Are You Ready For An Oil Change?

Recently, there has been a lot of chatter in the media on the health benefits of Coconut Oil.  How can this be when Coconut Oil is considered a saturated fat?  Fats and oils are classified into three categories:  saturated, monosaturated and polyunsaturated.  They can also be classified as short-chain, medium chain or long chain fatty acids.  When three fatty acids are combined they make a triglyceride.  Most of the dietary fats and oils that we eat are from animals and plants which are made up of long-chain triglycerides.  Can you believe almost 100% of the fats we eat are LCT? 


Coconut oil, however, is a medium chain triglyceride (MCT) that is easy to digest and absorb.  Without going into much more detail below are some of the benefits that Dr. Fife, CN, ND mentions in his book The Coconut Oil Miracle.  This is an excellent book and I purchased it on Amazon.com for a reasonable price.  


Benefits of Coconut Oil - lose weight - prevent heart disease, cancer and diabetes, arthritis and many other degenerative diseases - strengthen the immune system - beautify skin and hair - improve digestion.  


According to Dr. Fife, the recommended daily dose of MCT for an adult is 3 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil but that many have seen great results with as little as 1 to 2 tablespoons a day.  You can easily incorporate this amount into your diet by replacing cooking oils with coconut oil, adding to rice or pasta dishes, adding it to beverages, applied directly to the skin or ingesting by the spoonful.  I have been adding this to steamed vegetables for extra flavor, it is delicious!  


Here is a recipe from Dr. Fife's book for Coconut Cookies that was excellent.  Give it a try!


Coconut Cookies


3 cups flour (I used whole wheat)
1 1/2 cups grated or shredded coconut
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups coconut oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar (I replaced 1/2 with Agave)
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract (or vanilla)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.   Mix together flour, coconut, baking powder and salt and set aside.  Blend coconut oil, eggs, sugar and almond extract.  Mix wet and dry ingredients together.  Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Flatten balls to about 1/2 inch thickness.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until pale tan.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.  Each cookie contains 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil.  Makes 36 to 40 cookies.


I purchase Spectrum's unrefined Virgin Olive Oil which is manufactured in low temperatures and uses no chemicals.   This is not an inexpensive product (about $8.00 for 14 fl. oz) so I purchase large amounts when it goes on sale.  

Organic Grapes - Spider Alert!

Do you purchase organic produce?  Then pay attention!  

I try to buy organic foods whenever possible and  recently bought a bag of Anthony's organic grapes from the grocery store.  Before serving the grapes, I rinsed them and suddenly noticed that something was moving around.  I just about jumped out of my socks when I saw this gangly black spider.  Quickly, I put it in a jar and tried to find out what kind of spider it was by looking at pictures on the web.  Not sure, but it did look a lot like a Black Widow.  What do you think?

Here is an actual Black Widow Spider

I wish I had a better picture

This is the bag of grapes that I purchased

Evidently, it is common to find spiders, especially Black Widow Spiders, in organic produce.  This is the tradeoff when buying organic produce. The spiders eat insect pests that are found in grapes and the presence of spiders doesn't damage or poison the grapes.  Grapes are chilled before transportation.  The chilling causes the spiders to become dormant until they make their way to the grocery stores and then to us consumers.  

***An important safety precaution for everyone to practice is to wash grapes under warm running water.  If a spider falls into the sink, flush it down the drain. Spiders (and their webs) should be treated with caution because they both can be poisonous.  The good news is that despite their potential lethality, no one has actually died from a Black Widow bite since 1960.  

FYI, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), grapes made the "dirty dozen" list as one of the highest produce products contaminated by pesticides.  (See next post)...

Get the Most out of Your Workout!

Don't miss this great promotion that Shaklee has to offer! Our family uses all of these sports products. I use the Performance when I workout at the gym and also on hot days when I am working outside in my garden. Both my sons play hockey and they say there is a noticeable difference in their level of endurance that these products give them during their hockey games.


Check out this link to learn more:  http://connect.shakleeuniversity.com/p60359877/

See below for details. For more information contact Pam McDonald at 651-635-9300

http://pamtonymcdonald.myshaklee.com

tpmcdaaa@comcast.net

Dinner is Served!

DINNER IS SERVED!

I've been part of a Dinner Club with five of my high school girlfriends for about 19 years now. Initially, we would get together for lunch with our young kids. We were so busy keeping track of our kids, however, that we didn't get to visit with each other. We decided to nix our lunches and meet for dinner with our spouses every 3 months. Not only has our Dinner Club taught us how to cook new recipes, it has also kept our friendships connected. This year has been especially significant for us girls because we are all celebrating our 50th birthdays. As you can see from the pictures, we try not to take ourselves too seriously and enjoy having fun!

I encourage you to start a dinner club of your own.

SHAKLEE GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Congratulations to Karel Standish for being the first winner for the Shaklee Giveaway!

Karel wins a one month supply of Shaklee's Vitalizer.

Thanks to all who participated in this Giveaway offer.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

It is time to celebrate and honor our mothers who have taught us so many valuable life lessons. Here is a picture of my mother (Vernie), sister (Laura) and me. As a single parent, my mother had to overcome much adversity and make decisions that were not always popular yet she did not complain. Many women of her generation purservered through difficult situations and set great examples for their own children.

My sister and I, along with our families, took my mom out for brunch today. We played a game and everyone wrote on a piece of paper something that they had learned from their own mother. We then guessed who had said what statement. It was a simple but fun task and made Mother's Day more meaningful. As a mother, I hope that my children can look back one day and say they had learned valuable life lessons from me.

Some life lessons that my sister and I learned from our mother are listed below.

• Trust in God to lead the way
• Don't compromise your beliefs
• Work hard
• Eat as healthy as possible
• Don't feel sorry for yourself
• Put your family first
• Be kind to everyone
• Laugh even if you don't feel like it
• Especially be able to laugh at yourself

I wish all of you mothers a Happy Mother's Day!

Below is a poem that mother had put up in our house as I was growing up that I think you will enjoy.

Children Learn What They Live
By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Copyright © 1972 by Dorothy Law Nolte

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How to win it...

1. Become a follower of my blog (Healthily Ever After) ... 1 entry

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3. Blog or facebook with a link to my blog...2 entries

Deadline is May 13th. I will post the winner on my blog for all to see.