Feel free to play along in the comments – what are you loving lately? Anything I should check out on the food/fitness/whatever front? :)
1) Girls’ night dinners.
My college friends Kathleen, Sarah, and I have been hosting fun dinners for each other every month or so, alternating who hosts. (When I had them over awhile ago, I made Thai Coconut Chicken Soup which was a big hit!) Last night, Kathleen hosted us at her place and made an amazing quinoa tabbouleh (packed with mint, parsley, and bright lemon zest and juice – delicious) with lamb kabobs. Amazing! Thanks for having us, Kathleen! So fun to catch up with you both. :)
2) Hummus.
Today is National Hummus Day! A most delicious holiday, if you ask me. :) We got a head start by snacking on some last night while helping Kathleen with dinner prep – it’s peeking out in the bottom left of the photo above. :)
As you guys know, hummus is one of my favorite snacks – I especially love it as a vehicle for packing in veggies pre-dinner as an #UnofficialMeal! It also makes a great dip addition, like with my Spicy Hummus Queso Dip.
My fave hummus brand, Sabra, is sponsoring this section of today’s post in honor of the holiday. Check out their website for a #NationalHummusDay coupon – only available until midnight EST, so get on it! And be sure to try their new Lemon Twist Hummus if you haven’t yet – it’s my recent fave.
I love hummus because it’s so versatile – it makes a great sandwich spread (like with my Smoked Salmon and Hummus Sandwich) and is also great in place of mayo in tuna/chicken/egg salad. It’s also great stirred into quinoa, like my 4 Ingredient Quinoa Salad (easiest lunch or dinner ever).
Also, try my Creamy Mexican Chicken Chili Soup (<—we have made this a ton since I posted it, so delicious – hummus makes the soup really creamy!), and super old easy fave Mexican Brown Rice Casserole! You can also coat fish or chicken in hummus, then roll in breadcrumbs (or ground flaxseed) and bake for a really juicy and easy dinner!
3) Adult coloring books.
Have you guys heard about the adult coloring book trend? I bought this Mindfulness Coloring Book a couple weeks ago and Matt and I have both been loving it. Last weekend, we spent hours coloring in it before we realized how much time had passed! It really is a nice way to relax, slow down, and re-center, especially for chronically busy people like us. :)
4) Salmon.
I’ve been really loving salmon (and steelhead, which is similar) lately, maybe subconsciously related to the post I shared earlier this week about why the low fat and cholesterol diet craze was a huge fail. :)
We made a really delicious salmon from Blue Apron this week that was one of my favorite recipes from them to date – a seared salmon salad with red potatoes, English peas, arugula, and pink lemon. The salad that went with it was so refreshing! Loved the crunchy sunflower seeds and radish and all the spring veggies involved.
We also added a ton of dill from our little window herb pot! Dill + salmon = so good.
I also enjoyed a steelhead (like salmon) quinoa salad at True Food Kitchen earlier this week on a dinner date with my high school friend Lara. Delicious and so good to catch up with her, as always!
5) Reading before bed.
Such a nice way to wind down before going to sleep! I just finished After You, which many of you recommended (it’s the sequel to Me Before You, which was super addictive and a total tearjerker – they are making it into a movie!). Would love some recs for other good reads!
6) Your comments about cats on yesterday’s post!
So fun to hear about your wild little fur balls. Seems we’re not the only ones who have been trained by our cat rather than us training her! ;) In hilarious news, remember how I wrote yesterday that Zara doesn’t go on the dining room table anymore (at least while we are home) thanks to our water spray bottle approach? Literally RIGHT after I published that post I came out to find her sitting on the dining room table and staring at me, like “What?” HA! Maybe she reads the blog. ;) And then this morning, I found this on the table! You win this round, Zara. You’re lucky you’re so cute. ;)
Have a great weekend, my friends!
Weekend reading:
- Eat: Oven Baked Rutabaga Fries // Asian Topped Hummus Platter // Chicken Burrito Brown Rice Bowl with Homemade Guac // Ravioli Frittata
- Move: 3 Tips to Fall in Love with Exercise (guest post by yours truly!) // 8 Tips for Running an 8 Minute Mile // 10 Workouts You Can Do in 10 Minutes
- Think: What is Health at Every Size? // Truth Bombs About Food and Your Body
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Cats are hysterical, and I think they really have a sixth sense! Or she really is reading the blog. ;) Love this post, and hosting dinners with friends sounds like such a fun treat!
They totally do! Lol. And thanks! :)
Salmon ALWAYS :) I just made salmon jerky today for the first time, I am in love! It’s like the bacon of the fish world!
That sounds delicious!
I would highly recommend The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel Brown; All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Both great reads! One non-fiction and one fiction!
