I’m gifted.  I see things before they actually happen.  When this first happened it scared me.  I was in North Carolina around the age of 11 and I knew before I left I was not going to ever see my great grand mother again.  Within 6 months she passed away.  I think this is one reason I never fulfilled my dream of becoming a doctor.  I could see when people were going to expire before it actually happened.  I was a candy stripper in the emergency room, while in high school.  I would see patients and could automatically see who was not going to make it.  As a teenager you can imagine this gift was very overwhelming.  I did not understand it.  As I became older, I began to accept this gift.  I just accepted that information would just come to me.  This became especially useful in my relationships with men I dated.  Sometimes relationships hit a crossroad.

There comes a point in a relationship in which you have to leave or stay and deal.  It’s nothing overt.  You just know within your inner self the relationship has run it’s course.  Often times I hung in there longer than I should have.

I knew my time was up the evening I woke up out of a dead sleep and I saw a woman.  She was beautiful.  Olive complexions.  She had that Brazilian wavy hair.  She was at the house of the man I was dating at the time.  They wore matching leather jackets.  He was that type of man who took pride in making sure his woman looked good.  That’s how he expressed his love.  It was weird.  It was almost like my spirit was in the house looking at this woman and my “man” interact with one another in a loving way.  I was crushed.  How could this happen.  Could I stop it from happening.  I abruptly woke up out of the dream.

I could not help but to remember he was trying to block me from coming out to visit his sister-in-law who lost a dear loved one.  Well when I called her days before to give my condolences, I asked if i could do anything to help.  I know when you lose a loved one the last thing you think about is having to cook anything.  But at the same time good food can be therapeutic.  I did not mind taking out time to prepare the food that would give their family a bit of comfort.  Anyway, despite Sam’s persistent discouragement to bring the food, I was determined to bring the food I had prepared.  I prepared a large tray of my two award winning dishes – baked hot wings and this berry triffle cake.  It must have been around May because berries were just in season and my daughter was still in school.  Besides I had to find out what my dream was all about.  You know how you feel when something is about to go down but you can’t quite put your figure on it.

Well, I drove an hour and a half to go and deliver this food and go and visit with Sam.  It was awkward because I was in the process of my relocating and living with him.  I really did not want to shack up but I figured since he asked me to live with him twice and their was discussion of marriage, maybe it was ok to give the live in thing a try.  I even had clothing at his house and everything.  I was just waiting for my daughter’s school to start and I was going to work in the “city” four days out of the week then live out in the country three days a week.  Everything was just about set.

But when I arrived at his house I felt so awkward.  I felt like I was not suppose to be there.  Nothing was said out of the ordinary.  I just felt like I was living out the 2nd half of my dream.  I remember having sex but it was not memorable at all.  It felt more like a punishment.  Afterwards someone came to pick him up.  I can’t remember who it was that picked him up but what I do remember the look he gave me.  It was like he was saying Why are you here?  Why are crowding my space.  Can you just go away.  I was very confused because this was the man who asked me twice to move in with him.  Why was he being so distant toward me. Well I was distant too because I had a peep into the future and I was just waiting to see how everything was going to play out.

When he came back, we went to visit his sister-in-law’s house.  We drove over in my car, which was weird because he typically drives his car.  We visited his sister-in-law for a while.  After an hour or so, he asked his niece to drive him back to the house.  I thought this was a good time for me to leave as well so I could head back to the city to go to work.  I told him in front of his family, well we came together so we can leave together.  That seemed reasonable to me.  I was always taught if you come together you leave together.   He seemed a bit agitated but he saved face until we got back to the car.  As I drove us back to his house, he started to yell and curse at me.  And his voice became louder and louder.  This was unbearable  The verbal abuse became so bad I started to become very upset.  I decided to stop the car.  I’m not sure why I decided to stop but I did not feel safe driving at that particular moment.  In the mean while, he screamed at me and told me to give him my car keys so he could drive.  I was determined not about to give him my car keys.  I quickly grabbed the keys from the ignition.   Soon afterward he grabbed my hand so hard in an attempt to get the keys from me.   I was stronger than I thought.  I guess he became frustrated that I did not give him possession of my car, he left the car and headed toward to the driver’s side.  I quickly locked the doors, put the key in the ignition and sped down the country lane toward his house.  I could not believe this was happening to me.  Or why should i be surprised.  The warning signs of verbal and now physical abuse were on the wall but I ignored them or chalked them up as a temporary tantrum.

