Did you get your laughter for today? There are many benefits you can get just from laughing - it boosts your immune system, relieves stress, stretches your facial muscles, relieves tension in the head, neck and jaw, and can be good for alleviating headaches.
Besides all of those tangible benefits, there are many other that come with regular laughter. I think we could all use a little more merriment in our lives. Life is not all that serious, yet so many of us take everything so seriously all the time.
I want to start one of these laughter clubs - or find one to join near where I live.
It’s one thing to love your job. It’s another if you can’t seem to tear yourself away from it - obsessively checking e-mail outside of the office, calling in while on vacation, or even not wanting to take a vacation.
If this sounds familiar, you may be a workaholic. Pick the Brain has a good article about work getting in the way of life that can help you determine if you are a workaholic, and tips for how you can start to overcome it.
This soup is hearty and warming, perfect on a cold winter day. Lentils provide a good source of easily digestible vegetable protein.
Heat in a large soup pot, over medium-low heat:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Add and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned, 5 to 10 minutes:
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 medium celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 oz prosciutto or pancetta, or 4 slices bacon, diced (optional)
Stir in:
8 cups water
2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
One 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Stir in
1 1/4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons salt (1 teaspoon if using the meat)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Ladle into warm bowls
Recipe from The Joy of Cooking: All About Soups and Stews
Yesterday, the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing company voluntarily recalled 143 million pounds of beef - dating back from February 1, 2006. It is the largest U.S. beef recall in history, and it was prompted by concerns that downer cattle may have been abused to pass slaughter inspection. About 37 million pounds of the beef was sold to national school lunch programs. This undercover video, made by the Humane Society of the United States, shows some of the abuses the cattle suffered. Warning - it is graphic.
And for anyone who thinks that American beef is safe because the U.S.D.A. says so, according to the New York Times, there have been 3 confirmed cases of cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, since 2003. If those are the confirmed cases, how many unconfirmed cases are there?More links about the recall: Reuters CNN LA Times Gothamist
Interesting article in the New York Times Magazine called Man Bites Insect - I’m sure you could guess what this is about.
I don’t find the idea of eating bugs repulsive. I ate chapolines in Mexico - they tasted a little like dried anchovies, salty and crunchy but not unpleasant. And it’s true that eating insects would be much more sustainable than our current habit of eating the flesh of larger animal.
It’s Ash Wednesday, and there are many people walking around midtown with black smudges on their foreheads. There are a few people in my office, too, who had gone to church that morning to commemorate the beginning of the season.
Just for fun, a few colleagues who sit near me decided on Tuesday that they would give up going out to lunch for Lent - the rule was that they would have to bring home made lunch from now until Easter. They asked me if I wanted to join in, to see how long we could last, and I agreed. Not for religious reasons, but for the challenge. Also, I figured that it would be healthier anyway - for not just my overall health, but also my waistline and wallet. And I’m sure that I’ll be able to stick to it the whole time - I almost always bring my lunch anyway.
So, five of us have taken on the challenge. It’s day one, and only four of us have stuck to the agreement - one of the guys couldn’t even make it through the first day. If only he realized what might happen if he just gave up take out for a month or so - how his health might improve, even if he generally feels ok, maybe he wouldn’t have given up so easily.
I went to see Donna Eden speak Monday night. She was pretty amazing. In her book, she says something like, “My mother said I was born smiling…” and it seemed true - she just radiated positive energy, especially when she was smiling which was most of the time.
I had just picked up her book, Energy Medicine, a couple of weeks ago from the library on recommendation from a friend. A week after I started reading the book, I picked up a Learning Annex catalog and saw that she was teaching a class in a week - I couldn’t believe it. And it was going to be the only night that she was in New York. I had to go.
The class taught a lot about how to perform the basic exercises outlined in her book and why they were good for you. She gave us a basic routine to do each day that will restore and balance our energies. Then she took many volunteers from the audience, quickly diagnosed their energy issues, and helped them solve the problem through various exercises - tracing meridians, tapping trigger points, visualizing, and using acupressure on different parts of the body to stimulate or calm the energies of different organs or systems.
Her husband, David Feinstein, was also there teaching alongside of her. He is an energy psychologist, and he also taught portions of the class and answered questions. They are both very knowledgeable about energy balance and control. By the end of the class, the mood had shifted from drained and tired to awake and alive.
I highly recommend her book if you want to learn more about how to revitalize your energy, from balancing your chakras to redirecting your meridians to strengthening your aura. Also, check out her website, Innersource, for some very good information about how to solve energy issues (look in the questions and answers section).
According to USA Today’s blog, Mississippi legislators last week introduced a bill that would make it illegal for restaurants to serve food to obese people in a move to combat the state’s obesity problem. Approximately two thirds of the population of the state’s residents are obese according to federal health statistics.
Not only is this a ridiculous proposal, it is completely useless. Banning obese people from restaurants isn’t going to make them eat better, lose weight or get healthy. It’s just going to take revenue away from the restaurants.
There are many reasons why people overeat, and it’s not usually because of a willpower issue. A lot of disordered eating has to do with burying unwanted feelings, hiding from past hurts, or filling a lack in another part of the person’s life - e.g., food might be comforting if they are dissatisfied with their relationships, hate their job, or feel lonely, depressed or disconnected. Food can be used like a drug to numb out any of these feelings.
Obese people need help, not useless restrictions. They need to learn about health and taking care of themselves. They need education to learn about how to become healthy - what to eat, how to cook, and how to shop. They need to know why they should want to be healthy - for themselves and for the world. And not just so that they can avoid illness, diabetes, cancer, heart failure, osteoporosis, aging, etc. Obese people need to develop their own personal reasons for wanting to be healthy so that they can get on track to health and wellness.
This is one of my favorite breakfast recipes. It is especially soothing in the winter months when you need a little more warmth and heat to keep you going. It’s spicy and just a little sweet - and a good chance to try out some cinnamon. This is a very forgiving recipe that can be adapted and changed to your tastes.
Breakfast Rice
Serves 1
Ingredients
3/4 cup cooked brown rice
3-4 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1-2 teaspoons ghee (clarified butter)
1-2 teaspoons raw honey
dash of sea salt
Method
Combine rice, water, and spices in a small saucepan over the stove on medium high heat, stirring occasionally or in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. When heated thoroughly, remove from heat and place in serving bowl. Add ghee, honey and salt as desired. Eat and enjoy.
Variations
Try different grains such as buckwheat, millet, oat groats, rye, or quinoa
Instead of water, you can try heating will a little soy or almond milk for a more creamy flavor
For a savory version, omit the honey and add savory spices instead of sweet ones - try cayenne pepper, oregano, cumin or sage.
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