Cookie Commotion

Post written by Bridget Strub.

photo courtesy of Link576

Each year around Christmas time I set some pretty lofty goals for myself that involve Christmas cards arriving in people’s homes by the third week of December, having all my gifts purchased and wrapped before Thanksgiving, and decorating the house from top to bottom on Black Friday – after I’ve spent the morning bargain hunting for the cheapest prices of the season of course. Here I sit at the end of the first weekend in December and I’ve not purchased the cards yet or even attempted to search through the attic for our Christmas decorations. I have started my shopping, but am sure the rest of it will be done with minutes to spare on the 23rd. That just seems to be the way it goes each year. Each year since I’ve been married I’ve set those ambitions for myself and each year I’m let down as the month slips by and my goals get shoved into the background. Last year we didn’t even buy a tree! There is one tradition, though, that was established my first year of marriage and I’ve cherished it ever since.

Pete’s family has a rich history of recipes passed from generation to generation. It’s not unusual to see recipe cards with handwriting from my mother-in-law’s grandmother or recipes with titles of Aunts or Uncles names in it. Each Strub family get-together is marked by a hearty main course, savory side dishes, and baked goods to die for. Christmas is no exception in the Strub household. Each year Pete and I get together with his parents and sister or sisters to make not one, not two, but six different kinds of Christmas cookies. It is an all day occasion filled with hot, hard work, but the memories I have as a result of those days with my family is priceless.

Just today Pete and I spent close to seven hours mixing, measuring and frosting cookies. In the midst of those hours though I was able to share life with people I love. I got to play hide and seek, tickle fight and some other games I didn’t really understand with my four year old nephew. I heard the incredible heart of my father-in-law as we shared a conversation about the world. I learned from the wisdom of my mother-in-law and shared laughs with my sister-in-law. All of these moments, though easily taken for granted, were priceless. I won’t get that time back.

As I left the house exhausted, arms full of sweet goodies, I realized how much I appreciate the excuse food provides to get people together. We use the excuse to catch up with old friends over coffee and a pastry. We use the excuse to get to know a significant other more intimately over a meal. We use food as an excuse, or opportunity rather, to share life, love, and community with those around us whom we hope to learn from. Food is unique in that way. It’s really one of the only things in the worlds that brings people together no matter how far apart they are.

While Christmas cookie making is not the healthiest of the holiday traditions to uphold, the company shared in that time is invaluable. I’ll sacrifice the health of my body a little in order to connect with my family every day. Now, if I could just figure out those Christmas cards and decorations…

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Caffeine Dependency

Post written by Veronica Kipfer.

photo courtesy of emdot

Three months ago…. “beep, beep, beep, beep, bee…….”.

“Give me five more minutes…. five.. more…”

… 40 minutes later …

I have now sacrificed any sensible time to make breakfast, including brewing my own coffee. I rush to put myself together while hoping to match a pair of socks on my way out the door. Since five minutes turned into forty, I now have just enough time to frequent the local Tim Hortons for my large, double-cream-double-splenda with a hint of either mint or hazelnut. I know this small dose of caffeine will jump start my productivity once I get to work.

Thankfully once I get to work and the double-double is history, there are free coffee stations every 50 yards in our office. I buy half and half for the remaining 4 cups of coffee I will consume before the day is over. I will not drink Coffee mate creamers or use that powdered creamer at all. I learned that these creamers are made with hydrogenated oils, and are not even dairy products. It’s my personal opinion that the body can digest either half and half or milk better than hydrogenated oil. After researching hydrogenated oils I have decided It’s not something I want in my body.

Hydrogenated oil is:
Hydrogenated oil is oil in which the essential fatty acids have been converted to a different form chemically, which has several effects on the oil. Hydrogenated oil is far more shelf stable, and will not go rancid as quickly as untreated oil. It also has a higher melting point, and is often used in frying and pastries for this reason. Finally, the chemical structure of the oil is changed, which scientists in the 1990s began to realize could result in health effects.

I am learning the importance of independently being dependant in God. I cannot depend of God through someone else’s belief. Hearing great sermons or reading inspiration books is definitely profitable to my spirit, but until I make it personal, until I make it real to me, it will just be information. Once it’s been made personal I can begin to believe that information.

