Food Friday: Cookbooks

Todays's post is the last in a series of 4 posts about cooking inspiration. It is about cookbooks. As I survey my wide ranging cookbook collection, I can see that they sort themselves into a few key categories: 

Reference Material- These are books that encyclopedically categorize a small category of foods or ingredients, ie. The Spice Bible.  

Do it Yourself Cookbooks- These are books which have recipes and methods for making that which we commonly think of as " store bought" stuff.  These books often collect food preparing techniques which are in danger of being lost from the general population. How many of you know how to make crackers, cheese, pickles or ice cream ?   i.e The Home Creamery by Farrell Kingsley. 

Cookbook travel- These books explore a region dish by dish. They are often noteworthy for their fabulous photography.  i.e. My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz

Health related cookbooks- These are focused on foods, dishes and menus which have health benefits. There are many such books claiming this feature, but not all actually have it. I have included a few which I think have genuine health benefits.  i.e. The Autoimmune Paleo cookbook by Mickey Trescott, NTP. 

Coffee Table Cookbooks-  These books are typically large format, and magnificently photographed. They are sumptuous tomes which are meant to be works of art in and of themselves. Example: Culinaria, eds. Andre Domine, and Michael Ditter

Chef Based Cookbooks- These feature one famous chef who gives presents their unique recipes but also their versions of the classics, i.e. Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Childs. 

Category Cookbooks- These are cookbooks which focus on a particular category of cooking, i.e. The Essentials of Roasting by Williams Sonoma. 

Comprehensive Cookbooks- These are cookbooks which aspire to cover everything comprehensively, ie. The Best Recipe, by Cooks Illustrated. 

Here are some homegrown photos of my cookbook shelves as they are tonight. 

My personal favorites shift every few months. Right now, I am biased toward the health related cookbooks since I believe more and more that one can make healthy food delicious. We understand more than we ever have about food science and human nutrition, and many well educated and creative writers are producing excellent cookbooks by marrying this information with their skill and taste in cuisine. 

I also believe that once you taste healthy food from well written recipes, that you will not be able to go back to ordinary unhealthy food. 

With this in mind, I am going to plug one cookbook series and two particular books by different authors as my top choices at this time: 

The Jonny Bowden series on The Healthiest Foods

Paleo Takeout by Ross Crandall

Nom Nom Paleo Food for Humans, by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong 

I love all the online recipes and sites. But sometimes, the large glossy photos and thoughtful prose in a traditional paper cookbook is uniquely satisfying. Paper cookbooks also permit annotation. I can tell you all of mine are written in, with dates, who I made the recipe with, and any modifications I saw fit to make. 

Take a walk on the culinary wild side, and read a good cookbook. Better food is pleasant step toward better health. 

Wellness Wednesday: Healthy Boundaries

Boundaries are essential to our physical and mental health. And yet, they are rarely discussed in everyday conversation. This post is to put the concept of boundaries on your radar, and into your vocabulary and to encourage you to learn as much as you can about them. 

Boundaries can be physical, mental, emotional, or even functional. At essence, a boundary is the line between you and everything else. To have good boundaries means that you maintain a truthful view of yourself. You know how you are distinct from others and honor that. Additionally, you take responsibility for all that is yours, from the state of your body, to your thoughts, your emotions, your skill sets, and the way you perform in life. 

Bad boundaries allow numerous problems to occur. For example, weak boundaries allow one person to tolerate mistreatment from another. Another kind of weak boundary allows one person to blame others for their problems. Bad boundaries produce abuse, resentment, chronic victims, pleasers, controllers, bullies, the overcommitted, enablers, entitled freeloaders, martyrs and guilt trippers… The list is endless. 

Boundaries are established as we grow up and have life experiences. We may learn from experience that standing up to a bully causes them to leave us alone. Or we may learn that it makes the situation worse. We may learn from parents that misbehavior has clear consequences, or we may learn that we can get away with anything. We may learn that when we apologize, it is accepted and life goes on. Or, we may get a never ending stream of resentment. All these types of things can affect the integrity of our boundaries. 

Those who have suffered abuse have particularly damaged boundaries. They tend to tolerate much more mistreatment than they should. In fact they may not even know to classify mistreatment as mistreatment since they do not even know what healthy relationships look like.  To them, an abusive relationship is sadly normative. And since boundaries are like fences in that they have gates, abused people have trouble with gates as well. Is particular,  abused people often shut out those trying to help. 

Few people have perfectly healthy boundaries. To have healthy boundaries, one has to be aware they even exist, if only on an intuitive level. To really understand them requires examples. Having healthy boundaries is about setting limits for oneself. While it is not about setting limits for others, it is about setting limits on what one will tolerate from others. Likewise, it is not about reacting to others. Rather, it is about communicating clearly specifically directly and honestly from a first person point of view ( "I statements") and giving responsible feedback to others. 

We all need to be aware of our personal boundaries and how to keep them healthy.

• First is to realize boundaries exist.
• Second, we must realize we have an innate right to maintain our boundaries.
• Third we must become self aware of our own thoughts and feelings regarding what we are comfortable or uncomfortable with in ourselves and others.
• Fourth, we must be honest and realistic about our needs, and employ self care to meet them.
• Fifth we must be willing to enforce our boundaries if they are violated. This is done for the long term good, but we must realize that in the short term it may cause conflict.
• Sixth, we must reach out for support and knowledge as we strive for healthy boundaries. This is because we are trying to learn that which, by definition, we did not know before. It is also because we may encounter resistance from those who encroached on our boundaries before. Sometimes, this requires professional counseling or a supervised support group. 

Healthy boundaries are critical to our self respect, integrity and optimal functioning. Here is some great reading to learn more:

http://psychcentral.com/lib/10-way-to-build-and-preserve-better-boundaries/

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-set-healthy-boundaries-3-crucial-first-steps/

http://www.essentiallifeskills.net/personalboundaries.html

https://www.ipfw.edu/affiliates/assistance/selfhelp/relationship-settingboundaries.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prescriptions-life/201311/7-ways-protect-your-energy-enforce-healthy-boundaries

http://www.loveisrespect.org/healthy-relationships/setting-boundaries/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-twardowski/6-steps-to-setting-boundaries-in-relationships_b_6142248.html

http://greatist.com/happiness/how-to-set-boundaries-in-relationship  

Medical Monday: Breaking News from the World of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Zika Virus was front and center at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) this last week. Hospital protocols are being developed to handle Zika affected births. Additionally, research continues into the the way that the virus affects babies, some utilizing the placenta. 

The annual ACOG meeting also presented a medical legal panel which presented evidence that latest cluster of TRAP (targeted regulation of abortion providers) laws were not based on medical indications. Many such laws are introduced under the auspices of medical necessity, where the available medical literature does not indicate such. It seems to me that abortion opponents should be truthful about promoting pieces of legislation based on their moral and religious views, and not medical science, for which there is none. 

In Brazil, where Zika virus is rampant, abortion is illegal, even for anomalies. Recently, evangelical politicians there have introduced stricter penalties there for those who illegally are found to have aborted a baby with microcephaly. There are nearly one million illegal abortions in Brazil each year. The number of women who are hospitalized for complications from these illegal abortions is ten times the number of women who are not. 

