Grateful Heart

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The weekend is for recharging your personal batteries. And that is exactly what I did.

I get so much pleasure out of spending time with people I love. We don’t even have to be doing anything. I just love the quality time.

Things I’m thankful for on this Monday.

Fields full of flowers. While to some, this would just be a bunch of weeds. But I enjoy looking at them. They fill a vast space full of life and give the butterflies a place to roam.

Taking a step back to appreciate the goodness around me is important to my mental wellness. It’s the little things, always.

Spending quality time outside with Annie. My sweet girl loves to be outside. She loves to lay in the sun on the porch. She loves getting to be lazy with me. Annie’s got those good weekend vibes going every single day.

Personal care is key for me. Thankful Beautycounter created amazing and safe products to help me live my best life. I use the Nourishing Skin Care line mostly everyday. But I take extra care over the weekend to make sure I’m putting my best foot (or in this case…face) forward.

I’m so thankful for all ways Beautycounter has changed my life. I’m able to promote a company I believe in, get awesome products for me and my friends and make a little money to put directly into savings.

It was a tough decision to say yes to Beautycounter, but I’m so glad I did it. And I only see good things coming from it in the future. Ask me how you can become a part of this amazing movement to better beauty.

What do you do on the weekends to recharge and cultivate gratitude?

Italian Sheet Pan Dinner

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Whole30 is in full swing. And we are over the halfway mark.

This sheet pan dinner is inspired by Italian flavors, and it is super easy to make.

What you need:

  • Sheer Pan lined with aluminum foil
  • 2 chicken breasts, diced
  • 7-8 small baby red potatoes, diced
  • 2 cups fresh green beans
  • Handful of cherry tomatoes
  • Salt, pepper, dried garlic and Italian seasoning, to taste
  • Drizzle of avocado oil
  • Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put diced chicken into a bowl with avocado oil, salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning. Let sit while you prep veggies.

Dice the potatoes, and cut the green beans into similar size pieces. Add whole cherry tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic. Drizzle with avocado oil.

Add chicken on top of veggies. Drizzle everything with balsamic vinegar.

Back for 35-40 minutes until potatoes are tender and chicken is fully cooked.

The end result will look something like this.

Very delicious.

What are your favorite sheet pan dinners?

Oven Roasted “Fried” Okra

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Okra is a staple of Southern summer suppers. And I buy as much of it as I can while the farmers grow it. It’s my favorite vegetable.

While the South may be all about fried foods, Whole30 is not. So we must improvise.

Meet Oven Roasted “Fried” Okra.

What you need:

  • As much okra as you want to roast, sliced into circles
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Cayenne, to taste
  • Garlic powder, to taste
  • Coconut oil, to drizzle
  • A sprinkle of almond flour, enough to cover and coat the okra.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine okra, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, coconut oil and almond flour.

Stir until okra is evenly coated. Spread evenly on baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until your desired crispiness.

It’s the closest thing to fried okra. And it’s amazing.

Nightly Skin Care Routine

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If I could go back in time, I would tell my teenage self to take better care of my skin.

It’s taken most of my twenties to get a grip on how important it is to take care of my skin. Gone are the nights of being lazy and not washing my makeup off. And thankfully so.

Part of the reason I was so bad at skin care bring my teen years, besides laziness, was nothing ever worked for me. I literally tried everything.

Prescription creams and acne medicines didn’t do much. And over-the-counter face wash and toner was a joke.

Back in April, I took a chance and tried a few Beautycounter products. And it changed everything. My skin has never looked better.

So I wanted to share my nightly skin care routine.

Step one.

I wash my face with the Nourishing Cream Cleanser. It’s mild and gives the perfect amount of moisture to my skin. And it takes all my makeup off.

Step two.

Rejuvenating Toner Pads deep clean my skin, clear out my pores and lighten dark spots and freckles from sun damage.

Step three.

The Nourishing Day Cream is lightweight and doesn’t over-moisturize my oily skin. It’s fragrance free so no irritation happens, which I love.

Step four, the final step.

The Nourishing Eye Cream is perfect for deeply moisturizing delicate eye skin. Just a little dab under both eyes is all it takes.

Beautycounter has changed my life for the better. I love every product I’ve tried, and I love that the company has a mission to get safer products to everyone.

Shop my Nightly Skin Care Routine here.

Feel free to ask me what Beautycounter products would work best for your skin type and needs.

Whole30 Latte

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I love coffee.

It’s like a life-line to my sanity.

When I’m on Whole30, I can’t have my occasional (beloved) latte because of all the sugary syrups and heavy cream.

I’ve been working on waking up earlier this week, and the added time left me with a little time to create a Whole30 approved latte.

What you need:

  • Hot coffee
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of coconut oil
  • A splash of Nutpods French Vanilla Creamer (made with almond and coconut milk)
  • Immersion blender
  • Cinnamon, to taste

Combine coffee, coconut oil and Nutpods creamer in a medium size bowl. Blend with immersion blender until creamy and frothy. Top with a little cinnamon.

Enjoy the no added sugar, frothy coffee of your dreams.

When I’m not on Whole30, I’ll add in grassfed butter and a splash of real vanilla to make it extra special.

How do you take your coffee?