Fake sugar is not any better than real sugar. . . Here’s why you should be checking ingredient lists.
Archive for the 'Health' Category
Page 2 of 2
I knew I should trust my gut that hot dogs are gross. If you’re a hot dog connoisseur, sometimes you’re better just not knowing. Nothing to see here.
Thanks Buzzfeed!
photo by dominikgolenia
My mom’s on-and-off best friend of the last 15 years rests on life support today. Over the weekend complications from emergency surgery for an aneurysm led to bleeding in the brain, and doctors told her family that recovery was unlikely. It seems that it’s less a matter of if the plug is pulled than when the family is ready to do so.
In discussing with my mom the tough decisions Ellen’s family faces and the unfairness of the situation, I’m reminded of the little ways those a few degrees removed can lend a hand in a time of crisis.
Phone Chains
Extended family and a network of friends would like to be kept in the loop about changes in the patient’s condition or details about memorial service plans. Close family members are focused on the ill or beginning to grieve.
Volunteer to be the point person for people seeking information. That way, a family member can check in with you once or twice a day and everyone else can check in with you. It lifts a huge burden off those closest to the sick or recently deceased.
Babysitting
Parents sometimes need a break when juggling young kids and grandma in the hospital.
Offer to take the kids to the park, the movies or the mall for a few hours to give the parents the opportunity to either take a break or put their full focus on the sick, dying or deceased loved one.
Food
When family members are rotating shifts at a loved one’s bed side, they’re not planning their 3 square meals. Most hospital food leaves much to be desired. Soup and sandwiches are easy to drop off for those relatives.
When they get home from a long day at the hospital or in the days following funeral proceedings, prepping a meal is not what anyone wants to do. Schedule a time to drop off one pan meals that are easy to cook or reheat, like ziti, minestrone soup, lasagna and chicken marsala.
For those of you not particularly adept in the kitchen, gift certificates to local restaurants and meal services that deliver also make difference.
Housework
When dealing with the realities of a prolonged illness, the less important household chores fall by the wayside. Cleaning house takes energy and effort, which those holding a family together don’t have to spare.
For close family and friends, volunteer to come over on a Saturday to change the linens, to vacuum and to do a few loads of laundry. Alternately, you could pay for several hours of a cleaning service to do the same at the home owner’s or renter’s convenience.
Unfortunately, prolonged terminal illnesses, freak accidents, and sudden deaths happen, but you can try to help lighten the load a bit for those coping. How do you lend a hand?
Almost 2 months ago, Joy the Baker posted a recipe for Seasoned Soft Pretzels at her blog. They looked super tasty.
After 4.5 years in Los Angeles, I’ve yet to find a soft pretzel that matches that of street vendors in Philadelphia or NYC, both of which I’m fond.
Since I had no plans this evening, I decided to make give the pretzels a whirl using white whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour.
They came out a bit browner than I’d have liked, so in the future I’ll cut back on baking time. Nonetheless, they’re yummy. And Joy’s suggestion of white whole wheat instead of whole wheat flour meant no “healthy flavor” overkill.
I used McCormick Asian Style Spiced Sea Salt for added flavor. The seasoning blend includes garlic, ginger, orange peel, coconut, red bell pepper and sesame seeds.
Since the recipe yields 8 pretzels, and I’m but one person, I’m parbaking 4 of the pretzels without seasoning. Once they cool I’m going to freeze them for fall afternoons when I want a light snack.
Each year, Culver City’s Women’s Clinic & Family Counseling Center host the shoe sale of the year to raise funds for the provision of “quality low-cost health care and couseling services for women.”
Typically, shoes are priced between at $100 or less, a 50-90% discount off thousands of pairs of designer shoes. Cash, check, Visa and MasterCard are accepted forms of payment.
Saturday, September 6th, 2008, Veterans Memorial Complex Auditorium, 4117 Overland Ave., Culver City; $1.00 for Admission – Parking Is Free.Note: Doors open at 8:00 a.m. No line-ups prior to 7:00 a.m., but you may come early for a numbered line-up bracelet.
photo by wwny
On September 13th and 14th from 12pm-6pm, a BBQ festival will be cranking out serving after serving of ribs, pulled pork and brisket with live music to entertain you. Tickets are $10 with discounted meals, beverages, and desserts available on site.
