Recipe 

Ingredients (Make 4-6 sandwiches)

• Stella® Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
• 10-14 Fresh Basil Leaves
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• Olive Oil
• Himalayan salt
• 4 Tablespoons Pesto sauce (optional) 
• 1 Loaf French baguette bread 

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10 Summer Self-Care Ideas for Busy Moms

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Not sure when I discovered the magic of coconut oil. However, It's truly has been one of my favorite all-purpose products. I pretty much use coconut oil for everything. Especially once I started my lifestyle change. It really has come in handy. I typically have a container in the kitchen and one that I use for personal use. Costco has huge containers that you can divide up. On wash day I'll pre-poo with the coconut oil. I pretty much use about one to two tablespoons and apply it on my dry hair and process with a processing cap (shower cap).


I also use coconut oil on my scalp and also as a body lotion during the cooler months. My skin feels so moisturized the next day, and also great for your cuticles as well. I haven't had any issues cooking with it. I use it as an oil replacement. I've fried french fries and even donuts with it. Let's not forget about all of my yummy desserts too. Also, coconut oil has been one of the best products I've found for removing makeup. (it's great as a facial moisturizer too.)  
Everything I have listed I've tried on my own. I pretty much use coconut oil on a daily basis and it has become a staple in our home.


Do you use coconut oil?




My Top 10 Uses for Coconut Oil 

• Makeup Remover

• Cooking Oil Substitute 

• Oil Pulling

• Facial Moisturizer

• Body Butters

• Moisturizer for your hair and pre-poo

• Body (Lotion) Oil 

• Massage Oil 

• Cuticle Oil 

• Add to Smoothies (and coffee too)

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Happy Monday! I hope everyone had an amazing weekend. I can't believe it's the official start of summer. The kids are out of school. I can't wait to start working on our Summer Bucket List. Last week instead of making garlic honey salmon, I ended up making jerk salmon. I guess it came out yummy. I didn't hear any complaints and Michael actually asked for more servings. This was my first time making jerk salmon. Hopefully, one day I'll master the recipe.

Menu Plan 

In Case You Missed It 

Living in New England I really try my best to enjoy every minute of summer. I love the long days. Warmer weather, time with the family, and the ability to not have to wear a ton of layers of clothes. This year, we really didn't get much of a spring. So trust me, I am beyond grateful for every second of warmer weather that we get this summer. This year I thought it would be pretty cool to share 8 Things I Look Forward to In the Summer.

8 Things I Look Forward To In The Summer 

Family Vacation
Each year we try to take a family vacation. Last year we visited Lake George and had a lot of fun. The views from our hotel room were simply breathtaking. I would love to visit again or even take a day trip there. However, I try my best to pick a new location each year. I have several places in mind. However, I'm still working on the final choice.


Strawberry Picking
I'm a huge fan of strawberries. I've always been a fan of strawberries. However, when I found out that they were low in calorie when I started my weight-loss journey. I honestly took my love for them to a whole new level. This year I plan on visiting a new strawberry patch. I may also visit the one strawberry patch that I've visited in prior years. If you haven't tried fresh strawberries. You have no idea what you're missing out on. They last longer and honestly the taste is just AMAZING. Plus, you're supporting a local business by shopping small.

Longer Days
I've waited the last couple of months for longer days and I'm beyond thankful for them. My days typically start at about 4 am. My goal is to wake up around 3 am. It's so nice to really enjoy the sunrise and sunsets on a warm summer day. Let's not forget to mention picnics in the park at the Rose Garden. Yes, Please!


Daily Walks 
My daily goal is to walk 10K steps. During the colder months living in a small home and working from home. I really do not get that many steps in. I don't really care for the gym and I try my best to keep moving throughout the day. Being able to take my daily walks is so much more obtainable during the warmer months. As soon as it got warmer outside. I was back on track with my daily walks and ensuring that I get my daily steps in.




Gardening
I eat mostly a plant-based diet and theirs honestly nothing like growing your own. Every year I look forward to starting and harvesting my garden. It's such a rewarding feeling. This year I purchased so many vegetables and I'm also considering expanding my cut flower garden. It's such a nice feeling being able to cut some of my favorite flowers straight from my garden.

Day Trips 
One of the amazing benefits of living in Connecticut is that we live so close to so many amazing states that are perfect for day trips. It's nice getting up and just deciding to go on a day trip on a whim. I have a bucket list of places that I would like to visit this year. Can't wait to actually take the trips.

