Proteins are the most important macro for keeping you full and many other reasons that this article is about.
2022 Pantry
Probably like you, I’ve evolved eating habits and meal planning since 2020.
My meals are focused on healthy proteins, carbs, veggies, fiber, and healthy fats. My pantry reflects those balanced moves… and fewer sweets.
The bulk of sweets come from my weekly bakes, like poached cinnamon-honey pears or kiwi meringues.
Daily salty snacks are mostly from nuts that are a high source of protein (i.e. 1 ounce of almonds has 6 grams of protein).
Once in a while, popcorn (a whole grain) with a dash of turmeric comes on the scene for a good movie.
Or a dash of EVOO and white pepper that gives a savory umami buzz.
That’s important for a taste-o-phile. 😊
For most meal prep, the focus is on anti-inflammatory plant-based sources like legumes and phytochemical-rich fruits and veggies.
But I didn’t start off 2020 with my then-new pantry (in limbo transition)…
2020 Pantry
The first meal I remember cooking was a box of pasta. It’s not touted on the daily news, but there’s a reason why pasta takes up one side of the grocery store aisle.
For the low cost, it offers good value. It beats a junk food replacement that’s more convenient.
Pasta is fairly easy and quick to cook and is a filling source of energy great for lunches.
And then you can add your favorite protein and veggies on top for a healthy meal.
It’s also a good source of potassium, B vitamins, protein, fiber and has very low sugar. You can also get the tricolor kind with tomato and spinach puree.
But yeah, anything from a box with a barcode isn’t likely to be nutrient-dense polyphenol healthy.
Sometimes I make my own pasta with eggs (which btw, both egg yolks and whites are a good source of proteins)…
But any pasta isn’t gonna be as nutritious as a whole grain alternate or a pseudo-grain like quinoa (a complete protein) that has all 9 amino acids, including the ones your body doesn’t make.
The quinoa nutrition label won’t show that today, so all you see is the 4 grams of protein per half a cup (which still isn’t bad… but only half the scoop). You can add quinoa to your breakfast strategy!
Good to know, no matter whether you’re a natural Vata, Pitta, or Kapha Ayurvedic body type.
In case those terms are new… generally, Vatas are lean, Pittas are muscular, and Kapha body types are heavier set.
In all cases, protein is needed for functioning and is loaded with essential vitamins and minerals.
Some amino acids (the building block of proteins) needed for life, only come from food sources.
Proteins are also needed for muscle growth and tissue repair.
Plus, eating proteins helps with focusing on tasks other than eating all day.
This is especially true if you’re a Vata body type with lean genes and skinny jeans where energy crashes and feeling occasional lightheadedness from low blood sugar can come with the territory too.
All in all, proteins keep us feeling full longer, and being filled gives us energy. Healthy protein sources can come from legumes like beans or tofu (i.e. 6 ounces of tofu has 11 grams of protein).
The 5 Blue Zone regions in the world have the highest concentration of Centenarians (the young-at-heart people passing the 100-year-old mark).
Legumes carry across the board are part of their longevity plans.
Loma Linda, CA – mixed (black, kidney, pinto, tofu, etc.)
Occasional lean animal proteins and fish also help us to stay healthy.
Choosing a variety is going to give you the diversity of vitamins and minerals your body optimally runs on.
You can think of getting a balanced meal from building a grain bowl or wrap like in a Chipotle meal.
Here’s a grain bowl example you can try in your at-home meal prep:
Proteins lead the meal prep
Oh, and don’t forget the microgreens and chia seeds (I.e. 3 Tbsp chia seeds has 7 grams of protein).
If you’re like me who likes to boost her omega-3s with ground flaxseeds, you’re getting 6 grams of protein per 3 Tbsp.
While you may choose your greens first, for meal prep, proteins can still lead the meal choice. Here’s the healthy you could consider weekly:
1-2 cans of 15 oz beans or legumes (chickpeas/lentils)
Wild-caught fish and seafood
Lean Poultry (minimally processed)
Protein in egg yolks and egg whites.
Grass-fed or free-range meat
Uncured lunch meat
Here are some protein questions you can ask:
Which omega-3 protein-rich sources will I add? Examples: Salmon, eggs (enriched eggs), sardines
Which plant-based proteins? Examples: Tofu, beans, legumes
Which lean B vitamin-rich proteins? Example: Chicken (minimally processed), uncured meats (without sodium nitrates or added nitrite)
B vitamins are water-soluble. Since the body doesn’t store them, we need to keep replenishing. B-vits work together and are responsible for healthy growth, vision, skin, hair, nails, metabolism, immune system support, memory, prevention of many potential body issues, and so much more.
For healthy balancing and easy recipes, check out the search bar feature.
Positive thoughts like “you got this” can make a positive impact in your day.
And starting your day with a heart healthy recipe (🍓 below) like this delicious quinoa bowl breakfast idea to get excited about.
