Homemade Kale Chips

I thought in honour of Superbowl and New Years Resolutions.....I would share one of my favourite snacks! My beautiful friend Sandee shared this with me a few years ago and they have become a simple healthy snack in our house ever since! I usually use a low sodium seasoning salt and I get my crunchy, salt fix without the remorse! Oh and fyi - this snack is made to be eaten.....seriously - I once tried to make these ahead of time, stored them in a zip lock bag and by the time I arrived at the party my kale chips had gone soft and presented more like a soggy, salty salad than a crunchy treat! 

An easy, guilt free snack that can be made in under 20 minutes!

 

Ingredients: 

Kale

Grapeseed Oil

Seasoning

1. Preheat your oven to 400 and turn on your convection fan.












2. Wash and pat dry your kale.

3. Using scissors or your hands remove the leafy part of the kale off the stem.







4. Put in a bowl and lightly coat with oil.

5. Toss with seasoning.....your choice. Seasoning salt, garlic or onion salt,  a smoked paprika, nutritional yeast......really anything you want! 













6. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes.....keep an eye on it, cooking times will vary based on your oven. The leaves will start to wilt and turn brown, this it ok - this means they are crisping up! 












7. Put on a plate and serve.....

but don't turn your back or they'll be gone! 

Enjoy! AND be creative! There are so many ways to change it up! Sweet....salty.....spicy - adapt them to fit your snacking needs!

that was summer

So that was summer! It was great! I love summer......but I also love fall and winter and spring. As much as I love summer I am ready for fall, I am ready for the change of season. 

 Looking back on this summer I find myself smiling and feeling grateful for it. I had such a nice summer, a road trip out west, a visit from family and friends from the west, a visit from family from the east, many rounds of golf, lots of dinners and glasses of wine on the patio, lots of laughs,  a wedding, a baby, lots of dog walks, a few new faces, a girls weekend away, hot tubs, bbqs and fires! It was such a great summer!

Heading into fall I am feeling happy, loved and ready for what the weather people are forecasting as another long cold winter. I hope that when I am old and on my death bed I will look back on my life as I am on this summer....fulfilled, happy, loved....ready.

There has been alot of buzz in the media this summer about dying with dignity and the physician assisted suicide issue is at the forefront once again, I keep seeing videos and blog posts about end of life decisions and reflections. Most of them comment on what they didn't do in their lives, missed opportunities and time spent on the wrong things.

Regrets are pointless.

Regrets are avoidable. 

SO do what you want. 

Do what you feel,

Do what is right.......for you.

I am often reminded that you can not please everyone - in fact it is 

pretty much impossible to please everyone. So I say please yourself. At the end of the day you have to be able to sleep at night, you have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror. You know what I mean. You know when you've gotten off your path and are wandering onto someone else's path or are just wandering......without a path. You know that you are not doing what is right......for you. You have been influenced by someone, you let some one guilt you or just plain allowed yourself to be led astray.

 It happens. It's ok. Just don't let it get away on you, because if you do you may find yourself looking in the mirror at someone you don't like......or don't recognize.

your team

We are all just trying our best out here in the world aren't we?

Why we are so hard on ourselves......I will never understand.

Most of us are so quick to forgive someone a missed deadline or forgotten appointment yet we can't seem to give ourselves the same courtesy. Although it is important to have standards and to want to do our best, there are times when we focus too much on doing what is best for others and lose focus on doing what is best for us. When I was growing up my parents always said "pay yourself first". They were referring to saving money but I think this can also be applied to other parts of our life.  "Love yourself first." 

Asking for help is tough sometimes and I think it is partly because most of us are misguided in thinking that admitting you are overwhelmed or that you need some attention is a sign of weakness or that you are being selfish. When our loved ones ask us for help we don't think about weakness....we just help them get through whatever is going on - so why do we assume they would judge us? I think we all struggle with this concept. If you plan it right you may not even have to ask, it all depends on your team. I have surrounded myself with a great team and much of the time they know when I need help getting through a tough spot, or a shoulder to cry on, a kick in the ass to remind me it could be worse or when I just need to be silly and share a good belly laugh!

As team captain it is up to me who gets to play, who has to sit on the bench and who doesn't make the cut. Just because someone tries out does not mean they are getting a jersey. Sometimes I am the one on the bench and I need to count on my team to do the heavy lifting and other days my top player is out on an injury. Whatever the case, the game is still on and tomorrow is another day. It is so important to have the right team, knowing the strengths and weakness of your players and being kind to yourself.

