Last weekend I attended an LA Mamacitas event promoting the upcoming movie “Daddy’s Home 2” with my little family. It was a fun day out with my husband, Tommy, and our soon-to-be eight month old… More
10 Of My Favorite Plant Based Items at Costco
These are 10 of my favorite plant based vegan items to buy at Costco. I’ve noticed Costco has a wide variety of organic items at great prices which is awesome. Also, a lot of items like some of these are not labeled vegan, but if you read the labels you can see that they are.
So I love shopping at Costco. Let’s just ignore that fact that usually you leave Costco with a least a couple of things that you didn’t plan on getting, but then you find that you obviously need them in your life so you buy them! Another perk, Costco is one of the few stores my husband, Tommy, actually enjoys shopping at so it’s a win-win for us.
1. Cooked Quinoa & Brown Rice Packs
Above are these quick and easy quinoa & brown rice packs. They are a quick meal to have with a side of veggies or a salad. I also love topping them with avocado and sriracha.
2. Onion “Everything” Bagels & Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
These bagels are just delicious. Not all flavors are vegan, but these are. We like them toasted with some Earth Balance Vegan butter. Also, I slice them in half and freeze them in gallon freezer bags to keep fresh. When we want one I just put it in the toaster oven.
3. Fruit
I don’t think all of the fruit is a good deal, but I usually get bananas and avocados at Costco. I definitely go ahead an freeze my peeled bananas once they are ripe and use them in smoothies. Bonus: frozen fruit bags for smoothies are a great deal.
4. Greens
Organic salad greens are a great price at Costco. I love getting romaine lettuce, baby spinach or spring mix greens. Bonus: Frozen veggies like organic broccoli are a good price too.
5. Uncooked Tortilas
These tortillas taste great and are way better than prepackaged flour tortillas. They are not as good as my moms homemade tortillas of course, but they will do sometimes!
6. Salsa
This salsa tastes homemade! I love the charred flavor and the chunks of tomatoes and peppers. It is really spicy so be careful if that’s not your thing. We love it.
7. Orange Juice
We don’t drink juice often, but sometimes a little orange juice is nice in the morning. There are usually several varieties to choose from.
8. Dave’s Killer Bread
I love the ingredients in this bread. It has a great flavor and has 5 grams of protein per slice, and it comes in a 2 pack. I will stick one in the freezer and pull it out a week or two later when we need it.
9. Peanut Butter & Jelly
Both of these have minimal ingredients which I love. They are perfect for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the Dave’s bread. I also love this peanut butter in Thai style peanut noodles. The peanut butter comes in a 2 pack, and I love finding these on sale at Costco sometimes.
10. Chia Seeds
Costco is a great place to get a large bag of chia seeds cheaper than most other stores. I make chia lemon water or add them to my smoothies or oatmeal.
There you go, those are 10 of my favorite plant Based Items to buy at Costco. What are some of your favorites? I’d love to know so feel free to share below in the comments.
Minnie Mouse Luau
I love all things Disney! Recently I was able to attend a fun family luau in Los Angeles put on by LA Mamacitas to celebrate the release of the DVD Minnie’s Happy Helpers. It was a perfect sunny day filled with pink flamingos, golden pineapples, flower crowns, tropical snacks and happy kids. Thank you so much for having my family and I ladies, and thank you Disney for making it possible! Continue reading “Minnie Mouse Luau”
My Favorite Items on Our Summer Walks
Summer is coming and one of my favorite things to do with my almost three-month-old baby boy is to go on daily walks around our neighborhood. As a new mom, I tend to want to overprepare whenever I take my son out, but since we walk almost every day I have my essential items down!
I pack our stroller with his stretchy cover to protect him from the sun, his pacifier just in case, a water tumbler for me, and a Kleenex Go Anywhere Pack because you always need tissue handy. Continue reading “My Favorite Items on Our Summer Walks”
Easy Coconut Vanilla Iced Coffee
I love coffee! I am my father’s daughter for sure, because anyone who knows my dad knows that he can drink coffee all day long. My Easy Coconut Vanilla Iced Coffee is a great way to make your own iced coffee at home. It’s so customizable. You can add as much creamer as you’d like, and you can change it up to use your favorite flavor of creamer. There’s just something about a strong, sweet and milky cup of iced cold coffee that makes my day.