Easy strawberry quinoa cereal recipe below. 🍓
If you’re wanting a better day, you recognize the difference between positive thoughts and negative ones.
Thoughts all start in the divided minds we’re given, that’s either hurting or helping us. And if this is new territory for you, start there.
Maybe you recognize which bucket your negative or positive thoughts belongs in, but you don’t know how to toss out the draining ones.
They can show up anytime: when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or when triggered by a memory, situation, or person.
And then the subconscious mind (ego) feeds off the nourishment of holding onto negative feelings or pain as a form of protection and masks its agenda from you. But now you know better.
Bypass the unnecessary time wasted in dramatic sorrow. Be proactive with positive affirmations, meditation, yoga, or healthy distractions that are great ideas to reset and get rid of thoughts that have no good business being with you in the first place.
Sounds like a plan, right?
But then going about your day or even seconds later, new thoughts occur from news headlines you read, someone offends or irritates you, a situation stirs an emotional chord, and then you’re right back to negative thoughts and moods. It’s daily and non-stop.
Your mind and the negative thoughts grow even if you think you’re living in a safe bubble.
The unhelpful thoughts never have a chance to go away until you decide the one thing you can change and have in common in every thought is YOU.
And so, I share in this detailed blog article what needs to change to get the happy and helpful thought life you want.
This is the second part of the article from last week on relaxing your mind for the best ideas.
Managing thoughts is essential for lifelong learners, and as a prerequisite to being your most productive self, unleashing your creative self, attracting people to your energy, and living your optimal life.
Years ago, I thought traveling to exciting, new places and feeling in woo would conquer negative thoughts, as they temporarily disappeared when senses were heightened (like when you’re newly in love or starting passion work). But those fickle feelings don’t last and things always change after the newness wears off.
So then I dipped my toe in collaborating and aligning myself with the Universe and how to manifest the best life (that’s woo woo to some).
For me, I was on the right path and things were looking up, but I still had to do the inner core work in my mind.
When all that eventually clicked together, then I could feel the woo hoo! And that’s what we all can celebrate in our lives if and when we get there.
It takes all the pieces–knowledge, process, and application. And if you’re feeling lost, it helps to have a guide.
These are a few guiding and starter points that helped me and hopefully can help you or anyone else who’s trying to figure out a better (thought) life.
The first part can be the hardest–knowing that it all starts in your mind and not someone or somewhere else.
This seems elementary after you learn this, but the ego wants to steer you in another direction like something else is the cause or problem.
So if you’re busy or not paying attention, that can happen and go on until you’ve had enough.
Another point is, don’t let nagging thoughts (or drama in your mind) that won’t leave you alone play out for longer than needed which is no more than a minute.
And in relationships, especially. It takes just one step to cross the invisible boundaries of another person with your words that originated from thoughts.
Walk away from your thoughts to give yourself more peace. Below I have some suggestions on what to do.
So, How to Change From Negative to Positive Thoughts…
Our thoughts are natural to us, and they cause us to take action that can appear inconsistent or as disconnects to others.
To change this, operating from awareness is imperative. Initially, this may feel like work and working harder (like walking uphill with heavy boots instead of sliding downhill). But it’s totally worth it.
You learn a life skill to purge those unwanted thoughts that pop up impromptu and when triggered.
I think there should be a required course on this that you learn early on (and would solve some of the world’s problems as people are the problem or solution).
But anyway… changing thoughts gets easier when you’ve learned the skill and it becomes more automatic.
The negative thoughts won’t disappear immediately, but much quicker than before in your thought choice, and you’ll be wise enough to know you don’t have to act out or say aloud negative thoughts.
Which btw, doesn’t change your personality. It makes you more attractive to the right people.
And that’s part of what separates our discerning brains from animals, young children, or when we were younger…
We all started out immature compared to who we’ve become today.
So here’s how you can reset and get your loving daily juice. To promote loving thoughts, witness your thoughts (I’m sure you’ve heard of this).
Practice being aware of what’s coming in. If it’s garbage, then reject or walk away.
If it’s something that you have feelings about and need to process or work through, then allow yourself that grace.
Again, you don’t have to air your thoughts to anyone, and not putting energy into negative thoughts is going to help you avoid wasted time.
Let them pass through and find the loving side of those thoughts (i.e. how can these thoughts help me?).
In the beginning, as you’re learning or practicing, you want to draw a line in the sand and separate thoughts as helpful or hurtful, good, or bad.
Make it easy on yourself and not leave thoughts in the confusing gray zone that’s part of the baggage carried around.
And let’s be clear, these are thoughts and not the actions that could follow. We want to nip them in the bud.
The good thoughts you accept and the bad ones you reject for your own good. If it hurts others, then you toss in the reject pile and you figure out a win-win or kinder way to confront if that’s needed.
Ask yourself daily and often: What just came out of my mouth and what’s going on in my head? Hit the archive button if it’s a worry thought until you can find answers, and hit the delete button if it’s a harmful thought to you or anyone else.
