Nature Reading Recipes

Earthing

Have you heard of Earthing ā€“ the process of grounding the human body and its purported health benefits?Ā  On a recent podcast I heard, a woman said that she bought a grounding pad and it eliminated her joint pain and helped her sleep through the night.Ā  Sign me up!

I have heard the benefits of earthing by walking barefoot outdoors.  Unfortunately, thatā€™s not really a friendly activity here in the Sonoran desert.  Unless your feet are tough enough to take cactus splinters, decomposed granite and biting ants.  And our ā€œgrassā€ isnā€™t real.  But other than thatā€¦.

I do agree getting fresh air and sunshine energizes me, but I rarely get an opportunity to run my toes through grass.  Or a sandy beach.

New Grounding Mat for Earthing

I purchased a top-rated pad on Amazon so I could enjoy those amazing benefits.Ā  And who knew there were so many choices and this was such a popular thing?

There are entire sites dedicated to different products.  There is even a movie about Earthing.

Anyway, you are supposed to use this grounding mat when using your devices, performing exercise, or even in bed.  So Iā€™m sitting on it right now as I type this.  I have been sleeping on it for a few days.  I can say without hesitation I have not slept one additional minute.

And I canā€™t really say anything about my joint pain because Iā€™ve been indulging in way too much sugar.  Which is ending this week.  By the way. Sugar is a top inflation trigger for me.

The jury is still out on this purchase and Iā€™m going to continue using it to try to improve sleep.  If it ends up working, Iā€™ll be the happiest person alive.  And you know Iā€™ll report in on that!

Oh, and by the way, Earthing and Earthling are not the same things.  Ha.

What Iā€™m Reading

On audio I am listening to Ivan Doigā€™s memoir, This House of SkyDoig is an author I just found this year and except for one stinker (in my humble opinion) I have been delighted with him.  Unfortunately, I found him after he is no longer with us.

In print I am reading a non-fiction.  Iā€™m only about 1/3 done, so I wonā€™t give any review until later this week, but so far itā€™s a thumbs-up.

What Iā€™m Eating

If youā€™ve been reading my posts for a while, you know I love a good crockpot option.  Throwing all my ingredients together and forgetting it for a few hours and then ending up with a hot meal is my idea of cooking.

Sheet Pan Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

I keep seeing sheet pan meals on the internet and they always look up my alley.  Everything in one place and go.  But.  Iā€™ve never had good luck with them.  That didnā€™t stop me from trying once again a new recipe. It was from Eating Well, so it was on the healthy side which you know I like.

And.

It was a hit.  And a miss.  Really.  John liked it and I hated it.  Iā€™m still going to share it here, but I wonā€™t be making it again.  He might though.

Sheet Pan Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

Here are the changes I made:

  • Russet potatoes instead of sweet potatoes.
  • I threw in a couple of chicken breast tenders since I donā€™t really like thighs.  Umm, no that didnā€™t work.  They turned out tough as jerky.
  • Omitted the sherry vinegar.  Since we didnā€™t use sweet potatoes, I didnā€™t think the veggies needed the vinegar and John wouldnā€™t have liked it.
  • Baking time for the chicken thighs was MUCH longer than the recipe called for.

Getting all the ingredients onto one sheet pan meant I needed to use our large built-in oven.  It literally took three hours to cool off enough for the fan to stop running.  That is precisely why I hate using it and why we use our convection countertop oven.

I do love Brussels sprouts.  But.  Oh my word, did the house stink from roasting them. 

I hope you’re enjoying this holiday season and taking some time to sip some hot chocolate or sit by the fire and watch a movie. And if you’re making Brussels sprouts, I hope you have a nice smelling candle. XO