Where do Blog Ideas Come From?

Today’s verse:  Proverbs 3: 5-6  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

I have been asked how I come up with an idea every day for my blog.  The truth is, I don’t have an idea every day.  When I started this blog, the intention was to have a faith based, nutrition / health food blog with principles that could be applied to other addictions in addition to over eating and dieting.  But as it has evolved, I find I don’t write too much about dieting, but rather about addictions in general.  So how do I get ideas?

Sometimes it is drawn on personal experience from my addiction to smoking and eating (mostly sweets).  These addictions are not as severe as other addictions, but to me any addiction that makes you do something that you don’t want to do, or is unhealthy for you, carries the same weight to the person dealing with that addiction.

Sometimes it is thinking about my sister or my son or any other addict in  my dysfunctional family.  I hope that they read this and are helped. Sometimes I will hear something on the radio that catches my ear and sounds like a good idea to write about. Sometimes I hear something in a sermon at church.

But mostly, I call on God every morning for inspiration.  I spend some time reading a daily devotion from a book called “Breakfast with God:  Inspirational Thoughts to Start Your Day God’s Way”. I reflect on the daily message and pray. Something always comes to me to journal about.  It may not be exactly on topic, but I believe I am listening to God and doing his will.

So I write hoping to inspire others to keep their chin up, keep trying to give it up (whatever “it” is), to have faith in God always and to hope for a better tomorrow. Praying to God is powerful, and it is just as important to listen for God’s reply. This is hard to do, but with practice you will learn to discern what he is telling you for your life. He will not lead us astray.  Read again today’s verse and apply it to your life:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Blessings to all of you today for a great and safe 4th of July weekend!

Healthy Living Recipe Idea  (includes salad, main dish and dessert)

With the 4th of July right around the corner, here are some fun recipes for the holiday that are good for you too.

Grilled Watermelon, Blueberry, Mint and Feta Salad  

Ingredients:
1 small watermelon (about 6 pounds), cut into 1-inch-thick rounds (lay melon on its side, and cut through rind and flesh with a sharp knife)
1/2 cup small mint leaves, torn
1 cup blueberries
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled into large chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions
1. Heat a grill or grill pan over high heat until very hot. Two at a time, grill watermelon rounds, turning once, until charred (about 2-3 minutes per side). Transfer watermelon to a cutting board and remove rind; cut rounds into wedges.
2. Arrange watermelon on a serving platter; sprinkle with blueberries, mint and feta. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, then sprinkle with salt and pepper (optional).

Yogurt Spiced Chicken Skewers

Ingredients 

Dipping sauce:
1/3 cup honey mustard
2/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Marinade:
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2-1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Chicken:
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, trimmed of visible fat
12 metal or wooden skewers  (soak skewers to keep from burning)

Directions:
Dipping sauce: mix the honey mustard and sour cream in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed. This sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance.

Marinade:  In a small bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients; set aside.

Cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 4 long, thin strips. You should end up with about 12 strips. Place the strips into a gallon-size zip-top plastic bag. Pour the marinade mixture over the chicken, and close the bag. Then flip the bag a few times to ensure that all pieces are coated with marinade, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, transfer the chicken to a colander to drain off excess marinade. With clean hands, skewer each piece of chicken, threading it onto the end of a skewer. Continue until all of the chicken pieces are skewered.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium heat. Cook for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side, testing chicken for doneness before serving (meat should be opaque). Transfer skewers to a clean platter.

Remove the chicken from the skewers, if desired. Serve chicken while hot with the dipping sauce alongside.

Jello Firecracker Dessert

Ingredients:
1⅓ c. boiling water
1 package JELL-O Berry Blue Flavor Gelatin
1 package JELL-O Cherry Flavor Gelatin
1 envelope KNOX Unflavored Gelatine
1 c. milk
3 tbsp. sugar or Splenda
½ tsp. vanilla
20 Maraschino cherries with stems

Directions:

Add 2/3 cup boiling water to berry gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Repeat with cherry gelatin mix. Cool.

Meanwhile, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over 1/4 cup milk in medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Bring remaining milk to boil in saucepan. Remove from heat; stir in sugar and vanilla. Add to plain gelatin mixture; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Cool 10 minutes.

Spoon berry gelatin into 20 (1 ounce each) plastic shot glasses sprayed lightly with cooking spray, adding about 2 teaspoons to each. Refrigerate 15 minutes, or until set but not firm.

Top with unflavored gelatin mixture, adding about 2 teaspoons to each cup. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Insert cherry, stem end up, into white gelatin layer in each cup. Refrigerate 2 minutes.

Cover with cherry gelatin, adding about 2 teaspoons to each cup. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Remove from cups before serving.