water fast and is now a huge part of this healing journey.

The SALT OIL SUGAR FREE (SOS-Free) VEGAN Lifestyle! But for all intents & purposes, we will call it the SOS-free plant-based lifestyle.

Because we know the word “vegan” has a lot of politics surrounding it and while I do consider myself fully vegan at the moment… I am more comfy using the term plant-based right now because my health is always going to come first in my book. So if vegan long-term doesn’t work for my bod again, I am safer saying plant-based (publicly at least). Ya feel me?

Anyway. I don’t ever want to let the cruelty of certain people in the vegan community from years and years ago keep me from using the word vegan. If I choose to use that word in the future to describe myself I will do so with open arms. If I choose to keep using the term plant-based then that is awesome too. I won’t let myself be bullied out of using the term — and I have even found SUCH interesting backlash from the “anti-diet” community now that I am plant-based again. So it gave me some sympathy toward the vegan backlash I got four years ago because it made me realize…. EVERY COMMUNITY has backlash. And that’s not cool. I am so, so, so, SO against that icky judgment and will continue to advocate acceptance in every dietary circle & way of life.

What I AM about is empowering others and empowering myself. And after spending two weeks at True North Health Center water fasting and learning about the SOS-free plant-based way of life, I feel more than inspired to share about it with you. I would actually feel wrong not sharing about it with you, because it is such a healing, anti-inflammatory, gut healthy, evidence-based, autoimmune-friendly diet and lifestyle.

With all of the autoimmune diseases, rashes, chronic fatigue, anxiety/depression, & overall lack of zest for life that have been bestowed upon me this year due to my health issues, I am VERY passionate about incorporating this healing way of eating into my life and sticking to it. And I am just as passionate about making sure you know it’s at least an option for you as well!

So, let’s get into it.

The SOS-Free Plant-Based Way of Life

Pretty immediately upon arriving at True North I learned that their health center is all about the salt, oil and sugar-free lifestyle often known as “SOS-free” vegan. I knew a lot about the SOS-free vegan community from my days as a diehard vegan/raw-vegan (you can read my whole journey here if you’re not familiar), and I even tried it out back in the day but I don’t think I did it that well the first time because I was also trying to be raw back then! So it just wasn’t enough variety.

Over the years I have been intrigued by the SOS-free type of eating and I had dabbled in it here and there, but after being so largely exposed to the paleo & ketogenic lifestyles in LA (nutritionists, doctors, friends, fellow podcasters, fellow bloggers… EVERYONE I knew was all about the keto life) I started to view oil as something I NEEDED in order to be healthy. So for the last three and a half to four years I doused my food in olive oil, roasted my veggies in an ABUNDANCE of avocado oil, drowned my COFFEE in MCT oil (Bulletproof diehard, you know this), on and on.

I also got pretty into salt during this time. When I cut all fruits out of my diet and was largely sugar-free for other health reasons, I found myself craving salt all the time to take the place of the excitement of those natural sweetness flavors. My daily diet would consist of a large Bulletproof Coffee with MCT oil, ghee, and TONS of stevia (trying to mimic that sweetness flavor) for breakfast, salmon and greens with olive oil for lunch, and maybe more salmon or chicken or veggies with a salad with more olive oil and more ghee for dinner. And salt. Lots of all of the above.

NO carbs. NO rice. NO potatoes. NO legumes. NO fruit, as mentioned. I was very much on the keto / paleo train.

I am not saying eating that way is bad. You will never come to my blog and find me saying that any one way of eating or living is bad. It just wasn’t for me. As illustrated by my body slowly but surely gaining 10-20 pounds, my skin breaking out like crazy, my body deteriorating into autoimmune disease, my hormones going completely out of whack, and this weird stagnation I got into where no matter how I adjusted or tweaked my diet and workout routine I had plateaued at a place where I didn’t feel like I was ME in my body. I felt bloated and sick and tired and bleh. ALL OF THE TIME. Even when I was running marathons!

That all happened over a three and a half year period. Then last winter I went plant-based again (which you can read about here), and things started to get better. I reincorporated fruit into my life and my body was VERY happy. The autoimmune issues persisted and of course my rashes and eczema blew up like crazy, but at least my hormones started to feel like they were balancing a bit and my body started losing some of those stubborn pounds quite easily.

But I was still dousing my veggies in oil, drinking the MCT oil in coffee, etc. etc. So getting to True North and being exposed to this SOS-free way of life got me thinking, “Wait a second… is THIS what I’ve been missing? Could it have been this easy all along?!”

Finding the SOS-Free Lifestyle When I Needed It Most:

I had my first meal at True North before my fast started and it was like heaven on a plate for me… steamed sweet potato, legumes, steamed greens, steamed cauliflower, rice, salad with an abundance of of veggies and seeds, yummy dressings made of tahini, carrots, celery, and more plant-based goods. Does that sound restrictive to you? Boring? Because to me it doesn’t at all! Which is also how I know it’s right for my body at this season of my life.

Keep in mind I LOVE that kind of food. So I was dreaming of it the entire time that I was fasting! Especially because an incredible SOS-free kitchen was right downstairs during my whole fast.

