'National Dipped Fruit Month' #Giveaway by Edible Arrangements

This post is in partnership with Edible Arrangements

Summer is the time for all the fruits! (I really do love summer!) And August is the month for dipped fruits, 'National Dipped Fruit Month', to be specific! Edible Arrangements has got that down to both a science and an art. 

"At Edible Arrangements® we have thoughtful, unique gift baskets, fruit bouquets and fruit arrangements for every occasion from birthdays to baby showers. Shop our entire collection, including our signature fruit arrangements, legendary chocolate dipped fruit and more!"

This month Edible Arrangements is celebrating 'National Dipped Fruit Month' with dipped fruit gift boxes at 50% off! It's a great time to see for yourself what all the fuss is about! 

And for one Gal Pal, it's going to be on us! Yes, you will receive your own personal delivery of an 'Edible Arrangements' 12-piece Chocolate-Dipped Mixed Fruit Box! You're going to love it! It will make your day sparkle!!

So if fruit isn't your thing, or chocolate isn't your thing, this giveaway probably isn't the one for you (we love you anyway!). But if you like fruit and chocolate, like me, you'll love this prize! Enter in the Rafflecopter below and complete the mandatory entry of commenting on my review post here. All other entries are optional! Ends on 8/29/18.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: Affiliate links may be present. No Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, nor any other social platforms are involved in any way!
Must be 21 or older to participate. Winner will be contacted by e-mail
after 08/29/18.  1 entrant per household please and must be a resident of U.S. Must respond within 48 hours. Entrants with invalid entries will be disqualified. Sponsor, Edible Arrangements...is responsible for delivery of cash prize. Winners are announced on my Facebook Group, A GAL NEEDS...Health, Wellness, Beauty, and Giveaways! 

Chocolate Dipped Fruits by Edible Arrangements

This site receives sample items and/or compensation for review purposes. Affiliate links may be present. Thanks for your support!

 It's the peak of summer and the fruits are all at full maturation! Check out our overflowing nectarine tree--it's so full that we are resorting to holding up the branches with rakes and shovels, anything we can get our hands on to prevent the branches from breaking under the weight of the fruit! 

 
















And I have such fond memories of growing up in the San Joaquin Valley in sunny California. During the peak fruit season, I was able to eat my fill of apples, apricots, berries, strawberries and so much more! It was all for free, since it either grew at my grandma's home or in my own backyard, 5 short blocks away! Those were the days!

And with all of that fruit ready to harvest, there are so many ways one can use it! 'Edible Arrangements', a company that makes beautiful fruit bouquets and other creations, is fully aware of all that bounty right now. They are celebrating 'National Dipped Fruit Month' in a big way! Through August 31st you can get any size of Chocolate Dipped Mixed Fruit Box for 50% off! That's starting at $9.50! Order online, call or visit your local store to take advantage of these steals!

This is a special I can certainly get behind because, as my profile accurately states, I love chocolate! I can't help it! I've tried so many tempting and luscious flavors, but I can't seem to get around chocolate. I always go back to chocolate. It's my lifelong temptation.

When I received my box of 12 dipped chocolate fruits, I was really impressed! The fruit was so tasty and the dipped chocolate was delicious! It made my day sparkle and I felt so spoiled!

The box contained 4 dipped apples, 4 dipped bananas, and 4 dipped strawberries! So much fruit, so little time! But don't worry, I managed to take care of it all before it went to waste and I even shared one with my husband. (Am I sweet or what? ...Must be because of all the dipped fruit I ate!)  Summer bouquets are the sweetest! 

Visit your locally owned and operated Edible Arrangements to cool off with a creation of your choice (they even have smoothies)! Send a sweet summer surprise to say thanks, or congrats!  What fruit would you love to eat dipped in chocolate?

Keep connected with Edible Arrangements through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest

The Benefits Of Basil Everyday + Recipe

If you could only grow and use one herb, which would it be? I've decided that, for me, that would be basil. Don't get me wrong, I love all the herbs. This season I've got chives, rosemary, and mint along with my basil. I shouldn't play favorites, but I do.Why?  There are a few reasons!

 It smells so good--the smell of fresh basil sends me! It is so sweetly aromatic and pungent. It puts me in a good mood every time I inhale. And yes, basil used as an essential oil has vast benefits, among them aromatherapy.

 I can cook so much with it - It adds a nice Italian flair to almost any dish! One of my most favorite spreads is pesto! Anything with a good pesto on top is going to be delish! Basil is one of the main flavors in this amazing spread!

