Minute pork steaks, with basil and parmesan and lemon sweet potato gnocchi

 

Minute Pork Steak, with basil and parmesan          and lemon sweet potato gnocchi.

Cooking and preparation time 30 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Splash of olive oil

6 pork minute steaks

¼ tsp ground cumin

1 tblsp chopped oregano

1 tsp minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1 onion chopped

Pinch sugar

2 tsp extra minced garlic

2 carrots, diced 

1 ½ cups frozen, but thawed, peas

1 packet of sweet potato gnocchi

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Small bunch basil leaves, chopped

Grated parmesan cheese to taste

Method:

Mix the olive oil, oregano, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl and then rub onto minute pork steaks and marinate. 

While the meat is marinating, steam the diced carrots with a tablespoon of water, for 2 minutes in the microwave. 

Steam the gnocchi in the microwave, also with a tablespoon of water, for 1 and 1/2 minutes, stir and then steam for another 1 and 1/2 minutes.

Fry the marinated minute pork steaks, for 2 minutes each side, or until browned. Let stand for 2 minutes, then slice on an angle, roughly half cm widths.

While the meat is standing and using a separate frypan, fry the onions and extra garlic in olive oil and toss in the pinch of sugar. Once the onions have become slightly opaque, add the steamed carrots and cook until onions have browned. 

Toss in the thawed peas and the steamed gnocchi, lemon zest and juice. Stir until all is heated through, mixed well and colourful. If you would like, you can add more salt and pepper at this point.

Serve in a bowl, the gnocchi mixture, topped with the minute pork steaks. Garnish with basil and parmesan cheese.

Design the Future you Desire!

 

           Design the Future you Desire!

As the world becomes more automated and with viruses’ becoming more prevalent, lock downs and fear of the future, drive us to anxiety.

Even before all this, we had anxiety. Adding the above just compounded the problem. We feel helpless and worthless and what we feel on the inside of us, shows up on the outside. So, what do we do about that?

The mental image you have of yourself, often dictates how you live your life. If you change your mental image, your external automatically changes with it. What this means is, if you believe you’re worthless, you’ll probably find you won’t have achieved much in life. The opposite is also true.

Change your self-image and you change your life. 

Step up your expectations of yourself and those around you. We can all ‘step up.’ We all have areas in our life we could improve upon. 

If you’re wondering what those areas are, they’re the areas where you tell yourself: “I should.” Whenever you say to yourself, “I should…” that’s the area you need to be working on. Or at least an area you could possibly think on a little more deeply. 

Spending 20 minutes, thinking about how to solve a problem (not worrying about the problem, but on solving the issue), will bring new ideas. Do this for a few days and write your results. Results need to be in writing, because we’re a forgetful bunch of people. Those results, should lead you to take action, for it’s only with action that change can commence.

When you find yourself saying; “I should exercise, I should eat more healthily, I should do extra study, I should spend more time with the children, I should… (whatever your “I should” is), think about it further. Delve into it more deeply. 

"It's in your monents of decision, that your        destiny is shaped." (Quote byTony Robbins.)

What’s stopping you from doing your “I should?” Is it fear, lack of time, lack of energy, lack of money? Take the initiative and learn how to increase your time, energy and finances, so you’ll be able to work on the areas of your life, you wish to improve.

If it’s fear that’s stopping you, you need to be more fearful of not living your best life. You need to be more fearful of living the boring, mundane life you have now. Learn what you need to learn to overcome your fears and you will become what you want to be.

Do you think your future would look brighter, if you took action, lifted your standard and did your “I should?”

Mostly, in life, we’re thinking about today and what we need to do today. Many of us are struggling, just to get through today and often we aren’t looking ahead. We’re just going through the motions, struggling to get to the end of the day.

The best we are hoping to do, is tread water, while waiting for tomorrow and hoping tomorrow’s a better day.

What we don’t know is, we need to create our own brighter future. It’s not going to fall into our lap. We must be intentional, in designing the life we want. And how can we do that, when we don’t even know what we want?

If you don’t know what you want out of life, ask yourself; if you had all the time and money you needed, what would you be doing today? And once you’ve worked out the what, you can work out the how and then work on where to start. Once you do this, you can begin to design the life you want.  

We aren’t meant to be living a life of dullness and drudgery. If this is your life – it’s time to change. 

