I was reading the Italian newspaper yesterday and came across a cool article about World Slow Day. World Slow Day was celebrated on March 15th (as Americans we had no clue) and designed to "promote the values of living and working at a more natural pace." Basically, it was a day for people to slow down and appreciate life. Personally, I think we should have World Slow Day at least a couple times a week. Imagine what it could do for our physical and mental health!
As Ferris Bueller once said in the John Hughes film, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
So take a few minutes, relax and check out the short article about World Slow Day at "Life in Italy."
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
"Bigger, Stronger, Faster" The Movie
For anyone who has ever wanted to be bigger, stronger and faster, I highly recommend the documentary film, "Bigger, Stronger, Faster, The Side Effect of Being American" written and directed by Chris Bell.
Chris, the narrator, begins the film by explaining that he was a typical porky kid living a typical life with his two equally nerdy brothers. This was until the three began to watch WWF giants like Hulk Hogan wrestle one another and became disciples of films like "Conan" and "Rocky" which glamorized the oily, rippling muscles of Schwarzenegger and Stallone. The three brothers set out to achieve the Stallone-esque physique and to be the biggest, strongest guys around without using steroids. Chris even comments how his heroes always said they achieved results with hard work, not drugs.
Fast forward a few years to when the brothers discovered that their heroes were liars. Everyone was juicing up from Stallone and Schwarzenneger to Olympic athletes and baseball players. It seemed to be an accepted prerequisite to compete at an elite level.
It is at this point that Chris, whose two brothers regularly use steroids, begins to explore steroid usage in the U.S. The pros, the cons, the evidence about the safety of steroid use versus the dangers. He explores the health and fitness supplement business as well and the myths we've all fallen prey to, such as those weight loss supplement ads with before and after pictures.
Chris also explores the ethical and legal side of the steroid issue and does a pretty good job of presenting both sides. In the end, the film might have leaned more in the direction of if you're an adult, you should be able to make the decision whether or not to use steroids, but still I thought the film was worth watching simply for the facts and the thought provoking manner in which the argument was made.
And for the record, I am an adult who doesn't believe in using steroids, but then again I'm not one who believes in using supplements and/or drugs (including most pharmaceuticals) for anything. The human body is an incredible machine, why mess with it?
Chris, the narrator, begins the film by explaining that he was a typical porky kid living a typical life with his two equally nerdy brothers. This was until the three began to watch WWF giants like Hulk Hogan wrestle one another and became disciples of films like "Conan" and "Rocky" which glamorized the oily, rippling muscles of Schwarzenegger and Stallone. The three brothers set out to achieve the Stallone-esque physique and to be the biggest, strongest guys around without using steroids. Chris even comments how his heroes always said they achieved results with hard work, not drugs.
Fast forward a few years to when the brothers discovered that their heroes were liars. Everyone was juicing up from Stallone and Schwarzenneger to Olympic athletes and baseball players. It seemed to be an accepted prerequisite to compete at an elite level.
It is at this point that Chris, whose two brothers regularly use steroids, begins to explore steroid usage in the U.S. The pros, the cons, the evidence about the safety of steroid use versus the dangers. He explores the health and fitness supplement business as well and the myths we've all fallen prey to, such as those weight loss supplement ads with before and after pictures.
Chris also explores the ethical and legal side of the steroid issue and does a pretty good job of presenting both sides. In the end, the film might have leaned more in the direction of if you're an adult, you should be able to make the decision whether or not to use steroids, but still I thought the film was worth watching simply for the facts and the thought provoking manner in which the argument was made.
And for the record, I am an adult who doesn't believe in using steroids, but then again I'm not one who believes in using supplements and/or drugs (including most pharmaceuticals) for anything. The human body is an incredible machine, why mess with it?
Friday, March 19, 2010
Amy's Healthy Blueberry Muffin Recipe
It's cold and snowy outside, which makes for great cooking weather so I thought I'd share a recipe for my healthy, yet very tasty blueberry muffins.
Amy's Healthy Blueberry Muffin Recipe
1 3/4 Cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 Cup of sugar
2 t Baking Powder
1 T of Ground flaxseeds/flaxmeal mixed with 3T of water (your egg substitute)
1/3 Cup of applesauce
3/4 Cup of milk (soymilk and ricemilk work fine, too)
1/4 t Salt
1 Cup of frozen or fresh blueberries
2T Lemon or orange peel if you're feeling ambitious.
Muffin cup liners
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the ground flaxseeds/flaxmeal and water. Stir and let sit for a few minutes.
Combine dry ingredients.
Combine wet ingredients.
