My father always said to me, “Too much of anything is bad for you”. If you think about it, it’s true. Think about it for a second. Even with the vast amount of scientific knowledge that humans would like to think they possess, is it really possible to know everything about the world? For example, take asbestos and lead. Both widely used resources in building materials for years until the discovery that they caused cancer and health complications. Could that be true for the food we ingest on a daily basis? Just food for thought (pardon the pun).

You are what you eat. That’s also a true saying. Everything you eat essentially becomes a part of you, correct? I for one can’t get enough of good food and drink, whether it’s for the good time or purely for the stimulation of my palette. I don’t claim to be a know-all in the intricacies of the culinary world, but I’m not blind to yummylicious goodness. This is the part where I get into my philosophy on life and I beg for you to disagree. It’s my philosophy and there will of course be those who don’t agree. I’m putting this out there for discussion.

I’m not obese, but borderline overweight. I’d like to say that I have the meat to accompany my bones (just to stick with all the food metaphors). All this because I like to enjoy what I eat, the savory flavors, textures, the bizarre, the fulfillment, and the effects of certain foods. Everything that comes with passionately prepared foods I like, down to aroma and the atmosphere of a diner or party. Is it enough to just get one taste? No. I agree that too much is a bad thing, but too much for one person does not translate to too much for another. I probably could use a couple of more bites of something so I can diagnose all the complexities of a dish.

I admit, I’m a bit of a foodie. I enjoy sampling different foods and expanding the horizons. Food lets me do that. It’s a bit of a common link that humans have. We’re all drawn to food. Good honest food. It doesn’t even have to be fine dining. As a matter of fact, I prefer home cooked and personable foods because they’ve often been mastered through years of trial and error or they’re perfected recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation.

I love cooking, too. Not from recipes, but from the heart and soul. Through the use of all the senses, it’s entirely possible to cook a delicious and filling dish. After all, how can vegetarians cook a delicious meat dish? Through the use of all the other senses. Taste is the end result. The end result of eating is satiation and satisfaction. For me, it’s even more than that. It’s a simple matter of love. The love of food. The love of taste and the love of eating. Not to extremes, but not in small portions either. Just enough. That’s the key!

In summary, don’t commit that sin of gluttony, but do enjoy it. Next time you cook a bubbling concoction of flavor and pure heaven, don’t skimp on the eating. I’m taking the middle road and the ideas from above makes up my philosophy on food and happiness. Cheers!

Laughter gives you physical, mental, and social benefits. So, in order to be healthy in all three of those areas, you need to have a little humor in your life! So if you’re too uptight, better get with the program and start laughing. Here are some things you might want to know in a condensed bullet format:

Laughter:

1. Boosts your immune system by decreasing stress hormones and upping your antibodies, which improves your health and resistance to any illnesses.
2. Decreases pain and increases your tolerance of pain.
3. Triggers release of endorphins and adrenaline. Endorphins make you feel good and help you temporarily relieve pain.
4. Improves the function of your blood vessels and increases blood flow, leading to better cardiovascular health.
5. Makes you feel good about yourself, helps you relax, and recharge your body.
6. Helps you connect with others, increasing your social connectedness.

Looks like laughter can solve many problems. Want more info? Just go over to Google and type in “laughter health benefits”. Need I say more? So live your life and have a nice laugh with co-workers, friends, and family. Studies show that even faking a smile or a laugh can have all of the positive benefits. Most of the time, faking a smile or a laugh usually leads to a real one. Don’t forget to check out Laughter Yoga!

Wow, this is a pretty grim last post. As the last few days of the year tick down, it’s time to get sentimental, but look forward. Yes, learn from the mistakes, events and successes we’ve had in 2009, but move on. Pandora’s box was opened for a reason. Hope was at the bottom. Don’t close the box now. Let’s keep going and see what 2010 has to hold for us. I look forward to next year, when I do my obligatory 2010 post to have something positive to talk about. Either way, my next post will be dedicated to memorable events of 2009, for myself, our nation, and the world. Take care folks. Happy holidays and I’m wishing you a great New Years. Best wishes for 2010!

