Looking for a quick and easy alternative to bring to a Fourth of July party this weekend (besides the standard pasta salad)? Here is a fresh and festive Independence Day recipe that kids and grown-ups alike will gobble up faster than you can say “WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL,” that is after they upload a picture of it to Facebook.

What’s so SPA about this Spa Foodie post?: No, (sadly) we are not recommending that you  squish your face into this patriotic platter as DIY facial. However, remember the Dr. Perricone 3-day skin care diet? He suggests strawberries and blackberries to enhance your skin and eat for beauty. Just by swapping out the neighbor’s apple pie for these delectable berries loaded with anti-oxidants vitamin C, your belly and your skin will thank you. (Although you should probably have a piece of pie too.)

Note: For ultimate freshness, prepare this treat right before serving. Present with toothpicks for spearing the fruit and a bowl of yogurt dip or whipped cream, if desired.

Recipe courtesy of Family Fun Magazine

Ingredients

• 29 large strawberries
• 30 large blackberries
• 7 or so large bananas
• Lemon juice

Instructions

• Hull and halve 29 large strawberries and set them aside.
• Arrange 30 large blackberries, as shown, in the upper left corner of a serving tray or cutting board (it should be at least 8 by 13 inches).
• Cut 58 banana slices, 3/4-inch-thick, into a bowl. Sprinkle on lemon juice and toss the slices gently with a rubber spatula to keep them from browning.
• Assemble the banana slices in rows as shown and top each slice with a strawberry half.

Present on a large tray with handles and cover with saran wrap for easy transportation to the nearest block party or bbq. Wear this for added impact.

Did you get your free Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kremes today? We purposely didn’t want to tell you about where to get all the diet-crushing freebies today, National Donut Day, which occurs the first Friday in June each year, succeeding the Donut Day event created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I.

And here, our cream-filled, frosted and rainbow sprinkled link love:

First, get all your donut facts and stats from the Huffington Post.

If you’re preggers, you are excused from all diet rules! Eat all the donuts you can, then save money and have some fun by renting your wardrobe from Mine For Nine, the “Rent the Runway” for maternity wear, featured on Daily Candy.

After you’re finished with your free donuts in celebration of National Donut Day, pick up the slack tomorrow with Truly.Raw.Gourmet. Sorbet featured on Your Daily Thread.

And in case you’re still craving sweetness, The Luxury Spot has a recipe for Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes. Repeat it once more: Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes. Is that ever really necessary?

Or this. If you can stomach it.

We’d normally encourage wearing SPF 30 and advise fervently against baking in the heat for hours on end… but you’re not a turkey.

Add an extra dose of laughter to your festive meal of gratitude with these 5 simple steps, and have a sexy turkey time!

1. Size up your bird and become a swim wear designer. Using a scissor, cut aluminum foil in the shape of a bikini. Channel Rosa Cha for a couture-key.

2. “Dress” your turkey by smoothing the aluminum foil on flat.

3. Season with your favorite Thanksgiving herbs and spices and be heavy on this one ingredient: paprika. That’s the tanning oil. Pat on the “oil” and all the herbs, and make sure none gets under the bikini.

4. Bake in the oven as usual until half-done. Take her out, strip her down like a Greek in Saint Tropez, and shove her back in the oven nude for the rest of the cooking time.

5. Don’t tell your guests a thing! Watch their faces as you unveil your masterpiece, and ask the question every host and hostess across America will ask at that very same moment: “So… who wants a breast?”

Happy Thanksgiving! Whether you’re spending it with a large family, a few friends, or you’re grabbing a turkey sandwich at the deli in between work shifts, always remember to appreciate what you’ve got, know that the best is yet to come… and laugh as much as possible.

In honor of National Chocolate Day, we command you to indulge in a helping of cocoa today. (We know these guys over to the left have.)

Chocolate, a wonder drug that goes back at least 2 millenia (evidence suggests the Mayans were chocolate lovers at least 2600 years ago), can be great for you. Choose dark to enjoy lower blood pressure and a hefty dose of antioxidants – but whatever you choose, make sure you savor it!

In honor of the day, we want to highlight these excellent chocolate-centric blogs, forums, ventures and obsessions:

Chocolate & Zucchini for her delicious French dessert recipes.

8Chocolate for their seriously thorough product reviews.

Dying for Chocolate for her reliably yummy chocolate recipes.

The Chocolate Forum for giving chocolate lovers an excellent Internet home.

The Chocolate Addict for her sassy, art-inspired chocolate creations!

The Chocolate Review for, well, chocolate reviews.

Chocablog because they just launched the World Chocolate Guide. “Mapping the world, one ganache at a time…” Talk about a satisfying project!

We hope you’ve had a delicious day!

The Best Coconut Water in Poipu, Hawaii

Meet James.

James was born and raised in Alaska. Ten years ago he was given a coconut, and after one taste it became his favorite food. A few days later, his teacher gave him a one way plane ticket to anywhere in the US. He now fetches coconuts from trees in Poipu, Kauai in Hawaii, and carves them into drinkable masterpieces at scenic lookout points for tips for a living.

If you ask James what his second favorite food is (I went there), he’ll tell you it’s avocado. If you ask him what he does with avocado, he’ll tell you: he blends it with banana, coconut water, cashews and any seeds he has laying around and makes a creamy spread. And if you tell him “that sounds out of this world!” he might fetch a big jar of it from under the driver’s seat of his palm tree-covered pickup truck, and let you take a spoonful. (Out of this world, indeed!)

Two all-natural, scrumptious Hawaiian treats in one… not to mention the beautiful waterfall you came to see!

Try Zico for the best coconut water in any of the other 49 states.

And try blending up James’ creamy, nutty, avocado-banana-cashew-coconut concoction and spreading it on a piece of whole grain toast for a healthy snack– not sure how easy it’ll be to duplicate but I’ll certainly try!