Oh my sweet potato

Tis the season I suppose, but lately I have been having a love affair with sweet potatoes.  I can't say I have ever been a huge fan of these tubers, especially if they weren't loaded down with marshmallows, brown sugar, butter or any other kind of condiment to make them yummy. Are marshmallows a condiment?

However, for the past couple of months I have been receiving a continuous supply of these potatoes in my CSA box.  What is a CSA box?  Well, it is a "community support agriculture" box that comes loaded full of fresh veggies from a local farm. I will be blogging on my CSA next time.

So, with all these potatoes gathering in my kitchen, I knew I had to get beyond the sp fries and bland plain potato.  With that said, I have been on high alert to every sweet potato recipe that has crossed my path and the following are my two current favorites shared by fellow health coaches.

Sweet Potato with goat cheese
So simple to make and so satisfying to eat. Once you have cooked your potato, you can eat it whole or cut it up into pieces.  Goat cheese is a strong cheese, so a little goes a long way and there is no need for any other additions except for you choice of herb (if desired).  This is also great tossed with some fresh, organic lettuce greens.

Sweet Potato Custard

This was so easy to make. I used left over cooked sweet potatoes and my Blendtec blender to whip it up.  An hour in the fridge and presto, it was ready.

My kids LOVED it, a little went a long way and 2 or 3 bites was enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Combine a cooked, mashed sweet potato with 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg and a dash of cloves. Blend till smooth.  Add stevia (if needed) to taste.  Eat warm or cool for an 1 hour in the fridge.

Tonight I came across another recipe that I am excited to try.  I have been trying to figure out what to do with the collard greens that came in my CSA box and this is perfect.  

Almond Chicken Soup with Sweet Potatoes, Collard Greens and Ginger.

http://tinyurl.com/7w2ehrt  for the recipe

So, with Thanksgiving right around the corner what are your favorite sweet potato recipes that do not involve the dish looking like Mt. Everest during a tremendous snow blizzard?

Me and My Queen Bee

Do you ever have one of those days where no matter what, you just can't be in a happy mood?  You know what I am talking about.  Your spouse looks at you funny and you want to scratch his eyes out.  Your child makes a comment about how you folded his shirts wrong and you want to take him and fold him up in the clothes and drop the whole bundle in the dumpster.

I could go on and on about all the little incidences that really got on my nerves yesterday but that may lead some to think I need a visit to the loonie bin. I really don't know what came over me.  I was so in such a funk that I actually, for a brief moment in time was considering home schooling.  I know, I know,  you are laughing if you know me at all.

Coming home after school pick up, I was truly disappointed that it was only 4 p.m. and not exactly the time of day to uncork the bottle. Instead, I went on the hunt for candy.  Me? Candy?  Don't think I didn't want to scream really loud when I remembered that I had tossed all the Halloween candy. I could of sworn I had hidden some, but when my 9 yr. old asked me why I was head first, deep down in the dirty laundry basket, I knew I had to move on.

Opening the cabinet I came across my friend....Queen Bee Balance Tea.  How did I forget her?  She is who I turn to when I need a pick me up or just a relaxing moment or two to myself. However, I really never have paid all that much attention to what she had to say.

While I waited for the water to boil, I took a moment to read the outside of the box and realized I had made the right choice after all.

"Soothing flavor that helps make adjusting to difficult cycles easier, and the inclination to embrace them just a little more likely."

The Pencil Power Within

My last post was a lot of fun and very much tongue and cheek.  I would like to continue the trend, however, I have been very unsettled over events these last few weeks.

I want to shout at the top of my lungs, "what's wrong with people?".  I am continuously flabbergasted at the way people treat each other in both talk and actions. Are people really so consumed with themselves that they cannot see the mark they are leaving behind?

What passes through someones mind when they speak harshly and down to a child simply because they do not agree with a child's choice of costume?

How is it possible to be so consumed with hate for an ex-spouse that one does not see the damage being done to the children one so professes to be looking out for?

Does harboring jealousy and resentment towards another person because it is not going their way help that person be a friendlier, happier person to those around them?

These pictures I have inserted along the way, came to me via an email during these past weeks regarding the power of the pencil and the pencil within all of us.

Our primary food is so important and by not taking caring of it we do damage to our health and build up all the emotions listed above.  How very sad, we all deserve better.

 I will end this post with the words from the email, but remember this before you speak and act.  What kind of pencil will I be today and what type of mark will I leave behind.

A PENCIL MAKER TOLD THE PENCIL 5 IMPORTANT LESSONS BEFORE PUTTING HIM AWAY IN THE BOX:

1.EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL ALWAYS LEAVE A MARK.

2. YOU CAN ALWAYS CORRECT THE MISTAKES YOU MAKE.

3. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS WHAT IS INSIDE OF YOU.

4.IN LIFE, YOU WILL GO UNDER PAINFUL SHARPENINGS, WHICH WILL ONLY MAKE YOU BETTER.

5. TO BE THE BEST PENCIL, YOU MUST ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE HELD AND GUIDED BY THE HANDS THAT HOLD YOU.