Hi friends! Hope your morning is going well. I have a long post tomorrow about creating a healthy relationship with food, but today, I wanted to re-share this oldie but goodie in honor of the upcoming “all things green” holiday.

Not only is this is the best St. Patrick’s Day cocktail, it’s the best cocktail for anytime, really.

There’s not too much “Irish” about me. There’s a little bit on my great-grandmother’s side, the fact that I used to Irish Step dance (I had a mean slip jig), and I married an Irish man. He introduced me to wonderful things about his family’s culture -they actually own a bar in Ireland that we’d love to visit someday!- including this cocktail. It has a rich sweetness to it, a little goes a long way as it’s very rich, and is absolutely perfect for the upcoming holiday.

We’ve had some pretty memorable St. Patrick’s Days, like when we visited Savannah and the power went out in the entire city. (I was convinced it was aliens or an attack of some sort.) But with all of the ones we’ve spent together, my favorite was the night we stayed home in Valdosta, watched movies and drank copious amounts of this cocktail.

My version is with almond milk, and the Pilot’s is with heavy cream or regular milk:

[One of these things is not like the others. Also, these are older pics but my go-to almond milk right now is the Malk brand]

As you guys know, I tend to stay away from dairy for health/skin/autoimmune reasons. I don’t stay away from Bailey’s Irish cream for any reason aaaaaand they now make a dairy-free version that’s pretty good 😉 I also have added back some dairy with success after healing my gut!

Here’s the recipe for my favorite cocktail, which I’ve dubbed “The Lucky Irish Girl.” Even though I’m mostly Irish by association, St. Paddy’s is one of my favorite holidays. Hope you enjoy this drink as much as we do!

Sharing 20 superfood smoothie recipes.

Hi hi! How’s the day going? I hope you’re having a great one! W’re still traveling around but check out the adventures on IG stories!

For today, let’s talk about one of my favorite foods: smoothies!

Smoothies are a delicious and convenient way to pack a variety of nutrients into your diet, especially when you incorporate superfoods. These nutrient-rich ingredients not only enhance the flavor of your smoothie but also provide a range of health benefits. In this blog post, we’ll explore 20 superfood smoothie combinations featuring ingredients like coconut, maca, goji berries, cacao, chia seeds, and spirulina to help you nourish your body and energize your day.

What are superfoods?

Superfoods are nutrient-dense foods that are particularly rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other beneficial compounds. These foods are believed to offer exceptional health benefits beyond basic nutrition. While there is no official definition of superfoods, they are typically whole foods—such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and certain grains—that are recognized for their high nutritional content and potential to promote health and well-being. Some examples of commonly recognized superfoods include berries (like blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries), leafy greens (such as kale, spinach, and Swiss chard), nuts and seeds (like almonds, chia seeds, and flaxseeds), fatty fish (such as salmon and sardines), whole grains (like quinoa and oats), and certain spices (such as turmeric and cinnamon). These foods are often praised for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting properties, among other health benefits. Incorporating a variety of superfoods into your diet can help support overall health and vitality.

20 superfood smoothie recipes

Tropical Bliss: Coconut, pineapple, banana, and spinach with coconut water.

Maca Mocha: Maca powder, cacao powder, banana, almond butter, and cold brew coffee.

Goji Berry Blast: Goji berries, mixed berries, banana, spinach, and almond milk.

Chocolate Avocado Delight: Cacao powder, avocado, banana, dates, and almond milk.

Chia Seed Powerhouse: Chia seeds, banana, spinach, mango, and coconut water.

Spirulina Sunshine: Spirulina powder, pineapple, mango, banana, and orange juice.

Berry Beet Boost: Lightly steamed beets, mixed berries, banana, spinach, and coconut water.

Matcha Madness: Matcha powder

I believe that it’s always a good time for sangria, so please feel free to replace “summer” in the name of this easy summer sangria recipe with the season of your choice 😉

Sangria, or wine punch, is a fantastic party beverage, especially if you can make it at home and let it sit in the fridge overnight. I made last night’s sangria at the BBQ we went to, because I had visions of exploding sangria and the Pilot’s car smelling like wine and brandy for the rest of the year. I personally don’t mind the smell of wine and brandy, though…

For this recipe, I like to use inexpensive dry red wine, like a cheap Spanish wine. If you prefer white wine, you could definitely swap the red wine for pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc and make a white wine sangria that tastes just as delicious. I know plenty of people who also like to add lemon lime soda for some carbonation, but you can skip adding that and not miss a thing. After all, the key ingredients here are the fresh fruits (summer fruit in this case) and wine for sangria that’s off the charts amazing yet surprisingly simple.

Sharing tips on how to make and flavor your own kombucha at home!

Hi friends! Hope you’re having a lovely morning! This week is a bit bonkers and we’re enjoying time with some friends who are here from Florida! I’ll be back on Friday with some faves, but in the meantime, here’s a post from the archives. If you’re curious about making your own kombucha at home, here’s the full how-to!

So, it FINALLY HAPPENED.

After about a year (maybe a little longer?) of inconsistently making kombucha at home, I finally made some that tastes even better than store-bought stuff.

Orange Cranberry Ginger Homemade Kombucha

It was getting really close, and I was happy with the flavor combos I’d tried, but it was always a little too tangy, too sweet, not fizzy enough, etc.

After quite a bit of experimentation, I got the result I’d been searching for; it was a glorious moment indeed. A warm embrace was shared with the kombucha jar before holding the scoby in the air like a baby Simba while singing a celebratory chant.

(Ok, just in my mind.)

Tips on How to Make Kombucha at Home

-I followed the steps in this post, but will outline them again, updated with the current techniques.

1) The quality of the scoby (the starter bacteria that looks like a flat, opaque gummy disk) makes all the difference in the world. I got an awesome scoby from Amazon, but I’ve also ordered a dud that ended up molding. (A little tidbit about mold: a lot of people are rightfully fearful about making moldy or bad kombucha. If the batch is bad, it’s an obvious thing. You will know it’s bad just by looking at it. The scoby will have blue or greenish patches on it, and well, it will look like mold. Don’t drink it; throw it away to start over.) The scoby I picked up from the farmer’s market in Ocean Beach is a BEAST.

(I got a bottle from the farmer’s market, filled with scoby strands and starter tea. To say I was skeptical would be an understatement. Shame on me.)

I’ve made multiple batches with said amazing scoby and also gave one to Whitney; she now has a full-up scoby hotel.

I like ‘em thick.

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