Learning to Love Yourself

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Hearts in the snowLoving ourselves isn’t always easy.

Most of us don’t treat ourselves as if we even like ourselves let alone love ourselves.

We find ourselves running around doing things for others, our friends, family, children, spouses and fall short on finding time for ourselves. The scary part is being alright with no time for yourself.

When do we pay attention to ourselves, it’s usually a comment directed to a reflection in a window or mirror.

“Ugh, I need to lose weight; hate my hair, my thighs are fat, wish I had clear skin or straight hair or better sense of fashion.”

“Why am I short, tall or why does my top ride up over my backside like that? One day you’ll start exercising, look at that belly!. . .” and the messages go on and on, continually.

It makes no wonder so many have self-esteem and confidence problems!

The first step we need to do in order to accept ourselves just the way we are is to  take a look at what is in your heart.

Most of us are kind, loving human beings who choose to do the best we can as we go along.

Take a deep breath. Try to listen to your heart and recognize that feeling. Pour the same love you have for your spouse and children all over yourself.

How does that feel?

Can you allow yourself to feel good and wonderful from receiving love from your own self?

Why are we surprised and flattered when someone expresses interest in us? Why do we wonder why they like or love us? Why can’t we simply accept the feeling and feel like it’s good, deserving and wonderful?

Why do we put ourselves last? We ALL matter, each in our unique way. When we learn to love ourselves, it becomes easier to be happy. It becomes easier to be brighter and as we all know a bright smile and happiness is easy to spread.

When you learn to love yourself and accept who and how you are right now, everything you do from then on will celebrate that.

The food you eat will change to nourishing because you make better choices, you body will change because you choose to take care of it by exercising, your mind will change because you will have lost that negative self talk that poisons everything.

Take 10 minutes, just ten quiet minutes and listen to your heart. You may love people or animals, but accept that you deserve some of that love energy directed at you too. You deserve it, you are worth it.

Look in the mirror and tell yourself: “I am worth it!”

It makes it easier to put that doughnut down and go out for a walk.

Catch yourself next time you find yourself criticizing anything about you. Find one thing you like about yourself at that moment and dwell on that. It could be how fast you got errands done, a good hair day, how you helped someone, anything you feel good about and hold on to that thought and feeling for a few minutes, if you can.

Do not allow any negative self talk, or if only’s or whens. Now. Just now.

So this Valentines Day, whether you have someone else to love or not, take a nice long look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself from your heart, “I Love You”.

  Start there, it’s a good beginning.Rose

In My Kitchen February 2014

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I was on the fence about doing an In My Kitchen post this month, I didn’t think I have time. BUT, this morning, I made time to share a few things. Thanks to Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for hosting! This is what is in my kitchen. . .

I’ve been studying herbalism the last few months. One project required making a strong lavender tea. When ever we have “spent” herbs left over from infusions, decoctions, tinctures or tea, it is recommended to compost the spent herbs. Well I adore lavender, every part of it. I couldn’t quite bring myself to bury the mass of spent lavender buds in the compost.Lavender Heart

Instead, I mixed them with a small bit of Modge-Podge and formed the flowers into a heart using a mold lined with plastic wrap. I let it dry overnight then brushed a bit more modge-podge over the surface and added a layer of dried lavender buds that weren’t spent to the outside surface. I added a bit of ribbon and a few drops of lavender essential oil and hung this lovely heart by my desk. I’ll probably place it in my lingerie drawer after a while. It is very comforting to be studying at my desk and have the lovely lavender aroma wafting by.

I’ve been consuming a lot of tea this winter! One of my favorites is Flowering Tea by Numi. Placing a hand tied tea bud into a glass pot, pouring boiling water over it provides a lovely unfolding of the tea bud. As the leaves unfold, sometimes there are tiny flowers tied inside that get released. it is quite a beautiful show for those who appreciate tea.Numi Flowering Tea Numi Flowering Tea

Monday I start a course in Integrative Nutrition! I am so excited and motivated. In my welcome box, they sent me this ever-so-cute velvet heart, filled with Lavender!

I keep an artist model on my desk. Why? Not sure but I change the poses all the time. Right now it is finding lots of ways to hold on to the heart.Mannekin and heart

One day I’ll start sketching the human body again.

In My Kitchen are these lovely bowls collected from Soup On Sunday events over the years. I think they make great small bowls for all kinds of things.Soup Bowls

This bread mold was ordered thinking it was a pate or terrine mold. I’ll be working this later today to see just how bread turns out.