While I was at True North I watched documentary after documentary about the SOS-free plant-based life. Doctors at the center from Dr. Goldhamer (the founder of True North) to Dr. Klaper to amazingly well-known doctors like Colin T. Campbell and Neal Barnard are all about the SOS-free way of life. Some of the philosophy is that salt, oil, and sugar are three of the foods that make us end up overeating because they dull our taste buds and we don’t end up tasting the real foods or eating to satiety… but rather eating way more than necessary because the flavors are addictive. (Check out Forks Over Knives if you haven’t seen it yet — amazing doc that dives deep into this philosophy.)

Secondly, they’re all isolated forms of nutrients (which makes them not really nutrients at all). Salt is isolated sodium, oil is isolated fat, and sugar is of course isolated sugar. While plenty of veggies and legumes are naturally rich in healthy sodium, nuts and seeds and avocado and coconut are naturally rich in healthy fat, and fruits and starchy veggies are naturally rich in fructose which our bodies of course need for energy — those are the types of sodium, fats, and sugars we NEED to thrive.

But what about the importance of sodium?! Fats?! Sugars?!

So the SOS-free diet by no means claims “NO sodium, NO fats, NO sugar” but rather the opposite. Get those vital nutrients from NUTRIENT-DENSE, real foods rather than isolated forms of things we have created to make food “taste” better. But really you’re just dulling your taste buds and tricking yourself into thinking foods in their natural state are not yummy enough! When they so are!

The USDA Dietary Guidelines recommend a tolerable upper limit of 2,300 mg (about 1 teaspoon of salt) or less per day. And how much do you think is in a plate of food at a restaurant? Even in one mashed potato at a restaurant?! Or SALAD DRESSING? It’s SCARY how much added salt the Standard American Diet boasts as NORMAL… even though a healthy amount of natural sodium is of course completely fine. Just not the way we as Americans consume it.

And as far as oil, the fat in it has been extracted from its original food source, so it is now unprotected, making it more prone to becoming rancid through oxidation (prolonged exposure to oxygen), inhibiting freshness and degrading food. Oil that has been oxidized also contains free radicals, which can damage the body and contribute to cancers.

And we all know how much sugar sucks so I don’t need to try to convince you of that. What we want to aim for is fructose in its natural state — fruits, starchy veggies, all that good stuff. Table sugar, even honey and molasses etc. is so unnecessary.

And of course for people like me with autoimmune problems and a highly inflammatory response to many foods — isolated oil, salt, and sugar are my demise. I started incorporating food back into my diet about 7 days ago post-water-fast and I can happily say I have been feeling AMAZING eating all SOS-free. I was nervous to start eating again because I had such a great response to the fast (lost ALL of my inflammation, more on this in the water fasting post to come) but eating this fabulous SOS-free way has enabled me to reap the benefits post-fast as well.

Today’s granola with fruit for breakie… SO GOOD!!!

AND IT’S STILL DELISH!

Also eating SOS-free is still delicious because you end up learning how to flavor your food with fresh and dried herbs and spices, make DELISH dressings and sauces without oil, and how to substitute sugar and oil in baking / sautéing. It’s truly amazing and has reawakened my fire to create, create, create in the kitchen! I LOVE it.

I am feeling amazing. You guys who follow on Instagram have commented that I have been looking amazing, glowing, happier, looking more like the true and real me. AND OH MY GOSH I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW TRUE THAT IT AND HOW GOOD THAT FEELS. And how good it feels for you guys to notice, because you truly are all my friends from afar and having you notice such important and deep changes within me makes me feel so happy and supported and loved.

So, let’s dive into the recipe! I wanted to share about SOS-free with you first because you will be seeing it quite a bit on my channels. I am dedicated to this lifestyle at the moment and cannot wait to see how my body and my health continues to evolve once I follow it consistently for a period of time.

I am also getting my parents into it which means the world to me. My parents are both VERY healthy and I am so grateful for that, but my dad has had a few scary tests in recent years and we want to keep him in the best shape as possible. So now my SOS-free plant-based passion is spilling over into the ones I love most, and that is incredibly special and exciting to me as well.

SOS-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN CHOCO CINNAMON GRANOLA

( WARNING: THIS LITERALLY TASTES LIKE A WARM GOOEY COOKIE! IT’S SO GOOD YOU MAY FREAK! )

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup gluten free oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill)

1/4 cup melty tahini (I use this one from Whole Foods)

4-5 chopped & pitted medjool dates

1/4 cup chopped or whole unsalted cashews

1/2 cup coconut flakes

3-4 tbsp cacao powder (I get mine on ThriveMarket.com/BLONDE (use that link for $60 worth of free groceries!!)

1-2 tbsp cinnamon

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, blending evenly so that everything gets a nice blend of cinnamon and cacao!

Add the mixture into a high-speed blender & pulse a couple of times, just enough to make the granola into a crumble but not TOO much or it will be super crumbly. I pulsed about 3 times for 5 seconds each, mixing it around each time.

Once the consistency is to your liking, add to a baking sheet (I line mine with tin foil to minimize cleanup!) and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Keep an eye on it because the coconut flakes are quick to burn after 20-25 mins!

Let it cool so it restores its crunchiness, and ENJOY!!!

Store in an airtight container in your pantry (or fridge if you’re a cold granola kinda person), and it will last for up to two weeks. I love to add this to smoothies, or eat it with fruit with the granola as the main dish!

