STAYING HOME IS KILLING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

I know it isn’t what the mainstream media is telling you. I get it! I got fearful for a second too and even though I know better, I briefly threw what I know out the window. But, that is the thing about FEAR it causes you to throw out rational thinking. 

When you take human beings and you say, ‘go into your house, clean all your counters—Lysol them down you're gonna kill 99% of viruses and bacteria; wear a mask; don't go outside,’ what does it do to our immune system? 

The immune system is built by exposure to antigens: viruses, bacteria. When you're a little child crawling on the ground, putting stuff in your mouth, viruses and bacteria come in. You form an antigen antibody complex. 

This is how your immune system is built. You don't take a small child put them in bubble wrap in a room and say, ‘go have a healthy immune system.

This is immunology, microbiology 101. 

 I was trying to be a good citizen, “flatten the curve” do my part as a healthy person and protect my mom who is going through Chemo. I know we are all gonna come out of this pandemic stronger and more resilient! But our immune systems won’t unless we do something about it! 

What can we do for our immune systems right now that we have been living in a bubble?! 

Sunlight! Get some Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps prevent autoimmune issues. Just 10 minutes can give you your daily dose directly through your skin. Full-spectrum light stimulates production of Vitamin D and serotonin. It also regulates the production of melatonin, helping you get a good night’s sleep.

Go to the beach! The media may have been portraying all those crazy beach goers as irresponsible but they are onto something! We were there and now that it is reopening, we are heading back this weekend! Between the magnesium rich seawater and other salt minerals like sodium, chloride, sulphate, magnesium and calcium the best thing you could do is to go take a swim in the ocean! Even the salty sea air charged with negative ions with increase oxygen absorption into the lungs.

Play in the dirt! Have you ever heard of the Farm Effect?! Dirt is good for us. Amish children who live on farms have about a 50% reduction in asthma, allergies, and gut-related disorders compared to children who grow up in more sterile environments.This is known as “the Farm-Effect.” Routine exposure to harmless microorganisms in the environment, such as soil bacteria, trains her immune system to ignore benign molecules, such as pollen. (By the way, the Farm Effect works the same way for children who grow up with a dog or other pets in the house.)

Stop using antibacterial soaps and detergents. These kill healthy bugs off and can actually produce a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant and disease-causing bacteria. Try using natural cleaning solutions! 

Clean up your diet! It sounds counterintuitive when I am talking about getting dirty, but getting clean in your diet means getting rid of the harmful chemicals and additives (including sugar!)

Purchase organic, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Rinse your food, but don’t scrub off all of the healthy dirt. We want to avoid  glyphosate (the active ingredient of Roundup,) it depletes serotonin and dopamine levels in mammals. Glyphosate and other Roundup ingredients stay in the environment, including our soil and water, the plants we eat, and ultimately in our cells. Glyphosate residues have even been found in clothes made from Roundup-ready GM cotton.  This can absorb directly into your skin, nervous and circulatory systems!

Eat Fermented Foods and Take a Daily Probiotic. Even if you are eating food from healthy soil, in today’s hyper-hygienic and chemically-ridden world it’s important to continually restore beneficial gut bacteria. For our family the reality is supplementation has changed everything for us.

 As much as we would like to be consistent and do ALL the things above our busy lifestyle doesn’t make room for that in everyday normal daily life. So we have found an amazing gut health system that helps us fill in the gaps. Tools to help us restore balance to our gut flora, kill off the bad, feed the good, reduce inflammation, curb cravings so we aren’t looking for the junk foods, and fill in where our soil is depleted and we just can’t eat enough of certain foods on our own. But trust me not all supplements are created equal! 

Before you toss the soap and stop washing your hands. Remember it is a balance. We should properly wash our hands, and people in the food or health care industry should practice good hygiene, but we don’t want to put our immune systems in bubbles. Over sanitizing and never leaving your home as a healthy person can create a whole new set of issues! Similar to overusing antibiotics that kill the good bacteria and change the immune system. 

