Quick & Easy Breakfast Ideas

It can be hard to make a healthy breakfast when you’re trying to rush out the door, trust me I know. It can be even harder when you feel as though you aren't the best cook. I’ve gotten a lot of requests to do a post about simple breakfast ideas for the un-mastered chef. Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day so it’s imperative to kick-start your day with some healthy nutrients for your body.

I am obsessed with avocado. There was about a month stretch where I would literally have it with each meal of the day. It’s so good for you because it’s packed with vitamins and healthy fats that keep your body fueled. I found this great tool for cutting, pitting, and slicing avocados. Especially for all my clutsy friends out there who may be accident prone, I highly suggest this. Having said that, avocado toast is one of my favorite breakfasts and super quick to make. Sometimes I will use my pampered chef ceramic egg cooker but other times I like to just fry my egg. I slather half of the avocado all over the toast and then put the egg right on top - yum!

An even easier breakfast is toast with peanut butter and banana. I like to use oatmeal bread as my toast for breakfast. I did a post all about oats that you can read about here. When I am literally crunched for time in the morning, a good old fashioned toast with peanut butter and banana is my go to.

If both of those don’t tickle your fancy, smoothies are also a super easy option. I made this smoothie with about a half of a cup of coconut milk (I know you’re shocked), almonds, and a frozen banana. That’s it. So simple! I recently purchased this and have been putting it in my shakes. It is a collagen peptides protein powder that is supposed to help with hair, skin, and nails. I haven’t used it long enough to say if it is actually working but the reviews for this are amazing. Cheers to looking youthful!

I hope these simple breakfast ideas will get you thinking about ways you can incorporate healthy foods into your diet. Happy eating!

Perfect Nude Lip

I think every woman is on the hunt for the perfect nude lip. Does said thing even exist? There are so many colors and brands out there that I am not sure it is possible to definitively say “yes I have found it!” Today I am telling about my four favorite nude lip colors that are pretty close to being perfect.

Let me preface this by saying what works for me, may not necessarily work for you. The nude lip color that looks best on me has more of a peachy undertone and subtle hints of pink. I picked two lipstick colors and two lipgloss colors that I think you will love! The best part about the lipgloss is that they will look beautiful on almost every skin tone. The lipstick comes in shades that are marked by numbers so if your skin is more fair than mine just go down a number or two. If you have a darker skin tone than mine I would recommend going up a number. On to the nudes!

This Anastasia lip gloss in the shade butterscotch has such sentimental meaning to me. I bought this color with my best friend Leah and we loved it so much we both ended up wearing it on our my wedding days. It’s only fitting that we both wore it because we’ve gone through every milestone together - love you girl! This gloss is so creamy and a little goes a long way. I usually blot off the excess because if you use too much it can come out looking very white. I love to put this on top of lipstick too to add an extra shine.

NYX glosses are my favorite. I love how small they are and the size of the wand that comes with the gloss. I used this butter gloss in the shade fortune cookie. This is a very sheer gloss but I would still consider it a nude. It has a very light pigment but picks up enough color so that it does look subtly different than your lip color. It adds a high shine and lasts for quite a while. I also have the shade creme brulee which I adore. You can always find at least one of these in my clutch.

I love covergirl and maybelline lipsticks. I like the price point and the creaminess of the actual stick. It doesn't have the long wear like a pricier lipstick or lip stain might but I am okay with that. I am constantly putting on chapstick or gloss to keep my lips moist anyways. This shade is 235 Champagne. This has more of a pink hue to it and feels so flirty and fun.

This Maybelline Nude Lust 920 is gorgeous. The color looks so natural and gives a more sophisticated look. I could wear this to work without my students asking “what is on your lips?” or saying “Mrs. Ferrando you look so different!” Leave it to 7 year olds to tell it how it is. If I’m having a bad hair day and hoping no one will notice, they will call me out on it. I love- and loathe- how honest and unfiltered they are at that age.

I hope these help you on your hunt for the near perfect nude lip! My next mission is to hunt for the perfect pink lip. I have so many pinks but I feel they just look so artificial on me. Any suggestions? Stay beautiful!

All opinions are my own.

Food Prep for the Week

Food prep. This can be an intimidating phrase if you’ve never prepped food for a longer period of time. I know that when I first started prepping food I felt very overwhelmed and didn’t know where to start. Lucky for you, I’ve gotten the hang of things and I am here to share with you some tips and tricks to food prep!