*PS you could totally make this raw & skip the baking step. It will also taste yummy, if you’re into the raw life! Going to play around in my new dehydrator for some crispy raw granola soon too…. #drool!

SO DANG GOOD. TASTES LIKE AN ABSOLUTE CRUMBLY WARM DELECTABLE COOKIE. Do yourself a favor and try it while it’s still warm outta the oven… you’ll thank me later.

So excited to hear what you think!! As you can see, the SOS-free plant-based life CAN be exciting and delish. It’s not too hard to swap out oil, sugar, and salt in your cooking — it’s actually fun and you will find yourself getting more creative than ever in the kitchen. It’s like therapy. If you try it, let me know what you think. And I can guarantee this lifestyle will make you feel GOOOOOD if nothing else!!

Yesterday I shared this sweet potato smoothie bowl on Insta (it’s WARM… so good for us vata / pitta doshas) and then I spent the afternoon in the kitchen crafting up these delectable, fat-filled, fiber-rich, nourishing, flaxy-tahini BLISS BALLS.

You know I love my healthy dessert balls. Remember these CBD ball gems?

These are a littttle different, they have a BEAUTY BOOST, AND there is a secret ingredient in these bad boys! Can you guess what it is?

Probably not by the likes of these photos because the color of it didn’t pop… but I’ma tell ya – it’s MATCHA COLLAGEN!

That’s right, the Matcha Collagen from Vital Proteins that I am madly obsessed with and did a whole post on here over the holidays.

The ingredients in these balls make them the perfect option for a fat-filled breakfast, to a nourishing snack, to a skin-healthy treat, to a tasty (and sweet-tooth satisfying!) dessert. I have just been popping them in my mouth throughout the day, and I also love to put them in smoothie bowls or on top of coconut yogurt.

Here, I even topped one with full fat coconut cream for even MORE skin-health happiness! (Hint: all of the healthy fats make our skin super duper happy, especially when paired with collagen!).

Jonathan has been fully raw this month so he’s learned all the tricks to make raw desserts extra delish in all of the ways, and he was the one who topped a raw macaroon with the coconut cream and I thought… genius! #doingit.

WHYYY Matcha Collagen Balls?!

Well, ever since I have been off of caffeine I have been looking for ways to get just a tiny bit of it into my life without going overboard. And collagen is just a must. You can read all about the importance of it and my longtime obsession with collagen here.

I know I told you guys I have been on the decaf coffee train right now (but only when there are no chemicals involved… so I pretty much just go to Alfred every day!) which has been awesome, but I also enjoy the other benefits of clean caffeine (read: matcha) that don’t give me the jitters.

Just to recap why matcha is so awesome…

+ matcha green tea is packed with antioxidants, which can help fight free radicals in the body and promote long-term health.

+ it is rich in fiber, chlorophyll and vitamins

+ it enhances mood and aids in concentration

+it calms the mind and relaxes the body

+ it is the powerful polyphenol EGCG in matcha is known to boost metabolism and burn calories (just an added bonus to the health benefits

+ it provides slow & sustained energy versus the jolt and jitters that coffee gives us, so it’s also easier on our adrenals + hormones (the BIGGEST plus for me)

Plus the benefits of COLLAGEN (the one non-vegan thing in my life right now, because I have experienced so many benefits since adding it into my life about two years ago):

+ it is the most abundant protein in the body.

+ it is responsible for the maintenance of healthy connective tissues, such as bones, joints, skin, hair, and nails.

+ my SKIN has benefitted greatly from collagen… our body produces collagen naturally, so giving it an extra boost with a supplement like this powder is something that our body appreciates greatly, and it SHOWS when we do!

I thought it would be fun to mix a bunch of my favorite things into one delicious little ball: collagen, matcha (clean caffeine, just a smidge), healthy fats, dates (because I am not running from sugar like I once was, so dates are in ALLL of my dessert recipes right now), good fiber, and spices.

Is it just me or are those all of the best things?

Ok, let’s dive into the recipe!

INGREDIENTS //

– 1/2 cup coconut flour

– 1/2 cup flax seed (or ground flax meal)

– 1/2 cup coconut oil (I used MCT oil because I had it handy!)

– 4-6 dates, pitted (and soaked, if your blender has trouble blending hardened dates)

– 1 cup tahini

– 3 tablespoons cacao powder

– 2 tablespoons Vital Proteins Matcha Collagen

– Several shakes of pumpkin pie spice, or cinnamon / nutmeg if that’s what you have on hand!

– You can of course add CBD to these if you want (I didn’t this time around, but if you want to I recommend 3-4 tablespoons!)

METHOD //

– Pour all ingredients into a high speed blender and BLEND on high until smooth. You may need to add a bit more coconut oil if your blender is having trouble getting the mixture smooth, or you can also add a dab or two of water. Keep pulsing until it is smooth and thick enough to roll into balls.

– Pick up the mixture with your hands and roll the dough into balls. You may need to press it firmly together each time because the coconut oil can make the mixture separate a bit more than usual.

–  Once all of your raw dough is rolled, put the balls into the freezer until balls harden.

– Keep them in the freezer for them to hold the best, or put them in the fridge if you don’t like the frozen ball thang. They last for about a week in the fridge, longer in the freezer!

