Black Friday is only 1 week away! Fortunately, Steve Siebold who you may remember from his previous guest post Overcoming Approval Addiction for Moms, is back to share useful tips so we don’t get lost in the holiday shopping frenzy and make smart choices!

--

If you think you’re in for some great deals this Black Friday, think again says Steve Siebold, author of the book How Rich People Think.  While most stores advertise huge savings on hot ticket items, most people fail to recognize the “Black Friday Money Trap” they are stepping into.  Just how bad is it?  Siebold says last year, American’s spent a whopping $45 Billion in stores and on the web the day after Thanksgiving. 

“Middle Class America is notorious for living beyond their means, especially on Black Friday,” says Siebold.  “They are brainwashed about how much money they are supposedly saving on Black Friday, and they end up buying way more than they would on any other day during the year.” 

The problem, Siebold says, is Black Friday leads many people to financial devastation.

“In 2010, the census bureau reported that total credit card debt in the United States was $886 billion.  On Black Friday, either the consumer racks up even more credit card debt than they already have, or they pay cash but spend so much that they don’t have enough left to pay their mortgage, car payments and other essentials,” he says. 

Here are some tips from Siebold to stay mentally tough this Black Friday and not break the bank:


Ask yourself if you would rather have the short-term satisfaction of expensive material possessions, or the long-term results of financial freedom and abundance?   

• Don’t fall for marketing campaigns that make you feel as if you’re getting a great deal when you’re really not (i.e. buy it today – pay for it tomorrow) 
  
• Allocate a certain amount of money for each person you plan on buying gifts for and don’t overspend by even a dollar.
  
• Don’t even think of using a credit card unless you are 100% sure you can comfortably pay it off at the end of the month.
  
• Don’t get caught up in the moment.  If your shopping cart is overflowing, step back, regroup and make sure you can really afford everything you plan to purchase.   
  
• Kids learn by example.  Even parents who have failed to reach their financial dreams can still teach their kids important lessons about money during the holiday season. 
  
• There’s no shame in telling people that this year will be a lean holiday season when it comes to exchanging gifts.
  
• There are good deals to be had on Black Friday, but be mentally tough to know when enough is enough. 
  

“When it comes to money on Black Friday, put your emotions on the shelf and let reason be your guide,” Siebold says. 

As CEO of www.TheGroceryGame.com, and busy mom of two, AND wife… I LOVE to celebrate holidays, and enjoy time with my family. Nothing is better than that! But the frosting on the cake is being able to have the best of the best without spending a fortune. But I also must be able to do it ALL with ease! So I’ve made it my life’s mission to discover wonderful ways to have it all!
Let’s start with the party food. You NEVER have to pay full price for food, especially on holidays. And the good news is that some of the best and most delicious foods are also easy. 
 
Step #1 – Instead of deciding what YOU want to serve for your Halloween party menu, let the sales dictate what goes on your menu. But don’t miss UN-advertised sales. Yes, there are often twice as many sales once you get to the store. So keep an eye out for those great opportunities!
 
Check drugstores for sales on all kinds of party food like chips, nuts, crackers, candy, and more at great savings. 
 
Stack the deals. Look for store coupons in drugstore and supermarket circulars, and match those with manufacturer coupons from the Sunday paper. 
 
Now that you have a plan for how to get your food for half off or better, here’s how you build your money saving fabulous menu! Ideally, you will gather the best of the best sales over the course of weeks for your Halloween bash. And don’t forget to think about what you already have in your fridge, pantry and freezer. 
 
Start by saving a ton on your main course, which is usually meat. Choose your meat dish from the front page of one week’s sales circular. The big picture will usually be the best deal. If you find a meat sale that you like weeks before the party, pop it in your freezer. A big pot of chili is a good and easy option as dry beans soaked overnight, then slow cooked, are cheap to add to chili. Any type of beef, whether ground or cubed, or even ground turkey is great in chili. Remember, you choose whatever meat is on a great sale. As the weeks go by, look for a great sale on cheese to grate, and canned tomatoes to add in.
 
Pasta is a super cheap side dish or even main dish. Check circulars for a great pasta sale and stock up for your party, which can be weeks before if the sale hits early. 
 
