I’ve got a couple of ideas to suggest for a few quick meals that can help out when you really just don’t want to cook.

1) If you spend 20 minutes once a week and sauté up a boatload of greens with some onion and you can always pop a couple of fried eggs on top of some of them after they’re re-heated for a quickie dinner. Use the rest to make a bowl soup with rice noodles and a no-salt bouillon cube. Throw some soy or fish sauce in for flavor. The thinnest rice noodles cook in a heart beat. Boil some water while you’re changing out of your work clothes and toss the vegetables and noodles in the pan of boiling water, add the bouillon cube, turn off the heat and let stand for a few minutes. Stir to combine and break down the bouillon cube. Red pepper flakes at the last minute should do the trick.

2) Another idea is to prep whatever vegetables you’ve got in the fridge. Take a few minutes over the weekend and blanch them individually so you don’t over cook any of them. You might have part of a head of broccoli and a handful of Brussels sprouts, maybe a carrot or two and some cauliflower. Cut them into bite-sized pieces and blanch them till al dente. Cook enough to cover yourself for a couple of meals because a couple of home cooked meals is better than none! Throw them in a container and put them in the refrigerator until ready to use. Later in the week you might want to cook some rice or pasta and season the rice or pasta, add the prepped vegetables to your pan, reheating and then grate some cheese over the top and you’ve got dinner.

3) Snag a Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store on your way home from work and re-sauté those blanched vegetables to have with your chicken. Season them with ginger juice or Mirin, toasted sesame oil goes a long way too (spend a couple bucks getting your condiments in the house). Then use the leftover chicken the next night with some salad greens and salad becomes another meal. It is totally worth it to have a box of organic salad greens around. I’ll put them in a bowl and put every meal I eat on top of the greens whether the meal is hot or cold food. That way you will also get lots of raw food in your diet.

I know this might sound too easy but sometimes we just need to be reminded about how easy it can be to nurture ourselves. No one is going to take better care of you than you……you know how to be committed to quality. AND, you know you’re worth that quality. Hope this helps and remember to take good care of you.

So, here you go:  cook up some hulled or unhulled barley and  set up these layers in an oiled baking dish…1) pinto beans seasoned with some good chili powder, ground cumin, cayenne & oregano…2) the  cooked barley on top of the beans…3) then saute some frozen corn with a chopped onion or thinly sliced scallions, diced carrots, diced zucchini maybe use up that leftover cooked brocolli and dice some green bell pepper. Cook these veggies all together till al dente season with salt & pepper and put them on top of the cooked barley…4) top the whole dang thing with grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese or both and top the cheese with…5) a can of diced tomatoes.  Bake this in a pre-heated 350 oven for 30 minutes and serve on top of plain salad greens that will wilt from the heat of the food. This is a good kids dish too and a great way to get those veggies in the little ones.

Add some new foods to your own repertorie once a month at least so that you don’t end up with the same old dishes that bore the crap out of you and everyone you serve them to.  It helps to keep things fresh on all levels when you care enough about you to give yourself the time to PLAY with your food. I grew up cooking for 12 other people besides myself and as much as that seemed, at times,  like a pain-in-the-butt I’m tellin’ you it saved the day when I was guided to work in the food business as a caterer in NYC.  Food and design helped me feel connected to study food  & healing and now I feel that intellectualizing food has a lot to do with some of the food allergies in this world. I’ve had my own issues with body size &  shape and lots of guilt associations with food over the years.

Self care and self esteem aren’t readily taught nor talked about in most family systems and some of us learned all kinds of distorted ways to attempt to figure out how to feel nurtured as a result. Food and nurturing  are linked in huge ways.  I know that’s way too obvious  but it certainly explains why fast food has gotten so out of control. People think they’re too busy to have the time to sit down at a table in their own homes and share handmade food. The cover up in that one is that until we value our physical lives enough to value our bodies things like plastic surgery will seem like a smart option.  We all know how easy it is to want approval outside of ourselves, I know I do but hiding out won’t get any of us anywhere.  Make the time…play with your food, share that play and most of all have fun doing it!

