Memorial Day Fun and Recipes!!

For many of us Memorial Day is the official start of Summer, celebrated with BBQs, Picnics at the park, and parties by the pool!! This also usually means a pretty heavy spread when it comes to the food!! While this is all good in moderation keep in mind that it adds up quickly!! Typical BBQ food consists of hot dogs and burgers, potato salad (approx 180 cals), macaroni salad (approx 250 cals), baked beans (approx 140 cals), desserts and drinks!! Just in your sides ALONE you just consumed 570 calories...YIKES!!!! So let's not freak out...let's make a game plan for how you're going to get through the holiday weekend and stay on track!!

First of all sit down and list all of the events that you will be hosting or attending. This way you can see CLEARLY what you're working with! 

Even though it is a holiday weekend make sure you still get in your planned workouts. I know it's easy to want to give yourself a break but what good would that do? Start your day off right and give yourself that energy you'll need for all of the weekend's festivities!! If Sunday is your "rest" day, but you're heading to the park for a picnic or BBQ try a few of these playground workouts while you're playing with your kids, I promise they wont disappoint!! 

Luckily I have a pretty low-key weekend but I'm still sitting down and planning it out. Saturday night we will be grilling steak, asparagus and zucchini and for dessert we will be having strawberry banana creams. I have learned to season and prepare healthy foods that taste amazing so I feel good knowing that I'm not only feeding my guests food that is healthy but that is also tasty and full of flavor!! I also don't feel deprived by having to prepare one menu for everyone else and one that follows MY meal plan.

Sunday morning we have church then off to the grocery store for our weekly shopping and meal prep for the week. I will get up at 6am to do my workout and plan the meals for the week so I can get just what I need at the grocery store and nothing extra! If you don't keep tempting foods in the house then you can't eat them...just sayin ;) Once I get home from the store I will wash, chop and bag my snacks and meals for the week and batch cook my oats, eggs and meats. I'll most likely throw on some TurboFire Chili in the crock pot so I have dinner already done for Tuesday!!

Monday we don't have any real plans but I'm so excited to just lay out and RELAX!!! This year we'll be having grilled chicken and veggies and a yummy watermelon, mint and feta salad. Its so cool and refreshing!! I'll also have some chopped veggies and hummus to snack on since its a favorite of all and fruit infused water for dinner. This is something that I discovered last year and it's SO yummy!! It adds a little flavor and vitamins to your water with nothing artificial! but my main focus is to really spend time with my family!

Recipe and Pics from The Blond Cook

Ingredients

• (1) 7 pound (approximate) seedless watermelon, chilled
• 1 cup fresh chopped mint leaves
• 2 cups crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2/3 cups lime juice
• 2 teaspoons sea salt

Instructions

1. Cut watermelon away from rind and chop into approximately 1 inch cubes. Remove any seeds, if any. Place in colander to drain while you're preparing dressing.
2. Whisk together honey, lime juice and sea salt for the dressing.
3. Gently stir watermelon chunks with mint and feta cheese.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad; gently stir to incorporate dressing

Ingredients:

2 Lemons

8 Strawberries

Water

Ice

Directions:

Slice lemons. Quarter strawberries. Add ingredients to pitcher with ice and water. Refrigerate for an hour. 

I also want to note that it is OK to have a sweet treat!  I firmly believe in the 80/20 rule.  80% of the time you want to stick to your healthy eating routine and then 20% of the time you can have what you would like within reason.  This boils down to one meal per week.  Not one entire day of indulging but one meal!!  Eat what you would like and do not feel guilty about it!  You earned it because of your hard work and you deserve to enjoy without reservation!!! I will be having my cheat on Monday! S'mores are one of my all time favorites and a family tradition I would like to have with my son, I'm SO excited!!

Here are a few other ideas you might enjoy for your holiday weekend gatherings!! 
Thai Shrimp Skewers, 
Clean eating BBQ sauce, 
Black Bean Burgers
Triple Berry Summer Salad
2 Ingredient Cookies
Creamy Santa Fe Chicken Salad Cups!

Have a happy, safe and blessed holiday weekend with your loved ones!!

For MORE recipes and other helpful tips friend me on Facebook and Pinterest!!