Pomegranates - The Fruit of December

I always associate pomegranates with December because of: 

• Their color - the deep red of the edible seeds reminds me of Christmas and red velvet cake and candy canes,
• Their appearance - the shape looks like an ornament to me and its size that fits easily in the hand is also appealing, and
• Their easy availability in the produce section of the grocery store this time of year. 

I always cut the top and bottom from the fruit before I cut it into quarters. There is always some juice that leaks out onto the cutting board when it is cut. If there is a lot of it, I use a straw to slurp it up.

I stand at the kitchen sink to eat a quarter of the fruit each morning; the view out the window and of the fruit always sends my mood in a positive direction.

Eating a pomegranate is a messy endeavor. The membranes and peel cradle the seeds; splatters and seed flying are common. I’ve considering whether using a small spoon to tease out the seeds would be better but I always decide to just enjoy the fruits as one eaten without tools. When I am done, the membranes and peel go in the trash and I wipe the splatters of juice and wayward seeds from the cabinet (sometimes on both sides of the sink!).

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - October 2013

Over a year ago I posted about finding something to celebrate each day. It’s an easy thing for me to do and the habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10 for October 2013.

Everything fit into the suitcases. Once the packing is done….the realization that everything needed for a vacation actually fit into the suitcases is worth a celebration.

Utah. Actually this celebration lasted for 8 days. Even though the national parks were closed there was still a lot to enjoy: the aspens in the Abejo Mountains, Edge of Cedars State Park, Monument Valley, Dead Horse Point State Park, Wilson’s Arch, La Sal Mountains, Needles Overlook and Valley of the Gods. Travel expands horizons - in more than just the physical sense - and provides a myriad of opportunities for celebration.

Home again. Much as I enjoy traveling, coming home is always savored.

Rainy day. I’m not sure why - but a rainy day that keeps be indoors after days away from home is just perfect. I celebrated with a good book and hot tea….while moving the loads of laundry from suitcases to baskets to washer to drier.

Caught up with Coursera courses. There were 4 courses that were ongoing while I was in Utah which meant there was a lot of lecture and resource review once I got back. I felt a real sense of accomplishment once I caught up - and celebrated with some dark chocolate.

Hot tea laced with apple cider. Some beverages seem to go with fall. Apple cider is one of them for me. It’s too sweet at full strength so I use it as sweetener for hot tea. It’s another way to celebrate the season.

Out and about. The fall is one of my favorite times to be out and about the local neighborhood. This year the trees seem to reach peak color and then drop their leaves very quickly. I celebrate when I see a tree full of yellows and reds - knowing the vision is a transitory one.

Vicarious celebration. My daughter achieved a milestone in graduate school. The celebration was hers….but I celebrated vicariously.

Cranberry orange relish. This is another fall favorite. I use the recipe from Wegmans with some modification: two oranges instead of one and stevia instead of sugar.

Finding a dental discount plan. My dental insurance expired…but my dentist suggested a discount plan available from the dentalplans.com site....and I had a good checkup too!

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 12, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Massive Growth of Electric Cars in US, + Who Drives Electric Cars - Infographic

21 Glorious Photos of Double Rainbows around the World - Any rainbow is special….but double ones are rare enough to be extra special

First Ever Global Index to Measure Wellbeing of Older People - Uses measures of income security, health status, employment and education, and enabling environment. For more details, the Global AgeWatch Index is here.

These Breathtaking Cliffside Walkways Will Give You Vertigo - I don’ want to go to any of these places…this pictures are enough!

Nut-and-Seed Energy Balls - I’m going to make the goodies this weekend.

12 Fantastic Photos of Fall Trees Exploding with Color - I like to think of fall colors as the last hurrah before winter. It is a visual feast.

Save Energy & Save Money Using The Sun Intelligently in These 10 Ways - How many of these are you already using?

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #48 - I always enjoy a series of bird pictures. I like the blue and gold macaw in this set.