Use your initiative and work out the steps you need to take, to lift your standard, improve your life and have some fun. 

If you’re not having fun, you’re not alone. I know, because I’ve been where you are. I’ve been broke, unhappy, bored, depressed and suicidal. If you’re living with any of these concerns, I know how you feel. I’ve been there.

"Your past doesn't equal your future."                          (Quote by Tony Robbins.)

The lower you feel, the more action you’re going to need to take, to bring about your breakthrough. And while you’re at it, start a gratitude journal. How will you know whether your happy, if you don’t see what brings you joy? 

We need to write in our journal for, as I said earlier, we forget easily and it helps us keep our focus on what’s fun and joyous. There’s a reason many of the big names and the most successful people in the world, recommend a gratitude journal; because it helps in turning your life around and it does. I know, because I’ve tried it.

Feed your mind every day and take notes on what works. Use what you can and apply it to your life and watch your life change.

Do you know what I’m doing right now? I’m doing my passion, what I’m passionate about and what I love to do. I’m writing at my local café, while having a coffee. For me, that’s fun. For me, helping others reach their destination is my dream and I help bring your dream into fruition, through my written work.

Over 20 years ago now (and those years have flown by, let me tell you), I wrote down what I considered to be my ideal life. I wrote my dreams and the steps it would take to achieve them. I became intentional about my life. I worked through the difficult moments and kept at it, until I became successful. 

I drowned out the naysayers, those who told me it couldn’t be done, those who laughed at me and said; "Who do you think you are, that you think you’ll achieve this?" And do you know who my biggest naysayer was? Me! 

I was my own worst enemy, but when we know better, we do better. I did what I needed to do, to change my life and for a number of years now, I’ve been living my dream life. I want to tell you: It was truly worth the effort! 

If you’re concerned about your life, begin to design the future you desire. Start taking some of your control back, by following the advice given in these few pages. Use your initiative and intentionally create the life you dream about.

 

Don’t stop with these few pages either. There are so many people on the internet, who are doing this and have stories to tell, about how their life has changed and how they’re now living their best life. Learn what you have to learn, put in the hard yards and your efforts will be rewarded.

Be a Beacon of Light.

 

Be a beacon of light, that others can follow. 

Create that life of success you desire. 

If you want to be successful, you need a strong desire. Success certainly isn’t an easy path and you’ll have to want it categorically. If you want it badly enough to really pursue it, when the difficulties arise, you’ll be up to the challenge. A half-hearted want will cause you to quit, when the storms of life hit. 

Being successful often means acting independently, of going against the crowd and ignoring the naysayers. Life’s not a rehearsal. It’s time to get it together and be who you want to be. 

To be who you want to be, requires planning. It hinges on you writing the dream you have for your life and putting that dream into manageable steps. It means setting smaller goals for you to work towards every day, to ensure your dream becomes your reality.

Ask yourself what you want out of life. What kind of job would you like? How much money would you like to earn? What kind of home do you desire? What type of relationships are you looking for? How healthy do you wish to be?

For a healthy and balanced life, I like to refer to the 7 F’s: (The 7 F’s being something I read somewhere and just can’t remember where) Faith, family, finances, fitness, fun, friends and function (vocation). You may not view them in the same order as I do, however if you can achieve balance in all these areas, you’re well on the way to a happy, successful and fulfilled life. 

In order to achieve all 7 F’s, you’ll need to use your time wisely. You’ll need to know your goals, your wants and your ambitions and you’ll need a plan to bring them all together. 

In life, we’re either moving forward, or backward. Sometimes we’re treading water, but even this isn’t taking us forward. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? If you can’t answer that, or if you don’t like the answer, it’s time for change.

Also, if you haven’t moved forward in the previous 5 years, unless you change something, you’ll most likely not move forward in the next 5 years. At the end of this time, 10 years will have passed – and nothing about your life will have changed (except that you’ve become older). 

Now’s the time to do something. Don’t let the years slip away. Create your dream life and work towards achieving it. Write down what your ideal life would look like and create the steps it takes to get you there. 

All of the most successful people in life, have written goals. A written goal will keep you focussed and on track. It’ll keep you accountable to what you need to do, in order to move forward. No more stagnating and treading water. No more going backwards in life. Just follow your plan. A little bit every day will get you there, even if all you can manage is 15 minutes. 

