Jessica Mazzucco of www.thegluterecruit.com

Three Healthy Memorial Day    Recipes

Memorial Day is just around the corner, and you’re likely preparing for your celebration. Looking for a healthy dish for your Memorial Day shindig?  NYC area certified fitness trainer and founder of www.thegluterecruit.com Jessica Mazzucco has created three Memorial Day weekend recipes for your get-together.

Southwestern black bean salad:

INGREDIENTS:

• 9 oz cooked corn, fresh or frozen (thawed if frozen)
• 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp fresh minced cilantro, or more to taste
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1 medium hass avocado, diced
• 1 diced jalapeno, optional
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1/3 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 1 1/2 – 2 limes, juice of
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions: Combine corn, beans, tomato, scallion, onion, cilantro, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in olive oil and squeeze fresh lime juice. Let the ingredients marinate in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes.  Add avocado, and enjoy!

Bean Burger:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon water
• 2 tablespoons oat flour
• seasoning (garlic, chili powder, cumin, etc)
• 1/4 cup frozen corn (optional)

Instructions: Mash beans in a large bowl. Add in seasonings and flour, and make sure to mix well. Stir in corn (optional). Form into patty shapes and place on a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for two-three minutes. Flip sides and cook for another one to two minutes.

Pork Lettuce Wraps:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 8 teaspoons plum sauce (look for gluten-free)
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 16 leaves of butter lettuce or romaine lettuce
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (look for gluten-free)
• 1 lime, sliced into 4 wedges

Instructions: Add pork to a large frying pan over high heat. Drain excess fat, and stir in ginger, green onions, allspice, soy sauce, and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until green onions are tender. Fill lettuce with pork mixture, and top with cilantro and plum sauce.

General Tips For Eating Healthy On Memorial Day:  Jessica Mazzucco of www.thegluterecruit.com

Eat a healthy snack before you go so you won’t arrive at the barbeque starved, which will likely cause you to overeat. 

Eat burgers or hot dogs but skip the bun. Skipping out on the bun cuts back on carbs and calories.

For burgers or hot dogs, skip the ketchup, it has 4 grams of sugar per tablespoon. Instead, use mustard, as this condiment has no sugar.

Look for items that are grilled not fried, as fried foods are more caloric.

Rethink that drink: Avoid Coladas and other caloric cocktails. Instead, if you want to have alcohol, opt for a wine spritzer made with sparkling water.

Instead of corn or potato salad, which are carb-heavy, bulk up on raw or cooked vegetables.

Long or short, curly or straight, natural or dyed, whatever your hair type or style, the aim is usually to achieve healthy looking hair.

While it is common to consider what you need to do to keep your locks in great condition, people can often overlook the things they are currently doing that might actually be damaging their hair.

So here you can find out both the dos and the do nots for improving your hair and keep it looking great.

Do avoid heat styling

While it can transform your look, heat styling also ravishes your hair so try to reserve appliances such as hair straighteners and curling tongs for special occasions.

When it comes to blow drying, if you can avoid doing this every time you wash, you should. Letting it dry naturally is much better for your hair. If that is out of the question, at least turn down the heat by choosing a lower setting.

Do not wash your hair everyday

The process of stripping your hair of its natural oils every day can have a drying effect so try to cut down.

If you have very oily hair which needs a daily rinse, choose a gentle shampoo which will not strip your hair completely.

Do provide a moisture boost

Oils are particularly good for offering a moisture boost to dry, brittle locks. An increasingly popular choice is CBD oil for hair as not only does it provide moisture, but it is also full of amino acids which help to nourish the scalp and hair.

When choosing an oil, opt for a reputable brand such as platinumcbduk.com who offer a range of products made from organic hemp plants.

Do not skip conditioner

Mornings can often be rushed and cutting corners on your routine can be the only option for getting out the house on time. One step you should never skip, though, is conditioning your hair. If you are washing your hair and stripping it of its natural oils, it is essential to replace the lost moisture.

Do eat well

To maintain optimum health, including good hair and skin, a balanced diet is essential. Include lots of protein, fatty acids and a range of vitamins and minerals in your meals and you should soon start to look and feel better.

Things like eggs, nuts, seeds, fish and green vegetables are particularly good for giving your hair a boost of nutrients.

Do not brush wet hair

Brushing hair while it is still wet can cause your hair to break, so instead make sure you brush your hair thoroughly to remove any knots before you wash and condition.

Use a comb or purposely designed detangler with a detangler spray whenever you are working with wet hair to avoid unnecessary damage.

For one last tip before you go – make sure you do not get stressed. Not only can stress cause hair loss, but it is thought it could even contribute to hair breakage too. You now have the perfect excuse to take a long relaxing soak in the tub, giving you and your hair a bit of TLC. You will look and feel much better for it!

With the reboot of Gossip Girl launching this summer, it might be time to revisit some of the style from the original. Channel your inner Queen B with regal headbands from The Hair Edit

Gold Embossed Metallic Headband

Wear your own crown everyday with this metallic headband.

Price: $10.00

Where to buy: Ulta.com

Gilded Band

Rule the Met Steps and enhance any hairstyle with this headband that’s gilded to perfection.

