Sometimes you don’t need to spend a lot of money for something to be really good.

Like it exceeds its pay grade because it’s just elevating your life, making some aspect of your routine just a little bit better, or simply out-performs expectations.

And let’s face it, for under 35 bucks these days, you just don’t know what you’re going to get. But I can assure you, everything on this list I own, have used, I love it, and will happily recommend it to my best friends, family, and you too!

I have a whole Amazon Storefront of all my various favorites from kitchen to books to travel to cats so if you’re curious, it’s all there and well organized.

If you don’t shop on Amazon, that’s great. I do and I find value in it (to varying degrees) and that’s why I am sharing my favorites that are well-vetted and useful.

Kitchen

Nonstick 8” Pan - If you need a small, safe, nonstick skillet for a couple eggs, this is the one. Of course you can use it for other things but I find it’s perfect for eggs, no oil needed. And the size is great when you don’t need anything too big. When I need to break out the big guns in the safe, nontox, nonstick pan arena, I reach for my Caraway or my OurPlace. They’re a different price point, totally and completely worth it, but not under $35. They’re also much bigger, especially the Caraway and it’s more pan than I need for just a couple eggs or egg white omelette.

Silicone Spatula/Flipper - They call this a fish spatula but it’s excellent for getting under a couple of eggs and flipping them without breaking the yolks. Of course, it’s also great for fish or chicken. The angle of the flipping part, combined with the silicone coating that protects your nonstick pans, you’ll want to throw all your other spatulas out. I did.

Kitchen Scissors - This super cheap (price, not quality) set comes with two pairs of scissors. I actually have had my set for 5 years, and I am still on the first pair, they’re still not dull! And I use them EVERY day for cutting open plastic packages, for snipping herbs, for opening a stubborn anything. Basically these are free for the price-to-longevity situation going on.

Set of Two Half Sheet Pans - If yours are ratty, bent, stained, charred, weird stuff molten on, move on and get these. NordicWare doesn’t mess around and these are the most resistant to doing that one corner up, one corner down, thing that most sheet pans do in an oven over 350F. Not these. And make a sheet pan dinner or some cookies while you’re at it!

Viral Veggie Chopper - While I don’t break this out all the time, when I need it, I need it. For recipes with a fair amount of chopping or prep work, slam in those onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, etc. and let this thing chop it for you in a couple whacks. Anger management issues? This will help. That slam-down is therapeutic.

Food Scale - If you’re weighing your ingredients for a recipe OR you’re tracking your food, you need a scale. I weigh almost all my proteins that I consume, especially my lunch and dinner, because while I can eyeball things, I like to know, to make sure I’m consuming what I think I’m consuming, and not just guessing. I track using the Lose It app.

🎯 On a personal note, I’ve seen the biggest changes in my body, physique, energy, sleep, and fitness when I’m consuming 120-130+ grams protein a day and in order to know with certainty, it’s just obligatory to weigh my food.

There’s no way to know the difference between 4 ounces vs. 5 1/2 ounces of chicken when it’s sitting in a bowl on top of a salad. But that’s ~15 grams of protein which can make or break your goals for the day, one way or the other.

I wrote about protein in this post below. What to eat, how to do it, how to clock in 100 grams daily. For everyone who’s still not on board: You should be eating nearly 1 gram of protein per day for every pound of body mass. So if you weigh 150 pounds you should be eating nearly 150 grams of protein. At a minimum, 0.8 grams per pound. So if you’re 150 lbs, that’s 120 grams protein.

And I have a High Protein Recipes ebook each with 30 grams protein per serving for anyone who needs recipe ideas!

Health, Beauty, Fitness

Digital Bathroom Scale (for you, not your food). The BEST scale I’ve ever tried! Reminds me of the high end scale at my gym that personal trainers use and it scans your body. But this is done in your home and in two seconds with all your data.

Weight, body fat, BMI, visceral fat, muscle, bones, water, and more. You put an app on your phone (it’s super easy to install, no million user names and codes), open the app, it tells you to step on the scale, and in 2 seconds all your data is passed to your phone. And it saves it so the next time you step on the scale, it tells you which categories you’re up, down, and what percentage. Super helpful tool for me after not stepping on a scale in about 5 years.

Collagen and Biotin Pills - Works as well as products twice or triple the price and you only need to take two a day, not a half dozen like with many brands. I’ve seen great skin texture improvement, longer lashes, better stronger nails, definitely recommend these.

Workout gloves - No amount of time in the gym has ever prepared my palms for “toughening up”. I’ve tried. I just end up with blisters. Not to mention, this gives a little bit of help when you’re trying to pick up weights since there’s texture things are less slippery. I am a medium.

Grippy Things - I don’t know what these are really called but basically you put them in your palms (I keep my gloves on), then put this in your hand, and your grip just got so much better. It feels like you have so much more grip strength and if you’re working on pullups, assisted pullups, dips, anything where your grip strength and grip ability is at the forefront, these have been a game changer. for me. I saw these on a Facebook ad but got them on Amazon for so much cheaper than the ad was trying to sell them to me. Why is grip strength important? See below.

🎯 Also, if you don’t know, grip strength is one of the most accurate predictors of longevity and health. Just go Google “grip strength longevity” and a whole slew of information comes up including a National Library of Medicine article about it being a key biomarker.

Moving on…

The Holy Grail Makeup & Toiletry Kit - This is a knockoff of the Parallel brand which is $155 AND it’s always sold out. This is one of only a couple items on this list that is over $35 (it’s $42) but honestly I have looked for years and years and years to consolidate ALL my makeup, hair, beauty, creams, pills, etc. into ONE kit for travel so that I am not lugging multiple bags in and out of hotel bathrooms to my suitcase.

This is a big, roomy kit and I love that all your products stay upright. Honestly best dupe ever and I truly love it. I traveled with it to Disney last week and it has changed my travel game. I have looked and looked for years and years and bought so many other dob kits, makeup, toiletry bags, it’s all here - forever. Super high quality and EQUAL to Parallel which I have it in the smaller $110 size.

I love this thing so much I just made a video!

Makeup Brush Cleaning “Bucket” and Brush Cleaning Solution - I cleaned my brushes and my daughter’s the other day (it had been way too long, you don’t even want to know) and this little bucket is key because it has a textured base so do this in kitchen sink with lots of running water and watch what comes out. I don’t even want to know. Best $20 bucks for both I’ve spent in ages. Then you can prop the brushes up to dry in these little “holes” in the bucket. I set that on my patio table in the sun to dry for an afternoon and all was well.

Apparel for Both Women and Men

Lightweight Tank Top - Also for my Disney adventures, I got some tank tops that aren’t overly clingy, that can easily hide bra straps underneath, at a great price point, soft fabric, thick enough not to show every lump and bump, and this delivers. I actually loved it so much I got pink, apricot, ivory, and black. I’m set for the summer for $80 bucks :) I got a large but could take a medium. I’m 5’11” and don’t like tight anything on top. Especially in hot weather.

Men’s Golf Shirt - This shirt is so good. It competes at an elite level with those $115 Peter Millar’s which IYKYK. Honestly, run and buy this in every color for every guy you know. It’s just so so go good. The fabric is buttery soft, silky, just an incredible shirt for $20 bucks!

Next Men’s Golf Shirt - This is the one my husband is wearing in the photos above. Also a $20 shirt that plays way above its league. He’s a medium. He’s about 5’6” and 165 pounds.

Men’s Linen Pants - Purchased for a Europe trip and they’re a solid buy in many different colors.

Women’s Sweater Top - I went through a phase where I bought this in tons of colors - black, red, ivory, tan, cream - and I don’t regret it. I’ve had them 18-24 months, the black and ivory especially I’ve worn and washed the heck out of them and they’re still looking great! For work, for a casual date night, for a girls night, the ivory one for chilly church mornings with a cardigan on top. Photo below.

Wireless Bra - I like this so much better than Eby, Negative, or bras that are $65+ dollars each. I take the pads out but you can keep them in and they don’t move around. I have it in 3 colors and started buying the set but they’re sold individually. Comes with a clasp extender so if you’re between band sizes, I’d probably size down knowing that there is a band extender included in the package but you know your girls.

Travel Related

I have a large travel section on my Amazon storefront but want to feature a few key items here. But make sure to check that out for all my recs!

Bendy Travel Pillow - No more U-shaped collars around your neck! This one molds to you. Enough said.

Packing Cubes - If you still aren’t using them to organize AND maximize space in your suitcase, you’re missing out. Hop on the packing cube train. I’ve stretcheddddd these to their max capacity for 3+ years now, this exact set, all over Europe and South America, and they’re perfect. Zippers intact, no rips.

One Charger For the US and North America, South America - Stop carrying all those chargers! Just get this one.

One Plug In/Charger For Everything for Europe - Going to Europe? Get this ONE thing. It’s just that simple.

Pills & Supplement Case - If you take collagen pills, probiotics, or bigger pills (and you need to take 3 to 6 of them per day) then you need this organizer. Magnetic, seals well, everything stays organized.

The Holy Grail Makeup & Toiletry Kit - Also in the above health/beauty section, but putting it in Travel too because it’s that good!

Food and Grocery

I do not obsess with the most organic, the cleanest ingredients, the most perfect. I find value in the items in this section but just like everything else, your mileage may vary.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - Without a separate subscription to Amazon Grocery. This may vary by your area what’s available. However, in San Diego I can say that the quality is excellent. Tastes like a much higher level of organic, farm-raised, etc. type of chicken than it’s labeled as. Kind of like Trader Joe’s chocolate bars are rumored to be Scharffen-Berger. This chicken may likely be much more elite than it is, but because of labeling laws, they can’t over-promise things. I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s sold in 4 to 5 pound packages. I always receive 4.5 pounds. I grill it all and have meal prep done for 3-4 days.

Last week’s Amazon chicken.

Last night’s Amazon chicken.

Quest Birthday Cake Protein Bars - 20 grams protein, 12 grams fiber (which is about HALF of your recommended daily fiber intake in 1 bar so IMO they could be also sold as high fiber bars!), 1g sugar, really sweet, and if you’re eating healthy enough, these definitely taste like a treat to me.

Aloha Bars - Much cleaner ingredients so I’ve been told (again, I don’t really care and don’t obsess). My daughter loves the peanut butter and I’m all about the cookie dough.

Clear Protein with Electrolytes - The ONLY protein powder that I’ve ever tried that ACTUALLY DISSOLVES without issue. Barely needed to stir it with a spoon. No shaker cups, no clumps, no undissolved blobs, these are elite. I travel with them, I love them, I get a cup of water from a Starbucks or the first place I see when I get off an airplane, add a packet, and drink. Not only is there protein, but there’s also electrolytes which save me from altitude or travel-induced migraines, headaches, and just feeling off. Does not upset my stomach at all. Also great for early mornings when you don’t want “creamy”, chocolaty, or heavy traditional protein. I also have a link through the Arrae website and if you’re willing to sign up for autoship, it gets a lot cheaper.

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What have you bought on Amazon that’s been elite in class and just a great buy?

Planning a Visit to Walt Disney World in Florida? Read This First!

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited by Walt Disney World to Summer Fun Fest to preview some brand new updates to some of the attractions, rides, and fun stuff they’ve been working on as part of their Cool Kids Summer launch. Let’s face it, for families with kids, summer offers the most flexibility in terms of planning time at Disney and they’re making sure to maximize precious summer vacations and your time together as a family.

Running from May 26-September 8, there are new character experiences, dance parties, and attraction upgrades to the parks, alongside exclusive family-focused deals like resort discounts and complimentary water park admission on check-in day. Yay! Make sure to check out their Summer Events page for more info.

I live in San Diego about 75 minutes from Disneyland in Anaheim and am pretty familiar that park.

However, the various Disney Parks in Florida are just so much bigger, more sprawling, and with more to do, and more going on. Planning your days before you get there so you maximize your time rather than wandering in circles or waiting unnecessarily in long lines is what I’m here to help you with. And so that everyone from little kids to big kids alike do so without melting down.

Buckle up, pour a coffee, and enjoy the nearly 100 photos I’m sharing and my experiences and insights. Here are some important tips:

• Download the Walt Disney World app and familiarize yourself with it. Disney World and Disneyland have two separate apps, make sure you grab the right one. The app can link your park admission tickets and hotel room if you’re staying on property. You’ll rescan every time you enter a new park along with your fingertip, and doing so through the app is easy.

• You’ll need the app to reserve Lightning Lanes (fast entrance to certain popular attractions which cuts down wait times from let’s say an hour to 15 minutes, for example).

• You can also pre-order food at their fast casual restaurants via the app. Order your food, walk over, tap the “I’m Here” button, your order should be ready in minutes. I find pre-ordering is less necessary in Orlando than in Anaheim but still very helpful to save time.

• Also have your Googlemaps or Maps at the ready because in my experience the Disney apps don’t quite navigate you to exactly where you want to go within the parks and true map-based apps are more geo-precise. Nothing worse than walking down a path only to figure out you should have taken a hard left rather than a softer left and then you need to backtrack. And it’s 95F.

• Buy Park Hopper passes if you can swing it so that you can go from one park to another on the same day, which is easy to do via monorail or Disney shuttle buses. It’s a way to mix up your days and see new things and freshen up your scenery. In my opinion, Magic Kingdom will always be the most crowded and if you mentally max out with that, having another park to be able to hop over to during the peak of the day may be a sanity saver if you’re not one for crowds or are traveling with kids.

• For some things, Disney transportation buses are the best option and they’re free. For other routes, like going from the parks to Disney Springs (aka Downtown Disney for all your west coasters) to from our Disney hotel which was the Port Orleans, it’s faster and very inexpensive to take an Uber or Lyft even if you’re staying at a Disney property. At the end of a long day, getting somewhere quickly for a $5.85 Lyft charge, and we were back in 10 minutes rather than 30-45, was a big win for very little cost. Rideshare is a fraction of the price in Orlando than it is in SoCal I realized and saves time and sanity.

• Common sense: Wear shoes you know are your most comfortable, tried-and-true sneakers. My Hokas were on my feet for 15 hours each day. My husband wanted to wear a brand new pair of shoes and I was like nope, not happening, because you’ll (we’ll) be suffering later.

• Wardrobe: Make it comfortable and functional. I lived in these cutoffs and different colors of these lightweight tanks. My husband wore various colors of this golf shirt and we were both happy with our wardrobe choices, given the 90F+ temps plus Florida humidity.

• Bring a power bank for your phone! You will burn through your battery with all that app’ing and toggling and Disney doesn’t have many places within the parks to sneakily plug your phone into a wall in their restaurants - trust me, I looked. So my power bank saved me.

• Bring the least amount of personal stuff you possibly can get away with. For me, I carried what I needed in my Lulu belt bag (shown in pics below). For people with kids, maybe that’s a backpack of some sort. Just remember, you’re carrying it, all day. Yes there are lockers but you will need to walk back to them to get your stuff out.

• You can bring a stroller and Disney is probably the most accessible place out there for people who need it. Ask, and you shall receive is what I’ve been told from friends who’ve been in wheelchairs, motorized scooters, who have a kid with a broken leg, special needs family members, and more.

• You do not need cash (and in fact some places are cashless), and you don’t need a bunch of credit cards. I bring one card, my ID, and tap-to-pay on my phone for everything.

• There are fountains all over the parks to refill water bottles, which you can bring your own. And you can bring in your own snacks or food. I went with a Chomps stick and a protein bar each day just in case to prevent hangry moments and keep my protein up.

Fun fact: the last time I was at Walt Disney World was in February 2016 running the Disney Half Marathon. Six weeks later I ran another half marathon at Disneyland making me “special” (or just crazy) in what Disney calls their Coast To Coast Challenge, where you run one marathon in both parks, within one calendar year.

