Whatever you are gifted with, there are opportunities out there. Just find them and seize them.
–Kathy Ireland
I sometimes feel like I was “gifted” with type 1 diabetes, and there have been so many opportunities presented to me as a result, that I’ve tried my best to seize. It definitely isn’t always easy, but there is a small part of me that thinks I was meant to have the disease.
Salad, slaw…eh, doesn’t matter what it’s called. This is a light, refreshing, cool dish that makes a great side, and took about 10 minutes. Make for a party, revise the ingredients, such a versatile and low calorie recipe. The entire bag of cabbage alone, 80 calories. Seriously.
Carrot Cabbage Slaw
Shred the carrots in a shredder, chopper, processor, by hand, whatever works. Place in a bowl with the entire bag of shredded cabbage. I added the rest of the dried grapes we had, which was probably a 1/2 cup (would’ve added a few more if we had them). I squeezed the juice of one lemon over the mixture, drizzled 2 TBSPs of raw honey over top, and sprinkled with salt/pepp. Tossed, and served (okay, I didn’t really serve, Seth took what he wanted, and then I ate the entire rest of the bowl, hee hee).
I would encourage you to try the shredded carrots raw. They really are very sweet, and the shredding just brings it out more.
Knowing when produce is in season is important. Not only is the flavor on in season produce better, but there have been studies that show eating items in season, contain more nutrients (because they aren’t forced to grow when they normally wouldn’t, enter fertilizers, pesticides, etc.), help farmers, and our economy. If you think about it, not that long ago at all, you couldn’t find every single kind of produce year around, like you can now. Seriously, think about it.
I found this post on what to eat, when, it’s an infographic called The Bountiful Year: http://dailyinfographic.com/what-to-eat-when-to-eat-it-infographic. It has a really awesome list of fruits and vegetables, when they’re in season, and when they are available but not in season.
Here’s another seasonal chart, that includes herbs (again, I love this website!): http://dailyinfographic.com/fruitsvegetablesherbs-when-are-they-in-season-infographic
I LOVE this website (being the chart loving visual learner that I am)! It’s called The Daily Infographic. Each day it has an educational graphic posted about any random topic: http://dailyinfographic.com/
Did you know that September is National Breakfast Month? I didn’t.
I never used to eat breakfast, but now, I can’t live without it. It really is the most important meal of the day for me, it gets my metabolism and brain working, and more important, helps me stay on track throughout the day.
I think it also happens to be the easiest meal of the day because of the endless options, and a lot of them are quick if I’m in a time crunch:
While it doesn’t appear to be a long list, breakfast is especially easy living the Paleo lifestyle. I eat a banana every morning, and try to pair it with some sort of fat, as it digests better and my body can absorb more nutrients. Lara Bars are quick and easy if you’re running out the door (heck, so is fruit, and eggs, and meat!). What a lot of people don’t realize is that these things are fast foods, quicker than taking an extra 15 minutes to go through a drive through. It doesn’t have to be a gourmet meal, the right something is better than nothing to fuel your body. I set a banana out each night on the island, to take with me in the morning, and typically a Lara Bar. Depending on the exercise I’ve done, I might grab some uncured organic meat that I can eat when I arrive at work, or an avocado I can slice. Easy!
Breakfast takes me maybe 5-8 minutes each morning (or the night before), and then I can function, the rest of my day-so I don’t want to hear, “I don’t have time to make breakfast,” anymore, make a commitment to yourself, and your body. Throw away the pre-packaged oatmeal, granola bars and pop-tarts, and eat real food.
Breakfast Facts:
http://www.mrbreakfast.com/glossary_term.asp?glossaryID=152
The end of the week…Friday, in offices all across the country, there are muffins, bagels and donuts galore. For some stereotypical reason, because we’ve survived the hectic week, we feel we should reward ourselves with this crap.
Here’s another plug for Wheat Belly (see: http://wp.me/p2zSoO-45) for those that haven’t read it yet, but genetically modified grains (thanks Norman Borlaug!) today, have the same effect on your dopamine receptors in your brain as, heavy drugs, which is why we can’t quit consuming them.
Would you like some crack with your coffee this morning?
livinglikelinds 