The Seaesta Surf Zine
A Q&A with Jen Hawkins - her Chat GPT hack for her farm box, beach essentials & more
I’m excited to have a little Q&A with my friend Jen Hawkins today! Jen is an amazing mom with the kindest heart, a great hostess & has the best beach style. Read on for some of her beach tips, essentials & a few fun family hacks!
What are some of your favorite easy weeknight meals that your girls always love?
Ok, you’re catching me on a good week, I often find myself in ruts when it comes to cooking. But lately won’t shut up about this, so thanks for giving me the chance to talk about it here ;). A few weeks ago I signed up for a local CSA box (Yasukochi Family Farms for any of your San Diego readers!) and I’m LOVING it. For $29 you get a box of a ton of produce that’s in season, and then my hack is to tell Chat GPT what came in my box and ask for easy/healthy recipes to use it all. It’s been SO fun and I basically feel like a superhero, getting healthy food in our bodies! The first week I made a super simple ground beef Italian style soup that the girls loved, then a huge sheet pan of chicken and a ton of veggies that I seasoned and roasted in the stove together. The next week I did a similar sheet pan, but asked Chat to give it an Asian twist and the marinade it created was SO good.
Here’s the recipe for that one:Asian Sheet Pan Chicken & Roasted CSA Veggies
**For the Marinade:**
1/4 cup soy sauce (or tamari)
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
2 tbsp rice vinegar or lime juice
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp sriracha or chili garlic sauce (optional)
**For the Sheet Pan:**
1.5-2 lbs chicken thighs or breasts
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 carrots, sliced on a diagonal
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 cup mushrooms, halved or quartered
1 heaping cup sugar snap peas
2 tsp neutral oil (avocado or olive oil) • Salt and pepper to taste
**Optional Garnish: Sesame seeds, scallions, lime wedges
**Instructions**
1. Marinate the Chicken: Whisk together marinade ingredients. Toss with chicken and marinate at least 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Preheat Oven: Preheat to 425°F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment or foil.
3. Prep the Veggies: Toss broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onion, and mushrooms with oil, salt, and pepper.
4. Assemble Sheet Pan: Spread prepped veggies on the pan. Nestle chicken pieces on top. Spoon extra marinade over everything.
5. Roast: Bake for 30 minutes. Add sugar snap peas, then return to oven for 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked and veggies are caramelized.
6. Finish & Serve: Garnish with sesame seeds, scallions, and lime. Serve as-is or over rice or noodles.
What is your go-to for quick morning makeup/skincare before school drop off?
Oh gosh, I usually look like a train-wreck for drop-off! I’ve either just rolled out of bed and am planning to workout when I get back, or have just worked out. One old-school piece of advice that really does work for me is to lay out my workout clothes the night before so I have to throw them on right when I get out of bed! I also recently got rid of everything EXCEPT my favorite workout sets, so I’m literally always excited to put them on! I’m becoming more and more particular with how things fit and feel on my skin, maybe it’s because I’m nearing 40 ;). I’ve narrowed my drawer down to different colors of the daily legging from Vuori, anything from the “never better” line by FP.
As far as makeup, if I’m not working I try to give my skin a break and not put makeup on! Sometimes to give myself a little bit of life I’ll just fill in my brows (I hate how obsessed I am with this brow pencil because it runs out quickly but I LOVE how thin of lines you can do - like you’re drawing in actual hairs!) If I AM going somewhere, I do my makeup the same. Every. Time. All of the tried and true stuff I use (along with my skincare) is listed here if anyone is interested!!
What are your beach day essentials?
I am trying to be more minimal when we go to the beach lately, because I feel like packing a ton of stuff makes the process feel daunting and prevents me from wanting to go as much! As a single mom of two little kids, I need to be strategic about what we bring so that I’m able to carry everything myself. I’m also lucky that my girls are getting older so they don’t need all the baby stuff anymore.
I LOVE the Seaesta tote - I have it in two colors! It is the perfect size to throw everything we need in and easy to carry!
