Makes 1 serving. Ingredients: 3.5oz extra-lean ground beef or shredded chicken, 2 big lettuce leaves, 1 serving of tomato chopped up, 2 T fresh salsa

Monica's Story: I am a 51 year old wife and mother of seven, who had not been taking care of myself. I had never lost all my weight after pregnancies and then gained more. Recently, I had noticed I was feeling weak, had a bad left knee and was self-conscious to move around freely. I was very discouraged about dieting because I had tried and failed many times. I was becoming more convicted about how I was taking care of my body when a friend of mine showed up having lost a lot of weight.

Have you ever felt like God was silent in your life regarding your desire to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle? Have you ever taken that silence to mean that God doesn't listen or care about you and so . . . Pass the ice cream? In food, we search for the satisfaction we often feel like we are missing in other areas of our lives.

Here in the USA we stop and reflect this weekend on those who have paid a price for us to live in a land where we are free. We are free to live, free to love, free to make our own choices. All because of sacrifices made. But if we are truly honest with ourselves we often spend less time thinking about our freedom and more time thinking about the menu, who’s coming over and where we will go watch fireworks.

You can eat this plain in a bowl or wrap up in a piece of lettuce. Ingredients: 1½ pounds leanest ground beef, 5 tablespoons tomato paste, Stevia powder to taste, to give it that natural sweetness sloppy joe’s have! 3 tomatoes chopped, 1 jalapeno minced, 2 tablespoons of minced onions (or to taste, however much you like), ¼ cup chopped cilantro, Salt and pepper, 2 limes