Let’s Go To Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Our first full day started off at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

We specifically headed towards the Galaxy’s Edge area of the park. Think all things Star Wars!

We previewed the Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run which is newly redesigned and for the first time ever, the crew will be in control of their own destination, leading to potential adventures on Bespin, the wreckage of the second Death Star around Endor, or the just-announced bustling city-planet, Coruscant. This is mostly a 4D/virtual “ride” and it’s incredible how realistic it all was!

Then we headed over to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. If you’re going to use a Lightning Lane pass, this is one to do it on, since it’s very popular. Although midweek, late morning, we were able to get on in about 30 minutes!

There’s a parallel attraction at Disneyland and so my husband was super excited about this one! You’re in a multi-person “cart” that moves through the ride but there’s nothing physically “scary” here since again, there’s a lot of effects and 4D without anything fast moving.

We had lunch at the ABC Commissary and using mobile order pickup, we had zero wait. We were starving by the time we inhaled our tacos, pork, and chicken salad.

Then we made our way over to the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starting the Muppets and were able to preview it before they open this newly enhanced ride to the public tomorrow.

I love roller coasters and this was a 10000/10 for me! It starts out fast, you go upside down, and my husband hates roller coasters and speed (opposite of me!) but he survived in one piece. If you’ve ever been on Incredicoaster, this is the closest coaster in terms of that overall vibe IMO.

The last time I was on the Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster was 10 years ago when I was running the Walt Disney World Half Marathon and it lived up to my memory, and then some. With high-speed thrills, a pulse pounding soundtrack with a rock remix, and a VIP list like no other, this reimagined attraction hits all the right notes! There’s also new Muppets merch. This attraction is one that if you may want to consider using a Lightning pass.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

After a really intense first 8 hours of our day, by 3PM we were ready for something more chill: like going to see the animals in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We hopped a Disney bus over and were there in no time.

Although we didn’t have time to check out Zootopia: Better Zoogether, I wish we did because it’s a new 4D show at the Tree of Life theater featuring familiar furry faces from Zootopia and Zootopia2 and it’s a wild and hilarious adventure.

We did go on Avatar Flight Of Passage and again, I had only been on this one 10 years ago when I was at Disney for my half marathon and back then, it was without a doubt the coolest ride/adventure/attraction I had ever been on in my life! And you know what, IT STILL IS. It’s impossible to adequately describe this experience but basically you’re virtually flying on the back of a bird-like animal called a banshee and you’re viewing the world with a literal bird’s eye view. If you’ve ever been in a helicopter in Hawaii or barrel surfing big waves, there are moments that feel just like that.

My husband was blown away, and we both left the trip talking about how amazing this one is. Don’t miss it. Animal Kingdom is incredible because of all the animals, and as a bonus, you’ve got Avatar too!

We also went on a sit down 22 minute safari ride through the bush and it was the perfect relaxing ending to our day. We saw so many beautiful animals!

We closed the park down at 6PM. Note that Animal Kingdom closes earlier than the other parks because the animals need to go to bed. In the summer, it’s open later until 7PM but always check before you go.

Disney Springs (aka Downtown Disney)

Disney Springs is where you’ll find dozens of restaurants, dessert shops, boutiques, an AMC movie theater, bowling alley, bars like the House of Blues, a Cirque du Soleil theatre, and more.

After a long day at Hollywood Studios and then Animal Kingdom, we took an $8 Lyft over to Disney Springs. Specifically, we had dinner at Summer House on the Lake. I highly recommend reservations for this particular restaurant and if you’re traveling with a party of more than 2, anywhere you go, reservations are ideal, although not technically obligatory, you need to be willing to wait. You’re not the only person or family who wants to have dinner about 6-8PM after the parks.

Food, view, service, and vibes at Summer House was 10/10 and both my husband and I needed salads and healthier food and it delivered. And then we ordered the Cookie Butter Cheesecake (not healthy) but oh so good! The pastry chef at Summer House has competed in multiple baking shows on TV and you can taste it. Wow!

The previous night, following our long travel day from San Diego to Orlando, we went to Wine Bar George quite honestly because we stumbled on it and they had two open seats at the bar. We were winging it without reservations, at 8PM, starving, and things were very full everywhere else we had looked into.

We were veryyy hungry and ordered meatballs, lamb lollipops, I ordered the chicken, and my husband ordered the ribeye. It was at least 14 ounces if not more. If I were to do it again, I would skip the appetizers (or get a cheese board instead because they looked amazing) and then just order main courses because the portion sizes were extremely generous, even when super hungry.

Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom

I kicked off our second full day in the parks with media and press interviews. It was such a unique and very special opportunity to be able to talk to engineers, designers, and people who were really integral in making enhancements and changes to the various attractions in the various parks.

First up was chatting about Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin with Jeff Harmon and another team member, Kimberly. It now has all digital targets and everything came to life in collaboration with WDI. You can find new secrets, there’s an intergalactic hero, and a multi colored ring to unlock the target. Since this attraction has been a rite of passage ride for many over the past 30 years, and for many kids it’s their first ride, there’s a congratulatory message at the end, and since not all messages are the same, patrons will be encouraged to ride again.

We also chatted about Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with Wyatt Winter, who’s an executive producer and former cast member at BTM. There’s now a lower height requirement making it a whole family coaster and a fun rainbow feature in the caverns. For me, the best enhancement are the new train cars in which you ride. They’re bigger, much more cushioned, and it’s just a smoother experience, but the same track layout.

Finally, we chatted with Alec Ras, Director of Facility Asset Management. There’s a team of 250 who dedicate themselves to maintaining, beautifying, reworking, and redoing things that need it - in all of the parks, hotel properties, and more. I truly cannot imagine how many lightbulbs, garden hoses, or literal tons of paint they go through!

Speaking of which, Cinderella’s Castle is newly painted gray, after being formerly gray a long time ago, then pink, and now back to gray again. She’s a beauty!

In the Magic Kingdom, my husband and I went on Space Mountain. IMO it’s more tame in Florida compared to in California; and the wildest Space Mountain without a doubt is in Disney Paris! If you’re doing Space Mountain, do it as early in the day as you can or use Lighting to save on wait times.

We hit up Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion, and after couldn’t resist a pineapple Dole Whip.

EPCOT

After a morning at the Magic Kingdom we trekked over to EPCOT using the Monorail. From the Magic Kingdom, take it towards the Disney Hotels, get off on the second stop, and transfer to a second Monorail which takes you to EPCOT. Signage is a little light, so ask for help to make sure you do it right.

We arrived in the early afternoon at Epcot (I am going to stop using all caps because I don’t like screaming at you in my written communications), ravenous from our morning’s activities, and were ready to eat. The great thing about Epcot is that you can literally eat your way around the world.

First stop, and conveniently located to the left of the entrance, is Mexico where we ate at La Cantina de San Angel. Chicken tacos, pork, and some tasty red sangria that wasn’t too sweet.

We continued grazing and snacking around the globe, including a Peach Dole Whip, a glass of Veuve Clicquot and a French beer 1616 for my husband in France.

We had some ceviche back in Mexico, various ice creams, saw a replica of the Gardens at the Palace of Versailles and the Eiffel Tower, and much more - it was a true smorgasbord of food and culture! No complaints!

Venice vibes too!

I also spotted 3 bonsai trees that are the age and corresponding birth years of my daughter, my husband, and myself which I thought was very serendipitous.

It also happened to be the Flower Festival time of year so there were just so many incredible flowers, topiaries and all things botanical in beautiful form.

We looked at Louis Vuitton handbags (no joke, they’re there in Epcot France), took in Morocco and it felt like we were transported into another world, and admired the spectacular foliage and flowers everywhere.

The coolest thing we did was preview the newly vamped Soarin’ Across America attraction which showcase the United States from sea to shining se, and highlights some of the country’s natural beauty and iconic cityscapes. And comes just in time for America’s Semiquincentennial, or 250 years old. I was a bicentennial baby so you can do the math there.

I had never been on this before, so have no basis for prior comparison, but you truly do feel like you’re soaring above America, descending into various cities, with such cool effects. When we were soaring over Hawaii, you could smell flowers; when we were over the plains states with fields, there was a grassy smell. There was a breeze wind effects at points and really neat sensory effects so I highly recommend checking out this out!

We wrapped up with a media-only preview of some of the many things Cool Kids Summer will entail including Bluey’s Wild World. highlights, GoofyCore, Jessie’s Roundup, sampling some of the new food and menu offerings, saw some new merchandise, and it was the final event to an incredible couple of days!

Tell me about the best things you’ve done at the Disney Parks, tips, tricks, or memories! Do you have a trip planned?

Share Averie in Real Life

☀️ Hey hey, my favorite season of the year is on deck: SUMMER! I’ll always be a warm weather, longer days, go to the beach and soak in the sun type of person! And since Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial kickoff to summer, it’s time to switch up the recipe lineup!

🍽️ I’m sharing 20 of my favorite grilled mains, sides, and easy apps!

📣 And I want to share for all the grilling fans out there, I have a grilling book sharing my favorites! And…I am grateful for your support! I’ve also got a whole collection of ebooks and bundles, too.

The Best 35 Grilling Recipes 📖🔥 Unlock the full potential of your grill with my ebook! From juicy steaks to flavorful veggies, this cookbook is your guide to mastering outdoor cooking. With expert tips and mouthwatering recipes, elevate your grilling game and create unforgettable meals every time.

Grilled Chicken That’s Next Level

Grilled Mango Pineapple Chicken 🥭🍍🍗 EASY, ready in 10 minutes, and the flavor of the juicy chicken makes you feel like you’re on a TROPICAL island! Grilled peppers on the side makes for the PERFECT summer meal!

🧄🍗 This Grilled Spicy Garlic Chicken Recipe is given incredible flavor thanks to the EASY homemade marinade. Created with everyday ingredients, the marinade is super flavorful and results in juicy chicken!

Hawaiian Grilled Pineapple Chicken 🍍🌺🍗Transports you to Hawaii with every bite of this tender, juicy chicken and the grilled pineapple seals the deal! EASY, HEALTHY, ready in 10 minutes, and perfect for summer parties, barbecues, and casual weeknight dinners!

Grilled Lime Cilantro Chicken 🍋‍🟩🌿 EASY, ready in 10 minutes, and the chicken is so TENDER, juicy, and full of Mexican-inspired flavor! Put this HEALTHY chicken recipe on your summer menu rotation and it’ll be a hit with everyone!

Grilled Tandoori Chicken 🧡💚 Recreate this Indian favorite QUICKLY and EASILY at home! If you’re looking for a new spin on grilled chicken, this is THE recipe to try. It’s super juicy, flavorful, and you’ll LOVE IT!

Pork and Steak For the Protein Win

🔥🧡😋Learn how to make juicy and tender Grilled Pork Chops on a gas grill thanks to a super simple homemade marinade that provides the perfect amount of savory flavor! When combined with the natural smoky flavor you get from the grill, these marinated grilled pork chops are a FAST and EASY family favorite! Indoor cooking instructions are also provided.

These Pork Belly Burnt Ends 🐷🖤😍 are crispy, sticky, sweet-and-savory pieces of pork belly are grilled to burnt ends “perfection”! The pork is moist, tender, and everyone goes crazy for it so double the recipe! Perfect for Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, game day parties, or as a special weeknight treat for your family!

🍯🧄 My Grilled Honey Garlic Pork Chops recipe is juicy, moist, and tender, thanks to the simple but tasty honey garlic marinade. Infused with so much FLAVOR, they’re perfect for a quick weeknight dinner idea, summer holidays, or casual backyard barbecues. Everyone LOVES the sweet, savory taste!

These Grilled Steak Kabobs 🥩🌶️🍍combine juicy steak with sweet bell peppers, onions, zucchini, and pineapple for the PERFECT sweet-and-savory kabob! You’ll want to fire up your grill for these! Fast, EASY, zero cleanup, and DELISH! This is flexible recipe and you can mix-and-match the ingredients based on your preferences and what you have on hand.

🍯🐷 Grilled Honey Mustard Pork Chops are SO juicy and tender thanks to a Dijon mustard and honey marinade. And a brown sugar and grainy mustard sauce is the perfect finishing touch to glaze these EASY pork chops that are sure to become your new favorite weeknight pork chop recipe! Naturally gluten-free and high protein! Stovetop directions are also provided.

Easy but Showstopping Sides & Apps

Bacon Potato Salad 🥓🥔🎉 This no mayo potato salad is studded with crispy bacon pieces and coated in a tangy vinegar dressing. It’s ready in just 30 minutes and the whole family will love it! Perfect for picnics, potlucks, casual entertaining, and the perfect EASY side dish!

Pepperoni Pizza Sliders 🍕😋 Pizza by way of supremely cheesy sliders! EASY, ready in 15 minutes, and perfect for parties because everyone LOVES them! Totally IRRESISTIBLE!

Italian Chicken Pasta Salad 🥗🍅🥒🍗 This Italian Chicken Pasta Salad is easy, ready in 20 minutes, and showcases some of my favorite summer ingredients. It’s perfect for summer potlucks and BBQs, a quick lunch, or as a no-fuss family dinner!

Bourbon Maple Slow Cooker Baked Beans 🫘 The BEST baked beans ever! The flavors of bourbon, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, and BBQ sauce intensify and concentrate over time, and the resulting beans have incredible depth of flavor. Sweet with a bit of heat, robust yet smooth, and extremely satisfying!

Grilled Mexican Corn (Elote) — 🌽👏🏻🎉 Learn how to make EASY and FLAVORFUL grilled Mexican street corn at home in minutes! Fresh sweet corn is covered in crema, cheese, and finished with chili, lime juice, and cilantro! If you’ve never tried corn this way, you’re in for a real treat!

🧡💛 This Classic Macaroni Ham Salad is a family favorite made with tender elbow macaroni, bell peppers, carrots, celery, ham, and a super creamy dressing! You can make it up to a day in advance if you want to get ahead and serve it at your next casual get-together, backyard barbecue, picnic, potluck, or weeknight family dinner! Everyone always wants seconds!

Fiesta Bean Salad with Corn 🌽 Such a fast and easy recipe to make! Plus, it’s loaded with flavor and textures galore. Two kinds of beans, juicy corn and tomatoes, crisp peppers, and green onions are tossed in a lime-chili-cumin vinaigrette that’s perfectly light!

🧀🎉🌽 Cheesy Baked Mexican Corn Dip is hot corn dip reminiscent of Mexican street corn because it’s creamy, cheesy, spiked with lime juice, chili powder, and a serrano chile or jalapeno for a touch of heat! SO EASY and ready in 20 minutes! Perfect for parties, potlucks, tailgating, or your next FIESTA!

Ham and Cheese Sliders 🍔 Baked juicy ham and Swiss nestled in soft Hawaiian rolls and brushed with a buttery Dijon, onion, and poppy seed topping! Fast, easy, and a party favorite!

🌮🎉🧡 Layered Beef Taco Dip is the good old fashioned FAST and EASY layered taco dip everyone ADORES! Made with seasoned ground beef, cream cheese, sour cream, black beans, cheese, tomatoes, and more! Perfect for your next FIESTA and a guaranteed WINNER with everyone!

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• Before we get into it, if the book isn’t at least a 4/5 stars, it didn’t make this cut. And the recipes are ALL 5/5 stars because I made them 😊 and not only that, they’re reader favorites year after year with glowing reviews.

• The books are listed in the order of what I have most recently read and move back in time. And as I went back and looked at my digital bookshelf, these are ones that really stood out for me and 6-12 months later, are still memorable.