Be flexible. . Substitutions are one of the best ways to save big money! If you see ground beef on sale for half off, but your meatball recipe calls for Italian sausage, stick with the money saving ground beef, and spice it up. For chip and dip, if plain yogurt is on sale instead of sour cream, make a yogurt dip. Or if hummus is on sale, use that for your veggie dip. Since there are lots of varieties of cheese, let the sales determine which variety of cheese will go on your cheese platter. Get it??? You’re being flexible, and it just might get you out of your rut too!
 
Stick to traditional fare, much of which became traditional because of readily available ingredients of the season. Caramel apples are traditional Halloween fare, because apples are in season and super cheap. Popcorn balls are also traditional, and you can’t beat the economy of making those! Rice crispy treats are super easy. But only make them, if you find a great sale on the rice crispy cereal! 
 
On the last week, you’ll buy whatever veggies are on sale to go with all that you’ve gathered for super cheap! And how easy was that? You did all the biggest shopping ahead of time!
 
In the end, you’ll find you just cut your food cost by half or better!

Deal stacking is huge for candy at drugstores, and some supermarkets. Remember, that’s where you find a “store coupon” in the circular and combine it with a manufacturer coupon from the paper. 
 
Buy the limit! Whenever you see a “limit” on candy, food, or anything else, buy that limit. For instance, if circular reads “limit 2” on a bag of Halloween candy, it’s probably at one of the lowest possible prices. So, get it!!! In most cases, you can also use a coupon to make the deal even sweeter! Nice!
 
Consider healthier choices for trick or treaters, and save money too! Look for sales on all kinds of granola bars, fruit snacks and more. A good sale is 50% off or a BOGO (buy one get one free). Add a coupon to the sale to save about 67%. Visit www.TheGroceryGame.com to see these deals and lots of other food deal stacking every week. 
 
Instead of candy, give out prizes! Visit dollar stores for great deals on fun trinkets. I just got a package of ten cute Halloween pencils, Halloween erasers, glow in the dark spider rings and more for super cheap. Kids love to find prizes among all that candy, and it can save you money!

You can’t go wrong with paper lunch bags, filled with sand and votive candles for an inviting seasonal glow for the front of your home. You can use a hole punch or scissors to cut designs in the sides of the bags. Jack-o-lanterns, fall leaves, and more will help the light to shine through. This is super fast, easy, cheap, and gives you lots of impact for your investment of time and money!
 
Several jack-o-lanterns in various sizes and different faces are great for your front porch. To make your lantern last longer, refrigerate them during the day, and only put them back out in the evenings. If you don’t have room in your refrigerator, store in a large ice chest with frozen blue ice blocks in the middle of each pumpkin, and a few around to keep it cool. A cut pumpkin can last nicely for over a week when kept cool.
 
To make a front yard spooky, all you need is a few sheets, lighting and a fan. Hang sheets like ghosts in trees, and use lighting from behind bushes to give an indirect glow. Even Christmas lights laid on the ground behind bushes or a low wall, can cast a glow of light that’s spooky. If wind is forecasted, your sheets will move just fine. But if no wind, a strategically placed fan with an extension cord will do the trick.
 

Decorate with food that’s in season and traditional. Apples are in season, and therefore, super cheap! Plus they’re bright and festive. Can’t go wrong with that! Make apple candle holders. Core out the top of an apple to make a well for a tealight. Do the same with mini pumpkins. Use apples and mini pumpkins for name tags on place settings. Coil a colored paper clip to hold a name tag, and stick into the apple or mini pumpkin. Print the name tags on your computer in spooky fun fonts, and decorate with glitter or Halloween stickers. 
 
Use what you have. If you have clear glass hurricane candle holders, fill them with candy corn or gummy worms, and place a candle in the center. You just created a Halloween candle holder for almost nothing! Gather fall leaves and use to sprinkle around mantles and tables, keeping them away from any candle flames.
 
Decorate food tables with real fall leaves. I live in California, so we don’t’ have those beautiful fall colors. I bought fake fall leaves from a dollar store years ago, and they serve me well every year! Black and orange curling ribbon is fast and effective to decorate a food table, if you just haphazardly string it all over the table around the food. 
 
Food elevated in various levels is easy to do and appealing for buffets. I use stacks of books in varying levels, highest in the back, then cover with a table cloth. This is super fast, easy, and looks like I had a caterer! Sprinkle around fall leaves and black and orange curling ribbon, and a few apple and mini pumpkin votives. A jack-o-lantern on a buffet table is also bright and fun. Just make sure all candles are not in a place where people will burn their hands or clothes when reaching for food.
 
Online shopping for decorations for big parties can be super easy for busy moms and can save money. Sites like Oriental Trading Company have good items for place settings, and small decorator items that can be used for sprinkling around on food tables, or for place settings. 
 
I also LOVE streamers! They’re cheap, and really make a party festive, if you do it right. Streamers are best used diagonally stretched across a room from one corner to the other, hanging down about seven feet from the floor. About three or four twisted and stretched across a room’s ceiling really brightens it up, and brings in the festivity.

To me, the best costumes are free! For years, we had a costume swap play day before Halloween when we would trade costumes from previous years. My kids loved looking through all the “new” costumes. And even enjoyed getting to wear one of their friend’s costumes they had envied the year before. 
 
The next best thing to free is thrift stores! I just got an adorable plush child’s lion costume for $1.25. Visit thrift stores often, as new items are donated daily. Get to know someone at each thrift store, and ask if they will call you when a costume comes in that you may like.
 
Buy used costumes on Ebay, Craigslist, or check your local paper for used costumes. This can be a great way to get a nice costume for much less.
 
Make your own costumes for super cheap. Google “DIY costumes” and you will find tons of ideas from complex to easy. Lots of costumes can be made from what you already have. Kids also like to make their own costumes. Maybe your daughter wants to be a “paper doll”. Help her cut a dress out of cardboard, and cardboard bow for her hair, and cardboard purse. She can add colors and design her paper doll with colored markers or crayons. Add cute round rosy cheeks with makeup, and she’s adorable. A boy could be a tin man using cardboard boxes covered with aluminum foil. Kids can come up with their own ideas, and love making their own costumes that they can be proud of. 

Have the kids decorate their own treat bags with glow paint. Glow sticks and glow necklaces are fun for kids, and also keep them safer on the streets. 
 
If your kids are at an age where they can go out by themselves, make them go in groups, and stay together. Also make sure they have cell phones. 
 
All trick or treaters should have flashlights!
 

What to do with all that leftover candy??? Freeze it, and then use it for your holiday baking! Snickers, Hershey’s, Butterfingers, and almost any other chocolate candy is awesome chopped up and baked into brownies or muffins. Multi colored candy can be used to top off cookies!


--

Teri Gault, CEO and founder of The Grocery Gamewww.thegrocerygame.com

Are you constantly concerned with what other people think of you and your actions?  If so, chances are you’re suffering from approval addiction.  In fact, many mental health professionals say approval addiction is the worst addiction you can have, more so than drugs or alcohol because it interferes with almost everything in our day-to-day lives.

If you’re a busy mom, chances are you have enough on your plate.  You have to take care of the kids, perhaps you’re focused on your career, food shopping and the list goes on.  You might have a problem with approval addiction if you catch yourself thinking these kind of thoughts:

• Is my car nice enough for where we live?  What will the other moms think if they see me driving this?
• Do I look pretty enough? 
• Are my clothes nice enough?
• What will my co-workers think of my suggestion?  Will they think it’s a stupid idea? 
• What will my boss say if he doesn’t like my presentation?
• What if I bake a cake for the school bake sale and the other parents don’t like how it looks or tastes?
• My Husband and I don’t have as much time to be intimate as we used to.  Am I satisfying him in the bedroom?  Is he happy?  Would he think of leaving me?

STOP!  As if being a mom isn’t hard enough these days, suffering from approval addiction is an added burden that is unhealthy, time consuming and will get in the way of everything you do.  Ask yourself this question:  Why is it so important what other people think of you? 

If you want to overcome your addiction to the approval of others, try this:  On a scale of one to seven, seven being highest, how high is your need to be approved and validated by other people?  Next, ask your spouse or best friend to rate you on the same scale, and then compare answers. 

