The Friday silly doggy picture. It's.....Stick 'em up Schnauzer!!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Using Food To Lower Your Blood Pressure
Although high blood pressure is often inherited, you can often control it by changing your diet and eating more "blood pressure friendly" foods. Knowing what these foods are is the trick. We all eat too much salt, and cutting back on salt would help everyone, young and old.
This is a very important step, and can be a little more difficult than you think. You may need to substitute other spices for the salt that you love. Mrs. Dash has a group of spices that make really good and flavorful substitutes and after you have lived awhile with less salt, you will get more and more accustomed to it.
Try adding these fruits and melons to your diet - they will work to keep your pressure low: Cantaloupe (especially good), apples, bananas, nectarines (especially good), oranges, honeydew melon (especially good), apricots, fruit juice, watermelon, raisins (especially good), avocado (especially good).
Take a bite out of these veggies to fight high blood pressure: Corn on the cob, potatoes (especially good), brussels sprouts, broccoli, eggplant, squash.
Chomp on these foods to lower that pressure: Rice, unsaturated oils and pasta.
Remember.....Cut out that salt - you already get plenty from processed foods. More and more you can find foods that advertise lower salt content - these are always the better choice! Most of the time the added salt is simply for flavor and is not needed.
A good place to start cutting back is in the canned veggie aisle. You will see a large variety of vegetables that are marked "low salt" - take advantage of these and you probably won't even notice the difference.
So, take a bite out of these tasty foods and your body will thank you.
This is a very important step, and can be a little more difficult than you think. You may need to substitute other spices for the salt that you love. Mrs. Dash has a group of spices that make really good and flavorful substitutes and after you have lived awhile with less salt, you will get more and more accustomed to it.
Try adding these fruits and melons to your diet - they will work to keep your pressure low: Cantaloupe (especially good), apples, bananas, nectarines (especially good), oranges, honeydew melon (especially good), apricots, fruit juice, watermelon, raisins (especially good), avocado (especially good).
Take a bite out of these veggies to fight high blood pressure: Corn on the cob, potatoes (especially good), brussels sprouts, broccoli, eggplant, squash.
Chomp on these foods to lower that pressure: Rice, unsaturated oils and pasta.
Remember.....Cut out that salt - you already get plenty from processed foods. More and more you can find foods that advertise lower salt content - these are always the better choice! Most of the time the added salt is simply for flavor and is not needed.
A good place to start cutting back is in the canned veggie aisle. You will see a large variety of vegetables that are marked "low salt" - take advantage of these and you probably won't even notice the difference.
So, take a bite out of these tasty foods and your body will thank you.
Monday, September 7, 2009
The Monday Recipe Blog
Happy Labor Day, y'all. Here is a true Okie dessert - pecan pie!
Okie Pecan Pie
1/4 c. butter substitute
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. light corn syrup3 lightly beaten eggs
1 t. vanilla1 3/4 c. chopped pecans
1 (9 in.) unbaked pie crustPreheat oven to 350.
Melt butter substitute over low heat, remove. Add sugar and corn syrup, then blend in eggs and vanilla. Add the pecans and pour into the pie shell. Bake 35-40 minutes or until done.
Oklahoma has bunches of pecan trees. Growing up on a ranch, our pecan trees provided a good income for me around November every year. I always had Christmas money, because our trees had enough pecans for the family to use and freeze, and for me to sell at the local farm store, usually for about 40 cents a pound. You could always find my mom and I after school and on the weekends under the trees, picking up pecans until dark. Loved it!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Food That Raise Your Blood Pressure
Cutting out foods that may raise your blood pressure is just as important as adding the "blood pressure friendly" foods to your diet. Of course, many are tasty diet staples that have been our comfort foods for many years, so cutting them out of our lives is easier said than done.
It's a matter of habit more than anything, and habits can be difficult to break. But you can do it, your body will thank you for it and you might just lose a little weight in the process!
Cut the salt. We get enough through the processed foods that we can't seem to avoid. If you are a salt-a-holic, try substitutes such as Mrs.Dash. You can also try lemon juice in some recipes, and sprinkle chives on baked potatoes to fight the no-salt blandness. If you are a person who liberally salts your watermelon and cantaloupe (I used to), then it will be a challenge to stop this damaging habit, but please take those necessary steps.
Dump the following:Ice cream, hot dogs, diet sodas, cheeses, pickles, anything that is marinated, canned soup, canned vegetables (unless you choose low or no-salt added veggies), catsup.
As if that wasn't hard enough, boot these out of your life: Bacon, eggs, soy sauce, fast food, salted potato chips (but there ARE unsalted versions), salted pretzels, duck, fatty meats.
And say goodbye to the following old friends: Ham, salted nuts (look for unsalted varieties), seasoning salt, smoked meats, sausage.
And enjoy a healthier life!
It's a matter of habit more than anything, and habits can be difficult to break. But you can do it, your body will thank you for it and you might just lose a little weight in the process!
Cut the salt. We get enough through the processed foods that we can't seem to avoid. If you are a salt-a-holic, try substitutes such as Mrs.Dash. You can also try lemon juice in some recipes, and sprinkle chives on baked potatoes to fight the no-salt blandness. If you are a person who liberally salts your watermelon and cantaloupe (I used to), then it will be a challenge to stop this damaging habit, but please take those necessary steps.
Dump the following:Ice cream, hot dogs, diet sodas, cheeses, pickles, anything that is marinated, canned soup, canned vegetables (unless you choose low or no-salt added veggies), catsup.
As if that wasn't hard enough, boot these out of your life: Bacon, eggs, soy sauce, fast food, salted potato chips (but there ARE unsalted versions), salted pretzels, duck, fatty meats.
