Dollar for Dollar...One of THE BEST Natural Snacks On-the-Go!

Busy? Aren't we all. Taking that prime time out of your day to shop for and prepare a nutritious snack is just NOT one of my priorities when I have a lot of other stuff on my agenda.

So, I've made it a purpose of mine to CALL ATTENTION to any modestly price snack that requires NO preparation and is still considered "healthy". Enter, Freelee the Banana girl. Yes, she's a vegan, and NO I am not going to preach veganism today, I merely want add my applause to the snacking idea that she introduced me to, through her videos/website.

The snack in mention, is the humble dried pitted DATE. Tis true that I didn't grow up eating such creatures....it is a little bit out of my comfort zone, as dates seemed like something a granny would bake with to make "figgy pudding" as the christmas carol chimes....
But once, I got over my squeamishness about trying something that was unfamiliar to me, I was very pleasantly surprised. Apparently I am not the only one who is now a fan of dried dates, as they are now in the produce or dried fruit section of every grocery store I enter. 

If you are going to try dried dates as a snack, note that there is a HUGE difference in quality depending on the brand, type and packaging of dried dates. The "Lambourghini" of dried dates are labelled
"Medjool Dates" and come with a heftier price tag to boot....up to even $10 for a modest size plastic tub....or if you are lucky you might find a smaller tub on sale for $5.99.

But if you shop around and try some of the lesser known brands, such as AMIRA, you may find some less expensive ones that still rank high in quality. The ones that appear with more white-ish flaky bits appear more well suited for baking etc....not for snacking. The higher the quality of the dried date, the more "whole" the dried date will appear and it will have retained a rich dark brown color.
Note that some dates are PITTED and some are NOT! So in order to prevent any of you from biting on a very hard dry pit by accident, be sure to read the LABEL!

As for me, this week I didn't want to splurge on authentic "Medjool" dried dates, so I gave the brand AMIRA dried pitted dates in a 800 gram zip pack a try. The price was  a great value at only $3.99.
So far, so good, I am pleased with the taste, texture and quality.

If you are interested in a snack that is a bit more heartier, then you might want to check out
Freelee the Banana Girl's Site in which she shows us how to make banana date smoothies as a small meal replacement. Add a bit of cinnamon for extra kick to your blended banana date smoothie.

The last thing I want to say about the humble dried date is that it packs a pretty powerful caloric punch....so if you have short break times at work or on the go, and need to cram in the calories in a short amount of time, dried dates will be heaven sent. However, if you need to cut back on your calorie intake, or if you are tempted to overindulge, then dried dates might not be ideal....unless you are disciplined at only packing up a modest number of dried dates to be consumed at your snack time. At only 40 grams, there is a good
 130 calorie boost. That may be great news for some and not so great for others, depending on your snacking requirements.

The beauty of dried dates, is that you are simply munching on a  natural dried fruit.....not on over processed commercial food. Some of the packagers add a bit of vegetable oil to the dates, but over all, I find them to be presented and sold to the public in their natural state. Dried dates have a naturally rich and chewy taste and texture. They are also a good source of ruffage and may help to stimulate a sluggish digestive system.
Bon Appetito!

Church....and the Rich or Poor

Just thinking out loud once again.... are the modern churches in your city/town created for everyone? Or do churches cater to only the rich or upper middle class in your neighborhood?

In my decades of attending Christian churches in Canada I've noticed a bit of a dichotomy between how the rich interact with their "home" churches and the poor/middle class.

The difference becomes most noticeable in the summer time, when many consider it their family's opportunity to get caught up on some much needed "R and R"   (rest and relaxation).

However, the shocking thing I noticed is that when a wealthy family was absent from church attendance for a month or so, the leadership or other members in the church weren't concerned because the wealthy family was "at their cottage/summer home" or away at some other vacation. There was no gossip as to where the family was in relationship to God or their church. However, the upsetting thing I noticed was that when a family with less than ideal financial resources was absent from church attendance for more than one week or two, it was surmised that there was some kind of spiritual problem or lack of Christian commitment.
Sad eh?

Well, one of my life purposes is to have the courage to say the things that others don't have the nerve to say. So, if this blog post rings true to your experience in the modern christian church, then have the courage to pass it along to others in your congregations. When we modern Believers, come to admit our weaknesses and double standards, the churches will become a more welcome and equal playing field for the rich and poor and everyone in between.

We are ALL created in the image and likeness of God .He is our Father. Therefore, we should ALL feel welcome in church services, whether we attend once a week, five times a week, or once a  month, or in fits and starts depending on our work/business schedule.

Gone are the days when most folks work Mon-Friday 9-5 anyway. If pastors and church leaders are going to have a merciful and gracious attitude to the modern working family, they are going to have to rethink how they "judge" attendance at all and any church events. Church functions, including prayer meetings and services, should accommodate the modern worker, not ALIENATE hard working folks whose schedules don't necessarily jive with the typical church meeting times.

It can also be said that church leaders should also stretch their minds to grasp the huge difference in scheduling that faces self employed individuals versus employees. Business owners have very different time constraints than those who must clock in according to their employer's expectations. Churches must be able to cater to both sectors of our new modern society.

I believe that GOD is very flexible in how, when and where HE meets with US.

Therefore why aren't WE more FLEXIBLE too??????

Passionate for Christ, Peace and Equality.

Choosing a MUST READ Author

Have you ever noticed that sometimes it's the authors that really tick you off, that you learn the most from?

I get that feeling every time I spent a good chunk of time reading Robert Kiyosaki's books. He has a lot to say about the state of the economy in North America, and what can fix or flaunt it's folly. He's not the most gentle teacher, but he really doesn't hold back in showing one what he has learned after
building several businesses, some successfully and some not so successfully. He's also taken a company public which gives him yet another perspective on investing. He gives you his uncut opinion on holding paper assets vs. real estate.

Robert's biggest kick is out of encouraging folks to get into business. However, I don't think he realized when he originally published "Rich Dad Poor Dad", that so many folks would take his advice quite literally and go and open businesses that they were completely unprepared to build and maintain. So many public speakers don't realize how much influence they ultimately hold over their audiences.....who might just actually DO precisely what they suggest.

Robert is a tried and true competitive business man. He shows, through a variety of educational books, and finance based board games, how we need to educate ourselves continuously to stay ahead of the game .

Do you have an author that has the same effect on you? Kinda totally gets under your skin and then afterward, when all is said and done, you realize he/she taught you more in a very short time frame than a hundred of the "other" authors who pretty things up and keep their books/speeches so nicey nice.

When push comes to shove, I 'd rather read an author who is NOT politically correct and tells his/her unedited truth than some writer who may be better educated, uber-polite and willing to flatter our egos just to sell more books. Who is an author, financial or otherwise, who really got your goat lately? What was the most powerful thing you learned?

Productively peaceful.
Carla





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