CAULIPOWER pizza review

As a pizza lover, finding health(ier) and easy alternatives is a must for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some real gluten-loaded, melty cheese, hefty duty pizza…but I do enjoy having a lighter option from time to time, especially during the week. 

I’m sure by now you’ve heard of cauliflower crust pizza—pretty self explanatory, but pizza with crust made out of cauliflower. You can find recipes for it all over the internet and Pinterest and make it at home as an alternative to regular pizza dough.

OR you can do what I did and find an already made option. 

Introducing CAULIPOWER (yes, power not flower) frozen pizza! 

A little history about the company and brand: 

(taken from https://eatcaulipower.com/)

“A Note From Gail—CAULIPOWER was born on a Pinterest fail. Really. As the mom of two boys with Celiac - an autoimmune disease leaving their bodies unable to process gluten - I tried desperately to find nutritious, gluten-free options that weren’t filled with fat, sugar, salt and calories. Frustrated, I turned to a like-minded community of healthy hackers and stumbled upon recipes (lots of them) for cauliflower crust pizza. My creation tasted just fine, but it looked awful, my kitchen was a disaster and I had spent 90 minutes I didn’t have making a pizza crust! I figured I probably wasn’t alone and, so, left my job to create CAULIPOWER.”

So, here’s the lowdown on CAULIPOWER crust ingredients: cauliflower, brown rice flour, corn starch, water, tapioca, sunflower oil, extra virgin olive oil, sugar, egg, xanthan gum, yeast, salt, vinegar, and baking powder. 

Not only are the CAULIPOWER pizza’s gluten-free, but they all have a decent amount of protein in them (10g in Veggie, 12g in Margherita, 16g in Three Cheese…per serving). Serving size of the pizzas are around 310-380 calories for half of the pie—not bad! They’re not the lowest carb option in the game, so if that matters to you, be mindful…otherwise, I love these bad boys. Every single time, they cook to crispy perfection and I never feel weighed down after eating them. Plus, you cannot tell the crust is made from cauliflower. 

Over the past few months, I have tried their Three Cheese Pizza, Margherita Pizza, Veggie Pizza…and as of last week, I made my own pizza using their Plain Crust Pizza.

Here’s how I jazz up my CAULIPOWER Plain Crust Pizza:

Poblano Farm Pizza Sauce 

Sliced Tomatoes 

Red onion 

Kalamata Olives 

Chopped Artichokes 

Capers

Fresh Basil

Argula 

I went for a sans-cheese, vegetable pizza and it was SO good. 

I am a huge fan of CAULIPOWER pizzas and I totally recommend checking them out. You can find them in the frozen aisle at your grocery store. 

Keep on keepin’ on—

XX, Laura 

getting back on track

Monday morning rolls around and you’re quickly feeling like you got off track with your goals over the weekend, last week or maybe even this month. Maybe you got off track with your diet, your fitness regime, spent more money than you had intended to, didn’t sleep well, or maybe didn’t get much accomplished…

I’m here to remind you that that is okay. 

That’s the beautiful thing about Monday’s—they always offer a fresh start. 

So how do you get yourself out of that funky feeling of getting off track? Here’s what usually works for me:

Forgive Yourself

This is probably the most important part in getting you headed back in the right direction—getting back in the right mindset. Don’t beat yourself up over what went wrong, what you did or didn’t do, how much you feel like you “messed up.” We are all human—it happens!! What happened yesterday no longer matters. Forgive yourself and move on from it. 

Set Your Intentions 

When it comes to getting back on track, I think it’s important to clarify why you want to get back on track. What is your why? What is it that you want from the week ahead? How do you want to feel by the time Friday rolls around? What worked for you last week that didn’t work for you this week? What goals do you want to accomplish? Set your intentions for the week ahead and it will help to get your wheels spinning again. 

Start Now 

Whatever it is you want, don’t wait until tomorrow to start. Start right now despite your mood, despite your feelings, despite where you’re at—just start. If you fell off the wagon, just jump back on again! 

You Are Who You Choose To Be 

You choose the life you want for yourself. You choose how you want to feel. You choose your decisions. Be the CEO of your life and make the tough decisions and do what needs to be done to get back on track—deep down, we always know what to do. 

Happy Monday and Happy Fresh Start! Go get ‘em tiger. You can do it! 

Keep on keepin’ on—

XX, Laura 

my favorite denim brands

It is no secret that I love jeans. Jean pants, jean shorts, jean jackets…the whole sha-bang. The collection of jeans I have in my closet is kind of embarrassing but when you wear them almost everyday, it’s nice to have options. 

I use to have the hardest time finding jeans when I was younger—but I feel as though I have finally found my ride-or-die’s, my go-to’s, my absolute favorite denim brands.

FRAME 

Although on the pricier side, I absolutely love Frame jeans. They are SO incredibly comfortable. I can literally lounge around the house with these bad boys on and be completely content. They have just the right amount of stretch but not too much. They are so flattering and true to size. They also wash well. Not to mention, they have the best variety of denim colors. Definitely worth the splurge, in my opinion. 

Shop my favorite pair of FRAME jeans

AGOLDE 

This brand has become one of my all time favs and also the first brand that I have ever found the PERFECT fitting pair of white jeans (if you’re a real white denim lover, you’ll know that they don’t all fit the same). AGOLDE is almost true to size—I wear my normal size, but sometimes feel as though I could size down depending on the style. They are so comfortable. AGOLDE is definitely a little pricer but in my opinion, worth it. 

