the best spring quinoa salad!

and a new month reminder for you & me <3

Hi everyone. This is my first letter of May, yay! I hope you’re doing well. Before I get into it, if you live in New York, I’d love for you to save the date: June 6th (1 month from today, in the evening) for something very exciting :) more soon…

spring in New York <3

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My new month reminder for you (and for me, because I need it, too) is this. No matter how hard we try, there is so much we cannot control. We can’t control the past. The future. Other people. How they treat us. What might happen tomorrow. And honestly, a million other things. I keep forgetting what an absolute waste of precious time and energy it is to even try. And I have tried (a lot). Imagine how much more space you will free up in your brain if you just brought all your energy back you & adjusted your focus to how YOU move through the world.

With that, there is so much we can control. How we treat other people, moving with kindness & consideration for others, our actions, reactions, being a good friend, actually listening to others, our habits, boundaries, and the small steps we take toward our goals.

I’ve always tried to focus on how I can make every single interaction I have with another person positive, even if my headspace might be screaming otherwise. How we move through the world, our focus, and our actions are all in our own control. It feels special and powerful when you think of it like this, at least for me. <3 I hope you’re having a great start to the month!!

In that, there is so much we can control. Who we surround ourselves with, our actions, reactions, how we treat others, moving with kindness & consideration for others, being a good friend, actually listening to others, [and more].

i am obsessed with this quinoa salad

If you put me in front of a salad bar, deli counter, or wherever you can get little prepared goods…I am looking for the quinoa like my life depends on it. I don’t know what it is about a quinoa salad, but I just love them. First, I’m obsessed with the texture (when cooked correctly, of course, please don’t get within an inch of me with your mushy, overcooked quinoa). Second, I have had trouble getting over the fact that quinoa is a seed and not a grain, and I love elusiveness of its energy for this reason alone (I mean, I think many people still do not know this, and if I am the first to tell you, it is an honor). And finally, these quinoa salads have range! You can eat them solo, toss them in another salad, eat with a protein, pack for lunch, etc…

Most of the ones I have found out in the wild honestly lack punch, and I’ve always wondered why we aren’t properly dressing quinoa like we would a salad. Enter, my Spring Quinoa Salad w/Peas, Pistachios, and the best vinaigrette ever!

The dressing is beyond — tart, sweet, zesty, with a little kick. It’s my new go-to for all of my salads, and would be great for dressing vegetables or protein as well. Spring produce is so gorgeous that I had to include peas and radish — I’d love to see some asparagus or even snap peas in here as well. The recipe comes together…