Let’s take a look at Abraham for example. He believed God. He didn’t believe in God. He just believed. His example of faith is what we need to mirror. Do we believe God and ever promise he has give us or are we acknowledging that God is real, and His word is real, and maybe it applies in some areas? We need to cash in on all the promises of God every time we gain more understanding in a certain area.

Learning to be dependant and trust in God in the plans he has for us needs to happen for breakthrough in finances, relationships, ministry, health, workplace, etc. We begin to realize that no matter what curve balls come our way we are still on the straight path because our trust is in the ONE who has it all under control…. we can live life at peace at all times. Settled. Knowing that everything will be ok, especially right now the way things are going in our world…. recession, foreclosures, H1N1, etc.

For a month and half now I have not had coffee, or caffinated teas. I chose to take a “fast” from caffeine because I was depending way too much in it’s ability to keep me alert and awake. I love coffee. Anyone who knows me will testify to that. There’s not a room in my house without a vintage mug, or something that resembles my love for coffee. So I hope you can imagine how hard this decision was. Instead I have transitioned into drinking herbal non-caffinated teas, or I will warm some apple cider mixed with water to cut back on the sugar in the cider. I’ve realized most of the time I was just craving a warm cup or something in the morning. I also increased the amount of water I drink in a day. Eating spinach on a regular basis has also given me lasting energy.

I have since believed that my help comes from the Lord, he is my sustainer, I sleep and awake again because HE sustains me. There is a time and place for everything, a time for every action under the sun. Psalm 121:2, Psalm 3:5 and Ecclesiastes 3:1.

I don’t miss the caffeine, but I do miss the coffee I will start drinking coffee again soon. I will not however have 5-cup days anymore. Maybe a cup in the morning, some around lunch and decaf at dinner. Most importantly I will not be depending on the caffeine to keep me alert and awake.

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Stuck

Post written by Bridget Strub.

photo courtesy of Pink Sherbert Photography

Recently I heard a newscaster say, “You are what you eat.” If this statement is, in fact, true, my body currently consists of a strange blend of high fructose corn syrup, sugar and caffeine, inordinate amounts of heavy cream, globs of pasta sauce, and soggy cereal.

I started eating this way when I began taking grad classes four nights a week. There’s something about sitting in a little plastic chair for three and a half hours every night that seems to warrant, if not demand, a large gas station cappuccino and a whole bag of Twizzlers. I justified this night after night as the only way I could possibly stay awake in class. The sad part about this routine is that it began over three months ago, and, what’s worse, I’m not even taking grad classes this semester. My habit seems to have stuck with me as well as glaze clings to an apple fritter.

As my grad classes were winding down, I was transitioning into a new position at work. I was justifiably nervous and naturally shifted my motivation for eating from bored-in-class to I’m-stressing-out. Lethargy started to settle in towards the end of August, and I knew that my mental and physical health was starting to spiral downward faster than my chocolate milkshake from Abbot’s did. Yet I was still stuck.

While I adjusted to my new position at work and nursed my new found addiction to Mountain Dew to survive the day, I also committed myself to the position of your Monday Morning Maitre d’ on this lovely website. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to report on my explorations of new-to-me restaurants and rediscovering just how good some deals at “old” restaurants can be. My date nights have been much richer because of this new challenge. However, this has been yet another excuse to keep me stuck in my pattern of bad eating.

This leads me to October 12, 2009. I am ten pounds heavier than I was less than three months ago. Yes, I just threw that out there. Yes, I know that’s not what ladies do, but I feel as though I had to come to terms with myself on this issue, and what better way than to spill my guts, and the contents of my plate, with you! I cannot seem to break this insatiable desire to consume mass quantities of pizza, soda, cookies and anything else that I can get my hands on. I will actually sit down to watch Biggest Loser with a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream and marvel at how someone can live a lifestyle like that. That, to me, screams denial.

This weekend my parents came in from out of town to visit with Pete and I for the day. I am incredibly close to my parents and consider them some of my dearest friends. I don’t see them nearly enough as I’d like to, so when we do get to spend time together I cherish every moment. As you can imagine, I really dislike having our time together end. So I was a little sad to see them leave. As soon as my parent’s van was out of sight and I was done waving goodbye I ran for a bag of Santitas Tortilla Chips. I sat down to dig in and realized my dad had left his phone at our house. After I had called them to come back and get it I had a few moments before they arrived, so I plunged my hand into the bag of chips and mindlessly shoveled some into my mouth. I paused just long enough to feel that twinge I get when I’m eating food I know I don’t need, but my moment of guilt was interrupted as my parents van pulled back into the driveway. As I ran out to return the cell phone I saw my mom munching on a cereal bar, and I felt that same twinge I had tossed aside moments before.