I’d love to share more about what system we specifically use and why I weeded it out from all the rest out there! Don’t hesitate to reach out! Let’s be friends! @far.from.loveles on Insta and Lauren Loveless on FB! 


Stay Healthy and Well Friend 

Much Love,Lauren💗

A Puddle of Tears

I know the Super Bowl is over now and many people have already moved on. For our family though, football season ended in the second round of the playoffs. We are HUGE Cowboys fans!  Did you see the game against the Packers?!? Did you see the Cowboys amazing comeback, to then lose in the last 3 seconds of the game? Ahhh, it was heart wrenching! Well, this family did. 

We watched, we paced, we yelled, we jumped up and down hysterically, we threw high fives till our hands hurt, and we bit off all our nails. Yet, in the end all our good vibes, superstitions and yelling like they could actually hear us, didn't work. 

The whole family was here, even my parents who claim to be Seahawks fans. We know they are closet Cowboys fans though. We grilled wings, made mules, the kids swam, and we watched hard! It was a gut wrenching game but it was also a blast!

Our 8 year old daughter, Taylor, held down a chair front and center of the TV the entire game. Wearing her favorite Cowboy hat she barely left her chair. Taylor loves Cowboys football. She is like she is with most things in life- ALL IN!! 

At the end of the game when we lost and realized that was the end of our road for this season. Some of the adults got quiet. Some said things like "heck of a season, we'll be back next year!" You know, the things you say as a mature adult. But, Tay, our sweet Tay was standing there with her head hung low in a puddle of tears- absolutely devastated! She ran to her Gdaddy, probably because he looked as distraught as she was. He scooped her up and just  held her!  

As her mom, my first instinct was to immediately console her and explain and teach her it's just a game. To give her the lesson that in the grand scheme of the world it doesn't really matter and it isn't that big of a deal. It is really just for entertainment and fun. Ideas that come with a certain level of maturity- but then I stopped. Does she need to learn those things...yes, absolutely she does! However, in that moment it dawned on me the more important lesson is that she needs to be allowed to feel exactly what she is feeling and trust that was she is feeling is real and true to her. 

If the adults around her are telling her it isn't a big deal yet she feels so much, she will learn to ignore and push aside those very real feelings. She won't trust that what she is feeling has validity.  If the grown ups around her tell she is overreacting or that her emotions aren't the socially appropriate response, she won't feel it is ok to be honest with how she feels. I don't want her to numb out her emotions. I want her to listen to herself and trust how she is feeling first and foremost. 

"We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions" - Brene Brown. 

This little 8 year feels big and loves hard and is so sensitive! She feels all the feel and my husband and I can both attest that it can sometimes be really exhausting to parent.

What happens if we squelch that? To me that seems detrimental. I don't want anyone- especially me- telling her whether her emotions are good or bad. They just are! 

I would much rather teach my kids to get curious about what their emotions are telling them. My job is show them that emotions aren't directions they are just data. Tune into what they are really saying. If I don't let them feel it all and express it then I will miss out on real authentic conversations with both of them. I won't ever get the chance to learn what really matters to them. 

So on this night of Cowboys loss, Jon and I decided to let her be exactly where she was. In a big puddle of tears. We refused to make her see the bright side, the silver lining, or scooting her along to positivity so everyone around her felt more comfortable. Instead, we chose to hold her up and listen and what we learned in the days that followed as we processed how she was feeling was the real depth of those tears and emotions. 

For Taylor the loss of that game meant the end of the season of gathering our family every Sunday night. She expressed how much she loved our whole family being together and how happy that makes her. She expressed how she loved that we were all cheering for the same thing and even wearing all our Cowboys gear at the same time. She was showing us her heart! What really matters to her! What is important to her! 

