Lunch Date Newsletter #9: Coloring for Stress-Relief and Pumpkin Gingerbread

Hello again! Thanks for finding the time in your busy day to catch up. I’m so glad you could make it to our lunch date again this week!

Here’s my collection of recipes and articles from the last week, from what kids around the world eat for breakfast to a recipe for butternut squash mac and cheese.

But First…

I Still Need Your Help!

I was nominated for two WEGO Health Activist Awards (Best Blog & Best Twitter), and I need your help to win!

If you can, please take a moment to endorse my nomination:

click here to vote for me!

Thank you so much. I wouldn’t be up for these awards without each of you!! xo

 

What I’m Reading:

Food News & Trends:

• Rise and Shine: What Kids All Around the World Eat for Breakfast – New York Times

• Gluten-Free Grains – Choosing the Best Options While on a Gluten-Free Diet – Today’s Dietitian

• Eating disorders could start as early as elementary school – Medical News Today

• Even motivated dieters need close access to healthy food – Medical News Today

• What’s the difference between cornmeal and polenta? – The Kitchn

• Stay hydrated the healthy way – McKenzie Hall for Chicago Tribune

• What if it’s not just picky eating? Selective eating disorder in children – Natalia Stasenko for Food and Nutrition Magazine

Mindfulness & Positivity:

• The Top 3 Meditation Apps You Need to Download – Kara Lydon, The Foodie Dietitian

• Coloring Isn’t Just for Kids. It Can Actually Help Adults Combat Stress – Elena Santos for Huffington Post

Blogging:

• How to Write a Blog Business Plan – Cookin’ Canuck

• Photography Resources – Gimme Some Oven

For the Home:

• Beautiful and Practical: Windows Indoors – Apartment Therapy

• DIY Photo Clipboards – Love Grows Wild

• Hiding the Outlet in Plain Sight – Apartment Therapy

What I’m Salivating Over:

Breakfast:

• Egg and Hummus Breakfast Wrap – Eating Bird Food

• Pumpkin Ricotta Pancake – i am a food blog

• Grab-and-Go Egg Muffins – the lyons’ share

Appetizers:

• 5 Layer Greek Dip – Decor Fix

• Roasted Grape Crostini with Goat Cheese and Walnuts – healthy seasonal recipes

• 7-Layer Dip Potato Skins – To Live & Diet in L.A.

Main Course (I have a chicken problem apparently – it’s nearly all I’ve been pinning this week!):

• Brown Rice Bowl with Roasted Veggies & Chicken – ValSoCal

• Baked Chicken Parmesan – Skinnytaste (I loooove chicken parm)

• Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese – according to elle

• Baked Honey BBQ Chicken Fingers – Sally’s Baking Addiction

• Pollo alla Cacciatora (Hunter’s Wife’s Chicken) – Saveur

• Turkey Bolognese Stuffed Spaghetti Squash – the roasted root

• Roman-style Chicken – Giada De Laurentiis for Food Network

• Skillet Chicken with Avocado, Tomatoes and Olives – Avocado Central

• Sneaky Zucchini Lasagna – Snack Girl

• Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables – Skinnytaste

• 15 Freezer Meals & Snacks – The Lean Green Bean

• Arugula and Goat Cheese Portobello Pizzas – Eating Bird Food

Slow Cooker:

• Crock Pot Maple Dijon Chicken Drumsticks – Skinnytaste

• Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup with Maple Chickpeas – two peas & their pod

Desserts (I have a craving for peanut butter rice krispie treats…get ready):

• Dark Chocolate Almond Oatmeal Cookies – Kara Lydon for Food & Nutrition

• Pumpkin Gingerbread – Snack Girl

• Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats – Eating Made Easy (with marshmallows)

• Peanut Butter & Honey Rice Krispie Treats – The Detoxinista (without marshmallows)

• Maple-Sweetened Pumpkin Muffins with Oats – Cookie & kate

• Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread – The Law Student’s Wife

• Pecan-Topped Pumpkin Bread – Cooking Light (My Recipes)

• Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – two peas & their pod

All of these recipes & many MANY more on my Pinterest page. Follow me!

The Week in Photos: 

It was my birthday last week! I got a fun e-mail from the Nars store (I love their makeup) inviting me and a friend for a free birthday makeover with champagne in their VIP room. It did not take me long to respond to this e-mail. Here’s my “before” photo:

I had a really successful trip to the farmers market last weekend and scooped up snappy green beans, a perfectly ripe red tomato, celery, freshly baked whole grain bread, the most expensive eggs I’ve ever purchased, and some other goodies as you can see in the photo. (I’ve been meaning to try fresh eggs from the farmers market and they really did taste different. There was another layer of flavor – something earthier and creamier than the eggs I normally buy. These lucky hens roamed as they pleased and ate sprouts – wonderful work, hens!).  On the right is my breakfast the next day: a slice of toasted whole grain bread with melted Cabot Legacy cheddar and sliced green apple. (Cabot sent me the cheese because I’m on their Cabot Cheese Board).

And finally…it’s fall in L.A.! Yes, we get fall too…it’s just more selective. It doesn’t visit the palm trees or the succulents for instance…But there are lots of trees dropping bronze and yellow leaves to crunch your feet on.

Be well! See you for another mid-week lunch date next Wednesday!

Question…What article or recipe are you most excited to read?