Know those thoughts will still be there if you need them, which you won’t, but your brain tries to convince you that they’re important to protect you when they’re not needed (for survival). You can blame the ego (yet again) on that.
So, after you start to live life this deliberate-thinking way and focus on positive thoughts, you can see the difference in the quality of your life and the better air that’s there.
You’ll feel more peace, and that helps your stress level and health.
You allow room for ideas to come in, and you become more useful to the world with your abilities. You become part of the solution.
Find A Mantra for Positive Thoughts
Pre-social media days, we were not part of an aware culture like we are in today.
In those days along my journey, I came across these words: “Whatever the question, love is the answer.”
I don’t know who the author is that wrote that, but I knew back then that I wanted that. So I printed out and framed those wise words that are now ingrained in memory.
With intention, I used that as my mantra. And even though I didn’t know how to apply it in every difficult situation.
I knew that if I aspired to the meaning behind the words, it would one day catch up with me and my self-actualized desires.
So, if you have similar aspirations of a learner mindset, find a mantra or intention (or use the one I used) to go to if you’re trying to change to more positive thoughts and aspirations.
It can be used as a distraction from negative thoughts. And you eventually become your words and what you think of.
Use Your Internal Guide
As mentioned, it can be helpful to have a guide and for those ahead of us in certain areas and times in our lives.
But the best overall guide is your internal compass.
But we want to change them because sour moods can crowd out positive thoughts and exacerbate our need to judge, be critical of others or ourselves, and get easily irritated, which can cause our negative words or actions.
Being in healthy alignment with yourself is better because, in the end, you and your caretakers are the only ones that will be with you.
You’re the only one that’s with you (and your thoughts) always, wherever you move or travel to.
Sometimes, listening to your internal guide can be countercultural and a bit uncomfortable when you make decisions that aren’t popular or go with the flow.
And especially if you’re a harmonious or extroverted person who just wants to get along or people please.
That can make it difficult to live in integrity (doing, saying, and thinking the same thing).
Robots will have it easier than us in this way, but sadly the tin man is missing a heart. 🤖
As humans, when our thoughts don’t align that’s when we have a new chance to re-adjust.
Years ago, no one talked about mental health or wellness as part of the daily talk. Now we embrace “knowing better” in our lives.
We don’t have to just take our thoughts (or others at face value) that turn into actions that don’t always get good results and can even get us in trouble in a hyper-sensitive society.
Plus, we have more options to change the channels in every sense. And we’re more accountable.
We need this accountability. It makes us better as individual people and all together in our complex world.
So these are some accountable thoughts and maybe some personal growth homework (should you choose to accept the mission?) for turning sour cherry thoughts into sweet ones.
As a bonus, you’ll become a better person as a byproduct. I know because this is all stuff I went through. It takes one to know one, and we’re all here to figure out our best life and selves.
So, no judgment here (and actually that’s one of the assignments) 🧡 That’s a balanced Pitta way.
Pause on the gossiping:
Here’s the better way: if you wouldn’t share the news with others and the person you’re gossiping about in the room, then find a way to filter and say less.
If you’re not sure, ask.
More likely you’ll just zip your lip and that’s fine too. It’s really that simple. But even simpler is just not gossiping at all.
That becomes an automatic, better way.
When you find you can’t sit and talk in the same conversations with those who gossip, then you know you’ve changed that about yourself.
You end up productively filling your time with better ways that lead to better things.
Learn to not judge:
We never know the full picture of what’s going on with anyone else no matter how much we think we do.
Take the objective and loving-kind stance.
If you want to have an optimal life, the sooner you learn to let go (of judgment) and to stop controlling so much, the sooner that will start.
A prerequisite for this type of freedom (that it is), is to stop judging others at the first judgmental thought that enters and let the negative thoughts pass through.
Quit complaints:
If you say negative things, then you become a negative person when what you really want is happiness.
So if the first thought that enters your mind is to emphasize complaining, that hurts you.
Maybe you’re used to complaining to get your way (and learned the squeaky wheel gets the grease).
But also what’s happening in the process is you’ll be seen as a complainer.
People who don’t complain will stay away from you, so you’re in company with complainers or those who want you to complain for them or their causes, bringing more negativity in your life and less in theirs.
…If you can make these 3 life changes, you’ll be well on your way to a more peaceful life. It’s simple, but not always easy in the beginning.
It takes desire, self-control, and holding yourself accountable. Be patient and easy on yourself. The good news is these traits are changeable with practice.
And if you find people to support your efforts (and let go of the ones who aren’t), it’s easier.
Your supporters are your best allies.
Ultimately you decide what type of life you want to live. You get to decide what thoughts you keep. Copy that. 😉
Holiday entertainment is not a mere plus during the holidays. It’s a must to get through the holidays… full of bittersweet happy and sad moments… filled with illuminating reflections on the past year… finding your way through stressful calendar-marked deadlines ticking like a time bomb.