Be your Christmas present to you this year and give yourself the gift of consciousness no matter what. If you don’t like what you feel check it out because there will always be a gift under that funky discomfort. You can be your best pal especially when you give yourself a break when you most need one…be kind, generous and harmonious. You deserve to be your best friend!  Keep the faith…in you!

I haven’t let go of my Life Coaching work. I still do private sessions on days when I don’t go into the kitchen until later in the day. And, I find that what I have always done will be a part of how I “coach” anyway. Conversations naturally evolve into “talking life” because I know I naturally make it easy for that to happen even with people I don’t know that well. This will always be part of who I am.

So, Merry, Merry y’all and thanks for checking out the “foodchannel”s blog. I intend to make this happen a couple of times a week from hereon in. Cheers and take good care of YOU!

This coming Monday I start setting up the kitchen I’m renting to begin a professional wholesale baking business. Ever since this project became a real experience, with commitments from store owners and the owner of the location I’m cooking in, I’ve been waking up at night remembering details I “think” I need to cover. This morning it’s very dark in Boulder, haven’t had a non-sunny day here in weeks and I began to wonder “how I’ll get this all done”.  I’ve been in the food business off and on since I got sober in 1985 and there are moments, like this morning, where I just want to hand this over to someone else to do for me.

About 20 minutes ago I went outside to feel the day and there was the sweetest sound from a tiny little bird that was so loud I knew I’d be OK. The Wilson’s warbler is a yellow-green bird that has something very magical about its energy. I can tell you now that this little friend has helped me get the value of trusting myself “to just go do it”!  I knew I needed to write about this because I felt the urge to send this wish to all of you… that this may be a way to help you if you’re feeling a similar feeling about a project you’re involved in. “Just go do it”!

When we stop and listen to ourselves and give our personalities a chance to be heard, without judgment, everything feels cleaner. Nature has a fabulous way of reminding us that we are supported. A few days after the Four Mile Canyon fire, that happened here a few weeks ago, I was sitting outside with my side-kick Richard, and there was a Bald Eagle flying overhead. We both felt an immediate sense of acknowledgment from Spirit, knowing that the Medicine from Eagle is a gift from Spirit. Eagles don’t usually fly close to busy city areas.

The point I’m making is to remind you to give yourself the option to watch for these gifts from nature. They happen everyday all day long and none of us need to set ourselves up to be so busy that we forget to “get real” about what’s important. Spend a few moments each day just breathing in life and let the magic of nature visit you. It wants to help us all stay in balance and the messages from these  life forms  have true ministry in their energy. Go outside, right now, if you can, and receive a hug from the quiet of the kingdom who loves you . 

JaneEllen Sexton is an Intuitive Life Coach and freelance chef specializing in Spiritual empowerment with a focus on personal accountability.

I was reading something this morning that helped me kind of realign my focus for today and thought I’d pass on what the jist of it is. I understand how easy it can be for us, as we go through our day, to get caught up in what happens to be the important tasks in front of us. We forget to check in with ourselves to remember to balance our own inner relationship. Here’s the suggestion…during the day, at least three times, stop for a few moments and ask for the guidance that will help you feel the mastery of whatever it is that you’re doing at that moment. Guidance that comes from you giving yourself the option to quietly hear the depth of your inner wisdom.

Because we have mostly been programmed to put a certain amount of performance pressure on ourselves, we can forget that we deserve to relax about our connection to recognizing our own greatness. That’s where giving yourself permission to stop and breathe and feel you feeling you, will bring a sense of natural gratitude to you because you did stop and breathe and feel you feeling you. Life has become pretty dang complicated for many mostly because surviving this experience of living has lots of layers of responsibility.

The best thing any of us can do for ourselves is to be conscious enough, a few times a day, (or more) to be good to ourselves and being good to yourself is the best accomplishment you can give yourself throughout the day. It becomes impossible to take on drama and negativity when you are lined up with yourself to be clear to know that you are your best ally. So, happy Monday and make sure to give yourself the time and effort to know…you’re the greatest! 

JaneEllen Sexton is an Intuitive Life Coach and freelance chef specializing in Spiritual empowerment with a focus on personal accountability.