And say goodbye to the following old friends: Ham, salted nuts (look for unsalted varieties), seasoning salt, smoked meats, sausage.
And enjoy a healthier life!
How To Live Okie In A Mad, Mad World
Ever been to Oklahoma? You will find that as soon as you cross the line to the Sooner State, things seem to slow down. No kidding. People talk slower, they smile a lot, cowboys are everywhere in their hats and boots, and pick-up trucks are the ride of choice. You hear "yes ma'am" and "yes sir" a lot. Visitors think they've arrived in a new world.
Now, the old song Okie From Muskogee might have been a little off the mark, because I'm pretty sure that a few people DO smoke a little in Muskogee, but the song got things right in that life is different. And not in a bad way.
Living Okie is not necessarily better for everyone. Living NYC or living LA has its perks, too. Life at a fast speed gets you more, quicker. And that's not bad, either. But if you have a desire to slow down and experience a little more of what's flying by, read on.
You can live Okie wherever in the world you happen to call home. And you don't even have to wear boots and a hat!
Slow down. WAAAYYY down. Cut some unnecessary things out of your life. Do your kids really need those piano AND dance lessons right now? Do you really have to work those extra hours at the office?
Smile more. Listen more. Talk less. This is harder for some than others, but you learn a lot more and people naturally gravitate to listeners. You will start to collect a lot more friends.
Go fishing. Yes, fishing. And I don't mean rent a big party boat and glance at your line between flirting and digging into the avocado dip. Find a pond somewhere, sit on the bank with your kids, put a worm on the line and watch a red and white bobber while shooing off curious cows. It's called making memories.Make home-made ice cream. There are really simple, no-cook recipes, and you can pick up an ice cream freezer at any discount store. Put it on the front porch while it freezes and invite whatever neighbors are walking by to join the party.
Ride a horse. You can find a place (usually near a state park) that rents out horses to ride a trail around the scenic areas. Now, these aren't exactly spirited broncs, they're generally a little long in the tooth and extremely slow and gentle, but if you aren't skilled in riding, it's probably just what you need. You'll get a taste of what riding a horse is like, and you'll experience a lot of natural scenic beauty and peace as well.
Start a backyard vegetable garden and visit the local farmers' market. Learn some basic canning - there's nothing more therapeutic than growing and preserving your own food. It's hard to explain, but I think it appeals to our basic instincts.
Learn to piece together a quilt. The actual quilting is a little more difficult, but if you piece the top of the quilt, you can find someone at your local fabric or hobby store that will quilt it for a modest fee. Sewing a quilt that will keep your family members warm will make you feel so good.
Then there are a few optional steps, like saying "y'all" a lot, eating chicken fried steak, drinking iced tea and pulling for the Oklahoma Sooners during football season.But seriously, slowing down and experiencing what's around you could be just what the doctor ordered. It definitely can't hurt, and it's kinda fun.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Let's Banish Stress in the Workplace
Ok, I know we can’t do that, but we can take steps to minimize and overcome it. The workplace is a major detriment to our happiness, but most of us can’t just quit our jobs. Those pesky bills, you know….So, what are some steps that we can take to minimize workplace stress? Well, here are a few of my ideas – hopefully you will pitch in with some of your own…
Monitor the way that you react to a stressful situation. Do you become angry and loud? Do you want to leave the room? Do tears well up? If you don’t have a coping technique that will allow you to weather stress without harming your body, then you should work on this first.
If you feel the need to raise your voice level when another person raises his in a disagreement, try this: As the person raises his voice level, lower your’s. Now, this takes some concentration on your part, but that’s what is good about it – you are concentrating on your voice rather than on more stressful reactions. The more he yells, the softer you make your voice. It’s difficult to hear someone speaking softly, so the aggressor will (1) look silly for screaming and (2) have to lower his voice in order to hear what you are saying.
Another coping technique is to stop and breathe or count to 20 when you feel the stress coming on. Positive self-talk helps. “This, too, shall pass” is a great phrase. Also, consider the importance of the stress-maker when compared to what really matters in your life.
If you can take a break and walk around the block, by all means do it! This exercise, combined with a stress cool-down period, will work wonders.
When you sense that stress is approaching, prepare for it and have a game-plan for dealing with it. Work is difficult enough – don’t make it more important than it is by allowing it to raise your stress levels to unreasonable heights.
Do you have your own secrets to coping with workplace stress? Please add a comment and let us know.
Monitor the way that you react to a stressful situation. Do you become angry and loud? Do you want to leave the room? Do tears well up? If you don’t have a coping technique that will allow you to weather stress without harming your body, then you should work on this first.
If you feel the need to raise your voice level when another person raises his in a disagreement, try this: As the person raises his voice level, lower your’s. Now, this takes some concentration on your part, but that’s what is good about it – you are concentrating on your voice rather than on more stressful reactions. The more he yells, the softer you make your voice. It’s difficult to hear someone speaking softly, so the aggressor will (1) look silly for screaming and (2) have to lower his voice in order to hear what you are saying.
Another coping technique is to stop and breathe or count to 20 when you feel the stress coming on. Positive self-talk helps. “This, too, shall pass” is a great phrase. Also, consider the importance of the stress-maker when compared to what really matters in your life.
If you can take a break and walk around the block, by all means do it! This exercise, combined with a stress cool-down period, will work wonders.
When you sense that stress is approaching, prepare for it and have a game-plan for dealing with it. Work is difficult enough – don’t make it more important than it is by allowing it to raise your stress levels to unreasonable heights.
Do you have your own secrets to coping with workplace stress? Please add a comment and let us know.
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