Granola is my fave breakfast for weekdays. On weekends, I make eggs and avocado toast and pancakes, even, but when I’m on-the-go (read: eating breakfast at my desk) I really love yogurt and a hearty granola. Problem is, most pre-made granola is either BORING-city or has too much sugar or is CHOCKED full of almonds. And not the bee-friendly ones, either. So I decided to take matters into my own hands last weekend and make my own.

For this recipe, and really for all granola recipes, I try to do this: base of oats, one dried fruit, one nut, one seed, a couple spices, and something to sweeten the deal. In this case, I used cranberries, pecans, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and coated the whole thing with maple syrup and coconut oil. You could really choose whatever you feel like, however. Play around with what you like – try raisins, or apricots, or crystallized ginger, use walnuts, or cashews, or peanuts…you get the idea.

And, let it be noted: if you make granola, it’s in the oven for a bit of time, and it smells AWESOME, so make.it.count – it’s like a two-for and you get a house scent out of it, no Yankee Candle needed!

The full recipe is here, and can be the basis for whatever you feel like this week, or whatever quarter-bags of nuts and seeds you have in your cabinet, which is what I usually use, let’s be real.

What do you guys look for in a granola? Do you like more fruit, or more nut? Do you even like oats, or do you leave ’em out and go for a more trek mix situation? Let me know what you’d like to see – I love hearing from y’all.

As you know, it doesn’t get that cold that often in LA, so when it does, I always want to make a big batch of soup and cozy up on the couch with tea galore. Well, this past weekend it was rainy and cool, so you’d better believe I turned on the Dutch oven and got to it.

The first thing I’ll say about this recipe is that you must start by roasting a chicken. But you guys, it’s worth it. I got a whole pot of soup, plus a couple of lunches, plus a ton of chicken stock out of this. But if you don’t want to do that, I understand. It’s also a little annoying to have to hack about the chicken and get it into the soup (I’m just trying to be real.) You can also use chicken breast or thighs here, or you can make it vegetarian, or you can use a rotisserie if you’re feeling crazy.

This one cup soup maker with already made soup had a perfect balance of vegetable to chicken. I hate when a soup is all chicken, or else all just carrots. The carrots and the kale balance nicely with the chicken chunks and the now saffron-y rice. You know what makes this a bit better? Crackers, or a nice hunk of baguette. Just sayin’.

The full recipe is here, and I encourage you to make this ASAP if it’s cold where you are and you’re looking for something to warm you up. Or even if it’s not, even if it’s warm where you are, making this, because it’s that good. Soup-in-the-spring good.

Not super keen on carrots? Use some other hearty veg in there, perhaps potatoes and skip the rice, too. Or use noodles if that’s what you’ve got. You have options. Make what you want of it, make what you love. Let me know how it turns out!

I’ve been eating a lot of crap lately, mixed in with some really great stuff, but I am feeling like maybe I need more raw foods in my diet for a bit of time. When spring comes, I want to buy everything in sight at the farmers’ market and go on a frenzy of eating salads only.

This one came out of wanting another go-to lunch option that’s not leftovers and isn’t something too terrible. I am a big fan of buying a green, a root veg, a seed, a nut, and some kind of cheese, and making lunches for the week. It’s easy to get into a groove putting lunches together, you can mix up your toppings depending on what you have in the fridge, and you know it’s a healthy midday meal (rather than buying something at work and ending up eating pizza…all week…like I did last week. Not that there is anything wrong with pizza. I love it, obviously.)

That’s exactly what I did yesterday when I made this salad. I went a little crazy at Trader Joe’s, I will admit. This salad is:

Baby kale
Roasted chicken
Sun-dried tomatoes
Radishes
Cashews
Sunflower seeds
Burrata

The key, to me, is a protein, something sweet, something creamy, and something crunchy. You could sub radish for carrot, cashew for just about any nut, burrata for feta or goat cheese, kale for spinach or romaine, sundried tomatoes for caramelized onions…you get the idea.

Now, to me, I’d rather throw more cheese in there than having any dressing, but a KEY element to any salad is to salt and pepper it. It may sound weird, but trust me on this one. If you still want a little dressing, try oil & vinegar or lemon juice – just as delicious but not too heavy.

So this is my simple salad for you this spring. Use what you’ve got in your fridge and make yourself a flavor-balanced salad whenever you need a little boost!

Apparently lately I am into all things breakfast. It’s a great meal to start the day with and on weekend I like to indulge in eggs (because on weekdays I am usually running late and thus eat breakfast at work.) These came from having extra tortillas laying around – so instead of making toast, I went with tacos. These are basically open faced tacos fill of what I love – but feel free to add what you love.

Here’s what I did: I took corn tortillas, melted cheese into them, then fried up two eggs sunny side up, and put those along with some pinto beans onto said tortilla. I topped the whole affair with salsa. And probably would have added an avocado if I’d had one. Or sour cream. Or leftover chicken with green chiles. Or pico de gallo. The possibilities are endless, I think, and you should feel free to also throw all of this over chips (BREAKFAST NACHOS) or a salad (BREAKFAST SALAD).

Happy breakfast eating, friends!

April already, and so many delicious fruits and veggies in season! I love spring because it’s the start of amazing weeks to come of abundant produce. Here’s what we’ve got going on:

Asparagus
Avocados
Basil
Cherries
Cucumber
Green Beans
Nectarines
Onions, Green
Raspberries
Tomatoes

And, as always, here are some of the best recipes to try:

Make this Paleo Scallop Salad, but use fresh raspberries, as well as tomatoes and even through in some avocado. Win-win-win.

I am pretty much constantly looking for an excuse to east Falafel Salad – heavy on the cucumbers. They provide a great crunch without many calories – and they taste so fresh, always. Extras? Throw ’em in your water (the cukes, not the falafel.)

Make this Peach Blueberry Crisp you guys. But use nectarines and raspberries. In fact, I might just have to make this ASAP. I always forget how much I love cobbler until the berries come back.

The first chance you get to have an avocado from California (they’re coming!) make yourself some steak fajitas and instead of adding sour cream, add a hefty serving of these babies. Or add both, live a little.

Go forth and cook this month, friends! Happy April!