Buttery puff pastry crust is wrapped around Sabra pizza hummus and pepperoni, then baked until the pastry is golden and puffed and perfectly flaky. 

Oh, football season. Why do you have to come to an end right when winter is getting bad?

We’re stuck inside, in the cold, which is the perfect time to relax with a cold drink, tasty snacks, and a good game.

Lucky for us, there’s a few more games to catch – including the 50th Super Bowl!

Even though the teams aren’t set yet, we can at least start planning our snack set up. And these DEFINITELY made the list this year for some Super Bowl viewing.

Have you had palmiers before? I’ve only had a sweet version, but even that was just a year or so ago. In fact, I had never even heard of these little treats until a few years ago when I saw my foodie BFF, Ina, making them on her show.

Who watched the Golden Globes this past Sunday? I don’t know about you, but I love the start of award season.

The dresses! The fashion! And…the snacks while we watch.

This year’s Golden Globes event was ALL ABOUT THE CHOCOLATE.

Do you love Lindt? We love Lindt. And we were super excited to find out that Lindt was the official chocolate confectionary for The Golden Globes this year! That means on Sunday night, we were eating the SAME chocolatey treats that all the celebrities had at the show and after party.

This is kind of like the 7 degrees from Kevin Bacon, right?

So….if John Krasinski and I both ate the same chocolates on the same night, we’re pretty much BFFs? I hope so.

At this year’s Golden Globe Awards, Lindt delighted guests with a decadent chocolate experience. During the ceremony, attendees enjoyed a limited edition Lindt gift box presented at each place setting. At the Golden Globes lounge, stars enjoyed handcrafted pralines imported from Switzerland and a chocolate sculpture of the Golden Globe award, and Lindt continued the festivities as the Presenting Sponsor and Official Dessert Sponsor of the Weinstein Company Golden Globes After Party.

Can you say swanky?

Maybe our viewing party didn’t include formal dresses and tuxes, but we had a blast!

So much fun, in fact, that as I was going through my pictures to write this post, I realized that I did not take ANY pictures of the group! Once we started digging in, filling out our ballots, and playing bingo during the show….the cameras got tossed by the wayside. Oops!

Regardless, we had a blast. Chocolate, champagne, and glitzy award shows really are the perfect mix.

On top of some of their classic chocolate bars, Lindt also sent flavors of their Hello My Name Is line PLUS some new-ish flavors that I hadn’t seen in stores here (Lychee?! My new favorite).

All in all, we had a really fun night, thanks to Lindt, tons (honestly….tons) of chocolate, and Ricky Gervais.

Is there a way Lindt can sponsor every award show? Because I’d be up for that. You can never have too much dark chocolate.

With unrivaled craftsmanship and the world’s finest ingredients, Lindt is the perfect addition to any celebration. Get a taste of the excitement this awards season by visiting the Lindt Unwrapped Blog for tips from a variety of experts to create your own memorable at-home viewing experience!

Thanks to Lindt for sponsoring this post and providing the chocolate for our viewing party. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support us!

We made it through another holiday season.

All the naps, all staying-in-pajamas-until-mid-morning (or later), all the carb-heavy, pant-stretching meals.

And all this means a few things for me:

1. I’m ready for a few MORE days off work, without all the holiday craziness. Just a few days to recover from all the food and traveling and business and loud houses.
2. It’s time to get out my planner for 2016 and get it all set up and ready! The new year feels just like the start of a new school year for me – a clean slate, a fresh start.
3. I’m definitely ready to get back to more regular healthy, clean eating. The holidays are the time to splurge and have family favorites or traditions, but after a few days of indulging, I start feeling sleepy and lethargic, and I just want a salad.

But breaking that sugar/carb habit is always tough, right? Even if it’s just a day or two with a few extra sweets, it’s like starting all over again.

So my favorite way to ease back into a healthy routine after the holidays is to have healthy, filling dishes that FEEL like you’re splurging…but really aren’t. It still feels a little decadent, but is much better for you AND won’t give you that sugar rush/crash.

Working with Dole produce this year has given me even more chances to come up with some fun new, healthy recipes. And I think this is tied with the salad I made a few weeks ago. Maybe that salad and this smoothie will make an appearance together next week!

Like this smoothie.

Perfect for a quick breakfast on the run, a filling afternoon snack, or a dessert for the whole family.

Move over, cinnamon raisin bread.

There’s a new kid in town.

This time of year makes me want to use all the spices, in every dish. Every day.

Once the weather turns cool and the days are gray, it’s time to break out the warm cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and put them in everything.

And the best thing to do this time of year is bake. Having the oven on heats up the house just a little more AND the smell of bread baking is one sure way to brighten everyone’s day.

I really love Red Star Yeast’s batterway recipes – they need almost no kneading! It’s a nice, easy way to get some fresh bread baked, even on the busiest days. Plus, they’re great recipes to start out with if you haven’t baked with yeast very much. These aren’t scary recipes – they’re easy to follow and simple to make.

If you tasted this loaf, you’d think you slaved all day whipping this up.

And don’t ever underestimate the power of prunes! I love having them on hand for quick snacks, and they’re amazing in this bread.

Let this prune and spice cake be this year’s fruit cake – way less dense, but still studded with chewy fruit and toasty spices.

Perfect toasted with butter and jam for breakfast or as a snack with a cup of tea. You really can’t go wrong with this, no matter how you serve it.