Clean Eating Instant Pot Summer Soup

2-Minute Creamy Avocado Dip

April Coffee Date

Well hi again!

Looks like it’s already time for our monthly coffee date.

What are you guys drinking this month? I’m happy to report that I’m back on the coffee train after a short hiatus this winter. Half-caf Nespresso pods are my saving grace right now – not enough caffeine to make my brain into a full-blown rave (I really cannot do caffeine) but just enough to get me going for the day.

Bjork’s been doing this fancy thing where he froths the milk with a little honey? Like a homemade miel? And it’s really good. So on days that I’m lucky, I might be sipping on that.

Also drinking: water and the occasional treat-yoself orange or carrot juice.

Grab your drink! Here’s what’s up.

Stitch Fix First Timer

I’m giving it a try! And this is a picture of me anxiously awaiting my next Stitch Fix shipment. It’s stupidly, awesomely, super fun.

Last month was my first fix, and I swear to you that I have never waited for something to arrive in the mail more eagerly in my life. I don’t even get it. Why is it so great? I order things online quite regularly – why did I count the days to the arrival of this special little blue-green box? Is it because it’s surprise? Or because it’s obviously going to revolutionize my wardrobe? I watched the mail EVERY DAY and when it finally came (A DAY EARLY!!!) I did not waste any time busting into that box. Here’s what I got:

• Grey v-neck top (kept)
• Black hoodie sweater
• Navy flowy cardigan
• Leggings with a blue/green print
• Gray chambray flats (kept, and pictured above)

Notice the theme with greys. My stylist did a really nice job understanding that I am extremely basic.

I have a strange obsession with fashion shows (like, of the homemade you-just-went-shopping-so-show-me-everything variety) so maybe next time I’ll try to get some pictures of the clothes before sending them back. FASHION SHOW AT LUNCH!

Books That Have Gotten Me Through Never-ENding WInter

Okay, it’s FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY getting a little melty, but dang, girl. It’s been a long winter.

Some books that I’ve read and enjoyed (savvy reader note: these are Amazon affiliate links):

• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah – intense and difficult themes with kind of a crazy roundabout ending, but I can’t say I didn’t love it.
• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty – a medium-intensity novel that kept my interest throughout! A rare gem.
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – a combination of bubble gum pop and murder mystery, and yes, I savored every juicy bite.
• Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine – creepy and best read during the daytime. I don’t think I’ll read the next one in the series, but this one did have me hooked.
• This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel – a little more serious and thoughtful, and, for me, super compelling. It gave me a lot to think about.
• It’s Okay That You’re Not Okay by Megan Devine – annnnd then a grief book, naturally. This was an excellent read and I’d recommend it for anyone going through a hard time. Probably the most accurate and honest book I’ve read about the ongoing experience of grief.

What books have you been loving? What needs to be downloaded on my Kindle pronto for these warm spring-ish days? Fill me in.

Garden Excitement

That’s a little misleading, actually. I don’t really have a garden.

But I have lots of nice plants in my yard that other people planted for me, and one such plant is some springy tulip bulbs that are finally starting to come up (thank you, Sarah)! This is in a little area of our yard that has kind of become a mini Afton garden – everything we plant there is delicate and beautiful and full of life, and all of it reminds us of him. Look at that tiny tulip bud! I’m giddy!

On the less exciting side of garden life, I chose to plant my lenten rose on the wrong side of the house. It is supposed to be one of the first plants to come up in the late winter/early spring, but it is literally still buried under a foot of dirty snow. Excellent.

What is popping up in your garden / yard right now?

Update on Water Goals

Water consumption is up, and my new tumbler with straw is possibly the best $14 I’ve ever spent in my life.

It’s cute and it travels well and it makes drinking water so enjoyable. Who knew a straw could do such things?

One thing our team has been talking about lately is the idea of making the thing that you want to do just 10 seconds easier or more enjoyable, and as a result / magic, you’ll do it more. The tumbler is totally that. I don’t know why it’s better to pick up the tumbler and sip through the straw than it is to open a water bottle, tip it back and drink (uhh, yes I do, actually, and it has to do with getting water all over my shirt and face), but my pick-up-and-sip hack is working. Every time I refill and sip, I just really enjoy it. Enjoy = do it more. After years of this struggle, I feel like I’m finally close to staying appropriately hydrated throughout the day.

Mint and cucumber infusion has been a little more spotty. Sometimes my mint is browning, or my cucumber is mushy, or I’m just too lazy to slice it up. I tried freezing my mint into ice cubes for easy use, but it turns the water yellow and it kinda weirds me out. So… still working on that part. Maybe I need a diffuser pitcher to just keep diffused water on hand rather than diffusing each individual water bottle? Open to suggestions here.

Overall: the tumbler + straw is a game-changer.

Hey, Speaking of Straws

I’m having a major moment (hopefully more than a moment) with NOT USING PLASTIC STRAWS.

The thing is… I love straws! I know the anti-straw campaigns are aimed at telling people they don’t need straws, but I thoroughly enjoy a good straw and beverage situation.

So since I love straws and I love the ocean, I’m just committing to only use straws of the paper, metal, bamboo variety. You know, reusable or compostable. Good for the earth. Nice to the fish and turtles. Better for everybody.

Earth Day sort of got me all fired up this year, and I feel inspired to try to do my very small part. Here’s my mini master plan:

1. For eating at a restaurant – ask for no straws and just drink outta the glass.
2. For driving through a drive-through, uhh, NOT LIKE I EVER DO THAT OR ANYTHING – ask for no straws. Keep paper straws tucked into the glove box of my car, and/or maybe a few in my purse for convenient, non-plastic sipping. Easy.
3. For drinks that I take on the go (water, smoothies, etc.) – use my aforementioned $14 tumbler with reusable straw.

