Happy anniversary to me - Reflections on my first year on Steemit

Some of you might have been wondering where I’ve been for the last couple of weeks. I’ve had some family things going on, the subject of another post maybe, and that may go on for a while. So apologies to all my dear Steemit friends whose posts I’ve missed (or will miss), whose comments have gone unanswered and who I’ve generally neglected.

But today is my one year anniversary, so time to look back on the past year. (For a musical accompaniment, see my Steemiversary PS post)

This photo of me taken Oct 2015 by the amazing Mandi Lynn

Shortly after Jeff Berwick recommended Steemit to his followers, James Corbett followed suit and @sift666 came aboard on the 11th August 2016. Three days later, I had to join him on this amazing journey, and what a ride it’s been. I could talk about numbers of posts or numbers of followers, but those are not what Steemit has been about for me.

The most important thing is the number of amazing people I’ve met here. Too many to mention, and I’d hate to risk missing someone out. But you know who you are. The people, the community, the connection – that is what makes Steemit special.

The second reason for me to be thankful to Steemit is that it got me writing again. Over the years I’ve written many webpages, but had been stuck in a rut for a long time. Steemit broke that dry patch. I know I sometimes go weeks without posting, but it’s not from lack of inspiration. As I look back over some of my old posts I remember a bunch of other things I want to write about – when time and energy permits.

As a nutrition coach and natural health practitioner, those are the topics I expected to mostly write about. But I’ve actually written about all sorts of things. So here’s a recap of some of those topics – complete with links to all my old posts.

Recipes

Many of my clients have food allergies, and one of the things I love to do is create new recipes. There are lots of people on Steemit who post amazingly delicious looking recipes, including @gringalicious, @rebeccaryan and @woman-on the-wing. My approach is a bit more pragmatic – how can I help my clients make tasty, healthy, low allergy food that isn’t too time consuming. So that is my niche – food that is whole food, gluten free, often starch or dairy free, usually suitable for Paleo. Even if you don’t have allergies or sensitivities, I think you’d like most of these recipes:

• BREAKFASTS: Choc Blackcurrant Smoothie ~ Feijoa Pear Smoothie ~ Cashew Porridge ~ Other Breakfast ideas
• BREADS & BAKING: Grain free, dairy free Pumpkin & Cashew Bread ~ Grain Free Banana Cashew muffins ~ Carrot Almond bread ~ Vegetable muffins ~ Grain free cheese muffins ~ Happy birthday to me! with birthday cake recipe… ~ Grain Free Apple Cashew Walnut Muffins ~ Carrot Cashew Blender Bread ~ Stove top grain free bread ~ Apple Walnut Coconut Flour muffins
• SOUPS & DINNERS: Warming winter soup ~ Paleo Cottage Pie ~ I judged the Steemit Culinary Challenge: Paleo ~ No potato fries / NZ sweet potatoes ~ “Use up those vegetables that you bought and never used” winter soup
• SNACKS & FINGER FOODS: Healthy Chocolate & Fudge ~ Jerky with vegetables ~ Choco-mallow protein bars ~ Grain free Fruit & Nut bar ~ Finger food for a gathering ~ Real food ideas for snacks and road trips
• FESTIVE: Festive smoothies for Xmas morning ~ Orange Cranberry Xmas Breakfast Muffins ~ Crisp & crunchy Xmas cheese stars ~ Best ever (and easiest) Christmas cake ~ Xmas menu ideas ~ Planning your holiday eating to be a bit more balanced ~ Paleo Easter Buns (coconut-almond flours, gluten and starch free, lowish carb) ~ Even yummier Paleo Easter Buns
• KITCHEN TIPS & MENUS: Tip for storing ginger & tumeric ~ Equipment for the real food kitchen ~ Hang out in my kitchen this weekend - help me cook and listen to some music!
For MORE RECIPES and my 15 step Whole Food cooking course, see my recipe website.