And before holiday has come and gone, you can enjoy this one-bowl comfort dessert with no guilt as it’s healthy and wildly tasty! It could be your new year dessert. 🎉
It’s gluten-free, carrot vitamin-rich and orange calming for nerves… and great for entertaining mixed emotions.
Ahhh.. but light-hearted holiday entertainment shows (like GBBO for this modified healthy baker) and sappy rom-com tearjerker movies can help us lighten our load if we feel stressed.
On that note, I have 3-holiday entertainment mentions below worth checking out
That can be exciting and worth sticking around until the end of the blog article and staying up past midnight on Dec. 31. 😊
…And somewhere in between is December 25 where we can easily forget when we started our holiday. In America, that’s usually Thanksgiving in November where we celebrate gratitude for the things we have in our lives.
In the happy holiday spirit, December and Christmas are opportunities for each of us to grow, dig deep in our shadow, be reflective about our past, and find more appreciation for our joy and happiness’ sake as better humans than before.
Christmas is always an invitation to find hope and peace now. And welcome in happy and healthy intentions for the future. And that can include skipping, baking, and inspiring yoga moves! Why not?
I plan to be in the kitchen (…and maybe you too with your planned festivities whether quiet or action-filled?).
Here’s my illustrative yoga guide for those who will be busy holiday joy baking and wanting to unwind like a pretzel in front of the tube or streaming media 😊:
There’s a big buildup to Christmas celebrations that probably started way earlier in the year …like Christmas in July promotions?
This year is probably no different where you’re not hit by deer lights… that’s a certain predictable point to be grateful for. We know it’s coming!
And we can lean into holiday entertainment, decorations, and warm & fuzzy feelings to get us in the mood.
We don’t have to lean into the bitter self-pity. We can feel contentment for what we have in our accumulated wisdom.
Some things we can think of is:
We’re grateful we’re not who we once were. We’re a better version, and getting better every day. It may be two steps forward and one step back, but we’re still improving.
And some places we’re completely transformed and others we completely forgot where we were once hurting in another way.
We’re happy as is because we know it won’t stay this way. We’re wired to have the best life.
Besides things could be worse, but thankfully they’re not. Those (and your) beliefs can help shape your optimistic outlook.
You could be fighting ego or affected without awareness.
Letting go isn’t always so easy…
In awareness, it can feel like an uphill battle to try and win over an internal fight.
I find that when I have a moment where I feel a little emotional turmoil, laughter never grows old as one of the best medicines.
Healthy cleansing tears from humorous holiday entertainment or heart-felt movies, series, or shows can be just what the doctor ordered.
After from watching, you can feel good again. 📺
What we feel from recently watched holiday entertainment shows can show up in our refreshed thought life.
These are 3 of my holiday entertainment picks (and maybe they’re good for you also)… which btw, I’ve yet to meet a close friend who likes the same quirky shows I do.
I’m not talkin’ about Friends and the popular America’s Got Talent shows that everyone has glimpsed.
So I’m goin’ out on a limb here…
The first one I wanted to mention is actually not a show, but an old classic movie, The Sound of Music. And if that’s not your bread and jam, then think of a show or movie you watched as a kid that you enjoyed and impacted you.
And you can take my Cliff Notes version:
If you’ve never seen or forgotten what this classic movie is about, it starts out with actress Julie Andrews as a young lady in an abbey prepping to be a nun. She soon discovers she’s too independent thinking and not cut out for the job.
Sound a ‘lil familiar? I know it does for me having taken a hairpin turn or two early on. None of the nunnery kind though. 😊
The movie plot is a metaphor for our lives that can change in an instant, a.k.a. a life pivot.
A better plan is out there for us if we’re willing to stay open and hang in there.
Those thoughts can help us get through any bitter holiday moments.
Julie Andrews’ character is sent as a governess to 7 children for a former widowed Captain and Austrian naval officer.
Fr. Maria, she’s called, brings singing and love into the family and the odd-pairing couple ends up marrying (aww… a love story and musical). I hope I didn’t ruin the happy ending.
So now you’re either caught up or possibly curious to watch the movie (again).
Fun fact: the movie is filmed in Austria and Los Angeles of all places, so maybe that’s one of the reasons why it’s still a Hollywood boom.
In our lives, the parallel is that there’s a lot to look forward to getting to the other side, crossing the hills, and any mountains along our path. We can stop to appreciate the flowers like Edelweiss or roses that remind us of our resilience from our life situations.
Then after you get your fill of that movie, whether you fast-forward to the part where your heart is filled or watch the full movie, afterward you can pause to fill your warm drinking mug, and get ready to laugh (…maybe even belly laugh some) with this next recommend…
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
This modern American Netflix show of several seasons is a good metaphor for not taking life too seriously. Stand-up comedians don’t.
And Actor and Comedian Jerry Seinfeld makes that clear as he takes his guests out for coffee in coffee venues (think Diners, Drive Ins, and Dive places, plus some hole in the walls).
