Everyone Loves Carrots

Carrots are good for Children, Adults....and Grasshoppers????

Give Thanks

Thanksgiving....."and serve it forth"

“…and serve it forth”

In 1621, the surviving Plymouth colonists who had arrived on the Mayflower and the Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast.  The menu for the first Thanksgiving feast was quite different than ours is today.

A recipe from “The English Housewife” from 1615 recommends boiling chickens, young turkeys or any house fowl daintily…with the bellies as full of parsley as they can hold, then lay the chickens, and trim the dish with sippets (toasted bread )…and so serve it forth.”  Other foods and recipes that were mentioned in “Giving Thanks:  Thanksgiving Recipes and History, from Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie” by Kathleen Curtin, Sandra L. Oliver, and Plimoth Plantation were:   Seethed Mussels with Parsley and Vinegar, Stewed Pumpkin, Stewed Turkey with Herbs and Onions, dried Indian corn, dried ham , cod, eel, clams, mussels, bass, peas, corn, beans, radishes, carrots, onions, walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, cranberries (but they didn’t have sugar so there was no cranberry sauce).  The same problem precluded them from making pumpkin pie—plus they didn’t have ovens to bake the pies in!

There were 53 Pilgrims at the First Thanksgiving; four married women, 5 adolescent girls, 9 adolescent boys, 13 young children and 22 men.  In the seventeenth century, people ate with spoons, knives and their fingers  (no forks).  There would be salt on the table to use, but pepper was only used in cooking and not added at the table. 

For all the menu differences from 1621 to 2011, Thanksgiving is a reminder of the bounty of the Earth and the importance of hard work and cooperation.  Now, “seethed mussels” or boiled turkeys are not standard menu items.  Whatever your meal is, “serve it forth” with friends, family and a thankful heart

The Challenge of Octoberfest

HHHmmm which sausage is lower fat---brats, kielbasa, which is Wurst???
Luckily Octoberfest comes but once year----so tonight I'll consume a bit more fat than usual----

 I've already booked my tee time---I'll walk and carry Nine tomorrow and burn some extra calories before they have a chance to "settle" in the wrong spots.

Easy Way to Hydrate With No Calories

	Tea naturally contains zero calories, therefore, when it is used in place of higher calorie beverages, it can help with weight control.
I Grow mint in the kitchen windowsill, I think it adds a "fresh mouth feel"
	Drinking tea may help maintain normal, healthy heart function as part of a diet that is consistent with dietary guidelines.
	Research suggests that drinking 2 to 3 cups per day of black or green tea may help maintain healthy blood vessel function.
	In the past, it was believed that antioxidant activity was responsible for the benefits of tea, but current research suggests that a variety of dietary compounds (including flavonoids) in tea may be responsible for some of these effects.

It Really is Simple--Eat Lower on the Food Chain & Exercise

Food and Mood-----How Close is that connection?

Rest inducing Tryptophan in turkey?
Sweets Reduce Pain?
Phenylethylamine in chocolate tells the brain you feel good?

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