How I became Oprah's Ultimate Viewer

“What does it mean to be an ‘Ultimate Viewer?” People have asked me what I wrote to Oprah to earn a spot on her “Ultimate Australian Adventure.” I wrote Oprah a heartfelt “thank-you” letter about how her show dramatically influenced my life.

Twenty-seven years ago, my Mother was a freshman at Bangor Christian High School in Maine.  At the delicate age of 15 she was pregnant with me.  Many people had negative opinions about my Mom and her pregnancy, and she was even kicked out of school for her sin.  You see, we all (me included) judge others decisions and decide what is “good” and “bad” for other people.  Twenty-seven years ago, I am pretty certain that most people thought that my mother’s pregnant belly was very, very, very “bad.”

My Mom enjoyed watching Oprah, and she always let me watch the show (some parents may think the show is too mature for young children).  Something about Oprah and her ability to connect with people from every background, race, and circumstance drew me to her.  I trusted her.  I did not know her, but I deeply respected her.

I continued to watch Oprah as I grew up (before DVR, watching Oprah daily was nearly impossible-but, thanks to modern technology, now, I don’t have to miss one show!)  Her show taught me that anything is possible in life.  Negative experiences in our lives do not define us.  Greatness has many meanings, and everyone is capable of greatness.

My favorite Oprah series is “Live Your Best Life” where Oprah taught me not only the importance of healthy relationships, finances, exercise, eating, and careers, but how to have them all!

When I graduated nursing school, I secured a job at an RN on a cardiac telemetry unit.  Almost immediately, I recognized a critical emergency in our health care system.  In health care, we like to “fix” everyone by giving them high-cost medical interventions, medication, and acute care.  But, I couldn’t help but think “what if nurses promoted Oprah’s teachings in practice?  If people had less stress because they were exercising, eating well, managing their finances, and enjoying positive relationships, would we have less disease?  Could the system save billions of dollars? Would patients be happier?”  I believe YES! 

I immediately started searching for a way to bring “wellness-care” into health care and nursing practice.  I quit my job at the hospital without another one lined up!  Most people thought I was wicked stupid!  They didn’t believe that “wellness” had anything to do with nursing.  Random strangers on the street would tell me that I wasn’t a nurse if I didn’t work in a hospital.  Nurses told me I was “ruining” my career.

Three years later, I earned a Master’s Degree in Nursing.  Then I was accepted under a fully funded grant in the PhD nursing program at Northeastern University to research wellness in nursing practice. 

Oprah taught me to chase dreams, fulfill your passions, and stay true to yourself.  I am living proof that great things can happen in life (even vacationing in Australia with Oprah!).  Some people thought my Mom rearing me at 15 was a “bad” decision, but I don’t think I am all that bad after all. 

Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure series begins at 4pm EST TODAY! 

 

Meals that will even make KIDS eat SPINACH!

The two key ingredients to maintaining a healthy diet are viewing food as nutrients and medicine for your body and having fun eating and cooking at home.

The Oprah Winfrey Show recently hosted Jessica Seinfeld , and she promoted her new cookbook “Double Delicious.”  I LOVE this cookbook because most of the recipes are healthy and easy to prepare.

Jessica adds pureed vegetables into every recipe!  Pureeing is an excellent way to “hide” healthy food as a way to trick picky eaters into giving their bodies essential nutrients for optimal living.

James and I decided to have a little fun for the beginning of the year and cook every recipe in the Double Delicious cookbook!  So far, we cooked about 15 recipes from the book and they are ALL delicious. 

We cooked a cinnamon bun recipe that, believe it or not, had pureed sweet potatoes and cauliflower as key ingredients!

 I only minimally modify the recipes in Double Delicious and most of the time the main modification is adding MORE of the pureed vegetables than the recipe requires.  The concept of pureeing is awesome, but in her recipes, she only adds between 1/4-1/2 cup of pureed veggies for meals that yield 6-8 servings.  Increasing the quantity of puree doesn’t alter the taste of the recipes (most people don’t even notice the puree) and the body gets more of what it needs!

Enchilada prep- this meal lasts 2-3 dinners!

Chicken Enchiladas is our favorite recipe (so far) from the book- this is a great recipe to use up the extra home made salsa from the Funky Tortilla Casserole

Sweet Apron Jimmy!

Click here to print the Chicken Enchiladas recipe:  Chicken Enchiladas

 

Homeless Children Deserve Birthday Cake, Too

 On my vacation in Australia with Oprah and 302 of Oprah’s ultimate viewers, I met one a courageous and inspiring woman.  Oprah’s team hand selected each person who traveled to Australia based on letters individuals wrote about how The Oprah Winfrey Show influenced their life.  Every person on the trip had a story and one woman’s story brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps to my skin.

Alysha was watching Oprah one day and learned that children living in homeless shelters do not get Birthday cake. Alysha changed this for many homeless children in her community. Alysha’s husband is a police officer, and she partnered with the police department to create the non-profit company "Spouses Behind the Badge” 

Alysha obtained birth dates of children living in homeless shelters, volunteers, and donations and started changing children’s lives forever.  Alysha or one of her teammates and one officer from the department go to a homeless shelter on a child’s birthday. They bring balloons, cake, and a backpack filled with school supplies for the child.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

In a short period of time Spouses Behind the Badge grew.  Alysha started receiving calls from community agencies requesting beds for improvised children.  Before long, Spouses Behind the Badge began providing beds and bedding to needy children.

