Not Wealthy But Healthy: June 2016

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, June 29, 2016

White Bean & Sweet Potato Soup

I made up this recipe just today! It's very tasty. 1 cup small white beans 4 cups distilled water Put the beans into a large pan with the water and bring to a boil. Boil for one hour and then drain and rinse. Repeat this process 2 more times. Meanwhile, put the following ingredients into a large crockpot and turn on high: 3 sweet potatoes, diced 1 onion, diced 3 ribs celery, diced 1 Tablespoon turmeric (less if you want) 1/2 Tablespoon parsley 1/2 Tablespoon sage 1 Tablespoon rosemary 4 Tablespoons McKay's Non Chicken Broth (available from Amazon.com) 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp thyme 4 cups distilled water. After the third hour of "bean" cooking and draining and rinsing, add the beans to the crockpot. Turn down to medium and cook until all flavors are blended. I cooked for about 4 hours. Stir and taste. Add any other seasonings that you would like. I added just a smidgen of lemon juice to perk it up.If it's thicker than you like, just add a bit more water.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Vegan - Best Chocolate Pudding EVER! From Chef Del’s Better than Vegan

Best Date Syrup Ever 2 cups pitted Medjool dates ½ tsp Stevia powder 1 ½ to 2 cups distilled water Place all ingredients into Vitamix and blend until very smooth and creamy. Add water as needed. Store refrigerated up to one week. Chocolate Pudding 1 12 oz package lite silken tofu, drained ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 cup Best date syrup ever ½ tsp vanilla extract Pinch of sea salt Combine all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until cooled.