I grew up in Southeast Missouri; home of the Throwed Rolls, high cotton, and the St. Louis Cardinals. I have a little family consisting of son, daughter, son-in-law and a little Pi. Other than my children (and grandchild), my passion is writing. My current project is The Three Crowns Series. Sweet Tea is the first book in this seven-novel series which published October 15, 2013.
Besides reading and writing, I enjoy singing. I love music period. Music is in our family. Whether it be the bluegrass from the Ozarks that my Grandpa Sutton use to play on his banjo or fiddle, or the smooth, family harmony in which I am fortunate enough to sing with my Dad and Brother. But you can give me some kickin’ AC/DC too! I like it all!
I work full-time as an Administrative Assistant. Every free moment is dedicated to my family and my current project, The Three Crowns, a seven-novel paranormal romance series.
Writing is my off-the-clock job. However, I hope to be writing full-time one of these days. Until then, it’s 8 to 5 for this gal. With a full time job, a family which includes a two year old grandbaby, a cat (which the kids call Old Man), writing, and traveling around to promote my books, sometimes eating good is just not on the menu!
Since I spend most of my time at work, I thought I would give you a peek at what you might find in my lunch box. This is my lunchbox where I pack it with my little ice packs, usually a water, and whatever the meal of the day will be. Today, I’m having a baby spinach salad.
Now you might think that I’m having this salad for all the nutrients that are packed in this bowl! Nope. I’m eating this salad just because I like it! I had no idea how healthy it was until I researched it for you.
How healthy is it? Let me break it down for you.
The first thing I will say for this is even though it is very healthy, it is high in sodium—which is kinda my thing. I will take chips over chocolate cake any time! Oh wait, we are talking healthy. Back to the salad I’m having.
The spinach is PACKED with good stuff! We really should be eating this stuff all the time! First off, there are hardly any calories in it and one cup of spinach provides roughly 100% of your daily intake of vitamin A. Besides Vitamin A, Vitamin C and B-6 with Riboflavin and Niacin. Spinach has four to five times more Folate and Vitamin K than leaf lettuce. Spinach has almost three times more calcium and Potassium than leaf lettuce. Another interesting fact is it contains two important Carotenoids called Lutein and Zeaxanthin, which are the only antioxidants found in the eye. These protect your eyes and have been associated with a lower risk of age-related cataracts and macular degeneration. That is some healthy food! Good thing I love it!
The next item in my ‘way healthy’ salad is Feta. I’m going to be honest with you. There are not too many cheeses I don’t like. But here are some of the benefits of Feta. It is easier to digest and much less allergenic and anti-inflammatory for people who are slightly allergic to dairy. It has low fat content. And Feta is a good source of protein.
Balsamic vinegar is one of my faves. Who knew it contained electrolytes including Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Phosphorus, Potassium and Sodium?! The most significant nutritional bonus of balsamic vinegar is the Phyotonutrient, Flavonoids, contained in the grapes. These things are great for the heart and brain! Also balsamic vinegar is good for improving blood sugar.
Most people think the only good thing onions are good for is giving you bad breath. Not true. Onions are rich in sulfur compounds that protect your body from developing tumors and several different types of cancer—bring on the purple onions!
We all know veggies are good for us, so I wasn’t surprised to see the nutritional value that tomatoes hold. It is low in Sodium. Okay. I admit. I can pick a tomato off the vine and eat it—but…give me a salt shaker. So at least I’m not getting additional salt. It’s a good source of Vitamin E, Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and Manganese. 
I thought I would go ahead and include my sun dried tomatoes since that is what I usually put in this particular salad. These are a little higher in calories, but great on the nutritional side—Protein, Potassium, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin K, they are all in there, with 23% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C and 16% of Vitamin A. These things are packed with antioxidants reducing inflammation in the blood vessels. Sun dried tomatoes also help contribute to strong bones. I sure didn’t know that, did you?
I’m not going to talk too much about BACON. We know about bacon and we shouldn’t eat too much of it, but man does it make EVERYTHING better?
With my meal today, I did not have water, but I stopped by McDonalds and grabbed a ½ cut tea—very light on the sweet, and lots of ice. I put this in my RTIC cup and it usually lasts me all day, then I drink water for supper at night. Thanks for having lunch with me today. As always, it flew by!
THE THREE CROWN SERIES
By SONYA RAY
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
NEW ADULT
The Three Crowns is a New Adult/Paranormal Romance series. There are seven books to complete the series, with a novella. This series has your modern-day vampires dealing with the Old World Laws creating a struggle for ultimate power in the Night World.
It all starts with a Queen and a Plan.
THE THREE CROWNS SERIES SYNOPSIS
The Three Crowns series is about a normal girl whose life is more than what she will allow herself to imagine. It is the journey of her accepting that everything is not black and white, and our logic of what we understand does not mean something does exist. Throughout the story she is protected, loved, groomed and pushed to her limits to prepare her for what lies ahead of her. She is tested in all areas of her humanity which will someday bring her to know the person she is destined to be. The human nature of love is a tangled web of emotions for she feels the love of two men who are continually being taken away from her for the sake of their positions in the future as well.
The Three Crowns Series – Complete Box Set
FREE with Kindle Unlimited for a limited time
https://www.amazon.com/Three-Crowns-Complete-Box-Set-ebook/dp/B07D712YG7/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
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2 Responses
I had carrot cake last night, and carrots are a vegetable, so that’s healthy, right? Enjoyed your post.
Absolutely!