Hi, I'm Toni! Let me help you save time and money while eating delicious, nutritious meals that everyone will love. You'll get access to meal plans, recipes, videos, and more!
heating up
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Hello Reader, It’s a toasty 102°F here in Sacramento today (that’s about 39°C), and while that might sound intense, I actually kind of love it. It’s a hot start to our summer, but since I grew up here, I’m mostly unphased by the heat — so much so that I made a big pot of soup this afternoon. 😊 In garden news, two of our sunflowers just bloomed — including the red variety, which hasn’t made an appearance in a couple of years. If you’ve been around for a while, you might remember that this particular sunflower and I have a bit of a history. Two summers ago, while removing the plant to harvest seeds, it toppled over and hit me directly in the eye, sending me to the hospital with a scraped cornea and temporary vision loss. I’ve finally forgiven it — and I think it knows, because it’s thriving again in our yard. We also had our first-ever cherry harvest! As you might remember, I netted some of the fruit clusters in an effort to share the bounty with the local critters while keeping a little for ourselves. Sadly, the birds and rodents weren’t quite on board with the plan — they tore through most of the netting and left us with just one small basket of cherries. But I’ve accepted that in our garden, the critters usually win. And honestly, getting to hear the little baby nestlings grow up just outside our door feels like a pretty sweet consolation prize. Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a TikTok to share more lifestyle and garden content — little moments from around the yard, what I’m growing, what I’m cooking with it, and maybe a few everyday bits of life. Would you watch something like that? I’d love to hear what you'd want to see! Popular recipes from the blogs:
This week on YouTube, I created step-by-step videos for this easy Vegan Lemon Cake, Vegan Lemon Buttercream Frosting, and simple Raw Carrot Salad. And new on Instagram: |
Plant-Based on a Budget
Hi, I'm Toni! Let me help you save time and money while eating delicious, nutritious meals that everyone will love. You'll get access to meal plans, recipes, videos, and more!
Hello Reader, Since early last year, I’ve been making a real effort to prioritize my fitness. After taking nearly all of 2023 off from exercise because of my book launch, I found myself struggling to keep up on a simple hike with my husband — and that moment really stuck with me. It reminded me how much better I feel, physically and mentally, when I’m consistently moving my body. I started small — just walking around the block with Eddie. That’s really all it took to begin rebuilding the...
Hello Reader, It’s been a heavy travel month over here! I've been in Savannah, Georgia, where I was attending a food blogger conference. I had been to Savannah once before during a cross-country road trip with my husband when we were moving him out to California and visiting his family in the south along the way — we hit all the Savannah touristy spots back then. But this time, I noticed so many buses talking about spooky ghost stories (not sure how I missed it last time)... and since I’m...
Hello Reader, I’m on my way home from my annual trip with a group of incredibly talented food creators. Every year, a bunch of us who work as full-time bloggers take some time to meet up. This trip has become a wonderful tradition. It’s our chance to step away from the hustle of daily work and intentionally carve out space to connect and get inspired. We spend the time sharing what’s been working in our businesses, brainstorming new ideas, learning from each other’s wins and challenges,...