Shop my favorite pair of AGOLDE white denim

Madewell

I loveeee Madewell jeans. Every pair I own fit me like a glove. These are usually my go-to’s for during the day. They run true to size and the material is comfortable and so flattering. Madewell jeans are a great staple to have in your closet. 

Shop my favorite pair of Madewell jeans

Express

Express has been a ride-or-die for me since high school. I’ve left and come back to these jeans so many times. Reasonable price range for jeans and always a ton of unique styles. Express is usually where I will purchase ripped denim (yes…I still pay money to have holes in my jeans). However I will say, I have found that all styles do not fit me the same way (some are more flattering than others) so you want to make sure you try on before you buy.

Shop the Express jeans that I get SO many compliments on

Other brands that I’ve had good luck with:

-Abercrombie & Fitch

-Free People 

-Lucky Brand 

Happy jean shopping!

Keep on keepin’ on—

XX, Laura 

what the fall can teach us about life

The other day I decided to take my workout outside and went down to a local park in our area and did a long 4 mile walk. Aside from ending up in the middle of a high school cross country race (whoops), it was so relaxing to be outside in the middle of nature on a perfect fall afternoon. 

As I walked through the wooded trails, crunching the dead leaves below my feet, I gazed up at the beautiful red, yellow and orange leaves on the trees above me and couldn’t help but think how every year when fall rolls around, nature just knows what to do. 

Life is a lot like fall and it got me thinking about what this beautiful season can teach us:

Embrace Change

Just like the leaves routinely change color every fall, we are ever changing as well. However, so often you hear people say, “I hate change,” which is understandable to a degree because usually change equals some kind of discomfort. However, how boring would life be if nothing ever changed? There would be no growth, no progress, no new beginnings, no new opportunities, no new relationships. In fact, the more we resist change, the longer we delay our new season and potential for new growth. When you stop and put it in perspective, every good thing that has ever happened in our lives has happened because something changed. Change is inevitable and like the leaves of fall, it’s going to happen whether we want it to or not…so we might as well learn to embrace it. 

Let The Dead Things Go 

Isn’t it something how we find trees in the fall most beautiful when they are in the midst of letting go. Unlike nature, the act of letting go can be much easier said than done. However, what good does it do to hold onto the dead things in our lives? Whether it be a relationship, friendship, job, memory, bad habit, or even the dead ends on our hair…it doesn’t make sense to hold on to things that no longer serve us, make us better, or bring us joy. Just like the trees don’t cling to their dead leaves, we must learn not to hang on to the things in our life that have no more room for growth. When we let go of the old, we make room for the new. 

Beauty in Impermanence 

Fall reminds us that impermanence is the very essence of life. Nothing lasts forever and nothing ever stays exactly the same. We know the fall season does not last forever, so we cherish it that much more—the color of the trees, the smell, the sounds. We enjoy our traditions, the decorations and our pumpkin spice lattes. When we observe the impermanence of everything, we start to really appreciate what we have, while we have it. We savor things more when we know they're temporary, and we don’t take them for granted. Fall is a great reminder of this—to love and appreciate what and who we have in our lives and to cherish and embrace every moment as we will never see the same one again. 

Keep on keepin’ on—

XX, Laura 

work for it

“If you aren’t willing to work for it, don’t complain about not having it.” 

This quote was on my mind this October Monday morning. Monday’s tend to be the day where I think about my goals more so than the others. They’re never not on my mind, but there’s something about the beginning of a new week that always lights my fire. 

Today I was thinking about all the people out there in the world that have something—a dream, a goal, a deadline, etc.—that they want to accomplish. We all have at least one thing don’t we? How many of us actually make those dreams a reality? How many of us actually crush those goals? I know in the past I’ve been guilty of filling my head with excuses and thoughts of doubt—“I’ll never get there,” “That’ll never happen for me,” “That’s unattainable.” 

You get the picture. I’m sure you’ve had moments like that yourself. Today, I’m here to remind you that you are more wildly capable of achieving your dreams than you could ever imagine. 

You want to buy your dream car? It’s possible.

You want to buy a house for your family? It’s possible.

You want to start your own business? It’s possible.

You want to be able to take a vacation? It’s possible.

You want to be confident in a bikini? It’s possible. 

You want to write a best seller? It’s possible.

You want to break that addiction? It’s possible. 

You want to change your life? Well, guess what? That’s possible too. 

Whatever goal, dream, or desire you have in your heart IS possible to achieve…but the only way to make that vision come to life is to put in the work—the hard f*cking work. 

There’s no easy way around it and there is no substitute. You have to drop the fear of failure, drop your excuses, drop the doubt. 

Stop wishing, stop talking, stop procrastinating and just f*cking start.

Find the motivation to start working towards your dream. 

Can’t find the motivation? Find the discipline. 

Decide how bad you want it. How hard are you willing to work for it? 

Believe in yourself, believe it’s possible, believe you can make it happen.

And remember, nothing worth having in life comes easy. 

It's a new week, it's a new day...let's commit to our goals and make shit happen!

Keep on keepin’ on—

XX, Laura