4 Common Health Myths

Does anyone ever watch MythBusters? We love that show and the first myth was proven right on it last season-or should I say disproven it is the 5-second rule. As it turns out it is fiction. It's probably not a good idea to eat anything that's been on the floor for even 1 second. In a recent experiment, Jamie and Adam dropped dropped pieces of bologna and slices of bread on the floor for as little as 5 seconds (and as long as 60). In 5 seconds, both the bread and the bologna picked up an alarming 1,800 types of bacteria. So unless you sterilize your floors on an hourly basis, don't eat anything your shoes have touched, too.

Next myth: Double-dipping spreads germs from one chip to another-verdict: Fact. I was at a picnic a few years ago when a girlfriend and I spotted someone standing near the salsa and serendipitously dipping a chip into some salsa taking a delicate bite and returning the bitten chip into the salsa bowl again. Needless to say, I did not get any of that salsa, although I heard it was very good. This is, in fact, a very effective way to spread germs. Having settled the 5-second rule debate, some intrepid food scientists, using Wheat Thins and various dips, found that a double-dip deposited thousands of saliva bacteria into the dip. Of those, 50 to 100 were later transferred through the dip to a clean cracker, presumably destined for another guest's mouth. In short: Eating from a dip after someone has dipped twice is basically the same as kissing that person. My nieces were never taught not to double-dip, but that stopped at my mom's!

Cell phones can interfere with medical equipment-verdict: Unknown. There's a possibly that a cell phone call made in the wrong spot in a hospital can cause ventilators, syringe pumps, or even pacemakers to pulse incorrectly, according to a 2007 Dutch study. The researchers tested cell phones, including PDAs that use wireless Internet signals, just a few centimeters from devices; 43% caused electromagnetic interference with critical care equipment -- and a third of those instances could be potentially life-threatening to patients. Though a similar study didn't yield these same results, if you want a clear conscious, use a designated cell phone area. When I was in visiting my son, they had signs in the lounge area that no calls were allowed but the nurses didn't seem to mind!

Cracking your knuckles can cause arthritis-I've heard that this one really doesn't hold any water. This habit may be annoying, but it's not likely to cause arthritis. One study at the former Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital in Detroit compared 74 people (age 45 and older) who had been chronic knuckle crackers for decades with 226 who always left their hands alone. Researchers found no difference in the incidence of osteoarthritis between the two groups. But there are reasons to stop this cringe-inducing habit: The same study found that knuckle crackers are much more likely to have weaker grip strength and greater hand swelling, both of which can limit dexterity. I have a question for all you knuckle crackers. Doesn't that hinder your capabilities after all, even though you don't get Arthritis? I know I'm jealous because I think I'm getting it in my ankles, ow.

Cheers!

Tony Curtis

2008
Tony Curtis-early '50'
Today they had a day of Tony Curtis movies on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). I watched some of "The Rat Race" & then a little of "Boeing, Boeing" this afternoon and I have to admit they both brought back memories of a great looking Tony Curtis when he was in his prime! Of course, I was just a little kid when those movies came out. My very first Tony Curtis movie that I really fell in love with was "The Great Race" with Natalie Wood and Keenan Wynn. Don't forget Jack Lemmon as Professor Fate and Peter Falk as his assistant! I never laughed so hard! We still do! What a wonderful movie!

Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz in the Bronx, New York on June 3, 1925 to Helen and Emmanuel Schwartz. He had a hard childhood in that his mom was never diagnosed as being Schizophrenic and Bernard was beaten by his mom because she was afraid of the father, so she took it out on the kid. Sadly, Bernard's younger brother, Julius was struck and killed by a truck and he had to identify the body. When World War II broke out, Bernard Schwartz served in the United States Navy. He watched the signing of the surrender by Japan from 300 yds. away.