• Here is nearly every book I’ve read in the last 18-24 months. I didn’t include a few that were just too awful and wouldn’t recommend anyone waste their time on. So let’s say 95% of all the books I’ve read are on the list. I read about 50-100 books a year, depending on the year.

Books and Recipes To Pair Them With

Yesteryear - Follows the story of an influencer who longs for a tradwife existence (honestly, why? I don’t get this!) and in the meantime is popping out kids, doing as her husband says, and making bread on her ranch. Until everything changes.

How to Make Sourdough Bread (without a starter!) 🍞 This easy sourdough bread recipe uses yogurt and sour cream in place of a traditional sourdough starter, which makes it possible to prep a loaf in less than a day!

The Measure - If you knew how long your life would be, would you want to know? Would it change how you live the life you have? Would you do anything differently? A wonderful book for book club discussions.

The Best Homemade Chocolate Ganache Cake 🍫🤎🎉 is truly is the BEST homemade chocolate cake, EVER! And we should all eat more cake in the life we’re living. Moist, rich, just one bowl, and no mixer required, for this cake that has 500+ 5-star reviews! ⭐️ The cake is topped with a smooth chocolate ganache frosting for the ultimate in decadence! A scratch chocolate cake that requires just 10 minutes of hands-on prep is always a great thing!

Buckeye - Set in a post-WWII era, this book has it all with midwesterners having affairs, illegitimate children, gay secrets, the role of women, keeping secrets, a 5 star experience!

Easy Fruit Salad 🍓🍊🫐🥝 in a trifle dish gives me 1940-50s vibes and it matches with the book cover a little bit - or just make it in a big bowl, no fancy dish required! Fresh fruit is tossed in a light dressing made with orange juice, honey, and lime juice for the perfect balance of citrus meets sweet and tangy. Works with most any fruit and can be assembled the night before your next picnic, potluck, party, or event!

Strangers - True story, biography, and wait for it… This woman’s husband decided to leave her and their 3 children in the early days of the pandemic and basically just up and leaves, no warning. You’ll really wonder if you know anyone after you read this. And you’ll champion for her.

Healthy Ground Turkey Stir-Fry 🥕🥦🧡 gives me pandemic vibes because I vividly remember only being able to obtain these ingredients at my local grocery store. A pound of ground turkey and some very common veggies no one else seemed to want. But it’s an EASY, flavorful, FLEXIBLE stir fry that takes advantage of lean protein and your favorite veggies that you have in your produce drawer! Ready in 25 minutes and perfect for meal-prepping!

Anatomy of an Alibi is a twisty thriller and another one that makes you wonder if you can trust what your signifiant other is telling you or if you know them at all. Fast paced but won’t keep you up at night. I loved the narration because I love Saskia Maarelevald’s throaty, raspy voice for thrillers. I adored First Lie Wins and this followup book for Ashley Elston was also a win for me (the books aren’t connected or series’ed in any way).

Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders 🍔 feel like something these characters would’ve eaten. They were a lot of car scenes and driving and what’s better than homemade sliders on a road trip. These are made with juicy ham and Swiss cheese nestled in soft Hawaiian rolls and are brushed with a buttery Dijon, onion, and poppy seed topping! Fast, EASY, and a party and family FAVORITE, everyone is going to want this recipe!

The Correspondent - Incredible book, listen to the audiobook because it makes it even better. We follow the story of a woman’s life, as told through the correspondence and letters she has written over the course of her life, and we learn about her, her relationships, her character, and her interactions with those around her as we “eavesdrop” into her life through these letters. Phenomenal.

Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Butter Salmon 🍣 is a classy yet no frills meal that feels like the main character in the book, Sybil, would eat. Juicy salmon at home in 30 minutes that’s EASY and tastes BETTER than from a restaurant! The butter is infused with lemon and garlic and adds so much FLAVOR!

The Briar Club is a book I’ve discussed before and it really stands out for me because of the power of female friendships. A group of women who don’t know each other all come to live at The Briar House in post war 1950 Washington, D.C. This book is currently free on Kindle Unlimited and I would run to download it!

Waldorf Salad 🥗 is a a classic, timeless crowd favorite ! It makes a great holiday side dish - or summer side dish - that your guests will devour thanks to a sweet and creamy dressing that coats a mixture of apples, grapes, celery, walnuts, and more!

Broken Country is another book that I’ve mentioned before and won all kinds of awards for best book of… in 2025. We’ve got past-and-present, toggling back and forth with a love triangle, loss, decisions to make, secrets and jealousy. This is a love and human relationships book with the pacing of a thriller. You won’t be able to put it down!

These Oven-Baked Pork Chops 🐷 are rustic, simple yet satisfying, and would be perfect for our cast of characters in their setting - or for you! Use either bone-in or boneless pork chops and they’ll turn out PERFECTLY every time! Juicy, tender, ready in 20 minutes and great for busy weeknights! A simple dry rub gives these pork chops the perfect amount of balanced flavor!

Look Closer is a tense thriller, following a couple with a seemingly very upscale life and predictable (boring) marriage in Chicago, yet nothing was as it seemed. Complex plot, lots of characters, and if you want a full cast of narration, you’ve got it with this audiobook version. If you read other David Ellis books, grab this one. It’s fantastic! And if you’re not familiar with him, this is a great place to start.

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread 🍁 is very fitting for this book because there’s a Halloween time of year element that’s very central to the plot. And there’s also running (or a vivid running scene I really remember) - and as a runner, I can attest to there being nothin’ better than some sweet carbs going down pre or post run. No mixer, so simple, make it all year long!

American Dirt is free on Kindle Unlimited! We follow the story of a woman willing to do anything to give her young son a better life after her world as she knew it was shattered by cartel violence in Mexico. They ride trains - not as traditional passengers - but they try to jump onto moving trains - to escape their old life and be transported to a new life in America, all while risking their life riding trains. This book showed me a whole world that I had no idea existed, a whole underbelly, the drive of the human spirit, that mothers will risk and do anything to give our children a better life, or a life at all. Two years later, I still think about this book.

Easy 20-Minute Chicken Tinga Tacos 🌮 with super juicy chicken has AUTHENTIC smoky chipotle FLAVOR! When you’re craving tacos, these are the tacos to make!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms! This job isn’t for the faint of heart but being a mom has been my greatest gift, my greatest life’s work, and I am so grateful to have been blessed with my daughter!

And now…onto the gifts! Other than the hair dryer, I’ve personally tried, own, and love everything on this list - or it wouldn’t be here!

Beauty Related Gifts

Dyson Travel Hair Dryer - With universal voltage for international travel! No more carrying all those adapters and worrying if your hair dryer is going to work (or blow up your Airbnb too?). Or actually being dependent on your Airbnb’s $14.99 dollar ConAir from 2002 that who knows how many other heads it’s touched. Love this!

** For the Crown Affair products below, use code AVERIE15 at checkout to save 15%!!!!!

Crown Affair Hair Towel - Shaves so much time off drying my hair. I have one, my daughter has one, highly recommended.

Dry Shampoo - The crown jewel of dry shampoo and takes my day 5-6 hair and transforms it into day 2 hair.

Mini Brush - Has both boars hair AND nylon bristles to really give the best of both worlds. Great for purse, gym bag, travel.

EltaMD Facial Sunscreen - The best I’ve ever used, period. Not greasy, gloppy, doesn’t break you out or turn you white or sweat off easily. After spending thousands of dollars on laser skin resurfacing to help combat sun damage on my face, this is the sunscreen my dermatologist and my plastic surgeon. Get it, you will not regret it!

Patrick Ta Creme Foundation and Setting Powder - I may never wear another foundation/concealer/anything else on my face. Goes on velvety smooth, not greasy, stays in place, doesn’t sink into fine lines and wrinkles, and I love love love it! Discovered a year ago and have never looked back.

Kitchen Items Built To Last

Cosori Air Fryer - Stainless steel, nontox coating, large capacity, looks beautiful on her countertop and something she’ll be happy to see everyday - not an ugly black box.

Caraway Large Saute Pan with Lid - Nontox, safe ceramic that does not stick. I have the white with gold hardware and they all have a light gray interior. Tons of color options. It’s what I use to make everything from Chicken Fried Rice to Asian Stir Frys to Beef Taco Meat. I love this size because I can cook a big batch of food for meal prep and planned leftovers.

OurPlace Always Pan 2.0 - Comes with a lid, steamer basket (great for fish, veggies, dumplings, you name it) and also a safe, nontox ceramic pan. This one doesn’t have quite the size IMO that the Caraway does above but has the steamer basket and also comes in many color options and has a cool modern matte finish.

AllClad Stainless Steel with Lid - This beauty has been in my life 13 years, and still looks perfect and works like a champ. I’ve literally cooked 2000+ recipes in it! From Thai Chicken Coconut Curry to Garlic Butter Chicken and the best Lemon Dijon Chicken, look no further than this AllClad.

I love this exact one because it has surprising depth that ones with more of a curvature at the base don’t, so you can make more food in it than it looks like.

Fitness Mama

Oura Ring - Purchased in November and have worn it every minute of the day except when showering and it’s charging, this little ring has singlehandedly changed my sleep life, my overall life habits (less drinking, less heavy meals before bed), and has made me more cognizant, aware, and just tuned in to what my body is doing all day long, and especially while I sleep.

If you’re a person who’s always slept great, you can skip this more than likely because the workout data is as good or superior on an Apple Watch or similar fitness watch (sidebar I love love love my Apple Watch and can’t be without it not even just as a watch but as a workout device, a business tool to quickly glance at texts and messages).

However, if you’ve ever struggled with sleep, insomnia, waking up and can’t get back to sleep, the Oura Ring gives you clues what your body is doing. Is your temp elevated? Your heart rate? How’s your heart rate variance? Are you tossing and turning a lot? All these “little” things are incredible to know.

Also, if you’re a younger woman and trying to family plan naturally, I think this would be so helpful. If you’re a perimenopausal woman, it helps predict irregular cycles, at least for me it has. It has predicted before I get sick that I am going to get sick so I can double down on vitamins. Just literally love love love.

Buy the sizing guide, wear it for 2 days, then decide. Also, if you’re between sizes, I personally would size down not up because when you wash your hands in a public bathroom or sink, you do not want it sliding off with soap and these rings are heavier/bulkier than normal rings so I just don’t want that weight to help propel this ring and it goes flying off!

I was between sizes, bought the bigger, regretted it after a couple days, returned it, and got the smaller size and am very happy. I have the White Ceramic which doesn’t go on sale because it’s new and I love it and would re-buy it 1000x over. Doesn’t scratch, period.

Lululemon Flow Y Bra - The GOAT (greatest of all time). I have bought it in dozens of colors over the years. The Nulu fabric is buttery soft and I love it. I buy the A-C, it’s tightish, but it holds me in, and this is my base layer for 100% of any workout activities from lifting to yoga to running. I don’t like sports bras that have an actual back clasp (this one doesn’t), and while adjustable straps can be nice, these hit me perfectly and I don’t feel there’s anything to adjust. Sports bras and tops are highly personal but this is mine.

For yoga, pilates, running, walking, or the gym, I only wear the Lululemon Align line because the fabric is buttery soft, the right amount of stretch, it lasts forever, it’s sweat absorbent and wicking, it just works for me!

I machine wash these and hang everything up to dry. I do not put any of these in the dryer.

Lulu Align Short - I always get the 6 inch inseam. My daughter gets the 4 inch inseam, but we’re 30 years apart 😉. I have it in every color, this is all I wear for running, walking, yoga, Pilates, the gym. Basically this is the only thing I wear.

Align 17” Crop Pants - When it’s too cold to run outside in San Diego in shorts, I wear cropped pants. I like the 17 inch because it comes just underneath the knee, but doesn’t go down all the way over my calf. Those are 21 inches.

Align 28” Pants - These are full length pants that come to your ankle, I’m 5’11” and they still come to my ankle. But they do come in 31 inches if you’re really tall AND really long-legged.

• I don’t do monthly recaps every month but April was a big, eventful, and share-worthy month I thought so here we go. I also like documenting these things for myself so I can look back on things.

• I embedded links to many of my older posts that you may have missed so click over and check those out if anything sparks your interest.

• Thanks for being here, for reading, for following along, and for being kind. And a special thanks to my paid subscribers. Since this platform is not ad-supported, paid subscribers are golden! ⭐️ Thank you!

If you are not interested in my content, feel free to unsubscribe yourself by scrolling down and clicking the Unsubscribe link at the very bottom and you’ll never hear from me again. If you follow me for recipes averiecooks.com is where I post just recipes. This is my other platform where I share a bit of everything!

Mom’s Weekend

Not to be confused with Parent’s Weekend which was for all students’ parents who attend the university back in October, this spring weekend was for moms only at my daughter’s sorority.

I’m honestly not sure why her sorority decided to do it so late in the school year but as I’m sure any mom will tell you, you don’t pass up a chance to see your child if they invite you to something! So I went happily to Salt Lake City.

We painted pottery together, we got matching permanent jewelry (bracelets), we ate great food, and we were just together. I saw my daughter in her element after nearly a schoolyear away at college, wrapping up her freshman year (with a 4.0 as a pre-nursing student with a Spanish minor, humble brag, so proud of her!) and my heart was full.

Best Clothes I’ve Bought In a Long Time

I have found myself living in two pairs of AYR Jeans and I’m not even a jeans p erson. I had wanted a pair for a long time but hemmed and hawed because they’re a splurge. But I am so glad that I bought them.

I’m wearing them in every single photo above. I realize I’m sitting but I love them.

Lighter wash (standing above) and raw edge darker wash. LOVE both.

Honorable mention is their most popular, cult-fave Secret Sauce jean in Good Mood. I returned them because I wanted a more cropped jean for San Diego in warmer months but will re-buy in the fall.

Sizing: Unless you are very tall, you don’t need the tall. I am almost 5’11” and regular is fine on me. They also have short lengths. They don’t stretch out - there’s a tiny bit of stretch but not that much which I like. And I also do not size up. I did, but they were too big, and had to buy my regular size.

I’m also wearing various colors of this washable silk cami with just a tiny bit of stretch at an incredible price point. I have it in black, navy, dark purple, and cream. And wear them all the time under sweaters and cardigans.

Dorm Move Out

Then two weeks later I was back in Utah, heart not so full. Trunk was though! It’s amazing how much stuff can be accumulated in a year. Lots of donations, and some things were just tossed, but we packed up her very full car and drove it from Salt Lake to San Diego.

We didn’t plan on driving straight through but we made the nearly 12-hour drive in one day. After doing the final pack, bed stripping, hauling things to her car. In some ways driving straight through was better than overnighting in Vegas. In other ways, it was just a very very long day through the cold, windy windy conditions, desert rain, and rain in SoCal. It never rains here, just on a moving day.

This is when we moved her in ⬇️

Mexican Condo

I have investment and rental property in Puerto Vallarta. And I was not looking for any more!

Spoiler alert: Rental property of any kind is not for the faint of heart, it’s not the get-rich-quick situation one may envision. Rentals barely cover operating costs and association fees, let alone the actual purchase price and closing costs. Long haul, long game strategy is key. For more detailed info, read this.

But nevertheless, a friend was selling her furnished condo and it just fell into my lap. I haven’t actually seen it in person and closed via power of attorney.

Fun Fact: I lived in Mexico during the pandemic.

The condo closed on 4-28-26. Six months TO THE DATE that I almost died.

Moving right along.

Fitness First

Because of everything that I’ve been through on my road to recovery the last 6 months, above all else, I am prioritizing getting into the best shape of my life. Also, a milestone birthday in June is a huge motivator.

