GET NAKED!

Since I try to be a smarter shopper these days...one thing we try to do is go to Costco about once a month or so. I wouldn't say we buy our groceries there, but on some things I believe there is serious savings in buying bulk. For example the meats in bulk do tend to be cheaper, but we also have a vacuum sealer to save and freeze what we buy.

Anyway, when we go to Costco, as you most likely know, they give away samples to entice passersby and drive sales. So the diet advice of not shopping hungry, applies double here. But, there is no harm in looking and sometimes the samples are actually good for you, like when the sample is for Naked Juice.

Naked Juice is my new favorite thing for a few reasons. First of all it is real juice. Not from concentrate, not flavored water with added vitamins, but actual juice from fruits that already have vitamins. Second, there bottles are recycled and recylable. And, Naked is a company that seems to truly care about the environment and where their products come from...inside and out, from start to finish, and I support that. Blue Machine is my favorite flavor so far, creamy blueberry deliciousness! And, next on my list are the Gold Machine (pineapple) and Mighty Mango.

Check out the company info, the flavors, and all they pack into that little recycled bottle, and try this juice!

Limeades For Learning

I saw a commercial for Sonic tonite advertising a new campaign to help school teachers. They are donating $500,000.00 to educational programs. All we have to do is drink Limeades. Cherry is the best BTW.

For details on the program, you can visit LimeadesForLearning.com.

And, to find a Sonic near you, go here.

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.