So I started trying to come up with ways to improve that percentage… I can continue my practice of Conscious Shopping (my eBook will be available soon!) and set a goal of increasing my local spending as I go. I also like the idea of pledging to eat only food from local sources one day a week or even make that one meal each day. OR, I thought (sometimes I think in all caps), I can dare myself. In fact, I can skip straight to the almighty Triple Dog Dare. As in, “Maia, I Triple Dog Dare you to go 30-days without eating anything that is not locally grown or produced!”

Hmm… points to ponder…

In my last post, I mentioned what a logical, rational person I am. Which is absolutely true. But it’s not the only kind of person I am. Sometimes I need a challenge. I need to shake things up—and things haven’t gotten shaken—or even stirred, for that matter—around here in a long time.

But I digress.

I came across this William James (psychologist, philosopher, author and brother of Henry—I know. I looked it up) quote a while back and it’s been glued to me ever since…

“To change one’s life: do it flambouyantly; do it immediately; no exceptions.”

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe that slow and steady wins the race and that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and all that sensible stuff. But. Sometimes don’t you just want to take a side trip and dance like a dervish? Don’t you want to kick down the walls of that box you’re supposed be thinking outside of and live like there is no box?

Here is where I am: TODAY I WANT TO DANCE LIKE A DERVISH AND LIVE LIKE THERE IS NO BOX!

And so it goes…I am taking that Triple Dog Dare. 
 

Beauty from the Inside Out

All the beauty products in the world are not going to make you look your best if your skin is unhealthy. The best way to give your skin that healthy glow is to actually be healthy. This means taking care of yourself by drinking enough water, getting plenty of rest and eating in a way that’s healthy.

Eat the Rainbow

And no I don’t mean Skittles. If you want to look good, you have to eat right. When you are healthy, you look healthy. Treat yourself to plenty of blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, plums and prunes. Yum! And oh, by the way, they’re good for you.
      Other skin-enhancing foods include carrots, sweet potatoes, collards, spinach, kale and beets. What do these foods have in common? They make up a rainbow of beautiful colors-an indicator that they’re rich in vitamins and antioxidants great for combating those skin-damaging free radicals.

Not Just Another Fish Story

The Omega 3 fatty acids found in cold-water ocean fish provide your body with the healthy fats it needs for energy and for absorbing vital vitamins. Wild-caught Pacific salmon is a great source of Omega 3s. You can also get Omega 3s from plant-based sources like flaxseed, walnuts, hazelnuts, strawberries and black raspberries.

For more information on what foods to eat for healthy skin, check out my article, "7 Tips for Healthy Skin," on Ezine.com.

Also check out the February edition of my monthly newsletter, "News from the Humble Neighborhood," (published Feb. 8 ) for skin-enhancing recipes and simple facial masks you can make from items found in your own kitchen.

As far as cooking goes, beets are really wonderful because you can use both the greens and the roots to make completely different dishes. This week I started toying with that idea and ended up with a combination of oven-roasted beets (and other tasty root vegetables) and sautéed greens. These dishes are lovely on their own, but also delicious (my favorite) when served together.

I love this dish and wanted to share it, so I’ve decided to do is to post a few recipes in this blog in hopes of sharing and getting some feedback. I’d love to hear what you think!

Oven-Roasted Beets with Sautéed Greens

Ingredients:
A bunch of beets, including the greens
3 or 4 (or more, if you like) baby turnips, peeled and cut in chunks
6-8 fingerling potatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tsp butter (optional)
Kale
Mushrooms, sliced
Garlic, sliced
Balsamic vinegar

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Wash the beets and trim the greens (leaving an inch or so of the stalks attached to the beets) and set aside. You want to keep the beetroot intact, so that lovely color doesn’t run and turn the other vegetables pink.  Put the beets, turnips and potatoes in an oven-safe baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to one hour, until vegetables are soft (a knife will slide in and out easily).

Meanwhile, wash the beet greens and kale (discarding the kale stems) and tear or roughly chop into bite-sized pieces. Wash and slice mushrooms. Slice the garlic.

When the root vegetables are nearly done, heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter stops sizzling, add the mushrooms and sauté until soft. (Note: if you don’t want to use butter, you can just use olive oil instead. I just happen to like the flavor combination of mushrooms and butter). Add the sliced garlic and sauté until it begins to turn golden. Add the greens and sauté until they turn bright green and begin to wilt. Remove from stove; add a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar and toss.

Arrange the greens on a plate and place oven-roasted vegetables on top. At this point, I like to rub the beets to remove the skin and then slice the beets before placing them on the greens.

Go Beets!

Look Before You Leap
 
This is very important: If you’re using a recipe, read through it—in its entirety—first, thereby eliminating one of those “Oh, rats (or your favorite expletive)!” moments when you realize too late that you were supposed to chill, soak or otherwise prepare something ahead of time—or that the cooking time exceeds the time by which your guests will be arriving by several hours. Trust me. You’ll thank me for this.
This is also the time to make sure you have all the ingredients—or if you don’t, you can decide what substitutions you’re brave enough to make.

Get it Together

Get your ingredients together before you start cooking. In accordance with my Virgo nature, I line them all up on the counter in the order in which I’ll be using them. You can line them up any way you want to; the important thing is to get all your ingredients in front of you, so you can do a headcount. Make sure you have everything—and enough of it.
To simplify the cleaning-up process, I put away each item after I’ve used it. By the time I’m finished, all my ingredients have either been used or put away! 

Wash and Go

The clean-up-as-you-go method works really well for all your pots, pans and utensils, too. I use whatever spare seconds I have to quickly wash up any items I’m done with so I won’t have a huge mess to contend with when I’m done.

These are the tricks and tips that work for me—feel free to share your own!