Not Wealthy But Healthy: July 2014

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!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Raw Vegan Creamy Italian Salad Dressing

This recipe is also from Swayze Foster. I've been looking for salad dressing recipes so I was glad she posted it. Raw Vegan ½ cup cashews ¼ cup red wine vinegar 2 cloves of garlic ½ teaspoon of paprika ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 medjool date ¾ cup of distilled water 2 teaspoons each: dried oregano, dried basil, dried chives and dried parsley ½ of one green bell pepper – diced ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper Take cashews, red wine vinegar, garlic, paprika, cayenne, date and water. Put it into blender and blend until well blended. Add seasonings and diced bell pepper and stir it with a spoon. Put into fridge and let the flavors blend in the coolness. For Salad: One head of iceberg lettuce (Ellouise: “personally, I don’t care for the taste of iceberg so I would use spinach)” 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, cut in half ½ cup sliced radishes 1 cup of grated carrots 1 cup of shredded radicchio Pour the dressing over the top (she uses about 8 tablespoons) Salad with 8 tablespoons of dressing: 280 calories, 9 grams of fat.

Raw Vegan Orange Wild Berry Smoothie

This recipe is from Swazy Foster of "Fit on Raw" and it's very yummy! 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 3 frozen bananas (be sure to peel before putting into the freezer 2 cups of wild blueberries or huckleberries Put into blender in order listed and blend for 1 minute. If it is too thick, add some more orange juice.