1-219-765-8600

[email protected]

Crown Point, IN

mobile-logo
Top
April 2, 2025

Four Cheers for Angelos and a Birthday Recipe to Reel You In

If you’ve been following my blog for several years, you may recall my weekly posts that were written comparing the size of my friend’s baby in ute

admink
Family, Food, Fun, Health
March 27, 2025

Springtime Tips for Home and Health

Spring is here, bringing longer days, warmer sunshine, and the perfect opportunity to refresh our spaces and our diets. Just as nature renews itself,

admink
Food, Health
March 20, 2025

Spring into Spring

The spring (vernal) equinox happens on Thursday, March 20 at 5:01 A.M. EDT, marking the moment when the sun crosses directly over the Earth’s eq

admink
Food, Health
March 12, 2025

Natural Ways to Tackle Seasonal Allergies

Seasonal allergies occur when your immune system mistakenly identifies harmless substances—like pollen from trees, grasses, or weeds—as dangerous

admink
Food, Health
March 6, 2025

Why Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the Kitchen MVP

When it comes to cooking oils, not all are created equal. While seed and vegetable oils like soybean, corn, safflower, and canola are common in proces

admink
Food, Health
February 27, 2025

Are You Stuck in the “I’ll Start Tomorrow” Loop?

Ever told yourself, “That’s it! Tomorrow, I’m eating healthy!” And then tomorrow shows up, and you think, “Eh, maybe next week.” Guess wha

admink
Food, Health, Personal Development
February 20, 2025

Simplifying Dinner with HelloFresh

I recently stayed with a friend and when I offered to cook dinner, she presented me with a brown paper bag that said “HelloFresh” on the outside.

admink
Food, Health
February 13, 2025

Celebrating the Birth Month

Yes, it is that time again when I capitalize on the celebration of the birth month. After all, why should all the excitement of a birthday be packed i

admink
Food, Fun
February 5, 2025

Power Up with Protein

Many people aren’t getting enough protein—especially as they age. While it’s often associated with bodybuilders and gym fanatics, protein is ess

admink
Food, Health
January 29, 2025

Continuing Your Winter Hydration Journey

Last week, I shared five essential tips to help you stay hydrated during the colder months. This week, we’re diving into five more practical ways to

admink
Health

Care for an Exercise Snack?

March 16, 2023
0
0
Health

The terminology “exercise snack” is rather intriguing.

I wanted one before I knew what it was. Would it be coated with dark chocolate? Is it low in sugar?

Turns out the answer to both questions is, “No.”

It has nothing to do with food, even though it’s a snack. I think you might even like it.

Here’s the deal. We all know that moving is good for us—mentally and physically. We also know that many of us are a bit too sedentary.

A very small study was done at Columbia University that determined this: just five minutes of walking every half hour, (a.k.a. an exercise snack), can significantly lower your risk of heart disease and other chronic illness.

Reductions were noted when measuring blood sugar and blood pressure. Fatigue decreased as well.

Now, this study was very small, and the control group was extremely sedentary.

However, sometimes we are more sedentary than we care to admit or even realize.

Creating a plan you are willing to commit to that involves more movement throughout the day pays worthwhile health dividends.

We sometimes have the mindset that if we don’t put in a full workout, everything else doesn’t count.

It all counts.

If you’re not sure if you’re moving enough in a typical day, you may like to track it either manually or with a fitness tracker.

Then implement some exercise snacks if necessary. Here in the Midwest we’re experiencing some pleasant days. It’s the perfect time to add extra walking into your life.

On crummy weather days, hop on a treadmill or walk around your house/building.

Set a timer. Five minutes every half hour. Easy. 

Important note: If you’re under a doctor’s supervision, it’s a good idea to get clearance before beginning a new exercise program.

Cheers to enjoying the exercise snack!

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“It is fine to be committed to work, but our minds need time to recover and our bodies need to move.” — Annika Sorensen

Decrease Your Stress and Enjoy a Muffin

March 9, 2023
0
0
Food, Health

Let’s start with the muffin. Last week I wrote about the health benefits of eating wild blueberries.

Saturday morning, I decided that I had to have a blueberry muffin. (It often happens that when I write about food, I think about it so much that it sends me to the kitchen.)

I set out on a mission to make one that was gluten-free, dairy-free and amazingly delicious. 

These are yummy. Here is the link to the recipe on my website in case you have similar muffin dietary criteria.

Blueberry Muffin Recipe

Of course, you could make your favorite conventional muffin recipe and add wild blueberries in place of cultivated blueberries. You’ll love them.

Oh, and I tried a few wild blueberries on my baked sweet potato. Interesting combination of flavors. Worth a try if you’re a sweet potato fan. I enjoyed the muffins more.

Decrease Your Stress

If life feels a bit out of control lately, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your day-to-day activities and regroup.

At first glance, or thought, you may believe that nothing can be eliminated or changed in order to feel more peace and calm.

That peace and calm, oh by the way, will lead to improved hormone control, better sleep, less weight gain and a happier, more focused you. You may even discover extra time to do something you thought you didn’t have time to do—like exercise or make a meal.