The first thing you must do prior to going to the grocery store is make a list. I find that planning out all meals and making sure my pantry is stocked is really helpful. I keep a running list on my phone of what I need. I am constantly writing notes and reminders on my phone or I would never remember a thing! Bless you iphone, I would seriously be lost without you!

After you have the list it is time to shop. I do most of my grocery shopping in the produce section and then stock up on things like eggs, coconut milk (you know I can’t do without that), flours, and canned goods. I like to keep yams, beets, corn, and diced tomatoes on hand for easy nights. Sometimes I run out of vegetables for dinner by the weekend and so these come in handy.

When I get home the first thing I do is clean out my fridge. This is a step that can be so easy to overlook. I go through my produce drawers and chuck anything that didn’t get eaten. Often times it is things like half an onion, a piece of fritatta or the prior night’s leftovers. I like to do this for two reasons. It keeps the fridge smelling good, and it keeps my fridge more organized. Since I am about to load it up with lots of containers, and empty fridge is much easier to rearrange than a full one!

I typically wash all my fruits and vegetables, even if I am not cutting them up. I like to put them in small glass containers to store them in the fridge. I got these at Marshalls and I am so happy I did. They don’t absorb the smell of onions or get stained from berries. I recommend investing in some of these. I found some similar here.

I also hard boil a dozen eggs and make a batch of muffins for Jay for breakfast. I know what you’re thinking; Kayt - that is a lot of work after a trip to the grocery store! I know, I know but it is 100% worth it!! By putting in the hour of food prep I save myself so much time when I go to make lunch and dinner the rest of the week.

Let me know if you do food prep. What are your favorite things to prep? Any suggestions? Happy eating!

Top 5 Beauty Products

I love makeup. It’s another passion of mine that I would love to share with all of you. Makeup is a wonderful thing. It can make you feel more beautiful and put together all at once. I am always on the lookout for new makeup and enjoy trying products others have reviewed and recommended.

I really do love all of my makeup but when it came to picking out five items I really wanted to share, I knew exactly what I wanted to feature. These products are something that I use everyday and have repurchased multiple times. I like when a brand shows consistency in their products so I wasn't surprised to find that the products I am featuring are consistent in my makeup collection.

The first product I’m going to talk about is Tula. This skincare has changed the way I think about my skin. Tula is a skincare that has been developed and tested by dermatologist Dr. Roshini Raj. You can read all about her story here. Basically this is a skincare developed using probiotics to naturally balance and boost the health of your skin. This stuff is gold. My skin is so much more radiant and extremely soft after using this product for over a year. I cleanse with the cleanser nightly and follow with the toner and then the lotion. They have a bundle that you can purchase which includes all three items, this is a great buy! I highly recommend this if you are looking for a new skin care. It is a little pricey but well worth the cost.

The next item is a primer. I never used a primer until I found this one. I absolutely adore this Becca backlighting primer. It highlights the skin and gives a healthy and natural glow all throughout the day. I first tried this product about a year ago and have purchased it three times already. If you love the glowy and dewey look, you will be hooked on this one.

Last year I was all about a matte look but I have been loving the natural glow - hence the primer mentioned above. I was so excited when I saw that L’oreal had come out with the Infallible Pro- Glow foundation. I love this product for two reasons: it’s lightweight and it lasts all day. I am so guilty of touching my face throughout the day, even though I know it can be so bad for your skin. When I am stressed or really concentrating on a task my hands go right to my face. This foundation doesn’t wear off and keeps my skin looking fresh.

Prior to my wedding last July, I really started playing around with my makeup and watching Youtube videos on how to do certain looks. I came across Jaclyn Hill and have ever since been obsessed, so it should be of no surprise when you hear that my next product is something she created with Becca Cosmetics. This palette is something I use on the daily and I am so bummed that it is no longer sold. Not to worry! I mainly use champagne pop, which you can buy alone and the mineral blush, which is also sold individually but not in the same shade. I think that all of the Becca blushes are amazing no matter what color you pick. I have my eye on this one.

