We love Nando’s PERi-PERi restaurants. Perfectly cooked chicken, grilled ’til juicy and succulent, served with your choice of secret-recipe PERi-PERi sauces and a small selection of flavorful salads, sides and desserts. Read previous reviews here and here.

The folks at Nando’s PERi-PERi just sent out 3 brunch recipes that use their sauces – and they sounded so good we decided to pass them along. Peri-Peri sauce is a perfect way to bring that unique spicy flavor to your own kitchen – and to control the saltiness or other diet restrictions you or your guests might have.  For sure, anyone who hasn’t tried the restaurants will never be able to guess what that mysterious and wonderful flavor is in your dishes.

The sauces come in several different levels of heat and are available at select retailers (Walmart, World Mart, Jewel, Heinens and Fresh Market) or online. Here are the savory delectable brunch ideas:

Chicken, Pineapple & Sweet Potato Kebabs
Serves: 4

4 chicken breasts with skin on, each cut into 3
1 pineapple, peeled and cut into chunks
2 sweet potato, washed and cut into chunks
2 yellow peppers, quartered
2 red peppers, quartered
Bay leaves, to garnish
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup Nando’s PERi-PERi sauce
½ cup coconut cream

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Skewer the chicken, pineapple, sweet potato, yellow peppers and onion onto a large skewer garnishing each end with a bay leaf.
2. Combine the olive oil, Nando’s PERi-PERi sauce and coconut cream in a mixing bowl. Coat the kebabs with the spicy marinade and place in the oven to roast for 45 minutes or until the sweet potato is cooked and golden brown.

Zucchini and Tomato Baked Eggs
Serves: 2

1 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 zucchini, chopped into small chunks
½ red pepper, cut into small chunks
14 oz. canned tomatoes
2 eggs
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tsp cumin seeds
1 oz. Nando’s PERi-PERi sauce
Pinch of salt
Cilantro

1. On medium-low heat combine the olive oil and cumin seeds in a deep, medium skillet and stir until fragrant.
2. Add the onions and a pinch of salt to the skillet and stir until they begin to brown, then stir in the zucchini and red pepper.
3. Pour the canned tomatoes over the top of the veggies so that it makes an even layer and swirl Nando’s PERi-PERi on top. Let simmer for 5 minutes
4. Crack the eggs into the skillet, ensuring enough space between them
5. Take skillet off heat and place under a hot grill until eggs are cooked, about 5 minutes
6. Top with fresh cilantro and serve with chunks of warm bread if desired.

PERi-PERi Cornflake Chicken Strips
Serves: 2

2 chicken breasts with skin off, each cut into 4 strips
1 bottle Nando’s PERi-PERi sauce
½ cup plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
½ cup crushed cornflakes

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Coat each strip of chicken in the flour mixture and dip in Nando’s PERi-PERi sauce before covering with the crushed cornflakes
3. Lay on a slightly greased pan and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes
4. Enjoy by dipping in more of your favorite Nando’s PERi-PERi sauce

Feet hurt? Got plantar fascitis? What do you do about it? Custom-made orthotics cost a bundle – $200 to $800 is typical. But many ask whether such expensive insole options are over-prescribed, according to an article in the New York Times. Some helpful ready-made inserts we’ve had good results with include SuperFeet and SofSoles.

And here’s another idea. The name is MommySteps Maternity Insoles, but don’t let that fool you. They actually work really well for anyone – especially us baby boomers who may have fluctuating weight or other balance issues and need insoles that fit well but don’t cost a fortune. Upon receiving review samples of these ready-made, we found they felt really good right out of the box. And they also have the capability of molding to your feet with a custom fit. Designed for the changing needs of a pregnant woman’s feet, anyone can put them in the oven or toaster oven, and they’ll re-mold to the current shape of your foot. It’s a neat way to customize your inserts without spending too much.

We tried both the Casual/Flats and Active/Athletic styles and found them to be very comfortable and supportive right out of the box. I replaced my ¾-length SofSoles inserts in my cross-trainer shoes with the full-length MommySteps Athletic edition and found it even more comfortable on the very first wearing to step class. I particularly felt a positive difference in the ball of the foot area.

