Funk

I am in a wierd funk right now. My sleeping schedule has been thrown off. Before I left Portland I packed up in a hurry and forgot a few items. The most of important of which is the cell phone charger. So my phone is now offically dead and I am about to search for a charger.

So I am back in my hometown and have yet to contact any old friends since my arrival. It is an odd situation. I would like to reconnect, but my phone is dead which eneables me not to contact them right now. The last person I met up with left me with an awkward aftertaste.

People are important and I want to stay in touch, but soometimes it is so much easier to hide behind the messages on myspace and facebook. They are so useful and also so enabling of anto social behavior.

I am heading to the park to play some basketball and spend some qt with my little bro. I have eaten far too much enhealthy food. My body hates me right now. I need an apple and a 10 mile run.

After a Month

I am proud to report that my new diet free of preservatives and processed foods it going strong. it is more of a lifestyle change than a diet. Each day is an adventure in food and more so in consciousness.

The quest to find whole foods has shifted my shopping from Fred Meyer and Safeway to New Seasons and any farmers market I can find. My produce bin is no longer large enough, and my pantry houses few cans any longer.

It is hard to quantify the effects, but qualitatively I argue some improvement. I will happily note that my blood pressure is lower--just under 120/80--and I have dropped some extra pounds. I am trying to piece together the weight loss causation. I eat freely within the range of natural foods, which I do believe has significantly increased my fiber consumption.

As a side effect, I have been reading more books specifically about food and even browsing a few blogs. I would like to suggest you check out thecrunchychicken.com. I just finished reading 'The Omnivores Dilemma,' which has given me a great deal of encouragement and knowledge.

So for this weeks adventure in food, I have a few goals. Sprouting my own beans, making some cheese, and starting to recycle are on the list. Yes, I know, I should have been recycling years ago, but looks for the argument I will post later. It has been an internal struggle.

Intructables: Portobello Mushroom with Grilled Feta Burger

Instructables is a fascinating website where people create instruction to build stuff. I use stuff as a loose term because I have seen everything from computer tutorials to custom bikes to usb soda coolers and now to food. Many of the food instructables seem questionable, but this one looks appealing. I will be trying it tonight and reporting back.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Portobello_Mushroom_with_Grilled_Feta_Burger/

Calorie Restriction: Genius!

I have long been opposed to diets. They come in many flavors (no pun intended). Most diets are fads which start with celebrity endorsement, great testimonials, and loose application of facts. Most of the diets never really work for the masses or are downright dangerous. My advice has always been rooted in a scientific approach. If you want to lose weight do the math. Calories are a easy and convenient way to measure energy. If you want to lose weight then reduce your intake. One pound is equal to 3500 calories. Do the math and you can eat whatever you want granted that you stay within your calorie budget.

Today, as I saw a headline about calorie restriction diets I was drawn in. I have heard that in rat lifespan can be increased by reducing caloric intake, but I never looked into it. As it turns out there have been numerous studies on different species including humans. There is even a calorie restriction (CR) society. Preliminary findings indicated longer lifespan, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, resistance to some genetic diseases, and slower physical aging. there does appears to be at least two catches though. First, you have to eat 10-15% less than the average western omnivore. And, you have unsure you get all of the necessary vitamins and minerals daily.

Who doesn't want to healthier and live longer? Maybe all of those anorexic girls are on to something after all. Should we praise them and refer to them as extreme CRers? Does this also explain why women generally live longer than men? I say it is time to live healthier and level our insurance premiums. Men, stand up and leave the table. Let us all stop eating for the good of ourselves and the good of our nation. Science and especially the Internet never lies. The secret to life is not eating.

http://biosingularity.wordpress.com/2006/06/04/calorie-restriction-appears-better-than-exercise-at-slowing-primary-aging/

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/06/05/calorie-restriction-part-one.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie_restriction

Al Dente does not apply to cooking vegetables as I suspected

When I talk about cooking, which is often, I am sometimes lost for proper descriptors. In the cooking of pasta, perfection is al dente. I had long adapted the term to cooking vegetables. The term felt dirty and inappropriate for vegetables, but there is no term available. Read this article and you will understand my point.


ONWARD AND UPWARD FROM 'AL DENTE'