avocado + spinach egg salad

the fourth grader in me misses my pink, sparkly lunchbox and the subsequent surprise that came in opening that magical parcel every day in the cedar ridge lunchroom. my mom was the most excellent lunch packer around and wasn't afraid to think outside the box - pun intended - and pack everything from cereal to chips with salsa to the sometimes embarrassing smelling egg salad.

as of late, i'm finding the simplest joy in preparing mini-meals that are sure to satisfy my stomach whilst sitting at my new desk. this week, i sought inspiration from pinterest (shocking, i know) and whipped up a healthier twist on the classic egg salad recipe.

now i realize it might not look beautiful but the taste most definitely is...

spicy broccoli + sun-dried tomato pasta

forgive my inconsistency in posting. though i still spend a considerable amount of my free time in the kitchen, said amount of free time has reduced significantly. the challenges of balancing my new schedule and the fact that i'm (for the time being) cooking for one, i'm having difficulty tracking down my motivation. perhaps i left it in france...

this throwback dish is one of the first i made when embarking out on this culinary journey. it's creamy without being heavy, packed full of incredible flavor, and contains my best vegetable friend - brocc.

this recipe was inspired (okay, mostly copied but i added my own touches) by one i saw on one of my favorite veggie blogs, cookie + kate.

kate's greenie smoothie

it's been a helluva last few weeks. i flew home from france, celebrated my mom's 60th birthday with family and friends, road tripped to orange county, flew back up to san francisco, enjoyed a few more days with my mom, road tripped AGAIN down to orange county, and have spent the last several days settling into our accommodations for the summer. whew!

i'm slowly getting back on track with my workouts and healthy eating. is two weeks post-arrival too late to feign "jetlag" as an excuse...?

the following is inspired by something i delighted in during a sunny afternoon lunch date with some best friends in the city.