He chauffeurs his guests around with different classic cars to match the comedic intent and their barrel of laughs to come in coffee conversation 🐒.
Once in a while, they’re driving in lemons like an Oh sorry, Ferrari that dies on the road. That’s comical drama we call comedy.
The show is peppered with what you’d expect from comedians… impromptu funny lines about their lives and the world we live in.
Having worked in restaurants, I can find a chuckle or two with the (literally) off-the-wall menu special posters or off-color restaurant jokes…
Like when Jerry orders and asks for 2 eggs and nothing else on a plate, and the server quickly asks if he wants it on the side? The server (or waitress) made an inside funny without knowing it. Good stuff there. 😅
You’ll have to find your own humor points if you end up watching some of the episodes. …and so that brings me to a recent holiday entertainment show…
The Great British Baking Show
The show is “The Great British Bake Off” in U.K. where cookies are biscuits. The Jammie Dodgers are a British classic that was one of the technical challenges. Btw, these are not here for temptation reasons. I have a healthy carrot cake or squares recipe below for your baking holiday entertainment should you accept the baking challenge. 🥕
The Great British Baking Show has got to be the funniest baking show out there. It’s also interesting to watch the baker techniques and their foibles.
By now in the show’s (just-finishing up their 9th season), as you’d expect the contestants know what to expect.
If they didn’t, that would be like going under the pressure cooker show as a contestant without baking practice.
.. And that would be like going on the Shark Tank show and not rehearsing… where they’d get eaten alive!
The GBBO contestants (more fitting than calling them competitors because they help each other out in the tent)… want to be sure to make the show fun and take time out to make good bakes while playing along with the tent show elves and laughing at their side jokes.
Tent Sidekick Noel announcing the challenge 😄
As part of the audience, you can feel the contestants are more mellow, less tense, and less serious about winning… and more motivated with staying in the baking tent (sometimes baking hot tent 🎪) for as long as they can.
In case you missed season 9 which is one of my faves (I say that for all of the newest ones), the cherry-on-top Star Baker title went to Giuseppe for his traditional Italian bakes passed down from his family’s baking lineage.
So now you’re all caught up!
The Great British Baking Show also has holiday versions. You can especially enjoy it if you like holiday baking inspiration and while eating sweets…
Gluten-free healthy carrot cake (recipe below)
And on that final note, I have a deliciously, seriously healthy, SWEET gluten-free carrot cake recipe below (that I’ve played around with the ingredients, whipped up, and tested all the crumbs!)… And you can just as easily prepare and enjoy in a square, round or any shape pan you like that you can bring to your screen with whatever holiday entertainment shows you end up watching. 🧡
Healthy (Easy-No Mixer Needed) Gluten-Free Carrot Cake (Bread or Squares) in One Bowl
Ingredients:
1 cup grated carrots
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or light EVOO or baking oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup (120 grams) almond flour (or other gluten-free flour)
1/4 cup (60 grams) oats
1/2 cup (120 grams) chopped walnuts and raisins combined
Orange zest from a medium-size orange (or add maple syrup to taste, 1-2 tsp suggested for low sugar)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
You can mix all the ingredients in one bowl. Add dry ingredients first, then add the liquids (that way you can use some of the same measuring spoons and cups without the dry sticking to the wet in my planner-at-heart mind 😉).
Pour into an 8″ round pan or 4″ x 8″ baking pan.
Bake at 325°F/165°C for 35-40 minutes.
After cooled, “frost” with Greek Yogurt (2% fat or reduced fat suggested) and healthily enjoy. Or you can blend with a low-fat cheese (like neufchatel cream cheese or ricotta cheese) if you prefer or will be serving to others who don’t prefer full-on healthy … but would love to try what you happily sweetly baked.
I have 3 easy healthy soup recipes below that you can make (with low sodium and sea salt if you like). Before 2020, I never made my own soups. And today, I only keep a backup can in my pantry.
And you can too!… if that’s what you aspire to even if you don’t know how JUST YET.
But with delicious plant-based ingredients, you can make soup broths that you easily turn into clam chowder with a potato soup base. You impress yourself and everyone you make the soup for!
After you learn to make homemade soups in simple steps, you’ll probably not go back to store soup cans as these have delicious natural flavors without all the sodium!
And you’re doing your body healthy good. And probably saving a few dollars if that matters.
And these are the 3 easy healthy soup recipes I’m sharing below:
1. Mushroom soup (with old-fashioned but not-out-of-style oats)
3. Clam chowder (New England style that’s my personal favorite made from potato soup)
If you want to skip my introduction here (even though there’s good, healthy information that I’ve wittled down and most recipe sites are longwinded ,but this recipe article is not), you won’t hurt my feelings… and you can head straight down to the easy recipes at the end.
And if you want to learn a few healthy moves, such as Ayurvedic healthy balance acts, then here we go:
Let’s start with some soup ingredients that I’ve incorporated below, were not my faves as a child. And as I grew up, I decided I like ginger when that was not my way. I gave it another try and it stuck.