Oklahoma just passed a law making it illegal to have an abortion. It is a felony there, punishable by up to three years in prison. Physicians performing abortions would have their medical license revoked. 

And no matter where you stand on the issue of abortion, it comes as good news that abortions in the US and other developed countries have significantly declined since the 1990s. In my experience, abortion is a tough decision for people and is fairly hard on women. 

Also in the good news department, new research in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) indicated that exercise wards of a variety of different types of cancer, even in those who smoke or are obese. There is a 20 % risk reduction for about 13 different types of cancers including esophagus, lung, kidney, stomach, endometrium and others. 

And in some news which I consider to be outstandingly good news, a panel at ACOG has generated a strong statement of consensus that 39 weeks is the optimal time to delivery a baby.  They have stated that there is little to gain and considerable to lose thereafter. We Ob/Gyns are committed to practicing evidence based medicine, and so I have managed patients according to the existing algorithms of the day supported by the best available evidence at the time. But, as my 22 years of practice have ticked by, I have had a stronger and stronger hunch about this 39 week point. Now there is finally a high level consensus about it. The presentation was so strong the the 63% opposed to the consensus before the talk turned into a 81% for the consensus by the end of the meeting. Inductions at 39 weeks had a lower complication rate than previously appreciated, and the C section rate did not increase. 

The vaccine rate for HPV (Human papilloma virus) has been low in this country. However, it is more than it has been in last years, and the rates of high risk HPV disease are decreasing. To really stamp out cervical cancer, we need to achieve the so-called “herd immunity” conferred by near universal vaccination. 

More good news…. In 2010, 16 % of Americans were uninsured. In 2015 this dropped to 9.1 % of Americans. Of course this is related to the ACA, the Affordable Care Act. Of course this has a cost. But, as a physician, I would like to remind the non-medical public that it is much cheaper for the taxpayer to pay for early prevention of illness and pregnancy than to pay for delayed treatment of illness and unintended pregnancy. 

Stay tuned for more breaking news from the work of Obstetrics and Gynecology next week on Medical Monday. 

Food Friday: Food in Literature

This is the third in a series of four posts about food inspiration. The first was on food websites, and the second on food movies. This one is about food in literature. 

The body of food literature out there is astounding. It is generally nonfiction, however some fiction does food so well the I shall include a sample of it here. In my research for this piece, I discovered not only new food writing to complement what older material I have unearthed throughout the years, but books about writing food writing. I also discovered food writing collections, and “best of” food writing collections. That’s how popular it is getting. 

We will start with a selection from fiction: children’s fiction. If you have not read Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, you should. It is a classic children’s book despite the unfortunate TV series from the 70s. The descriptions of prairie meals or the maple syrup collection have stayed with me to this day. 

In college I was a vegetarian for two years. I was interested in this from an environmental standpoint. By some calculations the energy and water needed to produce a feedlot beef gram of protein was much greater than that to produce a gram of plant based protein. Also I lived in Synergy, a vegetarian row house at college where they knew how to combine foods to make complete proteins. At that time, the culinary bible in my life was Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe. This book connected the dots between bringing food to our table and the environmental consequences to soil, water, air and people along the way. Fast forward to the present and you can read very well written, researched and photographed books on the same subject, chief among which are books by the wonderful Michael Pollan. You cannot go without reading these. 

My soon to be husband lived in Synergy with me. We married after my fourth year and moved to the north woods, where he became a professional outfitter. There we got our cake and ate it too in the form of sustainably produced wild game, mostly elk and deer. To this day, we eat it almost exclusively, except for salmon and organic chicken. 

I became a young mother, and like all young mothers, read books to my children. Among them were the lovely Brambly Hedge Series books by Jill Barklem. I don’t know who was more fascinated, me or my daughter Echo. The illustrations and prose were exquisite, and conjured little mouse size kitchens full of flour sacks, jams, preserves, drying herbs and wheels of cheese. The author went beyond that and described the elaborate country picnics of the mice, with their fruity gelatin molds, pies, tarts, and syllabubs. 

Upon my arrival to the countryside, I had to learn a number new skill sets beyond parenting. Chief among them were gardening and cooking. I had come to the marriage with one Good Housekeeping cookbook from my mother. It was no nonsense with good illustrations, and from this I learned that I could hardly abide a cookbook without illustrations.

I read about cooking. I also read about gardening. I discovered you could read about gardening and cooking at the same time if you read about kitchen gardens, or potagers, as the French call them. I acquired a divine volume entitled The Art of French Vegetable Gardening, by Louisa Jones et alia. I pored over its pages and tried, with no money, to make my garden look the same as the potagers within the walls of ancient french castles, a noble effort indeed. 

I discovered food writing in earnest. I discovered there was such a thing as a food writer, and read Ruth Reichl’s Comfort Me with Apples. Ms. Reichl was the last editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, and now makes food shows at PBS. She introduced me and all her readers to a world of food writing. 

Meanwhile,our sons were born, and their literary mice were warriors, not bakers. They loved the Redwall series. This series caught on with all my kids, and as they worked their way through over twenty volumes, they often made mention of the magnificent feasts within those pages. Indeed, our son Forest and I wrote to the British publishing company for the Redwall series offering to develop recipes for a Redwall cookbook. They wrote us a very warm but formal letter back indicating plans for such were already underway. A couple years later, one appeared in bookstores. You can still find it on Amazon as the Redwall Cookbook. 

Our family meals became very important to us. The idea of a family meal was very old. However it came into popular modern focus again with the advent of the Slow Food Movement. A book of the same name appeared by an Italian author Carlo Petrini, and I devoured it. It was a counterpoint to the fast food culture that American had become. 

Food was very international for us. It was a form of armchair travel. We were very busy with young children, med school and residency and we did not vacation much. Learning about food and making it from my own garden gave me some of the same satisfaction. Accordingly, I fed this interest with some of the most famous food writing, Pater Mayle’s A Year in Provence. 

I have always been a lover of all things French. This is because my French teacher in high school was very dear to me. She was an important figure in my life, and I keep in touch with her to this day. Somehow, magically, she was able to teach me discipline with affection. Not surprisingly, she was very strict in class, and made us learn the language and culture very well. So naturally I gravitated toward books about french food.

This brings me up to the present day. On my active shelf I have several books about French food, the voluminous Julia Child volumes, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, French Women Don’t Get Fat, by Mireille Giuliano and The Sweet Life in Paris, by David Leibowitz. Of course a couple of these are books by Americans about French Cooking. To read a French book in French about French cooking is another matter for another day. 

I will leave you with something sweet to finish. I love to read about cooking. I also love to give books about cooking. Regular readers will also recall that l adore chocolate. Naturally therefore I love to read books about chocolate, its origins, production, etc. I once gave all my children a great coffee table book about chocolate, called The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Chocolate, by Christine Macfadden and Christine France. The next Christmas, I forgot and gave it again. Would you believe the next Christmas I gave the eldest the same book once more ? Such is the nature of adoration. 

Until next week, happy reading. 

