So I recently learned of my close friend being newly diagnosed with breast cancer. She is the 3rd person in just a couple of weeks of my friends and family who have been newly diagnosed with some form of cancer. It's scary how quick these illnesses creep into our lives and rock our world. All I can do is send my loved ones Positive Healing thoughts and prayers that they will find the strength within to fight these cancers. What this news has also done is strengthen my belief in creating a natural healthy environment for my family as best I can. My family and I are worth sacrifices such as giving up sugar because of the dangers that it can cause. So as I process my way through all this information, I felt like I needed a bit of comfort food. So today's breakfast, well actually lunch, was Slow Cooker Oatmeal that I cooked overnight so that it was ready first thing in the morning. It was like waking up to a warm hug.
Positively Me,
Diana
Slow Cooker Oatmeal
1 Cup Steel Cut Oats (you can get them in bulk food aisle of natural food store. I paid .99 a lb at Richard's Foodporium)
4 cups of Water
1/2 cup of Half & Half
1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
Slow Cooker Liner- Not necessary but made it alot easier for cleanup
Heat oven to 375. Toast oats in oven for 15 min to help bring out nutty flavor of oats. Line Slow cooker with Slow Cooker liner. Add toasted oats, Water and Half & Half and Vanilla. Turn Slow Cooker on Low and cook for at least 8 hours. Stir well prior to serving. This will make at least 3-4 servings. I added 1 packet of Truvia for a single bowl of oatmeal. You can use Stevia, Truvia or Agave syrup to help sweeten the oatmeal. If I have blueberries on hand I add them to my oatmeal. You can add whatever fruit or nuts you would like. Enjoy!!
So now that I've become more of an Earth Mama, I have been recycling as much as I can. Luckily, our garbage service has recycling days every couple of weeks so we recycle our plastics, aluminum & glass. We live close to the elementary school that recycles paper and gets money in return for their weight of recycled material. We take our paper there so we are giving back to the school as well as the earth. After I am done using my juicer, I use the leftover pulp to fertilize my garden. I do this with my coffee grounds and other organic material. I recently learned that baking soda is a natural ant killer. I haven't had a problem with the ants after I sprinkled baking soda in my garden. So as I think of green (which happens to be my favorite color) tonight's vegetable for dinner is grilled zucchini.
Naturally Me,
Diana
Grilled Zucchini
1 Zucchini halved from top to bottom
Olive oil
Pepper
Salt (tonight I used Himalayan Pink Salt)
Coat both sides of each slice of zucchini with olive oil. Sprinkle pepper and salt. If using Pink Salt use sparingly as a little goes a long way. Grill for 8-10 minutes flipping halfway. Enjoy!
As I sit here drinking my Beet, Cucumber & Pineapple juice, I can't help but reflect on how far I have come in the last few years. I have gone from Biscuits and Gravy to a fresh organic veggie mentality. It's amazing how this transformation has given me strength in so many ways. I feel healthier, stronger, sexier and just empowered overall. It's been a slow gradual transition but truly a rewarding experience. Day by day, I learn new things and try to fill my soul with happiness.
I am truly thankful for the support of my family, friends and Dr Scott for helping me get my life back on the right path, naturally. My husband has been there for all of the ups and downs through our almost 14 yr marriage. I am blessed that he is my partner in life and that we have our beautiful daughter to make our family complete. It is their love and support that helps make my life rewarding, fulfilling and worth fighting my dis-ease for.
Naturally Me,
Diana
Beet, Cucumber and Pineapple Juice
1/2 Fresh Beet or small beet cut to fit juicer (preferably organic)
6 inches or so of Cucumber (Preferably organic)
About a cup of fresh chunks of Pineapple
Juice all ingredients in juicer. I did mine on low speed with the machine I have.
Enjoy! I serve mine in one of my special wine glasses to really enjoy it.
So I had made a veggie frittata on Sunday for my breakfast on Monday. My husband tried a sample of it and told me that it was awesome and would like it for dinner one night. So tonight was Frittata night at the house for dinner. I made two different ones for us. Kayla had ham, mushroom and Mexican blended cheeses. Kevin and I had our frittatas with mushrooms, swiss chard, red onions, green peppers, red peppers, garlic & goat cheese feta. They both came out sooo scrumptious! Kayla said it was the best first frittata she's ever had. :) So this is my version:
2 eggs + 2 egg whites
1 garlic clove minced
1/8 cup red pepper diced (more or less to your taste)
1/8 cup green pepper diced (more or less to your taste)
1/8 cup Red onion diced or less (to your taste)
few crumbles of goat cheese feta or other favorite cheese
3-4 mushrooms sliced and then cut in half
1 cup of fresh chopped spinach or swiss chard
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
In an oven safe skillet/frying pan sautee olive oil and garlic over medium heat for 2 min. In small bowl beat eggs until frothy. Add red & green peppers, onions, mushroom. Sautee for about 5 min and add spinach or swiss chard. Sautee until cooked down. Pour egg mixture over veggies. Cook over medium heat until frittata sets maybe about 5 min. Add goat cheese crumbles. Remove from stove top and then broil until fully cooked. Roughly about 5 min. I used the bottom rack so I wouldn't burn the eggs. Enjoy!
For Kayla's Frittata I used:
2 eggs + 2 egg whites
2 Tbs of olive oil
2 slices of ham cut into bite size pieces
3 mushrooms sliced and halved
handful of Mexican cheese
Sautee the mushrooms and ham with olive oil until the mushrooms are soft. Add egg mixture. Add cheese. Cook over medium heat until frittata sets maybe about 5 min. Remove from stove top and broil until fully cooked.
Well I decided to start an online blog for a few reasons. I was newly diagnosed with MS last year and have made a huge transformation in getting myself from unhealthy to healthy and even 45 pounds lighter within a year. I have done so as naturally as possible through the wonderful support of my holistic physician, Scott Damanti, DC of the Natural Health Improvement Center in Tampa. I have often shared tips, recipes, ideas and other things that have made me healthy with my friends, family & co-workers. I also love to cook, take pictures and be as thrifty as possible. So my blogs will incorporate a lot of these things in hopes of sharing some of my knowledge with others to live a healthier lifestyle.
It's amazing how much of an Earth Mama I have become without even realizing it. I now try to be as organic as possible, even when I garden, when before I really couldn't care one way or another. I was never taught the true importance of food and how it affects our wonderfully complex bodies. I always ate whatever I wanted, never really truly knowing how it could affect my health.
Some would look at MS being this horrible thing to be diagnosed with. Yes it is a dis-ease, but it is because of this diagnosis that brought me to my wake up call that I needed. It was way past time to pay attention to my body and change what I was doing and do it as natural and safe as possible. I have done so willingly and feel stronger and better that I have in my life. I have a beautiful family whom I love very much. Not only have I made these changes with my eating habits with myself, but with both my husband and my daughter. Having this support system made a huge difference in our overall health.
Lastly, I am a huge believer in the Power of Positive Thinking. This belief has helped me overcome many obstacles including my diagnosis. I live my life with this belief and try to spread my positivity as frequently as I can. I will be sharing this energy through my blogs.
Positively Me,
Diana
