Category Archives: health

Food, health, pulses

Why do I love Pulses?

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It’s obvious that I do from my first post on the subject. But why do I love them? Because they are healthy, cheap, taste good and quite often easy.

They are cheap. You can still find them in supermarkets for under $1 a pound for dry beans, which can be up to 16 servings. Even canned beans are incredibly cheap per serving compared to any other form of protein. Both canned and dried beans will last in a pantry for ages, so they are a worthwhile investment. You really can’t beat the price, and adding a pulse based meal or two to your menu will reduce your shopping budget substantially. There’s a reason why financial experts say you need to eat beans and rice while getting debt under control.

The easiest way to make a pulse is to pop open a can, rinse, and top with your favorite vinaigrette. You can’t get much simpler than that.

They taste good. There are so many ways to cook them even if you or your family professes to hate them, you’ll find one or two recipes everyone will love. And there are so many varieties of pulses, you may find one or two types that make all the difference.

And they are healthy. You’ve heard that before, I am sure. They are one of the highest fiber foods easily available, and fiber is key to weight loss, digestive health, reducing certain cancers, controlling blood sugar, and more. And with most first world countries saying people need to eat 25-38 grams of fiber a day, beans (with 7-14 grams of fiber per serving) are a good way to get extra fiber in.

In addition to fiber, beans are full of complex carbohydrates, which provide long term energy and reduce strain on your insulin level (they have a low glycemic index). A breakfast or lunch with beans will keep you going through the day better than one full of sugars.

Beans are also a protein and nutrient dense food. Canadian researches have learned that Canadians who eat more pulses have more nutrient rich diets overall.

And while you may have heard that protein in beans ‘isn’t complete’, in our modern world it is both not necessary to have complete proteins at every meal, and it is quite simple to ‘complete’ a pulse’s protein. You just add nuts or grains. Most cultures already have a grain accompaniment to traditional bean dishes, and that’s an easy addition.

health, meditation

Epiphany

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Today is not one of the days in the carol, but it is the final day of the holiday season. Last night was Twelfth Night (which yes, Shakespeare named a play after, and was supposed to be performed on the last night of Christmas)  and we spent it with friends, eating and having a good time.
Today is Epiphany, Three Kings Day, Kings Day, or some other name for it. It’s the day the Kings made it to see Jesus (after following that star). For many people, this is the gift giving holiday. My grandfather used to tell me of leaving straw out for their horses, and they would leave presents in your shoes.

Other children in Italy get presents from La Belfana. She’s basically a witch, and her story is sad, happy and motivational.

As my mother told me, there was an old woman who opened her house to the Magi as they traveled to visit the baby. They invited her to come with them to meet the child as they continued on their journey, but she refused, saying she had too make chores to do. She would catch up to them.
When she had finally caught up, the family had left, and she had missed her chance to give the child presents. As such, she is doomed? blessed? to travel the world giving toys to little children in the hopes of eventually giving them to the child she missed.

This is an adorable story to explain the magical presents to children that also makes them kind to old women, because you never know if this one may be ‘Grandmother Witch’. But there is another lesson, which I could not believe my mother had missed after telling me this tale so often.

It’s don’t spend so much time working you miss the important things in life. I remember how shocked my mother was when I pointed that out to her.

So on this extra day of gifts and food, I will remember Strega Nonna and her eternal quest caused by her inability to simply stop and be in the moment.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. I enjoyed it.

 

 

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health, meditation

The Twelfth Day of Christmas: Twelve Drummers Drumming

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This last day of Christmas has me thinking about the drummers, and how important it is to follow a rhythm. For many of us, we spend our time chasing emergencies and urgent things that have to be done right now, leaving us little time to breathe let alone get the things we want to get done, done.

It’s easy to go from emergency to emergency, and then be just so exhausted you want to rest until an emergency forces you back into rush mode. It can be very hard 6to break that cycle, especially if your life is running from emergency to emergency. I have been there, and I understand how hard that can be. But if the issues are coming from a lack of pacing, then that can be controlled.

Taking smaller chunks out of a project can seem like a cop out- are you really cleaning your closet if you only do a two foot stretch? Isn’t it better to dump the whole closet on the bed, then get stuck, then have an emergency pop up and at bedtime through it all back in because you need to not sleep on the pile of clothes?
It’s important to listen to your own psyche. Stop a job before you get overwhelmed because then you will burn out. Find your pace, your rhythm and keep moving forward in a way that allows you off time and a chance to recover, without guilt. Remember, that by over extending yourself, doesn’t actually get more done in the long run.

So when I hear this last gift, I will remember to pace myself and listen to my rhythm.

 

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Forward to Epiphany .