You can become the person you want to be today.
You can have the life you want today.
You can do the things you love to do today.

Right now.

Don’t waste another minute being unhappy with your life. Be the person you want to be starting now. Make your next decision, your next action, your next move as the person you’re becoming.

Right now, stand up and celebrate who you are becoming – dance!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Protein is made up of amino acids, often described as its building blocks. We actually have a biological requirement for amino acids, not for protein – that is, our bodies need the amino acids to build our own protein. Humans cannot make nine of the twenty common amino acids, so these amino acids are considered to be essential. In other words, we must get these amino acids from our diets. We need all nine of these amino acids for our body to make protein.

You may have heard that you need to eat animal protein to stay healthy. Eating animal protein does get you all the essential amino acids – but they’re not necessarily the best way to get protein, if you consider all the costs and health benefits of the way you eat.

Soybeans, quinoa (a grain), and spinach also are considered high quality protein. Other protein sources of non-animal origin usually have all the essential amino acids, but the amounts of one or two of these amino acids may be low. For example, grains are lower in lysine (an essential amino acid) and legumes are lower in methionine (another essential amino acid) than those protein sources designated as high quality protein.

Eating a variety of plant-based foods each day will ensure that you get all the essential amino acids, and thus plenty of protein each day.

Here’s another Meatless Monday meal! This one’s a bit spicy, but you can certainly make it fit your family’s tastebuds.

Some people don’t like the taste of fresh cilantro. Try using half cilantro and half spinach – prepare it all the same way (as directed), and you’ll still have the good “green stuff” with a much milder flavor. Also, if there will be objections to “green stuff” on the top of this skillet pizza, then stir it in at the very end, just before you remove the pan from the heat. (Yes, we really are big fans of putting green stuff in everything – so everyone is used to seeing it and never gets freaked out about it. Add those nutrients where you can!)

~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Southwestern Skillet Pizza
Blue * Serves 6

1/4 cup veggie broth
1/2 onion, medium, sliced
1 medium garlic clove, crushed
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 pound mushroom, sliced
1-1/4 cups crushed tomatoes, canned
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted
2 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (optional)
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound fettuccine, fresh or dried
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place a large pot with 3-4 quarts water on to boil.

Heat broth over medium heat in a 10″ nonstick skillet & add onion. Sauté 10 minutes.

Add garlic, green pepper & mushrooms & sauté 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, cumin, corn, jalapenos, and salt & pepper to taste. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook fettuccine 2 to 3 minutes if fresh, 9 minutes if dried. Drain and add to skillet. Cook 10 minutes, blending the sauce & noodles together. When it’s well-mixed, press it down in the skillet with the back of a spoon to help it hold its shape.

Remove from heat & sprinkle cilantro on top, cut into wedges. Serve with a tossed green salad.

Be like the flower, turn your faces to the sun.

~ Kahlil Gibran

Photo by Kay82

Summer Saturdays often get filled with projects – home improvement and renovation projects, clean-out-the-garage projects, move-the-kid-to-a-new-place projects, catch-up-on-everything-we-ignored-all-last-week projects – it can get tiring.

When you plan a day of projects, be sure to plan some fun, too. Take breaks. Stay hydrated. Have simple meals that replenish and recharge your body. Watch a favorite movie at the end of the day (settle in with pillows and blankets, in case everyone falls asleep).

See Marilu at the AIDS walk in San Francisco tomorrow, Sunday, July 18. She’s one of the opening speakers, and she’ll walk, too. Gather some donations today, and come join the fun!

The AIDS Walk begins and ends in Golden Gate Park at Sharon Meadow. Walkers should enter the venue at the intersection of Haight Street and Stanyan Boulevard to turn in their funds. The walk is 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and takes roughly 2-3 hours to complete.

9 a.m. Sign-In opens in Mother’s Meadow. Walkers turn in donations, pick up fundraising awards, and receive their official 2010 AIDS Walk San Francisco walker button and AIDS Walk Guide. All donations support the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF).

9:30 a.m. Aerobic Warm-Up

9:45 a.m. Opening Ceremony in Sharon Meadow. Live from the stage: community leaders, musical guests, and celebrity speakers like Marilu!

10:30 a.m. AIDS Walk begins!

12:30 p.m. Post-Walk concert and family entertainment in Sharon Meadow with live music and the announcement of the fundraising total for AIDS Walk San Francisco 2010! The KidZone features a bounce house, face painting, and free carousel rides!

More information here.

We all know that exercise benefits our physical health. Did you know it’s great for mental health as well?

