Portobello Goodness

I could eat these almost every day ... I have to say it is one of my favourites for the bbq. These are a couple of grilled Portobello Mushroom recipes and links to sites that I got them from. This is one from eatmoreplants website ...

Burger Sized Portobello Caps
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 minced garlic cloves
Hot sauce (optional)

Place Portobello mushrooms in a gallon size sealable bag. Combine remaining ingredents in a bowl. Wisk til oil is well blended. Pour mixture into bag containing mushrooms. Let marinate for 1/2 hour turning occasionally. Grill mushrooms and top with swiss cheese if desired. Serve on buns.

This is from vegcooking ... another site I like.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Steaks
4 large portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

•Remove the stems of the mushrooms and brush off any dirt to clean.
•In a medium bowl or pan, combine the oil, wine, lemon juice, and garlic, stirring until combined. Add the cleaned mushrooms caps and submerge in the marinade. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
•Remove from the marinade and season with salt and pepper to taste.
•Place the caps on a grill over medium-high heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until just tender.
Makes 4 servings

Mare

Sporting My New ID Badge

Here I am ... sporting my new Therapy Dog ID Badge. Things for this are rolling along, we still haven't been able to get out and do any official visits yet ... the people paper work thing seems to be taking a long time.
Schwen and Mare just got their Police Checks back .. they are now being sent to Toronto, to the St. John Ambulance office there .. and then all that is left is getting our 3 supervised visits in with a current St. John Ambulance Volunteer - and then we are all set.
Looks like September is our start, that first week, so this will be good, I am looking forward to it.
After we have 10 visits in, we can go to Fund Raising events, like the Mall - both Conestoga Mall and Fairview Mall have a Volunteer Fair and I will be taking part in those. There is a fund raiser at The Kitchener Ranger Game in January, that will be my first hockey game that I have ever been to.
Also .. yesterday when we picked up my ID Badge, I was told about a R.E.A.D program that I can enter after 40 Volunteer Hours ... I can go to schools and have a child read to me, one that is having difficulty learning to read - it is more fun for them to read out loud to a dog .... so we might do that as well. That involves more testing - but I love being around children, so we will see, that might be another thing I can do.
Lots of exciting things to look forward to this fall and winter!!

Tundie

A Little Sunshine

Week 1 Begins!

Pretty easy common sense things ....

Step 1 - is to clean out your cupboards and fridge and get rid of any unhealthy foods. Get rid of anything with cottonseed in it. Throw out anything that contains partially hydrogenated oils of any kind. Get rid of anything with artificial sweetners (I am safe since we have finished off our case of sugar free Red Bull).

Step 2 - Start eating broccoli this week - twice this week. That is one of our favourite veggies, so we are good with this step. Part of Step 2 is to have fish once this week - if you do not want fish then have flaxseed - grind it (in a coffee grinder, I have one just for seeds, nuts etc) .. and sprinkle it on your food a couple of times in the week.

Step 3 - Take Supplements. The main one is Vitamin C each day ... 250 mg. Exercise - just start with 10 minutes a day - and even if you do other exercises, do the 10 minute walk a day.

Step 4 - Mental/Spiritual. Think about your own healing experience. Make a list of illnesses or injuries or problems you have recovered from in the past two years. Jot down anything you did to speed the healing process. Begin to practice Breath Observation for 5 minutes every day.

Last but not least .... Buy some flowers to keep in your home, where you can enjoy them. The flowers in the picture are from our garden ... I cut them and brought them in the house yesterday - yes, they do put a smile on your face when you see them.

OK - well it is nice sunny day today ... and I will leave off with this picture from last week - the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen - there were 2 of them actually .. one was brighter - but they were both amazing. I am sure the picture doesn't do it justice ... but here you go.

Mare

Back At It

So .. this morning gave me a great wake up call and scare I guess that I needed to really get back on track.
I was walking Thunder .. I became very sick to make a long story short - I didn't even know how I would ever make it home - I was blacking out and felt extremely nauseous, light headed and dizzy. I kept on the grass areas because I didn't want to drop on the sidewalk .. and finally Thunder and I were back home some how and I called Schwen to come and help me - and give him my final wishes (oh the drama I create). I thought I was having a stroke.
We were on our way to the hospital, and by the time we got there (and about to park the car), I was a little better .. so instead of hours of waiting in emergency we called our Dr and he said he would take me right away. The Dr. said my blood pressure was very high (I do take medication for this - and I have had high blood pressure since I was 18).
He gave me a prescription for a diuretic and said that should help flush out sodium from my system and help lower my blood pressure - go home and lay down and take it easy.
He asked me if I had been having a lot of soy sauce ..... I said, well funny enough - last night and this morning before my walk I had some soy products. I usually do not go for the substitute soy meat products, but I happened to last night and had some this morning as well. He thinks that was the cause ... I can't say for sure, but hey - I will go with that - because I have no other answer for that incident.
At the Pharmacy, while I was waiting to get my prescription filled ... I was browsing through the books and I was so attracted to this one ... I have no idea why. I have read one other book by Dr. Andrew Weil) (that might be - I bought one other book of his and partially read it), but I suppose I wasn't really paying attention to it then .... today, wow - it was like a magnet. I bought it along with new Foster Grant 1.25 times reading glasses - I lost my lovely over priced prescription ones ... hmmm .. Foster Grant - $19.99 instead of my $350 Dolce&Gabbana (of course covered by my benefits) ... they were nice though - I will miss them.
I started reading my new book today - and I am fascinated and drawn to it. I love it.
I don't think any one person has the answers - and we need to take little bits from all around us and come up with what works for us ... and anything that I read that takes the approach of Mind, Body and Spirit working together and that they are all connected .. well, that gets my attention - I believe that ... we can't just look at Western medicine .. and I like the idea that I have some spirit guides around me willing and able to help (oohhh ... my spirit guides - I just threw that in there - I don't think Dr. Weil mentions those in his book ... but I believe I have them and now I want to put them to work).
I am in - I want to give this a try .... 8 weeks of trying to tap into my body's natural healing power ..... I think it is worth a shot :)
Stay tuned and I will update on my progress.
Tomorrow is the start of Week 1 :)

Mare