Was about to go for a walk, so decided I needed to check the temp (to put on the appropriate outer garments, you know).
Weather.com tells me this:
The forecast for today is both mostly cloudy and abundant sunshine? Really? That's got to be a joke.
This is what is outside my window:
Gray as ever. Definitely mostly cloudy. Weather.com, you clearly do not know the meaning of "abundant sunshine." For there to be abundant sunshine, I'm pretty sure the sky needs to be blue, no?
At least there is a dusting of snow :)
Update: okay, okay. So the sun is peaking out. And while I still wouldn't call it abundant, weather.com, I am VERY glad to see it!
As I usually do, I started my day today with the news. I watch the US news from the night before to keep up with whats happening back in the states.
This morning two stories caught my attention. Not because they were particularly suprising, but that they were in the same news cast.
One of the stories on the news last night covered results from a huge study looking at cardiovascular disease risk. Now, I haven't read the study myself, only the abstract, so I am relying
on what the news report told me (which most likely is not the full
picture). What they found was fascinating, but not particularly surprising.
The news reported that this study found cardiovascular disease risk goes up if a person has
high blood pressure
diabetes
high cholesterol
and/or is a smoker.
We've known that these are risk factors for heart disease for quite some time. What was fascinating about this particular study is that they also found a 42% lifetime risk for heart disease for 45 year old men who had only two of these four risk factors. This is up from a 1.7% lifetime risk for 45 year old men that didn't have any of these risk factors. The high level of risk of heart disease in these young men is fascinating, although not that surprising. As I said before, we've know that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and smoking are risk factors for heart disease for quite some time.
The news report went on to say, multiple times, that this study shows how imperative early treatment of these heart disease risk factors is. While cannot argue with this statement, I found one glaring omission from the report: prevention. Despite images of people exercising playing in the background, there was no mention of how to prevent these heart disease risk factors (hint: it involves nutrition and exercise). There was no mention of how lifestyle could be altered to mitigate these heart disease risk factors. Only discussion of treatment, which in the mainstream medical world (and mainstream media, apparently) means medication.
A few stories down in the news, came this next gem. Apparently the demand for late-night fast food has increased enough that now 40% of McDonald's restaurants in the US are open 24hrs. This up from 30% seven years ago. The news reports that the number of customers eating between midnight and 5am has increased 4% in the last four years, a consequence, they say, of the economy with more people working night shifts and double shifts.
I couldn't help but think how these two news stories were so inherently related, and yet there was no connection made between them on the news.
I can say without a doubt that most 45 year old men (or women for that matter) who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes likely need to take a strong look at their lifestyle (namely smoking, diet and exercise), as it is likely playing a huge role in the presentation of these risk factors for heart disease. Sure genetics play a role, but its not the only factor here. For me, heart disease and its risk factors are symptoms not of a failing medical system, but of an unhealthy food environment. A food environment where fast food is available (and acceptable to eat) 24 hours a day. Where you can eat said fast food from of the comfort of your car. Where fruits and vegetables are more expensive in some cases than sugary drinks.
Treating a 45 year old man for risk factors of heart disease is one piece of the puzzle. But we're treating the symptoms, not the cause. We need to overhaul lifestyle factors far before that person reaches 45 if we want to see significant improvement in cardiovascular health.
This news cast reminded me of how far we have to go in recognizing that diseases and their risk factors not only need to be treated, but also need to be prevented. That we still have along way to go before nutrition interventions, physical activity and smoking cessation are prioritized over medication.
And with that, I'm off for my daily dose of physical activity. I suggest you do the same :)
Last weekend was quite the exciting weekend in my kitchen.
First, I hit the nutrition jackpot.
A HUGE bag of kale that cost me 1.49 euro. Its the first time I've ever found kale at the market here in Brussels, let alone in such quantities. I did find it in the market in Amsterdam, but only chopped up. This bag was full of beautiful, whole leaves.
To give you sense of how big this bag was, I put it on our four burner stove.
Massive. Now I need to get cooking with it.
