Category Archives: Blogging for good health!

Blogging for good health!, Stress Reduction

Game Day and SDOGS

Leave a comment

Am I simple-minded? Do I lack motivation? Is this a delaying technique?

Perhaps.

More than likely but I don’t think so, because I’ve already checked one thing off my list.

What’s happening here?

I’ve long fancied pulling a daily housekeeping task out of a hat would make cleaning out drawers, closets, and cupboards more fun perhaps. You know?

The lure of the excitement?

The anticipation of doing one small randomly chosen thing each day instead of tackling an entire goal?

With so many big plans on board, I thought I’d take some of my own advice of breaking a project down into bite-sized pieces, and then add a fun factor.

I have four to six weeks before massively changing two rooms of my house. The guest room that gets used … well, it hasn’t been used for almost three years … is going to be mostly a craft room that I will be using every day – with a soon-to-be-installed Murphy bed for guest use.

The office/business/computer and inspiration room will be relieved of craft project spill-over, look more intentional, and become a second guest room so our entire family can get together … someday – post COVID – through the transformative power of Murphy bed number two.

Suddenly, there’s the moving of furniture, elimination of stuff, emptying of drawers, closets.

Ack!

With every drawer in the house needing sprucing up, I thought, “Why not?”

While still carrying on with blog post deadlines, creating Amazon ads for my books, reaching out to markets that could benefit – especially – from my Toolkit for Caregivers book, and still arranging for the redecorating of both rooms, I have solved the overwhelming problem.

Are you ready?

Doesn’t look like much, but – for me, at least – it’s added a fun element and has taken away dread.

It took me about five minutes to write down the name of every drawer in the house on one piece of paper. With a few scissor cuts, I had about forty-five little pieces. After folding each paper into quarters, I made sure they were mixed up and I put them into a jar. I pulled out the first one and have already tidied up that drawer.

What pleasure it gave me to put the completed task into the empty jar!

Some drawers will be easy. Potholder drawer will be a cinch. The bathroom drawer with make-up will have its challenges. But, I won’t be facing ALL bathroom drawers on the same day.

Maybe your kids could use this approach to the sharing of household chores. We could sure use anything that might add a fun factor.

Jobs need to be done – that part doesn’t change – but, if I can introduce a giggle, some whimsy, a little anticipation … well, that’s a good thing, while mostly staying at home.

Have you started to enjoy Socially Distanced Outdoor Gatherings- SDOGs? I made that acronym up – you heard it here FIRST!

I had my second SDOG this past week around my new fire pit. My first fire pit was a pyramid of candles. We got a laugh out of that one.

The next day, I purchased a real fire pit. It may not be my forever one; but it is serving the purpose at present. You see, there’s an outdoor transformation going on as well. I’m trying to get a vision of my new space while using it. There will be a BBQ area, space for a dining table with an umbrella – who knows?

We had a hilarious time as I shared the art of biscuits-on-a-stick. That’s a story for another time.

It sure was grand being around friends. I hope the weather holds so we can do this lots more.

We are all fatigued with the whole COVID scene; but folks, this is no time to let our guard down. More than likely, we are facing a brutal winter. Please wear a mask when around other people.

Family gatherings are super-risky if they aren’t SDOGs. Knowing and loving someone DOES NOT mean they are safe to be around.

NONE of us knows if we are safe to be around. My latest trip to Lowe’s for paint samples could have exposed me. I could be asymptomatic. You don’t know. I DON’T KNOW!

I shared a thought that came through my Facebook feed the other day that said: “We isolate now, so when we gather again, no one is missing.”

In health,

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

The Eyes Have It!

Leave a comment

This is a Public Service Announcement for your eyes. Your peepers have been, undoubtedly, going through some extra stress and strain since March.

Why?

#1- Living with a truckload of extra stress,

#2- Staring at computer screens even more than ever, and

#3 – We’ve never been this old before.

I am still trying not to smack the people who precede their comments with, “Well, as you age, Mrs. Edwards …” to explain away every symptom I have. But, folks, it’s true.

Whether you are pushing 20 years of age, or 40, or 50, or beyond – if we are living, we are AGING.

Embrace it.

With aging comes the drying out that produces wrinkles, and decreases moisture in about everything, and the eyes are no exception. The oil and tear glands are still producing oil and tears but the viscosity – fluidness – is going down.

