My Top 10 - April Edition

everything I am eating, reading, drinking & loving

Happy May friends!!!! I hope you are having a wonderful start to this new month :) My mom has been in town visiting me for the past 10 days and it’s been so special. She brought the sunshine to NYC. The weather has been so warm and perfect just feels like a hug when I go outside. Savoring it as much as possible!!

picnic-ing under the cherry blossoms were the highlight of my week

Before diving into the new month — intentions, new seasonal produce and more, I wanted to share my favorites from April! So let’s get intoooo ittt…..

1. Game Nights

My favorite thing to do instead of go out to the bars is host a game night. I have done this every weekend for the past month lol. If you are looking to mix up your weekend evening activities with friends — this is such a fun way to do it. I will usually just make some snacks — a charcuterie board, some finger foods and then if everyone is still hungry will order pizza.

I love making these snack boards

My favorite games to play besides card games are: balderdash, code names, fishbowl and if you have a crew that is down — catan!

2. Whole Roast Chicken

This is something that for so long I was so incredibly intimated by — especially because I was a non-meat-eater for years of my life! I now have gotten super comfortable cooking all sorts of meat and fish and pieces of chicken but for some reason doing the whole thing seemed out of my league.

My mom is here visiting so she just taught me how to make a whole roast chicken in the simplest way possible and oh my god when I tell you it was one of the best meals I’ve had in ages. DREAMING about it. & it was so so easy!!! If I can do it — you can too. It is a new staple for me.

dreaming about this meal

Wendy’s Simple Whole Roast Chicken!!!!!

We pretty much eyeballed everything, but I wrote out a recipe that was pretty similar to what we did!!! Measure w ur heart as always

Ingredients

• 1 Whole chicken

• Salt & Pepper

• Olive oil

• Fresh rosemary& thyme

• 1 bag small rainbow potatoes

• 5 carrots

• 1 leek

• 1 large onion

• 8 garlic cloves

• 2 shallots

• ½ bunch asparagus

• Lemons

• Butter

Recipe

1. Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper

2. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour

3. While the chicken comes to temperature, prep the vegetables (quarter/chop/slice to your liking!) Rainbow potatoes, carrots, leek, onion, garlic, shallot, asparagus

4. Add all vegetables except asparagus to a large baking pan

5. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, a few sprigs of rosemary, and thyme

6. Once the chicken has rested, preheat the oven to 425°F

7. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with lemon wedges, a few garlic cloves, onion pieces, rosemary, and thyme

8. Rub butter under the skin and over the outside of the chicken

9. Place the chicken on top of the vegetable mix in the baking pan

10. Roast in the oven for about 50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches around 160°F or right below

11. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes

12. Add the asparagus to the pan, mix all the vegetables together, and place the pan back in the oven. Broil on high until the vegetables are browned and crispy to your liking (5-10 minutes)

13. Serve chicken with vegetables, and rice!* and sprinkled ramps leaves, ENJOY

*For the rice

• 1.5 cups jasmine rice

• 2 ⅔ cups bone broth (I used Fond sage thyme and rosemary)

• 1 ½ tablespoons butter

• 1 bunch of ramp bulbs (optional)

Melt butter, add in ramps and slightly caramelize over low/medium heat. Add in rice and coat each grain in butter, pour over bone broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes or until fully cooked.

3. Non-Tox Sun Protection

Now that the sun is out — I need to be protecting myself because this is the first real winter I’ve lived through and the longest my skin has not been exposed to sun!

I so pale

I am not someone who fears the sun, I think the sun is incredibly healing, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take cautious measures post winter! A few tips for warming skin back up to sun —

Start SLOW. You cannot go from winter to tanning all day long. It is so important to slowly spend small times in the sun outside of peak UV hours. I have been going to the park in the morning and reading. Or going on a walk in the afternoons warming myself back up. When spending long hours in the sun — I like to protect myself. My favorite way is through physical protection like a bucket hat or a hat, but if not that I love a mineral based sunscreen.

I have also heard wonderful things about the D-Minder app that helps track your personal exposure to UV so you only tan instead of burn!

4. Historical Fiction Books

I feel like I go through phases with different genres of books — first it was thriller, then fantasy, and now I am on my Historical Fiction kick. Each year since I have been out of school, more and more I value the importance of history and how much incredible knowledge and culture can be gained from it. But sometimes it can be hard to sit through an entire history lesson, so reading historical fiction has kind of been that middle ground for me where I am able to learn and expose myself to parts of history through storytelling.

I have been reading The Nightengale which is insanely amazing, and then recently started reading The Alice Network for book club which has been so good. If you have any favorites — let me know!

5. Ramps

Omg you guys — ramps. If you don’t know — ramps aka wild leeks are wild harvested in Upstate NY ~3 weeks out of the year. They taste like a mix between garlic x leek x onion x scallion — and they have soooo much flavor.