Ancient Printing Rituals Form Intricate Sand Patterns - This looks more fun than sandcastles!

Top Travel Trends - From Richard Watson

Mini-Deep Dish Pizzas

The University of Arizona published a collection of recipes at the start of the school year - which my daughter sent to us with the specific suggestion to check out the recipe for Mini-Deep Dish Pizzas. The pizzas have become a new favorite at our house - although we have made a few modifications; we use: 

• A muffin top pan (or cups) rather than a regular muffin tin.
• Mission Carb Balance Flour Tortillas rather than generic whole wheat tortillas (which often taste like cardboard).
• Scissors to cut the excess tortilla from around the edges (they get baked with the pizzas and then used as chips with salsa).
• Homemade spaghetti sauce or spaghetti sauce from a jar instead of tomato sauce
• Smoked turkey or chicken (as an additional topping).

Yummy!

Favorite Foods through the Years

Foods are often linked to particular time periods in our lives - and the associations last a lifetime. For me they are all positive associations that come flooding into my consciousness when I buy the foods and when I eat them. Here are a few examples from my life:

Pork chops. When I was in early elementary school, my favorite meat was pork chops fixed by my grandmother. She always fixed extra for me because I ate 2 or 3 as part of my meal. Now I buy thin sliced, boneless pork chops - and am still trying to recapture the way my grandmother make her pork chops taste.

Watermelon, cantaloupe and corn-on-the-cob - picked fresh from the garden. These were from the gardens of both my grandparents from my earliest memories through late elementary school. The watermelon, cantaloupe and corn-on-the-cob overwhelmed my senses completely; I don’t really remember what else we ate. Now I buy them from a local farmers market or the produce section of the grocery store. On occasions, the taste approaches that in my memory.

Fried fish. From late elementary school through my early 20s, I consistently selected deep fried white fish when I went to a cafeteria. I never got anything else. It wasn’t that I didn’t like other foods at the cafeteria (usually a Furr’s or Luby’s), but I never even considered getting anything else. I haven’t been to a cafeteria for years but I think I would get deep fried white fish now if they had it.

Texas toast. Do you remember those toasted inch thick pieces of white bread, slathered with garlic butter? They were big in the 70s at steak places. I think I enjoyed the toast almost more than the steak! I rarely eat food like that anymore….but I still remember celebrating a monthly or quarterly anniversary of my wedding at a place that served Texas toast.

Red velvet cake. I like the look of the cake more than the taste most of the time. Somehow the bakery versions never taste quite as good as the cake my Mother made from scratch….but I still try to find a good one almost once a year.

Fajitas. I liked fajitas from the first time I had them in the late 70s at a table on the patio of a restaurant in San Antonio. I still like them now although I expect a higher quality of meat (and maybe meat other beef) and I have them with salad rather than tortillas.

Dark chocolate. I started using two squares of dark chocolate as a reward for taking my vitamins in the morning a few years ago. Now I use it as a reward for being within my ideal weight range first thing in the morning (which happens most mornings). I’m pretty sure that it will never get old.

Celebrate your favorite foods through the years of your life today!

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - September 2013

Over a year ago I posted about finding something to celebrate each day. It’s an easy thing for me to do and the habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10.

Classes. The quality of the courses I’m taking on Coursera is excellent. I celebrate the first week of courses --- when it becomes obvious how good it is going to be --- and then when something unexpected is offered. The ‘Meet the Researcher’ segment of the Animal Behavior course is one such serendipity.

My weight. I finally - after more than 20 years - I am back down to my pre-pregnancy weight!

Good food. This month I discovered how yummy baked yogurt custard can be - and also enjoyed the best splurge around: a very chocolaty brownie.

Clothes. The t-shirt dresses were so comfortable for the warm days of the month and I discovered that many clothes I pulled out for the cooler days fit better than they did last year (or are too big!).

