Category: Memoir

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An Open Letter to Terry and Tom

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Dear Terry and Tom,

THANK YOU for hosting an incredible evening. The Lee Maine excursion came together after Mom passed on to her ultimate adventure January 16th. By the end of January we all knew York was our destination. The East Coast siblings plus the Elders from Edmond Oklahoma were the original group but within a short time our children and their significant ones also decided to join us in Maine. The gathering was now large and we all pretty much knew it would be near impossible for everyone to do the same things at the same time.

Your invitation for dinner meant there would be one evening where we would all be together. And the evening was very special. Your generosity and compassion were on full display. I was and am still deeply moved.

Mom was happiest on family vacations. Even after I left the nest and the rest of the family got to go on awesome trips (without me) Mom always thought of me, especially when she shopped at those stupid gift shops with some of the most expensive crap that only Mom would buy. I still have the duck letter opener she gave me. I had to toss out the crab shaped red plastic address book because it broke. There was a lot more stuff. Every single damn trip. Mom continued to buy me a gift shop special from every trip she took that made me shake my head and go “Thanks Mom. This is nice. What the hell is it?”

Terry and Tom, I cannot thank you enough. Mom brought us all together that night at your house. She was with us that night. I know this because I felt her presence in the room. Maybe you did too. Time to stop writing. I’m crying too much right now.

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Plant-Based Harm Reduction

Plant-Based Diet Linked to Lower Heart Failure Risk

The study was published in the April 30 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers followed more than 16,000 adults (mean age, 64 years) with no known coronary heart disease (CHD) or HF at baseline, comparing those who adhered to a plant-based diet with those who consumed a Southern diet, consisting of more fried and processed foods and sweetened drinks. They found that the plant-based diet was associated with a 41% lower risk for incident HF with the highest vs lowest adherence, while the Southern diet was associated with a 71% higher risk for HF with higher vs lower adherence, after adjustment for potential demographic, lifestyle, and medical confounders.

Plant-Based Diets Help Reduce Kidney Disease Risk Long Term

A diet that favors plant-based foods, as well as a completely vegetarian diet, modestly reduces the long-term risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the general population provided individuals are not overweight or obese to begin with, a new community-based cohort study indicates.

Reminder:

I am not a vegan.

 

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Print Books are Better for Toddlers

Print is better.

Dr. Jenny Radesky, study author and associate editor of NEJM Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, commented: “Even though we recommend parent-child co-viewing of media, this research suggests that it’s more difficult to engage in rich back-and-forth interactions with children when interactive media have their attention. Pediatric providers might want to help parents reflect upon this attention-grabbing nature of modern technology — which parents may feel themselves at times — and encourage families to choose play objects such as print books and simple toys that are easier to connect around.”

Differences in Parent-Toddler Interactions With Electronic Versus Print Books

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Low Meat or No Meat?

“Did you see the Loma Linda study that shows eating even small amounts of red meat will cause an early death?”

“Yes I did.  What did you think of the study?”

“Uh…I didn’t read it.”

To be honest I got pretty excited when I saw the headline:

Eating small amounts of red and processed meats may increase risk of early death

Click bait works.  So I read the article.  Then I went to the the journal Nutrients downloaded the actual study and read it.

Red and Processed Meat and Mortality in a Low Meat Intake Population

Decent study but remember correlation is not causation.  And the inherent limitations in most studies of this type will be measurement error in dietary assessment as the research team itself fully acknowledges.  As I was reading this study my attention turned to this:

During a mean follow-up of 11.8 years, there were 7961 deaths, of which 2598 were due to CVD and 1873 were due to cancers. Compared with zero-intake subjects, those with the highest intake of unprocessed red meat were younger, less educated, and less physically active. They also had higher prevalence of current smoking, alcohol use, and slightly higher BMI. Regarding dietary characteristics, they tended to have lower intakes of cruciferous vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts and seeds, and higher intakes of dairy, eggs, unprocessed poultry, and processed meat.