Take a tip from the NHL and once a year have a trade day.....maybe its not a trade but just a time to get rid of some of the team members that aren't fit for your team anymore. But remember to keep at least one goon....they are important!

Cabbage Soup

I have been seeing a cabbage soup recipe all over facebook so when I ended up with half a head of cabbage leftover in the fridge I knew what to do! I decided that I was just going to use the ingredients I had and make up my own recipe....I mean its soup! isn't that all soup is? Just a bunch of whatever you have with some liquid and flavouring - always works for me! 

So here it is!

Ingredients:  

Cabbage

Carrots

Celery

Ground meat (I used Johnsonville Mild Italian ground sausage)

Diced tomoates

Crushed tomatoes

Dill

Tabasco

salt & pepper

The  process:
 Chop the cabbage, put in a wok with grapeseed oil and salt - fry.  At the same time, fry the sausage.

Once the sausage is thoroughly cooked and the cabbage is fried, add to your soup pot.

 Add the tomatoes, carrots and celery - using water or tomato sauce to thin. I used water (about 2 cups).  Add dill, hot sauce and salt and pepper. 

 Simmer and serve! So good and so easy! I was really happy how well it turned out and I will be making cabbage soup again......even though my husband came home and asked me why the house smells like fart. 

May the 4th Be With You

OH Star Wars.....so wise. Do you think George Lucas knew what he was creating? Educating generations of people? So much to be learned from these characters.

Seriously! My momma always said to be a leader not a follower. I will admit I may have followed a fool or two......for a brief time.

So so true.....On May 19th 1999 (my 18th birthday) I was sitting in an Edmonton movie theater at 2am watching Episode One - The Phantom Menace with the man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with.......I had no idea that just over three years later he would be gone forever.  

Wow. Just wow. Think about it. It kind of reminds me of a quote our GM has on his desk that basically says that common sense is a misconception based on the fact that we have all had the same experiences...

Since today is Star Wars Day 

I am going to channel my inner Jedi! 

You should too.......

and remember to use the Force.

a day off

I was feeling run down and a little drained....so I took a day off!! There was no reason other than I was feeling like I needed some "me" time - booked a day off work and stayed home! Man it was nice! 

So many of us are too busy loving other people and forgetting to love ourselves! We go out of our way for our spouse, kids, friends and our work but we will hardly go out of our way to take some time just for ourself! While it is important to be available to the people in your life when they are in need of your support, guidance or advice; it is equally important to make time for you!

A  recent survey found that nearly half of Canadians are not using their vacation time. Nearly half?!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH US??? 

Why do we feel like we can't take time off?

Why do we feel like we can't be away from work? 

I have yet to meet someone who is so important that the wheels would fall off if they took a day off!

So do it!

Take some time off and do something for you!! 

Going to the gym, reading a book, spending time with my family, watching cooking shows, sitting around the fire, going on a date with my husband...or my camera, catching up with a girlfriend, being outdoors,  having a nap, playing cards, soaking in the hot tub, laughing, snowshoeing or hiking....the list goes on and on!  I know what my "something for me" looks like!

 Do you?

compliments

         "A remark that says something good about someone or something."

Simple.

So simple. 

How good does it feel to get a compliment!?

I mean really? Who doesn't like a compliment?

Compliments work. 

It is amazing how choosing a wine that compliments your meal really does make the wine and the meal better! (could just be the fact that it is wine though). One of the big supermarkets even has a brand called our compliments. "Compliments of the gentlemen at the next table" has been an acceptable way to pick up chicks for years and even sometimes when you need to get a little extra scoop of ice cream on the cone a quick "how do you get the scoops so perfect?, I am so bad at it" will usually work.

Compliments are easy to give. 

Sometimes they aren't as easy to accept - but that is a whole other topic! So if they are so easy to give why not give more of them? Why not try to make it a natural part of your way of being? When you notice something compliment worthy make it known! Let it out! You will not only feel better for saying it but the person receiving the compliment will also feel better!

Everyone does at least one thing each day that deserves a compliment. They pick out a cute outfit, got a hair cut, are wearing new shoes, helped you do something and the list goes on. The point is that they did something to allow for a compliment.  All you need to do is be on the look out. It is amazing the things you can learn when giving a compliment too. There have been many times when I have simply complimented someone on their watch and I get the complete history of where they got it and what it means to them, or other times waiting in the grocery store line I toss out a "nice purse" and I am rewarded with a smile and a very excited story of how great of a deal they got on it!

People like to be noticed, people like to know they are being noticed, and more importantly it is important to notice the people around you. After all, what's the point of being here is not to pay attention the world around us?