Mindful Gathering!

Gathering herbs from my deck garden for tonight's dinner:

Center--thyme.  Top left--sage. 

Clockwise from sage--Basil, Jalapeno Pepper, Tarragon,

Rosemary, Marjoram & Oregano, and Parsley.



This evening I'm trying a recipe I found on Pinterest and posted to my "Healthy Inspirations" board. You can check it out at http://www.artsy-foodie.com/2008/07/fig-chicken-with-rosemary-and-thyme.html

Pinterest reminds me of boxes and files which years ago I filled with recipes and dream-home ideas I ripped from magazines.  Sometimes the clippings never made it to a box or file, but languished in the bottom of drawers, on pantry shelves between cookbooks, or stored away in boxes--dreams on hold, out of sight, eventually forgotten.

Why does a particular recipe call out over another? One holds a dream.  That's the one I'd tear out and bring into my life.  Same with a specific room decoration, piece of outdoor furniture, or picture of a cozy cottage by the sea.

Take an appetizer recipe for instance...sure there's the imagined taste of the prepared dish, but more, there's the thought of what an outstanding hostess I will be serving these little delicacies from a tiny round tray at the perfect gathering in my home.  The clipping of an intriguing cocktail?  A moment of sophistication shines through.  "Ten Healthy Ways to Serve Chicken?" ...tucked away with the dream of good health forever.

Then vision boards came along--visualization tools.  Arrange your dreams on a board you see every day and they will come true.  Vision boards are not exactly new.  I read recently they, "...go back into the dark ages when people took things from the Earth and drew pictures that represented what they wanted for themselves. This long history may have changed and shifted, and then encompassed into more recent theories, but the aim and design behind them has never changed." I can assure you, your dream on a vision board has a lot better chance of coming true than the one in a box in the attic.

Now we have Pinterest--gathering images from all over the world to place on "boards."  Aren't we all dreaming online now?  Further, like everything else in our society, these dreams are coming true faster and faster!

While I have a Pinterest board for recipes I'd like to try, I have a separate one, called "Healthy Inspirations."  Seems I still need that first board, dreaming of tasting chocolate cookies made with an Andes Mint placed on the top, right out of the oven--melting into a gooey chocolate and mint frosting. Or a little piece of cake called, "Death by Vanilla Cake."  Or how about my dream of biting down into a homemade Three Musketeers Bar, a 90-second Nutella Chocolate Cake, baked brown sugar chicken wings, and chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter cookie dough frosting?

All of those, and more, are posted on my board titled, "Foods/Recipes I'd Like to Try."  They're not there because they represent a dream of becoming a great host, or because I think I'll be the best mother if I make them for my kids--my children have been adults themselves for many years now.  This morning I ask myself, why are these recipes on my board?  Do they still represent a primal, early childhood longing for comfort and love? 

There's a disconnect between my dream of being a completely healthy and fit 60 year-old stair climber, and my dream that must still exist of eating all the foods that took me to the opposite heights! Or rather, depths.

Writing today leads to three helpful observations/conclusions:

1)  If I continue with the same dreams I've had for so very many years, then I'll be dreaming the wrong dreams.  I'm not the person I was three years ago, five years ago, ten years ago, many years ago. Time to take the blinders off in the food department!

2)  It's confirmed--writing works for me.  This process combines subconscious thought and conscious thought which evolves into new discoveries.  This step...this very step, writing this blog today...is essential in going forward with my plans to successfully climb the Willis Tower in November.

3)  I intended to write about the "Rosemary/Thyme/Fig Chicken" recipe I'm making for dinner.  What followed leads to new steps I can take.

For starters, I'm changing the name of my Pinterest Board from "Foods/Recipes I'd Like to Try," to "Foods I Will be Able to Taste from Time to Time, Once I've Met my Health and Fitness Goals." 

Ha, a bit lengthy, but entirely necessary to make this shift.

It's time to fill up that "Healthy Inspiration" board!

Here's what I have so far:  http://pinterest.com/chspoon/healthy-inspirations/

Who Doesn't Like A Good "Before and After"

First a couple shots from yesterday's preparations:

See yesterday's blog for vegetable soup recipe.

The colors of health!

Scroll down for Chia Pudding recipe.

Top left, ready to add fruit to Harold's Chia Pudding--
made with unsweetened coconut milk, cocoa powder and chia seeds,
and mine--made with unsweetened almond milk and chia seeds.
The fruit makes adding a sweetener unnecessary.
  
