The Little Things Newsletter #408 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s been a gorgeous week for walking outdoors here in Ohio, despite a couple of tornado warnings – those were a first for this desert girl! I’m grateful that we didn’t have any property damage near our home and we’re praying for all of the families in Logan County who suffered so much loss. 

My mom has been visiting this week and we’ve enjoyed the time with her. She’s headed home today, and just in time to keep our house from feeling too empty, my brother and his fiance arrived last night to spend next week with us. (Have I mentioned how much I love having friends and family visit??)

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  Do you like Reuben sandwiches? If so, you might go a little bit crazy over these corned beef sliders – my family sure did!

Corned beef dip is a creamy, cheesy, slightly tangy dip generously filled with chunks of corned beef along with a bit of sauerkraut and caraway to give it that unmistakable Reuben sandwich flavor.

Hearty meatballs, sweet pineapple, and colorful bell peppers are tossed with your favorite barbecue sauce and simmered in the slow cooker to make these sweet and sour meatballs that the whole family craves.

Gently sauteed in maple syrup and butter these maple glazed carrots are a side dish that disappears fast every time I make it.

Crispy cauliflower, toasted bread crumbs, and nutty, savory parmesan are wonderful together in this scrumptious side. This roasted garlic parmesan cauliflower is snackable right off the pan.

Bursting with the sweet tang of blueberries in every bite, blueberry compote is one of my favorite ways to top a serving of crepes, a no-bake cheesecake, or a bowl of ice cream.

Rum raisin ice cream is full of rum-soaked raisins mixed in custardy vanilla ice cream with a hint of rum. This recipe is a little bit old school and a whole lot of creamy delicious.

What I’m CRAVING: These California roll sushi bowls look so good! They’ve been stuck in my head for a couple of days now. 

My FAVORITE THING this week is this water bottle. Here’s the deal. We own a lot of water bottles. If there’s an addiction to trying new water bottles, I may have it. However, I’m obsessed with this water bottle. I’ve been trying to up my water drinking game and thi

Friday Faves 3.15

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Hi friends! Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had an amazing week. We’re heading off on a little weekend adventure – I’ll share the fun over on IG stories!

I’m also diving into High Performance Health modules and am so excited about this content.

What do you have going on this weekend? I’d love to hear what you’re up to!

(sourdough and Mazer. The perfect combo)

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Friday Faves 3.15

Read, watch, listen:

The great joy of returning to your childhood hobbies. I relate to this so much! I’m singing in the symphony choir, taking Spanish lessons, and who knows, maybe I’ll start playing piano again.

Tips to boost your joy.

If you’re looking for weeknight meal inspo, check out this post.

Excellent podcast episode about menopause.

Fashion + beauty:

Maybe my internet sleuth friends out there can help me. I got this dress in this week’s RTR unlimited shipment and I LOVE it. It’s classic, the color is fun, and I can’t find it anywhere online. To buy it through RTR is $300 and I don’t love it that much 😉 Any ideas?? The brand is Derek Lam.

Derek lam dress.

(A little peek at the new floors! They look a million times better.)

New Vuori goodies! Vuori is my favorite spot to order athletic clothes right now. The quality is amazing, the colors are gorgeous, and they’re well-made and flattering.

I got this tank and this pair of shorts:

another energy tank (my fave out of all of them) and these bike shorts

and a new jumpsuit. I have a few Vuori jumpsuits and this year’s verison is even better. It has a waistband, built-in bra (!), and tapered legs, in the same dreamy fabric.

Fitness, health, and good eats:

New-to-me cookbook find. A friend raved about this one, so I ordered a copy! I’m excited to tr

My personal healing plan

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Sharing my strategy and how I’ve decreased inflammation and resolved some health issues over the past year.

***Warning: this post contains red eyeball pictures. If that freaks you out, please feel free to skip this post! 

Hi friends! I hope that you’re having a great week. Ours has been spent slowly putting the house back together – I’ll share some pics of the new floors soon!- and getting ready for spring travel and adventures.

For today’s post, I wanted to share a bit more about my health journey over the past year and my plan.

Please keep in mind that I’m not a doctor, and this is not medical advice. If you’re struggling with your health, please reach out to your doctor and get the support you need. Also, please don’t take, “you’re going to have to live with this” for an answer. There have been a handful of times in our family where I was told that was the case and it was not true. Sometimes you need a third or fourth opinion, but someone is out there who can help you. You can heal, and you deserve to feel amazing.

This time last year, things went wacky with my eyes. It was a pretty stressful time – the Pilot was traveling a lot, it was dance competition season, and I had to do a few of the dance competitions, and the big Disney trip for the parade solo parenting. It was all fun stuff, but it was a lot. We were getting ready for our end-of-the-year party, planning for Liv’s first communtion, and I was pushing myself the hardest I’d ever pushed with strength training and intervals.

