Weekly Ponderings #1: new email series 🙌

Hi friends! This is the first of my NEW email series. In the past, I only sent you updates a couple times a year about things I’ve been up to, new blog posts, upcoming events, etc. I'm changing it up because I want a way to stay in touch more often, and share all the things I’m learning and loving each week, including podcasts, books, products, events, and more. My goal is to make this email fun and informative. Something to look forward to in your inbox each week that doesn't automatically go to your trash like your other newsletters do.

If this is not for you, feel free to unsubscribe! I won't be offended.

For those who are sticking around...

Podcasts

 

Many of you know I LOVE the Critical Conversations podcast with Bri Reesing. She's an ER nurse with a passion for preventative health. Bri and her co-hosts break everything down into easy to understand, accessible concepts. Her last episodes have been 2-part series and have been so informative:

• Vitamins & Supplements w/ Jennifer Klotz, MS, RD (founder of SHE Day)
  • Part 1: Vitamins & Supplement Quality. What to Look For + What to Avoid
  • Part 2: Supplements, Multivitamins & The Difference Between Pharmaceutical Grade and Over the Counter
• All the Things About Coffee w/ sisters Jennifer Klotz, MS, RD and Heather Young (founders of SHE Day)
  • Part 1: The Coffee Episode - A Sustainable, Healthy & Ethical Conversation
  • Part 2: Caffeine Impacts, Coffee Habits, Adrenal Fatigue & What You Can Do About It

Products

 

Kite Hill Cream Cheese. Since dairy showed up on my food sensitivity test this year, I've been staying away from it and am always on a look out for vegan alternatives. I discovered this Kite Hill dairy-free cream cheese recently and am loving it. Its ingredients are relatively clean (listed below). It's NOT cheap, but it's sometimes on sale at Whole Foods. I've tried the Chive, Jalapeno, and Everything flavors - all are delicious. I typically eat with crackers or raw veggies. Highly recommend this product for my vegan or non-dairy eating friends!

Ingredients for Jalapeno: Almond Milk (Water, Almonds), Jalapeno Peppers, Salt, Enzyme, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Lactic Acid, Cultures.

Recipes

With the summer heat, my go-to dessert these days is blending frozen bananas for a really easy, tasty alternative to ice cream (aka "nice cream"). You can add other fruits and nut milks to it to spice things up - I added fresh mangoes and coconut milk to mine last week and it was delish.

Tip: wait until your bananas to ripen, cut them up into small pieces, and freeze.

I tried this Berry and Coconut Milk Popsicle recipe from Weeknight Bite this week and while the end result wasn't as pretty as the pic below, they were still delicious.
 

Random Ponderings

I spent last Sunday in Providence with two girlfriends and had the best time. If you haven't explored this city yet, it's 1 hour away from Boston and such a fun day trip with your girlfriends. We spent hours wandering the streets and exploring the cutest stores. I also crushed dollar oysters and splurged on a lime green dress from NAVA.

When we were browsing one store, I said to my friends, "Is it weird that I feel like this weekend is never going to end? I've just been living this weekend as if I have all the time in the world. In my mind, I don't have work tomorrow." My friend replied, "That's what it means to live in the present. To not be thinking about what's coming up next, anxious about work or the next thing that's coming." And I thought about how nice it felt to live this way. 

Here's to living more in the present.