After I said goodbye again, I ran back into the house and plopped myself back onto the couch. The previous moments of conviction returned as I grabbed for a few more chips. I realized at that moment that the reason I was eating chips and my mom was eating a cereal bar two seconds after we had said goodbye to each other was not because we were hungry, but simply because that is the way we cope with our feelings. Somewhere in our lives we learned to associate happy feelings and comfort with food, so whenever we’re frustrated, angry, stressed out, bored, or even happy, we eat. What is a necessity has morphed into a dangerously, oppressive addiction. So many people in our world live this way. We’ve transferred our “quick-fix” society into band-aiding feelings with food. It’s a dangerous and unfulfilling lifestyle.

I’m not suggesting that I am going to stop eating all together or that I’m signing up for the next fad diet. I won’t be getting hyped up on any “miracle” pills. I wouldn’t, however, mind a few personal training sessions with Jillian Michaels (even if Pete does think I’m crazy and she’s a sell-out), but that’s beside the point. What I am suggesting, or declaring rather, is that it is time for me to get un-stuck. Something has got to change, and rather than waiting until New Years, I’ll make a Columbus Day resolution. I resolve to process my emotions and thoughts in a way that does not involve food. I will save eating for a time when I am able to truly enjoy what is going into my mouth rather than just inhaling whatever’s in front of me. My challenge for you this week is to do the same. Stop and think before you devour that piece of cake at work or pound an entire casserole at dinner. What is motivating you to eat? Hopefully we can support each other in this. But have no fear, I’ll return next week with a new found treasure to report on.

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Adventures in Awful: Selling Out

Post written by Pete Strub.

photo courtesy of rockymountainhigh

Bridget (my wife, in case you don’t know) has frequently stated her desire to have Jillian Michaels from Biggest Loser be her personal trainer for one day. If you’ve ever seen Biggest Loser, you know Bridget is crazy to ever wish this upon herself. Jillian Michaels devours people. She is a human pit-bull, barking orders, snapping at people, ruthlessly going in for the kill. Whether Bridget is crazy or not, I must admit that I kind of like Jillian Michaels – not the marital infidelity sort of like, but the I-think-she-could-bench-press-me kind of like. I watch Biggest Loser every week and endure the bad drama and staged promotional scenes because I like what the show teaches us: through hard work and discipline, anyone can change their life. You can imagine my dismay, then, when Bridget and I were walking through Walgreens and saw a promotional display for Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Calorie Control pills and Jillian Michaels Fat Burner pills. This week’s Adventure in Awful: Jillian Michaels – the sell-out.

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about Biggest Loser is that I’ve felt like they encourage doing weight loss the correct way. Our country has a quick-fix obsession and an inherent laziness that draws us toward fitness plans and programs that make grand promises of easy weight loss. On Biggest Loser, they preach lifestyle change. The show promotes the idea that the only way to lose weight for the long haul is to change your habits, work hard, and exhibit discipline. Every week the contestants on the show engage in grueling exercise and eat balanced healthy diets. This structure allows exercise and healthy eating to become habits that can carry on even after weight has been lost. Quick fixes will never work because they don’t change habits. Even though I have no proof, I would be willing to bet that the majority of people who try fad diets and products (Atkins, South Beach, Slim Fast, NutraSystem, etc.) gain the weight back within a year if they even lose any weight in the first place. As hard as it is for our get-it-your-way-right-now American minds to believe, quick fixes don’t work. Therefore, seeing Jillian Michaels promoting a quick-fix pill is like seeing Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman promote a credit card spending spree. It just isn’t right; it’s against everything she stands for, or so I thought.

