Lovely Meals Lately: July 2026

Happy mid-July, friends! It never ceases to amaze me how the summer flies by before my eyes EVERY TIME. We've been living our best 100 degree day lives swimming at the pool nonstop, eating plenty of frozen treats, and taking little trips whenever we can.

I'm so pumped to be heading to Bozeman on Friday for a girls weekend with my friend Rachel. I'd love your recommendations in the comments for anyone that's been! Onto the good eats 🙂

Breakfast

Lemon blueberry overnight oats for the meal prep win! I'm always so grateful in the morning that I thought to make these ahead.

My kids love these 3-ingredient banana pancakes and so do I! I add hemp seeds, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. This griddle is epic and makes pancakes so much faster.

Strawberry avocado toast (Heritage Grain sourdough from Whole Foods) with salt and honey, plus hard boiled eggs and a birthday cake protein bite.

Scrambled eggs with leftover peppers and zucchini, feta, and tomatoes on top plus avocado toast with cottage cheese, honey, and red pepper flakes. Nice and filling!

Lunch and Dinner

This quick creamy roasted red pepper pasta is SOOO GOOD. I used onion instead of shallot. I usually make it with shrimp but this time I got a couple bags of little scallops that I defrosted and seared for a couple minutes on each side then mixed it. Divine!

I made my BBQ tofu to have on hand for lunches (plus some air-fried chickpeas). I had to modify the sauce based on what I had but it was still delish! I served over some shredded cabbage mix with a little mayo, apple cider vinegar and salt for a crunchy coleslaw vibe.

Chicken cutlets (method here) with this delish butter bean skillet for something different!

Burger bowls are always a family fave! I mix a pound of cooked lean ground beef (drained and seasoned with lots of salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder) with a can of well-drained lentils.

Serve with iceberg, cheddar, red onion, chopped pickles, and special sauce! Love air-fried Alexia fries on top.

I made my zucchini lasagna with Fage Greek yogurt vs cottage cheese and I LOVED IT! I also added a can of TJ's drained lentils for a fiber boost (seeing a trend here?!). This requires a bit more prep work up front but it makes a lot and is always a fave.

Lunch: chopped cukes, tomatoes, parsley, red onion, chickpeas and feta with my Mediterranean salad dressing. I had it with air-fried lemony tofu!

Chipotle always comes through for a post pool Saturday lunch. I get a chicken bowl with rice, black beans, tomato salsa, corn, lettuce and guac (that was sadly brown LOL).

I didn't take any pics but we've been to Uchi twice recently for special occasions (Jeff just passed his level 1 CFA exam, woot woot!) and it was incredible. I'm still thinking about the fiery yuzu mezcal cocktail, the hama chili yellowtail and mandarin dish, and fried milk with blondie crumbles and salted fudge dessert!

Snacks/Treats

I make these no-bake brownie bites every week. We eat them frozen and they're so good. These days I use walnuts vs pumpkin seeds (I always have a Costco bag in the freezer--the ideal place to store them). I also usually blend some oats with the walnuts and just add milk as needed to form a dough at the end.

The beyond delish high protein banana bread my whole fam devours! I've made this sooo many times since posting it.

The best peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!

And no shortage of of ice cream/gelato dates! I'm so into cinnamon flavored ice cream these days.

Things I'm Loving Lately

• The second season of Four Seasons was so enjoyable--I liked it WAY better than the first. Now we're halfway through the first season of The Night Agent. The last episode had me on the edge of my seat. A good thriller!
• I absolutely devoured Elin Hildebrand's latest book, The Academy. I think everything she writes is fun, quick, and easy to read. There's always enough substance without getting too heavy, and her witty writing style always makes me excited to press play. I listened on Spotify...I pretty much never actually read a book anymore and I especially love the narrator she uses!
• If fun, flirty, super steamy love stories that make you laugh and cry are your thing, I recommend Icebreaker. It reads like your friend from high school wrote it (in the best way)! And Nathan, the main male character, is a dreamboat.
• These denim shorts overalls (I have them in black) are EVERYTHING. I can't tell you how many times I've worn them since ordering. I like this scoop neck tank underneath. They're just so easy, comfortable, and cute which is all I want these days when I'm getting dressed,
• These dreamy Le Jean utility soft barrel jeans were my birthday present to myself. The second I spotted them at a Denver boutique I knew they'd be coming home with me. They fit like a dream, they're ACTUALLY soft and comfy, and they're literally the most flattering jeans I've ever put on my body. Definitely a splurge, but for jeans that I'm obsessed with and will have for years, 100% worth it. I only have a few pairs of jeans because it's so hard for me to find ones I love!
• I am LOVING this Dibs bronzer and blush duo stick. It's compact and gives my face the best color. It's all I've been using the past month (I have shade 2.5). In case you missed it, I posted all my essentials for my daily 2-minute natural makeup routine!
• I've been on the hunt for clear jelly flip flips and these fit the bill! Excited to bring them on my trip this weekend since they go with everything.
• This deodorant (santal & vetiver scent) is my new personality. It smells SO good that now when I'm not wearing it, I feel like something is missing?! Slow clap for a natural deodorant that actually works for me.
• I'm almost done with week 3 of Nourish Move Love's Max 20 program (not sponsored!) and I am feeling so, so good about it! I started it because I've been craving a change in my fitness routine after doing reformer pilates for 8 years. I've been feeling stagnant and have wanted to start lifting heavy for a while but didn't know where to start. The workouts are designed to help you lift to failure in 20 minutes. I've never felt more challenged, and how could you not love how efficient they are?! Jeff works out in our garage at 4:40am and he challenged me to start working out at 5:15am thinking it would help me mentally. After doing it for a week at that time, I was hooked. It's not easy to get out of bed at 5am to lift BUT I remind myself how amazing it feels to work out before I get Max out of bed at 6am. It has completely changed how I feel in the mornings.

Have the best week!