Planet-based & in the raw content
Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Blender Muffins
Fibroid Surgery: Behind the Scenes
Healthy Vegan Potato Crust Pizza
My Plant-Based Journey
Menu

Things I’m Loving Lately

August 8, 2014

Happppy Friday! It’s been a while since I’ve done a Things I’m Loving Lately post. It’s about time to hop back on that train because A) it’s fun to talk about lovable things, and B) there are a LOT of awesome happenings going on / things I’ve noticed that I want to share.

Before I get into it, I want to announce the winner of the Clearly Kombucha giveaway… Miss Hailey Karlovich!!! I will be emailing you for your deets so we can send you your prize! Thank you so much for all the incredible, heartfelt and fun entries. I wanted to pick each and every one of you as always.

DSC_0495

Now, let’s get onto it. What am I loving lately?

What I’m loving lately…

#1:

SUPERFOOD OATS!

Screen Shot 2014-08-08 at 8.53.20 AM

I am totally gaga over this oatmeal recipe right now. It’s super simple, bursting with nutrients from the oats and superfoods, and it keeps me full for hours. I’ve made it twice this week… and considering it’s been one of the busiest weeks of my life (a.k.a not much time to wait for steel cut oats to boil on the stove), that’s a pretty big deal.

Ingredients: ½ cup steel cut oats + 1 cup water. Fruit: ½ sliced banana, 1 small handful berries of choice. Today I added a sliced fresh fig! Superfoods: Whatever you have in your kitchen! I’ve been adding bee pollen, Himalayan golden raisins, walnuts (or peanut butter!!!), and sometimes I even add cacao. The fun of this dish is mixing it up and making it your own! Don’t get too stuck on exact ingredients.

Method: Boil the oats over a medium-high heat until the water is fully soaked in. Top with superfoods, and voila! Just don’t burn your mouth off like I’ve done a few too many times… patience is a virtue. (Even though it’s non-existent around food.

Screen Shot 2014-08-08 at 8.53.32 AM

#2:

Being back in LA!

I really miss NYC… I mean like a lot, a lot. That’s why it’s comforting to be settling back into LA and making a home for myself here again. Moving across the country isn’t easy, even when it involves moving home and being surrounded by people you know and love. If you’ve made a home elsewhere that you’ve also fallen in love with, it’s hard to detach from that and move forward without some major nostalgia and difficulty. I made the conscious choice to move back to LA, and each day here reminds me more and more why my heart lead me back here. And being close to family doesn’t hurt. (Hi, Jeffy!)

10003541_10202547065411873_565630655_n

LA is gorgeous and is also the home of many great TV studios, magazine headquarters and of course the whole entertainment world. I’ve been enjoying jumping right in and doing interviews and appearances. Check out where I was yesterday…!

Paramount

#3:

Research for the book! Things are moving along with the book quite quickly (YAY!!). We even 100% decided on a name. We being me and my agent, and my BFF Clare because she was the one who thought of the name a few months back. It rocks. In doing some background research for the book I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Dr. Steven Bratman, who coined the term “orthorexia.” We discussed the condition at length, and I can’t tell you how UNDERSTOOD I felt & how inspired I was after speaking with him.

I am going to do a whole post on him in the next few weeks, but for now I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes of his from our convo: “Being fully human is messy and uncomfortable, but its actually a lot more rewarding than being pure. Orthorexia is a deprival of the heart and soul, because you have an obsession about the body. That is only 1/3 of who you are, so essentially you are depriving yourself of being fully human.”

 

#4:

Awesome blog posts!!! Here are some posts I’ve been loving over the past few weeks:

  • 5 Steps to Stop Craving Sugar by Michele of Paleo Running Mama (so relevant to my life right now & great tips)
  • One Year Does a Difference by Jacqui of Baby Boy Bakery (tear jerker. So much of my heart is with he.)
  • Ethereal Vegan Mousse by Allison of Clean Wellness (yumtown and amazing photos, as always with this lady)
  • A Cake for Two by Molly of My Name is Yeh (because the food photography is perfection)
  • Cookie Dough Recipes by Katie of Chocolate Covered Katie (if you don’t stalk her page already, here is a great comprehensive list of some of her very best)

cookie-d_5

#5:

Connecting with all of YOU! I posted on Instagram yesterday afternoon asking readers to share their orthorexia stories with me in hopes of finding someone to appear alongside me in an upcoming TV interview. I got so many great responses from open, willing, amazing people who have been so kind to share their stories with me. I am still reading through the emails, so feel free to send one my way if you feel like you fit the bill.

 

#6:

Speaking of TV… it’s been really fun being in front of the camera again! It’s hilarious to me that some people out there (read: the psychos who have been picking me apart all along) are saying that I came out about my eating disorder struggles because I wanted media attention. It’s funny because that is the LAST thing on earth I thought would happen.

Screen Shot 2014-08-08 at 9.00.08 AM

I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to raise awareness about orthorexia and to share my personal story in hopes of inspiring others to realize that they too needed help. That is my only agenda. Sure, it helps my recovery process to have so much amazing support and feedback from my fab readers (a.k.a…YOU!), and is that a crime? I would certainly hope not. And being on camera is a lot of fun – it was a hobby and passion of mine before I changed paths to become a fulltime writer. If you haven’t seen my TakePartLive segment, check it out HERE!

Plus… they do my make up! Which rocks, because I am notorious for NOT doing my make up, so it’s fun to switch it up.

Screen Shot 2014-08-08 at 8.54.27 AM

 

#7:

Reading!!! After an embarrassingly long hiatus from reading (when I get extremely busy I don’t stop working from 8am-midnight… it’s bad!!!), I have dove back into the world of fiction and memoir reading again and I have been all about it. Currently I am reading Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, and I just received Lauryn Evarts’ TSC book in the mail, so I started it last night and it rocks.

Goldfinch_1

#8:

My mama is coming into town this weekend… YAY x 9348398! I am so close with my family, which was one of the main reasons I moved from NYC back to LA. I have a lot of family in LA, and my parents are in Northern California so it’s quite easy to get back and forth. Not exactly the same as that 6-hour plane ride from the east coast. We are going to go furniture shopping & hang out in our favorite Santa Monica, Brentwood & Venice Beach spots. Thrilled to have her here.

Positano

#9:

My niece, because… she’s perfect. Right?

Screen Shot 2014-08-08 at 9.08.06 AM

#10:

Moving along with TBB app. I work on it between the book, the apparel, interviews, the bloggy, health coaching, yoga & focusing on re-designing the website, so whenever I get some good, solid work done on it I am really excited. Look at this deliciously awesome Detox Lemonade…!! I am stoked!

DSC_0629

#11

TBV Apparel sale…. DUHHH!! It’s been 10% for the past few days, and it was supposed to end today, BUT I am going to extend the sale through the weekend because there’s been such amazing engagement and I want to keep spreading the love. Use the code “tbbturnsone” at checkout to get your discount. AND, my girl Rachel Brathen of “Yoga Girl” wearing her Yoga Junkie shirt… how cool!?!?!?

Screen Shot 2014-08-08 at 8.59.30 AM

So, let me ask… What are YOU loving lately?!?!