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My Favorite Things – When I’m Sick

Sometimes I wonder if when I take medication, if it’s really making me feel better. Because when I took my doctor-prescribed medications over the weekend and today, I have moments where I just feel worse. Like my body has just realized it’s actually sick.

So I’ve tried to trick my body into thinking it’s not so uncomfortable with some of my favorite things, like the following. This is the basic list of my go-to items that always make me feel better. What’s yours?

Junk Food

When I’m really feeling sick – and it doesn’t matter if I have strep throat or my throat is scratchy from coughing all day – all I want to do is binge eat food that’s bad for me. Sometimes, I’m not even hungry, but I think when I was little I used to find comfort in chocolate pudding, cookies, and macaroni and cheese. So anything remotely sugary usually ends up in my belly. It’s about the only sure fire way to tell that I’m sick is if you catch me with a chocolate chip cookie or Boston Cream Pie doughnut in my hand.

Also, frozen S’more Pop-Tarts are the best thing in the world.

Disney Movies

Did I ever tell you that my grandparent’s used to work at Disney World? No? Oh, well guess what? I was one of those spoiled kids who went all the time, so I could pretty much tell you everything and anything you want to know about the greatest place on Earth. EPCOT is still my favorite place to go, and if you tell me you don’t like going to Innovations, then I’m sorry, we probably can’t be friends anymore.

So back to Disney movies. When I’m sick, the best thing that calms me down is being curled up on the couch with Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, or even any of the old classics like Candleshoe or Pete’s Dragon. If you’ve never heard of Candleshoe, please watch it, particularly if you’re a Jodie Foster fan. She was such a great little actress in that film!

A Warm Bath

Bubbles. Warm water. Playlist with Elephant Revival. Enough said.

Fluffy Blankets

Or towels right out of the dryer. I have no idea what it is, but I just love snuggling in warm sheets. So warm. So comfy. Who wants to throw all my blankets into the dryer and then make me a fort of fluffiness?

May 27, 2014 by Roni

Fitness, Health

Early Morning Green Juice

I woke up very early yesterday morning. I don’t know if it was because it was raining, or because my pain medication wore off (had to go to the doctor late last week, but I’m fine, don’t worry). I ended up making breakfast at 5:30 a.m., then did two loads of laundry, and proceeded to watch the documentary “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” – which I totally recommend. It’s on Netflix and is about this man who decides to only eat juiced fruits and veggies to lose weight and get healthier. It’s amazing how a simple change can make such a difference. We eat such processed and bad food that if we just took the time to eat fresh fruits and veggies, we’d be much, much healthier.

So by 9 a.m., I was both drawn in by this film, as well as craving fruits and veggies. That’s how I found myself wandering through the rain for a 10 minute walk to the Dover Natural Marketplace.

Grabbing a Green Drink In the Rain

Yes, I make awkward faces when I take selfies.

However, the ladies at the store were very kind and even though their juicer was down, they were still able to puree some kale, spinach, pineapple, apple, and orange for me as a mid-morning snack (a.k.a. breakfast number two).

It was so good. I promise, there’s nothing scary about these. It’s just fruits and veggies, and to be honest, it just tastes like a smoothie. No harm in getting some early morning exercise with a walk, and then enjoying an added dose of vitamins.

Dover Natural Marketplace

Next time I’ll tell you all about their bulk spice section. I could get lost in there for hours.

May 25, 2014 by Roni

Fitness, Food, Health, Savory

Green Drinks, Do or Don’t?

How to make a Green Drink Easy

“We’ll make the high-octane version one for you. You can handle it.”

Apparently my new healthy living and running kick was something my Florida cousin was aware of. Hence the famous last words before he decided to introduce me to the all-mighty kale and “green drinks” trend. He had lugged a NutriBullet into the kitchen, followed by bags of kale and spinach as well as informative tips on why drinking your days worth of veggies in a smoothie was both healthy and easy.

I threw my poker face on, added a quick “Bring it on,” and awaited what I anticipated to be a very unpleasant experience. I mean, he was filling a cup with spinach, kale, baby bok choy, Swiss chard, only half a banana, very little strawberries, I think 1 blueberry, and a very tiny slice of cantaloupe. (I might be over exaggerating on the lack of fruit.) And then topped it with protein powder and something called a “superboost” (Chia, Goji, Cacao, and Maca) and water.

A quick puree in the NutriBullet and pouring the green contents into a glass I was advised to drink it like a beer – chug. Unfortunately, as I am out of college I’m a little bit rusty on that part, meaning I drank it as quickly as I could, but didn’t exactly get it down in record time. (I was told the longer it sits, the “frothier” it gets and has an unpleasant consistency.)

And to be honest, with all that anticipation, I was pleasantly surprised that instead of a chalk-like substance, I could actually drink it without so much as a twinge. So, it didn’t taste like a strawberry and banana smoothie and wasn’t filled with ice cream or sugar, but it did get me way more vitamins than I probably get in the average day.

I also learned that kale has more iron than beef, more calcium than milk, and 10 times more Vitamin C than spinach. It’s good for the eyes, skin, helping lose weight, as well as lowering cholesterol.

Perhaps a NutriBullet will be in my near future. Let’s see how ambitious I get.

Make your own with the basics: 2 cups of greens + 2 cups of fruit + water to the fill line. A sprinkling of SuperFood SuperBoost and a small scoop of protein powder.

How to make a Green Drink Easy

What was in mine? A combination of:

Spinach
Kale
Baby Bok Choy
Swiss Chard
Strawberries
Blueberries
Grapes
Cantaloupe
Half a banana
SuperFood SuperBoost
Whey Protein Powder
Water

Note the not fruit juice or ice cream. It’s not a smoothie, it’s a vegetable and fruit blend. Don’t add sugar when you don’t need to. You’re sweet enough!

April 24, 2014 by Roni

Health, Technology

Put Down Your Phone And Save Lives

Just give me a minute… gotta step up on my soapbox here…. Okay, all set.

Now, anyone who knows me, knows I’m a little bit addicted to my cell phone. Okay, okay, a lot bit. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, it’s well within reach. Like many reading this, I, too, use it as a watch, a grocery list, updated Gameboy, email checking device, and yes, sometimes as a phone. As I write this, it’s sitting next to me and I’ve already checked it, sadly, twice.

The problem is that I’m so attached to it, that there’s never really any moments anymore to just step back and say, “Let’s take some ME time.” And that is clearly needed.

So when I heard about the UNICEF Tap Challenge, I not only was selfishly happy that I could use this to get away from my phone, but was also ecstatic that I could do some good while putting down my phone.

The UNICEF Tap Challenge, is this: put down your phone and they’ll help people around the world get clean drinking water. In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours walking just to collect clean drinking water. Around the world, 1,400 children die from diseases due to unsafe water or not having sanitary facilities.

All you have to do is this: Open up UNICEFTAPPROJECT.ORG on your smartphone, then put down your phone, don’t touch it. (Also, you might want to plug it in, because this drains your battery.) For every 10 minutes that you don’t touch your phone, UNICEF partners will donate a day of water to a child in need.

Companies like Giorgio Armani Fragrances have banned together, donating and sponsoring people who are putting down their phones.

So instead of uploading another selfie of you and your cat, why not help others (and yourself) by putting down your phone. Visit their site for more information (http://tap.unicefusa.org/), but I’m challenging you all to test it out and see how long you can go. Post in the comments how long you’ve gone and let’s save some kids!

March 30, 2014 by Roni

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