Health and nutrition

You are what you eat! There is so much truth to that statement. There is so much nutritional ignorance and misinformation out there today. Fast and processed food makes up a lot of peoples diets. It never ceases to amaze me when people complain about their health or the aesthetic attributes of their body, Yet the correlation between diet and exercise doesn't click. Alcohol is a major obstacle when trying to manage weight and or get fit. Take for instance one can of light beer has 110 calories. Depending on your age sex and weight it takes approximately 30 to 60 minutes of exercise to cancel out the caloric impact of just one light beer! 

Trying to eat healthy can be a daunting task especially if you're used to salty, high sugar and starchy chemically enhanced processed food. I started eating healthy when I had my first child. I read an article in Men's Health magazine that warned me of the dangers of partially hydrogenated oils. This oil is used in lots of stuff you will be amazed once you start looking for it how many products have it as their main ingredients. 

Walking is underrated! A healthy diet consisting of mostly whole food and daily walking can manage weight. You don't have to go out and do these long strenuous exercises to be fit and healthy. Controlling portion sizes abstaining from alcohol and high caloric processed food is enough for the average person to meet their health goals.

Fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken, beans. The less the food is processed by a corporation the more whole and nutritious it is and readily to be accepted by your body converted to essential fat, nutrients and insulin and used to energize and sustain life. The faster a food is digested and processed the better. Slower moving food only ties up precious energy and needless strain on your internal organs. 

It's never too late! It's never too late to start eating healthy don't get discouraged. If you make a mistake or fall off your path just get right back to it and never give up. We all enjoy guilty pleasures but the goal is to slowly eliminate foods that are slow moving and unhealthy while replacing them with fast moving energizing life sustaining food choices. I'm not going to go on a tirade of foods I think you should never eat because each individual needs to determine that for themselves. The research is out there for people interested in educating themselves on nutrition. I will however end this with a recipe for red lentil hummus. 

2 cups of red lentils, chic peas. (bring four cups of water to a boil add lentils set to low check and stir occasionally until a paste. chick peas won't turn into a paste and need a powerful blender and more water possibly to thin them down also you can get canned chic peas ready to go with no cooking.)

I divide into 2 half's but if you have a big blender you can do it in one.  

1/2 cup organic sesame tahini 

12 garlic cloves ( less or more adjust to taste.) - Chop and roast garlic in a pan w/olive oil before adding.

teaspoon of roasted cumin 

salt/pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of water

4-6 tablespoons of fresh juiced organic lemon juice (the more lemon the more tangy!) 

Combine all ingredients and blend! 

I usually roast some more garlic, red pepper and pumpkin seeds if I do a topping to make it look fancy. 

This is basic garlic hummus that packs more protein and other essential vitamins/nutrients than meat! You can add toppings of just about anything from more garlic, peppers, seeds etc. Enjoy! 

Driving less offensively

Have you ever been in a hurry and drove like a maniac? I have. I have also yelled at people in traffic and even one time actually got out of the car during an ice storm to confront someone who was tailing me too closely and actually pulled up on me and threatened me. I take great offense to that type of behavior by other motorist especially when my children are in the car. (Thankfully he got back in his truck and the situation didn't go any further.) Another situation that sticks out in my mind was a night years ago when we were doing normal things a family does. My wife and I were talking and sitting in the living room while our son played on the floor with his Ben 10 action figures when suddenly in his mind at least fantasy became a reality. “DAD!” he yelled, “I’m turning into an alien!” My wife and I examined his hands and in fact they were swollen. He then complained of ankle pain and sure enough his ankles were swollen. We immediately sprang into action as any parent would and in 2.3 seconds we were in the car and on our way to the emergency room. We traveled down West Housatonic St., onto South Merriam St. Now I would never ordinarily do this if say I was on my way to pick up a pizza or late to meet a client but under the circumstances the car in front of me was going too slow (they were doing the speed limit.) if you've ever driven down this street you know you can see clearly all the way to West St. but there are no passing lanes. I made the decision to pass. The driver of the car sped up and flashed his/her high beams on me. I didn't give it a second thought until later as I was long gone and to the hospital in record time.

It’s situations like this and all the recent headlines of motor vehicle accidents and pedestrian deaths resulting in either a failure on the part of the individual to take care when crossing the street or by drivers either under the influence or possibly on their cell phone that has prompted me to write this letter. Personally I yield to pedestrians when driving there are times however when I can’t because they just leap out into the road without even looking. I watched a lady when I was coming off Broad St. just walk into the road in front of me luckily for her one of us was paying attention.  As I have gotten “older” I have just come to the conclusion that it’s just not worth driving fast and if people want to drive like maniacs then I just move over and let them go. We have to realize that when we drive like this we are a danger not only to ourselves but to other people on the road a lot of them children being transported by either their parents or other adults responsible for getting them to their destination safely.

Here’s what I propose. Let’s all start thinking about other people and showing concern for their safety and understanding for unique circumstances like the one I shared when starting this.  We never know what is going on when we see someone speeding by. (A sick child or close family member in need perhaps.) I have found that not only has my driving experience changed for the better but my role as a pedestrian has gotten less stressful as well.

This is what I do and what I teach my own children. When you want to cross the street and there is no light you stand on the curb and wait for the drivers to see you, come to a complete stop and make eye contact. Then wave and give a thank you! (Be careful in double lanes because people have been known to speed around, you know those people who don’t have a second to spare!) I have also been using this philosophy if you will on the road as well. If someone is turning I slow down. I don’t block side streets at red lights and I’m courteous in lane merges. I don’t speed and I don’t engage with ignorant self-centered individuals who drive with a sense of entitlement for positions in traffic.

Why are we as a society so unwilling to be courteous and caring to people on the road and crossing the street? I’m not suggesting everyone is like this but it’s those clashes and attitudes of self-centeredness and entitlement that I believe contributes to senseless accidents and avoidable injury and sometimes death. The main message that I want to get out, what I am asking of you is to just be nice to each other. A little bit of kindness goes a long way! Try it and you will see that your life does get less stressful!