July 22nd, 2010
Yours for only 1500+ calories and 97 grams of fat! All for just $5 at Friendly’s. What a bargain, right?
It’s amazing that this almost doesn’t look unusual – we’ve become complacent in how we view food. Bigger is better, fat is fabulous, filling is fantastic, fuller is even more …..barf, well, not so good but what’s full anymore? With portions like this, how do we even know when to stop eating?
Denny’s offers a free Grand Slam breakfast once a year (see pic of how busy they are!). And now, they’re pleasuring us with all the fixin’s of a Grand Slam into a sandwich of potato bread grilled with a maple spice spread. Yum! Look for this deal called the Grand Slamwich. It’s a steal at 1320 calories, 90 g fat and 42 g saturated fat – enough to clog your arteries for 3 days (provided you’re following a 7% saturated fat intake daily, based on 2000 calories).
I wonder about corporate social responsibility. I wonder if the big food companies know anything about ethics and responsibility to provide healthy food options at a price many can afford. I wonder what it would look like in the U.S. for these companies to embrace responsibility for the outcome of their offerings, for the impact their offerings have had on consumer’s health and well-being. Hmmmmmm……….thoughts?
Tags: Corporate responsibility, Fast food
Posted in Fat, High blood pressure, High cholesterol | No Comments »
July 16th, 2010
Everyone knows that the drop is inside the ocean, but it is the rare one who knows the ocean is contained in the drop, says Kabir Das, one of the greatest poets of all time. In many cultures, the heart is seen as the container for our spirit. Yet it’s not the physical heart I speak of here, but a space of subtle energy that serves as the doorway to the inner world.
Just as the Universe contains us, our heart space or heart center contains the Universe.
So it is with eating. Huh?
I live by three simple rules when it comes to eating, well mostly, when I’m connected to my heart center.
1. Eat when I’m hungry.
2. Stop when I’m comfortable.
3. Eat whatever my body wants. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Heart Center
Posted in Mindful Eating, Nutrition | No Comments »
July 7th, 2010
Meet my dear friend, Ellen Glovsky, gifted with keen vision and wit and methods of uncovering our deepest desires and needs when it comes to our relationship to food. Read on as she shares how we choose what feeds our bodies and souls.
Many people who have struggled with food in their lives feel that they never know what they really want to eat. They have come to believe that foods are either good (healthy) and bad (unhealthy); the choice they make labels them “good” or “bad” as well. The irony here is that feeling badly about oneself is a great reason to overeat or even binge!
Where Does This “Black and White” Thinking Come From?
People who are chronic dieters have been taught and absorb the idea that if you are “on” your diet you are being “good,” and if not, you are automatically “bad.” I hear people say “I had a good day” or “I was really bad this week.” What a way to judge yourself! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bad foods, Good foods
Posted in Guest Post, Mindful Eating | No Comments »
July 4th, 2010
While I adore – repeat adore – the summer season in New England, with the less-than-scorching temperatures and humidity of the South from whence I cometh, I ache for the organic tomatoes still warm from the sun’s rays I would pick right off the vine. Bursting with sunshiny goodness, my then 2-year old daughter would make her way there many lazy afternoons to snack on their juicy freshness.
In the Boston area, I wander from store to farmer’s market, almost zealot-like, in my search of a tomato that equals my memories. Imagine a sweet breeze in the air carrying scents of freshly baked bread wafting from a European-style local market in Cambridge (it takes me back in time to my youthful days in Germany). Formaggio Kitchen (http://www.formaggiokitchen.com) boasts, among its wares ample enough to make a simple picnic or gourmet meal, international cheeses, chocolate and wine. It’s where I found a vision of beauty in an heirloom tomato.
Freshly made mozzarella just around the corner from the produce section found its way sliced atop thick slabs of this heirloom, layered with tiny basil leaves from our CSA share this week (http://www.sienafarms.com) and generously drizzled with hand-blended and flavored olive oil from the Temecula Olive Oil groves in San Diego, a personal must-have now that I found this shop on a recent business trip (you can place online orders for oils and vinegars at http://www.temeculaoliveoil.com). The union of taste temptations ends with a fine drizzle of Vanilla and Fig Balsamic Vinegar (also from Temecula).
Ah, this is a Tete`-a-tete´ of taste and remembrance.
Tags: Heirloom tomato
Posted in Nutrition, Recipes, Vegetables | No Comments »
July 1st, 2010
Ever wonder what it would be like to live someplace else? A daydream about inner-city mania where you could walk to local shops and restaurants. Or suburban life with large parking lots outside malls rich with color, electronics, food courts and Gap? Or a rural farm land abode with a few chickens, maybe a cow or two?
Before you rent a U-Haul and bubble-wrap your entire life’s belongings, check out the health of your own hometown at http://countyhealthrankings.org, then compare it to the city of your dreams. You might find there’s no place like home!
Posted in General Health and Wellbeing | No Comments »