Going to the gym 2-3 times a week for 60-90 minutes and lifting HEAVY, combined with daily walking of a minimum of 18k steps, but over 20k is my daily goal. And 1-2 times I do yoga. So basically I walk every day + something else (lifting or yoga).

While I walk I voice dictate emails, check work stats, and do things that I can easily voice dictate. I get hundreds of emails a day, and dozens and dozens require replies and that’s what I do while I walk. Killing two birds with one stone.

I eat 100+ grams of protein daily. That’s the minimum and my goal is 110-135. I wrote a Protein Cookbook in case you’re wondering how to do it. Simple - you eat at least 30 grams of protein at every meal.

Food

Food on a daily basis for me has been very basic the past few months. Lately chicken, chicken, and more chicken. Along with veggies of any kind. It’s not complicated, and it’s actually pretty boring. Routine, repetition; repeat.

It works though. You can’t recomp your body eating chocolate cake.

Grilled Balsamic Chicken, Grilled Lemon Chicken, Grilled Aloha Chicken, Grilled Lime Cilantro Chicken, you get the idea.

You can bake them too but I do have a Grilling Recipes cookbook!

Gran Marnier Souffle and it was 9.5/10!

Need San Diego restaurant reviews? I have a massive San Diego Guide that took me years to create!

Books

I read about 5 books this month. Here are two that I think are worth mentioning. Both were selected by my book club and both of them will make EXCELLENT book club discussions! We haven’t met yet to discuss, but I’m excited.

First, Yesteryear. This follows a traditional wife who becomes an influencer but there’s back and forth between the life she created and another life. I gave this book 4/5 stars and took a star off because the main character is very unlikeable and I didn’t enjoy how she spoke about her children, husband, or followers. But this attitude was fundamental to the storyline. The book is a huge bestseller (just came out in April) and is already commissioned to be made into a movie starring Anne Hathaway.

Second, The Measure. 4/5 stars. The book centers around people who all find out, or choose to find out, if they’ll have a long or short life. And how knowing one’s lifespan and years on earth impacts things like career choices and advancement or lack thereof, to marry or not, to have children or not. Another thought provoking book that is great for a book club discussion. I took off a star because I could have gotten the point and gist of everything with 25-30% less book. It felt like beating a dead horse at points but it wasn’t a dealbreaker or anything, just a touch longer than I thought it needed to be.

Tell me about your month!

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Beef

🌮🥗💃 My Layered Taco Salad Recipe is a classic taco salad that everyone LOVES, it’s EASY, and it’s ready in 20 minutes! There’s ground beef, refried beans, red peppers, tortilla chips, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes!

🥩🌮💃 My Easy Carne Asada Tacos recipe rivals your favorite restaurant! Tender juicy beef is seasoned to perfection and topped with pico de gallo and salsa, making these carne asada tacos INCREDIBLE!

Craving taquitos? 🌮🎉🧀 Make these EASY Baked Cheese and Beef Taquitos made with seasoned ground beef, melted cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, and baked to crispy perfection! Family friendly, picky-eater approved, and PERFECT for busy weeknight dinners, game day events or parties!

Learn how to make 🌮🎉🧀 Beef Birria in a Slow Cooker that rivals a Mexican restaurant! Beef simmers in a chile-based broth which infuses it with smoky flavor and makes it incredibly tender! Use the birria to make the BEST birria tacos or quesabirria tacos. Each taco is stuffed with juicy beef, melty cheese, onions, fresh cilantro and dipped in chile broth. Truly the most unforgettable tacos of your life!

Taco-Stuffed Avocados 🥑 Like avocados? Then you are going to LOVE these taco STUFFED avocados with ground beef, CHEESE, and more! An EASY low carb recipes that’s ready in 15 minutes and perfect for busy weeknights!

Chicken

Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas 🍋‍🟩 EASY juicy enchiladas with so much flavor from the salsa verde and TONS of melted CHEESE! Ready in 30 minutes, are made with just a handful of ingredients, and will be an instant family favorite!

Easy 20-Minute Chicken Tinga Tacos 🍗🌶️🌮 FAST, super easy, and the super juicy chicken has AUTHENTIC smoky chipotle FLAVOR! When you’re craving tacos, these are the tacos to make!

🌮🧀🥑 Make the BEST tasting Creamy Chicken Taquitos at home that rival a Mexican restaurant in just 30 minutes with a handful of common ingredients! Crispy and crunchy on the outside, warm melted cheese and seasoned chicken on the inside, these will be a hit at your next fiesta or casual get-together! Instructions provided to bake, air fry, or fry so you’re set to make this EASY recipe!

🥑 15-Minute Salsa Verde Chicken with Avocado is a Fast, EASY, one-skillet recipe! Juicy chicken with salsa verde, lime juice, cilantro, and creamy avocado provides so much Mexican-inspired FLAVOR for a filling meal the whole family will LOVE! This high protein, 5-ingredient recipe is perfect for busy weeknights and meal prepping!

20-Minute Baked Lime Cilantro Chicken Breasts 🍋‍🟩🌿 Super juicy, EASY, tender chicken that’s ready in 20 minutes and made on ONE sheet pan!! Bursting with robust Mexican-inspired lime cilantro flavors that will make this an automatic family FAVORITE!

25-Minute Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas 🌶️ EASY, ready in no time, tastes AUTHENTIC, and made on ONE sheet pan to keep things simple – especially on busy nights!

Pork

Tacos Al Pastor — Learn to make this staple Mexican recipe that includes thinly sliced pieces of pork marinated in a tangy, sweet pineapple sauce AT HOME! Juicy, flavorful, tender pork served in tortillas with onions, cilantro, lime juice, and salsa! You’ll want every night to be taco night!

Seafood

🍤🥑🍅 This Mexican shrimp cocktail recipe combines chilled shrimp, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, jalapeño, and creamy avocado in a tomato-based sauce, along with a bit of Mexican hot sauce for some kick! It’s perfect for entertaining or as a no-cook lunch, snack, or dinner, especially when it’s too hot to cook!

Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas 🍤 EASY, ready in 30 minutes, tastes AUTHENTIC, and made on ONE sheet pan to keep things simple – especially on busy nights!! You don’t need to go out to a Mexican restaurant when you can make fajitas this GOOD and healthier at home!

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Vegetarian

Loaded Vegetarian Burritos 🌯 HEALTHY Mexican comfort food that’s loaded with black beans, rice, and more before being topped with salsa and CHEESE! 🧀You’ll never miss the meat in these EASY burritos that you can make-ahead and are freezer-friendly!

Cauliflower Tinga Tacos with Avocado Crema 🌮 Roasted cauliflower is drenched in a smoky, perfectly spicy chipotle sauce, then folded into corn tortillas, cheese is added, and baked to crispy perfection! A bright avocado crema sauce is the finishing touch! Naturally gluten-free vegetarian food never tasted so AMAZING! You’ll never miss the meat in these healthy tacos!

🍚🫘 My Mexican Rice and Black Beans Medley is hearty enough to be a meal or makes a FANTASTIC side dish with loads of textures in every bite! It’s a super FLEXIBLE recipe that’s HEALTHY and makes a big batch for planned leftovers!

🍠 This Mexican Sweet Potato Bowl is a HEALTHY and EASY alternative to a salad! Loaded with Mexican-inspired ingredients and topped with a light lime-cumin vinaigrette, it’s ready in 20 minutes and perfect for MEAL PREPPING!

Chips and Salsas

Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips 💛😋 Making tortilla chips at home using corn tortillas is FAST and EASY! Ready in just 20 minutes. Perfect for salsa, guac, or anytime you need tortilla chips!

🍅🎉💃🏼 My Quick & Easy Blender Salsa recipe is FAST, EASY, and will teach you how to make salsa at home in just a few minutes in the blender, so you’ll never run out! It tastes just like that addictively amazing salsa that your favorite Mexican restaurant serves alongside a basket of warm tortilla chips. Get ready to DIG IN and impress your friends and family with this restaurant-style blender salsa recipe!

Easy Pineapple Salsa 🍍🍅 This savory pineapple salsa recipe is made with frozen pineapple chunks, bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice! It’s so quick to make and pairs well with grilled chicken, tacos, fish, and more!

The Best Peach Mango Salsa 🍑🥭 A savory-sweet fruit salsa that’s made with fresh peaches, mango, corn, cilantro, and lime! A finely diced jalapeño adds just the right amount of heat! Fast, EASY, and tastes a million times better than anything store-bought!

Drinks

Fresh Homemade 3-Ingredient Margaritas — 🍋‍🟩💚 Learn how to make a margarita with just three natural ingredients! Nothing fake, neon green, and no sugary chemicals. This is the best homemade margarita recipe I’ve tried and it’s the easiest!

Beer Margaritas 🍺 Summer tastes better with a pitcher of these delightful and refreshing beer margaritas are made with Corona, tequila, triple sec, lime juice, agave, and a sugared (or salted) rim! Cheers to beer-garitas!

☀️🍒 The BEST Vacation Vibes Tequila Sunrise recipe, this cocktail is not only pretty to look at but is also refreshing and nostalgic. The grenadine sweetens it up enough that you may not even notice that it packs quite a punch!

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Cabbage Recipes Using a Bag of Cole Slaw

Cabbage TIPS:

• Save chopping time and pick up a bag of shredded cabbage or cole slaw mix so that you can dump-and-go! Toss or save the actual salad dressing for another day. These recipes just need the shredded veg, not the dressing.

• Bagged cabbage blends with other veggies are fine. These recipes are not so precious that using red (purple) vs. green cabbage matters. Or if there are some carrots in it, great. Trader Joe’s has a bagged blend called ‘Cruciferous Blend’ that I really like which is, you guessed it, a blend of heartiness. It all wilts down and cooks down basically the same.

Sesame Mango Chicken 🥭🍗🧡 An EASY Asian-inspired recipe with tender sesame chicken, juicy mango, and soy-garlic-ginger infused cabbage and carrots! One skillet, ready in 15 minutes, and perfect for busy weeknights!

Crunchy Thai Peanut Salad with Chicken 🍗 Crispy fried chicken (get it from your grocery store’s deli) or use your own leftover chicken with crunchy cabbage, carrots, peanuts, cilantro and the EASIEST and BEST homemade peanut sauce that coats every bite! A salad that you’ll CRAVE over and over!

15-Minute Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl 🧡💚🍜 These ground chicken egg roll bowls are easy, ready in 15 minutes, full of flavor, have lots of texture, and are way healthier than actual egg rolls! Pair this stir-fry with rice, cauliflower rice, or your favorite veggies for a high protein recipe that everyone loves!

Mexican Street Corn Coleslaw 🌽🥬🌶️🧅 Grilled corn, red and green cabbage, red onions, jalapenos, cilantro, chili powder, and lime juice come together in this EASY side dish that’s packed with the flavor of traditional elotes! A crowd-pleaser at your next backyard barbecue, picnic, potluck, or fiesta! Think of it as an amped up version of coleslaw that’s irresistible!

Copycat Applebee’s Chicken Wonton Tacos 🌮 Crispy, crunchy wonton wrappers are filled with succulent teriyaki chicken and topped with sesame ginger coleslaw to create the best ever chicken wonton tacos! This is a homemade version of Applebee’s wonton tacos, but fresher and tastier. If you love Asian-fusion recipes, you’re going to love these tacos!

This Sesame Orange Chicken Salad 🍊🥗🥕 is THE salad to make! We’re talking crunchy cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, and toasted almonds tossed with juicy Asian chicken and sweet mandarin oranges. There’s a homemade tahini-sesame-ginger dressing that coats everything perfectly and takes this quick, EASY, and healthy salad recipe from good to INCREDIBLE!

Heartier Cabbage Recipes That Satisfy

🥬🍅🧅 30-Minute One-Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls with Rice are a fast meal full of flavor! They taste like the real thing, making for a hearty comfort food perfect for busy weeknights!

Cabbage Roll Casserole – 👏🏻🥬🧀 Take the work out of traditional cabbage rolls and make this EASY comfort food cabbage roll casserole instead! Layers of seasoned ground beef and rice, tender cabbage, and oodles of melted cheese in every bite. A family FAVORITE recipe that’s ready in 1 hour. Can be made in advance and freezes well!

Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Soup 🍲 A hearty comfort food soup recipe the whole family will love. If you think that soup can’t be a meal, guess again! This Crockpot cabbage roll soup is chock full of bacon, ground beef, green cabbage, rice, carrots, fire roasted tomatoes, and more! Perfect for chilly weather, busy weeknights, and the leftovers freeze great!

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup 🥣 Hearty comfort food complete with savory corned beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, and more! It’s the EASIEST soup you’ll ever make and will become a family FAVORITE especially when the weather is chilly! Stovetop cooking instructions also provided.

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The Magic of Making Ahead

There’s nothing better than when I’m hosting friends, family, or having a get-together at my house to be able to make whatever I can in advance!

The same goes for when I’m going to an event and I’m supposed to bring a dish to share - I love getting it done the day before.

It saves me from feeling like I’m living in the kitchen the day of the event when I’m the hostess, and just helps me relax more when I know I have the sides or salads done, ready, and waiting in my fridge.

With all of these salads that you’ll find below - a combo of pasta salads, bean, corn, or grain salads - you can make them 24-36 hours in advance. That’s all I would push it for optimal taste and texture.

Many of these do not have mayo which is nice for outdoor events. But with any of them, if you’re bringing a dish to an outdoor event in the middle of summer, make sure to keep things in the shade and keep your serving bowl on ice. Use common sense. Just because you can make them in advance, doesn’t mean you can store them out of refrigeration for hours and hours.

Pasta Salads

🍋🥒🍅 This Mediterranean Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad is loaded with flavor, ready in minutes, and showcases Mediterranean-inspired ingredients! It’s perfect for summer potlucks and barbecues (no mayo!) and feeds a crowd. Or, make it for an EASY family dinner with planned leftovers!

Taco Pasta Salad – EASY, ready in 20 minutes, and loaded with great Mexican-inspired ingredients including corn, black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, and more! Very kid-friendly (and adult friendly) and they’ll all want seconds!

BLT Pasta Salad — EASY, ready in 15 minutes, feeds a crowd, and PERFECT for potlucks and parties. Creamy ranch dressing perfectly coats the pasta and BACON. Guaranteed family FAVORITE!

Tomato and Mozzarella Pesto Pasta Salad features tender pasta, cherry tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella are coated in Parmesan cheese and DELICIOUS pesto sauce! EASY, ready in 15 minutes, and great for easy meals with planned leftovers or for parties because it feeds a crowd!

Shrimp Pasta Salad 🍤🫛🌿 with tender pasta, juicy shrimp, crunchy celery, bell peppers, and peas are tossed in a creamy and tangy homemade dressing for zesty perfection! Great for summer gatherings to serve as a side salad or make it for a lighter yet satisfying stand alone meal for lunch or dinner! Very EASY and always a crowd FAVORITE!

Chicken Orzo Salad has juicy chicken tossed with orzo, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, and a super flavorful lemon vinaigrette! Easy, healthy, ready in 30 minutes, and a perfect way to use your garden fresh veggies!

Chinese Chicken Pasta Salad takes me back to the grocery store pasta salad I grew up eating in the ‘80s with big juicy chicken chunks and texture galore from the rainbow of crispy veggies! Fast, easy, fresh and healthy!! Great for picnics, potlucks, and easy dinners!

Greek Lemon Chicken and Orzo 🥒🍅 is so EASY, ready in 25 minutes, and feeds a crowd! Juicy lemon chicken with orzo, fresh spinach, cucumbers, and tomatoes make this a dinnertime WINNER! Great for parties, picnics, and potlucks too because people LOVE this one!

