Pickled Red Onions

I don’t know why I haven’t posted this recipe sooner, but I can’t stop making and eating these pickled red onions…bring on all the tacos!

Pickled red onions are tangy and sweet, and they add a little extra crunch to whatever you put them on. I’m obsessed with them! I absolutely love them on tacos and pretty much all Mexican recipes. They are also phenomenal on sandwiches or burgers or in a salad. Essentially, I just keep them on hand all the time now.

They have a long shelf life and just get better with age. All you need is 6 simple ingredients!

Ingredients for Picked Red Onions

Here are the 6 simple ingredients you will need to make pickled onions:

• Red Onion – thinly sliced, you could use any type of onion you want if you aren’t a red fan
• Apple Cider Vinegar and Red Wine Vinegar – I love the combination of these two vinegars, they are sweet and a little more mild
• Sugar – balances the tartness and acidity of the vinegars
• Kosher Salt – adds flavor and enhances all the flavors
• Water – using warm water helps dissolve the sugar and salt

The measurement for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card down below. The recipe can be saved or printed there as well.

Variations for Pickled Onions

I’m all about not changing things up if it’s delicious, but this recipe is super flexible and can be easily adjusted to fit your desires. Here are a few ideas:

• Spicy – add slices of jalapeno or a dash or red pepper flakes
• Garlicky – add a clove or two of fresh garlic that has been thinly sliced
• Peppery – add whole peppercorns
• Herby – add a sprig of fresh thyme or rosemary or whatever herb(s) you love

You can also use other types of onions or vinegar. Play around with this recipe and find variation is your favorite!

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Traeger Smoked Cheezits

Irresistible snack alert!!! I don’t even know how this happened or what to tell you other than, I smoked cheezits and then I ate them all. 

Ok, I didn’t eat them all but for someone who isn’t really into rando snacks like this, it’s a pretty big deal that I couldn’t keep my grubby little hands out of them. 

We had some of our best friends over one night for dinner and swimming and afterwards ended up in the backyard roasting marshmallows and chatting away until the stars came out. If you’ve snagged a copy of our cookbook, Raised in the Kitchen you know what this is called, Sobremesa and it’s honestly my favorite part of the entire book. I’ll let you read all about it yourselves, but man, it was suuuuch a good night. 

And then Steve mentioned that his friend had smoked cheezits and I became obsessed. I lasted 4 days before curiosity got the best of me and I went for it. I decided to not google any recipes but to just wing it on my own and I am pretty dang sure that’s why it turned out awesome, it was pure inspiration. 

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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It was a non-stop week of cooking and photographing new recipes over here and I’m ready for a weekend with my feet up on the couch. Rebecca and Lynne were here working with me and we ate some seriously delicious food all week long. I’m looking forward to sharing it all with you! 

ON THE BLOG this week: Tender chunks of chicken and vegetables are simmered together underneath a buttery, flaky biscuit topping to make this chicken pot pie casserole. I made it a few weeks ago and it was such a hit, it’s already been made three times since then.

When you pull this cheesy and delicious ham potato broccoli casserole hot and steaming from the oven everyone will be clamoring for a bite.

This Strawberry Blueberry Banana Smoothie brings summertime straight to your glass – even in the middle of winter. Sweet and creamy, this good-for-you smoothie is an easy way to start your day or refuel in the afternoon.

Pepperoni pizza dip is the perfect party appetizer. I mean, who doesn’t love a piping hot, melting cheese dip full of pepperoni?

Roasted vegetables dipped in Bang Bang Sauce, dare I say it, are better than vegetables with homemade ranch dip. I didn’t think that was possible but it IS! (And yes, this homemade ranch really is incredible.)

After eating parmesan-roasted carrots you will not want to make them any other way. Bite-sized and toasty perfect, you can’t eat just one!

Fluffy, buttery, sweet pancakes filled with bursting juicy berries are possible with minimal effort. Enough pancakes for the whole family can be cooked all at once on a single sheet pan!

Homemade salted caramel sauce is ridiculously decadent and delicious. This sweet sauce makes a terrific addition to countless desserts, like this amazing chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting.

