Happy Labor Day! August has gone and Fall is just around the corner. How do you feel about it? Excited? Slightly freaked out? I’m checking the all of the above box on that one.

We’ve had quite the busy (but still oh so wonderful) Summer here in Chicago. I don’t think the weather could have been more perfect. Tony and I created memories we’ll never, ever forget including: purchasing a condo, experimenting with our new grill & foods, biking and rollerblading near the lake, exploring the restaurant scene, going paleo for a week and walking around the city until we thought our legs would fall off.

In a way, I’m ready for fall produce (and baking!), cozy sweaters, wool socks and the trees to change colors. I also really appreciate fall fashion and am eagerly anticipating all the cute booties and coats online. Currently restraining myself from buying them just yet because I’m afraid I’ll fall into a bootie rabbit hole and never ever return to blogging again.

Anyway let’s move onto the BEST OF AUGUST! Ready?!

New Ambitious Kitchen Recipes from August

V= vegan/vegetarian | GF = Gluten Free | DF = Dairy Free | P = Paleo Friendly

1.) DIY Healthy Snack Mixes + tips on portion control! V, GF

2.) Paleo Healthy Banana Zucchini Muffins. Stop what you’re doing and go make these right now! One of my favorite muffin recipes ever! GF, P

3.) Triple Cherry Berry Watermelon Smoothie. The ultimate refreshing smoothie — also really lovely with a splash of tequila for happy hour. GF, V

4.) High Protein Black Bean Avocado Tuna Sandwiches. Takes 5 minutes to whip up these high protein sandwiches. The perfect on the go lunch!

5.) Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread. This rich chocolate bread has no gluten, dairy or eggs! It’s also nut free, making it a delicious allergy friendly cake/bread for a birthday! GF, V

6.) Zucchini Oatmeal Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies. Cookies that are healthy enough to enjoy for breakfast? I think YES!

7.) Healthy Baked Chicken Parmesan with Zucchini Noodles. This recipe is KILLER and you’ll never know it’s gluten free either. The bread is made with… almond meal and has the absolute best flavor. GF

8.) Baked Blueberry Zucchini Donuts. These donuts are baked, not fried and made with whole wheat flour. They’re the best sweet addition to a brunch and fun to make with the kiddos. FYI I vow to create more donut recipes.

9.) How to Freeze Zucchini. Easy to do and a great way to save all of that zucchini you have lurking in your garden.

10.) Orange Carrot Zucchini Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting. A moist carrot zucchini cake made with whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with maple syrup and orange juice. This cake also makes WONDERFUL hearty, healthy muffins.

11.) Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats with Chia. Prepping for fall early obviously but this recipe is so so good and taste just like a slice of pumpkin pie! GF and easily made V

12.) Pineapple Ginger Tummy Soothing Smoothie. I slurped this up the other day and cannot tell you how much I love it. So many simple, delicious tummy-friendly ingredients. Drink it up when you have an upset stomach! GF

The most popular recipe from August was definitely the pumpkin pie overnight oats (#11). I guess it’s evident that you’re all ready for pumpkin? Hopefully.

I also was really happy about the success of zucchini week! It seemed like perfect timing and although posting a recipe everyday made me a little exhausted, it was 100% worth sharing all of the goodies with you. Which one was your favorite?

My personal favorite recipe that I made for the blog in August were the paleo zucchini banana muffins (#2) & the healthy baked chicken parmesan (#7).

The top overall recipes from AK were my skinny zucchini banana muffins, double chocolate zucchini muffins, low carb zucchini lasagna and my almond butter blueberry paleo waffles.

Wellness Wednesday posts in August

I love Wellness Wednesdays more than you know; it’s a way from me to share my personal experiences with you but also general health and wellness information. My goal is to be more consistent with my WW postings from now on (at least 1-2 per month!).

150 Healthy Oatmeal Topping Combinations. Seriously one of my favorite posts. There are over 12 ways to top your oatmeal for under 150 calories.

My digestion story & how I healed my gut. This post talks about my experience with food and how it led to the bacteria in my gut being destroyed.

Travel!

This past month I didn’t travel as much as I ususally do. It was a nice change of pace and I had a little more time in the kitchen. However I did spend one weekend away and got to share details from another trip back in June. See them below:

My Weekend in Nantucket

5 Breathtaking European Cities to Visit (a little recap of my time in Europe with Windstar Cruises)

Videos

I’ve fallen in love with video, but I think you already know that. Right now I’ve been focusing on Facebook live because of how easy it is with virtually no editing necessary. Plus I love that we get to interact with one another.

Here’s what we made this month on FB live:

My peanut butter energy bites:

TWO recipes for guacamole (recipe is not on my site but you can find it below):

I also created a video of my grain free peanut butter zucchini bread for Facebook! Please share, leave a comment and like! Thank you!

Upcoming events!

I will be speaking at ChoppedCon this September on a social media live panel. If you’re a blogger, I’d love to hear what kind of question you might have when it comes to social media.

Other things I’m loving:

The Light Between Oceans: This movie was such a sad, love story. Tony didn’t like it, but I enjoyed the story.

Frozen organic blueberries for snacking! I cannot get enough and eat a cup daily. Just freeze bluebs and snack on! Also really great when they are drizzled with dark chocolate.

This incredible wasabi popcorn. OMG it’s the best thing ever. Tony and I ate almost an entire bag in one day.

Biking. I bike almost every day. Biking = the new running (for me, anyway).

Mr. Robot. We’re watching season 2 right now and it’s really, really good. Not something I would normally pick out, but I’m surprisingly into it.

That’s all I’ve got for you. We’re in the middle of packing up the kitchen and I need to get back to it. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

Are you signed up for Ambitious Kitchen emails yet? If you want to recieve new healthy recipes to your inbox, you can sign up right here! It’s free and I’ll only email you things about AK, promise! ?

That’s all I have for you! Let me know if you have anything you’re craving for September so I can create some recipes!

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