Category Archives: This -n- That

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

Big Reveal And A Recipe Bonus!

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Before I share another crowd-pleasing recipe with you, I want to share some joyful news. 

It’s been almost a year in the making, and it is in the final incubating stage of refinement. Clearly, too long for a human baby announcement, and there’s no elephant-cam watch because they take two years gestation.  

So, what could it be? 

Just as a proud new parent, the Caregiver Series now has another member! Number three in the series is … Toolkit for Caregiver Emotions – What you’re feeling is normal – Discover your coping and resilience skills.  

Here’s the book cover that depicts how we can shelter ourselves from life’s storms to create calm and balance: 

Not only has the cover been created but … drumroll … Toolkit for Caregiver Emotions, is now ready for PREORDER on Amazon! 

As editorial reviews, final formatting, launch team creation, and marketing are completed, I have committed to a publication date of August 2nd – which hopefully, will be changed to an earlier date. 

When you preorder through Amazon eBooks, the sale is charged when the eBook is delivered. Preordering boosts sales; which, in turn, helps the Amazon algorithm make the book more visible to additional shoppers.  

So many people have been asking for this ground-breaking book for caregivers, and I am so happy to bring it to fruition. The frank conversations about emotions, along with the coping and resilience skills I share, are universally applicable – whether you are a caregiver or not. 

With the help of readers placing preorders, the visibility of Toolkit for Caregiver Emotions on Amazon should increase. 

Yes, there will be a print version as well, but preorders are only available for eBooks. 

Stay tuned for more information. 

LET’S TALK VEGGIES!! 

On to squash. Yellow squash, specifically. 

Squash elicits two responses. There’s the, “Yuck!” crowd; and there’s the, “I LOVE YELLOW SQUASH!” crowd.  

Converts to the second group happened after tasting my recipe – just saying. 

Growers of yellow squash delight in learning of any recipe that uses up their bountiful crops. Truly, most cooks already have a favorite yellow squash casserole recipe, but judging from recent comments by dinner party guests, I am sharing my gluten-free version for those who do not. 

A few tips before we get to the specifics: 

Quantities are often difficult to nail down, but this recipe makes enough for a 9” x 13” glass casserole dish. I’ve melded three recipes to get my version, and the range of the number of squashes was significant – also, the size of fresh vegetables can vary greatly. Just relax and enjoy your cooking experience – it will all work out. 

Since the goal of foodtalk4you is an anti-inflammatory cuisine and lifestyle, I have used gluten-free options whenever possible, but there is a dairy element. The French-fried onion rings by French’s, contain gluten; but there is a Kroger brand available that is gluten-free. Alternatively, gluten-free panko crumbs are an option for the topping. 

Our editor, Sheree Alderman, is making this recipe downloadable and printable below. I hope you enjoy it! 

SQUASH-CASSEROLE-by-Foodtalk4youDownload

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In health – 

 Deidre  

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

I Love You, Snukums!

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Few holidays garner such visceral responses.

Our early childhood saw us delighted with glue, scissors, red paper hearts, and lots of glitter.

Then we might have experienced fewer Valentines in our sacks at school than others, or maybe the ones we were given were not the prettiest of the bunch and amounted to getting the rejects.

Later, we pined for romantic Valentines complete with a hand-holding sweetheart.

No sweetheart? Well, then, we started disliking Valentine’s Day. “Happy Singles Awareness Day” became our slogan. Groan.

“I hate Valentine’s Day” can often be heard. Too bad.

I’ve had my share of being single for this festival of romantic love. It is tough. It does not feel good in the heart.

BUT – we can expand our view of this celebration by making a big deal out of ALL the forms of love we find around us. Honor family love, deep friendships, new friendships, and honor the friendless.

Today, I’m sharing two of my favorite ways of saying, “I love you!” One is a pastime that morphs with the seasons, and another is a special treat. It is my way of giving you something of myself that may brighten your day.

Cards made using Iris Paper Folding

This art form uses the layering concept of a camera’s iris and this heart card is the first one I learned. The finished card’s look is infinitely variable and requires just few supplies and a pattern:

Supplies:

IRIS PAPER FOLDING PATTERNDownload

3 sheets of printed craft paper with complementary colors/designs

1 sheet of heavier weight craft paper for the card face plate

Blank card and envelope – 5 inch x 6.5 inch/12.7 cm x 16.5 cm white, ivory, or colored

Scissors are a must and a paper cutter if you have one.