Bread mold for making round bread for hors d'oeuvres

Bread mold for making round bread for hors d’oeuvre

I’ve started to drink a glass of water with lemon (no sugar!) in it not only the first thing in the morning, but all day long. I’m working on getting up to 8-10 eight ounce glasses a day.

Drink several glasses of lemon water each day

Drink several glasses of lemon water each day

The big thing with beverages is to watch the sugar content! I’d bet that most people don’t realize how much sugar they are consuming through beverages alone. How about you?refreshing lemon water

“Eat What You Want…”

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“Just cook it yourself.”

What a great message from Michael Pollan!

Check it out.

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding with Toasted Almonds

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There’s been a stir lately about chia seed pudding and this recipe for Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding with Toasted Almonds is one of the best I’ve tasted. Yum, Chocolate!

When I first bought the bag of chia seeds, honestly, I had no idea how I was going to use them.

I kept having flashbacks of smearing the soaked, slimy seeds over a rough damp terra-cotta pot shaped into some absurd shape. In college, my roommate and I had some; mine was an animal that grew chia fur, my roommate had a head that grew chia hair.

I think this is my favorite though:

But enough of silliness, on with the recipe! Best part is the seeds aren’t sprouted for the pudding.

The thing about chia seeds are they absorb quite a bit of liquid compared to their dried mass. This thickens products they are used in and results in a bit of an off-putting gelatinous substance. Hold your judgement.

The chia seed has good nutritional value providing omega 3 fatty acids, protein, fiber, magnesium, potassium, calcium and zinc. It’s a powerhouse of good nutrition.

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding with Toasted Almonds

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding with Toasted Almonds

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding with Toasted Almonds

Yield: 1-1/2 cups

Dry Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons organic granulated sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup of chia seeds

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1 cup non-fat milk or use almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk, use plain rather than already sweetened varieties
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:

  • 1/4 cup toasted almonds
Method:

Mix the dry ingredients together so there are no lumps.

Mix the wet ingredients together; add a small amount of liquid to the dry ingredients. Stir this until it makes a smooth batter-like paste. Fold the rest of the liquids into the dry ingredients and mix well.

TIP:

Dry cocoa powder does not combine easily with the milk if you just add everything all at once. There could be lumps of dry cocoa in the finished pudding which would be kinda yucky. SO add just a bit of milk and stir it in to get the cocoa wet and lump free before adding all of the milk.

Cover and set aside then stir every 20 minutes 3 times.This ensures the seeds are not clumping and will hydrate correctly.

Then put the covered pudding into the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

To serve, fold in toasted almonds, reserving some for the top garnish. Spoon the pudding into a small bowl or cup, sprinkle with a few toasted almonds on top, add a small mint leaf and a berry or two if you have any on hand.

About the milk and ways to modify the recipe:

You can use any milk you prefer, even half and half but that sort of defeats the “healthy” part of this recipe. If you choose coconut milk, read the label and make sure of the ingredients before you buy it.

You can add spices like ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, use almond extract or orange or raspberry extract for flavor enhancement.

Leave the nuts out, add fruit  or nothing instead.

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding with Toasted Almonds

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding with Toasted Almonds

I’m thinking coconut, rose-water and cardamom, or chocolate raspberry next!

Since I had to taste this while writing about it, I didn’t realize I ate the majority of the dish and now have to make more to photograph the final plate up. Duh! It’s like the time I walked into the kitchen and ate the photo shoot. I dream of having a staff to help keep things straight!

Monk Fruit in the Raw VS. Sugar

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Monk Fruit In The RawOK, so at the start of every new year, almost everyone says “I’m going to lose weight or get fit” or something. So I decided to see what this zero-calorie Monk Fruit In the Raw “all natural sweetener” is about.

The ingredients are: dextrose, monk fruit extract. In the larger bulk pack, the ingredients were: maltodextrin, monk fruit extract.

I wonder why the difference? I wonder what percentage of dextrose to monk fruit extract am I getting? Theoretically, they could simply add a few drops of the extract to the bin of dextrose and call it Monk Fruit in the Raw, but it is far from raw and since dextrose is the first ingredient, it is also far from being monk fruit.

So, I bought some to explore since I didn’t think the store would appreciate me trying this in the store. I opened a pack and poured it into my hand. I put some in my mouth and tasted it.

Sweet on the front, but it had an odd numbing sensation, slight, but numbing. Then the bitter after taste came on a few minutes after I had finished tasting the newly discovered miraculous ‘have your sweets and no calories too’ monk fruit sweetener. Yuck!

