A Little Slice of Heaven

My holiday gift this year from the Cute Man is AMAZING!

Check out my shelves!

The chalkboard!

One of the collages he made for me!

My marathon medals!

Even this cool Alice in Wonderland poster!

That's (one of the many many reasons) why he got this:

Love Drop!

What Love Drop is

Love Drop is a micro-giving network of people who unite as a community to help one person or family a month. By subscribing to the team for as low as $1, they make it easy for their members to change lives in a fun and tangible way. Each month Love Drop delivers a unique combination of unexpected financial gifts, personal encouragement and the support of local and online communities.

Every month the Love Drop community comes together to raise as much support and awareness as we possibly can. It starts on the website - LoveDrop.us, gets spread across our entire network of blogs, continues through the forums where all our members are brainstorming, and finally lands on the front steps of our recipients. Literally.

At the end of every month, Nate and J$ show up in the town the people live in to deliver this pile of goodness. The money, the gifts, the services, everything! It's all on film, and it all ends with an amazing outpouring of love. And then it starts all over again the next month. Help them, and their flagship partner, Kona Grill, make this drop in Chicago amazing!

Jill's intro video



How You Can Help

This project is all about coming up with creative and fun ways to make a difference for someone. Here's what you can do to make our first Love Drop special for Jill and her family:
• Join the team - Become a member by paying whatever you want. Even $1.00.
• Join our blogger network - Blog about our Love Drops once a month! It's easy, it's rewarding, and it REALLY helps spread the word (which in turn helps the families!). Love Drop will give you all the content you need.
• Give a gift or provide a service - Gift cards, household goods, football cards/jerseys for the boys, web design services, pampering gifts for Jill, etc. (email all ideas/questions to team (at) lovedrop.us, and we'll make it happen)

Finding Contentment

Seeing this ad for Weight Watchers at Work in my inbox today made me sad. My heart breaks a little every time I think of someone else going down the road that, in the end, led to nothing but frustration and distrust of my body. What’s even worse is that I’m on the committee that helps shape and promote these types of initiatives. Yes, really.

When I first heard this was coming, it was pretty much a done deal. It was happening. I had a choice: rail against it or acquiesce. I’m glad that I took a moment to think before sharing my reaction. My knee-jerk defiance would not have convinced anyone. So, I chose to share my concerns but not let it take over the whole meeting. So here we are.

The most important lesson I’ve learned since deciding once and for all to never again restrict food intake or exercise for the purpose of losing weight is that everyone is entitled to body autonomy. I now know, on a fundamental level, that no one else’s opinions or proscriptions for me or my body are as important as my own. I have the right to listen and incorporate or reject anything. The flip side of that, of course, is that I must recognize that right in others as well.

There is a large demand for these types of programs and this is the result. Personally, it’s hard for me to fathom that the low cost yoga, Pilates, Zumba, and other fitness classes are not exactly full to capacity, but people are clamoring to give big chunks their money away to a big corporation to provide them the magic answer to health. But that is my opinion, and just as I’m entitled to it, so are those who want to give this a shot. Who am I to tell anyone what to do with their body?

So, I’ll continue the revolution in my own quiet way. I share my perspective with anyone who wants to hear it and shut the hell up when it’s clearly not wanted. I am no evangelist. All I can do is find the right path for me and surround myself with supportive (if not always completely like-minded) people. It’s not my job to tell anyone else how to live.

In my yoga teacher training class, they call me Santosha – which means Contentment. I picked it because it sounded pretty and stood for something I’d like to cultivate in my life. And it’s working… the more I let go of things I can’t control (like trying to change my body or the choice of others to do Weight Watchers), the happier I am. I enjoy taking care of myself in many ways, including doing yoga on a close-to-daily basis; a daily home practice is something I could never quite make myself do, before. Funny how when I stopped trying to make myself do it, I found that I truly wanted to do it. These things become easier now that I do them out of love, rather than in the pursuit of some quantifiable goal. There is no longer that feeling of discouragement that comes when the scale doesn’t move or inexplicably goes up. Who cares? How does doing yoga make me feel, right now? Do I feel more alive and in touch with my body and my soul? Good, then my purpose was achieved.

So that is my wish and intention for my world – Contentment. I hope that whatever path you choose to take, it brings you peace and self-acceptance.

Saturated fat kills Candida

This post includes a summary of a study published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 2001 November; 45(11): 3209–3212 and a recipe for baked eggs florentine.

