Five years flew by in a little more than a heartbeat and we now have three teenagers in our home. My youngest son Nate turned 13 this year, which meant it was time for our family’s last “teen birthday trip.”

Sean and I have taken each of our boys on a special trip with just the three of us for their 13th birthdays. We visited San Francisco with our oldest son, Sam, and visited Denver with our middle son, Ben.

This time our destination was Pigeon Forge, TN and it did not disappoint. We found a great cabin to rent in Sevierville (complete with video game tables, air hockey, and a hot tub) and Nate declared it the best rental house ever.

We very much enjoyed exploring the area and thanks to your awesome suggestions via my newsletter request, we found a few unexpected things to do too. Hillbilly Golf in Gatlinburg was such a big win, we’d have gone back for another round if we’d had the time.

We stopped at the Tennessee visitor center as we crossed the state line and Nate picked up a bunch of brochures there for activities that caught his eye.

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Step-by-step photos and instructions for a Louisiana-style Crawfish Boil loaded with vegetables and so much flavor!

So. Much. Fun. There are a whole lot of adjectives I could use to describe my introduction to a crawfish boil, but WOW sums it up nicely.

I’m laying out all the steps here so you can set up and cook a Louisiana seafood boil with shrimp or crawfish. Spoiler alert – doing a Louisiana-style seafood boil on the stove is much simpler than you might think. (I’ll be sharing directions specifically for a shrimp boil at home next week!)

Heads up – this is going to be a long one. If you are just here for the instructions, hit that handy “jump to recipe” button at the top of the post.

Crawfish Boil

While in Louisiana for Sean’s family reunion, our cousin Rick volunteered to do a Louisiana-style crawfish boil for us. And oh, there really aren’t words for how excited I was to experience this for the first time.

As far as eating crawfish goes, if you aren’t familiar with them already, they taste like a cross between their crustacean cousins lobster and shrimp. What’s not to love about that?

I was thrilled we were able to be there from start to finish and learn from the master. And yeah, Rick is a legit master of the seafood boil. Don’t miss the custom skimmer, the crawfish on his belt and his hat, and the very cool stirring paddle in some of the photos for evidence of his passion for it all.

Crawfish boils are a social event in Louisiana – and wherever else you might be lucky enough to enjoy one. This isn’t just a meal shared with friends or family. It’s an experience. (Have I stated that clearly enough?)

Ha, and here’s a pro tip for you: Don’t wear white, friends. That’s a rookie move and your Tide stick will be put to good use after the boil.

This Spinach Orzo Salad is filled with cranberries, creamy goat cheese, tender pasta, and plenty of fresh spinach tossed in a tangy sweet dressing. The salad can be served immediately or kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days – making this an awesome make-ahead meal for lunch or dinner.

Spinach Salad with Cranberries

The recipe was inspired by the Cranberry Orzo Salad that Princess Cruises serves in their International Cafe. It’s just so good! Tender pasta in a sweetly tangy dressing, with tart fresh cranberries and sliced almonds. Simple, fresh, and delicious.

I’ve included more cruise details at the bottom of the post here for anyone who is interested. As soon as I got home from our cruise through the British Isles, I immediately recreated the salad for my family.

As always, I loved the salad, but my guys? The kids decided that the fresh cranberries were too tart. (Crazy kids!)

So, the next time I made the salad, I went with dried cranberries and it was a win across the board. I like this salad every bit as much with dried cranberries as I do with fresh cranberries – and that’s an even bigger win, since fresh cranberries aren’t available more than a few weeks a year.

(And unless you’re lucky enough to have cranberries stashed in the freezer for this cake, you’ll be stuck waiting until the holidays to try this awesome salad.)

Spinach Orzo Salad

I took our salad to the next level by adding a generous portion of fresh baby spinach and warm chicken. Both the chicken and the spinach made it a heartier meal for my family.

And as far as my guys are concer

Win a Trip to Hawaii

Summer Shape Up 2023 Grand Prize Giveaway

Summer Shape Up starts July 10th! Not only are we bringing the heat with our workouts, but the grand prize is HOT! This summer you could win a trip to Hawaii for a FREE 3 night stay for you and a friend at the beautiful Prince Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu!

Win a trip to Hawaii!

We’re talking free free– airfare, hotel, meals, & a poolside cabana! I think we can push it for 6 weeks for a chance to relax! Not to mention, you will also receive some LSF Nutrition goodies to help you continue to stay on track even after the challenge! 

And of course we want to make sure you all feel good throughout the 6 weeks so each week we’ll be giving away other amazing prizes to #teamlsf girls who are absolutely crushing it with their workouts, nutrition, and accountability groups!

How to Win

The more you participate in the challenge, the better results you’ll see AND the higher your chances of winning weekly prizes and the grand prize trip to Hawaii!

Below are just a few ways to make sure you stand out:

• Post your “I’m In” graphic on Instagram & tag @lovesweatfitness & @teamlsf 
• Take your before photos (you can share them or save them for later!)
• Post your #sweatyselfies & #rollscalls daily! Tag @teamlsf & hashtag #LSFsummershapeup
• Comment on other #TeamLSF babes posts (everyone needs encouragement!)
• Jump in on chats in the private SSU Facebook Group
• Join an Accountability Group 
• Join our weekly Instagram Lives over on @lovesweatfitness  

At the end of the 6 weeks we will ask you to share your before and after photos and your personal story for a chance to win the GRAND PRIZE trip to Hawaii!

We can’t wait to start this challenge with you!

The MOVE app is designed to give you the absolute BEST results when you stick to my pro

With a little bit of sweet and salty goodness in every bite, GORP is a snack mix that my family devours every time we make it. Lucky for all of us, it’s an easy hassle-free trail mix to make.

GORP is the classic trail mix you probably recall from childhood and I’m happy to report that it’s just as tasty as I remembered. Whether it’s for a quick road trip, a movie night, or a longer camping trip, GORP has long been a favorite for all of us.

What Is GORP?

GORP is an acronym for “good old raisins and peanuts” which was, according to some, the very first trail mix. Chocolate is traditionally included in most recipes for GORP. Today, GORP and trail mix are more or less synonymous.

I grew up munching on GORP whenever my family was road tripping. Some variation of this recipe was always our trail mix of choice. Typically, my family made their trail mix with peanuts, raisins, and m&ms or chocolate chips.

I’ve been traveling a lot over the past 6 weeks and am constantly in need of quick, easy, and tasty snacks to enjoy on the go. There are so many pre-packaged snacks available these days but GORP has remained the travel-friendly snack I reach for the most.

GORP

Trail mix is the perfect sweet and salty snack for long driving days, or for days spent on the go exploring a new city.

GORP probably became THE travel food (and the snack hikers took on long trails) because it’s easy to pack and carry and doesn’t spoil. Luckily, it also happens to be pretty nutritious for a convenience food!

The blend of dried fruit for energy and nuts for protein and fat helps keep hunger at bay and keeps you going all travel day long.

That said, GORP is also one of my favorite snacks for a night-in or to have in my bag on a long day of running errands. Easy to proportion into ziploc bags or small serving containers, this trail mix is also ideal for packing in lunches and tucking into backpacks.

This handy square canister of snack mix has a regular place in my camper kitchen and we all reach for it often. I have probably mixed together a batch of GORP at least once if not twice a week all summer long.

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