Who Has Fun Plans for Summer Vacation?-Written by Fatima, GiGi’s NYC Participant

There are some wonderful holidays to celebrate in July. For example, Independence Day, National Fried Chicken Day, World Chocolate Day, National Blueberry Muffin Day, National French Fry Day, Fresh Spinach Day, National Ice Cream Day, National Mango Day, National Vanilla Ice Cream Day, and National Avocado Day.

Independence Day is celebrated on July 4th each year, and a lot of people celebrate this holiday in different ways. For example, people like to watch or participate in watermelon or hot dog eating competitions, sporting events such as baseball games, three-legged races, swimming activities, and tug-of-war games. Also, my mom’s birthday is on July 4th. Her name is Denise!

National Fried Chicken Day was celebrated on Saturday, July 6th this year. People like to feast at a nearby restaurant, at home, or at an outdoor picnic. Other people like to go to KFC or Popeyes for a combo meal of fried chicken. People also go to the grocery store or the butcher and then make homemade fried chicken with mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and spinach as sides.

World Chocolate Day was celebrated on Sunday, July 7th. People enjoy making fresh fruit or marshmallows dipped into chocolate, buying chocolate bars to melt into s’mores, and having chocolate pudding pie with whipped cream and ice cream on top.

National Blueberry Muffin Day was celebrated on Thursday, July 11th this year. People like to enjoy a muffin potluck brunch or surprise their family by baking their favorite kind. It’s common to buy ingredients for blueberry muffins with oatmeal to bake from scratch at home. You can bake blueberry muffins for yourself, your immediate family, your extended family, and your friends. People also enjoy blueberry picking. However you choose to enjoy these muffins, make sure to savor every crumb. Happy National Blueberry Muffin Day, everyone!

National French Fry Day was celebrated on Friday, July 12th. People like to have chicken wings with french fries for dinner or order french fries while eating dinner out at a restaurant. Some restaurants give away freebies on National French Fry Day. McDonald’s is one restaurant that does this and will offer a free medium order of fries to customers who order through the app on this day. You can also host a french fry party to celebrate all the varieties of french fries there are. Other people like to go to Popeyes and Wendy’s for a meal or defrost frozen french fries to enjoy at home. Some businesses have created challenges for National French Fry Day, such as a Las Vegas theme park that has participants catch french fries launched from a slide.

Fresh Spinach Day was celebrated on Tuesday, July 16th, and a lot of people celebrate the occasion by cooking meals for dinner, having spinach as a side dish, and planting spinach in their vegetable garden. Shake up your vegetable routine, and mix up your greens. Share your favorite ways to add spinach to your meals. On this day, I planned on making grilled cheese sandwiches with a side of avocados, fresh spinach, and broccoli for dinner. Also, I planned on eating some Pakistani spinach and potatoes with rice for lunch since my father is Pakistani. Pakistani spinach with potatoes is one of my favorite ways to enjoy spinach. This can be made and enjoyed with family and friends for dinner. I want to enjoy it with my friends from Canada.

National Ice Cream Day is celebrated on Sunday, July 21st this year. It’s popular to make hot fudge sundaes and banana splits, have an ice cream eating contest, lick ice cream cones, eat and buy ice cream sandwiches, and share some with your family and your friends! Experiment with different flavors, or go to your favorite ice cream shop. On this day, I am planning on going out for ice cream while visiting with family, Sophia, Peter, and my Canadian friends when they’re in town.

National Mango Day is celebrated Monday, July 22nd. People like to visit the produce section of their local market to see what varieties are available. It’s also popular to try new dishes that highlight mango, either homemade or from a restaurant. It’s common to bake with mangos. You can also buy the different varieties of mango and compare them. On this day, I am planning on buying mangoes from a grocery store to have as a snack while watching a movie at home.

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day is celebrated on Tuesday, July 23rd. People like to enjoy a scoop of their favorite type of vanilla ice cream or try a new recipe. It’s popular to have vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream, fruit, sprinkles, or flavored syrup. It’s also popular to have a banana split or hot fudge sundae with extra vanilla ice cream and toppings. On this day I am planning on having some ice cream after going out for the day to have some fun.

National Avocado Day is celebrated on Wednesday, July 31st this year. Avocados are a key ingredient in many recipes, and you can try something new like avocado brownies, banana bread, mint fudge bars, or ice cream, and share your favorite recipe. I like to enjoy avocados in a salad or as a side for breakfast with an omelette. You might be able to find avocado deals on Wednesday, July 31st. On this day, I am planning on making guacamole to enjoy with chips and have a bologna and cheese sandwich with avocado for dinner.

Lastly, I would like to share a restaurant review of the Blue Bay Diner located at 5850 Francis Lewis Blvd, in Fresh Meadows, Queens. When I go there, my favorite things to order from the menu are all types of pasta, a BLT sandwich with french fries and coleslaw on the side, an avocado, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, the gyro sandwich platter, the spinach pie, the souvlaki deluxe, the french toast deluxe, the belgian waffles with pork as the side dish, the buttermilk with ham, sausage, and bacon as the side, the chocolate chip pancakes, and the shrimp and chicken salad wrap with avocados and some coleslaw as the side dishes. I recommend the Blue Bay Diner since this is one of my favorite restaurants in NYC.

I hope to see everyone in the fall. Please look out for my August 2024 blog post!

Happy summer!

Love you all,
Fatima