The PERFECT fresh salad for summer!! This is packed with lots of fresh herbs, ripe tomatoes, and marinated shrimp. Great for a summer barbecue, easy weeknight dinner, or lunch. This recipe makes about 4 servings, but it’s pretty easy to alter if you want more or less.

Ingredients

Shrimp:

• 2 pounds uncooked shrimp
• 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoons canned green chiles
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp honey

Salad:

• 8 ish oz of mixed greens (depends on how much you want)
• 8 oz of cherry tomatoes halved
• 2 ears of corn
• 1/2 chopped red onion
• 1/2 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 sliced avocado
• 1/2 diced cucumber
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh mint
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh parsley

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp lime zest
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 tbsp honey

Instructions:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the shrimp in a medium-sized bowl and mix until combined.
2. Toss shrimp in this sauce (or marinate shrimp in the sauce in a large plastic bag) and set aside.
3. Husk corn and cut corn off the cob, chop up 1/2 of the red onion.
4. Warm 1/2 tbsp of avocado oil in a pan on medium heat and once warm, add chopped red onion and corn and cook until corn starts to brown.
5. Side aside corn and onion mixture and transfer shrimp (and the remaining shrimp marinade) to the warm pan (you can also grill the shrimp if you would like). Cook shrimp until pink and slightly browned, flipping halfway through (about 5-6 mins).
6. For the dressing, combine all ingredients and whisk together.
7. Toss greens, mint, and parsley in a large bowl with dressing.
8. Add halved tomatoes, corn and onion, avocado, cucumber, and shrimp.
9. Drizzle with a little more dressing and top with more herbs and lime if desired.

YUM! I hope you enjoy this recipe!

XO,

Riley

Sweet Life Shares

I just got back from a trip with my mom to Portugal, and I CAN’T wait to go back! I fell in love with the country, its old cobblestone streets, and incredible views.

We stayed in Lisbon for three nights and just over three days. There is so much to see in this city, but I wouldn’t recommend rushing around to see as many sights as possible. Some of my favorite moments were just relaxing in a cafe and observing the city and its people.

Here’s a brief guide of what we did, where we ate, and the sights I would highly recommend visiting.

First Day (Afternoon)

After taking a red-eye to Dublin and arriving in Lisbon around 2pm, we rode to our hotel (The One Palacio da Anunciada), got some treats from a nearby bakery, and sat by the pool in the hotel’s courtyard.

For dinner, we explored the neighborhood of Bairro Alto (only a short walk away). This was a great way to get a feel for the city because it is situated on a large hill overlooking the rest of the city. We stopped into a cute Tapas restaurant, Tascaria and got some gelato on the way home.

Second Day

For breakfast, we decided on Manjerica, a cute juice bar/cafe for a nourishing meal to kick off the day.

Afterwards, we hopped on one of the historic trolleys that took us up to Castelo de São Jorge, a castle dating back to the first century BC that is situated atop the tallest hill in the city. Trolleys 28 or 12 will take you up the hill and close to the castle.

We walked down the hill from the castle, stopped into the Lisbon Cathedral and wandered down to the district of Alfama, which brings you down to a square by the harbor, Praça do Comércio.

In the square, we stopped for lunch at Misterium Cantina, which was a great option for fresh seafood, outdoor dining, and water views.

We went to the Wines of Portugal Tasting Room after lunch (in Praça do Comércio) to sample some Portuguese wine (including the famous “green” wine).

Walking back to our hotel, we walked through the Rua Augusta Arch (which resembles the Arc de Triomphe) to Rua Augusta where there are lots of great stores for shopping.

For dinner, we went to Benjamin, which is famous for its rotisserie chicken with spicy African piri piri sauce (so good and get the creamed spinach!)

Third Day

We ate breakfast at the hotel and WOW it was honestly enough food to feed five people. We were given crepes, fruit, bread, pastries, a charcuterie board, eggs, juice, and coffee. Pretty overpriced, but definitely good to try!