If you scored high on that little quiz, here are a few steps you can take to help you overcome your approval addiction:

·         Stop caring what other people think. 

·         You don’t have to be a people-pleaser. 

·         It’s okay to disagree with others.

·         Learn to say no.

·         Live your life how you want to live it.

·         Develop a world-class self-talk. 

·         Don’t always play it safe; learn to take risks.

·         Constantly feed your visions and starve your fears.

·         Stay in the present and operate from objective reality. 

The great thing about overcoming approval addiction is once you do to even a small degree, you are free of the psychological chains that bind you from ever experiencing world-class success in all areas of your life. 

--

As a mom do not forget the strength of your spirit.  Many times you burn out half way through your day as you frantically try to meet the needs of everyone around you.  You are not aligned with what you value most in life concerning taking care of yourself.  You may say, “I don’t have time to focus on remembering the strength contained within my soul.” Anytime you play the victim in life you will remain stuck.  When your priorities are clear, your decisions are easy in terms of how you spend your time.  Take 4 minutes out of every hour to breathe deeply three times, humming as you exhale, the humming is enough of a physical distraction to break the monkey chatter in your head.  Focus on what does not need to be fixed: your connection with God, the truth that you are enough just as you are, your worth and lovability.   When I went through cancer with my children at the ages of 8, 10 and 12 years old I remember taking breaks throughout my days to reconnect with my awareness that God was moving through me, empowering my weak body with the ability to choose life and love no matter what surrounded me.  Because I took the time to nurture the strength of the Holy Spirit that consistently courses through me, I was never left empty handed.  Take time to remember that you are first and foremost a spiritual being, connected to the God of the Universe having a physical experience.  Move from the inside out today.

As a mom, it is easy to attach your sense of self worth to your to do list.  An attachment is an emotional state of clinging do to the belief that without some particular thing or outcome you cannot be happy.  Practice going within to reconnect to the source of happiness which does not rise and fall based on accomplishments, recognition and checked off to do lists.  Your emotional state flows directly from your feelings of worth, love, safety and connection.  Whenever you start to question these you will be emotionally bumped.  When you experience overwhelm ask yourself, where do I feel inadequate and incapable?  Have I attached my sense of self worth to something outside of me? My children? Spouse? Position in life?  Stress is simply an invitation to identify where you feel threatened and remember that you are worthy, capable of handling any situation, loved and accepted just as you are…not because your children have accomplished certain things or even that they listen to you or because you can do it all, simply because of who YOU are.  Next time you feel emotionally overwhelmed try this: tap on your thymus located 2 inches below the “U” shaped dip at the base of your neck and say, “I have faith and confidence in God and my ability to handle this situation, my future is secure, I am secure” repeat this statement while you tap for 1-3 minutes.

Don’t have time to work out?  Make it.  Try the popular burst training workout which can be done 3-4 times a week in less than 15 minutes.   Choose 3-6 physical exercises that you like (or wouldn’t mind doing: sit-ups, push-ups, squats, speed punches, jump rope, dancing, running in place).   Do each one separately as fast as you can for 30 or 60 second burst/rest intervals.  For example, you run in place as fast as you can for 60 seconds and then you rest for 60 seconds.  Complete 3-6 intervals first thing in the morning if possible, and experience the benefit of increased energy, clarity of thinking, decreased cortisol levels (unlike extensive physical training) AND 36 hours of FAT burning.  Yes that is how powerful this technique is.  This is the perfect busy schedule work out!  My mom is doing this and loves the results, I have been doing this for a few months as my schedule has filled up and love it.

Want more?  To celebrate the launch of my book: 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Stressing Out! along with Stress Solutions University, an online stress relief video site that teaches stress relief skills in 2-3 minute videos addressing all kinds of life issues I am offering 9 quick stress relief coaching videos for FREE.  Go to: www.StressSolutionsUBonus.com and take back your ability to maintain inner peace no matter what surrounds you. 

“This book will literally save lives.”  Les Brown

To Stress or Not to Stress?   That is the question and your choice of response makes all of the difference in the outcome.  