7th Annual Taste of Santa Monica
On Sunday September 14th from 12-4, nearly 40 restaurants will offer samples of their far at this foodfest with an optional wine garden for balanced fine dining. Tickets in advance for $40 are inclusive of food, but you’re on your own for parking.
photo by kellysue
Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon in Pasadena.
On October 5th from 12pm-5pm, you can enjoy artisan, gourmet and premium chocolate samples and wine tastings. Demonstrations and cook book signings will take place throughout the day. Tickets are $17.50 in advance.
If dairy does the jig in your digestive tract or you’re trying to get away from processed sugar, I’m happy to report that Turtle Mountain has a new coconut milk-based ice cream line, sweetened with Agave syrup. I picked up a pint of the Coconut flavor, naturally, and it was divine. The frozen treat has the same smooth, creamy texture of coconut milk, without the iciness of ice cream that’s too aerated.
Whole Foods carries a selection of their five flavors: Vanilla Bean, Chocolate, Cookie Dough, Mint Chocolate Chip and Coconut; other grocery chains nationwide will pick it up later in the year. At this point I say pass on the Chocolate, it just doesn’t hold up as a dairy-free flavor, but the gluten-free Cookie Dough may just be my new favorite ice-cream. Cookie Dough chunks and brittle fudgey bits!
With a heat wave in progress, it’s a great treat!
A new UCLA study links poor health outcomes with one’s proximity to fast and junk food retailers. The LATimes reports
Higher rates of diabetes and obesity occur in neighborhoods — regardless of the residents’ income, race or ethnicity — where fast-food restaurants and convenience stores greatly outnumber grocery stores and produce vendors, according to a statewide study released today.
It makes sense. . . when you’re hungry and have money to burn, you’re not going out of your way for a meal. You stick within walking distance at lunch or stay relatively local for dinner with friends. Thus, your options are limited by the restaurants and stores in your local vicinity. While you ultimately decide where you go, your options are limited by your geography.
Of the top 10 franchises of 2008 (per Entrepreneur.com’s 29th Annual Franchise ranking), should you be looking to invest:
#1 7-Eleven (30,642 franchises)
#2 Subway (29,929 franchises
#3 Dunkin’ Donuts (7376 franchises)
#4 Pizza Hut (9881 franchises)
#5 McDonalds (20,099 franchises)
#6 Sonic Drive In (2656 franchises)
#7 KFC (11,071 franchises)
#9 Domino’s (2073 franchises)
Eight of the top 10 recommended franchises are fast food restaurants. Think about YOUR neighborhood, can you go a block through a city and not find deep friend or foil-bagged options? It’s an incredible rarity.
In California, the researchers found that
Obesity rates were 20% higher in neighborhoods with five or more times as many fast-food outlets as produce vendors, compared with those with three or fewer, the study found.
While it is an individual’s responsibility to to decide what’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; it’s a community’s responsibility to maximize the availability of healthy options when approving new business licenses and developing new strip malls and local attractions.
The medical profession knows how to keep the dough rolling in. I’m so horribly nearsighted that 6 inches in front of my face is one big blur unless I’m sporting contacts. Every year I have to swing by an optometrist to have a new prescription written out, even if there’s no discernable change in my vision to the tune of $95.
This year it appears my vision has managed to shift a tad closer to legal blindness. Contacts correct up to -20.0, I’ve hit -10.0.
One of the many items on the “waiting to be able to afford it” wish list is Lasik surgery, since one would shell out a few thousand dollars once for the eye work, instead of a lifetime of contact lenses.
Turns out that depending on the thickness of your corneas, you might not get to be free of visual aids alltogether. It is entirely possible that I could be rescued from -10.0 vision, and brought back to, say, a -2.0. While exceptionally better, I’d still be wearing contact lenses. So I really wouldn’t be saving any money in the long run, it would actually cost more. Regardless of the strength of contact lenses, they all cost the same, so surgery would just be an added cost on top of $250 worth of contacts each year.
The optometrist pointed out that insurance companies are pretty close to approving payments for Lasik surgery it’s just a matter of time. Yes, Viagra is covered by insurance, but permanent improvement of sight. . .
Let’s not even get started on birth control v. Viagra insurance coverage.
As per usual while waiting for a film to start, I was held hostage by the rotating advertisements on screen at the theater.
The best one of the holidays season:
What she wants won’t fit in a box. . . breast implants
Yes. The way to a girl’s heart is through her plastic surgeon.
Recent Comments