In  Judy’s Healthy Thoughts you just may find the clues to capturing years back, a boost to enriching you day , a refreshment of mind, body and soul and journeys in time that will no doubt put a smile on your face. So go ahead and  grab some life …..

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

Youth is something we all have no matter what the date is on your birth certificate. Sometimes I meet people who are much younger than what they look like and have found that in most cases people make themselves older by how they think, act and believe!

This week I think we need to look at life from the younger side of ourselves and see what we find. Do you remember when everything you did was enjoyable, or everywhere you went was an adventure? Well let’s try going back to those days and see if by changing our attitudes we do not have a better time in life!

 Feeling old is not something we should consider not matter what our circumstances. Instead try changing our outlook so we have only good thoughts. When I visit with my granddaughter I find myself thinking about how I felt as a young girl and usually if gets me smiling. That is what we need to do, smile more and when we look in the mirror we will find this wonderful looking person smiling back – we always look younger when we are smiling!

We can learn so much from watching those around us. When people are active and cheerful they look so much younger than those who are sitting alone and frowning about something they are watching on the TV. Get up and do something and you will feel better for it! I found this article about staying young and found it so true and realized I could learn so much from it if I just tried doing some of what it suggest – hope you too can learn something from reading it.

Stay Young My Friend Author unknown

1.  Try everything twice. On one woman’s tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph, “Tried everything twice. Loved it both times!”

2.  Keep only cheerful friends – The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever… Never let the brain get idle.  ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s!

4. Enjoy the simple things.
 
5. Laugh often, long and loud – Laugh until you gasp for breath. If you have friends who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with them.

6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. LIVE while you are alive. 

7. Surround yourself with what you love: whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever… your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don’t take guilt trips: Take a trip to the mall, even to the next city, province, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. 

11. Forgive now those who made you cry: You might not get a second chance.

12. Remember! Lost time can never be found.

13. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. 

Raw Zucchini Spaghetti Salad

This is a fun salad and I find the younger kids love it – even my Dad who was 96 and loved spaghetti thought this was a fun salad and taste so much like his favorite Italian meal. Have fun watching others and yourself as you try eating the long strings of zucchini spaghetti!

 The Raw Tomato Sauce: makes 2 cups                                              

Use a food processor to coarsely chop the following veggies:

• ½ cup sun dried tomatoes (soaked in water for 1-2 hours)
• ½ cup grape tomatoes (or 1 medium tomato)
• ½ cup celery
• ¼ cup onion (diced)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tsp of each: dried oregano & thyme
• 1 tsp of each: sea salt & curry powder
• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Scoop out about 1 ½ cups of this sauce and place in the middle of the zucchini spirals. (if you have used individual bowls use ½ cup per person).

Garnish with the following:

• ½ cup red bell peppers (finely chopped)
• ¼ cup sweet onion (finely chopped)