Then I put some in a perfectly good cup of coffee and totally ruined that too.

While the initial taste is sweet, it’s the dry bitterness of dextrose (yes another ‘natural’ sugar) that gets you in the end. Not being a diet soda drinker, I suppose my taste buds are more sensitive to those kind of flavors, but I didn’t like it at all. It actually numbed my taste receptors for a while after I finished  tasting, that I didn’t like at all!

I read the website the claim “Has the least after taste . . .” but whats with that tongue coating effect?

After washing my tongue off and getting it back to normal, I tried the same with a bit of organic sugar. Yup! Pleasure, smooth and sweet.

Sugar Bowl

Sugar Bowl

So what’s the conclusion? Use sugar, just use a lot less. I’m learning to like my tea with no sweetener but Earl Grey really likes a small bit of sugar.
Unless you enjoy the sensation of diet/low-calorie food things in your mouth, stick to using sugar. Train yourself to use less. I know that’s not an option for diabetics., but maybe use the real fruit instead of this processed junk?

The packaging is romantic and describes the ancient history of using monk fruit as a sweet ingredient. I’d bet they didn’t have granulated sugar then either, let alone dextrose or maltodextrin to mix it with. What they used back then is not what is wrapped up so neatly in bright orange packages and presented to you as monk fruit.Monk Fruit In The Raw Packets

And the zero calories? The say on the side of the box that each package contains less than 3 calories per serving which the FDA recognizes as zero calories. But whose counting?

This is my opinion and your tastes and experience may differ. I love that!

Southern Iced Tea

Southern Iced Tea

Organic VS. Conventionally Grown Vegetables

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Vegetables ready to pickle!It can be confusing to shop for vegetables these days trying to figure out whether to buy organic vs. conventionally grown produce.

Some say if it has a thick peel organic doesn’t matter, but sometimes it does.

Here’s a couple of lists: One of foods you should always buy organic and the other a list of produce that is alright to buy conventionally grown items.

Always Buy Organic:

Why? These foods have been found to have high levels of pesticide contamination.

Always wash all fruits and vegetables just before cooking and preparing.

Fruit:

  • Apples
  • Grapes
  • Imported Nectarines
  • Peaches
  • Strawberries

Vegetables:

farmers market radishes

  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Celery
  • Cherry and Grape Tomatoes
  • Corn – to avoid GMO
  • Cucumbers
  • Collard greens
  • Hot peppers
  • Kale
  • Potatoes
  • Spinach
  • Summer Squash
  • Sweet Bell Peppers

OK To Buy Conventionally Grown:

Why? These crops are safely grown with the low usage of pesticide resulting in lower pesticide residue on your fruits and vegetables.

Always wash well before preparing.

Fruits:

Fresh Blueberries

  • Cantaloupe
  • Grapefruit
  • Kiwi
  • Mangoes
  • Papayas – Check it for GMO
  • Pineapples

Vegetables:

  • Asparagus
  • Avocados
  • Cabbage, all varieties
  • Eggplant
  • Mushrooms
  • Onions
  • Sweet Potatoes

This list features the most pesticide contaminated foods which are advised to purchase organically whenever possible. The conventionally grown foods on the list are the ones grown with the least amount of pesticide contamination.

if it’s not on the list, you’ll have to do some research and decide for yourself whether to buy organic or conventionally grown.

Most produce in the USA will come with a PLU number on it. It is not required by the government but the PLU system was designed to streamline things for processors and pricing, not consumers.

Here are a few basic guidelines for selecting fruit and vegetables using PLU codes.

Conventionally grown produce will bear a 4-digit number in the 3,000-4,000 range

Organic produce will bear a 5-digit number starting with 9

Supposedly GMO produce bears a 5-digit number starting with 8, but you don’t see it  because they really don’t use those PLU codes to identify GMO grown foods. Why don’t they use the 8-digit code? Growers are afraid consumers won’t buy if it bears a code starting with an 8, so they choose to leave the code off the product. Use of the PLU code is optional, not required.

So the best thing to do is not totally depend upon PLU codes but know who grows your food and know where it comes from.

 

I hope this helps all of us eat better this next year!

In My Kitchen, January 2014

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Wow! A New Year already and another In My Kitchen Post for January 2014. Shout out to Celia who is the host of this wonderful series!

My kitchen was quite busy in December. This year, I decided to make Spa Baskets for the women of the family and Kitchen Baskets for the families. The spa baskets were such fun! I got to play with making bath fizzies, lip balm, body butters and lotions. I had a blast.

We went to a holiday party where they passed out bags of organic produce as we left.

