“Did you order a Bullied? or Un-Bullied Burger”, That’s the question Burger King is asking in the most powerful PSA ever to grace television. Since October is National Bullying Prevention month, the burger giant jumped on board with NoBully.org to help spread awareness about a topic that has been and still is troubling to our society today, especially children and teens.
Burger King’s campaign “Bullying Junior” is a PSA in which a group of kids (actors) are bullying a kid inside the restaurant. While that action is taking place in front of customers, there’s a different type of action taking place in the kitchen, where a burger is being bullied as well by an employee (also an actor) and served to customers. The goal of the PSA was to see which incident would get the most attention. The bullied kid or the bullied burger, in which Burger King stated below..
If you’re thinking, the bullied kid would get more attention – Well, think again. In the video shown below, the fast food chain showed more people responding and getting angry over the bullied burger as opposed to the bullied kid – According to Fox News, a staggering or whopping I should say 95% of customers complained of having a bullied burger, while 12% stood up for the bullied kid. I have to say, my mouth literally dropped when I saw those numbers but then again, we live in a society where “Minding your own business” or “It’s not my kid nor my problem” is at an all time high. As a society we are constantly consumed of news and/or video’s displaying children whom are being bullied or have taken their own lives because they can’t deal with the pain, hurt and shamefulness that bullying brings on. Who do they tell? – Who can they trust? – Where can they go for help?, unfortunately are all questions that sometimes never get resolved or answered in time.
According to statistics 30% of students worldwide are bullied each year.
I have to say while I was very appalled by the reactions of these “real life” people whom didn’t take a stand, I’m even more saddened by the many children whom live this commercial every…single…day. In the video below prior to the PSA experiment, you’ll meet several students all of whom discuss their own personal experiences with bullying at one point or another in their lives.
View the video below and while you’re at it, visit Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center website hereto find out how you can show your support, add your name to the “Together Against Bullying” pledge, Sign up for the newsletter or attend an upcoming “Bullying Awareness” event within your community!
I applaud Burger King for standing UP! to an issue that apparently according to their experiment didn’t get much of an applause.
While we’re on the subject of Bullying – Stay Tuned as I have a surprise to share with you on this upcoming Friday 10/27/17.
Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager
Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Love Hard & Inspire Often!
Macaroni and Cheese has always been one of my favorite southern comfort foods, I am a big fan of cheese and when you mix that with some pasta, let’s just say….it’s a match made in heaven. While I can’t have mac and cheese on a regular like I would like due to me having to keep a close watch on the carbs, I was very happy when I found this recipe in which incorporated pumpkin in the recipe and with all of pumpkins great benefits, this recipe was proving to not only be good for the body but decrease sugar levels as well.
So I was very excited to be able to fix this recipe but mostly I couldn’t wait to taste it – I mean, I have to be real with you – it’s not every day that you hear about people putting pumpkin in the ooey, gooey mac and cheese so I was a little skeptical at first, I’m a person that falls in love with food based on the taste, not the look – so I knew if the taste wasn’t great then this recipe was going to go down in smokes as there was no plan B!
But to my surprise, this recipe was not only easy (my favorite word) but exceeded my taste expectations as well. If you need a quick, wholesome and nutritious meal to fix or dinner tonight or any night this week, then grab your pens and paper and follow me below as I share the ingredients and cooking instructions to this cheesy surprise!
The Ingredients you’ll need are here:
8 Ingredients are all you need!!
And the Recipe goes a little something like this:
1 package (16 oz) elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter (unsalted)
1/4 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 oz)
Directions are as Follows:
Heat oven to 350°F. Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package, using minimum cook time.
Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with whisk. Remove from heat; stir in milk. Heat to simmering; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg, mustard and pumpkin. Add 1 3/4 cups of the cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.
Add macaroni to cheese sauce and stir until coated. Pour into greased 3-quart casserole. Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.
Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Optional: If you choose to use bread crumbs, as I did. You’ll melt a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a small pan until all melted then you’ll add in a 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and stir them around in the butter until they are coated, like below..
Now, for my Before and After Pics ~
Step #2 – All ingredients mixed in
Everything is mixed & Looking Good!
Step #3 Macaroni added, making this look even more delicious!
Before: Moved to Oiled pan with Breadcrumbs
After: Baked for 20min, Umm, So Good!
