Peace with Kim

Yum! I just discovered the greatest substitute for butter! OK, you know I’m a bit of a health nut. I’m trying to cut fats, white ‘grains’ and sugars and instead incorporating more sprouted grains, veggies, soy and natural sweeteners. But I have clung to my butter like oxygen because nothing beat butter on my toast in the morning. Now, after reading Alicia Silverstone’s book (one of my favorite Christmas presents from my brother!) I have found a perfect butter substitute. The true test is if it tastes good on toast and it does! I even cooked with it this weekend and it worked with my fried eggs too! OK, I’ll tell you. It’s Earth Balance. The next test will be how well it works with my cookie recipes, or piecrusts. See, I still like treats; I just work hard to make them as healthy as possible. I easily discovered that when I deny myself I get cranky and unhappy. Which reminds me, while I was making pumpkin oat muffins this weekend I substituted half of the eggs with flax meal. Yes, flax ...

Every morning on Great Day we give money saving advice. Yesterday we talked about the importance of spending cash – real cash. A lot of us use debit cards because they are ‘like’ cash in that they automatically take the money from your checking account, like a check. However, few of us budget the use of that plastic. Sure, we’re not getting into debt, but we could be even more prudent. A viewer emailed her family’s prudent, money saving cash plan. It reminds me of how I saw my parents spend money growing up. Maybe what’s old (smart) is new again! Here’s the viewer’s email. Peace, Kim While I was listening to you this morning, I flashed back to a conversation I had with my husband last year concerning our finances. You were talking concerning purchases using cash versus debit card. Well in our home we have been using "envelopes" for about 5 months now, and I am AMAZED at the amount of money we have saved. My husband and I put a budgeted amount into various "envelopes...

All week we’re helping Great Day viewers with their new year’s resolutions. Today, Clayton shared a lot of tips on how to quit smoking. He was live all morning from The American Lung Association talking about creating a quit date, and tools to make that quit last. There are options like the nicotine patch or nicotine gum. There are lollypops and support groups - lots of options because everyone’s quit plan and quit personality is clearly different. I think this viewer eloquently speaks of that quit personality that’s important for us non-smokers to understand and respect. Let me share my congratulations to those taking the first step, and my respect for you taking that second step. Peace, Kim In watching the show today, I couldn’t help but feel compelled to share some thoughts on quitting smoking. First, I am 72 ½ hours nicotine free as of right this minute. I am not happy about it. I do not want any congratulations as I do not feel it is a cause for celebration. It is more of a mo...