Living La Vida Holoka


Embrace Your Inner Plant Lady with These Items from Amazon

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Uh, so you know how I love my plants? Turns out, I’m not the only one. Actually, I can pretty much blame my plant obsession on both moms in the family!  I had told my husband at the beginning of the season that I wasn’t going to have plants all over the place this year.  YEAH RIGHT!  Nearly all of my pots are filled again and I can’t seem to stop visiting greenhouses to bring home new plant babies! 

In fact, last week, I took a ride to a huge greenhouse about an hour away with my mother-in-law.  The prices are insanely low and they have every kind of plant you can think of buying!  You guys, I went there with a list.  An actual shopping list for plants!  Granted, more than half of that list was for my mom, but still.  I am definitely a crazy plant lady and I’m okay with that.  And until my husband says he’s got a problem with that, I’m going to keep bringing home new plant babies for our summer garden!

  1. Plant Lady T-Shirt
  2. Crazy Plant Lady Coffee Mug
  3. Plant Lady Print
  4. Succulent Cactus Pot Keychains
  5. Proud Plant Mom T-Shirt
  6. Stay At Home Plant Mom Coffee Mug
  7. My Plants Need Me T-Shirt
  8. Plant Mom Enamel Pin
  9. Plants Get Me Ankle Socks
  10. Plant Lady Coffee Mug

If you’re a crazy plant lady, too, you’ll want to show it off in style with these items from Amazon!  I’m loving those succulent keychains and the “My Plants Need Me” t-shirt!

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Which of these crazy plant lady items will you be adding to your cart?

Air Fryer Spiralized Zucchini Parmesan Cakes

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It’s that time of year again when my morning routine gets a small adjustment.  Instead of making my breakfast, finishing my coffee, and getting to work, I’m now fitting “water the garden” into my list of things to do.  But that’s not such a bad thing.  It’s so nice to know that in a couple of months, we’ll have fresh vegetables to pick right outside our door again.  I know I’ve said it before, but it really doesn’t get any better than that!

We already have a variety of fresh herbs growing and put plants in the ground a couple weekends ago.  So now I’m anxiously awaiting the first signs of tomatoes, peppers, and green beans at our house.  But I’m especially looking forward to getting zucchini from my in-law’s house this summer.  That’s if those pain in the butt neighborhood squirrels leave them alone this year.  Fat chance, I know, considering they’ve already weaseled their way into my flower pots.


So while I wait for our garden to flourish, I’ve been hitting up the farmer’s market more often than usual to get us ready for the summer.  One of my favorite things to load up on is zucchini.  We’ve grown them the size of baseball bats (or even bigger – not even kidding!) before.  But the best ones to cook with are on the smaller size.  Especially if you’re going to spiralize them!  Plus, they’re pretty cheap and light in flavor, making them perfect to add to so many dishes!

Last week, I was looking to make something with one of the zucchinis I brought home.  I rummaged through my fridge and found the remainder of some marinara sauce and a plethora of cheeses.  Sure, I could have made zucchini parmesan, but opted for a recipe I’ve been wanting to try for years and never got around to it.   So here we are with a recipe that not only uses a spiralizer, but an air fryer as well!

It’s simple enough, really. Just mix some zoodles in a bowl with other ingredients.  Then, form them into patty-like cakes.  Pop them in an air fryer for 15 minutes and you’re done!  Well, maybe not.  After that, I plated my zucchini cakes on top of fresh mozzarella.  Then, I topped them with marinara, fresh parsley, and a little shaved Parmesan ’cause we fancy like that! 

Air Fryer Spiralized Zucchini Parmesan Cakes
Serves 2
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Ingredients
  1. 1 small zucchini, rinsed with ends cut off
  2. 2 tbsp. coconut flour, or flour of choice
  3. 1 large egg
  4. 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  5. 1 clove garlic, minced
  6. 1/4 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
  7. 1/2 tsp. fresh basil, chopped
  8. 1 1/2 tbsp. red onion, minced
  9. Extra virgin olive oil
  10. Salt and pepper, to taste
  11. 2 fresh mozzarella slices
  12. 1 cup marinara sauce, heated
  13. Optional: red pepper flakes, fresh parsley, shaved Parmesan
Instructions
  1. Use a spaghetti cut blade to spiralize the small zucchini. Place zoodles into a large bowl.
  2. Add coconut flour, egg and toss to combine and coat zoodles.
  3. Mix in Parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, basil, and onion.
  4. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Form the zoodle mixture into two cakes.
  6. Place in an air fryer and cook for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
  7. Flip the zucchini cakes and cook for 5 more minutes at 350 degrees.
  8. Serve on top of fresh mozzarella slices.
  9. Top with marinara sauce, red pepper flakes, parsley, shaved Parmesan, and enjoy!
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Since these only serve two, we had these as a side dish with dinner.  One for him, one for me.  But they would make a great dish on their own – you know, if you don’t feel like sharing. They’re also vegetarian and gluten-free, so basically everyone wins!  