Now, Let’s Dress this Yummy Goodness Up!!
I completed this Cheesy dish with a side of Spinach salad and a piece of boneless, skinless baked chicken thigh and topped it off with a glass of Key Lime Sparkling water and VIOLA! dinner is served!!! This dish was so good, you could taste the pumpkin a little, it was cheesy and surely a better alternative than using powdered cheese, I really loved how healthy this dish was, It was truly a very good “guilty” pleasure.
As you can see, a little pumpkin can go a long way…I would suggest adding it in a couple of your meals for an extra added boost of nutrition. This recipe was provided by Betty Croker and if you want to make it for yourself or your family, just go here
Now I have to say, my son and daughter didn’t care for this so well, so if you have children, it may be a less non-desired taste for them but there are many ways you can boost this recipe up, by simply adding more cheese and maybe some bacon as your topping. You also don’t have to use a whole can or cup of pumpkin – you can reduce that to a smaller portion of a 1/2 cup or less. I hope you enjoy this nice twist to a very common southern classic. You might even want to plate up some tonight!
Thursday is the last recipe for the month – I’ll be ending the great pumpkin series with a little dessert, so stay tuned!
Did you hear about the giveaway??
To kick off the pumpkin festivities I thought I would do a giveaway – I love to receive things and I know you might too. I’m giving away a $25.00 gift card, here’s what you have to do and how to enter:
Follow @justsuminspiration2u on Instagram
Post a picture of you with one of the 5 recipes featured this month with the caption: “Pumpkins Up! @justsuminspiration2u is doing a giveaway! Enter for a chance to win at justsuminspiration.com.”
That’s It! That’s all you have to do – Remember, you have to make one of the recipes, follow me on Instagram, post your picture of you and the recipe of choice and include the italicized statement with your post. Good Luck!!
The Winner will be announced November 3, 2017 at 1:00pm on the Justsuminspiration blog, Facebook and Instagram pages. Winners will be selected randomly from the list of entries submitted.
Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager
Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Love Hard & Inspire Often!
If you missed the other recipe posts, you can view them here:
Children are so powerful, they have a way of saying and doing things that most of us adults are still trying to figure out how to do; in which is why I love writing about children and their efforts. The ideas, inspiration and motivation that they possess as well as the things they’re capable of doing are amazing to say the least and this next story goes to prove just how powerful their thought processes can be.
5yr old Kindergartner, Sunshine Oelfke‘s piggy bank became alot smaller when she emptied it, not for toys or some special thing she saw on T.V. but for a much more worthier cost, to help a classmate in need. According to media site People human interest; Sunshine’s grandmother, Jackie Oelfke took notice of her grand-daughter as she was sitting on the living room floor stacking up nickels, pennies, dimes and a some crinkled up dollar bills, money in which she was saving for a snow mobile. After counting the money, the little girl then proceeded to put the money into her backpack.
Sunshine Oelfke – Photo courtesy of Bing
Curious, Sunshine’s grandmother began to question her granddaughter in regards to her actions, the answer she received afterwards – you can say, was PRICELESS! as Sunshine announced:
“I’m going to take it for milk money. I’m taking it for my friend Layla,” she explained. “She doesn’t get milk — her mom doesn’t have milk money and I do.”
Surprised by the response, Jackie took her granddaughter to school that morning to meet with the Principal to explain Sunshine’s efforts. Sunshine had $30 saved and wanted to donate the money not only to her classmate Layla (perCBS News) whom didn’t have milk, but to every other classmate whom also struggled with getting milk money as well.
There are 20 kids in Sunshine’s class, most of whom just like Layla, cannot afford to purchase milk which cost $.45 cents a carton, which adds up to $180.00 a month. Sunshine’s grandmother was so taken by the act of kindness her granddaughter displayed, she posted her reaction to Facebook, in which since posted on October 5th, has garnered over 15K views.
Since the inspiring incident, Jackie Oelfke started a GoFundMe page to help the now known as #SunshinesClassMilkMoneyMission; the page had a set goal of $5,000 dollars but has since generated over $11,000 dollars to date!
That’s a lot of Milk Money for a Classroom brought on by a little SUNSHINE!
See the inspiring video below in which was provided by Today Show host Hoda Kotb’s “Morning Boost!”
Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager
Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Inspire Often & Love Hard!