Think of free-flowing hot pancake syrup changing into cold molasses.

As a result, the slower moving oil glands can very easily get plugged up – especially if we are staring at a computer screen or even an innocent craft project (as in my case last week).

You may be experiencing a sty or a chalazion. The symptoms are described by the Mayo Clinic:

Signs and symptoms of a sty include:

  • A red lump on your eyelid that is similar to a boil or a pimple
  • Eyelid pain
  • Eyelid swelling
  • Tearing

Another condition that causes inflammation of the eyelid is a chalazion. A chalazion occurs when there’s a blockage in one of the small oil glands near the eyelashes. Unlike a sty, a chalazion usually isn’t painful and tends to be most prominent on the inner side of the eyelid. Treatment for both conditions is similar.

No eye inflammation? Great! But you may be experiencing dry eyes. Again, according to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms eye strain from those dried out eyes include:

  • A stinging, burning or scratchy sensation in your eyes
  • Stringy mucus in or around your eyes
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Eye redness
  • A sensation of having something in your eyes
  • Difficulty wearing contact lenses
  • Difficulty with nighttime driving
  • Watery eyes, which is the body’s response to the irritation of dry eyes
  • Blurred vision or eye fatigue

Even heightened stress can cause a degree of vision changes.

Geez. Sounds like the trifecta for eye woes – and it is.

But happily, there are things we can do to remedy the situation. A few of them include:

  • Make sure you are current with your yearly eye exam
  • Stay hydrated with water
  • Look up from the computer screen more often. Not a quick glance, but look at something far away; blink extra, and take several deep, slow cleansing breaths before looking at the computer again
  • Get up and away from the computer at least once an hour for a ten-minute walk-about
  • Make sure your hands are freshly washed before touching your eyes or caring for your contacts
  • Completely remove all eye make up each night before retiring
  • Do hot, moist compresses for each eye lasting ten minutes to “get the juices flowing” properly

These hot, moist compresses have been the eye-saver for me – except when working on iris paper folding projects too long at night. Every night for almost 3 years, I have been doing hot compresses to both eyes – it’s a doctor’s order.

Skip the compresses and a blocked up gland will result. Sty city.

Horrible hordeolum – that’s my medical slang for a sty. Except these stys do not always come to a head – they are sort of a hybrid of sty/ chalazion – and they are hurtful.

To do a hot compress for my eyes, I simply get an unused/clean wash cloth, fold it, dip the end/ends in very hot tap water, gently squeeze excess water out, and press to my eyelids. When the compress cools off, I re-dip, and re-apply as quickly as possible. Playing some relaxing meditation music while doing this makes for an enjoyable wind-down before bed.

Maybe if I had done these compresses twice a week many years ago, I wouldn’t have to do this every night now.

*Sigh* Oh, the rules apply to me?

Yes, grasshopper, to you as well.

In eye health-

Deidre

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Recipes

Orange Obsessed OCTOBER!

2 Comments

Taking a poll here. Do you eat orange-colored foods? As in pumpkin, winter squash, and sweet potatoes? Okay. Now, are you male or female? I could find no supporting studies to confirm my theory, but I know several men who prefer to never eat orange food at all.

Not. Ever. Again.

Carrots … but only if they’re raw.

Maybe they are afraid of what the fellow in this banner experienced. Alas, poor York, I knew him well.

I joined with the excitement sweeping across the country as temperatures began to drop and Dunkin’ Donuts brought back all things pumpkin.

A pumpkin latte is not a waist-slimming or healthy meal replacement beverage, but there have been two in my life since the start of September. I’m still waiting for that perfect day to eat my ONCE yearly glutenous, pumpkin donut. It will be a fine moment!

I do adore pumpkin treats. Rather than grabbing an expensive gluten-free crust for my pumpkin pie, I will often just omit the crust all together and bake my pumpkin filling in a greased baking dish.

Pumpkin pudding, anyone?

A recipe came to my inbox the other day from the blog paleomg.com for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Bars. She apologized for them not being paleo because of the oats, and she – like I have – returned to eating gluten-free oats with no ill effects.

But I just can’t leave a recipe alone. I’m always tweaking ingredients to make recipes more nutritious.