At the end of the war Schwartz was spotted by a talent agent and placed under contract at Universal Studios. This was after he had studied acting in New York with Elaine Stritch,, Walter Matthau and Rod Steiger. When he did sign with Universal he changed his name to Tony Curtis (or Anthony as we've noted in Winchester '73-watch the credits sometime!)
From there he went on to act in some on his most favorite and famous roles. Who could forget "The Black Shield of Falworth?" or "The Purple Mask"? or" Lobster Man from Mars"?
Even Mr. Curtis admits those are pretty bad. But the good ones are too numerous to name. How about "40 Pounds of Trouble", "Some Like It Hot", "Operation Petticoat", "The Defiant Ones"-for which Mr. Curtis was nominated for an academy award. The list goes on.
Tony and his wife, Jill Vandenberg now head Shiloh Horse Rescue and Sanctuary. And you all know how I love horses! So you go, girl! (I'm not sure who's baby this is since Mr. Curtis has loved to ride since he was small-so Attaboy!)

Look out for upcoming Drum Corps Associates results this weekend.

Cheers!

Seafood and more

Paula Deen's Crab Cakes

Food Network's new host's Pat & Gina Neely went to Dangerously Delicious Pies in Baltimore on their first show. They then went on to Gracie’s Gotcha Ginger for ginger recipes. Sounded interesting to me. I was all for it-until I started reading some of the comments that came afterward. I pretty much have a mind of my own and like whatever I want. Except I have to be honest here, although Gina Neely looks great on commercials, I missed the show. Hey! I'm only human and can be in one place at a time! Fortunately, I have a computer and can check this stuff out and some other people didn't like it-so that tells me the next time I must either tape the show or TIVO it!

Anyway, I am starting to like scallops I have decided and along with that I have included crab with my seafood menu. I still don't like fish such as salmon or bass. But I love lobster and shrimp. You know the expensive stuff. I must admit to having a trout that I baked myself which my dad had caught in Lake Superior the day before and brought down to Chicago. That was the BEST fish I had ever eaten! Oven was set at 350 degrees with just a sprinkle of lemon and we just baked it for about 45 minutes. I don't remember, it was so long ago. So, keep up with your fish, it's good for you, I'll try and find some yummy fish recipes. I must-seeing as I don't like fish itself! In the meantime, click here and see if you find anything interesting!

Cheers!

Caroline Kennedy

Caroline Kennedy addressed the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO about 1 hour ago and was extremely kind in comparing Barack Obama to her father, John F. Kennedy and uncle, Robert Kennedy. While Obama does have a charisma that people find somehow irresistible, it will not come close to that Kennedy charm of Camelot. Ms. Kennedy also spoke with great warmth of her Uncle Teddy, Senator Edward Kennedy who has given 46 years of service to this country in the Senate. Unfortunately, Senator Kennedy's term was marred by a little accident at Chappaquiddick in 1969. But that's the thing that seems to haunt the Kennedy family. Just plain ill luck-of any kind. I truly believe Caroline is doing her best to come out and live beyond that shadow and now when her uncle is so ill she is making this appearance to back Senator Obama. I'm glad she has such a conviction and strength! It's wonderful to hear of someone sticking up for their family and beliefs when its really not such a good idea to do so anymore. So, for all those who don't think it's fair or weird to love your neighbor. Tough!



Cheers, and check out your candidate!

