I Scream

Mr. K and I are total ice cream junkies. That may have been one of the reasons I knew he was "the one". I have never met an ice cream I didn't like or at minimum one I couldn't see through to the end. But, since we are always looking for healthier ways to eat what we want, we are willing to try new things.

We have tried sugar free versions, which honestly are not worth the cardboard box they come in. And, for a long time we were buying the Dreyers' that has 1/2 the fat and calories. It was good but not a lot of flavor choices. That was when I discovered Lovin Scoopful. I had never heard of them before, but we were very pleasantly surprised....and they have a pretty good selection of flavors to choose from.

The bonus is that Lovin Spoonful donates 25% of their profits to charities like the Special Olympics, which is pretty cool. I love supporting companies that do good things.

You can check out their website for more information and where to buy. Our favorite is the Caramel Chocolate Heaven.

Rescue The Rainforest...Drink Orange Juice!

Every now and then Mr. K and I get on an orange juice kick. We are on one now. I was sitting at the computer drinking some when the back of the carton caught my eye.

Tropicana is working with Cool Earth to save the rainforests! For every code you enter, Tropicana will preserve 100 square feet of rainforest. Every container has a code, so the more OJ you drink the more rainforest you save!

For more information, or to enter a code, just visit www.tropicanarainforest.com. You can also check out Cool Earth's site.

And, don't forget, orange juice is hugely good for you! No fat. No sodium. Tons of potassium and vitamin C. Plus, you get 2 servings of fruit in every 8 oz. glass!

So, drink up and help the Earth!

ICE

In Case of Emergency

I saw this in O Magazine, which I only read because someone gave me a gift subscription. But, I liked this very much so I am sharing.

Ice is an acronym for in case of emergency and the snippet advises you to create an emergency contact in your cell phone with that name so EMT's can reach the right people quickly and easily. Otherwise, they could waste valuable time calling people who can't or won't be able to help.

Mine looks like this as you scroll my contact list:

ICE (In Case of Emerg)

Then I listed about 5 numbers, but my phone doesn't let me attach names to each one. My phone also has a place to put notes in and there I added my blood type, allergies, and "organ donor".

This campaign was started by a paramedic in the UK, and is spreading globally. Since everyone has a cell phone these days, and this is a fast easy thing you can do...why not?

The World's Leading Emergency Contact Service

Road ID

I absolutely love taking the dogs for walks. I have 2 and they are my babies. And, occasionally, Mr. K and I leave them home if its late and ride our bikes. Though this happens less often since I feel guilty about leaving them behind.

Anyway I saw an ad for this in a magazine and I thought it was a great idea. If you happen to be a walker, you know that less is more in regards to carrying things with you, especially since a good chunk of exercise clothing is sans pockets. I usually end up putting my drivers license in my bra and checking it every 5 minutes to make sure its still there.

This is a perfect solution and you don't need to worry about loosing anything. Its a custom ID bracelet engraved with your name, who to contact in an emergency, etc. It is also available in an anklet, and it costs under $25.

It isn't pleasant to think about, and we always assume it won't happen to us, but accidents do happen. And, this is a little thing you can do to make sure that you are identified in an emergency or the people you care about are notified. On mine I added my allergies and my blood type.

And, being in the medical field, I thought this would also be a good idea for elderly people who live at home. I remember when my grandmother was living with Alzhiemer's Disease...they were a few times where she would just wonder off. One time she had tea with a lady a mile away. So, it might be a good idea for that as well, though it isn't marketed for it.

You can order yours at http://www.roadid.com/

Watermelon & Cucumber Tonic

In May I did a post about watermelon, and I recently came across this recipe in Cooking Light magazine. It sounded good, so I am posting it. It is a fruity summer variation on a gin & tonic.


6 cups cubed seeded watermelon, divided
1/4 cup mint leaves, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cucumber, peeled, sliced, and divided (leave a few rounds w/ skins on for a garnish)
2 1/2 cups tonic water, chilled
1 1/4 cups gin


1. Combine half each of the watermelon, mint, juice, and cucmber in a blender until smooth. Strain into a bowl. Discard solids and repeat for the other half.

