A Chicken Salad with Strawberries, Feta, & Pecans Using an Instant Pot®
I have had an InstaPot® for a long time. I haven’t used it all that much. It’s my mother’s fault. My mother had a pressure cooker when I was a child. It was one of the older pressure cookers — one that had manual pressure release. She used it when she was canning — especially the year my father had his huge garden. She was uncomfortable with it to say the least. When I bought my pressure cooker, she put the fear of the pressure cooker in me. Even though the new pressure cookers are much safer, she got into my head again. Mothers can be good with that right?…
Getting To Know Your Peppers
Another Cinco de Mayo post! Chili peppers are a common ingredient in Mexican cuisine. There are more than 150 varieties of peppers and each one has a flavor that is unique. If you choose to use peppers when making Mexican dishes, try to use the specific pepper recommended in the recipe. This will help your dish have an authentic flavor that can’t be denied. Ancho Chilies Ancho chilies are the dried version of a Poblano pepper. It needs to be rehydrated for several hours before you can add them to recipes. Once they are rehydrated, they are often ground up before being added. If you’ve ever had Mole sauce, you…
Homeschooling: Combine Learning and Play
Are you one of the many parents who has been homeschooling during this stay-at-home time? You might have hoped things would settle out as you got used to your new routine. But — to your chagrin — are you struggling to keep your kids under control and happy? Your frustration levels may be reaching an all-time high right now, but rest assured. The entire world is with you and feels your struggles. One of the most important components of a well-rounded education and balanced school day is play. Yes – even the most sophisticated educational games in the world won’t replace the cognitive and social skills gained by engaging in…
Isolation is the Perfect Time for Journaling
As people spend more time in isolation or while quarantined, it’s the ideal time to self-reflect with things like a journal. Journaling might have been something you always thought of doing but never had the time or motivation. Why not take advantage and start your journal right now? You Have More Time to Yourself When you are in isolation or having to spend more time at home, you probably have more time to yourself. Maybe you work outside the home, so during this time, you find that you have more space to fill up with other things. Even if you don’t live alone, you probably have periods of time at…
National Oatmeal Cookie Day
National Oatmeal Cookie Day — April 30th. When I think of oatmeal cookies, it reminds me of my childhood. The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to be exact. I am not a fan of oatmeal cookies but I was the designated cookie baker for the holiday gatherings in my family. This started when I was around 8 or 9 — I may have gotten a bit more help from my mom at first. Each year — once in November and December — I would set up and back all of the cookies that my family seemed to enjoy. Sugar cookies in lots of Christmas shapes, chocolate chip cookies, occasional peanut butter…
How Stress Sabotages Your Immune System
Many people believe that stress only affects your mental health. Since it’s a mental state, it surely must only change your other mental states. However, that’s not true. As we’ve known for years now, your mental health and physical health are closely tied to one another. Stress, Impact on Blood Cells, and the Immune System Changes in mental health can affect physical health directly. Stress can have a significant impact on your physical health, particularly when it comes to your immune system. Stress comes with a lot of adverse physical effects, and it can even contribute to compromising your immune system. One of the worst effects that it has is…
National Shrimp Scampi Day
Having an allergy to seafood has played a large role in my life. My mother figured it out when I was a toddler. However, my family was a regular seafood-eating bunch so I found reasons to get out of the house on Fridays. I had not interest in eating most types of seafood — although I was jealous of the hush puppies and fries at the local fast food seafood joint! But… I did like shrimp. I didn’t eat if often but I did eat it. Probably dodged a few bullets in my youth… Now I steer clear. Everyone else in the house eats seafood but they know that I…
- Children, Family, Food, Gifts, Gratitude, Healthy Living, Journaling, Mindfulness, National Days, self-care
Guide to the Perfect Mother’s Day Gift
Mother’s Day is the day that’s set aside to honor the women in your life who are mothers. It’s a day intended to show the love in your heart through acts of kindness, expressions of love, and by giving gifts that they’ll treasure. Being a mother is a 24-7 job — with middle of the night shifts caring for sick children or waiting for teen drivers. It’s a job that’s peanut butter and jelly handprints on the table and toys scattered on the floor. But it’s a job that mothers gladly undertake because they love their children. You want to take the time to show your appreciation and gratitude for…
Focus on Your Mental and Physical Health When You’re Home
Whether you are quarantined and on self-isolation or just spending more time at home, you need to focus on both your mental and physical health. They are both vital to keeping your sanity and focusing on general wellness. Give Yourself a Break During this time, try not to stress about being perfect and doing everything right. Nobody can “win” at being home and being productive. Whether you are spending more time at home because of an illness, virus, or other reason for your isolation, putting too many expectations on yourself is going to make your stress and panic worse. This will severely affect your mental health and your ability to…
Socialize Even When You’re Alone
It can be hard enough dealing with self-isolation where you aren’t able to connect physically with other people, but if you are living alone, it is even harder. However, it is still possible to socialize and connect with others, even while practicing social distancing. Share Stories of What You’re Going Through While it can feel like you are alone and completely isolated from the world, you are only physically isolated. Everyone is in this together, and there are so many ways to connect with others. When you are still able to socialize from a distance, it allows you to share stores and experiences. Everyone you talk to will be in…
