Cocoa Tomatoes

I just discovered the cocoa tomato.  I was shopping at my local Food Lion and saw some small round things near some vine tomatoes.  I walked over and saw that they were cocoa tomatoes.  I had never heard of them before or seen them.  I bought 4 to start with just to try with my salad on Saturday.  When I got home I bit into one.  It was so sweet and juicy.  I added a little sea salt and I was hooked. 

Well I went back and got about 12 more.  They are juicy, hearty and just so good.  I have not put one in the salad yet.  So far I have eaten them like apples.  So good!  These at my grocery store and being shopped from Canada.  After doing a little research they are a European tomato eaten mainly in Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland and the Mediterranean.  It is a very earthy tomato and the color goes from green to brown as it ripens. 

These cocoa tomatoes have definitely been a treat!  My daughter the picky eater won't try one because of the color. This is the same child who will not eat purple lettuce.  It must be green and her tomatoes must be red.  She does not know what she is missing out on.

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. ~~Unknown~~

Making a Better Choice

So many times I think that women can be driven by their urges when it comes to food.  I know that it is that way for me sometimes.  Not always, but it seems that I know that chip or that piece of candy is not the best option but I go for it any way.  I want to make a better choice and of recent I have.  One of the things that has helped me had been participating in a small group study using the Daniel Plan.  It has made me think and be very aware of what I choose to eat and then makes me accountable to others in my group.  It has made me shop better and make better choices in the grocery store.  When all at the office may be eating candy to get through the day I have been able to resist and pull out my avocado instead.

Our group has finished the study and the key is to keep going.  To keep making the right choices when it comes to food.  Our health depends on it.  My health depends on it.  Food has to be the right choice to help my body get better and maintain.  I am making a better choice.

On this Sunday morning I am beginning with a detox drink that I have seen all over the internet for years and it works.  I have drank it before but not in a long while.  It is supposed to help with turning those taste buds around too.  I make a tea and drink it warm.  3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, juice of one lemon, a shake of Cheyenne pepper and 2 tablespoons of raw honey.  I add hot water to that in my favorite coffee cup and ta-da--- detox tea!  This I drink on an empty stomach to start the day. 

Breakfast will be 2 boiled eggs, a banana and 2 small cocoa tomatoes.  Breakfast of champions!

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. ~~Unknown~~

An Afternoon Away

Yesterday was my birthday so I took off today and tomorrow from work.  I was tired and wanted some ME time.  I hardly get any of that....just to lay on the sofa and do nothing..resting is good for the tired body.  Sometimes it is not even rest I want.  I just want to be able to do something I consider fun or rewarding...like posting on my blogs.  They have been sadly neglected but I am catching up.  Today I woke up before the alarm went off.  That is an everyday occurrence.  I did manage to go back to sleep.  Now that never happens.  I woke up again at 9 and that is a rare occurrence for me when it if normally 5AM everyday!

After coffee with my daughter at Starbucks, I headed to the DMV to do the one thing I had to do today....get the car tags renewed.  It was painless and unbelievably fast!  I was in and out I 10 minutes.  After that a quick stop at the grocery store to get a few things. I did get some tart cherry juice and chili ingredients.  I read about the tart cherry juice and I tried it just on a whim because I had been having leg pain.  I first went to the doctor and after checking my blood she said I was very vitamin deficient in potassium and D.  So she added those supplements to my pill regime. This was a few months ago.  I saw little change with the added supplements.....just a little better.  I felt tremendously better with drinking tart cherry juice twice daily.  It really makes a difference.



The benefits of tart cherry juice are many but for me it reduces the leg pain caused by my statin drugs.  It may even be reducing the cause of many illnesses...inflammation. Whatever it is doing, it works and it has made me almost pain free.  It is hell to feel achy and sore with every step.

After getting home I watched  a movie, ate lunch and just took it easy. I feel a nap coming in my very near future.  Lazy days! They do a body good!

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. ~~Unknown~~

Early Thursday

It is about 5:45 AM now and I have been awake for hours.  I woke up about 2am and have been awake ever since. I decided to do something constructive.  I made dinner for today.  We are having mung beans with spinach and coconut milk over rice.  I did decide to add some beef tips so I browned them and added them.  I work today at 11 so by 10 dinner will have been cooking for 5 hours in the crock pot.. It will almost be done.  The dog and the cat have been my constant companiones this morning. 

I did eat a very early breakfast.  I had an apple and two eggs fried in extra virgin coconut oil.  That is being topped off with a cuppa dandelion tea.  I also loaded the dishes in the dish washer.  My eyes are now feeling heavy.  I put in Independence Day so I do believe it will be watching me in about 15 minutes, as opposed to me watching it. 

I do know I need to try to sleep now a few more hours because it will be a very long day. 8 pm is a long time to be awake when the start of the day was at 2am.  Peace out for now.....nap times and tea are calling me.

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. ~~Unknown~~

Castor Oil: I'm In!

I have heard all the hubbub about castor oil and I have decided to try it.  I have only heard good things like it actually will help your hair grow longer and that it is a superior moisturizer.  It is even supposed to make gray hair go away; as in reversing the graying process.  I am all for that. 

Online there are all sorts of castor oil challenges.  I think because it is to so thick that I will use it about 3 times a week for several months and see if there is indeed a difference.  It is thick but I can always thin it with a little olive oil. 

Let the good hair begin to come in.  It is castor oil for me for the next several months.

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. ~~Unknown~~

Beach Serenity

Whenever I need  little piece of mind I always find it at the beach.  This year I am determined to make it to the beach more than once.  I only went once in 2014. So far this year I have been 3 times!  Making some headway!  I went out to Folly Beach this morning and it was quiet, cold and serene.  There were a few people out but not many.  The wind was doing a constant blow.  I was glad I had my sweater wrap with me.  It felt good and it did a great job of insolating me from the cold. 

The wind and the roar of the ocean cleared my mind.  My spirit felt renewed and the freshness in the air was better than anything found in the city. A beach town in the early morning is very quiet.  There are people around but the ones I saw today looked very unique.  Some would even say savory characters.  Once on the beach it was one family, a few runners and a few dog walkers.  There was even a group of 6 Japanese men working with 2 women on a photoshoot near the Folly Pier.  Odd because I know those two models had to be cold in those little tiny swimsuits. 

I walked.  I scanned the horizon and watched the clouds change color as the sun tried to rise.  It was serenity.  It was peace.  It was me.  The ocean called to all things at unrest n my soul and took then down to the deep, dark depths.  Then it gave me a gift.  A starfish.  A starfish just for me.  My soul loves the sea and it loves me!

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. ~~Unknown~~