Selling out is bad enough, but Jillian Michaels is worse than your average hypocrite. The worst part of this whole thing is that her endorsement of these products can and will bring harm to others. First of all, there is the fact that people in search of a quick fix who see Jillian’s picture will automatically assume that these pills will make them just like the Biggest Loser contestants. Although these people are naïve and partially deserve what they get, it is unfair of Jillian to take advantage of their naivety just to boost her bank account. Secondly, many of the people who buy these pills won’t bother to research the products and, consequently, won’t realize that these pills are basically super-caffeinated stimulants – uppers. The product contains the following warning, “Note: Limit the use of caffeine-containing medications, foods, or beverages while taking this product because too much caffeine may cause nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness and occasionally, rapid heartbeat.” Is that really a product we need to be promoting?

If you have ever seen the movie Requiem for a Dream, the movie is a heart-shattering glimpse of how drugs ruin lives. One of the characters is a fifty or sixty year old woman who wants to lose weight and gets prescribed pills by her doctor. The pills are basically stimulants that are too much for her system and proceed to ruin her body and mind, sending her to the hospital. I know that the pills being promoted by Jillian Michaels are probably safer than that, but taking highly-caffeinated stimulants is certainly not good for our bodies and does not promote the healthy living that she seems to stand for. How many people, naively thinking they are improving their health, will actually become less healthy because of her products? She is smart enough to know that these pills aren’t healthy, so it makes you wonder how far she would go to make a buck. I hear that smoking helps people keep weight off, maybe she should try that. Crackheads and Meth addicts seem pretty skinny, too. How about that?

No good can come from this. No good ever comes when people choose money over beliefs. If Jillian’s personality on the show is at all real, then she believes in hard work and healthy living. But she has chosen money over those beliefs, and it makes me sad. I’m sad for the people who buy her product. I’m sad for the people who will continue believing that easy fixes exist. I’m even sad for Jillian – compromising beliefs destroys people from the inside out – just like the pills she’s compromising for.

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Where is Your Focus?

Post written by Veronica Kipfer.

photo courtesy of adriarichards

I would like to follow in Patrick’s lead from his post yesterday, Two Words You Never Want to Say. I too managed to neglect introducing myself in last week’s post. As you already know, my name is Veronica. Since Patrick mentioned he is a newlywed, allow me to mention that I am single, I work as an Office Assistant. It’s not my dream job but it’s a very good job for now. One day I will own my own coffee shop, be married with a family… etc, but this is not a time for me to expose all my future hopes and dreams to the world, maybe next week. (or not) I went to school, majoring in Psychology, for about two years before it became clear that wasn’t the right path for me. It wasn’t until I left school, as I am sure is true for most young adults, that I discovered what my passion was. I discovered where my life was heading and it became my focus to do everything in my power to get there.

The mind intrigues me. As I shared last week, I am a firm believer in positive thinking. Thinking positively takes focus. And focus requires determination, diligence and patience. Yes! Imagine that, focused people posses more patience than the unfocused. So what is focus and why should you care if you are focused?

According to dictionary.com, Focus is defined as, a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity. Why should you care if you are focused? Let’s take last week’s article, Push Yourself, Don’t Quit and use it as an example of why it’s important to keep yourself focused. For those of you who may not have read the article, I shared how I found myself in a horrible mood, I changed the focus of what I was thinking about and just like that, my spirit began to lift and I found myself feeling much better even though circumstances may not have been so wonderful.

Focus is something that has been very important and influential in my life over the last year or so. I grew up as an overweight child and it held me back from fully living my life. I remember being in middle school and dropping out of soccer. Did I quit? Yes. Did I want to quit, absolutely not! Over the last year I’ve been focusing on my lifestyle habits and choosing healthier options. Ok, let’s all face it, we’d all rather make excuses for why we can’t make healthier choices. I’ve heard many, here are just a few examples, “I’ve tried that diet… I can’t do the no-carb thing… I don’t have time… I just can’t keep it up…”

First, I’d like to say every single one of us cannot use the same health plan to lose weight, maintain weight or put weight on. Whatever it is you want to do, you’ve got to make it work for you with your body. I’ve had many people tell me their opinions of what has worked for them, and their magical food they ate that helped them drop that last 5lbs that seems to always stick around. While I welcome all advice from others, I have to stay focused on my goal, to be healthy.

