It is with overflowing excitement that I share this news with you! 

Vegan Buddha Bowls is a book that I dreamed about writing and I can not believe it is about to be released. Wow. 

What a ride it has been!

Truly, I am so humbled and so grateful to have been given this incredible opportunity to share a book full with my creative energy and love for food.

To give you a taste of what you can expect, I am sharing an insanely delicious pasta bowl recipe with you today (it is below the pre-order details)! 

Whether you are vegan or simply looking to enjoy more vegan eats, you will likely fall in love with the recipes in this book. My goal was to create recipes that were delicious without being a huge undertaking. Like many of my readers, I value meals that come together quickly.

Another valuable element to this book is that *most* of the recipes are great for meal prep and keep well in the fridge. 

And of course, everything is served...

Keeping on with creative ways to use the apple cider I bought (who knew one ingredient could spark so much damn creativity?) I bring to you this wrap!

It uses the epic-ness that is the farro salad and some of my staples: California avocado, sweet potato and butter lettuce. 

Then I made the most delicious yet simple dipping sauce for it. 

This is a great lunch or item to make for on the road or on the go! I know you will love. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into "steak fries"

2 Tbsp melted coconut oil

1 tsp garlic powder 

salt and black pepper

4 large flour tortillas

2 cups farro salad

1 large ripe california avocado, pitted, skin removed and sliced

butter lettuce

SAUCE:

1/2 cup room temp smooth salted almond butter

1/4 cup spiced apple cider (I got mine from Trader Joes)

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 450f. 

Then on a sheet pan, add the sweet potatoes, oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat and then roast in the oven for 12-15 minute...

So as you may recall, I bought a big jug of spiced apple cider from Trader Joe's to use for these tacos. Since I did not want the cider to go to waste, I decided I needed to come up with some other creative ways to use it.

So this farro grain salad was born and let me just say, it would make an absolutely LOVELY addition to your thanksgiving table. 

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups pearled (quick cooking) Farro

4 cups spiced apple cider (I bought mine at Trader Joes)

3 cups water 

salt 

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley 

1 lemon zested and juiced

1/4 cup avocado or grape seed oil

black pepper 

Garnish:

chopped pecans or walnuts

DIRECTIONS

In a medium sauce pan, add the farro, apple cider, water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and boil uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the farro is cooked through. Adding more water if necessary. All liquid should be absorbed by the farro to complete the...

I used to think that the only way for me to be happy and at peace was to make my body look a certain way. 

But no matter what I did, the icky feelings I was trying to avoid by changing my body weren’t going away. 

And that’s because it wasn’t actually about what my body looked like. 

And that’s the good news. 

Because we all know how much time, money & energy goes into trying to control our body & weight. 

It’s exhausting. And often, it’s never enough. 

If positive body image really was a function of making our bodies look a certain way then that means we would have to spend the REST OF OUR LIVES fighting against & trying to control our body just to feel okay, because our body will continue to change as we age!

So it’s good news that that’s not what we actually have to do to heal our body image. 

And I hope that brings you some sweet relief.

But you might be wondering, well what's the "bad" news? 

If changing my body won't heal this,...

Fall is such an awesome season, the smell of cinnamon, the cozy hot coco by the fire, pumpkin spice everything.

And I really want to embrace the season but I kid you not, it was 90f degrees in LA yesterday so I went to the beach! 

Not complaining at all- the weather is reason #1 why I live here. 

But it has meant that I've been craving summer-ish foods with the desire for fall flavors.

So when I saw the Spice Apple Cider at Trader Joe's I knew I wanted to use it in a marinade for tacos (which I am ALWAYS in the mood for) and then this recipe was born. 

It's actually really freaking good!

The Spice Apple Cider adds sweetness as well as complexity in flavor that really shines through. I'm pretty sure you are going to love it. 

xo C

TACO THINGS

6 portobello mushroom caps, sliced in half

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup spiced apple cider (can substitute OJ but dude, the cider is #worthit)

1 (4-oz) can diced fired roasted green chiles

4 clo...

Now that I am officially done writing my first cookbook (it will be out January 2020) EKKK!

I am back in the kitchen making up recipes for the blog. I made this the other night and it was so good that my boyfriend asked me to make it a second night in a row.

