Edie Wadsworth

My VERY Favorite Fall Dinner Trick {And 7 Must Have Recipes}

September 21, 2015 by Edie Wadsworth 22 Comments

All the anxiety that dinner making can cause quickly slips away when fall is here.

Why?

Because SOUP dear friends, our most beloved SOUP is officially back.

Some of you who are new around here don’t even know that I like to call myself the soup whisperer. Fall is EXACTLY my jam, not because I can finally make soup, but because I can make it without my family rolling their eyes and turning down the AC.

Soup often means bread so they don’t fuss for long.

I’ve written about my best trick for getting dinner on the table before but honestly, soup is my best trick.

So, I thought in honor of the first day (it is the first day, right?) of fall I’d give you a list of soups in ORDER THAT I LOVE THEM. Which is like picking your favorite child and then telling the whole world. So don’t tell the other soups please. They all think they’re my favorite.

If you’re a novice to soup making, let me change your life by teaching you how to make the world’s easiest suppers that taste like you’ve been slaving away all day.

You might first want to read about my favorite kitchen tools.

Then about how I stock my pantry.

Once you have a good soup pot, a good knife, a cutting board, an apron, and a stocked pantry, there’s no soup frontier we can’t conquer together. Also of note? I like to make EVERY HARD recipe into a soup because then it’s not so hard and you look fancy because you just made lasagna soup.

(Mic Drop in the kitchen, that’s what that is.)

Please also see my chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe!

I kinda feel like I need a drum roll as I give the family recipes.

Okay, here goes. My favorite soups IN ORDER THAT I CHERISH THEM.

Okay, it’s really a tie between the first three.

1. Pumpkin Chipotle Soup with Chicken & Barley

I made this last week with GROUND CHICKEN and I must say that I think I like it even better, if that’s possible.

2. Italian Sub Soup

3. Cheese Tortellini Soup

4. Swedish Meatball Soup

5. Creamy Tortilla Soup

6. Broccoli Cheese Soup

7. Best Ever Beef Stew

Okay friends, that’s my top 7 or the FAMILY JEWELS as I like to call it.

For more soup, go here!

What Inspires Me {Essential Oils & 3 Reasons Why I’m Still Head Over Heels}

September 11, 2015 by Edie Wadsworth 12 Comments

In an effort to remind myself of what I already know and in hopes of sparking a streak of creativity for you and me, I’ve been thinking and writing and periscoping about what inspires me.

I think it would be safe to say that nothing has inspired me more in the last year than diving into the deep end with essential oils. It took me a few months to dig through the hype and honestly the fact that it was trendy made me even more skeptical. I finally tried them because some people I trusted were raving about them and I had to find out for myself. It all seemed so strange to me, I’m not gonna lie.

What won me over was how amazingly effective the products have been at keeping me well on every level. It’s hard to argue with something that works. It’s hard to argue with measurable outcomes. My immune system became stronger than ever, my hormones were so much more balanced, my emotional life was no longer so topsy turvy. I started to feel better than I ever have. It was simply amazing.

When I left my medical practice 7 (or is it 8?) years ago, I was so disillusioned with modern medicine and our seeming inability to give people real, tangible help for wellness. When I found essential oils, I felt like I had won the lottery. Here are a few reasons why I’m still so in love with them.

1. They have the intelligence of a compassionate Creator

For the past two months, I’ve been mostly teaching a class about the oils of ancient scripture and in researching and studying to teach that, I fell head over heels (again) essential oils. I had studied the science behind why they work and was fascinated with their chemistry and the properties of their constituents. But when I began to look at their roots in ancient scripture and when I began to ponder on that fact that this was just another way God is caring for us, I was even more thankful for them and how much they’ve helped me. I asked myself questions like, “Is it possible that a God who loves us so much to provide for our very salvation might also have known that I would need physical and emotional support too?” Of course. And that it was probably no accident that he put Adam and Eve in a garden, of all places, where they would have both the nourishment of good food AND the healing properties of all the plants and shrubs and flowers that He so graciously gave them.

Essential oils are one of God’s gifts to us because He knew beforehand that we’d struggle with stress and emotional ups and downs and sleeplessness and hormonal shifts and a million other things. They have His intelligent design so it’s no surprise that they should be so effective at keeping us well and fit to carry out our mission as lovers of neighbors and sharers of His good news. He was caring for us before He ever made us because that’s the kind of Father He is—full of compassion and care.