I joined a biggest loser competition last year at my office and nothing motivated me more than that. Just like NBC’s The Biggest Loser, we would weigh in once a week, Monday mornings of course. Each week I would wait in line for my turn to weigh in. I was shocked how many reasons, or excuses rather, I was hearing for someone’s 2lb weight gain, or why they didn’t lose this week. “Well I had a party on Saturday and then the family was over Sunday for dinner and the whole nine yards.” It’s amazing how quickly we can excuse our behavior. For anyone that watches The Biggest Loser, change is a must! The overweight contestants join the show because their focus was off. Maybe they’re a single mom, trying to raise a few kids. Or maybe they’re a busy Dad working two jobs, whatever their story is, they’ve all made choices to lead them to where they are when they first join the show. I see The Biggest Loser helping these contestants change their mental focus the most. Yes, they train them in proper nutrition and workouts, but most importantly they help re-align their focus.

Since a little over year ago, I’ve dropped roughly 70lbs. It has taken a lot of work, and focus. It also took a year. Staying focused will produce amazing results if you keep going, refuse to quit and push yourself.

Let’s say you’ve attained what you were focusing on. Don’t stop there! Get a new focus that incorporates your previous focus and build on your achievements.

I’d like to share with you a tool I have found very helpful. It’s called “The Daily Plate”. You can find “The Daily Plate” on livestrong.com This is an amazing tool that allows you to enter your weight, the amount of weight you would like to lose or gain, your activity level etc. It then gives you an approximate calorie intake and allows you to track your daily food and exercise. This helped me stay focused to lose the 70lbs. A great thing about “The Daily Plate” is the breakdown of carbs, fats and sugars. Helping you make sure you are getting a healthy balance. Enjoy!

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Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Food (or happiness, they really are the same thing)

Post written by Bridget Strub.

photo courtesy of 27147

Food has always been a passion of mine. Not the crazy expensive, you need an overactive pallet to appreciate it, type of food. Rather, I love the good ol’ fashioned stuff. Give me a slice of thin crust pizza, a heaping plate of creamy beef stroganoff or a big bowl of ice cream drizzled with caramel and I’m the happiest girl in the world.

In fact, I like food so much that when I eat an especially good meal I sway. I can’t help it. Like my dog’s passionately wagging tail when the word “walk” is mentioned, I rock from side to side when I’m digging in to some really yummy eats. It may not happen every time, but if I’m absorbed in my meal there’s no stopping the sway.

I dream of spending countless hours in a gourmet kitchen inventing award winning meals or desserts with ease like they do on cooking shows. I imagine my family applauding my newest dish and complimenting me on how easy I made it look or how beautiful the presentation was. I often daydream about opening my very own café complete with unique varieties of paninis and salads, a wide array of drinks, and delectable pastries (all with really fun names of course!).

While I aspire to these things, I need you to know up front that this is not at all reality. In fact, before we get any more attached to one another there are a few things you should know about me:
• I once ruined EZ-Mac, therefore proving that it’s not necessarily all that “EZ”.
• I collect cookbooks, but rarely use them except to look at the pictures and dream about what I could possibly make.
• I often blame my cooking incompetency on the kitchen we inherited in the house we bought a few years ago. It’s pink and has nasty tile countertop. I don’t like going in there so of course I can’t practice my craft!
• The extent of the weekly meals I prepare for my husband and I consist of a pretty plain rotation of pasta, baked potatoes, salads and the like. I thought I was doing pretty well the other night when I added peppers and sausage to the pasta. I was pretty proud of myself.
• When making macaroni salad I misread the 1/8 teaspoons of salt I should’ve added for 1 ½ tablespoons. Don’t try that at home, your face might scrunch up and never go back to normal.

Luckily enough for me, I married a pretty patient man. He grew up on a farm, with a mom who can cook like it’s nobody’s business. He was used to real homemade food. The kind you think of coming out of the oven piping hot on holidays while your family is sitting around the table laughing and enjoying each others’ company. That was his daily encounter with food. He’s been more than kind when I’ve had my many mishaps in the kitchen, and never once tries to compare me to his mom. He is, however, pretty bad at hiding the thrill in his eyes when his mom asks us if we want to come over for dinner. She doesn’t even have to tell him what she’s making, he’s already drooling.

