Tag: writer wellness

Monday Meditation: No Blog Is An Island

Posted on by Joy Held

A 2011 reflection for me includes a shout out of “thank you!” to the following cyber pals who made last year great for Writer Wellness.

 

Joanna Aislinn for hosting me as a guest blogger and always having interesting things on her blog that I like to read.

 

Miriam Allen for writing a great review of Writer Wellness.

 

Wendy Hines for writing a great review of Writer Wellness.

 

Paty Jager for writing a great review of Writer Wellness.

 

Kristin Lamb for her incredible non-stop blogging energy. I don’t know how she does it but her insight, humor, and support of WW are like treasures.

 

Natalie Markey for being another great reviewer of Writer Wellness and swapping guest posts with me.

 

Cat Masters for hosting me on her blog in 2011 with a very fun interview.

 

Bob Mayer for being a wizard with the vision to create Who Dares Wins Publishing and to believe that Writer Wellness was worth the second chance.

 

Linda Rettstatt for writing a great review of Writer Wellness.

 

Amy Shojai for being the most cheerful animal lover and blogging pal I have.

 

Jen Talty for ALWAYS being there no matter what. She’s amazing.

 

Beth Trissel for hosting Writer Wellness at her blog and getting an amazing number of hits that day!

 

Sandy Tritt for being my bestest buddy in the real world and the cyber village it takes to keep the Writer Wellness world afloat.

HUGS EVERYBODY AND HERE’S TO A GREAT NEW ERA IN WRITING, PUBLISHING, AND BEING.

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 

http://amyshojai.com/ Amy Shojai

 

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

 

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Monday Meditation: Part Deux

Posted on by Joy Held

At the “friends-giving” celebration in my home recently, a dear friend told me that one of her teachers spoke something that resonated so deeply she couldn’t get it off her mind. Part of “studying” the teacher’s words for her was to share them and see what others might have to say. Her teacher said that all of life’s relationships could be simplified to four sentences. She said that if everyone could somehow apply all four sentences to every relationship they had, there would be no stress.

1.I love you.

2.I am sorry.

3.Please forgive me.

4.Thank you.

She wrote the sentences down and they’ve been posted in my kitchen for several days now, and I’ve noticed a difference in my relationships without really trying to think too much about the four sentences. Just reading them several times a day has implanted them within the folds of my interactions with others.

1.I love you. This is very true. In the case of becoming upset with another person’s actions, these three words appeared out of nowhere. Before I could get much deeper into my frustration, this sentence reminded me that I DO love you, and I DO NOT want to jeopardize that with anger. This sentence enabled me the pause necessary to find another way to deal with or discard my unhappiness.

2.I am sorry. This is a very difficult sentence to utter. We are all resistant to pointing out our flaws even though we all have room for improvement. This sentence simply reminded me to avoid having to say it by thinking before I reacted to something. This way I didn’t have to say this to anyone because I remembered my love for them.

3.Please forgive me. It’s one thing to apologize, but it’s another thing for the wronged person to accept the apology. I’ve come to realize in my life that forgiveness is an option for some people. I don’t have the right to expect someone to forgive me. Therefore, it’s much easier to remember that I love them than to be placed in a position of waiting on forgiveness. It may never come.

4.Thank you. These are two amazing and powerful words. It doesn’t seem like we hear them enough. So I remembered to say it as often as warranted and to add a little smile. It works. We all just want to make a difference.

I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.  What would happen if you wrote these four sentences on a slip of paper and tacked them up somewhere you would see them multiple times a day, day after day? I’m interested in knowing your results.

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

 

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

 

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

 

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Thursday Thot: Stillness and Journaling

Posted on by Joy Held

One great side effect to journaling is learning to still the inner critic. Regularly throwing caution to the wind and writing down whatever you want without regard for grammatical correctness is very liberating. Being able to say whatever you want in writing but not sharing it with the eyes of others helps clear away the junk when it comes time to think a creative project through to the finish. It isn’t always obvious, but the things we worry about, wish we hadn’t said out loud, or want to happen create a fog in our brains and emotions. This misty blinder can easily poison our creativity by spilling ideas into our work that shouldn’t be there. The work is the work. The therapy is in the journal pages and should not be in the creative process.