Books. September was a month I savored some books from authors I’d enjoyed before (May Sarton and Kinky Friedman) and discovered the Amanda Cross mysteries.

Longwood Gardens. Every time we make the trek to these gardens is a treat. You’ve seen evidence of how much I enjoyed the outing in September in the blog posts.

HC Conservancy. It’s always worth celebrating finding another place close enough to home that it can be visited on a regular basis.

Fabulous fall weather. September has been full of perfect days to be outdoors.

Change. I intentionally turned off the computer for hours at a time throughout the month to force some change in my days….and enjoyed the difference!

Visual richness. We aren’t in the colorful part of fall yet but there were two images of September than stand out: a corn field ready for harvest near our neighborhood and a zinnia in a small vase beside my computer monitor. 

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 21, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

19th Century London Street Photography by John Thomson - Photographs of people in the streets of London during the later 1800s. I noticed the children in particular. John Thomson published his pictures in books and one of them is available on the Internet Archive: Street Life in London published in 1877.

The Geography of American Agriculture - Follow the link to the county-by-county crop maps from USDA to find out about where different food grows in the US.

Detailed Digital Flowers Radiate with a Magical Glow - I like flowers….event digital ones!

Obese Stomachs tell us diets are doomed to fail - Research has revealed that the mechanism that tells our brains how full we are is damaged in obese people…and it does not return to normal when they lose weight. Aargh! I’m not sure that means that diets are doomed to fail but it does mean that a person that has been obese may have to consciously limit the amount they eat for the rest of their lives rather than relying on their stomach-brain mechanism to tell them when they are full.

Mt. Zion dig reveals possible second temple period priestly mansion - Layers of structures and sorting out what it might mean - from a bathroom to a large number of murex shells to a cistern with pots and a stove in the bottom under rubbish.

Once-Majestic Cities That Sank Beneath the Ocean - There are quite a few - and some great pictures of the underwater remains: Alexandria, Egypt; Heracleion (or Thonis), Egypt; Canopus, Egypt; Yonaguni Jima Island, Japan; Saeftinghe, Netherlands; Port Royal, Jamaica; Baiae (Campania), Italy; Pavlopetri, Greece; Atlit, Israel; Lion City (Shi Cheng), China; Samabaj, Guetamala;

U.S. Drops in Share of Publications - Another indicator of globalization of science. The US is still producing 28% of the world’s share of manuscripts…but the percentage has been sliding in recent years (the absolute number of papers is holding steady).

They’re Taking Over! - The ‘they’ in this case are jellyfish. The New York Review of Books reviews Lisa-ann Gershwin’s book Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean.

Giant Prehistoric Elephant Slaughtered by Early Humans - From 1000s of years before Neanderthals…from layers 420,000 years old…found along the route of a rail link from the Channel Tunnel to London and excavated in 2004.

Beautiful Glowing Portraits of a Bobtail Squid - Photograph by Todd Bretl.

Feeling Energized at Home - 2013

Last year I wrote about September being my high energy month of the year - and it is still true in 2013. This year the energy level seems to be even greater and directed over a broader swath of activities.

Basil ready to dryLike last year, there is a lot to do outdoor as we near the end of the growing season. The red-purple leafed plum tree has lost enough leaves to begin raking; my plan it to spread them over the garden patch cleared of lemon balm, honeysuckle, and other wild plants in August. I’ll scatter seed pods from cone flowers and zinnias there so that flowers will grow there next summer under the sycamore.  I am also harvest basil and mint from the containers on the deck; the basil is already in a tray in the kitchen drying. The mint may take more than one tray so I’m waiting to cut and process it until the basil is dry and stored away for winter soups.

Clearing ‘stuff’ from the house is splitting into two efforts.

