I don't know about you guys but, I'm hanging onto July for dear life! July is definitely one of my favorite months of the year (if not, my very favorite). Smack dab in the middle of summer with the promise of perfect weather, beach days, long nights, and the ease of wearing the simplest clothing. Then there's the comfort of knowing that the entire month of August is still ahead to continue to enjoy all of that great weather, beach days, etc. Everything is just a little bit better in July. That being said, there's a lot to look forward to in the coming months that I'm really excited about! Let's just hope Summer last through October this year, ok? ok.

Moving on, I have some bits & bites to share with you today.

First up, BITES:

Dinner: Grilled romaine lettuce with grilled chicken topped with basil pesto that I made with basil from my garden.

Dinner: Quinoa cooked and then mixed with organic monterey jack cheese, radish salad with lemon juice and parsley, and my fav fish sticks!

A Friday night dinner: Trader Joe's frozen pizza crusts with heirloom tomatoes, organic mozzarella, garlic, organic grilled chicken, crushed red pepper, topped with basil and served with two greek salads & vino.

A lunch that didn't end up being enough. Pure pop, avocado, a plum, and organic string cheese. I forget what I ate later, but, I was STARVING and needed more protein.

The ingredients for a Thursday night dinner of tacos that I had con Roberto.

This lunch was yummy and filling. Avo, chickpeas, feta, castelvetrano olives, extra virgin, salt, crushed red pepper, and basil from my garden. Oh, and some herbal popcorn. (Side note: I want to know one person who can eat popcorn in a ladylike fashion. I look ridiculous... fistfuls as big as possible to the face, crumbs everywhere. Who wants to take tiny nibbles of popcorn? Just ridiculous.)

Simple dinner... grilled organic buffalo chicken with a salad made with lettuce from my garden and feta.

Breakfast consisting of chia pudding topped with thawed strawberries. (1/4 cup chia seeds, 3/4 cup of califa farms almond/coconut milk, shake of cinnamon, dash of almond extract, tsp or so of shredded organic coconut. Let sit for 10 minutes, stir, then let it sit for another 10)

My favorite meal of the week: my fav fish sticks (again - I eat these alll the time), tomatoes topped with basil pesto made from my garden, feta, and roasted garlic, 1/2 slice of sour dough toast with roasted garlic and finally swiss chard (from my garden) marinated with tbs of butter, salt, pepper, and roasted garlic)

And now BITS!

Another good article on why taking rest days can help you stay trim.

A really honest and inspiring interview/article with Amy Robach describing her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

An incredibly inspiring autobiography from Peter Frates who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. (Be prepared before you read this and watch the videos. Rob sent this to me a few weeks ago and then walked in on me welled up with tears). The point is not to depress you, but, to see how he is taking this horrible diagnosis and trying to make a difference and educate as many people as he can on this awful disease. There has not been a lot of research on ALS and there really needs to be.

Anddddd the funniest Joey Tribbiani lines ever!!! (To make you laugh after all that serious talk)

Alright my friends... have a great week! xo