A Matter of Perspective

It’s nearly the end of the current school year. This one is so different than the one we experienced last year. I’ve been to two concerts so far and anticipate attending at least one graduation ceremony at the end of the month.

Last spring there was no in-person school. There were no concerts. While there were graduation ceremonies, they were certainly much different than anyone could have imagined at the start of the last school year in September 2019.

This year has not been without trials. There have been spotty outbreaks of COVID-19 that have caused partial school closures for limited amounts of time. There have been weeks without a certain sport playing because of an outbreak.

But overall, this school year has been closer to normal. We wear masks or face shields, but we are in person. We may not see all of a person’s face, but we do see their eyes and that makes a lot of difference. We can see the smile in a friend’s eyes. We can hear them laugh. We can see their tears, we can comfort with our own eyes.

A lot of changes...

We somehow manage to survive and even thrive throughout the changes. I am proud of our small towns. We are great examples to our larger counterparts!

Health update

I am still working on controlling my blood sugars. Again, they have been getting closer to normal range and that is powerful for me. If you struggle with type 2 diabetes, let me know and we can talk about what I am doing. Or just check out my blog at: diabeteshealthnuts.com. I will be sharing more about what I am doing and what I am eating to make these changes. I’ll give you a big clue, though, it has a huge amount to do with what you eat and drink and if you exercise or not! (But we already knew that, didn’t we?)

I have been making some smoothies that are very filling and nutritious, but some of them taste awful!

My granddaughter Jasmine calls them my “vomit drinks.”

I laugh at that, but if you saw them or tasted them, you would probably agree with her!

I try to avoid having those particular drinks and when I do have them, I drink them first thing in the morning. Yes, I like to get the nastiest things out of the way right away! I figure if I can stomach them and gulp them down, the rest of the day can only get better!

The health benefits of the “vomit drinks” have been phenomenal from weight loss to lower blood sugars!

I am pleased.

Here is one of the recipes I use the most. Try it out, this one tastes okay!

1 cup almond (or other plant-based) milk

1 cup strawberries (frozen and unsweetened)

1/2 cup blueberries (frozen and unsweetened)

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 cup chopped kale

1 cup spinach leaves (raw)

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

Add a 1/2 cup water and ice

Blend well and enjoy!

This morning I forgot to add the chia and flax seeds (I will add them to a meal later today), but those two things are great sources of fiber, along with omega 3s, calcium and other vital nutrients.

I will be working on some new recipes soon and I look forward to that, too! It can be fun to try new things that might be healthier for me!