Body

Physical Wellness

Now To Make It Happen

by ladypbwiggins

Today’s assignment is to determine three (3) goals that I would like to accomplish with my blog. When I first began blogging it was to find out if anyone was interested in what I had to say. It seems a few people are.

  • One of my goals is to learn what people are interested in and to learn how to effectively match my writing interest with their reading interest. I am writing a book but I didn’t know if anyone would buy it.
  • The second goal is to increase the number of connections to be inspired by and to inspire.
  • Speaking is one of my gifts and I enjoy informing and motivating people. Knowing what people are interested in could give me an opportunity to do something I love.

On that note, I will be speaking at a Black History Picnic celebration here in Perris, CA. It will be interesting because I am asked to speak about healthy nutrition while the listeners are eating soul food. This will be a challenge.The next day I will be speaking at our church for morning worship.I am going to have an exciting weekend.

In the meantime, I am trying new recipes to introduce to our congregation during our health ministry. Tonight it was a Dr. Hyman’s Sun-dried tomato Turkey Burger. This is a recipe in The Daniel Plan written by Pastor Rick Warren, Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Mark Hyman. It was very tasty.

Fresh From The Tree

by ladypbwiggins

This week I was given fresh organic oranges. I spent quite a while juicing them in my Nutribullet. For Christmas and a belated birthday gift my husband and I bought ourselves a KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the ice cream attachment. I thought, “Why not try making a sorbet using some of this fresh orange juice?” I had some simple syrup with pineapple left that I made the last time I tried to make sorbet.  Success! My husband said it was good. I am very pleased that we have fresh sorbet with no chemicals. Unfortunately I had to use sugar, albeit, organic to make the simple syrup. Next time I will use agave nectar and give it a try.

The frozen yogurt shops just lost a customer. I can make my own and know what is in them. I think next time I will try one of my vegetable Nutriblast. Vegetable Sorbet. Mmmm.

FYI: I am also trying the image format for you Blogging 101 colleagues. In the Capoversa basic theme it is not making a big difference from the standard format.

Has My Step Been Re-Sprung?

by ladypbwiggins

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Re-springing Your Step.”

I read the prompt and wondered what has happened to me recently that would have me rejuvenated. I realized that the answer was a lot of little thins for temporary changes but nothing lasting. That revelation was very disheartening. How can I motivate others when I am fatigued? I can’t successfully because they can see something is not 100% with me.

I have had taken a day here and a day there to rest physically. It helped to some extent I am sure. I can go on.  I awaken this morning feeling stressed out with the list of things I need to do NOW. The only solution I see is to make my list, prioritize and work the list.

Maybe then my step will get sprung. Physical rest is nothing without mental rest.

Thanksgiving Cooking Experiment

by ladypbwiggins

I posted this on ladywiggins.blogspot.com  for Thanksgiving. I thought I would repost it here. Vegans out there please share your recipe successes.

I hope you had a wonderful time with your family. It was just my husband and I. Our children were away this year. I had a ball. Not because they were away though. I experimented with our traditional recipes. I was motivated by my newly vegan son and my dairy-intolerant grand-baby. I had wanted to try vegan cooking for a while and I figured now was a good time.

Mac and Cheese

Attention went first to my mac and cheese. This is my grandmother’s mac and cheese so the flavors are sacred. I decided to use rice elbow macaroni. I never used it before. Next concern: How do you bring those southern flavors to vegan world: Butter, real milk, sharp and mild cheddar cheese? I was skeptical but I went all in. I replaced the cheese with veggie cheese. I replaced the milk with flax seed milk. I found it to be creamier than almond and other nut milks I’ve tried. However, what to do about butter? I found some vegan butter in my favorite organic store but the cost was ridiculous. Google came through. I found several vegan sites that had recipes for making your own vegan butter without using soy products. I made my first non-dairy butter. The results were good but I still didn’t know how it would work in my mac and cheese. It was wonderful. That gave me hope for my sweet potato pie.

Sweet Potato Pie


This was not completely vegan but it was still an experiment. I used my non-dairy butter, a blend of flax and evaporated milk and egg. I thought my husband had bought an egg substitute but he bought egg whites instead. The filling was good. The real experiment was the pie crust. I decided to try gluten free flour. Who knows why? I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil or shortening. I either had a crumbling mess or something that was very oily looking. I wanted that flaky crust I was familiar with. As it turned out, the taste was great but the texture was too thin. Saved by the flavors.

I have learned a lot through this experiment.

