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December 5, 2024

Post-Thanksgiving Mini Reset

Thanksgiving may have left you feeling a little too much like the stuffed turkey centerpiece. If you’re ready to shake off the sluggishness before m

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Christmas, Food, Fun, Health
November 28, 2024

Savor, Stroll, and Stay Thankful

Thanksgiving. A time to enjoy the company of loved ones, share stories, and of course, indulge in delicious food. Here’s a tip to help you savor

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Family, Food, Fun, Health
November 19, 2024

Gobble Up These Thanksgiving Preparation Tips

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, gathering, and indulging in an amazing feast. However, hosting can sometimes feel more like a marathon than a ce

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Food
November 14, 2024

Mediterranean Feel-Good Soups for Fall

As we transition from fall into the holidays, staying mindful of our health goals can help us enjoy the season without feeling run down or overwhelmed

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Food, Health
November 7, 2024

Healthy Eating FAQs and Answers

Before I get into this week’s topic, I must first retract a statement that I made last week about Mr. Non-Compliant. I stand corrected, as he did NO

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Food, Health
October 31, 2024

Mr. Non-Compliant’s Birthday Fest

This week Mr. Non-Compliant (aka my dear hubby) celebrated a birthday. He flaunted his morning non-compliance by leaving the EMPTY cinnamon roll box o

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Family, Food, Fun, Health
October 24, 2024

Not a Vegetable Fan? Read This

It’s not just kids that wrinkle their nose at a plate of green stuff. Lots of fully-grown adults feel the same—inclined to hide their Brussels spr

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Food, Health
October 17, 2024

How Safe is Your Cinnamon?

I’m a huge cinnamon fan. I shake it in my coffee, smoothies, muffins, stewed apples, and of course, pumpkin pie. Years ago I mixed it with a little

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Food, Health
October 10, 2024

10 Simple Tips to Ease into Fall

Fall is officially here. I know this not only from the calendar and fewer hours of daylight, but by the temperature of my house when I wake up in the

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Food, Health
October 10, 2024

Cumin, Coriander, Fennel (CCF) Tea

To make a cup of CCF tea (Cumin, Coriander, and Fennel tea) using seeds, follow this simple recipe: Ingredients: 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon

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Everything Else, Recipes

Happy Birth Month

February 8, 2023
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Family, Friendship, Health, Personal Development

You’re probably thinking that I just celebrated my birth month. And I did.

One year ago. Already.

How quickly the years go by. 

I recently read No Regrets: A Fable About Living Your 4th Quarter Intentionally by Allen Hunt and Matthew Kelly.

No Regrets is about a woman in her 4th quarter of life who comes to the stark realization that her ordinary life is simply not measuring up.

Something is missing.

She also realizes that it is not too late to make meaningful changes. But how?

The book provides a roadmap for how to make the most of the final season of life. It will inspire, move, and encourage you to become your best, no matter what quarter of life you are in.

It’s never too late, or too early, to make life assessments and change course.

In my 4th quarter, I feel a deeper sense of urgency to spend time doing what matters most and letting go of those things that matter least.

The key is determining what those things are—in both columns.

The Fourth Quarter of Your Life Workbook is a tool to assist with this. (Currently the workbook is on backorder and will begin shipping in about a month.)

 Now is the time to take on new challenges, study interesting topics, enrich relationships, say “No” to some things in order to say “Yes” to others.

Anytime is a good time to plan on having no regrets. Birthdays merely put it in your face. Life-changing events also tend to promote change.

All that being said, I am loving my birth month. Spending more time with family and friends makes me happy.

So does sharing my amazing coconut cake with a fellow birth month friend. 

I invite you to share in the delight of another year with me. I also invite you to review your “Yes” and “No” columns and shift your course if necessary.

Cheers to having no regrets.

And to savoring coconut birthday cake.

With gratitude and much love,
Health Coach Carol

“Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?”—Paul McCartney

Colorful Cauliflower and Fresher Berries

February 2, 2023
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Food, Health

Interesting what shows up in conversation when a bunch of friends gather. Most recently, this is what happened.

“So, have you ever wondered how cauliflower ends up purple and orange? Has anyone tried it? Carol, how does that happen?”

Inquiring minds need to know. So, here you go. 

Purple, green and orange cauliflower contain naturally occurring pigments. They have not been dyed or genetically modified. These colored varieties have been developed over the years from cross-breeding techniques and seed development.

As most of you know from my previous blogs, I am not a fan of this vegetable. I have tried it any number of ways and it matters not.

However, I’ve read that these colorful varieties have a slightly different taste than the white variety.

Green cauliflowers are milder and sweeter and have a texture similar to broccoli. Purple cauliflowers taste sweeter and nuttier. Orange cauliflowers are also sweeter and milder.

Deep colors mean more health benefits. The purple variety contains anthocyanin, an antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation in the body. The orange variety has more vitamin A than the white, due to beta-carotene.

I found this of interest: white cauliflower is white because it is protected from the sun. To protect them, they need to have the leaves gathered up and secured with a rubber band or twine. This is called “blanching.”

There are varieties that have leaves that naturally wrap around the curds to protect them from the sun. They “self-blanch.”

Too much heat or sun may result in white cauliflower with a hint of pink or purple.

I may give one of the colored varieties a try, since the flavor is different. We’ll see what happens. It would certainly add great eye-appeal to any meal.

And now, if you’re ever on a game show and this question pops up, you’ll win the big bucks.

