Not Wealthy But Healthy: quick and inexpensive salad

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!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Magaly's Salad

When I owned my school, my Assistant Director was Magaly. We had great times slicing and dicing together and feeding the children in my school. Magaly shared this recipe with me and I really like it. It's not raw, but it's quick and not very expensive and tastes wonderful.

2 cans 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. I don't care for chips myself, but Magaly served it with Lime Tortilla Chips. I have also used it as the filling for a soft tortilla. But, most often, I just eat it with no chips or tortilla! Yummy!