tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75589552347825080282026-04-02T13:37:11.348-07:00Lisa Olko's Blog for Healthy and Inspired LivingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-48784790643619053932013-09-21T12:48:00.000-07:002013-09-22T05:48:24.120-07:00

Getting ready for cooking classes on a rainy day! The table is set....how bright and cheerful it looks! Peeling and prepping the butternut squash for soup-making! Sauteing the onions, garlic and ginger before adding the squash. Secret ingredient for the decadent flour-less brownie bites. Beans, cocoa, vanilla, almond butter, and honey in the food processor. Getting the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-49298063459169144502013-09-17T05:55:00.000-07:002013-09-17T05:55:09.403-07:00

This is the yummiest, the simplest and most heavenly dessert I've had in a while. Fresh Figs with Greek Yogurt, Toasted Walnuts and Honey Fresh ripe figs Plain greek yogurt Walnuts, chopped and toasted Raw honey Remove and discard fig stems. Slice figs open like a flower. Place yogurt in the middle of flower. Sprinkle walnuts and drizzle honey. Serve and enjoy!  For a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-20342113382899649942013-08-01T06:47:00.000-07:002013-08-01T18:47:24.262-07:00

Hello there.....it's summertime..... and it has sure been busy in my neck of the woods.  It has been way too long since I've posted here as I have been somewhat engrossed in summer school. I'm taking classes to gear up for re-entry into nursing school and have had alot of fun taking an art appreciation class thus my previous post which was the first paper I wrote this semester.&

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-35885282328118080152013-06-11T11:58:00.000-07:002013-06-11T11:58:48.573-07:00

Art was always a very big part of my life. Not only was art something cherished and nurtured by my family growing up but it was so prevalent that I can heartily and simply say that art was an inseparable part of my life.  From early childhood to young adulthood I was greatly influenced by the beauty and power of all forms of art, it presently enhances my life and I imagine it always will. &

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-65395832842270280492013-05-30T07:52:00.000-07:002013-05-30T07:52:33.608-07:00

Cicada Medicine In our part of the country we are presently being visited by the 17 year cicada and their whirring, clamourous sound.  They start early around 5 am and don't quit until night fall.   I am amazed  that the young cicada live in the earth for 17 years then they break through the earth and molt, hatch, sing and mate only to lay eggs that then make their way

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-82569414699990891772013-03-03T11:59:00.000-08:002013-03-03T11:59:05.818-08:00

Last Saturday was my first Seasonal Cooking Class of the year and it was a smashing success!  I had four women attend  and we cooked a lovely,and deliciously, easy meal together. Getting Started....All the ingredients are arranged and looking colorfully beautiful! Barb coring the apples for our dessert of Baked Stuffed Apples... with the new and handy dandy apple corer...we all

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-45482465709638651112013-02-22T05:55:00.000-08:002013-02-22T05:55:32.831-08:00

Happy New Year..... again!  This time the lunar New Year ....how exciting the Year of the Snake!  Many of the predictions seen favorable. I am going to summarize the message from Master Hua Ching Ni, Taoist Master of 37 generations. The Snake symbolizes flexibility and constructive transformation.  A new stage for the world has arrived and opened the possibility for a New

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-75577122329807335262013-01-31T07:11:00.000-08:002013-01-31T07:11:16.342-08:00

Lisa Doll This Saturday was spent doing something very special, magical and unusual....sewing self portrait dolls,  a doll made in ones' own image. This can be taken a step further by incorporating parts of yourself that you would like to bring out. The doll can signify a hidden part of yourself or maybe even help to heal an aspect of yourself from the past perhaps the inner child.  

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-2731202430003562232013-01-01T08:44:00.000-08:002013-01-31T05:40:50.058-08:00

Happy 2013 everyone!  Can you feel the collective sigh and the shifting of energies now that 2012 is behind us? It was a high energy year with numerous lessons to be learned on many levels individually, locally, nationally and globally.  There has been a bursting forth of so much knowledge and it has felt at times hectic, urgent, thrilling, frightening and like one big adventure ride.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-67369977305472965002012-12-20T17:13:00.000-08:002012-12-20T17:13:27.675-08:00

In honor of the Winter Solstice, this poem came into my inbox from  the Sisters of the Integral Way a group of women who nurture  and cultivate the study of the Tao in their lives.  It is an excerpt from the book, The Five Healths for a New Humanity by Hua-Ching Ni & Mao Shing Ni.  It is most gentle, very exquisite yet powerfully strong in its meaning. 玄 女 真 經 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-31881331092510984362012-12-19T08:26:00.001-08:002012-12-19T14:15:44.936-08:00

December 14, 2012 will from now on be  remembered as a dark day in America's history.  It is unimaginable the way someone's life can turn on a dime.  I am amazed and struck by the collective suffering this despicable event has caused as well as the incredible outpouring of compassion and human caring.  We are truly One....what happens to one of us affects all of us. I am

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-4615094107805859832012-12-18T12:44:00.000-08:002013-09-22T05:51:34.304-07:00

12/12/12 was a good day. After breakfast I decorated the mantle, then went for a walk where I found some special treasures...two pretty feathers and a heart stone.  I worked a little bit,  pampered myself and got a massage.  At 12:12pm  I went outside to breathe in the good energy of the minute and the date.....you know 12:12 ON 12/12/12! I spent a few minutes in my

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-33082525673610138472012-12-03T18:40:00.000-08:002012-12-03T19:14:58.753-08:00

