Food plays a HUGE in our self care practices and our food choices can be one of the biggest factors that contributes to our sickness or health.

Our gut is our "second brain" and approximately 95% of our serotonin (the happy hormone) is produced there.

In the past, I haven't discussed food much with you, when in truth, food is one of the things I think about the most.

I have a lot of dietary restrictions due to allergies and intolerances, so a part of me has a love-hate relationship with food since I often find eating to be stressful, especially when dining out.

And at the same time I LOVE really good food.

One of my pet peeves is spending money on food I don’t enjoy or think is worth it. And over the years I’ve been challenged to be creative and make my own versions of the foods I crave and enjoy, while finding ingredient substitutes that live up to my high standards.

People often ask me questions about food, nutrients, recipes and what I eat to nourish myself and maintain my healthy weight so I wanted to share my latest food obsession with you!

Ricotta Toast.

I just discovered a version of vegan whipped ricotta from Kite Hill Farms. They use almond milk for the base of all their non-dairy products, which is usually not my #1 choice (in case you’re wondering, it's cashew).

And trust me when I say there are not a lot of vegan ricotta options. And of course for all of you dairy eaters out there, you can always use regular ricotta.

I find the moment we hit Summer Solstice I stop wanting to cook and want light and fast dishes. And ricotta toast checks all the boxes.

It's quick and easy.

It keeps my kitchen nice and cool since there is no stove required.

And there is very little clean up!

The best part, is that it allows you to be creative and you pretty much can't go wrong no matter what you top it with.

It’s like a blank canvas that you can easily modify to work great for a quick breakfast or lunch, paired with wine for a happy hour snack or served as a lite dinner.

Here are my top 3 go-to ricotta toast recipes right now

I take the whipped ricotta and add a splash of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt, mix it until it’s smooth and creamy and spread the mixture on the toast as the base for all of the recipes below.

#1: Arugula, fig and prosciutto with honey ricotta toast

In truth, when I first wanted to make this I didn’t have figs or prosciutto so I modified with some bourbon spiced fig jam in place of the actual figs and warmed up some torn up pieces of deli ham until it was a little crispy. A little goes a long way with the ham and I like it more for the added salt it brings while still letting the figs be the star. Because the jam already contained sugar, I skipped the honey.

#2: Heirloom tomato ricotta toast

I LOVE heirloom tomatoes. For visual appeal I think the ones that are a combination of red and purple make the more gorgeous toasts, but for more sweetness I love orange tomatoes. I also feel the orange and yellow tomatoes are less acidic than the red or purple ones. For this one a nice thick slice sprinkled with salt is all you need. Of course you could add some fresh basil, rosemary or even mint.

#3: Soft scrambled eggs and arugula ricotta toast

Arugula is by far my favorite green. I like its pepperiness and love how it pairs with eggs. I use organic eggs and definitely notice a flavor difference from non-organic. I also like to get ones with Omega-3 and often find they have a brighter and more orange yolk. To soft scramble, I put the eggs and a generous pour of good olive oil in the pan before turning the stove on so they cook slowly and on low heat. As they’re cooking, use a rubber spatula to frequently draw any of the cooked eggs around the edges in towards the center of mixture. Kind of like folding in batter. Turn them off when they’re still a little runny, or just beyond that point if you don’t like your scrambled eggs to be runny and slide them onto the arugula topped ricotta toast.