2. They inspire curiosity and you don’t have to be a weirdo

One of the things going to medical school taught me was to never stop learning and essential oils have inspired to keep learning and reading and searching like nothing else in the health field ever has. I was amazed that a few of my otherwise seemingly normal friends were embracing something that seemed so OUT THERE.

Curiosity finally got the best of me. And even after they started amazing me in how well they work, I remember saying to a good friend, “Don’t worry, I won’t become one of those crazy oil ladies.”

Except I did. Like the crazy cat lady only with oil. Lots of little bottles of all kinds of different oils. And I’m CRAZY for them.

BUT. I’m not otherwise crazy or weirdo. (Or maybe I am, I guess you’ll have to decide.)

These little drops of love are quite amazing and you can’t know it until you’ve experienced it. You can be skeptical and you can be doubtful but when you begin to use them, you can’t help but be curious as to how and why they work so well. The more I learn and the more I use, the more I want to know and the more I want to experiment.

They inspire curiosity and conversation like no other. And not just what you can learn from medically researched journal articles about the amazing benefits of something like Frankincense but also just what you learn from a year of using an awesome little oil called Joy. My friends and family who use oils become so intrigued by them that they want to read more and talk about them and ask lots of questions. Essential oil usage tends to inspire lots of reading and way more self-awareness which often leads to positive lifestyle changes that can be otherwise hard to make. The YL starter kit is BY FAR the best investment I’ve ever made for my health. Without a doubt. Not crazy or weird, just the BEST THING EVER. Okay, fine, they also tend to make you very passionate.

The funny thing is we don’t think it’s weird that people take so much medication, which we should because medications are loaded with side effects. Just watch the next drug commercial. The side effects of essential oils? Better mood, stronger immunity, more relaxed inner life and yet more focused on your work. Maybe it’s not so weird after all. 🙂

3. They are natural supporters of a healthy emotional life.

This is my FAVORITE fact about essential oils—every person I know that uses them experiences a noticeable shift in mood. This is one of their qualities that baffled me and made me insanely curious. HOW do they do this?! Is it just placebo?

The staggering statistics of how many women are on some sort of mood altering/boosting medication are enough to make us want to find alternatives to help us with our stressful lives. And modern medications work by blocking difficult emotions, which can sometimes be helpful but they do very little to help us process all the change and grief and difficulty in our lives. Essential oils are such small molecules and are lipid soluble which means they readily cross the blood brain barrier. Once inhaled they go straight to the emotional center of our brains.

This ability makes them so special and unique and because the sense of smell is so tied to our emotions and memories, they begin to help us change some of our deeply ingrained emotional responses. I cannot begin to tell you how many people I know personally whose lives have been improved by this quality alone. If this piques your interest, I’m doing a video class Sunday night via Facebook on emotional healing and essential oils and would be delighted for you to join me. Click here to join the event.

I actually never thought I’d be inspired enough by anything to actually write about health & wellness, despite the fact that it’s been my lifelong obsession and the subject of so much of my study and reading. Now, because of these reason and more, it’s become one of my dearest passions because I’ve found something that I believe in with all my heart. I’m so thankful to have found this treasure trove of goodness and I’m so thankful for the growing community of women that are taking this wellness journey with me. We’d love to have you join us!

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I’ve started a new blog for my Young Living peeps called The Oily Sisterhood and I wrote this morning over there about a day in the life with oils if you’re curious about how you would incorporate them into your daily life!

If you find all this intriguing and want to know more about what I use and how I came to choose Young Living, click here.

To view my class on Essential Oils & Emotional Healing, click here.

If you were already on the fence and are ready to give them a try, click here or email me at ediewadsworth@mac.com. You’ll love our wonderful, supportive group!

What Inspires Me {Others & Baptism & Dying to Self}

September 3, 2015 by Edie Wadsworth 29 Comments

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We made a whirlwind trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky this past Sunday to see my niece and nephew get baptized. I don’t know about you but baptisms are my favorite. The tears, the joy, the name and life of Christ being imparted to another precious life. It was the kind of day you hold in your heart and cherish forever. Those kiddos are some kind of wonderful and so is their momma and so is their pastor and his wife. Awesome day all around. My sister, Gina, drove us because well, I’m sure she didn’t think it would be a very good idea to end up in Memphis. I’m older but she’s everything else. At least I know my place. #bless

We got back home and had two busy days of volleyball, dance, homework, and packing and my girls left yesterday for a 3 day camping/field trip with their school. On the way to drop them off, we had an extended version of the talk we have everyday before I drop them off to school.