--

A few weeks ago I found out about one of THE funniest blogs I have ever seen through a couple of lovely blog friends!  It is no exaggeration to say that I am beyond thrilled to share with you a guest post from Amber Dusick founder of

Parenting. Illustrated with Crappy Pictures

Be prepared to laugh... 

--

We are having breakfast. It is one of those days where we don't have anything planned. One of those days where we are just going to let the day lead us and see what happens.

Those days can be long. Endless.

Fortunately, my four year old has an idea for what he'd like to do.

His suggestion is to tell me one of his pirate stories. He loves telling me these. 

So I agree and start taking breakfast dishes into the kitchen and tell him to follow me.

It starts out like all of his pirate stories start out. Yes, I have heard this one. Roughly 1327 times. They all have slight variations but the plot is essentially the same. 

Just to spoiler it for you, this is his pirate story formula: give the pirates names, describe what the pirates look like, describe the ship, find a map, find island, find treasure. Yay!

Only this time he seems to be getting really into the details.

But the formula is firmly in place, it just took longer to find a map. I'm enjoying it though, silently praising his creativity and attention to visual detail. 

They eventually find the island. Phew, this one IS taking a long time. 

Finally, treasure has been found! Yay! 

I applaud.

I'm also secretly applauding myself for being the type of attentive mom that actively listens to a two hour long pirate story. I imagine someone presenting me with a "good mom" award even.

But he isn't done.

What? What happened to the time-tested formula? Treasure always signals the end!

Not this time. Apparently, there is a plot twist. Oh yes.

Another map.

Dammit. 

Reluctantly, I hand back my imaginary good mom award. Because I'm not going to listen to this shit all day.

This is the story that never ends. And I mostly tune it out. I don't even think he stops to take breaths. It just goes on and on...

and on and on...

and on and on...

and on and on...

The entire day. Not a single non-pirate chatter moment. He does. not. stop. talking!

Until, finally, bedtime has arrived and he announces the end of the story.

Hooray!! I'm so elated it is over. No more pirate talk!

But I celebrated too soon.

Now he wants to talk about the story. Oh please, no. I just can't.

So I make it clear that it is late and if he wants a bedtime story we'll have to start it now. No time to talk about pirates. 

I'm so done with pirates. I'm done!

Oh.

I guess I'm not.

--
Thank you Amber for adding so much laughter to my life!

Visit Amber Dusick’s hilarious site for lots more laughs-  
Parenting. Illustrated with Crappy Pictures

 & Join her on Facebook so you don’t miss a single crappy picture!

Instead of a post today, I was given the opportunity to answer a few questions for the lovely site Julio’s Sol and would love to share with you my responses, as well as the responses of other talented and passionate people.  The questions asked really made me think and reach within for my personal, authentic answers.  It was a joy to write.

Here are the questions and corresponding links to the responses:


Time management:

How do you free up time to do what you really want to do?

http://www.juliossol.com/articles/130-perspectives-on-time-management


Financial issues:

How has finance played a role in pursuing your passion/dream? How did you resolve it?

http://www.juliossol.com/articles/121-resolving-financial-issues


Pessimism into optimism:

How have you managed to turn your pessimism into optimism? 

http://www.juliossol.com/articles/122-how-to-be-optimistic


Death:

How did death or almost dying/someone else dying inspire you to live?

What do you fear most about death?

http://www.juliossol.com/articles/125-does-death-inspire-life

-- 
Time is a gift.  Thank you for coming here and checking out the responses. 

May your day be filled with smiles ☺

Please do share!  How would you respond to any or all of these questions?

We all want to succeed in life and we all want to live like winners but many of us never manage to reach their goals or live the life they wanted.

After talking to hundreds of people and after making comparisons between the ones we call winners and the others who never get what they want I came up with many conclusions that could help you become a winner if you used them in your life.

In this post I will tell you about ways that can help you live like a winner

5 Ways to live like a winner:

1)      Be patient: Winners are the people who win all the time but they are those who remain patient while life is treating them badly until they rise again. During this time those people don’t sleep or do nothing but instead they do their best, work as hard as they can while being patient.  That’s why they sooner or later rise up again and become winners

2)      Think like winners: Some people believe that winners reached where they are by chance while in fact those people knew that they were going to be winners long ago before they ever succeeded in life. “I am not sure if I am going to become a millionaire through the stock market or through starting my own business” That phrase reflects the way of thinking of a winner. The guy knows he will become a millionaire in all cases!!

