Always learning, growing, living

a friend o mine recently told me that he is a vegetarian. not a strict one though. as he is more concerned with eating healthy and if meat happens to play into that then that is just fine. Some meats are leaner, healthier than others. I know I know that is not the meaning of the word...I did say to him, as he used the word multiple times, "you know, you keep using that word, vegetarian, and I do not think it means what you think it means" - Princess Bride.
So anyway, he has decided then that he can eat, will eat, only meat that has wings. So turkey, chicken and of course angels. So you can imagine my surprise when a few days after he shared this information with me, he said to me as we said goodbye after hanging out one evening at da bar, "See you later and you know I have to tell you, you really are an angel"
Happy Whatever You Believe In babies!

I have no idea why but it fits, and i like it

Every day I get an email from this dude, George Mateljan, well it is from his foundation to be 100% truthful. it is whfoods.org and they claim to have the world's healthiest foods...or promote them, that way of eating, anyway.
Each day he sends me an email with a daily recipe and food tip.
I don't often make the recipes...correction, ah I have never used any of the recipes in the emails. But I do open up each one, read through it as well as the tip for the day. For some reason it comforts me. That even though I don't actually cook the recipes, I know they exist, that they are out there. I am trying to be healthier and some how this is a step in that process. I am becoming healthy through osmosis. I have no idea why but it all seems to fit.

My mom called me this morning around 8am. When I saw the call come in and knew it was her I was ready. When I answered I said, "Don't sing!" She did not sing, she laughed and laughed and I then laughed and laughed. It was somewhere in the area of a 2 to 3 minute laugh fest! it was the best. a perfect present for today.
I've included the recipe and food tip below for your enjoyment, in whatever form that works best for you.

And in the true spirit of my bornday and the holidays now upon us, and as I heard a kid exclaim in the early morning Christmas Parade I witnessed this last Saturday (more on that surreal experience later...much more indeed),
here's wishing you all a very,
"Happy Whatever you Believe in!" this season.

Today's Recipe
If you don't know what to have for dinner tonight ...
If you want to enjoy great flavor along with an excellent source of vitamins, K, A, D, tryptophan, selenium and protein then try this easy-to-prepare recipe that creates a delicious broth, which you will want to savor to the very last drop.
Poached Halibut with Fennel & Cauliflower

Ingredients:
1½ lbs halibut cut into 8 pieces
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1TBS + 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 medium sized onion cut in half and sliced medium thick
1 large carrot, turned about 1½ inch pieces
1½ cups cauliflower florets cut into quarters
1 medium sized fennel bulb sliced medium thick
5 medium cloves garlic pressed
salt and black pepper to taste
chopped fennel green tops for garnish

Directions:
Slice onion and chop garlic and let sit for at least 5 minutes to bring out their hidden health-promoting properties.
Rub halibut with lemon juice and season with a little salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat 1 TBS broth in a 12 inch stainless steel skillet. Healthy Saute onion in broth over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring frequently.
Add rest of broth and carrots. Simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes covered.
Add cauliflower, fennel, and garlic. Place halibut steaks on top and continue to cook covered for about 6 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper
Serve halibut with vegetables and broth. Sprinkle with chopped fennel greens.
Serves 4

Is one type of sweetener better than the other for my body and the way my body processes them?

