One of the most important elements to good health is how you fuel your body. Let’s talk about how you can make sure the fuel you are using is the best it can be!
Have you ever crumpled on the couch after a day that has taken a toll on your limited energies only to feel – how shall I describe this – a bit challenged? Maybe there’s a feeling niggling inside that says, “Whoa! I might be sensing something not good starting to happen”?
Whether we are experiencing good stress – called eustress – or bad stress, the toll on the body is often the same.
Factor in our increased holiday activities, and there’s a recipe for being more susceptible to colds, flu, and the like – not to mention COVID.
Elderberry
Whenever I am feeling overly tired, challenged, or have that niggling feeling, my go-to is echinacea or elderberry.
The coneflowers of the echinacea plant may grace your garden with their stunning beauty and variety of color options. It’s long been used by Native Americans for its medicinal properties when taken internally or used on the skin to treat wounds.
Before you dive into using any form of echinacea, please check out THIS POST for vital information about precautions, interactions, and dosing. All medicines started out in nature – just because we can get them over the counter does not mean we should casually use them on our own.
I have also discovered elderberry syrup can be helpful in boosting my immune response, so I have added it to my ward-off-getting-sick arsenal by either preparing a cup of tea with one dropperful of an echinacea or elderberry containing extract OR by chewing up five Nature’s Way Esberitox Chewable Tabs.
This is anecdotal evidence, but when coupled with a smart approach that includes –
Respecting my body’s messages to slow down
Getting adequate sleep
Eating real food with no additives
Maintaining modest exercise
Then I can successfully keep the wolf on the other side of the door, and can wake up with stable energies and no more niggling feelings of impending badness.
Taking a couple days of down time to catch up and recharge before continuing our vacation explorations – this time in the mountains –
In health –
Deidre
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We are all familiar with the dietary temptations of this holiday season – starting with Halloween and culminating with New Year’s … or the Super Bowl … or maybe Valentine’s Day.
That’s at least four months of over-the-top sweets, fat, and decadent beverages. I’m letting St. Patrick’s Day slide because it features corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes – well, there is the beer.
I have compounded my personal challenge of not going crazy with holiday food by also being on the road visiting family for Thanksgiving and then vacationing for over two weeks. Yikes!
There is no way I want to re-lose those 25 pounds I lost over 6 months on Noom. No, siree!
My companion and I have met the challenge, not through denial and lack of participation in the local culinary and beverage scene, but by sharing a generous app or meal, doing lots of tourist-y walking to take in the magnificent views, and in eating at least one meal prepared in our micro kitchen each day.
A few bananas, apples, and a jar of peanut butter go a long way to save money and calories on breakfast. Using the microwave in our lodgings, I’ve added bowls of steel cut oats to the morning menu.
The one day, so far, which we each had our own meal, leftovers were kept and enjoyed the next night.
This approach to holiday/vacation eating seems to be working. My slacks are still quite comfortable to wear and there are no bulges.
Yet, we have marveled at the divine wonderfulness of our shared bowl of oyster “stew” – which looked like an oyster version of she-crab soup – as we tried not to audibly sigh with too much delight.
How are you managing your holiday eating? It does take some pre-planning and commitment, for sure, but blood sugars and waist sizes can be maintained.
Enjoy the holiday decorations
In health-
Deidre
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Can you feel the rise of expectations during the holidays – especially since it’s our first fully-vaccinated and “boosted” holiday season since 2019?
We have GREAT EXPECTATIONS!
It’s a hallmark version of life we may long for, but the reality of changing circumstances may give us something less than what we had envisioned.
Should we feel like failures? Maybe we’ll just let the holiday season slip right on past and pretend it never happened.
Every religious holiday I can think of is centered around the theme of love – giving it, receiving it, revering the gift of love, and being inspired by it. Most secular and national holidays recognize love and gratitude in some way.
Halloween may be the exception, however; but it does highlight a love of candy, having fun, and all things pumpkin.
So, are all the Hallmark accoutrements of over-the-top decorations, festivals, and parades just so much window dressing?
Like the famous Wendy’s commercial of old which asked, “Where’s the beef,” we might be asking, where’s the love?
Our social calendar may look a little empty due to infirmity, circumstances, moving, or a host of other reasons. There may be a little less to work with this year.
But it’s not the window dressings we remember or hold in our hearts – it’s the love and how we felt.
The memories that last are the songs our hearts were singing at the time – love songs of joy, warmth, and care.
The theme of changing expectations to focus on the love – instead of the window dressings – is reverberating more and more with many of us.
Gathering a few of the many decorations from my home of over 40 years to my nascent home in another town, I kept repeating my new mantra of “expectations” to adjust what environment I wanted to create and WHY I felt it was important.
I did not need the full Hallmark effect. What I needed was the LOVE.
May we not lament the things and experiences we do not have.
More than ever, we need to rejoice in the loving relationships we are nurturing. Strengthening the loving bonds may look a bit different again this year, but the resulting full hearts will forever be warmed by something that endures, crossing distance, time, and space.
With love and appreciation for each foodtalk4you subscriber –
Deidre
#RAISEcaregiving (ACL’s official tag for RAISE activities) #CaregivingInCrisis (CAN’s 2020 observance) #NFCMonth (Annual observance hashtag) #FamilyCaregiver (A larger conversation on family caregiving) #Caregivers (Broadest conversation around caregiving)
We at FoodTalk4You, would like to wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy every morsel of your shared feast, whether it be with family, friends, or those needing a warm meal. Whomever you find around your table this holiday – even if it’s just a plate in front of the TV like me – may God richly bless you and yours, and hold you safe.
Sheree
Thanksgiving Time
When the night winds whistle through the trees and blow the crisp brown leaves a-crackling down, When the autumn moon is big and yellow-orange and round, When old Jack Frost is sparkling on the ground,
It’s Thanksgiving Time!
When the pantry jars are full of mince-meat and the shelves are laden with sweet spices for a cake, When the butcher man sends up a turkey nice and fat to bake, When the stores are crammed with everything ingenious cooks can make,
It’s Thanksgiving Time!
When the gales of coming winter outside your window howl, When the air is sharp and cheery so it drives away your scowl, When one’s appetite craves turkey and will have no other fowl,
What’s happening while the Thanksgiving meal is in the oven? Does your family participate in a Turkey Trot? Is everyone watching a football game? Perhaps family members are linked together only by uncomfortable silences.
Bring that party together by printing out our first-ever wordsearch puzzle! Using key terms from many of this year’s posts, we’ve made a wordsearch puzzle just for you. Share what you’ve learned about these key terms with your family and friends as an icebreaker or conversation starter about healthful living.
Let’s take a look at these terms:
Foodtalk – Our term here at foodtalk4you for the helpful exchange of information – we strive to feed the body, mind, and spirit.
Gluten-free – Choosing food that doesn’t contain the gluten which is found in wheat, barley, and rye flour. Gluten is pro-inflammatory for many people. Just leave gluten behind for 30 days to see how you feel. Chances are you will have a happier belly with smoothly functioning digestive processes, clearer thinking, and an increased sense of well-being. Learn more HERE.
Mindful – Tuning into the present moment within yourself, others, and your surroundings. It’s being aware and responsible for your choices. Learn about mindful eating HERE.
Breathe – We explored the need to breathe using our noses and not our mouths HERE as a first basic step to total body health and welfare. Patterns of breathing (box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing for example) can help us not only de-stress but aide in falling asleep. Catch some ZZZs HERE.
Zentangle – Fun, relaxing art form reminiscent of doodling that uses fewer supplies than adult coloring. Catch the fun HERE.
Crema – Recipes were shared featuring the least thick of the trifecta of sauces selected. Find your crema HERE.
Crème fraiche – The perfect blending of heavy cream and buttermilk that is perfect for stroganoff or whipped up over fresh fruit. Grab your recipe HERE.
Honeycrisp – These apples are the perfect addition to spruce up fall salads with visual appeal, crunch, and flavor. Click on the recipe HERE.
Crockpot – In the cooler seasons, crockpots are the perfect appliance for outstanding savory flavors with minimum effort. Find a yummy recipe HERE.
Plan ahead – Moving our plans from a thought or wish to reality is a frequent topic here at foodtalk4you. Success comes in taking the tiny steps every day that will nudge us toward our goals. Review this topic HERE.
Synchronicity – Stepping back from an up-close view of your circumstances to get more of a “30,000-foot view” often reveals patterns and improbable series of events that help us to appreciate the beautiful synchronicity of our lives. Good and bad experiences become part of the beautiful mosaic of our past, present, and future. Get the good vibes HERE.
Thought distortions – These kinds of thoughts threaten to not only blow circumstances out of proportion, but also undo our sense of balance and even our self-esteem. Did you cave to the temptation of a rich dessert? Your response may try to punish yourself by introducing thoughts of having failed your weight loss efforts forever. Did your new friend skip a day or two of responding to your texts? Your thought distortions may lead you – erroneously – into thinking you’ve been dumped, and you are no good at relationships. Take a breath and a moment to analyze the validity of your thoughts.
Ethylene gas – Many fruits emit this gas to facilitate the ripening process. It’s useful when you put ripening fruit in a brown paper bag so all the ethylene gas can be captured and used to speed the process. By wrapping the stem end of a bunch of bananas, the process can be slowed down. Also, one fruit’s ethylene gas can ripen a different fruit in its vicinity. Review the science HERE.
Manifesting – Takes hoping and imagining about our plans to the next level by creating a positivity within ourselves that attracts the outcomes we desire. Create your positive outcomes by reading THIS.
Limiting beliefs – These thoughts are often born of early childhood experiences that we have internalized as facts and truths about ourselves. Peeling back the layers of our limiting beliefs helps to not only understand their origin but is also the first step in releasing those beliefs for our betterment in the present time.
Potassium – A critical mineral that we need for proper body function. We shared many common body issues linked to low potassium along with a resource list of foods high in this mineral HERE.
BDNF – Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor is a protein found in the brain that helps to ward off brain cell death and promotes the growth and development of new brain cells along with their thousands of connections to other nerve cells. Review this post HERE.
Journaling – Whether it’s jotting down three ideas, experiences, or blessings at the end of the day or writing paragraphs, journaling will help each of us gain that “30,000-foot view” of our lives. Putting feelings into words transfers the process from one brain area to another, allowing for rational thought to help us figure things out.
So, while the holiday meal’s fragrance fills the air at your house, print out our foodtalk4you puzzle, and start the conversation rolling as you discuss the terms and find them. They can be found going across, up, down, and diagonally.
Always thankful for our readers!
In health-
Deidre
#RAISEcaregiving (ACL’s official tag for RAISE activities)
#CaregivingInCrisis (CAN’s 2020 observance)
#NFCMonth (Annual observance hashtag)
#FamilyCaregiver (A larger conversation on family caregiving)
#Caregivers (Broadest conversation around caregiving)
As Alex is fond of saying, it doesn’t matter how big or small you are, you have a voice! As she fights for her parents against Alzheimer’s and dementia, Alex’s “Operation Caregivers,” is yet another battle to restore dignity for those who suffer from the disease and empowerment for their https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.allred.3-569859
Email Alex at: redburn4@gmail.com. (Reference that you saw her on The Complete Caregiver Guide event) and request a copy of either “Alzheimer’s and Dementia 101” OR “Awareness is Armor.”
First come, first serve!
DEIDRE EDWARDS
If you are one of the millions of people who has become a caregiver to a loved one, Deidre’s Toolkit for Caregivers will guide you through that maze of caregiving concerns that threaten to overwhelm and consume you.
FREEBIE: We are giving three lucky people our most popular publication, Toolkit for Caregivers. Toolkit for Caregivers blends the demands associated with caring for another with a calmer atmosphere and self-assured peacefulness – creating a remedy for a more purposeful, soothing atmosphere, beneficial to both you and your patient. Please take the time to sign up for our drawing. We would love for the winner to be you!
Lori is a passionate advocate who searches for ways to shift our dementia care culture from crisis to comfort. She was recognized as the #1 Influencer Online for Alzheimer’s. As a professional speaker and daughter of a mother with dementia for over 30 years, Lori gets it! Change is needed on multiple levels.
Lucia has worked for over 25 years with elders, high-risk population and persons with chronic conditions, as well as their caregivers, in a wide range of community, research, and institutional settings. She developed a pioneering practice using mindfulness to improve the quality of life in community, hospital, clinic and nursing home settings.
Divya’s strategies motivate leaders, cross-functional groups, and teams to cultivate independent leadership, the interdependence between themselves and their internal and external customers to achieve a combined mastery of connectivity and alignment. Her experience allows her to guide leaders, teams, and professionals through complicated business and personal challenges.
During the past four decades, Dr. Marion has provided care for more than 2,000 elderly clients while she owned and operated a thriving Geriatric Care Management practice. It is now Dr. Marion’s goal to help caregivers everywhere by providing valuable insights and information.
Claudia is a burnout prevention and stress resilience coach and mentor, a self-care advocate, and a motivational speaker. She is also an entrepreneur, a digital course creator and founder of the ”Unstoppable You Wellness Academy,” an online platform offering digital courses, digital products and online trainings, with the mission to empower those who are burned out.
Petra is an author and entrepreneur who turned her attention to finding real-world elder care solutions after a series of unexpected events left her scrambling to help her parents manage their affairs. Her desire was to offer other adult children of seniors practical advice they could use in their own lives.
NOTE: If you wish to save a copy of this on your computer or want to print it out, click our PRINT button below – under DESTINATION, scroll down to PDF and click SAVE.
We talk a lot about nurturing others: Encouraging our children and grandchildren saying, “You can do this,” “I believe in you,” “You have all the skills for success,” and the like.
Are we doing this for ourselves?
Or is our inner conversation more like, “Well, that was dumb,” “I knew you’d fail trying that,” or, “You’re not smart enough/thin enough/fast enough/rich enough/young enough/old enough to succeed”?
We’ve explored self-talk before on foodtalk4you, and readers continue to print out their copies of affirmations offered on our home page. Those affirmations, which have helped me in the past, are more faith-based and perhaps – more generalized.
As I study the writings of Louise Hay and Jennifer Teske, I have come to appreciate a different sort of affirmation that speaks to my inner self – the very core of my self-worth and abilities.
Letting the words of these affirmations by Hay wash over and filter through me, I am being transformed and empowered from the inside out.
I’ve come to learn, the subconscious mind accepts things at face value – much like we did when as babies and children. We accepted the things we experienced and were told were true. Those early messages of love and acceptance – or mistrust, lack of love, and self-doubt – became our view of the world and the blueprint for self-talk throughout life.
Louise Hay takes the listener through paired statements aimed at addressing the way the subconscious mind thinks. More than, “I am good enough, just as I am,” which the subconscious may reject as a false belief from early experiences. Her tandem affirmations also include, “You are good enough just as you are,” which is aimed at leaving an acceptable truth in the subconscious.
Listening to such affirmations feeds the non-judgmental and accepting subconscious mind. There are times when the inner self needs a boost of self-worth messages.
When was the last time you believed that you are worthwhile and deserved to be happy? Or that you were loveable because you exist?
Even if we have been behaving in ways that are unlovable, reminding ourselves that deep inside we are loveable, can inspire a change in attitude and action.
What if you were to internalize the message: I experience love wherever I go/ You experience love wherever you go? Perhaps you would come to greet each day in expectancy of positive experiences and love. With such an outlook, you would find love wherever you go.
I am at peace within/ You are at peace within. Enjoy a non-puffed-up boost in self-worth and being grounded by listening to such inspired affirmations.
Leave your thoughts and comments with me by clicking on the comments link at the top. If you found this post helpful, please use the MORE button below for sharing options.
#RAISEcaregiving (ACL’s official tag for RAISE activities)
#CaregivingInCrisis (CAN’s 2020 observance)
#NFCMonth (Annual observance hashtag)
#FamilyCaregiver (A larger conversation on family caregiving)
#Caregivers (Broadest conversation around caregiving)
I’m excited to share that I will be participating in, “The Complete Private Caregiving Event,” on November 16, 2021, featuring expert speakers in the field of elder caregiving and the self-care of a caregiver. This event is designed to discuss key topics around the many facets of caregiving and the caregiver to help minimize the unknown, take care of yourself as a caregiver, and move with strength and ease while serving our elders.
Simply click the link below to register to get FREE access to “The Complete Private Caregiving Event” on November 16, 2021 starting at 1:00 EST.
I can’t wait to share this life-changing day of stories with you — see you there on November 16th from 1:00 – 4:30 EST!
And while we’re at it:
We at Toolkits for Wellness, would like to thank you for joining our free seminar, Complete Private Caregiving Guide. As a means to reward you for your interest, we are offering three lucky people our most popular publication, Toolkit for Caregivers.
Toolkit for Caregivers blends the demands associated with caring for another, with a calmer atmosphere and self-assured peacefulness – creating a remedy for a more purposeful, soothing atmosphere, beneficial to both you and your patient.
Please take the time to sign up for our drawing. We would love for the winner to be you!
Honoring Caregivers … I’ve come to call it Soul Work.
Caregivers do a lot of it. The grieving do it. Those suffering from the PTSD of having been a caregiver do it.
Guess, we all do it at most any stage of living on this beautiful blue orb.
It’s the process of figuring things out, releasing past hurt and pain, to take ahold of the present moment.
We cannot grab the life we are living today if our hands are full of stuff from the past – so, yes, we all do soul work.
This month, we recognize family caregivers who are juggling a mind-numbing amount of mental, physical, and emotional issues each day.
The last two years have been a challenge – at best – for most of us, and simply brutal for caregivers of loved ones.
Caregiving is isolating enough without the added constraints of a global pandemic. To go through those years that I did previously, but in the present time? No thanks.
So, what do we do to help the caregivers in our community?
Send them a card every so often.
Call them.
Get vaccinated and masked so you can more safely visit them and their loved one.
Offer your vaccinated and masked self as a fill-in so they can step out of the house for a bit of exercise or for an errand.
Offer to do some chores so they do not have to.
Drop off a meal so they do not have to cook.
Help them contact their local Area Agency on Aging in the United States to make sure they have the resources they need.
This month, I have lowered the price of my book, Toolkit for Caregivers, to make it even more affordable to those who are caring for loved ones. It is a great gift to a caregiver to show them support when you can’t be there.
Please reach out to a caregiver near you to offer a lifeline. Every little act and deed go a long way to keep their heads above the raging sea that threatens to drown them.
In health-
Deidre
#RAISEcaregiving (ACL’s official tag for RAISE activities)
#CaregivingInCrisis (CAN’s 2020 observance)
#NFCMonth (Annual observance hashtag)
#FamilyCaregiver (A larger conversation on family caregiving)
#Caregivers (Broadest conversation around caregiving)
The MORE button below will let you share this post with your friends. It’s also an excellent time to start gift purchases for the coming holidays. Why not go to this link HERE and get copies of my books for your friends and loved ones.
It all started with a nice, big pizza. I lived in Sacramento at the time and had the high metabolism of youth.
Ah, those were the days …
There was a new place in town called Pizza and Pipes. Not the smoking kind of pipes, but those associated with a BIG pipe organ. Yes, there was a massive pipe organ inside, with a zillion pipes placed around the walls to surround the patrons with sound.
Pipes from the massive organ
Dining there was a memorable experience that culminated each night in the organist playing, J. S. Bach’s, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
Oh, my!
He let all the stops out, and our pepperoni vibrated in jubilation!
Fast forward to present day, when I am seeking inspiring ways to change my exercise routine; pizza is a rare – now gluten free – treat, and I have learned about the benefits of creative movement.
That’s right. Creative movement. When you let the music speak through your body; inspiring original motions prompted by the tempo, lilt, and quality of the sounds.
Maestro Grant Llewellyn
Maestro Grant Llewellyn’s Enchantment of the Elves, mentioned in a previous post, is a gentle pre-coffee wake up for movement and stretch.
Later in the day, however, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor has long been a favorite for a full body workout.
Standing in the kitchen, it’s so easy to be carried away through bends, stretches, dips, squats, kickbacks, arm circles, and other movements that fit what this genius music is telling me.
Maestro Grant Llewellyn’s Enchantment of the Elves
When a larger space is available, I can use my gymnastic-inspired tool to keep ribbons suspended and moving through the air as Bach’s melody rises and falls.
Now, that’s an aerobics workout that will challenge you.
Constructing these ribbons was enjoyable for me and could become a fun family activity for you. Follow these steps to create colorful ribbons suitable for exercise.
Exercise Ribbons
Supplies
Doweling that feels comfortable in the hand – I used one with a 5/8-inch diameter. Doweling is available in craft and hardware stores.
Sandpaper
Craft paint
Eye screws
5-foot lengths of 1 1/2-inch ribbon
Method
Saw doweling into 6-inch lengths
Sand all surfaces of each length
Paint all surfaces using craft paint – two or three coats of paint may be needed, lightly sanding between coats
Screw in an eye screw into the center of one end – one on each piece
Tie on about 5 feet of colorful ribbon
Head out to the backyard to jam with your music.
Get your heart rate up; increase your ease of motion and let your spirit soar. A pair of these would make a thoughtful, affordable, and helpful gift.
In health through movement-
Deidre
#RAISEcaregiving (ACL’s official tag for RAISE activities)
#CaregivingInCrisis (CAN’s 2020 observance)
#NFCMonth (Annual observance hashtag)
#FamilyCaregiver (A larger conversation on family caregiving)
#Caregivers (Broadest conversation around caregiving)
The MORE button below will let you share this post with your friends. It’s also an excellent time to start gift purchases for the coming holidays. Why not go to this link HERE and get copies of my books for your friends and loved ones.
