Just A Tip(OUTSPOKEN_DIVA's Favorite Recipes)

Ok, this post won't contain recipes. It will contain my favorite nutritional tips to follow. I like these because they are fact-based and also fun.

The company, Diet Solutions teaches me so much. Sometimes I wonder how I maintained life & business without their help. They love visual aids & if they do not have a visual aid, they do the research to obtain one.

Have you ever wondered how to measure recommended portions of food? Thanks to DS's research, here is a guide to help.

The USDA page, ChooseMyPlate.gov gives the most common sense tips. I feel a lot of care is given to this page to make nutrition and eating right as simple as possible.

Then there are food tips and inspirations found in everyday life. Pay attention to your timelines on social media. Look at the article after the one you just read. Notice a side ad on the side of your email. Sometimes you see a gem of a better life.

So, these are my most favorite food & nutrition tips. So much if pushed at us about eating right, it can get complicated. It as always great to find fact-based & fun tips. Because Nobody likes tough things to chew on.

As Always Talking to You In Adult Terms

2017, Beyond My Thoughts

Dear Lord,

Is it any way that I could not experience my highest high & lowest lows in the time frame, in the future? If this could be thine will.

In Your Son's Name,

Amen!!!

Hey, I am specific when I ask God for stuff. And not wanting to feel my highest of highs and the lowest of lows at the same moment has to be a specific request. I feel I need to be eased down off highs & slowly lifted up when I'm low. And the only person who can do that is The Lord.

I had highs & lows like everyone else. No humans know all about my 2017, but me. My 2017 was started back in 2016. I met some nutrition professors at the Texas Veggie Fair and I became their book reviewer.  One of my dream jobs is to teach nutrition on the college level, so this was a networking dream come true. I had 5 textbooks to review by mid-September. Yes like me, you're thinking because I Love reading this should be easy. Well, most of the days were easy. But on top of my business, blog, and household roles by February, I was a little overwhelmed. So, I had to regroup. My first thought was to put the blog on hiatus. Well, as you know that didn't happen. My leisure reading took the biggest hit. I failed my reading challenges. I was too tired to read for fun a lot this year. My social media post showed I was not leisurely reading as much, too. Grammar Check, Anyone? The Reading Challenge for next year is to finish reading all open books from this year.

Dru Hill in
Desoto

My social life took a little swipe. I didn't go out as much this year. And when I did go out, I was drained, afterward. I'm an ambivert (introverted extrovert or extroverted introvert) & I had never felt so empty from being social. And who had the time to recharge, but after each outing, I slowly would down. I've played Cinema Catch Up a few times this year. In my 20s, I was the Movie Queen. Well, I have to accept, I'm over 30. LoL, There is already planned to play it again in January 2018. I also had to let a few TV shows go. Sorry Supergirl, Jane the Virgin, & Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., maybe I'll play catch up one day.

Had to get some
Readers

Then October came. I was in a comfortable groove. The podcast I was on was being released. I was going to this year's Texas Veggie Fair to see the professors unveil their books, that had my handy work & name in. I was Ready. Then on the 17th, my brother, G died. The day we buried him was the same date as the fair. The night before, Science Stuff with Steph sent me a direct message that the episode was being released the next week. Highs were moving during a Low. My emotions were having a field day. Of course, I didn't go to the fair. Do I really need to see people praise "my work" to know "my work" is good? Validation Feels Good but not a Requirement. Saying goodbye to my brother's remains was a Requirement. My life requires closure. The closure is Good. The Blerdette TV interview with Science Stuff with Steph was different. There were personal work, love, & tears in that project. I needed to be present for that. The first day I left the house after the funeral was the day the podcast episode was released. I cried while listening to it. Happy & Grief tears just flowed, like my life was flowing at the time. The Good, the Bad, and the In-Between was still going. Gosh, I REALLY needed that day.

Fill in fulfilling business projects, getting a horrible spring flu, a few cute dates here and there, a monster plant on our property, favorite brunch spots closing, seeing & liking Wonder Woman early, seeing Dru Hill twice, enjoying their holiday album, and finally the fact that I was in my right mind for every moment in it, 2017 was 2017. And Dear God, I was present for a year, that was Beyond My Thoughts. And that is the Most Important thing to take from 2017. 

As Always Talking to You In Adult Terms!!!