Like many kids, I like processed, sugary, and salty foods and that didn’t change as I grew into my adult Vata self.
And for any of us, we can modify our choices and influence our healthy change.
You can impact and change your health one flavor (and easy healthy soup) at a time.
Vatas especially (and some Kaphas) cuddle up to comfort food in the cooler months and the soups below will be warming and great for the transition seasons.
When we have a Vata imbalance that any of us can have, we love and crave our sweet and salty balance. One minute you want a sugar fix and the next a crisp snack with salt.
If you want to learn more about what’s going on with your body now (and tips to restore), take the body balance quiz.
Most recipes you see, say “salt to taste” or a pinch of salt. In baking, there’s always a pinch of salt and it really adds to the flavor. A ¼ teaspoon is about 5-6 pinches of salt.
If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon, I usually use A LOT less. Why? Because health is in moderation.
And as a home baker… I rarely use butter unless it’s for celebrational traditional holiday bakes or Christmas cookies and special cakes that wouldn’t be the same without… but for everyday anti-inflammatory baking, I tweak a lot. I use healthy oils and natural sweet ingredients.
Like these ball of energy bites are homemade of grits where I added oatmeal, chocolate chip, Greek yogurt, whole wheat flour, applesauce, and honey.
And they’re complete yum, and NO-GUILT enjoyment, hitting the spot if you have a sweet tooth (that I’m an expert about). 😋
In creating bakes, I dream up healthy recipes from the baking basics 😉 (…btw, lemme know if you would like to know what baking subs I use, and when in general, as I’d be happy to share those if you’re interested).
I’m involved in a beta chef’s cooking healthy eating group collaboration with RDs that provides culinary teaching and recipe input to a healthy strategy program.
I love food, and my background includes working with thousands of party planning events (and started my career in hotel catering that you already know if you’ve been reading some of my previous blog posts).
I’d hardly consider myself a chef-ette, but I have always had an adult culinary arts interest
…after hotels, I left the hospitality industry and went into more traditional Corporate America work, and then came back to the hospitality working world doing Mediterranean-cuisine (Lebanese, Spanish, and Italian) event planning for about a dozen foodie restaurants.
That’s really when my good food (gastronomy) tastes and senses were re-ignited and I had a chance to re-marry with my “food is medicine” approach to life.
…And if you come to my blog every week, you can plan on a lot of healthy inspiration in my upcoming blog posts (and get past those nasty winter blues).
And that’s especially good if you want to stay balanced from comfort stress eating that can get the best of us as we enter cooler months and warm holidays … and as we try to finish up stressful deadlines for the year!.
To bypass any winter mood funks and balance us, start the year with a healthy amount of a prime soup ingredient… salt.
Salt Talk For Your Soups
For soups, I avoid iodized salt. I don’t usually add table salt (like the ones in the packets) unless that’s all that’s available and the food isn’t already salted.
I alway buy “unsalted” ingredients when given an option.
If you eat out or eat prepared foods from groceries and restaurants, then you probably get enough salt. And probably more than enough salt in our highly processed foods.
When I’m cooking, I use sea salt (non-iodized) for everything and everyday use.
And then I use coarser natural sea salts like Celtic sea salt (or Himalayan or fleur de sel) for preparing meats to be baked in the oven, and for certain cooked vegetables.
Celtic sea salt is great for your rubs and on top as a garnish (not so much in mixing). The crystals are larger so they don’t blend as great as smaller salt granules. And I also Himalayan sea salt for additional healthy minerals.
And the gastronomic person in me, says coarser salt is absolutely necessary for the right flavor and texture on veggies like Brussel sprouts and edamame if you want a culinary meal experience (and not a bland one). Salt is as important as the veggie itself.
Turkey and rice stuffed bell pepper idea for soups or holiday meals
You can get away without using salt on certain veggies like broccoli or okra that hold their own tastes. If you add them to soups, the salt is usually already added.
So here are the 3 easy healthy soups that’ll help you with your salt cravings…
Easy Healthy Soup Recipes
Easy Healthy Soup #1: Mushroom Oat Soup
Cook mushrooms in a pot until soft, and add slow-cook oats. Mushrooms are immune-boosting and are alkaline. If you want, add a little cooking sherry, truffle oil, and saffron to get culinary fancy.
Cook carrots on medium heat. When soft, mash carrots.
Add ginger spiced and chopped ginger bits (if you prefer for a more pungent bite good for Kapha). You can also use ginger juice for less chunks, and spices.
Zhugh with sunflower seeds and dried parsley if desired.
Cook carrots in water until soft, then mash and grate or squeeze ginger juices in the soup. You can finish off with alt-milk for a creamy-effect or just leave as is. That’s probably the way a.k.a. without ginger I would’ve preferred as a child 🧒🏻).
Easy Potato Soup or New England Clam Chowder
This is easier to make than you may think! You can make delicious chowder from a simple potato soup base.