A little over a year ago I left a church. It was a church that I truly loved, it wasn’t big, it wasn’t too small but as Goldilocks said as she said ate, sat, slept and finagled her way into baby bear’s things “It was just right” – I mean I’ve been to other churches before but this one allowed me to really express myself and use the gifting that God gave me. I mean, while there’s no perfect church. I felt as if this one was the perfect fit for me. Well as you know anytime you get comfortable with someone or some-thing – the enemy has to come in and play his dirty card hands to make sure “your perfect sunshine” turns into doom and rain and that is exactly what happened in this case.
All I will say is, there was something heard, a whole lot of wrong communication said, my emotions took over and went into overdrive and I became very sarcastic, distant and said a bunch of things I didn’t mean (I never said I was an angel). I ended up leaving that church as fast as I had become a part of it, I vowed that I would never step foot into that place again. While I didn’t share what happened with anyone outside of the people in whom were involved; the incident left me very bitter towards them and a silent grudge within my heart.
So what does the bible mean when in Hebrews 12:14 (NLT) when it says:
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
You see?, following peace is really about maintaining relationships with people, because as funny as life is, we never know whom we might need to reach out to in order to ask for a favor, we also never know whom may need us, so we must maintain a peaceful spirit and character as well, I mean think about it, if you say you’re a Christian (and most people have their different meanings as to what this means to them) and you’re supposed to be repping Christ, do you really think you should not have a good, peaceful, approachable attitude? I mean how would Jesus look if every time someone approached him with a question, he gave you the Ice Cube look…..
Not only would you not want to approach him but you’ll be afraid to ask him for anything. You should think about that the next time someone steps to you, are you giving them the Ice Cube look? (nothing against Ice Cube by any means =)
But following peace with all men is not an easy thing to do as they definitely wouldn’t care if you have peace concerning them. My mom used to tell me often, “Roshonda, it’s not what they do but what you do that matters.” And while I couldn’t understand what mama was saying at that time; as I became older, her words of wisdom became perfectly clear. When you’re representing a higher power it really does matter how you carry yourself. When we took the charge to be a Christian, we took an oath to not only be a follower but also a doer of his word, which means we have to represent him no matter what others do or don’t do.
Don’t get me wrong, this “following peace” way of handling things sometimes is not the most popular stance to take as I want to get my Ice Cube look on and break some necks and dare somebody to say something but I took an oath to follow Christ and with that, that means that I must follow peace. That also means that I have to apologize, even when I don’t want too – even if it wasn’t my fault. I have to forgive people, even when they laugh in my face and I know they talking about me behind my back. I have to do good to the people that just last week, threw me under the bus just to cover their tracks and I have to pray for the ones that I don’t want to pray for because I feel like they’re evil and don’t deserve God’s mercy, but then again, None of us do….
In prayer the other morning – God laid that church strongly on my heart and I reached out to the pastor….not expecting a response because it had been over a year, I imagined all the things they could have said to me, but what I got in return was love and a warm welcome. I was so elated and grateful that God put on my heart to go back and make amends and I was glad that I was still in the land of the living to do it. A lot of times we don’t want to admit when we’re wrong because we want to shift blame and refuse to humble ourselves, but if Jesus can forgive the people that done him wrong and still die for their sins inspite of their attitudes toward him, What about you? What about Me? Are we any different or above the law? NO, we’re not.
Listed below are a couple of tips to help you follow Peace more Easily…
Forgive and Move Forward, Literally
I can’t tell you how much time we lose trying to get people to respond to our plea for forgiveness. Listen, they’re not God and their opinion of whether your forgiveness was real or fake will not put you in heaven or hell. It’s not what they do or don’t do, it’s what you took the courage to do in spite of. The only person you should ever worry about is God himself, you know the one who actually created you? Yeah, him. Don’t waste no more time on people – whether they forgive you or not is their business and between their God, do what you were asked to do and Move On…
Expect Nothing In Return
Just because you had a come to Jesus moment with yourself doesn’t mean others have taken out the time to have that same conversation with him. God dealt with you about what you needed to do – don’t expect anything more from them. If they are true believers, they’ll come around otherwise again, do you and move boo.
So, What is a Christian Again?