1) Salad: YUMMAYYY! Spring mix, tomatoes, onions, avocados, and your choice of dressing. No croutons for me this time around. I chose to go with the Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette. (It worked real well. I never would have thought to add avocados, but this was my mom’s brilliant idea) No need for instructions right? Wash, cut up, toss. Simple and not very time consuming.

2) Garlic Bread: Garlic, sourdough baguette, butter, chili powder, cilantro/parsley/green onion (take your pick), pepper, salt, cheese (if you want). Finely chop your garlic and cilantro/parsley/green onions and add to some butter in a little bowl. Heat it up in the microwave just to melt the butter. I find that it spreads real easy when it’s melted. Add some chili powder for seasoning and color. Pepper and salt to taste. Take your sourdough, cut it into nice little pieces and spread your butter and garlic concoction onto it. Use a convection oven or standard oven and bake until crisp. If you’re going to add cheese, do it near the end, and just put your oven on warm until the cheese melts. YUM!

3) Clam Chowder: Garlic bread goes great with some hearty New England Clam Chowder. Don’t buy those MSG laden canned chowders! Reserve those for your cravings when you don’t have any time. Ingredients are as follows: Potatoes, onions, celery, bacon, clams, cornstarch/flour, pepper, salt, Italian herbs (no essential but adds a layer of complexity), heavy whipping cream, chicken broth, cilantro/parsley/green onion. I don’t know how people make clam chowder, but I’ve finally come up with a way to make it real tasty, so here are my steps.

1. Let’s deal with your bacon first. Fry your bacon until crisp (so that it’ll crumble). Lay out some paper towels and let your bacon drain. Save some of that bacon fat for the next step.
2. Prepare your potatoes by skinning and dicing them up. Take the time at this point to dice up your celery and onions as well. If you want, you may also finely chop up your cilantro/parsley/green onions at this time.
3. Add a spoonful of your bacon grease to a pot. Take your drained strips of bacon and crumble them into the pot. I decided to take out some of the chunks of fat just because the texture doesn’t go well in the chowder (I know. I’ve tried using the fat. It didn’t work too well)
4. Take half of your celery and half of your onions and add it in the pot with your crumbled bacon. Fry this mixture for a minute or so and salt lightly.
5. Next, add some chicken broth and water. You want enough liquid to cover all the ingredients you put in and a little more because your diced potatoes are going in next.
6. Add your potatoes. Make sure it’s covered in liquid. Clams can also go in at this point, so the flavors will incorporate together nicely. Canned clams are the easiest. They often come in clam juice. Just empty the whole can in there. The clam juice gives your chowder a nice flavor as well. Put it on medium heat and bring all this to a light boil. Season with more salt and some Italian herbs if you want.
7. Check back often. You don’t want to overdo your potatoes. I prefer my chowder chunky. As soon as your potatoes are done, put it on low heat.
8. Next comes your heavy whipping cream. Add and stir until you get a nice creamy white color. It wont be a chowder yet, but it’ll be white.
9. Grab a bowl and put some warm water in it. Add either flour or cornstarch or a combination of both into the warm water and mix well. Get all those chunks out!
10. Once it is smooth, stir that into your pot and you’ll notice that it’ll get thicker. If it isn’t getting thicker, keep slowly adding more cornstarch or flour mixture until it does! Some people prefer to use potatoes as a natural thickener. I used to do that too, but I’ve noticed using flour or cornstarch yields better and more predictable results.
11. Once your chowder is a nice color and consistency, season with pepper and salt. Then give it a couple of nice stirs and turn your heat to warm. There you have it! Your chowder!

I like to serve it with garlic bread and a some garnish. YUM!

4) STEAK : I think you all know how to make a steak right? Good. It was yummy. Anyway, cheers! Have a good time cooking and experimenting! In cooking, I think experimenting makes perfect, not practice! Although practice can’t hurt!

1) Vince’s Beef Stew – Ingredients: Stew meat cut into chunks, flour, diced tomatoes, potatoes, tomato sauce, ketchup, hot sauce, beef broth, onions, celery, carrots, assorted vegetables (whatever you want to throw in), salt, pepper, chili powder, basil. Once you have your ingredients, let’s begin. Sorry I don’t do amounts. With some practice and tasting, you’ll get it down pat. Of course it won’t taste exactly the same every time you make it, but it’ll be close and yummy nevertheless.