And then enjoyyyy in every way you know possible. Balls are the JAM and they make such easy on-the-go snacks. These balls don’t hold up TOO long out of the fridge or freezer so if you’re eating them out and about, make sure you are keeping them in something cool!

You can find the Vital Proteins Matcha Collagen here, it’s kinda the best thing ever.

If you make these, be sure to tag me on Insta so I can see (a.k.a so I can stalk you) and use my new hashtag… #intuitivelyplantbased! Which, as you’ve now seen from this recipe, does not mean that I am fully vegan. To read more about my intuitive switch back to being plant-based, head here.

Love you guys! Hope everyone is having an amazing day.

Guys! I promised more recipes on the bloggy this season because I’ve been in the kitchen a lot more lately (you know it comes in spurts with me!) and this maca chia recipe is such a yummy place to start.

First of all, I have been obsessed with chia pudding for as long as I can remember — it tastes amazing, is chock full of protein + healthy fats, and is one of those “so much bang for your buck” types of meals… and what I mean by that is: lots of fuel, nutrients & energy per calorie.

Basically, it’s a win win win win in my book. (Four wins. That’s how much I love it.) Actually, ask anyone who went to Cabo on the Bliss out in Baja yoga retreat in May… I lived for that chia pudding we had at the hotel every morning, and became obsessed with recreating it in my own kitchen when I got home!

One of my favorite things about chia pudding is that you can add all sorts of yummy flavors to enhance it, and it will take on the flavor of different superfoods, protein powders, fruits, etc.

My CURRENT fave is MACA CHIA PUDDING, made with the sensational raw, gluten-free, kosher & organic maca powder from Nuts.com + my go-to chia pudding recipe with almond milk.

And hold up for a second — let’s talk about the deets of Nuts.com. I am obsessed with their story and in love with their brand (and their personalities — yes, they are SO NICE & KIND which goes the longest way in my book), so let me tell you about it before I tell you more about MACA!

The Nuts.com crew is an incredible and dedicated family company that has been in business since 1929 when their father and grandfather “Poppy” Sol started selling premium bulk nuts in open air markets at the age of 22. He always believed in choosing only the highest quality nuts from the world’s best growers.

Fastforward to 1999 when Sol’s kids and grandkids launched NutsOnline, which is now Nuts.com, so that people all over the world could have access to their 2,000+ products (woah!!!!).

Now they sell an array of so many incredible products that I LEGIT USE ON THE DAILY from superfood powders to premium, organic nuts to snacks, baking goods, coffee and more.

Basically, they’re amazing. And after discovering them several months ago when they reached out to me and stocking my ENTIRE kitchen with their products I couldn’t not share with you. It’s an honor to get to work with them to let you guys know about their stuff, because they have it all… every single kind of superfood you could imagine & more!

Check them ouuuuuut on Nuts.com — luckily that site name is supes easy to remember.

And now, let’s discuss MACA!

This ish is unreal. It tastes like butterscotch and has a mild sweetness to it that makes it so perfect to add to chia pudding, smoothies, almond milk, oatmeal, etc. It has a TON of flavor so don’t use too much too soon… it may overwhelm your taste buds if you do, hehe. (Trust me, back in my vegan days I did the maca-overload-in-smoothie thing several times too many and regretted it).

The four main benefits of maca are… increase in energy + stamina, relieves stress, boosts mood + is a nutritional POWERHOUSE.

It is a great source of B-complex vitamins and minerals like calcium, zinc and iron + has a lot of fiber and essential amino acids. Maca powder naturally stimulates hormone levels that are too low, and regulates those that are overactive — so it helps our hormones out in the best way. And you know how I feel about balancing hormones.

Also, it just tastes so good with yummy chia — and the chia seeds I used are ALSO from Nuts.com, just so you know. You can find them here!

I could tell you ALL about the benefits of chia, just let’s keep it to: mega amount of omega-3’s, great for blog sugar stability + weight loss, easy to digest and full of healthy protein and fats.

Now… recipe time!

Maca Chia Pudding Recipe // YUM!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 tablespoon organic maca powder

1/3 cup chia seeds

2 tablespoons cacao nibs (ALSO from Nuts.com!)

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, stir the almond milk, maca powder and chia seeds. Let stand for 30 minutes. Stir again to evenly redistribute the chia seeds. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

2. In the morning, dig in and add any toppings you’d like! I love adding cacao nibs for nutrition and a yummy crunch.

Soooo, there you have it babes. A delicious maca chia pudding recipe — and ALLLL of the ingredients (yes, including the almond milk) can be found on Nuts.com. I really truly love them & hope you check them out because they rock and their products are TOP NOTCH… and easy to store, trust me, I have a ton of these cute branded bags of theirs.

Who else loves chia pudding as much as I do?! Time to go devour more of it… it’s too good! Happy Friday babes!! XO 

A) I just got home from NYC and CANNOT WAIT to write a recap of my trip to share with you guys… it was AMAZING.

B) THANK YOU for all of the bday wishes. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have so many supportive, amazing humans in my life.

C) BULLETPROOF COFFEE RECIPE TODAY!

D) My brain has been spinning these last few weeks with all sorts of things. //

Soon I’m going to do a post on all of the reasons why I am a wee bit overwhelmed right now, just to give you a glimpse into my brain so we are all on da same page.

