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carol@inkwellcoaching.com

Crown Point, IN

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September 18, 2025

When Healthy Habits Don’t Add Up

You exercise regularly. Your plate is full of colorful fruits and vegetables. You’ve swapped fried foods for lean protein, cut back on sugar, and ev

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Health, Hope
September 11, 2025

How to Eat Healthier at Any Restaurant

Eating out doesn’t have to derail your health goals. Whether you’re grabbing a bite at your favorite local diner or trying a new international bis

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Food, Health, Hope
September 4, 2025

Mr. Corn Visits Indiana

It’s that time of year again when my dear cousin, Roger, visits from Florida. He visits now because the sweet corn is amazing here in Indiana. For y

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Blog
August 28, 2025

7 Late Summer Wellness Tips

The nights and days are cooler. Darkness comes earlier. The sky looks like fall. I even saw some leaves in Michigan that had turned brilliant red. How

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Blog
August 21, 2025

What to Do with All That Zucchini

Yesterday, my friend Lisa presented me with a zucchini that looked as though it had taken growth hormones. It was gigantic! She told me that she grate

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Food, Fun, Health
August 14, 2025

Echoes of Summer

Can you feel the shift? The days are steamy–yet the calendar is getting a bit crowded with commitments that pair better with the cooler days of

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Food, Fun, Health
August 7, 2025

August Anxiety. Sunscreen vs. School Bells

This time of year, I feel a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, summer is in full swing. The flowers are thriving, temperatures still soar, and ther

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Family, Health, Personal Development
July 30, 2025

Recharging After Your Vacation

Have you ever returned home from a vacation and thought to yourself, “Gee, I could use a vacation.”? I know I have. It seems wrong. We have such a

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Food, Health
July 20, 2025

Traveler’s Guide to Food and Fitness

Summer vacations. I’ve always been a big fan of vacations any time of year. They are SO FUN, and people are usually very nice to you when you’re a

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Food, Fun, Health
July 16, 2025

The Peach vs. Nectarine Debate

I love them both. Lately I’ve been wondering about their slight differences, which sent me down the rabbit hole of looking into their unique charact

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Food, Health

Bananas, Ice Cream, and Goody…Remembering Sophie

June 22, 2022
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Family, Food, Grief, Loss, Love

July 28, 2006, was the day our family adopted Sophie Slager, or put another way, the day she became the little princess of our household.

Part Cocker Spaniel and part mystery dog, she was a little bit of a thing that had been unadopted by another family the day before.

We were told that she was about a year old. Since she chewed a few too many of my shoes, I’m guessing that she was a bit younger.

Like us humankind, she had a few favorite foods that could easily have been consumed in excess, resulting in weight gain, or at least some type of digestive distress. 

Bananas

High in potassium and fiber, no one could eat a banana in the house without her being fully aware.

If she was sleeping in another room, she would wake up and sniff her way to the kitchen and scam the end piece from whoever was eating it.

Even the frozen chunks that I added to my smoothie would get her attention, no matter how quickly I tried to blend them in.

There have been times in recent days that in order not to disturb the sleeping Sophie, we’d forgo peeling open a banana.

The nose always knew.

Ice Cream

We often traveled with Sophie and in each location, we’d make our way to the local ice cream parlor.

I’d go in and decide on my flavor selection while Mr. Non-Compliant looked after her. I’d come out and take over the position. He’d go in and place the order. She knew the routine well.

Sophie would not take her eyes off us as we enjoyed every creamy, delicious bite. We are “ice cream in the cup” people, and she wanted to make sure that she got any leftovers.

She’d lick the cups so clean that they looked unused. I was often accused of not leaving her enough. She and I were cut from the same ice cream loving mold.

We all like our special treats. Moderation in all things.

Goody

Her normal food was a protein-rich blend of kibble with freeze dried raw mixed in.  Of course, it was grain free and contained organic fruits and vegetables. She always picked out the goody first, (the freeze dried raw) then decided if she was going to finish the remaining kibble.

Just like a kid, eating the favorites, then moving the rest of it around in a mess until it finally gets eaten under duress, or put away for another meal.

I think she liked the goody best because it was soft, chewy, and maybe had a better flavor than the other kibble. I don’t care to try it, although it probably fits in with my food criteria.

She’d always cock her head up in a very distinct way as she chewed the goody and look around to see who was watching her eat. She made us laugh. 

Dogs, like people, have distinct personalities and are often characters. They make life interesting and have a way of stealing our hearts.

Sophie certainly stole ours. We miss our little banana, ice cream, goody loving girl.  

Sophie Slager
Circa December 2005 – June 20, 2022

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“Dogs leave pawprints on our hearts” – Author Unknown

Easy Ideas for Dad’s Day Dinner

June 16, 2022
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Family, Food, Health

Happy Father’s Day weekend to all the dads in my blog audience! In your honor, I’m sharing a few ideas to accompany those steaks on the grill, or salmon, if you prefer.

(That’s a little joke because NEVER would be the day when Mr. Non-Compliant would choose salmon over steak to celebrate his special day, even though he likes salmon.) 

I don’t know about you, but I prefer to sit and relax with the family and not spend much time in the kitchen doing prep work. That being the case, I’m tossing out some very simple ideas that don’t require much effort.

Whether the dad in your life wants steak, chicken, hamburgers, or even salmon, hopefully you’ll find a side dish that will be just the right accompaniment, with minimal kitchen time.

SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS

Clean a pound or so of cremini mushrooms. (All mushrooms absorb water like sponges. Only rinse them if they’re going into a salad or soup. If you’re pan-frying, just rub them down with a damp paper towel or brush them with a pastry brush.) Sauté in olive oil or butter over low-medium heat until slightly brown.

SAUTÉED ONIONS

Since it’s Vidalia season slice up a few and sauté them until they’re brown and delicious.

TOSSED SALAD

Combine several varieties of greens and add any combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, shredded carrots, zucchini, radishes, etc. Toss with a simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper, or favorite dressing.

QUINOA SALAD

Here’s a link to a recipe that you could make the day before. Easy peasy. Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

BAKED POTATOES

While you could make any potato variation, this is the easiest. Scrub potatoes, coat with olive oil and kosher salt, wrap in foil, and bake. You could even put these on the grill so that you don’t have to heat up your kitchen.

FRUIT SALAD

Yes, this takes a bit of effort to make. However, a friend of mine once told me that he enjoyed a fruit salad because someone put a lot of love into cutting up all that fruit. Enough said.   

If you’re looking for something special to make for dad and need some help figuring out how or what to make, I’m here to help. Shoot me an email and we’ll come up with a dish that is just right.

This weekend, Mr. Non-Compliant gets a free pass with his food choices. I’ll try to maintain silence.

Happy weekend!

Sending you love,
Health Coach Carol

 “And so God created dads so that there would forever be bedtime-story-readers and cover-tuckers, shoulder-carriers at parades and star-pointers on clear nights, bike-riding coaches and driving instructors, love-providers and proud protectors. And He saw that it was good.” —Melvina Young

The Clean Fifteen and a 5-Minute Habit

June 9, 2022
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Food, Health

Last week I covered the Dirty Dozen— the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 12 recommended fruits and vegetables that should be organic whenever possible, due to the excessive pesticide use.

This week, I’ll give you the list of the Clean Fifteen—those fruits and vegetables that are low in pesticides. 

You may choose to buy organics in this list, however it’s not as critical. When budgeting for groceries, you may want to spend the extra money on those that are listed in the dirty dozen and save money by choosing the conventional produce listed here.

The Clean Fifteen

  1. Avocados
  2. Sweet corn*
  3. Pineapple
  4. Onions
  5. Papaya*
  6. Sweet peas (frozen)
  7. Asparagus
  8. Honeydew melon
  9. Kiwi
  10. Cabbage
  11. Mushrooms
  12. Cantaloupe
  13. Mangoes
  14. Watermelon
  15. Sweet potatoes

* A small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from genetically modified seeds. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid genetically modified produce.

 When I shop, if the organic variety of what I’m looking for is of good quality, I’ll buy it. If it looks sad, or if it’s not available, I’ll buy conventional. I do my best to avoid conventional when buying produce on the Dirty Dozen list.

Buying local produce in stores and from farmers markets is fresher and more nutritious than produce shipped from afar. At farmers markets, you can inquire as to whether the produce is grown organically. Many times, it is.

A Healthy 5-Minute Habit

My most recent 5-minute healthy habit is one that is perfect for summer. I’ve been putting together a fruit salad after dinner as our dessert. 

It’s a sweet treat that is full of nutrients, fiber, and very satisfying.

Any combination of fruit works. Pick up what looks good when you shop and have fun tossing it together in different ways.

Much love,
Health Coach Carol

“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”—Miles Kington

In Celebration of June and the Dirty Dozen

June 2, 2022
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Food, Fun, Health

With the arrival of June comes Indiana strawberries. It’s also the month to continue planting your vegetables, flowers, and enjoying life.

Some fun, as well as traditional National holidays, are abundant. 

Here are some of them that you may choose to celebrate, or not:

JUNE HOLIDAYS

2: National Rocky Road Day and National Rotisserie Chicken Day

3: Egg Day, Repeat Day (so you can watch your favorite movie over and over and over…) and National Donut Day (since it’s repeat day, eat more than one donut for a dual celebration)

4: National Frozen Yogurt Day

5: National Gingerbread Day

6: National Yo-Yo Day

7: National Chocolate Ice Cream Day

8: Best Friends Day

9: National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day

10: Iced Tea Day

14: Flag Day

19: Father’s Day (remember to spoil dad)

Shopping at the IGA

I was recently shopping at a small-town IGA in search of berries, apples, zucchini, and whatever else looked appealing.

While I found a most of the items on my produce list, there were no organic fruits or vegetables available.

I bought my produce anyway, since conventional produce is better than not eating fruits and vegetables. They will get washed a bit longer than if they were organic. 

Here is the 2022 Dirty Dozen—the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 12 recommended fruits and vegetables that should be organic whenever possible, due to the excessive pesticide use. This is especially important for babies, children, and pregnant women.

  1. Strawberries
  2. Spinach
  3. Kale, collard, and mustard greens
  4. Nectarines
  5. Apples
  6. Grapes
  7. Bell and hot peppers
  8. Cherries
  9. Peaches
  10. Pears
  11. Celery
  12. Tomatoes

If you are trying to decide which items to splurge on when buying organic, you now have your updated list.

Cheers to June,
Health Coach Carol 

“Be shore of yourself. Come out of your shell. Take time to coast. Avoid pier pressure. Sea life’s beauty. Don’t get so tied down on work that you miss out on life’s beautiful waves.” – Advice from the Ocean

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