1 I just planted the spinach, beets and carrots. The collards are still producing massive amounts of food from my back yard. All of our local groceries have the vegetable plants started so grab a few and dig in nth dirt and stone you too will be getting your salad from your back door!
2 It’s time, after spring cleaning to schedule a drop off all the spring cleaned “give away” piles to the charity of your choice.
3 Get a compiled list of camps for the children and have a “meeting” to go over options for what they want to do during the summer month’s break. Just a head’s up after many requests I am bringing back my “Art from the HEART with Auntie A” Camp July 10-14 at my studio.
4 On my nightside table now is Six Figure Freelancing by Kelly James-Enger and The Book on Writing by Paula La Rocque.
5 Don’t forget to order Father’s day fruit and cheese baskets for all the men on your list and either call in reservations or begin a pin board for recipes to compile, share and delegate to your family members for a well planned day for the holiday.
6 De-clutter by going through all your old magazines and save your favorite recipes and crafts you’d like to try and make a file.
7 Add a window box to your porch and keep it full of fresh tiny flowers. You can use the edible ones and even include those into your plate decorating. I bought a whole batch of seeds and will be trying out what works as another addition to my gardening.
8 School is almost out and you know what that means. Hungry children during the summer month’s when they do not have access to free meals at school, so please purchase 10 boxes of cereal and drop it off at St. Catherine of Sienna. 4747 Sienna Parkway. The best church in the world by the way. We make sure those littles are fed when they can’t access free breakfasts and lunches during the summer months.
9 It’s almost bikini season…YIKES! I like to make a salad schedule and stick strictly to that for all lunches! It’s not fun but it is necessary for this ole’ Auntie A to look marvelous poolside in the upcoming months!
10 Go outside with the children and read “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. This will prompt an opportunity for you as a parent of a child at any age to discuss family, love and giving.
Alisa Murray’s aka. Auntie A’s SLIM DOWN Bikini Blast Off Salad
First of all you will need to make the base for salad and then each day you can add in to the base whatever combo you are interested in having.
“The Everything SALAD Base” includes:
Iceberg, spinach and romaine cut and combined, this I bag up mixed and have ready all the time. You’ll also need the following: red bell peppers, green and purple onions, asparagus and green beans, cherry tomatoes, squash and zucchini ( I like them tiny little squares) and mushrooms sliced very thin or chopped. You will want to always have different cheeses, seeds, nuts, olives and berries to fill out the meal and make things more interesting.
Grab a protein: I keep turkey and ham sandwich meat on hand as well as boiled eggs and bacon bits. I also love also using leftovers so they get eaten and look different in a salad such as Steak, fried or grilled chicken and of course salmon.
Once you have your veggies, proteins and extras all you have to do is be creative! Think up what flavor you want to have and create the salad by drawing from that for inspiration. Asian Salad = Everything Salad Base + red bell peppers+ crispy won ton strips+ leftover pork chop cut into pieces+ pineapple and ginger soy sauce.
OR… Italian Salad= Everything Salad Base + sun-dried tomatoes+olives+pasta spirals+artichoke hearts with mozzarella cheese and basil cream sauce
Be creative … there’s limitless varieties but the key is to have everything ready so you won’t grab a sandwich or a burger!
