Ideals to Life

Taking vitamins and supplements on a routine basis is a challenge to keep up with, especially when you are orchestrating it for the entire family. The key is to keep the process as intuitive as possible. Simple decluttering and organization is the first step. Spend a few minutes this week cleaning out your medicine cabinet. Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Get rid of expired medications and supplements.

2. Discard items that you no longer use.

3. Separate medications from nutritional supplements.

4. Further divide into adults’ and children’s groups.

5. Store your regularly used supplements at the front of the cabinet where they can be easily accessed.

This is one of my family’s favorite enchilada recipes. It is quick, easy, and packed with rich Mexican flavors without being too spicy. I have made it with ground meats and also with chicken before - both are delicious!

Enchiladas

1 lb ground beef, ground turkey, or shredded chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 t minced garlic
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 t paprika
2 t chili powder
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
3 c shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 10oz can enchilada sauce
Tortillas, flour or corn (if making gluten free) (quantity will vary between 6-12 depending on tortilla size)

1. Cook onion in a little bit of oil until tender. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cooked meat, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt, black pepper, chili powder, and cumin. Simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Pour 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.

3. Fill each tortilla with a scoop of the meat mixture (amount depends on size of the tortilla) and cheese. Roll up tortilla and place it into the baking dish seam side down. Repeat with all tortillas. Top enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling.

Garnish with sour cream and cilantro.

The month before Christmas is a perfect time to do a toy purge. The biggest reason is because kids are often more willing to part with their junk old toys when you tell them it is to make room for their new Christmas presents.

So one day this week when you don’t feel like braving the cold or the crowds for last minute shopping, spend a couple of hours doing a toy purge. Have one bag for trash and then another bag for toys to donate. A couple of hours spent now can save your sanity after Christmas.

Tip: Don’t make your ambitions for this project so great that it is overwhelming and you don’t do it at all. If you only have an hour to spend on the task, then adjust your expectations accordingly. This does not have to be a complete toy organization overhaul. A brief, high-level toy purge can make a HUGE difference.

It is a fairly well known fact that sugar weakens the immune system. But did you know that it most strongly weakens your immune system for the first 4-5 hours after eating it?

Sugar is a fun treat in life and I personally cannot imagine life without a little bit of sugary goodness. However, especially during the cold and flu season, be choosy about when you consume sugar. Times when you are around a lot of people or exposed to more germs are some of the worst times to drink a soda or munch on candy. Instead, select a non-sugary drink on the airplane and encourage your kids to have more of their treats at home instead of at school.

Being mindful of your sugar consumption is a significant factor in your health; not just the amount, but also the timing.

When we try to avoid being exposed to too many germs, we often think about places like shopping carts, ATM machines, gas pumps, and public restroom doors. But if you have touched any combination of those places, your car’s steering wheel is probably just as bad.

Take a minute and give your steering wheel a good wipe down.

There are infinite ways to set up a “To Do” list. Categorized, prioritized, or itemized. However you organize it, a “To Do” list increases productivity. It brings direction, focus, and intentionality to your day.

“To Do” lists can also be overwhelming. When we begin to fill our lists with “could do” items (a.k.a. “ideals”), the lists can become impossibly long. When you feel overwhelmed with your “To Do” list, it has already lost its effectiveness. There are only so many things that you can accomplish in a day and your daily “To Do” list needs to reflect that.

How many tasks could you easily accomplish today? Five? Seven? Ten? Make your list completable. Find a number that you are not overwhelmed by and make your list.  If you complete your list with time to spare then you can create a second list that is completable within the remaining time. However long it is, the list should free you emotionally and mentally to focus on the tasks that you deemed important enough to make the cut. The endless list of ideals can wait.

What will you accomplish today?

After a summer of fun in the sun, our once-shiny outdoor toys have lost their sparkle. Or maybe it is just hidden beneath the muddy hand prints. Whatever the case, if you are like me, their loss of appeal might lead you to just ignore them and leave them on the back patio for most of the winter. Here they endure more wear-and-tear from the elements and lose even more of their appeal as they attain the “unused clutter” status. Then by the time spring rolls around, the kids are less than enthused about playing with most of them or they are ruined, leading you to purchase more and start all over again.

On one of the few warm days that we have left before cold weather is here to stay, spend a couple of hours outside sorting and cleaning the toys. Some outdoor toys are short-lived and seasonal by nature, so go ahead and throw those out. Give the rest a good scrubbing or wipe-down and then put them away in the garage or attic for the winter. This will extend the life of the toys and remove the clutter from your backyard.

And the best part? When warm weather comes back around and you pull the toys out of storage, they will hold a fresh appeal to your kids and the adventures will begin again.

If you are craving something light and chocolaty, then you will fall in love with this creamy, chilled, chocolate delight.

Chocolate Satin Pie

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter

3 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 Oreo pie shell

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer for 4 minutes or until light and fluffy and the sugar has dissolved. Add chocolate and vanilla and mix one more minute. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on high for at least 1 ½ minutes after each egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Transfer to the pie shell and chill 5 to 24 hours in the refrigerator, or 15 minutes in the freezer.

Top with whipped cream.

Take a couple of minutes today and clear out your voice mail or answering machine. Messages have a way of accumulating. We don’t delete a message initially because we need some information from it or we think that it will provide us with a reminder if we leave it on the machine (Note: myth). If there is information that you need to save, transferring it to a written format is usually more effective.

Happy message deleting!

Our days of warm weather are numbered now, making it a good time to think about tackling some of those last seasonal outdoor chores. The upcoming weekend might be a good opportunity to do just that!

Washing the windows is a warm-weather chore that the whole family can take part in. And don’t spend a lot of money on cleaning products. A hose, a few towels and microfiber cloths, or even just newspaper and some water in a spray bottle is all you need to get the job done.

On the cold winter days when you are housebound tucked into your cozy home, you will have a whole new appreciation for your clean windows.