Yesterday I persuaded Harold to at least try
some of the chia seed pudding. 
He commented it was, "Alright," as in ok. 
Today he reported that he had his best tennis games ever
yesterday after eating the pudding! 
He was eager to throw the fruit in and eat it down today
on his way out the door for more tennis.


~~~~~~~~

I started working out for the first time in my life in 2007! 

~~~~~~~~

Chia Seed Pudding

Mix approximately 2 tablespoons chia seeds with approximately 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, flax milk, hemp milk, or coconut milk

in a tightly closed container. 

If you desire, add a tiny bit of Stevia or raw honey.

 

Shake rapidly.  Then thoroughly shake several times
 over the next 15 minutes. 

Place in refrigerator overnight to set. 

If you add fruit before you eat it, you'll get your sweet taste naturally...don't  need the Stevia at all.

  Variations could be unsweetened cocoa powder when you make it, nuts, bananas, coconut, or pumpkin pie spices--ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.  

A friend also likes his pudding made with crushed peaches and water.

I'm sure there are many ideas I haven't heard about yet. 

This couldn't be easier or more healthy...

also adds a burst of energy.

Thanks to friends David, Carisse, Nicole and Kristin for introducing me to Chia Pudding and sharing their ideas!

If you can't buy chia seeds locally, they're easy to find online.

 

One More:

2010                               2005

I know I showed this two years ago,
but it's worth repeating to see what health looks like
compared to...well, shall we say unhealthy eating
and absolutely no exercise.



Twice De-toxed and Re-toxed--Lesson Learned

Update:

July 25th:  I lose eight pounds during an eight day Detox--the least of the benefits.  I feel much more energetic and clear headed!  At the risk of sharing too much information, I experience no more bloating and discomfort after eating.  At the gym my trainer says my face has a new glow.

I  Feel  Good!

The next day I fly to Vegas, fully intending to adhere to my no dairy, no wheat, no meat, eggs, sugar, coffee or alcohol....hahaha!  My resolve holds steady for one day and one evening.  Eating strawberries and sunflower seeds in bed for breakfast the next morning, I rationalize all is well--even though the bottom half of the strawberries are hand dipped in chocolate from Payard's Patisserie.

                                                        
That's all I'll divulge here.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  You can probably figure it out though if I mention a buffet is involved, room service, free drinks and four visits to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill!

While still fun-filled and exciting, two of my vacation days I experience the old uncomfortable physical side effects to reintroducing all this food.  

My plane arrives back in Chicago five days later--six if you factor in our delay and 3:45 a.m. landing.  The next day I start the Detox over again. 

August 10th:  Second detox completed with similar results as the first,  a pre-planned dinner out with friends confronts me.  These are good friends I only see once a month, it's a beautiful summer evening, and we're dining at my favorite restaurant.  As the evening unfolds minute by minute, I become thoroughly wrapped up in the conversations, our support for each other, a live jazz combo to the left, and view of Michigan Avenue to my right.

Conscious thought takes flight when my inner subconscious patterns place my order as I proceed to thoroughly enjoy the evening. We each go our separate ways...I return home...and suddenly I feel terrible. 

I had been high with energy after the detox.  I felt completely comfortable in my skin...all was right with the world...I felt healthy.  Now, after dinner out, I can't understand why I feel so horrible--not just full, but uncomfortable all over, almost nauseous, and definitely weak. Then I realize what I've done to myself--spinach and artichoke dip & chips, two glasses of wine, Prime Rib French Dip sandwich and fries, and a shared banana cream pie dessert.  Yikes!  This is exactly how I use to order before I embarked on my healthy eating journey.

Sick for several hours, I paid the consequences.  Some learn in one lesson, others in two.  I take multiple lessons, but I learn a little bit more each time.  However, this time, I'm leaping ahead.

August 11th:  Detoxes over, I spend the whole day today preparing healthy food for the coming week.  I do not want to feel the way I did after indulging last night, ever again. 

Planning and preparation so key, this evening I have a refrigerator full of vegetables, salmon, homemade vegetable broth, chia seed puddings, sesame tofu, fresh fruits and all my morning smoothie ingredients and supplements.

Thoroughly enjoying my vegetable soup for dinner.

Cheryl's Vegetable Soup

Bring to a boil and then simmer, copious amounts of kale and spinach,

cabbage, fresh cilantro and basil, carrots, onion, and celery. 

Remove cooked vegetables and puree them in blender

with a little unsweetened coconut milk. 

Return puree to broth.

Season to taste with sea salt, ground pepper & garlic,

a bit of cayenne, and a small amount of raw honey.

Roast butternut squash, cube and add at the end,

along with black beans and one cubed potato. 

Seriously delicious.