I made some last night with tomatoes (whole peeled canned tomatoes that I squished with my hands -- such fun!), red pepper flakes and dried Italian herbs. It was delicious! I'm also going to try putting some of the kale in a smoothie. I'll let you know how that turns out :) Other kale recipe suggestions?
Secondly, I learned a very important lesson I would like to pass on to you.
NEVER melt butter in the microwave without a cover. If you choose to do so, you may end up with a butter explosion (like I did), which can subsequently CATCH FIRE when you use the grill function of your multi-function microwave. Yes our microwave was the scene of a minor fire this weekend. No obvious damage done, apart from my shattered nerves.
My first ever fire in the kitchen was in the microwave. That must be some kind of shame in the kitchen world.
On Sunday I wisely chose to melt butter on the stove instead. Butter that went into these delicious brown butter, apple and carrot gluten free muffins! After all that fire activity, these muffins were just the comfort V and I needed. Never mind the fact that it was in the process of cooking said muffins that the microwave caught fire. These muffins were that good that we could forget about that part of the story. (Sorry no pictures of the muffins; we ate them far too quickly to catch them on film :)
I made them without the hazelnut flour, subbing in more gluten-free flour mix, and they were still delicious. I bet they would also be great with regular flour. The sweetness comes from brown sugar and delicate maple syrup; the brown butter adds a really nice nuttiness. And you sneak in some veg + fruit with these muffins as they are loaded with shredded apple and carrot.
And now that I've reminded myself of the deliciousness of those muffins, I'm tempted to go make another batch. Don't worry, I'll stick to the regular oven this time. Its a far less complicated machine :)
Ugh. It's all I can say when I hear a story like this.
According to USA Today, Burger King is testing a new delivery service in the DC metro area.
Never mind the fact that a fast food burger cold, and soggy from delivery sounds quite possibly like the most disgusting food item, ever. My real thoughts on this border on sad and depressed.
After I write this, I will sit down to a homemade tuna sandwich with a side of clementines. It will take me all of 5 minutes to make, and will be delicious and healthy. It will not be laden with salt, saturated fat and sugar. It will not be made with preservatives and flavorings of unknown origins and with unknown effects in the body. You could make this quick, healthy lunch in the time it takes to place your order at a fast food restaurant. And the price arguments? They don't work here. My tuna sandwich and clementines is far cheaper than an extra value meal.
By the time it takes someone to order their fast food and wait the thirty minutes for delivery, the alternative healthy and delicious meal options are unlimited. Just Google 30 minute recipes. You'll get "About 50,300,000 results" in 0.18 seconds. Yes, this alternative will require us to go to the grocery store, adding some time to the equation. And it will require us to enter the kitchen and cook. Ghastly suggestions, I know.
Are we all so terribly busy (or dare I say, lazy?) that we need to have our fast food delivered to us? That we need to eat fast food in the first place?
Ugh.
May I suggest a few resources if you want to eat healthy and quick meals at home. There are many more great resources out there, but these two will get you started:
Go to myrecipes.com. Click on "quick and easy." Right now there is a feature on this site called Healthy Meals for $2 or Less. They suggest black beans and rice, braised chicken, turkey and bean chili. All look delicious.
Visit eatingwell.com. Often. They have great ideas and recipes. (This is also a little plug for a Vermont based business :)
There is nothing like spending winter in Europe to make you appreciate the sun. I sound like a broken record, but I never considered how different the amount of light and sun would be. So when the blue skies came out yesterday (and today!), even though it is quite chilly out there, I had to get out an enjoy it. Plus I've really been sticking with my goal of getting out for a mid-day outing/walk, and certainly wasn't going to miss out on one on a sunny day.
I'm in Amsterdam this week, so of course I hopped on my bike (don't worry, there were no tram tracks on my route) and peddled along the Amstel river.
It was a chilly start, with my frozen bike seat and all, but once I got peddling in the sun, it was pleasantly warm-ish.
If you bike about 10 minutes south of where we live along the river, the city starts to slip away, and you're greeted with scenes of quiet country life. Including this windmill and slightly frozen pond, reminding me that despite the blue skies it is indeed the middle of January.
