Accepting My own Mediocrity

But Determining to Be More True To my Beliefs..

I used to think that even if ( by definition) on average we all have average abilities- each person has some skill or talent that is above average.
But I can't identify any such skills or talents right now for myself. I can't even think of anything I can do with even average skill levels. When I go through the list of my abilities it seems that they are mostly below average.

Actually I did think of something I am exceptionally good at:  taking an exceptionally long time to do even the simplest of tasks. No-one can go slow like me. I would have to exclude walking though. Even when I try to go slow, I walk faster than most people do when at leisure. But They could probably all outrun me. I am just not very good at relaxing.

So maybe somewhere in the last paragraph there is a glimmer of hope. I don't know.
Maybe I just have to make the most of what I can do, accept my limitations and stop acting as if I am going to magically change..

From:
https://whisper.sh/whisper/05091a7ebdbaf4716340725ee8a6263ae4dcfc/Theres-always-gonna-be-someone-prettier-smarter-and-cooler-than-you-

And yet I want to be better, to do better, to concentrate more steadfastly, to think more clearly, wisely, intelligently..
That's why I called this blog the quest to be better. I am just finding it hard to believe I can be anything more than mediocre..
When looking for pictures to illustrate this post I came across this lovely image on pinterest:

From:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/69665125460944159/

But what does "being real"mean??

According to the urban dictionary this colloquialism refers to "the action of being true to the code of ethics of one's self, culture, and environment"

At least that is an idea I might be able to work with. But damn it is hard because I want to change so much in the world around me and it is quite difficult to avoid supporting work practices and businesses I don't agree with ethically and morally.

But still it's probably easier to go back to using only recycled paper than to try to speed up and be more efficient and effective at my various roles in life...!

Comments and suggestions most welcome.

My Millet magic Tricks: Part 1: PUDDING!

Millet Pudding

Whether you want to eat millet for the complete essential amino acid content or the amygdalins, or the reputedly alkalising effects of its rich mineral content, this is a tasty gluten free grain worth exploring..

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of millet grain
• 2 teaspoons of Vegetable Bouillion ( i use Marigold gluten free organic)
• 1/2 a banana
• 1-2 Tablespoons of Coconut Bliss Butter
• A tablespoon of Carob
• 1- teaspoons of Cocoa
• Optional Garnish:
• A few spoons of natural or vanilla CoYo or other yoghurt or cream and
• A dusting of cinnamon
• Lots of Water!!

http://www.biona.co.uk/product-717-4.html

Method:

1. Rinse the millet and soak  over night.
2. Rinse the millet 8 hours later.
3. Place in a pot and warm the dry grains for a few seconds while you measure out 3-4 cups of water.
4. Slowly pour on the water to cover:

5. 

   This is enough water for normal savoury use but for pudding you will need to add more!

6. Bring to the boil and simmer until soft.
7. For normal savoury use, fluffy is good but I like it creamy and gloopy SO after cooking I had to add more water:
8. 
9. Until it looked like this:
10. 
11. Measure out 1 or 2 cups of this porridgey millet. (Mix the rest with herbs and oil, then set aside to accompany a main course meal.
12. Blend with the banana carob and cocoa mix:
13. 
14. 
    
15. This mix could probably be baked or cooked in a pan like drop scones- I ma still experimenting.
16. However for this recipe you now need to add more water until you get the desired consistency. i.e. You want to add as much water as possibly really without making it into a liquid. It should be sort of jelly like. 
17. Serve in a bowl with cashew cream or CoYo or whatever cream you fancy..

18. 

    http://www.coyo.co.uk/products/

WARNING:

This is very filling so you might only be able to manage a small serving!

Something Cooling and Creamy

To me this recipe is like ice-cream because it is so soothing. I also love to use it as a topping on bread or crackers or potatoes. It is also nice with polenta. ( I like my medium coarse-ground polenta cooked with lots of coconut bliss butter, sweet corn and spinach! But sweet corn might not be good if you have IBS or swallowing problems. interestingly I think a slightly coarse polenta is easier to swallow than a fine powdery polenta because that sort gets too thick!)

Cool Creamy Cado-Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:

• A large green or yellow pepper
• Himalayan Salt
• 1 large or 2 medium avocados
• 1-2 tablespoons of pine-nuts
• A cup of spinach
• 4 inches of peeled cucumber
• A few leaves of basil
• A tablespoon of flax oil or olive oil (See previous  post for flax oil pro's and con's!)
• Optional Kickers: 5 olives &/or a clove of garlic &/or a smidgen of chilli &/or ginger/turmeric &/or 2 inches of banana

Method:

