Double Rainbow all the way 'Cross the Sky
The Today show has a segment with Joy Bauer. The Joy of cooking? lols.. But seriously, it's called Joy's Diet S.O.S www.joybauer.com/today-show/joys-diet-sos.aspx and I found it very informing over the last few months.
Case in point, I've been making "McJackson's" for a few years now and thanks to one of their segments I've changed the way I approach the recipe. But first, today's issue was pregnancy cravings and lunch meat. Joy addressed that women need more protein during pregnancy and advised people not to eat lunch meats every day due to the fact that they contain salt, preservatives, and nitrates which should not be consumed all the time. She noted some brands which offer nitrate free products as well as encouraging people to talk to the folks behind the deli counter and look into oven baked cuts of freshly cut meat.
Now, back to eggs. Traditionally, I get some butter or oil and fry up an egg over hard on both sides, melt some cheese on it as if I were cooking a hamburger, and throw it on a bagel. Well, one of the segments suggested making your own egg muffin sandwich by using the microwave. It's really impressive.
Just put an egg in a microwave safe measuring cup, beat it, and if you like, add cheese or whatever other toppings or spices you prefer. Then, microwave for about forty five seconds (I've found with my machine that closer to forty is enough). Voila, just throw it on a bagel or english muffin and you're done.
And of course they suggested doing this with egg whites. Here's my issue with eggs in general. Yes, they are high in cholesterol. It can be very bad for your heart and cardiovascular system eatings eggs, sausage, and bacon every day (can't have a good breakfast with all sausage and no eggs). Egg whites are supposedly the portion of the egg which has most of the healthier properties. While the yolk is said to contain the saturated fats (triglycerides) - or something. That aside, there are nine essential amino acids that the human body needs in order to create protein. The yolk contains some while the white contains the rest (and some others).
Nearly the entire meat vs. plant debate revolves around protein. And yet most of the materials I am exposed to do not take the time to stress the importance of what protein is. Our bodies get protein by eating foods that contain these amino acids. What foods contain amino acids? Just about everything has at least one or two.
I'm no expert and it would take an expert's knowledge or at least a chemistry lab to be able to sit and determine which amino acid is contained within each and every piece of fruit, grain, meat, etc.
So, without overcomplicating the conversation, here's what it boils down to. Animal flesh has all nine essential amino acids. Rice is not a complete protein. Beans are not a complete protein. If you eat rice and beans, you will get a complete protein.
Eggs are a complete protein, egg whites are not. And you may be saying, "Sir, this is unnecessary. People know all they need to know about nutrition." Well, I just so beg to differ, this http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/weightloss-articles33.html site claims that egg whites will provide the 26 grams of protein a day required. This is only partly true, at best. Again, I think we have a narrative in this country which is misleading. And because so many people are attempting to create their own diets, we run a serious risk of mal-nutrition.
And I know this whole issue probably seems ludicrous (holy hell, I just spent thirty seconds trying to figure out why the word ludicris isn't in the dictionary) in today's world. Our problem isn't malnutrition, it's over-nutrition. But I say nay, it is part of the same issue. We don't know what's right and we are constantly being misled. What's more, the experts can't even agree. I would have thought that the issues in today's world would be a little more sophisticated than a debate over what's for dinner.
Speaking of world issues, Twitter informed me today that Alyssa Milano won an award for the Do Something Twitter campaign, you can see it here. video link http://on.vh1.com/9lynoz
Tweets That Are Never Dry is the name of the organization. Or is it Alyssa's 37th Birthday? mycharitywater.org/p/campaign Well it's not so much an organization as an effort that is currently over. After reaching their initial goal of fifty thousand dollars, the goal was increased not once but twice until some one hundred thousand dollars was given (God Bless America / it's the smoke, the smoooke).
