Healthy Dessert for Breakfast: The Smoothie Bowl

So, being the dessert addict that I am, I really have no idea how I neglected to try smoothie bowls until yesterday morning. Let me just say, if you're like me and new to the smoothie bowl thing, this is a trend that you are 100% missing out on if you've never tried it. Like, once you have a smoothie you'll never go back. Oh, and the varieties are limitless. You can pretty much mix together anything and you're guaranteed success... but emphasis on the "pretty much".

Back story: yesterday for breakfast I found the fun graphic below on Pinterest and decided to whip up a smoothie bowl (I skipped the greens though). I knew I didn't have a ton of ingredients to work with because my mom hadn't been to the grocery store in a few days (lol), but I ended up making a concoction that definitely could have passed as chocolate pudding, or if I had frozen it, chocolate ice cream or gelato without a doubt. 

The best part?! Not only does this particular smoothie bowl taste like dessert for breakfast, but it's also so good for you. I logged the nutrition facts and my particular smoothie bowl had roughly 17 grams of fiber (that's huge... a daily intake of fiber, which most people rarely fulfill, is 20-30 grams) almost 10 grams of protein, and rounded out a little under 300 calories. The only sugar, too, comes from the fruit!

My bowl:

2 tbsp greek yogurt (my personal favorite is plain fat-free Fage-brand greek yogurt because it's super thick, high in protein, and low in sugar)

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk 

1 tbsp chia seed

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 small frozen banana

1/2 avocado

*The chia is definitely optional, and a little note about the cocoa powder: 1 tbsp made this recipe really chocolatey. It was obviously wonderful for a chocoholic like me, but if you think you don't want it crazy-chocolatey, I'd suggest opting for a little less than a full tablespoon.

The actual process is so easy! Toss everything in the blender, and blend until everything is smoothly mixed together! I added a little bit more milk just so it wasn't too, too thick, but that's also optional based on how you prefer your bowl. You can also add fun toppings, but my options via my bare kitchen were a little skimpy, so I didn't bother! However, I definitely want to try some of the pretty smoothie bowls below, and they all look so Instagram-worthy with their arrangements.

3 different smoothie bowl recipes

11 different smoothie bowl recipes

What are your thoughts on the smoothie bowl? Any favorite concoctions you've tried? Do share!

xoxo

5 Books to Read this Summer

Every summer I set a goal to try to read more. You know, like spend less time on my phone at the beach and actually flip through a real novel. Instead, I usually find my reading material to be someone's Instagram caption or not-actually-that-funny tweet. However, I'm hoping that having found a few good books ahead of time will really help get me excited and make me want to keep turning those pages instead of staring at a screen all summer long.

Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave // Just a week before her wedding, Georgia finds out her fiance was hiding a secret. One that would change everything. She flees to her childhood home, the family vineyard, where she discovers that her fiance wasn’t the only one with secrets. (via)

Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly // Until the summer before college, Angie Morrow didn't really date. Her mother didin't like her to go out much. But no one, not even Angie's mother, can resist the charm of strikingly handsome Jack Duluth. His good looks grab Angies's attention from the moment in June when Jack throws Angie a smile at McKight's drugstore. It's the beginning of an unforgettable summer for Angie, full of wonder, warmth, tears, challenge, and love. (via)

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler // Life doesn't get more hilarious than when Chelsea Handler takes aim with her irreverent wit. Who else would send all-staff emails to smoke out the dumbest people on her show? Now, in this new collection of original essays, Chelsea Handler delivers one laugh-out-loud moment after another as she sets her sights on the ridiculous side of childhood, adulthood, and daughterhood. (I've actually read this one, and it was so funny! I didn't realize how good an autobiography really could be!!) (via)

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han // Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along. (This is the first book of an amazing trilogy, and these are actually my all-time favorite books! I've reread them every single summer since freshman year and they never get old. And if we are being totally honest, I still cry every time!) (via)

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close // Isabella, Mary, and Lauren feel like everyone they know is getting married. They wear pastel dresses and drink champagne by the case, but amid the celebration these women have their own lives to contend with: Isabella is working at a mailing-list company, dizzy with the mixed signals of a boss who claims she’s on a diet but has Isabella file all morning if she forgets to bring her a chocolate muffin. Mary thinks she might cry with happiness when she finally meets a nice guy who loves his mother, only to realize he’ll never love Mary quite as much. And Lauren, a waitress at a Midtown bar, swears up and down she won’t fall for the sleazy bartender—a promise that his dirty blond curls and perfect vodka sodas make hard to keep.  (via)

What books are on your reading list this summer?

xoxo

Graduation Party Recap

Having my graduation party on Saturday afternoon, the day following my graduation, was absolutely the best idea. Although there were quite a few other parties that day, it meant so much to celebrate while my family was all still in town! My friends stopped over, too, and the party lasted until literally 2 AM, and even then a few of my girlfriends slept over. Leave it to me to order cupcakes, accessorize them all in custom flags, and then eat like 10 of them myself.... eh, it was a celebratory occasion so #noshame. 

The party itself was incredibly fun, the food was delicious (we catered pulled pork sandwiches and also grilled kabobs), and the company was fabulous. Just being surrounded by the people I love most was enough to fill a gorgeous afternoon. I wore the same dress I wore Thursday night to baccalaureate, which I unfortunately can not find anywhere online, but you can shop similar dresses below:

xoxo

Seersucker Bow Back Dress

When Lauren James offered to send me their Emerson seersucker dress, I was ecstatic! Not only does this bow-back number come in eight different colors, but it is also incredibly high quality and comfortable. I wore this to the boys' graduation last Sunday and styled it with even more bows with my graduation shoes from Kate Spae, and these super fun earrings, which you can snag for 10% off with the code theblondeprep. I couldn't imagine a preppier, more classic outfit perfect for a fun summer soiree or even a summer wedding!

June

It's hard to believe we are already hitting the halfway point of 2016. I knew this would be a big year, but I didn't expect it to fly by quite so fast! 

This month I want to cross a few more things off of my 101 in 1001 list, and I'm going to try to hit these goals in particular: 

- Go 48 hours without my phone/computer/etc
- Spend a day hanging out with my brother
- Read 10 new books (I want to aim for two this month)

Two books I'm wanting to read:
Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave // Just a week before her wedding, Georgia finds out her fiance was hiding a secret. One that would change everything. She flees to her childhood home, the family vineyard, where she discovers that her fiance wasn’t the only one with secrets.

Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly // Until the summer before college, Angie Morrow didn't really date. Her mother didin't like her to go out much. But no one, not even Angie's mother, can resist the charm of strikingly handsome Jack Duluth. His good looks grab Angies's attention from the moment in June when Jack throws Angie a smile at McKight's drugstore. It's the beginning of an unforgettable summer for Angie, full of wonder, warmth, tears, challenge, and love.

Any other recommendations? It's crazy to me that summer has officially begun!
xoxo