I had heard so many amazing things about Sintra (a town about 35 mins outside of Lisbon), so we booked a tour and decided to check it out. We opted to do a private tour with a guide so that we could choose what we wanted to see and didn’t have to worry about how to get to Sintra. We booked it through the company Turispot, which wasn’t crazy overpriced compared to some other options. It ended up being the best decision becuase a lot of the sights in Sintra are far apart and we got such a good feel of the region by just observing the scenery along the car ride. Our guide Juan took us to spots off the beaten path and knew the history behind everywhere we went which was really cool!

First, we stopped at Miradouro da Senhora do Monte (Our Lady of the Hill), a spectacular viewpoint of the city. It’s probably the most panoramic viewpoint we went to, giving far-off views of the Christo Red Christ Statue, the Castelo de São Jorge, and the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge.

On the tour we first stopped at Patéis de Belém to pick up some of the famous Patéis de Natas. The pastries are essentially a crème brûlée custard inside a flaky pastry crust and they are heavenly!! Be warned, this place is always swamped with crowds. Luckily our tour guide knew the owners and we were able to skip the line.

Next, we stopped in the town of Cascais, a coastal marina town lined with cliff-side beaches. We went to Cabo da Roca, the most western point in Europe (it was originally thought to be the end of the world) for some of the best ocean views I’ve ever seen!

We took a little lunch break in the town of Praia das Maçãs and ate a small restaurant by the beach, Club da Praia. I ate an entire grilled seabass and it was glorious.

We drove to Sintra after lunch, first stopping at Quinta da Regaleira, a gorgeous estate and stone palace framed by beautiful gardens. This may have been one of my favorite places we visited. The gardens seriously made it look like a fairytale.

We walked down to the town center after the palace and explored some of the shops. The city dates back to the 1400s and is truly picturesque, situated in the middle of a mountain range.

From there, we drove a few minutes to Pena Palace, a moorish castle dating back to the Middle Ages. This castle looks very exotic, with bright colors and detailed architecture and couldn’t be more different from Quinta da Regaleira, so I’d definitely recommend visiting both palaces.

For dinner, we went to Restaurant a Gina, close to the hotel. We were really skeptical at first because it was sort of down a weird alley, but it was super authentic. Get the kabobs!

Fourth Day (Morning)

The next morning, we ate breakfast at Fábrica Coffee Roasters for some avocado toast and great lattes and then headed down south to the Algarve.

I am obsessed with Lisbon!! It’s such an old city and not every building is perfectly kept up and renovated, but that’s what makes it so charming. I also loved the hotel we stayed at and would highly recommend. It was so nice to be able to relax outside in the courtyard and look out over the city. I’ve linked the hotel below, as well as the tour website we used to tour Sintra. I hope this was helpful!

https://www.hotelstheone.com/en/lisboa

https://www.turispot.pt

XO,

Riley

Sweet Life Shares

Grocery shopping in college gets expensive REALLY fast! I find it difficult to buy the right amount of food for one person, and it’s also really easy to get sucked into expensive and gimmicky products.

Unfortunately, I only have a small kitchenette at school with a microwave and toaster-oven, and I’m still required to have a full meal plan, so I eat most of my meals at the dining hall or make my own meals with ingredients from the dining hall.

However, I still love making my own food and always need to have snacks laying around, so I try to make a trip to the grocery store every week at school. I pretty much always eat breakfast in my room, and make my own lunch a fair amount, so most of the ingredients I buy are for those or snacks.

Whole Foods is definitely my favorite grocery store. I know that it’s a lot pricier than other options, but because I’m typically not buying too many products at school, and Whole Foods has all of the speciality products I like, I tend to do my shopping there. Next year, I’m going to be doing full grocery shopping trips to cook in my apartment, so I’m planning to do most of my shopping at Trader Joes and then only go to Whole Foods for some speciality items. Trader Joes hands down has the best prices for produce and their frozen fruits, veggies, seafood, and meat are all really convenient and low priced!

Here is a list of the types of items I usually buy and keep in my room at school. Obviously, most of these last me a while, so I only need to stock up on them every couple weeks.