Keep Fresh Berries Fresher Longer

I’m still experimenting with this trick, but thought I’d share it in case you’d like to try it too.

When I bring home fresh berries, I gently pour them into a Mason or Ball jar and put the lid with the seal on it. (Remove any berries that are spoiled.) Refrigerate.

I wash them just before eating so they don’t get mushy.   

They look pretty in the jar and I remember to eat them. I suppose this could be part of the reason they stay fresh—they’re not around as long.

Either way, it’s a win-win situation.

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.”—Mark Twain

5 Ways to Stop Playing the Comparison Game

January 25, 2023
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Health, Personal Development

We all do it. As human beings, it’s part of our nature. We compare for points of reference.

But we don’t have to play the game anymore. If you find that playing it brings you negative feelings about your body, work, success, life, leave the game.

Yeh, right. I hear you. It’s a tough thing to let go of. Comparing.

Stuff happens, like seeing a post and photo of your buddy from college who has the perfect physique, job and healthy-looking meals EVERY DAY on social media. Oh, and even the dog is super cute. 

(Little did you know that she spent 3 hours getting set up for a “smoke and mirrors” photo of all that—including the super cute dog that actually belongs to the neighbor.)

Or, you feel good about sticking with your exercise plan for the new year, until you hear that someone in your inner circle is working out LESS than you and has lost 10 pounds already. Grrr.

You’ve got to be kidding.

For me, it goes something like this, “How can person XYZ eat THAT and be so active and energetic? I’d be dead by now.”

This everyday kind of stuff can bring us down. Some days I feel like throwing in the towel and downing a gallon of ice cream. In one sitting.

So, here’s a novel idea. Let’s practice NOT playing the comparison game.

Here are 5 ways to help you (and me) stop playing in relation to body image and health:

  1. Concentrate on your actions, not your outcomes. Complete daily actions that you’ve set in place and stop worrying about the result. Let’s say you want to lose 5 pounds and you decide to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. You’re also committed to exercising for a minimum of 30 minutes 3x a week. Follow through with your habits and be less concerned about the number on the scale. Oh, and less concerned about how much weight your friend lost in 3 days. Weight loss is complicated.
  2. Keep things in proper perspective. Choose to be happy about what you’re grateful for (3 things), what you’re excited about (1 thing) and something you’ve accomplished (1 thing). Quickly jot them down at the end of the day and sit with reality. By focusing on the positive, there’s less room for the negative. Look back in a month or so and check out your progress. Gold star for you. 
  3. Drop the comparison triggers. If participating in an advanced aerobics class week after week brings out the comparison monster, making you feel less than, stop. Stay in a place that motivates you but doesn’t derail your mindset. Grow into tougher as you get stronger, then go for it. Same idea for your eating plan. The “diet” that works for your best friend may be horrible for you.
  4. Declutter your social feeds. If you have virtual friends or follow someone who makes you feel bad about what you’re accomplishing, drop them like a hot bag of greasy French fries. Stay around positive people—virtually and in real life. You’ll love yourself (and others) more. 
  5. Build meaningful connections. Surround yourself with genuine people and be vulnerable with one another. You’ll realize that so much superficial stuff doesn’t matter anyway. You do YOU beautifully.

Wishing you the best day ever.

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dining Out Made Simple

January 19, 2023
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Food, Health

We know that home cooking is the healthiest. For starters, we’re not loading our meals with ingredients that we can’t pronounce and preservatives to make the food last for weeks.

There are times, however, when it’s socially correct to go out and enjoy a meal with family or friends. After all, it’s fun to be waited on and skip the planning, cooking and clean-up.

(By the way, Mr. Non-Compliant is great at doing dishes. Thank you, Mr. NC.)

There are also business lunches and dinners and various celebrations. 

When we dine out, it’s easy to get swept away and lose control with all the goodies that appear on the table before us. While some restaurants inquire as to if you’d like bread, it often shows up uninvited.

And it brings along some very tasty friends: butter, olive oil, cheese, vinegar.

Then there are the cocktails, wine, appetizers, rich creamy soups, homemade pastas, desserts.

Indulging in the “extras” on occasion will probably not send your healthy eating goals out the window.

It’s the excessive number of food-centered meetings and events that tend to pack on the pounds, especially when there are several in one week.

Should you find yourself in this situation, here are some simple guidelines to help keep you from outgrowing your clothes.

Health Coach Carol’s Simple Dining Out Guidelines

  1. Skip the bread.
  2. Skip the alcohol.
  3. Skip the pasta.
  4. Skip the dessert.
  5. If steps 1-4 are not possible for you, choose two options out of the four—sort of like “You Pick Two” at Panera Bread.
  6. Whatever two you choose, make sure they are AMAZING!

When desserts are AMAZING, often a table shares a few options so that everyone can have a sample of each.

Perfect. 

Mr. Non-Compliant is a tough negotiator. Even he can handle choosing two. For example, when the bread is fresh out of the oven, he’s going to enjoy it, slathered with butter.

If he’s at a banquet hall dinner where the dessert is sitting by his place at the beginning of the meal, it’s probably not going to be AMAZING. Same goes for the bread or rolls.

These simple guidelines allow for a delicious dining experience without feeling as though you’ve overindulged.

No calorie counting. No food stressing. No outgrowing your clothes.

Bon appétit!

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“We should enjoy food and have fun. It is one of the simplest and nicest pleasures in life.”—Julia Child

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