Anyway, I finally made it to his house and managed to take all my clothing and throw them in my trunk.  As soon as I was safely in my car, he rolled up to his house in his niece’s truck.  He quickly ran into the house.  By the time he left the house again, I was gone.

It was going to be a long ride home.  Work was not even on the dashboard for me.  As I started down the long road home, I decided to turn around and get justice.  I was convicted to file a protective order because I was afraid and violated.  As I made my way back to the courthouse area, I saw him riding in a red truck.  I guess he was trolling the area to see what I was going to do next.

Well my request was denied.  It was denied.  I almost forgot he served as a police officer in his town so he was probably able to call in a favor and have my request denied.  Blue protects their own.  But there was some sort of woman advocacy group in that town.  I can not remember how I found out about this resource. It’s all a blur. But they essentially let me know I could file the case in the city where I lived.    The pain I felt went beyond the bruise on my thigh that took months to heal, my arm with whelps or my strained muscles.  I was an emotional wreck.

But before I made it out of the country, I received a call from his sister-in-law.  She really wanted to me just stay at her house so I could calm down.  I was so hurt physically, emotionally and mentally.   I knew this was a call really to protect Sam; they could careless about me.  If they cared about me they would have warned me about his violent tendencies.

Moving the clock forward a tad.  About a couple of months later, the picture above was the picture of a woman Sam went to visit in Brazil.  He was torn. Although he wanted to settle down with me; he did not want to give up his extra-curricular activities.

I don’t just follow recipes to the letter.  I use recipes as a guide. I experiment and find out what works best. I also use my culinary experience and over 30 years of healthy cooking to tweak my recipes. I test the best way to cook food items.   My mission is to optimize the foods natural flavor.  What Ive learned about spahetti squash is that you 1st have to cook it flesh side up.  This allows the top surface of the spaghetti squash to caramalize. Then you need to cook it flesh side down. Failure to do this will result in a very mushy spaghetti squash.

You don’t want mushy spaghetti squash.  Instead, it will have a texture closer to angel hair pasta. I dont brag enough about my cooking but Im pretty dang good at it.  I put a lot of effort and passion when I prepare my food.  You get someone who genuine loves food and prepares it in a loving and caring way. Thats what you will get, if you ever get a chance to have my food.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:  1 sphaghetti squash, extra virgin olive oil (1st cold pressed), pink Himalayan sea salt, black pepper.

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Cut your spaghetti squash in half using a sharp chef’s knife.  Having a hard time cutting it in half?  Then poke holes in it with a fork then warm it up in the microwave for for 3 minutes or so.
   

   

   
3. Remove the seeds with a spoon.

4.  Season with pink Himalayan sea salt and black pepper.  Drizzle on your olive oil

5.  Bake for 15 minutes flesh side up at 375F using a stainless steel cooking pan.  As you can see the caramelization process has started to occur.  You see it’s the browning of the natural sugars in the spaghetti squash that is going to give it its natural sweet and nutty flavor.

6.  Bake for 15-30 minutes flesh side down at 375F.  You have to adjust the cooking time depending on who small or large your spaghetti squash is.  I’d check every 10 minutes or so to test the texture.  I tend to cook mine al dente so when I reheat it, the texture is perrrrfect and not mushy.

Last night I had a Tumeric Latte.  Oh my goodness.  You talk about yummy….  For my tumeric latte, I used coconut milk, coconut oil, tumeric powder, ginger powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg, cardamom and pure maple syrup (optional).  All the spices I used were in the powder form but I can not wait to use fresh ginger, fresh tumeric and whole cardamom.

I’m particulary excited about tumeric because it has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.  It also helps to alleviate symptoms of arthritis and digestive disorders.  Tumeric is packed with manganese, which helps with wound healing and regulating your blood sugar levels.   Who knew tumeric had all those health benefits.

Reference:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ASXb2eTdeyv06lX3rrXK9sKoGL89ZlUCzzOOuEf9oOeTy4bB4jqu4aw/

I’m happy to be home from my conference in Cleveland Ohio. It was a very nice conference but I miss mine and my daughter’s food. I made an egg fritata and my daughter made crispy potatoes.  Cooking really is not hard.  If you can’t cook, get a great cookbook with a little olive oil. All of this is topped off with sauteed mushrooms, baby spinach, onions and fresh grape tomatoes. I’ve been eating healthier for over 30 years and I hope I inspire others to take charge of their health.

