“This year, we started focusing on a healthy lifestyle,” shared Samantha Smith. “There was no real special reason. We just were all on the same page this year and wanted to cut out junk food.”
Samantha and her husband Kenny have been married for 14 years. Kenny, originally from the Midwest, landed in Pensacola when he was active duty military. He met Samantha at Pensacola Beach, and the rest was history. Together, they have one 10-year-old son named Blake.
The family has a Yellow Lab named Murphy, who was born on Veterans Day. They also have a Calico Cat that Blake named Bitsy after his favorite preschool song, The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
“I love family time most of all. I enjoy when we get outside and do something as a family,” said Samantha. “We like to go for walks at parks with tracks, spend the day at the beach, or go metal detecting.”
This past summer, the family was also able to take a few trips to Palm Coast, FL to visit Kenny’s parents.
“I always have a great time when we visit my parents or Kenny’s,” Samantha shared. “Kenny’s parents live walking distance from the beach, so we were able to take morning walks every day when we were there. We also were feeling adventurous last time and made the short trip to St Augustine and braved the haunted lighthouse tour. It was so much fun, and the basement was especially spooky.”
With the season change comes new activities and also back-to-school routines. Blake is taking on his last few years of elementary school and just started taking Taekwondo. He seems to be enjoying his new venture and plans to stick with it for a while.
“I am a 2nd-grade special education teacher and I love it,” said Samantha. “My favorite part of my job is teaching kids to read and helping them find a passion for books!”
Samantha enjoys cooking and is intentional about her meal plan during the school year. With 4-5 meals being cooked at home each week, planning is essential.
Daddy-o’s Pistachio Salmon
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup plain or salted pistachios (crushed)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Lemon (juice of 1)
- Olive Oil
- 1 lb Salmon filet
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Place salmon on a nonstick baking sheet, and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the juice of one lemon over the salmon, and then spread the crushed pistachios on top of that fillet.
- After this is done, you will drizzle olive oil over the top.
- Bake the salmon uncovered for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes drop the oven temperature to 325 degrees and cover the salmon with aluminum foil.
- Continue cooking for 30 minutes.
- I usually serve this dish with rice and steamed broccoli.