Belated Food Friday: Food Movies

We are one day behind, both today and tomorrow. Thursday night I attended an unexpected emergency, and through much ado, all is well. However between that and the birthday parties, family slideshows, and wedding showers this weekend, we are a bit behind. So I am going to release a fun "Food Friday" now, and Tuesday the belated Medical Monday. The rest of the week I will be devoted to by niece's wedding, which will be held at our farm. I may send out some more fun posts. 

Why watch movies about food ? Food is something we must deal with everyday. It can be a chore, but it needn’t be. Movies about food tell the stories of how food came to be as it is today. Food movies remind us about what and who it takes to put it on our table. They also serve to inspire us to make better and healthier food for our families. 

There is a dark side to food in the developed world. There are numerous documentaries which go into this. Here is a site which catalogs and reviews them. 

First we Feast

I would like to focus on a celebration of food, and the people who make it.  Here is a great “beginner’s”  collection of food movies which I have seen. I have tried to provide a little introduction so you can chose mindfully. I have also included viewing source options. Do not be put off by other languages. The subtitles are easy to get used to and it is fascinating to hear the other languages in the setting of what is happening. 

• Haute Cuisine - (French with subtitles) (Netflix)- chronicles the career of one of the personal chef’s of the president of France. 
• Chocolat- (English) (Apple movies) Art House film with a all star cast including Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche- set in France - about a newcomer whose beautiful bakery inspires the villagers to enjoy life. 
• Chef- (Netflix)- unmissable sweet story about a single dad who is a chef, his young son and their transition to a food truck business
• Like Water for Chocolate - (Netflix) (Spanish with subtitles) - fanciful earthy tale about a family with a daughter who can infuse her feelings into the food she cooks. Great fun. 
• Babette’s Feast (Apple Movies) (Danish and French with English Subtitles)- Period piece movie about a French housekeeper and cook who moves to Denmark two live with two old  puritanical sisters. Her cooking is transformative. 
• Julie and Julia - Delightful account of a New York woman who blogs about cooking every dish is Julia child’s cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. 
• Ratatouille- Charming Pixar film about a rat who wants to become a 5 star chef. 
• The Hundred Foot Journey - Must see culture clash tale of an Indian family, their restaurant, and a french chef.  A visual feast. 
• Burnt (Apple Movies) - Drama/Comedy about a narcissistic two star Michelin chef who has to grow up to get his third star. Stars Bradley Cooper. 
• JIRO Dreams of Sushi - (Japanese with English Subtitles) Documentary about the greatest sushi chef in Japan 
• The Ramen Girl- (Amazon video) ( English and Japanese with subtitles) Heartwarming comedy about an young American Woman in Japan who is determined to learn the art of making traditional ramen. 

Series: 

• Giada DiLaurentis (Food Network) glossy production, pretty Giada and simple Italian dishes 
• The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten (Food Network) - Beautiful streamlined classic recipes 
• Tastemade - Sourced-(internet and Apple TV) engaging series of shorts by Aussie hostGuy Turland about classic ingredients and how they are sourced. 
• Chef’s Table - series of different chefs and their unique contributions. (Netflix) 
• Cooked - MIchael Pollan - unparalleled photography, food science and delicious food (Netflix) 
• The Mind of a Chef - David Chang; origins of classic dishes and travel to their geographic and cultural origins (Netflix) 

Some of these series are complete and some are ongoing. These are generally much shorter than full length movies and are great to watch if you don’t have much time. 

So I recommend tucking in to these food movies. Just make sure you get out of the theater and into the kitchen yourself, even if your dishes don’t look exactly like the ones on the screen.  

Wellness Wednesday: Healthy Stuff

Wellness includes how you feel as you function in everyday life. How you function greatly influences how well you are. How you handle your material belongings in your home and workspace influences all of this. Today’s post is devoted to introducing the topic of  healthy relationship with your material belongings. 

The developed world has an unhealthy relationship with stuff. Many of us have more than we need. Our collective patterns of consumption strain the environment.  Our individual patterns of consumption strain our personal finances. Excessive objects clutter our spaces andmakes us miserable. 

How can all this be stopped ? Two fairly recent books have addressed this challenge. The first was written by two friends of mine, Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. It is titled, “Everything that Remains”.  I met these two fine fellows at TEDxWhitefish where they gave a beautiful and clever presentation on Minimalism, or the art of mindfully curating one’s things and one's life down to that which is necessary and desirable. You can access their work HERE: 

http://www.theminimalists.com

and their TEDx HERE: 

http://www.theminimalists.com/tedx/

The second is a really trendy and fascinating set of books by a Japanese women named Marie Kondo. She has written The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up and its companion volume, Spark Joy. These books go into the concrete details of tidying up. However it is not done for its own sake. She makes it clear that it is to enhance quality of life and effectiveness in life. Ms. Kondo draws a clear connection from this tidying practice to clarity of mind and clarity of purpose. She speaks of improving relationships and clarifying life goals as by products of removing one’s clutter, and systematically determining which of one’s possessions “ spark’s joy”. Sparking joy is, in fact, her inclusion criteria. One should only keep an item if it “ sparks joy". Granted, joy is broadly defined to include traits like beauty or utility. She states quite plainly that curating and decluttering your space is a prerequisite to clarifying what is one’s own unique ideal lifestyle. 

I am no minimalist. In fact I derive great joy from textiles, colors, and various materials. I continually acquire new books. But I have come to understand that I should go through my things periodically, and that if I do there will be things which I can let go. Thus the quality of my items increases as their quantity decreases. 

I have also come to utilize alternatives to “ things”  more often. In particular, I am a magazine addict. My office overflows with them. I do not like the piles, even though I derive great joy from the individual issues. My solution ? I have gotten an app called Textile. For a small subscription fee, I can get many of the magazines I want in digital form. Additionally, I consume more and more material by Kindle or Audible. There are still some things, like cookbooks, which I like to have in paper, but this is the case less and less. 

I am interested in gaining mastery over my things so they are not master of me. I would like to edit and organize my things so they do not take up so much of my time. I am beginning to see time as a more tangible commodity. I am becoming more and more selective about how I spend this “ thing” called time. Your material possessions, you time, your lifestyle choices and your wellness are intimately related. Check out these two books, their insightful authors, and give a little more thought to how the space you inhabit influences the life you live. 

Food Friday: Food Inspiration, Part 1 of 4

I love food. I love healthy food. But sometimes I need food inspiration. I would like to turn to my four big sources of food inspiration: 

• food websites
• cookbooks
• food in literature 
• food movies 

This week we will touch on food websites. 

First and foremost, there is Pinterest. This is a free online general pinboard where you can create your own page full of albums and “pin” items from anywhere in the internet or from Pinterest itself. It is your all purpose infinite online scrapbook collection. More often than not, it is my first stop when searching for a specific recipe. Sometimes I just need inspiration and will just scroll through my own extensively curated food albums. It takes about 5 minutes for me to go from unmotivated to excited when I check Pinterest. 

Other general resources are food.com, foodnetwork.com, and epicurious.com. Of these, epicurious is my favorite. That is because it is a knowledge rich site. Sure, it has gorgeous  graphic design and photography. Additionally, it is well organized and is geared to someone who truly wants to learn to cook well. There are numerous tips, tricks and educational resources. There is also a free membership, and this enables readers to collect their favorite recipes on the site. Epicurious is a site I have used for years, but apparently it won a Webby award in 2015 for best site in the food and drink category.

