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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

9 Reasons for Celebrating Your Birth Month

February 10, 2022
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Food, Fun

Another year around the sun complete. Time to celebrate my birth month as I begin the journey for another go around.

My dear friend, Cheryl, finally found the perfect card to express this sentiment. 

If you’re not on board with a lengthier celebration, perhaps you need to rethink your position.

9 Reasons why it’s good to celebrate your birthday for at least a month:

  1. How many lunches/dinners with friends and family can you really pack into one day?
  2. Snail mail is a bit slower these days, and all your cards and packages may not arrive exactly on time.
  3. You take the pressure off those who may feel bad for missing “The Day.”
  4. It gives you more time to see all the Facebook greetings.
  5. Celebrating is fun and enough things in life are not.
  6. It makes it possible for you to do things you like to do but may not be able to do on your birthDAY.
  7. Restaurants love to treat birthday people with complimentary dessert and song, and sometimes the gatherings are on a different day.
  8. You are very special and one day doesn’t do you justice.
  9. Why not?

Birthdays are also fun because there’s FINALLY a benefit to getting all those excess emails the rest of the year.

I scored a FREE Bundtlet from “Nothing Bundt Cakes.” Yes, it was as delicious as it looks. Half of it was just right with a bit of chocolate oat milk ice cream. 

Note: This is the gluten-free cake. They always carry GF chocolate chip bundlets, and you’d never know it’s GF.

Panera gifted me with a reward for $2.00 off my next beverage.

Houlihan’s will give me a complimentary entrée, up to $15.

These cool offers are valid for anywhere from 1-2 weeks after my birthday. See, even food establishments know that it’s good to celebrate for more than a single day.

I must really be extra efficient since I was born in the shortest month. Each year, I improve my celebratory skills.

 Thanks to my family and lots of friends, I’m off to a great start.

And I’ve only just begun.

Feeling the love,
Carol

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”— E. E. Cummings

Best Easy Cornbread

February 3, 2022
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Food, Fun, Health

Last week we were basking in 11° weather here in Indiana. This week we had a blizzard.

If you’ve ever lived in a wintery weather place, you can visualize the scene: snow piling up non-stop all night into day; blowing so that you’re not sure if it’s still snowing or only blowing; and seeing 12-15 inches of the white stuff everywhere.

I thought it would never stop.

Fun times. Even my gym cancelled classes and closed early. It is beautiful, as I look out my window. 

What’s a girl to do in a blizzard? (After I cleared the driveway, of course.) Why, make cornbread to go with the Chicken Lemon Rice Soup.

 EDIT on the soup recipe from last week’s blog post. I forgot to mention that you can use organic chicken bone broth as your base instead of chicken broth. The bone broth contains more protein and adds lots of health benefits, especially if you make your own.

Here’s the link to my blog post on bone broth and a chicken bone broth recipe Bone Broth Recipe

Since the best carbohydrates we can consume are in the form of fruits and vegetables, cornbread is a real treat.

Sometimes, like after playing in the snow, I indulge. It was moist, delicious, and really hit the spot with the soup. I began my meal with a tossed salad and dessert was a mandarin orange. 

This is gluten-free; however, you could use all-purpose flour. I’ve also included substitutions to make it dairy-free. The original recipe called for ½ cup sugar. I cut the sugar to 1/3 cup and preferred it. I like to minimize sugar whenever I can achieve a delicious product with a bit less, since we would all do well to eliminate it from our diets. I’m not quite there. Progress, not perfection. 

Best Easy Cornbread

  • 3/4 cup gluten-free cornmeal
  • 1 cup Namaste Gluten-Free Perfect Blend Flour or all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 to ½ cup organic sugar
  • 2 ½ tsp. baking powder (aluminum-free)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup milk or reconstituted goat milk or dairy-free alternative
  • 1 egg
  • 1/8 cup melted butter or Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Sticks

Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir with a wire whisk until well blended. Add the milk, egg, and butter. Stir the batter until all the ingredients are blended. Butter a 6″ X 9″ or 8″ X 8″ pan and evenly spread batter into pan. Bake at 375°F for approximately 20-25 minutes until lightly brown. Enjoy warm. Store leftovers in an air-tight container. May be frozen.