The world surely looks like it’s in constant turmoil as countless people experience the changes all around them. Whether this entails losing homes or jobs, life is in flux all over this planet. We are all being challenged to make significant choices to reconfigure our lives. All the bitching and moaning in the world does nothing to balance the difficulties present.  A lot is being written and talked about in the media regarding how the different political establishments are “doing it wrong”. Yet, here we are….all of us….in a situation that surely feels like forced responsibility.

When we stop giving in to the dialogue of the trouble-makers in the world we create an opportunity to stand up to our own internal chatter.  The ability to clean up the discordant  thoughts we have allow us to bring about a healthier vibe. Complaining only makes you feel helpless and you might not be aware of that when you’re doing it.  Being mind-full is important in developing skills for harmony and living in harmony is how you’ll feel safe in these troubling times.  Balance doesn’t happen without  conscious effort, especially, given that you’re in charge of your own comfort.

Every moment that we put off taking responsibility we build upon the energy in this world that adds to the scariness that is felt in this world.  I can only affect the comfort I want in my life but I know I can help support a possible shift in energy for others by NOT adding to the density in my own life. We all contribute to the collective, whether we want to be honest about that or not, because we are sharing this life and space together. If you don’t like your neighbors how do you stop the dialogue in your head that adds to the upsetting energy YOU end up carrying around because of the story YOU’VE made up about them?  Drama does nothing but create more drama!

Finding our equilibrium will be our work in this life and all the procrastination that keeps you from taking responsibility will only make you feel like that monkey on your back has gotten bigger.  I call this giving up Cheetos because it makes sense to me that the better we feel about ourselves the less we can even fathom eating junk food.  All those “comfort” foods are loaded with the funky stuff that fuels a sense of disconnection from what is being felt in the moment. A cover-up!  Hiding emotionally only causes us enormous fear. We always know what we’re doing and when we attempt to put off certain difficult emotions through substance, even if it is Cheetos, life is pretty sketchy!  If you’re going to eat the Cheetos be responsible about how you indulge yourself with them, in other words….pay attention!

The world is cleansing in ways that show all of us the gift in letting go of antiquated systems that are no longer relevant to the vibration of today. It doesn’t help to bury your head in the ground and think that holding on to old paradigms works anymore. We are all moving higher in our current identities but you can’t know that if you’re holding yourself down. This world needs you to be your best version of you and of course, you deserve to be that fabulous person. 

 If you can feel into the most recent experience you had with a baby and remember how you looked into that little person with your heart…you’ll recognize the perfection you were born with.  One of the blessings of little people is that they teach us non-judgment.  You are still that same being created of loving energy and light. No one can possibly remove that aspect of you. The part of your being that IS perfect and has all the answers does not leave you….hold on to it!  Years of programming and intellect can’t possibly remove your sweet, cute, joyful, child-like essence.  Don’t ever give up on you and when you question your value…REMEMBER…feel into the child that you still are and know that you’ll see nothing but your beauty.  Now, give yourself a hug! 

Food thoughts: the abundance of squash and corn in your garden or at the farmers market can be turned into this easy soup. Summer Squash, Corn Soup!  2 lbs. Yellow Squash, cut in half then cut into ½” half-moons…4 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cob. ..1 medium onion cut in half then sliced into ¼” slices…2 Anaheim chilies, cut in half, seeds & ribs removed, then cut into ½ chunks. Next cut 2 medium sized new potatoes into 1/2″  cubes and set aside. 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 vegetable bouillon cube and 2 quarts of water.

Put the olive oil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onion, corn kernels, Anaheim’s and squash for about 5 minutes. Pop the potatoes in the pan…add the water and bouillon cube and bring the soup to a boil.  Stir. Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for about 25 minutes. Purée half the soup and leave the rest chunky. If you want …add some Chipotle purée into each serving…maybe some crème fraiche or a touch of heavy cream…a little bacon couldn’t hurt either!  Summer is almost gone…how did that happen?  If you double the recipe and  freeze some you’ll have a shot of Sun whenever you want! 

JaneEllen Sexton is an Intuitive Life Coach and freelance chef specializing in Spiritual empowerment with a focus on personal accountability.