Mix wet and dry ingredients (including the flax mixture). Stir well. There should be a few lumps.
Wait 5 minutes to let the whole wheat flour absorb moisture. If the mix seems too thick, then add a bit more milk.
Line a muffin tin with muffin cup liners. Spoon batter into muffin cup liners until they are about 1/2 full.
Bake for 20 minutes and serve warm. Enjoy!
Amy's Healthy Blueberry Muffin Recipe
1 3/4 Cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 Cup of sugar
2 t Baking Powder
1 T of Ground flaxseeds/flaxmeal mixed with 3T of water (your egg substitute)
1/3 Cup of applesauce
3/4 Cup of milk (soymilk and ricemilk work fine, too)
1/4 t Salt
1 Cup of frozen or fresh blueberries
2T Lemon or orange peel if you're feeling ambitious.
Muffin cup liners
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the ground flaxseeds/flaxmeal and water. Stir and let sit for a few minutes.
Combine dry ingredients.
Combine wet ingredients.
Mix wet and dry ingredients (including the flax mixture). Stir well. There should be a few lumps.
Wait 5 minutes to let the whole wheat flour absorb moisture. If the mix seems too thick, then add a bit more milk.
Line a muffin tin with muffin cup liners. Spoon batter into muffin cup liners until they are about 1/2 full.
Bake for 20 minutes and serve warm. Enjoy!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Procrastination and Workouts
It was a spectacular winter day here in Colorado, so my husband and I decided to take out the road bikes for a nice road ride. During the process of moving and rearranging our things several times, we seem to have misplaced our bicycle computers. We spent 2 hours searching for them, both of us swearing we thought we knew where they were. Finally, we decided to call off the search. I realized that we could spend all day searching for the computers rather than riding and began to wonder if our search was turning into a strange form of procrastination.
The ride we wanted to do was unfamiliar to us. We had no idea how long it was, how hilly or challenging it would be, how much traffic we'd encounter, how wide the shoulders would be, how much junk we'd find in the road, how polite drivers would be, etc.
So, after about 3 hours of getting ready, searching for the computers, etc. we were off. The ride was wonderful. Cool at first, but warm once we got moving. Spectacular mountain views kept both of us relaxed and awed. The route turned out to be a lot flatter than either of us expected, which was nice considering this was our first road ride in a while. We had a huge shoulder to ride on, so traffic wasn't an issue.
When we got back home, I thought about how we could have missed this ride by staying at home to look for the bicycle computers. That would have been a shame. The moral of the story is procrastination comes in all forms. Learning to recognize it will help you lead a happier, healthier life. In other words, stop procrastinating and get moving!
For those of you interested in our bike route. Here it is. We rode from Longmont, Colorado to Lyons, Colorado and back. Our route was as follows:
Route Rating: Easy because it's mostly flat. Nice wide shoulders most of the way. 17th does not have a designated bike lane/shoulder, but the road is wide enough for bikes and cars to share the lane and the drivers were polite. There's also a bumpy sidewalk that runs along 17th in case you hate traffic.
The ride we wanted to do was unfamiliar to us. We had no idea how long it was, how hilly or challenging it would be, how much traffic we'd encounter, how wide the shoulders would be, how much junk we'd find in the road, how polite drivers would be, etc.
So, after about 3 hours of getting ready, searching for the computers, etc. we were off. The ride was wonderful. Cool at first, but warm once we got moving. Spectacular mountain views kept both of us relaxed and awed. The route turned out to be a lot flatter than either of us expected, which was nice considering this was our first road ride in a while. We had a huge shoulder to ride on, so traffic wasn't an issue.
When we got back home, I thought about how we could have missed this ride by staying at home to look for the bicycle computers. That would have been a shame. The moral of the story is procrastination comes in all forms. Learning to recognize it will help you lead a happier, healthier life. In other words, stop procrastinating and get moving!
For those of you interested in our bike route. Here it is. We rode from Longmont, Colorado to Lyons, Colorado and back. Our route was as follows:
- West on 17th,
- North on Spencer
- West onto the bike path that's just across from the park (near 20th)
- The bike path goes under Hover. You can either ride the path along Hover or continue west.
- We continued west on the path until it ended at Hwy. 66
- West on Hwy 66 all the way to Lyons.
- Once in Lyons, we turned Lt. on 4th, had lunch in the park, then headed home by going east on 66 and retracing our route.
Route Rating: Easy because it's mostly flat. Nice wide shoulders most of the way. 17th does not have a designated bike lane/shoulder, but the road is wide enough for bikes and cars to share the lane and the drivers were polite. There's also a bumpy sidewalk that runs along 17th in case you hate traffic.
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