Easy, yummy, pretty, and healthy…well, if you don’t count the chocolate anyway. 🙂
food
Puppy Chow for Humans
Take:
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Melt it altogether in the microwave…
Mix in a 12 oz. box of Crispix or Chex cereal and coat well.
Toss all this in a large container or Ziploc filled with 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar.
Eat until you can’t stuff anymore of this addicting food in your mouth.
Thank me later. 🙂
Wheat Wheat Everywhere
So in my quest to figure out what the heck is wrong with me that this accursed nerve can’t heal, I’m now attempting to track down some possible causes of this constant inflammation that is keeping this nerve root hot.
A good friend suggested I read up on wheat and dairy allergies which can be major culprits. As I started reading, it came flooding back to me….I am allergic to wheat. It was discovered when I was 12 and undergoing allergy testing. Wheat, tomatoes, chocolate, and a fourth…I don’t recall what it was. I had terrible reactions to chocolate as a young girl, so that one was obvious. In fact I didn’t eat any chocolate for a year, and although I love it more than life itself (okay maybe not *that* much) I still limit my intake. For example, I can’t eat a candy bar, but I can have a Hershey’s mini…I can have one brownie in a day, not the pan I’d like to devour. I cannot keep chocolate covered Oreos in the house or I am in trouble, because I have no control around them…a good sit-down with those lead to migraines, wheezing, or both. However, I had never had an obvious reaction to wheat or tomatoes, so I ignored that little positive test all my life, forgetting it in time…until now. A major flare on Monday and my recollection of this allergy test had me thinking about the amazing Bruschetta I had on Saturday, followed by the huge platter of Penne in a Vodka pink sauce…not to mention the baked goods on Sunday morning from my favorite bakery…or the subs we had for dinner Sunday night. Although I don’t believe giving up wheat and tomatoes for a month will solve the entire problem, I figure it can’t hurt…how hard can it be?
So Wednesday morning was my last dose of wheat. At least it was a good one…Rosemary toast from my favorite breakfast place. And then came Thursday…and now today.
Two days in and it’s already HARD!! See, I’m a skinny thing…I’m French…Bread and cheese? Are there any other food groups? I really didn’t realize how much wheat I eat….here is a list of the things I’ve reached for and had to stop myself from eating just in the past two and a half days:
Cereal
English Muffins
Wheat germ in my yogurt
Warm buttered roll
Nutri-grain bar
Sandwich
Ritz crackers
Triscuits
Pasta
Pasta
More Pasta
Cookies
Pizza
I was so excited to realize today that Tostitos were CORN chips, that I pulled out a handful to have with my favorite salsa that we bought from a specialty store over the weekend, and then realized salsa is made from TOMATOES!!! Geesh!
This is going to be much harder than I thought. *sigh*
I just hope it’s worth it…time will tell!
Know What You should Do Today?
Whip together:
1-8oz. Block of cream cheese
1 cup of sour cream
2 cups of Cool Whip
1 tsp. of vanilla
1 pkg. of instant vanilla pudding mix
Pour it into a Ready Made Graham Cracker Crust
Top it with a can of fruit pie filling (whatever kind you have a hankering for…cherry seems to be the favorite in my house, followed by blueberry.)
Chill it.
Bring it to a friend you haven’t seen in awhile.
Share it. Eat it. Chat over it.
Thank me later. 🙂
“Winter, spring, summer, or fall…all you’ve got to do is call…and I’ll be there, yes I will.” -Carol King
Nature’s Best
I have been wanting to share this little find with all of you for quite awhile now, so thanks to Scott for pushing me in that direction (even though I’m a day late and a dollar short as always!)
This, my dear friends, is the best kept secret on the planet.
I have come to swear by this little mix of teas (Tulsi, also known as Holy Basil, and Lemon Myrtle) and really think you all should order some as soon as you leave here. Get it wherever you can find it.
I discovered my little tea shop through an out-of-town friend. She has been ordering tea from Sensibiliteas for a long time, and wanted to visit the actual shop when she came to visit a couple of years ago. I had no idea this place even existed in my area, but upon entering, became a total convert. An entire wall (someday I will photograph it for you) is lined with paint cans filled with teas…I had never seen anything like it. And the teas are fabulous. I will never enjoy a bagged tea again.
Last year I was desperately seeking some natural aid to my “little” joint swelling/back aching problem. My Tea Lady suggested Holy Basil, otherwise known as Tulsi. She said it *might* help, but even if it didn’t help my joints, it would help a lot of other things. “You’ll never get a cold again, and even if you do, it won’t be a bad one.” So I drank it here and there, never quite taking the stuff seriously.
However, I started getting sick with some throat/respiratory virus the Saturday before Thanksgiving this past year. Desperate to kick it to avoid being sick for Thanksgiving a second year in a row, I started drinking my store of Holy Basil, three cups a day as prescribed. I swear it kept me going, and although I lost my voice, didn’t need the help of a doctor this time. Off I went to the tea shop the day after Thanksgiving with absolutely no voice. She suggested mixing Lemon Myrtle (for throats) with the Holy Basil. I did, and I got better within two days.
I continued drinking a cup a day all through the holidays. Every time I felt something coming on, I upped it to a pot (or three cups) back to back a day. I thought one cold was going to get me…I woke with a fever and feeling miserable. By the end of the day, I was on my feet with nothing left but a drippy nose. Seriously. It left as quickly as it came.
Add to this the fact that, about a month ago I observed to my husband, “You know, my joints haven’t bothered me as much lately…and my back is so much better finally. It only took a year.” And he said, “You’ve been drinking that tea.” Lightbulb moment. I had been drinking it to avoid getting sick all winter, but I think it has actually helped everything else too without me even realizing it. I am now a believer.
You will find information on the benefits of Tulsi here and here.
You will find information on the benefits of Lemon Myrtle here.
Just Google each and you will find more information.
If you can’t find it, send me an e-mail and I will put you in touch with Donna-Lynn, my trusted Tea Lady. Here’s to health! *raises tea cup*
A Half Hour a Day 