2. Combine 2 1/2 cups of the juice mixture with the tonic water, and gin. Stir well to combine.

3. Serve over ice. Garnich with watermelon and cucumber wheels.

Purple Basil

Did you know there are 60 + different types of basil?

And, did you know that basil is in the mint family?

I didn't either.

One variety you may not be familiar with is called purple opal. It has a slightly spicy taste with hints of clove, licorice, mint, and cinnamon. Along with funky flavor it adds a punch of color.

All fresh basil should be used within a few days. And, it dries well, too.

You can use purple basil interchangeably with regular basil, but here are a couple of recipes to get you started.



Purple Basil Parmesan Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbl sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup purple basil, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup skim milk
1 large egg
nonstick cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients with a pastry blender until coarse. Stir in basil and cheese.

3. Beat milk and egg in a separate bowl. Add to flour mixture and stir until moist.

4. Turn out onto a floured surface, and pat into 1" thick circle. Cut with a 2" biscuit round cutter. Makes 12.

5. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and bake for 15 minutes.

Purple Basil Lemonade

4 cups water
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup loosely packed purple basil leaves
6 tbl sugar
4 cups ice
4 purple basil sprigs

1. Combine water and juice in a large bowl.

2. Grind sugar and basil together to release the oils and a paste forms. Add to the juice mixture and stir until sugar is dissolved.

3. Separate ice evenly into 4 glasses. Strain lemonade into each glass and discard solids. Garnish with basil sprigs.

My Two Cents On A Sad Day

On Tuesday, when I read the news about Ed McMahon, I thought it was sad. My feelings were sort of mixed bag. I felt sad that someone had died. I felt sad that when older celebs die, despite their past successes, newer generations don't give it the attention it really deserves...a few days in the news and we move on. I felt the same way about Estelle Getty and Bea Arthur. I was scared because my own grandfather just turned 80 and Ed McMahon was 86. And, I felt like he had a seemingly good life and his time had come.

I, also, thought "who's next?" since these things always seem to come in threes.

Then, yesterday after school I sat down at my computer to check email, and AOL had posted the news about Farrah Fawcett. I fully admit that I didn't really follow her in life. I wouldn't call myself a big fan, but again I felt sad. Being in the medical field, I know what a horrible death she had. She was relatively young, only 62. It also occurred to me how she was so beautiful, and so many people wanted to be her...but how no matter how beautiful or famous you are, there are bigger things at work sometimes.

I emailed Mr. K and told him, and he said he had heard it on the way to work that morning. I put on the TV and watched some tribute specials to her which upset me a little. All of these media people were saying such wonderful things about her, which she deserved, but where were they when the tabloids said she was on drugs or looking so awful? Why do people only get respect after they are gone?

I asked Mr. K who he thought the third was going to be. He guessed Patrick Swayze. I guessed Liz Taylor. About fifteen minutes later, my friend Dave on Facebook posted that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital. I got chills. Michael Jackson can't die was my first reaction. When reports did finally come in that he had passed, I cried. Again, I don't claim to be his biggest fan, but certainly I can appreciate the magnitude thst was the King of Pop. I had a Michael Jackson doll when I was five. I spent countless hours in front of my MTV mimicking Beat It and Billie Jean choreography. And, my all time favorite song EVER is We Are The World, to which I can perform as each individual singer. Don't ask, I won't show you.

My most overwhelming feeling, of course, was shock. Numbness. Unlike Ed and Farrah, Michael was so unexpected. It is difficult for me to make people understand, but I am thirty years old. I grew up with Michael Jackson. I don't know a world without Michael Jackson. And, so few stars have that magic, that brilliance, that makes them outshine all others...make them immortal. Princess Diana. Marilyn Monroe. Elvis Presley. Michael Jackson. All of them seem to be taken from us too soon. We never seem ready or able to let them go. But, maybe we are only destined to have them for a short time...since it only takes a short time for them to touch us.

