Not Wealthy But Healthy: May 2012

This blog will help you towards healthier lifestyle choices!

I owned a State Approved K-6 for over 20 years and when it closed, I was devastated. However, I decided to make lemonade out of lemons and so I thought: I went to school for 40 years (one class at a time) and I have a PhD, I'll just look for a better job.

And, I did.....look that is, the "finding" part eluded me. I was 60 years old, never got sick and could outwork almost anyone half my age but, as I was looking for a job, it was NOT looking for me!

In the first two years after my school's closure, I applied for over 450 jobs (everything from Starbucks, to Admin Assistant to jewelry sales) and had no luck.

Finally a friend asked why I was counting the jobs and I realized I was focusing on what was NOT happening instead of what might happen so I quit counting, but not applying.

In order to survive, I sold my house and lived off the proceeds while I continued applying. I lived extremely frugally because I knew that the money would not last forever.

Over the years, I have continued to live frugally and apply for jobs. However, there truly is ageism in America today and I have been unsuccessful in getting a "real" job.

What I have been successful at is cobbling together a life by working at my many part time jobs! Currently, I have 2 jobs each day (subbing in the Auburn School District and tutoring at Sylvan Learning Centers). And I do other jobs occasionally such as Real Estate Broker, Author, and Editor.

Because I am a Health Coach, my passion is helping people be healthier.
Over the years, I've learned much about how to be healthy even if I wasn't wealthy so I decided to share my expertise with you! I will bring you tips, recipes, and many ideas on how to choose a healthy lifestyle, even if you are eating out of the local Food Bank and/or don't have much money to pay for gym memberships!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Magaly's Salad

One of my best friends, Magaly, gave me this recipe and when another friend gave me some avocados I decided to make this for myself.

Magaly’s Salad

2 can black beans

2 red bell peppers, diced

2 cups frozen corn

2 avocados, diced

1 large Walla Walla sweet onion, diced

Juice from 2 limes

Rinse black beans. Add rest of ingredients. Squeeze lime juice over the salad. If you want to use this as a dip, you can use the lime tortilla chips. I have also used it as the filling for a soft tortilla.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Wild Rice and BBQ Tofu

The last time I went to the food bank, I got a package of wild rice and a package of Tofu. I cooked the wild rice according to package directions. It took an hour.

I carefully cut the tofu into 1" cubes. I put some Walla Walla Sweet Onion BBQ sauce in the bottom of a baking dish and put the tofu on top of it. Then I poured the rest of the BBQ sauce over the tofu. I baked it at 300 for about 15 minutes.

I put some wild rice in a bowl and topped it with the tofu mixture. It was very good but I was wishing that I had more BBQ sauce!

Kinda Sorta Minestrone

Over the last few weeks, I've received all of the ingredients in this soup. Tonight, I put them all together and it was very tasty.

2 cans tomato soup
2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
5 potatoes (washed in fruit and vegetable rinse and diced small)
1 onion diced small
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can white beans
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans

Reconstitute the tomato soup and add potatoes, onion and seasoning. Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to medium. Cook until potatoes are soft. Add rest of ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes.

I like my soup to be very much like stew but, if you like yours thinner, just add another can or two of the reconstituted soup.

Vegan Chipotle Potato Soup

I looked into my fridge and the only things there were potatoes, onions and a bunch of condiments. What to do? I decided that I would make potato soup. I also found some chipotle and decided to try adding it for a new recipe. So, I did and it was yummy! Here's the recipe:

10-15 medium potatoes, rinsed with Fruit and Vegetable Rinse and then diced
2-3 onions, diced
1 can chipotle, blended to a smooth paste

Rinse and dice the potatoes and onions. Steam until soft. Put them into a large crockpot. Put about 2 cups of the potatoes, onions and chipotle into your blender (VitaMix works best) and blend to a smooth consistency. Pour the liquid over the potatoes and onions in the crockpot and gently stir. Add water if the consistency is too "gluey". Turn crockpot on high for about an hour and then turn to low. Cook for a total of about 3 hours.

Yum!