And this:

AHS-2 participants were requested at enrollment to complete a quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) consisting of more than 200 food items. Unprocessed red meat intake was reported as two items in the FFQ: “hamburger, ground beef (in casserole, meatballs, etc.)” and “beef or lamb as a main dish (e.g., steak, roast, stew, and pot pies)”. Processed meat was reported as: “processed beef, lamb (e.g., sausage, salami, and bologna)” and “processed chicken or turkey (e.g., turkey bologna, and turkey ham)”. Pork was classified as processed meat because most of the pork products listed in the single pork question in the FFQ were processed (i.e., “pork (bacon, sausage, ham, chops, ribs, and lunch-meat)”). The frequency of intake ranged from “never or rarely” to “2+ per day”, and serving sizes consisted of three levels (a half serving, standard serving (3–4 oz.), and one-and-a-half servings).

I am still not a vegan.

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I am not a Vegan

“Are you a vegan?”

No.

“Are you a vegetarian?”

No.  I just don’t eat as much animal proteins as I used to.

“So where do you get your protein from?”

Plant-Based-Sources-of-Protein

Plant-Based Protein Chart

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. This means you are free to use my work for personal use (e.g., save the file to your computer or share via social media) as long as you do not modify the image or use the image for commercial purposes ($).

Original posting is from Dana McDonald RD LD aka the Rebel Dietician.

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TOMC 10.19.18

The Old Man Car (TOMC)

2006 was a traumatic year. I was terminated from an executive level job on July 24 2006 and my income went from six figures down to zero. I was rendered car-less because I had to give up my company car. Car sharing for several months until our financial situation improved was the plan. But after a few months my consulting work started getting pretty steady and I felt comfortable enough to consider buying a car for myself. On January 23, 2007 I bought a 2006 Ford Taurus. It was used and a former fleet car per the salesperson. The odometer read 15,366. My former company car was also a Ford Taurus. I told the guy I’d take it. With an extended warranty the car cost $15,262.95.  I figured the extended warranty was worth the cost since this was a used car.

2019 is coming up and I’m still driving The Old Man Car (TOMC). No debate. This is the BEST car I’ve ever owned.  In January I will have driven TOMC for 12 years.

Nice.  For all of you foodies out there sorry, but this post has Nothing to Do With Food.

 

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Give Her a Day

Give Her A Day

© Lisa Tasker

Published: February 2006

What can you give to one small girl?
A diamond ring, a baton to twirl?
A pretty pink dress with lots of bows,
or dainty sandals that show her toes.
A walk in the woods, a romp in the park,
a shopping trip from dusk till dark?
A shine new bike, a kitten for a pet?
No, there’s still time for such things,
yet…
Give her a day of her very own.
Just one small girl and her Dad alone.
Give her the gift that only you can,
the companionship of her old man.
Games are outgrown and toys decay,
but she’ll never forget
if you give her a day.

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/give-her-a-day

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Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan

What do you do when you want to surprise your friends with a new dish?  You think of something that they probably never had, never thought they would like, and make it.  You sneak it in as a side dish.  Serve it with something familiar like Maple Soy Roasted Salmon.  You make…

Hipster food.  And if you’re thinking to yourself that cauliflower can’t possibly be hip and trendy I actually found a restaurant that has whole head roasted on their menu for seven bucks.

Here’s what I made:

Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan

One head cauliflower
Extra virgin olive oil
Granulated garlic
Dried thyme
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Salt and black pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Remove the green outer leaves and stalks from the cauliflower head. Tear and cut the cauliflower into florets, removing any hard tiny stalks. Each piece should be about a US quarter in width. Golf ball size is too big.
  3. Place the florets into a baking/roasting pan with sides.
  4. Drizzle the cauliflower with olive oil. Toss with a wooden spoon. You want a nice thin coating of oil on each piece.
  5. Lightly salt and pepper and sprinkle with a hint of thyme.
  6. Generously sprinkle granulated garlic over all.
  7. Place in the oven and roast for approximately 35-40 minutes. Shake the pan every 10 minutes or so to ensure most of the surfaces of each floret get browned (this is why you want a pan with sides).
  8. When nicely browned add a handful of shredded Parmesan cheese over the cauliflower. Roast for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
  9. Transfer the cauliflower to a serving bowl and add more Parmesan.
  10. Eat.

 

Unfortunately this dish is Not Tiny Taste Tester Approved.  She was not present at the dinner.

“What is a Collie Flower?”

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