This February 2015

It baffles me that February is Heart Month and we cheering Go Red all the while will celebrate Black History Month with Soul Food spreads & luncheons at work, church, etc. Shouldn't while we are celebrating the accomplishments & achievements of history makers in our culture, we might educate our future about healthier ways of cooking the food black enslaved ancestors? The information is out there. Many of us cook soul food dishes based on r recipes at home.

I remember a few years ago a church I know was celebrating its Go Red Sunday. The ladies had on pretty red dresses, suits, hats & other accessories. Many of the gentlemen had red ties & pocket squares commemorate the day. The Nurses Guild was set up to give free blood pressure readings and pass out heart-healthy pamphlets after service. Also after service, the church partook in a family-style meal cooked by all the families. I saw what was being served and wanted to scream.. Beans with ham hock, greens & cabbage with fatback swimming in it with cornbread that almost looked like pound cake were served with fried chicken & pork chops. Then I overheard one lady ask the lady who made the beans,
      "I thought you didn't cook with ham hock anymore".
     "I don't cook with it at my house. I use smoked turkey wings. But you know these folks ain't trying to eat nothing like that", the bean maker said.
I want to cuss at that point. Did she poll everyone in the church and they said no to the healthier recipes? No, she didn't poll anybody. She didn't want to go out on a limb and help the congregation's heart, blood pressure & waistline with a lighter fare. She would rather serve this

and not rock the boat by bringing this.

I bet the Nurse's Guild saw some very high BP readings that Sunday. 

Well, readers, I am rocking the boat. As a nutritional consultant, I am tired of being perplexed by this occurrence. What food people put in their bodies is my business. So this February, I am posting healthier Soul Food recipes on this blog. All recipes will be foods I know how to make personally provided from sources I trust. I will even have meatless & dessert posts also. I'm not saying Soul Food is bad. It's not but we need to learn to cook it in lighter ways. Black people are not slaves anymore. Black people or anyone for that matter, don't have to eat like slaves anymore either.

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

10 Years Ago…

Fruit Plate with Pineapple Yogurt

I became a business owner on the 2^nd. I own a small Medical Nutrition company. I provide eating plans and nutritional education to people with diseases such as Cancer, Cardiac Diseases, Diabetes & HIV/AIDS. I do some work in Weight Loss (family, friends, or in conjunction with other diseases) but not as much as I used to. 1) Being plus size (still losing weight) it gets a tad weird to explain. 2) Most importantly, people are too fickle and want quick & easy. That aspect make my money not stable. Oh yes the pictures are sample of the meals I have made.

Low-Sodium Beef Stew

I wanted to be depressed about it because this was not "the dream". When I graduated almost a year before I had plans to work for WIC, Head Start or a local hospital. Then within the year go back to school and get my Masters in Dietetics and become a Registered Dietitian. By now I should be working on my PH. D and working towards being a college professor of Nutrition at an area college.

Pecan Crusted Catfish (Hattie's Inspired)

Then after talking about it with my BFF (Thank You for listening) I had to realize it was not the Dream but daggum is not a Nightmare.

I started my business because of four reasons

1. The cloud of grief from my grandfather’s death had lifted and I could clearly saw working away from home could cause a problem. My mother was still working and my grandmother was starting not to be able to handle my brother by herself.
2. I was Broke. I mean no money. I was going on interviews but no one was calling back.
3. I was Bored. I was watching so many trivial TV shows. Are the Court Shows still on? What about Jerry Springer? My sleeping habits were gross. I would lock up after my mother left at 7:30 am. My grandmother & brother didn't get up before 10, 11 am then. So I would sleep when they slept so I wouldn't disturb them.
4. I was going Stupid. I was having problems with simple words like emotions & schedule. I felt like everything I had learn was gone. I was also dating the worst boyfriend I had ever had. By the end of June he just started getting on my nerves and I couldn't understand why I was dating this dummy.

Oh and all my reasons were correlated.

Chicken Minestrone Soup

The only thing constant was people asking me to do a “Diet Plan” for them. Most of them wanted to just lose weight. I didn't want to because I thought counting calories was boring. Then a close loved one got ill and needed my help in understanding what the Doctors were talking about nutritionally. So in helping her I discovered I really like the work. I decided to make a living basically “Helping People Understand Nutrition”.

Spinach-Cranberry Salad with Orange Duck Dressing

And that is the reward. Knowing that I have help many in the choice of foods, preparation of foods, and their breakdown to be integrated by the body. When an 11 year old comes in weighing 185 lbs. with Type II Diabetes, counting calories is not boring. It’s lifesaving.