I also tried the Casual/Flats edition in a pair of Trotters Mary Jane flats that I’d been successfully using as semi-dressy walking shoes with only their own factory-supplied insoles. The MommySteps insoles brought the comfort level up a notch or two, enough to consider significant. And then I decided to put that thinner Casual version into my non-cross-trainer walking-around tennis shoes – ones that could not accommodate the thicker Athletic version. This, too, was a winner in terms of comfort.

Finally, I was ready to try the oven thing. Although I was nervous about putting the insoles into the oven, the directions were clear and simple. You put the thicker Athletic version in the oven for exactly two and a half minutes, then put them in the shoes and right away put your stockinged feet into the shoes and tie any laces. Then you stand straight, relaxed and balanced on both feet for two and a half minutes. And that’s it – custom fit orthotics that you can re-mold up to 5 times. My out-of-the-box insoles already fit well, but I believe after the oven treatment I noticed an improvement in the fit of the area between the toes and the ball of the foot. The fact that you can customize them and use them in multiple shoes makes the cost of $39.95 seem like a pretty sweet deal.

With the impending crippling of some provisions of the Affordable Care Act, do you ever wonder how access to healthcare might change for your grandkids, or your friends’ grandkids – the kids who are constantly telling you, “Just Google it, Grandma”? Below is an interesting article written from the perspective of a healthcare professional.

Gen Z: The ‘just Google-it’ generation
by Kim Bassett, President
Norwood Hospital in Massachusetts

Imagine growing up in a world where Google has always existed. Where Facebook is as much of a staple as Nickelodeon or the Johnny Carson Show. A world where terrorists are real, and 9/11 is taught as a history lesson, just as D-Day and Hiroshima were explained to earlier generations.

Generation Z-ers, born between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s, make up 25% of the U.S. population – larger than both the Baby Boomer and Millennial generations, respectively. Those born at the start of this generation are entering the workforce, bringing with them a combination of their Millennial parents’ ideals and their own, shaped by living in a technology driven world at a time of national insecurity with war on-going and terrorist attacks being sensationalized in the media.

This generation is uniquely positioned to change healthcare from both the provider and consumer sides.

1) Technology. Generation Z is the first generation born after the advent of Internet and social media. They are true digital natives, growing up with smart phones, tablets and other devices connected to the entire world. It’s akin to a child growing up in a home with two languages. They not only learn both languages much earlier, but also how to leverage the knowledge seamlessly into their everyday life.

○ Consumers – Because of this, we can safely assume that as consumers they will demand healthcare digitally, enhanced care options available online versus the traditional care model of in-person visits.

○ Providers – On the healthcare side, we will see new software programs created to meet their own demands.

2) Entrepreneurship. Millennials created this trend, making great strides toward changing workplace culture, creating a more flexible work environment, community service, work-life balance. Generation Z will take it to the next level, evolving it further, not letting their predecessors efforts go by the wayside.

○ Consumers – Gen Z, as a consumer, will demand access to healthcare, even though they don’t work in a traditional employer-providing healthcare environment. And because they are seamlessly connected through social media, you can be assured the entire world will hear their thoughts on this issue.

○ Providers – Not one to pass up a business idea, Generation Z will create new business opportunities to not only fulfill their own healthcare needs, but also form businesses and product lines that will help their older family members in the Millennial, Gen X and Baby Boomer generations. Generation Z carries over their Millennial predecessors trait in their need to make the world a better place.

3) Diversity. Generation Z is the first generation to be gender non-specific. They are growing up a world where it’s commonplace for people to change gender and marry people of the same-sex. This acceptance of all types of lifestyles will change – and already has – the healthcare landscape.

○ Consumers – Gen Z will expect healthcare providers to provide equal access for non-specific gender roles and relationships just as they are asked to do with traditional male-female roles. Gen Z will continue to push for acceptance in all aspects of healthcare for every consumer, regardless of gender identification.

○ Providers – In healthcare facilities and other workplaces, gender roles will continue to evolve as HR departments and employers struggle to wrap their arms around these new realities in our culture. Acceptance will become paramount to the happiness of Generation Z in the workplace, much like the issues of flexibility and work-life balance are to the Millennials.

