Calling Like-Minded People...

I wasn't going to post this but the thought keeps coming back to me over and over so here goes!

A fellow blogging buddy and I started something special today and I'm wondering if anyone else might be interested in getting involved.  It's a PRIVATE Blog of Like-Minded People with a focus on COMPASSION.  I don't discuss politics on MyBlissfulJourney and I'm going to keep it that way.  I will say that this PRIVATE Blog we started is liberal leaning but we are talking about world issues - not complaining about politics!  If you are someone who has a lot to say but feel like the 'odd man out' and looking for others sharing the same feelings and opinions please let me know in comments along with an email addy.  Remember this is a safe haven and a private blog.

One of the reasons I wanted to start this private site goes back to my college days. I was a journalism student. I had a passion for Foreign Affairs. I guess that's what my professors called it anyways. I just looked at it as caring about others from all over the world...not just here in the states. I could never figure out WHY we only heard about SOME of the issues in the world and not the others. As if SOME of the people from SOME of the countries were more important than others. That is complete RUBBISH. From that point on I tried to educate myself in world events and/or conflicts.

Over the last several years I have lost sight of that. I'm ashamed of myself at times because I seemed to be just like everyone else...I was out of the loop and aloof. I don't want that to be the case. Not only is this place a spot were like-minded, compassionate people can come to read and write about things going on in this world, it's a place to remember those who are no longer with us, AND a place to continuously LEARN about what's really happening out there.

Yacon, Food Trends, and Pineapple Strawberry Popsicles Made at Home!

It's funny...when I was younger I didn't think much about learning.  As I get older I am almost obsessed with learning something NEW everyday!  That's yet another reason why I am so excited and grateful to be contributing to The Raw Food World News Site.

Recently I have been reading up on Yacon.  I've learned how it can be helpful for not only losing weight but beneficial to 'gut' health and digestion.  The latter is what I am more interested in, personally.  Digestion issues was the main reason I ended up switching from lacto-ovo veg to vegan 3 and a half years ago.  I've battled with digestion issues even as an infant.  To learn a bit of what I am been researching when it comes to Yacon be sure to check out the article called Yacon to Maintain a Healthy Weight and Gut.

I've been on a Pineapple kick ever since eating so much of it while in West Palm Beach last month.  When I got back I was still on the kick and have done a few recipes that feature the fruit including Pineapple Strawberry Popsicles.  I also found out that Pineapple is good for fighting motion and morning sickness.  NO!  I'm NOT pregnant people!  Don't even think about it!  LOL

And finally I just HAD to share with you this article I did recently on Food Trends for 2015!  Check it out and let me know which foods you think are getting all 'trendy' on us so far this year!

Recipes & Info for a Soup, Smoothie, and Jerky!

In case you are getting sick of seeing all of my vacation photos I thought I would get back to posting some food!  It's been extremely busy since we've been back home - I can't believe it's already been a month that we've been back!  WOW!  

Anyhow...to the food, eh!?

Above you will see some of the posts I have been doing for The Raw Food World NEWS Site lately.  I will try and be better about cross posting them here on my blog, too!  First up is the recipe I did for the Raw Vegan Creamy Tomato Soup.  I paired that with some info on how it can help strengthen bones.  Below that you will see a photo and excerpt from the Blackberry Orange Smoothie Recipe I did and I wrote about how it may help with healthier skin.  And in the last of those 3 posts you will see a recipe I did for Tofu Jerky that may help with Type-2 Diabetes.  As I post this I see that I have a typo in the first line - OH MY!  I will be changing that very soon!  It's supposed to read I am NOT a 'pro' when it comes to tofu!  Eeek!

Dressings, Bamboo, Lip Balm, Marinated Mushrooms & Rice, Chlorella To Relieve Pain, and a Stellar Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Pasta Dish, too!

Hello everyone!  I hope you had a great Christmas - and for those who don't celebrate - I hope you had a nice Thursday!   Ours was nice - we went to DH's Grandmother's House for the extended family gathering on his side Christmas Eve - then went to my parents for about an hour and a half after that.  Christmas Day we went back over to my parents for a few hours and then when to the home to meet with DH's Family.  My Step-Father-In-Law is here for long term/rehab - he had surgery last week but has been in and out of the home and hospital most of this past year.  The weather was very mild for our area.  Christmas Eve it got up to the higher 50s and even reached 60 in some places. 

