Home is where the heart is, even on Labor Day!

Every year, summer is punctuated with our country celebrating Labor Day. It acts as a period on the end of our summer sentence. Labor Day, the “workingmen’s holiday” is celebrated the first Monday in September. According to the United State Labor Department, Labor Day “is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.” It’s a national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well being of our country.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. (source: https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history)

Modern Labor Day tradition includes backyard bbq’s, pool parties, road trips, and quality time spent with friends and family. However, each year we’ve seen that more and more spend a portion of the weekend sitting in traffic to getting from point A to point B. So why not stay home and spend that time in your own backyard, especially if you have a pool?

This Labor Day, we suggest you put the keys back in the bowl, unpack your bags and spend some quality time at home. Here are some compelling reasons to do so:

• Avoid the inevitable aggravation of holiday traffic
• Save money on traveling and gas
• More time to spend relaxing instead of packing and traveling
• Be a star and host friends and family at your house
• Kick back and have fun in the pool for one last summer weekend
• One of my favorites, have more time to get some stuff done around the house

Here at Pool Scouts, the majority of us decided to stay put for the reasons listed above. But the number one reason being it means more time to relax!

Should you choose to take advantage of your back yard and spend time in the pool, top off your day with this easy, but delicious grilled peach dessert recipe from Fitness Magazine:

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 large just-ripe freestone peaches, halved and pitted
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
• 6 scoops low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt

Directions:

In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer until reduced by half and slightly syrupy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and black pepper. Cover with foil and set aside.

Heat a grill to medium. Brush cut side of the peaches with the canola oil and cook cut side down until nicely grill marked, 2 to 3 minutes. Give peaches a quarter turn and grill 1 to 2 minutes more for crosshatch marks. Flip over and brush tops with the melted butter. Grill cut side up until tender, 3 to 4 minutes more.

Arrange a peach half in each of 6 serving dishes and top with a scoop of frozen yogurt. Drizzle syrup over the top.

Nutrition Information

Servings Per Recipe: 6
PER SERVING: 199 cal., 6 g total fat (3 g sat. fat), 34 g carb. (2 g fiber), 5 g pro.

As always, time spent by the pool means that you must keep safety top of mind. Please remember to have a designated person watching the pool at all times and that everyone knows the rules of the pool!

We hope you enjoy your Labor Day weekend and find time to relax with family and friends regardless of where you decide to spend it!