• Two T-shirt DressThe first is to change items into forms that are more useful. The two t-shirt dresses are an example I wrote about earlier this month. I’ve also made a Kaftan from a piece of fabric - using an old handkerchief for part of the neckline (I’ll post about it when I finish). I’ve also discovered that an old Mr. Coffee carafe (the machine itself has long since been replaced) with its handle removed fits in crockpot for baking and custards. We’ve also repurposed my husband’s the old chair mat that was cracked to protect the carpet under and around the cat litter.
• The second is to start reducing the number of ‘keepsake’ boxes. For over 15 years while my daughter was growing up we always had a box that was catching anything we did not immediately decide to recycle or trash. There are several boxes for every year! I’m going to use a ping pong table to make annual piles and I’m sure there will be quite a lot that is not worth keeping.

Considerable energy is going into planning for travel and guests for the next 6 months. I always like to do my research about places I travel and understand what guests will be most interesting in seeing when they are in town. I enjoy the planning almost as much as the activities planned!

I’ve already posted about classes in progress. There are now 4 Coursera classes in progress. They are all excellent - thought provoking in very different ways.

September is definitely a high energy month for me. It’s easy to be enthusiastic about everything in my days.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 14, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

World’s Largest LED Streetlight Retrofit Completed in Los Angeles - I wonder if the fixtures are also designed to direct light downward rather than in all directions. It would be wonderful to see the stars in the sky again!

Macrophotographs of insects - Don’t let the first picture deter you look at this article! There are some beautiful ones further down in the series….the dogbane beetle with iridescent red, yellow and green on its wings and blues and greens everywhere else…the leafhopper sharpshooter with its red body and white and black wings.

Edible Coatings for Ready-To-Eat Fresh Fruits and Vegetables - An overview of the coatings used to help fruits and vegetables retain freshness. They are edible…but some don’t sound very appealing. As for finding a coating that would work for sliced bananas - one of the appeals of bananas is that they are easy to peel and a good serving size. Their natural packaging is one of the reasons they are so popular!

Researchers’ Tweets Move Science Forward - A study of 116 marine scientists actively using Twitter. Does this translate to other disciplines?

University of Arizona Cooking on Campus (recipes) - There are some good ideas on this list. I tried the Mini Deep Dish Pizzas (made them in a muffin top pan rather than a regular muffin tin) and they were delicious. My daughter made the Quinoa Ratatouille and reported that it was a winner too.

Has the World Reached Peak Chicken? - As we become more health conscious, will be eat even more chicken? We tend to ignore the industrial treatment (or mistreatment) of the birds just as we do other domesticated animals. And what about the trend toward more heavily processed chicken? I always buy cut up parts these days but remember well the draw of chicken nuggets for children. Or will we have more veggie days?

This girl ages into an old woman before your eyes without you noticing - The video is just under 5 minutes and well worth viewing. The ‘old woman’ does not look that old to me. When I think ‘old’ I think of someone in their 90s.

Interlude in Pittsburgh - Lots of pictures from a trip to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Cathedral of Learning. Brought back great memories of a road trip about 10 years ago when we used the Cathedral (like being at Hogwarts) as a stop before continuing down the highway.

State-by-State Guide to Taxes on Retirees - I’m always a little uncomfortable about these analyses and a particular segment of the population. Are the taxes ‘friendly’ to one group and not to others? For example - do states that are ‘friendly’ to retirees underfund education for children?

How do chameleons and other creatures change colour? - Chamelons and octopuses...some animals have the ability to make very rapid adjustments to their color.

World Happiness Report 2013 - The most recent addition was published this last week. The US is 17th in the world - just behind Mexico. The 6 variables that explain 75% of the variation in the national averages are: real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption, and generosity.

Day Trip Picnic

Yesterday was the perfect day to be outdoors and enjoying gardens. As I packed our small ice chest with a picnic lunch, it occurred to me how improving our diet has changed what we pack. No chips or soft drinks this time!