For years, my favorite plush towels have been these from Ruby Mint, and they always have the cutest designs. They literally last forever. Lately I’m also loving the beach blanket from Geometry (you can use code JEN15!) There are a million prints to choose from, but my favorite things about it is how small it folds up and how easily the sand shakes off of it.
A few other favorites are any of the long sleeved Seaesta suits for the girls (it’s their favorite suit and then the sleeves make sunscreen/sand easier to deal with), this spray sunscreen, this face sunscreen (I just started using it and love the textures/slight glow!), and I also love this cute umbrella that comes in a little matching bag with a strap and is easy/light to throw over your shoulder.
I do NOT bring chairs, ha! Sure, they’re nice to have, but it’s too much for me to carry and I’m find just laying on my blanket with an umbrella! I do always, always bring extra underwear and comfy sweat sets for the girls because we live in California where the water is cold and once they’re done playing they want to be WARM. We also tend to stay past sunset because it’s so hard to leave. I also have had this sand brush for years and it’s always in the back of my car, we all love it!
What are your favorite beach snacks?
Ok this is going to make me sound lazy, but…I love to Door Dash to the beach. It also goes back to keeping the amount of things I have to carry to a minimum! You’d be surprised how easy it is to get food delivered to the beach, and then your meal is taken care of. Fish 101 is one of our favorites to pick up if we are in Encinitas or Carlsbad - fish or shrimp taco, chips and guac, and sometimes fish sticks and fries.
That being said, we have a tradition of doing long beach days at San Onofre with our friends where we all bring food to make together, and those are some of my FAVORITE California memories! On those days, we all decide who’s bringing what beforehand and everyone gets super into it. We put one of these grills over the fire pits (I also have had this little BBQ for years which is great to bring to the beach in case all the fire pits are taken!) I also love that it’s one of the only beaches near us where you can back your car right up to the sand, so easy!
You have the cutest backyard! Tell us some of your entertaining must-haves & poolside favorites!
Oh my gosh, thank you! It’s our happy place! Any day spent by the pool with friends feels like a win. For furniture and umbrellas, I’m obsessed with all things Business & Pleasure! I’m slowly collecting more and more each year. I also love having a good speaker that’s easy for anyone to connect to, because music is a non-negotiable down there - we actually love to take this one to the beach or on trips, too!
I just restocked the girls’ pool toys, and found a ton of cute stuff for cheap from the Sun Squad line at Target, and right now I think it’s all buy 2, get one free. I also found waterproof versions of some games we like (Uno, Spot It, and Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza) so I’ve been loving sitting in the hot tub and play them with the girls. Romy and Piper are currently really into these rings they can swim through, and they love diving for gems.
Whenever I have people over in general, I always want to make them as comfortable as possible to stay as long as possible. Usually we have a meal planned that I’m proud of, but I always have back up food, usually in the freezer, in case they stay long enough to get hungry again. Especially for the kids - pizza, nuggets, taquitos, etc. - something I can easily through in the air fryer or oven. I also make sure to put out lots of clean pool towels, and installing an outdoor shower was the best money I’ve ever spent.
I always love your style finds. Can you share some of your current favorites?
I’m planning for a fun trip to Capri next month, so I think my style is being heavily influenced by that right now! I’m into anything with that Italian Riviera vibes, especially yellows, light blues, and reds! Here are some favorites I’m packing for my trip.
Matching Set /Black Dress / Textured Dress / Head Scarf / Short button dress / Sandals (use code:JEN10) / Seashell Swimsuit / Blue Swimsuit / Sunglasses / Earrings / Purse / Hat
Love Jen and LOVE that Chat GPT / Farm Box hack!! Also obsessed with the idea of Door Dashing food to the beach lol! Follow Jen here:
& @jenkhawkinsWhat I’m Cooking:
For Mother’s Day, we did a little backyard pizza oven night, which is our favorite family dinner in the summer! I make the pizza dough the night before using this recipe and I make the sauce using a variation of this recipe. My daughter set the cautest table for us, complete with name cards.
Discount Codes:
Coco & Eve: JWHEELER15
Ursa Major: JULIAWHEELER20
Seaesta Spring BOGO: No code needed - buy a swimsuit or boardshorts, get 50% off a sweatshirt or tee! Spend $200, get a free tote!