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carol@inkwellcoaching.com

Crown Point, IN

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April 18, 2024

The #1 Nutrition Principle

“Red wine is better than white wine!” “Kale is better than spinach!” “GRAINS ARE EVIL!!” Ever feel like good nutrition is just too complic

admink
Food, Health, In the Garden
April 11, 2024

Angelos Update and Green Thumb Time

If you’ve been following my blog for a few years, you may recall my weekly posts that were written comparing the size of my friend’s baby in utero

admink
Food, Fun, Health, In the Garden
April 4, 2024

Tips to Get Past the Springtime Slump

Lately, I have this great desire to take a nap every afternoon around…well, anytime between 2 and 5. What is the deal with THAT? Can you relate? One

admink
Food, Health
March 28, 2024

The Miracle of Breath and Easter

Today while I was busy breathing, doing my best to focus on my breath and not what I would blog about this week, I was flooded with a thought that sho

admink
Family, Food, Health, Spiritual
March 21, 2024

Celebrating the Spring Equinox

This year the spring equinox occurred on March 19 at 11:06 P.M. EDT. That was the astronomical beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisph

admink
Food, Fun, Health, Personal Development
March 14, 2024

10 Muscle Building Tips for Women

Most women I talk with would like to build more muscle and lose more fat. While strength or resistance training is a key component to building muscle,

admink
Food, Health
March 7, 2024

A Taste of Spring

In case you’ve been missing out on some of the most delectable oranges, this is your friendly reminder that we are in the midst of SUMO season. This

admink
Food, Health, In the Garden
February 29, 2024

10 Healthy Snacks for Busy People

My family loves snacks. I love snacks. Who doesn’t love a good snack? I believe snacking can be an important part of a healthy lifestyle. When you c

admink
Food, Health
February 21, 2024

Saving Dough and a Surprise Cake from Mr. Non-Compliant

Some say it’s expensive to eat healthy. I believe it’s even more expensive, especially in the long run, to eat unhealthy. Today I present some tip

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Family, Food, Health
February 14, 2024

My Best Workout Tip for Top Results

Ever wonder how to get the most out of your run or walk or strength training workouts? It’s the same way you can feel the most productive about your

admink
Health, Personal Development

The One Habit that May Reduce Stress, Improve Sleep, and Increase Productivity

February 17, 2022
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Health, Personal Development

This one habit may also help improve your relationships and encourage more consistency with healthy nutrition and fitness.

This magical habit: bookending your days.

Intentionally mark the beginning and end of each day.

This is something I could improve upon.

In the morning, spend anywhere from 5 minutes (to get started if that’s all you can manage) to one hour (ideally) setting yourself up for a great day. This is time that is set aside for you to ramp up your energy, focus your mind, and help you grow as a person.

During this time, you could:

  • Do some light stretching, take a walk, or go for an intense workout
  • Meditate or pray
  • Study a topic of interest or personal development by reading or listening to a book or course
  • Set an intention for your day (not a “To Do” list, but an attitude that you’d like to carry with you. Examples: being present to others; having a spirit of forgiveness; peacefulness; clarity)
  • Do a brain dump and write 3 pages longhand, whatever comes to mind. Also known as Morning Pages.

If you typically begin your day listening to the news, reading emails, or scrolling social media, try some different habits for two weeks. Take note of what your day is like depending on how you begin it.

See if your new habit helps you feel calmer and clearer—more productive.

At the end of the day, bookend with another habit. An hour is ideal—do what you can.

Maybe:

  • Cook a simple meal, which can be meditative (If you enjoy cooking, that is)
  • Read something lighthearted
  • Listen to music
  • Stretch or meditate
  • Do a brain dump or gratitude journaling
  • Take a bath or shower

Any calming activity that helps you relax is a good choice.

Again, try this for two weeks and see if you find your overall quality of life improving.

Consistency in bookending your days may lead to a variety of positive results.

Experiment with the amount of time you spend and the activities you select. These may change over time, or even daily.

Do what works. The goal is to have set boundaries for your day, separating the time you give to others and the time set apart for you.

Bookends. 

And in case you’re wondering, I’m still in full birth month celebration mode. I think I may need to bookend my birth month with a warm-up month prior to and a wind-down month after.

I’ll see if I can convince Mr. Non-Compliant to go along with that idea.

Cheers to more February fun,
Carol

“Though, February is short, it is filled with lots of love and sweet surprises.” ― Charmaine J. Forde

9 Reasons for Celebrating Your Birth Month

February 10, 2022
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Food, Fun

Another year around the sun complete. Time to celebrate my birth month as I begin the journey for another go around.

My dear friend, Cheryl, finally found the perfect card to express this sentiment. 

If you’re not on board with a lengthier celebration, perhaps you need to rethink your position.

9 Reasons why it’s good to celebrate your birthday for at least a month:

  1. How many lunches/dinners with friends and family can you really pack into one day?
  2. Snail mail is a bit slower these days, and all your cards and packages may not arrive exactly on time.
  3. You take the pressure off those who may feel bad for missing “The Day.”
  4. It gives you more time to see all the Facebook greetings.
  5. Celebrating is fun and enough things in life are not.
  6. It makes it possible for you to do things you like to do but may not be able to do on your birthDAY.
  7. Restaurants love to treat birthday people with complimentary dessert and song, and sometimes the gatherings are on a different day.
  8. You are very special and one day doesn’t do you justice.
  9. Why not?

Birthdays are also fun because there’s FINALLY a benefit to getting all those excess emails the rest of the year.

I scored a FREE Bundtlet from “Nothing Bundt Cakes.” Yes, it was as delicious as it looks. Half of it was just right with a bit of chocolate oat milk ice cream. 

Note: This is the gluten-free cake. They always carry GF chocolate chip bundlets, and you’d never know it’s GF.

Panera gifted me with a reward for $2.00 off my next beverage.

Houlihan’s will give me a complimentary entrée, up to $15.

These cool offers are valid for anywhere from 1-2 weeks after my birthday. See, even food establishments know that it’s good to celebrate for more than a single day.

I must really be extra efficient since I was born in the shortest month. Each year, I improve my celebratory skills.

 Thanks to my family and lots of friends, I’m off to a great start.

And I’ve only just begun.

Feeling the love,
Carol

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”— E. E. Cummings

Best Easy Cornbread

February 3, 2022
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Food, Fun, Health

Last week we were basking in 11° weather here in Indiana. This week we had a blizzard.

If you’ve ever lived in a wintery weather place, you can visualize the scene: snow piling up non-stop all night into day; blowing so that you’re not sure if it’s still snowing or only blowing; and seeing 12-15 inches of the white stuff everywhere.

I thought it would never stop.

Fun times. Even my gym cancelled classes and closed early. It is beautiful, as I look out my window. 

What’s a girl to do in a blizzard? (After I cleared the driveway, of course.) Why, make cornbread to go with the Chicken Lemon Rice Soup.

 EDIT on the soup recipe from last week’s blog post. I forgot to mention that you can use organic chicken bone broth as your base instead of chicken broth. The bone broth contains more protein and adds lots of health benefits, especially if you make your own.

Here’s the link to my blog post on bone broth and a chicken bone broth recipe Bone Broth Recipe

Since the best carbohydrates we can consume are in the form of fruits and vegetables, cornbread is a real treat.

Sometimes, like after playing in the snow, I indulge. It was moist, delicious, and really hit the spot with the soup. I began my meal with a tossed salad and dessert was a mandarin orange. 

This is gluten-free; however, you could use all-purpose flour. I’ve also included substitutions to make it dairy-free. The original recipe called for ½ cup sugar. I cut the sugar to 1/3 cup and preferred it. I like to minimize sugar whenever I can achieve a delicious product with a bit less, since we would all do well to eliminate it from our diets. I’m not quite there. Progress, not perfection. 

Best Easy Cornbread

  • 3/4 cup gluten-free cornmeal
  • 1 cup Namaste Gluten-Free Perfect Blend Flour or all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 to ½ cup organic sugar
  • 2 ½ tsp. baking powder (aluminum-free)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup milk or reconstituted goat milk or dairy-free alternative
  • 1 egg
  • 1/8 cup melted butter or Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Sticks

Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir with a wire whisk until well blended. Add the milk, egg, and butter. Stir the batter until all the ingredients are blended. Butter a 6″ X 9″ or 8″ X 8″ pan and evenly spread batter into pan. Bake at 375°F for approximately 20-25 minutes until lightly brown. Enjoy warm. Store leftovers in an air-tight container. May be frozen.

Bon appétit,
Health Coach Carol

“Snowflakes are one of nature ‘s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.” — Vesta M. Kelly

Chicken Lemon Rice Soup

January 27, 2022
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Food, Health, Main Dishes, Recipes

It’s soup season here in the Midwest. The high today was something like 11°F. Brrrrr.

Grateful that it was sunny.

Since we’re probably going to have a few more days like this, I’ve decided to share a soup recipe with you. 

I am aware that this recipe does not fall in line with authentic Greek recipes for lemon rice soup, however since I’m not Greek, I figured I can get away with it.

It’s easy to make. It takes time to cook because brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice. By using brown rice, the fiber intake is greater, and with the addition of the chicken, you get more protein. Bone broth will also add more protein and additional health benefits, especially if it’s homemade.

I think I’ll be making a batch this weekend.

Chicken Lemon Rice Soup

  • 7 cups organic chicken broth or bone broth
  • 1 small onion, peeled and cut in half
  • 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped in small pieces
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup organic brown rice
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (optional)
  • Ground black pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth, onion, carrot, bay leaf and salt to a simmer. Add chicken breasts, cover and gently simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked.  Remove chicken breasts, let cool slightly and pull or cut chicken into thin strips. Set aside. Remove onion pieces and bay leaf from soup and return to boil. Add rice and gently simmer for about 40 minutes, then add chicken back to soup for another 5 minutes.

Whisk eggs until they are frothy, then whisk in lemon juice. Add a cup of the hot soup to egg-lemon mixture, very slowly, whisking while you pour it in. Add another cup in the same manner. Take soup off the heat and add egg mixture to it. Sprinkle with parsley if desired, season with pepper and serve.  Makes about 4 servings.

Bon appétit,
Health Coach Carol

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night all you really need is soup.”—Laurie Colwin

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