Healthy and Sexy

IMAG1162-2012-03-10-23-38.jpg

What do you get when you mix De Wafelbakkers whole grain pancakes, vegan cream cheese, a banana and strawberries? Well, you get what I consider a healthy, simple and very sexy breakfast--or anytime meal as I did not actually eat this for breakfast.

IMAG1163-2012-03-10-23-38.jpg

Seriously, if my fiancé served me this as breakfast in bed, I would love him forever…or at least until it was time for another great meal.
De Wafelbakkers is a new brand to me. They had a booth at Blissdom 2012 letting us sample their whole grain and flax seed pancakes. I love these pancakes and the best thing is, you don’t need any syrup. These babies are quite tasty on their own. But that standalone flavor also makes them prime candidates for accepting toppings. They provided us a recipe card for a Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich but you could easily top this with cream cheese (as I did), Nutella or any other nut butter you have around the house. You could also be very boring and just add syrup but I dare you to break out of the box and ditch the sugar-laden topper.

De Wafelbakkers provided other goodies to Blissdom attendees but none tops the chance to make a video to become their spokesperson. One of the great things that Blissdom brought to me was an opportunity to break out of my shell. I jumped at the chance of making a video for their great product and if nothing comes from it, I did something I never thought I would do.

IMAG1079-2012-03-10-23-38.jpg

Yes, I Want to See Your Public Parts

My book journey continues on. I was able to knock these two+ books out while cleaning the house. I forgot to mention in the last post that I consume books in three ways--physical books, kindle and audio. I will try to note this for each book from now on.

All book links provided (in the sidebar) are from Amazon where I am an affiliate, but please support the book seller of your choice.
PastedGraphic6-2012-03-8-16-20.png

A Place of Yes by Bethenny Frankel

I first became aware of Bethenny through the Real Housewives of New York. She is an amazing business woman and I enjoy listening to her speak. She has a sense of humor that really meshes with me and, like me, she has a bit of a potty mouth. You can’t fault a woman for that! Actually, she more inappropriate than potty but depending on the crowd, that could be the same thing. I really like her Place of Yes attitude and her tips for getting everything you want are principles that should be incorporated into everyone’s life, especially for us women. There is no limit to what we can do and she is definitely a woman who will make it happen. Although she has managed to live an affluent life, she did not come from great means. Check her out and you will definitely be inspired. I listed to this in audio read by Bethenny.


PastedGraphic7-2012-03-8-16-20.png

Public Parts by Jeff Jarvis

This is a great read for any of you that have blogs, post on Facebook or send out the occasional twitter. We are sharing our lives more and more online and that has started to blur the lines between what is to be considered public and private. What you once considered private about yourself may not be so private anymore. This is a very intellectual view of how the public/private conversation has evolved over time and continues to change with each new technology. If you are a regular listener to any of the TWIT network podcast shows, then you are familiar with Jeff and will recognize his voice. I listed to this in audio read by Jeff. The book gets a little too much into politics but let’s face it, our politicians are now threatening our way of “internet” life and we have to know what going on and get involved before they destroy the true nature of what makes the internet such an amazing tool. Read the book. You will be enlightened.

PastedGraphic-2012-03-8-16-20.png

Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman

From the beginning, I did not like this book. I got this book free through my membership with Audible. I wish I had not taken it. But news about the book was buzzing. Every time you turned around someone was talking about Thomas Friedman. I didn’t want to miss out on the greatness. I could have done without it. Audiobooks can be made or broken by the person that reads them. When I am buying a book, I always listen to the sample to see if its a voice I can tolerate. When I really love the voice, I will follow them to see what else they have read, it doesn’t even need to be in the same genre or by the same author. I just like a good voice. The “voice” of Hot, Flat and Crowded is a good voice but an overly trained one. He’s reading the book in a tone and manner that is much too happy and optimistic. And that took away from Friedman’s writing. But, if I was reading the book I wouldn’t make it far before throwing it against the wall. Friendman’s writing is disjointed. He gives examples of his points that seem to have nothing to do with what is speaking about. You often don’t get the point until much later. What does America building walls around consulates have to do with America needing to invest in clean energy? He talks about these side by side as if the connection is obvious. All in all, the Earth is Hot because of global warming. The Earth is Flat because our use of importing, exporting, technology and internet has connected us in such a profound way. And the Earth is Crowded just because its crowded (too many people using too much stuff). He doesn’t present the science behind his points in a way that allows you to absorb and understand the impact. He presents everything in a sensationalist, fear mongering fashion that frankly turned me off. I love science, I believe in global warming, I believe that we need to change how we live. But constant fear is not the way to do it. He even went so far as to say Hurricane Katrina was the product of global warming and an example of how we are not ready for what he calls “unmanageable climate change”. We have a whole season that rolls around every year that we call “Hurricane Season”. Every year, we watch storms form to determine their strength and their path. We get small hurricanes, we get big hurricanes and we respect the damage they can do. None of them are manageable. Katrina was a big storm, no doubt. But the true damage from Katrina didn’t come from the storm itself but from policies and infrastructure that had not been maintained. If those levies had not breeched, we would be having a much different discussion about Katrina. Granted, global warming could have contributed to the strength of Katrina, but the damage of Katrina was man made.

I did not finish Hot, Flat and Crowded. I do not recommend it at all. There are plenty of sources out there that will give you the facts and not incite unnecessary fear.

Chia Water?

A few weeks ago, I attended a healthy cooking class in town. I am still digesting all the wonderful information that was given during the two day event but one thing that was mentioned briefly was chia seeds.

It did not occur to me immediately that I knew exactly what chia seeds were. The little terra-cotta animals growing wild hair was the furthest thing from my mind, but that’s exactly what they are. The little grass-hair growing seeds that so many of us had in our kitchen windows so many, many years ago. But fast forward to today and I now know that chia seeds are amazing little seeds that I should pay a little attention to.

100_2109-2012-03-7-17-14.JPG

Over the past year, I have been trying to increase my water intake. I have gotten into the habit of keeping a cup of ice water with me at all time, especially when I will be in any one place for a period of time. Yesterday when visiting a friend, she dumped a couple of spoons of chia seeds into my water and suggested that I adopt it regularly. She said a church member does it and it’s a good way to add the whole grain to your diet. I was incredibly nervous. Chia seeds develop a gelatinous substance around them when they soak in water and I immediately thought of flax seeds. You can soak flax seeds in water for a period of time and end up with a really great hair gel. So I was just a little bit worried that after 20 minutes my water would be sludge. But it wasn’t and I survived my first encounter with chia.

When I got home, I consulted Dr. Google and I learned so much.

  • This little seed absorbs 9 times its weight in water and since it takes your body longer to break down the chia, your body stay hydrated for longer.
  • That little expanded water seed fills you up so you stay full longer and eat less if you consume the chia seeds regularly.
  • Chia is considered roughage so you will get a little cleaning as it goes through your system.
  • Zero calories, lots of fiber--you don’t get any better than that.
  • Chia is a gluten free grain for those with gluten intolerances or allergies.
The more I read, the more I was determined to continue adding chia to all of my drinks. Since it doesn’t affect the flavor, you can add them to your water or your favorite fruit juices and forget they are there.

And, if you are diabetic or suffer from the occasional sugar spike (or dip), the chia will help you stay more level.

Please try it and let me know what changes you notice. I’m hoping this will help my skin stay hydrated and my fiber level increase. I want to hear what you think.