Barley Lentil Soup with Chicken Sausage
The weather has been pretty gloomy the last couple of days. Automatically, my mind goes straight to comfort food – a nice warm bowl of soup. I wanted to make something that was easy, quick, delicious and of course healthy. As of late, I’ve been way obsessed with barley. I was inspired and wanted to try out this barley lentil Soup with chicken sausage. This recipe is very well balanced. If you are watching your weight like me, a bowl of this soup is less than 300 calories. Filled with vegetables, greens, grains, and protein it will keep you full and satisfied throughout the whole day. It is also…
Easy and Healthy Banana Bread Recipe
This banana bread recipe has bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S, and only 5 ingredients total. The motto in our household growing up is, “a banana a day keeps the doctor away”. I would eat it plain, in cereal, dried, as chips, with oatmeal, turned into fritters, or rolled into a spring wrapper, dusted with brown sugar, then pan-fried (called Turon). My mom was not much of a baker, and I remembered one of the things that we always loved buying from the grocery store was banana bread. A “baker” is born Fast forward 32 years, not much has really changed and my love for banana bread is still strong. Like my…
Latin Food Fest: Top 5 Memorable Bites
My boyfriend and I decided to check out the Latin Food Fest in Santa Monica. With so many stalls to choose from, we narrowed it down to our top 5 most memorable bites. Latin Food Fest Breakdown I ended up purchasing our tickets from Groupon and got a really good deal – $29/person for an earlier admission at 11 am. It totally paid off since it meant less waiting and shorter lineups for the first hour. Your ticket bought you unlimited eats of cuisines all over Latin America and all you can drink wines and spirits. For the next couple of hours, we would… Walk to a stall…
Eggs 101: 5 Must Know Egg Facts
I literally can not have enough eggs in my life – for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as a snack. Eggs are delicious, protein-packed, cost-friendly, and most importantly very versatile. They can be prepared in so many different ways, found in so many dishes, and used by all cultures all over the world. Although I’ve eaten my fair share of eggs, I realized that I didn’t really know much about them. Eggs Un-shelled 1. Shell color doesn’t matter Wait, what? Aren’t brown eggs healthier? But they’re brown? I mean brown rice is healthier than white rice, right? For years, I always opted to get the brown-shelled eggs thinking that they…
HAPPY HOUR: The Independence Tavern
One of my favorite things in life is HAPPY HOUR!!! If you love HAPPY HOUR like me, especially quality and cheap happy hour – please read on. The Independence Tavern is located in downtown Santa Monica on the corner of 2nd St. and Broadway just a block away from the ocean. The restaurant has a super chill vibe during the day and has an early happy hour from 3-6 pm. If you’re wanting to feel happy earlier, this spot is perfect. I would definitely recommend sitting by the windows to keep an eye out on the street action since cocktails and people watching perfectly goes hand in hand. Their…
Primo’s Donuts: Best Donuts in LA, you say?
I hate to say it, but I’m a sucker when it comes to advertisements. So, what do you think happened when I saw a sign that read, “Primo’s Best Donuts in LA since 1956”? Is Primo’s Donuts really the best? Primo’s Donuts is located right on Sawtelle Blvd, off the corner of National Blvd in Mar Vista. It’s a really cute and charming shop filled with a variety of freshly baked donuts. We usually judge a doughnut shop by their glaze, so naturally, my boyfriend and I gravitated to those. We were planning on grabbing a doughnut each, but after speaking with the owner Ralph, we actually ended…
