The Dish

Are You Going Somewhere?

noreply@blogger.com (The Dish) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:54:00 +0000

Ever get stuck in a rut? Old routines are hard to change and present a constant source of discouragement.

Or do they?

We develop routines to keep ourselves comfortable and to reduce stress. Stress is uncomfortable and can be dangerous.

But if our bodies are not confronted with some stress and resistance, they atrophy.

Likewise, if we remain stagnant with our routines, our lifestyle will atrophy.

But very often when we try to change, we give up before we even take the first step because we feel discouraged by the task.

We tell ourselves "I can't." Sometimes you just have to take that single first step to discover that you can. Once you get that first step behind you, it becomes easier to take another and another and another.

Step by step, even baby steps, can help us find ourselves across the room,
down the road, and eventually reaching our goal.

While change is hard, it’s not impossible. All we need to do is make up our mind and have and implement a sound plan.

Before making a drastic change in your lifestyle, consider this: don't. Drastic changes are disruptive and make sticking to your goals very difficult.

Here's a simple, three step process for successful change:

1) Make a decision. Figure out how you would like to live. What habits do you want to ditch? How active do you want to be? How do you want to eat? For example: "I want exercise regularly and eat a whole-foods diet."

Try to avoid set-in-stone number goals (like "I want to lose 20 pounds", or "I want to work out six days a week") but instead focus more on habits and lifestyle ("I want to eat right") since developing good habits will make it easier to get to your numbers goals.

2) Give yourself some time to get there. Your bad habits didn't develop overnight and neither will your good habits.

Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to adapt to the gradual changes you will be introducing. The length of time is up to you, but it should be long enough that the changes are not drastic and short enough that the deadline is meaningful.

Two weeks is probably not enough time, but 2 years is likely too long.

3) Make a plan and stick to it. Divide up the time you have into manageable lengths and introduce a gradual change with each new segment. For example, if your goal is to exercise regularly and you give yourself two months to get there, divide it up into eight one-week segments. Each week, add a little bit of exercise to your routine.

The first week should be gradual and manageable. If you can only do 10 minutes twice a week, then start there.

The next week, see if you can do 15 minutes, and try to add a third day. Before you know it, you will be working out an hour a day, five days a week.

It's also crucial to develop a network of support around you to help you stay the course is also a benefit in helping you stick to your plan.

If you are trying to quit smoking, limit the time you spend hanging around people who will be smoking. If you have a friend who is also trying to quit, that is even better. Encouraging and helping to support others to get healthy can reinforce your goal of keeping healthy too.

What $10 Will Buy

noreply@blogger.com (The Dish) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 07:19:00 +0000

What will $10 buy? A lot more that you think. Think about what you spent at your most recent trip to the store for produce. On average, you probably spend $3 or more for each type. That adds up quick. Think about how long that produce lasted you. Did you get the opportunity to eat it all before you had to toss it in the trash?

In today's world, people are being stretched to their limits and have to find more ways to stretch that dollar. People are becoming very creative about food buying strategies. From farmers' markets to food co-ops to the charitable food co-op, each challenges us to be more conscientious about where our food is coming from, how old it is, and how to properly clean, prepare, and store it in order to minimize the cost and maximize the health benefits from consuming them.

One noteworthy way in which Arizonans are being savvy is by their support of an organization called "The 3000 Club" which runs the local "Market on the Move". This market is entirely run by volunteers, small businesses, individuals, and contributing charities to help feed the hungry, especially children. Volunteers help rescue farm overages from ending up in the landfill.

The produce is distributed through the city every weekend, usually in a church parking lot. People can either bring their own basket or can use one of the boxes available. Annual memberships are available, but individuals can simply show up at any of the scheduled events throughout the Phoenix Metro area with $10.

Better bring a large basket or an extra pair of arms to help carry the load. During my visit, I received a rather large and beautifully ripe Tuscan Melon, Honeydew Melon, 4 containers of Roma Tomatoes On The Vine, 4 containers of Sunburst Golden Cherry Tomatoes, 4 bags of Cherry Tomatoes On The Vine -with 4 .75 OFF coupons, 6 beautifully red medium Bell Peppers, several Zucchini and Squash, and Pickling Cucumbers.

Produce varies according to season. Sometimes you can get Mangos and Bananas. When interviewing several frequent visitors, I was told they have never seen any green leafy vegetables there. But still, you will get more than $10 in fresh produce in just the tomatoes alone. A great value to be sure. In addition, you get the satisfaction of knowing that your $10 donation for your basket will help countless hungry, homeless, and families who have lost their jobs. This organization can help your $10 go a long, long, long way.

Meet George from MOM

The volunteer staffs are friendly and have a passion for what they do. George, one of the supervisors I spoke with, was kind, friendly, and very focused on the cause. He helped keep the lines moving efficiently and helped everyone with any questions quickly. The volunteer staff have total buy-in to the cause and really love people. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and intend on returning again and again.

If you have any organizations such as this one in your state or community, please contact us on the www.dishesforlife.com website under the Contact Us tab. We will look to promoting them on the site and providing their link.

(The 3000 Club is a program of Children's Emergency Medical Fund, a nonprofit charity founded by Lon Taylor in 2000. The 3000 Club works with the Northern Arizona Food Bank, and the Borderland Food Bank, which serves charities throughout Arizona and America. The 3000 Club is an approved 501(c)3 charity listed in publication 78. -from https://www.the3000club.org/the-project/market-on-the-move-mom )

Market On The Move is a Win/Win

The Spice Situation

noreply@blogger.com (The Dish) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 07:12:00 +0000

It's that time of year again, the time when the weather changes and the holidays quickly beckon us to the kitchen to prepare our time honored family favorites. Are you prepared?

How fresh is it? Do you inventory your spice cabinet on a regular basis or do you just wait until it’s time to bake and cook and then find out you are out of that one spice you only use at this time of year?

Going through all your spices annually at a minimum or semi-annually is ideal. If you haven't inventoried your spices in a while, fall is a great time to clean out your spice cabinet and toss everything that has expired or that you haven't used in over a year. But spices can be expensive, especially national spice brands bought at the local grocery chain. The bill of replacing all of one's spices could easily add up to the hundreds and often results in a lot of waste, which is why most people don't bother to clean out their spice cabinet at all.

For optimal flavor, opt for fresh herbs whenever possible. When fresh herbs are not available, dried is the only option you have. With many dried spices, the fresher the better. They can lose their flavor or even become toxic. If the expiration date has passed, it’s better to err on the side of caution and throw it out!

Are you one of the lucky few who've discovered a store, either online or locally which sells spices in bulk allowing you to buy just what you need? If you have, you've hit the mother lode and have learned you can save a fortune. Further, because there are some spices you know you'll never use up an entire bottle of, you can buy only what you THINK you are going to need for the season or the year. And, because the national spice brands usually are several months old before they reach the grocery store shelves, bulk suppliers usually have a fresher product.

Tip: Try to find a local distributor or buy them online from a reputable distributor that ensures freshness.

To save more money, you can opt to wash out your old spice bottles and re-label them, or you can do something really creative to add a touch of design to your kitchen decor to make your life easier. Consider a prepackaged spice rack organizer or refillable bottles or tins.

There are many spice rack organizer options available. If you have a space shortage, you can opt for magnetic spice tins. I found Kamenstein Magnetic Spice Tins at a local store for $1.99 each on sale. There are other types available for more and some tins as cheap as .59 a piece, but they do not have clear lids or magnetic bottoms to hang.

Clear lids are ideal so you always know when you are running low. If you want to stack them in a cabinet, labels on the side, that will work, but the magnetic tins are very handy for accessing the spice you want quickly and can either be adhered to any appliance in your kitchen that is close to your stove or you can buy a magnetic sheet for them to stick to. Some chefs install magnetic sheets on the inside of a cabinet door, pantry door, or on the back splash in the kitchen.

Are you planning on cooking or baking this holiday season? Take some time before the season hits, go through your cabinet and make an investment that will pay in dividends of time and money with fresh new spices purchased by the ounce from a bulk supplier.

While you're at it, think about what spices you are going to need for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's recipes and get them now so you don't have to run to the store with a special trip which costs you more time and money. This is a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It will cut your stress in half so you can spend more time enjoying your family and friends. Happy spice shopping!

The Kickoff

noreply@blogger.com (The Dish) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:31:00 +0000

An idea is a powerful thing.

No matter how small it is, it can change everything.

Every idea came from somewhere or something that had a need. Today, our needs demand more from us than ever. But there is hope.

We can change the status quo with small and simple choices. Whether it be choosing to go left instead of right or choosing to prepare a whole food instead of going through the drive-thru or buying from the frozen food section of our local grocer.

We hold all the power if we simply will choose to do what is necessary to be healthy. We can, for the most part, choose for ourselves health or disease.

The kickoff can be the most exciting and pivotal play in football. It can set the tone for the rest of the game, establishing great field position for the offense with a good run back, or terrible field position if the returner bobbles the kick. Case in point, The Music City Miracle saw the Tennessee Titans snatch victory from the jaws of defeat (or the Buffalo Bills snatch defeat from the jaws of victory). The Titans were behind with almost no time left on the clock in the playoffs.

All that was left was for them to receive the kick from Buffalo. The Titans coaches and players decided to seize whatever opportunity was given them.

They decided that they wanted to win and found within themselves the will to win.

The game of football is a lot like the game of life. To the casual observer, it is chaotic. To the student of the game, it is an ordered and predictable mechanism. Rather than seeing 22 individuals running full speed, randomly colliding with each other, those who know the game are able to see every individual element interacting and harmonizing with each other.

Each small interaction builds upon the other and, while by themselves don't seem to change much of anything; together can have a very predictable outcome.

Likewise, each food decision we make works in the same way. We have to decide to win first, and then make conscious choices, no matter how small, to achieve the victory of health or the agony of disease.

Have you been looking for a reason to get healthy?

What has been holding you back?

Say "yes" to a healthier life and kickoff your new life today.

It starts in kitchens all over America, including yours.

Join our revolution to get healthy now.