Produce

Baby carrots (1 bag)

Avocados (3/4)

One container of berries

Apples (2/3)

Bananas

Spinach/Kale (1 bag)

Snacks

RxBars

Dosha Bars

Chia Warrior Bars

Jills Crackers

Emmy’s Organics Cookies

Some Oat or Brown Rice Cereal

Dark Chocolate

Refrigerated

Vital Farms Hard Boiled Eggs (these are a lifesaver because I don’t have a stove!)

Lavva/Forager Project Yogurt

Califia Farms Almond Creamer

Almond Breeze Almond Milk (I buy this in the boxes because it doesn’t need to be refrigerated until its opened)

Coconut Water/Kombucha

Vegan Cheese/Cream Cheese (I love KiteHill and Miyokos Creamery)

Hummus (love Hope Foods)

Frozen

Ezekiel Bread

Frozen Cauliflower

Veggie Burgers

Ice Cream (as a treat I love NadaMoo)

Misc

Nut Butter

Oatmeal

Primal Kitchen Dressings

Here is a photo of my receipt after my grocery haul a few weeks ago. Generally, my trips are a little less expensive than this, but I bought a few more speciality items (cauliflower mac and cheese, pomegranate seeds, sun-butter, Eating Evolved chocolate) than I usually do. However, I try to keep most of the products I buy under or around $4.

I hope this list helps college students or those of you living on your own in navigating the grocery store! These products are some of my favorites for a busy lifestyle at school!

XO,

Riley

Sweet Life Shares

The term “hack” to describe self-care probably sounds silly because self-care shouldn’t be thought of as an obligation. BUT, I find that unless I consciously set aside time for a little relaxation, I usually won’t end up doing it. Here are some tips to sneak in some self-love into busy days (especially during midterms season!!)

2 Minute Meditation

I am a huge advocate for meditation, but I find it hard to squeeze out a time and place to sit in silence for 15 minutes (especially in college). My philosophy is that something is better than nothing, so here’s a quick meditation practice that you can do anywhere! (waiting for class to start, sitting on the bus, at your desk)

1. start with 3 big deep breaths

2. keep breathing.. remind yourself of three things you are grateful for that day- this could be anything, a good meal, a chat with a friend, etc.

3. think of one thing you are looking forward to (later in the day, tomorrow, the next month..)

4. set an intention for the rest of your day

5. 3 more deep breaths

You can shut your eyes, keep them open, listen to some music, or just sit there- no one even has to know you’re meditating

Make a New Playlist

This is one of my favorite study breaks! I always always procrastinate making a new playlist until I am so sick of my music. Making a new study playlist always makes studying so much more enjoyable or making a new workout playlist gets gets me excited for my workout the next day!

Listen to a Podcast/Watch a YouTube Video

I usually don’t have time to sit down and watch a full show, but Podcasts and YouTube are fun ways to take shorter breaks! My go-to Podcasts are the Almost 30 Podcast or the Skimm Guides on The Skimm App (you do have to pay for this, but so worth it!- I feel 10000 times smarter each time I listen to one). A friend just recommended Grethcen Geraghty’s YouTube Channel to me and I love it!! She is so sweet and it’s something fun to watch in the background while eating/doing hw!

Make Some GOOD Food

Good Food = Good Mood

This is one of my favorite ways to take time for myself and do something I really enjoy! I look forward to taking study breaks to whip something up in my kitchenette, and it helps me to be more productive if I have something to look forward to. Even if it’s just making oatmeal or a smoothie, I find it so relaxing! I literally bought pre-made cookie dough this week just so I could cook it in the toaster oven and feel like I was really baking haha

Face Mask

One of the easiest ways to multi-task while still doing something great for your body! If I’m feeling really stressed, I’ll throw on a face mask while doing my homework. Something about the smell and the feeling always helps to calm me down and get me more relaxed! My favorites are the BioClarity Green Mask and the Origins Out of Trouble Mask

I hope you find some time in your day to practice one of these ways to de-stress! If I’m having a super busy day, I usually try to make time for one of these to keep me feeling my best 🙂

XO,

Riley

Sweet Life Shares

College is a crazy journey of new experiences, self-discovery, and independence. With that comes the undoubtable stumbling blocks and let downs- and that’s life!! As a current sophomore in college, here are my top five takeaways I have learned.

