Happy Birthday America!!

I hope you enjoy your 4th of July barbecues and celebrations!

I used the NEW Pretty Party Skewers to create the festive fruit kabob centerpiece

for our Neighborhood Bike Parade this past Saturday.

I absolutely love that the party skewers are recyclable!!

Happy 4th of July everyone!!

RECiPE RADAR | Berries and Whipped Coconut Cream

To celebrate Day 22 of the Whole30 challenge I've been participating in...
I thought I'd share a recipe from the newest cookbook I 've purchased...

Well Fed - by Melissa Joulwan

It's a GREAT  book filled with tip and tricks on how to keep your meals fun, filling and with less prep work.

After 22 days of adopting the Whole30 way of eating...
I must say that I have learned quite a bit.
Not just about "how" to eat more sensibly and fuel my body in the right way...
but I've also learned a lot about myself.
I'm much stronger than I give myself credit for most of the time!

One of the excerpts from the book described perfectly what my life has been like for the past 22 days...

"For the first few weeks, [I spent a lot of time in the kitchen]. I felt like I was on an endless loop of chop, cook, eat, wash, repeat. It was tedious."

For me...it has taken a lot of prep work to be successful on this journey.
My days consist of getting up WAY early to prepare lunch and breakfast for J before he leaves for work.
3:15 a.m. on Tuesdays...grrrrr!!

Between all of the lunches and breakfasts I prepare for everyone else and myself...
at the end of each day...I feel as though I've been in the kitchen for a good majority of it. *frown*

Well Fed has re-fueled my fire!
I love the casual approach of this cookbook...
and not only does it offer some great recipes to inspire you to cook up some wonderfully healthy meals for your family...
"it's healthy eating like you've never seen it - a collision of flavors, textures, and colors designed to impress your eyes, stimulate your taste buds, and nourish your body."

I also love all of the awesome pointers offered about how to make the prep work less tedious,  suggestions for how to shop and ideas for how to plan your meals!!

My favorite part of the book?

"...the right cookbook will inspire you to discover your own creativity and tastes and establish your own experiences and traditions. Well Fed was written to do just that, and will effortlessly allow you to cultivate your own rock star inner chef."

I love that Well Fed encourages you to get creative...
You KNOW I'm all about tapping into that source any chance I get.

So...
with all of that said...
in addition to the plethora of delicious meals from Well Fed on my radar this week...
here's a little guilt-free treat I'm looking forward to "whipping" up...

Berries and Whipped Coconut Cream

photo source: The Clothes Make the Girl

It's simple and is oh-so-perfect for the Summer months we are heading into!
Think "4th of July celebrations"!

GO HERE FOR THE RECIPE

Let me know if you try this out!!

BE INSPIRED:
Here's a little bit of background on Melissa Joulwan, author of Well Fed.
"Many of the recipes in Well Fed debuted on my blog, The Clothes Make the Girl.
I started my blog in 2008 to write about my workout and fashion adventures. As my diet
evolved to focus on paleo foods, I started to casually write about the the things I was eating. 
Soon my adaptations of family recipes were some of the most popular pages on my site, and the ideas
for the cookbook started to simmer."

How's that for some inspiration??

By the way...
just in case you are wondering...
I made the "Zoodles" I mentioned last week!  using the recipe from Well Fed
The julienne peeler I bought worked perfectly...
and the Whole30 approved "Spaghetti & Meatballs" meal I made turned out awesome!
J was surprisingly satisfied! The pasta-lovin-spaghetti-connoisseur that he is...
rated the meal a 9.25 on a scale of 1-10!
SUCCESS!!

Have a great week everyone!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I have to keep it real with you.
The Whole30 has been a HUGE challenge...
which is obviously why they call it a "challenge".  *wink*
I have been discouraged for the majority of it...
not really seeing a big difference in myself...
sitting back watching J reap some real, measurable benefits from it.
I told myself that no matter what...
I would keep pushing through all the way to Day 30.
I'm happy to report...
that FINALLY...
on Day 22...
TODAY...
I've felt the shift with my energy...
and I've noticed my clothes fitting differently.
I NEEDED that little win BIG WIN today!
I'm so grateful!!

RECiPE RADAR | Kale Blueberry Ice Cream & Re-Fueling

I took last week off - if you didn't notice.
It wasn't planned...
it just sort of happened.

I needed to refuel...
and by that I mean in a variety of ways:
- mentally
- emotionally
- physically

We all need to do that every now and then.
A lot of times I feel guilty if I don't post here on the blog at least 3 times a week.
Although I'd love to post every day, I'm in a season of my life that doesn't really allow for that.
I used to be resentful about it.
But I'm learning to let that go.
Because ultimately...
I feel whole and complete and fulfilled...
when I'm focused on my family.
That's it.
Bottom line.
They are my world.
It's so easy to lose sight of that!
But it's also easy to regain the proper perspective when you step away for a bit.
I'm so glad I did.

So...
since it IS Recipe Radar day...
let's begin the week off with something in line with the physical aspect of the "refueling" I mentioned:

KALE BLUEBERRY ICE CREAM

photo from www.simplegreensmoothies.com

I'm on Day 8 of the 30-day challenge from Simple Green Smoothies...
and I'm doing awesome.
This recipe for Kale Blueberry Ice Cream was in one of the emails I received from Simple Green Smoothies.
It caught my attention for a couple of reasons:
- It sounds like the strangest combination ever! Doesn't it?!
- I'm looking for different ways to incorporate a little more Kale into my eating.

GO HERE for the recipe.

Since I'm also on Day 8 of the Whole30 Challenge...and staying strong
I look forward to trying out this recipe at the end of my 30 days.

If you try it before I do, PLEASE let me know what you think!
And if you have any other interesting Ice Cream Recipes you'd like to share...
leave a comment, share a link or email me at: pnpflowersinc AT gmail DOT com

Here's to a week filled with moments of "re-fueling"...
We have to the MAKE those moments happen, by the way.
They aren't going to magically appear before our eyes you know! *wink*

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I seriously wanted to quit the Whole30 yesterday.
I was met with chocolate chip cookies and leftover pizza from the the girls having friends over on Saturday night.
I was exhausted from making Whole30 lunches for J every morning...
cooking Whole30 dinners for the family every night...
and eating eggs. Tons of eggs.
Egg omelettes in the morning...
Boiling hard-boiled eggs...
peeling hard-boiled eggs...
packing hard-boiled eggs.
But not eating hard-boiled eggs!
I don't like hard-boiled eggs.
Everyone else in my family does though!
And they are a very convenient way for J to get his protein in for his lunches during the week.
We went through SEVEN DOZEN EGGS last week! *gasp*
I just had a really bad attitude on Sunday.
I REALLY wanted to toss in the towel.
Luckily J pulled me through...encouraging me throughout the day.
just as I pulled him through the day/night before.
And here I am.
Day 8 of Whole30...
and I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing some changes to keep me motivated! Ha!