This kind of emotional intelligence is something I am still working really hard at. Trusting what I am truly feeling without pushing it aside or saying the socially acceptable thing and really acknowledging what the depths of me is saying is a daily practice for me. If I can teach our precious 8 year old to tune in, get curious and keep feeling all the feels I think maybe, just maybe, she will be really ok in this life. 

Lots of Love,

Lauren 

Tequila...You may have tried Mezcal...but do you know Sotol?!?!

Sometimes Sotol is referred to as "tequila's crazy little brother" and we have decided we like him a lot!

The two bottles we ordered arrived just in time for this weekend!  We kick off my favorite person on the entire planet heading into his birthday week and our kids are back in school! With all the feels and prep we are cheersin' this weekend with sotol! 

Here is a little education, but feel free to skip this part if you just wanna know how sotol tastes. I get it, but my inner nerd is fascinated by this part so if your like me go ahead and keep reading. 

Sotol  is a distilled spirit made from the Dasylirion wheeleri, Asparagaceae (commonly known as Desert Spoon or, in Spanish, sotol), a plant that grows in northern Mexico, New Mexico, west Texas, and the Texas Hill Country. It is known as the state drink of Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila.

It's not actually agave. Though dasylirion was first classified as an agave by John Hutchinson in 1934, it took another sixty years for an American Ph.D. student named David Bogler to conduct DNA tests that revealed it should properly be classed in the Nolinaceae family. Sotol takes its name from the Nahuatl word “Tzotolin,” meaning “palm with long and thin leaves.”

Dasylirion grows wild in desert regions, requiring up to 20 years to mature, at which point the plant is harvested, the heart is cooked and the juice is fermented and distilled, with some sotol going into oak barrels for aging. Like tequila, young plata sotol is clear, while the golden reposado is aged several months, and the light amber anejo may have up to two years of age.

It’s one of the most transparent plants out there, because it gives you what it feeds on,  Forest-grown sotols tend to be pinier, with notes of mint and eucalyptus, while desert ones have mineral, leather and earthy notes.

Because the plant can take so many years to mature before it can be harvested for sotol  and an entire plant is needed for a single bottle of sotol, scaling beyond small-batch levels is sotol producers' biggest challenge. So it isn't easy to get your hands on. However, with a little determination we have tried a few.  Ordering online (Hacienda de Chihuahua) this is the one we got first! We found another one which our incredibly awesome friends helped us find and order:

We tried some at a restaurant in Mexico earlier this month:

Flavorwise, there's a distinct family resemblance between tequila and sotol: both have an herbaceous brightness and a gentle, fruity sweetness. But while tequila (especially younger styles) has a distinctive peppery snap, sotol is more grassy, with gentle layers of floral notes in lieu of tequila's spicy bang. We liked it sipped on its own, its gentle, savory vegetal flavor makes clear it deserves to be tasted on its own merits. 

We had it neat in Mexico and I had it with some orange slices and warming salts on the side but Jon didn't bother with the accoutrements. He didn't feel it necessary. We have experimented with some fun drink recipes as well:

This one is:

Sotol

Kings Ginger liquor 

Cointreau

Lime 

Tajin Mexican seasoning (either on the rim or sprinkled on top) 

This one is:

Sotol

Creme de Cassis

Fresh Lime

Fever Tree or Goslings Ginger beer

Mint and lime garnish

Hope you have something good to celebrate this weekend... If you don't... Find the good in today... Find something to celebrate! 

Much Sotol Love,

Lauren

Orlando- My Home

72 hours after the devastation we all woke to in Orlando and every where I turn there is a sadness, a heaviness, pain, devastation, bewilderment and fear. Every place I turn there is also love, solidarity, compassion, help, and strength. I see images like this:











I well up and I have knots in my stomach, a lump in my throat and I feel heartbroken. I feel exhausted and I am walking around with my head in a fog. I see images like this:













To which I well with all sorts of other emotions. I have immeasurable love and pride for my city and these big hearted people. I feel honored and humbled and the tears flow for a whole slew of other reasons. I feel so much hope and so proud of the evolution taking place. The outpouring of love in my city and I do think for many it is probably their first real public outpouring of love to the LGBT community. It moves something deep in me when I see images like this:










Knowing only hours ago Orlando wasn't even on their minds and now they are taking time to stop and mourn with us. To gather in masses and say we are with you. Your pain is our pain. Even from so far away they are not distant observers but fully participating in this horrific tragedy.

