Beach Fun!

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork...he has set a tent for the sun...Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. -Psalm 19

Wow, April was a busy month, but I was blessed to spend several days staying on the beach. My nephew and niece spent a few days there as well and I have tons of funny and sweet memories. I think perhaps my favorite moment with my niece was when she swayed on the beach singing “Jesus Loves Me” over and over again for about thirty minutes. To see her at twenty-two months old, in her little swimsuit, dancing and singing praises to the Lord was absolutely precious! One evening my mom and I took my nephew to see a dive-in movie, yes, dive-in (not drive-in). I only wish I had taken my camera to capture his cute little grin as he turned innumerous times to look at me with great joy and elation all over his face at the experience of sitting by the pool watching The Little Mermaid on a big screen. Fun times!


My mom and I prepared in advance many of the meals we had while staying at the beach. I’m not sure why exactly, but beach restaurants seem to be all about fried, fried, fried and more fried. I even saw a sign out front of a local restaurant advertising fried green beans. Sadly the nutritional quality of the majority of the food at so many local restaurants was just not good and besides, when you are spending all day in a swimsuit under the bright sunlight, fried food is probably not going to do you any favors!

Another thing that struck me was the abundance of shrimp, oysters, crab, lobster (mostly served fried) available. Now, I have eaten all of these “delicacies” at some point in the past, but over the last year, I realized that the instructions of the Lord to the Israelites in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 regarding clean and unclean foods were beneficial to me as well. The Israelites were clearly instructed to eat only fish with scales and fins, not the shellfish and swarming creatures of the water. The truth is this word from the Lord is not to oppress me or take anything away from me, but to warn me of danger and give wisdom and protection. These unclean foods are teeming with toxins that wreak havoc on the human body. As a result of this awareness, I refrain from eating anything from the water that does not have scales and fins.

Instead of eating out for every meal, we made some really delicious and nutritious foods that were refreshing and nourishing for our bodies after spending time out in the sun.

We love hummus and veggies, so this was a great way to start the day and a great lunch to have after some time in the sun.


Raw kale salad with mango and toasted pumpkin seeds is another warm weather favorite. We enjoyed the salad with a side of ginger-spiced quinoa and sweet potatoes.


The sunny almond salad served over spinach, with berries and pears was a wonderful refresher!


Chicken salad made with Veganaise, lemon juice, apples and pears provided a great protein boost.


For a special treat one night we baked an almond meal crust, topped it with chocolate ganache, mixed berries and bananas. All I can say is yum!

Spending time at the beach was a lot of fun and preparing easy, refreshing meals in advance made our stay super healthy and kept us balanced and well-hydrated.

Pizza!

I love making pizza at home! The crust is made from almond flour and is super quick and easy to make. It is more of a crisp crust, not doughy, but oh so good! My dad is usually the most skeptical of healthier fare, but he really enjoys this too!

I use tomato sauce or tomato paste. The sauce is a little thinner and spreads really well, but the paste is thicker and more concentrated. To enhance the sauce, I add spices like thyme, cilantro, basil and oregano. Then top with sauteed veggies, usually red onion, garlic, broccoli, and mushrooms...sometimes spinach or even kale. I go cheeseless, but the great thing about making individual sizes at home is that each one can be adjuusted to specific taste preferences.

I plan on making a dessert pizza soon with chocolate ganache, strawberries and bananas, yum!

My New Favorite Snack

I'm so excited about this great little energy booster. I start with 4 oz. of fresh squeezed organic orange juice, one half of a lemon juiced and 4 oz. of water.



Then I add one scoop of Garden of Life Perfect Food Raw. It is full of organic greens, sprouts, veggies and fruits.



I was unbelievably shocked at how this pepped me up. It really does give a big energy boost for the day. And it really does taste good mixed with the orange and lemon juice. When we are short on time and can't get our collards, kale, broccoli, or spinach washed up, this is a quick way to get our greens, plus tons of other good nutrients. It's one of those green things that I crave!