Regardless of what you thought about him, there is no denying his impact on the world. This little boy from Gary, Indiana made people all over the world get up and dance. That is so powerful. There are so many people focusing on the wrong things right now. I think there are some things we should keep in mind when passing judgements. 1) None of were at Neverland Ranch. None of us know what happened with absolute certainty. 2) He was acquitted. And, none of us have the job of judging him or anyone else.

My personal feeling is that he was innocent. Having said that, do I think he behaved appropriately? No. But, think about his life. He became his family's bread and butter and the age of 5. What were you doing at 5? His father made fun of his insecurities in order to toughen him up. What do say to your children when they are scared? His father beat him, and you may not know that his dad was a former boxer. Were you beaten as a child? Did your dad have a mean right hook? He and his brothers weren't allowed to date because it was bad for business. What were you doing as a teenager? Nothing about this man's life was normal, ever. No one else in the world can appreciate that. Who wouldn't be a screwed up adult after that? Everyone in the world wanted something from him, including within his own family. We don't know what that's like. People today are in therapy for far less. Despite his enormous success, in many ways he never had a chance. In many ways, there was never any hope for him to be "normal". And, it doesn't surprise me that after the childhood he didn't have that he would try to buy later. You know how drug addicts and alcohols who start very young, say as teenagers...when they get sober as adults, its almost as if they start living again from where they stopped. It is almost like they stop maturing when they start using, the race stops, and when they get clean, and start running again...the rest of the world has past them by and they can never catch up. Isn't fame a drug?

I believe it is entirely possible that Michael Jackson truly was, in some ways, a child in a man's body. And, even though we can see why some of his behavior was unacceptable, like any child he could not. And finally, where were the parents of the children who claimed to be molested? This wasn't a regular case, he wasn't their uncle who got them alone in the basement, he wasn't a bad man who kidnapped them off the street. These parents dropped their kids off at his home. Would you let your kids stay there with a strange man? I wouldn't. I don't care who it is, my job is to protect my kids, and that is a completely stupid choice. But they did it. I'm sorry, but for me that screams extortion. And, if you had someone accusing you of something this awful, or had a problem you wanted to escape, and you had the ability to pay it to go away...wouldn't you? Another thing we miss here is that celebrities have people that advise them on decisions...what to wear, what to say...he clearly didn't have good people around him.

Lastly, as far as the new drug accusations. This reminds me so much of Judy Garland. She was another one who made money for so many. And, when she wanted to slow down or focus on herself, it wasn't an option. It wasn't good for business. It doesn't surprise me, especially with the new tour looming, that people around him would make it possible to push through fatigue or illness, or sadness. The show must go on, right? Again, this is something that none of us can appreciate. We get to call in sick or go away somewhere, he didn't. There was no "away" where he was unknown. He didn't get to not be The King of Pop for a day.

My bottom line is, at the end of the day, the world has lost one of the greatest entertainers it has ever know. There will never be another King of Pop. And, that is sad. So, like Ed and Farrah...be respectful. Michael Jackson wasn't just Michael Jackson. He was some one's son, some one's brother, some one's father, some one's uncle. He was a person, and that by itself deserves respect.

Challenge...

TIME Magazine recently reported that Americans throw away 1,000,000,000,000 paper plates and utensils every year. O-M-freakin'-G!!!

BBQ Season is upon us and that means that paper plates, napkins, etc will be the norm. But, how can you look at a number that huge...how can you think about a pile that ginormous...and still grab a pack off the shelf?

The most earth friendly option, of course, is real dishes that you hand wash afterward. But, logistically they aren't the most user friendly option. They are bulky and breakable. I admit, the paper options make life easier. No dishes after the party. But, why can't we have our cake and eat it too??

We can.

If you’re in the habit of using disposable paper products when you entertain, challenge yourself the next time you have people over. Use cloth napkins and real plates instead. Or, when your event calls for more portable dishes, choose one of the new eco-friendly options, like 100% recycled plastic plates from Preserve Tableware, plates and trays made from fallen leaves by Verterra, or bioplastic plates made from corn, bamboo, or sugar cane.

A Woman's Week @ The Gym

I got this off of Facebook from my friend, Doris. It is so funny, especially the toothbrush part.

A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE

This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, my Husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

MONDAY: Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!! Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!!