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If you like this post, you might enjoy these as well:

How to Make a Mosquito Repellent Container Garden

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Ah, summertime!  It’s a great time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the sunshine!  Until you – smack – end up – smack – getting – smack – eaten alive by – smack – mosquitoes!  They definitely know how to ruin a good time.  Don’t they?  I hate bug sprays.  I mean, hate!  They make me cough, they smell disgusting, and they’re not really all that great for you either.  I mean, butane and propane are just a couple of the ingredients in a can of bug spray.  Come on!  It’s pretty nasty stuff that doesn’t always seem to get the job done anyway!  So instead, I’ve been turning to plants to try and keep the pests away while we’re hanging outside.  

A few months ago, during one of our many trips to Home Depot, my husband and I bought a really large pot to transplant one of our indoor plants.  It didn’t work out for the space we had intended for it.  So it had been sitting in our basement.  We went back and forth with what to use it for and finally decided – after my husband mentioned something about lemongrass – to make a mosquito repellent container garden.  So I did some research on mosquito repelling plants and took a trip to a local greenhouse to buy some plants.


Lemongrass

Lemongrass isn’t just a fragrant plant used in Asian cooking.  When planted outside, it can keep mosquitoes away.  We grew lemongrass in its own pot a few years ago and its spiky leaves looked really cool as it filled out!


Citronella

Citronella is one of many scented geraniums that are available.  The citrus scent repels mosquitos and if you crush the leaves, you can rub it on your skin to make a natural bug repellent.  


Lemon Thyme

Lemon Thyme is really awesome, in general, to keep in your herb garden.  It’s great to use in dishes, but it also can be used as a mosquito repellent.  Do you sense a trend with the fragrances that mosquitoes hate?  Anything in the citrus family seems to be a win!


Catnip

Catnip is an herb that’s entirely new to my garden!  But after reading up on it, it’s a pretty decent herb for pets and humans.  Hey ladies!  You can totally use it in a tea to help menstrual cramps.  That alone makes me happy to have it in my garden!  But knowing it might help repel mosquitoes definitely makes me happy, too!


Marigolds

My Mom always has marigolds in her garden. She taught me years ago that they keep pests from disturbing your plants. But apparently these stinky, little flowers keep the mosquitoes away, too!  Plus, their fiery blooms add a nice pop of color to the garden!

SUPPLIES

STEPS

  1. If your pot doesn’t have drainage holes in it, get your sexy husband to drill some holes in the bottom of the pot for you.
  2. Next, cut a piece of weed barrier fabric to line the bottom of the pot.  This will help keep the dirt in the pot and not all over your deck!
  3. Add some rocks on top of the fabric to help with drainage.
  4. Then, add a sufficient amount of potting soil.  You’ll need about one large bag of soil to fill a 20″ pot.
  5. Begin arranging your plants and adding them to the soil.  Make sure they have some room to grow.
  6. Give your new planter plenty of water and sunshine while you, hopefully, keep the mosquitoes away!

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What’s your favorite way to naturally repel mosquitoes?

How to Infuse Your Water with Essential Oils

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We all know that the adult human body is made up of about 60 percent water.  And we know that we need to keep ourselves hydrated or we’ll dry out and crumble into ashes like vampires exposed to sunlight.  Wait.  What?  That’s not what happens if we don’t drink water?  Okay.  Anyway, it’s hard to get those eight recommended glasses of water into our bodies each day.  Water itself is pretty plain and boring when there are so many other beverages available for us to sip on. 

But what if you concocted a tasty way to consume more water by creating easy, natural water infusions just by using fresh fruit, herbs, and essential oils?  Now we’re talking!

We had quite the summer tease about a week ago.  It was 80 degrees and sunny outside.  So I slathered on the sunscreen and spent a lot of time outdoors.  It’s so important to stay hydrated on hot days.  Especially if you’re staying active!  That’s why I love making flavor infused water.  You can use frozen fruit, fresh fruit, herbs, and even essential oils to infuse your water with a ton of delicious flavor!  


I have become a big fan of Young Living’s Vitality oils.   One of my favorite things about these oils is that you can take them internally.  Just one drop of oil in a glass of water adds big flavor and supports wellness!


My favorite flavor infusion combos:

  • Lemon + Peppermint
  • Citrus Fresh + Basil
  • Thieves + Orange Oil
  • Strawberries + Basil + Lemon
  • Grapefruit + Rosemary 

Mix and match essential oils with fresh fruit and herbs for endless flavor combos!


A few things to consider before adding essential oils to your water:

  1. Essential oils are highly concentrated extractions from plants.  Only pure essential oils (like Young Living) should taken internally, in small quantities.  If you are not comfortable consuming essential oils, you can still create delicious water infusions from fresh fruit and herbs.
  2. Know your oils.  Not every oil is meant to be taken internally.  The ones I have recommend in these infusions are safe to drink with water.
  3. Only drink essential oil infused water from a glass or stainless steel bottle.  Essential oils pull toxins, so it’s not recommended to add essential oils to plastic water bottles.
  4. I also recommend using filtered water.  We keep a filtered water pitcher in the fridge that’s so convenient!


Thank you to some of my fellow Young Living members for contributing this helpful information.  Safety first, guys!

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Have you ever flavored water with essential oils before?



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