The Secret to my Famous Avocado Toast!

This is my all time favorite meal, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner. I'll happily make breakfast for dinner too, which we do frequently in our household. Avocado toast is nothing new, nor is it complicated, but there are some small tweaks that I do to mine to make it exceptionally good. 

The most important part is the egg on top. The way you cook the egg is what makes the toast! My favorite way is the crispy fried egg, or soft boiled, neither of which are shown here unfortunately. The crispy fried egg gives it a little extra crunch that is oh so satisfying.

To do so, heat oil (I use coconut oil or olive oil) in a pan over medium heat until almost smoking. Crack the egg in the pan and turn the heat down to low immediately. The egg will sizzle and cook pretty quickly because of how hot the pan was when you first dropped the egg in. Cook until the yolk is cooked to your liking - do not flip. 

For the soft boiled egg, bring a small pot of water to a boil (the water level should be just enough to cover the egg or eggs). Drop the whole egg in (inside shell - do not crack open) while the water is boiling, and cook for exactly 7 minutes on high. Remove the egg promptly, and rinse with cold water. Peel and cut in half or in pieces and put on top of avocado toast!

The toast and avocado mash is the easiest part! I always go for gluten free bread, because Nick can't have gluten, and it usually tastes just as good if you buy the right kind. A couple of my favorite brands are this and this. I toast the bread in a toaster or in the oven for extra crispiness, and then slather it with coconut oil. Next, you add the avocado and mash it with a fork (or you can mash it before you add it to the toast, depending on how soft your avocado is). Top with whichever egg you chose to cook!

As for additives, I love sprinkling some hemp seeds on top, as you can see from the photos. Gives the toast a little extra superfood kick as well as extra protein. I always season with Himalayan salt and pepper too. 

So that's it! That's how I make my favorite meal. The coconut oil on the bread, hemp seeds, Himalayan salt, and way you cook the egg is what takes the toast up a notch. Let me know how yours turned out - Tag me on Instagram or comment on this post!

Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Raise your hand if you're in favor of chewy cookies vs. crunchy cookies! Good. Because I found the recipe for the PERFECTLY chewy, delicious, sweet yet salty, paleo chocolate chip cookie. And I'm even going to claim that these are better than the original flour, butter, crisco, filled chocolate chip cookies that your grandma made. Yea, they're THAT good.

My pictures aren't all that great because I made these at night and took the photos immediately since I was so excited, but trust me, they taste 100 times better than they look. Plus, I have to add of course, that they're grain free, refined sugar free, gluten free, paleo, and all that jazz. I just cannot get over how good they tasted either - blew me away!

As you can see, it's been a while since I've baked cookies, and I forgot the whole "make sure you leave space between each blob you place on the tray", but even though I pretty much baked one large cookie, they still tasted just as delicious.

And guys, these are simple to make. I promise. You will need to have a good amount of almond butter, paleo flours (I ALWAYS have coconut and almond flours in my pantry) and of course chocolate chips on hand, but those are things you should be keeping in your pantry anyway! I mean, who can live without almond butter and chocolate chips!? I chose this dark chocolate option from my favorite Thrive Market, but you can grab any brand you'd like. I actually get ALL my baking ingredients from Thrive, but I provided some other great alternatives from Amazon below too, especially if you've got that Amazon prime membership like I do.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 6 tbsp coconut oil or unsalted butter (room temperature). Coconut oil should be a softened butter consistency - not liquid. Throw it in the fridge for a bit if it is. 
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 6 tbsp almond butter (room temperature) 
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg (room temperature) 
• 1 cup (or more) chocolate chips (I use the Thrive Market brand)

Directions:

1. Preheat the over to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Stir all the dry ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda & salt) together in a medium bowl.
3. Using an electric hand mixer in a larger bowl, beat together the coconut oil and coconut sugar for about 1 minute. If you don't have an electric mixer, you could use your hands, but it needs to be mixed very well.
4. Add the almond butter and vanilla extract to the wet ingredients, and mix until well combined. Add the egg and beat for about 1 minute.
5. Stir in the flour mixture until everything is mixed well and forms a dough like texture. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Roll the dough into small balls and place on the baking sheet. Press down slightly with your hand. You can also add more chocolate chips to the tops of the balls.
7. Bake for about 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are nicely browned and the surface no longer appears wet.
8. Let cool completely before storing!

A Few of my Favorite Things

Sale season is here, and it's hard to avoid. Plus, now is the time when all the fall arrivals begin to come into play. I keep stumbling across so many new, amazing pieces that I just had to share some of my favorites with you guys! 

1. I suddenly hopped on the backpack trend this past week or so, and have been excessively searching for a nice leather backpack that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Of course, the two I included above are a bit out of my price range, but I'm obsessed with them!!! I found this option that is beautiful too, and a little most budget friendly. Plus, I've been searching The Real Real which is having a huge sale right now and has so many great options too.
2. Cozy cardigans are my #1 piece in the cooler weather, so you know I'll be stocking up on them for the fall. This splurge worthy version is just gorgeous, but I also love this one that's included in the NSale this time around. Better price, and 100% cashmere!
3. Rag & Bone is having a BIG sale - 40% off all of their sale items. I've been eyeing these booties for the past couple days, trying to convince myself NOT to pull the trigger...
4. I've been on the hunt for a midi skirt for months and haven't been able to find one yet that I love. Now it's almost too late to grab one - the summer is halfway gone! I have been eyeing a few different styles on Revolve though, including this one, this one, and this one. 
5. I'm SUCH a M.Gemi fan all the time, but they just came out with these loafers, and I literally want every single color (specifically the gray, luggage and natural ones). Gorgeous!!!
6. These mules. They've been all over my Instagram because I cannot get enough of them. Oh, and they're on sale by the way.
7. I've been on such an Everlane spree recently. They've seriously been killing it with their new slip dress (obsessed with the look, fabric, and PRICE!), the backpacks, and their shoe collection. I've been trying to find a pair of sandals/slides similar to Hermes, and this pair is just perfection.