Spinach & Mushroom Hash Brown Stack (IHOP Inspired)

When someone is too tired from chemo to understand that he needs to eat an apple pie and drink a milkshake with the burger & fries to keep his weight stable, late night researching information is not near as bad. When life keeps happening (relatives getting sick, household responsibilities changing, appointments get slow (sometimes none at all that week), and even the world moving at the pace it is), I have flexibility to handle it and only have to answer to my only boss, God about how things are going to pan out.  

So how can I be upset at actually living my “Big Picture” dream? I've always wanted to help people. That is what I am doing.

Crab Salad in a Herbal Yogurt Dressing

Life keeps happening but God still has a plan in mind. Thanks D. S. You've given me a job, released me for total poverty, educated me, and put me on a great path that I never imagined. A path that will lead to the Lord's Ultimate goal for me. God gave you to me and I love you with all my heart.

Alright back to work. Monthly budget needs to be tweaked a bit. I think I need to buy printer ink. :-)

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

"I Blame Pop Culture" (New Blog Series Announcement)

If you follow me on Twitter, Here, you already know how hard I am on Pop Culture. Pop Culture has defined everything in our lives and all of its definitions are not positive. I am sick of it and this blog series is me taking a stand.

When I say Pop Culture, I'm not talking just what is "Trending". Thanks to Wikipedia, Popular Culture is the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images, and other phenomena that are within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century. Heavily influenced by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of the society.  So basically, Pop Culture consists of the attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another that is appealing to the general public.

This will be an ongoing series. I'll spread my discussions out and not put them all out all at once. Topics will include:
American Dieting
Being Christian
College
Masculine/Feminine
Not Really a Nerd
Not Black Enough
Sex Tape to Relevancy
Rape Culture
Reality Shows
Romance/Dating
and many more. Also I will prepare you for me stating "I'm no hypocrite because I am Hypocrite". Pop Culture has made a one out of all of us. So while I'm discussing my issues with Pop Culture, I'll have to reveal how I was caught up in the hype of some of it also. Hey, I'm no hypocrite because I am Hypocrite. LoL

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

Time for March

March is Women's History Month so get ready for a few blogs featuring Woman Champions and also a “Help Me Understand”. Let’s just say this “Help Me Understand” has a love/hate relationship that I don’t get.

March is also National Nutrition Month.  We including me need to eat better. I’ve been using a Pinterest for my food diary. OMG it is so effective because I actually see that I eat crappy and I’m a Nutritional Consultant. We have to do better. 

National Reading Day is March 2. As an Avid reader I urge you to READ. Reading is so important. Too many people don't read. I believe Don't Read and Can't Read are the same thing. Either way you are Not reading!

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is March 10. Again it’s sad to me that there has to be any Awareness days ever but this one saddens me the most. Why? The stats that says women account for about 1 in 4 new HIV/AIDS cases in the United States. And of these newly infected women, about 2 in 3 are African-American. Everyone should frown. The fact that HIV/AIDS exist should make us frown.

March 10^th is also my anniversary of me being “Radical”. If by now you don’t know what “Radical” for me is, shame on you. Go Read what it is Here. Not telling you the number, this the internet. March 10^th is not the day I decided to go Radical. I have no clue what day that was. I was going through then so all the days ran together then. March 10^th was the last day I was Not Radical. Why do I called it “Being Radical?”

1.  The method. There wasn’t one. I just did it.

2.   For some odd reason not doing it is strange, uncommon, weird, crazy, drastic, dramatic… Radical

Was I planning to make it to make it this long? NO!!! But some time in, I realized I could not just give it up all willy nilly. This was really part of my life.  Do I regret it? NO!!! I have gotten so much sleep since going Radical. Yes, I am laughing, too. Seriously, I have my days, weeks, and months that I think I went crazy. Then I think “No, Crazy was those years ago when you didn’t see the "Real" you when you looked in the mirror. Crazy was when I was crying all the time because I was connected to those that had unplugged from me and was too dumb not realize it. I think I'm a better person for it. So will "Radical" make it to next year? I don't know. I am human. God willing, YES!!!

So, that is the month of March. Go celebrate the ladies. Eat Better. Read, it Fundamental. Don’t have sex or at least Protect yourself having it. Those last statements seem so cliché. Oh well it gets my point across.

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms