Tag Archives: life skills

3 ingredient low calorie  bread

I’ve been bitten by the cooking from scratch bug in recent weeks. There have seen many recipes i have had a want to create over the years and have tried recipes from various regions of the country and a few overseas.  I have decided to take on a challenge in the kitchen of which I’ve never undertaken: making bread. This was a beginner friendly bread that I created using a few simple ingredients: bread flour, rapid rise yeast, and pink hymilayan sea salt.

To start, you will want to heat 1 and a half cups of water on the stove. Next, you will need 3 and a half cups of bread flower to go into a large bowl. Once this has been placed in the bowl, you will need to add a table spoon of rapid rise yeast and half of a tablespoon of pink Himalayan sea salt

Dry ingredients ready to rock and roll

Once the dry ingredients are done the water should be nice and hot. Pour the water into the bowl and mix around until the flour is fully incorporated into the mix and form it into a ball.

I’m having a great time.  A ball if you will

Once this is shaped into a ball, cover it and place it somewhere warm and let it sit for an hour to build up in size. Once that is done put it into a bread pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and form it into the pan and let it sit for another hour.

Two hours later

Once the hour has passed, put your oven on 450. Once the oven is heated bake the bread for 20 minutes to completion and remove to cool.

Bonus tip: I forgot that scoring the bread helps the bread expand more.

Once the bread has cooled, you will have a nice loaf of low calorie bread. I let a piece of this sit, but this bread lasted me about 5 days before it started to turn. I would recommend eating this right away while it is fresh.

Even without scoring the first time the bread looked great.

This was a wonderful first take on making a new dish. I realized this was rather small but I am looking to make it into larger loafs for the next time. This makes a very good peanut butter sandwich and with no preservatives, it was the most  guilt free pb&j that I have had in a while. Until the next time, dear readers, excelsior!

Train your brain

As we get older, our brains tend to age as well. Some quicker or slower depending on chemistry, genetics, and other external factors. No matter where you are in life, it is imperative to keep your mind active, strong, and firing on all cylinders for as long as possible. The need to train ones brain is imperative in this day and age.

Just as our bodies require care and exercise over the course of our lives, so do our brains, especially as we age. Lifting weights strengthens our muscles, while strengthening our mental “muscles” improves our memory, attention, brain speed, people skills, intelligence, and navigation.

The ideal concept to keep in mind is variety. Just as muscles plateau when a workout gets easier, our brains can it a plateau as well. When a plateau happens, there is no further growth, and in order to continue getting stronger, one must vary the weight or lift differently to achieve better results. The same applies to our minds. This variety can come from learning new languages, reading different books, doing more challenging puzzles(crosswords, sudoku, scrabble, etc.), learning a new skill (martial arts, learning an instrument, crafting, etc.), daily meditation, etc. These different methods will help keep your brain active and thriving.

Additionally, there are things that can dampen our mental fitness that we need to be mindful of. Stress, excessive consumption of social media, poor sleep, etc. These are all things that can harm our mental state. It is imperative that we manage our stress levels and sleep schedules as these can have drastic effects on the body over time. Excess junk media can also be empty calories for the brain and should only be consumed in moderation.

In summary, our mental health is important, and it shouldn’t be neglected. Keeping your brain active will keep you sharp as a tack and on your toes. For a way to get you started, I’ll share with you a puzzle book that I recently purchased that I’m having a great time with. Our brains are eager for a challenge and for more knowledge, hence our sense of curiosity. Feed your brain and train it well. It’s not a visible muscle, but it is your most important one. Until next time, dear reader, Excelsior!

Do you even brain lift?

Ending summer on a flavorful note

With back to school season approaching (or in some cases already starting), time is winding up for summer activities. With such limited time, back to school shopping, work, last-minute family vacations, and the like, it’s hard to take a seat and get some things done. In honor of the end of summer, I would like to present a quick, tasty, flavorful, and healthy: quick and easy chicken fajitas!

First, we’ll need chicken breasts (size will vary depending on how many you have to feed, but for this recipe, I used 6 Oz chicken breasts). The chicken breasts must ve sliced butterfly style, after which each half must be cut into strips. Once cut provide a generous seasoning of your choice (for this recipe, I used garlic powder, pepper, Mrs dash seasoning, onion powder, paprika, a little cumin and cayenne pepper) and set aside.

Next, we will want to get our veggies. I used yellow and orange peppers and half of a white onion for this batch. Cut all of the vegetables into strips and sit the vegetables to the side once sliced. After chopping up the vegetables, pour a light coating of vegetable oil into a skillet and cook the vegetables to your desired tenserness and set aside.

After the veggies are done, nexr we cook the chicken strips that were placed aside to soak in their seasoning. Cook the chicken until completely cooked through. Once cooked throughly, add in the veggies and mix well for several seconds and remove from heat. Additionally, you can warm up your tortillas to make them easier to roll up as well.

Once the tortillas are warm, take the veggies and chicken mix and apply a generous portion to the tortilla. Once the tortilla is filled use and topping to add to the mix to complete it (I ueed spinach and tomatoes as well as salsa and sour cream to top it off). Once everything is together you are ready to eat in no time!

This quick and easy recipe is easy for anyone of any skill to cook. This is a fun recipe to get the whole family in and is always a crowd pleasing dish that is also super filling depending on the size of the fajitas! Until the next time dear readers, stay healthy and safe. Excelsior!