I love being on the East Coast during ramp season because it is a huge part of the culture for these three weeks. Tons of restaurants have a dish highlighting them, there are lines for them at the farmers markets, and it’s just so fun. If you see them — get them!! I’ve been loving them caramelized in butter with eggs, caramelized and cook my rice in them, making a ramp pesto and hummus, and even just putting the leaves on my sandwiches. They are wonderful!

6. Protein x Collagen x Colostrum Powder

A few things I prioritize taking and have for the past couple years are beef organs, collagen, colostrum and protein. These things have personally made me feel so much healthier, more energy, stronger nails and hair, improved my skin and digestion — but it can definitely feel complicated taking them all differently so when I found this powder that combined them all I was SO HAPPY.

Organised Nutrition (you can use discount ELLA), has beef organs, collagen, colostrum and protein. They source from grass-fed & pasture raised cows. Plus they are naturally sweetened with raw honey and dates! The powder itself tastes like a milkshake when blended up with milk and I have been loving that on it’s own or even mixed up into my matcha & coffee. It has become a new staple for me.

Also Cymbiotika just came out with their new colostrum it’s a vanilla sea salt flavor and it is soo yummy.

6. Hibiscus Loose Leaf Tea

You know me and my midday pick me up bevs…fav part of the middle of the day? Slumped? Midday pick me up bev. Tired? Midday pick me up bev. Unmotivated? Midday pick me up bev…you get the gist.

Since the weather has been warming up I have been craving more refreshing drinks in the middle of the day and I have been lovingggg hibiscus. I usually brew a big cup of it and then let it cool and pour it over ice. I love adding coconut water, lemon, apple juice, to add a bit of sweetness and it is so hydrating and delicious.

Hibiscus Refresher —

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp dried hibiscus petals (I use Heavenly Tea)

• 1 dried rose (I use the Qi)

• 1 lemon squeeze

• 1/4 cup apple juice (or a lil more for a lil sweeter)

• 1 tsp raw honey

• Dash of salt

• 1 cup boiling hot water

• Lots of ice

Recipe

1. Add hibiscus flower and other flower (optional) to a heat safe glass, and pour over boiling hot water to steep (about 10 minutes)

2. In a large beverage jar, add in lemon juice, apple juice raw honey and salt and froth or shake together

3. Add lots of ice

4. Once tea is steeped and slightly cooled, pour over ice through a mesh strainer

5. Mix & enjoy!!!!

7. Coloring Books

Okay this is so random but a lot of my fyp has been videos of people coloring, and its so satisfying. I ended up ordering some coloring books and markers and now Cooper and I will just sit by the table sometimes have something on in the background and just color and it’s honestly so fun and peaceful. It’s the perfect wind-down activity.

Next up I want to start learning how to crochet or knit for my wind down…..

8. No-Lettuce Salads

Might be an unpopular opinion but sometimes I feel a salad is so much better without the lettuce. Depending on the salad ofc, but a lot of times the salad gets watered down and not as crunchy with the lettuce and I love a bite with crunch and texture and flavor, so since the weather has warmed up and I have been craving fresher and lighter foods I have been making a ton of no-lettuce salads for lunch. A few of my recent favs:

• Chopped Cabbage Salad

• Rainbow Buckwheat Salad

• Colorful Salmon Chopped Salad

9. Giant Mugs

I want to swim in this

I mean this is not specific to April but it kind of is because I just found more huge mugs that I have been obsessing over…I love a big massive mug that I can fit an abnormal amount of matcha or tea or coffee in. Like with my iced drinks I have my giant jars and so I need an equal when it comes to the hot and some mugs are just too teensy tiny (which have their place too).

I have decided I am going to take up ceramics so I can learn how to make myself a giant mug to my liking, but I also have been finding some amazing ones usually at little boutiques or small batch ceramists. The most recent find of mine is this strawberry mug and they also have a mandarin and olive one I just adore.

10. Weekly Manuka Honey Mask

I talked about my current skincare routine last Sunday — and one of my favorite skin hacks is honey topically. Raw honey is good, and Raw Manuka honey is even better.

Raw Manuka honey has powerful antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and healing properties that are wonderful for our skin. When applied topically, it can help calm inflammation, hydrate dry or damaged skin, support wound healing, and fight acne-causing bacteria — all while providing a soothing, nutrient-rich barrier. It supports skin without stripping it. Its natural enzymes also gently exfoliate, which leave my skin feeling so soft and glowing

I try to do a Raw Manuka honey mask at least once a week and it’s become a practice I look forward to. Sometimes I will add in some good ceremonial grade matcha too for even more acne-fighting and brightening. I use Manuka Health honey Ultra MGO 800+ (GLOW15 works as a discount!)

All you gotta do is take some Raw Manuka honey and gently rub it on your face in circular motions, covering your whole face & optional décolletage. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes up to a few hours, and then gently rinse and wipe with a damp washcloth!

Voila!

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Love you guys!! So excited for this new month with you all :)

Have the best weekend, XO - Ella