Italian Chicken Pasta Salad is easy, ready in 20 minutes, and showcases some of my favorite summer ingredients. It’s perfect for summer potlucks and BBQs, or as a no-fuss family dinner!

🥓🎉🙌🏻 This Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is CREAMY, delicious, and ready in just 20 minutes! Made with rotini pasta coated in a creamy ranch dressing and tossed with bacon, peas, cheddar cheese, and more, it’s the perfect FAST and EASY side dish to bring to summer potlucks and barbecues. Or, serve it for a tasty lunch or as part of a quickie weeknight dinner that’s a sure-fire family FAVORITE!

Bean, Corn, or Grain Salads

Mexican Bean Salad with Corn 🌽💃🏼 is such a fast and easy recipe to make! Plus, it’s loaded with flavor and textures galore. Two kinds of beans, juicy corn and tomatoes, crisp peppers, and green onions are tossed in a lime-chili-cumin vinaigrette that’s perfectly light!

Easy 5 Bean Salad 🫘🙌🏻🥗The BEST bean salad with 5 types of beans, artichoke hearts, red onions, veggies, and takes just 10 MINUTES to prepare! Everything is tossed in a tangy, savory yet slightly sweet vinaigrette that ties everything together perfectly. Serve this as a protein-packed side dish for dinner, at picnics and potlucks, or as a stand-alone healthy lunch option. The recipe is EXTREMELY flexible, too!

🥗 Smoky Roasted Chickpea Salad with Buttermilk Chive Dressing is an EASY salad with smoky roasted chickpeas, vegetables, kale, and topped with homemade chive-infused buttermilk dressing! An accidentally vegetarian, gluten-free, HEALTHY, and SATISFYING salad, it’s quick, delicious, and filling!

Mexican Corn and Black Bean Salad is full of smoky grilled flavor and a personal favorite! An EASY corn salad with black beans, zucchini, red onions, cilantro, lime juice, and more! So much Mexican-inspired FLAVOR in every bite of this family favorite recipe that’s sure to be a hit!

Twelve Superfood Salad 🥗🫐🥬🍇 is the only “lettuce” salad in this roundup and that’s because the kale stands up so well so you can make it in advance. And this superfood salad is packed with 12 superfoods! This is a great clean out the fridge meal and is easily customized to suit whatever you need to use up. Best of all you just FEEL so good eating it. The most popular salad recipe for the last decade on my site!

🫒🧀😋 This Mediterranean Quinoa Salad is a massive personal favorite and I could eat it all the time! It’s ready in 20 minutes with Mediterranean-inspired ingredients, including chickpeas, Kalamata olives, artichokes, and goat cheese, to give layers of flavor and texture in every bite! It’s naturally gluten-free and vegetarian, too!

Roasted Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad is an EASY, healthy, lettuce-less salad with roasted curried cauliflower and chickpeas as the STARS! Topped with raisins, pistachios, cilantro, and a DELISH tangy Greek yogurt dressing!

🐟🌿 This Chickpea Tuna Salad is a quick and EASY protein-packed recipe with fresh veggies for a light crunch! With bright, tangy flavors and a satisfying texture, it’s ready in 10 minutes for quick lunches or as a side salad for dinner!

🍗🍅🌿 My Pesto Chicken Caprese Salad combines JUICY chicken, ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a homemade pesto. A fun twist on classic Caprese, it’s easy, ready in 20 minutes, and loaded with rich basil flavor! The balsamic keeps the basil from oxidizing.

🍂🧡🥗 My Roasted Brussel Sprout Salad is a HEARTY salad that celebrates the flavors of fall including roasted Brussels sprouts and dried cranberries along with quinoa, chickpeas, spinach, and goat cheese! Perfect for lunch, a meatless main, or a HEALTHY side dish - save this one for the holidays, too!

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Handy Storefront

I created a little storefront where I put all my favorite products and the ones I’m discussing below. It’s ALL LINKED HERE for easy reference.

The Sale Details

• At Sephora checkout, you need to enter code SPRINGSALE 📣

• Most products are 20% OFF! Sephora’s own line of products are 30% OFF!

• Sale runs 4/10-4/20. Depending on your Sephora status and if you’re a Beauty Insider member already with points, some have first access from 4/10-4/14, but from 4/14-4/20 everyone has access to the same deals. Sale ends 4/20.

• Don’t wait because the good stuff and really well priced stuff does sell out.

• To reduce overwhelm and unnecessary consumerism, I am sharing my favorites! I don’t use every single thing, every single day, and the older I get, I operate with the ‘less is more’ philosophy. However, I also like to save money on things I am going to end up buying anyway so I stock up now.

Top 10 Can’t Miss Products (with more details in the various sections below)

Crown Affair Dry Shampoo - If you buy one single product this sale, this is the one!

Crown Affair Hair Drying Towel is magic! Shaves so much time off drying your hair!

Pureology Shampoo + Pureology Conditioner - I’ve been using these for 10 years, I try others, but always come back to them because my hair is just better with them.

Patrick Ta Cream Foundation + Setting Powder - My #1 makeup discovery during the last Sephora sale that’s changed my makeup game and I LOVE this product! I use shade Fair 3, golden neutral. Here’s the thing….even if you buy the incorrect shade online, you bought it on sale. So you can go into the store at your leisure, color match in person, but you got the sale price locked in on your exchange. You’re welcome.

Bobbi Brown Dual-Ended Longwear Cream Eyeshadow - For those of us who are eye makeup-challenged, this is foolproof and doesn’t rub off.

Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat - Been loyal to this brow pencil for a few years now.

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Gloss - In Pillowtalk, it’s a cult favorite for a reason. + Makeup Forever Lip Pencil in Wherever Walnut – If I can only have one pencil for the rest of my life, this is the one. Wear them together.

Caudalie Foaming Face Cleanser - Clean ingredients that FOAM. Love me some good lather and this delivers.

Coco Chanel Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum - I’ve been wearing this for 20 years, I get multiple compliments on it every week, to this day. Buy your favorite perfume NOW when it’s on sale for 20% off!

Hair

Crown Affair Dry Shampoo - If you buy one single product this sale, this is the one! It changed my life about 18 months ago because it shaves so much time off my daily/weekly routine of washing and drying my hair. Rather than coming in an aerosol like other dry shampoos, it’s a loose powder that you brush onto your hair like you’d brush loose powder onto your face. A little goes quite a long way and you’ll have this container for a good while - and then you can purchase the refills which are less expensive! The scent is amazing. Light and fresh and truly can transform day 5-6 hair into looking like it’s day 2 hair. No joke. It’s perfect for travel because it’s not considered a liquid nor an aerosol.

Crown Affair Hair Drying Towel is magic! Shaves so much time off drying your hair! It’s so much better than any hair drying towel I’ve ever used.

Crown Affair Hair Perfume - I love the smell of their dry shampoo, so got the hair perfume (for days when I don’t actually need dry shampoo). It’s almost the same scent, just a little different, very lovely.

K18- Repairs hair like no other. Fried, dried, overprocessed, or underloved, this stuff is the deal.

Pureology Shampoo + Pureology Conditioner - I’ve been using this for 10 years, I try others, but always come back to it. Smells great, hydrating, just works. And every time I cheat on it, I have more breakage, more split ends, so I just stay loyal now.

Slip Silk Scrunchies - The Amazon ones are not the same. These are the GOATs. Not all scrunchies were created equal so if you don’t want to rip your hair out or damage it when tying it up, get these.

Dyson Supersonic Natural Hair Dryer - An investment but if you’re going to bite the bullet, may as well do it during a sale. I’ve had mine for about 3 years and love it.

Makeup

Patrick Ta Cream Foundation + Setting Powder - My #1 makeup discovery during the last Sephora sale that’s changed my makeup game and I LOVE this product! After a certain age most foundations or concealers are just too drying, or they’re just like liquid soup that sits on your face. This is neither. The foundation part is creamy, blendable, smooth, doesn’t settle into fine lines, and gives good coverage without being overdone. The 2-in-1 setting powder in the same compact sets it so that your makeup lasts - and only 1 compact. I love love love this!

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Gloss - In Pillowtalk, it’s a cult favorite for a reason. Pair it with Pillowtalk liner for great results. OR the Makeup Forever liner below. There’s also a SET which is a great way to try this shade, noting that in the set it’s a liner and lipstick rather than the gloss.

Makeup Forever Lip Pencil in Wherever Walnut – If I can only have one pencil for the rest of my life, this is the one. It “goes” with almost anything you put on top of it and is very long-wearing.

Summer Fridays Lip Gloss - A cult fave among the 30 and under group I’ve found (although works for any age group). If you need a little stocking stuffer type of gift for someone, hostess gift, birthday, etc. this is always a welcome and practical gift.

HausLabs Concealer - A more hydrating concealer that doesn’t seem to settle into fine lines and wrinkles as much and doesn’t seem so dry. I used to be a diehard Nars concealer girl but switched to this about a year ago and love it.

YSL Concealer Pen - My daughter loves this one. Luxury beauty just feels so good going on!

Bobbi Brown Dual-Ended Longwear Cream Eyeshadow – If you’re a person who’s never really figured out how to put on your eyeshadow OR if you’re a person with lines and creases and dry eyeshadow just sinks into the crevices, this stick is foolproof! It’s creamy, hydrating, you put it on your eyelid, blend it with your fingertip a little, and you’re done. I use the golden pink/taupe. It’s like a two-for-one because you get two colors in one stick and it lasts a long time. I’ve tried knockoffs but they don’t work nearly as well and the quality isn’t the same.

Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat - Been loyal to this brow pencil for a few years now. It’s easy to do medium to darker browns well; it’s harder to do blonder or lighter shades for lighter brows and this is the best blonde (not ashy, not orange) with fabulous texture.

Kosas Brow Gel - Similar to above, it’s hard to find a product for those of us without really dark natural brows that doesn’t look like you smeared tar on them. This one delivers and lasts.

Dual-Ended Brush - Perfect for cream or powder blush or bronzer.

Makeup Forever Powder Foundation - I prefer powder over liquid foundations, always have. If you’re like me, give this one a try.

Charlotte Tilbury Bronzer - Refillable bronzer that seems to last forever and does the job.

Drunk Elephant Bronzing Drops - They do just what they say without being too much. The Isle of Paradise are also good, slightly cheaper, both work great.

Nars Powder Blush - In Orgasm X, it’s my favorite pinky blush that I always reach for.

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Setting Powder - Gives the smoothest, most airbrushed look and sets everything in. Can also use it to control oil throughout the day without feeling like you’re adding more and more makeup. Great for undereye area on mature skin that’s prone to crepey-ness. This doesn’t settle into those fine lines as much.

Charlotte Tilbury Setting Spray - Hydrating, doesn’t dry you out, really locks in your makeup for hours!

Nars Hydrating Lipstick in Dolce Vita + Nars Afterglow Lip Shine Gloss in A-Lister – This trifecta of the pencil above, this lipstick, and then this shimmery gloss with gold tones to top it off is perfection! This is the exact combo I wore in my wedding and was turned onto it by a professional makeup artist for Nars. It’s so versatile for day-to-night, casual-to-formal. It just works!

L’Oreal Mascara - This is an Amazon link because this is L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara in Carbon Black and it’s about $10 bucks. It works just as well as $30 mascara IMO, lasts the same amount of time, and I see no difference in results. I am so sick of paying outrageous prices for mascara that really isn’t superior. I used to be diehard loyal to Lancome mascara but they get really gloppy, thick, and dry quickly lately for me and I can’t justify it.

Skincare + Fragrance

Caudalie Foaming Face Cleanser - Found this a year ago and have not looked back. It’s perfect, clean ingredients, love it. I also grab the travel sizes to keep in my suitcase.

Caudalie Toner - Pore minimizing toner that’s not harsh or stripping.

Vinoperfect Brightening Face Cleanser - Foaming with an AHA micropeel effect. I use this a couple times a week, and the rest of the time use the other Caudalie cleanser above.

Vinoperfect Brightening Serum - It works, lives up to the hype, a little goes a long way, and all things considered it’s much more reasonable than other products that promise to do the same thing.

The Ordinary Hylauronic Acid - Should be a must-do for everyone a few times a week because it draws moisture into your skin.

The Ordinary Lash & Brow Serum - I’ve only used this on my lashes and it works well, very clean ingredients.

Babe Lash - An Amazon link, but it’s my personal fave lash serum because I think it just works amazingly well. Taken along with these Amazon Biotin and Collagen pills, my lashes are better, longer, stronger than they have been in years!

Tatcha - Dewy facial moisturizer that my daughter turned me onto and I love it.

Coco Chanel Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum - I’ve been wearing this for 20 years, I get multiple compliments on it every week, to this day. When I wear other perfume, I never get compliments. Note there’s also an “intense” version (I don’t really like it very much) not to be confused with the linked one above.

Chanel Blue - Men’s perfume (cologne) that smells amazing and it’s one of many my husband has in his arsenal but I love this one.

Glossier - One of my daughter’s favorite perfumes, it kind of “adapts” to you and so it smells different on everyone. I love this on her and whenever I smell it on someone else (it’s still recognizable), I always think of her.

Kate McLeod Body Moisturizer - New-to-me product that looks like a bar of soap but it’s a solid “stone” moisturizer for body that you rub all over after you get out of the shower or bath and it soaks into your skin so nicely. Massage oil meets lotion that’s not greasy at all, clean ingredients, smells heavenly. I have the Grounding Stone (smells like a spa) and the Unscented is great for extremely sensitive skin.

Brazilian Bum Bum Firming Cream Set – It smells like a tropical vacation and if you want to get the matching Body Spray, go for it. It’s so aromatic! I also love the #68 Sol de Janeiro body spray.

I stocked up on similar things on the last sale

If you are not interested in my content, feel free to unsubscribe yourself by scrolling down and clicking the Unsubscribe link at the very bottom and you’ll never hear from me again. If you follow me for recipes averiecooks.com is where I post just recipes. This is my other platform where I share a bit of everything!

I’m in no place to sit in judgement of someone’s life story so I don’t put star ratings on memoirs or autobiographies.

If it’s on this list though it means I liked it well enough (or a ton) to recommend it and there are a couple of them that I have a made a special notation that they’re especially amazing. Gripping, powerful, and I truly had no idea that this person lived through ALL of that because I would have never known or never guessed. Truly, don’t just a book by it’s cover, or in this case the author and what you “think” about that person.

I love audiobooks and listen when I’m running, power walking, at the gym, washing dishes, driving, and and in all of these, the author narrates his or her own story. And the story is just that much better when it comes out of the author’s own mouth, in their accent, dialect, their cadence. Check out Audible and consider getting a package. Books come out to less than $10 buck each if you buy a bundle.

Tell-All

Strangers by Belle Burton (2023)

A haunting and quietly intense memoir, Strangers is a #1 NYT bestseller right now and is on all the cool kids’ TBR lists. It hooks you in immediately because it's a tell all of a woman who's husband of 20 years and 3 kids later just leaves her, unexpectedly, out of left field, no signs, no warning. To add insult to injury, he did it in March 2020 and we all know what was breaking out globally then. So she weathered the pandemic AND her divorce, alone.

I've been divorced, it's an awful time, even in the most amicable of divorces. And what I applaud the author for doing is being brave enough to tell her story with unflinching honesty and with 3 teenage/young adult children, and doing it in front of very privileged (and very judgy) friends and peers onlooking. I couldn't ever be the one to put all my dirty marital and divorce laundry on a page, for all the world to read about, so I really give her props for telling this story that blind-sighted her - she truly did not see it coming, that is very clear.

