December 2005December 2005
One Size Doesn't Fit All
Taken from the USDA website www.mypyramid.gov/index.html
MyPyramid Plan can help you choose the foods and amounts that are right for you. For a quick estimate of what and how much you need to eat, visit the mypyramid.gove website and enter your age, sex, and activity level in the MyPyramid Plan box.
For a detailed assessment of your food intake and physical activity level, click on MyPyramid Tracker.
The information is intended to help you make smart choices from every food group, to find your balance between food and physical activity, and to get the most nutrition out of your calories.
The Dietary Guidelines describe a healthy diet as one that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, i ncludes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts, and i s low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 gives science-based advice on food and physical activity choices for good health. To see the full 80-page Dietary Guidelines report visit this website: http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines/index.html
This is not intended as medical advice which should be obtained directly from your doctor.
Christmas Cookie Stories
I learned some interesting things when I started baking my Christmas cookies this year.
I learned that there are some recipe substitutions that make a cookie "good for you" and still taste good. High fiber and low-fat recipes can be found online for many traditional cookies. Some of the good alternatives include: honey instead of sugar, applesauce instead of oil, almonds and raisins instead of chocolate chips.
Then there were some recipes that didn't taste so good. Some cookies are best left in the traditional form. Whole wheat flour? Rice flour? Unbleached flour? It's pretty much a matter of personal taste and what you are used to. I found that it's best not to substitute everything, but pick and choose what will work well together. And save the unusual flour to justify treats the rest of the year. Don't take a plate of whole wheat cookies over to the traditional family gathering or you might have a little neice wrinkle up her nose and spit it out like mine did.
Other Cookie Insights Eleven minutes. That's how long it takes to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie in my oven. Sugar cookies clocked in at exactly seven minutes fifteen seconds for the perfection that comes with slightly browned edges and firm, white centers. The smaller, bite-sized sugar cookies took no more than six and a half minutes. This year I made a total of 60 dozen cookies over 3 days. No kidding. In perspective, that's about 6 dozen each of 10 different types of cookies. Since I can fit about a dozen cookies on each pan, that's 60 times I had to set my timer. 20 times a day for 3 days I set the timer and filled the time gap between raw and cooked with various activities. Here is the real point: It is positively amazing what can get accomplished in eleven minutes. |
Insights on Time Management I can fold a load of towels, put another load in the dryer, put another load in the washer, and empty the dishwasher in eleven minutes. I'm not terribly picky about folding towels though. I can iron 4 or 5 shirts in eleven minutes. I can vacuum the entire basement in eleven minutes. I can clean both bathrooms, including toilets, sinks, and mirrors in eleven minutes. I can work every major muscle group in eleven minutes. What can you do? |