Category Archives: Self-Health Survival Guides

Find Your Body’s Perfect Fuel In 4 Days

Day after day, many of us eat our meals without even considering whether or not our food choices are the perfect ones for us. These choices are supposed to give our bodies the fuel they need to do their very important jobs—from standing up to moving around to fighting off harmful bacteria and germs. Doesn’t […]

Oatmeal Zucchini Carrot Morning Glory Muffins: A Whole Grain Treat Low in Added Sugar

Here we are, halfway through September, and I just realized I’ve gone the entire summer without a single post on tackling the bane of many a gardener’s season: the pervasive, prodigious, ever-so-fertile zucchini. Whether you’re a home gardener yourself or you have friends that grow, chances are at this time of the year you’re pretty […]

What Will Age Fifty Bring?

Today’s my birthday! And since it’s the last one before I hit the half-century mark next year, I couldn’t help but wonder, what will I need to know about my health at the Big Five-O? After a dive into my self-health education resources, I made a list of subjects I plan to spend some time […]

Salmon Nicoise Salad with Herbed Dijon Dressing

It’s been a weird year for growing edibles in my part of the world. Between the hailstorms we had at the beginning of the season, midsummer cold snaps and atypical rain, and dicey air quality thanks to the many ranging fires, this may be the strangest growing season I’ve ever seen. Obviously a psychic fairy […]

How to Chew Like a Pro

The act of chewing doesn’t seem very complicated. Open your jaw, close your jaw, open your jaw, close your jaw. Do that until the chunks of food in your mouth are small enough to swallow and make it to your stomach, and you’re golden. Next task, please. Not so fast! It turns out there’s more […]

Mango Avocado Salad Rolls with Crunchy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Salad rolls, spring rolls, summer rolls, crystal rolls. Whatever you want to call them, I call them delicious! Honestly, I don’t know if there is a “correct” English translation for the name of these colorful, crunchy concoctions. I’ve referred to them as all of the above, sometimes within the same week. For today’s post, however, […]

How to Get Unconfused About Nutrition

One of the habits I’ve developed in my self-health venturing is browsing online headlines for nutrition-related topics. As I was doing just that this morning, I couldn’t help but notice how confusing the subject of nutrition continues to be for anyone trying to figure it all out. For instance, there was a bevy of conflicting […]

Fruit Galette: Pie’s Free-form (and Much Less Fussy) Cousin

I’ve always been a pie person, ever since I was a kid. In fact, when I was growing up, much of my family preferred pie over cake, and it was not uncommon to have “birthday pie” in honor of someone’s special day. I always ate mine with milk poured over it, an unusual custom I […]

Isn’t Sweating the Pits?

It’s summer. It’s hot. And you’re sweating. At some point your inner voice may pose a very serious question: “Isn’t sweating the pits?!” You may be thinking that was rhetorical, but there actually is an answer to the question, and it’s twofold. In one sense, yes, sweating is the pits, though not nearly as “pittish” […]

Buttermilk Fried Chicken: Elevate Your Summer Picnic with a Healthier Version of a Classic

Few foods are as American, or picnic worthy, as fried chicken. Yet most people never even consider making it at home. I get it. Deep-frying is daunting. It can be messy, smoky, and dangerous if not done properly. Plus picking up ready-made fried chicken at a store or restaurant is just so darn convenient. Outsourcing […]

How to Step Up Your Walking Game and Get in Shape Faster

While some people think walking is too simple and doesn’t offer the same benefits of a more challenging workout, this activity can be a real fat burner if done properly. Plus there are many ways to step up your walking game, so you can get in shape even faster. Here are just a few ideas […]

Fresh Figs and Ricotta with Thyme Honey and Cracked Pepper: An Easy, Elegant Ending to a Summer Meal

I grew up on a little island in British Columbia. Life there was, and still is, different than my life in the “real world” down here in Colorado. There they have a thing called island time, where everyone seems to just amble along without much rush. It sometimes drives my type-A personality bonkers, but nevertheless […]

Summer in a Bowl: Andalusian-Style Gazpacho with Avocado Cream

I have an incredibly soft spot for a perfectly sun-ripened tomato, plucked fresh from the vine or market stall during peak harvest. To me it is the epitome of summer, and I am overjoyed now that we are really getting into that time of year, with all its colorful, sweet tomato bounty. Usually I keep […]

Why Is It Harder for Women to Lose Weight Than Men?

If I had a nickel for every time a fellow female asked the question above, I’d have a whole lotta nickels. Of course, this wouldn’t make me rich or anything, but I have been meaning to start my nickel collection. ;) Enough about nickels already. When a man and a woman both commit to eating […]

Thought You Didn’t Like Lentils? Try Savory Chicken and Lentils

How about a recipe for savory chicken and lentils in a mouthwatering wine-mushroom sauce? Did I get your attention? I’m the first to admit that a plate of lentils didn’t used to thrill me. Post-WWII, my mother made rather plain lentil soup/porridge at least once a week. Though my taste buds have since become much […]

Compound Butters: The Best Condiments You’re Not Using

People ask me all the time why food at restaurants tastes so much better than what they cook at home. Besides the obvious fact that professional chefs are just better at cooking than most home cooks (it is their job, after all), one of the real secrets, I can guarantee you, is butter. Lots of […]

Things We Should Have Asked About Vasectomy

Nearly thirteen years ago, my husband and I made a decision that seemed like the logical thing to do. Our youngest son had just been born, and we were content with the way our family looked. We decided we were done having kids. So we did what we had to to make sure our decision […]

Herbed Chicken Parmesan Patties—Power Packed and Portable

Like many people, I feel best when I obtain the brunt of my nourishment from foods high in protein and fat, rather than from carbohydrate-rich meals or snacks. Proteins and especially fats seem to keep me going far longer and leave me feeling energized, focused, and satiated without experiencing a need to eat again for […]

Weight Loss and the Lost Art of Folk Medicine

I just love opening up to a random page in D.C. Jarvis’s book Folk Medicine: A New England Almanac of Natural Health Care from a Noted Vermont Country Doctor. Every time I do, I come across some fascinating piece of information that makes me think, “Really?! I had no idea. How interesting!” Then I completely […]