That being said, my husband loves food just as much as I do, maybe even slightly more. We established a pretty awesome tradition early on in our marriage of going on a date each week. At the end of each week we go out in hopes to put the craziness from the week behind us (we’re both teachers…there’s a lot of craziness that happens in a week!) and remember why we got married in the first place. I love date night for many reasons, but one in particular is that we get to enjoy food from various eateries around Rochester.

We used to explore all around the city (and beyond) to find fun, unique food. However, after four years we’ve gotten into a pretty big rut of eating primarily at chain restaurants or the few places that we’ve loved since the beginning. So, in attempts to help us branch out a little more we will be trying out new eateries in the next few months and I will be sharing our experiences with you. I will attempt to offer some advice on places you can go to get good real-people food. The type of food you can get on a budget (because we are which could make this a bit tricky). I might even share with you other food things that come up throughout the week, but only if you’re lucky.

Here’s the deal though, I tend to get distracted pretty easily. I have random thoughts flying through my head most of the day. Some are brilliant ideas, others just strange, lots are observations I have of the things or people around me. So, don’t be surprised if the randomness creeps into my entries. I’ll do my best to stay focused, but the random is part of what makes me me, so try to bear with me! My last disclaimer is that I can’t commit my husband to eating “strange” food for a crazy long time (he really likes familiarity), so we might have to break our “non-chain” rule every once in awhile.

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Grateful for Family

Post written by Steve Otto. Follow me on Twitter.

photo courtesy of Pink Sherbet Photography

Last evening we had a gentle reminder of how blessed we are. Blessed because of our family. Blessed because of the opportunities we’ve been given. Blessed by the friends we have. Blessed by the support of our church family. So many of the blessings we have all stem from the families we’ve been raised by and the support we’ve been given throughout the years.

This Old House
We recently purchased a new washer and dryer and just sold our old ones on Craigslist last night. A very sweet family came to purchase our dryer and in the short time we encountered them, we were reminded at how blessed we are. As we chatted while loading the dryer into their van, we learned that they had just moved up here and were renting an apartment in a very old house. From the sounds of it, it was pretty run down. They were here on their own. No family to look to for help. They hadn’t developed any new friendships. They were missing the support group that we take for granted every day.

Their Return
The family returned to our house about an hour later after purchasing the dryer because it wasn’t working after they hooked it up. They had purchased a new cord when they originally bought the dryer and the Dad used my tools to wire it in to the back of the dryer. I’m guessing he didn’t have any tools at home. We know the dryer worked fine, and we are guessing the new cord wasn’t properly connected or the older house may not have been wired properly. My wife and I tried to help as best we could as they asked all sorts of questions about hooking up the dryer. Even simple things like, ‘Do we need to have a hose connected to the vent in the back.’

They had trouble getting power to it and mentioned they knew the plug worked because they tried plugging in the washer. This concerned us, since the washer normally runs on 110 and the dryer runs on 220. So they started asking if it was easy to rewire the outlet.

Easy Questions when you have Help
These seemed like a pretty easy questions for us, but then again, we had family there when we bought our first washer and dryer. Mom and Dad reminded us to buy a new vent hose. They explained that the Dryer ran on 220 and we needed a special cord. Sometimes they run on gas and they helped us determine which type to buy.

Sure you can figure these things out on your own, but the support of your family and friends makes an incredible difference in your life. As I think back, both my wife and I were born into very loving families who weren’t necessarily rich, but definitely provided everything we needed. They gave us opportunities – from small things like loaning us tools, to big things like the opportunity to go to college.

Broken Hearts
It broke our hearts to see this family without that kind of support group. My wife overheard the Mom say in her frustration, “Maybe we should just pack up and go back home to Virginia.” I wasn’t able to be out in the garage helping them for too long as I snuck away from a wedding planning meeting (another thing that wouldn’t be where it is today without the tremendous support from family and friends) for a few minutes to help, but I wish I was able to ride over to their apartment and offer them some of the help we’ve received over the years.

