Pioneer Day Celebration

July 24th is a very special day in our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it is Pioneer Day.  That is the date that the pioneers who traveled across America to find their new home, to worship their religion in peace, pushing and pulling their handcarts with all of their worldly belongings, first saw the valley of Salt Lake. It is celebrated all over the world and our Ward did just that this past week.  There were well over 100 of us that went to one of our members farms and had a barbecue, everyone brought something which made it difficult to decide what to eat, there was so much I couldn't even try a little of everything.  There was a pie eating contest, horseshoes, bean bag toss and games with animals to name a few.  So what are games with animals?  One was a team effort, you had to saddle a horse then both team members get on that horse ride it to the end of the arena and back and the fastest time wins. Another one was with the cows, ribbons were tied onto their tails and the kids in different age groups went into the arena and chase the cows to get the ribbon off of their tails.  Both of these events were hysterical and everyone had a great time.

Lots of food

and more food

Watching the games in the arena

Horses of Hope, the organization that Jan and  I volunteer at is having a night at the ballpark to raise a few bucks.  The ballpark here is the Triple A Cardinals, a pretty good team with a devoted following.  We will be down on the field with some of the horses and our riders.  The first ball will be thrown out by one of our riders from his wheelchair.  While I was going around town attempting to sell tickets to the merchants I went into a pet store and just had to share this picture with you.

Overeating can make you very sleepy!

Our son David is coming in to visit us tomorrow for a week, we are really excited to see him and have all kinds of things planned.  So on that note I will be taking a week off from my blog but will be back the following week with all kinds of good stuff.

I was up .4 at weigh-in this week, now if I can just stay there and not lose any weight this coming week.  Jan stayed the same and was really happy with that.  She has committed to tracking everyday this week and it will be interesting to see how that works out for her.

This weeks food find is something that we take for granted sometimes, lets not forget all of the great aspects of this one.

I think you'll love this weeks recipe, enjoy.

Roasted Strawberry Banana Bread

Servings: 16 • Size: 1 slice • Calories: 88 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 19 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 2

Ingredients:

·         1-1/4 cups strawberries, diced

·         3 ripe medium bananas, mashed

·         2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce

·         1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

·         3/4 tsp baking soda

·         1/4 tsp salt

·         2 tbsp butter, softened

·         1/2 cup light brown sugar (not packed)

·         2 large egg whites

·         1 tsp vanilla extract

·         baking spray

·        
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a loaf pan with baking spray. Place the strawberries on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes, remove and set aside

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture and blend at low speed until combined, do not over mix. Fold in strawberries and pour batter into the prepared loaf pans; bake in the center rack for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes, bread should be room temperature before slicing.

Talk to you all in two weeks!

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