Everything BLOG

Finding Inner Peace in your Life

~ BALevolent Virtue ~ Leave a comment

This is a reflection post, about what? I don’t know. Let’s make it about inner peace. 

Inner peace.

Sometimes a deep breath and remembering good memories is enough to tranquilize a stressed out mind. Other times you need to set up a Zen garden in your backyard and meditate at sunrise. Regardless of what you need it’s important to help the brain stay as healthy as possible. Life does its thing and rag dolls us all over the place. It’s up to us to step on the brakes often and cool down our sentient engine.

Searching for tips online helps. I’ll do a light search and show you what I find.

…

Well, I found a lot of personal websites giving similar advice: practice mindfulness, shepherd your thoughts, deep breathing, self care, etc. They have amazing information that you can take the time to check out. I’m not an expert and this post is simply to elaborate and give my opinion on the subject of inner peace.

Let’s continue.

I mean for starters it beats having inner war; constantly conflicted internally, stressing out about this, about that. 

Not to say having inner peace is going to solve all your problems and be stress free but it will reduce the noise in your head. Everything is done internally so we can’t have a mechanic simply pop in and fix some parts unless it’s something found in an MRI. We have the tools at our fingertips with a couple simple searches online. You can either read great articles from reputable sources or even be connected to professionals that can help even further. It’s a little easier than it was in the past. If we’re talking way in the past they probably would have beat you up a little bit and say they got the demons out of you. 

Anyways to wrap up, I’d like to encourage people to put some work in on taking care of themselves. Life is not easy. Having some notion of inner peace goes a long way in making this existence easier. It even helps you spread good energy to everyone around you so it’s a win win win. I wish you all the best in finding the inner peace we all deserve to have.

Garlic Powder for a Healthier Life

~ BALevolent Virtue ~ Leave a comment

Eating healthier is a massive part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. An easy way to eat healthier is by learning to use seasonings better. That means less salt, more combinations of seasonings, and more garlic powder. 

According to the National Institutes of Health website garlic powder loses some health benefits during its processing stage but it’s still a great option to help maintain a healthier life. It helps reduce the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and boosts your immune system. This, alongside many more benefits, makes this seasoning a must have in your lineup of spices. 

Some simple recipes include the following:

Simple garlic bread

The absolutely delicious and not always healthy; garlic bread. It’s a perfect side for most meals and can be made healthier. Start by picking your choice of bread, it can be in slices or vertically cut. Next, drizzle extra virgin olive oil (or an alternative healthy substitute of your choice) lightly. Follow it by sprinkling garlic powder to your liking, I would recommend lightly. Next, sprinkle dried parsley; a couple of sprinkles go a long way. Lastly, add a pinch (or less) of salt to give it a punch of flavor. Turn on your oven at 350° and when ready bake it for about 10-15 minutes depending how toasted you want the bread. You can also choose to use the stove top method instead. Put your prepared bread in a pan on low heat, cover it and wait a couple minutes. That’s it. When you’re happy with the crispiness, take it out of the pan, let it cool and enjoy!

Mashed potatoes

For great mashed potatoes you can simply follow recipe instructions in the back of the potato flakes box. I would recommend lowering the salt portion and using a healthy oil substitute for butter. If you prefer using real potatoes simply find an online recipe or youtube recipe you like. Again, less salt than they suggest and using a healthy oil substitute for butter. To any recipe you use you can add garlic powder to enhance the flavor and make it healthier. 

Honey glazed chicken

Honey glazed chicken is a simple recipe that is sometimes called Asian style chicken. A simple way to make it is by seasoning chicken of your choice with a little soy sauce, honey, garlic powder and black pepper (going light on the soy sauce and honey). Choose the appropriate oven heat and time depending on the cut of chicken you use and enjoy a light, flavorful meal, with the addition of rice and some oven roasted vegetables.

Any form of garlic is great to incorporate into your culinary world. Garlic powder is less of a hassle to use for a quick addition into recipes. Cooking healthier doesn’t have to equal bland tasting meals, instead, learning to use flavorful seasonings like garlic powder can boost your culinary experiences.

California Spring Recipes

~ BALevolent Virtue ~ Leave a comment

Spring is upon us here in California and the curiosity to try new recipes is at its peak. According to various food websites like California Grown these are some of the many produce options that are ripe in California’s spring:

-Asparagus

-Avocados

-Peas

-Rhubarb

-Tomatoes

-Cucumbers

-Blueberries

-Cherries

-Grapes

There’s so much we can do with the produce available. Food recipes, snacks, sauces, juices, shakes, you name it. The important thing is using the in-season, abundant, cost-saving produce!

Here’s a couple of suggestions including some of these ingredients:

Roasted asparagus

This dish is a great way to enjoy asparagus and other vegetables you’d like to add to the mix. The process is simple, lightly spray an aluminum covered, oven safe pan (with a healthier, higher smoke point oil spray, like avocado oil spray), throw on the vegetables (whole or chopped) with seasonings of your choice (going light on the salt) between 400-415 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Roasting vegetables is a great way to enjoy meals while staying healthy. You could pair these roasted vegetables with your choice of protein. For a coastal dinner sauteed tilapia accompanied by lemon and herbs seasoned rice should pair nicely. If you’re feeling a bit more steakhouse dinner you could pair it with your choice of steak and mashed potatoes. Roasted asparagus will be great either way you pair them.

Avocado toast

A quick and delicious option. You simply toast the bread, mash avocado over it and add your favorite toppings. It’s very versatile with endless combinations. You could keep it minimal with just avocado if you want a quick bite. You could add a little depth with toppings like bacon, caramelized onions and tomatoes or keep it breakfasty with eggs over the avocado. Customize it how you like!

Fruit bowl

By using the in-season blueberries, cherries and grapes you can have the base of a fruit bowl. Simply add other favorites to complete the succulent snack. You could even add the in-season cucumbers to add some freshness.

Fresh salad


This is another simple option that allows for a lot of customization. A base of iceberg lettuce can combine with cucumbers, tomatoes, black olives, croutons and your choice of dressing like ranch or Italian. For a spicy kick in your salads a great addition is pepperoncini or banana yellow peppers.

In general it’s always a good idea to take advantage of in-season produce. You save some money, you add variety to your food palette, you get to eat food in its peak flavor and you enjoy life a little more.

Word Analysis: Somber

~ BALevolent Virtue ~ Leave a comment

In this blog post we’re doing a word analysis of the word somber. 

Somber.

It sounds beautiful to me; like a word that has warmth with red and yellow hues of a sunset, maybe because it sounds like ember. It also sounds like the Spanish word sombrero which is a type of wide brimmed straw hat in Mexico. That sombrero takes my mind to a celebratory mood with good vibes and human liveliness.

Somber.

The definition doesn’t really do justice to the way the word sounds, in my opinion. The definition of somber according to google is: dark or dull in color or tone; gloomy. Another definition is: oppressively solemn or sober in mood; grave. Oof. Not the most colorful or lively word, but it’s ok we could live with that.

Now let’s use somber in a couple of sentences to get a feel for it. There’s many ways to start this journey. I can think of a rainy, somber afternoon covered with darkened clouds. People rushing through the streets trying to evade the rain, while a man is standing in the street corner with a somber expression as he stares at his phone. Some are walking slowly enjoying the rain but for the most part an invisible cloud of frustration and somber attitude hangs over the city.

I apologize to those that enjoy the rainy days.

Somber is an interesting word to use and gives sentences an elegant draping. It brings the reader slowly into a somber landscape that needs a subtle presentation. 

What do dogs dream of?

~ BALevolent Virtue ~ Leave a comment

     What do dogs dream of? Do they drift off into another plane of existence chasing butterflies and squirrels in a never-ending meadow filled with pleasant aromas or are they fantasizing the warmth of their bed next to an open fire in the cold winter days. 

     Whatever it is they dream of, I hope we can dream the same. Not necessarily running in meadows chasing butterflies, unless it’s your actual desire in which case you have all my expressive support, but rather finding a peaceful, relaxing place in our head that we can visit when we need to power down. 

     This place can be used to travel to when we feel stressed, anxious or just bored. This is a place we can visit mentally when we feel like we need to reset back to our most basic self. 

     Life is not easy, and at times it can be overwhelming with its little idiosyncrasies that can affect each person in different ways. This mental haven can help us catch our breath, like a sort of pause. Not a runaway path but instead a place where you can think of a new path to solve a current problem. 

     What do dogs dream of? From a simple google search it would seem it consists of their simple doggy life. We can learn from them and find a place in our mind to wander freely and peacefully in the eternal search for a better life.