3)      They never Give up: There are tons of people who never reach what they want in life not because they are not qualified but because they give up too early. Had those people continued trying they would have reached what they wanted for certain. Winners never give up and always continue to the end. Of course they feel down sometimes, get disappointed in other times but such things never stop them from getting what they want.

4)      They have solid faith in themselves: People who become winners usually have solid faith in themselves. This is one of the main reasons they continue moving on in the face of rejections and criticism. On the other hand, people who don’t have faith in themselves usually lose hope early when someone puts them down and that’s why they never become winners

5)      Live like winners: people who become winners never run after those who give their backs to them because they know that with them or without them they will become winners. Winners have a great respect for themselves even before they achieve anything in life and that’s why they force others to respect them and believe in them.

Final words

As you just saw being a winner is all about changing your mentality and your way of thinking. Even if you are not successful yet you can live like a winner, gain people’s respect and have a solid faith that you will succeed in life one day.


Written by M.Farouk Radwan

http://www.2knowmyself.com

Today, I have the great pleasure of sharing with you a few pictures from my friend Mayank Malik.  The beautiful photos were taken on his trip to the Himalayas. 

Nature is an immense healing source, especially for those who stop and allow its miraculous gift to travel straight into the heart.  No matter what corner of the world we leave in, we are all connected, and we are all connected to nature.  It is our true home.

Please enjoy these beautiful photos of the Himalayas from Mayank!

A few John Muir nature quotes from the Quote Garden:

More about 
John Muir: http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/people/historical/muir/

--


Thank you, Mayank Malik for sharing your beautiful pictures! 

Connect with Mayank, a fellow travel enthusiast on Twitter.

Today, I have a very exclusive guest post to share with you- My Hubby!!  He rarely does this type of thing so it is a big honor to have him with us today ☺
Thank you, my love! ♥
--

When I saw the subject line in my wife’s e-mail (guest post?) a slight sigh left my body as I knew what she wanted. Writing is not my thing as I’m much better at hitting things with sticks or throwing things. But I love my wife and so resigned to do something I didn’t really want to (like how she feels about watching hockey).

The month long vegan exercise was not something I had ever thought about doing, but Wendy was going to do it so I thought why not? 30 days is not too long and I am sure I can make it through! It may have been the second night that I had a dream about spaghetti with meat sauce and a pile of parmesan cheese on the top that I knew this month could be one of the longer ones. The following days got easier and easier with the occasional fantasy about a hamburger or steak (and I’m not a big steak guy to start with). I filled up on fruit and veggie platters so I could bring them to work and have something to snack on when I was hungry or bored. I felt very healthy eating veggies but it definitely took all my willpower to stay away from the cookies and other treats that always seem to make their way into the place I work.

The people I work with were interested as to why I would be doing this, as we live in a very meat friendly place. I explained that we were giving this a shot to see how we felt and to lose a few pounds if we were lucky. I was meet with blank stares and head shakes as I tried to explain how we were taking in too many animal products on a more than regular basis and wanted to see how stopping that would affect us. “You're nuts” was the common response but I stuck to my guns and continued on.

I have to admit that I was sick going into this experiment and continued to be sick for most of the time on it so I can’t really tell you that I felt so much better. What I can tell you is I felt better mentally and felt healthier from all the good things I was eating even if I still had a cold. I was never starving as I ate small snacks all day long, and the urge to eat meat as well as any processed food went away almost entirely by the end of the month. The food we had at dinner time had a heavy dose of hot sauce at the beginning but as Wendy felt more comfortable with the ingredients and we bought some fresh spices, there were more than a few dinners I went back for seconds and even brought to work for lunch the next day. There was 1 rhubarb desert that she made which I loved and ate most of the tray over a couple of days all by myself.

I ended up losing 13 pounds in 30 days, but more importantly for me I gained a new perspective on how many animal products I was putting into my body each and every day without even thinking about it. Not to say I’m not going eat meat (I did have some baby back ribs two days after it was over) but I didn’t enjoy eating it nearly as much as I thought I was going to, and even thought how that was enough red meat to do me for a while. I’m looking forward to having some shell-fish soon and maybe a few orders of tuna sashimi as I have missed that.