AmericasTestKitchen.com and CooksIllustrated.com get the highest marks for being instructional, but they lack the high style and visual appeal of epicurious.com. If you want to understand technique, or the science behind cooking, go here. 

Saveur.com deserves mention as an old and fascinating resource. The magazine has been one of my favorites for many years. Saveur is distinguished by its philosophy of setting food into it’s cultural and geographic context. Reading Saveur is a good bit of culinary armchair travel. To introduce you, check out their page on the best culinary blogs of 2015: 

http://www.saveur.com/saveur-blog-awards-2015-voting-closed

I should say that there are many beautiful websites and blogs out there which I will not showcase. That is because I am going to try to highlight sites which feature healthier cuisine. Many of these are vegetarian or vegan. I will include them, since current evidence based guidelines recommend we consume more plant based foods. However, I will also feature Paleo sites, which I believe are even better. 

The Paleo movement is amusingly misnamed since it has little to do with what Paleolithic people (cavemen) ate. The Paleo diet is devoid of grains and legumes (beans, soy and the like) , as well as modern processed foods and sometimes even dairy. There are many versions of the Paleo diet. At its worst, it is trendy nonsense. At its best, it is allergen free, and rich in healthy animal proteins, healthy fats, and  nutrients and fiber from fruits and vegetables. 

A new favorite for me is Paleo Magazine. A good place to start is their list of the top 10 Paleo Blogs on the Web: 

https://paleomagonline.com/top-10-paleo-blogs-on-the-web-2014/

My favorite on the list is Nom Nom Paleo.

I would also like to mention an important site on Paleo food which goes into a fair amount of medical science. This is

thedomesticman.com

It’s young author Russ Crandall had a life threatening bout with autoimmune disease. The Paleo diet helped in his recovery. He is medically literate and goes to some length in his books to explain the connection, which is that in some people, the Paleo diet can help reduce intestinal hyperpermeability and inflammation. 

I am going to conclude with a couple other specific favorites. First is the “eat" section of Greatist.

greatist.com/eat

Their site is beautiful and evidence based. Finally, there is

theforestfeast.com.

For sheer beauty, you should go here.

I hope, from now on, the question “ What should we have for dinner ?" is a pleasure rather than a pain. 

Wellness Wednesday: Family and Social Support and Health

I have a pretty healthy family, and a pretty healthy group of friends. However, sometimes someone get sick or needs a surgery. I am always grateful and amazed at how people rally to help. At the same time, I think of my many patients who have to go it alone, even though they are not doing well. 

What is the relationship of social support to health ? It’s huge. I decided that if I write a blog post highlighting this interesting connection, that more people would connect with others in times of need. 

The most common form of social connection is marriage. Marriage is clearly associated with health. But there are some interesting particulars. Numerous studies over the last 150 years have noted this association. In more recent years, the association was questioned, on the hypothesis that perhaps healthier people marry. This turned out not to be true. In fact, unhealthier men were more likely to marry. 

If you parse the date further, the “ marriage effect “ is seen to be stronger as couples age. Moreover the effect is stronger for men than it is for women. Non married stable partners also have greater health than singles, however not as much as married people. There is not yet enough data to comment on whether same sex married couples share this health benefit of marriage. 

What are the particular mental and physical advantages associated with marriage and social support ? 

• decreased depressive symptoms
• better recovery from episodes of depression
• lower heart rate and blood pressure 
• lower serum cholesterol 
• higher immune function 
• reduced risk of Alzheimers 
• better outcomes for hospitalized patients
• decreased likelihood of chronic disease, disability, mental illness, and death

How do marriage and social support confer this improve effect on both mental and physical health ? There are several observations about those who are married, partnered or have good social support that seem likely to hold the answers : 

• better social connectons
• presence of companionship 
• better emotional support 
• better economic well being and more likely to be insured
• more likely to keep medical appointments and get recommended screenings
• more likely to take prescribed medications 
• safer behaviors 
• better nutrition 
• more likely to get regular exercise

Dan Buettner in Blue Zones, identified social support as a principal correlate of extreme  longevity. He was focusing on groups of people around the world who lived healthy until past the age of 100. Regardless of place or culture, social support was key.

I think this is a powerful reminder for all of us to assess our our family and social connections. Are our relationships in good working order ? Those relationships may be more important than we realized. 

References: 

http://www.uniteforsight.org/gender-power/module1

http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-to-eliminate-cardiovascular-health-disparities/about/influences_on_health/family_social_support.html

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/01/economist-explains-0

http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/relationships-marriage-and-health

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/marriage-and-mens-health

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2729718/

https://www.bluezones.com/2014/03/blue-zones-history/

Wellness Wednesday: Healthy Architecture

Have you you ever noticed that you just feel good in some homes ? This might be because of the people who live there, or because of some happy memories. Or it could be the architecture ! It has been definitively shown that architecture influences our health and our sense of well being. In this post we will be examining what science and architecture say about healthy living space. 

Vitruvius, a famed architect and engineer of the Roman Empire, note that three elements were required for a well designed building: health, comfort and delight.

Cleary these requirements go beyond household air and water quality, lighting, waste management, and nontoxic materials. They go beyond shelter, privacy and safety as well. 

The AIA or American Institute of Architects has utilized a set of design principles to inform architecture not only for homes, but for schools and hospitals as well. They are as follows: 

• Safety
• Social Connectedness 
• Environmental Quality
• Sensory Environments
• Physical Activity
• Access to Natural Systems. 

This means that besides being safe, homes need to provide a space for people to comfortably gather. They need to be designed in such a way as to foster good air and water quality in the home. They need to provide pleasant sensory experiences of sound, sight, smell and touch. They need to foster the ability to be active. Finally they need to include or be able to interface with nature. 

According to Robert Ivy, CEO of AIA, these criteria for health fostering architecture can go even further. He highlights the following design principles: 

• Biophilia
• Educational design strategies 
• Light as therapy

Biophilia refers to our innate love of nature. It even alludes to the fact that exposure to the natural world has measurable effects on well being. This can mean we keep indoor plants. It could also mean we keep a small garden outside the kitchen door. Educational design, means that our physical spaces ideally foster learning. This may mean something as simple as including space for an aquarium,. Or, it may mean including bookshelves, a tool shop, or a lego table in a child’s room. Light as therapy is a proven factor. Daylight fosters recovery in the hospital and good emotions at home. Daylight is ideally part of every room in a building. 

Designing for wellness is important whether you rent, own or are building your home. Small but well informed changes in your living space can have significant effects on wellness. 

To learn more: 

http://info.aia.org/AIArchitect/2014/1121/aia-interactive/index.html?utm_source=http://info.aia.org/AIArchitect/2014/1121/aia-interactive/index.html#

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44199/

http://www.webmd.com/women/features/25-ways-create-green-healthy-home

Food Friday: Our Passover 2016 Menu

Friday night is the beginning of the 8 day holiday of Passover. It commemorates the journey of the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt and into freedom. This passage can be seen on many levels: geographic, cultural, religious,  psychological, and, concerning our topic today, culinary. 

