Of course, whenever possible try to get local farmers market eggs! The taste, environmental impact and cruelty factor is worth the extra dollar or two per dozen.

Low Calorie/Low Fat Deviled Eggs

3 hard boiled eggs
2 tbsp light Cottage Cheese
1 tsp light Mayonaise
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional- I also add a few generous dashes of Garlic Garni, not super easy to come by but available online and DELICIOUS

Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Discard 3 of the egg yolk halves and put the remaining three in a small cup or mixing dish. Add mayo, mustard and seasonings. Mix well and spoon into egg halves. Optional- sprinkle with Paprika for color!

Macros- Calories: 193 Protein: 25g Carbs: 3.6g Fat: 3g

1) Black and White- Seen on countless runways, the bold contrast of black and white is hot! Pick graphic prints, and tie in floral to make the look even more fresh for spring. Pair with a pop of color, or go black and white head to toe! Try the Priscila Skirt, $79

2) Peplums- An homage to the late 80′s, I was convinced these tops that flare slightly below the waste would just look terrible on me until I actually put one on- they are amazingly flattering for just about ANY body type! They make your waist look slimmer and hide a belly or larger hips. Pair them with straight or skinny pants or a pencil skirt. Try the Hannah Top, $64

3) Hankerchief Hemlines- This flowy, asymmetrical hem gives feminine detail to a tunic or dress. To keep it more conservative for work, opt for leggings or opaque tights. Wedge heels and bare legs make this an adorable weekend choice too! Try the Ashley Tunic, $99.

4. Colored pants- Wide leg or skinny- play with colored pants to make a bold statement! Coral is my favorite at the moment, but teal, robin’s egg blue and even yellow are awesome choices. Pair with a nude pump or an equally bold, contrasting colored shoe. Try the Emily Pant, $89

5) The Sheer Button Down- Arguably one of my favorites this year, the sheer button down top super versatile. You can tuck it in, belt it, pair it with leggings- just about anything. The flowy, sheer fabric will stay cool through the summer months- just remember to wear a form fitting cami underneath. I love how the Brooklyn Shirt, $49 plays with a unique shirt tail hemline in the back!

This is a sponsored post, however all trends and pieces were picked by me!

The first recipe is great for someone who is seriously watching their carbohydrate intake, as they are literally ZERO CARB WAFFLES (!!!). Now I’ll give a disclaimer- these are beautiful to look at, they have a very strange texture. If you compare it directly to a traditional flour waffle, you’ll probably be disappointed.

Zero Carb Waffles

1 Scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Isolate (I use Jay Robb Whey Protein as it is zero carb, sweetened with Stevia and tastes great)
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg white
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 tbsp water
Few dashes cinnamon (optional)
1 packet Stevia (optional)

Mix all ingredients. Add to waffle iron that has been coated with non-stick spray. Cook 2-3 minutes or until golden. Remove, and add toppings of your choice. If you want to keep with the zero carb theme, try  Walton Farms Zero Calorie Pancake Syrup.

The second recipe was by far the taste and texture winner. These are not carb free, but are definitely lower carb and higher protein. They are gluten free though, so if that is a dietary concern these are a good choice. This recipe yielded some extremely moist, flavorful and delicious waffles. I’ll be making these again for sure- they stand up to even a traditional waffle recipe. You’ll notice they got gobbled up before I could get a good picture!

Low Carb Waffles / Protein Waffles

1 Large Egg
1 Scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 large banana
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used vanilla)
1/4 cup oat flour
A few sprinkles of cinnamon
A pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients into a batter, using a fork to mash banana. Add to waffle iron that has been coated with non-stick spray. Cook 2-3 minutes or until golden. Remove, and add toppings of your choice.

Peaches and Cream Protein Shake

1 Scoop vanilla protein powder (I enthusiastically recommend Jay Robb Whey Protein- hands down the best tasting and only 1 carb to 25 grams of protein with no artificial sweeteners)

1 individual cup of no sugar added peaches

1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk (less if you like a thicker shake)

1/4 cup of ice (more or less)

Add all ingredients to blender or Magic Bullet and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Approximate Nutrition Facts: 165 calories, 26g protein, 8g carbs, 2g fat

See? The picture online seriously doesn’t do it justice! Skinny Elastic Belt, $12.94 at OldNavy.com. Spring fashion on a budget!

Baked brown rice

-1 cup brown rice (short, medium or long grain)
-2 1/2 cups broth

1. Preheat oven to 375, and boil broth.
2. Pour rice in an 8×8 glass baking dish.
3. Pour broth over rice, stir and quickly cover dish with foil completely.
4. Bake for one hour.
5. Remove foil and fluff rice with a fork. Serve immediately, and store leftovers in an airtight container.

NOTE: You can also just use water in place of broth, but you may want to add about 1/2 tsp of salt and about a tablespoon of butter or oil.

Making a big batch of iced green tea is a great way to make sure you’re sipping it throughout the day- plus it’s way easier on the budget. A 16oz green tea at Starbucks will run you about $2, and when you make it at home the same size serving will only set you back about 20 cents- more or less depending on what grade of tea you decide to use.

One problem I’ve run into in trying to make iced green tea in big batches was it going bitter. This is something that happens easily, even when just brewing one cup. Here’s how I make a big batch of green tea and keep it tasting great.

1. Open about 15 green tea bags and rope them together by the strings. You’re going to make the tea stronger than normal to make up for the ice watering it down.

2. Measure out about 80oz of water- 10 8oz servings. This isn’t set in stone- you could adjust for taste, but this is the ratio I follow. Put the water in a large pot and put on the stove over medium heat.

