Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts

We Are What We Eat
8.21.2018

cute brunch outfit

Do you remember hearing this phrase as a little kid and imagining yourself turning into a slice of pizza or an asparagus and thinking it was a bizarre thing to be told? Fast forward to adulthood and I get it now. While it’s still a funny little saying, there’s definitely truth to it. Eating a piece of fried chicken versus a piece of grilled salmon will definitely have different effects on your body and how you feel! 

What we eat determines so much about how we feel and how healthy we are - if our hormones and blood sugar are balanced, if our organs are working optimally, if our body is detoxing on its own, if our hearts are healthy, if our skin is glowing and clear, etc. So often we look first to medications and topical treatments to solve issues, instead of looking first at our diets and lifestyles. 

brunch vibes // linen summer dress

When I started looking at nutrition as fuel it made it much easier to choose lean protein and leafy greens over white pasta and other starches. And the same goes with beverages… When I thought about cleansing my body (internally) and having clear, plump skin it made it easier to choose water over a soda. Think about this… if you put a bad quality gasoline or oil into your car, it’s not going to run optimally right? The same goes for us. We can’t expect to be running at our best off of soda, sugary granola bars, and french fries. What we choose to put in our bodies fuels us for our busy lives!  

linen dress with buttons + the best $10 sunglasses

Do you want to feel energized or tired? Do you want to look refreshed or dull? Do you want to feel bloated or lean? These are questions I sometimes ask myself when I need to refocus. 

Focus on putting a balance of good quality protein, fiber, healthy fats, and greens + non-starchy vegetables on your plates every day and that leaves little room for the rest! Drink tons of water; It’s absolutely essential to every single part of your body. Then get ready to feel (and look) amazing.


location: Hillside Farmacy in Austin, TX
photos by Jo Johnson
dress (c/o Lulu's) |  sandals (c/o Kelsi Dagger Brooklyn)  |  sunglasses  |  earrings  |  necklace  

3 Things I Drink Daily for Better Health
5.29.2018

3 Things I Drink Daily for Better Health | Love, Lenore
top  |  jeans  |  my favorite candle
for your own Lulu, visit your local animal shelter, favorite rescue organization, or search Petfinder (how we found Lu!) 💕

Lately I'm giving into my inner hippie and inner wanna-be nutritionist and fully embracing the holistic lifestyle. Give me allllll the wellness tips lately -- I can't get enough! With my renewed commitment to wellness, I've getting into some really positive daily habits, and one of them is mixing in some drinks (beyond just water) that are great for health! Here are 3 things I'm drinking [pretty much] every day right now...

why I drink warm water with lemon every morning | Love, Lenore

01 | hot water with lemon
This is nothing new and I've seen tips to drink this every morning at least 100 times. But I'm finally doing it! Reason one: when you wake up in the morning you're a bit dehydrated. Your body has been working throughout the night without taking in hydration.  So definitely make it a habit to drink some form of water first thing in the morning. Reason two: warm water, especially first thing in the morning, helps to flush the digestive system (never a bad thing). Reason three: lemon also helps to detox the body, so paired with warm water you're getting a nice little flush. Reason four: this detox + the vitamin c in the lemon are great for skin (vitamin c helps to boost collagen production)! 

Drinking this first thing in the morning while I have my quiet time with the pups has turned into such a relaxing ritual for me! Anything that helps me start my day stress-free is such a bonus. I've found an easy way to make my daily warm lemon water. Once a week or so I slice up a lemon and store the slices in a tub in the fridge. Each morning I grab a mug, plop in a slice of lemon, and pour hot water over it. After it steeps and cools for a couple of minute I remove my lemon slice and it's ready to go! Quick tip: We don't drink coffee, so I just use my Keurig for quick hot water. It makes this process so quick in the mornings!

02 | liquid chlorophyll
I've written about liquid chlorophyll before, but I've recently started drinking it daily again! Chlorophyll is not to be confused with chloroform haha. Chlorophyll is part of the photosynthesis process in plants and is one of the nutrients found in green, leafy vegetables. Some of its benefits include cleansing/detoxing, healing, cell renewal, and helping with iron levels, redness, inflammation and more! Heck. Yes. I simply add a teaspoon or so to a glass of water at lunchtime every day. It helps to change things up from my regular water, and I like that I'm getting extra health benefits. I buy this brand from a local health food store, but there are lots of places to order online.