There was a time in my evolution where I absolutely, positively…did NOT have permission to be insecure.  I came from a family system where life always had to look “good”. I can recall years where I’d judge people who were insecure and just throw my “wise guy” impersonation out there, thinking it was OK to make fun of how someone would struggle as I’d watch them in action. Now I know my sarcasm was a cover-up for my discomfort. It’s hard to watch someone be afraid of their own shadow, isn’t it?  The reason I’m writing about this today is because I found a  piece of paper on my desk the other day with a quote on it that reminded me of the value of insecurity…..”When the forms of an old culture are dying, the new culture is created by a few people who are NOT afraid to be insecure”….Rudolph Bahro.  I’ve practiced these words alot since I got sober 25 years ago.

I know how uncomfortable insecurity is and the more time I spent hiding from it the more afraid I was.  Eighteen years ago, when I first met the man I am now married to, the easiest part of being with him came from me letting myself tell the truth.  There was something effortless and natural for me, in sharing all my insecurities. What that did was create was a place where he didn’t need to hide either.  After all these years we still don’t go through drama  because there is a foundational support we always have where we don’t have to make up stories to sell ourselves to each other. Witholding my truth from him would have created a set-up for all kinds of dysfunction and it never occurred to me, at that point, that I couldn’t talk about whatever I wanted to.  

There is tremendous cleansing everywhere in this world right now. We are all being challenged to be more emotionally honest so that we can stop being afraid of each other. Being accepted for who we are is a critical part of how we  feel balanced in life.  There are still so many people who WILL NOT deal with themselves. What that can create is a belief that says ”someone else is to blame for my discomfort”.  So much of the drama in life comes from scapegoating others and when there isn’t an awareness of how to deal with you, fear is the norm. The trick is to be OK with the difficult moments to finish them as they happen and to feel the safety to move on as a result.

Getting OK about being afraid can be a tough one and some days are easier than others, we all know this.  Life doesn’t always need to feel comfortable for us to honor ourselves. There is courage in being real enough to allow yourself  to show the world who you truly are.  The pressure in maintaining an image is way more than anyone needs to handle and far too much work to have to live up to. The need to always have to be a certain way doesn’t help you feel safe and, after all, you’re the one who has to live with you. There will never be anything about you that you can’t let go of. Your opinion of you is the only opinion that will ever work for you anyway.

When we observe people who have real self-esteem we  naturally feel a sense of respect for that type of personality because they are not caught up in ego. There is a sense of relief, almost, in being in the presence of someone who knows who they are. That’s the true representation of power is!   This world has alot of people in it who think they need to be a “show”…15 minutes of fame seems to matter. Every time you feel like you should hide….take a moment…go look at yourself in the mirror….and, give yourself a hug. You deserve to be your greatest ally. Give insecurity a new identity, one that helps you help you.  If you can face yourself with open arms it won’t ever matter what someone else has to say about you. You CAN be the best friend you’ll ever want or need… so let yourself make the choice to give you the right to lighten up on you. Life is too short to hold onto drama…let it go!  Be your cute little quirky self….this is, after all, your movie!

Food thoughts: I had the best salad for lunch yesterday it was one of those “clean out the crisper drawer” salads.  Fishing around I found that I had a handful of yellow wax beans, a piece of avocado, a few scallions, some mustard greens. There was half of a cuke that I cut in half then into slices, part of a carrot…what else?  Oh, yeah, I grated the carrot (raw), blanched the wax beans, cooked a couple of new potatoes, cut them in cubes after they cooled and hard-boiled 2 eggs. I put some baby arugula and romaine lettuce in a large bowl.  Next, put in the mustard greens torn in small pieces then added in the vegetables along with some locally grown cherry tomatoes (YUM) and a can of tuna. Squeezed half of a lemon over the top, added some olive oil…tossed everything together. Topped it off with a sliced up hard boiled egg, a few good olives and had lunch with my side-kick (you know him…he’s the one I get to be insecure with!).

JaneEllen Sexton is an Intuitive Life Coach and freelance chef specializing in Spiritual empowerment with a focus on personal accountability.