If your goal isn’t written down, you’ll lose drive and momentum. You’ll find your time will be frittered away on unmeaningful tasks. You need single minded, laser beam focus, to stay on track and a written list will help with this. 

Other considerations are: patience, diligence, foresight and an ability to overcome procrastination. How much do you want to see your dream, your reality? If you have a big dream, if you make that dream big enough and exciting enough, you’ll overcome procrastination. 

Successful people don’t necessarily have the highest IQ. Successful people have what I call; stick-to-itiveness. Successful people know what they want and they stick to it, until they achieve it. 

Understand delayed gratification is a marker for sticking to it. It’s not about a quick fix. It’s about determination, persistence, being a self-starter and putting in the effort every single day.  We all want everything, yesterday, but that’s not how life works. 

It’s no good looking for quick solutions. Things are always harder than we expect and they take longer to achieve than we expect too. Just set your course and do the work. Things will turn out in time. 

Focus on all areas of your life and you too shall be a beacon of light, with a success formula that others can follow. Live the life of your dreams!

Handy Hints To Land That New Job!

Most people watch 3 - 5 hours of screen time a day (although none of you, I'm sure, or you wouldn't be reading this article) and the kind of material they’re watching, doesn’t help improve their life one iota. 

The most successful people in life, get the most results - they’re result oriented.

Unsuccessful people waste most of their time. Unsuccessful people check emails, look at Facebook, Instagram, Tic Tok and all the rest, however they aren’t working. They aren’t improving their lot in life. They sleep in, they loaf around the house and then spend the minimum time they can at work, doing the minimum amount of work they can. 

With truly unsuccessful people, most of their time is wasted. Even busy people can fall into the trap of majoring in the minor. Instead of working on the trivial and unimportant, learn what you need to do to, get the most out of your day. 

If you want to be successful, when you go to work: work. Don’t chit chat, check your screens and the like. Work. This will get you noticed and help with promotions and pay rises. 

To be successful, you need to think more and make better decisions, take better action to grow yourself and your company. You need to be agreeable and have a pleasant manner.

Your most valuable asset is you. If you improve you, you can improve your earnings. Your earning ability is an asset, as long as you improve yourself and work hard.

If you don’t improve yourself, in ten years you’ll be in the same place you are now. If you want to increase your income, study your field well. 

Most people don’t learn after they leave school. If you want to stand out – work hard and study.

If you wish to apply for a job, look at the web site of the company you’d like to work in. Learn what it is they do and what they stand for. Go in with some knowledge and then when you have an interview, let them know you want to be the best in the field.

Ask, whether or not you get the job, what could you study to be the best in this particular job. Ask what do they recommend you read, or which is the best audio program you could listen to? Do they recommend any particular courses, or seminars? 

This shows your prospective new boss, you're keen for the position and you’re interested in doing a good job. When it comes to selection criteria, these questions put you well ahead of the field. 

Let the interviewer know you want to make a valuable contribution, to their company. Ask them, what one skill would they recommend you learn. Ask; how can you take action? Then act. 

Don’t be all talk and walk away. Let your new boss see, you’re true to your word. Follow their recommendations, even if you don’t get the job (conceivably there could be someone more qualified for the roll) and perhaps next time, you’ll be better prepared. 

10 hours each week, is all it takes to be the best at what you do, because no one else is doing it. There’s 168 hours in a week and if you work 38, you still have 130 hours; surely you can afford 10 hours to upgrade your skill level. 

Most high earners in the world today, started from nothing, to very little. They made it in the business world because they practised this one strategy and are probably still practicing it. Successful people never stop learning.  

We should all be working on developing a new skill, to go further in life. If you want to improve your life and your finances, you need to develop more and more skills, for the rest of your life too. 

If your income is not going up, it’s because you’re not working on yourself, to improve your skills. Learning new things and doing the hard work, is something you can do to improve your lot in life. No one is going to do it for you. You have to put in the effort.

Once you land the job, notice those who are successful in it and ask those who are successful, how they do it. Every single field has a success formula and if you do what other successful people do, you will become a success, as they are. 

Curry Chicken

 

Ingredients: 

1 tblsp olive oil

1 tblsp butter

2 onions chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tblsp ginger

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp chicken stock powder

2 tblsp tomato paste

4 Chicken breasts cut into 2 cm cubes

1 cup water

Pinch of salt, to taste

1 tin coconut cream

1 tblsp lemon juice

Chopped mint for garnish (to taste)

Serve with boiled rice

Method:

Heat oil and butter, add onions and cook until translucent.