It also makes me question a lot about marriage, and people in general: how is it possible to not know that your husband of 20 years is going to walk in one day and just leave you? How is it possible to be be so caught off guard? How is it possible for someone to live a double life of sorts, and to not be the person at all you thought you were married to? Very thought provoking book! It's a short read and even shorter audio when you listen at 1.9-2.0x speed like I do, just under 4 hours.

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (2025) Free on Kindle Unlimited

Wondering what Facebook is really like? This is a sharp, insider memoir that pulls back the curtain on Facebook’s rise and the ethical compromises behind its global influence. Sarah Wynn-Williams blends personal narrative with whistleblower-style revelations, detailing a workplace culture shaped by power, ambition, and troubling decision-making. It’s an eye-opening and very unsettling read about greed, power, how social media can and has changed society, and reframes how we think about Big Tech and its impact on the world.

Subscribe now

Cult-Like Craziness

Educated by Tara Westover (2018)

In Educated, Tara Westover chronicles her journey from an isolated, survivalist childhood where she was mentally, emotionally, and physically abused. It’s a story of triumph and not being chained by our upbringings. She educates herself in a big way, going to a globally prestigious university, while shedding the craziness of her upbringing in the process. Her storytelling is both razor-sharp and deeply emotional, capturing the tension between loyalty to family and the pursuit of self. This memoir is as intellectually compelling as it is profoundly moving.

Her actual life story reminds me so much of Kristin Hannah’s, The Great Alone, because of the crazy, erratic, mentally ill father. I read the two books in close proximity to each other - with the Great Alone being first - and I had to stop and remind myself that Educated is real, the other was fiction!

The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner (2016)

As I said in the opening, I don't feel it's okay to rate someone's life story with stars but if I were going to, this story and the author would get all the praise and accolades and the highest rating! She is a heroine, a champion, a survivor of just about everything. This is a story of a girl growing up in a fundamentalist, polygamist, Mormon cult between border states in the US and northern Mexico. She was the 39th child of her father's 42 children before he was killed by his brother. Her mother remarried a man who had....40+ children. The cycle of poverty, pregnancy, and the overarching beliefs that a woman's place is to make babies and make meals, and to share her husband with many other sister wives was just horrifying that in my childhood, other kids were growing up and this was their world.

I went down a rabbit hole of researching the LeBaron cult and there are many other books on the topic; written by other surviving children who are now adults and other sister wives who (in my opinion) were brainwashed into thinking this whole lifestyle is okay and what God wants. The jaw-dropping, shocking things that happened in the 1970s-80s are just unspeakable but thanks to Ruth Wariner unabashedly sharing her story, I learned more and became more aware. Her story is one of extreme survival, extreme, extreme survival. If you've ever thought your life was hard, it wasn't.

There is just about every kind of trigger warning in this book, but if she lived it, I can read it and honor it. And if you're in the mood for a different memoir with an equally crazy father and family life (although not Mormon), read Educated by Tara Westhover, above.

Celebrity & Pop Culture

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten (2024)

I grew up watching Ina Garten on the Food Network and in some way, women like Rachel Ray, Giada, and Ina may have quietly steered me into my career as a food blogger. I loved Ina the most, especially her relationship with Jeffery that we would see glimpses of on her cooking shows.

Ina Garten’s memoir is as warm, inviting, and thoughtful as her cooking, blending personal stories with reflections on career, marriage, and reinvention. She shares her path with honesty (spoiler alert, life with Jeffrey and her marriage were not always perfect) and a grounded sense of gratitude, emphasizing preparation as the foundation for “luck.” I really appreciated the behind-the-scenes glimpses of her life, especially the Paris connection. And I just bought tickets for her new book tour when she’s going to be in San Diego in the fall!

Spare by Prince Harry (2023)

I’ve never been a person obsessed with British royalty and all the drama, gossip, and stories behind the curtain. However, if that’s you, you’re going to love this memoir. Because it had me super intrigued and captivated! Spare offers an intimate and often raw look at Prince Harry’s life within and beyond the British royal family. With candor and vulnerability, he reflects on grief, identity, and the pressures of public life. The memoir is both deeply personal and culturally revealing, sparking conversation about tradition, trauma, and autonomy.

What I related to the most was not really feeling valued in one’s family of origin for being who one is. And that what he was doing wasn’t enough, wasn’t good enough, and he was always in the shadow of his older brother no matter what he did for a father and a monarchy that was largely unpleaseable - and you’re never enough. How many of us can relate to that! I wish he would have gotten more into the drama (and spilled more tea) between he and his brother and their two wives but there’s enough and I was hanging on every word.

Full Out by Monica Aldama (2021)

If you ever watched the Netflix show Cheer, you know who Queen Monica is! I started watching Cheer years ago because my daughter started cheering when she was 3 years old and by default, I became a cheer mom. Going to all the competitions, the events, and her team even went to World’s at Walt Disney World in Orlando when she was in grade school and it’s a lifelong, cherished memory, for both of us. My daughter cheered all through high school and was the captain of her team, and I was sad when she didn’t want to cheer in college, but she also wanted to ‘have a life other than cheer’ as she said which I completely understand and respect since it’s a year-round sport with just May off. Cheerleaders are some of the hardest working athletes out there - flipping their bodies around into the air, taking hard falls (both my daughters arms and elbow had both been broken by the time she was 6 years old), and doing it with a SMILE, grace, and a full face of makeup. Not for the faint of heart.

Full Out combines Monica Aldama’s personal story with leadership lessons drawn from her success as a championship cheer coach. She emphasizes discipline, resilience, and the power of high standards, offering insights that extend far beyond the mat. She is a heroine for me, on every level, professionally, personally, athletically, and in her relationship with her husband, her adult children, and in her faith. She expects the best of herself and her athletes, on every level; always. There is no half-assing it.

As she says,“You keep going until you get it right. And then you keep going until you can’t get it wrong.” Amen, Queen.

Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton (2023) Free on KindleUnlimited!

This woman and memoir are among the most under appreciated in Hollywood, or anywhere. There were truly jaw dropping moments in this book: abuse on every level, being tortured at school, and telling her parents who didn’t believe her; the actual literal physical strength it took her to escape some of the places where she was sent, honestly just shocking, truly shocking.

Moving far beyond tabloid caricatures to reveal a more complex and vulnerable self, she addresses past trauma, the realities of fame, and the intentional creation of her public persona with surprising depth. The book is both a personal reckoning and a sharp commentary on celebrity culture. I honestly do not know how she has forgiven her parents for what she has outlined in this book.

She also proves that while her birthright’s namesake comes with ultimate privilege, she is an extremely intelligent businesswoman, shrewd, hard working to the core, an extremely dedicated wife and mother. Whatever you think about her going in, I promise there is so much more than meets the eye. Her narration is amazing, too!

Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson (2023) Free on KindleUnlimited!

A deeply personal memoir that reveals a more introspective and thoughtful side of Pamela Anderson. So much more than the blonde Playmate and Baywatch star many of us watched three decades ago (wow, time flies).

Told in a mix of prose and diary-like reflections, it traces her rise to fame, relationships, and efforts to reclaim her identity on her own terms. The result is a surprisingly tender and self-aware portrait that challenges long-held public perceptions.

What I really appreciate about Pamela Anderson today is that she is an activist, speaking out about everything from animal rights to human rights, and she has the platform to do it. Secondly, she is 58 years old, and has not fallen into the Hollywood trap of “anti-aging” treatments, facial plastic surgery, never ending Botox and fillers, and has embraced an aging gracefully attitude, which I commend her, it takes internal strength to just shun all of that when your cohorts are doing everything and anything to look younger and ‘better’.

Here are some other book review posts to check out!

Food and Cooking Hacks

Cook double (or triple) the amount of food for that meal so that you have planned leftovers - especially chicken. I know there are some people who are anti-leftovers but I am not one of those people. I know there are people who don’t have protein goals but I am not one of those people. 100 grams a day, minimum.

So when I grill chicken, I cook 3 pounds. Half a pound is shrinkage and so I’m left with 2 1/2 pounds. Of which about a pound is eaten that day and then the remaining 1 1/2 pounds is used over the next few days. If you’re more of an air fryer chicken person, I personally pack my air fryer with as much as it can hold within reason, and add a few minutes to the overall cook time.

Straight off my camera roll from earlier this week (above) with recipe (below):

• 3 pounds of chicken breasts, marinated in a large ziplock with 1/2 to 2/3 cup ranch salad dressing (marinade hack that does not make the chicken taste like ranch, instead this seals in flavor and moisture), 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice or lime juice (doesn’t make it lemony or limey but the acid tenderizes the chicken), 2 teaspoons salt (don’t skip), and pepper to taste.

• Seal bag, squish around, refrigerate for 1-4 hours, take out of fridge 30 minutes before you grill.

• Grill hack is to grill it over medium heat, take it easy, slow and steady, so you don’t burn it. Don’t crank that grill all the way as hot as it goes, please

• Take the temperature and know for sure it’s 165F, rest it 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Check out these grilling recipes too!

Make a stir fry rather than letting produce go to waste! Or soup when it’s soup season. This Chicken Egg Roll Bowl (left below) is a stir fry inspired recipe that I’ve added just about everything to that’s not listed in the recipe - zucchini, mushrooms, onions of any color, broccoli, summer squash, spinach, kale, fresh herbs - and it always turns out great. The same can be said for this Pork Noodle Stir Fry (right below) add zucchini, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, seriously almost anything you have in your crisper drawer!

Tech Hacks

Get someone else’s contact info stored in your iPhone without typing it in! Just touch the tip of your iPhone to the tip of their iPhone kind of like they’re kissing and voila, your contact info is shared/theirs is received (you have to allow/accept). More info here!

This is particularly useful when you’re at an event, you meet someone, you want to get their contact info…. But….you may have had a few drinks making this simple task more clumsy than it needs to be, you’re bad with technology anyway, you have fat fingers, you forgot your readers, problem solved.

Save or add people with descriptive details. I never just say Allison Smith in my own phone. I always enter in things like: Allison Smith/tall blonde from Jenny D’s party. Or Allison Smith/mom of Sophia on cheer team. How many of us enter other women’s info in our phones based on their child and connection to our own child? You get the point though. I meet a lot of people and while we had an amazing connection in the moment, I have a lot of moments and my memory 2 weeks later may not serve. So this is 100% always necessary and helpful.

Tech-Related Book Hack: Sometimes if you come across a book that’s free on Kindle Unlimited, download it as usual, and be sure to check your Audible Not-Yet-Started books because sometimes it will give you the free audiobook too.

For my book fans, I keep all the books I’m reading updated in my Amazon Store - Books so you can easily find and grab my favorites there.

Also check out my book reviews.

Household and Shopping Hacks

Buy everything that’s bulky and/or repetitive on Amazon (or your favorite big box retailer with delivery) and let them do the work of bringing you your 112 rolls of toilet paper, 10 triple rolls of paper towels, 12 pack of wipes, 10 pounds of cat litter, etc. directly to your doorstep. Think of all those steps in grocery store or big box retailer parking lots you didn’t take, steps through the actual store, wrestling with a cart with bad wheels, the long check out lines, hauling it from your driveway into the other corner of the house, only to end up paying more for this “shopping pleasure trip” than had you just Amazon’ed it.

Put things on auto-replenish or autoship that you know you’re going to use anyway if this helps you. For me, I don’t tend to autoship because I have a 1000 square foot house with no storage so I literally can’t budget space for 112 extra rolls of toilet paper until I’m exactly ready. And I’m also very on top of what I need and am fortunate to live in San Diego where most Amazon orders arrive either same-day or next day delivery for no extra charge. Some markets are not like that such as Las Vegas or Salt Lake City because I speak from personal experience. Even so just plan ahead by 2-3 days and you’re golden.

Most things are always cheaper online than they are in your actual store so plan ahead and buy online. Whether you use Amazon, Target, Walmart, or something else, things like dish soap, laundry detergent, pet products of any kind, health and beauty items like deodorant, cotton balls, toothpaste, body wash, drugstore level makeup like mascara, facial products, Tylenol or Advil and their respective generics, it’s always cheaper! There are exceptions. I have never found tampons to be cheaper on Amazon. If you have other ones, please share in the comments.

Also for two more days this is going on and you NEED to check it out! ⬇️

The One In, One Out Principle to Buying and Donating. When it comes to clothing purchases, I try very hard to live by this rule because again, back to my small house with no storage situation, so if I buy a shirt, a pair of jeans, dress shoes, tennis shoes, etc. I also try to give one away. It doesn’t have to be one shirt in, one shirt out. But something should go. If I’m buying more, that means I’m not wearing what I have, so why do I still want that what I’m not using in my closet? I don’t. Let it go to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, church, or many times in San Diego, I just put a bag of clothes or a pair of gently used running shoes on the street corner and because of the large unhoused population we have, it disappears in minutes. I try not to actually let my closet get to the point where I have bags and bags of clothes to donate.

Hair Hacks

On hair wash day, do a hair treatment while you go about your day or workout. For me, this means in the afternoon, I wet my hair (just splash some water from the sink on it) because for best results, the K18 Hair Treatment I use should be applied to damp hair. I rub it into my ends, tie my hair up, and 4-6 hours later when I wash my hair, it’s soft and been treated all day. That hair treatment actually repairs damaged hair shafts, not just covers it up, best treatment ever.

Use a hair drying towel to save time off your blowdrying routine AND expose your hair to less heat. Best towel I’ve ever used is the Crown Affair Hair Towel. I have one, my daughter has hers, I’ve gifted it, it’s wonderful.

Stop wasting hours of your life washing your hair. My favorite dry shampoo is The Dry Shampoo from Crown Affair. Life changing, life altering, takes day 5 hair and makes it look like day 2 hair. I have shaved hundreds of hours a year off washing, combing through, and blowing out my long hair. I’ve never met a woman with medium to long hair who says, oh I wish I could spend more time washing my hair. LOL. Get this dry shampoo and free up some time.

Workout Hacks

Put your workout in your planner just like any other appointment. You’re not canceling on your dentist, your kid’s parent-teacher conferences, or that Zoom with your boss last minute or because “something came up”. So you’re not canceling your workout either once it’s penciled in, booked, and locked.

A walking pad will save you when nothing else will. I wrote about my Space Saving Walking Pad (currently ON SALE!!) and that I really did not want to get on board with the walking pad trend because I want to walk outside, period. But that’s not always possible due to work or weather which is how this pad came into my life. I had very specific requirements: Must be as small as possible since I have no dedicated place to keep it up, must fold, must be white (I cannot stand bulky black exercise equipment in my home), must be under 50 pounds, must go to at least 4.0mph speed, must be quiet. This delivers on all fronts 100%. I fold it and keep it under my bed when not in use. As long as you’re walking slow but steady, you can take work calls, put a standing desk up, plop your computer on it, and treat yourself to 2k-5k steps before 9AM.

Stop making excuses for why you don’t work out. No excuses - excuses keep you weak. Get up 30-60 minutes earlier. Put down phone and stop doomscrolling. And please for the love of God, please stop staring at a screen when you could be moving your body - whether that’s a movie, show, series, social media scroll, or going down an internet rabbit hole - I promise you will feel SO much better doing something for your health than you will sitting on your butt staring a screen. Enough said. It’s simple, not easy.

Tell me what little hacks do you do that make your life easier? Share below in the comments and help everyone!

If you are not interested in my content, feel free to unsubscribe yourself by scrolling down and clicking the Unsubscribe link at the very bottom and you’ll never hear from me again. If you follow me for recipes averiecooks.com is where I post just recipes. This is my other platform where I share a bit of everything!

Amazon Spring Sale March 25-31, 2026

• This sale is the best and last one Amazon typically has until their Big Summer Sale which is usually early to mid July.