Hints: teacher training, New York, working on da eBook (biz of blogging), working on proposal for book #2, relaunching TBB APPAREL so soon (eek!), Hawaii trip coming up (teaching yoga in MAUI), keeping up on partnerships, photo shoots, panels (GIRLTALK was amazing… lots more to come on that), assisting yoga classes, practice teaching, spending time with the fam, working on a V V exciting project that may or may not be a PODCAST (okay I’m the worst secret keeper)… things like that.

So anyway maybe I don’t need to do a post about it because my hints give you a full-blown look into what my swimming brain is consumed with at the moment.

ALL OF THAT being said, a few things…

I wouldn’t trade any of this for the world. Having a full plate makes me happy. But I DO look forward to a few months from now when things feel a bit more settled.

I am always looking for ways to stay inspired & keep things fresh so that my mind doesn’t get too jumbled to be what I love most: a creator.

I have had to nail down my routine to basically be laser-focused on what I want to create & produce.

That routine comes down to: self-care, exercise, healthy food, sleep, good people & lots of forgiveness for myself when I can’t be everywhere at once. (Basically letting go of FOMO like cray).

INSPIRING ME RIGHT NOW…

SO! I have been inspired by all sorts of things lately when it comes to keeping myself on track and keeping my routine on lock…

One of those things is this post by Lauryn of TSC.

Another is the Beautiful Writers podcast by the amaze Linda Sivertsen.. Specifically her latest episode w/ Arianna Huffington about the importance of SLEEP. It made me feel not so guilty for getting insanely stressed + depressed about my insomnia…

BOSSANOVA music when I’m writing & high school throwbacks on Spotify. Follow me there for all of my current faves. Music is getting me through this “way too overcommitted & feelin’ too busy for my own good” funk.

Spending time with the people who inspire me — my friends who have also started companies, friends who have similar fitness goals to me, etc. It’s hard to spend time with everyone I want to when things are this cray… So surrounding myself with people who are on my page is super helpful and recharging.

Therapy & constant self-work, always

READING. Currently very, very into She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb — after I finished the very major & real obsession of mine, his I Know This Much is True

ALSO…

Super duper into yummy coffee drinks right now.

I went off of caffeine for about a month before, during & after my Panchakarma. I didn’t even have green tea.

And I felt AWESOME! I am a very high-energy, high-vibe kind of person to begin with. Even internally… My nervous system operates on a very high-wavelength. (Which can often get me into trouble… i.e. staying awake ALL NIGHT LONG instead of being able to fall asleep. #FML)

But also, I love coffee. And I don’t want to ever fully “ban” it from my life because… it makes me happy! It gives me an extra surge of productivity & excitement every morning. I don’t NEED it and I am not dependent on it… but it is something I look forward to every morning and has a very happy, solid place in my routine.

When I drink it — I make sure to add lots and lots of goods into it so that the caffeine itself doesn’t spike my blood sugar or cortisol and make my hormones all wacky. All my fave products listed beneath, with the reasons why they rock!

I also love walking to my neighborhood coffee spots & having morning meetings there (or morning dates there..!) — because I also think starting the day with people who inspire you or people you love is the way to go.

SO! That brings me to my current coffee obsession: CHOCOLATE BULLETPROOF.

( a.k.a my own creation that basically just tastes hella good )

* also including all of my fave brands here but just so ya know this is not sponsored, just realness on the brands that I use DAILY.

Ingredients //

4 oz of Chameleon cold brew ( I buy the largest size so I can use it for like 5-6 days straight before I have to re-stock )

1-2 tbsp of Bulletproof Brain Octane MCT oil ( you can also use coconut oil ) — healthy fats that get your metabolism GOIN’

1/2 tbsp of Fourth & Heart vanilla bean ghee ( you can also use reg/non-flavored ghee )

3/4 cup almond milk, either New Barn unsweetened vanilla ( or Whole Foods brand ) OR this treat w/ Juice Served Here “Super Choc“

1-2 tbsp chocolate protein powder ( I like Philosophie “cacao magic” or Moon Juice “deep chocolate protein” or Vega choc protein )

1/2 scoop of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides ( great for hormone balance, especially in the morning )

a few shakes of cinnamon ( Frontier is a good, tasty, organic brand)

Method //

Pour all ingredients into a blender, & blend! If you aren’t using ghee or protein powder, then all you need to do is mix in a glass with a spoon.

But with the ghee & choc powder it’s definitely more useful to blend it up so it’s nice & creamy!

ENJOY! And hashtag #tbbmademedoit #tbbkitchen on INSTA if you make this so I can see your yummy & amaze creations!

BTW… This is what I looked like after a long-ass 12-hour day of blogging the other day:

The blog life really ain’t so glamorous. // Cat hair on my sweater and ALL. #realness #always

 SO! Thoughts?! Who loves Bulletproof as much as I do?!

I have been on the hunt for all sorts of natural, healthy goodies lately to share with you loves, AND also lots of good music, self-care newness & exciting new evolvements with TBV Apparel up my sleeve like you wouldn’t believe… Shall we get started?!