I was shocked to see teams of rowers heading up the river, although given my own strong pull to get out in the sun, it really shouldn't have surprised me.
As you peddle along, you are really transported out of the city. The houses get bigger. Cars are few and far between, and so are people for that matter.
P.S. I'm quite impressed that I could manage to take pictures while riding my bike and not kill myself. Heck, there wasn't even a wobble. Seriously, this is a milestone.
It was the perfect respite from the city and from sitting at my computer. I could have peddled away all day along that river, but unfortunately the call of work was stronger than the call of the sun. I hate it when that happens.
This kind of story warms my nutrition-nerd, healthy beverage-advocate heart!
Two professional snowboarders in the US have decided to go against the energy drink guzzling/sponsorship culture of their sport. They've started sporting the 'drink water' sweatshirts you see above at their competitions, and its catching on.
You can read the full story here. And visit their website to see what they're all about. If you buy one of their cool shirts a portion of the proceeds goes toward providing clean water for people in need. Not too shabby, gentlemen!
I love to see people using their influence to promote healthy habits. Energy drinks are full of sugar and caffeine, and a host of other potentially questionable ingredients. Some of these energy drink have been banned in EU countries. They are not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration. And there is some concern that when consumed with alcohol the added ingredients in energy drinks may increase the effects of alcohol in the body. Not good.
So, as the two gentlemen so wisely say:
“We’re saying, ‘Do whatever you want,’ ” Smith said, “ ‘but you can drink water and be just as cool.’ ”
I'm in a winter rut. The joy and excitement of the holidays are over, and work has me chained to my computer for more hours than I care to admit. The hours of daylight are not getting any noticeably longer. My once prominent freckles are disappearing so quickly its amazing.
Being who I am, my view of health tends to be focused on nutrition and
so is the focus on this blog. But I'm trying to encompass a more
holistic approach to be healthier all around and in particular to beat
these winter blues. Of course I'll continue to focus on nutrition in my
work and here in this blog, but I'm also going to bring in some wider,
more holistic themes this year. Let me know if there is anything you would like to hear about in particular.
Here's what I've decided to do to see if I can combat these winter blues:
1. Get out and enjoy the daylight with a walk every day. Lunchtime walks are ideal.
As a born-and-raised California girl, I am used to running on solar power.
La Selva Beach, CA, November 2011
But since moving to a far northern latitude, the serious lack of sun in my life is starting to get to me.While I realize it could be worse in terms of daylight hours, the daylight hours we get tend to be grey and gloomy. It doesn't really get light out until 9am -- which makes getting out of bed early difficult, especially when you work from home -- and the sun has disappeared completely again by 5pm, although it starts getting dark far earlier than that.
I've been sucked into a black hole called work. Only now with the weekend quickly approaching am I starting to worm my way back to sanity.
But while I've been plugging away at work, a few nutrition headlines caught my eye. Every day I get a couple of
nutrition news and research digests in my inbox. I usually scan the headlines quickly to see if anything jumps out and then move on with my day. But this week a few things caught my eye. Well, not things actually, but a theme.
I'll let the headlines speak for themselves for the moment. These were all in one email. (the headlines are links if you'd like to read the whole story)
Here is some belated Christmas humor for you. I'm dragging out the holidays. Hope you don't mind :)
In preparing for Christmas, the other week I made a trip to "the big grocery store" Cora. I needed some random things -- like cookie cutters for sugar cookies -- and knew the small market closest to me wouldn't suffice.
It was such a successful trip that I bought not only one Jesus, but 10 Jesuses.
What?
Yes, its true. And here is my receipt to prove it:
I am returning to 'normal life' today after two glorious weeks of semi-vacation. I have a million things to do for work -- my website project launches on the 9th! And of course there is the requisite packing away the Christmas decorations, laundry, etc.
But I thought I would stop by and share some of the photos from our Christmas and New Year's Celebrations. As you might expect with me, there are a lot of pictures of the food we enjoyed :) Enjoy the photo slideshow! (and let me know if the slideshow isn't working...thanks!)
I'm wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2012!
I'll be back to regular blogging this week, so see you soon!