The last product I am going to mention is the L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara. This is a recent purchase, but I have used all kinds of L’Oreal mascaras prior to this one. I only wear fake lashes for very special occasions so I need a mascara that is going to enhance my natural lashes. This product lengthens without getting clumpy and even does my fine lower lashes. This is a great product. I really want to try this one, as I have heard it is a great dupe for Too Faced Better than Sex mascara at a much cheaper price. I really can’t justify spending over $20 on mascara because I am constantly trying new ones.

I know that was a lot to take in all at once. I would love to do a tutorial or go more in depth with more of my beauty products. Please let me know if this is something you would like to see more of. Stay beautiful!

All opinions are my own.

Ratatouille

This weekend I have to admit that I overindulged a bit. Between barbeques and family get togethers, my body is definitely craving some clean meals this week. I sit down on Sundays and plan out my meals for the week. It is the best way to keep on track and hold myself accountable. I found this pad at Marshalls for a few dollars and it has been the best thing.

I do a lot of food prep on Sundays as well. This makes it so much easier when it comes time to either run out the door with breakfast in hand or whip together our meal when I get home from work. I like to chop all my vegetables, fruits, and make breakfast for myself and Jay for the week. I shared this recipe which will be on repeat for my breakfasts for the next week, or two. For Jay I always make this. I swear he will never get sick of those muffins!

The recipe I am sharing today is another from Whole30. We had this for dinner last week and it was a hit! I loved all the veggies combined with the garlic and tomato sauce. This is a recipe I will use again as it is a perfect side dish for any meat. I paired it with chicken meatballs, but I think it would be great with a perfectly grilled steak - yum!

The best part about this dish is that it cooks in one pan. I love when I don’t have to use a thousand dishes to cook one thing, it just makes my life so much easier. Don’t get me wrong, I make things all the time that make my kitchen look like it's been attacked by every pan and cooking utensil in the house, haven't we all?? You’ll love this dish. It’s simple and delicious - what more could you ask for?

I did chop all my veggies and put them in bowls prior to cooking. I found that it was a lot easier to dump the bowls into the hot pan rather than scrambling for what was going in next. I put the onions in one bowl, the zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant in another bowl, and then the orange and green peppers in the last bowl. Since they all went in at different times it helped the cooking process, and myself, keep organized. I like to think of cooking as organized chaos. 

How do you decide what meals to make? I’d love to do a post on meal prep. Let me know if that is something you’d like to see! Happy eating!

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Ratatouille

by Kaytlyn Ferrando (adapted from the Whole30 cookbook) July-17-2017

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 finely chopped onion
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1 cup diced yellow squash
• 1 cup diced eggplant
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup finely diced orange bell pepper
• 2 tsp (2 cloves) minced garlic
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tsp balsamic venegar
• 3 basil leaves (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Heat pan with coconut oil.2. Add the onions and cook until translucent (about 3 minutes). 3. Add the yellow squash, zucchini, and eggplant. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often.4. Add the finely diced peppers. Cook for about 2 minutes. 5. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).6. Add the tomato sauce and water. Let simmer on low heat for 20 - 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 7. Serve with meat or eat alone.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 35 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: serves 2

Recipe from The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom 

Banana Oat Bread

I think my brain has turned to mush following along with the Nordstrom Sale. I follow so many beauty and fashion bloggers and that is all they’re talking about! Don’t get me wrong, I am loving looking at all the fall pieces and enjoy watching try on videos. I have major envy of them right now. These are some of my favorite bloggers right now. 1 2 3 4

I have been trying to stick with a routine this week of cooking, cleaning, and working out but summer school started, so everything has been thrown off a bit. Also, we are in the midst of renovating our upstairs bathroom, so it has been a bit chaotic over here. All of our toiletries are sprawled all over our office and our new fixtures are taking up our guest room. I am SO ready for this project to be over, and lucky for me we are almost done. I spent yesterday painting and I am always in awe of how much paint can really change a room. I will definitely do a post about it when we’re completely done.

Although this has been a busy week I was able to bake and cook up some new recipes. Today I am sharing a most delectable banana bread. I knew I wanted to make a banana bread this week and I also knew I wanted to try using ground oats as the flour base. I found this simple banana bread recipe here and changed some ingredients to create my idea of the perfect banana bread.

I talked about oats in this post and I am still loving them in my baking recipes. I swapped out the flour for 1 cup of ground oats and ¾ cup of oats as they are. I did this because I wanted the bread to have some of that texture that the oats bring when they soak up all the moisture.