Simple exercises

Do you feel pain symptoms in your arm or leg muscles? If your arms feel inflammation pain and a burning sensation, you could be developing a repetitive strain injury. You want fast relief for your symptoms of pain and inflammation. You want to figure out the possible causes of pain in your arm. And you'll want to prevent serious damage or injury to the muscles and connective tissue.
What might be some possible causes of pain in your arm? Overuse of the arm muscles can result in inflammation of the connective tissue. Overworked arms may feel tense and stiff, with burning and sharp pain.
Maybe you use your muscles a lot for work or for hobbies. The simple explanation is your muscles might be getting overworked. Here are three exercises that will relieve tension in the biceps and help count-balance their workload:
1) Biceps Stretching. There are a few simple ways to stretch the biceps. Learn a few stretches that are just for biceps. Then, practice the different variations until you feel the one(s) that give you the deepest stretch.
When you find the stretch that you need, it might feel very intense. It might produce a burning sensation while you stretch, or numbness or tingling in your hand. These feelings should subside within one minute of completing the stretch.
2) Triceps Strengthening. If your burning pain is due to overuse of the biceps, then getting stronger triceps muscles will help counter-balance the workload.
Exercises for stronger triceps are especially helpful if your pain is leading to elbow tendonitis (tennis elbow).
3) Upper and Middle Back Strengthening. Poor posture and biceps overuse affect your back muscles.
The muscles in between your shoulder blades may be weakened from biceps overuse. When your biceps are overworked, they can pull your shoulders forward.
By strengthening these mid- and upper back muscles, you draw the shoulders back. This relieves pressure on the arm muscles, nerves and soft tissue.
Start practicing these three types of exercises to reduce the burning pain in your arm muscles and tendons, and to prevent overuse injuries.

Ezinearticles.com

I have GOT to try these-hopefully they'll help me sleep better at night!

Cheers!

Dave & Buster's Restaurants

I know I mentioned Famous Dave's and a few other eateries so I thought I'd expand on that. One of the more newer restaurants to pop up in our area are the Dave & Buster Restaurants. I love the atmosphere of these places. You’ll find great food, signature drinks and one-of-a-kind fun at Dave & Buster’s. They take pride in great food with eclectic American fare for lunch, dinner and late-night dining. Enjoy a variety of drink specialties from classic cocktails to more than 50 signature drinks (they’re fully stocked with your favorite brands), at your table or in the bar, where you can watch live sports on TV. May I mention their website shows pool and a people having a real good time!

From what I could read from their menu, they have several choices of grilled chicken selections to choose. There was a yummy looking quesadillas dish, but of course I would be watching the calories so they also had a chicken salad and their Lacy's Chicken, which sounds delish, but I'd go light on the sauce and potatoes-I'm not too keen on mashed potatoes anyway!

Well, that's my take on today's restaurant. I'll try and pick another one out next time. Actually, I'm trying to get that fresh fruit I blogged about earlier. In fact, I'm about to go downstairs and make myself a banana milkshake.

Cheers!

Taste Buds

Did you know that you might have extra taste buds? The normal amount of taste buds for anyone is about 15 papillae, while those with super taste buds have 30.2 papillae.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)'s homepage contains a simple test you can take at home to determine whether you are a supertaster with extra taste buds. All you need to perform this test is blue food coloring, cotton swabs, notebook paper hole reinforcements, and a magnifying glass. After swabbing the tip of the tongue with food coloring, place a reinforcement ring there and count the number of raised pink dots (papillae) within the ring.

Now, if you have 30.2 papillae, it's said that's probably why your more sensitive to more food tastes and just plain love to eat! The thing is no matter what you-we all have to maintain a balanced diet.

I've got to take that test and then pass it along to my dad-he hates broccoli and loves sweets!

Cheers!

Cookie Diets-Part II

Part I of Cookie Diets is on August 7, there is always so much interesting stuff going on I just got caught up!

Anyway, the other two cookie are the Hollywood Cookie Diet and Soypal

First we'll talk about the Hollywood Cookie Diet. It of course gets its name from the place of the same name and the many celebrities who have used this diet with success. You eat four of the company's cookies a day, to replace breakfast and lunch, 150 calories each. Then eat a sensible dinner. The cookies have added vitamins and minerals, some artificial sweetener, sugar, and protein fortification. They do offer 3 different types of cookies and a variety pack. The real reason this works when it does is the convenience and portion control. Click here to check out their website. Things might be interesting.

The other is the Soypal cookies.