Last Christmas Eve Night we had high winds which caused some damage in certain spots.  Yesterday for Christmas Day it was cooler but still warmer than usual for Christmas!  I think it was mostly in the mid to upper 30s.  We had NO snow.  I'm okay with that.

Today I thought I would catch up cross posting about some of the things I have been submitting to other sites.  Mostly The Raw Food World.  I took a few screen shots, too!  Above you will see my Peanut Curry Dressing that I made a while back but tweaked for the site.  Check out the updated version of the Peanut Curry Dressing Recipe.  Another thing that I reviewed in greater length was the Bamboo Bowls I got from them a while back.  Not only did I find a vegan alternative for Burt's Bee's Lip Balm - I found one that was RAW, too!  Check out the full length post for Hurraw! Mint Lip Balm.

I'm still REALLY excited about the Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Pasta I did a while back - so be sure to click on the link above for that full recipe!  It was converted from various Chicken Wing Pizza Recipes I saw online.  NOTE - there isn't any Fake Meat in that recipe - just whole and natural foods!

You'll have to check out the testimonial I did for Chlorella - To Relieve Pain, too!  I've very pleased with some of my own personal findings!

And finally - a very simple and flavorful dish - Marinated Mushrooms & Rice!

My Chickpea Casserole Was Featured!

Hi Gang!  One of the many projects I am involved in is writing for The Raw Food World NEWS Site!  They have a lot of great recipes in their recipe section, too!  This is one of the many recipes of mine that I submitted - and guess what...they featured it TODAY!  For the entire recipe, instructions, and information CLICK HERE.

A short list of ingredients that were used in this recipe were...

• 2 cups brown rice pasta
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1 cup almond milk (or nut-milk of your choice)
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• Pinch paprika

Exciting Updates/News, Weekend Writing Warrior, and a Comfort Food Sidedish!

I'm spending most of this Sunday updating a few things on my website - such as the About Me/Find Me Section...I've decided to do clickable links on that page mostly for a cleaner look, and added a few things to the SHOP Page/Tab, too!  I'm thinking about redoing that page/tab in the future but I think I will keep the eye catching banners there for now.  I've been joining up as an affiliate to a few products, shops, and sites which you can find on both of those pages.

Another thing I am doing with today...is writing...I know...big shocker, eh!?  But I have signed on to guest blog for some companies, contribute to their websites and newsletters, and also have my own sites that I wanted to keep up with, too!  I have a slew of exciting things on deck so please be sure to subscribe to my site - on the sidebar to get the latest updates.

I'm working with several companies to bring more contests/giveaways to my site, too!  Very exciting!

And incase you missed it...I have officially started posting slide shows/videos to my YouTube!  Be sure to subscribe to my channel - all social media links at located in the About/Find Me tab, too!  AND..for my life in photos be sure to follow me on Instagram because I normally add pics to that before posting them with a write up here on my blog!

And...FINALLY...a bit about that food photo at the top of this post!!!

I used left over Earthly Choice Super Grains in this dish...which include red and white Quinoa, Millet, and Buckwheat...probably about 1 cup worth.  Then I added the following for flavor...

1/4 C Cashew Butter

2 T Minced Garlic

1 tea ginger powder

3 T Coconut Aminos

2 T Maple Syrup

1 T Coconut Vinegar

1 T Sesame Oil

topped with Hot Sauce to taste

The veggies in this side included a mix of...

Peas & Peas in the Pod
Yellow Bell Peppers

Onion

Broccoli

I'll be back tomorrow with more of what happened over the weekend.  In the meantime...I'd love to hear about yours!

Goal Book ~ So It Begins...

I figured I would do a stand alone post for this one.  I've officially started my Weekly Goal Book and thought I would share it with you.  By posting it here on my blog it will give me a bit of accountability to stick with it, I hope.

I've had this sketch book for a while and have been stain pages and trying to use different inks for junk journaling and art journaling for a while but didn't really have a purpose...now I do.  You can see the edges are starting to change because of the inks and dyes and I think that is completely fine.  I want it to be pretty funky.  The outside is fabric so it's soaking up the liquid pretty well.

Here's a blank page - randomly - in the book that I will use down the road so  you can see that each page will be different. 

I receive daily emails from DailyOm.com and last week they sent me this quote and it pushed me over the edge to finally start this project.

"Take the time to reclaim your creativity and watch your life blossom as a result."

