Greetings! I skipped last week’s edition of these for no other reason than I didn’t really have any exciting foods to share. It was a lot of cheese plates, frozen meals, and various easy things, if I’m being honest, because it was just one of those weeks when my mom and I both couldn’t be bothered. Last week also culminated in us finally caving and getting takeout for the first time in quarantine. Yes, we held out that long. We got sushi and agreed this was the best act of self-care either of us had done in the past month. 😀

But! This week has been quite a bit more exciting in terms of recipes and cooking, and there were some good days of movement too. Let’s jump in!

 

Eats

Vegan Gluten Free Monkey Bread

LOVED this recipe. We also had this for our very first al fresco brunch of the summer, out on our balcony, since we just ordered an outdoor dining set. Paired with my delicious Birch french-pressed coffee and a bowl of fresh summer fruit, this was actually a pure joy moment.

One thing is, though we both mmm’ed our way through this brunch, we discovered that somehow the bread is even MORE delicious when it’s totally cooled down (and even on the next day). If it lasts that long heh.

Coconut Flour Pancakes

Love these pancakes. So easy, quick, filling, and nutritious. I always throw blueberries in and serve them with just maple syrup. Simple and delicious.

Green Smoothie Pancakes

My fave when I want pancakes (so always) but also am feeling like getting some vitamins and nutrients in. These always shock me with how delicious they are for the amount of #health stuffed inside. I’ve also started experimenting with them, so last time I added chocolate chips to some of them (this is pretty much never NOT a good idea) and instead of doing two kiwis, I did just one kiwi and a handful of raspberries. OMG the chocolate raspberry combo really shone through, and I felt like a culinary genius. Next time I might just try subbing raspberry for all the kiwi and maybe adding cocoa powder into the batter. Oh the possibilities!

Perfect Brownies

Best brownie recipe. Period. Exclamation point. I halved it and baked in an 8×8 (because there’s only two of us here LOL), but I did add in a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to make them Double Chocolate Brownies. Because why the heck not. T’was a good decision. 😀

Blueberry Green Smoothie Bowl

Old fave. Especially good with the 80+ degree humid days we’ve been having in NYC. I have been known to have this for brunch, lunch, or dinner. Another one that’s packed with nutrients (hai spinach and avocado) but tastes like a dreamboat. I usually sub half the blueberries for extra frozen veggies (cauliflower or zucchini are great!)

Zucchini Bread Pancakes

My OG fave. I’ve definitely shared these before. Unfortunately, this particular batch involved some profanities and general tantrum-throwing because I somehow burned half the batch and had to make another batch. It was also super late and I’d been trying to perfectly time them to my mom’s arrival from her walk, and well, we ended up having brunch at 2pm that day. But eh, you win some you lose some. And with these pancakes, there’s always a win. 😀

Eggplant Parmesan Quinoa Casserole

We both LOVED this super simple, nutritious, and delicious recipe. I shouldn’t say both because my dog actually had a good 2 servings over the course of several days too. We paired this with a green salad, so we got 6 servings out of it, though it could also be 4 bigger ones.

 

Movement

These were some of my fave sessions from the last two weeks.

This 32 minute yoga/Pilates inspired stretching routine + this stretching routine for the splits (getting so close!!!)

One of my favorite hiit routines ever (38 minutes)

This 49 minute kickboxing and bodyweight upper body workout

This yoga routine + this one (built some heat without being too tiring)

This hiit workout + this (INSANE) butt Pilates routine (35 minutes later, my butt was actually crying. Like happy tears.)

This intense core power flow (one of my all-time fave power yoga routines)

This 30 minute total body Pilates routine + this 25 minute core-focused yoga routine (SUCH a great combo)

 

And that’s a wrap for today! Eat some good food, get some Vitamin D, and take care of yourselves! <3