Celebrate Summer!

I am finally feeling better & looking more normal. Still not 100% but at least I can go out in public with out scaring anyone. LOL! Thank you Natalie for taking the time to comment. It was much appreciated!
Anyway today I wanted to make a card for a friend that I know has been counting down the days till summer vacation starts! I saw a cute watermelon card in this months issue of Paper Crafts magazine & I thought nothing screams "SUMMER" like watermelon right?

The girls & I have been embracing all the yumminess of summer, taking weekly trips to the farmers market to get fresh fruits & veggies. Our favorite thing to get is big boxes of strawberries! I let the girls eat their fill then I wash the rest, hull them, & pop 'em in the freezer. My hubby & I decided a couple weeks ago to start eliminating heavily processed foods as much as possible. Further fueled by watching the HBO documentary "The Weight of the Nation" about the child obesity epidemic. Did you know one of the best things you can do for your families health is eliminate soda, juices, sports drinks,etc..? Luckily we rarely drink that stuff so cutting it out isn't a huge deal. Its been fun to find healthy alternatives to some of the girls favorites. We have never let them eat a lot of sweets to start with but one of their favorite treats is ice cream! They used to get a half a scoop once in awhile & they were over the moon the other day when I let them have 2 scoops of our new homemade "ice cream". I saw this recipe on pinterest & my kids absolutely LOVE it! It's seriously just frozen bananas!!! Our favorite flavor is strawberry/ banana but they have all been delish! We have been having a lot of protein fruit smoothies which I really enjoy. I also have never seen my kids polish of a bowl of baby carrots & ask for MORE! But its been happening! For their afternoon snack I served the carrots with what my girls now call "Carrot Dip" & they ate it ALL! Here are some of our favorite recipes so far (also blogging them so I don't forget myself)... 

All measurements are just my best guesstimate.

Carrot Dip:

1/4 c. Greek Yogurt

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1/2 sprig Fresh Rosemary (optional) 

1/2 Clove Garlic

1/4 tsp Garlic Salt

Smoothies: (Serves 4)

Strawberry/ Banana

2 Frozen Bananas

4 Frozen Strawberries

1 c Fresh Spinach

1 Scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

1 c Milk

Berry/Banana

1 c. Fresh Blueberries

2 Frozen Bananas

4 Frozen Strawberries

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

2 Tbsp Raw Honey

12 oz pkg  Soft Tofu

Tropical

2 Frozen Bananas

1 can Crushed Pineapple

1 Mango

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

1 c. Milk

Another favorite is Chicken Salad but we replace the mayo with greek yogurt!

Chopped Chicken Breast

Cilantro

Red Onions

Greek Yogurt

Dijonaise

served with sliced Avocado! 

Ok I can see this post is probably my longest EVER so I will save the rest for another day.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend! Thanks for stopping by!