Wow. Just. Wow.

Things definitely have a way of working out…

The weather was SO perfect here yesterday! But… We were at work. Boo….

I busted my tail all day in hopes of leaving work by 3:30pm, so we could ride our bikes to the beach in the glorious warm and sunny weather…

Well… Good news, bad news…

Good news, I was outta there at 3:30pm sharp.

Bad news, the friggin’ marine layer (aka, “fog”) rolled in at 3:30pm sharp also. Ahhhhhh…. Noooooo…..

At 4:30pm I checked the tide level and discovered it was low tide (and a MINUS tide at that). Perfect time to hunt for beach treasures. Yay!

So… Although it was now dreary and chilly, I convinced Chad we should at least drive down to the beach for a quick little treasure hunt before it got dark outside.

We enjoyed a nice beach stroll together, but didn’t really find anything special.

Until…

the sun started to set…

And the low tide created a wondrously reflective wet beach for some amazing sunset reflections!!

What an incredibly blessed stroll it turned out to be. So especially unexpected since at our campground just 1 mile down the road, there was 100% cloud cover with what we thought was ZERO chance of getting to see a sunset at all that night.

I still can’t believe how rich the colors were! Sooooooo grateful!!

Would you like to eat more brown rice, but you prefer the texture of white rice so much more?

Are you tired of your brown rice turning out too mushy….or too dry…or just too…whatever???

Instant Pot is here to save the day! (No, I don’t get paid to say that….unfortunately.)

Just follow the super simple instructions below, and you’ll be amazed at how perfectly your brown rice cooks up. Every. Single. TIME! Yay!!

Wait….whaaaaaat? You don’t have an Instant Pot???? Well, you are really missing out! I’ve only made a handful of things in mine, so far, and I’m already in LOVE!

(Psst….If you enjoy this recipe,  be sure to get yourself a copy of our e-book, “Eating Additive-Free“! It’s stuffed with 150+ more tasty recipes and a complete additive-free grocery shopping guide!! Your satisfaction is guaranteed…or your money back!)

Perfect (Instant Pot) Brown Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

• Brown rice
• water
• splash of olive oil

Directions:

1. Add equal parts brown rice and water to your Instant Pot. (Yes, that’s right….equal parts!!! Crazy, huh? But trust me.)
2. Add a splash of oil, and give it a stir.
3. Seal the Instant Pot, so the vent is closed.
4. Cook on High pressure for 22 minutes. (It takes about 10 minutes for 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of water to reach pressure. FYI.)
5. Allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes.
6. Enjoy your amazingly perfect, no-fuss brown rice!

Note: If you make a larger batch, it will likely take longer to come to pressure. So your overall waiting time will be longer.

Enjoy! And be sure to check out our RECIPES PAGE for more great recipes!!!!

Raise your hand if you love amaaaazing smoothies!!!!

Well, you’re in luck!

This one is a great way to enjoy all of the great flavors of a PB&J sandwich without any of the nasty ingredients! I know….right?!?!

Sound a little too weird for ya? I dare you to give it a try! And I bet you $0.06 you’ll fall in love!!!! Please let me know…I’m on the edge of my seat over here….

(Psst….If you enjoy this recipe, be sure to get yourself a copy of our additive-free cookbook & grocery shopping guide, “Eating Additive-Free“! It’s stuffed with 150+ more tasty recipes plus a boatload of additive-free shopping tips!! Your satisfaction is guaranteed…or your money back!)

PB&J Smoothie Recipe

Serves 1 (makes about 2 cups)

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup water
1 TBSP honey*
1 TBSP peanut butter* or 2 TBSP peanuts* (We use unsalted varieties, but salted varieties taste good, too! Also, you can use almonds or almond butter instead, if you prefer, but that won’t technically be “PB&J.”)
1 1/2 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen strawberries

*Check out our Grocery Shopping Guide for our tips on selecting the most additive-free versions of these ingredients.

DIRECTIONS:

I’ve only made this recipe in a high-powered blender (e.g., VitaMix or Blendtec).
If using a standard blender, you should use nut butter rather than the whole nuts, and you may need to add more water. And you’ll most likely end up with a more drinkable (runny) smoothie compared to the scoop-able type shown here.

Place all ingredients into a high-powered blender in the order listed above. If you’re using nuts instead of nut butter, it’s best to blend those with the water, first, before adding the other ingredients. That way you won’t have nut chunks in your smoothie.

Blend on high speed until desired consistency is reached. Don’t feel ANY shame if you lick your glass clean.

Just sayin’.

OH….AND BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR RECIPES PAGE FOR MORE GREAT RECIPES, TOO!!!