Your question can be answered in a variety of different ways. First, in terms of overall nutritional quality, it's always better to get your "sweeteners" as part of whole, natural foods rather than separately purchased products that you add to your food.
I realize that many people simply have a "sweet tooth" and are accustomed to sweetening a good number of foods and beverages. However, the routine use of added sweeteners can sometimes detract from the naturally sweet flavors of foods.
Carrots, for example, are a naturally sweet vegetable. They're about 15% sugar in terms of total calories; they contain an array of sugars including sucrose, glucose, and fructose. However, to many people carrots do not taste sweet, and the reason sometimes involves the total amount of sugar to which a person has become accustomed. A large carrot will contain about three-quarters of a teaspoon of sugar at most. If you're accustomed to one to two teaspoons of any added sugar in your coffee or tea, or as an added glaze on an entrée, your carrot may no longer be as enjoyable to you because it may seem non-sweet by comparison.
Second, in the same way that I prefer natural foods as a source of all dietary sugars (please see the carrot example above), I also prefer natural sources of extracted sugar products. For example, agave nectar is a sweetener extracted from the agave plant, and it contains a variety of nutrients that are naturally found in the agave plant. While these nutrients are found in relatively small amounts in agave nectar, this sweetener is still a better nutritional choice because of this natural diversity. Agave nectar is about 70% fructose in terms of its sugar composition. However, this abundance of fructose is not the reason I favor its use as a sweetener for individuals who have decided to use added sweeteners. The reason I favor its use is because agave nectar is more natural and less processed than many other available sweeteners. Table sugar, for example, provides no nutritional variety whatsoever, even though it originates in a natural plant (sugar cane).
Your best choice of sweeteners always involves those sweeteners that are most natural and least processed. This is the reason I like whole, natural foods as the source for sweetness in a Healthiest Way of Eating. However, for individuals wanting added sweeteners, my top choices would be honey and natural nectars, including agave nectar. I strongly recommend the purchase of organic honey, since bees can inadvertently pick up pesticide residues and other potential contaminants while gathering pollens in any pesticide-containing environment. Organic agave nectar would also be my recommended choice for this sweetener. Other sweeteners that I also like are organic maple syrup and organic blackstrap molasses. If you need to use a product that acts like regular sugar, then I would suggest organic evaporated cane juice, since it is less processed than refined sugar and contains more nutrients.
When it comes to dietary sugars, the key to supporting your body's metabolism is moderation. Any dietary sugar can disrupt your body's metabolism if eaten excessively. I don't believe that the research supports intake of any added sugar in large amounts, regardless of its "naturalness" or degree of processing. I also don't believe it makes sense to focus on the exact composition of sugars within a natural food or within a natural, minimally processed sweetener. Different foods have different sugar composition, and I believe that these differences are healthy provided that the foods are organically grown and are consumed as close to their whole, natural condition as possible.

say hello to my new little friends...

they got me through the day today.

Wedsnesday, a big day

I have decided the following:
1. this birthday, soon upon me, is the birthday where now i am forever here on out to remain the age I am now...or I am whatever age people tell me I am.
2. that it is very cool when a dude you like calls you sug or babe.
3. i will never get enough sleep
4. i love facebook
5. it is ok that i record Bad Girls reality show - they really are not that bad. Just bad at not drinking too much and getting in fights, getting kicked out of bars in LA. But hey what is youth for anyway?
6. even when i don't "nail" a performance i still really love being up there in front of the mic
7. my current lip gloss feels like fly paper on my lips and I am hesitant about wearing it outside of the office...
8. bacon cheeseburgers ARE always a good idea
9. i simply cannot go out and have just ONE beer. Not 12 necessarily, but never just ONE. I was good last night. Had three and was in bed by midnight.
10. i love hot water

The Christmas Story quotes & ah Ralphie is aging nicely don't ya think?

• "I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!"

• "You'll shoot your eye out, kid."

• "Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian."

• "In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan."

• "Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window."

• "Now it was serious. A double-dog-dare. What else was there but a 'triple dare ya?' And then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare."

• "Scut Farkus! What a rotten name! There he stood, between us and the alley. Scut Farkus staring out at us with his yellow eyes. He had yellow eyes! So, help me, God! Yellow eyes!"

• "He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny."
"He does not!"
"He does, too, he looks like a pink nightmare!"

ah the holidays are upon us...

i really do love this time of year. i am in a new place this year. well new after a long time being gone. the air is crisp, a light breeze, and it feels like snow is just around the corner. It is not NYC yet I like it here now at this time of year. There is a different sort of noise in the background than NYC. No horns, sirens or clamping of feet...all good in their own way, truly. But now for me it is the swoosh of my car wheels on the blacktop, the rustle of tall trees in my back yard talking, the crunch of brown leaves under my black boots (you can take the gal out of NYC alas NYC, a tad of it, always stays within the gal) in the driveway, and the echo of a neighborhood dog announcing the day to come. Now back in the area where I grew up I am constantly flooded, at times overwhelmed, with memories, flashes of the past moments of my life. Mostly good, some not so much bad as they are complex. For the first time in a long time I am confident in my choices. The choice to move back here for a better job, to be with family, to pursue my writing is the best one I have made in a long time, maybe ever. Solid ground beneath my legs I can see and feel and that is priceless. This time of year also makes me think about a trip taken a long time ago around this time of year. I was 18, it was 1984 (please don't do the math!), with my parents, little brother, to florida to see grandparents, and this car! A 1971 Buick Special Stationwagon - can you imagine? Good times and Happy Holidays to me! It is the canvas for my Holiday from Hell story I am sharing with people this coming Tuesday at the Monti. http://www.themonti.org/
It started out as a trip from hell, for an 18 year old at least it was, and then turned into something amazing...when one least expects it...
I will post the story here someday...I have to tell you the writing of one's past, reliving and investigating one's past is so interesting, scarey and comforting all in rolled into a big ole emotional ball of craziness. I am liking it. Happy Holidays!