Whip this up and then spoon-feed yourself this glorious dish.

You won’t regret it. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp coconut oil 

1 medium onion, diced

2-3 chopped medium-sized carrots 

Salt and pepper 

5 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger 

1-2 tbsp harissa paste 

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

5 cups bite-sized, cubed sweet potato 

1 (13.5oz) can of coconut cream

2 cups vegetable broth 

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans

2-3 big handfuls of fresh spinach 

GARNISH

Chopped fresh mint

Sliced green onions 

Lime wedges 

DIRECTIONS 

In a medium soup pot, melt coconut oil over medium high heat. Once hit add onion & carrot, season generously with salt & black pepper. Stir occasionally for 3-5 mins.

Then add in the garlic & g...

If you've ever worked with me then you know that I can be triggering af.

I will likely tell you like it is, instead of what you want to hear. And it can be confronting. 

Sometimes I will give you tough love. Now is one of those times. 

I believe in the power of choice. 

Here is where things get real. 

Making peace with our body & food requires a relentless commitment to choosing ourselves even in the face of judgment.

You see, Diet Culture is so loud, the messages so pervasive, the stigma all too real, that sometimes we forget that we have a choice to participate in it or not. 

To pander or rise above.

Given the reality of a judgmental diet culture, we have two choices in how to respond to it:

1. Comply, conform and let it drive our life

or 

2. Be true to ourselves in the face judgement

IF WE TAKE THE FIRST CHOICE IT LOOKS LIKE THIS: 
• Micromanage every bite of food we take
•Weight cycle: lose and gain the same amount of weight for years
•...

Its Brussels Sprouts Season and I am STOKED!

Wanna know a funny story. When my boyfriend and I first started dating he told me he hated Brussels sprouts and never wanted to eat them. 

I told him everyone in their right mind loves Brussels and he probably just hasn't had them prepared correctly. 

Turns out I was right. DUH.

Now that man requests them! 

Here is an easy, delicious banging Brussels salad. 

INGREDIENTS:

SALAD:

2 coconut oil

1.5-2 lbs shaved Brussels Sprouts

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 tsp onion powder

1-2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup corn fresh off the cobb preferred, if in season, otherwise frozen

2 cups roasted bite-size cubed sweet potatoes

1 cup coconut bacon (store bought or homemade) 

DRESSING:

3/4 cup toasted walnut oil

1/4 red wine vinegar

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp Dijon Mustard

2 Garlic cloves

salt & pepper to taste

GARNISH:

Toasted walnuts

Coconut Bacon

DIRECTIONS:

For the salad, heat the coconut oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat....

THIS IS NOT SELF-CONTROL.

 
I know- we’re led to believe the key to eating healthfully is willpower, discipline & self-control but it’s not. 

I don’t try to control myself around food at all.

Its not what has me reach for nutrient-dense foods like these bowls over other foods, and it's not what helped me heal from my eating disorder either. 

Back in the day, the more I tried to control myself, the more out of control I became around food.

The reason I no longer binge eat is not because I developed superhuman willpower and control, rather it is the result of a profound shift in perspective towards food and weight. 

It wasn’t until I let go and shifted my mindset to self-care that all of a sudden things began to change. 

I started to look from the perspective of taking care of myself and my body, not trying to control it or change it. I started to see myself and my body as already inherently worthy and enough as they were, in the here an...

I spent years living within the illusion that thinness and the perfect body would magically solve the riddle of my unhappiness.

I thought the confidence and empowerment I so craved was on the other side of a body covered in stretch marks, cellulite and jiggle, roll, jiggle.  

I clinged onto this belief even though I would look back at pictures of myself when I was thinner and tighter and remember that even then, I wasn’t truly happy.

It wasn’t until I realized that I was trying to solve an internal dilemma with an external reality that things started to shift.

I realized that happiness is a state of mind, not a body size.

Real happiness doesn’t come from shedding pounds, it comes from shedding society’s expectations of your body.

And your life.

 It comes from being in your truth, choosing your own path, and living life on your GD terms.

We don’t actually want thinness, thinness is a smoke screen, a distraction.

What we want is sovereignty, the ability...