Fruit Popsicle!

Now that the heat is coming on hot and heavy, it’s time to make some cool treats. You could always go to Rita’s and get italian ice or you could make your own healthier version of italian ice in the form of a popsicle. I happened to spot these molds at the grocery store for $1 and some change. When we were younger, my mom had popsicle molds and I can remember being so anxious for the popsicle to fully freeze before we could eat it. Luckily, my patience level has grown a bit. The recipe below is meant for 4 small popsicle. If you have larger molds, you will want to increase ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 T vanilla yogurt
• dash of vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in blender until smooth.
2. Pour into popsicle mold.
3. Let set in freezer for 2 hours or over night.
4. When releasing popsicle, run under warm water for a few seconds.
5. ENJOY on a hot summer day!

Dog Days of Summer

We aren’t even into the full swing of summer and yet it seems to be quite hot outside! It was super humid this past holiday weekend and there was a good lesson learned about the heat. I have a very sad story to share with all of you and if you aren’t ready to read a sad story, I would suggest doing this at another time.  Here’s what happened…

I decided to go out for small run through our neighborhood around 11 o’clock on Sunday morning. As I was running, I spotted a woman with three dogs looking desperate. One of her dogs was lying on her side and panting very heavily. I stopped to ask the woman if she and her dogs were ok and she responded by saying no and she thought one had heat exhaustion. There was an older gentleman there helping her pour water on the dog and trying to get the dog to drink. The woman tried to call her family but no one answered. I quickly took her phone and called my husband, Joe, and asked him to bring our SUV and a blanket. He got there in a speedy amount of time and we placed the blanket under the dog and the four of us lifted the dog into the car. The woman wanted to take the dog home and get her in the air conditioning and we followed her wishes. Joe drove her and two of her dogs to her house, only a few blocks away, and I waited with the other dog. They came back and got the other dog who was fine, just very tired. We went back to the woman’s house to make sure everything was ok and the dog seemed to be getting better. We exchanged a few short words with the woman and as we were soon to leave, things took a turn for the worse. Joe happened to look down at the dog and at that point his tongue and mouth were all blue. Unsure if he was still breathing, the woman rubbed ice cubes over his mouth until we all realized the pup had gone onto doggie heaven. At that point, three adults who are all strangers began to cry. I didn’t know this woman, but after two hours of helping her, I felt like I did. We exited home quite quickly and continued to cry and think about this situation for days.

As I said before, my lesson to be learned from this situation is to be careful of the heat and humidity out there this summer when walking your dogs. I know Joe and I have taken Athena out at 4pm after work and no longer will we be doing that in the summer. We are going to strictly stay with the early morning or early evening walks. I hate this was how the story ended and to be honest, it has been on my mind for two straight days. I know all things happen for a reason and luckily enough Joe and I were there to assist someone in such a time of need.

To all you doggie walkers and runners out there, stay safe in the dog days of summer! PS – we came home and gave Athena a ton of kisses after all of this happened.

Go Local

Do you love local farmer’s markets? I do! I do! I find it important to support local businesses especially in this tough economy. What’s great about local farmer’s markets is you know the produce was grown a few miles away from where you live! Also, farmer’s markets seem to be up on not using harsh chemicals on their vegetation, which of course is awesome. I went with my coworkers to Weaver’s Orchard and Farm Market over the weekend to pick strawberries and to do some farmer’s marketing shopping. While we were at Weaver’s I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Weaver himself. He told me a little bit about the orchard and how they are four generations deep in the business. Talk about success! He was super friendly, which encourages me even more to spread the word about his business.

The Pick-Your-Own-Strawberries part was a total highlight of my day. I remember picking strawberries as a kid and it brought back some fond memories! Have you ever strawberry picked? If not, it is something really fun and great for kids and the whole family, too! I was very tempted to pop these little red suckers in my mouth right after picking, but I waited until I got home.

I have been pretty local this whole week, since I found a gluten free pizza crust at Russo’s Market that was made right here in Pennsylvania! You have no idea how excited I was when I flipped over the packaging and I saw the address was in my home state. Three Bakers gluten free pizza crust was dynamite. I have had some gluten free pizza crust before that was just so-so and almost had that cardboard taste. This crust was nothing of the sort and was nice, crisp, crunchy and tasted perfect with my escarole pesto! Three cheers to Three Bakers for their great product and again, pretty cool how the pizza is made right here in PA, which again supports local businesses!

 I think all of this local talk has sparked an idea…try to eat local all day challenge. What I mean by that is if a product didn’t come from your state, don’t eat it! I just might have to try that one day next week. Anyone else in?