What I mean by this is…..where;  in their thoughts do people go when it becomes OK to emotionally beat someone up who has done something “wrong”?  The story in the U.K., about a woman who was filmed via a security camera putting a kitten in a trash can (wheelie bin, U.K. speak), yesterday, has sparked enormous rage from people over there.  It shows how precarious the human personality is and how easily people are pissed-off . What’s so ugly about this mess is that there are countless people who are not doing what’s necessary to clean up their internal resentment, so what happens…they beat the living day-lights out of someone who represents a side of them they WON’T look at.  We all understand that drama sells…it’s the biggest drug in this country too.

We all have our “stuff’ and there comes a time when we absolutely must change our behavior and take a kinder path.  When enough people send a person like that a supportive wish instead of wanting to put her in a wheelie bin too  things can change but, until that time people will continue to hurt each other with words, actions and certainly energy.  Don’t lose site of the fact that energy is more present than you are in many  moments.  Thoughts have power and to consciously want to hurt a person who is so disconnected that they’d trash a critter says that if you have any place in you that sends hatred out you will reap that action right back into your life before it even gets inches away from you. No one gets away with a dang thing…we all know what we’re doing. 

This woman picked up the kitten, looked around, saw that there was no one on the street and calmly opened the trash can lid, dropped the kitten in and walked away as if she had just picked up an empty can and deposited it in the trash.  No fear, no remorse!  How a person survives in themselves while living that life is beyond me. This is a woman has no sense of her own worth and that translates into being confused about the value of another life.

So, beating her up is an answer?  Do we throw her away too, really, that’s an answer?  Or, do we help out and send something kinder to her that somewhere in her evolution she’ll absorb?  Every one of us has a responsibility to support the most distorted of individuals.  Everyone one of us deserves to be helped when we’re confused about who we are.  Everyone one of us matters just because we’re here and for no other reason.  We can’t possibly know what happened to her to make her behave that way.  That doesn’t mean we rationalize what she did…it can mean we do what we can, even silently, to lift her up.

People are flipping out all over this planet and the planet is cleaning house.  There is an incredible rebalancing going on everywhere.  Money systems are shaking up, homes are being lost, and humanity is being given an opportunity to regroup and reprioritize.  This woman can’t be indentified as just some “loser”.  She has to be taught dignity and respect because obviously no one showed her that.  Sending her death threats (that’s actually happening) doesn’t make this situation any better, in fact it makes it worse.  So, your s&*t is OK if you send out  disrespect…how do you figure that works?

It’s embarrassing to see what people do when they have to look in the mirror.  There are many ways to hide from ourselves so if the first thing that happens is to slap the “weirdo” down and then  tell yourself that you are justified in doing so, guess again.  Wake up boys & girls…none of this stuff has ever worked.  War doesn’t work…warring in yourself is how you add to the war experience.  The explosive thoughts create explosive energies.  Don’t do it…be that generous being of honor and integrity that helps you feel good about yourself.  You’re the person you have to face every day all day long so keep it clean!

Can you imagine what this woman feels like today as a result of representing herself like that?  To be busted, in front of God & everyone because the world is has become so afraid that security cameras are the norm.  AND,  to show up all over the national U.K. television networks?  Man, what a way to get information!  Maybe you’ve never done what she’s done but we’ve all done something we’re embarrassed about.  You don’t know if someone saw you doing something you’d dread to see yourself do today.  Who’s looking over your shoulder?  Lead the way to generosity with a kinder example, be compassionate, let go of your judgment and get off your high horse.  Arrogance will always equal insecurity! 

Food thoughts: I found an old recipe from a cooking class I did in 2001 the other day.  Yellow Squash & Corn Soup…serves 4.

2lbs. yellow (or zucchini) squash cut in ½” thick slices.

4 ears corn, shucked and kernels cut off the cob. Reserve the cobs to put in the soup.

4 large shallots & 4 garlic cloves, minced finely.

2 fresh jalapeños, chopped finely, discard the seeds for a milder soup.

2 Tbsp. olive oil…½ tsp. ground cumin seed…5 cups water or vegetable stock. If you use water add some depth of flavor by supplementing the stock with a couple of good quality vegetable bouillon cubes.