Nutrition

Along with the practical steps towards better nutrition, I also like to harp on about what constitutes good nutrition and why. I’m not going to harp on today – if you want to dive into what I’ve said before, feel free to peruse…

• The wide variety of healthy diets out and what they have in common
• The travels of Weston A Price and his discoveries about healthy diets
• Good fats vs bad fats
• DNA testing for better Health & Fitness
• DNA testing part 2: How Well Do I Digest Carbs?
• DNA testing Part 3: I can’t eat Carbs & How to Manage that
• About the Gut & Psychology syndrome (GAPS) diet Part 1 – Can it help autism?
• GAPS diet Part 2: Foods we can’t have
• GAPS diet Part 3: Foods we CAN have
• GAPS diet Part 4: What if I can’t eat some animal foods
• Salicylate intolerances
• Introduction to the Paleo diet
• How to get started on a Real Food diet Part 1
• Why use Real Food diets for healing
• How to get started on a Real Food diet Part 2
• We did a three day water fast
• Comparison of different diets – which is for you?
• Should you eat Dairy? Part 1: Pasteurisation
• Cashews and the Paleo diet
• Should you eat Dairy? Part 2: Quality
• Is salt good or bad for you?
• Should you eat Dairy? Part 3: Is it food for humans?
• Real food for babies – Part 1
• Real food for babies – Part 2

Health & Lifestyle

I’m also an EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping) practitioner and a kinesiologist. So I take a keen interest in all aspects of natural health. And I teach a mobilisation exercise class for seniors with arthritis; once a week locally and once a month across town. Read on…

• Sleep like a kitten Part 1 – 3 tips
• Sleep Well Part 2 – What’s your sleeping style?
• Sleep Well Part 3 – Resetting your body clock
• Thoughts about Breast Health
• I’ve got a cold & how to handle it
• Overcoming my fears
• Positivity Challenge 4 – Emotional Freedom Technique Part 1
• EFT Part 2 – Getting started
• Six days training in a new natural therapy
• Quick & Easy calming tip
• EFT Tapping videos for Xmas stress
• Seated exercise – legs
• Seated exercise – head & shoulders
• Ways to boost my winter immunity

Music

I’ve always loved music and dancing. In my youth I did a lot of dance recitals and musicals and now I’m a member of a community choir. I’m in my 60th year and in that time have found a LOT of music I love, and love to share with fellow Steemians:

• Benefits of joining a community choir ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – 1957 to 1966 ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – 1967 to 1971 ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – 1972 to 1976 ~
• Singing carols with the NZ Symphony Orchestra PLUS my best loved Christmas music ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – 1976 to 1983 ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – 1983 to 1988 ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – 1988 to 1994 ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – 1994 to 2001 ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – 2001 to 2007 ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – 2008 to 2014 ~
• Remembering those who passed away in 2016 ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – some randoms ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – more randoms ~
• 60 years of my favourite music – Kiwi classics ~
• My choir singing on the streets of Wellington ~
• Some New Zealand music ~
• 60 years of music - Musicals I’ve been in ~
• Hang out in my kitchen this weekend - help me cook and listen to some music!

Other Entertainment

I love to read and am a fan of movies and live theatre. One of the highlights of my year is the Wearable Arts Award Show (WOW). One thing I’ve never done much of though is creative writing. But since being on Steemit I have written a handful of short stories. I’m never going to be in the league of the awesome authors I’ve found on Steemit, but I was quite proud of my efforts.

• Wearable Arts Award Show ~
• If crying in movies was an Olympic sport ~
• My fiction-trail competition 1 entry – Time to buy a Purple Hat ~
• My fiction-trail competition 2 entry – The Broken Man ~
• Voices from the Front – a story of Gallipoli ~
• RIP Kiwi comedian John Clarke aka Fred Dagg ~
• Pumpkin pie story contest entry ~
• Book review, with a musical bonus – Alex Bledsoe’s Tufa novels ~

Other Thoughts About Life

And sometimes I just write about what’s going on in my life, or in New Zealand, or some memories from the past.

• My Intro
• Are there kiwis in the house?
• My grandmother’s legacy
• Steemit in downtown Wellington
• Observations from a bus
• The brandy snap maker
• 2 months on Steemit and now curating health, nutrition and recipes
• Positivity Challenge 3 – Acts of kindness
• Positivity Challenge 4 with a twist
• News on the NZ earthquake
• More news on the NZ quake
• Earthquake aftermath
• The NZ Prime Minister just resigned!
• First day of the Wellington summer
• Presenting to a Parliamentary Committee about proposed new legislation
• Voices from the Front – a story of Gallipoli
• RIP Kiwi comedian John Clarke aka Fred Dagg
• Wellington Blockchain meetup + Updated Steemit Kiwis list + NZ meetup
• New Zealand winter has arrived with a vengeance! Big storm affecting the whole country.

So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past year. I’m looking forward to whatever the next year on Steemit brings.

Thanks for reading

Photos by myself, @sift666 or from Pixabay, unless otherwise stated.

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