TUESDAY: I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT!! It's a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY: The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the heck would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other crap too.

THURSDAY: Butthole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes. He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny witch to find me.Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.

FRIDAY: I hate that jerk Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the darn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

SATURDAY: Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

SUNDAY: I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Farmer's Markets

I think I have mentioned farmer's markets in the past. I love them. The colors, the smells, the organized choas. Every once in a while my aunt would take us to one in Boston around the corner from Fanuiel Hall.

I came across these tips in an AOL article, and I think they can be helpful, especially if you've not been to one before. I have sliced and diced, and streamlined the article down for you below.

There are advantages to buying food at the grocery store. It's one stop shopping, and even if something isn't in season where you are, chances are it is still being grown and harvest somewhere else.

Having said this, there are also disadvantages. Supermarket produce travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to your neighborhood grocery. A trip can take up to two weeks leaving the produce not especially fresh -- and no longer very nutritious. Then there are the resources wasted to get the fruits and vegetables there and the impact that waste has on the environment.

Your best bet is your local farmers' market, where you can buy locally grown, seasonal produce. If it's local, you know it's fresher than what's lining the produce aisle at your local grocer. And if food is in season, it's at its peak and will be as delicious and nutritious as its going to get.

1. Buy Ugly. If you're not familiar with heirloom tomatoes, you might think you're looking at inedible mutants, but that couldn't be further from the truth. While most commercial fruits and vegetables are harvested for uniformity and aesthetics, heirlooms are prized for their individuality. They often have a unique and sometimes superior taste, especially as compared to their flavorless supermarket cousins.

2. The Right Stuff. Having the right gear makes all the difference between a smooth shopping experience and a disastrous one. Consider this your market shopper toolkit: Cash: Many vendors don't take credit, Bags: Bring a few large, reusable bags or reuse bags from your home collection, A Cooler: If you have a few stops to make first, it might be a good idea to bring one -- especially for fragile items like delicate berries or if you plan to buy meat or fish.

3. When to Go. First thing in the morning is the best time to go for the best selection. If you're more interested in a good deal, go close to closing time; many vendors offer end-of-the-day specials so they don't have to schlep their unsold wares back to the farm.

4. Before You Buy. Take a lap around the whole market before you break out your wallet. Those ears of corn may look great, but there might be some a few rows down that look even better or come with a smaller price tag. Also, knowing everything the market has to offer before you start purchasing will make planning a complete meal that much easier.

5. What to Look For. Browsing for fruits and vegetables, follow the same rules you would at the supermarket. Don't buy anything bruised or wilted and look for good color and smooth, firm skins. When it comes to meat, "the pinker the better", and stay away from fish that smells too "fishy".

6. Ask Questions. The greatest thing about the farmers' market is that the people who grow it are the same people who sell it. Get to know your farmer! Find out how the food is grown and when it was picked. The vendors are happy to tell you what it is, what it tastes like, give you some ideas on how to prepare it and in some cases, even let you have a taste. Building a relationship with your farmer may also mean some good deals down the road.

7. Don't Overlook Conventional Growers. You might be tempted to head straight to the organic stands, but it's worth a trip to the conventional growers' stands as well. For small farmers, the organic certification process can be lengthy and cost-prohibitive. If you have a chat with some of the conventional growers, you may find that their growing practices are both organic and sustainable -- they just don't have the piece of paper giving them license to use the word "organic."

8. Know Before You Go. Don't go with a rigid shopping list. You never know what new and exciting things you might find there. If you get there and find yourself tempted by some fennel or fava beans, go right ahead and buy it and figure out how to serve it when you get home.

9. Don't Over Buy. Buying at a farmers' market means getting a superior product. The longer you leave that product unused, the more its quality declines. As a general rule, don't buy more than you can use within three to five days.

10. Keep it Simple. Farm fresh foods taste better than their grocery store counterparts, so they don't need overly fussy preparations. Some good quality olive oil, salt and pepper is often enough to enhance the flavor of fresh food at its peak.

If you want to learn more about farmer's markets, or to locate a farmer's market in your area, click here.