This originated in Japan. It too provides suggestions along with a diet in which you replace regular meals with specially baked cookies. These cookies are vitamin fortified and actually expand in your tummy to give you the feeling of fullness so you won't feel hungry! If I read the website correctly, you eat two meals and substitute the third with a packet of seven (7) cookies. You must also drink 1-2 glasses of water/juice or low fat milk along with it. They also tell you to drink 8 glasses of water a day. Doesn't everyone? Some of the daily menus provided look really quite yummy-for a diet. Check it out!

The important thing is, that no matter what diet you choose, you must continue it. And exercise is important. Walking is one of the easiest things to accomplish while on a simple or complicated diet routine. So, good luck!

Cheers!

Bigfoot, Is he real?

Has everyone read about the four men who have claimed they have the body of Bigfoot? Yes Sir! They said they found the body near a stream in a dense part of the forest where humans don't go. One man stuck by the body while another went for help. It took four men to move the 7'7" carcass which weighed approximately 550 lbs about a day and a half. While they were moving the body one of the men also had thought to bring a video camera and another creature was foll lowing them as they moved the the dead Bigfoot along. They also saw about 3 or 4 others.
While they show a picture of the dead Bigfoot in the freezer (its quite grotesque, you can Google it if you care-I think it looks like a costume thrown into an old freezer, but I haven't examined it closely either) some skeptics are wondering why won't these men post the video of the live Sasquatch? Hmmmmm?
And why did this poor Bigfoot pass on? Didn't he stay on a diet of fruit and nuts that are rich in nutrient's and antioxidants? Probably not. he might have had a hankering for a deer in there somewhere and caught a bad case of salmonella poisoning. We'll never know, in fact, the question of whether or not this whole thing is prank still remains to be seen. We're supposed to find out later today. Very interesting...

Cheers!

Olympic update

Okay, I admit it, I've been watching the Olympics. Yes, yes, I scream and yell! But this time it was for a very good reason.

First, I took the advice of a co-worker and started surfing the channels and found another few channels with the Olympics on them! I even found the equestrian events and watched Germany win the Gold. United States (Gina Miles on McKinlaigh)won Silver in the Individual. You held your breath! Yesterday and today I watched both women's gymnastics and the swimming events.

The women's gymnatics team did a superb job in keeping up with what seemed like a much younger team of Chinese. Unfortunately, a series of mistakes cost them the gold and the U.S. led by Shawn Johnson mounted the podium and proudly accepted the Silver Medal.

Of course the thing on everyone's mind was Michael Phelps going for the record. I believe he tied it yesterday at 9 Gold and went over with the 200 meter Freestyle and then the Men's Relay to make it 11. Now that was exciting! Not as exciting as Saturdays', but still exciting!

My only regret is that I seem to have missed Women's Fencing. But I did hear they did very well and took Gold, Silver and Bronze! That would have been a great to see! Hopefully next time. I'm still watching for Women's Soccer.

I thought I heard that it's supposed to be on this coming Thursday.

Anybody got a schedule?

Cheers!

Pancakes aren't just for breakfast...

I remember when growing up my mom used to make pancakes for dinner, usually on a Friday or Saturday night. When I got married I brought the idea up to my new husband. It was entirely foreign to him. Guess what? It didn't stay that way! There are so many varieties of pancakes out there it's outrageous and right now with fresh fruit on the grocery shelves it's also the best time to make a batch of pancakes cover them with your favorite fruit-I prefer blueberries and sweeten with some low fat maple syrup, it's available now. They didn't have that when I was I kid! Honey is another great alternative.

Here's one of my most favorite pancake recipes. I usually cut out the buttermilk:

Basic Pancakes

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk (2%milk)

1/4 cup oil

1 3/4 cup flour

2 tbl. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Heat griddle to medium-high heat. (*400) In large bowl, beat eggs; stir in milk and oil. Add remaining ingredients. Beat or stir just until large lumps disappear. For thicker pancakes flour-for thinner pancakes add more milk. Lightly grease heated griddle. Pour about 1/4 cup per pancake onto hot griddle. Bake until bubbles form and edges start to dry; turn.

