Wake-Up Carrot Juice

Refreshing way to start the day!

Paired with the sweetness of apple and pear, carrots come alive and so will you. Ginger gives this juice its added zing so you can get up and go!

3 carrots
1 pear
1 apple
1 piece ginger (thumb size)
mint leaves

Place all ingredients in a juicer and extract juices into a pitcher. Stir and pour into glasses. Top off with mint leaves. Serves 2

5th Grade Author to 20-Something Publisher: Start Small, Dream Big!

I published my first book, There’s a Huge Pimple On My Nose, when I was in fifth grade. The teachers in my elementary school asked me to speak to their classes about how I pursued my dream of publishing a book. At the beginning of my talk, I asked the kids if any of them were interested in writing, and a few shy hands raised. In contrast, at the end of my talk when I asked the same question, nearly all the hands in the class shot up. The students told me they didn’t know that kids could be writers. They didn’t think of writing as something that could be fun or empowering.

Writing and reading have opened the doors to so many amazing opportunities in my life: a scholarship to attend college, a semester studying abroad in England, a trip to New York City to be a guest on The CBS Early Show. Not only that, but writing gives me a healthy outlet to express my feelings and connect to other people.

I started “Write On! For Literacy” in 2001 to encourage kids to discover confidence, joy, a means of self-expression, and connection to others through reading and writing. My website www.writeonbooks.org features writing contests, book reviews, fun writing prompts, and more. I still frequently visit classrooms to speak to kids about my writing journey (another published collection of short stories and a novel followed There’s a Huge Pimple On My Nose) and I teach a Youth Summer Writing Camp every year in my hometown of Ventura, California.

Perhaps my most rewarding project is an annual Holiday Book Drive that I started to collect and distribute new books to disadvantaged kids who do not have many books of their own. More than 11,000 books have been donated to date.

The biggest lesson I have learned is that it is okay to start small. The first year, my Holiday Book Drive only donated 125 books to the local Boys & Girls Club. Still, even small acts make a difference, and small acts often snowball into amazing contributions bigger than you ever dreamed.

What is your passion? How can you use what you love to help others? Get friends involved. Spread the word to your community. Overwhelmingly, I have discovered that people very much want to help, but they don’t always know what they can do. If you can supply a meaningful avenue for people to help, they will join your cause.

One of my favorite quotes is by legendary basketball coach John Wooden: “Make each day your masterpiece.” Don’t wait until next week or month or year to make a difference. Start small. Start today. The most important thing you can do is begin!

LISTEN: Dallas on Bloom Talk Radio

Dallas Woodburn is an award-winning author and journalist whose work has appeared in Family Circle, Writer’s Digest, The Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. For her volunteer work, she has been honored with a national Jackie Kennedy Onassis/Jefferson Award, a Congressional Award Gold Medal, and most recently a “Best of You” Award from Glamour Magazine. Learn more about Write On! For Literacy at www.writeonbooks.org and http://dallaswoodburn.blogspot.com/

Green Lifestyles: Get Rid of the Junk Mail

Barb and CT Green Scenes team up for solutions on greening our lives!

Who wants unnecessary clutter? None of us do. But, just open up your mailbox and you’ll probably find lots of mail you don’t even open.

Junk mail has a huge carbon footprint and overloads our landfills.  It’s also a big waste of your precious time and energy to sort, weed, shred and toss. And, unopened mail in the trash can be easy prey for fraud and identity theft .

Time to organize your life, plant your Seeds for Success and go for the win-win. Stop the mail from reaching your doorstep in the first place by contacting organizations that can help like Direct Marketing Association Choice and companies who have your name on their mailing lists.

It’s worth the bother to reduce and hopefully eliminate junk mail and live a greener lifestyle. According to CT’s Green Scene’s Junk Mail: Return to Sender loaded with great tips on how to get rid of unwanted mail, ”The next time you get a catalogue or a coupon pack, think how many trees were destroyed before it landed in your mail box. Then, think about what you’d like to do about it.”

More on CT Green Scenes
More on Channel News 12 CT

Women in the Workplace: Salary Negotiation (WTNH CT Style)

Effective negotiating to lessen the pay gap between the genders.

Aired: June 8, 2010

It’s a roundtable discussion with Desiree Fontaine, the host of the popular midday tv show CT Style (WTNH), and some savvy women including Bloom’s Barb Scala, Eileen Breslin, Deputy General Counsel for NBTY, Inc. and Lisa Wexler host of The Lisa Wexler Show.

Why are women still paid considerably less than men in the workforce? And, how can we negotiate for better salaries and raises?

Career Makeover: Dead-end Job to Kitchen Designer (Better TV)

Barb talks about career makeovers on Better TV with Carolyn Kepcher, best known as Donald Trump’s right hand woman on the original Apprentice shows. Now Carolyn heads WorkHerWay.com which provides answers and resources to working women everywhere about changing jobs, dissatisfaction in the work place, starting new businesses and so much more.

Hear how Deb Gillap-Bassler sought Barb’s coaching expertise and quickly found her way to a dream career in kitchen and bath design.

TV Clip: Career Makeover on Better TV

Deb’s Career Makeover Story

Chocolate Zucchini Quinoa Bread

Velvety dark chocolate bread that tastes like sinfully delicious cake. You’d never know zucchini was “in” and wheat, white flour and dairy was “out.”

