New

What does this short three letter word mean to you??? Do you like new things, new places, new people, new ideas, new beginnings???? Or are you more comfortable with the old, what you know, what seems safe, what feels comfortable and broken in...?

There are several ways to look at new:

NEW- 1. Not existing before; made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time. Or, 2. already existing but seen, experienced, or acquired recently or now for the first time, and 3. Just beginning or beginning anew and regarded as better than what went before.

My favorite would be definition number three, this one seems more personal, self designed, a change in outlook and/or attitude. We all have the opportunities for new, life is full of new choices we can make and new thoughts and ideas to discover. We can mix the old with the new and the new with the old, you just need to be open to it. Old can be new, it just takes a different outlook, a new vision, a new way of doing things. This brings me to a situation I have come up against time and again with NEW clients, they like the old and are afraid of what the new changes will mean, how things will changed and what they will have to do without. This is not my goal with my clients, I do not want to pull the rug out from under them. My goal is to work with them to welcome the new habits into their lives, while changing some of their old habits and making it all work together.

As we welcome this new year ahead, it is up to each one of us to live it to our fullest! What a gift we have been given, for this gift we need to think of it as "Just beginning or beginning anew and regard it as better than what went before". Wishing you all the peace, health, love and happiness in this new year, live it well and live it full!!!

Spanish Paella

• 2 chicken breasts (medium)

• 1/4 onion (small)

• 10 grape tomatoes

• 1 Tbsp oil

• 2 cups rice (dry)

• saffron threads

• 2 tsp paprika

• 2 tsp dried parsley

• 1 tsp red chili powder

• 1/2 tsp crushed garlic

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth

• 1 lb cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

• salt/pepper

• 1 lemon

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken into cubes.

2. Chop the onion and grape tomatoes.

3. Cook the onion and chicken in the oil over medium-high heat in a skillet for about 5 minutes.

4. Place a cover over the skillet for about 3 minutes to keep chicken from drying out.

5. Add in the dry rice, crushed saffron threads, paprika, parsley, red chili powder, garlic, and turmeric.

6. Stir for about 3 minutes.

7. Add in the broth and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.

8. Cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes (or until rice is soft), sometimes the rice might take a little longer to cook.

9. Add in the shrimp and tomatoes.

10. Cook for another 3 minutes (or until the shrimp is cooked/opaque)

11. Serve with fresh lemon slices and a squeeze of lemon juice!

12. I added bell peppers and green beans, I just grilled them slightly and added them to the pan. You can sauté them lightly with some olive oil as well then add them to the pan.