03 | herbal teas
My recent nighttime routine is to wind down with a cup of hot herbal tea. It's so so relaxing, and there are health benefits too! I alternate between peppermint tea (aids with digestion, so is great to drink between dinner and bed) and dandelion root tea (in a nutshell: aids liver function so that it expels toxins before they make it to our skin). If I want an extra skin boost, I'll stir in a tablespoon of collagen powder.

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Let me know if you liked this post, and if you have requests for other wellness topics! I'll be sharing my experience with my Keto-ish reset soon!  

10 [Easy] Healthy Lifestyle Tips + Tricks
2.06.2018

10 Easy Healthy Lifestyle Tips + Tricks | Love, Lenore
Tank (c/o of Shopbop) // Leggings (c/o of Shopbop) // Water Bottle (have you ever seen someone hold a water bottle so awkwardly??)

Healthy living is always a priority for me, but with spring and a vacation coming up, it's on my mind more than ever at the moment! I thought I would share some tips and tricks that [in my opinion] are totally doable, and not too intimidating. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment or message me on social media, because I would love to chat more!

01 | Sneak a big handful of spinach into your smoothies and smoothie bowls. The first time I tried this I was shocked that I couldn't taste the spinach. I've never enjoyed eating spinach, so I put this off for way too long, but now it's an everyday practice for me. Breakfast isn't normally a meal where we eat a full serving of vegetables, so I love that this gets me on the right track for the day!

02 | Take a re-usable water bottle with you absolutely everywhere. I drink twice as much water as I used to because I now make it a priority to have one of my reusable water bottles with me pretty much at all times! These are my favorite water bottles + tumblers, and I love that they keep my water nice and cold. You can read more about why water is such a priority for me + the benefits I've seen from upping my daily intake here.

03 | Plan a few dinners at a time. This makes all the difference for me between a healthy week and an unhealthy week. If I'm already set up with a game plan and have all of my groceries at home, then it's simple to put together a healthy meal. No planning = unhealthy takeout for me and that can really derail a week (not that it's not fine here and there, but I can't get away with doing that every night).

04 | Use reusable shopping bags and baskets for shopping. As time goes on I'm trying to reduce how much plastic I use (waste). An easy way to do this is to use reusable shopping bags! They reduce pollution and waste, and are actually so convenient. I've started getting better about keeping some in my car so that I don't show up at the grocery store empty handed. I'm planning to order these to use instead of the plastic bags you put produce in, and I also have a large woven basket (made by women in Ghana - I purchased at a health food store) that I take to the grocery store along with my bags.

05 | Add some liquid chlorophyll to your water. Liquid chlorophyll has so many health benefits, including having many different vitamins and minerals, detoxing the body, oxygenating the blood, helping with anemia, improving the skin, and making the body more alkaline. I don't mind the taste at all, and just add a tablespoon or so into my tumbler of water once or twice a day. I use this brand, but can usually find it for a few dollars cheaper at a health food store (a bottle lasts me 2-3 months!).

06 | Grab a friend and try a new workout class. Trying a new workout not only keeps things interesting, but is also great for your body! Many of us get into ruts with our workouts, but it's so healthy to mix things up and work your muscles differently. I recently tried a Piyo class for the first time, and would love to try a boxing or kickboxing class sometime this year. As a hardcore introvert I can be bad at making plans with friends, but scheduling a workout class with someone is a great way to both socialize + be accountable for actually going.

07 | Add more fiber into your diet. I recently listened to a Skinny Confidential Him and Her Podcast episode with Tanya Zuckerbrot of the F-Factor diet, and learned soooo much about the importance of fiber! My favorite nutritionist Kelly Leveque also encourages eating more fiber. Most Americans don't eat nearly enough fiber, partially because we don't eat enough vegetables, and because many of our foods and grains have been modified so much. Fiber helps to cleanse your body, helps to control blood sugar, and helps to keep hunger hormones at bay. I plan to do a dedicated blog post soon, but one way I've been upping my fiber intake is by eating GG crackers nearly every day. They're super high in fiber, low in calories and carbs, and even though they're super bland on their own, there are so many ways you can eat them (I've pretty much replaced bread with them)! I add 1-2 tablespoons of chia seeds into my daily smoothie, and beans, berries, brussels sprouts, broccoli and pears are all high fiber foods as well.

08 | Wear SPF every single day. Now that preventing aging is on my mind more and more, I know it's time to start wearing a dedicated SPF on my face every single day (beyond what is in my foundation). I've been researching several different products, but am planning to order this one first!