Here’s what we packed: 

• Morning snack: apple
• Lunch: ham sandwich made with whole wheat bread and hummus spread; tomatoes, pepper strips, cucumber with hummus for dip
• Afternoon snack: dry roasted soybeans/peanuts
• Bottles of: water and tea 

I’ll post more about our day trip in the days ahead.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 24, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Restricting Food and Fluids during Labor Is Unwarranted, Study Suggests - I can remember being very thirsty with only rationed ice chips when I had my daughter years ago. And I was ravenous by the time she was born (and only offered a rather stale boxed lunch since it was out of the normal food service hours in the hospital). Hopefully this study will be a starting point to change the food and liquid restriction rules.

These alien-looking ice sculptures formed all on their own - A collection of images from some very cold places. What a cooling post for August!

Astronomers Take Sharpest Photos Ever of the Night Sky - Using adaptive optics that have been developed over the past 20 years at University of Arizona.

Creative Fashion Illustrations Made with Leaves - Sparse lines - and then leaves. They work together to create appealing images. My favorite is the first one.

Fascinating Friday: 80 Maps That Explain Everything - Pointers to collections of maps from Buzzfeed and The Washington Post. It turns out that maps are good ways to display lots of data in an intuitive way.

State of Flux Images of Change - Pictures of the changes in the earth over day, months or years from NASA.

Iron Is at Core of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Suggests - Yet another reason why we shouldn’t get higher doses of iron. The foods I normally consume easily get me to 100% of the iron requirements - so fortified cereals and iron-contain multi-vitamins are of my grocery list completely.

Fall in the National Parks: Some Great Activities to Put On Your Calendar - Includes the following national parks: Voyagers, San Francisco Maritime, Acadia, Capitol Reef and Grant-Kohrs Ranch.

Amaranth: Another Ancient Wonder Food, But Who Will Eat It? - Chia - quinoa - amaranth - nutritious options abound.

The Common Cook's How-Many Guide to Kitchen Conversions - Very handy for the kitchen!

by ShannonLattin.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

Enjoying the Grocery Store

Recently - I’ve noticed how much I enjoy the weekly grocery shopping. It’s not that I ever hated grocery shopping but there has definitely been a change over the past few years. Now I actually look forward to the shopping as a kind of outing. What has changed?

I am no longer restricted to shopping during non-work hours - so I shop at 7:30 AM on Thursdays. The store is never crowded and is well stocked.

The store is very clean, always well stocked and the employees are knowledgeable and pleasant. The aisles have not been turned into obstacle courses by food displays.

I use my own bags. They harken back to old-fashioned market day rather than slick commercial modern stores (even though I shop at a very large store). It appeals to be on a historical level and is also good for the environment. It is wonderful to not have plastic bags building up in my house.

The store has a model train that winds above the yogurt and cheese section. It’s a pleasant display with correlations to childhood and holiday celebrations. I notice it every week.

Sometimes the seasonal products are just too tempting. I bought a glass-bowl bird bath last spring and a sunflower last summer. Serendipity purchases are not frequent - but I always remember that they came from the grocery store.

I don’t linger frequently and when I do - it is to buy something I don’t know very much about but want to try. Recently the question was - what are the options for lower-fat pre-cooked sausage? I discovered a turkey sausage with half the fat content of regular sausage!

The produce section is large and colorful - and I like so many of the foods there. This is the place in the store where I spend the most time and buy the most. It is also the area most like old-fashioned markets. The store highlights the local produce.

And finally - I savor the realization that enjoying grocery shopping is a trait I share with my mother. 

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 17, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Distracted Driving Video - 35 minutes…three vignettes…the message: don’t text and drive

Fall in The National Parks: Some Other Park Fall Drives Not To Overlook - Some ideas for a fall foliage road trip

Why do we laugh? - James May with a very straight-faced explanation

Park Score Index - Compare ranking of cities based on parks

Photos from Restored Wetlands - From the Prairie Ecologist. My favorite is the paper wasp on the swamp milkweed.

Why aren’t more girls attracted to physics? - It’s all about seeing possibilities.