As the largest generation to exist, Generation Z is becoming equipped to move our culture forward in all aspects – economically, socially, and technologically. So before dismissing or scoffing at their seemingly radical ideas, remember that they hold your future in their hands and perhaps – with a little guidance and encouragement from their predecessors – that future will be the best yet.

Published a post on this topic elsewhere back in 2014 and just re-posted it to ChicagoLadyBoomerExaminer here.  Below is a quick update on the subject.

According to the latest science and Fitbit metrics – moving for 250 steps (about 3 minutes of continuous movement – 5 is even better, see earlier full post) every hour you’re awake is an essential part of overall health. As my cardiologist puts it, “Sitting is the new smoking.” Read the original post for at-work tips. Then at home, put one of those cushy stand-in-front-of-the-sink mats (Wellness Mats makes some nice ones) in front of the TV and do your kneelifts or simply side step while you’re watching. Your body will love you for it.

And be sure to check out the fabulously fashionable new holders for your Fitbit fitness tracker at FunktionalWearables.com.

1. 

   I’m 93. Why am I still alive? True stories from a long and eventful life, by Alan Mayer. Ever ask yourself this question – even if you’re still a long way off from 93? Mayer is a NY native who butchered, boxed and entrepreneured for many years. Then he and his high-school-sweet-heart-turned-spouse moved to Chicago where he was a banker for 30 years. This short new book – written in large print, with very small margins and lots of white space between lines – is full of stories from his life and many of his own personal observations on life. He’s survived near-miss accidents, several serious illnesses, life-threatening disgruntled employees, and other incidents that left him wondering how he came out okay. Check it out (paperback $14.95) at http://wethepeoplepublishing.com/

2. Cats Are Capable of Mind Control, and 1000 UberFacts you never knew you needed to know, by Kris Sanchez. Fun. Weird. Interesting, occasionally perhaps questionable “facts” about a myriad of things such as:
   – “Coca-Cola and Pepsi are used as pesticides by farmers in India, since they’re cheaper and get the job done.”
   – “The [five-sided] Pentagon was constructed so that no point in the building is more than a 10-minute walk from any other point in the building.”
   – “Vultures have stomach acid so corrosive they can digest anthrax.”
   Light reading that may appeal to several different levels of curiosity. My reaction to a few of the statements was to go and check another source before believing it, so keep your truth detector in gear and tell kids to double-check with you if they question something. Suitable for adults and kids maybe 7 and up. My 9-year-old granddaughter found it intriguing in small doses. Available on Amazon in hard cover and Kindle editions, both ~$12.
3. Bourbon: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of an American Whiskey, by Fred Minnick. The author is famous for writing about spirits in a well-researched and entertaining fashion. This book is no different – amusing anecdotes, interesting history of the spirit as unique to its original home in the South, fascinating stories of competition between distillers, and even a story of how James Bond, who ordered a martini “shaken, not stirred” instigated the rise of white spirits to compete with bourbon. Sample chapter headings include: “Government: Friend and Foe,” “Whiskey Is the Devil’s Own Brew,” “Distillers vs. Nazis and US Government,” “To Beat Jack Daniel’s” and more. The books’ bibliography reveals how the author conducted his research: interviews with important industry figures, government publications, books, corporate literature and so on. Quarto Publishing Group 2016. ~$12 Kindle edition, ~$15 hard cover on Amazon.

4. 

   The Blue Nightgown: My French Makeover at Age 78!, by Karin Crilly. It’s a memoir, not a novel. The author’s husband of many years dies after a long illness, and she decides to move to Aix-en-Provence to fulfill a lifelong dream of living in France, despite the fact she doesn’t speak the language. Simply written, the story is a chronicle of her experiences there in search of joy, learning and, yes, romance at age 78. She re-connects with a guy she met 25 years earlier and, after months of increasingly intimate phone conversations, agrees to meet him in Amsterdam – and buys a blue satin nightgown in anticipation. You have to read the book to know what happens. This is an easy read, a charmingly simple story of a huge adventure undertaken by a long-past Boomer-age woman of comfortable means. And it’s even more enjoyable because she ends each chapter with a recipe for something wonderfully French to eat. $6 Kindle.

