Make a Difference!

A Helping Hand can make a World of Difference!

This video is about making a difference in someone's life. But in the end you make a difference in your own life.


Make a Difference

             Karen

Harvesting Life is so much more than Food

ALZHEIMER'S ILLUSTRATED: From Heartbreak to Hope by the AAQI

Harvesting the fullness of life and living is so much more than food. It involves relationships, curiosity, community, compassion and empathy. It includes faith, laughter and above all love.
Food fuels us to enjoy and participate in life and living. Food can be the vehicle with which we bring together families, friends and communities. 
But once fueled it doesn't stop there. 
I have yet to meet someone that is without a spark of creativity. It could be music, theatre, painting, sculpting, design, food crafting(chefs and cooks), fabric arts, word smithing. We all seem to have something we can be passionate about when given the opportunity.
Day to day life can rise up so large with its' problems that demand so much of our energy. But when given the time to pause, rest - but not just the body, the mind and spirit also - that creative spark can start to twinkle.
This morning I watched an item on "The Today Show", where a family of 3 lived on $20,000 yearly. Jennifer (the mom), was a master of recycling and creativity with free or minimum cost items. She created a beautiful warm, cozy inviting home for herself, husband and son.
I've been so focused on "getting better", I'd given up on my creative spark.
I love to paint, design jewellery and sew. I'm starting to feel somewhat better and my creative spark is starting to light up.
So, with that said I want to introduce you to one of my Creative Inspiration Heroes - her name is Ami Simms - an amazing quilter. 
Ami started a program called "The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative(AAQI)" after her mother was diagnosed and eventually passed away from Alzheimer's Disease. Ami tells about how the AAQI got started and how we can also help. 
This creative hero struck a chord in my heart. As a nurse dealing with Alzheimer patients. I often saw the person fading away from life. Forgetting relationships that were once dear to them and the toil it took on their families. It is heartbreaking. Finally the diminishing of their physical health, leaving them open to a host of infections and other issues.
If you have the creative leaning of fabric crafts and art, please help Ami to make a difference with Alzheimer's.
I know my creative spark is returning and I'm stoking the flames to get it fully burning again.
Happy Creating!
        
        Karen

Giving Myself a Rest! Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nightshade Free, Corn Free, Nut Free Smoothies and Soups

Smoothies & Soups

Recently I tried a grain free diet and was able to re-introduce rice, teff, 

sourghum with no issues. The starches arrowroot and tapioca were no problem also. Then I tried GF corn tortillas. Not a good response. Within 20 minutes I had tingling in my lips and my ears became itchy. Benadryl thankfully stopped this intial reaction. However 4 hours later the digestive tract response set in. It was violent and painful, with an incredible amount of bloating. My ribs ached from being "stretched". I took the maximum dose of Benadryl and although still uncomfortable, I was able to rest. It took almost 10 days to recover from this episode. 

I had been Nightshade free for a couple of months and wasn't really sure whether they were a problem. So I tried a small tomatoe. After 20 minutes again stomach pain, but this time instead of the abdominal pain, it became a sinus headache that turned into a migraine. 

So far I've identified, Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Corn and now Nightshade as triggers for allergic responses. Now not just GI, but neurological (migraine) and sinus issues.

I was still feeling exhausted. So the next to go is soy. I so don't want to give up soy. I depend on it for so many things. Soy milk, tofu, tvp. 

But I need to take soy from my diet for awhile to see if it is also a problem. I also decided to remove all nuts for a time. Time to give myself a rest.

My chiropractor uses the "Pro-Adjuster" system on me (I respond best to this system vs. mechanical adjustment), at the last visit he showed me where the GI tract inflammation was impacting my spinal column health.

Thankfully I found this article. 

"How I Became a Veggie Lovin', Tree Huggin', Healin' Junkie by Elisa Rodriguez.

Her website is www.EatUrVeggies.com.

Elisa is a Registered Dietician who has journeyed through the medical community in search of her own diagnosis and management of Lupus. Elisa wanted to use diet and food to reduce her inflammation. She offers recipes along with her knowledge of nutrition to reduce inflammation that causes a myraid of problems.

Inspired by her website and recipes I came up with some Smoothie and Soup recipes that can be whole meal replacements.

Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nut Free, Nightshade Free, Corn Free, Nut Free Smoothies

Good Morning World!! Smoothie

Makes 2 liters- serves 4-6 people

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

2 seedless oranges, peeled

2 bananas, peeled and cut into chunks

4 TBSPs of ground golden flax seed

Juice of ½  lemon or 1 TBSP of bottled lemon juice

3 cups of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened*

1 tsp Stevia powder or sweetener of your choice

4 scoops of “Now” Pea Protein powder or protein powder of your choice.

 Put all the ingredients in your Vita Mix, hold back 1 cup of the coconut milk. Blend thoroughly, add the last of the coconut milk to get the consistency you want.

 *If you can only get Coconut Milk in a can-read the label, many use thickeners such as xanthum gum – which comes from corn. Thai Kitchen uses guar gum- guar gum comes from guar beans. I use the “Light” lower fat and blend 1 can with 2 liters of water and chill to use in recipes. You need to shake the boxed  and homemade from can coconut milk well before using.

Grrreen Giant Smoothie

Makes 2 liters- serves 4-6 people

 8 cups of spinach, kale or Swiss Chard (leaves only)

2 cups of chopped broccoli

2 cups chopped celery

2 Granny Smith Apples chopped(leave skin on)

4 TBSPs of ground golden flax seed

Juice of 1 lime or 1 TBSP of bottled lime juice

3 cups of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened*

2 tsp Stevia powder or sweetener of your choice

4 scoops of “Now” Pea Protein powder or protein powder of your choice.

