Cloud Eggs

This recipe is inspired by the Protectoral dimension of wellness.

Protectoral wellness is about safeguarding. It’s about paying close attention to your surroundings and potential hazards. These surroundings can include your home, work, school, and within your community. Likewise, protectoral wellness includes protecting your temple or, in other words, your body! If you pay attention to the foods you eat, you can reverse your age and prevent potential illnesses.

“I may have my head in the clouds, but I have my feet well set on the ground.” - unknown

It’s very scary to be afraid of something, and if you’ve heard the term, fight or flight, you may have an idea of what I am talking about. Fight or flight is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. In other words, it's our natural protectoral response! It’s very important to be attentive when surveilling your personal surroundings and to always be on guard for your protectoral wellness.

Years ago, I was blindly meeting a prospective client at a home I had just listed for sale. As a new realtor, I was rather naïve and always believed in the good intentions of others. While naivety can be an attractive trait, it is not advantageous when it comes to your safety.

I remember the phone call that came into the office that day. It was from a gentlemen wanting to see one of my vacant listings. I was new and excited, so I rushed out the door to meet him. Fear was not something that crossed my mind at all, however, there have been times throughout my life where I’ve had the intuition that something didn't feel right. Before the client arrived, I unlocked the door and rushed through the home flipping on all the lights so that it would show well. When the client pulled up in his car, I noticed he was alone. He drove a fairly nice vehicle (not related to being a nice person), so I thought he must have been half-way decent.

“They that are on their guard and appear ready to receive their adversaries, are in much less danger of being attacked than the supine, secure and negligent.” - Benjamin Franklin

Upon entering, he seemed nice; he gave me a healthy handshake with a smile. Oddly, his first request was to see the basement. I didn’t think much of it as I had all the lights on down there, so I walked him over to see it. As I opened the door to lead him into the basement, my fight or flight response kicked in. I began to panic, but thankfully proceeded to tell him that I needed to make a call while he viewed the basement. I walked outside and called my office to have an agent come and assist me, and I remained outside until someone arrived. Soon after, the client came out of the home and said he wasn’t interested. He went on his way.

“Value caution in all your dealings with strangers.” - Steven Redhead

Although I will never know the true intentions of this individual, it didn’t feel right to me. That was the day I adopted a new practice in my office. If anyone, especially a woman, was going to meet a new client, the client must first come into the office where we would make a copy of the license. Additionally, agents were never allowed to show vacant homes or open houses without someone from the office accompanying.

To summarize, your intuition is your immediate understanding of something; there’s no need to think twice about it. It arises as a feeling that only you experience, making it important to trust your gut before trusting others. Trusting your intuition is the ultimate act of protectoral wellness!

Here are 5 Ways to Strengthen Protectoral Wellness and Avoid Danger:

1. Trust yourself. Many times, your eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue will give clues indicating that something threatening is ahead.

2. Be aware of your surroundings.

3. Pay attention to the people around you.

4. Act confident and focused.

5. Understand that alcohol or drugs can cloud judgment.

Recipe of the Day: Cloud Eggs

INGREDIENTS

• Nonstick cooking spray

• 4 large eggs

• Kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and coat with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Coat 4 small bowls with nonstick cooking spray. Separate the eggs and put the whites into a medium bowl and the yolks in the small bowls (1 yolk per bowl). Add a large pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Dollop 4 large spoonfuls of the egg whites onto the prepared baking sheet and make a small well in the middle of each with the back of a spoon. Bake the whites until they are firm, no longer wet and just beginning to turn brown, about 6 minutes.

4. Gently pour 1 yolk into the well of each white. Bake until the edges of the yolk just start to set while still being runny, 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Season with salt and serve on top of buttered brioche toast.