Bites of My Life

A good friend of mine posted on social media how she is trying to be more intentional with friendships. Not just sending a text message to check in, but finding ways to spend quality time to keep the friendship strong. I have incredible friends. Close friends, distant friends, work friends, blog friends, family friends etc. Regardless I am adopting her act to be more intentional with those friendships. A coffee and lunch date last week, a wedding this weekend, another lunch date this week, and two workout dates. I'm already feeling more filled!  I used to find it easier to not take the time to spend quality time and just let time with friends happen naturally, but in hindsight that is just time wasted. 

Okay friendship talk aside. I did my best to stay busy last week and succeeded. Work took me all around Oklahoma, free time was spent with friends, at yoga or celebrating birthdays, marriage and everyday life. 

-Chocolate chips three ways...stay tuned.
-The seasonal turmeric latte at Clarity Coffee. Run don't walk, I highly recommend. 
-Bought the largest spaghetti squash I have ever laid eyes on last week. Instead of eating it right away, I stored the roasted and shredded squash in the fridge to make this cold spaghetti squash salad for lunches. Cherry tomatoes, roasted red pepper, red onion, parsley, capers, drizzle of olive oil, s&p and some pumpkin seeds for crunch!
-The best part of mom and dad's is having a homemade latte accessible at my finger tips. *Cough* I'd love a Nespresso for Christmas, *Cough*
-Wigging out seeing The Jones on the cover of Edible OKC. Pick up a copy today and see our cocktail feature.
-Maranatha with the hook up. How great is their new packaging?
-The maple and the coconut are for sure my favorite Maranatha flavor they sent me. Added a tropical twist to my standard banana and AB breakfast. 
-Work is so tasty sometimes! 
-HBD MK! Love you more than you love country concerts!
-KissTheCooke
-I LOVE my Pumpkin Green Smoothie, but I was out of spinach yesterday morning so I had to switch up my usual recipe. The results may have been better than the original. Recipe --> almond milk, pumpkin puree, avocado, lots of pumpkin pie spice, frozen mango, Nutvia High Fiber hemp protein, and 4 walnuts (KEY ingredient).
-Rainy Sunday and signs of fall called for a batch of my Whole 30 Butternut Squash Soup. This is a personal top 5 recipe of mine!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Poor Oklahoma weathermen are wiping their tears after predicting an ice apocalypse that was supposed to hit our state over the weekend, but decided to come in the form of a light drizzle instead of an ice storm. After packing the grocery stores and gas stations in preparation, us Oklahomies were actually able to step outside our houses this weekend. Thank goodness, because after the holidays and being cooped up in the snow two weekends ago, I'm going stir crazy of just sitting on my couch.

This past week was full of lots of spiralized vegetables (duh), lots of Whole 30 bites, and some not so whole 30 approved moments...oops! Just keeping it real! On that note, Whole 30 hasn't been so fantastic this go around. I haven't felt any positive changes, and I'm a little bumski. Hoping for a good feeling week this week! Are you doing W30? How has it been going for you?

-Monday morning eggs and a never ending to do list.
-A serious "clean out the fridge" salad that got so many questions and comments on my insta story about how good it looked. Funny how nothing can really be something! 
-New favorite Whole 30 snack. Celery sticks and tahini, preferably straight from the jar. 
-My first cheat on Whole 30. I'm sorry, but it was for a good reason. Keep reading to see why.
-Despite my cheating by drinking alcohol it was paired with a W30 approved snack of plantain chips and salsa.
-The booze and snacks all came while recording my second appearance on the local podcast, OKC Over Easy. I don't want to give away much, because you can get all the details by listening to our episode here.
-Made a riff on Barre3's Golden Milk Smoothie and it's seriously insane. My recipe is on instagram, but I think I need to perfect it into a recipe post. Do you agree?
-Last week's spiralized culprit, the sweet potato. 
-My Turmeric Chicken Zoodle Soup made it's way to the blog!
-Load the bowl, for a loaded bowl lunch.
-Who else's favorite part for going out for Japanese is the carrot ginger dressing on the house salads? I love it so much I recreated it in a recipe post a while back. 
-Sunday morning consisted of shooting these gorg brunch items. Coming soon here; one of the restaurants from our collective at The Social Order.

Annie

Bites of my Life

Posted up in front of the TV watching the Emmy's sipping on a cup of hot chocolate. I really wanted froyo, but someone *cough Kathleen cough* wouldn't go with me, and I couldn't stoop to getting froyo by myself. Hot coco with cinnamon (try it) and a handful of butterscotch chips sufficed my sugar craving. Does anyone else like butterscotch chips? They are the super underrated in my opinion.