Loving Lately // 8.18.16

↠ ↠ Gettin’ Back in the KITCHEN! You may have noticed through my Instagram & Snapchat that I have been back in the kitchen lately. I go through major phases with my cooking and meal prepping at home. I wiiiiish that I was better with being consistent about it, but let’s be real — sometimes life gets busy and ordering from Postmates and/or going out to eat seems like the most realistic option. When I DO cook at home on a regular basis, I find that it’s easier to stay consistent with it and I actually crave simple, healthy home cooked meals versus saucy, complex restaurant meals. (And to be clear, when I eat out I usually choose the “healthiest” options out there but there’s nothing quite like eating home-cooked food). Lately I have been LOVING eating lots of g-free toast with almond butter & coconut butter, green smoothies, yummy oatmeal with egg whites (going to make a recipe video with this ASAP), homemade nut butters, veggies & grilled chicken, etc. My stomach has been super at ease with all of the home cooking I’ve been doing too, which is the best thing I can ask for…!

↠ ↠ Recipe Development! Speaking of cooking, that also happens to go hand in hand with recipe development. Luckily, I get to try out all sorts of yummy new products to share with you guys on the blog — and the more cooking I do, the more healthy brands I get to share! I am super stoked to share this one, as I am always looking for dairy-free milks to switch up my usual almond milk routine. Macadamia nut milk is full of calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc & selenium — all sorts of yummy vitamins & minerals that help us glow from the inside out. It’s also full of healthy fats, and of course 100% dairy-free for those of us with lactose intolerance and sensitive tummies. My current fave mac nut brand is Suncoast Gold, a fab Australian brand that uses premium, slow-roasted nuts (local to Australia, which makes them even COOLER). Two other massive benefits of this company are: 1) it tastes AMAZING, like ice cream actually — best mac nut milk I have ever tasted for real, and 2) the people behind the company are wonderful and SO sweet… which you know is an absolute must in my book when I choose to promote a brand!

Acai bowl recipe: 3 tablespoons acai powder (I like the brand Navitas Naturals), 1 cup macadamia nut milk (Suncoast Gold, of course), 1 ripe banana, 1 tablespoon almond butter, and alllll the yummy toppings. I like chocolate g-free granola, coconut shreds, raspberries and almonds for an extra crunch!! Blend, top & enjoy!

↠ ↠ All of the SELF CARE! Okay, this is extra dear to my heart because I have some big self-care news coming up… I will share with you guys next week most likely, but I have so much to say about it I don’t want to drop it in out of nowhere. My big hint is that it’s Ayurveda-related and will be a bit of a mini retreat for me, so I will be away from computer/social media/regular life for about 7 days. VERY excited about it. Full deets to come, but in the meeeeantime there are tons of other ways I am working on my self-care. I have been getting a bimonthly massage, which is amazing because of all of the running/yoga/HIIT training that I do. Also facials, herbal oils, and my nightly digital detox routine before bed help so much. I also just bought some yoga blocks for my apartment (I like these Gaiam ones) and yes, you’d think I would have already owned them, but I never had my own! I have been laying them in my middle upper back and under my head every morning and every night and laying there meditating for about 10 mins each. It has worked WONDERS on opening my upper back and getting me in a zen headspace. Try it out if you haven’t! Or find the self-care routine that works for you… I think it is beyond important to take care of yourself in new ways — if you’re always doing the same things, your bod will get used to it and won’t respond with as much relaxation — so switch it up!

↠ ↠ YOUTUBE! I know I always say this, but I am itching to get back into my YouTube game. I had a really fun recipe video that I had to take down last week because it accidentally conflicted with a brand that I am working with (totally my bad), but it was such a blast making it that I want to start a “TBB Kitchen” YouTube series. Who would be in for that?! Tell meee!! Also, if you haven’t seen this BFF Video with my BFF Brandin Cohen, I felt that it was time to circle back and re-share!! It’s reached almost 40,000 views on YouTube… Which for me, is a lot!! Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet… It’s so fun!

↠ ↠ INSTAGRAM VIDEO! I guess I am just on the video train right now in general. I still love Snapchat, but there is definitely a special place in my heart right now for Instagram video. It’s great to have everything all in one place… And since I have so many of you guys following along on Instagram, it’s great to put in-the-moment video content right there instead of trying to lead people over to Snap for all the fun stuff! I am such a “behind the scenes” kind of person… a.k.a, I MUCH prefer sharing my un-curated life with people… because I consider you guys all my friends, and that’s the “me” that I would share with my friends. I think the more that you can get to know me, the more my blog will be able to impact you anyway! And then it’s like an open dialogue between us rather than me just talking at you, ya know? Things you’ll find on my Instagram video: me singing in the car (specifically lots of TRAIN & EMINEM, haha), behind the scenes of blog photo shoots, lots of food, cuddles with Huddy, and interviewing my friends & fam on camera.