I don’t want to recap the entire story with my eyes – I have a post here, and a podcast episode here – but the nutshell version is that they were neon red for many weeks, and the multiple eye doctors had differing opinions on what caused it. At first they thought it was pink eye – I did antibiotics and it didn’t resolve, and kept coming back – and something had triggered it. The only thing that kept the inflammation down was very intense steriod drops. One doctor wanted me to take them for three to four months!

I kept getting different answers, and after seeing multiple eye doctors, and my PCP, who helped me do some digging, we learned a few things:

– I had blepharitis, which was inflammation of my eyelids, MGD (meibmoian gland dysfunction) and dry eye

– Two markers for Lupus came back positive (ANA and DS-DNA)

– Something was causing inflamamtion in my body

The Lupus thing kind of made sense to me. I’d had random stress rashes over the years, and sometimes my hands would ache. I figured it was because I spent so much time on my phone and typing. I felt low-energy, like all the sleep in the world wouldn’t make me feel rested, and had a hard time recovering from my workouts. I would do one really hard workout, and not be able to work out again for 3-4 days afterwards. I started to get sick more frequently… and when I had the flu, I was in bed for 9 days. I knew something was causing my immune system to be on high alert.

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Corned Beef Dip

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Corned Beef Dip is a creamy, cheesy, slightly tangy dip generously filled with chunks of corned beef along with a bit of sauerkraut and caraway to give it that unmistakable Reuben flavor.

Served with toasted rye bread, rye chips, crackers, or bagel chips this is a dream-come-true snack for everyone who loves a great Reuben sandwich!

bite of reuben dip on toast

Hot Reuben Dip

Have we established well enough just how much my family enjoys Reubens? The idea of a hot Reuben dip might’ve been the easiest sell ever in the history of recipes we’ve tried.

My kids scraped this bowl clean just minutes after I set it in front of them. It was good that I had set aside a portion for Sean to try later, because there was nothing left at all by the time he made it to the kitchen.

cheesy baked dip with corned beef

Corned Beef Dip

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:

  • cream cheese
  • mayonnaise or sour cream
  • Thousand Island dressing
  • caraway seeds
  • horseradish
  • sauerkraut
  • corned beef
  • shredded Swiss cheese
  • toasted rye bread, rye chips, crackers, or bagel chips
corned beef and swiss cheese ingredients added to cheese dip Read more

12 Yogurt Bowl Ideas

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Sharing 12 delicious sweet and savory yogurt bowl combos!

Hi friends! How are you? I hope the week is going well! I’m going for a hike this morning – the weather is a dreeeeaaaaaam – and also have a dentist appointment.

For today’s post, I wanted to share some breakfast and snack ideas: yogurt bowls!!

Are you a fan of yogurt bowls? If not, you’re missing out on a delicious and nutritious breakfast or snack option. Yogurt bowls are not only easy to make but also packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals, making them a great choice for fueling your day.

If you can digest whole fat Greek yogurt, go for it! It’s packed with protein and nutrients. Since I can’t do a ton of dairy, I like to use Kite Hill yogurt or Cocoyo and mix it with protein powder 🙂

Today, I’m excited to share a roundup of 12 yogurt bowl ideas that you’ll love to try.

12 Yogurt Bowl Ideas

1. Berry Bliss Yogurt Bowl

Ingredients:

Greek yogurt

Mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)

Granola

Chia seeds

Instructions:

Step 1: In a bowl, layer Greek yogurt.

Step 2: Top with mixed berries, granola, and chia seeds.

Step 3: Enjoy this burst of fruity goodness!

2. Tropical Paradise Yogurt Bowl

Ingredients:

Greek yogurt

Pineapple chunks

Mango slices

Toasted coconut flakes

Honey drizzle

Instructions:

Step 1: Start with a base of Greek yogurt in a bowl.

Step 2: Add pineapple chunks and mango slices.

Step 3: Sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes and drizzle with honey.

Step 4: Close your eyes and transport yourself to a tropical paradise with every spoonful!

3. Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Yogurt Bowl

Ingredients:

Greek yogurt

Chocolate chips

Peanut butter

Homemade granola

Chopped nuts

Instructions:

Step 1: Spoon Greek yogurt into a bowl.

Step 2: Sprinkle with chocolate chips and drizzle with peanut butter.

Step 3: Top with homemade granola and chopped nuts for added crunch.

Step 4: Indulge in this decadent yet healthy treat!

4. Green Goddess Yogurt Bowl

Ingredients:

Plain Greek yogurt

Avocado slices

Cucumber slices

Cherry tomatoes

Hemp seeds

Instructions:

Step 1: Spread plain Greek yogurt in a bowl.

Step 2: Arrange avocado slices, cucumber slices, and cherry tomatoes on top.

Step 3: Sprinkle with hemp seeds for an extra boost of protein and healthy fats.

Step 4: Enjoy this refreshing and nutrient-packed bowl!

5. Peach Pie Yogurt Bowl

Ingredients:

Greek yogurt

Sliced peaches

Cinnamon

Almond butter

Crushed graham crackers

Instructions:

Step 1: Layer Greek yogurt in a bowl.

Step 2: Top with sliced peaches and a sprinkle of cinnam

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