Astonishing health benefits - One of the most compelling but lesser known reasons to love basil are the many health benefits. Basil is so powerful in terms of antioxidant protection that a little bit is going to go a long way. Just a few leaves chopped up can give you at least 20% of Vitamins K and A and the minerals manganese and magnesium.

Including basil in your salads and salad dressing can inhibit dangerous bacteria that have been known to lurk on the leafy greens we love to include in our salads. Washing your greens in a 1% solution of basil oil will greatly diminish dangerous bacteria such as Shigella, a dangerous diarrhea-causing germ that could result in significant intestinal damage.

Another amazing thing is that eating basil can help prevent cancer! It contains phytochemicals that are amazing for that reason!

Unfortunately, basil can't simply be harvested and eaten like the lettuces we eat raw. Don't bother, I tried! It's not tasty at all. But something happens when it is infused into soups, salads, dressings or lightly sauteed with various foods.

With that in mind, I wanted to make use of the several basil plants growing on my porch and garden plot. These beautiful herbs need to be ingested and not simply looked at and sniffed. 

I thought about what I am already eating a lot of--something that might go along well with basil and the answer came quickly enough.

It is my sautéed vegetable and eggs breakfasts. I will now be

adding basil to the mix. This is how I do it. It is so easy, just how I like it. I don't believe in making essential nutrition something that is hard to do. I love being able to incorporate powerful hacks, nutritional or otherwise, into things I already do. Why complicate our lives that are already full to the bursting point? (See how I incorporate probiotics into my smoothies)

Sautéed Veggie And Egg Skillet

Ingredients - Olive Oil, Red Bell Pepper, Onion, 5 large Mushrooms, 2 eggs, 10 basil leaves, chopped

Chop the pepper, onion and mushroom into bite-sizes pieces.

Place the onions and peppers into a large skillet and

sauté until onions are tranparent and peppers are soft.

Add the mushrooms and stir into the mixture. Sauté for 2 - 3 minutes. Add the basil and sautee until limp. 

Add 2 eggs and cook them to taste, adding salt and pepper as desired. Top with cheese if desired! Enjoy eating healthy!

Beautiful Interruption + #MyPostMonday Curating The Week's Best Original Content

Today my husband and I took the longest hike I've taken this summer! I hiked 9 miles total and I wasn't initially completely on board with it. But knowing how excited he is when I go with him and seeing the effort he went to in order to make sure that I would definitely be with him this morning as he carefully woke me up at 5 am, was something I couldn't turn down. (He even made me breakfast!)

We got to the trailhead at around 7 a.m. and due to it being MONDAY, no one was around. The destination was Lake Desolation. It doesn't sound too inviting, does it? Right now I'm suffering from a few maladies, all on my left side. The one that was bothering me today was my left achilles tendon. It has been injured in the past and has visible scar tissue built up. I've been doing some H.I.I.T. lately and my achilles doesn't like it. 

So we started out, with me baby-ing my poor achilles and not really sure what to expect, since I'd never been to Desolation Lake before. I was surprised that this was one of the prettiest and well kept trails I've been on. Sure, there were a few steep parts, but nothing I couldn't get up using some care and caution. 

We walked virtually the entire 4.5 miles to the lake without seeing a soul, until right at the end. There were 5 hikers that came up behind us and caught up to us right as we got to the lake. If you have been to the lakes in either Little or Big Cottonwood Canyons, this lake is a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. But a 5 is gorgeous in comparison to most lakes. It's just that the alpine lakes here in the canyons are so beautiful and pristine and so spectacularly gorgeous. 

Seeing this lake for the first time, I could see that the extremely dry winter had taken its toll and the water level was way down. But "desolation" is not a word I would use to describe this lake. It was still absolutely beautiful! 

In another effort to keep our hikes fun for both of us, my husband got us a set of two-way radios to keep us connected, even if he wanted to hike up even further and summit a peak, which is not something I will be doing any time soon. He left me at the lake and we communicated through the radios for the rest of the time. 

Desolation Lake

This turned out to be one of the most enjoyable hikes I've had yet. There were a variety of reasons that made it so fun, but how tragic if I had rolled over and said that I didn't want to go this morning! I could have used any number of reasons to NOT go--my achilles was bothering me, I have so much to do before school starts up again, I've already been on the minimum number of hikes I said I would do this summer, I have goals that need to be met, etc. etc. 

But I know that interruptions happen, and this interruption happened to be a beautiful one. I learned that goals can still be met, even though they might happen in a different order than you originally planned!

Image - Betsy Kasper

Today is "My Post Monday!", a curation of the week's best original content. It's all about posts from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize(Affiliate links welcome)