   

5. The Future Tense of Joy: A memoir, by Jessica Teich. This book is the beautifully written chronicle of a brilliant 30-something woman’s battle with childhood demons and a seemingly ineradicable fear about life’s danger. Educated at Yale and then at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, she has two young girls and a loving husband, but she can’t get control of her fear. One day she hears about another brilliant young woman, also a Rhodes scholar, who at age 27, had a hugely promising life ahead of her – but chose instead to commit suicide. Author Teich decides she will investigate this woman’s life story and see if, in deciphering that woman’s suffering and life choices, she can find help for her own struggles. The story is full of tension and drama and even some of the really tough parts read almost like a novel in gentle poetic prose. $14.99 Kindle on Amazon.

Getting older leads some folks to want to escape the winter weather here in Chicago. If warm weather’s your objective for your upcoming winter vacation – whether you simply hate the cold or just want to treat yourself – think Arizona. A very nice variety of Four-Diamond-and-better hotel accommodations await your pleasure. We mentioned a few Scottsdale/Phoenix accommodations here, and below are five more to consider:

Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar Phoenix opened in June 2012 at CityScape Phoenix’s hotel/residence/office complex.  The boutique Hotel Palomar Phoenix is an urban retreat that balances the energy of its city setting with Arizona’s laid-back lifestyle. Its 242 spacious guest rooms and suites all provide views of the surrounding city and mountains. Multi-use space of 10,000 square feet includes ten customizable meeting rooms. Its restaurant, Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails, features new American cuisine for lunch, dinner, late-night snacks and weekend brunch, and the cocktail program raises the bar for drink culture in the city. The third-floor outdoor pool terrace and adjacent Lustre Rooftop Garden bar provide a scenic venue for gathering.

The Sheraton Grand Phoenix (formerly the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel) , is located a block from the new Phoenix Convention Center. Its 1000 guest rooms make it the largest hotel in Greater Phoenix and in the entire Grand Canyon State.

The Sheraton conference center – more than 112,000 square feet of flexible meeting space – includes 17 meeting rooms, two ballrooms, two boardrooms and a terrace for outdoor events. High-speed Internet access and videoconferencing capabilities and an audiovisual staff are available on site.

When meeting attendees and their families are ready to unwind, they can do so outside at a 2,000-square foot outdoor pool and sundeck or inside at a 6,500-square foot fitness center and spa. The Sheraton Grand Phoenix also features a contemporary restaurant with a full bar, private dining room and outdoor seating. The hotel opened Oct. 1, 2008.

The Westin Phoenix Downtown provides another boutique lodging option in Phoenix’s urban core. Catering to discerning business travelers, it features 242 super-sized guest rooms (all of which are at least 540 square feet), and its upper-floor meeting spaces have floor-to-ceiling windows that afford mountain views. Province Urban Kitchen & Bar is lead by Chef Allison Bird and specializes in sustainable ingredients and features organic wines, plus an enclosed patio accented by a waterfall cascading down from the second-story Lapis pool.

And then there’s the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa where each evening, Scottish bagpipes usher in the sunset in homage to Scottish immigrants’ contributions to Arizona’s railroads, mines and towns.

Since 1931 the Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix Downtown, a 12-story icon in Phoenix, has stood as a brilliant example of West Coast Art Deco architecture thoughtfully restored to that era’s glory. Come in and experience the swank and sophistication of a bygone era. The 24-feet-tall, two-story lobby features original marble floors, Deco-era Corinthian capitals, bronze elevator doors and original wrought iron details. All 170 guest rooms boast the brand’s signature bedding featuring fresh, white duvets and crisp linens. Relax in an ergonomic desk chair and write postcards or get some work done on a spacious and clutter-free work desk with. Enjoy the convenience of a mini fridge, microwave oven and Keurig coffee maker. Impressive window views in every room and suite. The Hitchcock Suite – which features a unique private terrace – stands as a tribute to the filmmaker who used the building in the opening sequence of “Psycho.”