How To Save A Life

    
     This is the new procedure for performing CPR. Since most cardiac arrests occur at home, it is a skill everyone should know. We all have the potential to save a life. According to the American Heart Association, "The life you save with CPR is mostly likely to be someone you love." With that in mind, take a few minutes today to learn this.

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Soup of the Day

     Soup is one of the easiest and quickest meals to serve up.  It is also a great make ahead meal, I like to cook up a big pot of soup on the weekend to eat during the week. It's a great way to use up leftovers, so it never gets boring, the varieties are endless. Nearly every time I make soup I find something hiding in the fridge that needs using up which I add to the pot, so it's never exactly the same twice. Here's today's variety.

Spinach Mushroom Soup

1 qt. vegetable broth 

1small red onion, chopped

1clove garlic, minced

8 oz. mushrooms, chopped

2 bay leaves

3 fresh tomatoes, chopped or 1 can diced tomatoes if you prefer

8 oz. fresh spinach, loosely chopped

2 c. cooked brown rice

freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 tsp. no-salt seasoning (I use Kirkland organic no-salt seasoning from Costco)

    Start with a large pot- larger than you think you'll need, because the mushrooms and spinach both have large initial volumes and look like they will be too much for the soup, but they cook down quickly. I used a 4 quart pot for this and the pot was full when adding the spinach, but it shrank quickly and I ended up with about 2 quarts of finished soup.

     Bring broth, onion, garlic, mushrooms, bay leaves and tomatoes to a boil. Simmer 15 minutes. Stir in spinach and rice. Simmer 3-4 minutes till rice is heated through and spinach is wilted. Remove bay leaves. Add freshly cracked black pepper and no-salt seasoning. Serve.

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Vegiversary

     I have only one week left of break before the new semester starts, so this week I've been sorting closets and organizing my kitchen. Getting things done ahead will make my life easier once school starts. As I've mentioned previously, I cook for my dogs. I don't believe any living creature should be forced to eat commercial processed food for every meal of it's life. (My dogs are 16 and 9 years old, so that is over eighteen thousand meals between the two of them over their lifetimes thus far.) So I have been cooking and freezing food ahead for them. At some point I will write a post about dog food, since I feel every living thing is entitled to real food. These are my furry friends, Cosmo and Oscar:

       

      I wrote all of the upcoming events on the new family calendar that hangs on my fridge. While working on the calendar, I realized I am nearing my 5th anniversary of eating vegetarian. Do I call this a Vegiversary? I also realized that I have had a smoothie nearly every morning for five years now. That's a lot of smoothies! One of my favorites is pictured above; pineapple, banana, kale, cranberries and a handful of blackberries for color. I  keep frozen cranberries in my freezer to use in smoothies throughout the year. 

     Oatmeal is another food I eat for breakfast most days.(Although regular readers know I also eat unconventional foods for breakfast like Brussels Sprouts with Orange Miso Sauce.) Today's oatmeal had tart cherries, mixed berries, chia, flax, cinnamon and ground brazil nuts mixed in. I love the rich color the berries impart.

     I often hear people lament the difficulty of changing their eating habits and lifestyle in order to improve their health and I've even been told I couldn't understand because it was easy for me. I will let you in on a little secret- it took a Herculean effort for me to change.

    For many years I was a smoker and I was addicted to Pepsi cola.The combination of nicotine and caffeine is difficult to kick.(They were a match made in heaven  hell.) I ate all of the junk food and fast food that most Americans consume. I also had health problems like most Americans do. I quit smoking many times, but always for a limited period. I tried quitting smoking by using the nicotine patch; it didn't work- I smoked while wearing it. (It's the equivalent of giving alcohol to an alcoholic in order to end their addiction- it just doesn't work.) I tried cold turkey, it didn't work. (I never tried the drugs offered today to help in quitting- they hadn't been invented yet back in the days when I quit.)

     I finally ran across Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking (which was first published in 1985 and has helped millions around the world quit smoking since then) and it changed my life. I read it, made up my mind to quit, and did so cold turkey, knowing I would never smoke again.

    I know many former smokers who still have dreams about smoking and still feel like they are being deprived, even years after quitting. I can honestly say I've never felt deprived and never had dreams (at least ones that I can remember) about smoking again. Reading that book helped me to change the way I think, I never felt I was giving something up, instead I felt I was regaining my life and health. I can also say quitting was the single hardest thing I have ever done. Do not believe the "experts" statements that it only takes three days to withdraw. It takes months before the brain readjusts to "normal, non-smoker" status.  Nicotine withdrawal felt like electric zings to the brain every few minutes, then gradually coming farther and farther apart, a process taking many weeks, till they finally stopped.  It was horrible, yet I never felt deprived, I felt like I was fighting to rid myself of a monster that had its hooks in my brain.