3. Allow the water to heat up, but not too hot. You should be able to put your finger in and it not burn you. Don’t let the water boil! It should not even have bubbles forming on the bottom. This is very key to keeping the green tea from getting bitter.

4. Hold the tea bags by the paper tabs and dip them in the water. Swirl around and steep for no longer than two minutes. This is the second important step for maintaining the delicate taste- don’t over steep!

5. Remove pot from heat and remove tea bags. I always press the tea bags out over a strainer to get all the liquid out before discarding.

6. Pour into a pitcher and refrigerate. Allow to cool completely, pour over ice and enjoy!

Easy German Pancakes

6 large eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 425. Whisk together eggs, flour, milk, salt and sugar until yolks are incorporated. Don’t over mix- batter will be lumpy. Coat a muffin/cupcake pan with non stick spray. Optional- put a small slice of butter in the bottom of each cup f or a little extra flavor. Pour in mixture. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Be sure to check visually as cooking times can vary- they will puff up huge in the oven! They are done when the edges are a nice golden brown. They will decrease in size as they cool. Serve warm with your choice of toppings.

Today I attended the press lunch for Uber Phoenix at the beautiful Saguaro hotel in Scottsdale and learned more about the company, and got to mingle with some of the minds that make it all happen.

I was first greeted by Gabe, the community manager for Phoenix and his wife Chanelle who was photographing the event. Warm and inviting as always, they welcomed me and gave me the lay of the land. The event was informal, food and drinks were at the perimeter and the Uber movers and shakers were working the room. A projector flashed images of maps of major cities, some already inhabited by Uber, others that were on their way. Gabe and I chatted about his role, which is basically the Phoenix area go-to guy. There isn’t a national “customer service” number, and it’s actually a term they shy away from according to Matt Atkin. He says that they prefer a more relaxed, personal and real approach to keeping their clients happy, and that’s where Gabe shines.

I chatted it up with Blaine Light, Operations and Logistics manager. We talked about number crunching and all the crazy analytics that go into determining the locations of the drivers and how many to keep on hand. Some of the methods were unconventional, but interesting- Freakanomics, anyone? He assured me the Uber Blog was a good read. He was right.

One of the brains I picked was that of Austin Geidt, who seemed to be the only Uber-lady in attendance- after seeing her twitter bio in which she describes herself as “Estrogen of Uber” I’d guess I was probably right. She’s also the Launch Manager and New Market Specialist. We got to talking about safety, and both agreed that taxi cabs sometimes were more than a little sketchy. I was happy to hear that the drivers contracted by Uber are interviewed, vetted and continuously user-rated for quality, adding an extra layer of safety and accountability. If a driver’s user reviews aren’t top notch, they don’t continue the relationship.  Geidt said that fortunately they haven’t had any safety issues with drivers and experience a very low number of fender benders. Definitely something to consider when contemplating the added expense of hiring an Uber driver versus dialing a traditional taxi.

Ryan Graves addressed the crowd from a pair of crutches. He thanked us all for coming expressed his excitement to enter our market. He also let us know his injury was from a surfing accident, which admittedly made him seem just that much cooler.

So now that you know how awesome the service is, I’m sure you’re dying to try it out. I don’t blame you. In honor of Uber’s Phoenix launch, which officially starts tomorrow, we have a little deal for you. Use this invite link to get $10 off your first ride. On that note, it’s not as expensive as I thought it was going to be. An airport ride I took using the service ran $35, and a taxi ride on the same route was about $19. Something to note is that the $19 taxi wasn’t a shiny black Escalade, they didn’t ask me what I wanted to listen to on satellite radio, they didn’t help me with my luggage and the taxi driver wasn’t in a suit. Plus, I didn’t feel like like a celebrity when I got out of the cab. Just sayin’.

A beautiful display by Gigi's Cupcakes- photo by Max of theomnom.com

Few things unite people as much as this adorable baked treat. It’s happy, welcoming shape has become a cultural icon of peace, love and good cheer. Cupcakes bring out the best in us all, and I was so happy to have not only gotten to attend the 3rd annual Cupcake Love In, but to also volunteer. Held annually at the picturesque Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, bakers from all around the greater Phoenix area join in celebrating the creative craft of the cupcake and they do it all for charity. As this year’s event was held on Veterans day- November 11, 2012. Appropriately, the charity chosen was Project H3:Vets. A local organization committed to getting homeless veterans off the streets and into permanent housing.

Two volunteers posing with Nathan, the reigning cupcake eating contest champion

Amazingly, this entire event is thrown by unpaid, hardworking volunteers so that 100% of the proceeds are able to be given directly to the charity. This event continues to inspire with so many amazing sponsors, vendors and volunteers giving of their time and goods to make sure everyone has great time and the charity comes away with a sizable donation.

Lindsay of Yelp Phoenix, manning the Log In Lounge

Along with getting to sample creations from about 20 local Arizona bakeries and restaurants, there was a photo booth courtesy of Snap Booth, face painting for kids by Candy Face Painting, and awesome custom T-Shirts by Brand X.  Yelp hosted the “Log in Lounge” where people could stop, eat their cupcakes and have a relaxing space to check in, tweet and Instagram. They also were awesome enough to have spare chargers for people to power up their phones.

Cupcake Eating Contest- photo by Max of theomnom.com

Tons of door prizes were given away along with some pretty amazing raffle items. One of the highlights was the cupcake eating contest, where the defending 2011 champion Nathan (@Natron602) managed to eat 6 full sized cupcakes in one minute- maintaining his title for another year.

Check out all the instagrams here- http://statigr.am/tag/cupcakelovein/

Take a look at the great pictures by Phoenix New Times- http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/slideshow/cupcake-love-in-2012-at-hotel-valley-ho-38155001/

For more information about the event, visit www.cupcakelovein.com. See you there next year!