Bon appétit,
Health Coach Carol

“Snowflakes are one of nature ‘s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.” — Vesta M. Kelly

Chicken Lemon Rice Soup

January 27, 2022
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Food, Health, Main Dishes, Recipes

It’s soup season here in the Midwest. The high today was something like 11°F. Brrrrr.

Grateful that it was sunny.

Since we’re probably going to have a few more days like this, I’ve decided to share a soup recipe with you. 

I am aware that this recipe does not fall in line with authentic Greek recipes for lemon rice soup, however since I’m not Greek, I figured I can get away with it.

It’s easy to make. It takes time to cook because brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice. By using brown rice, the fiber intake is greater, and with the addition of the chicken, you get more protein. Bone broth will also add more protein and additional health benefits, especially if it’s homemade.

I think I’ll be making a batch this weekend.

Chicken Lemon Rice Soup

  • 7 cups organic chicken broth or bone broth
  • 1 small onion, peeled and cut in half
  • 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped in small pieces
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup organic brown rice
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (optional)
  • Ground black pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth, onion, carrot, bay leaf and salt to a simmer. Add chicken breasts, cover and gently simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked.  Remove chicken breasts, let cool slightly and pull or cut chicken into thin strips. Set aside. Remove onion pieces and bay leaf from soup and return to boil. Add rice and gently simmer for about 40 minutes, then add chicken back to soup for another 5 minutes.

Whisk eggs until they are frothy, then whisk in lemon juice. Add a cup of the hot soup to egg-lemon mixture, very slowly, whisking while you pour it in. Add another cup in the same manner. Take soup off the heat and add egg mixture to it. Sprinkle with parsley if desired, season with pepper and serve.  Makes about 4 servings.

Bon appétit,
Health Coach Carol

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night all you really need is soup.”—Laurie Colwin

Simplify Your Health Habits

January 20, 2022
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Food, Health

Sometimes I start to lose it. My mind, that is. Eat this, don’t eat that, depending on the podcast of the day. (Or the food fad of the day.)

And if I feel that way, I’m guessing that sometimes you feel that way too.

 Life is complicated enough.

Today, I’m going to give you two simple things to consider when it comes to your health.

(These are not listed in order of importance. Both are good. Perhaps choose one and then add the other one when it won’t drive you over the edge. A little near the edge is ok, as that’s called “growth.”) 

Thing #1

Try to eat as many foods in their natural state as you can. For example, enjoy a baked potato instead of mashed potatoes from a box. Eat the orange instead of drinking orange juice. Bake or toss a whole chicken in the crock pot instead of heating up frozen chicken nuggets.

Will you do this perfectly? No. And that is ok. We’re going for better, not perfect.

 It’s impossible to not eat at least a few somewhat processed foods in a day.

The Slager home contains some processed foods.

I like my vegan protein powder and use it several times a week. It’s processed, since I’m not eating the peas, brown rice, and cranberries. It has its place in my life.

Mr. Non-Compliant still likes his cereal. Even though I buy him those without artificial colors, high fructose corn syrup, and lots of sugar, they are all processed.

Side note: Applause for Mr. NC, as he knows he must eat some protein, like eggs or Greek yogurt, before having his cereal for a treat. He’s learning.

Thing #2

Get some exercise.

Do what you can. Walk, try strength training, do yoga, run, do some push-ups, play tennis, ride a bike, dance. 

Everything counts. If the benefits of exercise could be made into a drug, it would be the most widely prescribed drug on the planet. Only no side effects and much less expensive.

Exercise promotes health and wellness. It helps prevent and improve every chronic disease.

Side effects may include weight loss, mood elevation, improved sleep, and increased mobility.

If you’re not engaged in an exercise routine, check with your physician and get started. It helps reverse the aging process, and who doesn’t want that?

 Start slowly, and keep it going. Perfection is not necessary. Have fun.

Simplify. Make it easy.

If you need help with a plan that’s unique to you, shoot me an email. We’ll schedule a 30-minute call and figure out what simple thing you can do that will have the greatest impact on the quality of your life.

30-minutes. One simple thing. A great start to 2022.

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

 “The most powerful medicine is at the end of your fork, not at the bottom of your pill bottle. Food is more powerful than anything in your medicine cabinet.”—Mark Hyman

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