↠ ↠ COREPOWER YOGA! I had always heard amazing things about CPY, but because I am such a routine person I didn’t actually try it out for a very long time, even after hearing all the great stuff. I had a diff studio that I had been going to since I moved to LA almost 8 years ago! After finally trying it for myself a few months back, OMG I am hooked. I started going to the one right by my house in Brentwood, and even more recently discovered the studio in Westwood — and for some reason, my heart totally belongs to that studio. You know how some studios just feel like home the moment you set foot into them? I love the location, in such a cute neighborhood nestled by UCLA, next to a bunch of my fave haunts like Trader Joe’s, Tender Greens, and the adorable coffee shop Profeta that is my new lil’ inspiration work spot. A fun fact about CPY: every time I post about it on Instagram or Snapchat, I get upwards of 30 responses from other bloggers and YOU GUYS saying “AHHH, I love CPY!” I think that’s kinda the definition of a great studio, right? A place where people feel connected, rooted in spirituality & are able to get out of their heads, get their sweat on, and have such good vibes when they think about it that they can’t help but want to profess their love for it. That’s how I am at least! My fave class currently is CP2… a level 2 class in a super heated room. I haven’t tried their classes with weights yet but I am dying to! And I also like CP1 (level 1, less heated class) for a cool down if I’ve already gone for a run or done HIIT that day.  Check my Snapchats for a bunch of BTS sweaty CPY photos.

↠ ↠ SPOTIFY! I was definitely late to the Spotify life, but after I started using it 5ish months ago I have been OBSESSED. I stalk my yoga teachers and trainers on there, because they obvi have the best music. I just made my first ever TBB playlist… FOLLOW it HEREEEE, and tell me which songs to add! This kind of a half work / half workout playlist. I like chill music for the most part, but I am into the upbeat & the rap when it comes to running and workouts. Right now I LOOOOVE country, Mumford, Jack Garratt… So much goodness.

↠ ↠ FICTION! Yep, I’m working on another novel. Totes fiction. Inspired by my therapists’ house in North Hollywood. Get EXCITED. I am beyond over the moon about it, but also making it a huge point to finish my Going Viral eBook before I REALLY dive into writing the novel! Also STOKED about Going Viral, and have interviewed some of my fave bloggers one earth to get their tips to include in it… You guys are in for a treat!

↠ ↠ ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS! When I find an eco-friendly body product with 100% vegetarian ingredients & zero animal testing, artificial colors, synthetic fragrances, parabens, sulfate or phlalates, you’d better believe I am sharing it with you guys! On top of it all, this fruity Alba Botanica scrub smells like heaven in a bottle & will make your skin feel so silky smooooth. Huge fan over here. Also, funny moment… Did you see my Instagram video of me rubbing this on my legs originally thinking it was lotion, because of how adorable & lotion-esque the packaging is?! TOO funny. The good news is, my legs smelled AMAZING and were super duper silky soft afterward! LOVE. Check them out, guys! I am a really big proponent of the ingredients they use, and even more than that, a fan of what they do NOT use (and by that I mean a fan that they don’t use it!!!). And look how cutie cute!

 Soooo there we have it, my angels. Just a few things I’m loving lately. Can’t wait to share my big Ayurvedic-related self-care news with you! EEK! What are YOU loving lately?! XO

I usually like to add in a few more ingredients, because let’s be real. If I can turn anything into a superfood extravaganza (or make it chocolate), I sure as heck will.

But if you only have a couple of things handy, you can legit make it with two ingredients.

What might those two ingredients be, you ask?

AVOCADOS +  ALMOND MILK. (Or any kind of milk that you prefer. OR water, if you’re not into milky things.)

And also ice, but does ice REALLY count as an ingredient? No. It’s ice.

Say hello to AVOCADO BREAKFAST PUDDING.

I discovered this little concoction because of someone with a bangin’ bod that has a huge social media presence, 3 children, and a last name that begins with a “K” and ends with an “-ashian.”

Any guesses?

Yep, you got it. Kourtney Kardashian.

But really, has anyone seen her bod lately?! She is SLAAAAYING the hot mama, organic eating, fitness queen game. (Did someone say Gunnar Peterson? My fave trainer ever.)

Anyway, however you may feel about Kourt & her T-Swift controversial fam bam, the girl is a health nut. Like me. And she has an avocado smoothie for breakfast every morning.

When I first saw her sipping her avo smoothie on camera, I was like… Wait. That looks GOOD. And filling & nutrient-rich and replenishing after a workout.

So I went to the store to buy some avocados (of course I already had almond milk on hand — duh-skis), and the rest was history.

I LOOOOOVE this breakfast because it is light and healthy as can be, but also has some “meat” to it, if you will. Avocados are super filling, thanks to their abundance of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, fiber, Vitamin K, folate, and more. The healthy fats are great for your skin, hair, nails and brain. And they are protein-rich, so you get a lot of bang for your buck — a.k.a, lots of nutrient-density per calorie. (My main stipulation when it comes to foods that I choose to eat.)

Ways to spruce up your avo pudding!

I also love to make my avocado pudding chocolatey, because I love chocolate more than anything. And sometimes a good breakfast pudding is just made so very much more exciting & delicious by being chocolatey.

There are a few ways to do that. You can either had a tablespoon of cacao powder, or you can add a nice big scoop of chocolate protein powder.

I prefer the latter, because I like my meals to have as much protein content as possible… Especially since this is my go-to post-workout or pre-workout breakfast.

As far as chocolate protein powders… Let’s talk KURA. You may remember them from my choco banana smoothie recipe in December, or because you may have stumbled upon them in CVS, where they are now available nationwide! It’s pretty amazing and thrilling for them (and their supporters, like me) because they are a small, nutrition-focused brand from New Zealand. It’s not every day that a non-huge, non-GMO, healthy brand gets picked up by a huuuuuge chain like CVS. It’s actually a very big win for us health advocates, because the more healthy & natural options that are available in mainstream stores — THE BETTER.