It is an archetypal story that the Jewish people have seen fit to memorialize and celebrate with the Passover Holiday. And, more than every other Jewish Holiday, it is celebrated with food. True, the Seder, or Passover celebration service has a beautiful and music-laden liturgy in a volume called the Haggadah, but the special food items eaten are written right into the text.

The ceremony begins with blessings over wine and candle lighting. The narrative proceeds to bring us into a desert land, into the fold of an impoverished and weakened people. Moses, with divine inspiration, invokes the plagues upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to let his people go. Finally the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn of Egypt breaks him, but he reneges, and the people are pursued by Pharaoh's chariots through the Red Sea, where they are delivered to freedom and the soldiers drowned. 

As the story proceeds, we at the table are permitted meager portions. We must wait patiently and hear the story unfold. We may dip bitter green herbs in salt water symbolizing the bitterness of slavery and the tears the people. Of course, everyone at the table is quite hungry by now, and we are reminded to remember the suffering of people everywhere, and even into the present. Fairly soon we can have a sip of wine. At last we are given the Matzah. It is a flat tasteless cracker made of flour and water. It is the closest thing to cardboard that you can actually eat. It has its appeals, but I think mainly from association to the festive family gatherings. It depicts a “ poor bread”, a bread made in haste, the bread of slaves on the run, the bread of people who can afford nothing else. Everyone eats some in ceremonial fashion, and often with a spread. But no ! It is a spread of pungent horseradish called Maror, again to symbolize suffering. It is traditional to see who can take the biggest bite and wince the worst. 

The rabbis must have known about being hangry, since right about then we are permitted also to spread Charoset on the matzah. Charoset is strange compared to typical American foods, one the hearkens to other lands and other times. . It is a paste made of fresh and dried fruit, perhaps citrus, spices and various nuts. It is mulled with sweet red wine. It can be made chunky or smooth, and can be delicious. It symbolizes the mortar for the bricks with which the slaves built. People make a sandwich of Matzah, Charoset, and Maror, as did the famous Rabbi Hillel centuries ago, since he taught that the bitter went with the sweet. 

Finally the meal is announced, and it is ritually begun with an elaborate blessing and a boiled or roasted egg. The egg is, of course, a symbol of new life. The entire “ Seder plate “ is presented. The plate is often very large and ornate, with special spots and labels for each of the ceremonial foods, including lamb and the ones already mentioned. As the meal unfolds in many courses, we are encouraged to recline and take our time, and to use pillows to highlight our status as free people.

Modern Seders make mention of various forms of oppression in modern times. In that spirit, the Seder is for passing on wisdom as well as celebrating, and elders at the table are meant to tell the young people what they have seen in their day. I can remember one Seder I attended with a friend as a young high school student. It was in Los Angeles in the 1970s. After the meal was largely finished, the elders started telling stories. I was brought to a table where several very old people had pulled up their sleeves. I could see numbers tattooed on their arms. I realized in silent horror that they were survivors of the concentration camps of World War 2. They spoke at length about what they had seen, and admonished us to never forget. These stories were tragic, but they encouraged us by saying, “Look at us now !” .

Indeed they were filled with joy and pride, in a grand ballroom filled with family and friends, dressed to the nines, and sitting before a splendid table with a spread fit for royalty. I will never forget it. 

So Friday when I make our small family Seder, I will think of them. Friday afternoon, however, I will think of all the things I have to prepare. To conclude, I would like to share with you my planned menu. For a Passover menu, it is one part traditional and one part eclectic, just like our family. I hope whatever your tradition, whatever your religion or lack of it, that you can celebrate with us in your heart. 

Passover Menu 2016 

The Wine: organic grape juice of course. 

Bitter herbs: Mixed greens to include arugula, mizuna, mustard greens spinach and kale for the sweet and bitter (with a citrus vinaigrette for later in the meal) 

Roasted eggs, deviled by my son in law if he has time. 

My own Charoset, featuring dried mango, golden raisins, dates, dried cranberries, almonds, orange juice and champagne, and spices. 

Home made matzah- very rustic and hot out of the oven. 

Horseradish - straight up no embellishment. 

Halibut and salmon terrine - My substitute for the traditional gefilte fish. 

Roasted carrot fries - yum 

Matzoh ball soup - A family favorite - essentially a chicken soup variation with these amazing smooth light dumplings called matzoh balls. Mix the matzoh meal (wheat crumbs essentially) with eggs and oil and let them sit in the fridge. You will drop them in broth later. Then you roast a couple chickens (done ! ) reserve the meat, make broth, then prepare a mirepoix. A mirepoix is a mixture of finely chopped carrots, onion, and celery, which together give wonderful aroma and taste to soup. Sauté the mirepoix in olive oiling a big pot, add the meat as well, with herbes de provence and pepper. Add broth over all of it, garnish with white wine, bring to a low boil, then drop in your formed Matzoh balls. It won’t take long until they are ready and rise to the top. Serve with matzah. 

Fresh fruit- I cannot serve a meal without fresh fruit. Any will do. Strawberries, watermelon, mango and blueberries tomorrow. 

Desserts: 

Always more than one. 

Coconut macaroons- some dipped in chocolate - Love ! 

Flourless or fallen chocolate cake - Need I say more ? 

Food Friday: Passover Food, Part One

This year the first night of Passover falls on Friday night April 22nd. This means the upcoming week will be one of preparing. Observant households are cleaned and cleared of all leavened (yeasted or raised) bread and grains, since for the entire 8 days of the holiday, they are not eaten. 

Passover is the biblical holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It commemorates the Exodus of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. It is celebrated by both Jews and Christians. Jesus famously celebrated the Feast of Passover at what is now called The Last Supper. It is important to me as Jew among Christians to highlight the fact that we share this common narrative of liberation and redemption. Passover is always fresh, modern and relevant. It is one of my favorite holidays because of these themes, and since it involves food and family. 

Passover is celebrated over an eight day period not at a synagogue, but at the dinner table. The story of the Exodus is retold at the table though the reading of a work of liturgy called the Haggadah, which is essentially a narrative recounting of the portion of the book of Exodus which chronicles the event.

Here is the real genius of the observance in my opinion: The series of dishes in the meal serve as illustrations for the major points in the story ! This serves to keep the attendants engaged and makes the elements of the story unforgettable. Our ancestors felt so strongly about instilling within us this story of freedom that they enshrined it in a festive meal. 

This post will cover the elements of the festive meal, in order, and their meanings. Next week we will look at modern recipes for the same. 

Historical Culinary Elements of the Passover Seder: 

 

1st cup of wine or grape juice              

To sanctify the day 

Karpas (green herbs)    

To announce spring 

Salt water for dipping     

To signify the tears of the people 

Matzah (unleavened flat bread)                          

made in haste for an urgent departure

Maror ( Bitter herbs) traditionally horseradish,

to symbolize the bitterness of slavery    

Charoset (chopped fruit, nut and spice mixture)

to signify the mortar with which the slaves built the cities 

2nd cup to signify redemption 

3rd cup to signify blessing

The festive meal beginning with a roasted egg to symbolize new life. A roasted lamb shank is included and lamb is often served to symbolize the sacrificial Paschal lamb. Typically potatoes are served since they are in season, and they are not a leavened grain. 

