This Week's Goal

For all of you who have an iPhone know how quickly your battery will run out if you have a lot of apps running in the background. Your life works in a very similar way. The more your mind is wandering and the more things you are stressing about (sometimes without knowing about it), the faster your own batteries are going to run out and it’s going to leave you tired and sometimes unhappy. Mediation can be a very helpful tool to help charge our “batteries”, and in helping us cope with life’s stressful situations.

This week’s goal is to quite your mind for 5 minutes a day (work it up to 10 minutes). An easy technique is to focus on your breathing. If you find your mind start wandering you can say “in” as you breathe in, and “out” as you breathe out. 

Good instructions on how to meditate

Interesting article on methods of coping and mediation. 

Happy Mediation!

Cleaning your kitchen

Cleaning your kitchen should be as much fun as cooking (ok, we know that’s not going to happen, but at least we should try to make it fun!). These all-natural effective cleaning products use the antibacterial and disinfecting qualities found naturally in herbal extracts and citrus fruits to safely clean your home from top to bottom.  And they smell yummy too!

Botanics Home

Fennel

Testing a new recipe this morning. Sautéed snapper with orange-fennel salad. Can’t wait to try it! 

Fennel is a bulb with feathery fronds and a mild licorice flavor which is widely used in Italy, where it’s eaten raw and salted as well as cooked. It pairs especially well with fish.

When you buy fennel, you should look for small, heavy, white fennel bulbs that are firm and free of cracks. The stalks should be crisp with feathery, bright green fronds. You can store fennel bulbs in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to five days. 

We will add this recipe to a menu in the upcoming weeks!

A healthier version of Mac & Cheese

You can’t go wrong with Mac & Cheese, especially when it’s a healthier version of the old favorite. Hope you like it as much as our families do! 

4-6 servings

Approx. 45 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni (uncooked)
• 2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup low-fat evaporated milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat a 13x9 –inch glass baking pan with cooking spray.
3. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package and drain well.
4. Put the pasta into a large bowl. Add the cheddar right away and stir until the cheese has melted.
5. In another bowl, add the evaporated milk, eggs, sour cream, mustard, salt and cayenne pepper (optional). Whisk it all together.
6. Add the mixture to the bowl with pasta and mix well.
7. Scrape the mixture in the baking dish and sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top.
8. Put the dish into the oven and bake until it’s golden brown and is crispy around the edges (about 35-40 mins depending on your oven).

Enjoy!

Signs for the kitchen

 

These signs would look good in our kitchen at the office. It might be time for some re-decorating. 

 

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