Checking In

AKA – A long post full of links! Plus a giveaway.

Hey Everyone – How are you?

I keep telling people – We can’t complain… but we do!

I’m wondering – what’s keeping your spirits up these days?

For me, this is a time to comfort myself. I know that this period of time will go on much longer than we originally anticipated, so I need to look forward to small things throughout the day. I thought I’d share some things that are bringing me comfort these days. I rounded up a few products that I love and recipes that we’ve been making.

Morning Coffee
I have had this mug for about about year and I would rank it up there right next to the Vitamix. It makes me so happy every morning when I pour my coffee into this mug, knowing that it will stay super hot while I get distracted throughout my morning. I love this Peace Coffee, specifically the Birchwood blend. And while we’re on the topic of warm drinks, I have been all about this Tazo Lemon Tea.

Smoothie in a Bowl with Granola
My guy (the little one) has been really into smoothies in a bowl with Purely Elizabeth Granola. I make mine with oat milk, frozen banana, frozen berries, baby spinach, and almond butter. I usually have left over and store it in an insulated mug in the fridge and it’s surprisingly good the next day.

Scallion Pancakes
Does anyone get Bon Appetit? Their April issue was stacked full of recipes that I wanted to try. We had a hard time finding flour, so we ended up using gluten free flour and they were great. I will definitely be making these routinely. I even found some regular flour, so I’m curious how they’ll be different. Chef Confession: I am actually horrible at making pancakes. I either burn them or they’re gluey in the middle. Anyone have any tips for me?

Ugly Chocolate Chip Cookies
I think it’s funny that people have a surplus of ripe bananas these days – I’m seeing so much banana bread all over Instagram, and have of course made some myself. My favorite recipe is Angela’s from Oh She Glows. Here’s another use for those freckled bananas – My cookie recipe is probably my most popular recipe. A friend recently told me that her cookies didn’t come out right, so I rewrote it. To be honest, I never measure anything when I make these cookies, just go on consistency, but I hope it works out better for you all! And please don’t be afraid to let me know when something doesn’t work out for you.

Frontera Frozen Skillets
It can be hard to come up with meal ideas everyday, so I’ve been enjoying these skillets about once a week. We add some extra veggies (whatever is already in the refrigerator) and some beans and put it in a tortilla. Sometimes we have avocado, sometimes we don’t!

Apples and Peanut Butter
I thought I’d put something very simple on this list. I eat this almost everyday and still look forward to it. I love Honeycrisps with Santa Cruz Dark Roasted peanut butter, and a little sprinkle of sea salt on the top. Double points for the serving size of peanut butter making me laugh out loud. 2 Tablespoons?!?! Per slice, right?

Bjorn Qorn
And to go with my afternoon snack of apples and peanut butter, is this popcorn.

Lollipops
My kid needs a little coaxing to get in his stroller, and walks are a must for my mental health these days. I highly recommend a lollipop once a day.

What I’m Loving Unrelated to Food

• Little Fires Everywhere!!! So good! I read the book last year and loved it. I think Jon is annoyed that I keep whispering, “This was different in the book.” A friend and I talked about having a discussion about the show, but I think I’d just keep saying, “OMG, it’s so good,” and that doesn’t make for great conversation. 
  
• Such a Fun Age, by Kiley Reid – I zipped through this book and was sucked in from the first page. It had a lightness to it, while also having an important theme of race issues.
• My guy learning how to use his scooter. Favorite part is that he says, “Zoom,” after every stride.
• Reconnecting with friends. Okay, I have to admit that I can get a little overwhelmed with all of the video conferencing that’s happening right now, BUT I’m so grateful for everyone reconnecting. My high school friends and I have had a text chain for years, but we now talk almost everyday and have “happy hours” semi regularly now.

Our New Kitchen!
I feel incredibly lucky that we were able to finish the kitchen before this all happened. We are still missing a few things here and there (hello, third light??), but it’s been wonderful to have during this time when I am making all of our meals. I want to say I never complain about doing the dishes after not having a proper sink or dishwasher for so long, but that would be a huge lie.

Question:
What’s keeping your spirits up? I’m going to send a little care package of some of my favorite things to someone who answers this question. You can enter on the blog or in an Instagram post. Excited to hear from you!
Submissions for the giveaway will close on May 1 at 11:59pm