1. Chop the bell-pepper and rinse well with the pine nuts if using.
2. Tip into a jar like the one in the photo below.
3. Grind on enough Himalayan salt to coat the top of the peppers and then cover in water.
4. Leave overnight or for up to a day on the countertop- after this refrigerate or it will ferment.
5. Rinse all the other ingredients.
6. Decant a little of the pepper brine into a container and taste. If it is too salty dilute until it is palatable.
7. Add the peppers, pine nuts and brine to the other ingredients and blend.
8. Add some kickers according to taste. note that garlic will dominate and may not be tolerated by those with reflux issues. Chili can make this very uncool and hot..
9. Chill the sauce IMMEDIATELY or eat it straight away
10. This has been one of my favourite healing foods for a long time BUT it does not keep well. Make sure to return to the fridge straight after serving and consume within 3-5 days MAX. (Preferably within 24 hours)

Variation:

Blend or juice everything except the avocado for a lovely green drink. This would be nice to down before a meal to prep the stomach and possibly prevent leukocytosis.. (Hmm I can't find the right reference for this but this site gives some context: http://www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/raw-cooked/raw-cooked-1i.shtml )

Chock-full of Goodness Chocolate Shake

I love gloopy foods. When my food-pipe gets cranky and sensitive give me something silkily gloopy like a slippery elm drink or flax-porridge..

Such an impulse gave rise to this rather delightfully healing beverage( Well, healing for me anyways; Let me know your thoughts  in the comments below!)
You see it started out as flax porridge-i.e. heat half  a cup of salted water, blend with a tablespoon each of flax and peanut butter and get that gloopy grain-free porridge into you!
I found this mini-meal incredibly satisfying when too hungry to wait for my main meal to cook.

But most people will probably not be too enamoured with the texture, so... here is my newly improved recipe:

Chock-full of Goodness Chocolate Shake

Ingredients:

• A Cup and a half of Water with about 3 grinds of Himalayan salt in it
• A flat tablespoon of flax ( double if you want the gloopy version :) )
• A dessertspoon of carob
• 1-2 teaspoon of cocoa ( use less for a sweeter mix)
• A scoop/teaspoon of myo-inositol*
• A Tablespoon of nutbutter (I used two teaspoons of RAW living Superseed butter** and one of Essential Organic Peanut butter)

Method:

Place all the dry ingredients in a blender.

Warm the salted water in a pot.

Add the warm water and nut butter to the dry ingredients.

Blend thoroughly and serve immediately.

Wait  a few minutes and see how you feel

Variation:

If you have no inositol or if you simply want to make the shake sweeter add 2-4 inches of banana or add 2-4  unsulphured apricots soaked until soft and plump- 8 hours should work for sure but less may be needed. If you can get hunza apricots they will add some amazing caramel toffee flavours.

Note: Banana might make the mix thicker and thus harder to swallow if that's an issue for you.

BUT do try the recipe above if you can. The flax will give you that anti-inflammatory Omega 3 essential Fat Acid: ALA. The carob and chocolate are rich in minerals like calcium and iron and the carob is a natural sweetener anyway...

Foot Notes:

*Inositol 

Benefits and Contra-indications: 

Myo-inositol has been studied for its benefits in boosting egg health and fertility particularly in PCOS sufferers. it has also been studied for its ability to reverse the pre-cancerous cell condition known as bronchial dysplasia, inhibit the spread of prostate cancer and improve quality of life for chemotherapy patients.. 

There are other benefits too but caution is recommended for people with Bipolar disorder because one man went into a state of mania after consuming large quantities of Red bull and they don't know if this was due to the inositol in that fine beverage or due to the taurine or the caffeine or something else...

Also Webmd recommends that pregnant and lactating women avoid the supplement becasue "not enough is known" However a few studies have been carried out, showing that taking small doses of myo-inositol during pregnancy can prevent gestational diabetes and prevent miscarriages.. Still if you are pregnant and particularly if you have never had issues with diabetes or PCOS you might not want to take any risks.... So go for the banana option instead!!

Sourcing: 

I used Inositol from Pure Encapsulations because I trust the brand and I got an ok deal here from iHerb. But as you can see, it is currently out of stock and costs twice as much on ebay!

 So I think I will go for the Jarrow or maybe  the much cheaper-NOW Foods version next time. I have purchased several Now Foods supplements before and never had major issues with them, but they failed to live up to expectations by Consumerlab for several supplements, whereas all the Jarrow supplements tested (and randomly checked by me) were approved..

**Superseed Butter

http://www.rawhealth.uk.com/product-545-7.html

Benefits and Contra-indications: 

This has a good balance of the omega fatty acids -particularly the anti-inflammatory Omega 3 fatty acid: alpha linolenic acid. However, one study showed that flax oil may increase the chance of preterm labour. Interestingly the same study showed no increased risk with Flaxseeds. The risks and benefits are well explained here: Is-it-safe-to-take-flaxseed-oil-during-pregnancy/ and here http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/flaxseed-and-flaxseed-oil/safety/hrb-20059416

Also it is extremely important to use GROUND flax seed with hot water in the ratio given ( Or with more liquid) to ensure that the drink can be consumed without any swallowing difficulties. Whole Flaxseeds are contraindicated for cancers of the gut.