  1. I will never plan to buy dairy butter again.
  2. I have since found a recipe for homemade baking shortening. That’s next.
  3. Coconut oil, refined and unrefined are my new best friends. It has so many uses besides cooking.
  4. I have found a website of a vegan sweet potato expert. Things are looking up for my Christmas pies.  http://sweetpotatosoul.com/2014/01/how-to-make-vegan-sweet-potato-pie.html
  5. Sunflower oil has entered my pantry.
  6. I found non-soy, non-gluten, non-wheat egg replacer. They also gave the ingredients and I have them in my cabinet. I wonder if I can make my own?
  7. I just found an egg replacer recipe using chia seed. Who knew? Got to try this. http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-make-egg-substitute-chia-seeds/

I also found this link for powdered egg replacer recipe. If any of you have used these recipes, I would certainly like to hear from you. My holiday baking begins in about a week and a half. I am planning to experiment ahead of time.

Vegans out there please share your experience and wisdom. I am on fire to test things out.

Eating to Be Arthritis Free

by ladypbwiggins

Arthritis is my new friend. I thought it was due to the injuries I experienced as a child and young adult. I fell so much in college that some of my friends nicknamed me “ace bandage.” I wasn’t overweight then but now I know my weight exacerbates my clumsy problem.  I decided to research which vegetables or oils would be beneficiary to arthritic people. It would help me, my husband and my mother.

To my surprise many of my favorite vegetables should be avoided. They are called the “nightshade” vegetables.

“The nightshades include numerous vegetables: potatoes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarillos, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, and cayenne peppers. Hot sauces made from the hot peppers are considered nightshades. Also, ground cherries, garden huckleberry, naranjillas, and even tobacco are considered nightshades.”

This article also questions if that is a fact for everyone or are some people more sensitive than others. I also read the a gluten-free diet would aid in relieving the pain caused by arthritis. That seems reasonable since gluten-free keeps popping up in all inflammatory ailments that I research. So here is my dilemma. I have decided to try a gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan diet for the twenty-one days. Should I eliminate the nightshades also? I love most of the nightshades.

Ghost pepper

I find it interesting that the capsaicin in the peppers would be the reason they should be avoided. Capsaicin is in some popular arthritic pain ointments. I would also like to know how an american who grew up on potatoes and tomatoes will function without them? Can you hear that tiny violin?

In the 21 days I expect to change habits, detox and improve my spiritual well being. Still should nightshades be included in the experiment? Does anyone out there in healthy land have a suggestion? I will begin the fast on the 6th.

 

 

 

http://arthritis.about.com/od/diet/a/Are-Nightshades-Bad-For-Arthritis.htm

New Food Frontier For Me

by ladypbwiggins
#dairyfree #foodallergies #cooking

I had the most amazing day at Barnes and Noble. A few weeks ago I began my food experiment journey into the world of gluten-free and dairy free recipes. I am happy to report the non-dairy butter was and is awesome. I found a recipe for non-dairy shortening. I haven’t tried it yet but since it is from the same cook I expect it to be amazing as well. That experience combined with my new love for certified organic foods got be excited to learn more. I went to Barnes and Noble on a search for a gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan cookbook. That was kind of silly since vegans are dairy free. 😀 Nevertheless, I spent some time searching for a cookbook that would satisfy my education and cooking for my Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted to find a particular book that I had seen in an Adventist market. I didn’t see it so I went to customer service like a good little researcher and asked about the book. I didn’t find the book but I did discover that I had only tapped the service of Barnes and Noble’s cookbooks. The WHOLE back wall contained cookbooks. I just HAD to come back another day when i could explore.

Much like that little kid at Christmas, I couldn’t wait. I was so excited that I came back and purchased a gluten-free, dairy-free cookbook without the research.. I got home and decided it really did not do it for me. The next day I returned the book and spent that amazing day searching for a cookbook that would meet my needs.

Guide to Vegan Substitution bookI found it! I found it! I found the perfect book for me. It has recipes but it is more of a “How to make your own” book. It is a Vegan substitution cookbook, The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Steen and Newman. The guide explains the relationship between items used to prepare a meal for carnivores and herbivores and how to make the substitutions for the best results. As I said in the last post, I was expecting a diverse set of dietary needs to visit my home for Christmas. I needed to change my mac and cheese and sweet potato pie ingredients to accommodate animal product free, dairy free, and gluten free allergies. Rather than guessing and serving the meals with trepidation, I went boldly into the kitchen to prepare the requested dishes. The mac and cheese was a hit. I know because there was very little left over. We  ate so much that we didn’t have room for the pies. That was left to today’s dining experiences.

By the way, corn allergy is coming to visit for the weekend. What’s one more. Corn, in some form,is in almost everything.  Read your labels people.Got to label read!