Spouses Behind the Badge & Police Officers Setting up bunk beds for deserving children!

Two beds for two little girls- I LOVE the pink bed sets!

The group's generosity continued to grow. One day, while delivering bus passes, Alysha learned of a deserving mother in need of a car.  Alysha knew that she must find this woman a car.  With a lot of hard work and perseverance Alysha secured a donated car, car insurance, and gas for this mother- what a tremendous blessing!

Here's your NEW car!!

Spouses behind the badge positively impacted homeless and improvised children, the community, and the relationship between low-income families and the police department. The crazy thing is that Alysha said that the time commitment involved in bringing a birthday cake or delivering a brand new bed- about 15 minutes.  But, the impact that 15 minutes has on lives of innocent and deserving children lasts a lifetime.

The group began because one woman was brave enough to stand up something she believed in.  Giving to others has blessed Alysha and her team's lives in so many ways. Alysha is an inspiration and her story proves that we don’t need tons of money, or perfect circumstances to do something great in this world. 

I was listening to a “stuff you should know” pod cast yesterday.  The topic was homelessness, and the hosts shared a story of a once homeless man who said, “most of the despair in homelessness is being treated like you don’t exist.”  Children in homeless shelters want birthday cake just like any other child, and thanks to Alysha and Spouses Behind the Badge- at least for one day they exist.

"Anybody can do just about anything with himself that he really wants to and makes up his mind to do. We are all capable of greater things than we realize."

 

 

Thou Shalt Not Waste: Funky Tortilla Casserole

 

I used to grocery shop aimlessly! I would throw a few Cheeze-Its and sale items in the cart and top it off with a couple of bananas and call it a trip.  I had no rhyme or reason to my madness.  Consequently, James and I ate more, spent more, and threw away more than we both realized.

James prepping the casserole (he tolerates my pink needs)

Today we have a strict $500 per month food budget.  Food is EXPENSIVE, but we learned that meal planning is one of the best tricks to stay within our food budget.  We literally have a plan for every piece of food we buy.  Some call us insane, and I would agree.  However, I am proud of our meticulous food planning skills, and I will tell you why.

  

1.     More than half the food produced in our country is wasted, I am happy that we waste little to NO food, EVER

2.     We feed our bodies exactly what they need

3.     We save TONS of $$ which translates to paying down DEBT

4.     We don’t stress about “what’s for dinner?” every night because we already know!

5.     We have fun cooking at home and eating our crazy healthy food concoctions

I have the easiest, most delicious super food recipe to share!  This recipe was approved by my Dad, my siblings, and our two great friends in Boston- it’s a keeper!

This funky tortilla casserole is packed with seven super foods: beans, spinach, whole wheat, tomatoes, chicken and yogurt!  You will get six healthy servings from the dish; James and I eat one casserole for dinner for three nights. The homemade salsa used to create this dish yields about five or six cups, so we always plan another dinner that requires salsa.

Funky Tortilla Casserole- fresh from the oven!

Bone Appetite!

 
Print Recipe Here:  Funky Tortilla Casserole
Print salsa recipe here:  Homemade Salsa

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

I can confidently say that 2010 was the best year of my 27 years.  I lived an unimaginable dream in December when I vacationed in Australia for 10 days with Oprah Winfrey.  Even as I write this blog, I find it hard to wrap my head around the fact that I met and hugged Oprah Winfrey.  In July, I told James that meeting Oprah was impossible, now I believe that anything is possible.

My experiences in 2010 did not come without challenges.  James and I moved from our home state that we know and love to the city.  We both embraced incredible challenges in our first semester as graduate students at Northeastern University.  Through most of the months of September through December, we both believed that we made a terrible decision to pursue our PhDs.  I suffered severe insomnia, and I went as many as seven days without sleeping (on more than one occasion).  I did not even know what a good night sleep felt like for about four months.

As I reflect back on 2010, I realized that the last part of the year my stress and uncertainty was a result of imbalance in my life.  I cannot maintain happiness and productivity in my life if I put all of my energy into one small piece of my life.  In 2011, I vow to put education and my career in it’s place in my life.  The rest of my life I hope to fill with joy and experiences with my friends and family.

I look forward to sharing more amazing super food recipes and positive experiences of my life in the crazy city of Boston.

2010 highlights:

·      James and I trained for and completed two triathlons

·      We moved from Maine to Massachusetts to pursue PhDs at Northeastern University

·      I attended traveled to Chicago with my Mom to view the season premier taping of the Oprah Winfrey show

·      James lived one of his dreams to vacation in Australia

·      We met amazing new friends and neighbors

·      I ran with my sister in her first 5K race

·      I met Oprah!!!

The "O" for Oprah on the Sydney Harbor Bridge, Australia

Kangaroo Island, Australia- The most beautiful place in the world

First day of School

Moving to the City

Karrie's first 5K

I hope 2011 will bring more surprises and happiness, and I really hope to pay off our remaining debt and celebrate the feeling of being DEBT FREE!