09 | Swap almond milk for dairy milk. This is obviously up to personal preference, but I like that unsweetened almond milk is low in calories, doesn't raise blood sugar, and doesn't have the hormones found in dairy milk. I very much limit how much dairy I eat due to the hormones in it, and trying to keep acne at bay. So almond milk has been a great solution for me!

10 | Partner with an accountability buddy. This one doesn't cost a thing, but makes allll the difference for me! At the start of the year, my friend Jo and I decided we would text our daily food diary to one another every night! While I've definitely splurged here and there, it's really helped to hold me accountable, and has definitely reduced my mindless snacking! It's also way healthier mentally for me than counting calories, and it's nice to encourage one another!       

5 Benefits I've Seen from Drinking More Water
1.19.2018

5 Benefits I've Seen from Drinking More Water | Love, Lenore

As stupid as it sounds, drinking water is something I'm super passionate about! It's been estimated that as many as 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated, even though we're fortunate enough to have access to clean drinking water. Drinking water not only keeps your organs functioning and cleans out your body, but it also increases your metabolism and gives you more energy. In the last 6 months I've made a specific effort to drink way more water, so I thought I would share the benefits I've personally seen, as well as some of my tips for drinking more water! We've all heard the "drink half of your body weight in ounces" advice, but I personally don't feel like that's nearly enough for me, and over the past 6 months I've aimed to drink at least 100oz a day. 

5 Benefits I've Seen from Drinking More Water

1 | significantly fewer headaches
Growing up and through high school and college, I got headaches all the time, including a decent amount of migraines. I figured it was just a fact of life for me. But since I've really upped my water intake, I've had very few headaches! Amazing right?? That's not to say I don't still get one from time to time, but it's like a once a month kind of thing rather than multiple times a week!

2 | plumper, more glowing skin
I'm sure you've heard the advice that drinking a ton of water is the best thing you can do for your skin, and I 100% believe it. I've definitely noticed a difference in my skin the past 6 months. It has much more of a glow, as well as more fullness!

3 | more energy
While I'm not a huge caffeine addict (I stopped drinking my daily soda back in college and rarely drink coffee), I was drinking green tea nearly every day (which, to be fair, is really good for you). However, I've noticed since upping my water intake that I rarely need a caffeine boost and have so much more energy.

4 | far less bloating
As females, and hell as humans, bloating is a part of life. But since I've upped my water intake I noticed far less of it, even during my period! Flatter tummy? Yes please!

5 | a calmer mind, and less anxiety
This was a completely unexpected benefit for me, but I started noticing the change a few months ago. I've always been a stresser and prone to anxiety. For as long as I can remember, my mind has been all over the place, I've felt anxious about nearly everything, and my heart has felt so fluttery all the time - such an icky feeling. But in the past 6 months I've noticed how much calmer I am. My mind feels calmer and clearer, and my heart doesn't race and flutter as often. I still stress quite a bit, but the anxiousness is not nearly as prevalent. I think reducing caffeine has definitely played a roll, but overall I just feel better now that I'm more hydrated - like my body and mind are working how they're supposed to. I can't tell you what a great feeling that is!


So, have I talked you into drinking more water yet?? If so, here are some of my favorite tips for drinking more water...   


My Tips for Drinking More Water

1 | use a water tracking app
Once I made the decision to drink more water, I started using a tracking app, and it's helped me so much! It's easy to let hours go by without drinking anything, but the app helps keep me on track! I also like having the competition with myself to reach my goal. I use the My Water app (although there are tons of great free ones), and it allows you to set a daily goal, to enter in all different kinds of beverages, and it will send you push notification reminders to drink more water.

2 | take a tumbler with you everywhere
My sister has always taken a huge water bottle with her everywhere, and I've started doing this too. I like using a reusable tumbler because it keeps my water super ice cold (essential for me) and then I'm not wasting tons of plastic. Trey and I are obsessed with our Corcicle tumblers and canteens! I think we have 4 or 5 between us now, and I've even given some out as gifts. My 24oz white tumbler seriously comes with me everywhere! I also love that these don't make my water taste like metal. They really are the best!

3 | use a reusable straw
I've found that I drink at least twice as much liquid when I have a straw! For this reason, I use these rubber straws with my Corkcicle tumbler. They oversized, rubbery (i.e. you can chew on them haha), and best of all, reusable! I also just ordered these stainless steel straws to completely replace my use of plastic straws (more on that later though).    

4 | drink it first thing in the morning
Because our bodies are working away while we sleep, and because we don't drink water throughout the night, we can actually wake up dehydrated. Crazy, right? I like to start off my mornings by immediately filling up my tumbler with ice water, and then drinking a ton of water while I go through my morning routine! This not only jumpstarts your metabolism, and gets you off to a great start toward your water goal, but will also make you feel so much better - I promise!