1. Grab your ingredients and start cutting away! This is the prep stage and it makes everything a little easier as you move along. I don’t like the skins on my tomatoes because of the texture clash, but you can keep the skins on if you wish. If you want to remove them, boil a pot of water. Plop your tomatoes in there and boil for 1-2 minutes. Fish them put and immerse them in cold water. The skins should slide right off!
2. Dice up your tomatoes. If you like skins on your potatoes, just dice them up and set them aside as well. If you don’t like skins, then skin them and then dice them up. I like a mix, so I make a stripped pattern on the potato. That way there will be some with skin and some with none.
3. Take your onions and celery and dice them up as well. It doesn’t matter if they’re fine or not. If you like chunky soup like I do, leave them in larger pieces.
4. With the carrots, you can use whole baby carrots. That way you won’t even have to cut them. If you use large carrots, peel and cut to a size that you desire. Baby carrots are relatively cheap, good tasting, and don’t need to be cut. I’d definitely prefer those baby carrots. They’re perfectly suited for plopping straight into your mouth. You can also cut these baby carrots in half if need be.
5. Let’s get started with your stew meat! We’re gonna pan fry them with some flour to seal in the juices when we simmer it later on. The texture is preserved if you take care with this step. Get some flour in a bowl. Salt and pepper the flour and mix well. Take your meat pieces and cover it with flour. Put some oil in a skillet and pan fry all 6 sides of your stew meat (since it’ll be cubed). Do this with all of your stew meat.
6. Once you’re done with your stew meat, grab your stew pot, put a little bit of oil in the bottom and add your meat into the pot. Cover with beef broth and throw in half of your onions and celery. Then also throw in your potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots. Make sure it is covered with broth. You can also throw in some water for good measure. Simmer this mixture until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
7. Once your tomatoes and carrots are tender, check to make sure that you have enough liquid. If you don’t, either add more broth or water. Next part is thickening and adding your tomato paste. The tomato paste and ketchup is mainly for flavor and color. Add some of both. If you want, you can also add in some hot sauce. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, and add some basil as well.
8. Simmer for a while longer to let the flavor set in. Then, turn down the heat on your stove. Take a bowl with warm water and add flour to it. Mix well, ensuring there are no chunks of flour. Then add this mixture to your pot and stir well! Eyeball it and make sure that it is thick enough! That’s that. Enjoy!

2) Italian Beef Stew – Ingredients: stew meat cut into chunks, flour, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, dry red wine, green bell pepper, onions, carrots, zucchini, green beans, celery, potatoes, garlic, oregano, olive oil, black pepper, salt. See all these ingredients? Sounds good already. I’ve included a link to the site with specific measurements for ingredients. Hope you have fun making it. It’s delicious!

1. Trim the fat off the meat
2. Dredge meat in flour and shake off excess
3. Slice and dice vegetables
4. Brown meat in oil
5. Add garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper
6. Add wine and simmer for ten minutes.
7. Add all vegetables and stir
8. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water to cover
9. Simmer for an hour, half-covered

Simple, easy, mouth-watering goodness. I think I’m going to have to try this and perfect this recipe. That way I can add it to my belt of tricks. Enjoy!

Image via Wikipedia

That’s exactly what we are. I haven’t posted in a long time but I was just sitting around on my toilet, doing my business (#2 if you must know) and I was yearning for something to read. I had forgotten bring my reading material, so I reached for something that had words on it: the hand soap on the counter. Guess what? It was the Dial brand antibacterial hand soap. I don’t remember buying it, because I don’t buy antibacterial hand soap, but it gave me an idea for a quick post. Looking down the list of ingredients, I ran across a couple of nasty-looking names. After doing some research, I’m surprised these things are even in our soap. Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. Let’s just have a look at what I found and oh of course I’ll first talk about antibacterial hand soaps and why they aren’t so good.

