Night Stand Beauty Essentials

Make use of additional beauty value of your sleeping hours by including the following "night stand' beauty essentials:

1.  Lip Balm – the skin on your lips needs special care.  Applying lip balm at night allows time to absorb moisturizers.  I prefer EOS Medicated Tangerine.

2.  Hand Cream – works better at nighttime as it has more time to penetrate.  Avon Skin So Soft Hand Balm is a great product to try.

3.  Anti-aging serum – this product can delay the signs of aging, and slow down current signs of aging.

4.  Moisturizer – use a night time moisturizer that firms the skin and neck area.

5.  Eye cream – helps to avoid unattractive fine lines, and plumps/firms the delicate skin around the eye.

6.  Lash Serum - Lash serums are relatively new, but the results are great.  Apply lightly to lash line after using other night time creams.  My favorite drugstore find is Rimmel lash-boosting serum.

7.  Glass of water – helps your skin stay hydrated and gives a healthy glow.

8.  Gratitude Journal – reflecting on the positive aspects of your day improves your mental attitude and reduces stress.

9.  Soundscape music – natural sounds that have psychological benefits.

10.  Disconnect technology – watching television, reading on your table/Kindle, Iphone or computer disturbs your body’s rhythm for sleep.

Brilliant Colors of Cauiflower

Bursting with freshness and flavor, cauliflower comes from the same healthful family as broccoli, collards and kale.  It is available year-round.  Choose a firm head with no blemishes.  Stored stem-side up in a refrigerator crisper drawer it will keep for up to five days.  To prepare, remove the edible leaves and cut off the small base of the stem and discard.  Once cut use cauliflower immediately.

Cauliflower has long been popular in Mediterranean and Indian cuisine for its ability to soak up flavor.  This versatile favorite takes well to any coking method - roasted, pan-fried, sautéed, pureed or simmered. 

Roasted cauliflower takes on a sweet, nutty flavor.  Served plain or with sauces it wins over the most reluctant audience.  Baked with a zesty cheese sauce it's a rich and toasty replacement for mac and cheese.  Pureed in a creamy soup, cauliflower's savory depth will have your family begging for seconds.  Paired with mushrooms and chickpeas in a hearty stew, it's a satisfying meatless entrée.

Cauliflower comes in brilliant colors offering variety in flavor.  Purple is a sweeter and nuttier variety.  Green is a hybrid of cauliflower and broccoli offering the best of both.  Mild and creamy orange is an excellent source for beta-carotene.

Steaming Cauliflower:
Place cut florets of cauliflower head in a steamer basket.  Insert steamer basket in a saucepan with one inch of water in the pan.  On stovetop bring water to boiling.  Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook for 12 - 15 minutes or until tender yet firm.

Roasting Cauliflower:
Cut cauliflower into 1 or 2 inch thick, equal size "trees" and toss with olive oil and seasonings.  Roast in a 420 degree oven for 15 - 30 minutes, turning once.

Happily Ever Laughter

A cheerful heart is a good medicine.  Proverbs 17:22

Humor is the ability to find joy and amusement in life.  Laughter is the body’s way of expressing humor.  Your mind-spirit dimension of health improves through humor by encouraging a more positive and hopeful attitude.  Humor also benefits your social dimension of health, improving and strengthening relationships with friends and family.  Life should be fun, entertaining and an adventure.

Laffirmations:

1.  Start each day with a smile

2.  Read at least one funny story, cartoon, or riddle daily.

3.  Add color to your wardrobe.

4.  Keep a daily journal and record at least three observations, events, or activities that made you smile/laugh.

5.  Watch a funny movie or television sitcom.

 

6.  Bring humor into your conversations.

7.  Share a smile with at least three people every day.

 

8.  Post a picture of yourself smiling/laughing.

 

9.  Use self-depreciation not insults - poke fun at yourself.

 

10.  Find humor in the ordinary.

                                                “Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.”

                                                     “Why do psychics have to ask you your name?”

                              What do you get when you throw a piano down a mine shaft?  You get a flat miner.

 

Fresh Picked Brussels Sprouts

The  sprout is a cultivar of the cabbage family, grown for its edible buds.  The leafy green vegetables are typically 2.5 - 4 inches in diameter and resemble small cabbages.  The Brussels sprout has long been popular in Brussels, Belgium, and may originate and gained its fame from there.  Harvest season is usually September to March, making Brussels sprouts a traditional winter stock vegetable.

How to buy:  Straight-from-the-stalk are freshest.  Some stores have whole stalks, but most sprouts are removed from the stalks and sold in bulk.  Look for sprouts that are dark green, compact and firm.  Smaller sprouts tend to be sweeter.

How to store:  Once off of the stalk, place the sprouts in a plastic bag with a paper towel in the bottom to absorb moisture, and refrigerate up to 5 days.

How to eat:  Sprouts are ready to eat after 12-15 minutes of steaming, but can use a flavor boost.  Try them halved and browned in a skillet with butter and a sprinkling of sea salt.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

  This delicious seasonal vegetable becomes sweet and nutty when sautéed.  For the best flavor and texture, make just prior to serving.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pints brussels sprouts (2 pounds total), trimmed and halved lengthwise
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

        
Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add brussels sprouts, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 1/3 cup water and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and toss to coat. Serve immediately

 

Rebirth And Renewal In 2015

Today is 3/365 = January 3, 2015.  We have been granted a clean slate to write a new chapter in our lives.  We should strive in this New Year to allow our choices to reflect our Hopes, not our Fears.

Your days are your life in miniature.  In living your hours, you are creating your years.  In living your days, you craft your life.  The choices you make today are actually creating your future.  Your spoken words, the thoughts you think, the food you eat and your actions are defining your destiny - shaping what your life stands for and who you are becoming. Small choices lead to giant consequences.  There is no such thing as an unimportant day.

Break free of your Upper-Limit behaviors:

• Worry
• Blame and criticism
• Getting sick
• Squabbling
• Hiding significant feelings
• Not keeping agreements
• Not speaking significant truths to the relevant people
• Deflecting or ignoring

Consciously allow yourself to make more room in your awareness for abundance, love and success.  Use the resources of your whole being and not just your mind = Zone of Genius!  Enjoy your life living in the full luminosity of your fully expressed potential.

Happy New Year Genius!!!!