World traveler.

WOW! Life has been some kind of crazy. Not that that's an excuse for abandoning all my readers. I owe you guys big time, and plan on making it up to you somehow now that I'm back! So where did I go? What happened? I would have you know, that I did NOT fall off the face of the earth (even though today I feel & look like I took a pretty rough fall- I'll explain later). My husband is doing summer sales for security in Indianapolis, when my son finished school we planned on flying out there and staying with him. We pit stopped for two weeks out in Florida on our way to Indy. Which was a blast but it left little time for blogging. Or cooking seeing as I wasn't in my own kitchen. I thought life would slow down once I hit Indy but in fact it was as if vacation extended itself. It was one activity after another, visiting new places daily, making new friends, play dates, service projects, parades, museums, work dinners, oh  and swimming- yes, a lot of swimming. It was a straight up party- the kids and I were loving it all. BUT, sometimes we are faced with unexpected trials and it's time for a reality check. Cost of living was getting too high, too quick. For those of you who really know me, understand my inability to make decisions- I'm kind of a go with the flow, carefree type of soul. So when it came down to trying to decide what to do, where to go, how to solve this dilemma, I was stumped. It took a straight up spread sheet on our mirror with a dry erase marker listing all of the pros and cons to multiple options to come up with a solution. It saves us a very large chunk of money if the kids and I kick it in Utah again while Adam works the rest of the summer in Indy without us. Talk about a hard choice to make. Man, oh, man that was tough. SO the kids and I (and my saving grace- Tash) drove cross country 24 hours in 2 days to get home, arriving in good ole Southern Utah last night. Hence, why I look and feel like a train wreck. ISN'T LIFE FUN?!?! It was an adventure, the entire experience, and it was worth every second. Isn't life all about the struggles, and over coming those trials to grow and develop? Your health development is no different. It's not always easy to make the jump, to kick the old habits, and develop a completely new lifestyle, but in the end knowing that you were strong enough to overcome, and grow, and develop is so incredibly rewarding. Endurance leads to ultimate success in all aspects of life.

While I was in Indy, I was super stoked to have a kitchen again, as you can imagine after 2 weeks of Florida vacation. I had been dying to experiment with Zucchini "pizza". I had gotten a little basil plant from the local farmers that I needed to trim and use and this was the perfect recipe. So we made a pizza night, play date out of it with a few of our new found friends. Tash loves Zucchini as much as I do so it was the perfect opportunity to try it. SUCCESS! Have I mentioned how simple it was?! Yeah, super simple!

Ingredients: 

3 washed Zucchinis

1 cup mozzarella cheese- grated

4 fresh basil leaves-chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 roma tomatoes-sliced

2 garlic cloves-sliced or minced

onions thinly sliced to taste (optional)

Directions:

Half zucchini length-wise. Evenly rub them down with the olive oil. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese (1 c of cheese is very tentative- feel free to add more if you're a cheese lover like me, or reduce the amount if you're not a fan). Top with your tomatoes, onion slices,garlic, basil, & onions. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. So good and simple. The topping possibilities are endless. Get crazy with it. Add tomato paste under the cheese, switch up the types of cheese, add more veggies like spinach or mushrooms, whatever gets those taste buds watering. 

Now for the fun facts about Zucchini! This is my favorite part. 1 cup of zucchini only has 36 calories, perfect for those on a low calorie diet because it also contains 10% of suggested daily amount of dietary fiber that regulates digestion and curbs appetite. This dietary fiber along with Vitamin A and C found in Zucchini also reduces cholesterol. The Vitamin A & C along with folate found in squash acts as powerful antioxidants which fights oxidative stress that can lead to several types of cancers. Now moving on to the essential minerals that zucchini contains. Copper (again, along with vitamin A & C) act as a natural anti-inflammatory. 1 cup of zucchini also contains almost 20% of the regulated daily amount of Magnesium which has several benefits including the prevention of heart attacks, the lowering of blood pressure, assisting in the production of sex hormones and the metabolizing of proteins and carbohydrates. It also promotes healthy skin because it is essential in the production of the amino acid that allows collagen to form.