I hope this post has inspired you to drink more water (and less soda, coffee, etc.)! Like I said, it's something that's really important to me, and it's always one of my biggest pieces of advice to others. If you have any other benefits or tips you would like to share, I'd love to chat in the comment section below!

I also thought I would share the super comfy loungewear I'm wearing in the photos. My top is this little thermal, and it's the softest shirt ever. I love that it's oversized, and that you can wear it different ways. I need more colors! I'm also wearing sweatpants from my favorite loungewear brand, Z Supply. Their stuff is so unbelievably soft, and their sweatpants and joggers are definitely worth the money in my opinion! I have to remember not to wear these every night when I get home from work haha.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I'm so excited to share more lifestyle and health content with you this year, and have been really excited to put this post together!   

Clean & Delicious Fiesta Salad
8.04.2017

Happy Friday friends! I haven't gotten much sleep this week, so I'm sooooo ready for the weekend to be here! My plans include catching up on zzzzz's, going to yoga, doing some cleaning, and then heading to Kansas City on Sunday for some good food and a Sporting KC game. 

Today I'm sharing one of my very favorite recipes that my mom and I have both made for years! We call it a fiesta salad, and have experimented with our recipe until we've "perfected" it 😌 We first started making this salad back when I was very strictly gluten free for awhile, and now that I know more about nutrition and health, I love that this is truly a guilt-free salad. All of the ingredients are clean, including the homemade dressing! It's also a really tasty way to eat some veggies! If you like tangy flavors, this salad's for you because it's packed with flavor. This is my go-to recipe to bring to a summer BBQ or family dinner because people always love it, and I know I'll have a healthy option there.

There are so many ways to use this little salad!
- as a salad/side (I sometimes eat a big bowl of it for lunch!)
- as a topping for tacos
- served on top of taco salad (like I did on my IG story last weekend!)
- served on top of grilled chicken or white fish
- as a dip with tortilla chips


Salad Ingredients
2 cans of black beans (drained & rinsed)
1 can of corn (drained & rinsed)
1 green bell pepper - chopped
2 large tomatoes - chopped
1/3 cup red onion - diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro - chopped

Dressing Ingredients 
(whisk before pouring over salad)
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice from two limes
2-3 cloves garlic - minced
2 teaspoons sea salt

Optional Add-Ins
Diced avocado (add at last minute before serving so it doesn't get mushy or brown)
Garbanzo beans
Chopped kale

All you have to do is combine all of your ingredients in a medium to large bowl, and then whisk your dressing ingredients before pouring over the salad! I then gently "fold" the salad to mix everything up, and I like it best when it's been in the fridge for just a bit. It's also really good as leftovers for a day or two, and often tastes even better the next day!

I got a lot of messages from you guys as you made this yummy salad, so if you try my family's "fiesta salad" I would love to hear from you!!

Favorite Summer Snack/Side: Cucumber, Tomato & Feta Salad
7.06.2017

Simple and healthy cucumber, tomato and feta summer salad

I'm so excited to have another healthy recipe for you guys today! This is one of my favorite salads ever because it's quick, simple, healthy and delicious!  What's really nice is that you only need a few ingredients, and that you can throw this together in 5ish minutes. You can completely eyeball everything and make as much or as little as you want. If I have half of a cucumber left I can whip this up for part of my lunch, or I can chop up 2 cucumbers if I want to make a full-sized salad for a family dinner. It also keeps nicely in the fridge for a couple of days, so I'll usually make a batch and have it as part of my lunch/dinner or as a snack for a couple of days. 

I eat a lot of cucumber on a weekly basis because they contain multiple B vitamins, and are rich in water and fiber! Weirdly enough, Trey is pretty allergic to them, so I get to keep this salad to myself in our house 😉

easy mediterranean-inspired salad

Cucumber, Tomato + Feta Summer Salad
can be easily doubled or halved - you can't mess it up!

