Author: Megan

If you are at the beach, taking a hike, or lounging at the pool hydration and staying hydrated is crucial for your health. Did you know that when you’re ‘dying of thirst’ you are already experiencing a form of dehydration?  Staying hydrating can be a daunting task for some people because of the “boring” water they feel compelled to drink.  Although, water is one of your best sources of re-hydrating yourself you can make the water tasteful by adding hydrating fruit and vegetables to your plain water. From adding lemons to strawberries or cucumbers you can really make the water you drink a fun festive flavor that makes drinking your daily intake of water a less cumbersome chore.

If you want to try another hydrating drink that kicks up the flavor to the next level than you’re going to need your blender.  The next drink that I have been making for a few weeks now is my celery, banana and coconut water blend!  That’s right you’re gonna be drinking celery!

This particular version of ingredients has been used in various combinations in smoothies and seems to be one of the most hydrating for your health.  If you do not like to chew your drinks no worries just strain the pulp and drink.  I find throwing out perfectly edible pureed celery hard to do so I generally leave it and enjoy my hydrating drink on the go, after a workout, or when I’m simply sitting down enjoying a good book.

I have only recently started incorporating coconut water and I must say it too, is an acquired taste but when you blend it with other ingredients: strawberries, banana, or even kiwi it alters the taste to something more familiar.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1-2 Bananas
  
• 3-4 celery stalks
• 1 8 oz coconut water
  

Directions:
Blend all the ingredients until smooth
(Optional you can also add fruit and vegetables of your choice in addition to these ingredients.)

Fresh, light and healthy…is essential when making any meal for summer. When you can incorporate as many fresh ingredients into a dish not only does it look gorgeous but the fresh ingredients add so much more flavor that will take any ordinary dish to extraordinary!!

I am always trying to find new clean, healthier ways to make older favorites better without taking away any of the flavors. So I’m sharing my grilled chicken with cilantro, lime, avocado salsa recipe. I paired this entrée with brown rice. I also added the leftover chopped cilantro with a few lime wedges not only for garnish but to squeeze over my rice or add more lime flavor to my chicken. Now that summer has unofficially officially started, it’s time for barbecues, picnics, and garden fresh dishes!

Seriously, one of the easiest dinners I have ever made and the FLAVOR of the cilantro-lime-avocado salsa over the chicken was out of this world! My husband is always my pickiest critic and he will always be straight forward with me. He said this was one of his top 2 favorite meals I have ever made. Trust me, I have made a lot of meals and for him to say that…I’m over the moon happy. I told him that it is possible for food to taste AMAZINGLY good without loading it with cheese and other unhealthy fats. If he wasn’t a believer before he certainly is now!

I will definitely be making this dish several more time over the summer season!

Ingredients:

• 1 (6 oz) chicken breasts
• 1 Avocado, medium
• 1/3 cup Cilantro
• 1 tbsp Lime, zest
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup Red onion
• 2 Roma tomatoes, medium
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. In a large bowl pour in lemon juice, lime zest, salt and pepper
2. Add diced tomatoes, diced onion, chopped cilantro, and diced avocado
3. Grill chicken (on the grill or stove).
4. Once done add salsa over the chicken and serve.

A lot of words come to mind when I think of summer but when it comes to food I think of my husband grilling outside, picnics, warm summer night and shishkabobs!! These skewered delights are great to fix and forget about as they marinate in your refrigerator. I find that the longer you marinate any meat the better the flavor.

For this particular recipe, I used two separate bowls to marinate both my vegetables and my chicken. I marinated my vegetables in an oil and vinegar base with fresh herbs and occasionally mixed the vegetables throughout the day to make sure they were all evenly coated. For the meat, I also used ‘Garlic Expressions’ which is an oil and vinegar based salad dressing with whole garlic cloves infused in the oil. I also finely chopped additional herbs and spices to give the meat a kick in flavor! This dressing has been my go to salad dressing for almost every salad I have at home. If you have it in your grocery store than YAY, if you do not, I believe you can make requests to the customer service desk to request they carry a small amount for a trial period.

Thank you to all Veterans who are serving and who have served our Country!!! Have a wonderful Memorial Holiday weekend

Cheers to the official kick-off to Summer!

Ingredients:

• Onions
• Mushrooms
  
• Grape Tomatoes
• Bell Peppers
• Olive Oil
• Spices
• Garlic Expressions
• Wooden Skewers

Directions:

1. Cut vegetables in similar sizes to fit on skewers
2. Using a spate cutting board, cut chicken in similar sizes as vegetables so everything fits on skewers
3. In two separate bowls, place vegetables in one bowl and chicken in another bowl to marinate for 3-4 hours or longer.
4. After everything has marinated place on skewers and grill!