What I’m CRAVING: Have you ever had a Profiterole?? They are Read more

Hellooooo! Happy Friday! How was the week? I hope you had a great one. It was a quick one over here and I’m looking forward to some fun time this weekend. With school and the kids’ activities I feel like the week is such a blur, so it feels nice to just slow down a bit and enjoy. We’re having family dinner on Saturday night, I’m teaching a barre class, and we’re hoping to hit up the Gem Show on Sunday.

A highlight from the week: my third round of the EquiLife detox! We’ve been doing this as a community, and I love that it resets my nutrition settings, ups my energy, and I feel great. This was the first time I’ve slept terribly during the detox, but during the day, I’ve felt productive and centered.

One of my lunches from this week:

I made this lentil coconut curry soup and it was SO delicious.

In the Instant Pot, I added:

– 1 sweet onion

– 4 cloves of garlic

– 2 chopped zucchini

– Most of a bag of chopped cauliflower

– 3 small chopped and peeled carrots

– 1 knob of ground ginger

and sauteed it for about 5 minutes.

Then I seasoned it up with about a tablespoon of curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon turmeric and salt and pepper. I stirred in half a can of crushed tomatoes, a whole standard size box of chicken stock, and 6 oz sprouted lentils (from Thrive Market). After cooking on the soup setting for 20 minutes, I added two big handfuls of spinach, a can of coconut milk, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

It was SO GOOD and so easy! It’s been freezing around here (in the 20s in the morning. My Arizona soul is suffering), so this was very warming and deeeeelicious.

Check out this amazing check-in from our community FB page!

(You can order a detox here if you want to try it out and use the code FITNESSISTA20 for 20% off)

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 love hearing about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below!

We took the fam to see Bluey’s Big Play the other night. While it was definitely geared towards younger kids, it was super cute.

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Find some light in the dark with these positive news stories

Social enterprise cooks up tasty support for kinship families

According to the charity Family Rights Group, more than 180,000 children across the UK are being cared for by their kin – a grandparent, other relative, or family friend – due to their parents being unable to care for them. And while it’s an instinctive choice to make, it is a life-altering role that can come with many unique challenges.

Social worker Anna-Lou Manca has witnessed many kinship carers face financial and emotional difficulties over the course of her career, and it was for this reason that she founded Kinship Carers Hub in 2020 – a social enterprise on a mission to help kinship carers get the support they need to fulfil such a rewarding role.

The hub runs many projects – from employment opportunities to webinar training – which are all designed to provide guidance and support to kinship families, but their main project, Kinship Carers Cooking Club, is one combating social isolation through the power of food.

Each week, kinship families come together to cook and eat a meal, provided by the hub. Aside from the practical support provided through receiving groceries on a weekly basis, and learning about healthy, budget-friendly recipes, it also offers the opportunity to bond and access peer-to-peer support. One carer says: “It has allowed the children to see there are other children in the same situation as themselves, to show them that they aren’t alone.”

If you would like support as a kinship carer, visit kinshipcarershub.org

Workplace bullying survivor launches campaign for new UK law

The effects of workplace bullying can last a lifetime, chipping away at our confidence and undermining our self-esteem. But Skevi Constantinou, one woman who has been there herself, has come out the other side, and is ready to call for major change to protect others.

The former executive assistant was targeted at work over her chronic autoimmune condition, to the point where she eventually felt afraid to go into the workplace. And, sadly, she’s not alone. But despite Trades Union Congress (TUC) figures that found nearly a third of people have been bullied at work, with more than one in three people going on to leave their job because of it, workplace bullying is not currently recognised as a crime by UK law, leaving the door open for the perpetrators to get away with this behaviour.

“This affects millions of people, not just in the UK but globally,” Skevi says. “It’s so important that these people are represented and not made to feel that this is normal – to go to work and be treated that way. Bullies need to be stopped in the workplace.”

She points to Sweden as an example of a country that already has laws that specifically prohibit bullying in the workplace.

“We all deserve to go to work and be respected in a safe environment,” she says. “Whilst my own experiences have shaped me in