Makes 16 4" pancakes. Enjoy!

Don't forget to try bananas, I hear they're very good on pancakes! Cheers!

Olympics 2008

I must admit I watched the opening of the Olympics tonight. They were stunning! I enjoyed the dancers and the singers and I thought the Chinese people had done a great job of coming up with some really innovative ideas! I am a Jackie Chan fan and I loved seeing him at the Olympics, it was unexpected.

When the United States team walked in I was very proud. They all smiled and waved and held their heads high. Everyone had on suits designed by Ralph Lauren with with nifty white caps. I thought they looked very smart. Now, they kept saying who would have been the best dressed. I don't know. Some of the African countries were pretty colorful. I think it was Malaysa that really had something that stuck out. Then again Spain looked kind of like a banana peel, a dressy banana peel. They looked like were having a great time!

On the darker side of things, politics had to enter the picture unfortunately. Afghanistan's only woman athlete had disappeared about a month ago while the team was in Norway, I believe. She was getting threats, don't ask what kind-your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that she was the first woman on the Afghanistan team ever.

The Russians had also some troubling news. Some turmoil had broken out in South Ossetia, Georgia and Russia had sent an armoured column there. There have been reports of a number of casualties. At the time of the Opening Ceremonies the athletes were unaware of any fighting. Both Russian's Prime Minister Vladimar Putim and President Bush were in Beijing and they spoke on the subject.

Speaking of President Bush, I just had to chuckle, while watching the athletes march in, he had finally lost his jacket, because the announcer said it was so hot, then checked his watch, looked bored, I was really enjoying this! Finally the United Sates came in. President Bush dons his jacket and cheers on the athletes. I know it's menial, but I couldn't pass it up.

All in all I enjoyed the whole thing, but I think the one special moment was when 9 year earthquake survivor Lin Hao was watching the fireworks with Yao Ming. You couldn't hear a thing, you sure couldn't understand, but little Lin Hao leaned over and whispered into the tall man's ear and Yao Ming smiled. Now that's a Kodak moment.

Anyway, if you get time to watch them, go ahead and cheer for the country of your choice.

Enjoy the games!

Cheers!

Cookie Diets

Here's a new one on me. There's something out there called a Cookie Diet. Obviously there's more than one. I'm going to start with Dr. Siegal.
The first and probably most well known of the cookie diets is Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet. Dr. Sanford Siegal is a D.O. and M.D. who lives in Florida and says he first came up with the idea of treating hunger with cookies back in 1975. He’s a weight loss doctor who has written books about thyroid problems and weight loss. He says on his blog that he discovered in the 1970s that hunger is the main cause of diet failures, and that a diet of around 800 calories a day is most effective for weight loss. Of course such drastically low calories would have to be accompanied by serious appetite suppression. Well, I could have told him that! Dr Siegal also is selling his cookies for about $8 a day for a package of 6. You then drink about 6 glasses of fluids to wash down the cookies and have a small dinner consisting of a 6 oz turkey, chicken, fish, or seafood and 1 cup of vegetables. They also suggest you visit one of their centers and get a doctors checkup before starting their cookie diet. Does it work? Sure! Stick to it and you can lose up to 15 pds in a month. I just can't stick to it...

Smart for Life
Sasson Moulavi used to sell cookies with Dr. Siegal but decided to start his own business. This started the whole cookie diet wars. The original partnership started in 2002 and Moulavi was told not to sell any Seigal brands in his shops-what a franchise?

Anyway, Mr. Moulavi didn't listen and went and started his own business and renamed it Smart for Life in 2006. He sells his cookies for $133.90 for a two week supply. That turns about to be about $9.50 a day. The cookies are also supposed to be 60 percent organic.
In addition to the cookies, Smart for Life sells muffins, shakes, soup and dessert mixes, jams, salad dressing and coffee creamer.


The two companies are now fighting over which has the right to call its diet the cookie diet.



Cheers!

