Surviving the 4th of July

Surviving The 4th of July Picnics 

For as long as I can remember the 4^th of July has been hands down one of my favorite holidays. My family has a huge bash and we end up spending hours together! Like every year I am looking forward to the day this year. However, I will be looking at this years gathering with a different eye. In years past, I GRAZE all day long. There is everything from the most amazing taco dip you could ever eat, to desserts galore, many, many, carbs and fun summer cocktails to boot! It’s the making of a perfect picnic! This year I am going to try my hardest to put a healthier spin on the 4^th of July party. I want to offer you some tips for avoiding junk foods all day and some suggestions for what you can bring along to snack on.

I would first suggest arriving on a full stomach. I know your parents always told you not to eat before you go to a party but if you want to try to avoid overloading on junk think ahead and have a light lunch before attending.

Bring some fruit infused water think strawberry and blueberries for the 4th- I am sure it will be a hot day. Anytime you get the urge to start grazing guzzle some water. It will keep you full and take your mind of the urge to snack.

Do other things instead of sitting around a picnic table all day – play a game, catch a fish, swim, chase your kids around- do something that does not involve eating all day. Now don’t get me wrong you should totally eat while you are there just be sure that the choices are healthy ones and that you are eating to fuel your body not simply because it is there and looks like it tastes good.

If you are going to drink on the 4th go for something light - a 4 oz glass of white wine or 1 12 oz beer, vodka with club soda lemon and mint leaves would be refreshing and light on calorites. Stay away from the margaritas and frilly drinks they scream sugar and calories that you don't need. 

If you can, take along a dish that you know you enjoy and is also a healthy pick. In addition is should be able to withstand a little bit of heat incase the picnic is outside. I am planning on making some healthy fresh options so that those who wish to eat healthy can. There is nothing worse than going to a party and all they have is junk, junk and more junk food.

Here are a few ideas I thought of this week:

            Dark chocolate covered strawberries

            Fresh salsa and corn tortilla chips

Southwest salsa with black beans, avocados, corn and tomatoes

            Fresh guacamole

            Fruit kebabs

            Hummus and pita chips

            Summer salad with grilled chicken

            Watermelon mint water

            Whole-wheat pasta salad

            Bruschetta

            Tomato Basil Mozzarella Bites on wheat bread

Deviled Eggs with avocado filling
Veggie Tray
Sushi wraps
Corn on the cob - roasted in a firepit or on the grill
Homemade trail mix with popcorn, nuts and dark chocolate chips

Try your best to enjoy the holiday and your family. Enjoy a few “cheats” but don’t make a day of it. You will thank yourself the next day. When you eat like crap, you feel like crap.

Check out my pinterest page for some recipe suggestions! Happy 4^th of July!

Grilled Green Beans

Grilled Green Beans 

Last nights dinner - grilled green beans, steak, grilled onions and brown rice 

Not sure why but I have never tried to make green beans on the grill but last night I decided to go for it. I wrapped the washed and sliced beans in foil making almost like a pocket for them to cook in. Wrapped it twice so nothing would spill out and cooked it. They did take 35 mins so plan ahead if you are going to give it a try. They turned out great and even my husband said they were good and he is not a huge fan of fresh green beans. 

Here is what you will need:

1lb of fresh green beans

2oz of extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of rosemary 

1/2 teaspoon of dried basil 

1/8 of a cup of parmesan cheese

Directions 

Heat grill to 450 degrees 

Wash green beans and trim edges of the beans

Create a rectangular packet double lined with foil
In a small bowl mix together olive oil and dry ingredients stir and put green beans in the mixture coating the green beans. 

Place in the foil and sprinkle with the parm cheese 

Place on the grill and turn every 5 minutes for 35 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Frozen Banana Treats

Frozen Banana Treats

This is so fun for a nice hot summer day. This morning my son and I assembled these yummy treats, put them in the freezer and enjoyed them with our lunch. These were delicious and very easy. Ours made four banana pops but you could certainly use more bananas if you wanted more than four. I was fresh out of Popsicle sticks so we used kebab sticks from grilling. I would suggest not using them, as they are rather sharp and long. Not my brightest mom choice but we all make those dumb choices, right?

Here is what you will need

2 ripe bananas (or more if you want to have more)

1 cup of vanilla or plain yogurt

Cinnamon

Chopped walnuts (optional)

Popsicle sticks

Wax paper

Directions

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper

Cut bananas in half

Place on the Popsicle sticks

Dip into yogurt rolling around the banana to cover the entire piece of fruit

Lay back on to the cookie sheet

Sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon

Top with crushed walnuts if you like – I made my sons without the nuts just to be safe.

Freeze for about 4 hours and enjoy!

PiYo Meal Planning

Meal Planning - PiYo Style 

This week I decied to start PiYo but had not done the meal plannign with it. I know how important meal planning is in order to be successful with a program so I spent some time working on it Friday night. Grocery shopped today and now I feel ready to conquer week 2. I am a bit nervous about Friday because it is the 4th of July, but I am going to try my best to stick to the plan. 

I was surprised how similar the meal planning was for the 21 day fix. In fact, it is basically the same. I am planning on using the containers that I used for the fix. The only thing that is different for me is that I have one additional serving of veggies while doing PiYo. For those of you who have done the 21 day fix I would suggest continuing the container use. As you can see below you will be eating many times during the day. If you can try to space the foods out about 2 - 3 hours and be sure to be drinking half of your body weight in ounces. 

PiYo Week 1 Meal Plan

www.sarahgriffith27.blogspot.com

Plan A

4 Primary Veggies

2 Secondary Vegetables and Grains

2 Fresh Fruit

4 Lean Proteins

3 Healthy Fats

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Breakfast	Vanilla Shakeology  Whole Wheat English Muffin w/ natural pb	Vanilla Shakeology Whole Wheat English Muffin w/ natural pb	Vanilla Shakeology Eggs with peppers & onions	Chocolate Shakeology	Chocolate Shakeology
Snack	Eggs with peppers and onions Blueberries/straw	Apple	10 pistachios Strawberries	Apple Natural PB	Egg omelet Peppers/ Onions
Lunch	Grilled Chicken Salad- cucumbers/pepper 10 pistachios	Steak salad Cucumber/peppers Plain yogurt Mixed berries	Grilled Chicken Wraps Avocado Lettuce Mozzarella Cheese Steamed Broccoli	Ham Lettuce Wrap Mixed Fruit Peanuts (1 tbsp)	Pulled Pork Fruit Salad Peppers Hummus Salad
Snack	Apple- Peanuts(1tbsp)	Peppers	Mixed Berries	Hummus Peppers	Almonds Fruit Salad
Dinner	Filet Minion Broccoli, Baked Potato	Grilled Chicken Wraps Avocado Lettuce Mozzarella Cheese	Pork Chops Brown Rice String Beans	Grilled Chicken Black Beans Brown Rice Diced Tomatoes Onions	Lean Burger Wheat Bun Cheese Fresh Salsa Corn Tortilla Chips

Zucchini Fries

Zucchini Fries 

These were simple simple and my husband said they even looked like french fries so thats what I am calling them - sadly for him they do not taste like french fries but none the less they were pretty great! All you need is a zucchini 

Peel the zucchini then slice it length wise

Drizzle olive oil over it and spread on slices 

Then in a ziplock back add in 3/4 cup wheat bread crumbs

1 T. Italian Seasoning 

1/2 cup parmesan cheese 

Mix 

Put zucchini slices into the bag - shake to bread the slices

Then place on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with motzerella cheese 

Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown (about 20 minutes) 

  

Image above is what it should look like prior to baking 

Super Moist Banana Bread

Super Moist Banana Bread 

I woke up this morning craving banana bread but didn't want to make my normal recipe because it was full of oil, lots and lots of sugar and calories I didn't want. I decided I would check out Pinterest and I stumbled upon this one. It was a win! My little one and I had a great time making it. He helped the entire time and was proud of our treat. He kept calling it cake. I let him think it was cake! Enjoy! 

Ingredients

• 
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 very large ripe bananas, mashed well
• 6 T. butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch baking pan.

Whisk the flour, sugar, soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl combine the mashed bananas, butter, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Stir to combine the wet ingredients. Gently fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just combine. Don't over mix. The batter should be thick and chunky.

Scrape the batter into the greased pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

Let the banana bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove it from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack for at least one hour before serving.

*This recipe was found on pinterest from http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/04/the-best-banana-bread-recipe.html 

Yogurt Fruit Bar Pops

He Thinks He Is Eating Ice Cream...

Yogurt Fruit Bar Pops 

First you will need to purchase popcicle molds or pull them out of your cabinets if you already have some. 

Ingredients 

Vanilla or plain or any other flavor yogurt for that matter - the amount you will need depends on your mold size

Mixed fruit chopped up finely

Directions

Fold chopped fruit into the yogurt

Pour into molds just above the fill line

Freeze for 4 hours and enjoy!

Toddler approved! Let me know how your family likes this one as well! Great on a hot summer day without having to give them the sugar from ice cream!