A weekender at Paso Robles is never truly complete without a visit to Thomas Hill Organics (THO). Nestled in a quiet alley in Downtown Paso, THO strives to bring seasonal, creative and inspiring dishes to each of its guests. We decided since it was a blistering 100 degrees during the day that we would keep dinner light. Our Introduction for the evening was a black lentil puree, watermelon & lime salsa, bengahli spices and fresh baked pita. I can't say enough about the marriage of flavors in this dish; the warmth from the benghali spice paired with the coolness of from the salsa is heavenly. Since I am a sucker for burrata cheese, I had to try the tomato and burrata salad with basil pesto and local olive oil. The juiciness of local heirloom tomatoes and the creaminess of the cheese makes it a go to salad. Our savory finale, thin crust pizza with cambazola cheese, caramelized onions, figs, and red wine reduction needs no further description, other than simply delicious! We concluded the evening with a chocolate fondant cake, a flourless cake with bittersweet chocolate and mint creme fraiche to give it a little tangy zest. Thomas Hill Organics is one of my favorite restaurants, It is a must to visit if you find yourself in the Paso area.



Chef, Kathy Sherman
Food Therapy
[email protected]

Lunden Souza: Stick with positive people who value you for you

My dad always has had a way with words, a way of saying things that you grow to understand. It's really quite remarkable. Anyway, the five most important words: Surround yourself with good people.

When I used to hear this years ago, it had a different meaning from the one it has now. "Good people" used to be the kids not getting into trouble in school, then it was the adults not getting into trouble in college. Now "good people" are people who genuinely strive to make me a better human.

When I think of "good people," I think of challenging, effective, progressive and focused people. People who take the time to appreciate my lifestyle and with whom positive contributions are exchanged. I have found myself lost in toxic environments that are extremely detrimental to happiness. Bottom line, if you are not happy with yourself, you will not have any excess happiness to rub off onto others. Keep the positive people on your side; it is a must.

Lunden Souza

My entire family has always taken an active interest in such endeavors as my blog and column, which I am immensely grateful for. The stylists at my mother's salon, Salon di Capelli, are all involved in Cross Fit Merced and have seen some impressive results. I even took a weekend class with my mom, and had a great workout. I see how they are all so strong.

My dad has his degree in physical education and has been a baseball coach for many years. Never a dull moment with him -- he'll have you practicing your golf putt or out swimming in the pool. My uncle and aunt have Salmeri Shotokan Karate, which offers karate classes as well as women's and men's self-defense classes. This is an opportunity to get educated as well as improve physical fitness, a wonderful combination.

My cousin Ashlee and Aunt Lisa are always at the gym first thing in the morning, without fail (I see the Facebook check-ins). I love to eat amazing dinners with their family when I am home visiting.

Even my grandma is practicing yoga and has noticed a difference in her energy level and mobility.

Not all of them are in the fitness/health industry, but for my lifestyle and career choice, it seems as if positive energy is always flowing in that direction. Find people who make being you feel effortless and worthwhile. Find people who find value in you.

It helps so much when you have a support system of family, friends, co-workers, neighbors in whatever you may do in life. One thing is for certain, we all have something to be fit for. So why not hold each other accountable and have each others' backs when it comes to making healthy, positive and beneficial suggestions? If you are going to put your life and energy into something, don't you want people around you who are going to think what you are doing is cool and who encourage you to take action?

When you accomplish something that you have been working hard for, whether it be a job promotion, doing your first nonassisted pull-up, buying your first house or car, graduating from school or writing your first column, here's a guilt-free sundae recipe you can celebrate with:

Crumble up one plain graham cracker and put it in the bottom of a small bowl. Scoop one cup of Dryer's Light Slow Churned Rich & Creamy Vanilla Bean ice cream on top, then add fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) on top of the ice cream. This is the perfect way to treat yourself after you put your mind to something and rock it! I'll put the recipe on my blog, www.LundenMichelle.tumblr.com.

Lunden Souza can be reached at [email protected].

I am totally, 100% completely thankful for all of the sun that we are getting this summer in Southern California! Beaches have been full of people relaxing, hanging out with family/friends, surfing, skim boarding, running in the sand (my favorite type of cardio EVER), skateboarding – etc,etc. I love when I have days when I get the opportunity to pack a picnic and go to the beach and enjoy the gorgeousness of the day. Here are some great snack ideas to bring with you to the beach for the day. They are in no particular order, LOVE them all!!

1. Fresh berries in a Tupperware of some sort (don’t want your sandy hands all over it)

2. Bananas- easily packed and eaten… no need to prep these

3. Pretzels with peanut butter inside (Trader Joe’s—they even make a version with no salt on the pretzel that’s in the red bag as opposed to the blue bag  : )

4. Wraps: low-sodium deli turkey or sliced chicken breast wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with tons of veggies and a little bit of deli mustard. I wrap mine in foil and just fold the foil down so that it is easy/ convenient to pack as well as eat.

5. Almond butter and fresh berry sandwich- 2 slices of wheat bread, 2 tbsp of almond butter and lots of fresh berries: raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries. Smash the berries down to make them a little more “jelly” like.

6. Protein bars- My favorite recipe is the Jamie Eason “Oh Baby” Carrot Cake Protein Bars Recipe that you can find on her website HERE  


7. Trail Mix- MAKE YOUR OWN: almonds, dark chocolate chips, walnuts, peanuts (all nuts should be sodium/salt FREE), raisins

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