Then, the Fitness Show promoter and organizer contacted me and asked me if I would like to also compete in the Sports Model division in addition to doing Bikini. Basically, the Sports Models wear a cute and sporty workout outfit, and I have to give a 30 second speech. Introduce myself, talk for a second about what fitness means to me, and just sound poised and confident and articulate. I can do that....

Sunflower Seed Butter Granola Bars with Chocolate Drizzle (vegan, GF) Cinnamon Oatmeal Date Bars with Chocolate Chunks (no-bake, vegan, gluten-free) Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (No-Bake, Vegan, GF) Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF) Snickerdoodle Cookie Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF) Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bars Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Coconut Oil Protein Bars High Raw Vegan Chocolate-Coconut-Chia-Oat Dessert/Energy Bars Oatmeal Raisin Rolls...

comment icon 83 more comments One of my first and still favorite cookbooks is the Fresh Food Fast cookbook by Cooking Light. It features page after page after page of healthy, easy recipes with small ingredient lists and hardly any prep time. I used to be embarrassed about liking it because it was seriously the easiest cookbook ever and I have a blog and I have to act fancy and stuff....

Pasta e Fagioli al Forno Recipe If you’ve ever been wondering how to create restaurant-quality pasta al forno at home, look no further than my very approachable recipe! Just follow my straightforward steps and you will be recreating this traditional Italian recipe in no time. Actually, your Italian masterpiece is ready in just one hour. There’s juicy ground Italian sausage with tender sautéed onions, carrots, and garlic plus plenty of fragrant herbs and spices including oregano, rosemary, and thyme....

Deep Dish Reese’s Cup Cookies Who can resist soft, thick, peanut butter cookies with peanut butter cups? I sure can’t. This peanut butter cup cookies recipe is fast, easy, and goofproof. It’s a one-bowl, no-mixer recipe and you don’t even need to chill the dough. Normally you want to chill cookie dough so it doesn’t spread, but since these cookies are baked in a muffin pan the dough is contained and there’s no need to chill it....

Or drinking my cookies. However you want to call it, we’re talking pina colada in cookie form. I know that Cinco de Mayo was yesterday, but feel free to keep your fiesta going with these. I will. Let me count the ways these little golden nuggets of sunshine brightened my day: They came together in one bowl with a spoon and no mixer is required. They use a cup of cake mix, virtually guaranteeing a successful result....

Pozole Rojo Recipe It’s time to elevate your comfort food game with Pozole Rojo! This Mexican soup is most identifiable by its rich red chile broth, shredded pork, hominy, and green cabbage. I firmly believe that all homemade soups should be two things — filling and flavorful! Pozole Rojo absolutely checks both of those boxes. There’s just the right amount of shredded pork and hominy to fill you up after just one hearty bowl....

Want more pumpkin recipes? Try these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, Pumpkin French Toast, or Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread! What we love about these Pumpkin Waffles: The Fall Spices: A touch of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon gives these waffles that holiday aroma and taste we all love. That Cinnamon Syrup: While you can definitely serve pumpkin waffles with your favorite pancake syrup, our 5 minute cinnamon syrup puts these waffles over the top!...

It’s hard to believe that another holiday season is fast approaching and that very soon we’ll be cooking turkeys and thinking about what kinds of side dishes to include in our special holiday celebrations with friends and family. Because I have a smaller family, I can’t go too overboard on the side dishes unless we want to be eating leftovers for weeks, so I have to pick and choose my sides wisely....

Needless to say, making delicious food has temporarily dropped off my list of priorities. Thanks for being patient while I say goodbye to my Grandpa. There are so many things I will miss about Grandpa. The sound of his boots coming in the house, the feel of his sturdy hug, his mouth-wide-open laugh when something was really funny, his smell, his sweaters, the feel of his spiky/soft buzzed hair, and his words of wisdom....

Do you love seafood recipes as much as I do? Try Baked Salmon, Fish and Chips, Lobster Roll, or Easy Homemade Crab Cakes! Why I love this recipe: Basic ingredients – Once you’ve got your shrimp, all you need to make shrimp scampi is butter, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon, crushed red pepper, and parmesan cheese.Fast (20 minutes) -. This is the easiest dish EVER, and it’s just a bonus that’s it’s delicious and impressive....

And I think it seemed extra wonderful because it came on the heels of fourth grade read aloud during which I counted not two, not three, but four kiddos, um, digging for gold. All at the same time. What?! Maybe in first grade, but fourth? Sheesh. My stomach did a flip turn and said feed me something good so I can forget I ever saw that. Arggh. So now we’re going to put that image out of our heads....

My other favorite hair product that does an awesome and similar job is this one. It’s fabulous for detangling the worst knots (in mommy or kiddie hair) and leaves hair soft and smooth, detangled, and with no greasy or filmy buildup. With food, normally I don’t gravitate toward smooth foods because I love texture. Crunchy, chewy, crumbly, layers, contrasts. Texture is where it’s at for me. I can even hang with near jar breaker status snacks like these little peas, and I loved every tooth-chipping second....

This is tofu. This is sofritas. This is like homemade Chipotle sofritas at its finest. The truth is that I am sort of 75% there on tofu, like most people, I think? but I am 200% there on sofritas tofu – like the stuff you get at Chipotle, and as of now, the stuff that you make at home. comment icon 309 more comments It’s to the point where Ineedthemeveryday....

I am falling hard and fast for the basic of the basic-est STRAWBERRY JAM right now. I know, I know I know I know. It’s so 4-year-old of me. But you guys, have you even let a spoonful of strawberry jam touch your lips lately? It’s a kiss of sweet strawberry love that I had all but forgotten about. For breakfast these last few weeks, I’ve been on a kick with English muffins....

Thanks for the great compliments on the Halloween pics of my Fairy Princess from the last post. Also, I’m glad the roasted acorn squash fries and dehydrated seeds caught your eye. It finally got cool here in AZ and the roasted squash was just what hit the spot! Moving along… Remember this post where I tried one tomato for starters to see what kinda result I would yield dehydrating tomatoes myself?...

The eBook, Tasty Food Photography, is finally here! So let’s get right to it. Here’s a little bit of my story. As time went on, I started to get more comfortable with the using the manual settings on our DSLR. I started using more complex photo editing software such as Photoshop and Lightroom. My photos were starting to improve which fueled my desire to keep learning. I eventually had my first photo accepted to Tastespotting....

Best Thai Red Curry Soup This chicken and sweet potato curry soup is a brothier mashup of Sweet Potato and Chickpea Coconut Curry and this Thai Chicken Coconut Curry. If you’re into Thai recipes, give them all a whirl. There’s sweet Vidalia onion, carrots, red pepper, sweet potatoes, and chicken that cook in a mixture of creamy coconut milk and chicken broth that’s spiced with garlic, ginger, coriander, and Thai red curry paste....

Vegetarian Thai Red Curry Recipe I have a couple curry recipes that I absolutely adore — Thai Chicken Coconut Curry and Sweet Potato Chickpea Coconut Curry. So much flavor in such easy and healthy food. When I had a recent curry craving, I married those two recipes and came up with this new chickpea kale curry that I couldn’t stop eating. I couldn’t pick a favorite from the three of them....

Looking for more soup recipes? Try my Chicken Noodle Soup, Corn Chowder, or Creamy Zuppa Toscana! What I love about this chowder: Restaurant Quality: I kid-not that this Clam Chowder is better than I’ve had at most restaurants, and it’s much healthier and less expensive made from home. Comfort Meal: It’s the coziest meal on a cold day, especially served with a slice of artisan bread, or inside a bread bowl....