I love a hot cup of coffee in the morning, but my favorite way to drink coffee is iced. Most of the time when I buy coffee at a coffee shop my drink is Vanilla Iced Coffee with some kind of milk to make it creamy. This recipe is a really good and easy one for making awesome iced coffee at home. Continue reading “Easy Coconut Vanilla Iced Coffee “
Blistered Brussels and Cauliflower, 100 Years of West Coast Flavors and More!
Living in Southern California means there is always good Mexican food around. One fact about me is that I love all my food saucy! The more sauce, salsa and dips the better. In this post I am sharing three tasty and saucy recipes I recreated from the makers of LA VICTORIA® Brand. Their salsas take on the bold and unique flavors of the West Coast, and I am loving them.
LA VICTORIA® is celebrating 100 years with exciting events in Los Angeles and San Diego which you can be a part of!
I am excited to be sponsored by LA VICTORIA® to recreate and shares recipes using their flavorful ingredients. I chose to buy the Thick n’ Chunky Salsa Verde, Salsa Brava Hot Sauce and the Green Taco Sauce, and I am absolutely in love with the Salsa Brava. Continue reading “Blistered Brussels and Cauliflower, 100 Years of West Coast Flavors and More!”
DIY Monthly Baby Update Chalkboard and Photos
I am a new mama!
My husband, Tom, and I survived the first month of parenthood, and we could not be more in love with our son, Ben!
I decided I wanted to do something special to track each month of his first year. There are so many creative ideas out there, and since I love the look of a chalkboard, I decided to go with that. This is my DIY Monthly Baby Update Chalkboard and Photos. Continue reading “DIY Monthly Baby Update Chalkboard and Photos”
Santa Barbara, California Day Trip
In late November I took a little Mother/Daughter getaway trip with my mom, sisters and baby niece. We had such a relaxing trip to Santa Barbara and Solvang, California. We were in Santa Barbara for the day and then made our way to Solvang about 45 minutes away where we stayed. I’ll be sharing Solvang photos and details in another post.
Santa Barbara is always a beautiful place to visit, and I had not been back for almost three years since my wedding. My wedding post is here if you’d like to see some photos!
Shrimp Nachos with Roasted Jalapeños and Corn
Nachos are one of my favorite dishes to order when we go out! I love all the cheese and toppings, but usually I don’t see nachos with shrimp on the menu. These shrimp nachos with easy pan roasted jalapeños and corn and tons of guacamole are just the best thing ever to me right now!
Shrimp is so quick to cook. Pair that with your favorite store bought salsa and GOODFOODS Tableside® Chunky Guacamole, and you have a mouth-watering easy appetizer perfect for the holidays. Or do you want to just make this your dinner one night? I’m not judging!
Continue reading “Shrimp Nachos with Roasted Jalapeños and Corn”
Quick & Easy Holiday Cookie Recipes
Baking has always been a love of mine. I remember a couple of years ago, the first time I made buttery homemade pie crust using the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe, I was so proud of myself! Also, I remember when I was a girl and made my first cake using Betty Crocker™ boxed cake mix… I was also so proud of myself! Sometimes I love to try new recipes and make everything from scratch, and sometimes store bought baking mix is just as good and can save you money too.
Making cookies around the holidays is something that I love to do. Cookies are treats that I love sharing at family parties as well as at work, and today I have two new super easy cookie recipes using Betty Crocker™ cookie mixes from Walmart. Continue reading “Quick & Easy Holiday Cookie Recipes”
Our Wedding Day
Today is my three-year wedding anniversary! It’s been three years since I walked down the aisle to Andrea Bocelli’s “Somos Novios” and said I do to the kindest and most loving husband I could have ever hoped for. Tommy, this is for you.
As I type this and look at our photos from that day I am flooded with memories, and I’m feeling a little emotional. If I had to pick a favorite part of my entire wedding day, I would say that it was the ceremony. Specifically, because we wrote letters to one other as vows, and they were read during the ceremony. We both cried like babies. We couldn’t hold in the happiness we felt, the relief that our day was finally here, the emotion behind the words we had written and the love that we felt from our friends and family members who were there to join us in our union.