Add garlic, ginger, curry and chicken stock powder. Mix well and cook until fragrant.

Mix in tomato paste and stir through.

Add chicken in batches (roughly a third at a time), so as not to boil the meat, but fry and cook each batch until lightly browned (cook for around 6-8 minutes). 

Add coconut cream and water. Bring to a rolling simmer. Taste at this point and if you feel it needs it; add salt. 

Squeeze in lemon juice and stir. 

Serve with rice and top with chopped mint. 

Focus

 

Focus: One simple word, but not so simple to achieve. 

How do we achieve focus?

We start with a plan and don’t deviate from the plan. Without a plan, we get nowhere in life. Sure, occasionally we may fluke it, but do you want to live with the occasional fluke, or live with intention?

We need to stop time wasters. We need to stop mindless use of screen time; tv, iPad, computers, phones. Get serious about your intention, lay aside your screen time and your focus will improve. 

If you lay aside your screen time, you’ll have more ideas, new ideas, more plans and thoughts of your future and how it could look.

What does it take to focus and how does technology influence our ability to focus? We focus on 1 thing for 40 seconds, before our mind moves on and we easily become distracted. 

It’s not that our brains are distracted, it’s that our brains are overstimulated. When we’re hyper stimulated, short bursts of information keep our focus on the wrong things. Be intentional about what you want in life and bring all your focus toward that. Stop procrastinating and start doing. 

We’re easily bored and we like to be stimulated, however I’ve heard it said (although I can’t remember where), it takes 8 days for our minds to fully relax.

When we let our attention rest, we can begin to think about the past, the present and the future. Now there’s not anything we can do about our past, so let it go. Don’t waste time thinking about what could have been. 

However, the present and the future are in our hands. These we can do something about. Present and future is something we can direct and change.  

We need to let our mind rest, so it can sort problems and bring answers. That’s why, when we’re taking a shower, or going for a country drive, ideas come to us.

Find a hobby that calms you. Perhaps it’s knitting, or taking a bath, or photography. Anything you find relaxing.

While you’re relaxing, your mind will go to the areas that you need it too and it will be more creative.

Always keep a notebook handy and write those ideas, because it’s easy to lose them. Ideas flit through our mind and out again, in no time at all. 

When we think about intention, we think we need to fit more in, but in all actuality we’re doing enough. We’re doing so much, our minds don’t wander any more.

We like to think of distraction as the enemy of focus. The enemy of focus is not distraction, but overstimulation. Become less stimulated and the ideas will flow.

Have a disconnection procedure every evening, say 8 pm to 8 am and a sabbath every Sunday. After all, how important is what you’re doing anyway? Does it need to be all consuming? 

Rediscover boredom. Lay on the lounge and let your mind wander. If you feel you don’t have the time for all this relaxation, give yourself just 20 minutes a day. Allow yourself time to rest and renew and you’ll feel so much more revitalised. 

Yes, there are times when you need to take the bull by the horns and dive in, but life is meant to be lived with joy and peace, not all this frantic racing around in circles, getting nowhere fast. 

Learn what others did, to overcome their issues in life. Take years off the learning process, by following those who’ve gone before you and take time to smell the roses along the way. 

You might just be surprised at how much more you can achieve, when your focus is in the right areas. 

Bacon and Beans

                              Serves 2. 

       Cooking time; less than 30  minutes.

     Light in calories, but not light on flavour.

      Quick and easy for breakfast, or lunch.

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

2 rashers bacon

1 tin 4 bean mix

½ tsp garlic

2 tblsp cottage cheese

1 zucchini

1 tblsp grated parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tblsp parsley

Method;

Heat fry pan on medium and add olive oil.

Dice bacon and begin to cook, until it starts to brown.

While the bacon is cooking, add the garlic to the pan.

Drain and rinse beans and add to pan, tossing all ingredients together.

Mix through the cottage cheese, salt, pepper and parmesan and heat through. 

Using a spiralizer, spiralize the zucchini. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can just grate the zucchini and add this to the bacon and bean mix, stirring gently until warmed through. 

Serve onto platter and top with chopped, fresh parsley.