“Don’t worry about yourselves. Worry about others. Don’t fret over where you’re going to sleep or who you’re going to sit with or who you’re going to ride with. Fret about her, who she’s going to sit with, who she’s going to ride with. Is she okay? Does she need a friend? If you take care of her, your needs will be met without you even noticing.”

They get so tired of hearing me I’m sure. What they may not know is that I’m preaching to myself. I was at an outing and walked into the building by myself the other day and my first thought was, “Will there be anybody here I know? Who will I talk to? WHO WILL I SIT WITH?”

And then my words snuck into the back door of my brain and I remembered all the talks I give my girls about focusing on others. It’s so easy to say and not very easy at all to do. But guess what I ALWAYS find? When you take care of her, everything else will be okay. When you focus on her and when you listen to her and when you make sure she has what she needs, your needs will be met without you even noticing.

I heard this at a talk one time and it burned itself into my brain—and I paraphrase, “There are two types of people – those who walk into a room and say: ‘Here I am!’ and those who walk into a room and say: ‘There you are.’”

Here’s the thing. In our Baptism, Jesus walks into our lives and destroys the darkness. He puts His very name on us, He puts His life in us, we are now HIS. We are buried with him into death and raised to walk in newness of life. We are people of the light, we are marked as Ones who have been redeemed. And now we can bring this hope to the world. There you are is finally possible.

If you’ve been down in the dumps or if you’ve lost the spring in your step or if you’ve lost your creativity and inspiration or if you’re just too darn focused on yourself (aren’t we all?), start walking into every situation with the thought on your heart, “There you are,” and you will be AMAZED at what happens. When you step into her life with interest and light and love, beautiful things will begin to unfold, both in her heart and in yours.

This is what it means to pick up our cross and die.

And this is the baptismal life we have in Christ—trusting in His forgiveness when we fail to love her as we love ourselves and new mercies and new chances every morning.

What Inspires Me, Part 3 {Seeing}

August 20, 2015 by Edie Wadsworth Leave a Comment

I’ve been talking about what inspires us lately! Click to read Part 1 and Part 2.

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What You’re Seeing

We have had the distinct privilege of having a toddler in our lives off and on this summer.

The first thing I want to say about that is #BABYFEET and the second thing I have to say about this is when he reaches for me and says “holdme, holdme, holdme”, my heart burst into a million tiny pieces.

I highly recommend that you find a toddler to hang around with because it’s just the best ever.

One thing that toddlers have a great capacity for is repetition. Even if you just drove the golf cart past the lawnmower, resulting in high pitched screams of “MAWN-MOWER, MAWN-MOWER, MAWN-MOWER!!!!!”, there’s is a 100% chance that when you drive past it 2 minutes from now, it will be as if you are driving past it for the first time. Repeat that process ten times and the enthusiasm for driving past the lawn mower does not wane.

It’s been SO good for my teenage girls to see because when a toddler delights in something with SO MUCH FERVOR, it’s hard not to enjoy it with them. And it begins to eat away at the cynicism with which you see the world.

One thing that I don’t like about we adults and about the teenage years is that snarkiness just creeps in. It takes so much to impress us or wow us or cause us to feel delight.

We take everything for granted. We’ve lost the ability to see the everyday miracles.

Let’s continue this discussion on how we SEE the world on Periscope today around 8:30 eastern time. It’s like live podcasting basically and it’s so much fun!

You’ll find me @lifeingrace there.

If you miss the live stream, just find the archives at katch.me/lifeingrace.

See you there!

What Inspires Me, Part 2 {Listening}

August 17, 2015 by Edie Wadsworth 11 Comments

As we head into fall and with the kids going back to school, I’ve been thinking a lot about what inspires me and what I do with that inspiration. This is part 2

“When we listen to another, we catch a slight glimpse of their soul. We create an open page where they are free to write their story. We help people remember who they are.” ~Radical Hospitality

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Listening To Our Own People

When I was in elementary school and it was report card time, I knew EXACTLY what was coming. I would get good grades but the teacher would inevitably write in the margin, “Very good student but talks excessively.” Yeah and not much has changed either.

