52 Pick-Up Challenge: Week #5

*This series of Friday posts is inspired by the blog entry--52 Pick-Up Paleo Style by Amy Kubal via robbwolf.com. Each post is based on this premise that Dietary Ruts = Kitchen Boredom -> Healthy Eating FAIL! So each week, I plan to share with you one meal from the previous week that I tried and enjoyed to help me stave off the boredom in my weekly meal plan.

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Whew! This has been a week of stress. It started out so peacefully with talks of reducing stressors by sleeping well and taking naps, but life at work blew up in my face. Life as a public-school teacher sometimes reaches these points which is why we celebrate Fridays so much. In fact, I am willing to put money down to bet that the motto “Thank God it’s Friday (TGIF)” originated from a teacher. 

For a little more insight on one stressor, just check out this article from the Chicago Tribune. Why? Who knew censorship was still alive & well? What were they thinking? Must we really start hiding or locking up our books in order to protect their freedom to read freely? I am glad I work for a principal in this school district that is level-headed and willing to protect that same freedom.

To relieve my stress, this weekend is going to be filled with a nice daytime date with my wife and cooking. And in the spirit of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, I am going with a green theme in this week’s 52 Pick-Up Paleo Style. No new foods, just creativity to keep things alive and well in the kitchen.

Rock-a-Bye Baby: Celebrating National Napping Day

Happy National Napping Day! What a great way to put a cap on last week’s National Sleep Awareness Week 2013! Oh, you didn’t know about these fabulous “celebrations?” Neither did I until I saw peeps tweet it on our social medias. And now that I know about them, I want to turn out the lights and catch a few Z’s underneath my desk at work (I have a feeling this might be frowned upon; what a shame).

So why do we need National Napping Day & National Sleep Awareness Week? Most of us have grown up being told that hard work brings about success. Some have heard the Biblical proverb, “If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat (NLT Prov. 20:13). Others are wrapped up in being in the know about everything, that when it comes to sleep, they say,

You can fill in the blank.

But here are two findings when it comes to the typical practice of sleep in our modern society:

• 10% of adolescents sleep only five hours and 23% sleep only six hours on an average school night. The recommended amount of sleep for teens is 8.5 to 9.25 hours per night (National Sleep Foundation)
• The average adult sleeps less than seven hours per night. The recommendation for adults is 7 to 9 hours (NSF)

So what’s the big deal? Many of us can attest to why this is a big deal if we take a moment to reflect on how we are feeling at this moment. Some of us are saying, “Now’s a great time to go get another (insert a caffeinated beverage).” Some of us are blaming Mondays for the feeling we have. And a few of us forgot exactly what we were supposed to be doing right now instead of reading another blogger rambling on about sleep. These feelings can often be traced back to two things: what we ate & how we slept recently.

So what should we do? Sleep more. That advice is not going to help you make a change, but what else is there to say. Turn out the lights for 10-15 minutes and take a snooze. Turn off this computer, smartphone, or tablet, and shut your eyes for a few minutes. Turn off the TV at 9:30 (in the middle of your favorite show) and put your pajamas on. Put that caffeinated beverage down & drink water for the rest of the day so your body is ready for sleep at night. Go exercise a little.

Why? There are multiple benefits to getting adequate sleep. Personally, adequate sleep and a short shut-eye lowers my blood pressure. I can quickly tell if I am short on sleep, and it all begins with my blood pressure. Other benefits are well-documented—alertness, improved memory, productivity, creativity, lifted spirits, and less stress. All those things sound AWESOME! 

So what should we do now? Recognize and celebrate a belated National Sleep Awareness Week and National Napping Day! Go get some shut-eye…

Further Enjoyable Resources:

·         Mark’s Daily Apple: The Definitive Guide to Sleep

·         PaleoNonPaleo: Get Your SLEEP!!!

·         Huffington Post: Nap Benefits: 6 Reasons to Snooze on National Napping Day

·         Huffington Post: National Sleep Day: 8 New Findings About Sleep & Your Health

·         National Sleep Foundation: How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?

52 Pick-Up Challenge: Week #4

*This series of Friday posts is inspired by the blog entry--52 Pick-Up Paleo Style by Amy Kubal via robbwolf.com. Each post is based on this premise that Dietary Ruts = Kitchen Boredom -> Healthy Eating FAIL! So each week, I plan to share with you one meal from the previous week that I tried and enjoyed to help me stave off the boredom in my weekly meal plan.

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Ah, the humble tomatillo...what art thou? Art thou a tomato?  ¿Por qué llevas esas hojas? Why must I char you along with this jalapeño? You are so intriguing; therefore, I am making you part of my 52 Pick-Up Paleo Style. So I fired up my slow-cooker, fired up my cast-iron skillet, and got to work with this recipe from Sarah Fragoso at Everyday Paleo. 

