Nutritious choices made simple®
Like many of you, I work full time and have other interests so I do not want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, especially during the week when I come home from work tired and hungry. But even tired and hungry does not translate into processed and unhealthy in my household. I still want access to nutritious foods at a good price. I don’t want supermarkets to shift away from the plain and good to become just a venue full of highly processed foods.
My wife Arabella and I recently returned from a trip to Italy to visit our 21-year-old son, Macgill, who has been studying in Rome for the semester. We had traveled to Italy once before and knew that we were going to be in for some great eating experiences. We were not disappointed! What really distinguishes the local cuisine in Italy from American fare is the consistent use of fresh ingredients and the reasonable portions. Add in the fact that Italians walk more and sit less and you can see how we might learn something about health from them.
It is April and North Dakota’s current temperature: 32 degrees F; snow still covers the ground. This seems like a picturesque scene perfect for curling up to a fire with a cup of hot cocoa… Wrong. We want spring and we want it NOW. We are so ready to transition to eating light meals with fresh vegetables and fruits that are not only good for you but finally in season.
Easy to discover in the old port area, East coast living means fresh seafood. And this is not only a touristic hook or a food staple, it’s part of local culture and pride. Mainers take special joy in cracking lobsters open and savoring the succulent, sweet, pink-colored flesh, and so have I at my very first lobster bake.
I wonder every day if I am giving my daughter the basic fundamentals to be a happy and healthy child who will grow into a happy and healthy adult. I can’t tell you what it was like for my mother when I was a child, but I feel there is more pressure today to raise the “perfect” child—the “perfect” child, who eats only nutritional foods. If you want credit for being some sort of super-mom, the food has to be not only nutritional, but organic as well. Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but it can also cause stress, confusion and low self esteem because suddenly it puts everything under the microscope. What’s good? What isn’t? Technology opens us up to the opinion of anyone and everyone. I say, “Enough!” We Moms, we need to stand up and let the world know we are doing the best we can!
Growing up in New York, I was surrounded by other Italian families so it seemed natural to me that we were exposed to wonderful Italian food not only at home, but also in supermarkets and restaurants, even the ubiquitous corner pizzeria. Now I realize that wherever I go, there is a deep love of Italian food.
Bundled up in layers of wool and down jackets, it’s not hard to lose sight of what winter evenings spent hovering over warm soups and braises can do for—or to—your body. So every spring, I would join a gym or hop on the Pilates machine and hope that come mid-June I wouldn’t scare anyone on the beach. Over time, however, I’ve realized that when it comes down to brass tacks, my instincts–the same instincts that my grandparents and their parents relied upon–seem to take care of the problem for me. The best part about instincts is they’re by definition “thoughtless.” But you know what? They’re effective too.
Boot camps are certainly one of the hottest trends going on right now. Originally new recruit training for the military, boot camps were intense physical and psychological conditioning programs run with the intention of turning out a “lean, mean, fighting machine.” They were also meant to train recruits to obey orders without question, “When I say jump, you ask how high.”