Spirit: Who I used to be

As some of you may know if you follow me on twitter, I recently started a vegetable garden! (jumps for joy) I have always wanted to have a garden; even as a child I would fantasize planting vegetables and growing things. The garden really was a little dream come true. This was something I had talked about starting for years and to see it actually come to fruition was a small victory.

However, in order for me to plant anything it was hard work. I had a small manual plow to turn the dirt and dig up the millions of stubborn weeds in the ground. At one point there were so many weeds and thick weed roots that I thought there was a tree stump there. I kept on digging for hours until I finally got usable soil.  

While I was digging, pulling and sweating I started to think about the irony of it all. Here I was busting my hump to make this soil useable while God has been doing the same thing to me for years. I used to be only a glimpse of the person who you see today. The physical transformation is very clear but on the inside I was very different. I was really selfish, impatient, worrisome, prideful and augmentative. Don’t get me wrong I am not perfect now, but those attributes ruled my life. I was always overreacting, experiencing terrible mood swings or making hasty decisions that turned out bad.

There was much plowing of my life soil that needed to be done. As I move from level to level and become wiser daily all the turmoil and hard times was necessary for me to be who I am today. One of my biggest problems was I thought I was always right; this hinders humility. However, learning to take the judgmental eyes off everyone else and put them on me has helped. Changing is a process. I don’t think I have arrived but I know that my soil is closer to being usable. The daily difficulties, the lessons and the things that I have to push through are easier because they are preparing my soil for a wonderful harvest.

I don’t look forward to difficult times but I appreciate them because they are moving me closer to my goals.

How has God changed you? Have you changed from who you used to be? Share your thoughts and comments!

Spirit: Sooooooooooul Music

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun

-King Solomon 

Soul is my favorite genre of music on the planet! I just feel so connected to the artist’s happiness, pain or love when I listen to a great soul song. The music connects us all young and old because we all experience these emotions. The music tells a story. So I wanted to share some soul in some of my favorite old and new soul songs:

Joy

“My love is free”

Love

“Please come home”

Strife

“Back stabbers”

Hope

“Someday we’ll all be free

Catharsis

 “Home town glory” 

Enjoy! 

Love,

Roxi

Food: Why Did I Eat That?

Sugar is addictive. It is one of the biggest culprits to weight gain and obesity. Sugar is one of the first things I tell people to stop eating when I am asked my opinion on how to lose weight. So why, knowing all I know about sugar and food start on that train to sugar town? Well it all started about 4 weeks ago when I was going grocery shopping I decided to pick up a bar of dark chocolate while waiting in the checkout line. That dark chocolate then turned into a box of mango vanilla ice pops several days later. Those ice pops then turned into me eating the biggest slice of carrot cake at work. That was when I had to pump the breaks.

I knew where this train was headed. I had been here before. I am thankful that I eat well most of the time, but with the sugar creeping back in I started to notice that my body would crave something sweet after every meal. This is not normal. I had to put a stop to the madness. To add insult to injury the more I would give into my craving the more often it would come back.

Why do we continue to eat things that we know are bad? I know it seems like a rhetorical question but it’s a real. Just look at me, I fell prey to the sugar demon and I am trying to help people become healthier every day. So why did I eat the BIG slice of carrot cake? Because I wanted to. I wanted that tingly satisfying sensation when I enjoyed the delicious cream cheese icing. That’s all. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.

My concern is how to manage the cravings. My older wiser self knows that if I kept giving into the sugar craving then I would be headed toward obesity. I know better. Something that helps me is drinking a cup of tea post meal. I also stocked up on some pineapple, cantaloupes and mangos. I cut the fruit and leave it in my frige to eat if I get a craving.

So have you successfully managed a food craving in your life? Are you battling a sugar demon? Share your thoughts!

Super Food: Beets

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” ― Hippocrates

My relationship with food has certainly changed over the years. When I was obese I used food as comfort. My eating habits have become better and I now think of food as medicine. The more nutrients and life I eat the more health I will have.

Yesterday in the grocery store I was picking up some of my favorite vegetables when I strolled by the beets. I never was a big beet person, but I remembered Top Chef Contestants making amazing things with beets so I decided to get a few. I am so HAPPY that I did! Yesterday I made a kale beet dish that was AMAZING!  I even chopped a few beets up raw over my salad for lunch. In 24 hours I consumed almost 2 raw beets. Low key think I over did it on the beets because the next morning I woke up to a stomach ache. It wasn’t major but it was noticeable. I called my dad who is my personal homeopathic guru and he told me that beets are SERIOUS cleansing agents and that he often has to dilute his beet juices because of the potency of the juice. Ah ha!

This only intrigued me more (and secretly made me want to eat more beets). I love foods that naturally detoxify your body. Here are some diseases that beets help to elevate:

Anemia

Digestion

Constipation

Piles

Blood circulation

Kidney disorders

Skin care

Dandruff

Gall bladder disorders

Cancer

Heart diseases

Be adventurous and try some beets the next time you are grocery shopping. By them fresh, they taste way better than the canned version. Eat life!

Recipe: Tuna Tartare

We fancy huh? Well a tad. Today’s recipe is SOOOO delicious. If you have never had tuna tartare basically it is diced sushi grade tuna that is mixed with seasonings. I made some tuna tartare for lunch the other day and shared with co-workers and they were in LOVE. So here is the recipe.

8 oz. piece of fresh Tuna

Seasame oil or Olive Oil

Soy Sauce

Sazon Tropical Seasoning (no MSG)

Pepper

Scallions

1 whole avocado

Dice your Tuna into cubed pieces and dice your avocado into cubed pieces as well. In a mixing bowl combine your tuna and avocado. Pour in 1 ½ tablespoons of sesame oil and 1 ½ tablespoons of soy sauce. Add ½ of tablespoon of Sazon seasoning and ¼ tablespoon of pepper. Chop your scallion stalks and add to the mixture. Mix everything till all pieces are evenly coated. Let sit and your refrigerator overnight and serve the next day.

This is DELICIOUS! I hope you enjoy!