1 cucumber - quartered
3/4 to 1 carton of cherry tomatoes (just eyeball ratio to cucumber) - halved longways
crumbled feta cheese to preference (my weakness!)
garlic vinaigrette

I typically use a clean garlic vinaigrette that I buy at Aldi, but it's easy to whip up your own if you want something even simpler or are out of dressing! I whisk the following to taste when making my own vinaigrette for this salad (sorry for not having measurements!):

extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar (key!)
fresh minced garlic (I love using a garlic press!)
sea salt (I use pink himalayan salt)
cracked black pepper

Extras you can add:
avocado
chopped kale
fresh basil or other herbs  

easy, healthy summer salad: cucumber, tomato + feta salad with garlic vinaigrette

Please let me know what you think if you try out this recipe! Do you enjoy seeing recipes and health content on here? It's something I'm hoping to post more of as healthy cooking and nutrition are now huge interests of mine, but I always love to hear your thoughts/feedback!

Thanks so much for reading! xx


3 Things I Drink for Prettier, Healthier Skin
5.26.2017

Love, Lenore: 3 Things I Drink for Prettier, Healthier Skin

Since getting full on smacked in the face with hormonal acne starting at age 13, I've had a deep interest in skincare and skin health for many years (half my life actually!). It's a topic I could truly research all day, and I always have a list of questions for my amazing esthetician. Anything that can potentially improve my skin or give me a better glow, I want to know more about and try!

A few months ago, I listened to an episode of the LadyGang podcast (one of my favs!) where they had renowned celebrity aesthetician Kate Sommerville on as their guest. I truly learned so much about skincare and wrote down everything she said. I highly highly recommend listening to the interview, which is episode 59 from January 17, 2017! Coming from a family that has always valued natural medicine, I loved that she talked about how gut health effects your skin. Ever heard the saying "you are what you eat?" It's so true. She talked about how eating clean ingredients and supplementing with a good probiotic are two of the best things you can do for your skin, and that the health of your gut (for better or for worse) will reflect in your skin. She didn't touch on all of the drinks I'm sharing today, but I just wanted to share this episode with you guys as an additional resource because I truly learned so much!

Obviously drinking boat loads of water is essential to your skin's health and your overall health, but I thought I would share three other things I drink that all show positive effects on my skin! Knowing that I want to add these into my routine also help me to drink more water - a win, win!

Love, Lenore: 3 Things I Drink for Prettier, Healthier Skin

 I also want to disclose that I do not have perfect, gorgeous skin, and if you don't either, that's okay. It's a journey. I may never have "perfect skin," but I'm continually working to have my best skin and to always be improving it. Those of us that have had hormonal, cystic acne will have scarring, and may continue to get breakouts until the end of time (or at least it feels like we will). Maybe you're naturally oily and if you don't wear makeup you look like a little grease ball after a few hours (me!). Also, if you're super fair skinned like I am you know that every little flaw both at the surface and below the surface shows up big time.

So, don't get down on yourself if your skin isn't where you want it to be, just focus on improving your skin and your health as much as you can control and afford! Remember that there's always someone out there who would love to have your skin, even if you don't feel like it's that great.  

3 Things to Drink for Prettier, Healthier Skin

3 Things I Drink for Prettier, Healthier Skin...

1 | Liquid Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is vital to the photosynthesis process in plants, and is one of the nutrients found in green, leafy vegetables. It has a bunch of amazing benefits for the body, and promotes cleansing/detoxing, healing and cell renewal, and also helps with iron levels, redness, swelling, and more. Kate Sommerville and Reece Witherspoon both swear by adding this to their water daily for skin and hormone health! Fortunately, liquid chlorophyll doesn't taste bad at all, and I've actually grown to like it. I try to drink a glass every day, or at least every other day! You don't need much (I add about a teaspoon to a glass of water) and a bottle will last you quite awhile. It also comes in a dropper form, and in a mint flavor.

2 | Apple Cider Vinegar.
Yes, it's disgusting. This is not a drink I look forward to, but when I'm consistent with it, I do notice that my skin tends to stay clearer. Apple cider vinegar has been touted for decades to have a multitude of health benefits, and although not all are backed up scientifically yet, it is proven to lower blood sugar levels, improve gut health (= better skin!!), and may even help boost your metabolism and burn fat.
ACV "shots" are trendy right now, but can actually be quite harmful to your teeth and digestive tract. Because of its high acidity, ACV can erode your teeth enamel and damage your esophagus. SO, the best/healthiest way to drink it is to mix it in with a glass of water, and to use a straw! The straw will prevent it from washing all over your teeth, and the water makes it easier to digest. I also add in just a bit of Stevia or honey to make it less tart. To get these health benefits, make sure you buy raw, unfiltered ACV that has "the mother" in it! You can read more about ACV here, here and here.