Btw, the red stuff is Sriracha sauce.

While traveling from Cleveland Ohio to Louisville I had a layover in North Carolina. I visited this fastfood restaurant Currito – burritos without borders. They had burrito bowls from around the world, including mexico, America, middle east, indian and thailand. Of course I played it safe and just ordered teh traditional mexican style burritto bowl. This inspired me to start meal prepping burrito bowls to represent different cultural groups. I am so excited about this. Featured here is my version of a thai bowl. This bowl has a nice blend of brown rice, sauteed veggies (red cabbage, napa, red onions, bell peppers, carrots, sesame seeds, spices), crushed roasted peanuts, green onions, cilantro, edamame pods. This dish is so super easy to make.

It is that time of year to prepare our immune system as we transition from Summer to Fall.

You’ve had all your ice cream, cheese, frozen drinks at the local 7-eleven or gas station, your favorite dessert and your favorite sheet cake and value city all throughout the Summer.  Yes, you ate healthy 80% of time but still you at things you simply were not suppose to.  Consequently, now your mucous membranes in your through and nasal passages are irritated.  Am I the only one guilty of this?

Well this is exactly how I felt this past Saturday.  I was just feeling tired and not wanting to do much of anything.   Then I remembered my ex-boyfriends father who would make something called cook-up.  Cook-up is a dish where you take lots of left overs from the week and put them in one pot to make a meal. These creative cook-ups were some of the most amazing meals I ever tasted in my life.  Boy do I miss those days.

Given my throat was starting to feel itchy, I decided I was going to make a-up my version of a cook chicken soup with lots of left over vegetables, fresh herbs, onions, garlic and cayenne pepper.

I knew I wanted to add a lot of curry, onions, garlic and cayenne pepper because these ingredients combined would help boost my immune system, reduce inflammation and enhance detoxification.

I did not actually make precise measurements.  I cook by site, taste, smell and intuition.  I was asked for a recipe so I will do my best to offer one for you to try and tweak for your own taste buds.  This recipe will only make about 2 servings.

Ingredients:

3 antibiotic and hormone free chicken legs

2 quarts of water

1/2 cup of zucchini, cubed

1/2 cup of yellow squash, cubed

3 celery stalks, cubed

2 orange and yellow mini bell peppers, sliced

2 handful of parsley, finely chopped

1 large tomato, cubed

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp pink himalayan sea salt

2 elephant garlic cloves, minced

1 white onion, cubed

fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. With the exception of the garlic, onions and cilantro, boil all the ingredients above.
2. Cook until the chicken is done.
3. Add the onions and garlic and boil for a few more minutes.
4. Serve 8-12 oz in a large boil, then garnish with fresh cilantro

If you like this recipe, you will probably like recipes in my clean eating cookbook, which can be found on my website at https://wholisticallyimproveyou.squarespace.com.

You will receive you e-book by email.

Thank you!

Wholistically Improve You

I eat broccoli, blueberries, avocados, and flax seeds.  I can easily incorporate more sage, sesame seeds, flax seeds and nuts/seeds in my diet.

For years I ate turkey bacon thinking it was a healthier and leaner alternative to pork bacon.  Then one day I saw a youtube video on how turkey bacon was processed.  It really grossed me out beyond measure.  I also learned lots of turkey bacon are loaded with preservatives, artificial coloring, antibiotics, nitrates, and nitrites.  As a toxicologist, I learned too much exposure to nitrates and nitrites may eventually cause cancer.  I started a clean eating group in October 2015 and was challenged to find a breakfast meat alternative.  Applegate has a hickory smoke turkey bacon for your breakfast meat alternative.  Applegate’s products are a bit on the pricey side but worth it; one slice typically satisfies my urge for “bacon”.  Prior to this healthier option, I would have to eat at least 3 slices of turkey bacon laced with some  C.R.A.P. to feel “satisfied”.  In my mind since I have to eat less of a healthier product, I’m ok with paying a little more because I fell the dollars and cents balance out.

Applegate Turkey bacon has free of nitrates, nitrites, casein, gluten, antiobiotics and preservatives.  And the fat content is lower than most breakfast bacon or sausages.

Now I do not eat this every day.  I only eat meat it occasionally.