A History of the World: The 100 British Museum Objects - There are several images for each object and a narrative. Note the little symbols beside each thumbnail and click on the thumbnail to take a closer look; the images with a magnifying glass have annotations (I prefer to click on the thumbnail, go to full screen, then look at the annotations), listen to the short videos for the ones with the ‘play arrows.’ A bit longer audio (originally for a BBC radio program) is available as well.

How a 'Deviant' Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut - The good and bad of the state of the art in mining information from huge amounts of data.

Great Blue Heron Highlights 2013 - From Sapsucker Pond in Ithaca NY. I didn’t watch much of the season ‘live’ this year but enjoyed these highlights.

Three Ways Cooking has Changed Over the Last 300 Years - It’s more than cooking….it’s the history of what people ate. Some ingredients are not common now…others are common but prepared quite differently.

Cookbooks

I am prompted by Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking to think about cookbooks. Does everyone that cooks have some reference they use at least occasionally? I have three that I use periodically - and almost always for some kind of bread or dessert.

The one I use most frequently is a Good Housekeeping Cookbook my grandmother gave me for Christmas just as I was beginning to help out in the kitchen - about 50 years ago. It was not something I used at first but I liked having such a ‘grown up’ present. I appreciated it more as soon as I was on my own in the kitchen - it was the book I had for guidance. The index is the most referenced part of the whole book but that doesn’t show. The splashes on recipe pages are obvious markers in the book and reveal the favorites. In this book it is corn bread, gingerbread, baked custard, popovers, applesauce cake, coffee cake, and apple brown betty (which I made with peaches at least as often as with apples). Now that I am looking at this book more closely….there is a yummy looking recipe for baked barbeque chicken (homemade sauce); it may be time to look at the other sections of this book!

There are only two pages that are food splattered in the Williamsburg cookbook purchased when I first visited Colonial Williamsburg: Christiana Campbell’s Tavern Sweet Potato Muffins and Sally Lunn. I’ve made the muffins with all kinds of variations: pumpkin instead of sweat potato, left over baked sweet potatoes, canned sweet potatoes, mini-muffins, muffin tops, raisins and nuts depending on what is on hand.

The last cookbook was one I inherited from my mother-in-law. I’m not sure whether it was something she had for years or that she bought not that long before she died at a used book sale. Either way - it has a wonderful spice cake recipe (that includes cayenne pepper).

After thumbing through these old books - I’m ready to try a new recipe!

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 27, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

A New Check-Up on the Health of U.S. Rivers - An article from National Geographic prompted by the recent release of a report from the USGS available electronically here. A lot of progress has been made in recent years to clean up our rivers….but there is still a lot to do.

Researcher Digs Into the Contested Peanut-Allergy Epidemic - We know surprisingly little about how widespread peanut-allergy is … but there are extreme measures to limit exposure.

16-foot dinosaur tail unearthed in Mexico is in perfect condition - Does every child think they want to grow up to discover something like this?  

See The 10 States With The Fastest Internet Connections - They are all in the northeast….with the exception of Utah.

Collaborative Origami Installations by Mademoiselle Maurice - A different kind of community project - temporary but beautifying collaboration.

New Key to ‘Switching Off’ Hypertension - Looking at the way that the body controls blood pressure…and ways that drugs could use the same pathway could lead to treatment without the serious side effects of current antihypertensive medications

The great global food gap - I saw some of these pictures in the nutrition course I took via Coursera - but this is a more extensive set of images of families’ weekly groceries. There is quite a range of cost and of foods.

In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters - A map of the US that shows the change a child raised in the bottom fifth rose to the top fifth.

Exploring National Parks through The Lens of Steven Bumgardner - The article includes an interview and several videos. My favorite video is the one about Frazil Ice.

Breathtaking Monochromatic Photos of Iceland - Sometimes the addition of color would not add anything at all.

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 22, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

If bees go extinct, this is what your supermarket will look like - Lots of fruits and veggies would go away too.