In her acceptance speech, she begins by saying, "I feel like Twitter is one of the only communities left in the world, um, it's a global community. And there are no boundaries and no limitations." Certainly Twitter represents a community, but I feel it's a bit of a stretch to say that it is one of the only communities left in the world. In fact, if we are going to start calling online applications communities, then there are thousands of communities being built all over the world far removed from Facebook and Twitter. Not to fault the woman and not to say that an acceptance speech should be anything close to an offical statement, but I think it shows how powerful Twitter has truly become while at the same time fads have the ubiquitos trait of drawing our attention away from a broader and more accurate picture of reality.
She goes on to say, "I feel like Twitter is a tool that anyone can use to share information. And I think the reason this means so much to me is because my charity water program wasn't really, I was kind of just the vessel, it was really about my Twitter community that tweated and re-tweated." Humble as pie. Don't take my analysis as a criticism. I write about this because Twitter is another example of a medium by which people can interact in a free and pure way.
She's right when she says these things are possible because of the community. It feels good to see something come about due to people's collective action; it feels even better to trust that our time and money is being spent on something that can serve a real purpose and do real good. When I had more money than I needed I became philanthropic. I responded to charities who approached me and sent away a few extra dollars when I could afford to. Much to the chagrin of peers, I felt as if I was part of a community. However, as time passed I was continually pursued by the people I had donated to. I felt I was becoming an investor in something which was out of my control. I felt like my money was needed and not wanted. Guilt began to creep into my heart and I found myself crestfallen (and confused? Shawty?).
When I look at this effort, I see real work done by real people and I feel as if I would not have been disappointed had I participated in the charity.
Finally, she explains that the charity water campaign created eighteen clean water wells in Ethiopia. Yay! Going back to the site which I linked earlier, titled Alyssa's 37th birthday, it details the campaign as well as shows a long, long list of contributors. One of the first names I see is one Nathan Fillion. None other than Captain Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly fame. You might also know him as the preacher Caleb on season seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or one of my favorites - Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Mancrushing aside, it piqued my interest and I was compelled to continue searching the list. Numerous actors, producers, celebrities, and of course anonymous contributors as well as ordinary folks chipped in. Here's where some big insightful point should go but I can't find one. I don't want to look for one. People contributed to something good and it feels good. Well, maybe one found me.
I got a fortune today - "In life, you won't go far unless you know where the goalposts are".
Case in point, I've been making "McJackson's" for a few years now and thanks to one of their segments I've changed the way I approach the recipe. But first, today's issue was pregnancy cravings and lunch meat. Joy addressed that women need more protein during pregnancy and advised people not to eat lunch meats every day due to the fact that they contain salt, preservatives, and nitrates which should not be consumed all the time. She noted some brands which offer nitrate free products as well as encouraging people to talk to the folks behind the deli counter and look into oven baked cuts of freshly cut meat.
Now, back to eggs. Traditionally, I get some butter or oil and fry up an egg over hard on both sides, melt some cheese on it as if I were cooking a hamburger, and throw it on a bagel. Well, one of the segments suggested making your own egg muffin sandwich by using the microwave. It's really impressive.
Just put an egg in a microwave safe measuring cup, beat it, and if you like, add cheese or whatever other toppings or spices you prefer. Then, microwave for about forty five seconds (I've found with my machine that closer to forty is enough). Voila, just throw it on a bagel or english muffin and you're done.
And of course they suggested doing this with egg whites. Here's my issue with eggs in general. Yes, they are high in cholesterol. It can be very bad for your heart and cardiovascular system eatings eggs, sausage, and bacon every day (can't have a good breakfast with all sausage and no eggs). Egg whites are supposedly the portion of the egg which has most of the healthier properties. While the yolk is said to contain the saturated fats (triglycerides) - or something. That aside, there are nine essential amino acids that the human body needs in order to create protein. The yolk contains some while the white contains the rest (and some others).
Nearly the entire meat vs. plant debate revolves around protein. And yet most of the materials I am exposed to do not take the time to stress the importance of what protein is. Our bodies get protein by eating foods that contain these amino acids. What foods contain amino acids? Just about everything has at least one or two.
I'm no expert and it would take an expert's knowledge or at least a chemistry lab to be able to sit and determine which amino acid is contained within each and every piece of fruit, grain, meat, etc.
