Breakfast Burrito

I never skip breakfast. Eating a good breakfast not just makes me feel great, but it helps me to stay on track throughout the day. Despite all it's great benefits, I often rank breakfast as my least favorite meal of the day. So the reason for that? Thinking in the box.

Even though I have perfected the art of making perfectly fluffy scrambled eggs, thanks to Pinterest, I have found a new way to eat eggs. Say hello to my new favorite breakfast, the breakfast burrito. I first made it a few weeks ago when we had some leftover pernil (Puerto Rican pork roast), and in meal planning for the Whole 30, it's the perfect breakfast. The typical flour tortilla is replaced with an egg omelette (or crepe), and filled with meat, veggies, guacamole, whatever! Totally easy and so good.

Breakfast Burrito

(Printable recipe HERE)

Ingredients
2 eggs
cooking oil (olive, ghee,etc.)
1/2 an avocado
1 tomato
Veggies as desired
Meat as desired (Leftovers work perfectly for this!)
salt and pepper to taste

I like to prep all the filling first, this way the omelette doesn't get too cold or soggy.

I love using leftover meat for this dish and used leftover steak from a previous dinner for this particular burrito. If using leftover meat from a previous dinner or lunch, warm it up in the toaster oven or microwave and set aside. If using fresh meat, prepare it with your favorite seasonings ,and set aside.

Next, beat your eggs, and again, set aside.

Now for the guacamole and "salsa." For the guacamole mix together half a chopped tomato, half an avocado, some salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lime. Then I chop the other half of the tomato and call it salsa/garnish.

If using other veggies, have them ready to roll. Literally.

Now for the omelette. Warm your skillet and add in the cooking oil of your choice, about 1-2 tablespoons. Pour in your beaten eggs and make sure the eggs go all the way to the edges of the pan. Let cook a few minutes, flip, and let it cook on the other side, about a minute more. 

Place your omelette on a plate and add your filling. Roll it up, top with salsa, and enjoy!

Frank's Hot Sauce optional. 

Color Crush: Yellow

Every now and then, I find myself being drawn to a color, without even realizing it. Currently that color is yellow. 

Yellow is a color I have always avoided. At 5'9," I just always envisioned myself looking like Big Bird. As I was headed to the fitting room while shopping in H&M a few months ago, I randomly picked up a beautiful chartreuse dress to, you know, try on for funsies. Well, funsies turned into a purchase because I absolutely loved the way I looked in that dress! It's truly a shame I've avoided the color for so long, because it is such a beautiful compliment to my skin tone. You live and you learn! 

What's a color you can't get enough of at the moment?

images via: Oscar de la Renta (style.com), Pinterest, Beautiful Portals, A Cooking Mizer

Whole 30: Week 1

From March 15th to April 13th, I will be doing the Whole 30 and recapping my experience every Monday with a post outlining how I'm feeling, what I'm eating, and how it is going overall. 

I can't believe it's been a week already on the Whole 30! Today marks day 11, and after feeling a bit of the carb flu, I am truly feeling much better. I am sleeping better and waking up feeling ready for the day and my morning workout. While cravings were an issue last week, I don't find them creeping up at all. Hey, I even resisted the temptation of fresh baked bread that was made Saturday night! 

The biggest adjustment I have had to make on the Whole 30 is incorporating a pre-workout meal (some fat and protein used to signal the body of activity) and a post-workout meal (some lean protein and carbs, as needed, for recovery) to my day. I do notice that the post-workout meal has been a great help in my recovery (and I'm not starving later in the day), but I am still getting used to the pre-workout meal as I am so used to (and much prefer) working out on an empty stomach. But, it is still early days, so I'm sure I will get into the groove of things soon enough. 

My main focus this week is to think outside of the box with some of my food choices.  For starters, I need to ween myself off eating pistachios and cashews (too easy to get carried away with), and I need to find other vegetables other than broccoli, spinach, and kale to eat. I foresee a trip to Whole Foods in my future....

Again, here is my journal for the past week of all I ate, how I felt, so on and so forth. 

Sleep About 8 hours, and only woke up once.
Activity Physical Therapy (elliptical, leg machines, etc.)

Breakfast Baby spinach and ground turkey scrambled together in ghee, half an avocado
Post-Workout Handful of dry roasted, unsalted pistachios
Lunch Salad of baby lettuce and arugula, can of sardines, half an avocado
Mid-Afternoon Chai latte (ground spices+black tea+almond milk)
Dinner Herb roasted chicken (leftovers), kale/collard greens/Swiss chard mix from Trader Joe's, chayote

I could go for something sweet/carby. Mac and cheese, a latte from Starbucks. Carb flu, you suck.

OP

If you knew from reading those two letters that this would be a post about Olivia Palermo, you're good.

I absolutely LOVE Olivia Palermo's style. It's classic, yet fun, often times accessible (hello Zara and Topshop!), and most importantly, it's all her own and it shows. Even when she was "plotting" and "scheming"* on The City, I couldn't help but admire her style, while also being super annoyed with her character. 

From then until now, OP's style just keeps getting better and better. Whether she is dressed up or down, in NY or abroad, Olivia Palermo is always impeccably dressed, and I love seeing what she's wearing. 

*(I put all those things in quotes because I'm sure that was all reality TV portrayal. Sam met her during NYFW and said that she was super sweet. That's not the first time I've heard that either..) 

