sweet and spicy mixed nuts

Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts

I brought these nuts over to my cousin the other day and let’s just say they did not last long. I will have to say they were quite the hit. Mixed nuts are a great snack but adding in a little extra flavor here and there just spices them up, literally! This batch offers a…

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Crispy Buffalo Tofu Bites

Even the smell of buffalo sauce makes my tastebuds tingle. I took a different approach and made a crispy tofu style dish. Make sure you press the water out of the tofu. If you don’t, the bites will not be very flavorful. The dip adds a perfect touch to each bite. Serves: 2 Hands-on time:…

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A Free Throw for Muscular Dystrophy

It was senior night at The Columbus Academy as Ali Dillon’s brother excitedly approached the free throw line. The crowd anxiously awaited his shot. The basketball went in and the crowd erupted with a standing ovation. As a basketball lover living with a rare form of muscular dystrophy called CPTII Deficiency, he was unable to…

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Grilled Eggplant, Mozzarella, Tomatoes

This eggplant dish is a piece of cake. One of the farmers at the farmers market told me about this recipe. The roasted red pepper sauce acted as the perfect addition to the eggplant. Eggplants belong to the nightshade vegetable family. This means they experience most of their growth overnight! Eggplants contain phytonutrients, which have antioxidant…

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Lavender Oil: The Cure-All

You’re finally presenting that project you’ve been working on to hundreds and can’t control your nerves, lavender oil is right by your side to help you snap back into your calm mindset. That mosquito bite on your leg keeps expanding in size as you scratch it to death until a touch of lavender oil encourages…

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5 Easy Ways to Meditate

“I can’t meditate. I never would be able to turn off my thoughts,” I hear from a number of friends. Meditation is an interesting concept. The key to meditation is being present with each moment. Meditation allows your thoughts to focus in on what you are doing in that instant rather than letting the “monkey…

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A lesson from a one-year-old

Cheer. A sound you hear when that basketball swooshes through the net to give your team a one point lead with less than three seconds left in the game. Cheer. An excitement in everyone’s voice when your cousin turns one and instead of singing “Happy Birthday,” “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” reverberates through the…

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Carrot Cake Energy Balls

Energy balls are a go-to for my weekly routine. I have made some almond date balls or chocolate date power bars. This week, I opted for the carrot cake energy balls and boy, do they taste like a scrumptious treat! Shredding the carrots is a bit of a trick but once you get past that, they’re a piece…

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5 Ways to Love Yourself

The relationship you have with yourself is the most important relationship you can have. You have to learn to live with both the dark and light sides of your soul. The trick is finding ways to become partners with the dark side. For me, I am a pretty impatient person. This is definitely a characteristic…

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Knee pain? What does it mean?

“So, how are things going?” he asked. I broke down. Tears flowed from my eyes and I started to say sorry for crying. I felt myself holding back because things weren’t peachy keen and it seemed as if I shouldn’t communicate that. This lump in my throat started to choke back my words because they hurt…