So even when you don’t want to journal, think of it as an opportunity to still the inner judge who stops the creative process when we need it the most. Look at journaling as a chance to recognize when the critic is creeping up behind you and learn how to silence it with the writing. Actually write/speak to the inner critic in your journal and tell it to be still when you are working. When you feel it sneaking through the work, you’ll recognize it and be able to stop and send it back to stillness so you can get on with creating. The critic is there for a reason and the journal is a safe place for it to come out and play and for you to learn how to manage it.

Try this inner critic busting journaling exercise: write about a problem and talk about what different people you know would say about the issue. What would your spouse think? What would your parents say? How would your boss fix it? This is a playful and practical way to give your inner judge several faces and hear what she has to say from different angles.

What practices do you use to silence and master your inner critic?

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

 

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

 

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Wednesday Workout: Stillness and Discovery

Posted on by Joy Held

When someone says exercise most people think of bodies in constant motion. Of course, some people think of lying down until the urge to exercise goes away, but that’s an opposite idea. There are many ways to achieve physical fitness and health with exercise, and there are many varieties of exercise. One practice is hatha yoga. The word ‘hatha’ means physical in Sanskrit, so every style of yoga where people are physically active is hatha yoga. Some styles of yoga encourage continuous activity (vinyasa,) and some styles of yoga incorporate long periods of stillness in a pose to achieve benefits. One of these styles is the Iyengar tradition of hatha yoga developed by B.K.S. Iyengar of Pune, India. Of particular importance to his method is the practice of seeking stillness in a pose by holding it for a lengthy period of time. During this time a point of discovery is possible if the yogi is paying attention.

All yoga requires a process of embodiment, sustainment, and transition. This is repeated for every yoga pose and it’s important to apply awareness to the breath during these three stages as well.

Embodiment of a pose is the actions taken to get into the pose and the breath necessary to prepare the muscles. Stepping feet wide apart and inhaling at the same time is one example.

Sustainment of a pose is the point at which the body has achieved its full expression of the pose and when the breath is steadied while holding the pose for the desired length of time. This is also the place where many discoveries take place. When we think we can’t sustain the position any longer, we have reached a challenging edge. It’s here where we can either back away from the pose and return to center or choose to enhance it by applying greater awareness. Breathing is a good first step in facing the challenge and moving past it to develop physical stamina and improve self-esteem. Sustaining a pose just a few seconds past the point where our minds say, “That’s enough,” encourages us to continue because we can feel ourselves improving and changing for the better each time we encounter the edge and breathe past it. This is the mental focus that teaches us to believe in ourselves regardless of the dilemma.

Transition is the moment of action and breath that bring us out of the pose and into the next one.

Have you ever discovered a strength you didn’t know you had during a moment of stillness?

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Monday Meditation: Stillness

Posted on by Joy Held

 

The soft, gentle place of peace and tranquility at the end of a yoga class is known to some students as the “prize” at the bottom of the box. After the stretching and the breath work, the relaxation pose at the end of class for five to ten minutes is a welcome relief. It’s also a place for something we don’t receive often enough during the day: stillness. We are so busy doing, darting, and thinking throughout the day that we forget or run out of time to find balance and do nothing but breathe. Day after day of being out of balance creates the stresses we are desperate to dissolve in our bodies and minds. The simplest way to reduce stress is to be its opposite. Stress is an active pressure on something. The physical or emotional pressure created by stress is blasted into oblivion by simply being still, not moving except for breathing for whatever time can be set aside for it.

Physical stillness is miraculous in its ability to energize our muscles and internal organs. However we’re so used to putting demands on ourselves physically and mentally, that it feels awkward to some people to be without motion so they “hold” themselves still and think this is relaxation. This is more doing. Stillness is letting go and just breathing in and out for five minutes and nothing else. It works better and achieves a better overall result to lie down, but it’s possible to let go while sitting up. But that’s the challenge of meditation isn’t? To meet the urge to do something with just being. So if life feels out of balance, it probably is. When we try to find balance with the practice of stillness, remember that there are two ways to achieve the stillness. We can grip something so hard it is still, or we can let go of everything until the bliss of just being pervades us on the deepest of levels. This is stillness.

How do you achieve stillness?