New Season,New Digs.

It's officially the first day of Spring and I couldn't be happier! While it may be some time before things warm up, the start of Spring means that warm weather is on it's way!

As I come out of hibernation/winter cabin fever, I can't help but be excited for all my favorite things about Spring: from leisurely strolls around the city, going to the farmers market, seeing the flowers in full bloom, waking up to the birds chirping (and the odd woodpecker that likes to get an early start some mornings...) I really could go on and on.

(The start of Spring also means Summer is that much closer, but, one season at a time!)

While I look forward to Spring activities a great deal, I also really look forward to shopping and dressing for the season as well. Away go the bulky winter coats and boots and out come lighter layers and colors. What's on my shopping list? Everything from the classics to pieces that will wear well now and into summer. 

crop top Mossimo | trench Merona | bag Dooney and Bourke | flats Zara | shorts Joe Fresh for JCP

What are you most excited to do and wear this Spring?

Whole 30: And So It Begins!

From March 15th to April 13th, I will be doing the Whole 30 and recapping my experience every Monday with a post outlining how I'm feeling, what I'm eating, and how it is going overall. 

I talked about it and now I'm doing it. I finally started the Whole 30 on Friday, and I even recruited my mother along for the experience! Following my attempt at a detox last week, after I hit publish on that update post, I immediately ordered It Starts With Food, by Whole 9 founders Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, and read it cover to cover in record time. I easily could have started the program when I first thought to do so, but I wanted to do the program right. Reading It Starts With Food first gave me so much information and knowledge beyond the Whole 30 (like the amount and sneaky ways sugar is added into food,) that I am glad I took the time to do so. 

If you're not familiar with the Whole 30 program, here's what it is in a nutshell per its creators, Melissa and Dallas Hartwig:

Whole9’s original program designed to change your life in 30 days. Think of it as a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food. Since 2009, thousands of people have used our program as a jump-start to changing the way they eat for the rest of their lives.

In this post, I mentioned my reasons for needing a change: wanting to resume a Paleo lifestyle, to sleep better, gain my energy back etc. While a gut-wrenching (literally) piece of French bread is no good for my gluten intolerance, a sugar filled lunch is by far the non pièce de résistance. Me and sugar do not get along, dating all the way back to my morbidly obese days (which let's be honest, dates back only two years ago). While I've gotten the cravings and emotional eating mostly under control, as they, some habits die hard.  

My hope is that by the end of the 30 days, this habit (amongst others) will die, for good and that I will be able to slay as the Hartwig's call it, "the sugar dragon," once and for all. I have come to be the healthiest and happiest I have ever been in my life and I truly refuse to let things like gluten and sugar ruin that for me.

Here is a recap of the past three days:

Spring Inspo: Dolce & Gabbana S12

One look that I am mildly obsessed with for spring/summer (to say the least) is a crop top with a sweetheart neckline. There is something about that teeniest bit of exposed midriff that is a bit cheeky, yet tasteful (when done right of course).  Even though this is an "old" collection in the fashion world, I still absolutely love the way Dolce & Gabbana did this look in the majority of their Spring 2012 collection. 

Burnt out.

Relaxing is something that doesn't always come easy to me. Instead of taking a minute to just chill, I sometimes find myself using that minute to "be more productive" when I should be using it to preserve my sanity.

Fortunately for me yesterday, I wasn't feeling well. At. All. I don't know if it's a result of the time change or the beginnings of a cold, but I was feeling less than stellar. I say fortunately, because while my "condition" was less than ideal, I was forced to rest, instead of powering through it like I normally would. I normally can't take a nap, but I took the most amazing nap yesterday, and have been feeling better since then.

All of this has taught me that while my to-do list is a great priority, I need to put myself at the top of that  list and make it a point to slow down and relax, especially if my body is telling me to do so.

So that's it from me. I'm now off to Trader Joe's & Whole Foods to pick up some items to begin my Whole 30, Target (because Target is my happy place), and Shake Shack (ironic, I know, but I want custard, so...yeah).

What helps you to relax and unwind?

Detox Update...

this was lunch. i was still optimistic at this point...

Even though I've done the "Three Day Wholesome Program" before, this time, it was just not happening. At about 8 o'clock Monday night, I went "SCREW THIS!" went to the kitchen, and gorged myself on grapes and chicken soup that my mom had made earlier in the day. 

Adventures in Macaron Making: Part II

Welcome to the now ongoing series, Adventures in Macaron Making, where yours truly attempts to perfect the art of making the French macaron, while remaining graceful and composed. You can read part one of the new series here. 

I can't believe it's been over a year since I first attempted macarons! I decided last weekend that there was no better time than the (then) present to try again. 

It's not that I was defeated by that first try, but making foolproof things like madeleines or going to Laduree (even Trader Joe's) for a macaron fix was just easier. Yet, the perfectionist in me remains determined. I've started this thing and I will  get it right. 

Eventually.

Time to Detox.

By the look of things, this week is shaping up to be a quiet one, perfect timing for a nice detox.

Wearing.

This week was one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of weeks for me. I'm also completely flummoxed (word of the day) by the fact that it's March! Slow down there 2013! 

In lieu of an outfit post, here are a few bits and pieces of what I wore this past week. With that said, I hope you all have a great weekend-I know I can't wait for it to begin. TGIF!