Mostly, I have heard love and support and a feeling of- I just want to help. What can I do so these families know I am with them in their grief? I know there are hateful people out there but the overarching feeling I have witnessed in my immediate community is that of I just want to be useful and compassionate. I just want to support and love my neighbors who are hurting and do it well.

I did however hear a few mentions of people who were tired of hearing it in the news constantly and they needed to feel light again, they were worn down. They were ready to laugh again. It was all too much for them. My immediate thought was there are 53 people still fighting for life in the hospital and 49 dead with countless numbers of family, partners, friends feeling what we are feeling thousands of times over. It's only been 72 hours. Aren't we all still in shock?!? I am not saying that to shame these people ... I get it...I understand the feeling. You may have thought the same thing.

My instinct is to want life to get back to "normal" to not have to see such pain and suffering. To go back 72 hours earlier where we were sitting with friends eating fish tacos, drinking margaritas, laughing, and literally having a conversation about how to raise children who love and respect all people in this world. Truly that was our conversation over watermelon margaritas on Saturday night.

That is my instinct as well, just like you, I don't want to feel the deep sorrow either. It hurts! However, I feel that my greatest act of love is to feel it all. There is a reason we are weary and exhausted and we feel like we want it to all end. Because what happened was evil, and horrible and fills us with fear and anger and questions and sadness and despair and yet,  I want to tune into what that really is. I want to call it what it is. I don't want to run. I don't want to gloss over it. I think it is appropriate to feel the horrible feelings and exhaustion and sadness. Can we slow down and  sit with the victims and their families and their friends and partners and Aunts, Uncles, and their siblings, and your neighbors and friends? Can we sit with them and mourn and grieve and not try to find the silver lining for them but just be in it with them. In our human solidarity it is all our loss, all our pain.

Our society is fast, we want instant gratification and lightning fast results, quick fixes and the media and our lives move so rapidly, it's scary. Before we have finished one thing we are already on to the next. I feel scared to allow these things in this space here. I feel we have to fight hard against this tendency so engrained in our culture. I feel that if we turn away because we can only handle so much we are missing the whole human experience... we need to be here and now in this terrible gut wrenching place and carry it all together. So we care for and honor the victims well. So they feel love and support like never before. So we evolve.

Yes, down the road do we need to speak up and change things and fight for our future. Yes! Eventually we need solutions. Yes, we are going to move forward and our lives will go on and we will celebrate Father's Day and I am so thrilled to celebrate new life at a baby shower this weekend. But, we need to feel all the feels. We need to be in solidarity. Solidarity and solutions are not the same. We need to sit in the pain and tune into it together. We need to enter into the full experience of such loss. There is no "fixing" the lives already taken. This was unspeakable and we see this evil, we feel this evil. We are with you in this pain. Let us carry each other, let us sit with each other, let us love each other well.

The task of comforter is hard and it is so much easier to tune out, numb, distract ourselves, and try and move on. I have decided that I refuse to let this just brush over me. I will sit with you on the mourning bench Orlando. Orlando, our neighborhood, our city, our state, our country, our nation, our world, our universe. I will sit.

Much Love for Our Orlando,

Lauren

These are the women who have carried me....these are my Mothers!