X-ACTO craft knife

Cellophane tape and double-sided tape

Small heart sticker or jewel sticker

Steps

Prepare the papers:

Cut the pink heart frame into a 6-inch x 4.5 inch or 15.24 cm x 11.43 cm rectangle.

Cut your personalized-color fold-able sheets into 3/4 in or 1.91 cm strips using cutter or scissors – you will need 2-3 strips of each color.

Print two copies of the pattern.

Using the crafter’s knife, carefully cut out the heart shape from one pink frame. *Make sure to use something to protect your table surface! I use the thick pressed cardboard found as a backing to packets of square craft paper.

Place and center the heart shape under the pink frame and trace around it’s shape with an erasable pencil.

Using the craft knife, carefully cut out the heart. *Protect your work surface! Save the heart shape for future use on a different kind of card.

Tip: Color your second pattern with highlighters to make placing your three colors/patterns easier.

Put the resulting frame, with heart shape cut out, FACE DOWN over the whole second pattern and secure with a bit of painter’s tape at two corners.

Fold the edge of each paper as shown in the following photo.

Using your first color, cut a piece of the strip a bit longer than the area needed for space #1. The folded edge will go toward the center of the heart. Secure each piece with tape at the end.

Note: I use a piece of tape that’s almost 1-inch long and tear that piece in half. Use these smaller pieces to tape the strips onto the heart’s frame back. Don’t allow any tape to be exposed to what will be the card front.

Continue taping trimmed pieces, following the flow of the pattern 1-2-3-4-5, etc.

NOTE: The point of the heart can get congested with extra paper, so trimming pieces to a point can help with that.

When all pieces have been placed, peel back the painter’s tape for the big reveal!

Next, using the double sided tape, picture frame the BACK of the card you just created. The tape should be placed as near the card’s back edge as possible and go completely around the card.

Fold the blank card stock in half, and carefully center your card over the blank card, lowering to the surface and pressing down all edges.

Select your heart sticker or jewel and place in the center of the iris.

Voila!

Since there were no Christmas cards from me this year, my Valentine’s Day cards will be mailed to family and friends. It’s a gift they will treasure, and each will contain a note of appreciation and love.

SCONES-THAT-LOVE-YOU-BACKDownload

Scones that love you back – Still a favorite recipe that is also an excellent way to say, “I love you!” or, “I appreciate you!”

Just download and follow the recipe. What a perfect Valentine’s touch to breakfast on the 14th – or any day!

Who can you craft a card for? If not a romantic love, there’s someone who needs a special note of caring from you. Who will it be?

Feel free to share the love of this post by using the social medial options under the MORE button below.

In love and health – I truly appreciate each one of you!

Deidre



Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Kaizen in Action – Part 2

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Sometimes the inspiration and application of an idea can come from a familiar message that’s been put into new words.

That old idea will grab us in a new way, when it’s presented from a different angle.

I’ve written about taking small steps for years, both here and in my books. But this book about Kaizen I referred to last week, has been just what I needed.

And look – even its size reflects its message!

As I stood in the chaos of moving boxes, not sure of which way to go because some of the options required other efforts to complete, I put Kaizen to work.

Clearly, the whole project, or even part of the project, was not going to be finished that day. What was one tiny thing within my reach that I could put away? One thing.

Easy enough. Done.

Next?

By the end of the morning, I had finished moving my things into the bathroom: Shelving assembled under the sink, objects sorted, discarded, and put away.

This job had been put off for several weeks. I had enough personal hair, make up, and tooth brushing supplies – it was not an urgent task, but to complete moving in, required me to get these things out of the ugly box in my new bedroom.

You can imagine the sense of accomplishment – albeit small – that propelled me to tackle one more object in another box. Ultimately, four or five boxes were processed that day. Wow!

Reading Maurer’s book opened my eyes to another reason why small is good.

Approaching any topic from the point of view of making the smallest changes is simply more user friendly, because we are comfortable with small steps.

When faced with change involving big ideas and big leaps, our fight-or-flight response is triggered. Our body prepares for physical action (fight or flight) and the circuits for less critical operations are shut down.

In a fight-or-flight response, we do not need to digest lunch, or think about our relations with Aunt Sarah. We need to stand and fight, or get out of Dodge as fast as possible.

The problem we face in everyday situations that bring on this response is that it also brings on some degree of fear. We fear departing from anything that takes us away from the norm – and we often end up like deer in the headlights. Stuck. Frozen.

Looking at major projects can leave us wringing our hands and walking in circles.

But, learning to take the smallest step possible keeps that fight-or-flight response asleep. We can tiptoe right around it.

I’m not opening and putting away fifty boxes today. I’m going to find a home for this bottle of Listerine.

Twice weekly, extreme gym workouts aren’t happening; but I did 5 minutes of arm exercises with 3 pound weights during the commercials last night – several times. Whenever I relocate my 5 pound weights, I’ll use them to ramp up the experience.

Little things.

How can you dissolve the potential fear of facing a large or difficult project by finding the smallest possible step to take?

What’s one thing you can do for your health today?

How can you incorporate one more glass of water into your day?

Are you looking at a mess? What is one small object you can put away?

Thank you for reading foodtalk4you. If you haven’t subscribed yet, just scroll down your screen or look to the upper left along this article to subscribe today. We won’t bug you, promise. Just one email a week to alert you to the new post.

Quietly stepping around that fight-or-flight tiger.

In health –

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

New Year – New Word!

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Bet you thought I had forgotten. Life was such a whirlwind last year, I did forget – at least to write about it.

This year, the ripples of past words and ideas returned to me – this time through an author friend, Otakara Klettke – who posted a query to her friends about what they had chosen as their 2023 Word of the Year.

Brilliant!

I grow so much from 1) setting a mindful intention for my new year and 2) spreading out the contents of last year’s blessings jar – and doing it now, the day after epiphany (as I write this), seems appropriate.

Besides, blessings are pouring in for 2023, and I need an empty jar to hold my notes!

My unspoken word of the year for 2022 had to have been GROW. What a ride of new experiences! Looking back, I am grateful for how life unfolded: I learned new things and improved on them; how I will do some things better; and how I had such amazing support every step of the way.

With most of these life changes complete, Otakara’s query about my 2023 Word of the Year gave me pause to think. Only one word popped into my mind and spirit: LOVE.

Not that love was lacking at any time in 2022, but my soul wants to turn its striving and focus to love.

Certainly, all intentions need to start at home. I’ll be mindful how I explore and show love to myself; but I long to show love more completely to others through my presence, helpful acts, and remembrances.

So, what is your Word of the Year for 2023?

I think it’s better than a resolution – any day – because it’s an intention set deep in our hearts that colors how we think and proceed. Resolutions fade away even before January ends, but an intention can stick with us.

Write it on a sticky.

Make a pretty drawing around your word.

Paint it on a canvas.

Sharing these easy ideas. Just use the options on the MORE button below to share this post with others.

In health and love –

Deidre

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

Let’s Celebrate With A Clean Slate for 2023!

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During my final move out of storage and into my long-awaited new home in a new town, I was moved to take a picture of the empty storage unit before I left.

It’s empty – save for some broken glass.

Isn’t that what we all are looking at as we regard the past year? We’re moving on with whatever we are taking, and we are leaving behind the broken glass.

Well, we should be leaving behind the broken glass – maybe sweep it up so no one gets cut – but don’t start the new year with a pocket full of broken glass.

Admit our mistakes. Explore what we have learned from both mistakes and successes, and move forward with a clean slate to look for opportunities to flex our increased self-awareness and knowledge.

So, in these brief moments on the first Tuesday of January 2023, what pieces of broken glass are you willing to leave behind from 2022?

And what elements are you eager to take, nurture, and harvest for this new year?

This time last year, we were bundled up for the cold daily walks to gaze upon the bare hard ground where our new house would eventually stand. Each day’s steps brought us outdoors for exercise and anticipation – and were sprinkled with a healthy dose of patience as we longed for the breaking of ground.

When the weather warmed and progress on the new build was realized, we added sunscreen, water bottles, and shade hats to our warm weather attire – but the walking exercise continued.

Now moved in, realizing our dream, and using our new space, I am committed to taking the winter walks into the new year – making them a part of the fabric of our lives.