Price: $11.79

Where to buy: Ulta.com

Leopard Pleated Band

Rock the season’s trendiest looks with this leopard print headband to take on the day.

Price: $11.79

Where to buy: Ulta.com

The best way to kick off summer is to host a Memorial Day bbq with your family and friends. Looking for where to start to make it perfect?

TheSoul Publishing’s popular 5 Minute Crafts YouTube channel shares a video of creative ways to master the grill for the long weekend. Would you be interested in sharing? Here are a few of the tips:

• Rosemary Kebabs can simply be made by using a rosemary branch and sliding your choice of veggies and protein. Not only are you reducing waste, but the rosemary aroma will definitely uplift the flavor of anything your put on your kebab!
• Grab your cupcake tray from the pantry and bring it outside to create a condiments bar! Add the variety of condiments in each section to refrain mess, and easy access for your guests.
• Planning on adding to fish to the grill? Adding lemon slices will not only infuse the flavor, but it’ll also save your fish from sticking to the grill and ending up in shreds!

July 29^th is National Lipstick Day and your July issue is the perfect time to spotlight Find Your Fabulosity, a 501c3 non-profit organization founded by Sheryl Kurland (below, right), that donates lipstick to victims of domestic violence as a means of lifting their spirits and bringing them back into their feminine power.

To date, Sheryl and FYF have donated 70,000 lipsticks to women’s shelters across all fifty states. She hopes to reach 100,000 donated lipsticks by the end of 2021!

When Sheryl Kurland began traveling around the country doing interactive speaking engagements for college women on the topics of healthy relationships and sexuality she was stunned at the amount of sexual assault these young women confessed to and needed to learn more about this subject.

In summer 2015, while completing a course on domestic violence given through the local police department in her central Florida community, Sheryl connected some important dots. “I had, perhaps, the biggest a-ha moment of my life,” she says. “I thought, ‘I wonder if I could take the on-campus programs I did for college women and change it to relate to women experiencing domestic violence and abuse.’”

After connecting with local battered women’s shelter, Safe House, being shown graphic pictures of abuse and listening to heartbreaking 911 calls, Kurland was moved to action. “It was gory and terrifying, and it was going on right in my own backyard.” Sheryl immediately inquired about setting up an interactive workshop program for the women residing at Safe House. After getting her certification through the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Sheryl immediately started hosting workshops through Safe House at secluded, confidential locations where the women would feel safe.

According to Sheryl, “For these women who have escaped the most unfathomable abuse you can ever imagine, I wanted to be sure they were not having to rehash the hell they’d been through. I wanted to play a role in helping them re-build their self-esteem and learn how to build healthy relationships going forward.”

She saw these beautiful women sitting at her workshops who had no idea who they really were anymore; their self-esteem in tatters. As Sheryl explains it, “Growing up my mother always said, ‘Sheryl, if you want to feel better, just put on a little lipstick.’ I went to the local pharmacy and picked up a pile of lipsticks in many different textures and colors, and I started giving them out at my workshops.”

Sheryl found that these lipsticks transformed the energy of the women in the room. “I witnessed their pain momentarily dissolve as they helped each other pick out the right shade, chitchatted and bonded over the application of the lipsticks, and they became women again.” Kurland says the transformation from something so simple was astonishing, and she wasted no time forming the 501c3 non-profit foundation, Find Your Fabulosity, which, to date, has donated 70,000 lipsticks to women residing in 200 shelters across all 50 states.

For lipstick donations, “We began by asking large companies like Target and CVS to donate lipsticks to our cause. Then word spread and various women’s groups, book clubs, businesses and church groups started holding lipstick drives for us,” she says.

Lipstick donations began pouring in by the boxloads, including donations from cosmetic companies including Thrive Causemetics, Kari Gran Cosmetics, The Beauty Crop, Nu Evolution, City Color Cosmetics, Tarte Cosmetics and others.

“Lipstick means so much to the average woman,” says Sheryl, “You can only imagine how much it means to women who have been victims and survivors of domestic violence and abuse. It means the world to them, and you can see the spark re-enter their eyes.”

To reach women still living through domestic abuse who have not yet sought help, Find Your Fabulosity created their Get Help Giftbags which include a lipstick, lip gloss, mirror compact, and two cards that read “You Are Fabulous,” with the national domestic violence hotline number on the back, and “You Are Not Alone/You Did Not Cause This/You Can Be Free From Abuse.” All items are placed in a pink organza bag. “If you personally know someone who is a victim of domestic abuse and you want to help her, you can arrange for Find Your Fabulosity to send her a Get Help Giftbag, which we ship in a discreet unmarked white package and send anonymously,” explains Kurland.

Find Your Fabulosity works with thousands of volunteers, packing and shipping lipsticks to send to shelters, and packing up and shipping Get Help Giftbags to ship to women in need of help throughout the U.S. In between, they read the touching letters that flood in. “We receive letters from women all over the U.S., along with their (brand new/never used) lipstick donations, telling us their own domestic abuse survival stories,” says Sheryl. “Lipstick can’t fix the problem, but it can make these women feel more whole.”