1. Self comparison is toxic

The easiest way to feel inadequate is to compare yourself to others. Part of the beauty of college is that everyone’s experience is unique- there’s no sense in comparing your experience to your friend’s experience at another school where the culture and norms are completely different! Social media is great for a lot of reasons- this health and wellness community is one of them!! BUT everyone’s life on social media is carefully curated, so even if it looks like someone is having the time of their lives somewhere else, chances are they are struggling with something underneath it all. There is always going to be someone who seems prettier, more successful, or more popular than you, but that does not mean that you are less than any of these people. This thinking only leads to a spiral of anxiety. Instead, focus on gratitude and remind yourself of how lucky you are and the amazing things that you are capable of!!

2. Immerse yourself in experiences that feed your SOUL

In college and in life, there are SO many clubs, activities, volunteer opportunities, jobs, and other groups/hobbies to take part in. Freshman year, I walked into the student involvement fair and panicked- I felt like I needed to be involved in everything. I was on every email list and had so many obligations that I became overwhelmed and instead, I didn’t end up actually going to any of the activities I had signed up for. Instead, I have learned to only join things that I am truly passionate about. It’s difficult to be selective, but if you’re doing something that you love, it will come naturally. When you focus on activities that feed your soul, you leave feeling energized and excited instead of worn out.

3. If something is really important to you, you will find the time for it

I am a firm believer that if you make something a priority, you can find the time for it no matter how busy you are. I often hear people complain that they don’t have time to workout or cook or do whatever they love, but if you truly value something, you will find pockets of time to make it happen. This may mean waking up early to get a workout in or skipping out on watching your favorite show, but if it’s important to you, it will be worth it!

4. Develop a support system and rely on it

I cannot stress this enough!! I did not realize the importance of having a strong support system until I was in college and living on my own for the for the first time. You NEED to have a few people who you know you can go to with anything. I sometimes feel like I talk to my mom more in college now than I did when I was living at home! Call your family often- you won’t regret it! Also, make the effort to stay in touch with friends from home. Even if it’s just a quick check in here and there, it makes such a difference.

5. It’s OK to say no

FOMO is real and this is something I really struggled with at first. I felt like I constantly had to be hanging out with people, or studying, or somehow being productive at school. However, I quickly realized that this mentality was not making me happy. I forced myself to say yes to every opportunity even if I wasn’t that psyched about it, and I felt drained. I wasn’t able to be fully present because I was not taking time for myself to relax and unwind. If something doesn’t seem super appealing to you, the world will go on if you skip out, and I’m sure there will be another opportunity soon after.

I hope these tips are helpful for my fellow college students or for anyone! These ideas have definitely helped me transition to living away from home!

XO,

Riley

Sweet Life Shares

These energy balls are one of the EASIEST recipes you will find!! If you have five minutes to take out of your day, definitely give these a try! I made these while I was back home on winter break to bring with me to school. I am a huge fan of snacks and usually can’t get throughout the day without a few snack breaks haha. At school, I usually reach for a protein bar (which can be super pricey), so I decided to make my own equivalent.

• 

These are low sugar and packed with lots of protein and healthy fats to keep you full! I have been loving Julie’s Real brand of nut butters, so I used their Coconut Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter for this recipe. I also tried a new protein powder in this recipe.. Five Suns Foods sent me some of their new Chocho protein powder. This stuff is GREAT! I’m always on the search for a new plant-based protein powder and Chocho is the highest plant-based protein on the market! It’s made from the Andean Lupin bean and has 27 grams of protein per serving!! I’ve been loving these post workout or to power me through long afternoons of class!

Recipe

1 tbsp chai spice (I used Fit Foodie Finds recipe)

1 cup Julie’s Real Coconut Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter

4 pitted dates

1/2 almond flour

1/3 cup Chocho protein powder

2ish tbsp of almond milk

blend everything in a food processor until combined and shape into balls 

Enjoy!!

XO,

Riley

Sweet Life Shares