One morning recently and I had fallen asleep unusually early from the exhaustion of the day and so I woke up at 3am and my mind started looping so many thoughts. One of the thoughts was about a conversation I had overheard the day before. I had been at the car wash and I overheard two women talking, they were talking about a mom they must have both known. One women says to the other " it just isn't natural for her I guess, mothering." Obviously, I know nothing about what they are talking about or the circumstances and that is all I heard so I can't judge really in any way. But, something about that sentence literally stopped me listening and my thoughts started going in a million directions. I felt something well up inside of me- MOTHERING- NATURAL do those two words go together?!? Natural for who?!?! Is it really natural for any of us... Aren't we all just doing the best we know how based on our own stories, life circumstances, personal strengths and challenges. There have been so many days I have gone to bed at night wondering if I could have handled the hard situation better or I think yep, today is the day they will mention in counseling when they are older (don't worry we are saving for counseling and college😉) and then there are some days I think maybe just maybe I have this whole thing figured out and then bam, something changes. This ever evolving, ever changing thing that has so humbled me, natural?!? It is growing me and challenging me, and changing me as a person and I am loving that, but nothing about it feels natural to me. Am I alone in this feeling?!

With the approach of Mother's Day I started thinking about the moms I know and interact with on a daily/weekly basis others not always because of distance etc. However, they all in some way have inspired me, moved me or challenged me to be more of my truest self. They have been kind when my "natural" response was a super sucky one. They have mothered me in a way simply by just being who they are. Not intentionally, but by observing or doing life along side them I have felt carried. Not one of them alone would stand and claim to be a perfect mother or have it all together, in fact so far from it and I love them for that. They have been honest and vulnerable with me in the shortcomings and victories and getting to witness that is a beautiful thing. All of them collectively have shown up in strength and wisdom and all sorts of inspiration in my life. They aren't famous or being written about or even out impacting millions of people..nor are they trying to. They are just trying to do them and live life and love their families well. Because of that they are impacting me, and their families and their children and by simply being who they are, probably impacting more people than they even realize.

I wanted them to know how they have impacted me and how grateful I am for their presence and vulnerability and advice and compassion and love in my life. So I sent each of them a text over the course of this week leading up to Mother's Day and asked them if I could share the text I sent to give you a small glimpse of who these ordinary, extraordinary women are. Of course the types of mothers in this world are countless and the things they do is expansive but these women are my mothers and this is how they have been with me on my journey this far. Who are yours?!?!

These are mine:

With their permission I asked if I could share. I started each text the same...

With Mother's Day approaching I have been doing a lot of thinking about the Mom's in my life who inspire me I wanted you to know how you have impacted me!

Diana-
Mom, I say so often to my children "I love you no matter what!" I can say that fully and wholeheartedly and know the gift that is to them because that is what you have done for me. In my hardest and darkest and most joyous and happy times in my life you have without a doubt loved me no matter what!

Caron-
The gift of loving my husband, your son, for exactly who he is and allowing him to be his truest self with you. From the very beginning and even now for continuing to ask him who he is and discovering him and loving him versus telling him who he is, is a precious gift to us both and something I have watched and will do my best to gift to my own children.

Catie-
Your intentionality with your boys inspires me and your endurance to keep seeking to hear and understand them in the moments when it would just be easier to move quickly past the circumstance moves me to be in the moment with my children and seek to listen and understand more and "tell" less.

Sarah-
Your go with the flow, laid back attitude in allowing your kids to be kids has taught me to let go a little. Even when you guys are walking through hard times as adults your boys just get to be kids and there is such a light hearted joy about them because of that!

Rachel-
Your vulnerability and honesty in parenting is refreshing. Hearing you say you apologized to your daughter, now that she is an adult, for mistakes you made early on and your humbleness has taught me that it isn't about getting it right or perfect but being honest and humble in the journey and seeking to love yourself and your children well through that journey. What a gift to your kids to get to witness that firsthand!

Joy-
I know you didn't have the mom you needed and hoped she could have been to you and I know that is so hard and painful and I know the fear is real as you bring this precious new baby boy into the world! But, I can tell you the work you have done on yourself and the care and love you have already have for your baby before he has even entered the world is breathtaking. You are already and amazing mom!