This recipe checks so many brain food boxes: all the benefits of colorful food, dark chocolate, whole grain, Omega3 fatty acids, fiber, more Omega3s, protein, eggs (remember last week’s Adam’s apple?), walnuts (did they pop out of my navel?), more protein – check, check, check.

So, here’s my first dive into pumpkin-inspired recipes, and I’m so pleased with the results. I hope you will try these.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Bars 2.0

Ingredients

3/4 cup/175 ml canned pumpkin puree (The original recipe uses ½ cup/125 ml, but I added dry ingredients that would need the added moisture)

1 cup/250 ml runny nut butter (almond or cashew)

Note: I made my own nut butter using a food processor and soaked, unroasted cashews. Make sure you soak the cashews for one hour. The goal is to not have a dry nut butter as the bars will be too dry and crumble. I added some avocado oil and a small spoonful of coconut oil until the consistency was to my liking.

2 extra-large eggs

¼ cup/50 ml maple syrup

¼ cup/50 ml brown sugar – or less

Note: This is me adding sugar to a recipe! I’m usually eliminating it, but when I tested the batter, it was just off, so I added just a small shake of brown sugar from the bag. It wasn’t much, but it did the job. These are not overly sweet tasting at all. As I have mentioned in the past – sugar makes you want more sugar – so I don’t use a lot of the stuff.

1 teaspoon/5 ml vanilla extract

1 ½ cups/375 ml gluten-free old-fashioned oats

2 teaspoons/10 ml pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon/2.5 ml baking soda

Pinch of salt – I used a little more because my nut butter lacked salt

½ cup/125 ml mini-dark chocolate chips. The original recipe calls for 1 cup/250 ml of regular-sized chips, but mini-chips seem to go further and I did not want the chocolate to overpower the pumpkin.

My additions that make this good for you:

¼ cup/50 ml collagen hydrolysate

2 tablespoons/ 30 ml of hemp seed hearts

Cute squirrel eating a walnut

2 tablespoons/30 ml ground flax seeds

¼ cup/60 ml chopped walnuts

You may need a few spoonfuls of coconut flour at the end if the batter seems too wet. Add a bit at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk/mix the wet ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, incorporating well. If the batter/mix seems too wet, add a bit of coconut flour, a spoonful at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Pour/spoon batter into prepared pan. I sprinkled about 1 tablespoonful of turbinado sugar(*) on top just to dress things up.

Bake 45-50 minutes. Start checking for doneness at 45 minutes – mine was starting to get a little too brown on top but the toothpick test revealed a still wet interior, so I put some foil over the top and continued to bake it until it was obviously done on the inside.

When fully baked, remove from oven to cool. After 5 minutes, slice using a serrated knife. I easily cut mine into sixteen squares. Just enough to go with a cup of coffee for special fall morning breakfast outdoors.

I bet you know someone who would enjoy foodtalk4you each week. Please share with a friend or family member and click the subscribe button so you won’t miss the latest.

In health – Deidre

(*) Turbinado Sugar is darker and less fine. It is also known as raw sugar.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, This -n- That

Brain Food – Part 3

1 Comment

Taste the rainbow!

We’re diving into the rainbow today to understand why colorful foods are beneficial to brain health.

There are forces of good and evil. The good guys are the flavonoids and related antioxidants and the bad guys are inflammation and oxidative stress.

What I am sharing today is, again, coming from a course I recently took titled: Brain Food: The Role of Nutrients in Memory and Cognitive Function by Annell St. Charles, PhD, RD, through the Institute for Natural Resources.

Let’s get to know these opposing sides.

Bad Guys – Team OS + I

Oxidative stress (OS) happens on a cellular level when free radicals are formed. These molecules lack some hardware (an electron) and are in search of somewhere to steal one. They create cell damage due to their thieving.

Inflammation – I talk about that all the time. All disease processes have a strong foothold in inflammation, which is preventable by how we eat, think, and live.

Good guys – Team Phytochemicals

The good guys are found in plant-based foods and are called phytochemicals. You may have heard of flavonoids, but there are three others (from thousands) that I’ll mention: phenolic acids, stilbenes, and lignans.

Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of these; there will not be a test about their names at the end, but you will know how to pick a team.

With every mouthful of food, we are picking our team!

Where to find the good guys:

Flavonoids:   Onions, kale, green beans, broccoli, endive, celery, citrus, thyme, soy, tomato, bell pepper, berry fruits, apple, purple and red grapes, red wine, apricots, pears, beans, cabbage, green tea, dark chocolate, parsley, hot peppers

Phenolic acids: Mangos, berries, apples, citrus, plums, cherries, kiwis, onion, tea, coffee, red wine, whole grain flour

Stilbenes:  Grape skins, red wine, peanuts, blueberries, cranberries

Lignans:  Flaxseeds, sesame seeds, cereal grains, cruciferous vegetables, apricots, strawberries, soybeans

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research

Numerous studies have shown phenolic acids inhibit the formation of the plaque associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Resveratrol is a stilbene from red and purple grape skins that can have a positive role in preventing dementia. Lignans from flaxseeds have been shown to enhance cognitive performance of healthy postmenopausal women.

Phytochemicals are antioxidants because they work against the oxidative stress (OS) caused by free radicals. Not all OS is bad, but negative OS seems to increase with age and can manifest in cognitive and physical decline.

OS has been found to be a major player in dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease. By combatting OS and inflammation through improved food choices, we can go a long way in reversing or delaying the onset of cognitive decline.

Hopefully, you have a better understanding about how to pick your team, how to go for the colors, and how to evaluate what is good for your brain.

As you look at your dinner plate tonight, are you seeing a sea of tans, browns, and whites? Breaded fried meat, gravy, biscuit, potatoes?

Such a color scheme spells disaster for your precious brain and the body it runs.

It’s a matter of choice. Go for the rainbow!

In health-

Deidre

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Exercise, This -n- That

Brain Food Part 2

2 Comments

Don’t you love serendipity? Right in the middle of writing this series on what we can eat to boost brain power, this lovely gem plopped right into my lap: a mnemonic device to remember the ten foods that protect brain function and over-all health.

How cool is that?

While attending a virtual seminar to learn more about the Teachable platform I’ll be using for my online workshops, Jim Kwik presented a fabulous motivational program about how to learn. To prove his point that everyone can learn if the material is presented and consumed using all our senses, he shared his mnemonic for remembering the ten top brain foods.

A mnemonic (/ne’ monik) device is any learning technique that aids in information retention and retrieval. This device uses our body – head to tail.

Get ready to have some fun as we get physical and use our imaginations to expand our minds! This requires active participation on your part.

  1. Put your hand on top of your head. Don’t think about it…DO it! Imagine rubbing in our first good food for you right into your hair: some mashed up avocado. Maybe in the form of guacamole. Creamy. Maybe like a hair conditioner.

In fact, avocado oil is often used in hair conditioners. Avocados are a food source rich in antioxidants, healthy oils, and fiber. A powerhouse food.

  • Now point to your nose. Imagine blueberries coming out of your nose. Like Hammy might do in the comic strip – he’d love this one.

Last week, I talked about going for the colorful fruits and veggies. Go for the blue and you’ll be helping your heart, bones, skin, blood pressure, cancer prevention, and mental health. These little gems that you’re imaginatively popping out of your nostrils protect against cognitive decline and improve short term memory.

  • Point to your mouth and imagine you are trying to get broccoli out of your teeth. One of those little pieces of broccoli floret has lodged between your front teeth, and you’re trying to get it out.

Broccoli’s antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals help with cancer prevention by helping fight off the formation of free radicals. Along with its cruciferous cousins, broccoli benefits skin, bones, digestion, reduces inflammation. Inflammation is the cornerstone of most diseases and conditions. Yet another reason to go for the green.

Let’s review. Move your hand as we go.

Top of head: avocado/guacamole in your hair

Nose: blueberries are popping out of your nostrils

Mouth: you are getting some broccoli out from between your teeth

  • Point to your ears: Did your mom ever put warm oil into your ears as part of treatment for an earache? Imagine pouring olive oil into your ear and place an olive on top to keep the oil in.

Thanks to its antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, olives and olive oil are another one of our ten miracle foods that help the brain and body. This narrative is looking familiar: skin, digestion, lowering cognitive decline, lots of fiber, and great source of healthy fats.

  • Place your fingertips on your throat and swallow. Feel your Adam’s apple move? Imagine that is an egg.

If your diet allows, eating that egg will provide muscle-building protein, benefit cognitive function, help eyesight, improve heart health and cholesterol levels, and can be a key food for proper growth and development. All that for under 80 calories each!

  • Using both hands, pat your shoulders. Remember the era of padded shoulders? Or perhaps you can imagine the epaulettes of a military uniform. One shoulder is padded with leaves of spinach, and the other with leaves of kale.

We’re going for the green again. In addition to the truckload of vitamins and minerals found in these dark green leafy vegetables, their fiber is gut-friendly. Kiss constipation good-bye and help irritable bowel syndrome. Help vision, diabetes, anemia; reduce the risk of heart disease; strengthen bones; improve that youthful glow in your skin and hair; prevent scurvy; improve cognition … the list goes on! What’s not to love?

Time for another review. Active participation is essential:

Top of head: avocado/guacamole in your hair

Nose: blueberries are popping out of your nostrils

Mouth: you are getting some broccoli out from between your teeth

Ears: olive oil drops and olives

Throat: an egg for an Adam’s apple

Shoulders: padded with leaves of spinach and kale

  • Move your hands over to your collar bones. Imagine a necklace draped about your collar made from salmon filets. Could get a little fishy. Imagine the coolness of your salmon beads. Maybe the salmon is in the form of sushi – think about the look and feel of your necklace.

Salmon is a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids that are crucial for brain health and total body wellness. Add in the minerals like iron, calcium, selenium, and phosphorus plus vitamins A, B, and D – well, say hello to another wonder food that is a lean protein.

  • Hold your hands out in front of you. You know how they would look – like you just ate Chez Doodles? That stubborn orange powder coating your fingers represents turmeric.

The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin. As an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, turmeric is protective of brain function. A shake or two of this powdered spice will not do anything beyond adding flavor. This item needs to be taken as a supplement. Look for a brand that is proven to be bioavailable in pill form – meaning, your body can absorb what you give it.

  • Hand on belly now. There are walnuts coming out of your navel! Walnuts even look like little brains.

Full of brain-friendly Omega-3s fatty acids and minerals, walnuts are a powerhouse snack or addition to recipes. A handful of walnuts will give you satisfying fiber, nutrition, and are anti-inflammatory. Need I say more?

  1. Lastly is your hind end. As you pat your rear, think dark chocolate. I’ll let you use your imagination on this one.

Dark chocolate is a champion in fighting off free radicals with its antioxidant properties. Helpful for the heart, blood pressure, and cholesterol, dark chocolate also reduces insulin resistance and is shown to be an anti-inflammatory.

You can do all ten now: head … nose … mouth … ears … throat … shoulders … Collar bones -what is draped around your neck? Orange-dusted fingers? What’s popping out of your belly button? And the end …

Okay! I am not responsible for your actions at the grocery store while you go through your ten item list.

For more on total body wellness, check out my first book, Toolkit for Wellness.

In health,

Deidre

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Stress Reduction

Brain Food – Part 1

Leave a comment

Brain fog? Shorter concentration? Decreased ability to coordinate several processes to reach a goal? The focus here is not determining if Granny needs assistance. It’s about where we all are right now.

Age-related diseases are more of a concern now as people are living longer than any previous time in history. But, waiting until someone is ninety-five years old is too late to start building brain function.

Brain health is developed before we’re born and continues throughout our lifetime. Neglecting the promotion of brain health in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood spells disaster, not only later in life, but even earlier.

This topic is central to my studies and what I share on foodtalk4you. Much of what I am sharing in this series is derived from a nursing license renewal class I recently took: Brain Food: The Role of Nutrients in Memory and Cognitive Function by Annell St. Charles, PhD, RD, through the Institute for Natural Resources.

What and how much we eat are key factors in our brain health.

Many of us quake in our boots every time we forget something. The specter of Alzheimer’s disease seems to threaten us on every level. Epidemiological evidence is showing; however, that diet choices available to each of us every day can be key factors in reducing the risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Foods good for our cognitive function share the effects of being antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. I wrote about an anti-inflammatory approach to eating and life itself in my first book, Toolkit for Wellness.

Research is finding some aspects of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can be found in healthy young adults but do not become apparent until later in life. With brain maturity peaking in the 30s or 40s, there is ample time to boost brain health in the young and to continue throughout our lives.

A big predictor in developing late-life dementia is

1) mid-life obesity and

2) lower cognitive performance earlier in life.

Obesity brings on a cascade of body issues that play into body-wide inflammation and metabolic challenges. The overeating habit of poor quality of food is sweeping across America and other parts of the world under our fast food influence.

Obesity is preventable, and yet is becoming the scourge of modern society. Stress eating during this pandemic is probably at an all-time high – but our circumstances do not make it alright.

As I explained in my book, fast food and pre-packaged foods are all designed for us to eat more. Large food conglomerates employ people to find that sweet/salty spot, which will make consumers want to come back for more.

Sugar does not satisfy or quench. Sugar makes us want more sugar. It’s as simple as that.

What to eat? Nutrient dense foods as found in the Mediterranean diet will supply the nutrition our brains and bodies need for optimal health. Whereas, nutrient-poor diets rely on consuming highly-processed food, which lack the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory elements needed for brain/body health.

Diets favoring nutrient-poor foods are affecting the size of our brain part associated with learning and memory – the hippocampus. Of note – both long-term and short-term consumption of foods high in saturated fats have resulted in changes in brain function. Think how this plays out in children consuming a fast-food biscuit on their way to school each day.

A higher intake of fruits and vegetables will help prevent and reverse age-related deficiencies by decreasing inflammation and oxidative stress.

In sum, look for the following to select nutrient-dense food:

  • Go for the color in fruits and vegetables
  • Aim for fiber-rich foods
  • Seek lower-fat dairy
  • Switch to lower fat cuts of meats
  • Eat more poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, and seeds

The colorful plant food choices will ramp up protective phytochemicals that have been shown to be protective for the brain and nervous system. Talk about brain food – plant-based foods rock!

Rome wasn’t built in a day. A consistent effort in making tiny changes is a sustainable approach to build sustainable health. Choose one meal to improve each day.

On a personal note – I’m into my second week of daily, sweat-producing exercise and am loving it! Contrary to what one might think, my appetite is less than before starting this program. I needed the structure of a program and I chose to join something online. My neighbor does it for free as she taps into an endless array of YouTube routines each morning.

Everything works together – exercise energizes and creates a positive frame of mind. A better outlook will boost us all into making better choices. We can do this!

In health-

Deidre

Want to make sure you don’t miss a jam packed post from FoodTalk4You? Make sure to fill out the subscription box to the left of this page for more fantastic articles focused on improving your good health!

Blogging for good health!, This -n- That

the Worker Bee

Leave a comment

I’ve done it again. What is this tendency to pack up my day with … busy? I’m looking at a nearly blank calendar and am still feeling behind.

Whaaat?

In psychology, there’s a term called flight of ideas which is a thought disorder. A person darts from one topic to another, one idea to another.

I suffer from flight of projects. Quite possibly born from over-commitment, and an inflated sense of self and poor follow-throughs – who knows?

I prefer to think I’m a Renaissance Woman.

Before COVID, I was starting to get overly busy. Too many groups. Too many meetings. Lots of go-go-go. A blank day in my planner was greeted with glee and a sigh. Crazy.

When COVID hit, I was wielding a giant eraser over the calendar. Nothing. Nope. Not that. Not that, either.

In six months of flying solo at home, I have managed to do it again. My time is filled. Almost to the max.

Is this bad?

Twiddling thumbs or being bored just doesn’t happen. Longing for the physical company of family and friends can be a soul-challenging struggle, however.

That’s my answer.

No, it’s not bad. It’s called survival.

We expand where we can. Multiple projects – especially if we are learning something new or finding a new way to share what we know – can help fill in the gaps experienced in other areas.

How are you coping with reduced social interaction? How have you filled your time? Are you learning something new?  Are you brightening someone else’s world?

An author friend of mine started playing the ukulele at the start of the Phase One shut down. Her first Facebook post this spring showed her carefully placing her fingers on the strings to create a simple tune. As time progressed, her fingering reflected confidence from practice and her songs were more tuneful. Not only was she learning something new, but she was encouraging others.

Whenever this time of COVID ends, I hope that we will look back not at a wasted passage of time, but as a time of learning, creativity, and service.

Please comment with something new you have learned and how you have shared it. Meanwhile, I’m going to finish several hand-crafted cards to cheer-up some friends going through hard times.

In health,

Deidre

Blogging for good health!

Oh, Go Fly A Kite!

Leave a comment

Feeling fragmented? Disconnected? I think we are all card-carrying members.

I am having to dig deep into my Toolkits for new answers this year, folks. No kidding.

A story dating back to 1897 has given me pause to think about an approach that may push us all toward a more unifying mindset and one that could pave the way to wholeness for ourselves and our world.

It all starts with a kite aptly named Union, and a 15 year old boy named Homan Walsh.

As I recount the story, that can be found HERE.

I want you to mentally draw parallels to our current day and time with all of the division we are experiencing, both internally and externally.

Back in the day, there was a divide between two countries no one had been able to bridge. The icy, turbulent, and dangerous waters of the Niagara River were often impassable by ferries. Building a bridge between the United States and Canada required stretching strong cables across the wide expanse separating the countries.

How to start bridging the gap?

Developers decided they would start with getting a kite to fly across the river and securing the kite string on each side.

Who better to fly kites than kids?

A contest was launched and young people on both sides converged to get their kites in the air. Our young man, Homan, from Nebraska, set off to the Canadian side of the gorge by getting a ferry ride. Armed with his trusty kite named Union and plenty of string, he had to clamber up steep cliffs and walk two miles to the appointed location of the future bridge.

Up, up, up went his kite. He thought he had succeeded in crossing the great divide, but suddenly, his kite string went slack. Turned out, the kite had crossed over but as it settled down on the American side and the string was cut by jagged rocks.

Homan spent eight days trapped on the Canadian side because the river had frozen. After staying with friends, he was finally able to ferry home, retrieve his kite, and cross back to try again.

His second attempt was successful when his kite drifted to the ground on the American side and was, eventually, secured on both sides. In a few days, a stronger cord was attached and pulled across. Then a rope. Then wire. Then cable. Eventually a bridge was built.

It’s a short, fun read and I hope you will enjoy all the details later.  

Point being this: a great divide was bridged. A mighty bridge was built thanks to a slender kite string.

Fly a kite today.

Symbolically, about everything we’re doing is through the air (waves). Send out a kite to a friend you haven’t reached. As the temperatures moderate, bridge the gap to 6 safe feet outdoors with a friend or two.

I flew a kite today to reconnect with my body. Self-motivation for daily solo exercise is at an all-time low, so I utilized an online app to exercise in a class. After one session, I felt a positive connection to doing something good for me. I am ready to tie a stronger cord to that kite string as I do a second session today.

With each victory, a stronger connection is established.

Whether you are sending out a tiny feeler, peace offering, meditation, prayer, or a new activity, remember that strong, unifying bridges can be started with a tiny kite string.

Where are you flying your kite today?

In health-

Deidre

We are working on making my business website as helpful as possible. Check out deidreedwards.com and let me know what you think.

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Ode to Fall

Leave a comment

In the southeast of the United States we are still sweating. The sun still streams down on us as we harvest the last of the dwindling tomatoes from the garden. We keep an eye on each wave in the Atlantic for tropical development into a hurricane.

But the air is different. For several weeks – maybe the whole month of August – there’s been a subtle difference in the weight, feel, and smell of the air.

Fall is for connoisseurs of subtlety. Similar changes happen in reverse with the arrival of spring, but fall is like a fine wine, with gentle undertones and aftertastes. If you are more of a red or white wine drinker, spring is probably best appreciated by your senses.

Give me fall!

Dogwood trees are still green but with a gentle blush creeping into their leaves. Flower petals silently float off their perches after a puff of breeze or slight touch; while hummingbirds stay at their feeders longer, grazing on every garden bloom for that last sip of nectar in preparation for their long flights south. Glorious butterflies dancing from flower-to-flower – each one adding its own color show.

Granted, the joy of gradually turning in to the home and hearth will look and feel different this year. We have spent most of 2020 already gathered in. We long to take flight.

The seasons and the school calendar say otherwise.

There’s abundant time to enjoy fall activities outdoors. I am looking forward to a socially distanced lawn concert at a friend’s house this coming weekend. Cooler temps – when they arrive – will mean I can safely have friends over for dining alfresco, playing lawn darts, or corn hole. Maybe, I’ll finally get a gas fire pit so we can extend outdoor social distancing into cooler weather.

I’ve already added pumpkin spice to my oatmeal/steel-cut oats/buckwheat/hemp/collagen morning cereal. That recipe I shared earlier this year is now new and improved, so here it is:

Super-Powered Oatmeal 3.0

Serves 2-3 (So hearty, you don’t need as much!)

Ingredients

1/3 cup gluten-free oatmeal

1/3 cup gluten-free steel cut oats

1/3 cup gluten-free buckwheat

¼ cup hempseed hearts

3 Tbs collagen hydrolysates

Pinch of salt

Cinnamon /OR/ Pumpkin Pie Spice

Vanilla

1 ½ – 2 cups almond milk or water

Method

Throw it all in a small pan; cook on medium until bubbly; reduce heat and continue to cook, stirring occasionally.

Purists may want to add the vanilla at the end.

Variations on milk depend upon how creamy you want your cereal, and on how much steel cut oats you use – geez, who really measures this stuff? I put all the oats and buckwheat into a one cup measure and eyeball equality.

If you have not whipped that sweet tooth into shape, a modicum, (small quantity), of brown sugar may be added to the pot – really, with all the vanilla and cinnamon, that’s it.

Find a small, cute bowl to add to the experience. You just don’t need a huge serving.  Top with a bit of fresh fruit, if desired. I used mango in mine.

Enjoy the process of these shifting seasons. Lean more into the changes and the subtleties therein rather than mourn the loss of an ‘endless summer’ mirage.

In health,

Deidre

Sign up through our subscribe form (on the left-hand side) to always get the latest from foodtalk4you and like us on Facebook!

Blogging for good health!

I’m Gonna Huff and Puff And …

2 Comments

Let’s go back to the fairy tale of the Three Little Pigs. I often used this story as an analogy while teaching Health Sciences to future medical professionals. I tried to impress upon my students that their behaviors could keep the wolf at the other side of the door. Sure, maybe a disease was in their family, but they were not doomed to become affected by it unless what they ate, how they exercised, or how they thought opened the door to let the wolf in.

Scientists and researchers are coming to call this epigenetics. It’s the idea that our genes are not the end-all-do-all verdict of our health’s fate. Usually, how we eat, think, and exercise influences whether our genes turn on and express themselves or not.

Last week I covered the first half of an article found HERE,   that underscored the importance of improving our brain’s healthful functioning – with the resulting benefits being passed on to our bodies – through positive thinking.

Not that bad things don’t happen. Not that we don’t have uncomfortable conversations and thoughts. But a constant negative internal narrative is affecting our very cells by making them MORE receptive to the negative neurotransmissions our brains are sending.

“I can’t help it!” My students often exclaimed.

Wait. You can’t control your brain? While we may not be able to control a reflex knee jerk, we most certainly CAN control how we are actively, consciously thinking.

Perhaps past negative experiences have brainwashed some of us into seemingly reflexive negative narratives about ourselves or others. With guided professional help, people can learn a new narrative. If the audio reel in your head is constantly berating yourself, it need not be that way forever. I would urge readers to become actively involved in resetting that narrative through recommendations of a professional counselor.

Negative thinking does more than make a gloomy day in our heads. It is something that does not contribute to a healthy sustainable life as we explored last week.

The article I shared from the Huffington Post also says:

Only about 5 percent of gene mutations are thought to be the direct cause of health issues. That leaves ninety-five percent of genes linked to disorders acting as an influencer, which can be influenced one way or another, depending on life factors.

Genes acting as influencers instead of being the one and only driver of your health destiny?

This is BIG.

WE are the drivers of our health destiny. Just because a gene sitting in the back seat says we should turn right, doesn’t mean we have to turn right. Our positive influences and practices can create a total new GPS system to guide our body’s health outcome.

The mind-body connection is being studied more every day and is being found to be the greatest influencer of all for our health outcomes. Meditation and mindfulness are just a couple tools at our disposal to deepen and strengthen that connection.

Such things were once considered fluffy and out there, but the current scientific studies of the mind-body connection and epigenetics are revealing concrete evidence that validates the hopeful message that we are much more in control of our health destinies than previously imagined.

Yes, you CAN keep that DNA/gene wolf on the other side of the door.

I would like to conclude this post with something that will get your positive hormones humming today. This may be one of the funniest comedy routines I have ever heard. John Branyan will lead you through the best Three Little Pigs you have every heard – a la 16th century! Enjoy!

.

In health,

Deidre