I just recently read The Boys in the Boat – AMAZING!! All the Light We Cannot See is on my to read list!
Loving salmon, too, and also the bands with handles that are used for a variety of strength and stretching exercises and which do so with considerable efficiency!
Yes, those bands are great!
I’m loving that it’s Nat’l Hummus Day! Now that I know, i’m going to make sure to grab some tonight and make that spicy hummus queso. Made it before and LOVED it. Same with the Mexican Hummus Casserole – my bf loves it so much, it’s very prominent in our meal rotation. I’ll have to try steelhead if I come across it; I’m a salmon lover too.
So glad you enjoyed the hummus queso, and the mexican hummus casserole! :)
Funny, Me Before You is the next book on my list! I just finished Curtis Sittenfield’s “Eligible”, a modern take on Pride & Prejudice, and LOVED it – haven’t been this obsessed with a book in a long time. Highly recommend for some juicy chick lit! Also loved her other books as well. Other well-written chick-lit authors I love: Melissa Banks & Emily Giffin.
As far as cats go, I let mine do whatever she wants! I figure, her life is confined in my one-bedroom apartment. If she gets joy from sitting on the table, hopping in the bathtub after I’ve showered, and drinking out of a cup on the coffee table, then so be it:)
Love your blog!
Sweet, I’ll check out “Eligible” – I like Curtis Sittenfield! I’ll check out those other authors you recommended, too! Enjoy Me Before You – it’s so good. :)
Totally think of “Dog With a Blog” on the Disney channel, maybe Zara has a blog of her own, lol!!! I think it’s so comical to find cat hair in places you never thought. Like my walk in closet, I keep seasonal items folded up on one of the shelves shoved in the corner, a couple days ago I grabbed a shirt from there and it was covered in hair!!
There’s a ton of cat hair on this tiny super narrow window ledge really high off the ground in our basement. I have NO IDEA how she got up there – or how she stayed up there since it’s so narrow! Hilarious! She’s definitely a ninja.
#3,4,5! Yes!!! I just picked up a fresh new coloring book and am loving it!! I finally found one that wasn’t over-priced, but still fantastic designs!
And salmon….when can that ever be wrong? ;)
I’m also in the middle of a fantastic book right now! “That Night” by Chevy Stevens….totally recommend! (I love all her books!)
Sweet, I’ll check that out! Thanks!
I love hummus – it just makes you feel so good when you eat it! I need to buy some more actually. Yay for all the things you are loving lately. I run the Wellbeing program at our office, and you have convinced me that I need to buy some colouring books and pencils for our staff in the break out areas. Healthy minds equals happy people.
Yes, so true! I hope your office loves the adult coloring books as much as we have! Good for you for promoting wellbeing in your office. :)
Anne, do you have an iPhone? If so, try the Colorify app. You don’t actually have to use the paid version (I don’t) — you can get a lot of the pages and colors for free.
It’s not quite the same as an actual coloring book, but it’s a good time killer on the go!
I do, but I don’t think I’d find anything on my phone/a screen as relaxing as paper! But that’s just me – good to know there is an app version! :)
Love the idea of an “unofficial” dinner with veggies and hummus. I was given a coloring book by a friend at Christmas. At the time, I was not aware of the craze. It is very realizing. Definitely very Zen.
I am loving organic, non-GMO air popped popcorn drizzled with olive oil and a little bit of ghee mixed with garlic salt…yummy!
Yummy indeed!
Love this post, so many great suggestions, recipes, ideas…..and great feedback in comments section, too! Love the spring weather and opportunity to do some gardening, walk the beach, enjoy beauty of the lake and sit on deck to soak up some vitamin D. Love the month of May – Mother’s Day and Nurses Day celebrations! 😉
It’s all about the spring weather! :) Enjoy it!
Maybe I’m just fixated on this because of my job but I think “steelhead” an alternative name for Rainbow Trout? :) I could be wrong..
Yes, it is! And tastes just like salmon, which is weird since other trout I’ve had seems more like a white fish!
I’m trying to get back in to reading before bed! I just haven’t felt like it! I’m loving those coloring books too–i got one for Christmas!
I’m loving Chopped on Netflix and anything peanut butter and chocolate haha!
Hi Anne!
I have read many of Jojo Moyes’ books. The Girl You Left Behind is another great read, much better than the sequel to Me Before You.
The Rosie Project is also a great book, it’s a very fast, light and funny read!
Yeah I didn’t think the sequel was that amazing but I read it anyway haha. I’ll check out The Girl You Left Behind and The Rosie Project! Thanks!
I picked up some of the Sabra spicy hummus and tried out your ‘pack in veggies pre-dinner’ strategy. Love it – thank you! Next up, hummus queso!
Awesome! Enjoy the hummus queso! :)