The concern about antibacterial hand soaps has been brought to the attention of consumers time and time again, yet we still demand it (at least most of us do). What you might not know is that antibacterial hand soaps are both harmful to the environment, and can pose a risk to human health in the long run as well. Even with these concerns, there is no agency that specifically monitors them. People use them all the time, yet they don’t understand the fundamental difference between regular hand soaps and antibacterial hand soaps. Regular hand soaps are effective with proper hand washing procedures. There is no need to use antibacterial soaps because regular soaps clean just as well, according to the University of Michigan School of Public Health, which reviewed many studies pertaining to the effectiveness of antibacterial products. As it turns out, the active ingredient in a variety of popular hand soaps is Triclosan. For healthy individuals, Triclosan has no significant impact when compared with soaps that don’t have it.

So what’s the problem?

Doctors and researchers are afraid that Triclosan can create so called “superbugs”, which are resistant to widely used antibiotics, which would pose a serious risk in managing infections. The FDA announced that there was no evidence which proved that antibacterial soaps did a better job for preventing infection. However, many doctors are recommending antibacterial soaps for individuals who are very prone to infection.

What about the environment?

That’s another big problem. It has been shown that Triclosan, when combined with chlorine in water can produce small amounts of compounds that become endocrine disruptors. We’ll save endocrine disruptors for another day, but in short, they disrupt the functions of hormones in the human body, which can lead to severe problems. These problems have been documents in many amphibians, since they absorb these compounds right through their skin. Triclosan can also produce chloroform gas when combined with chlorine. The EPA has labeled chloroform as a possible carcinogen.

About Dial hand soap: Here are some ingredients: yellow 5, tetrasodium EDTA. There’s yellow 5 in soap too? Apparently it’s a pretty widespread compound. Tetrasodium EDTA is actually a persistant organic pollutant and is widely used. That means it lasts in the environment for a long long long long time. Scary though. Personally, I think I’ll skip the antibacterial hand soaps.

Be wary of antibacterial soaps and use them only when absolutely necessary. There have been movements to get some product lines off the market, spearheaded by environmental organizations. Will you join them? Or do you think there is nothing to worry about? READ YOU LABELS, FOLKS!

First off, let’s start off with a little story on how I lost my phone! I went to buy some Grizzly and visit the neighborhood CVS store. I usually carry my phone in a little holster and attach it to my belt. I’ve never had it fall out during a bike ride before. You guessed it. Yesterday, it did fall off my holster. This occurred at approximately 1400 and I didn’t notice that it was missing until around 2300 ( a long time, I know). I searched frantically in the house and even went out with my housemate armed with flashlights to search bike paths in the dark. No joy. Came up empty-handed. I thought that maybe it had fallen off my belt in either CVS or the gas station I had purchased my dip. Let’s hit the fast-forward button to this morning.

I tried calling my phone from my computer and left tons of messages on it, hoping that a passerby may have come across the phone and was holding onto it. Again, nothing. Until 1100 this morning when I reached my phone. It was at PANDA EXPRESS, which was in the same plaza as CVS. I must have dropped it in the grass. I biked over to Panda Express and picked up my phone, no problem. Here comes the people part of the post.

I’m thankful for the person who found my phone and decided to hand it over to someone who could hold on to it for me. Sure, there are people out there who would keep the phone, take out the SIM card and just claim it as their own. After all it’s “finders keepers”, right? Others would use the phone, make some outrageous phone calls and rack up a bill until the SIM card was deactivated. I lucked out. I found out from the Panda Express employee that my phone was picked up by a kind old lady. I didn’t get a name, but I’m extremely grateful because that phone is my life blood. It had important business, work, and school information on it. If I had lost it, I would have been lost in the world. No joke. So this is a very very grateful THANK YOU to the lady who picked up my phone and decided to return it. I hope that in the future, those of you who read this post will do the same. Find a lost phone, wallet, or personal item that could be returned to it’s rightful owner? Please do the right thing. That’s all. Once again. THANKS A BUNCH.

Now that you’ve seen the video and know what it’s about, head over to the Blog Action Day website, register your blog and help spread the word. It’s important, and together, we can. I’m proud to announce that this blog will be posting an article on climate change.