While every day represents fresh starts, certainly the new year marks a time to think about what we need to leave behind and what we want to take with us.

Happy 2023 to all our foodtalk4you readers! Remember to “do your body good” with each bite, each breath, and each movement.[

In health –

Deidre and Sheree

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Joy to the World!

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Peace, Hope, Love, and now JOY.

Have you found your peace? Have you discovered and explored it this month? Have you helped to create peace in your life, and have you shared it with others?

I hope so.

Oh, there’s that hope. There is a way. You can do this. We can do this. There is strength enough inside of you, and there is help and hope available from those around you.

Are you feeling love in more than one realm? The here and now kind and the other-worldly kind from those who have gone before?

As I think of those who are newly grieved, a sense of peace, hope, and love may seem a bit of a stretch right now. Experiencing that first holiday season without someone and all that it brings to grief can overwhelm.

The peace may look different this year – but it’s still peace.

The hope may seem to have evaporated – but look around. Your situation may be unwanted and different, but there is a new path that fits the new you. It’s there. Look for it and move toward it.

Love has no boundaries, and there is always room for new love. May we all take the love we have and the love we have experienced to grow MORE love – the opportunities and needs for love and expressions for love surround us.

As we take our peace, hope, and love out into the world, we will discover JOY.

Joy, I think, is contingent upon action – our action of reaching out to others with peace, hope, and love. It does not plop into our laps – joy requires our efforts.

Joy wants to be shared, too! Who sits around just being joyful? Sure, we have joy in our hearts, but doesn’t it just about leap out of our chests, begging to be spread around?

This is a great time for us all – especially if you find yourself feeling a little lack-luster as we close out the year – to pause and to ponder about small moments when you have found some peace, and hope, and love.

Jot each moment down on a small slip of paper; fold it and drop it into a jar. Every so often, add a short note about something positive – a blessing – to drop into your blessings jar.

On New Year’s Eve, one year from now, dump all your blessings out onto the table and read each one – and you will feel JOY!

Life is a series of tiny moments, and we often get stuck on all the negatives that have happened to us. But by being aware of the many small blessings that come our way, we realize that things are not that bad.

May there be abundant peace, hope, love, and joy for each of us, and may we reflect those feelings and mindsets in all that we do now and in the coming New Year.

Share the JOY by using the options under the MORE button below.


In health –

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Love is Everything

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It’s the bottom line.

Everything else can and will fall away. We are left with this one thing. All our striving, our busy activities, our concerns, our vain imaginings – they disappear, and we are left with this one eternal element that is the sum of the Universe.

LOVE.

We need love on a cellular level. Take love away and we become twisted and tortured.

Some of us have mistakenly believed we do not deserve love – we are somehow less than, or we have caused so much harm, that we do not merit love.

But we were designed by love – if only by the power of Universal, love found in the miracle of Creation itself – and were designed to need and give love.

I’ve discovered that love has a handmaiden.

Grief.

When we love someone, we are committing to the grief that will surely follow when that love is taken from our physical presence.

If you have lost someone, the grief you feel is a testament to your love! That’s a big deal.

It makes loving someone an even more precious thing. What a gift!

“I love you fiercely even knowing that when we are physically separated, I will grieve and hurt – BUT it’s totally worth it and I freely do it!”

Moreover, that love never dies.

We may not realize it until we lose someone, but love is so much bigger than the here and now. Love exists on so many planes and in so many realms that we can barely understand it.

I think our souls must be a bundle of love light that when we are no longer here to hold or be held, we whisk away to be love on another dimension – and that the love we were burns brightly in the hearts and minds of our loved ones.

Love is light. Light gives peace and hope – they are all wrapped up together.

In this season of love, may we freely give and receive the love, peace and hope that is the ultimate force of change to ourselves, to others, and to the world.

You may share this message of love by using the options in the MORE button below.

In health and love –

Deidre

Merry Christmas everyone!

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

Light of Hope

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The flash of a newborn’s first smile.

The light of a candle in a darkened room.

That outreached hand being offered to pull you up.

There’s HOPE!

All is not lost.

Maybe you thought all was lost but a door or window just opened and there is a new way forward.

As the adage says, “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”

Hang in there, dear readers, there is hope for you – and for us all.

