Masoor Seddho (Red Lentil Soup), Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup, Navratan Korma Inspired Soup, Crafts, Stress Relief, and Life Updates

It's been another roller coaster of a few weeks and that is my reason for not posting.  I really had hoped to post some more interesting and uplifting news but things didn't work out like I had hoped.  I need to be better at letting go and moving on, I suppose.

I guess now is as good as time as any to share with you some of the things I have been eating and creating.

As you can see in the first photo I recently gnawed on some Avocado and Tomato Toast.  It's topped with a Maple Mustard.  I also grabbed this smoothie you see in the 2nd photo which is Mango Squash & Veggies.  It was very tasty.  I got it from Total Evolution.  Maybe this week I will check out one of their soups or finally get their Oatmeal Bar.

I've been busy with work, League of Women Voters, and County Fair stuff.  I've also been a busybody at home.  Plus, I have been enjoying my new found joy of coin collecting more and more.  I have slowly gotten back into paper crafting which you will see more of in this post.  I'm really trying to stay busy so I don't start over-analyzing myself or move into a deeper depression. 

I'm still trying to get back into Yoga again but just when I think I will I have been battling with pain more.  Just when I think I have kicked my pain in a couple of days it comes back.

I've been tinkering with Mandalas again and it's been a nice short form of meditation of sorts.  As you can tell I'm not done with this.  Sometimes I do a bit at a time and will come back to it days later and add more.  DH and I just re-watched all of the Harry Potters which was a nice way to relax, too.  And of course there is my ongoing love of tea but I'm trying to adjust my intake on the highly caffeinated ones due to the aches and pains I have been struggling with.

I was averaging a card a day for a while there.  The cards I do only take a few minutes so it's a nice brain break.  It's a shame I let a group of people ruin my love of paper crafting for as long as I did.  I'm really trying to get back into it again.  So far - so good - in small increments.

I haven't bought any new supplies.  Everything I have been using to make the cards have been from scraps.  I intend to continue with this method.  I want to see how long I can go using old stashes and supplies.

Last weekend we gathered at a friends house for an annual party-after-new-years.  I usually bring baked beans but this time I thought I would bring something different.  DH suggested Buffalo Cauliflower Wings so I did just that.  I have two photos to share with you here.  I know I have posted my own recipe before but this time around I stuck pretty close to Jason Wrobel's recipe that he had in his Eaternity book I bought MONTHS ago!

They went pretty well.  I did 2 versions.  One was quite spicy and the other was not-so-spicy.

I ended up bringing Rootie's Blue Cheese for DH (for those of you who don't know he's not veg) and for who ever else wanted it.  I brought Daiya's Blue Cheese for me and who ever else wanted it.  It was funny but when we were cleaning up the dairy version of the blue cheese was barely touched and my vegan blue cheese bottle was nearly gone.

I'm not complaining at all - that is what it was there for - but I'm thinking that no one really looked at the bottles and just ate it regardless.  I find this interesting and am pretty thrilled!

It's been nasty weather-wise still.  This morning it was -7 degrees at 9am.  Friday Night we got a few inches of ice and then about a foot or more of snow.

So as you can imagine I have been eating a LOT of soups!  About a week ago I made a Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup.  Ingredients include...

1 C Cashews
1 Small Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Knob Ginger
6 Carrots
Water & Sea Salt as needed
Garnish: Nutmeg, Smoked Paprika, Parsley

For lunch today I had this amazing Red Lentil Soup!

It's my new favorite!  I would have made more right away but I only had enough Red Lentils for 1 batch!

It was inspired by Vegan Richa's Begali Red Lentil Soup (Masoor Seddho) but instead of the Tomato I used Tomato Sauce.  It was all I had on hand.  I also used Earth Balance instead of the Mustard Oil.

This was WONDERFUL and I will be making it again as soon as I get more red lentils!  YUM!  I'm not going to lie - I ended up garnishing it with more Earth Balance!  It was so savory!

This next one might not look like much but it was pretty tasty, too!  It was inspired by Vegan Richa's Navratan Korma Recipe but I turned it into a blended soup instead.  It called for 5 cups of veggies I used a bunch of stuff that was hanging out in my freezer and frig to use it up.  Many veggies like Eggplant, Sweet Peppers, Green Beans, Carrots, Water Chestnuts, Potatoes, Peas, Zucchini, Broccoli, Cauliflower, etc.  Instead of the 4 tomatoes it called for I used some leftover Spaghetti Sauce.  There are various spices along with Cashews and Pistachios, too!

Evening Tonic for Pain

This Evening Tonic has changed my life in 2 days...or should I say NIGHTS!  Here's what I did for this Evening Tonic Recipe...

Rooibos
Chamomile Flowers
Peppermint
Valerian Extract*

I took equal parts Rooibos and Chamomile Flowers and put them in a tea infuser strainer, then added a pinch of dried peppermint leaves and 1/4 teaspoon of Valerian Extract from Ojio.

I added water to my teacup and let sit for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Not only did this help me get to sleep and stay asleep it seemed to help my pain issues.  My knee is getting much better pain-wise but now it's really tight and stiff.  This seems to help in the evenings!

According to the product description on their website...

This potent natural extract of the Valerian herb is naturally sourced and more effective as an herb of Ayurveda. 

Potent natural extract. 

Popular Ayurvedic herbal remedy for anxiety. 

Used for a millennia as a sedative and sleep aid. 

Found in herbal folk remedies around the world.

 I'm totally LOVING this product and others from Ojio and will be blogging more about them very soon!

Herbal "Pain Killers"

Over the last few weeks I have been posting a lot about natural remedies, pain management, and essential oils.  Today I thought I would mention some additional natural "Pain Killers".  