Books, Books, More Books

Don't you just hate it when you reserve a few books at the library with the hopes that they will come one-at-a-time for casual reading, and then they all come at the same time. So now you have to rush through them because there is no way you'll be able to renew them since they are such popular books. Well, here they come...

*Good thing I read the NYTimes article by Michael Moss. Perhaps I can skip this one...

And to top it all off, this came in the mail yesterday...

 

Leave a comment: Which one would you start with? Which one piques your interest?

And then come the cookbooks.

White Powder & Rocks

No, I am not talking about illicit drugs. I'm talking about sugar. Though sugar is not illegal like the white powder & rocks you may have assumed I was talking about, it is amazingly as addictive.

Amy Kubal (@AmykRd) calls it "crack." Dallas & Melissa Hartwig (@whole9life) call sugar a "demon" that "bombs" your weakened gut system. Dr. Robert Lustig acknowledges that "sugar is as addictive as cocaine" because of it's dopamine-enducing euphoric effect (NY Daily News report by Lindsay Goldwert). And the tidal-wave of evidence against sugar consumption threatens to sweep us away. Some just stand there amazed at the sight and feel powerless against it. Others try moving to higher ground to escape the overwhelming flood.

And it's hard to escape! It comes in many forms and seems to be in everything. Just pick up a package of anything, read the ingredients, and you are bound to come across sugar in one form or another:

-The Demonized High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
-Cane Sugar
-Molasses
-Honey
-Apple Juice Concentrate

And even when we pick up a "healthier" choice, sometimes we lean toward the things with concentrated sugars--the "sugar rocks": Raisins, Dried Cranberries, and Dates (yes, I have my occasional date with dates in our pantry...shocking!)

All of this adds up to an average American consumption of "a third of a pound of sugar every day--130 pounds a year" (Goldwert). Amazing!

So what do we do if we want to escape this sweet tidal wave? There are options, but each one requires self-control, sacrifice, and hard work. But if you are not afraid of these three things, there is a high likelihood that you can save yourself from being swept away. Here are a few options:

1) Hardcore, Cold Turkey: Get it out of your house; yes, throw that hard-earned money into the garbage. Go to the grocery store and read labels. Stay on the out-skirts of the store. Buy meat, veggies, nuts, & fruit that fill you up on the nutrients that matter most.

2) Detox: There are programs out there that work on the philosophy that it takes a minimum of 21 days to break bad habits and establish better ones. That's why there are successful programs like the Whole30 & the 21-Day Sugar Detox. Another reason these work for some people is because of the power of the collective: when a group of people act together, it is easier to accomplish the goal. In fact, today marks the beginning of the 21DSD hosted by Diane Sanfillipo (@balancedbites). If action is in your plans today, check out the program here or by clicking on the 21DSD to the right.

3) The Gradual Ween: Decrease your intake of sugars slowly over time with the hopes of eliminating a large chunk of it by a certain time. Some think this works, others do not. Some see it as a gentler way of learning a new habit; others see it as a crutch. The main point here is that you have to find out what works for you.

So in the name of establishing a healthier lifestyle, consider moving to higher ground to escape the flood of the sugar tidal wave. I went pretty hardcore, cold turkey after being diagnosed with high blood pressure. Every day that I look in the mirror, I see the benefits of this choice. And if you'd like to know more about my progress, read about it on this post ("Progress").

Sugar-Related Resources:
It Starts With Food by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig
Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfillipo
The 21-Day Sugar Detox: Bust Sugar & Carb Cravings Naturally by Diane Sanfillipo (Advance Order)

52 Pick-Up Challenge: Week #3

*This series of Friday posts is inspired by the blog entry--52 Pick-Up Paleo Style by Amy Kubal via robbwolf.com. Each post is based on this premise that Dietary Ruts = Kitchen Boredom -> Healthy Eating FAIL! So each week, I plan to share with you one meal from the previous week that I tried and enjoyed to help me stave off the boredom in my weekly meal plan.

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I have come across some weird food-stories this week. Soil Soup was the one the piqued my interest the most. Did you know a Tokyo chef, Toshio Tanabe, has a whole tasting menu that features soil as an ingredient? I suppose I shouldn’t judge it before I’ve tried it, but I don’t think it will be featured here any time soon.

And who missed the story of horse meat in IKEA’s meatballs? But I digress…

This past week was full of new recipes, so I had a hard time narrowing my choice down for this week’s 52 Pick-Up post. But I finally decided to share a semi-“paleo,” grain-free, & gluten-free recipe that our family is bound to repeat for special occasions. And since it is my wife’s birthday tomorrow, I figured I would share her requested meal for our Family Movie Night tonight. 

This recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs, The Domestic Man. His food photography is wonderfully mouth-watering. Please visit his blog & realize that he receives all the credit for this recipe. I just followed directions.

Recipe #3 of 52: Cast Iron Skillet Grain and Gluten Free Pizza (Modified Recipe)