Ice Cream
I'm a huge fan of ice cream. I mean huge. This year I tried cherry ice cream for the first time and I really made me realize that I could possibly be missing out on some really amazing flavors out there. I hope to try at least two new flavors of ice cream and actually make some homemade ice cream with the family.


The Rose Garden
I'm a huge fan of our Rose Garden. It's the perfect place to just go for a walk, have a picnic or even be in the moment with all of the amazing scenery. I try my best to visit the Rose Garden at least once a year. I would honestly visit every day if I lived closer or we had one in our town.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

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The last day of school is fast approaching for Michael. He will be completing his first year of high school. It’s so bittersweet because he only has three more years left after this school year. One of the things I love about living in New England is that there’s so much to do locally and within driving distance. That’s why I typically don’t travel during the summer months. With that being said, we tend to go to the same places and I’m really hoping of actually creating a calendar with dates This year of places that I would like to visit instead of just creating a list. I will include tentative dates with rain dates as well. The only issue we've had in the past is the weather. Most of the places I would prefer to visit on a sunny summer day.



Also, this may also be Michael’s last year of having the summer free. Due to possibly attending basketball and football camps and next summer. Plus the option of actually working a summer job. So I’m really hoping to a cram in all of those beautiful sites that I haven’t been able to see in the prior years. Michael is pretty flexible when it comes to the list. All he cares about pretty much is shopping and eating. (That clearly shows that he is my child.) Typically I'll just go over the itinerary with him.
I would love to take more day trips this year as well. Just seems like last summer we really didn’t take many. Especially when we have so many beautiful states in close proximity. Below I'm sharing our Summer Bucket List. This list may grow in the event I learn about new places.

Do you have a summer bucket list?

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As you guys know I have a major sweet tooth. I love desserts and as I am focusing on living a healthier lifestyle. I’m always looking for a healthy alternative to our every day treats. For the past couple of years, I’ve been seeing recipes that include chickpeas, black beans, white beans and honestly I was really skeptical about having beans in my dessert at first. To be honest with you, one of the things that convinced to give it a try was having the breakfast cake. That cake is so yummy so moist and I said you know what if I’m going to give zucchini a chance. I should try giving beans in my dessert as well. When I was making the recipe, and I was putting the batter in the pan. I decided to try a sample off of the spoon. Honestly, I said to myself we’re on to something with this recipe. I placed the batter in the oven and I want to say within 30 to 40 minutes the recipe was complete. It was so delicious I made again that same week let me just be honest. I’m like completely out of stock of chickpeas now that I've been making this recipe so often. I’ve made this recipe several times With a couple of variations. This recipe is so yummy that my meat eater spouse loves it as well. And that only did he ask to try it. He also asked for seconds. How cool is that?! This is one of those recipes that I will have in rotation. I love that it doesn’t require a lot of ingredients it also doesn’t require a lot of measuring which I love.

Chewy Vegan Blondie Recipe

Have you ever had a dessert made with chickpeas?

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Our Menu Plan

Ingredients 

• 1 Part Three Olives Rosé Vodka 
• 1 Part bitter orange liqueur 
• 3 parts sparkling wine 
• 1 part soda water

• Stevia In The Raw® is a zero-calorie sweetener, perfect for any baking and cooking needs
• It contains an extract from the sweet leaves of the stevia plant
• Stevia In The Raw® is available in conveniently portioned 1g packets
• 1 packet of Stevia In The Raw® is as sweet as two teaspoons of sugar
• Up to 700 calories are saved for every cup of sugar that is replaced with Stevia In The Raw®

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Recipe HERE

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I can’t believe Father’s Day is this weekend. One of the things that I like to do is try to purchase the Mister’s gift in advance. However, sometimes things don’t go as planned. Today I’m sharing with you some of my favorite items of 2018 that are perfect for the men in your life whether it be your father, boyfriend, husband, and/or son. These are gifts that they truly would love and I highly suggest you save them in your Amazon account so you always have an idea of just various items that you can get for that special person. I know for me a lot of times it’s so hard because it feels like they pretty much have everything so what I do is create a category on Pinterest and Amazon of different items that I can get for them. Whether it’s a simple thank you, birthday, or anniversary gift. I have a list of items that I know that they would possibly love and of course you can always go with a gift card to their favorite store. But let’s be honest sometimes that gets a little played out.

Last-Minute Father’s Day Gift Ideas

Drone

Travel Mug 

GoPro

Starbucks Gift Card

Amazon Gift Card

Alexa

Flask

Gucci by Gucci Eau De Toilette Spray 

Wireless Beats 

Apple Watch

Hammock 

Portable Grill 

Grill Kit 

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