• After that it’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So if you do have a semi big ticket item you’ve been eyeing or you just can’t resist a sale, now’s your chance!

• The items listed below are in no particular order and all of them are items I personally own, love, use, and would re-buy or recommend to my best friend.

Kitchen and Household

GE Pebble Ice Machine - I’ve had mine for 5 years and it’s made tens of thousands of pounds of ice in that time. I love ice. And after the ice maker on my fridge breaking multiple times (and multiple costly repairs that never lasted) I bought this and I’ve never looked back. 1000% worth it, no notes. If you’re on the fence, do it.

Viral Veggie Chopper - Make quick work of any recipe that has a lot to slice and dice. This thing saves so much time and is so handy. And I happen to really enjoy slamming the top down and watching the food come out perfectly cubed and diced.

Beast Mini Blender - A powerful blender sleek enough to leave out on your countertop and it takes up very little space (nothing like a space-hogging Vitamix!) and I use this for sauces, dressings, marinades, batter for egg wraps, and anytime I don’t really have enough for the Vitamix - if you have one you know that for small amounts, the blade is too high to really get to conquer what’s below it - so the Beast is perfect.

Also check this out for the what I actually use!

Cosori Stainless Steel Air Fryer - Not on sale, it’s very new, and I’ve had mine before it was released to the public and omg I LOVE this air fryer! Best one I’ve ever used, and I highly recommend it. It’s also beautiful and doesn’t bring me dread when I see it on my counter like most of those ugly black boxes do!

Bissell Little Green Machine - The best little steam cleaner for carpet, upholstery, rugs, your car interior, and more. If you have kids, pets, a messy spouse, or you just spill stuff, this is for you. I have the Cordless Little Green Machine and I love it even more because who doesn’t love a cordless tool.

Hotel Pillows - I’ve replaced all the pillows in my house with these! They come in a set of two, hotel-like quality, just that good. Don’t snooze (bad joke 😂) on this deal because it’s the cheapest I’ve seen these all year.

Clothes & Workout Clothes

Two Piece Casual Set - This is a fan favorite for travel days, city tours, trips, coffee dates, errands, and more. Comes in 10+ colors. Comfy yet put together looking with 6500+ reviews!

Lululemon Jacket Dupe - Best dupe I’ve seen for the $128 Lulu Define Jacket at a 1/4th the price! The Define jacket runs very small (I size up one size at least, sometimes two sizes, to accommodate for chest and long enough arms) and I recommend sizing up FOR sure in the Amazon version.

No-Wire Eby Bra Dupe - Those Eby bras for $70 each that are advertised everywhere on social media are nice but this one is under $20 bucks and worth it!

Electronics & Gear

Oura Ring - This has singlehandedly changed my sleep life, my overall life habits (less drinking, less heavy meals before bed), and has made me more cognizant, aware, and just tuned in to what my body is doing all day long, but especially while I sleep. If you’re a person who’s always slept great, you can skip this more than likely because the workout data is as good or superior on an Apple Watch or similar fitness watch (sidebar I love love love my Apple Watch and can’t be without it not even just as a watch but as a workout device, a business tool to quickly glance at texts and messages).

However, if you’ve ever struggled with sleep, insomnia, waking up and can’t get back to sleep, the Oura Ring gives you clues what your body is doing. Is your temp elevated? Your heart rate? How’s your heart rate variance? Are you tossing and turning a lot? All these “little” things are incredible to know.

Also, if you’re a younger woman and trying to family plan naturally, I think this would be so helpful. If you’re a perimenopausal woman, it helps predict irregular cycles at least for me it has. It has predicted before I get sick that I am going to get sick so I can double down on vitamins. Just literally love love love.

Buy the sizing guide, wear it for 2 days, then decide. Also, if you’re between sizes, I personally would size down not up because when you wash your hands in a public bathroom or sink, you do not want it sliding off with soap and these rings are heavier/bulkier than normal rings so I just don’t want that weight to help propel this ring and it goes flying off! I was between sizes, bought the bigger, regretted it after a couple days, returned it, and got the smaller size and am very happy. I have the White Ceramic which doesn’t go on sale because it’s new and I love it and would re-buy it 1000x over. Doesn’t scratch, period.

Space Saving Walking Pad - I really did not want to get on board with the walking pad trend because I want to walk outside, period. But that’s not always possible due to work or weather which is how this pad came into my life. I had very specific requirements: Must be as small as possible since I have no dedicated place to keep it up, must fold, must be white (I cannot stand bulky black exercise equipment in my home), must be under 50 pounds, must go to at least 4.0mph speed, must be quiet. This delivers on all fronts 100%. I fold it and keep it under my bed when not in use.

Kindle Paperwhite - Readers unite. Battery lasts for weeks, no joke, and the screen is nice and reading in the glaring sun is possible. Get it with Kindle Unlimited since there’s access to so many free books!

Also book lovers, please check out my book review posts!

Amazon Firestick - If you haven’t already, just cut your cable. I never watch tv and was paying a fortune for cable that I never watched, like ever. For the once-every-six-months I will watch a show on my tv, streaming with this is all I ever need.

Health & Beauty

Babe Lash - The best lash serum I’ve ever used. Safe for light eyes, sensitive eyes (I have both) and it actually works. Be consistent every night swipe on before bed, easy peasy. Use with the pills below!

Biotin, Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid, Keratin Pills - Two a day, no big horse pills, and no trying to dissolve collagen powder into your water or coffee (which I’ve never been successful at). Been taking these 2 1/2 months and my nails are doing well, but I notice that my EYELASHES are longer than they’ve ever been in the past two decades. 100% worth it. Use with the serum above!

The Crown Affair Dry Shampoo - Life changing dry shampoo that you brush onto your roots like you would with loose face powder. The scent is amazing and can turn day 5 hair into day 2 hair. If you only want to wash your hair once or twice a week, THIS is what you need. Also limited edition… THIS SET is an incredible value!!! I just snagged one!

EltaMD Facial Sunscreen - The best I’ve ever used, period. Not greasy, gloppy, doesn’t break you out or turn you white or sweat off easily. After spending thousands of dollars on laser skin resurfacing to help combat sun damage on my face, this is the sunscreen my dermatologist and my plastic surgeon. Get it, you will not regret it!

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Carrot Cakes and Cupcakes

Layered Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 🥕🧡🍰 A tender and moist classic two-layer carrot cake with tangy-sweet cream cheese frosting! For anyone who loves carrot cake, this cake looks and tastes so impressive but is EASY to make! Perfect for Easter, springtime, or any carrot cake cravings you have!

Salted Caramel Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – Takes advantage of using a box of spice cake mix to save time! Soft, tender carrot cake infused with salted caramel sauce and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting is the ULTIMATE in decadence! Calling all carrot cake fans, you will LOVE this version!

Cream Cheese Carrot Tunnel Cake – If you like carrot cake, you’re going to LOVE this version that includes apples and a tunnel of cream cheese that runs through the center! EASY, amazing, and a MUST-MAKE!

The Best Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 🎃🥕 A marriage of pumpkin cake and carrot cake into one soft, moist, tender, and amazing cake! The tangy cream cheese frosting is truly the icing on this easy cake!

🥕 Carrot Cake Cupcakes are soft, moist, and tender, just like layered carrot cake but in handheld form. They’re fast and easy to make and perfect for holidays and parties!

Carrot Cookies and Bars

🥕 Spiced Carrot Oatmeal Cookies offer all the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake in cookie form! Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey, these cookies are loaded with oats, spices, grated carrots, and butterscotch chips. Easy to make, they’re perfect for Easter and spring!

Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Bars 🥕🧡🎉 Dense, chewy, super moist bars that taste like carrot cake with a cream cheese topping that’s baked right in so you don’t need to worry about frosting them! So much EASIER than making carrot cake but with similar flavors you will LOVE!

Soft Glazed Carrot Cake Bars 🥕🎉🧡 Super soft carrot cake bars that taste like blondies packed with chewy carrots! So good and a must-make!

Carrot Cinnamon Rolls, Breads and Muffins

Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls – 🥕🍞🧡 These soft and fluffy rolls are what happens when you infuse the flavors of carrot cake into homemade cinnamon rolls! Flecks of grated carrots in every bite, combined with a warming spice trio of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, and topped with the most decadent cream cheese frosting! Make these for your next special event including Easter, Mother’s Day, or a lazy weekend brunch!

Apple Carrot Bread — 🥕🍎🍏This apple carrot bread tastes like carrot cake that’s been infused with apples and it’s AMAZING! Soft, tender, moist, layered with warm flavors and a family favorite! It’s a no mixer recipe that goes from bowl to oven in minutes!

Carrot Cake Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting – Soft, moist carrot cake that’s baked as a loaf. So much faster and easier than baking a cake! Juicy raisins and cream cheese frosting makes it feel like carrot cake, just less work!

🥕🍰 Carrot Cake Muffins are fast, EASY muffins that are bursting with authentic carrot cake flavor! If you’re looking for a healthier carrot cake recipe that tastes AMAZING, make these muffins immediately! They happen to be vegan which is helpful when bringing desserts to events to provide an option that everyone can enjoy.

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Why Make A Whole Chicken?

• Making a whole chicken - depending on where you live - is potentially cheaper than buying a rotisserie chicken. In San Diego, small rotisserie chickens range from about $9.99 to $13.99 depending on the store. But it’s not just the money. It’s the taste + healthiness factor!

• They’re either drier than the sahara because they’ve been sitting under heat lamps for hours. Or they’re greasier than I even want to think about.

• When I make chicken myself, I’m controlling the salt and grease (so it’s healthier) and the cook time so it’s not dry!

• Not to mention, there are only 4 ingredients, 5 minutes of prep, and the chicken is ready in 45-60 minutes!

Watch The Video!

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No Air Fryer? No Problem: Oven or Slow Cooker Recipes!

Oven Roasted Whole Chicken and Potatoes 🍗🙌🏻🥔 FOUR ingredients + ONE pan = PERFECT roasted chicken with ZERO cleanup! Your new FOOLPROOF and EASY whole roasted chicken recipe that’s ready in 1 hour!

Crockpot Whole Chicken 🍗🙌🏻😋 is one of the EASIEST ways to cook a whole chicken because your slow cooker does all the work for you! The chicken is lightly flavored with lemon, garlic and herbs, and turns out so moist, juicy, and tender! Potatoes cook alongside the chicken to create an effortless built-in side dish. Planned leftover chicken is always great to have on hand and if a recipe calls for shredded rotisserie chicken, use this instead!

10 Easy Recipes To Use Up Your Chicken

I love making a whole chicken on the weekend so that I have chicken ready to go for the week for quick lunches and dinners to toss is salads, wraps, sandwiches, or just nibble on for extra protein.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas with Rotisserie Chicken 🌮🎉🧀 have just 5 main ingredients and are ready in 30 minutes! Soft tortillas are stuffed with chicken, topped with red enchilada sauce and cheese, and are baked to PERFECTION! Using shredded rotisserie chicken saves time, making this chicken enchilada recipe ideal for busy weeknights or for fuss-free casual entertaining!

Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup 🍲🥕🙌🏻 Classic, comforting, and tastes just like grandma made but way easier and faster! This soup is AMAZING and it’ll be your new favorite recipe!

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups 🍗🥓 feature shredded chicken and bacon combined with spinach and herbs, rolled up in lasagna noodles, and smothered in a homemade three-cheese alfredo sauce! This is the ultimate CREAMY CHEESY COMFORT food recipe that everyone ADORES! Can be prepped in advance and baked off later.

Chopped Chicken Salad 🥗 An EASY chopped salad with so much FLAVOR and CRUNCH topped with your extra juicy chicken so it’s ready in 15 minutes! Homemade honey apple cider vinaigrette adds the finishing touch!

Healthy 30-Minute Chicken Kale & White Bean Soup 🍗🥬👏🏻 This chicken soup with white beans, kale, zucchini, and more is easy, hearty, and healthy! Packed with flavor and texture, it’s a full meal in itself! Perfect for quick weeknight dinners and leftovers freeze and reheat great!

Easy 🫛🥕🥔 Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with puff pastry is a great twist on pot pie and you don’t need to make pie crust! The puff pastry bakes to golden, light and flaky perfection! The filling has big pieces of juicy chicken, carrots, peas, and potatoes in a creamy sauce that’s made from scratch. You can use rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken (or holiday turkey) to save time.

Homemade 30-Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup — 🥑🍅🧀 Chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, avocado, cheese, and addictively crunchy tortilla strips! Fast, easy weeknight meal, and better than from a restaurant! Made in ONE pot and ready in 30 minutes, this is a fan FAVORITE that will impress your friends and family!

Chicken Salad for Sandwiches or Wraps 🍗 This classic chicken salad recipe is great for sandwiches, on crackers, over a bed of lettuce, or just dig in with a fork! You can’t go wrong with this FAST and EASY and chicken salad that’s a tried and true FAMILY FAVORITE!

Cheesy Chicken Ranch Sliders 🍔 Tender chicken is coated in tangy ranch dressing and topped with Swiss cheese. It’s all nestled in soft, sweet Hawaiian rolls with a buttery Dijon, onion, and poppy seed topping! Make these easy sliders for game days, graduations, or easy kid-friendly (and adult-friendly) meals!

🍲🙌🏻🍗 My Easy 30-Minute White Chicken Chili is hearty, healthy, loaded with tender chicken, beans, and packed with bold flavor! Fast and easy comfort food that everyone loves, it’s a one-pot EASY chili recipe that’s ready in just 30 minutes!

4-Ingredient Whole Chicken Recipe

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Photo for attention and has nothing to do with this post other than it’s where I spent yesterday playing hookie from work while my daughter is visiting me on her spring break. We had the absolute nicest day!

Check out my Free San Diego Recommendations if you have a visit planned to SD or my SD Restaurant Guide.

If you are not interested in my content, feel free to unsubscribe yourself by scrolling down and clicking the Unsubscribe link at the very bottom and you’ll never hear from me again. If you follow me for recipes averiecooks.com is where I post just recipes. This is my other platform where I share a bit of everything!

Things I’ve Bought Recently and are Worth It (in no particular order)

Biotin, Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid, Keratin Pills - Two a day, no big horse pills, and no trying to dissolve collagen powder into your water or coffee (which I’ve never been successful at). Been taking these 2 1/2 months and my nails are doing well, but I notice that my EYELASHES are longer than they’ve ever been in the past two decades. 100% worth it.

Space Saving Walking Pad - I really did not want to get on board with the walking pad trend because I want to walk outside, period. But that’s not always possible due to work or weather which is how this pad came into my life. I had very specific requirements: Must be as small as possible since I have no dedicated place to keep it up, must fold, must be white (I cannot stand bulky black exercise equipment in my home), must be under 50 pounds, must go to at least 4.0mph speed, must be quiet. This delivers on all fronts 100%. I fold it and keep it under my bed when not in use.

Arrae Tribiotic - Best probiotics I’ve ever tried. They say start with 1 a day and work up to two. I never found the need to take 2 a day and so a one month supply actually lasts me two months, making this a great buy for a probiotic that targets gut health, respiratory health, female health, and more. I just feel more on point with these in my life. I started taking them before the holidays and haven’t stopped.

2-in-1 Kitchen Scissors - Coolest little gadget with a built in cutting board that’s great for snipping herbs, cucumbers, green onions, and more. Check out this post for my main kitchen items I use and love.

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Bissell Little Green Mini CORDLESS - Makes cleaning up after your pet, kids, or spouse a little more “enjoyable”. I wouldn’t say anyone “loves” to clean stains from their couch, area rugs, or car upholstery but if you must, this is cordless, powerful, and gets the job done.