10 BAD foods you should avoid:

1) Deep Fried Twinkies: Imagine a Twinkie. Then imagine it being immersed in a bubbling vat of oil and grease. Lovely picture right? Sure it might be delicious but ugh FAT! Each Twinkie has 150 calories, 12% saturated fat, 7% cholesterol, and 9% sodium. Scary? YES. Just plain old bad for you. I must admit it sure looks yummy!

2) Soda: I used to drink a whole ton of soda, mainly PEPSI. Go PEPSI! However, I haven’t had soda in about 3-4 months and I feel a whole lot better. If you’re addicted to soda, try going to rehab for it and you’ll feel awesome. Try to have water handy and add some lemon to it. When you get the urge, drink that water! Or tea. Tea is awesome too. That’s how I broke my habit. Thanks to tea and water. Here are some facts: an average can of soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, and about 30 to 55 mg of caffeine. Keep your kids off of that sweet soda water!

3) Potato chips and French fries: Pretty popular stuff and they are in fast food spots all over the world. Why are they so bad for you? First off, they are greasy as hell and they contain acrylamide, which is a neurotoxin and cancer causing. Yuck right? I love fries and I will have them once in a while, because they’re tasty. Sadly, they’re bad for you.

4) Doughnuts! They are dang tasty and awesome with coffee. A pretty popular treat and breakfast food item, they aren’t good for you! It’s all sugar and flour and loaded with trans fats. How tasty is that? It’s a heart attack treat.

5) Coffee cake and baked goods: Baked goods have tons of trans fat, additives, corn syrup, and artificial flavors. Yum?

6) Luncheon meats, bacon, and other “mystery meats”: Why are they called mystery meats? Because you don’t really know what is in them do you? Tons of sodium nitrite, which is a carcinogenic. People who consumed lots of hot dogs and sausages have a 67% increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Not good.

7) Canned Soup: Not only are they loaded with preservatives, but they have a very high level of sodium, MSG, and trans fats. Read the labels folks, and you’ll be surprised. There are some awesome soups out there, so shop wise. Or better yet, make your own soup!

8 ) Cheese: Sure cheese is tasty, used in a lot of cooking, and has calcium, which strengthens the bones. However, it aint all that great for your arteries. Be careful of how much cheese you consume. High consumption is a no-no. I’d stick with moderate consumption of low and reduced fat varieties of cheese.

9) Butter: In moderation, butter is awesome. It’s pretty tasty. However if you overdo it, it can lead to many health problems, including clogged arteries. Mhhmmm. Moderation, moderation, moderation.

10) Fast Food: AVOID, AVOID, AVOID. What do they offer? Processed meats and burgers high in sodium, French fries, and soda. They are all listed up above aren’t they as foods to avoid.

10 FOODS that you should eat:

1) Grape Tomatoes: They are perfect for salads, dipping, or snacks. They have fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C. They’re delicious!

2) Broccoli: Has vitamin C and carotenoids. It’s also delicious. Yum.

3) Wild Salmon: Lots of Omega-3. What’s it do? It helps reduce risks of heart attacks. Wild salmon has less contamination than farmed salmon so it’s better for you.

4) Citrus Fruits: Vitamin C and fiber. They’re tasty! Try and stay away from drinking too much juice or fruits. Plenty of sugar and too much sugar turns to…fat.

5) Spinach and Kale: Leafy delicious greens with tons of vitamin A, C, and K, folate, potassium, magnesium, antioxidants, and iron.

6) Prunes: They top the list for the amount of Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity. Tasty little buggers they are.

7) Strawberries: They are delectable, arguably a woman’s favorite friend, and is delicious on deserts and almost anything. Mhhmmmm. They also make the list of high antioxidants.

8 ) Flaxseed: They’re awesome. Benefits: constipation relief, clearing acne, smooths skin, and builds muscle while burning fat. Go get some!

9) Onions: They’re in almost every dish I make and they are always delicious. They can help reduce the risk of tumors developing in the colon.

10) Shellfish (Clams and Mussels): Full of vitamin B12 to support nerve and brain function. High in iron, magnesium, and potassium. I loooove shellfish.

Riskiest foods: You are at risk of getting sick when you eat products with these ingredients in it. Why? Due to improper preparation. Yup, that’s it right there.

Here is the list: leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries.

So just be careful!