This was seriously the fastest cake I ever made. 

Ingredients:

Handful of strawberries, cut in to chunks
1 can of crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1 cup of Cool Whip
1 angel food cake

Directions:

Combine cool whip and pineapple. Set aside. Cut angel food cake in to three equal layers. Spread pineapple mix in between each cake layer. Top with the rest of the mix and strawberries. Seriously a fast cake treat!

Ingredients:

Boneless, skinless organic chicken (cut in to small chunks)
Almond Meal
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Olive oil (or coconut oil)

Directions:

Scoop almond meal on to a plate and spread out evenly. Add salt and pepper to taste (we like quite a bit actually). Drip the chicken chunks in either water or a tiny bit of oil and then dip them in the almond meal mix. This is your breading.
Heat skillet with oil and put chicken in to fry. Turn one side after about 4 minutes and continue turning every few minutes until done and chicken is cooked all the way through. I like to leave mine on one side longer (5-7 minutes depending on the heat) because it helps the breading mix stick better.

Serve with a healthy side dish or salad. There will be nothing left. Promise!

We have fruit often. Like daily. I wanted to make something new – berry free and really yellow.

Ingredients:

Peaches
Apricots
Kiwi
Bananas
Mango
1/2 lemon (juice squeezed)
Agave

Directions:

Skin and cut up fruit as you like it. We like bite-size chunks. Mix together and add lemon and agave to taste.

Frankly, I decided to learn how to whip up this bad boy because I was sick and tired of buying Greek Salads from Panera four times a week.

Ingredients:

Organic romaine lettuce
Pitted Kalamata Olives
2 tomatoes, cut in to large chunks
1 cucumber, peeled and cut lengthwise in to large chunks
4 banana peppers
Optional: 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
Optional: Feta cheese (I don't eat cheese, but I realize others do)

Directions:

Combine all of the above ingredients in to a bowl. Toss with Homemade Greek Salad Dressing and enjoy a lovely lunch or side supper salad.

I love to make dressing ahead of time so it's ready for the week. This way, it not only saves me time, but it saves me wasted dollars eating out every day. I mean seriously – I work at home – no need to eat out. The other thing about homemade dressings is that they taste far better than anything that is store bought, plus there are no nasty preservatives.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of sugar (or agave)
3/4 tablespoon of minced garlic
Salt (to taste)
Cracked Black Pepper (to taste)
1/4 lemon juice (squeezed)
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar (*or ginger ale as an alternative)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and store in a shaker in the fridge. Good for about a week!

First thing in the morning I drink a glass of water to re-hydrate my body. Next I move on to a "pick-me-up" and it's either tea then juice or juice and then tea. Carrot juice may sound gross, but it's actually sweet! A pleasant surprise I'm sure – hey, you learn something new every day.

Instructions:

Juice 10 carrots in a juicer and allow your body to enjoy this sweet and healthy root!

Check out these benefits of carrot juice:

• Enhance the quality of breast milk
• Improve the appearance of the skin, hair and nails.
• Lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
• Contains beta-carotene, a strong antioxidant that can prevent cancer
• And much, much more.
• So, drink your carrot juice!

Eighty-percent of the time I eat a raw food and/or vegan and/or Paleo diet, but with very little meat consumption. The other 20% is left for cupcakes, pasta and bread – but it is occasional and I'm very particular about the KIND of grains I consume because most of them have an adverse effect on your health. Tonight I was in the mood for some pasta but wanted to spice it up with vegetables and spice. Yee haw!

Ingredients:

1 package of whole wheat linguine
2 zucchinis, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 onion, diced
3 tablespoons of grape seed oil (olive oil WILL work, but I like to use other oils because they give a different flavor to the dish)
1/4 cup of low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons of minced garlic

Directions:

Boil pasta. In a pan, saute the zucchini, garlic and onion in grape seed oil. Next add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth and crushed red pepper. When pasta has finished cooking, drain in a colander and return to pot. Toss pasta with vegetable liquid mixture and toss pasta. Serve with a side salad and enjoy!

My mom is…my mom.

Her name is Jane Marie. And I was named after her – Monaica Marie.

This is us when I was probably four or five years old and she was probably twenty-three. Isn't she beautiful?

It's been my mother who has taught me to hold my head up. "Be like Jackie," she'd say. "Jackie was a graceful woman." And so is my mom.

She never told me to give to others.

I just watched as she never asked for the return of anything borrowed and always sent people away from our home with more than they came in with…

She didn't tell me how to cook.

She just handed me a spoon.

She didn't talk to me about working hard.

I watched her make sacrifices cooking, cleaning, caring for four children, driving half an hour one way to a private school five days a week, running a business and being a wife. Supper was always on the table. "Love You" lunch notes were always found in sacks. The house always sparkled. 

She never told me to be nice, or kind or to love one another.

My mother is a natural-born lover.

I am the mother I am today because of her.

I can only hope that someday my daughter will say these things about me. "My mother was kind and giving and hardworking and loving and graceful."

This is my daughter and me. I was twenty-three and she was about three months old.

My mom taught me how to be a mother, and this little baby girl – she made me one. Johanna Marie.

Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have 
your heart go walking around outside your body.  ~Elizabeth Stone

I like a tuna sandwich every now and then, but I can't take the mayo or Miracle Whip. I know it sounds crazy, but me and mayo just don't mix. I found out that the awesome avocado mayo I made tastes delicious with tuna and it's a fast lunch on the go!

Ingredients:

Avocado Mayo
Tomatoes (thinly sliced)
1 can of tuna, drained
2 slices of Ezekiel bread (or other sprouted grain or lettuce as a substitute for bread)

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix the avocado mayo and tuna together. Spread the mixture on one piece of bread. Layer it with tomatoes. Top with the other slice of bread. Eat!

Dairy is so over-rated. I've tried out several avocado mock "mayo" spreads, but this one takes the bacon (hehe) because it's so spicy. Girl's gotta love some kick.

Ingredients:

1 avocado (ripe)
1/4 lemon (juice squeezed by hand from it)
1/4 teaspoon of Pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt)
1 dash of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and mash with a fork or put in a small food processor or blender to get a really smooth texture. Save as your "instead" spread for the week!