4th cup to commemorate acceptance

of the Covenant of Law 

The historical ingredients of the meal are a bit peculiar to work with but are imbued with meaning. Stay tuned next week for the delicious modern adaptations of these ancient dishes.

Wellness Wednesday: The Art of Preparation

Why discuss preparation in a health blog ? Preparation is an antidote to what ails us. 

Preparation is key to overcoming health challenges like obesity, poor nutrition, lack of fitness, chronic disease, and bad habits.

Tax day is April 15th and tax season has prompted my focus on preparation. There is a lot of stress going around associated with tax preparation, and not just because money needs to be paid. There is stress because some people leave their preparations for taxes for the last minute. 

The opposite of preparation is procrastination. Check out this older post on procrastination: 

Curing Procrastination

Procrastination increases stress, undermines self - confidence, and undermines relationships at home and work. 

It decreases performance and effectiveness at completing any goals, including those associated with health. 

There is a common misconception that preparation and goal meeting is about will power and discipline. On the contrary, preparation is about the realization that goal meeting is hard. Because goal meeting is hard, we need preparation which is easy. Said better, preparation is what makes it manageable. Preparation, not will power, is the key to success. 

Let’s dissect or “ unpack" preparation, so you can see what it really is:

• Having optimism that your goal can be achieved.
• Taking the time to fully define your goal. 
• Frankly assessing where you are at the present moment, so that you can see how far you have to go.  
• Breaking down your goal down into parts. These subsections of the main goal, and not the whole goal, get divided according to the SMART goal criteria. Each of these subgoals must be: 
  • specific 
  • measurable
  • attainable
  • relevant 
  • and time bound. 

That is what will make them, if not easy, then attainable.

To learn more about SMART goals, read here : 

New Years Resolutions

Three Ways to get Ready for the Week

The Importance of Inspiration

Sometimes preparation itself is daunting. However, when the ask of preparation itself is broken down into segments, it is easier to face. And, crucially, starting with plenty of time ahead will take enable you to spread the segments out so you don’t have to do too much at one time. With preparation the hard becomes easy and the stressful becomes empowering. Try some today !  

Food Friday: Skin Food- Cocoa Butter and Coconut Oil Body Cream

You all know how I love chocolate. What if you could indulge in chocolate without a single calorie ? That wonderful smell of cocoa butter is the answer. I make my own body cream out of cocoa butter and coconut oil. I have very dry and very sensitive skin due to my lupus. I have found this is well tolerated and very helpful. 

The internet abounds with recipes for homemade cream such as this. I will provide a no frills version PLUS some extra tips to ensure the process is hassle free. 

Prepare all your supplies first:

• Cocoa butter and coconut oil in 1:1 ratio
• powerful mixer with whisk attachment 
• glass bowl for microwave
• spatula and ladle
• final containers such as mason jars with lids 
• roll of paper towels for covering the work surface, covering the mixer and for cleanup
• a handy garbage bag
• Stovetop with good ventilation
• shallow metal pan or bowl for cooling 

Steps: 

Place equal volumes of each fat in a microwave bowl. Warm as little as possible to get it all completely melted and mixed. You can do the same on a stovetop with a double boiler or simply a bowl over a pot of hot water. Stir. Ensure good ventilation. 

Cool in metal pan until solids are just beginning to reform. While still mostly liquid beat mixture in powerful mixer, covering mixer with paper towel to avoid spray. Stop at the yellow slightly thickened stage for a product that is like butter. Whip to stiffer white peaks for a creamy body spread. Work quickly at this stage since it will harden on your utensils. 

Spoon or pour into mason jars or other decorative containers and place lids. 

Clean up all thick material with the paper towels. Hot water will dissolve this stuff, but when it gets cool again in your drain, it will clog it. Get as much off with your paper towels and then wash up the faint residue with hot soapy water. 

This stuff smells wonderful and would be great for pregnant bellies, healing scars, or dry winter skin. I hope you like it. 

Food Friday: Easter Lunch Planning

Sorry, for some reason this did not go out as planned.... so here it is ! 

Every year we have a sizable party for friends and family. Every year I try to include some traditional dishes, but also some things to surprise and delight. Right now I am letting you in on the menu planning process. 

This year, Passover does not coincide with Easter. Most years, it seems like it does. Since I am Jewish we do not have leavened bread on those years. However, this year, we will be able to. 

Last week’s Food Friday went over many of the traditional foods from around the world. Because Easter occurs so early in the spring, it is before crops are really coming in. Thus even the festive menus include foods made from preserved things, like cured meats and fish. But, when you think about it, dried wheat ground into flour is a preserved thing, and so breads are among the traditional dishes, especially if they contain dried fruits and candied citrus peel.

For our bread this year, I am looking forward to a traditional Russian Easter Bread made by one of my Russian friends. My mother in law usually brings lamb, which is herb encrusted. My daughter is quite the chocolatiere, and I am going to try to persuade her to make a batch of handmade chocolates in fanciful shapes on Saturday. We like to make bugs and butterflies from molds. Her husband is the salad expert and produces an extraordinary spinach salad with candied walnuts and sliced strawberries. I will handle the new potatoes, smoked salmon with cream cheese and pickles, and new asparagus. Also I cannot resist making a meringue cookie in honor of one of the great grandmothers in the family. For them I will use only the whites of the egg, and so will liberate numerous yolks. To utilize these, I will make lemon curd. I have discovered that just about everyone in my family loves it. Few here in the states eat it. It is more popular in Britain. It is a rich lemony spread made with butter, sugar, yolks and lemon juice. You can even make it with lime juice. People use it like jam. It is a beautiful sunny color. 

And that is quite enough for the cooked sweets, since there will be the egg hunt in the nearby forest. There will be lots of treasures, such as spools of thread, coins, buttons, ribbon and more, but there will also be candy. Some of the eggs will be wooden and painted, and some will even be stone. In the past I found some that rang like bells. They went to the permanent egg collection. 

Make no mistake these gatherings are for more than fun and food. They forge the social bonds we need to be happy and healthy. So regardless of your religious , political, familial or cultural affiliations,  get together and make something nice. Renew old bonds and forge new friendships. 

Welcome to my spring holiday table. I would love to hear about yours. 

Wellness Wednesday: Wellness While Gardening

Gardening does not strike anyone as a particularly dangerous pastime. However there are a few tips and one critical point I’d like to share on the subject. 

I have been a committed gardener ever since I got married 33 years ago. It has been a soul feeding pastime for me. Gardening has gone hand in hand with family time, from the hands on science education for our kids to our present day culinary pursuits. 

I have gotten sunburns, rashes, cuts, scrapes, slivers and mosquito bites.  I have gotten dirty and dehydrated. I have lifted too much. I have risked heat stroke and frostbite. Thank goodness I have not gotten any ticks. But these are the concerns at hand. If you check the CDC (Centers for disease control ,they cover the list of precautions that would have prevented all these ills, and I will recoup them dutifully here. But there are a couple surprises, and at the end, one BIG POINT. 