Keep these points in mind as you review your days.

  1. Delete one or more activities from your day. Start with one thing you do that, upon scrutiny, is a waste of your precious time. Maybe you could spend less time on social media or watching the news. Or is there something you think must get done daily that isn’t that critical?
  2. Delegate a task. Could another member of the household take over a chore or two? If you’re being a perfectionist about this, weigh the pros and cons concerning the task. Revisit why decreasing your stress level is important. If you live alone, maybe you could unload some outdoor chores to a young neighbor looking for work. Or, are you over-extending yourself on committees or boards?
  3. Do less when it’s acceptable. We strive to live in excellence, yet not everything demands top-grade quality. Some examples: You may not really need to vacuum your carpet daily if you don’t have a pet. It’s fine to pick up a rotisserie chicken on hectic days instead of cooking one from scratch. Using frozen vegetables instead of fresh means less chopping, and they’re often more nutritious. Shortcuts count as doing less.

If you’d like a Planning and Time Use Worksheet to help you, shoot me an email and I’ll send it to you. 

In the meantime, you may like to find some space in your day to make some muffins.

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

 “It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?” — Henry David Thoreau

Plant-Based Wild Blueberry Muffins

March 4, 2023
0
0
Breakfast, Recipes

Plant-Based Wild Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are dairy-free, gluten-free and egg-free. The texture is different than mainstay blueberry muffins. I find them to be amazing. 

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup almond flour*
  • 1/4 cup buckwheat flour* (this is a gluten-free flour, non-wheat flour)
  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 2/3 cup monkfruit sweetener or coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or light coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup MCT or melted coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup Wyman’s frozen wild blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin cups or grease well. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, and baking powder.

In another bowl, add the almond milk, applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Whisk until uniform. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until evenly mixed and lump-free. Fold in the wild blueberries until evenly dispersed in the batter.

Spoon the muffin batter evenly into the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 22-26 minutes, until browned on top and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin, then move to a wire rack and cool completely. Best enjoyed on the day of baking and kept in an airtight container until needed.

Makes 12 muffins

*Note: This recipe is adapted from the Medical Medium (MM) Wild Blueberry Muffin recipe. The original recipe calls for 1 cup gluten-free oat flour instead of the almond and buckwheat flours. You could use 2 cups of a regular gluten-free flour blend as a substitute for all the various flours and they would probably taste more like a traditional muffin. MM also uses coconut sugar in place of monkfruit and alcohol-free vanilla extract or vanilla powder.

Tiny Berry Packs a Powerful Punch

March 2, 2023
0
0
Food, Health, Personal Development

If you’ve not yet discovered Wyman’s Wild Blueberries, now is your time. These tiny little berries are one of the healthiest (perhaps even #1) and most delicious foods on the planet.

While cultivated blueberries that we find locally in stores or pick here in the Midwest are good, wild blueberries have 2X the antioxidants, 33% more anthocyanins (the deep pigment) and 72% more fiber. What this means for us is even greater health benefits, such as:

  • Improved brain and heart health
  • Healthy blood sugar levels due to low glycemic index
  • Promotes gut health
  • Overall wellness

These berries have naturally grown in abundance in Maine and Eastern Canada for thousands of years. 

They can only be harvested one time a year – in August & September. Therefore, most of the fruit is frozen, dried, juiced or powdered to ensure year-round availability.

Wyman’s freezes the berries within 24 hours of harvesting to maintain peak freshness and nutrition. I’ve seen them at Costco and other local groceries near the other frozen fruits.

I also noticed that you could order them directly from the Wyman website.

They come washed and ready to eat. I love adding them to my smoothies.

And our cells love the benefits of that beautiful purple color!

Enjoy them in baked goods, pancakes, pour milk over frozen berries or make sorbet (I’m going to do this soon).

I also saw a suggestion to put them on top of a baked sweet potato. Hmmm. Guess we shouldn’t knock it until we’ve tried it.

Apparently, the tartness of the berries compliments the sweetness of the potato.

I’ll let you know if I try it. I doubt I’ll get Mr. Non-Compliant on board. He’d be all in for a wild blueberry donut—but only if it’s AMAZING.

Be a Lifelong Learner

I’ve recently had the privilege of speaking to some local groups. There is an abundance of health topics that make for interesting, interactive seminars.

While preparing for my seminars and during the presentations, I always learn something new.

No two seminars are ever the same because the audience and questions are different.

Everyone benefits and we have fun.

 If you know of a group or business looking for a speaker, please keep me in mind. 

Curious about a topic or hobby? Have the desire to learn a new language or how to play an instrument? Ever dream of taking singing lessons or a yoga class?

My challenge for you is to listen to an audio or read a book on the topic, take the lessons, sign up for a class.

It’s never too late to learn something new.

Be a lifelong learner.

There is one downside. The more we learn, the more we realize we don’t know.

Much love to you,
Health Coach Carol

“A commitment to lifelong learning is a natural expression of the practice of living consciously.” — Nathaniel Branden

« Previous Page