Peel and cook common Russet potatoes in a pot with water. You would do the same step if you were making mashed potatoes.
Then decide if you want a creamy soup. And if you do, pour out some of the water and then mash potatoes in the same stovetop pot. Still with the stove heat on, add in your ready-to-eat clams (3 large potatoes to about 5 ounces of clams you can cook or use a can).
I like to zhugh up with aromatic herbs, either fresh or with ground herb spices like cilantro, parsley, oregano, and/or basil.
If you’re not sure if you should add any herbs into your soup (if you’re feeding others), then parsley and thyme spices are less strong (more universally likable) and can be added in of left to individual tastes.
Potato base soup
If you’re looking for a few easy-to-make snack ideas to go along with your healthy soup recipes or just to eat on their own, you can try…
Another different twist and take on changing up tastes, is this idea… instead of adding salt, you could add a ‘lil vinegar to your potato snacks and soup.
I like to add ACV vinegar but you could also try malt, red, or white vinegar… they’re healthier and also give the food a bit of a tangy bite.
I like to also add my daily spices (turmeric, black or white pepper once in awhile). I skip needing any salt after all those changes 😉.
So hopefully you are soup-er excited to make your comfort homemade and easy healthy soup recipes, and maybe you even choose to change up a way that you snack.
Passion purpose is a sign you’re on the way to your life’s work. My passion led me to these cookies I baked, and started out as a catering manager for a DoubleTree Hotel, as full circle. 🍪🍪
Star design chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe below. 🍪
But I believe…
We all have a second act in us for a passion purpose in life. And that’s how I felt when I started to question the culture we live in and our individual purpose.
The longer you live and explore the full possibilities, you get to see and decide if you’ve been looking out from the wrong lens in some areas of your life, like a passion purpose in life. ✨
You can use this star cookie (recipe below) as a guide or inspiration. 🍪
Star Pattern Cookie recipe below 🧡⭐️
You can walk into your passion purpose if you take strategic steps (and that’s what this blog post is all about).
I’ll start with my humble adult story.
I got married later in life (at least I thought). I didn’t enter marriage in my twenties (something I recommend waiting on). Like most, I went through big changes from 25-30. That’s pretty typical of getting your feet off the ground as a newer adult.
By 28, I kept getting the same answer back that I was changing and trading in my caterpillar feet for wings. I didn’t know what I didn’t know and my 180-degree career switch in high-tech data (from the hospitality business) was a metaphor.
I knew that if I wanted any semblance of a life outside work like my business college friends had, I needed to jump ship into different waters.
I had no idea how and had no real job connections other than the internet. There was no LinkedIn, lol. But I knew that if I took the risk, then a new door could open. I believed whatever direction I was headed in would happen without yet knowing why. And it did.
I experienced what work-life balance was for the first time. I also got married.
And I had time for relationships and self-care. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I still had a past that I hadn’t addressed but was affecting the way I thought and acted, especially in my marriage.
At that time, I didn’t know childhood wounds existed into adulthood as PTSD.
I didn’t connect the dots to how events from decades ago could show up in my marriage. The brain is messy and complex like that.
It’s easy to stay unaware about the lens from which you see out into your life (and even these days in a more open and knowledge-aware society). And that affects your daily thought life and outcomes.
It’s a lot easier to be critical of others and notice how they behave that’s different than you.
And if you’re married, you’ve probably been tested, as marriage like no other relationship will make you go into deeper places you’ve never explored. You’ll meet each other’s ego.
Intimate bonding will highlight those insecure dormant spaces that need addressing like a UV blacklight spotlights stains.
A marriage relationship can make the partners want to fix everything that’s not how each would have done as a single person.
Marriage can be a tough bootcamp and why it’s such a great training ground for personal growth (and I’m all for it!). And so is building a business from a passion purpose in life. Even though not everyone likes that kind of testing ground to move up.
And that described what I experienced. Then years later, I lost my work-balance job from a massive corporate layoff.
And my marriage came to a peaceful screeching-halt end suddenly. And the business foundations I started, crumbled.
I relocated back to where I grew up and started over with a more mature lens. These events eventually helped me to find my individual purpose.
It started with a blogging journey back in 2009 and then put aside for about a decade. That was my passion purpose in life then.
And one day, I started writing a funny lesson learned story from a hot tea kettle burn on my finger. I submitted for publication and have never stopped writing since.
Long story short, writing never left my veins. And in the messy middle (by design), I found the path leading to a passion purpose in life.
And this leads me to 3 ways I can share (from my journey) how you can walk into your passion purpose this season.
1. Start Over (Finding Your Passion Purpose In Life Could Depend On It)
Don’t be afraid to start over. Be okay with the unknown as all of life if you think about it is uncertain. Taking gut and heartfelt risks is worth the chance!
If the timing is right, be brave, and don’t look back (at least not at your decision right away). You’re wisely guided internally.
It’s easy for any of us to wrap our identity in jobs and titles and rationalize why we can’t leave (they’re handcuffs whether they’re golden or not).