Lindsey-
I have watched you in the most chaotic and stressful moments have this calm about you and communicate with your children in such a peaceful state even when they are losing it and I am just in awe of that. It is absolutely inspiring to watch and everytime I see you do it, it reminds me to keep working at it.

Sarah-
You will always me a mom of two and your honesty in the unimaginable pain of losing your baby boy and then such a juxtaposition of the joy in raising your precious daughter makes me awestuck. Your vulnerability in being able to share the emotions and go through grief and yet share and be so present and available and loving with your daughter is something to behold. Allowing yourself to feel ALL the emotions and getting to be witness to that has taught me so much!

Leah-
Your continued effort to grown in who you are as a person and evolve and the way you have taken your kids on that journey alongside you in the last couple years has given me incredible relief to the panic that I need to have it all figured out, that I need to know exactly who I am and instead be in the constant ever evolving process and teach my kids along the way.

Rebecca-
Watching you tell your own truth no matter what and continually trying to find tools to improve the quality of life for your family and as of recently knowing the next right step for your family was to pick up and move across the country! Knowing there was risk involved but trusting that it was the next right step and following your dream and embracing the adventure to be in a new place has been so fun to watch. To go knowing it wouldn't all be easy, and may be hard in moments and sad for you and the people you were leaving behind but the bravery in going and following a dream and doing the hard thing because you knew it was the right thing for you guys is so cool to witness and has taught me so much just from watching at a distance... more that you probably realize!

Franki-
I have loved our time and conversations and I feel like we could talk for hours and hours and we usually do! But, every time I leave refreshed and having learned something I never knew before! You are a wealth of knowledge and inspiration to me and I never feel judged! I know that your journey to motherhood has been a rough rough road and I know that what Mother's Day means today is so joyful but so different then it was years ago and I am so thrilled to celebrate that with you. Your heart and outspoken love to women who you know are still waiting is so touching. I am grateful to bear witness to your amazing love for your children. Your whatever it takes attitude in loving and providing a life where they can truly flourish and right along side that your heart for women who desperately want to be called "mom".

Corinne-
So many days I think of you when I am having a tough day and I think of the amazing capacity you have to do it all as a single mom, business owner, sister, friend, daughter, aunt, boss and it all falls on your shoulders and so many people count on you and while you are literally doing it ALL you are still so intentional, loving and constantly growing and evolving. Your energy astounds me! To me you are my vision of the fiercest warrior mama!

Debbie-
I know you are not a mom yourself.... But the way you have counseled me and taught me and challenged me and often times saw better in me than I even saw in myself. You are teaching me to look inward, dig deeper, and connect with myself in ways I never thought possible. To get to know and love myself has been a gift to me, my kids, and my husband and has given me a drive and passion to be ever evolving and connected to my emotions like never before. You may have been counseling me, mothering me, whatever you want to call it but I would not be where I am today with out your guidance and nurture for my soul!

Kristin-
I tell people all the time how much I admire you as a mom and as a woman and so often think how incredible it would be if we didn't live at opposite ends of the country. But, I love watching you mother even from a distance and because of you have found freedom to seek to better understand my deepest self in order to be a more connected mom. Your highly sensitive nature, the thing you felt held you back as a younger person, yet now have a greater understanding of it, is truly your super power as a mom. I love that you make choices for your family and yourself because they are best for you guys and are often contrary to the rest of the worlds ideas. I have sometimes felt isolated in making decisions that go against the norm and watching you has given me strength to go against the grain.

Britni-
Something Jon and I say to the kids and each other is that there is enough room in this family for everyones dreams! I think watching you be an amazing mom and and so powerful in business is where that belief came from! I know that there is constant struggle in balancing the two and a give and take on a daily basis and I know it is not easy but I know that this has always been a dream for you! I love that your family has made space for your dream! The lesson you are teaching your babies to make space in this world for the people they care about is priceless. You inspire me to work to achieve the exact life I desire, whatever that may be for whatever season that may be!