Plastic consumption – are you thinking about it? Do you take steps to reduce it? Talk to me about it.

And if you’re looking for a rabbit trail, you can read more about the why of plastic straw reduction here.

 

That’s it!

But one last question.

Is your dog obsessed with laying in the sun?

And are your pants perpetually covered in dog hair? Because that’s a heavy yes to both in my life.

I hope you already know it, but I love checking in with you guys each month. I always get a big smile on my face when I read through your comments as if we were on an actual group coffee date. Happy REAL spring this time!

XO

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Healthy-ish Breakfast Cookies

Life-Changing Crispy Fried Pizzas

The Best Chicken Tinga Tacos

Springy Blueberry Lemon Bread

The Food You Need to Be Trying at Target Field This Summer

Alright, kids.

You know that feeling you get when at a sporting event that you are medium-interested in (sorry, baseball) but crazy-excited about for food reasons? And you start to realize that it’s about time for your first food purchase of the game, and this moment is golden, right? It is a blank slate of possibility – WHAT ARE YOU EVEN GOING TO GET?

But then, reality hits and you start to run through the possibilities. If you get the polish sausage, you might regret it and wish you had gone for the more adventurous noodle stir fry from the wok stand. If you go with the non-traditional walleye sandwich, you might sit back down in your seat and suddenly feel sad feelings about not having a classic ballpark nacho platter in your lap.

And worst of all, you might order something brand new and spend way too much money doing it only to find out that it’s straight-up boring. Blah. Money down the drain. Heartbreak of heartbreaks. This is not a good moment.

Which is why we are going to avoid this moment altogether!

I take my job very seriously, so naturally, when invited to the food preview event for the 2018 season of the Minnesota Twins this week, I showed up with bells on. I feel a responsibility to help as many of us as possible avoid Order Regret this summer as we cheer on our favorite Minnesota team. It’s a passion project.

After lots of samples and lots of pictures, I’m here to give you a run down of THE BEST FOODS that will be waiting for you at Target Field this summer.

Za’tar Spiced Chicken Bowl, Cause You Fancy

This was one I would (will) absolutely order again. This diva of a bowl includes: roasted eggplant, tomato cucumber relish, fresh radish and microgreens, crispy chickpeas, za’tar chicken and herbed yogurt. You can get this over rice or rolled up in a flatbread. You can and you should.

PLEASE if you go here and order this, follow it up with a Frozen Hot Chocolate. I didn’t get a picture of mine (creamy on top, crunchy on bottom) because it was gone in literally two seconds flat.

Where to find it: AZ Canteen

Arabic Chicken ShAwarma Wrap and Friends

Pita chips and a perfect blob of hummus? Yes. Gyros with cucumber, lettuce, and mayo? Yes. Arabic Chicken Shawarma Wraps with pickled cucumbers and a tangy mayo? YEP. Bonus points for making everything in house and using no-antibiotic, free range, and grass fed meats. Personal fave was the Chicken Shawarma Wrap, but all three were on point.

Where to find it: Holy Land

The Tennessee Hot Chicken Sandwich Of Your Dreams

If spicy chicken is your thing… girl! You want this one. It’s super simple and yet somehow still probably one of the best chicken sandwiches of my life: buttery toasted bread, juicy hot battered chicken, pickles, and a drizzle of blackstrap molasses mayo.

Oh! And you can order this “Minnesota Nice” if you need to leave the hot sauce out of it. Too cute.

Where to find it: Bat and Barrel

Indo Frites

Hot Indian strikes again with these lightly battered fries (sweet potato and regular potato combo, thank you very much) with a “pickle aioli” that actually just tastes like a creamy, tangy curry-type sauce. This combo is really all I need in life. I will DEFINITELY order these at my first Twins game of the season.

Where to find it: Hot Indian

The (Honestly) IMpossible Burger

This is not a veggie burger. This is a straight-up burger that just also happens to be vegan. About halfway through eating it, I thought to myself: wait, did I accidentally grab the REAL burger? I honestly didn’t know. It’s super yummy and there is a lot of science to what makes it taste like a beef burger which you can read about here if you’re into that. I’m not super into that. I’m just mostly into eating it.

Where to find it: Bat and Barrel

Tofu Vindaloo Bowl Aka Flavor Heaven

If you love plant-based food + big flavor, say hello to this veg beauty. We’ve got garlic coconut rice piled with steamy flavor-packed tofu vindaloo, a creamy slaw, cilantro, and pappadum crisps. YES GIRL YES.

Where to find it: Hot Indian

This Ridiculously Amazing Brunch Bloody Mary

Okay, this bad boy is the real deal and would singlehandedly knock out, like, five meals in one. This is a toppings party which include a bacon cheeseburger slider, a sausage sampler, a breakfast sandwich, a beef stick, cheddar and pepper jack cheese cubs, pepperoncini, olives, celery, pickle spear, and a Bud Light beer back. HELLO HI WHAT IS LIFE. This triple-decker situation can only be ordered on a Sunday, so be sure to plan accordingly.

Where to find it: Hrbek’s

Okay, GET READY FOR FOOD FEST 2018! I mean baseball season. Are we so ready for summer or what?

What are your favoritest, most craziest stadium eats?

Bonus if you name something from Target Field! Because then I can eat it, too.

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