Ok, still hanging on to the last vestiges of summer – and I’m going to at least through September and maybe October… so with that here is a yummy summer inspired recipe that is keto friendly (because who didn’t eat and drink too much patio and cottage food this summer?) I cant wait to try it soon – maybe next week – zucchini burrito bowls with shrimp!
Ingredients
Here is what you will need for your zucchini burrito bowls
3 or 4 small zucchini halved and with insides removed (score it into cubes and scoop out and reserve 1/2 of the zucchini for the rest of the recipe)
olive oil (around 4 tbsp)
half of a small sweet onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
small shrimp peeled and deveined – around 1.5 lbs – best if raw and uncoocked
packet taco seasoning (use 1/2)
1/2 cup corn thawed
1/2 cup black beans
Tomatoes or cherry tomatoes chopped 1/2 cup
one cup shredded cheese- italien or pepper jack or your fave
cilantro if you like it
chopped avocado
sriracha mayo to taste
Directions for Zucchini Burrito Bowls
Here is what you do for your zucchini burrito bowls…
Preheat oven to 350 F and place zucchini bowls in a baking dish – baste each with oil then bake 12-15 minutes until mostly tender. Remove this from oven. Meanwhile heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat and cook onion and scooped out zucchini until soft – about 5-6 mins. Then stir in garlic and stir for about 30 seconds – add shrimp and taco seasoning cooking until shrimp turns pink and opaque. Stir in corn, beans and tomatoes until heated. Spoon mixture into zucchini bolws and top with cheese and place in oven and bake until cheese is melted. Then top with cilantro, avoocado and salsa or sriracha mayo.
With out last long weekend of the summer approaching I thought this would be a good topic to re-visit! Here are some ideas, home remedies and our grandparents tricks and tips for sunburn… Of course the best idea is not to forget the sunscreen right?
Ok, ok, forgetting sunscreen does happen …
Everybody at some time or another has decided to take a
fabulous vacation out to the beach, the desert or someplace else that they
normally do not venture.
The trip is always wonderful, filled with fun and somehow in
the excitement the sunscreen is forgotten, or you are so wrapped up you stay
out a bit too long.
This has happened to practically everyone capable of walking. In order to avoid all of the pain that sunburn creates it would be necessary to live our lives entirely indoors, and this just is not much fun. After all, then there would be no baseball games, no swimming on the beach and plenty of other great activities.
First choice? Sunburn Prevention
In order to calm the intense pain that sunburn can cause it is important to know how to treat them. Of course, prevention is always the best advice, but for those times when a burn is unavoidable, it is important to know the proper treatment methods. These can help you to avoid screaming in pain each time you lay down to sleep, and also allow others in your family to come within 50 yards of you. Without a good treatment plan you can expect to be extremely lonely, so now is the time to start learning before you are burnt to a crisp struggling to read the screen.
Before we get started, it is extremely important that you always wear sunglasses whenever you are outside. Even if you only plan to be outside for a couple of minutes, something can always happen where it is hours before you go inside. Treating a sunburn in your eye is much harder to do and is not something that is easy at all. It will also require the specialized attention of an eye doctor to ensure that your vision is not damaged.
Ok, whats done is done – sunburn, now what?
ouch! sunburn…
So you have a minor sunburn? Now what – here are some remedies – but remember if it is more than a minor burn all bets are off and you need to seek medical attention- ok?
One of the first remedies for sunburn that you should try is always drinking ample water. This is important because it helps to ensure that your body is fully hydrated.
If you are dehydrated, it will cause your skin to dry out,
which in turn can make it extremely difficult to soothe your skin to a level
that is comfortable.
If you are dehydrated, your skin is going to have a much
harder time healing. Drinking plenty of
water will be extremely helpful to ensure that you are getting all of the
fluids that you need, not only for your health but also to improve the shape of
your skin.
Another highly effective solution for sunburn is to use aloe vera. This is available in the form of gels, but can also be used directly from the plant. If you have access to an aloe vera plant, it is a wonderful way to ensure you are protecting your skin. If you have an aloe plant, you have access to a great asset.
Used for more than just sunburn, an aloe plant is also highly effective for a plethora of other burns as well.
You can also use cool milk compresses. It is important to use cool milk, not cold. If you use milk that is extremely cold, you will often find that it is extremely uncomfortable to the touch and is more disturbing than comforting. Using hot milk is also not effective since it will not properly soothe the skin. To get the biggest benefit possible from the cool milk compresses you should take some cotton gauze or even some very soft cloth and soak them in milk. You will then dab the compress onto the skin. I looked this one up and apparently the Vitamins A and D help the skin to heal… It is important not to use it on any skin that is broken – no infections please!