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

 

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

 

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Friday Feast: Books that changed my life week

Posted on by Joy Held

EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR TYPE (1996) by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo with Catherine Whitney not only changed my nutritional habits, it changed the direction of the feasting by my family and those around me. Every chance I get, I testify to the satisfying differences we’ve experienced by choosing foods based on the work of Dr. D’Adamo and his father. Their studies, quirky as it may sound at the onset; definitely make a difference in how someone feels when they eat based on their blood type. Dr. D’Adamo with Catherine Whitney has provided relief for thousands of people including me from the worries of weight gain and disease. Simply following the food lists provided takes the burden off of what to eat, and I no longer worry if what I’m eating is right for me. This food program has supported me and my family for thirteen years and we have no intention of going backwards with our health. Thanks to the “blood type diet”, we all feel better and better every day.

 

“As the human race moved around and was forced to adapt its diet to changing conditions, the new diet provoked adaptations in the digestive tract and immune system necessary for it to first survive and later thrive in each new habitat. There changes are reflected in the development of the blood types, which appear to have arrived at critical junctures of human development:

 

 1.The ascent of humans to the top of the food chain (evolution of Type O to its fullest expression).

2.The change from hunter-gatherer to a more domesticated agrarian lifestyle (appearance of Type A).

3.The merging and migration of the races from the African homeland to Europe, Asia, and the America (development of Type B).

4.The modern intermingling of disparate groups (the arrival of Type AB).” (EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR TYPE, Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo with Catherine Whitney.)

 

 

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

 

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

 

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

 

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

 

 

 

Be well, write well

Thursday Thot: Books that changed my life week

Posted on by Joy Held

THE WRITER’S JOURNEY (1992) by Christopher Vogler helped me realize that good stories are everywhere, and they have a definite structure related to a spiritual desire present in us all. Vogler explains the “Mythic structure for storytellers and writers” by using examples of great literature and movies to prove that our favorite tales resonate so deeply with so many people because they follow the path of the age old legend of the hero. By mythic structure Vogler highlights the ground breaking studies of philosopher Joseph Campbell in his work called THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES published in 1968. As I explain briefly to my students, a myth expresses a means by which to understand. Myths present understanding in a way that the human mind appreciates. Mythology tells a story using metaphors or symbols to represent ideas and allows the reader to come to their own decisions, to arrive at their own unique comprehension of why something is the way it is. Reading THE WRITER’S JOURNEY showed me the validity of arranging a work of fiction so that the character and reader simultaneously discover the inevitable changes inherent with every hero’s journey.

 

“A myth is a special kind of story that deals with the gods or the forces of creation, and the relationship of those forces to human beings. Not all modern stories are myths, not do they all have mythic dimensions, but the stories we tell today have much in common with the ancient energy of myths. The structural patterns and archetypal characters of myths provide the basis of all modern storytelling, and all writers should be familiar with these elements.” (THE WRITER’S JOURNEY, Christopher Vogler.)

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

 

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

 

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

 

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Tuesday Tickle: Books that changed my life week

Posted on by Joy Held

THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron with Mark Bryan changed the lives of a lot of writers and artists when it appeared in 1992. It delivers on its claim to be “A spiritual path to higher creativity.” The foundation of Cameron and Bryan’s twelve-step approach is the journaling practice they call morning pages. When some people read the rules of morning pages about sitting down every morning and writing three pages of whatever in long hand, they put the book in the donate box and never looked at it again. Not everybody has the time to devote to a serious journaling exercise as suggested by Cameron and Bryan, but anyone who has ever taken up the challenge to follow the morning page routine as described is changed forever and never look back on the dry, stale, uncreative days of the past. With the space and freedom created by regular journal writing, no artist has to waste time on worrying about blocked spells of unjuicy times. Following the morning pages routine even just once in a career without cheating or missing a day for whatever time period you set (a month, twelve weeks, etc.) will reboot your creative powers. Whenever you’re feeling low, return to the morning pages and watch the blocks melt away and the creative juices flow again.

“Morning pages are nonnegotiable. Never skip or skimp on morning pages. Your mood doesn’t matter. The rotten thing your Censor says doesn’t matter. We have this idea that we need to be in the mood to write. We don’t.”

“Morning pages will teach you that your mood doesn’t really matter. Some of the best creative work gets done on the days when you feel that everything you’re doing is just plain junk. The morning pages will teach you to stop judging and just let yourself write. So what if you’re tired, crabby, distracted, stressed? Your artist is a child and it needs to be fed. Morning pages feed your artist child. So write your morning pages.” (THE ARTIST’S WAY, Julia Cameron with Mark Bryan)

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Monday Meditation: Books that changed my life week

Posted on by Joy Held

LIGHT ON LIFE by B.K.S. Iyengar changed my life with its straightforward, head-on approach to the questions we face as we live. As we live a life that includes the multi-limbed practice of yoga, we encounter quandaries that challenge our decisions about how to live in a world of other people also challenged by their own questions. Iyengar’s book written in 2005 is presumably his final chapter offering in a long list of quality books he has penned about yoga, meditation, and spirituality. LIGHT ON LIFE resonated with me and continues to provide a source of go-to support when I’m seeking a way to explain or make sense of a rarely perfect existence. What Iyengar offers is plain talk about the freedom that awaits those who make the yoga journey. The trip includes profound and not so intense moments, but Iyengar reminds us that recognition of the smallest things is a profound step in the direction of peace. And then we are asked to share that with our communities.

“Yoga is the rule book for playing the game of Life, but in this game no one needs to lose. It is tough, and you need to train hard. It requires the willingness to think for yourself, to observe and correct, and to surmount occasional setbacks. It demands honest, sustained application, and above all love in your heart. If you are interested to understand what it means to be a human being, placed between earth and sky, if you are interested in where you come from and where you will be able to go, if you want happiness and long for freedom, then you have already begun to take the first steps toward the journey inward.” (LIGHT ON LIFE, B.K.S. Iyengar)

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well

Friday Feast: Spelt Breaded Turkey Fingers Are Positively Yummy

Posted on by Joy Held

When my youngest child was in the hospital at age nineteen with a serious case of pneumonia, she lost fifteen pounds over the course of the nine day ordeal. It was horribly scary from day one until an infection specialist was called in and figured out the problem. Once he made his changes to her care, she started to turn around in just ten hours! We weren’t out of the woods yet. She still didn’t have any appetite. Her already thin body became rail thin, and my heart pounded with worry each time I would see her frail arms and legs sticking out from under the hospital sheets. I was determined to get her healthy with the good food she was used to eating at home. When her appetite gradually returned, the hospital fare wasn’t cutting the mustard, so to speak. The first thing she asked for were my own twist on the mini-chicken bites so famous in fast food restaurants. My daughter’s blood type food program suggests that she avoid chicken. I started making turkey nuggets at home and that’s the first thing she wanted to eat when she felt hungry. I knew she was going to be alright. Here’s the plan.

Spelt Breaded Turkey Fingers

6 slices of spelt bread (white or whole) crumbs

1 pound of boneless turkey cutlets pounded thin and cut into strips

¾ cup of buttermilk

1 cup white or whole spelt flour sifted

3 eggs

1 packet of Ranch dressing mix

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried or fresh chopped rosemary

1 teaspoon dried or fresh chopped parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ cup canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a wire cooling rack in a baking sheet and set aside.

The “dipping station”

In a medium bowl, mix the dried bread crumbs, packet of Ranch dressing, and all the remaining spices and herbs. Stir to blend. Let sit on the counter under a towel to dry out a bit.

Pour the buttermilk in a plastic food storage bag, add the turkey strips. Seal and place in a bowl in the refrigerator to marinate for 15 minutes.

Place the flour in a medium bowl. Break the eggs into another bowl and beat with a fork. Add a pinch of salt to the flour and the eggs.

Set the bowls out for the “dipping station”-(dry, wet, dry.) Flour first, eggs second, bread crumbs and spices third. Take the turkey out of the refrigerator and place at the dipping station.

Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet on medium high. When oil is ready, begin dipping the turkey in the flour, then the eggs, then the bread crumbs and slowly place in the hot oil. Fry on one side for 2-3 minutes. Turn and fry for another 30 seconds. Place the turkey fingers on the rack on the baking sheet. When all the strips have been fried, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Watch carefully and don’t allow to get too dark.

Don’t underestimate the value of “finishing” off the turkey fingers by baking in the oven. This is the secret to moist meat on the inside and a perfect crust on the outside. This same daughter doesn’t like it when I “cook the crap” out of the meat.

Serves four.

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

http://amyshojai.com Amy Shojai

Check out my new website Joy E. Held

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well