3 | Green Tea
Green tea is full of antioxidants and protects your skin against free radicals, which damage your skin cells and tissue. I drink a cup of hot green tea every single morning, which kicks off my daily hydration, plumps the skin, and gives me a more subtle dose of caffeine (versus coffee). In the summertime I also like to make batches of cold-brew green tea to keep in the fridge and to add variety to my daily water quota. When I'm consistent with drinking green tea my skin glows sooo much more and feels nice and plump (versus dry and/or wrinkly)!

Bonus Tips...

Take a good probiotic daily! As in a high-quality, refrigerated probiotic, not the $8 ones from the Walmart aisle. This will improve your gut health and hormone health, which both reflect in your skin.

Add in collagen powder! Collagen has a lot of benefits, but I use it primarily for its skin benefits. As we age, our body produces less and less collagen, which means wrinkles, looser skin, and less elasticity. Ugh! So, if you increase the collagen in your body, you can increase moisture, firmness and smoothness, and encourage your body to renew cells! As skin loses elasticity and gets thinner, cellulite shows up more, so collagen may actually help reduce the appearance of cellulite as well. I buy a powder that I add into smoothies, oatmeal, tea, and my liquid chlorophyll water!


I hope you enjoyed this post! I love learning about health, nutrition and skin care, so this post was so enjoyable for me to research and write! Do you swear by any of these tips or have some of your own? Also, would you want to see a Q&A with my esthetician about all things skin? Let me know! xx
  

Let's Brunch
5.19.2017

healthy brunch recipes
the perfect avocado + egg toast

First things first, HAPPY FRIDAY!

 A couple of weekends ago, Brianna and I decided to combine our loves of breakfast foods and healthy cooking to put together this photogenic and delicious little brunch at my place! It was basically the cutest little friend date everrrrr 😋 Over the past few years I've gone from barely being able to make basic tacos to enjoying cooking and experimenting with my own healthy recipes, so I'm planning to start mixing in some recipes into my blog post lineup! Read on to see what we made...

healthier, clean french toast recipe
healthier cinnamon french toast

We made 3 different recipes that were the perfect mix of savory and sweet. The first was my signature cinnamon french toast!

Healthier French Toast
 (makes 4 servings)
4 slices sprouted or whole wheat bread (I use a sprouted bread from Aldi)
1 egg
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (although I usually add more!)

Beat the egg in a shallow bowl, then add almond milk, vanilla and cinnamon and mix well. Dip each slice of bread in the mixture and evenly coat both sides. Cook on a skillet over medium heat and make sure to use a non-stick spray (I like to use coconut oil spray for this recipe).

Then simply top with all the fruit your heart desires as well as real maple syrup! It's delicious, clean, fairly low calorie...and such a pretty little dish!     

berry + protein smoothie bowl
berry protein smoothie bowl

I also made my go-to berry + protein smoothie bowl that is my favorite thing to eat after my Saturday morning barre class! It's refreshing, filling, and super nutritious.

Berry + Protein Smoothie Bowl

Handful of spinach
3/4-1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk (start small & add as-needed)
Handful of frozen berries (I use a mix)
1 frozen banana (I freeze a batch of sliced of bananas every few weeks) 
1/2 scoop vegan chocolate protein powder
  1 tbsp PB2 (can sub peanut or almond butter)
1 tbsp collagen powder (so good for your skin + has protein)


Briefly blend almond milk and spinach first to ensure you don't end up with any chunks of spinach in the end ;) Then add the rest of your ingredients and blend away! You may have to pause your blender a couple of times to push everything down and add more almond milk until you reach your desired consistency. Remember that with a smoothie bowl you'll want a thicker consistency than with a smoothie you'd drink!

There are so many yummy things you can top your smoothie bowl with! Here are some ideas:
sliced bananas
fresh berries
raw cacao 
chia seeds
flax seeds
shredded coconut
chopped almonds
granola
drizzle of honey or agave

healthy brunch recipes

Be sure to head over to Brianna's brunch post to get the recipe for her avocado + egg toast! It was so so delicious and I've already made it a few times since!

Oh...and I can't leave out the other essentials - coffee and mimosas! We made our mimosas with mango orange juice and Chandon rosé (shout to Chandon for some of the best blogger mail ever!), and sweetened our coffees with vanilla almond milk, honey and cinnamon - yum!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe post as much as we enjoyed putting it together (and eating it)! Hopefully you're excited to see recipes and more lifestyle content on here! I already have some healthy summery recipes planned and can't wait to share them with you all!

Also, here are some links to my servingware:
Plates  |  Bowl  |  Mugs  |  Woven Placemats  |  Wooden Board

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