Heart Attacks or Old Age
My friend just started a book that my mentor recommended to me, called The Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell. My friend shared, that in this book, Malcom discusses an incredible community, I believe in Pennsylvania, that has a very interesting statistic in common with everyone in the community. Everyone in that town basically dies of old age. No heart attacks ever occur – despite that being one of the top reasons for deaths nationally. This community all happens to be immigrants or descendants of immigrants from the same village in Italy. So they did study after study to see why these people defied the odds of dying from a heart attack that everyone else faces. First they thought it was something genetic or in their health because they all came from same town in Italy. Many of these people smoked and often worked long 12 hour days, so it wasn’t based on their health. They thought it might be environmental, but the town on either side of them all had the normal heart attack rate. Study after study ruled out what might be the cause for their ability to avoid heart attacks and die of old age until they finally determined it was one simple thing. Community. Everyone in this town was huge into community. They constantly gathered together and treated everyone like family. Houses were homes to extended families instead of nuclear families. Sidewalks were always filled with folks catching up on each other. Everyone knew everyone and they had community together. That was the one thing that was different between this small town and all of their surrounding towns.

By Design
We are designed to be a part of family and it is so important to us it makes a difference on our health. Take a minute and think about how blessed you are to have the family you do. Or perhaps you are in a situation like the family who bought our dryer and you don’t have that luxury. I would encourage you to find a healthy church, in which you are treated like family.

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How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak

Post written by Steve Otto. Follow me on Twitter.

photo from steamykitchen.com

It’s Independence Day weekend and chances are, you have plans to get the grill out. There’s nothing like a backyard barbecue to celebrate your freedom. So check out the following tips to cook up a steak that John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Jefferson would be proud of.

Check out the article How to Turn Cheap ‘Choice’ Steak into Gucci ‘Prime’ Steak at SteamyKitchen.com. If you enjoy a good steak, I promise you’ll enjoy this article and will be salivating by the time you finish reading it.

If you get a chance to try this out this weekend, let us know how it goes!

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5 simple ways to lower your cholesterol

After my dad recently went through quindruple bypass heart surgery, I decided to make some changes. Its sobering to see your own dad go through something like that, and its even more sobering to know that both parents have a history of high cholesterol that has been passed on.

So with the help of my wife, who happens to be an RN, we came up with some easy changes for my diet to bring down my borderline high cholesterol. Change is not easy, so we tried to find the simplest ways to better our health.

Oatmeal for breakfast.  Eating breakfast is not something I normally skip in my routine because I get up rather early to be to work. So to make this change easier, I decided to eat at work. I bring a box of High Fiber Maple Brown Sugar Quaker Oatmeal with me to work, where I keep a spoon and extra large mug. I have easy access to hot water so this is quite a perk in the morning. The High Fiber oatmeal is two-fold for reducing cholesterol. Oats are great for lowering cholesterol as well as anything high-fiber.

Benecol Smart Chews twice a day. One of my favorite ways to reduce cholesterol is to eat two caramel chews twice a day. I try to do this at lunch and dinner to make it easier to remember, though its not too hard to remember to take some tasty caramel treats. The caramel chews contain plant stanol esters, which are proven to reduce your LDL, or “bad” cholesterol.

Switched to wheat bread. This was a simple change as well. I’ve grown fond of  whole wheat pitas in the last month and simply swapped out my white bread wheat. A more difficult change would be to start bringing your lunch to work or school if you currently tend to eat out. This will not only likely lower your cholesterol, but also relieve some stress on your wallet.

Butter & Mayonnaise containing plant sterols. Our fridge now holds Smart Balance Omega Plus Light Mayonnaise and Benecol Light spread in place of our normal Mayonnaise and Butter. I found this a very easy change to again swap out a product I normally use daily with a healthier choice. Both of these contain plant stenols or sterols that are proven to reduce cholesterol.
A glass of wine each evening. This is probably one of the more enjoyable changes you can make. However, there are certain types of wine that will help more than others. According to an article I read at prevention.com, each glass of red wine contains plant compounds called saponins. These help your heart by trapping clog-causing cholesterol before it can be absorbed into the bloodstream. The article describes:

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that saponin levels were 3 to 10 times higher in reds than in whites: Zinfandel had 14 mg per glass; Pinot Noir, 7 mg; Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, about 4 mg (Merlot most likely has 4 mg as well, researchers say); Chardonnay, 2 mg; and Sauvignon Blanc, just about 1 mg.

Bonus Tip. Change your buying habits to start looking at the labels. There are two important things you want to look out for. The first one is obvious. Make sure the label as little to no cholesterol. The second thing to look for is the trans fats. Trans fats raise your “bad” (LDL) cholesterol and lower your “good” (HDL) cholesterol.

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