 Put all the ingredients in your Vita Mix, hold back 1 cup of the coconut milk. Blend thoroughly, add the last of the coconut milk to get the consistency you want.

 *If you can only get Coconut Milk in a can-read the label, many use thickeners such as xanthum gum – which comes from corn. Thai Kitchen uses guar gum- guar gum comes from guar beans. I use the “Light” lower fat and blend 1 can with 2 liters of water and chill to use in recipes. You need to shake the boxed  and homemade from can coconut milk well before using.

Purple Haze Smoothie

Makes 2 liters- serves 4-6 people

4 cups of peeled and chopped beets

2 cups of red Swiss Chard stems or Rhubarb (when in season)

1 cup of blueberries

1 cup of red seedless grapes

4 TBSPs of ground golden flax seed

Juice of 1 lime or 1 TBSP of bottled lime juice

2 cups of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened*

1 tsp Stevia powder or sweetener of your choice

4 scoops of “Now” Pea Protein powder or protein powder of your choice.

 Put all the ingredients in your Vita Mix. Blend thoroughly. Add some water to make it the consistency you want.

 *If you can only get Coconut Milk in a can-read the label, many use thickeners such as xanthum gum – which comes from corn. Thai Kitchen uses guar gum- guar gum comes from guar beans. I use the “Light” lower fat and blend 1 can with 2 liters of water and chill to use in recipes. You need to shake the boxed  and homemade from can coconut milk well before using.

Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nut Free, Nightshade Free, Corn Free, Nut Free Soups

 My Borscht

Makes 1 liter (concentrated soup)- serves 4-6 people

4 cups peeled and chopped beets

1/8 piece of an onion, peeled (using this small amount of onion won’t overwhelm this soup)

2 stalks of celery

2 cups of chopped red cabbage

Juice of 1 lime or 1 TBSP of bottled lime juice

1 tsp Montreal Steak Spice

½ cup of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened*

½ cup of water

Put all the ingredients in your Vita Mix. Blend thoroughly. Add another ½ cup of water to blend as needed and to make it the consistency you want.

 *If you can only get Coconut Milk in a can-read the label, many use thickeners such as xanthum gum – which comes from corn. Thai Kitchen uses guar gum- guar gum comes from guar beans. I use the “Light” lower fat and blend 1 can with 2 liters of water and chill to use in recipes. You need to shake the boxed  and homemade from can coconut milk well before using.

For each serving- 1 cup of blended soup with another ½ cup of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened* and 1 scoop of “Now” Pea Protein powder or protein powder of your choice (optional). Blend in Vita Mix. Pour into a saucepan to gently heat through.  Stir frequently. DO NOT boil as this will destroy nutrients.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Makes 1 liter (concentrated soup)- serves 4-6 people

4-5 cups of chopped fresh broccoli florets and stems

1/8 piece of an onion, peeled (using this small amount of onion won’t overwhelm this soup)

2 stalks of celery

Juice of 1 lime or 1 TBSP of bottled lime juice

1 tsp Montreal Steak Spice

½ cup of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened*

½ cup of water

Put all the ingredients in your Vita Mix. Blend thoroughly. Add another ½ cup of water to blend as needed and to make it the consistency you want.

 *If you can only get Coconut Milk in a can-read the label, many use thickeners such as xanthum gum – which comes from corn. Thai Kitchen uses guar gum- guar gum comes from guar beans. I use the “Light” lower fat and blend 1 can with 2 liters of water and chill to use in recipes. You need to shake the boxed  and homemade from can coconut milk well before using.

For each serving- 1 cup of blended soup with another ½ cup of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened* and 1 scoop of “Now” Pea Protein powder or protein powder of your choice (optional). Blend in Vita Mix. Pour into a saucepan to gently heat through.  Stir frequently. DO NOT boil as this will destroy nutrients.

Bunny Soup (Cream of Carrot Soup)

Makes 1 liter (concentrated soup)- serves 4-6 people

4 cups of peeled chopped carrots

1/8 piece of an onion, peeled (using this small amount of onion won’t overwhelm this soup)

2 stalks of celery

Juice of ½ of a lemon or 1 TBSP of bottled lemon juice

1 tsp Montreal Steak Spice

½ cup of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened*

½ cup of water

Put all the ingredients in your Vita Mix. Blend thoroughly. Add another ½ cup of water to blend as needed and to make it the consistency you want.

 For each serving- 1 cup of blended soup with another ½ cup of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened* and 1 scoop of “Now” Pea Protein powder or protein powder of your choice (optional). Blend in Vita Mix. Pour into a saucepan to gently heat through.  Stir frequently. DO NOT boil as this will destroy nutrients.

*If you can only get Coconut Milk in a can-read the label, many use thickeners such as xanthum gum – which comes from corn. Thai Kitchen uses guar gum- guar gum comes from guar beans. I use the “Light” lower fat and blend 1 can with 2 liters of water and chill to use in recipes. You need to shake the boxed  and homemade from can coconut milk well before using.

*If you can only get Coconut Milk in a can-read the label, many use thickeners such as xanthum gum – which comes from corn. Thai Kitchen uses guar gum- guar gum comes from guar beans. I use the “Light” lower fat and blend 1 can with 2 liters of water and chill to use in recipes. You need to shake the boxed  and homemade from can coconut milk well before using.

For each serving- 1 cup of blended soup with another ½ cup of So Delicious Coconut Milk unsweetened* and 1 scoop of “Now” Pea Protein powder or protein powder of your choice (optional). Blend in Vita Mix. Pour into a saucepan to gently heat through.  Stir frequently. DO NOT boil as this will destroy nutrients.