This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond as a part of the Tastemakers program.  I received free almonds but wasn’t compensated in any other way. All thoughts/opinions are, as always, my own. I’m going to be honest here (mostly because I don’t know to not be honest), before taking part in the Tastemakers program, I didn’t give almonds much thought.  They were a tasty snack, especially the flavored ones, and I loved topping desserts with slivered almonds.  When I got the whole natural and rosemary almonds is when I first started thinking about pairings.  When I got the new honey flavors in the mail, I knew I had to broaden my horizons and try them a couple other ways. First up, the Honey Roasted Vanilla.  Honey + vanilla? No brainer — put...

This is a sponsored post written by me for BeyondMeat Beef Crumbles.  All opinions are 100% my own. Because a tainted river ruined our weekend plans, we had to throw an impromptu fiesta on Saturday.  All impromptu fiestas need sombreros, maracas, margaritas, and snacks.  Surprisingly, I had all of those things on hand.  Except the snacks, so I needed some snacks FAST.  Chips and salsa, done.  Veggie taco dip, done.  Taco pinwheels?  In the oven, looking delicious. These pinwheels were the true star of the evening (uhhh other than Josh.  It was his birthday after all 😉 ).  I had people ask me why I would make something I can’t eat, which I responded to by taking a big bite of these guys.  What could possibly be in these that looks, tastes,...

Some people say summer isn’t soup weather.  To those naysayers, I say, “More soup for me”.  It can be 100 degrees outside, and I still love sitting down with a bowl of hot soup.  Granted, I’m going to sit inside with the AC on, but I’ll look out at the hot sunny day and think about how delicious this soup is. Broccoli cheese soup is a favorite of mine.  I can never eat it at a restaurant because there’s ALWAYS chicken broth in it — whyyy?  This version with vegetable broth is plenty flavorful and I question why a restaurant would want to take something that is basically vegetarian on it’s own (and therefore appeals to a wider audience/customer base), and muck it up with something that most people wouldn’t...

Guys (let’s be real: ladies), I’m really into snacks.  Extra crisp apple slices, crunchy celery sticks, a handful of almonds — something with a satisfying texture and lots of flavor.  You might not agree that celery has a lot of flavor, but I actually love it.  Celery and lettuce are actually two of my favorite crunchy foods, because I’m weird like that.  Another thing I love? Pretzels. Plain pretzels can be pretty boring and store bought flavored pretzels are usually loaded with weirdo ingredients I try to stay away from.  Plus, not many are gluten free, dairy free, etc so I they’re not something I can put out at a party — which is a pretty important quality for me in a snack.  I love making flavored pretzels at home (See Vegan...

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Millennial Central for Evolution Fresh. I received coupons for Evolution Fresh juices to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation. After a particularly indulgent trip or just when we want to reset our eating habits, Josh and I usually turn to a 1 – 3 day juice fast.  If we just feel like boosting our nutrition a little bit, I might make some juice for breakfast, a snack, or sometimes lunch.  Normally we make our juices at home, but it takes a lot of time and a lot of tinkering to get the  juices just right (Read: sweet and minimally vegetal so that Josh will drink them).  I knew there were fresh juices...

Let’s call Thursday “The day we ate all of the corn”.  First we had these peppers stuffed with cornbread studded with fresh corn and then we went to the movies and ate ALL of the popcorn.  With Milk Duds.  Because movie theater popcorn demands Milk Duds — have you tried that? DO IT.  We saw an early release of Guardians of the Galaxy and it was amazing.  Eat these peppers then go see it.  Or, even better, smuggle these into the theater in your purse.  Popcorn, cornbread …. same thing, right? This is not the first time I’ve stuffed cornbread into some peppers.  Last year, I did a half chili, half cornbread combo and it was killer (if you’re looking for a vegan/gluten free option, try those!), but I wanted to...