Being a Christian means doing things as Christ would have and you have to ask yourself, would Christ hold a grudge, would he be upset at someone for years and not speak to them or bless them? Just as he wouldn’t, you shouldn’t either. Being a Christian means being Christlike even when we don’t want too.
Sometimes Peace Is Hard – Forgive yourself for your actions
Romans 12:18 (NIV) says, If it is possible as much as depends on you live peaceably with all men. When the Apostle Paul wrote that scripture he was referencing that the believers aim should be to live peaceably, but knew that sometimes peace would not be within our control. People will be people, while some will forgive – others will not but you’re not responsible for their actions and can’t help the feelings that they may have toward you, just know that God forgives you and once you’ve forgiven yourself? Feel free to move forward. When you’ve done your part, then you have to step back, let go and let God do his.
Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager
Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Love Hard & Inspire Often!
Let me just start off by saying, I would have never thought to put pumpkin in my oatmeal but then again, I love trying new things so I can’t actually say I wouldn’t have thought of it, I just would have never thought to pick up a can from the grocery store.
Who would have known that the great pumpkin, would not only be beneficial to your face – in which takes my mind back to an old Oprah Winfrey show episode in which she gave away some pumpkin face cream from bath and body works in her “favorite things giveaway” show. Needless to say, BBW sold out of the product once she made mention of it, which is not a surprise, because what Ms. O likes, everyone likes…
While BBW has not had that product since (I mean they have other pumpkin inspired scents, just not that particular one) I think people really sleep on how beneficial and wonderful pumpkin really is, I mean they serve all sorts of purposes and not just for trick or treating or to make our porches look great on the outside, but they’re also good for our insides (body) as well. Check this out:
So, that’s why I wanted this month to be all about the pumpkin – because something that good needs to be eaten everyday. Speaking of which, you all would be so proud to know that this next recipe turned out exactly like I had hoped it would…my pumpkin oatmeal was not only on point but amazingly delicious.
I was soooo excited because I didn’t want to write another “failed recipe” post….this is a cause for celebration, so…..
(Excuse me, while I do my happy dance….lol)
Yes, I was really excited because if you knew my cooking skills?, then you’ll understand my dance =) so if it worked for me, it’ll be a breeze for you. To make this very simple, yet wholesome recipe – below are the ingredients you’ll need.
Simple Right? The Cranberries and Walnuts are optional
The Pumpkin Oatmeal recipes goes as follows:
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats (I used half a cup – carb watch!)
3/4 cup of milk (I used almond but it’s your preference)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
Directions:
Mix together oats and milk in a bowl. Cook on high for 1 to 2 minutes in the microwave. Once completed, you can stir in more milk if needed to achieve the desired consistency you want and cook for another 30 sec. Stir in pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon sugar (I used regular cinnamon and two stevia packets). Heat again for about 1 min and VIOLA! your breakfast is done! Below are pics of my before and after.
Before – Looks good Huh!After – Trust Me, It smells as good as it looks!
I added banana’s, walnuts, cranberries and drizzled it with a tablespoon of sugar-free maple syrup. When I tell you this breakfast had me full all day, it really did. I usually have to have a healthy snack prior to lunch but no snacks were needed that day.
I got this recipe from two sources in which you can see below:
I took a little something from each and just made it my own. So the next time you’re in the mood for something wholesome and yummy in the morning – this recipe is one that will not only fulfill your taste-buds but add a whole lot of goodness to your body as well.
To kick off the pumpkin festivities I thought I would do a giveaway – I love to receive things and I know you might too. I’m giving away a $25.00 gift card, here’s what you have to do and how to enter:
Follow @justsuminspiration2u on Instagram
Post a picture of you with one of the 5 recipes featured this month with the caption: “Pumpkins Up! @justsuminspiration2u is doing a giveaway! Enter for a chance to win at justsuminspiration.com.”
That’s It! That’s all you have to do – Remember, you have to make one of the recipes, follow me on Instagram, post your picture of you and the recipe of choice and include the italicized statement with your post. Good Luck!!
The Winner will be announced November 3, 2017 at 1:00pm on the Justsuminspiration blog, Facebook and Instagram pages. Winners will be selected randomly from the list of entries submitted.
Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager
Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Love Hard & Inspire Often!
P.S. If you missed the blog post displaying all the yum we’re cooking up this month, click on the link below to catch up!
A Blog, A Magazine. It's JustsumInspiration! 
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