• Your clothing and hat should protect against weather, insects, chemicals (even organic ones) sun and yes, dirt. Dirt is full of pathogens like various fungi, tetanus and toxoplasmosis. This is of special concern to those who are pregnant or have compromised immunity. Play in the dirt with gloves.  
• Make sure your every ten year tetanus shot is up to date. 
• Your skin should be protected by sunscreen or insect repellant as indicated. 
• Your hands should be gloved no matter what. Did I mention the gloves ? 
• Your eyes should be protected from flying debris and dirt. You are not pulling enough weeds if you do not have dirt flying toward your face. 
• Have water with you and hydrate throughout the day. Dehydration happens faster than you think. 
• Know the fertilizers and supplements you are dealing with. Read all labels and follow all directions. 
• Know your equipment, and make sure it is in good working order. If you are using sharp objects or powered equipment, keep your attention on what you are doing and keep small children out of harm's way. 

Here is the BIG POINT, and I will plead with you on this. Use organic methods. Please. The whole point of gardening is to get closer to nature and to produce something wholesome you can eat. Please do a little reading, and welcome yourself into the immensely gratifying world of organic gardening. If there is one thing that will save the world, it might be this. 

I am not even going to begin to address all the safety concerns of gardening any other way, such as with conventional herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers. It would take too long and it would be depressing. So, get yourself one of the many excellent organic gardening resources, like maybe a book, the internet, or maybe your grandmother.  It doesn’t matter if you do container gardening in the middle of a cityscape, or if you have a farm. Chose this life affirming hobby, and do it in a life affirming way. 

Stay tuned next week for another Wellness Wednesday. 

Wellness Wednesday: Menstrual Wellness

At first I thought the #freethetampon movement was a bunch of hooey. However, now I am giving it a second look. What got me thinking was a Tedx talk given by Nancy Kramer featured here on this website:

http://freethetampons.org

This site has some hard numbers about how many girls and women have to interrupt their school or work day to improvise a solution to an unanticipated period (86 % of us !) This is because restrooms the world over are stocked with toilet tissue, soap and something to dry hands, but there are scarcely ever any tampons or pads.

Granted there is an additional cost to providing these supplies, but in terms of school or professional environments, there are also benefits: less time away, less workplace stress, etc. Supporters of the #freethetampon movement advocate that tampons and pads should become freely available in every public bathroom, much like toilet tissue or soap. They view it as a public good and standard of decency in consideration for the everyday realities of normal body functions in women. Most women prepare as best they can and carry adequate menstrual supplies most of the time. But, as a Gynecologist I can assure you that irregular cycles and uncontrolled menstrual flow happen once in a while to most women. Even the best prepared among us has most likely struggled with an out of control period at one time or another.

Back to the cost of menstrual supplies. Did you know that in most places there is sales tax on tampons and other menstrual hygiene materials ? Sales tax criteria vary by state. Montana, Alaska, Oregon and New Hampshire have no sales tax on anything. Beyond that, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Maine tax the customary items of “ tangible personal property” excluding necessities like food and medicine. Most notably these states also exclude menstrual hygiene products from sales taxation! In these states menstrual hygiene products are classified as necessities rather than “ luxury” or “ tangible personal property” items. Every other state taxes menstrual hygiene products. Every other state has what is being called the “ tampon tax.” Critics of the tampon tax say that it unfairly discriminates against women. They point out that it is a tax that women have to pay solely by virtue of being women, which is sex discrimination.

The tampon tax issue together with the #freethetampon movement has catapulted the menstrual cycle into the public limelight. For most of history however, the subject has been totally taboo. Most generally menstruation has been looked upon as an “unclean" state. In many cases menstruating women have been set apart from their family during this time. Even until recently it has been considered a topic not fit for polite conversation. And for reasons which are still not clear to me, menstruation has been a source of embarrassment or shame.

Many contemporary women are interested in removing the stigma of shame associated with this normal body function. To do so, they have taken several tacts. If you search the web on such matters, you will find all kinds of art from posters, pins and jewelry which flaunt these taboos, and demonstrate menstrual pride. There are references to “shark week”, “riding the cotton pony” and visits from “Aunt Flo”, normalizing and humorizing the subject. In one instance at one American high school

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-Valley_Central_School,)

a security guard’s public search of a girl’s purse also included questions about whether she was on her period. The incident was considered intrusive. The next day, boys at the school came to class with sanitary pads taped to their shirts in a show of solidarity for the girl. Girls wore tampon necklaces. Finally, most of you have heard by now how Kiran Gandi, a Harvard business school student, ran the 26 mile London Marathon on her period, without a tampon and with visible bleeding, to “ transcend oppression” and to publicize the plight of those women who lack adequate menstrual products.

You get to decide how you feel about your period. But you should know a few things about it. No period is comfortable or convenient, but some get downright bad. If you meet certain objective criteria, you should call your doctor and get checked. Abnormal periods are not healthy, and should be treated.

Here is a section from our page on on adolescent and childhood Gynecology which describes the beginnings of periods :

The mean age of menarche (first menses) is approximately 12 1/2 years of age, with a range of about 11 to 14. Menarche typically occurs 2 to 3 years after thelarche after the breasts are fully developed. Ninety eight percent of females will have had menarche by age 15. Any adolescent girl who has not reached menarche by 15, or within 3 years of thelarche should be evaluated. Additionally, any vaginal bleeding before the age of 8 is a concern and should be evaluated by a a gynecologist.

- See more at: http://drginanelson.com/childhood-gyn-concerns#sthash.ykiQ4Hoh.dpuf

More menstrual facts you need to know:

Periods should not last longer than a week.

Period intervals ( time from day 1 of one period to day 1 of the next period ) should not be less than 21 days or greater than 35 days.

Total flow should not exceed 80 cc (1/3 cup) in one cycle.

Period flow should not make you lightheaded or anemic.

Period pain should not keep you from school, work or exercise.

You can get pregnant on your period.

If you experience any of these things, you should call your doctor. Depending on your age and medical history, an evaluation may be done. Depending on the results, a treatment can be planned.

Tips for menstrual management:

You may pick from either pads, tampons or both. You may use menstrual cups as long as you wash them as instructions indicate. None of the internal methods should be left in longer than needed, or they can foster infection. Apparently there are now unisex tampon necklaces you can wear, to use yourself or to “help a sister". There is even an app, developed by a Harvard freshman, Olenka Polak, called “ Code Red” which alerts sympathetic users in your area that you are caught in a “ periodic emergency”.

Menstrual health is a physical and psychological challenge. Don’t feel like you have to meet this challenge alone. 

Wellness Wednesday: Time and Goals

We each have goals. What would it be like to accomplish them ? What would it be like to accomplish a lot of them ? Some people do. These are people with good time management. 

It occurred to me that before I discuss exercise on this Wellness Wednesday blog, I should discuss the one thing my patients say they need before they can exercise: more time. We all have one lifetime of time. What matters is how we use it. Everyone knows this, so what is the problem ? 

Most people are not fully aware of how they spend their own time.

They are not as factually familiar with how they spend each hour as the think they are. I have found that everyone thinks they’re busy, and everyone thinks they're active. People are less sure if they are efficient in their day. This is the territory I suggest we explore at this point in the New Year. 