     Compared to kicking the cigarette and pop addictions, changing my eating habits was easy. Food doesn't have the same effect on the brain as nicotine; withdrawal doesn't cause those brain ''zings".  And I felt better almost immediately upon changing my diet. I overcame health problems by changing my diet and I helped my son lose 80 lbs. with changes in his diet. Cancer also played a role in our dietary choices. Long-time readers know this already, so I won't rehash it here, but anyone interested can read more on my About Me page.

     Note that I said changing my dietary habits was easy "compared to kicking the cigarette addiction". Of course switching to a mainly whole foods, plant based diet was challenging. There were temptations all around me along with the hostility I faced from some family members and in-laws. (I've never understood this, but maybe the changes I was making forced them to look more closely at themselves and things they didn't want to see.) The health improvements I gained enabled me to stick to it. I believe my voracious appetite for reading nutrition/health books and studies also strengthened my resolve during my switch. Keeping that information in my face really helped to stave off  temptation during the transition.

     I wrote all of this to let you know that I understand how hard change can be. And to say that I absolutely know that if I could do it, anyone can. So to all of you who have vowed to get healthier this year, I support you and please, never give up!

     “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” ~ Jim Rohn

    

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KISS Principle for Healthier Eating

     This is the time of year when many vow to make healthy changes and eat better. One of the easiest ways to ensure that you stick to your goals is to employ the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid). In order to stick to healthier eating goals, the first step is to get rid of unhealthy processed and junk food items. If they are around, you will eat them, so clean out those cupboards and clean out the fridge.

    Next, stock your kitchen with nutritious foods. Choose fruits and veggies you already like and know how to prepare. There will be plenty of time later to experiment with new foods, but if you begin with a kitchen stocked full of unfamiliar items and find you don't like them, you are less likely to stick with your goal. Try only one new thing at a time; either a new food, recipe, or cooking method.

       Finally, organize your fridge so that all those good for you items are easy to see and use. If you set aside a small amount of time to wash, dry and pre-cut fruits and veggies, you will be more likely to eat them. When you are hungry and in a hurry, you won't want to stop and take time to do it, and will be more likely to reach for something unhealthy. Keeping the good stuff ready to eat and in your face also helps get the kids to eat better. And it prevents  those veggies from sitting unused and growing moldy while tucked away in some corner, behind less optimal choices.

      I cleaned and reorganized my fridge yesterday and have glass containers filled with pre-washed and pre-cut celery, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, grape tomatoes, blueberries and red grapes. I also have pre-cut pineapple, red pepper strips and cooked brown rice.There is a platter of stuffed acorn squash and a huge bowl of pea soup. So when someone gets hungry around here and is in a hurry, it is easy for them to grab something good. With the KISS principle, there are no excuses.

      I'm not sure if I ever showed my hanging produce baskets. They are incredibly handy in my tiny kitchen; using vertical space allows me full use of the counter space.  And they are another great way to keep healthy food right in your face.

     

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Why We Celebrated a Giftless Christmas and Thoughts for the New Year

     Most Americans are willing to go into debt to buy useless and unneeded things to celebrate Christmas. They would never go into debt to buy food for the hungry or clothing for the homeless. They make time to rush around from store to store shopping, waiting in long lines and then wrapping the items, but "just don't have the time" to volunteer at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, or anywhere else, unless compensation is involved.

     The typical American Christmas is simply an economic exchange. You buy an item for Aunt Eleanor, and she buys you one in return. Or you draw names, and everyone purchases a $25 item for the person whose name they've drawn. Often "lists" are made, so everyone ends up with an item they want. Reciprocity is expected and the items exchanged had better be of equal dollar value or someone will feel slighted.  Many see this as a good opportunity to unload  re gift that too-small sweater or ugly knickknack they received last year. When all else fails, gift cards are exchanged. You give the co-worker, in-laws or friend a gift card, and they give you one in return. It is nothing more than an exercise in consumerism.

     I won't call the items which are given "gifts", because very few people give actual gifts. A gift is something given willingly, with nothing expected in return- no reciprocity, not even a thanks is required.

    Anyone looking for a deeper meaning, who wants to opt out of this greedy, materialistic exchange is deemed a grinch or a scrooge. Giving to a charity in lieu of this exchange is considered cheap and miserly by some.

    I think we can do better. It's time to get off the materialistic merry-go-round and start making a difference. According to a recent piece in The Huffington Post by Jim Wallis, it would cost a mere $20 billion to provide clean water for every person on earth, while Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas last year. Just let that sink in. 

   

     Now I am not naive enough to think that my family opting out of the obscenity that has become Christmas could have any discernible effect on the suffering of humanity. But while I can't change the world, I can change me. Even though it may be very small, I can make a difference. If others begin to join in, the difference gets larger. To touch one life is make an impact. No act of kindness or generosity is ever wasted. Imagine what the world could be if everyone made an effort.

     This blog is about nutrition and healthy living, and I debated whether to post this. However, nothing is more important to health than feeding the soul. So as the new year begins, I am choosing to live each day trying to do as Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Hope you join me.

    

 

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