Ending the year on a flavourful note

Holidays are a pretty busy time of year for everyone. It is easy to get lost in the shuffle and neglect things. One thing one should never neglect is one’s diet and nutrition. Last month I gave you a nice dessert so let’s balance that out with a nice simple savory dish: bell peppers and beef. While this was anime inspired from one of my favorite animes (cowboy bebop) I assure you that it the style will be a little different.

For this recipe we will require the following: 1 bell pepper of each color ( for this I only used red/green peppers to start), 1/2 of a small onion, 1 lb of beef chuck (you can substitute for 1 lb of mushroom and tofu for a vegetarian option), assorted spices and seasonings of your choice (Mrs. Dash, old bay, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper were used here) and honey sesame sauce (homemade or store bought)

First, clean your peppers and peel your onions. Once complete, mince your onions and place to side in a bowl. Proceed to slice your bell beppers into strips and add to the bowl with the onions. Lightly season your veggies with your seasoning mix and set aside.

Ready for the fire

Nexr, chop up your beef into bite-sized chunks and remove any gristle or fat as you go. Be sure to season your beef (or mushroom/tofu substitute) and place to the side.

I found the beef

Next, lightly oil your skillet and apply your seasoned beef, and cook thoroughly. Once cooked, set aside in a bowl.

Ok maybe I went a little toooo light on that oil.

Next you will place your veggies into the skillet and cook until tender. Once complete set aside in your bowl with the beef

Cook until the veggies comply

Lastly you can either caramelize the honey sesame sauce in the skillet or add the sauce after depending on your preferences. Once complete, you’re ready to go! Serve with your favorite beverage, and you’re ready to eat.

The whiskey is optional

And there you have it. A simple and quick meal you can enjoy any day of the week. This makes about four servings with my list of ingredients, and it is very filling for the small serving size. Going into the new year, I wish you nothing but the best and success in all your endeavors. Excelsior!

Who did it better?

Adding a little spice

This month I want to take a brief detour into another personal development skill: cooking. I enjoy it thoroughly and i find it therapeutic to be able to create new dishes in the kitchen. My latest culinary adventure has led me to a nutritious and flavorful low calorie meal: creole shrimp.

For this recipe you will need the following: 1/2 cup of chopped onion, 1/2 cup of chopped green pepper, 4 chopped mushrooms (I had chopped a good two handfuls of pre sliced mushrooms), 1 cup of canned tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon of oregano, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, 1 pound of shrimp peeled and deveined. Outside of this original combination for the recipe I also added 1 teaspoon of old bay seasoning, 1 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash original blend seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder to spice things up. I also forgot to get bell pepper so I substituted this for asparagus.

To get things started, combine all of the vegetables and spices in a large saucepan. Cook the veggies and spices for 10 minites over medium heat. In the meantime, cook the shrimp over medium heat for the same time with the seasoning blend from above. Once the shrimp has been cooked and the vegetables are nice and tender combine all ingredients in the saucepan and stir. After 5 minites remove the saucepan from the heat and serve!

Soups on!

Cooking is a vital skill all need to keep in their repertoire. This meal is a quick, healthy and nutrient dense meal that is low calorie and it absolutely delicious. Until the next time dear readers, excelsior!

How sufficient is your credit?

A message on a credit report that can pop up is “insufficient credit”. This is a message commonly found for those who are young, operated primarily with buying things cash, or perhaps haven’t taken out a form of credit in a very long time. This isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, but rather a good launching point towards developing health credit.

When applying for credit, lenders are only allowed to use a specific set of criteria to evaluate an application. Insufficient credit history indicates that the applicant doesn’t have enough accounts with a long enough payment history to approve an application. Banks, cell phone companies, and utility companies also look at this information when you set up a new account. As an applicant applies for bigger loans, lenders want to see that an applicant can handle multiple accounts responsibly. If someone only has a single credit card or too few accounts overall this could be a reason for rejection on a credit application.

On the other side of the coin, one wouldn’t want to go opening too many new accounts in a short time to build credit. On average it takes a minimum of 6 months for a new trade to make progress on an individual’s credit rating. Opening too many would be classified as an escalation of new debt. This could also be a reason to deny an applicant on a credit application. On another note, if there isn’t an update in activity (such as a credit limit increase or a new line of credit) for a substantial period, an individual’s credit could become stale and outdated causing it to be insufficient again. Keep in mind that the age of active credit lines also helps in building a score over time. These trades could be a line of credit or a credit card primarily.

Updating the personal information in one’s credit history is relatively easy. Building up one’s credit history takes more time and credit experts emphasize that there is no quick fix to a credit score. Experts typically recommend a few ways to help keep things in a positive light for one’s credit: 1) pay all bills on time to avoid them going into a collection action 2) opening a secured credit card or secure loan of some sort to start a history 3) reporting non-debt obligations If your lender uses a scoring system that counts that among other ways. Some lenders will overlook an insufficient credit history if the applicant is strong in other areas such as in debt-to-income ratios and stable proof of income to show how one could make payments.

Keep in mind that another common misconception is that checking accounts, debit cards and credit union accounts do not build credit. The checking account is designated for expenses and the debit card can be run as “credit” but is not truly linked to a credit line. Credit union accounts give you access to the credit union and all its services such as lending and credit building programs.   

Having insufficient credit can be difficult and confusing at times, but it doesn’t have to be. Feel free to reach out to your local financial experts at your financial institution and ask for ways to help establish a credit history for yourself. It will take time but the result of a healthy score and better rates are worth it. Until the next time dear readers, excelsior!