I’m not naturally a good listener. Most of us aren’t. We LOVE to talk, especially about our own selves and our own life and our own kids and our own interests. I have to work at listening. I have to remind myself to listen and I remind my girls of this everyday. I’m like the old grandma reminding everybody (and myself) that we have two ears and just one mouth. When I was in medical school, one of my favorite clinical professors said something to me that may have been the most important thing I learned. He said, “If you really listen to your patients, they’ll tell you what’s wrong with them.” I can’t even tell you how many times he was right. Listening well is a lost art but if you want to become a more effective parent and a more loving spouse and a more successful person at life, practice the art of listening.

But we have to discipline ourselves to pay attention. We have to put down our phones and our own important agenda and really listen, ask questions, be interested in other people. This is especially true and especially hard with the people in our own family. It reminds me of that quote that says if you don’t listen to your kids in the little things, they won’t tell you the big things. Oh, does that sting. #preachingtomyself

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Listening to God

We got home from church yesterday and Stevie commented on how much truth we heard at church, from the hymns to the liturgy to the sermon to communion. (I highly recommend listening to our pastor as part of your weekly listening. His sermons are so good, so Christ centered.) As christians, we are called to be hearers of the Word, that’s exactly our job. After we hear, then we are enlivened to DO but we must hear first. But do you know how hard it is to make time to hear the Word?! Yes, you do because it’s so hard. To quieten the chaos of the morning and hear God’s word first thing, to hush the hustle of the week and make hearing His word at church a priority, it’s not easy, I know first hand.

As a practical tip, let me just say that it doesn’t have to take all day. We use the PrayNow app and read the psalm every morning on the way to school and then say the Lord’s prayer. That may not seem like much, but God’s word is powerful and effective and changes our hearts and our minds, even if it’s just a psalm a day. Start with something that simple and commit to it for 30 days straight and just see how it begins to change your perspective and the rhythm of your days.

Listening to Other People

I don’t watch the news. There I said it. I let Stevie listen and read and then give me the cliff notes. I only have so much bandwidth and as a creative person with a tendency toward feeling all the feelings, I don’t do well with a steady stream of negative input. But I do listen to stuff all day long everyday. Good music, audio books, the out of doors, podcasts, periscopes, kids, dogs, etc.

I will tell you that my ABSOLUTE favorite productivity tool for working around my house is to listen to podcasts or periscopes from people that inspire me. And my favorite trick? I wear an apron everyday at home, in part so I can put my phone in the apron pocket and keep working WHILE I listen. And also? You will probably want to start dinner because you ALREADY have your apron on. That is called winning at life. Dinner for your family and learning for you. It’s all the apron, dear ones.

I downloaded podcruncher, a podcasting app and then subscribed to my favorite podcasts there and then follow people who inspire on Periscope. If you’re not on Periscope, you should give it a try. It’s a free live streaming app that’s connected to your Twitter account and I have loved following my favorite bloggers and my favorite business people on there. I have two accounts, one for my blog called Lifeingrace in which I plan to talk about the same stuff I talk about on my blog and one for my natural health and essential oils group (The Oily Sisterhood) which is just under my name, Edie Wadsworth. I have discovered the power of pericope by mostly watching so I thought to help you get more familiar with it, I’d do a 30 series there called #dailygrace with short little periscopes with some daily inspiration.

Not a lot of my people have jumped on the Periscope bandwagon yet but I think it’s THE social platform to embrace and learn right now. Follow me either or both places! Here are some podcasts that I love:

Issues, Etc—My go-to source for all things culture and faith. This is by far THE BEST PODCAST for me. They have amazing guests and topics every week and I can’t imagine my days without this show. Their coverage of planned parenthood has been excellent and I love their ongoing podcasts on the liturgy and the church’s lectionary. I spend the bulk of my podcasting hours listening here and my kitchen is often VERY clean because of it!
Home Fries—A fun podcast where Tsh interviews lots of bloggers/creatives
The Accidental Creative—good for those of us pursuing creative things
Hopeologie—My friend Myquillin and her sister Emily have this fun and quirky podcast that I love!
The Big Boo Cast—with Melanie Shankle and Sophie Hudson, love these dear friends so much. Their podcast is like the Seinfeld of podcast, a funny show about nothing in particular

What I find when I make a conscience effort to listen is that it helps me know how I can serve my people better. I learn about their dreams and their fears and their needs. I listen to be inspired but inspired to DO what? Inspired to love, inspired to serve, inspired to see my neighbor’s needs and meet them as best I can.