We are talking about time management. Have you ever had a class in this ? Few people have. It seems like it would be a good idea right at the beginning of high school. Or how about right now, in the blog post ? 

Here is your mini class on time management, complete with some handouts and homework. 

• Obtain a notebook to document this process. 
• Record your present schedule, down to the hour, for one week. Include everything from housework to Facebook. Wear a watch all week so you will have realistic estimates of time. 
• Make a list of goals, for the week, month, quarter, year and five years. 
• Order the goals by priority.
• Assess your week long log and see where you are misdirecting or wasting your time. 
• Realign your schedule with your priorities. Include a spot for 30 minutes of exercise 6 days per week. 
• Record what happens the next week and repeat. 

Now this is a VERY simplified version of a time management class. It is, however, the essence of the process. It only works however, if you are absolutely truthful with yourself about how you spend you day’s time and absolutely truthful about what you really want. 

I hear so much about not “ having enough time” to exercise, or to shop for healthy food, or to prepare healthy meals, that I decided to address it head on. 

For those interested in more, there are really so many great resources on the web, from Lifehack.org, to books by Harvard Business Review. 

Here is a one page handout on the subject. Click on the title below to download. 

"Time Management" from the Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning

For extra credit, here is an awesome self assessment and time management tool from University of Kentucky. Click on the title to download. 

"The Successful Person's Guide to Time Management"

This should be be printed, filled out and used. 

Class is dismissed. Homework is due next week! I’d love to hear how you do. 

Wellness Wednesday: New Year’s Resolutions

I have always been skeptical of the idea of  New Year’s resolutions. Did you know that only 8% of them succeed ? I am more in favor of a New Year’s PLAN. Plans can change things. 

I am all for establishing intentions and all for making lists. A resolution however, is more like wishing for something and expecting that the strength of your wish will make it come true. Research shows the desire or willpower alone is insufficient. If you are ready and willing to make changes, bring out the power tools. They are called SMART goals. 

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time bound.

See more at:

Structure Sunday: Three Ways to Get Ready for the Week

So make a New Year’s list of the goals you would like to achieve, but apply this metric to each one. 

Here is more on exactly how this works : 

The Importance of Inspiration

For example, if you want to exercise daily, you must know what exercise you will do, and where. You should make a record of what you do. It should be something that is realistic at the present moment. You should know exactly when in the day and week it will take place and give yourself a date to reassess your progress. If you do not do these things for your exercise plan, then you are not serious about this goal. If you actually set yourself up this way, you will almost certainly be successful. It’s like Dorothy and the ruby slippers. You had the power all along. 

Meanwhile here is some additional fun and illuminating reading on New Year’s Resolutions : 

LIfehack: 50 New Year's Resolutions and How to Achieve Each of Them

Happy New Year ! 

Wellness Wednesday: Holiday Wellness Collection

Here is a little collection of holiday wellness quick reads from my past blog posts. I hope they help the next week or two be merry and bright. 

Holidays, the Happy Disruption

Holiday Wellness

Gratitude is at the Center of Wellness

Look forward to more post collections during the holiday week while I take a little time off from writing and just highlight the “ need to know “ stuff. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

May the light of the season be within you. 

Food Friday: Holiday Menu Planning

I don't know about you, but right now I am trying to figure out the menu for not one but several holiday dinners to come in the fairly near future. To try and minimize stress with these events which are supposed to be fun, I've decided to do a little advance planning and let you in on it too.

Sometimes it's best to stick to tradition, and include menu items you know are family favorites. But particularly when you have more than one meal to present during the holiday season, you can afford to be a little bit creative. Let's take a quick look at four different cuisines which you might consider. Christmas is really big in each of the five countries which I will present, but you can probably think of many more countries that cherish the holiday as well. You can explore their cuisines too. Suddenly there is no shortage of menu ideas when you consider it in this framework. The challenge will be choosing what to leave out ! 

A Mexican inspired Christmas “ Navidad” 

• Virgin Margaritas
• Quesadillas with fresh salsa for starters 
• Ponche - a hot fruit and cider punch 
• Mexican Christmas Eve Salad _ this is colorful salad mixture of lettuce, beets, apple carrot, pineapple, jicama, pecans and pomegranate seeds. 
• Tamales with a chocolate chili mole sauce. 
• Rosca dee Reyes- A sweet spicy fruity bread containing assorted dried  or candied fruits. 

A French Inspired Christmas “Noel” 

• Champagne, Perrier
• Amuse bouche ( hor d’oeuvres) - olives, seasoned nuts, vegetable platters with dips etc. 
• Boeuf (beef) Bourguignon ( A thick stew made all day with red wine and meat cooked until fork tender eaten with crusty baguettes. ) 
• Haricots Verts ( green beans roasted with olive oil) served with lemon 
• Salade Nicoise - Tomatoes, boiled eggs, and tuna on a bed of greens 
• Diverse fruit and cheese platter 
• Buche de Noel- An amazing rolled chocolate sponge cake filled with mocha cream, frosted with chocolate buttercream to look like a log and garnished with meringue mushrooms
• Sorbet 

An Italian Christmas “ Natale” 

• Pellegrino 
• Antipasti- tuna, fresh salmon, cured meats, olives, cheeses, bruschetta, crostini, Caprese salad- with fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes
• Pasta, such as ravioli filled with extravagant fillings, such as meat, spinach, ricotta, figs, and even chocolate and candied citron. 
• Parmesan chicken in red sauce 
• Lemon tart 
• Gelati

 

Scandinavian Christmas recipes “ Yul” 

Glogg- spiced mulled wine 

• A “ julbord” , meaning a smorgasbord especially for Christmas
• Cold foods like Gravlax ( salmon cured in sugar, salt and dill), cured meats, cheeses, pickles, beet salad, breads and butters
• Warm foods like meatballs in berry sauce, potato dishes and cabbage dishes. 
• Desserts like Pepparkakor ( gingerbread cookies) and saffransbullar ( sweet buns)

One traditional Christmas in America, with some twists

• Turkey
• Mash potatoes
• Cranberry sauce
• Green salad 
• Asparagus
• Pie À la mode

Turkeys is front and center at Christmas time as well as at Thanksgiving. But this time give it a little twist. Consider encrusting the bird with herbs, or having it smoked. For the stuffing, go beyond simple breadcrumbs and try wild rice stuffing. Try a twist on traditional cranberry sauce and add orange. For your salad, add every favorite salad ingredient you can think of from olives to capers, dried cranberries, two colors of tomatoes, and even candied nuts. For the mashed potatoes, consider the very exotic purple potato, or for a very healthy twist, sweet potatoes. If you really want some color on your table try all three. And whatever you do with the potatoes, flavor them well with olive oil, butter, sour cream, salt, pepper and even herbs, garlic, or cheese. Regarding your traditional pie, consider one two fruits not one. Great combinations are apple raspberry, or rhubarb strawberry.

Warning: Each of these menus require several days preparation and several people to accomplish. But, as I read through all my material about holiday and meal traditions the world over, I realized that the affectionate time and extra effort spent preparing these magnificent celebratory meals together is the essence of the holiday. 

Merry Christmas all week long to all the cooks !