Patrick Ta Creme Foundation & Finishing Powder Duo - If you’ve got fine lines or wrinkles and it seems that your concealer or foundation just love to sit in them and make you look worse (which isn’t the point of makeup!), you need to try this. The foundation is creamy without being greasy, the texture is perfection and you can apply with your finger, the powder sets it, and it’s all in ONE compact. I’m color Light 3 if that’s helpful for anyone. I’ve thrown away all other base makeup!

Some of my other makeup faves in this post.

Washable Stretch Silk Cami - Very light on the stretch and it’s SILK that you can WASH at home in your washer for a super great price! I throw my black one on all the time as the base to layering other blouses or sweaters over it. And I have a purple one that I wore on vacation. So many colors, sizes, just a total winner of a top!

Rothy’s Almond Slingback - I have the Desert Cat Print (which I wore all winter in San Diego with jeans) and the Off-White Mesh which is my summery purchase. They’re very comfy, they come in extended sizes which I need, and so many colors. Soft, flexible, and WASHABLE! First time buyers, give them your email address for an extra $20 bucks off your order.

Parachute Home Towels - The Bath Sheet in Turkish Cotton is big, roomy, soft, absorbent, feels like a luxury hotel towel. I’ve had mine for years and they stand up to constant washing and dryer drying. If you’re looking for a bundle, with 2 hand towels + 2 bath towels, it’s a great option. Note that the bath sheet is much bigger than the bath towel. Choose accordingly.

Lululemon Set: Flow Y Sports Bra and 6-Inch Align Shorts. I’ll never shut up about these two pieces and own many, many (too many) colors and prints in both the bra and shorts! You know your body type and what your workouts are like but I wear the Flow Y Sports Bra and the 6-Inch Align Shorts for yoga, pilates, running, walking, and hiking. Washes amazing even after hundreds of washes, lasts forever, you get what you pay for. There’s a time and place for Amazon dupes and knockoffs but my workout wear is not that time or place.

See more of my Favorite Workout Gear.

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Slow Cooker Beef Birria with Consomme (for Birria and Quesabirria Tacos)

🌮🎉🧀 When I really want to blow people away, I make a batch of this slow cooker beef birria and turn it into tacos or extra-cheesy quesabirria. The beef simmers for hours in a smoky chile broth until it’s fall-apart tender and insanely flavorful, just like what I’ve eaten in Jalisco. I tuck it into tortillas with melted cheese, onions, cilantro, and plenty of consommé for dipping - these are truly some of the most unforgettable tacos to ever come out of my kitchen!

Easy Carne Asada Tacos

🥩🌮💃 My carne asada recipe rivals your favorite restaurant! Tender juicy beef is seasoned to perfection and topped with pico de gallo and homemade cilantro jalapeno salsa, making these carne asada tacos INCREDIBLE!

Tacos Al Pastor

If you’ve ever stood at a late-night taqueria watching pork spin on a trompo, these tacos al pastor are my at-home answer. Thinly sliced pork soaks in a tangy, slightly sweet pineapple and chile marinade, then roasts up juicy, caramelized, and crazy flavorful. I pile it into warm tortillas with onions, cilantro, lime, and salsa. Every bite tastes like a trip back to my taco nights in Mexico without leaving my San Diego kitchen.

Easy 20-Minute Chicken Tinga Tacos (with Rotisserie Chicken)

🍗🌶️🌮 Fast, super easy, and the super juicy chicken has authentic smoky chipotle flavor! When you’re craving tacos, these are the tacos to make! Great for busy weeknights because using rotisserie chicken is such a time saver!

Cauliflower Tinga Tacos with Avocado Crema

When I want a meatless taco that still feels totally indulgent, I make these cauliflower tinga tacos. Roasted cauliflower gets drenched in a smoky, chipotle-spiked sauce, folded into tortillas with cheese, and baked until everything is hot and crispy. A cool, bright avocado crema on top seals the deal—this is one of those vegetarian recipes where you truly don’t miss the meat at all.

Easy 15-Minute Fish Tacos with Avocado Corn Salsa

These fish tacos are my weeknight hero when I want something fresh and light but still totally satisfying. The tilapia cooks in minutes, stays flaky and tender, and then gets topped with a crunchy, creamy avocado–corn–cabbage salsa that I could honestly eat with a spoon. They’re clean-eating tacos that somehow still taste like pure comfort food—and they’re faster than calling for takeout.

Baked Cheesy Beef Taquitos

These baked cheesy beef taquitos are my answer when I want something crunchy, cheesy, and totally snackable with all the taco vibes. Seasoned ground beef, cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, and melty cheese get rolled in tortillas and baked until crispy and golden. I serve them with salsa, guac, or queso for dipping, and they disappear fast at parties.

Taco-Stuffed Avocados

Like avocados? 🥑 Then you are going to LOVE these taco STUFFED avocados with ground beef (or use ground chicken or ground turkey), CHEESE, and more! EASY, ready in 15 minutes, a family favorite, and perfect for busy weeknights!

Copycat Applebee’s Chicken Wonton Tacos

Are these remotely authentic Mexican tacos? Absolutely not. Are they ridiculously fun and delicious? 100% yes! I bake crispy wonton “shells,” fill them with juicy teriyaki chicken, then top everything with a sesame-ginger slaw and a drizzle of sweet chili sauce. When I’m in the mood for a playful, Asian-fusion spin on taco night that everyone devours, this is my go-to.

Beer Battered Shrimp Tacos with Lime Crema (with frozen breaded shrimp shortcut)

These shrimp tacos are for anyone who wants to take advantage of frozen breaded shrimp from the freezer case of your supermarket. Crispy, juicy shrimp tucked into soft tortillas with crunchy cabbage, creamy avocado, and a zippy lime crema over the top. They taste like something you’d order at a beachfront restaurant, but they’re ready in about 25 minutes in my own kitchen. Whenever I’m craving a fun, restaurant-quality taco night without going out, this is the recipe I reach for.

Beefed Up Taco Meat

🥩🌮 This is how you can beef up (pun intended 😂) a pound of ground with extra veggies so you’ve got high protein + veggies for nutrients and fiber so you can STRETCH the meat over more meals or more people and make it more nutrient dense! Easy one skillet recipe that’s ready in 15 minutes to use in tacos, burritos, salad bowls, lettuce wraps and more!

Steak Quesadillas

🌮🥩🧀 Stuffed to the max with juicy strips of steak, peppers and onions, and plenty of melted cheese, these EASY quesadillas are a family FAVORITE! Serve them for a simple yet satisfying weeknight meal, at game day parties, or your next Cinco de Mayo fiesta! Faster and less expensive than going to your favorite Mexican restaurant and they taste every bit as AMAZING!

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

🌮🧀🥑 Learn how to make the BEST tasting Creamy Chicken Taquitos at home that rival a Mexican restaurant in just 30 minutes with a handful of common ingredients! Crispy and crunchy on the outside, warm melted cheese and seasoned chicken on the inside, these will be a hit at your next fiesta or casual get-together! Instructions provided to bake, air fry, or fry so you’re set to make this EASY recipe!

Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos

All the flavor of the chicken taquitos in your favorite Mexican restaurant, but healthier because these are air fried! Crispy and crunchy on the outside with a perfectly spicy chicken, cheese, and cream cheese filling mixture that just melts in your mouth! EASY, ready in 20 minutes, and the whole family will want seconds! Oven baking instructions are also provided.

Chicken Taco Lettuce Wraps

Another non-traditional taco, but these chicken taco lettuce wraps are how I get all my favorite taco flavors in a lighter, fresher package. Taco-seasoned chicken, tomatoes, corn, peppers, cheese, and crunchy chips all get piled into cool, crisp butter lettuce leaves. They’re fast, easy, ready in about 10 minutes, and the kind of meal my family happily gobbles up without realizing it’s on the healthier side.

Loaded Chicken Taco Salad with Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing

Deconstructed tacos with plenty of crunch? Heck yes! On days when I want tacos but also really want a big salad, this loaded chicken taco salad is my compromise. It’s piled high with taco-seasoned chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, cheese, and crunchy extras, then finished with a homemade creamy lime-cilantro dressing that makes the whole bowl sing. It has all the flavors of a great chicken taco, just in a fresher, fork-and-bowl version.

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If you are not interested in my content, feel free to unsubscribe yourself by scrolling down and clicking the Unsubscribe link at the very bottom and you’ll never hear from me again. If you follow me for recipes averiecooks.com is where I post just recipes. This is my other platform where I share a bit of everything!

The Women ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars all the way; 472 pages, published February 6, 2024) follows Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a young nurse from a privileged background who volunteers to serve in the Vietnam War at the extreme displeasure of her parents. As she confronts the horrors of war (and this book is horrifying and gruesome in places, there is no sugar coating it) and the indifference awaiting her back home, Frankie’s journey becomes one of survival, resilience, and finding her voice in a country that refuses to acknowledge the contributions of women in combat. The novel is a powerful exploration of female courage, friendship, and the long shadow of trauma because we meet other women who served in Vietnam, each carrying their own crosses to bear. This is one of my favorite books of all time. If you’re inclined to listen to it, the wonderful Julia Whelan - aka best audiobook narrator of our time - does an incredible job!

Tip: If you don’t have an Audible membership, they tend to run a lot of specials and deals. For example, right now if you get 1 credit (1 book) per month for $8.99 which I think is a great deal. You can also buy a bundle of credits which is what I do, since they get cheaper the more you buy. Buying in bulk saves money in general and it does with credits, too.

The Nightingale ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars all the way; 608 pages, published February 3, 2015) tells the story of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Vianne struggles to protect her family and home as her village is overrun, while rebellious Isabelle joins the French Resistance, risking everything to save others. Crossing the Pyrenees, as a woman (or man!) especially during those times - I truly cannot imagine how she did it! The novel is a poignant tribute to the strength, sacrifice, and quiet heroism found in ordinary people during extraordinary times. This is one of my favorite books of all time.

The Great Alone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 to 4.5 stars; 450 pages, published February 6, 2018) Set in the wilds of 1970s Alaska, this story centers on a family seeking a fresh start while grappling with isolation and inner turmoil. The father character is straight up crazy and reminded me in so many ways of Tara Westhover’s memoir Educated which is one of best memoirs I’ve ever read - but in that book the father was real! The father in The Great Alone after coming back from Vietnam convinces his wife to go along with a lot of decisions, but their young daughter’s needs are at dissonance with the parents’ decisions. The book made me “feel and see” the breathtaking beauty of Alaska while contrasted with the brutal reality of frontier life, mirroring the characters’ emotional landscape. The novel is a powerful meditation on survival, loyalty, and the meaning of home. I took a half star to 1 star off because the book is dark and brutal at times, but that’s also Alaska.

Night Road ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 to 4.5 stars; 416 pages, currently FREE with Kindle Unlimited, published March 22, 2011) This contemporary drama follows a close-knit family whose lives are shattered by a tragic accident, forcing each character to confront grief, guilt, and forgiveness. Hannah skillfully explores the complexities of motherhood, friendship, and the ripple effects of a single moment. The result is an emotionally charged story about healing and the possibility of grace. I took 1/2 to 1 stars off because the beginning gets long, the first third or a bit more is scene setting the female friendship between the two girls, the family dynamics and stability, and while very important to the overall story, it could have been condensed. Also as mother to a 19 year old daughter currently, the girls even at 14-15 were very simplistic - much more than teenage girls today actually are - and I feel the writing showed its age a bit here being that it’s a 15 year old book at this point. Minor things, but I’m being candid.

The Four Winds ⭐️⭐️⭐️( 3.5 to 4 stars; 464 pages, published February 2, 2021) follows Elsa Wolcott, a woman cast out by her own family when she becomes unexpectedly pregnant, and finds herself married into a hard‑working Italian farm family in Dust Bowl‑era Texas. As drought, dust storms, and economic collapse ravage the Plains during the 1930s, Elsa must decide whether to stay and fight for the land she loves or uproot her children and head west to California in search of hope. A deeply emotional story, it explores resilience, motherhood, sacrifice, and the enduring struggle for the American Dream. Of the 5 Kristin Hannah books, I’m mentioning this was my least favorite because it does get very, very depressing. Julia Whelan’s narration is what kept me going at times! I would personally recommend the other four above before reading this one BUT if you’ve already read those, and you’re in the headspace for a darker book, you may like this one.

Winter Garden - Adding this 2010 and 417-page book because it’s currently FREE on Kindle Unlimited and it’s on my TBR list. Gets great reviews and I’ve never been disappointed by a Kristin Hannah book so popping this one into the KH lineup here!

Please check out my other book reviews and book posts!

Richly chocolaty cookies that are soft and pillowy, with a texture that’s soft without being cakey. A sprinkling of sea salt is salty-sweet perfection! And I promise, there’s no cottage cheese or protein powder in sight!

And for all inquiring minds, they don’t taste like pumpkin. It helps the cookies bake up with structure and not fall flat while baking since pumpkin has a way of adding structure to baked goods for example in this vegan Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread recipe.

If you’re craving chocolate but not trying to eat a bunch of sugar, you won’t miss it in these easy, healthier, mini chocolate cookies!

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If you are not interested in my content, feel free to unsubscribe yourself by scrolling down and clicking the Unsubscribe link at the very bottom and you’ll never hear from me again. If you follow me for recipes averiecooks.com is where I post just recipes. This is my other platform where I share a bit of everything!

Everything below is written in no particular order. However, it’s all written with a ‘tough love because this is real life’ approach because I need to be real!

Eat Protein, More Than You Think

Where ever you stand on the question of protein and how much is enough, most respected experts currently recommend between 0.7 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound (not kilo), of body weight.

So if you weigh 150 pounds, your protein should be 70% of that (get your calculator out and .7 x 150 = 105) or 105 grams, at the low, end per day.

At the high end, it’s a 1:1 ratio so 150 pounds = 150 grams protein.

If you’re 200 pounds, that’s 140-200 grams daily.

You’re immediately thinking, ohmygod that’s so much, that’s way too much, I could never eat that much.

Wrong. It’s not too much protein for most healthy adults, especially if you’re trying to:

• age gracefully

• retain muscle

• protect your bone health

• not have cravings every hour or two

• not binge on sugar

• sleep well

• stay lean and trim rather than chubby and flabby

• build muscle

• maintain the muscle you do have (muscle burns more calories than fat when you’re doing absolutely nothing) which in turns ensures that

• your metabolism stays strong and fiery rather than barely chugging along.

You need to make conscious choices at every meal to eat protein. This is simple, not easy - but it become easier as you do it and live it. I’ve been eating this way for 3 years and in the last 2 months have really, really doubled down on it and am seeing positive results in all aspects of my health and wellness.

Sheet Pan Chicken & Sweet Potatoes, Lemon Pepper Chicken, Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

You need to become friends with eggs, egg whites, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, chicken, turkey, and beef although for me personally beef is less than 10% of my monthly protein. If I am eating beef, I’m making something like Beefed Up Taco Meat because there are vegetables for fiber and bulk to keep me fuller and digestion on track. Protein powder is less than 2% of my monthly protein intake but it’s a tool if you need it. Real food > processed food.

You need to be averaging at least 30-35 grams of protein at every meal so things like an egg white scramble + 1 egg + lots of veggies scrambled in (zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions) so you’re eating a big volume of food with fiber AND your protein goal is met.

I have a whole section of recipes on my site that are High Protein 💪🏻. For example, I love my new Two-Ingredient High Protein Wrap recipe with 51 grams protein just in the wrap, before you even stuff it. Add some canned tuna, leftover chicken, black bean salad, etc. and you’re at an easy 70 grams of protein.

📣 I have a High Protein Recipes ebook each with 30 grams protein per serving for anyone who needs recipe ideas!

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