In my case, I grew up and worked in the most politically powerful and driven metro mover-and-shaker Washington DC culture, where people will run circles around you if you don’t pull over or speed up.
And I’m convinced it’s the area where the corporate rat race phrase came from 😂.
In my corporate work, I quickly learned that everyone working for someone is replaceable. And lessons learned yearsss later, that letting go of the fear of losing a job is so freeing and liberating. And not something to be scared of. It’s the ticket to your personal happiness and success.
When I was laid off after six years of success at a corporate job, I was literally in shock. I mean, one day your job existence is there, and then POOF!… the next day you wake up and it’s gone.
If you purposefully stay in the mindset of choosing to design your quality life, then you’re always nimble and heading towards your north star pointing passion purpose in life.
The uncertain journey isn’t prescriptive, all roses, or without doubt, but your creative purpose is in there and you can eventually do what you love and love doing (or else why pursue?) even if you’re not creative.
We all have a passion purpose in life. In This One Life.
Plus, in control of your own destiny, you will never be bored! Getting there may take some years, wrong turns, and grit (almost an inevitable formula for the best things in life!), but it’s so rewarding and worth the effort.
If you’re starting over, that’s a sign of growth into your purpose. New starts can be a deliberate choice, but often you’re blindsided with a job or relationship loss or change, health scare, or an unexpected move.
Anything can happen suddenly, even though it could be years in the making. You could become a 10-year overnight success (or land your dream job) with a new starting point or unintended re-route.
When there’s a fresh new beginning, your senses are heightened and you soak up more like a sponge. You feel life (and alive)!
The alternative is staying on the comfortable course. When life is busy, in the messy middle, that is when you can grow comfortable… until you’re not. Life doesn’t work the way it should. You feel stuck. And maybe discouraged.
Those are times you look deeper inside yourself and into what else you got in your bag o’ tricks. And you’ve got so much more than you know today! You just have to start digging for your today passion purpose in life that can change tomorrow.
It’s actually more methodical (than scary) and sensible if you think about it… you only get this one life to do what you want with it. Look at those on America’s Got Talent.
They’ve worked so hard for decades on their talent that they started from nothing but an idea and a dream. And they’ve failed forward plenty. But they didn’t give up.
…And they know each fall and fail is one step closer to success. And when they end up on the AGT stage, they never look back. And their big break success takes off.
Starting over may be just what you need to go to the next level in your unique part of this life.
After you meditate, think, or pray about it, and you get a form of A-ha confirmation that excites you and makes sense to you for that next step, then you and the shining Galactic Universe celebrate with a burst of fanfare (a new kind of Big Bang theory 🎉).
And when you go all in, they and all your support fans in your life will go to town to help you in your belief. You figure out your unique unstoppable path. And what you were destined to do.
So these are the steps I would recommend (and I did to find my self-taught writing passion):
2. Discover Your Hidden Talent(s)
Maybe you have started an interest years ago that you never fully saw into fruition, and now is your ripe time. Or you want to know what your hidden talent is if you have uncovered it… you DO have one (and probably more than one).
That I’m certain of!
If you want to know what that is, then I encourage you to keep looking and more deeply as it’s there on the tea leaves and in between your yoga poses if that’s your jam.
You can also find it in your hobbies, interests, and activities you’ve dabbled in that excited you for a day or a season. Those outlets and past times made you feel good, and maybe even felt a sigh-of-relief from life’s busyness and stressors.
We all find time to do the things we want and love, even if we’re SUPER busy. It doesn’t have to be just one interest, as it can be a category especially if you’re a Vata and like to multi-task…
Such as, when I was in corporate work, I’ve always had a side interest in scrapbooking, painting art, and creating (anything) where I got lost in my project…
This is my graphical representation of the show 🍰
And that’s what The Great British Bake-Off (or The Great British Baking Show in the U.S.) past and present contestants do. They have day jobs and baking is their side gig or hobby, so they are on the show happy to be there. It’s another outlet for them.
OK, I have to pause the serious reel here for just a minute ⏳… I was laughing so hard over the baking show comedy last week in the current episode series. Are you familiar with the show?
…If not, I’m gonna give you a 30-second program interrupt and let you in. 😊
The comedy is there in every episode (it’s not hard to find like your hidden talent can be, haha.) Gut there’s a funny sound bite clip from one show episode that I’m reminded of where the contestants are tasked with making baklava and phyllo dough during Pastry Week.
One of my favorite contestants from the season episodes, is Giuseppe who mentioned he had never made either before because it’s a hassle and easier to just go out and buy.
It’s funny on two levels because 1) with his lovely and classic Italian accent, it sounded like another English word to Matt (one of the tent sidekicks) he was talking to, and 2) because the challenge was for him to make the painfully hassle-filled baklava under 3 hours, and cut in a star design. 😅 Continue reading “Passion Purpose in Life Tips + Orange Star Chocolate Oat Cookie”