As you can see from the picture above there are several.  

The rest of this post will relate to Pain from Sciatica...

Valerian or willow bark can be taken to reduce inflammation and relieve the pain. The ingredient in willow bark that makes it such a powerful painkiller is salicylate, the same ingredient in aspirin. Studies of participants who took 240 mg. of willow bark extract daily for a month were amazed when the herb swept away their pain.

I'm excited about Valerian, specifically, because I have Valerian Root Powder at home and will be consuming it in evening tisanes and tonics!

According to additional sources I can beat Sciatic Nerve Pain With B Vitamins, too!

Orthopedic surgeons believe that the B vitamins can stabilize and heal the membranes that surround delicate spinal nerves. Studies suggest a 50 mg. of B-complex supplement can relieve the pain within one month in 70% of cases.

I usually don't take supplements on a regular basis but I'm also going to listen to my body better so I will start taking a vegan B Complex supplement until my pain subsides.

It's also said that I can strengthen my Spine with Vitamin D which works with dietary calcium to build strong vertebrae and repair bone tissues. Strong vertebrae are less likely to collapse and pinch nerves.  Recommended dose of 2,000 IU a day was reported to give relief to 93% of lower back pain sufferers who took the vitamin for 90 days.

I don't know about 90 days but I will start taking Vegan Vitamin D until I feel a difference in the meantime.  These things in addition to the other things I have been blogging about lately I will do to combat my pain as of late.

Biomarkers & Essential Oils

The other day I went to visit my local herb lady and we were talking about Essential Oils.  She told me that she has this system that can focus just on which Essential Oils would be right for me if I wanted to try it.  Usually she uses this tool to see if a customer is lacking a specific vitamin or nutrient.  But she's also able to set it up to focus on specific things like Essential Oils, for example.  I figured WHY NOT...she rain the test which was basically me standing there for 5 minutes with my hand on this device you see here.

She then provided me 2 print outs.  One was the Product Assessment Results and the other was the description of the Essential Oils based on my Assessment.  My results showed that I had 34 Biomarkers out of range.  Of those 34...16 of them could be brought back into range by using Patchouli, 7 of them brought back with Pink Grapefruit, 6 with Pine Needle, 2 with a Massage Oil, 1 with Core Balancing Blend, and 1 with Lemon grass.

She explained to me that these Biomarkers were just areas in which I could focus on improving for my overall wellness.  I took into account that it's 'that time of the month' and that I have been dealing with pain issues as of late.  She told me that these ranges could change daily and they are just based on my current energy.

I've read online that a lot of people think ZYTO devices are "who-E" but I've also heard some positives, too!  I figure because I was just focusing on which Essential Oils could benefit me it couldn't hurt.  After I found out that 16 of the 34 could be brought back by the use of Patchouli I was thrilled.  I will be focusing on that for a while.  She said that she wouldn't even worry about the others.  Patchouli is the big one and Pink Grapefruit and Pine Needle are ones to assist.  Patchouli isn't the cheapest essential oil that is for sure.  My herb lady has 3 different brands to choose from that vary in price from about 22 to 28 bucks.  I have found a few online for around 14 bucks but I want to make sure it's of good quality if it's the most important one for me.  One of the 3 she offers is organic and put thru over 200 quality assurance tests.  If I don't go with that one I might do the one other brand because I have used some of their stuff before, too!

I'm thinking PAIN is my "BIG THING" at the moment and it doesn't help that it is really getting cold where I live, too!  OYE.

Focusing On Pain

Make it stop!

I really did a number on myself!

So if you have followed my blog for more than a year you may remember that I have struggled with Sciatica.  I'm thankful that I have never needed surgery or even taken medication for it.  But it's back.  I'm not sure if it was something that I did or if it's just the time of the year and it getting colder, etc.  But I have been really feeling it again since Thanksgiving Day.  I'm hoping I can do things myself and at home so I don't have to visit the Chiropractor.

2nd issue I have been having the last few months is a sore thumb.  I know that sounds petty.  The last week or so it has looked crooked by the knuckle by the nail.  I don't know if I broke it or if it's arthritis but either way I'm not happy.  I've always been double jointed and very much so in that thumb.  My mom and her mom have and had horrible arthritis so I'm nervous about this.  

And the third strike came today while at work when I whacked my knee on my desk.  This isn't unusual.  I tend to do this every other week it seems BUT this was hardcore.  So much so that it brought me to my knees and tears to my eyes.

I need to do something about this so here is my plan...

YOGA.

I know that I am back and forth on YOGA but I have to be more consistent with it.  Even if I have to bring my mat to work and do it in the bathroom I am going to do it more.

Green Smoothies.

Again something I struggle with being consistent at.  I mean, REALLY, how hard is it?  It's NOT...it's just me making excuses for NOT waking up earlier enough and not having enough fresh produce...which is similar to my 'thing' with Juicing.  I seriously NEED to focus on this.

Herbs & Essential Oils

These are something I have been digging deeper and deeper into as of late and I need to step it up a notch NOW!  When it comes to pain the following are things I am going to do to combat it whether it's herbs and/or essential oils...Aloe Vera, Boswellia, Cat's Claw, Eucalyptus, Ginger, Green Tea, Thunder God Vine, Turmeric, and Willow Bark.  Of those I have already done a few of them often.  I will be bumping that up more tho.  One of those that I am not familiar with is the Thunder God Vine and will be doing more research on it very soon.

Speaking of my own personal research and development...I have been looking into many other things that I will be sharing with you very soon!

What do you do for pain management at home?