Is it really already July?! Holy cow!!
Anyways, I hope you all are staying extra cool (high of 95+ allllll weeek!!) Yikes! Just a reminder that the last day of our challenge is July 29th. We're just shy of a month left! Don't forget to let me know your total points by the 29th @ 9pm. Also, be sure to send your money as well so that we can be fair to everyone.
I'm way excited for the 4th of July! I am volunteering here in Indianola at their 4th of July celebration festival (pretty sure I get to help at the spin art -- way fun, right?!) I just love seeing the kids getting to enjoy in these types of activities, so needless to say I can't wait! :) Then, after I'm done with that my family is going to be here to celebrate the 4th with me and Tyler! I'm pumped to have them come up to visit us at our home and grill out and do some major eating!
So, how can you stay healthy on the 4th?! It's honestly a lot simpler than you may think! This post is full of tons of recipes that I am thrilled to share with you all (these are the recipes/foods that we'll be eating!)
1) STEAK! Yum, yum, and more yum! I love steak, Tyler loves steak, my entire family loves steak, it's just an all around love affair in my family. Plus, what a bonus that my dad is an amazing farmer and raises cattle to produce such amazing meat! What a blessing!
Anyways -- I'm not sure what kind of steak we're going with quite yet. It'll be either T-Bone or Ribeye. I'm not picky on the type of steak, just as long as it's my daddy's! :)
We always just season it with some Lowry's and throw it on the grill. Honestly, it's truly all that it needs to taste amazing! Then, just pair it with some yummy steak sauce (or without). If you choose to do sauce, just be sure to portion control it as the calories can go up if you're not careful!
2) CORN ON THE COB -- Sorry for the exclamation points, but I love corn on the cob and haven't had any yet this summer so I'm extremely excited! This is another one of my farm-fresh favorites!
3) Twice-Baked Taters -- I love these things so much. If you've never had them, please make them..
Recipe:
Potatoes (depends on how many people you're serving -- one potato will make 2 potato skins)
Cream Cheese, low-fat
Sour Cream, low-fat
Ranch dressing, fat-free
Shredded Cheddar Cheese, 2%
Real bacon bits
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. First, bake all of the potatoes in the microwave until done and soft. Cut the potatoes in half and spoon out all of the innerds of the potato and put into a medium size bowl. Depending on the amount of mashed tater 'ya got, put in a few spoonfuls of each ingredient listed (except cheese). Once you've added in the ingredients, stir stir stir. Put potato skins onto a baking sheet and fill with a spoonful or so of the mixture. Then, top with cheese! Bake the skins for about 10-15 minutes (just to get cheese all melted basically). Enjoy!
4) Fruit Pizza! I love fruit pizza and what better dessert to have on the 4th of July than fruit pizza!
Recipe:
1 roll of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough, or your own homemade sugar cookie dough.
1 package of low fat cream cheese
Any fruit you want! I'm doing kiwi, strawberries, and mandarin oranges.
Pre-head oven to 350 degrees. Roll cookie dough onto a greased 9X13 baking dish. Put into oven and bake until done (about 15-20 minutes). You definitely don't want the cookie to be too hard. While the cookie is baking, cut up your fruit and let your cream cheese soften. Once cookie dough is done, let it cool for about 15 minutes. Once cooled, spread cream cheese onto cookie and then top with your fruit. Way easy and way yummy!
Have a happy, healthy 4th of July everyone! Celebrate that Independence! :)
Love,
Jordan