Studies show that there is a link between physical exercise and brain activity, resulting in more creative and productive mental activity after exercise. If you’ve ever started your day with a dance-based workout or kickboxing, or a yoga routine, you’ve probably experienced that the whole day is easier after focusing on “right” and “left” for half an hour. Exercise is almost like turning the pathways in your brain to superhighways. Everything just moves faster and smoother, and isn’t that how we want to think?

You don’t need an hour-long cardio class to feel the effects—a brisk 10-minute walk will do the trick. (But try one of those dance-based classes for a few mornings to see if you notice the difference!)

Some of us love to play in the kitchen; others prefer specific recipes. If you like to play, it’s easy to your own recipe for veggie burgers (or to create them new each time, using whatever’s available).

What are the advantages of veggie burgers? Veggie burgers generally have less fat than a regular hamburger. They also generally offer a person more than one category from the food pyramid. Not only are they a vegetable serving, but a grain serving as well.

Here are some tips to help guide your creativity!

• Beans and grains are the basic building blocks of veggie burgers. Grind up beans such as black beans, garbanzo beans, soybeans, lentils and/or pinto beans. Add grains such as cooked rice, oats, bulgur, leftover couscous, sunflower seeds or wheat germ.
• Vegetables can include chopped mushrooms, scallions or grilled vegetables. These foods are very mild, so add fresh herbs and seasonings to punch up the flavor. Add some beaten egg replacer and breadcrumbs, which are the necessary glue in veggie burgers.
• Mash the ingredients together with a fork, or use a food processor.
• The key step is texture and finishing the burger. The mixture should be a paste about the consistency of bread dough. After shaping into patties, finish the burgers by coating them with a dry ingredient such as breadcrumbs, a mixture of flour and cornmeal, or sesame seeds.
• Veggie burger ingredients will hold together better if they have been refrigerated before cooking. If they are not refrigerated, the ingredients will dry out and cause the burgers to fall apart. Freeze veggie burgers that are especially fragile before frying or grilling.
• Fry the burgers in a non-stick pan with a little bit of olive or vegetable oil.
• Another option is to take leftover grilled vegetables and turn them into veggie burgers by adding mashed beans and breadcrumbs.
• Portobello mushrooms make a delicious veggie burger. Marinate four mushroom caps for two hours in a plastic bag with 1/2 cup olive oil, five tablespoons balsamic vinegar, six cloves of garlic, minced, and two tablespoons fresh thyme. Grill the mushroom caps for two to three minutes per side. Discard the marinade.

Yum! Another great vegan dish that’s easy – and spicy! It’s a great pantry meal, where most of the ingredients are things you have on hand.

Serve with broccoli rabe (or broccolini) which has been sauteed in a little olive oil, garlic and onion.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Black Bean Pasta
Green * Serves 3

2 cups uncooked radiatore (nugget) pasta (4 ounces)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with chili spices (watch labels for sugar!)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bell pepper, cut into 2×1/4″ strips

Cook and drain pasta as directed. Meanwhile, heat tomatoes to boiling in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in cooked pasta, beans, lime zest, cumin and bell pepper. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until hot.

BPA, or bisphenol A, is ubiquitous. Simply put, just about anything you eat that comes out of a can — from Campbell’s Chicken Soup and SpaghettiOs to Diet Coke and BumbleBee Tuna — contains the same exact chemical.

The exposure to BPA from canned food “is far more extensive” than from plastic bottles, said Shanna Swan, a professor and researcher at the University of Rochester in New York. “It’s particularly concerning when it’s lining infant formula cans.”

BPA is the key compound in epoxy resin linings that keep food fresher longer and prevents it from interacting with metal and altering the taste. It has been linked in some studies of rats and mice to not only cancer but also obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
…
One scientist helping to lead the charge against BPA is Yale University physician, professor and researcher Hugh Taylor. His research has shown that the chemical alters the way genes react to estrogen, and could open the door for infants in utero to develop cancer much later in life.

“I tell my pregnant patients to avoid products containing it,” he said. “Even a fleeting exposure in pregnancy can cause lasting damage.”

The studies by Taylor are certainly eye-opening. They have shown that the chemical alters the way DNA operates, a process known as an epigenetic change.

On each strand of DNA a group of carbon molecules binds to receptors that help turn genes on or off. In the presence of BPA, though, many of those carbon molecules can be removed from DNA, and with them the switch.

Think of the carbon groups as a kind of lock, and the DNA receptors as a gate. When the lock is removed, the gate can swing open, greatly increasing the risk for estrogen to flow through later in life, interact with DNA and cause cancer.

“It has permanent, lasting effects,” said Taylor.

~ Ernest Scheyder, Reuters – full article here