Study title and authors: 

In Vitro Killing of Candida albicans by Fatty Acids and Monoglycerides

Gudmundur Bergsson,1* Jóhann Arnfinnsson,2 Ólafur Steingrímsson,3 and Halldor Thormar1

Books:

Institute of Biology, University of Iceland,1 Department of Anatomy, University of Iceland Medical School,2 and Department of Microbiology, National University Hospital,3 Reykjavik, Iceland

*Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Biology, University of Iceland, Grensasvegur 12, 108 Reykjavik, Iceland.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC90807/

The results of the study show that capric acid, a 10-carbon saturated fatty acid, causes the fastest and most effective killing of all three strains of Candida albicans tested. Lauric acid, a 12-carbon saturated fatty acid, was the most active at lower concentrations and after a longer incubation time.

Capric acid and Lauric acid are found in milk fat, butter, palm oil and coconut oil.

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall 

Recipe of the day

Baked Eggs Florentine

Ingredients:

• 1 slice bacon

Food Mall: Eggs

• 1/2 c spinach

• 1/2 c diced tomatoes

• 2 eggs

• Coconut oil

Instructions:

Oil ramekins (small baking bowls) and place them on a cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 350 F.

For each ramekin, tear bacon strip into small pieces and place in the bottom of ramekin.

Add baby spinach, then tomatoes. Pepper to taste.

Crack the eggs over the top (do not break yokes). Place ramekins (on the cookie sheet) in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes.



Saturated fats give protection against E. coli

This post contains a summary of a study published in Folia Microbiologica 48 (6) 731-735 2003 and a recipe for coconut beef madras.

Books:

Study title and author:

Susceptibility of Escherichia coli to C2-C18 Fatty Acids

M. Marounek

This study can be accessed at: http://www.cssm.info/priloha/fm2003_731.pdf

The results of the study showed that the saturated fats; caprylic acid and capric acid, have significant antimicrobial activity against E. coli and thus may enhance the immune system against gastrointestinal infections.

Caprylic acid and capric acid are found in milk fat, butter, palm oil and coconut oil.

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall 

Recipe of the day

Coconut Beef Madras

Ingredients:

Food Mall: Beef

900g/2lb braising cut into 5cm/2inch cubes

Salt and freshly milled black pepper
45ml/3tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 x 5cm/2inch piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 red chillies, deseeded (if preferred) and finely chopped
30ml/2tbsp tomato purée
30-60ml/2-4tbsp Madras curry paste or similar
200ml/7floz coconut milk
150ml/¼pint water
2 small cinnamon sticks
45ml/3tbsp freshly chopped coriander, to garnish
Fresh coconut shavings, to garnish, optional

Method:
1.Heat 30ml/2tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan, season the beef and brown the meat in batches for 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a large heatproof casserole dish.

2.In the same frying pan heat the remaining oil and cook the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies over a low heat for 10-15 minutes until soft and lightly brown.

3.Transfer to a food processor or mini blender and process until smooth. Return to the casserole dish and add the remaining ingredients except the coriander and coconut shavings.

4.Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 2-2½hours, stirring occasionally. Remove the cinnamon sticks before serving.



Spinach inhibits calcium absorbability

Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 47, 707-709

Calcium absorbability from spinach
RP Heaney, CM Weaver and RR Recker
Department of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ajcn.org/content/47/4/707.abstract
 
The study revealed that people absorbed calcium much better from milk than spinach. 
 
Absorption of calcium from milk was 27.6% 
 
Absorption from spinach was 5.1%
 
The author concluded that the results conclusively establish that spinach calcium is much less readily available than milk calcium.

AMAZON UK Untold Story of Milk Revised
AMAZON USA The Untold Story of Milk, Revised and Updated: The History, Politics and Science of Nature's Perfect Food: Raw Milk from Pasture-Fed Cows

Low carb or low fat diets. Which is better for lowering heart disease risk?

Published in NMCD Volume 20, Issue 10, Pages 720-726 (December 2010)

Carbohydrate restriction favorably alters lipoprotein metabolism in Emirati subjects classified with the metabolic syndrome
T. Al-Sarraja, H. Saadic, J.S. Volekb, M.L. Fernandeza
a Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, 3624 Horsebarn Road Ext, U 4017, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
b Department of Internal Medicine, United Arab Emirate University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates
c Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939-4753(09)00143-4/abstract
 
The study found that a low carbohydrate diet was better than a low fat diet for reducing heart disease risk factors.

AMAZON UK Cereal Killers: Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free A to Z
AMAZON USA Cereal Killers: Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free A to Z