7 Dimensions of Wellness

7 Dimensions of Wellness
7 Dimensions of Wellness

Monday, January 5, 2015

MEATLESS MONDAY: ROASTED CHERRY TOMATO & CLEMENTINE CROSTINI


The first #MeatlessMonday of 2015! We made it! I’m glad you’re here. 
Today I’m sharing an appetizer that will appease meat-eaters and vegans alike. Roasted Cherry Tomato & Clementine Crostini. Yep. Savory. Savory. Savory. Cherry Tomatoes and Citrus. An unlikely pair. This is what happens when I have items in my fridge that I don't want to go to waste and I'm in need of a tasty snack.  I'm quite resourceful when it comes to odds and ends in the fridge. Creating this recipe was quite fun.
Enter bread, balsamic and my oven. This simple recipe will be delight your taste buds and please a crowd if you're entertaining. Roasting the veggies pulls out a sweetness that is unmatched. The tang of Balsamic adds a nice rounded touch what I'm calling "the duo of delight".  



Ingredients
  1. 10-15 Cherry Tomatoes Halved
  2. 12 Clementine Segments
  3. 1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
  4. Pinch of Salt
  5. Black Pepper
  6. 4 Tablespoons Butter
  7. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  8. 5 Slices of Bread
Instructions
  1. Preheat Oven to 350
  2. Lightly Coat a sheet pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  3. Toss Tomatoes and Clementine Segments in Balsamic Vinegar and Spread on sheet pan
  4. Season with Salt & Pepper
  5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until softened
  6. While the tomatoes and clementines roast
  7. Cut out rounds of bread slices, each piece should yield two rounds
  8. Melt butter in a saucepan
  9. Toast each round in butter until lightly golden and crisp
  10. Top each crostini round with Tomato and Clementine mixture
  11. Serve warm and enjoy!

Candace Boyd Wylie is an Indianapolis, Indiana native who believes in the power of a good meal.  She is the Recipe developer, Content creator and Recipe slanger at FoodLoveTog. FoodLoveTog is a food blog that is dedicated to sharing good eats and food for the soul. Candace is a wife, mother, daughter, sister and CWUW supporter. She can be found on the web at FoodLoveTog and at BoydWyliePhoto

Sunday, January 4, 2015

The Choice.


When I sat down at the end of 2013 and created my vision book, I really didn't think I would fulfill some of the things in it. Because of my ambitious nature, I desperately wanted to believe I would and could, but the negative voices in my head said otherwise. As flipped through the pages and read the notes that I have written, I see evidence of a somewhat broken me, a person that I actually feel sorry for. However, there is also evidence of a transformation--I can see the moment I decided to make a choice to live a "positive" life. This choice was not easy, it required me to let go of unhealthy relationships, change bad habits, battle the external negative energy, and most importantly, silence the negative self talk. 

What did I learn as a result of this "choice?" I have learned from my mistakes, I've learned to celebrate my accomplishments, and I've learned how powerful the words that follow "I AM" are (thank you Clarissa Mitchell). 

This year as I created my 2015 vision book I had a different energy surrounding me, I almost felt like there was a glow around me. As a result, I did not use many pictures, I channel energy when I see words written by my hand. Although, I won't share the specifics (My granny used to say"don't tell everybody your business, all people don't have your best interest at heart...lol) my vision book contains several "I AM" statements...several. I will admit, I am a bit intimidated, but I am not afraid. 

Happy New Year!

LaWanda



LaWanda Martindale is a wife, mother, nurse and novice triathlete; she lives in Atlanta, GA.

Make Sweet Love - Sexuality

My professional life has been focused on the prevention of HIV in primarily women.  In this work, I've had the opportunity to talk about sexuality from all angles.  As we want people to be sexually responsible, we should encourage that they are sexually satisfied.  Historically, mens sexual desire has been the point of attention.  What a man wants, he gets sexually through consent, oppression, or force.   Men have been allowed to explore their sexual fulfillment in extreme ways. This, of course, is a level of oppression and its a social norm for many.

In my talks with women about their sexual fulfillment, I've spoken with women who have never experienced "the Big O".   Their sexual experiences were driven by whatever the man desired.  You'd think that everyone is experiencing sex in the same way - like the last porn movie with moans and repeated orgasms. We don't teach our girls they are sexual beings.  We teach them to be guarded, that their sexuality is a "gift" to be only given to someone special, and that they shouldn't be too sexually expressive.  If we remove religion from this conversation, how does this benefit our society to keep women's sexuality so controlled and policed?

Teaching sexual health and responsibility doesn't mean we should suppress sexual expression.  We need to teach that we are all sexual beings.  We have deep attractions and sexual connections with others.  We teach we must decided for ourselves what best keeps us emotionally and spiritually healthy as we decide to dive into our sexual selves. We have to stop teaching that sex is bad and stop using sexually transmitted infections as a scare tactic to keep youth from being sexually active. Being sexually healthy is being informed and being able to speak about sex in a wonderfully honest way.  Fear isn't they to create a healthy mindset to sex.

In our sexual relationships, we have to be able to talk about it.  Yes we need to talk about condoms and past partners but we also need to talk about kissing and touching and loving.  We need talk about where those kisses should land.  We need to talk about positions and fetish.  Do you like porn or not?   Talk about it.  Play with each other.  Allow yourselves to grow together not only emotionally and spiritually in your relationships but bonding sexually.  Believe me when I say that just because people are having sex, doesn't mean they are having good sex.