Final thoughts
With some patience, all sunburns will of course heal. Trying to wait until they heal all on their
own is not always possible. This can
make it extremely difficult to work, get the rest you need and also function. A small amount of relief is always a welcome
benefit for most people and is something that should never be discounted. Getting relief is possible and your skin will
certainly appreciate the help.
For the simplest issues that can be wrong there are times when a home remedy can be the perfect solution. Trying to decide if a home remedy is the best solution for your needs is something that should be determined based on your own particular situation, rather than trying to compare your situation to that of someone else. It is also extremely important to realize that there are times when a doctor is much better equipped to handle your problem, or another professional. Trying a home remedy is all about saving money, using natural solutions and also ensuring safety.
A word to the wise…
With this in mind, it can be a lot of fun to venture off to find the perfect home remedy for whatever ails you. Just be very sure that you are looking for a home remedy that is safe. If you are looking towards home remedies that are a bit dangerous, you could find that you are encountering a lot of complications and also putting your health in severe danger. It is extremely important to closely monitor situations to ensure that safety is a key concern but also ensure that you are giving proper attention to the remedy.
Many people swear by home remedies. They very rarely even venture to the doctor and due to this they can avoid most doctors’ visits, ensure that they remain healthy and also reduce the amount of medication they are required to take during their life. It is extremely important to understand that while a home remedy can solve many problems, there are some situations, which will require a visit to the doctor. As long as you are able to safely distinguish between the situations that require a doctor’s attention and those which can allow you to use a home remedy you can typically use the remedies quite safely.
Be Smart about Home Remedies
The simple reality is that as long as you are dealing with an ailment that is rather small or minor home remedies can be the perfect solution. It is extremely important however to ensure that you see a doctor for any serious problems. A great home remedy can often be better than a doctor simply due to the ability to be carried out in the actual home, rather than being forced to seek treatment in a doctor’s office, which can often be cold and unfriendly. Being able to provide simple treatments for simple problem in the home is a great way to improve your health as well, rather than having to wait until you are completely ill before seeking out treatment, many people start administering home remedies at the very first signs of problems and sickness.
Some last thoughts…
With home remedies offering natural treatment options it can
also be compared to a much greener lifestyle.
Home remedies will almost always allow you to use natural ingredients
that are not harmful to the body at all.
This makes many of them extremely safe, and can also allow them to
frequently be used even for young children, rather than needing a separate
medication to treat children and adults.
Of course, home remedies are not for everyone, they will typically
require a bit of additional time and patience in order to actually successfully
treat the ailments. Also please remember to do your research and ensure your
remedy is safe!
Home remedies should not be used instead of going to the doctor – but rather
for solutions to simple problems – remember if the problem persists or changes
you need to visit your doctor – Doctor Google isn’t a good solution and will
only scare you!
Some of my favourite home remedies:
Essential oils – Thieves by Young Living – diffuse during cold /flu season and during a cold, peppermint oil on the temples for headache.
Crushed Dandelion leaves – for treatment of small warts
We have two weeks left before school starts – lots of lazy summer to go … here is a super easy recipe I threw together with leftovers and loved so much that I made twice more on purpose: a super yummy summer Salmon Bowl. It literally took about 5 minutes to prepare (if you have left over salmon to warm up). This is in single portions but can easily be doubled, tripled or quadrupled for the whole family…
Salmon Bowl ready to eat
Salmon Bowl pre-assembly – so simple!
Ingredients for Summer Salmon Bowl
one cooked salmon filet warmed up and smashed
small tomato chopped
half of a ripe avocado – chopped
two or three handfuls shredded cabbage (I just bought a bag from the grocery store)
mayonnaise to taste
sriracha mayonnaise
Directions
This can be warm or cold but I did like it better with the salmon warmed. All other ingredients stay cold… Its a nice contrast. Here is what I did. Put the salmon in a bowl and warm in microwave as desired. Smash with fork so it is in pieces at the bottom of the bowl. Place diced avocado and tomato on top and a squirt of the Sriracha Mayo or just plain Sriracha sauce. In a separate bowl mix shredded cabbage and mayo to desired consistence then place on top of the other ingredients. Eat and enjoy – really that’s it!
It has such nice contrasting flavors and consistency I really liked my accidental leftovers invention and will make it on purpose again for sure!
This one is also keto friendly!
For me this was great for lunch but would also be super tasty for dinner in the backyard with a nice glass of white wine. Let’s keep that summer evening patio thing going as long as we can!!! Who’s with me?