Good Eats

Alright I admit it, I sometimes catch Good Eats with Alton Brown. I know he may be a little nerdy at times, but the guy cracks me up! I also think some of his recipes are actually good. I recently click on his website and got some great advice. Instead of taking some boring vitamins-which I do every day-we should be turning to fresh fruits and vegetables more often. Now there is some great advice. So for this blog I'm only going to leave you with a simple recipe for a Hawaiian Salad or Five-Cup Salad. Quick, easy and oh so yummy.



Cheers!

Hawaiian Salad

1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup marshmellows
1 cup pineapple chunks-drained (tidbits may be used)
11 oz (sm.) can Mandarin Oranges-drained
6 oz jar Maraschino cherries-drained
1 cup coconut


Combine ingredients in bowl and chill. Enjoy!

Ruby Tuesday Hoax

Whoa, I came across this and I had to read and reread this story a few times. It seems that Ruby Tuesday promised the demolition of one it's stores to be broadcast live on their website. Instead when the dust settled, their restaurant stood without a scratch on it.
Anybody that tuned into the website at 3pm Eastern saw a small crowd of people surrounding a Ruby Tuesday executive a few 100 yards in front of what was billed to be the last "old" Ruby Tuesday along with three men in hard hats standing by the "trigger".
After a few words, the exec starts a countdown and signals the men to "hit the plunger". With the camera focused on the Ruby Tuesday restaurant in the distance, an explosion is heard, but not seen. That is until the camera "wildly" swings to the left and shows nearby "Cheeky's Grill" turning into a pile of rubble instead.
Shortly after the website put up a what sounds like a well meaning apology letter to the owners of the "Cheeky's"

Does this mean Ruby Tuesday is headed the way of Bennigan's and putting a final show on? Or is this just some sort of advertising gimmick?

Cheers!

Chinese food

It was on one of those rare occasions that last night my husband and I had Chinese food. Or was it Cantonese. Anyway it was delicious! Our usual order of egg rolls and special fried rice went without a hitch. They unfortunately were out of Fried Won Ton and we had something new which was something akin to stuffed crab. It was quite tasty. The Special Fried rice is fried rice with chicken, shrimp, beef and a few vegies all together. We also split a main dish called Three Delicacies. This is hard to describe, but I'll try. It has shrimp, beef and Cantonese vegetables, good crunchy ones like peapods and waterchestnuts, with some noodles in there. All in a brown sauce. Oh, they give you a ton so there's plenty for tonight's dinner. We just didn't feel like cooking. We've made Egg Foo Yung, and Sweet & Sour Pork before. In fact, I prefer our Sweet & Sour Pork instead of any restaurants. (Please refer to the July 18th blog for the recipe)
I'm including a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken which I found on About.com so click here for any further recipes - I would like to thank them for all their helpful information.

In this healthier version of traditional Kung Pao Chicken, the chicken is stir-fried instead of deep-fried, reducing the fat content.Serves 3 to 4
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 7 to 8 ounces each
Marinade:
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Sauce:
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar
Other:
8 small dried red chili peppers
2 cloves garlic
2 green onions (spring onions, scallions)
4 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorn, optional
1/2 cup peanuts or cashews
a few drops sesame oil, optional
Preparation:Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Combine with the marinade ingredients, adding the cornstarch last. Marinate the chicken for 25 minutes.While the chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce and vegetables: In a small bowl, combine the dark soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar. Set aside.Cut the chilies in half so that they are approximately the same size as the chicken cubes. Remove the seeds. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Cut the green onion on the diagonal into thirds.Heat the wok over medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken. Stir-fry until it turns white and is 80 percent cooked. Remove from the wok.Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir-fry until aromatic (about 30 seconds). Add the chili peppers and the Szechuan peppercorn if using. Stir-fry briefly until they turn dark red.Add the sauce to the wok. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken back into the pan. Stir in the peanuts and the green onion. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Serve hot.

Cheers!