Burlap potato sacs

Burlap potato sacs

The bags were made of this nifty burlap that make perfect places to store potatoes in the cabinet. I am strangely drawn to them.

Like Joanne in her January INK post, I too got some things to cook hard-boiled eggs in only this package is called “Eggies” while hers are “Easy Eggs”. It doesn’t matter but I haven’t tried them out yet.

Eggies!

Eggies!

Tyler is in my kitchen! I swear he’s grown another inch!

It’s been wonderful to have him home. He goes back to grad school Saturday; we will miss him. Tyler's in the kitchen

In November, I started taking a class on Learning Herbs.

My herbal study nook

My herbal study nook

I got to set up an area just off the kitchen to house all my new ingredients, tools, tinctures and all the great fun stuff needed for the lessons. I really like my little herbal nook.

Tinctures brewing

Tinctures brewing

Spring can’t come too early, I want to plant some herbs!

In my kitchen is an entire drawer devoted to tea.

The Tea Drawer

The Tea Drawer

Since getting the tea pots and cups out of storage, we’ve been making and drinking a lot more tea. I change teapots every week or so. We have two pots brewing almost all of the time. One for regular black tea which gets used mostly for iced tea or the occasional cuppa with a cookie or two.

The other pot is for an herbal tea, kept under a cozy to keep it warm as long as possible. Lately the tea finding its way into the herbal pot is Earl Gray. I love it with a thin slice of lemon and a small bit of sugar, in a china cup , of course. If I could find fresh bergamot, I’d be in heaven.

A student of mine and his wife took a trip to China and brought me back this lovely tin of “Fruit Tea” with the strainer.

Chinese Fruit Tea, love the label!

Chinese Fruit Tea, love the label!

Inside the tea looks like diced dried bits of various fruits and roses. It has a delicate sweet taste that is quite pleasant! I put the spent bits of tea out for the birds with their winter food. They like the fruit! Doug told me the tea was for “graceful aging.”

Since we’ve started drinking more tea, I’ve realized a new tea cozy or two would come in handy and have decided to make a couple. I haven’t started that project yet. This morning, I saw the adorable knitted tea cozy on Celia’s IMK post with knitted olives! I know I won’t be that elaborate, or even knitted but I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. I used to quilt and embroider and tailor so who knows what the tea cozies will look like!

Cozy Update: Celia tole me the knitted olive cozy belongs to Glenda! So if you want to see it, go here to check out the neatest cozy! (Sorry Glenda!)

Anyone out there ever make a tea cozy? What do yours look like? Do you have a pattern or tips you can share?

It’s about to get real cold here in the next week. Down to 8°F which to me is unthinkably cold. I’ll be staying in so maybe working on those cozies may come about.

Here’s to drinking more tea!
Chinese Fruit Tea

Chinese Fruit Tea

Keep comfortable where ever you are.

I’m ready for a great new year, how about you?

Hoppin’ John and Skipping Jenny New Years Foods

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Hoppin John

Hoppin John

Hoppin’ John and Skipping Jenny are typical New Years food here in the American south.

In case you need a recipe, Here’s a convenient link to the post all about

Hoppin’ John and Skippin’ Jenny

Happy New Year!

My favorite breakfast

Happy New Year!

 

10 Thoughts on 2013

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Here are 10 thoughts on the passing of 2013:

1. Truly, what you focus on actually comes to happen. Your thoughts are things and can manifest  that which comes to pass. Be careful. This basic principle has been demonstrated, quite vividly, over and over again, this past year. Good and bad.

When we fill our thoughts with right things, t...

When we fill our thoughts with right things, the wrong ones have no room to enter (Photo credit: symphony of love)

2. Horrible things happen, which have no words to describe, that can break your heart into a million pieces. And in spite of being broken into a million shards, you still have to carry on, smile and be pleasant. It’s not fair, it’s not right and it’s so hard.

3. I’m glad to see 2013 come to an end. I’m ready for a new year. It’s become very clear to me that I want my own business again. That happening is very exciting to me! Hum, What will it be? There are so many possibilities and that’s exciting!

4. Having something to do that you believe in is crucial to a happy life. It’s essential. Without it, life would be shallow, meaningless, hopeless, who wants that?

I love teaching and being around young adults entering the workforce. The energy that comes from my students is an amazing force. There is hope for the world.

5. Doing things for others outside of yourself does amazing things to the soul. Random acts of kindness, volunteer at a hospital or assisted living home, homeless shelter, or  food bank. Count your blessings and give generously in return. Giving generously does not always mean money. Time and talent are commodities greatly needed. A little goes a long way. Once you start doing this, it becomes addictive and you won’t want to stop. I double dog dare you to try it!