Truth be told, ever since my girl Louise from Kura shared the exciting news with me, I have hit up CVS a LOT more lately, and I have found a lot of other healthy & organic options… Which makes me happy as can be. And it makes my wallet happy, because… You know how those health food stores go.

Let’s also re-hash the things I LOVE about Kura, and then I will share the full recipe with you below, along with a video!

Kura is…

• Non-GMO
• Gluten-free
• Natural ingredients
• No added sugar
• 14g protein (in this case, from grass-fed dairy)
• Full of vitamins & minerals: 26 of them!
• Contains high probiotic levels for digestion!
• THE NICEST PEOPLE WORK FOR THEIR COMPANY. BIG, BIG MUST IN MY BOOK.

RECIPE TIIIIIME //

Chocolate Avocado Breakfast Pudding:

Ingredients:

1 full, ripe avocado

1/2 cup almond milk (or liquid of your choosing)

1 handfull ice

1 scoop of chocolate protein powder (I used Kura here, and highly recommend!)

Method:

BLEND.

SEE?! Easy as can be. And so, so delicious.

Also, CHECK OUT KURA at CVS! Big deal. Support those healthy brands at mainstream stores, boos! They also have a store locator in their site to make it easy peasy for you!

YAY. And YUM. Also, thanks so, SO much for all of your fab responses to my post from yesterday asking what you guys would like to see most on my blog. A lot of you said healthy recipes, specifically healthy DESSERT recipes, so I hope you enjoy this one.

Who doesn’t like dessert for breakfast?!

Hopefully both!

Can we also talk for a second about how ridiculously delicious deviled eggs are? I remember the first time I had a deviled egg. I was on a camping trip with my sister, my brother-in-law and my nephew Theo. I think I was about 9 or 10, and Theo was about 3.

That weekend was a lot of firsts. My first time sleeping in a tent. My first time going up into the mountains without my parents so I felt like such a big cool kid. My first time trying ranch dip (OMG I fell in love), and my very first time eating a deviled egg.

Right after the first bite, I was HOOKED. I was like wait, these are eggs? Why are they so good? Why are they so creamy and flavorful and light and delicious?

I think I ate a few too many deviled eggs that day and I definitely ate way too much ranch dip with potato chips… But I was officially broadening my food horizon. And my camping horizon.

As the years have gone on, I have changed my diet quite a bit. As you know, I was vegan for several years which meant I didn’t eat eggs at all. At that time, I had to get crafty. I made a lot of eggless tofu scrambles with veggies, and pretty much mastered the art of every non-egg breakfast.

Nowwww that I am back on the animal protein train, I am all about the eggs. I get them from the Brentwood farmer’s market from an awesome farmer and his brothers that I love to support. Sometimes I even buy their duck and quail eggs!

But, being me, being so very TBB, my preference is still toward the utmost healthiest of foods. How can I healthify everything? How can I sneak in some added nutrients and veggies?

BEETS.

Beet-dyed eggies! This is one of the more time-consuming recipes I’ve dove into lately, and they were super fun to make.

Sometimes I love spending a little extra time in the kitchen — it calms me and soothes my soul. Especially when I get to photograph it after and I know the food will be beautiful and photogenic like woah!

I used Best Foods’ Carefully Crafted Dressing & Sandwich Spread to make these delicious little devils — the same spread I used in my recent zucchini noodle w/ pesto recipe! Their spread is natural, organic, non-GMO, cholesterol-free, artificial color free & egg-free (haha I know, we are still making eggs).

Sidenote: I LOVE when companies that have been around for a long time and had been doing things one way adapt to healthier alternatives and give options for those of us who like to live a healthy, organic lifestyle. That means no pesticides, free of synthetic additives, unprocessed and nothing genetically engineered.

Woo!

Okay, recipe time! Let’s do this! Get your apron on (if you have one…), this one is an adventure! (This recipe was adapted from The Kitchn, with a TBB spin!)

Ingredients:

6 large eggs
1 16-ounce can or jar pickled beets
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mustard
1 tablespoon Best Foods Carefully Crafted vegan-friendly Spread
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh rosemary for garnish

Method:

Hard boil your eggs and remove the shells. (For perfect hard-boiled eggs, I use this method.) Set the eggs aside.

To prepare the brine, pour a can of pickled beets into a large mason jar or bowl. Add cider vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, and salt. Stir mixture. Carefully (that beet juice will stain!) lower the peeled eggs into the brine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or up to 3 days. The longer you leave them in the brine, the more sour and pink they’ll end up. I like just the rim of pink and slight pickled flavor, so I let mine sit about 16 hours.

When brining time is finished, cut each egg in half and scoop out yolks. Place yolks in a medium-sized bowl, along with the mustard, mayonnaise, curry, vinegar, and olive oil. Mix and mash until smooth. Add a little bit of water to the mixture if it’s too stiff. Salt and pepper to taste.

Using a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the corner cut off, pipe the yolk mixture back into the pink eggs. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and season with salt and pepper.

This post sponsored by FeedFeed and Best Foods – thank you for supporting the brands that support me.