I would say to anyone who is not happy with the way they are eating or just wants to see the looks on people’s faces when you tell them you are a vegan, to give it a thirty day try. Worst case is you miss out on a few weeks of meat, but you may like me gain a new perspective on what you are putting into your body and realize that “when you know better, you do better.” (A great Maya Angelou quote!)

Thanks to my beautiful wife for waking me up, even if it is only a little.

--
On a very special note:

Happy Father’s Day to my husband, my Dad, my Father-in-law, our Grandfathers

Happy Father’s Day to each and every one of you Dads

The world needs your unconditional love!

“He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”  ~Clarence Budington Kelland

Today, I have the pleasure of sharing with you a fun guest post from Kim Haasarud!  Kim is a James Beard-honored mixologist, and author of the new book 101 Mojitos and Other Muddled Drinks (101 Cocktails). 

With summer and bathing suit season right around the corner, I put in a special request for some ‘healthier’ drink options.  I can’t wait to have a few friends over and try a couple of these cocktails out!

1.5 oz 10 Cane rum (96 calories)

1 oz lime juice (8 calories)

1 oz sugar-free sweetener (made from Splenda) (i.e. Monin) *

3 blackberries (10 calories)

10 blueberries (8 calories)

10 mint leaves (0 calories)

Splash of club soda (0 calories)

Total calories: 122

Directions: In a tall collins glass, muddle the berries and mint with the lime juice and sugar free syrup.  Add the rum.  Top with crushed ice and stir well.  Garnish with mint sprig and berry.

Monin is a syrup company from France that offers 100+ syrups.  They also have a line of sugar-free syrups ranging from a sugar-free triple sec syrup to raspberry to blackberry.  They are sold at specialty grocers and online at Monin.com.

1.5 oz reposado tequila (i.e. 1800 Reposado) (96 calories)

1 oz agave nectar (80 calories)

1 oz lime juice (8 calories)

Total calories: 184 calories

1.5 oz SKYY Infusions Dragonfruit

4 lemon quarters

1 oz cranberry juice

2 strawberries

2 packets Truvia (Stevia-based)

Directions: In a mixing glass, muddle the strawberries with the lemon quarters, cranberry juice and Truvia.  Top with ice and shake vigorously.  Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.  Garnish with strawberry and basil.

--

ABOUT KIM HAASARUD:

Kim Haasarud is a James Beard-honored mixologist, author, and beverage consultant.  She is the founder of Liquid Architecture. She conceives her signature cocktails much as Alice Waters would create a specialty dish, taking inspiration from market-fresh, high quality ingredients.  “Cocktails, like food, should be culinary experiences,” says Haasarud.  “It is about combining ingredients to create a sensation on the palate and entice all the senses with a combination of flavors, textures, aromas, and garnishes.”

 Her recent programs for Moet-Hennessy, Beam Global, SKYY Spirits, PF Changs, Wyndham Worldwide Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Resort Maui, et al are just a few examples; each of them incorporate fresh ingredients, a focus on technique & execution, bar & mis-en-place set-up, cost control, and a sensitivity towards SKUs to create profitable, top-of-class programs.

 Kim has been a judge on Iron Chef America, as well doing guest appearances on the “The Today Show,” CBS’ “Early Morning Show,” “Fox & Friends Live,” “Montel Williams Show”, and Plum TV.  She has been featured on various radio programs including “Good Food” with Evan Kleiman, Martha Stewart’s “Everyday Food”, “Cosmo Radio” and ABC & CNN Radio syndicate.  Her cocktails have been seen in hundreds of magazines and newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Saveur, Edible LA, Vogue, SELF, Wine Enthusiast, BRIDES, Woman’s World, Lucky, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Associated Press.  She also created the official cocktail for the 2010 Academy Awards served at the Governor’s Ball – the “Golden Glamour.”  She has also been featured at the Aspen Food & Wine festival (each year since ’06).

She lives with her husband Kevin, two children Holden & Maddy, and dog Emi in Phoenix, AZ.