This weekend I rendered pumpkin. I always turn the leftover pumpkins into mashed pumpkin to be used in puddings, soups, pies, smoothies, breads and any other recipe requiring pumpkin.  Some folks say that the big pumpkins, not the pie pumpkins, taste blah but I disagree especially if you roast the pumpkin like I do.  Roasting vegetables will always produce a more intense concentrated

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-1955110346230443022012-11-26T18:54:00.000-08:002012-11-26T18:54:37.833-08:00

Everybody knows that nuts and seeds are good for you.  They contain healthy fats, are high in fiber,  protein,  vitamins and  trace minerals. They can help with weight loss and maintenance, controlling and preventing diabetes, as well as promoting heart and brain health, reducing inflammation and lowering cholesterol.  That's quite a rundown! A lot of people are afraid

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-52437413734220219122012-11-19T15:05:00.002-08:002013-01-01T08:08:17.006-08:00

YUM......YUM.......these are addicting.    Kale chips, our favorite new way to eat kale.  Kale is really trending these days as THE green to eat.  But this is not news....we've known this all along!  Kale is probably the most nutritious green of all time. Just looking at it with all it's curls and extra surface area.......it packs more bang for your buck than

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-83712867833782719352012-11-06T06:08:00.001-08:002012-11-06T06:12:05.960-08:00

Are you feeling keyed up, strung out or overwhelmed? I sure am!  These are intense times...and it feels to me as if  time is hurtling forward like an out of control freight train.  My nerves are frayed and I'm feeling emotionally spent....thinking of the destruction and horrific conditions that Hurricane Sandy left behind and an emotionally charged Presidential election....

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-12131246060735580812012-10-31T12:08:00.000-07:002012-10-31T12:08:00.873-07:00

Here is a quickie blog post featuring butternut squash soup......there are many ways to make squash soup and you really can't go wrong. You can keep it simple or jazz it up...but anyway you cut it it is super fast and super easy. Here is what I did: First I minced a large onion, an inch of fresh ginger and 2 cloves of garlic.  Next, I sauteed all of that in about a TBS of coconut oil. &

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-27645135357265080412012-09-21T12:25:00.000-07:002012-10-31T12:32:23.359-07:00

It's Autumn equinox....one of the two times in the planetary calendar when the length of the day and night are approximately equal at every place on earth, and Fall is in full swing here in Virginia.   Already the leaves are starting to change the acorns have been falling and the early evening air is crisp and chill.  The fruits of summer are starting to fade

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-3655559953594089512012-06-25T18:26:00.000-07:002012-06-26T10:37:29.002-07:00

I'm really excited and also proud of myself!   Remember one of my last blogs where I said I was feeling like I needed some big changes in my life?... well I acted on those feelings ....and I acted big....or at least big for me. First I had major fun redecorating three rooms in my house and I have my sights on the rest of the house but these 3 rooms were the most doable. One was my sewing

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-90230866967277664232012-03-21T08:23:00.009-07:002012-03-21T14:02:47.816-07:00

Spring blessings to one and all......Has the earth been speaking to you lately? Many say today is the first day of Spring. I beg to differ. It seems to me that the birds have been heralding Spring since early February when the first bulbs starting poking up through the earth. In the Lunar calendar the first day of Spring is usually sometime in early February and coincides with the Chinese New

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-77486476489991168532012-03-06T06:55:00.010-08:002012-03-06T16:53:38.869-08:00

Did you ever feel like you've just been awakened from a deep sleep but whatreally is happening is you've been too busy for too long and not having the time to do what you REALLY want to do and all of a sudden you come up for a breather and whoosh.....a snippet of inspiration has come and you snatch it and run with it? Well that about sums this post up for me. It's been about a year and a half

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-37819895012715092302010-04-28T17:09:00.000-07:002012-02-15T09:52:54.361-08:00

Gosh It's May already! Yikes just where is the Springtime going? It's been downright busy! Time flies when you're having fun! So much to do and lots of activities calling out for attendance and attention. The garden needs energy and thank goodness too because it is so comforting to work in the soil and then admire the work and the beauty of the flowers and veggies you've planted. Besides

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-57744286527135589012010-03-19T16:57:00.000-07:002010-03-28T09:41:21.245-07:00

Spring has spruuuuuuuuung and how are you? Obviously we are all so relieved to finally have the lovely warmer weather and the swelling buds and the crocuses and daffodils. The excitement with all the fresh clean energy around us our eyes can't help but simultaneously see the toll that the winter has taken. Taking inventory of our homes and gardens we clear out the gardenbeds, empty the gutters

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-9344294807360934042010-02-25T15:41:00.000-08:002010-02-25T19:08:07.929-08:00

Wheweeee! This winter sure has been a doozy....like no other. Lately everyone I talk to is so over the top eager for Spring and why not after all this snow and wind and cold. The good news is Spring is coming it's already here except for the temperatures and the snow that is slooooowly melting. The Lunar calendar ushered in the Spring in early February despite the fact that we were having a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558955234782508028.post-53704309912327234462010-01-06T18:02:00.000-08:002012-02-15T09:52:05.087-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I can already feel the vibrancy of this new year and a roaring start to a new decade. Finally we've had some real winter....who can argue with 2 feet of snow, frigid temps and windy days. This winter weather has called me to rest more, eat more and stay indoors more and that has made perfect sense except for the fact that the pace of life has demanded me to work more, think

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2