 So this is my very first page...my first week!  What do you think?  Yes...I think the penmanship is a little rushed but I'm ok with that for the first one.  I am looking forward to seeing things change each week.  I found a small photo and the width of it was perfect and decided to use it at the bottom of the page.  Plus the colors match up with what I already had on the page.  I used mostly alcohol inks and Tattered Angels spray for this page background.  I used a glue stick in certain spots and used a very fine clear glitter to accent it.  I scribbled a hand drawn line boarder around the page, too.  And finally jotted down 5 goals I would like to focus on this week.  Some people say if you hand write your goals you are a more apt to do them VS typing them or saying them.  I want to write at least 5 articles (or Uplifters) for The Raw Food World News site this week.  I sort of slacked during the month of September.  I want to make at least 1 veganized World Food dish this week.  Eventho I started this Goal Book this week I still want to start a Vision Board, too!  So I added that one to the list.  I want to at least start it.  Then I want to Breathe more and Smile more this week!

Blissful Journey ~ Personal Wellness & Enrichment & iTunes Tuesday!

I was a little lazy last night with the food situation as I still have to get to the stores and produce stands this week (I hope to do that tonight, actually!)  I had a Veggie Sub from a local 'mom and pop shop' that usually has awesome subs - but last night - I thought it was just 'ok'.  So no real foodie type post today but there are a few other things I would like to touch on including some Mini-Goals, Health/Wellness Updates, Personal Enrichment, and iTunes/PodCasts I have been 'into' lately.

 

First up...a wellness update...if you will!  I have been doing VERY well with my Sciatica and visits to my Chiropractor.  So much so that I think I might have to only go every OTHER month (or quarter) to maintain everything as a precaution.  Now...I don't mind going.  I remember being SUPER Nervous about it at first, tho!  Speaking of being nervous...I still have one more dentist appointment but it's not for another few weeks and I'm NOT looking forward to that either.  Grrr!  But I am really trying NOT to worry about that until I HAVE to - like the day of the appointment!  My digestion is still doing REALLY well and I have no plans on turning back to those old habits (ie the dairy habit!  Blah!)  This past month I was 'off' on my 'monthly' but think I am back on track and totally FINE, now!  I think it was between stress at work, still losing some weight, next to no-sleep for about a week and a half, and schedule changes that messed me up.  Once 'everything was back on track' I rejoiced and was very thankful for everything! 

 

To continue with these positive feelings I want to get back on track with my exercises - most specifically - my Yoga.  I have been using Hulu+ as well as iTunes Pod Casts lately for that.  In my queue is Yogamazing with Chaz Rough.  I really like his laid-back delivery and encouragement without it making you feel like it's a competition or that you won't be able to 'get' a stretch or pose.  He's wonderful at telling you 'go as far as you can go' and 'do what you can do'.  I access my Hulu+, Netflix, iTunes, and PodCasts thru our Apple TV which I might do a more lengthier review on down the road.  I really like AppleTV and you may have read about one of my previous mentions about it.  Another Yoga Program I follow on there is the one that Yoga Journal puts out.  I also subscribe to their magazine.  I'm pretty fond of Tara Stiles, as well as others, as far as the Pod Casts go!

I'm REALLY happy to be back writing FULL TIME over at Sororitea Sisters.  For those of you who don't know it's a Tea Review Site that Anne and I co-founded a few years ago.  Anne has been a wonderful Sororitea Sister and friend by letting me catch-up on several things and issues time and time again.  If you are a Fan of TEA please swing by!  We have nearly 3,000 reviews on that site with TONS more on tap!  We update EVERY DAY at least once!

My mind is going a 'mile a minute' because there are so many things I would like to get started on but know there are other things that need attention, too!  Last night I worked on Paco's Pen and Play Area a bit and tonight I am going to work on the Cat Rooms.  Even tho they have the run of the house most of the time they have their 'areas' they feel more comfortable in time and time again.  

I have been crafting in spurts again - mostly Mixed Media and Art Journaling.  I hope to post more projects soon!  I have been thinking about re-doing my craft room.  First I was thinking of making a pantry.  But I am thinking about tweaking it to keep my Crafting Room THAT and pair it with a small space for Yoga.  I have so many art and crafting supplies it's really hard to do much else with that room.

I guess this was more of an UPDATE Post and a venting/blabbing post.  BUT...venting in a GOOD way!  I'm just feeling so thankful things are looking up and I'm feeling better thru and thru!  I don't want it to end, ya know!?  More tomorrow, friends!