So, without overcomplicating the conversation, here's what it boils down to. Animal flesh has all nine essential amino acids. Rice is not a complete protein. Beans are not a complete protein. If you eat rice and beans, you will get a complete protein.
Eggs are a complete protein, egg whites are not. And you may be saying, "Sir, this is unnecessary. People know all they need to know about nutrition." Well, I just so beg to differ, this http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/weightloss-articles33.html site claims that egg whites will provide the 26 grams of protein a day required. This is only partly true, at best. Again, I think we have a narrative in this country which is misleading. And because so many people are attempting to create their own diets, we run a serious risk of mal-nutrition.
And I know this whole issue probably seems ludicrous (holy hell, I just spent thirty seconds trying to figure out why the word ludicris isn't in the dictionary) in today's world. Our problem isn't malnutrition, it's over-nutrition. But I say nay, it is part of the same issue. We don't know what's right and we are constantly being misled. What's more, the experts can't even agree. I would have thought that the issues in today's world would be a little more sophisticated than a debate over what's for dinner.
Speaking of world issues, Twitter informed me today that Alyssa Milano won an award for the Do Something Twitter campaign, you can see it here. video link http://on.vh1.com/9lynoz
Tweets That Are Never Dry is the name of the organization. Or is it Alyssa's 37th Birthday? mycharitywater.org/p/campaign Well it's not so much an organization as an effort that is currently over. After reaching their initial goal of fifty thousand dollars, the goal was increased not once but twice until some one hundred thousand dollars was given (God Bless America / it's the smoke, the smoooke).
In her acceptance speech, she begins by saying, "I feel like Twitter is one of the only communities left in the world, um, it's a global community. And there are no boundaries and no limitations." Certainly Twitter represents a community, but I feel it's a bit of a stretch to say that it is one of the only communities left in the world. In fact, if we are going to start calling online applications communities, then there are thousands of communities being built all over the world far removed from Facebook and Twitter. Not to fault the woman and not to say that an acceptance speech should be anything close to an offical statement, but I think it shows how powerful Twitter has truly become while at the same time fads have the ubiquitos trait of drawing our attention away from a broader and more accurate picture of reality.
She goes on to say, "I feel like Twitter is a tool that anyone can use to share information. And I think the reason this means so much to me is because my charity water program wasn't really, I was kind of just the vessel, it was really about my Twitter community that tweated and re-tweated." Humble as pie. Don't take my analysis as a criticism. I write about this because Twitter is another example of a medium by which people can interact in a free and pure way.
She's right when she says these things are possible because of the community. It feels good to see something come about due to people's collective action; it feels even better to trust that our time and money is being spent on something that can serve a real purpose and do real good. When I had more money than I needed I became philanthropic. I responded to charities who approached me and sent away a few extra dollars when I could afford to. Much to the chagrin of peers, I felt as if I was part of a community. However, as time passed I was continually pursued by the people I had donated to. I felt I was becoming an investor in something which was out of my control. I felt like my money was needed and not wanted. Guilt began to creep into my heart and I found myself crestfallen (and confused? Shawty?).
When I look at this effort, I see real work done by real people and I feel as if I would not have been disappointed had I participated in the charity.
Finally, she explains that the charity water campaign created eighteen clean water wells in Ethiopia. Yay! Going back to the site which I linked earlier, titled Alyssa's 37th birthday, it details the campaign as well as shows a long, long list of contributors. One of the first names I see is one Nathan Fillion. None other than Captain Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly fame. You might also know him as the preacher Caleb on season seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or one of my favorites - Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Mancrushing aside, it piqued my interest and I was compelled to continue searching the list. Numerous actors, producers, celebrities, and of course anonymous contributors as well as ordinary folks chipped in. Here's where some big insightful point should go but I can't find one. I don't want to look for one. People contributed to something good and it feels good. Well, maybe one found me.
I got a fortune today - "In life, you won't go far unless you know where the goalposts are".