Sure to be a crowd pleaser even with hard core chocolate lovers (and the kids)! Gluten free flours, quinoa and rice, are paired up along with good quality cocoa powder. Healthy walnut oil adds flavor while applesauce takes the place of eggs.

Enjoy with a cup of tea anytime you crave some chocolate!

1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
1 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of sea salt
1 cup applesauce
2 cups grated zucchini
1/3 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup rice milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease oven proof glass loaf pan with grapeseed oil spray or a healthy nonstick alternative. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and stir till combined. Batter should be wet and incorporated. (If too dry add a little more applesauce or rice milk). Transfer batter to loaf pan and bake for approx. 1 hour or until tester comes out clean. Cool before slicing.

Barb’s Tip: The bread is best served warm but needs to cool down enough so it doesn’t crumble when sliced.

Barb on the LifestyleMom Radio Cafe

The tables are turned and this time I’m being interviewed on the LifestyleMom Radio Cafe with Dana Hilmer.

It’s all about “The Possibility of Everything” and how we can make changes in our life and bloom. Along with Dana’s first guest Hope Edelman author of Motherless Daughters, I chat about hosting Bloom Talk Radio and spotlighting inspirational women and also, working with women who are making transitions and changes in their lives.

Find out how we can all bloom in our own unique way and plant the seeds to get there!

Barb’s interview on LifestyleMom Radio Cafe

Black Bean Salsa Salad

Quick, easy and healthy with a latin flair when you’re on the go but don’t want to forgo a delicious meal.

The cupboards were bare the other day except for a can of black beans. Luckily, in the fridge I also had half of an avocado, some tomatoes, a few spigs of unwithered cilantro (the rest had wilted) and an opened jar of peach salsa, but any good quality salsa will do. With some blue corn tortilla chips (also found in the cupboard), I had a great lunch with lots of tex-mex tastes and textures.

1 15 oz can organic black beans
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper
1 avocado
12-16 oz salsa
1 cup grape tomatoes
chopped cilantro

In a saucepan,  add the beans, garlic powder, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and olive oil and stir over medium heat until liquid is absorbed and beans are softened. Set aside to cool. Peel and chop avocado into 1 inch squares. Halve the tomatoes. Using half quantities, line the beans, salsa, avocado and tomatoes in rows in a shallow bowl, making sure the salsa and tomatoes are not next to each other. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top and salt and pepper to taste. Repeat the rows to make a second bowl. Serve with tortilla chips.

Asian Spiced Scallops & Kale Salad

Leafy greens and scallops go Asian in this zesty dish!

Great lighter dinner or a lovely lunch. Or serve the scallops as the main attraction over rice and have the kale salad on the side. Either way, you’ll enjoy the healthy benefits of a dark leafy green this spring and scallops which are local to my coastal community.

Scallops:

1 lb. sea scallops
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 teaspoons Asian spice mix (or make your own by combining 1 teaspoon each of curry powder, cumin, tumeric, garlic powder, cinnamon, allspice, star anise, nutmeg plus 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, sea salt & black pepper)

Kale salad:

1 bunch kale
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup wheat free soy sauce
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt & pepper to taste

Rinse the scallops. Combine the Asian spice mix, lemon juice and 1/4 cup olive oil in a bowl. Add the scallops and marinate for 1/2 hour.

Wash and dry the kale. Cut tough veins from each leaf and chop the kale in 1 to 2 inch strips. Combine the lemon juice, soy sauce and olive oil in a jar and shake vigorously till combined. In a bowl, toss the kale with the lemon-soy dressing till each leaf is coated. Refrigerate till ready to serve (salad can stay up to several hours in the fridge as the leaves soak up the dressing without wilting).

Remove the scallops from the marinade but reserve juices. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a cast iron skillet or heavy pan over moderate high heat, being careful not to allow the oil to get too hot and smoke. Sear the scallops on both sides till cooked throughout (approx. 2-4 minutes each side depending on size and heat temp) but do not overcook which makes them tough and rubbery. Remove the scallops from the pan.  Add the marinade to the pan and quickly heat juices till syrupy.

Toss the kale salad with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Plate each dish by pooling some sauce on the plate, add a bed of the kale salad  and place 4 to 5 scallops on top or serve separately.

Emme’s Garlic Black Eye Pea Soup

Easy, quick, delicious and healthy and made with lots of roasted garlic and rice milk.

According to supermodel Emme who promotes a healthy body image and self esteem, “I always make soup and everyone enjoys a bowl of whatever I’m making if they’re over my house at lunchtime.”

8 garlic bulbs
1 large frozen package of black eye peas
5 cups of rice milk
1 C chopped parsley
1 C chopped basil
2 T chopped cilantro
1/2 C grated Parmesan
Salt

Cut off tops of garlic, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and roast for 20 minutes in oven at 375 degrees.  Remove the garlic pulp from the bulb and put into a stockpot. Add all other ingredients and cook for 1 hour on medium heat. Using a hand held upright, puree and serve (use caution when pureeing hot liquids). Finish off with two pinches of salt.

Emme on Bloom Talk Radio

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