What/who are you listening to today? I’d actually love to know.

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p.s. Here’s the periscope replay in case you missed it!

What Inspires Us & Why It Matters, Part 1

August 13, 2015 by Edie Wadsworth 23 Comments

Apparently, I have a lot to say on this subject, so I’m breaking into parts as we explore what inspires us and why we should pay attention. Today, I give you taste.

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I went for a run this morning which always turns out to be the exact time of day that inspiration hits. Because why would my brain want to cooperate with me when I’m ACTUALLY sitting down to write. It never does. But when I’m sweaty and running without pen or paper in sight? ALL THE GOOD IDEAS fall from heaven like manna.

But I guess when you think about what inspiration actually means, it makes sense.

Inspiration means to breathe in. (I love Jeff Goins post on this topic!)

Which means that inspiration is not a matter of whether you are breathing in but WHAT you are breathing in. And if you’re like me, much of your daily life is so crowded with to-do lists that it can be hard to breathe in anything but stress and hurry and social media blurbs. When I quiet all that or when I’m running so I’m that I’m focused on actually breathing, my mind is in receptive mode and I can’t even contain all the creative energy that comes bubbling to the surface.

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This summer has been so good for me in that way. I’ve been taking in way more than I’ve been producing, traveling a lot and learning a lot, meeting new people and soaking in long days with my own. We all need seasons like that. It makes me ready for a season of nesting and creating, a season where I want to be aware of all the tangible ways I’m being inspired and share the overflow with whoever is near.

Since this week alone, I’ve orange beets, cucumbers, South Carolina peaches, eggplant, arugula, blueberries, zucchini, corn, and Grainger County tomatoes, just to name a few, I thought we’d start with being inspired by taste.

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Inspired by Taste

First things first…..

I’m a foodie.

No, my name is not Izzy and no, I’ve have not always been a foodie. I grew up on Cocoa Puffs and Poptarts and hotdogs from Smoky Mountain Market, if you really want to know the truth. But over the years, I have become absolutely enamored with what it means to feed ourselves and to feed others well. The colors and textures and flavors of actual real food that God created for us are amazing.

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It has transformed how I look at making dinner because I realize that when the colors and flavors of what I’m making inspire me, I actually look forward to doing it and it doesn’t feel like (as much of) a chore. Also? I’m completely powerless when it comes to fresh eggs from a farm. As in, I am rendered nearly speechless and want to cook ALL THE QUICHES. Or at least a double batch of my favorite one.

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I know we all do it from time to time but it’s not very inspiring to order out from Sonic. But. When I’m in the middle of making a dinner using fresh, colorful ingredients with lots of herbs and spices, drinking my wine or kumbucha, with my favorite apron on and my favorite music playing, with my tea towel hanging over my should ready to wipe up the messes, there is NOTHING at all in this world like it.

Not to mention how much better it is for my actually body. I’ve said before, you don’t need to change the world, just make dinner. And I can’t tell you how much benefit I’ve seen for myself and my family just by committing to getting better at dinner.

If you’re not very experienced in the kitchen, try my shrimp boil or this summer vegetable soup to get you started. (We’ve been using Blue Apron and it has SO gotten me out of my rut!) Or try my advice on 5 Ways to Bring the Magic Back to Your Kitchen.

Also? Monster cookies inspire me SO VERY MUCH. Amen.

However you do it, make some food that inspires you and that feeds your people. (I have some tricks for getting dinner on the table, which you might find useful!)

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Everything in this world is a glimpse into the next and God doesn’t sell us short when it comes to taste. He’s the one who actually made us with a physical body that needs physical nourishment. I suppose it shouldn’t surprise us that when He wants to strengthen our faith and give us life and forgiveness, He feeds us. The God of the universe feeds us by choosing simple means like bread and wine to do it. He welcomes us to His table and we eat. We actually taste and see that the Lord is good.

This sacred food comes to us from outside ourselves and very literally inspires us with the living, breathing Word and body of God, without whom there is no life. Maybe food is simply the metaphor for which He is the ultimate reality. Our tasting has led us to Him, the giver of all good things, the Bread that endures forever.

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Up next: Inspired by Hearing

And tell me all about your tasty inspirations!