Take a Virtual Tour Of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - Time lapse sunrise…lava flows…ocean...steam.

Photos Of NYC's Subway Project - Lots of tunneling through rock.

Most Solar-Friendly States — 2013 State Solar Policy Rankings - Maryland is near the top! Arkansas and Oklahoma are at the bottom.

Breastfeeding Boosts Babies’ Brain Growth - Yet another reason babies should be breastfed.

Life in the Potholes of Canyonlands National Park - A short video about the small creatures that live their lives after rain fills the rock basins.

As Data Floods In, Massive Open Online Courses Evolve - I have enjoyed the Coursera offerings. My use of online classes is evolving too! I no longer feel compelled to do every aspect of the course; I am free to do just do the parts that meet the objectives I have for myself.

Beautifully Exotic Looking Species of Moths from Ottawa - There are some surprises in this photographic series. Which one do you like best? The white one (5th one from the top) is my favorite.

Roman Seawater Concrete Holds the Secret to Cutting Carbon Emissions - Making cement with less lime and requiring much less heat

Don’t Take Your Vitamins - An thought provoking opinion piece - particularly if you are assuming that more is better when it comes to vitamin supplements. 

Minutiae of Diet

My dietary goals are pretty simple: get as much nutrition from food as possible (i.e. don’t rely on supplements to make up for a very poor diet) and lose weight. I’ve had some success over the years but had stalled about a year ago.

About a month ago, I decided that, for me, sound bites don’t help enough when it comes to diet. I needed data other than weight and activity measurements (I already had from a scale and a Fitbit) that would directly guide my food choices.

The cronometer tool was the one I chose. I set up my profile to lose a pound per week and then started logging in my food each day.

I did not choose a special diet. My day to day goal is to stay below the Calorie maximum for the day and meet more than 93% of the nutritional targets….and to do it as much as possible without heavily fortified or processed foods. I found foods that I normally eat had already been defined in the tool (or something that was close enough to what I was eating to use as a substitute in the log). The result has been quite a learning experience….on a very detailed level. Here are some of the minutiae I’ve learned about my diet: 

• Starting the day with chia seeds in almond milk as I have been for quite some time is a reasonably good way to start the day….and the 20 grams of dark chocolate with it is an acceptable treat….but going to 40 grams of dark chocolate is not a good idea.
• Portion size is hugely important! I’ve started looking at labels and measuring. I focus on those things that are high calorie and low nutrient…those are the ones I watch the most carefully for portion size and sometimes question whether I want to eat them at all. Often the nutrient rich foods are not that high in calories so the serving size is relatively large.
• A non-fat plain yogurt smoothie with fruit (blueberries or banana or orange) is tasty, very filling, high in nutrition in relation to calories and, along with the things I normally eat, gets me to the calcium requirement every day. It doesn’t take a huge change to make a big nutritional difference.
• I easily meet the protein requirements with only one meat serving per day and it does not have to be a large one (since I get protein from other sources than meat too).
• Black tea made with tap water has nutrients!
• I like the orange veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes but I need to eat them consistently to get enough vitamin A
• I will probably always need to take Vitamin D. I am not in the sun enough and the fortification in the foods I eat is not enough to consistently get the minimum dose. No wonder my doctor has found my Vitamin D level a little low!
• I almost never get 100% of the potassium target. That is something to work on. Eating one banana or orange is not nearly enough.
• I always exceed the B12 requirement because the almond milk is fortified but I don’t quite get all of them to 100% every day.
• I am general below 0.5 gram of trans-fat - which is pretty good. The tool has helped me be more conscious of foods I eat occasionally that contain trans-fat.
• I am thinking about how long I will need to log my food at the detail I am not. At 4 weeks, I am still in the process of establishing the habit of healthy food choices. Staying below the 1280 Calories per day (totaled up in cronometer) and burning over 2000 calories (estimated by the Fitbit) has indeed resulted in weight loss of a little over a pound a week and I am feeling good - lots of energy. It does seem to be true for me that nutrients from food, rather than supplements, are used more effectively by the body. 

I recommend checking into doing at least a few days logging food into a tool like chronometer for anyone wanting to make tweaks to their diet!

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 18, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Cases Of Mysterious Valley Fever Rise In American Southwest - Will we see more stories like this with climate change?

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #42 - My favorite is last one - the plum-headed parakeet.

How Safe Is Your Medicine Cabinet? - With all the data collecting on computers - why are we not monitoring adverse effects of approved drugs more effectively?

Geologists Study Mystery of 'Eternal Flames' - The surprises out there in the natural world…

I am taking two Coursera course right now: Technicity and Nutrition, Health, Lifestyle: Issues and Insights. The links below were items referenced in the classes during the first week and news items that I paid more attention to because my awareness was increased by the lectures.

The Next Age of Megacities - From Ericsson

How will cities secure their water future? - it is going to be quite a challenge with so many cities already depleting current supplies for part of the year

Fat Hormone Controls Diabetes - Research that could provide more options for the treatment of diabetes

Dietary Guidance Calculators and Counters - From USDA

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 - From USDA

International Food Information Council Foundation 2012 Food & Health Survey (exec summary and full report)

Cronometer tool - Log what you eat and it totals up the calories and nutrients. I learned that I never get enough potassium from food! Screen snap below. Using this tool has tweaked my diet in a positive way.

March 2013 Snow

We got the best snow of the season yesterday in our area of Maryland. It clung to the trees until the little breezes and temperature caused it to plop to the ground or trickle away. One of the early pictures of the day was of the dense oak twigs piled high with snow (to the left). It looks like a black and white abstract drawing to me.

We went out for a drive to enjoy the beauty of the snow. I liked the way the snow clung to the dry grasses from last summer with the flocked spruce in the background. It was a shot from an open window - the car simply stopped in the middle of a country road.

When we got back from the outing, we made snow ice cream: fill a large bowl with snow, add milk (I used half-and-half that I had frozen from an early time when snow was forecast but didn’t materialize), 1 cup of sugar, and flavoring (I used 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon coconut). I add red food coloring so that I can tell when everything is thoroughly mixed. With an electric mixer it only takes a few minutes to create the treat.

By the afternoon the wind and melting had revealed red maple blooms and the hyacinth bed.

This was a year that the groundhog got it wrong….we are not having an early spring. With the snow scenes so beautiful and the streets cleared easily, I could simply celebrate the beauty of the day, take photos and remember that spring will be here soon.  

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 23, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model - Graphic used in Aboriginal Worldviews and Education course on Coursera

Redtail hawk and heron bird cams - First redtail egg laid on 3/14, herons expected soon….at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology site

Photos of Glasswinged Butterfly - butterfly without pigment in their wings found in Central America

Sakurajima Volcano Eruptions - photos and video from February

Some Great Ideas For Spending Spring In The National Park System - I am going to enjoy the National Cherry Blossom Festival this year…but the other ideas on this list sound good as well.

Pantanal: Liquid heart of South America - Video about the giant South American wetlands

What Coke Contains - It is pretty complex

Which Google Reader Replacement Will You Use? - Aargh! I hate when things like this happen...Google Reader was my favorite way to keep up with my RSS feeds.

Where Siri Has Trouble Hearing, a Crowd of Humans Could Help  - Combining the best talents of machines and people for speech-recognition. What other problems might use this same approach? And use very inexpensive labor. Is this a new kind of sweatshop?

Monarch Migration Plunges to Lowest Level in Decades - Sad. Years ago we raised monarch caterpillars to butterflies that we released. Now we rarely see monarchs in our part of Maryland.

US Home Energy Use Shift (Charts) - Changes between 1993 and 2009 (space heating down….appliances, electronics, and lighting up).

AmpleHarvest.org - A site to help coordinate gardeners that may have seasonal surplus with food pantries near them.