6. Sometimes it’s just easier to give up and walk away. If it’s worthwhile, it will come back in a different, less stressful form. Stop fighting and wrestling with things. If it’s giving you a hard time, put it down and walk away. When you return, it will either be gone, calmer, seen from another perspective. Whether it’s installing a cabinet shelf, or a heated discussion with someone or anything at all. “Know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away. . .”

7. Loving someone does not mean they will love you back. You have to be OK with that. You cannot control anyone else’s emotions. Love fully anyway, love always returns, not through the same path sometimes, but it always comes back to you. Don’t be afraid to tell someone you love them, especially your parents and children, husband or wife.

8. You have no influence over what other people say or think about you; so don’t listen. Live your life anyway and have less and less to do with negative people. Get rid of Debbie downer, negative nanny, picky Paul, nasty Nancy, you get the idea. You can choose not to be around those who criticize your every move. To hell with them anyway, they are the ones who would keep you from reaching your goals. There isn’t time for that so  don’t give them any energy. As the British said “Keep Calm and Carry On.”

9. Take a deep breath and know that everything, sooner than later, will pass. Then take another d e e p breath, and let it out very    s l o w l y.

10. Even in the face of adversity, try to find the light. It may be hard, but it is always there, somewhere. Focus on the outcome and what you can do to achieve it. You can always ask, “What am I doing to contribute to this situation?”

The answer to that question will amaze you.

Another approach to dealing with adversity is to take on the perspective of considering yourself the source. With that perspective in mind, what would, could or should  or will you do?

Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to ... So it is with these thoughts, I step into creating the vision of where I want to go for the next year.

This next year is going to be exciting and vibrant.

I am looking forward to a better year in 2014.
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Nut Crusted Fruit Tart Re-Visited

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Nut Crusted Fruit Tart Re-Visited was in the make as we ate the first tart.

So delicious, we started talking how we could modify the recipe.

The second Nut Crusted Fruit Tart

The second Nut Crusted Fruit Tart

This is how we changed it.

For the Crust:

Keeping in mind the ratio is 1 cup dried fruit to 1 cup nuts, the possibilities are limitless!

This time we used:

  • 1/3 cup almonds
  • 1/3 cup pecans
  • 1/3 cup pistachios
  • 1/2 cup dates
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 4 pitted prunes
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Look at that crust! I love how the cranberries and pistachios look!

Look at that crust! I love how the cranberries and pistachios look!

This made a beautiful crust! Just process it all in a food processor and press it into your pan. The consistency should hold together when your squeeze a bit of the mixture in your hand. If it doesn’t, add more dried fruit until it holds together.

Fruit Filling

This time we had a bit of each of these fruits on hand:

  • Mango
  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries
  • Blackberries
  • Raspberries
  • Bananas

This time I photographed how to lay in the bananas.

Tyler asked if the bananas could be substituted but the role they play is to provide a nice base for the fruit to lay on also, to absorb some of the juices. The bananas also mimic the custard, pastry cream  or marzipan filling on traditional fruit tarts. Here’s how you lay the bananas in the pan.

Flatten the bananas into the pan, cut side down.

Flatten the bananas into the pan, cut side down.

We were short on strawberries for the puree, so we pureed a mango instead. I think kiwi puree would look amazing!

Place strawberries on top of the bananas

Place strawberries on top of the bananas

Add the puree the edge with raspberries and blackberries

Add the puree the edge with raspberries and blackberries

On top of the bananas, we placed sliced strawberries, then poured the mango puree over the top of the tart. Then we placed raspberries and blackberries around the edge, a ring of blueberries, then a ring of blackberries, leaving the center open to show the brilliant mango color in the center.

A nice slice!

A nice slice!

To maintain a healthy dish, instead of adding that tempting dollop of whipped cream, use Greek yogurt flavored with honey and vanilla instead. And if mint was growing outside now, I’d also add a mint leaf or two.A nice slice!

Here’s the thing about this tart:

No cooking! All you need to make this is a knife, cutting board, a food processor large or small, a tart or pie pan.

Since Tyler is moving back on campus next semester, he will use his Kitchenaid “Handy-Chopper” which is a nice small convenient unit.

Tyler has decided to use this as his signature go-to dish. I think his roommates will be impressed.

Nut crusted Fruit Tart with Mango Puree

Nut crusted Fruit Tart with Mango Puree

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