🌴 B-I-N-G-O

Welcome back, Palmetto Parents!

June is now in full swing! We truly cannot believe how this year is flying. They say as you get older time moves faster and faster and we certainly feel that. We hope you all are enjoying the sunshine as the kids finished up the school year and started summer break.

If your kids are animal lovers, check out Farm Bingo this Saturday at 6pm at the Flowertown Charm Farm. Beyond farm themed bingo, this event promises to have more animals than people and cuddles with the animals will be available to all who want them. Use this link to purchase tickets and read more about the Flowertown Charm Farm and their other events here.

To Do: Summerville Parks and Rec “Bingo"

The Summerville Parks and Recreation Department has created a genius challenge for families to kick off the summer. Just pick up your bingo card (shown above) from the Rollins Community Center and take pictures of your kids completing your chosen tasks to win a prize at the next third Thursday event on June 20th. This is an awesome way to give some direction to your activities with your kids over the next couple weeks and to enjoy the many parks and outdoor spaces we have in Summerville.

Want to give back to the community and help keep the parks beautiful? Check out the volunteer opportunity to plant trees and landscape at Gahagan Park this Saturday from 10am-12pm. (Hint: you can also cross off a square of the bingo card).

Screenless Fun with the Family

Fun Audio Experience for the Whole Family

Check-out Popcorn Brainstorm! Jokes & Trivia for Kids, the chart-topping Kids & Family podcast from Netflix. Featuring trivia, games and jokes from your favorite Netflix films and series, Popcorn Brainstorm explores Leo, The Dragon Prince and more!

An Event: Nexton Nights Double Header

This Friday night is a great time to check out Nexton Nights Concert Series. Live music is playing throughout the summer from 5pm-8pm in Nexton Square on the first Friday of each month.

This month is special as it will feature two bluegrass bands, Boonie Bevins and Carolina Drive followed by The JackTown Ramblers. Be sure to bring chairs and blankets with you and plan to grab some dinner or dessert from any of the local restaurants in the square.

Our family is a fan of Viva Chicken, Bad Daddy Burgers, and Fuji Sushi if you want to order some takeout to enjoy while you listen to music.

Restaurant: Coastal Coffee Roasters

Once a week you’ll find our family of four at Coastal Coffee Roasters. Most of the times I go, I’ll run into someone I know. The shop is filled with unique products from local vendors (honey, soaps, eggs, and more) and the walls display works from local artists that rotate each month.

This past week, we talked with the GM and complimented her on just how welcome we feel every time we enter the doors. She described it as “a community hub” and anyone who goes there regularly knows that’s exactly what it is. The staff always greets you with a smile and if you’ve met the GM, you know she is always going out of her way to make you feel like family.

When we brought our newborn there at two weeks old, the boys entered a bit fussy and she assured us that we were completely welcome there and we were able to take a deep breath and make the most of the family outing. This past week, she printed off fresh coloring sheets for our toddler and saved our seat with a big cup of crayons.

Beyond the environment, their food and coffee are incredible. When we ask each other if we want to go to a coffee shop, we almost always mean Coastal Coffee Roasters. Their honey oat milk latte (made with local honey) is our favorite coffee drink in Summerville. Their food is absolutely delicious, too. Daniel loves their bagel with lox and our son loves their huge muffins. They have a delicious breakfast and lunch menu that you can check out here.

Palmetto Piece: Kitchen Hack “Make Something Extra”

Today’s Palmetto Piece is less heartsy and more practical: how to make the most of your time in the kitchen.

With a newborn in the family I’ve had to reevaluate how I accomplish getting meals on the table. Lately I’ve been practicing “Make Something Extra,” a kitchen hack named by Autumn Michaelis, the creator of Whole Food for Seven and mom of five boys. It’s working smarter not harder in the kitchen by meal prepping in small chunks throughout the week (instead of spending half your weekend in the kitchen meal prepping, because let’s be real, no one wants to do that and by the end of the week you don’t even want what you made anyways).

“Make Something Extra” is just what it sounds like. If you’re already in the kitchen making dinner, use some of the down time you have while the water is boiling, meat is browning, sauce is simmering (you get the picture) to start prepping something for another meal, like tomorrow’s breakfast or dinner. Autumn asks herself two questions when she’s in the kitchen:

• What do I have on hand and need to use up? (Are there veggies you could chop and heat up with another meal? Is there a meat you should cook that you could eat tomorrow for lunch?)

• What do I need more of? (Could you go ahead and prep the sauce or veggies tomorrow’s dinner? Could you throw together a mix for some muffins for breakfasts?)

This week I was already chopping up vegetables to make pico de gallo for our dinner. Instead of just chopping what I needed, I chopped extra tomatoes and onions to throw in with some hash browns for our breakfast the next day. I also browned some breakfast sausage while I browned the ground beef for dinner so all I had to do the next morning was heat up food. This meant we had a delicious breakfast the next day without me spending much extra time in the kitchen.

I know this concept isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s been amazing how much more manageable getting delicious and nutritious meals in front of my family has been when I think intentionally about how I use my time in the kitchen instead of having any wasted time. This type of meal prep, doing it little by little versus in a large chunk, allows for flexibility with your meal plans.

Read Autumn’s full article about “Making Something Extra” here with more tips about how to make the most of your time in the kitchen.

Side note: Her website provides amazing recipes that are gluten and dairy free if that is something your family needs. If your family needs gluten/dairy free or low carb/high protein recipes, be sure to also look at Mary’s Whole Life. I cook almost exclusively from Autumn and Mary’s recipes because of how easy, healthy, and delicious they are.

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Until next time

Love,

The Berks 👨‍👩‍👦 

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