Let’s tear ourselves away from the headlines of chaos and insanity. Let’s light our one little personal candle and together we can create a bigger light – a light so big and bright that our surrounding neighborhoods will be illuminated with peace, hope, love, and joy.

Be the hope to your body as you offer it a fresh, home-cooked meal made with whole ingredients that don’t come from a can or package.

Create a series of hopeful actions by drinking one less cup of coffee or alcoholic beverage and add one more glass of water.

Take a 15 minute break and go for a walk – your body will be so happy that it may ask for more.

People are watching us. Whether we know it or not, each of us is the model and inspiration for someone else.

Who me? Yes. You. And you. And you.

By displaying hope to our own body/mind/spirit and in being that smile, light, and helping hand to others.

Let’s keep that light of hope burning.

Pass the light of hope by sharing this nugget with others using the options in the MORE button below.

In health and hope –

Deidre

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

Let There Be Peace on Earth

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As we approach this holiday season, there are several threads of sentiments woven throughout our common experiences that reflect and unite our diverse beliefs.

Today’s word is PEACE.

Sometimes said as a part of giving a blessing, “Peace I give to you …”

Sometimes given at the conclusion of a service of worship, “Peace be with you … and also to you.”

Something often wished for, “If I could only get a little peace around here!”

Sometimes it’s spoken as a plea, “Give peace a chance.”

So, amid holiday bustle, where do you find peace?

Are you open to receiving peace?

How do you create peace?

How do you give peace?

How does peace feel to you?

Often spoken about in conjunction with the word QUIET, we can imagine peace happening separate from noise and clamor.

I often think of peace, quiet, and wonder when first stepping out to view new fallen snow – especially at night.

Or that physical sensation that floats over me when I learn everything is going to be alright. It’s beyond plain relief, it’s a deep feeling of peace that defies description.

Then there’s the inexplicable peace that can come to us even when the news is bad – we just know that we have the strength to stay the course and we know that we will be okay.

Generally, I find peace in the common things. Nothing special needs to be happening. Maybe that’s peace and contentment?

Explore the role of peace in your life. Perhaps peace may come as you make and give peace away to others.

Share this nugget of peace with others by using the options under the MORE button below.

In health and peace –

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Waiting for the Good Things to Come

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Sometimes we just have to wait.

Our little ones are gearing up for a season of waiting as they bounce and wriggle with delight in anticipation, just thinking about presents and festive activities heading their way in the coming weeks.

We adults are the same about some things. While we have mastered waiting to open beautifully wrapped packages, there are other anticipations that tempt us, and we become impatient.

I’m feeling a bit frustrated with waiting right now.

You see, there’s a big project that I’ve been working on for months that was going to be revealed to you this very day, but some of the many moving parts of this multifaceted project are just not in place yet.

So, we wait.

The deadline was self-imposed. It will come together – when it’s ready – and the big reveal will be well done and helpful to those who need it.

A recent message from the daily thoughts I subscribe to by Amit Sood, focused on Gaining vs. Becoming, and has helped me gain patience in my delayed project.

His message urged listeners to consider the difference between gaining vs. becoming as they approached their life goals.

Some people focus on gaining wealth, position, or possessions at all costs as they go about their careers, whereas others focus on the kind of person they want to become while doing their work.

Sure, we all need to pay the rent and buy groceries, but what kind of person are we becoming while we do the necessary work? Is our work requiring us to become less than our optimal self?

His thoughtful words reminded me of a saying about people remembering not what we say to them, but how they were made to feel while we spoke to them.

The first time I ever heard that saying, I certainly felt a pinch. From then on, I have tried to model being a more thoughtful, considerate, compassionate, and understanding person.

We can still get the job done while taking a path that includes honoring what kind of person we want to become.

No one is ever done becoming. Each of us can modify what we work on to become – at any age.

What is the kind of person you want to become?

What are you going to do to become that person?

Take a moment as we anticipate the holidays. Light a candle. Bundle up and step outdoors to gaze at the stars. When all is said and done, what counts?

Become that.

And if you are impatient to get the results of last week’s word search puzzle, you can relax, because the results are posted under this!

WORD SEARCH ANSWERSDownload

If you found this helpful, share with a friend using the options under the MORE button below.

In health with gratitude and thanks to each of our readers –

Deidre