What NOT to Eat

The author of "Balance" obviously has an unbalanced palate:

Hungry?

I think my favorite part of this entry is in the comment section, where he likens his sandwich to the United Methodist Church.

"Open jars, open hands, open mouths…the sandwich of the United Methodist Church!”

Product Review: GFIC Dark Mayan Chocolate

GFICDarkMayanChoc
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Heaven.

I'm in heaven.

It's a Thursday. Running out of Week!

I hit the $500 mark yesterday. Buddy Cindy from Jazzercise kicked in the last $5 to make it an even $500.

Yesterday I worked all day on one CD project. Very very frustrating. I went to Jazz in the afternoon and pretty much wiped myself out, too. Today I hope to get the rest of these done, but Mensa Boy returns from Uruguay today and I need to put together a nice family meal for supper, as well as do a little work on the floors here.

Bear's last puppy vet visit was yesterday. Quite traumatic. He has tapeworms (caused by swallowing fleas), and so had to be given medication for that. And we microchipped him, which is a little painful. The needle used to embed the chip is quite large. It actually drew blood. The poor little guy climbed up my chest and wrapped his paws around my neck. But after all the worming, rabies, bordetella, lepto, parvo, etc, he is now official. Bona Fide. Has a rabies tag. There is no pet registration in our county, so the microchipping the rabies tag are the best ways to get your dog back if he gets lost.

My neighbor, Mary Jean, lost her old dog at the beginning of the summer. He wandered off when she let him out to the bathroom at 3 in the morning. She sat down on the couch to wait for him and fell asleep. He was found 4 hours later on the other side of the road in the back part of our neighborhood. The woman who found him called the vet phone number from the rabies tag and the vet called Mary Jean.

He's coming along on the housetraining. He goes to the door more and more now and each time he does go potty when he gets out there. But he also likes to just get out there, so I know he's going out more than he really needs it. But for the time being, we'll need to respond every time.

That's it for today! I have another product review for tomorrow.

Yeah. I had fun...

Buddy Jenny Overman of the Fort Mill Times shot this Saturday at the Festival. Thank you, Times, for allowing me to post this. Yup, that's "Dr. Pretty," Indian Land's hot chiropractor. I'm proud to call him a friend of mine, too. Adam allowed himself to be dunked more than 250 times on Saturday. And he drew quite a few comments from the ladies, too!

This week I'm catching up on insurance work and trying to take back hearth and home. Mensa Boy returns from Uruguay on Thursday and then Saturday is the BIG KOMEN RACE! I'm so excited about that. I've raised $495 so far! Amazing! I'm thinking Mensa Boy may need to pledge a few bucks, too. (of course, what's mine is mine and what's his is mine, so I guess that would be me pledging...)

Product Review: Natural Greens

I'm up to $345 raised for the Komen Foundation! Thank you for your support! There is still time to pledge. The race is Saturday.

naturalgreens
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

I've never been a big fan of vitamins and supplements before. I've always eaten a well-balanced diet and never really felt the need to get my daily A B C's from pills. But in the past year I've had suggestions from both my doctor and chiropractor to try a few. My doctor suggested D, Calcium, E, and C. And so I've been taking those off and on for a while. Now I'm committing to taking them every day. My chiropractor suggested an Omega 3, and so I've added Flax Oil. Many people take Fish Oil, and that's fine. But I like Flax.

I can't really say I've had an overwhelming epiphany with any of those that tells me "Wow! MY entire life is better because I take these!" But they are good to do and I'll just keep it up. I do have to say my hair and nails are growing quickly now and also are strong and don't split.

Last week I agreed to try this Chiropractor's Blend Natural Greens supplement. The chiropractor suggested it to help with my sometimes flagging energy levels. Actually, my daily flagging energy levels. Just some days more flagging than others. He knows I won't use any sugar substitutes, and that I am careful about my sugar intake altogether. He suggested this supplement after hearing from a colleague in his office that it's the one supplement his colleague really likes and feels great about.

So, $35 later I went home with this canister of green powder. 1 tablespoon is a dose and there are 30 servings. A little over a buck a day. I add it to my smoothie. It adds a slight sweetness to it, but has no "green" taste to it all.

I've noticed an ENORMOUS difference in my energy levels. This past weekend was an exhausting one, with the culmination of the big festival I've been working on for months. I ran around all day for close to a week in preparation for it, and I can honestly say I felt pretty good all the time. Never even felt the need to nap! The body got a little sored, but my brain was going right along and the body just kept chugging along.

Here is my smoothie recipe. I've been having this for breakfast most days. Note the calories. This is not a snack. It is a meal replacement.

Green Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie
447 calories

1 frozen banana
2 Tablespoons All Natural, no sugar added peanut butter (I use Smucker's)
1 Tablespoon Natural Greens powder
8 ounces vanilla-flavored Soy Milk

Break up the banana into 3 or 4 pieces. Drop in the peanut butter. Sprinkle with greens powder. Pour the milk over top. Allow it to sit for 5 or 10 minutes to soften the banana slightly.

Blend with an immersion blender (I call it the boat motor) until smooth.

This makes a smoothie that is cold and thick...the consistency of an ice cream shake. Drink in right away or pour it into a chilled stainless steel insulated coffee cup that you've reserved for non-coffee drinks. It will stay cold and creamy for an hour or so.