In a large heavy pot combine all the ingredients except the liquid and sauté over moderate heat for about three minutes or until the shallots and garlic are translucent. Add the liquid and the corn cobs simmer until the squash is tender. Discard the corn cobs. When the soup is ready purée it in batches in a blender being careful not to add too much liquid at once and cover the blender tightly.  Season with salt & pepper. Divide the soup into 4 bowls and garnish with corn kernels (cooked or not), whole cilantro leaves, and diced roasted red pepper. Summer is almost over…take advantage of the abundance of zucchini and yellow squash. By the way, to add another dimension to this soup you can purée a little bit of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and add a touch to each serving. Clean living y’all! 

JaneEllen Sexton is an Intuitive Life Coach and freelance chef specializing in Spiritual empowerment with a focus on personal accountability.

Staying present is probably one of our most difficult tasks in life.  We are all so geared toward the past that it can sometimes feel like the past is right here, now.  We will absolutely make the past  become the present if we’re not paying attention. Patterns don’t go away until we do the work to change them. The question of now vs. then comes from comparing our current experiences and feelings to those we’ve been through before.  The trick is to be aware enough to notice where you’re going in your thoughts and to observe how that affects your feelings. In a flash, we can emotionally fall apart over something and be confused about why the experience seems so “big”. What happens a lot is a familiar feeling or upset from the past presents itself in the Now.

The process of completing the past through the body is a really helpful thing to understand. Whatever we haven’t finished as a result of the upsets in the past we end up carry around within our bodies’  cellular memory until we clear it out.  Consciousness and energy  move with us and hang out in our personal world and all of the past travels around with us until we finish  what is incomplete.  If we’ve got some old story about someone we feel slighted us or disrespected us, the automatic mindset about that individual is NOT harmonious…is it?  Old, unfinished, negative emotion is a dangerous energy to hold onto. And, whether you know it or not…that’s the kind of thing that makes people sick because resentment is the foundation for every disease there is.

The desire to be free of negativity in all forms whether it had happened today or 20 years ago will be our ongoing work. When you have permission to want to be honest and clean up what you’ve held onto there is a self-respect that results in uncompromised inner value. The beauty of emotional honesty shows you that you care enough to create a life full of quality.  Hiding and scapegoating will always gnaw away at you because you will always know what you’re doing by holding yourself hostage when what you may be telling yourself is that the “other guy” is doing that to you. Let it GO!

There isn’t anybody in control of you…. but you! Your comfort is yours to manifest… it’s not your parents’  job or your employers or the Democratic Party’s.  Step up in yourself and take responsibility for your health and vitality….and your thoughts and your consciousness.  I remember an old friend of mine, telling me years ago, that he didn’t want to spend anymore time in his life hating the people he was mad at and I thought, “Wow, good for him”. It took me a few more years to truly get what that meant and give myself the power to do the same thing!  It’s all a choice…we can decide to be happy or not!

When you truly know that you are not a victim it is no longer possible to hide from life and from that place of understanding you get to decide how you go through any challenging situations that pop up.  Will you clean them up and free yourself of the upset?  Or, will you bitch & moan about your ex-wife or your boss or your kids, who don’t call?  There are countless ways to be creative as you channel your life force. Choose  to be clean in your life and let life support you back. Life is always moving in perfect divine order…we’re the ones who stop the natural flow.  Life can only be a tasty bowl of cherries if you pick the ripe ones! 

Food thoughts: Here’s a salad I made for dinner last night.  Yep, I did…last night. It will make enough for two people.  Take 6 full Nappa cabbage leaves, cut them in half length-wise and then slice them into ribbons about 1/3” wide…. next peel & cut a medium-sized onion in half. I used only one half of the onion and it was thinly sliced.  Next, I cut the kernels from one ear of leftover cooked corn on-the-cob. The other day I roasted probably a dozen beets so I had both red & golden to play with. I used two golden & two red beets, peeled them and cut them in half & then cut them into 4 wedges per half. I squeezed the juice of ½ of a lemon over the cabbage and salted it lightly…letting it sit for about 5 minutes to soften slightly…then added about 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, the onion and the corn. Toss everything together and put the cabbage combo on a nice plate and top the cabbage with the beets, alternating colors and top that with some crumbled feta cheese and a quick grind of fresh black pepper. Yum-diggetty! 

JaneEllen Sexton is an Intuitive Life Coach and freelance chef specializing in Spiritual empowerment with a focus on personal accountability.