Last week started with pumpkin smoothies and ended with a pumpkin date consisting of PSLs and hunting Target for all of their pumpkin flavored goodies with one of my old and favorite co-workers. We have a mutual obsession with this seasonal flavor and like to capitalize on it.

My friends and I started a kickball team and had our first game on Wednesday. Let's just say I was better at providing the halftime snacks and "adult" Capri Suns than actually providing skill for the team. We celebrated Lindz's birthday with spicy cocktails and sinful snacks, and then welcomed a houseful of besties all in town for the OU game this weekend. Bon weekend!

-Looks like a healthy green smoothie, acts like a healthy green smoothie, but tastes like pumpkin pie. You're welcome. 
-My skin is going through a little bit of a situation. Big sis Claire acted as my interim dermatologist and suggested trying all natural face products. Picked up this toner, previously recommended by Molly and purchased this face wash from Claire's favorite spa in NYC.
-Take a Bite went on the tour de matcha of OKC to find the best matcha latte. Read the post to see my fav!
-Fire on the Pineapple cocktail at Guyutes is my favorite drink in OKC currently.
-Celebrated roomie Lindz turning 24 with these waffle fries I can't stop thinking about. Topped with tequila queso, pulled pork, cilantro crema, tomatoes, japs, red onions and sunny side egg. 
-The Sooners may have let us down again, but with all my friends near and far in town, the weekend still won. 
-Green juice and movie theater popcorn because it's all about balance;) Highly recommend Sully.
-After scouring the pumpkin display at Sprouts, I eyed their bottled pumpkin salad dressing. Almost pulled the plug on buying it when I realized I could make my own. I snapped a pic of the ingredient list and went home to whip it up. 
-Tossed a loaded veggie salad with my pumpkin dressing. Give or take measurements of pumpkin puree, red wine vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, water, dijon mustard, pumpkin pie spice, and s&p all got thrown in.

Annie

Pumpkin Green Smoothie

Basic betch coming atcha. The way girls go cookoo over pumpkin everything the second September hits is a little nuts. But, I can't help but fall into the trap myself. Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors and deserves a little attention after being looked over from January to August. 

I've made pumpkin smoothies before, but never a green version. The smooth creamy texture of this smoothie is everything and I know you'll love it! Packed with nutrients and the taste of pumpkin pie is a win win. Pumpkin is great for your immune system, eye sight, skin and digestion. It's packed with fiber and healthy nutrients. Throw it in your morning smoothie for that extra boost we all want and need. 

Pumpkin Green Smoothie
yields 1 smoothie

Ingredients:
2 cups (or 2 handfuls) spinach
1/2 cup frozen mango or 1/2 of a frozen banana
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 avocado
1/2 tsp. fresh ginger (pinch of ground ginger if you can't get fresh)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
splash of vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond milk

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a high powered blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into glass and slurp it down!

I promise I won't go pumpkin crazy on you, but I'm sure this isn't the last of the pumpkin recipe posts. Pumpkin season is here!

Annie

Matcha Mint Smoothie

When biggest sis Claire was home back in April, we tried to balance our huge dinners with lots of smoothies and morning workouts. I made her my Perfect Green Smoothie, because, well it's perfect. She agreed. We also made a stop at Organic Squeeze for CB&J smoothies. You can find my recreation here. 

A few weeks later I got this snapchat from sis insisting that I needed to recreate a smoothie she had. I go weak for green smoothies, so I was game. Claire mentioned how the lady making her smoothie suggested she add matcha next time. Matcha is easily my favorite flavor right now, so that was a given addition when I was to recreate. 

After some trial and error, I give you this tasty matcha mint smoothie recipe! New to matcha? Jump on board. It's the purest form of green tea leaves, giving you so many more nutrients. It has magical energy, detox, and calming powers. Great for weight management,  your skin, combating aging and helps to build immunity. It has a crazy amount of antioxidants and just 1 cup of prepared matcha is equivalent to 10 cups of green tea. Combine it with warm or cold almond milk for a latte, use it in baking, turn it into ice cream, shake it up with ice water, or mix it into a smoothie!

Matcha Mint Smoothie
serves 1

Ingredients:
1 cup non-dairy milk, coconut water or H2O
1 cup spinach
a few sprigs of fresh mint
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 avocado (if you aren't into the avocado thing, use a full banana)
1 tsp. matcha powder (I use Vital Proteins, but any matcha will work here)
1 Tbsp. almond butter
a few shakes cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
a handful of ice

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a high powered blender and blend until thick and smooth. Slurp up every last drop and thank me later. 
 

Annie

this post was updated on 6/5/20