Sonja-
You are such a fun mom and when I am around you in allows me to lessen the control freak nature in me and reminds me to be more fun! Recently when I called you in a panic your first words to me were "you are an amazing mom and this is no reflection on you as a mom" I mean seriously, what an amazing generous gift! You have no idea what that meant and how that made me feel!

Laura-
I am so excited to get to be a small part of your big journey toward motherhood and talking and laughing and sharing worries and excitement for all that motherhood has in store for you has reminded me of the precious time when my babies were small and I loved so much and I wanted to cherish every thing in the moment, yet, I was tired and just surviving. Getting to go back and remember and talk about that time with you as you prepare for that has given me the opportunity to cherish those moments all over again in a whole new way. You are going to be an amazing mom and I can't wait to meet your sweet baby girl!

Thank you to these women and so many others who have moved me, inspired me, and kept me moving forward!

Happiest of Mother's Days to you all!

Much Love,

Lauren











- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blender Oat Pancakes

School starts on Monday! If you are like me you insist your kids eat breakfast and you want it to be healthy so there little brains can function all day! Of course you do, you are a parent. I have a great pancake recipe for you that will do just the trick. But, you don't have to be a parent to enjoy these amazing blender oat pancakes and I promise you once you have them you will never go back to the box powder that gives you slim to nilch in the way of nutritional value. 

Here is the list of ingredients copied directly from the AuntJemima.com

Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix 

INGREDIENTS: ENRICHED BLEACHED FLOUR (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, LEAVENING (SODIUM BICARBONATE, SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), DEXTROSE, NONFAT DRY MILK, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, WHEAT GLUTEN, CALCIUM CARBONATE, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SODIUM CASEINATE, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, LACTIC ACID.

Why would you eat this...when you can eat this! 

Blender Oat Pancackes

1 Banana

1 Egg

2 cups rolled oats

1 and 1/4 cup almond milk

1 heaping tablespoon of honey

1 teaspoon of cinnamon 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Dash of salt

Put all ingredients in blender and you have your pancake mix! I make it the night before for convenience and pour it right into the pan in the morning! I always make extra and reheat them for the following days!

I use coconut oil to cook pancakes on medium to medium low heat.

I don't like syrup so I smash up a few raspberries on top. But, my kids do like syrup, so I use real maple syrup. Just a drizzle though! A drizzle of honey works great too. For added bonus you can add a few of your favorite things...walnuts, blueberries, flax, chia are just a few ideas. 

I promise your family will function so much better and you will too if you eat this and not Aunt Jemima! 

Happy First Day of School!

Much Pancake Love, 

Lauren 

Prosecco Margaritas

Prosecco  Margaritas 

It's Tuesday at noon and I all want to do is take a nap! We had a super fun jam packed three day weekend but, I am really worn out and we may or may not have made quite a few pitchers of these Prosecco Margaritas over the long weekend!!

We were at a wedding in Birmingham and our friends made a comment in passing about Prosecco Margaritas and I swear, I couldn't stop thinking about them! So a three day weekend felt like the perfect time to try them out!

 I love making drinks like this in a big batch or pitcher so I don't have to run back to the kitchen and mix all the ingredients every time you need a refill or two! We love a good drink with lots of layers of flavors and Jon always says a two part drink is only for emergencies... But, it does require a little extra work so we found a big pitcher is just the answer! 

I hope you get to try this out on a hot day and share it with family or friends! Enjoy! 

3 ounces Patron Silver or your favorite Blanco Tequila ( or a little more depending on how strong you like it!)

3 ounces Cointreau 

4 ounces Simple Syrup

8 ounces lime juice ( you gotta go fresh real lime...it makes all the difference)

1 750ml bottle of your favorite dry Prosecco

Lime wedges for garnish

Salt to rim the glass

Much Margarita Love,

Lauren