This bread turned out moist and so delicious! At first I was nervous about how it would turn out using the ground oats but I am so glad I tried it. I usually only do simple and small switches when I am playing with a recipe but this one felt big to me. I definitely will continue to make recipes more my own on this food journey.

If there is something you want to see more of please let me know. Happy eating!

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Banana Oat Bread

by Kaytlyn Ferrando July-14-2017

Decadent and moist banana bread loaded with chocolate chips.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup coconut milk (or milk of choice)
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup oats
• 1 cup ground oats
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.2. Mash bananas.3. Add eggs, coconut oil (melted), honey, milk, and vanilla to the mashed bananas. Whisk until well combined. 4. In a separate bowl, combine oats, ground oats, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. 5. Slowly add dry ingredients to the banana mixture. Stir until well combined. 6. Fold in chocolate chips. 7. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray thoroughly. I improvised with tin foil and sprayed it with nonstick spray. 8. Bake for 50 minutes or until center is set. The bread will be very moist upon completion.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 50 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: 1 loaf

Spinach Frittata

Let me just start by saying, you’re welcome. This frittata will be one of your new go to breakfast recipes. It tastes like you’re eating a pizza but without the grease, cheese or crust; i.e. everything not healthy. It is AMAZING.

For my birthday, Jay got me the Whole30 cookbook, which I have been asking for at least once a week- thanks babe! The first recipe I tried was this one and I am so happy I did. Not only is it a perfect breakfast but I find myself having a little slice after I workout. It’s just the right amount to replenish my body after sweating everything out. I typically reach for fruit or some kind of carb after I’ve exercised, but I don’t want to jumpstart my body with sugar anymore. The frittata kept me full until my next meal and didn’t leave me craving chocolate within the hour- because let’s be honest, who doesn't crave chocolate?! 

I’ve done the Whole30 twice and I love the way I felt about two weeks in. Prior to doing the Whole30 the first time I drank a glass of full fat milk daily, cheese with everything (and I mean everything), and had to have chocolate after dinner every night. I had lots of headaches throughout the month and my stomach was upset at least twice a week, for no specific reason. I knew I needed to make a change. I first heard about the Whole30 through one of my favorite bloggers, Katy. She is the sweetest person, definitely go follow her blog! After seeing her go through the process I decided to give it a try.

If you’ve never done the Whole30, the rumors are true. It is hard. You will crave sugar. You may even break down and cry. However, you are stronger than you think. You CAN do it. And it DOES get easier.

The first week was pretty easy, but by day 7 or 8 I was feeling really cranky. I wanted to eat cheese and chocolate so badly, but I didn’t give in to the cravings. Luckily Jay did it with me so we had each other to lean on. I highly suggest having someone to go through this with you, it really does help! By day 12 I felt so amazing. My stomach didn’t hurt at all, I had way more energy and my headaches were nonexistent. After my 30 days I realized that I didn’t need chocolate before bed or cheese on everything. I completely stopped drinking full fat milk and rarely put cheese on my home cooked meals.

The best part was that I lost 14 pounds! Can you believe that?! Now by no means is this supposed to be a diet for weight loss, that was just an added bonus. The second time I did the Whole30, about a year later, I lost about 5 pounds but I was also working out a lot more frequently. The second round was SO much easier. I think it was because I knew what to expect and how awesome I was going to feel while eating so much cleaner.

So enjoy this frittata and be kind to your body, it’s the only one if you have. If you want to try the Whole30 and have more questions please feel free to ask away! Happy eating!

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Spinach Frittata - Whole30

July-12-2017

Perfect breakfast frittata filled with healthy ingredients.

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp cooking fat (I used coconut oil)
• 1/2 diced onion
• 1 cup diced seeded tomato
• few slices of tomato
• 9 ounces baby spinach

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper and set aside.3. Preheat a skillet on medium heat and add the coconut oil, or preferred cooking fat. Add the onions and diced tomatoes to the pan. Cook about 3 minutes, or until the onions are tender and translucent. 3. Add the roughly chopped spinach to the pan and stir it until the spinach has wilted and is well incorporated with the onions and tomatoes.5. Add this mixture into the whisked eggs and stir until well combined. 6. Transfer the mixture into a greased 9 inch pie plate and top with sliced tomatoes. 7. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the center is set.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 9 inch pie

Recipe from The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom