Category Archives: Holiday Celebrations

Blogging for good health!, Holiday Celebrations, Stress Reduction, Titles Worth Reading

New Year With A Better You

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Here we are. Decorations are still up, and anticipation is in our hearts for the New Year.

I hope there is a special sparkle in the air for you.

Many of us well-seasoned adults can even grab hold of that pure childlike awe and wonder from time to time throughout the holiday season – that is, if we are not in the throes of grief, strife, or trauma.

Speaking with a friend recently, I was reminded how the second year of grief can be even worse than the first.

The first year after a grief, we find ourselves stumping along, mostly numb, just going through the motions as we mark ‘the firsts’ – first birthday, first anniversary, first Thanksgiving, first holidays – first everything without whomever or whatever we lost.

If that was not hard enough, we sort of wake up in the second year to the new reality of our situation, and the hurt changes to something much more real, painful, and permanent.

We often hear about “getting over” something – which creates an image of sucking up, chest out, marching boldly forth, oblivious to our past pain – but should that be our goal?

Trauma of any kind affects our total mind, body, and spirit long after the event.

What we are discovering is that resilience and personal growth come when we stop fighting to get over something, and start discovering what lessons those experiences are imparting, that will carry us forward into the future.

Which returns us to the concepts from the December 3rd post: Before releasing something, we need to embrace it first.

Embrace to acknowledge, authenticate, and validate what was experienced. Then we release the pain, taking with us the lessons learned, and then filling our spirits with freshness to recharge.

Even missed opportunities can be processed this way – they are not failures and do not need to negatively color our self-esteem. They can show us where our boundaries are and where we need to grow.

When the cloud of trauma lifts, we feel light and liberated. It can feel like magic when that happens, but it is a process and a lifelong journey.

Use New Year’s Eve as a starting point for exploring lessons learned and how those lessons will help you take your next steps into the new year.

Are you filling up your blessings jar? I am, and I am looking forward to the certain magic that comes when I dump my 2024 blessings out on the table to relive each one in the early New Year!

Now, that’s magic!

In health –

Deidre  

PS- While printing costs are now higher for the latest full color edition of Toolkit for Caregivers, I have reduced the price to make it easier for family caregivers to buy. Spread the love by sharing this link, or better yet, buy it for someone else who could benefit from the helpful information. Thanks.

Blogging for good health!, Holiday Celebrations, Recipes, This -n- That

The Magic of a Wink!

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Tonight, many of us are anticipating the arrival of a Jolly Old Elf, putting his white-gloved finger next to his nose as he bids us adieu for another year.

And that wink!

Winks are full of joy, mischief, and an inside secret.

Well, I’m sharing a little bit of a secret with you right now.

An easy little cookie that seems to wink at you!

Yes, I am speaking of my previously published Almond Macaroon recipe, now updated and even better, as Almond Winks.

These are gluten free, with that over-the-top sweetness of almond paste ramped down, making these little jewels into a ‘wink’ sure to please.

So simple to create, you can whip these up today in time for a family treat, and in time to leave for Santa as he speeds through his rounds in the wee hours.

Thanks go to our own magic elf, Sheree, who is making this recipe easy for you to download and print!

In my test kitchen today, I used a different method of baking. Note the mid/lower oven rack and the one about 4 inches above it. That beginning of a golden color in the cookies was achieved by baking the first 20 minutes on the lower rack – and then finishing on the top rack for 4-6 more minutes, making sure to not over bake.

ALMOND WINKSDownload

Best wishes for peace, love, and joy in all our hearts, regardless of our beliefs.

In health –

Deidre 

NOTE FROM SHEREE: With both Deidre and I being grandmothers, (yes, believe it not), and being the Christmas season, I wanted to post something special relating to warm memories of grandmothers baking cookies with their grandchildren. Hope you enjoy it.

GRANDMA’S SECRET RECIPE

Grandma’s in the kitchen,
with a smile so wide,
mixing up a potion, and I’m by her side.
She says it’s magic, and I believe it, too.
With a sprinkle of laughter,
and a pinch of, “I love you.”
Her cookies are the sweetest,
and the hugs are the best.
Grandma’s secret recipe
beats all the rest!

Unknown author

Merry Christmas, everyone – God bless you all.

Sheree

Blogging for good health!, Holiday Celebrations, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Five Golden Rings

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Hallmark reverie!

This is a month of tidbits for me.

Taking an inspiration from one resource, Karl Moore’s, The 18 Rules of Happiness, and symbolically throwing it up in the air to see what it latches onto, is my Modis operandi right now.

After amplifying his rule #5 of, “Learning to let go,” in last week’s post, I wanted to touch upon Rule #6, “Do Random Acts of Kindness,” for this week.

Since it’s December, it’s easy to think of Secret Santa names being drawn out of a hat at the office or perhaps in your large family. But that’s assigned giving.

We’re talking about random acts of kindness.

Then, I remembered a recent Hallmark movie in which the main character repurposes five holiday greeting cards. Originally purchased to give to her now ex-boyfriend, she used those cards to send thanks and appreciation to five individuals from her past.

Not totally random, but to the recipients opening the card from someone they hadn’t seen for years seemed random – or unexpected, at least.

Close enough.

So, I’m throwing out a challenge.

Before this month is out, let’s all find five opportunities to do a random act of kindness.

Whether you pay it forward in line at the drive through or send a sincere note of thanks in snail mail to someone you haven’t seen in a long while. Find an opportunity to brighten five people’s lives in an unexpected, or random, way.

We’ll be sending out those five goldens rings referenced in that familiar song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Just image those five golden rings – each creating ripples of joy, gratitude, and hope.

What could be better?

In health –

Deidre

PS – you could take this idea to another level by involving your children or grandchildren and getting together to compare notes about giving successes. Could be a great teaching tool. Some of the deepest satisfaction from giving, though, is keeping it one-on-one and not seeking fame for your kindness.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Holiday Celebrations, Recipes, Stress Reduction

That’s Nuts!

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With the holiday party and baking season upon us, we turn to the subject of nuts. We’re talking about walnuts, pecans, cashews, and the like.

Nuts can be a powerhouse of nutrition with fiber, healthy oils, and beneficial phytonutrients that cut down on inflammation and ramp up heart health, blood sugar balance, and so much more.

But there can be a downside to nuts, depending on how they are treated.

Longtime readers of this blog or my book, Toolkit for Wellness, know that raw nuts are better than nuts highly processed in unhealthy oils.

But raw nuts still have factors in them that can inhibit proper absorption of nutrients and can contribute to unhappy tummies.

Enter the ‘activated nut,’ which has been handled in such a way as to eliminate the anti-digestive phytates and to activate beneficial digestive enzymes instead.

Activated nuts require soaking first, followed by dehydrating.

To soak:

Use glass bowls, if possible. Metal bowls may discolor but can be cleaned using Bar Keeper’s Friend.

Dissolve approximately 1 teaspoon of sea salt in 6 cups of water, add raw nuts, and soak. I buy large bags of nuts, so this requires multiple bowls.

Walnuts, almonds, and pecans can soak 12+ hours; cashews take just 6 hours. The water will turn quite brown.

Using a large colander, thoroughly rinse soaked nuts and spread out on towels. I have a large bath towel dedicated to this process – some staining may occur. Roll the towel up and let the towel soak up any extra moisture for a few minutes.

If nuts are to be used in a blender or food processor, they can be used now; but if long-term storage is desired or if they are to be used in baking, dehydrating is necessary.

To dehydrate:

If using a dehydrator, spread nuts out in a single layer on each tray needed, allowing for good circulation of air around the nuts. Do not crowd them. Place trays in dehydrator. Set temperature to 115-125 degrees and set timer for 12 hours.

When time is up, check for dryness and lengthen the time as needed. Store in a closed container in a cool environment.

If using the oven method, spread nuts out on large baking trays without crowding them. Set the oven at its lowest temperature. Since oven heat will be higher than the dehydrator, the drying time will be shorter. Stir nuts every hour and check for crispness after 6 hours.

Freezing nuts will lengthen their shelf life.

The resulting nut is light, crisp, and brimming with goodness!

I mostly activate pecans and walnuts, but now that my trusty dehydrator has found a place in my new home, I will return to activating almonds and cashews again as well. The brown outer covering of the soaked almond can be pinched off prior to dehydrating if desired.

Happy, healthy snacking and baking –

Deidre

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Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Holiday Celebrations, Recipes

Humming for Hummus

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Do you realize we are well into the holiday season?

The weekend before Halloween, I couldn’t find a parking place at the local grocery store! The scene before me resembled the mad crush we see just prior to Thanksgiving that continues all the way through New Year’s.

Party season is already in full swing!

Whether we are geared toward gathering to cheer for our favorite team, celebrating an event or holiday, we do love a good party.

Spanakopita

And that means having a few recipes up our sleeves to whip up in short notice that will please a crowd. Sure, it’s handy to have some packaged frozen delights we can throw into an oven with practically no effort – mini quiche and spanakopita are some of our favorites – but sometimes I just want to share something I have made.

I do not remember how the concept of pumpkin hummus entered my mind. I may have been looking to pair pumpkin with cream cheese, but what I discovered is way better!

After the requisite Google search for recipes, I compared the ingredients of the top two, side-by-side. You can see how my quick notes were dripped on and blurred.

The result is a hybrid of the two, plus my personal tweaks.

This dip was a big hit at a recent gathering and is so easy to pull together with ingredients that are generally on hand. The exception to that might be tahini – which may not be a staple for you, but it’s easily found at the grocery store.

The recent discovery of pumpkin chips at Trader Joe’s provided the perfect dipping complement to this savory pumpkin hummus.

The downloadable recipe is below. You pretty much throw everything into the food processor and that’s it!

Pumpkin HummusDownload

As recommended by one recipe, I drained the chickpeas/garbanzo beans, saving the liquid. After the initial blitzing of the ingredients, I added about 2 Tablespoonfuls of the liquid to thin the hummus just a bit.

The second time making this, I remembered to process the hummus even more. The first time around, I noticed some thin slices of chickpeas had escaped becoming pureed.

Tasting the hummus before finishing is crucial. Both times, I determined a few more shakes of all the spices would be beneficial to boost flavor.

I opted to use a few shakes of red cayenne pepper in lieu of red pepper flakes – my goal was to give interest to the naturally gentle profile of hummus – not to give a spicy kick that would result in reflux.

Pepitas/pumpkin seeds provide the perfect garnish after swirling the plated hummus with the back of a spoon and drizzling a bit of extra virgin olive oil on top.

Yum for hummus!

In health –

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Holiday Celebrations, Recipes

Creating Octoberfest!

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There’s so much confusion in this world, why add to it? Valentine’s Day is on February 14. Saint Patrick’s Day is on March 17.

Done.

But then, in 1971, an Act of Congress moved several federal holidays; Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day; to ‘designated Mondays’ to create three-day weekends for federal employees.  

Okay.

But Oktoberfest in Germany? Not in October? Honestly?

Does the name of a celebration have no meaning?

Sheesh.

It was only in recent years I learned Oktoberfest celebrations in Germany are finished, done, kaput and put away by October.

Really?

According to their official festival website:

The first Oktoberfest was held in the year 1810 in honor of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig’s marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festivities began on October 12, 1810, and ended on October 17th, with a horse race. In the following years, the celebrations were repeated. Later, the festival was prolonged and moved to September to utilize warmer weather for enjoyment of the outdoor events.

As a firm believer in truth in packaging, why not call it Septemberfest?

Defying the rules, we were invited to an Oktoberfest gathering at a friend’s house in October!

The hosts supplied the venue, brats with sauerkraut, a start on the beer selections, and the guests brought the side dishes, and a pack of their favorite fall beers.

What a blast! The weather was warm enough to be outdoors – the party was held in their pristine open garage – and we used tasting glasses to sample different brews.

For the last several years, I have combined a couple recipes for German Potato Salad I had gleaned from the internet – until I finally developed my own hybrid version I am sharing with you today.

German Potato SaladDownload

I took pictures of food prep, and there’s even one of the guys’ table below as they determinedly sampled every beer for a consensus vote as to favorites.

Boys!

I hope you enjoy this versatile downloadable recipe that is great for summertime grilling or a fall Oktoberfest – whenever you prefer to have one.

In health –

Deidre

PLEASE NOTE: My website, deidreedwards.com, is not yet up to speed. The website redesign is taking a bit longer than planned. I can only apologize – the downloads, and my Caregivers Toolkit Bundle, are not accessible at this time.

Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

We will release an immediate announcement just as soon as the website is up and running again.

Sincerely, Deidre