I checked the book above out of the library. A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook by Jessica B. Harris is a short hardcover that packs everything essential into the guide to the celebration.
The First Night: Umoja for Unity.
The Second Night: Kujichagulia for Self-Determination.
The Third Night: Ujima for Collective Work and Responsibility.
The Fourth Night: Ujamaa for Cooperative Economics.
The Fifth Night: Nia for Purpose.
The Sixth Night: Kuumba for Creativity.
The Seventh Night: Imani for Faith.
Each night’s chapter has info, recipes, a project at the end, and blank lined pages to write in your own recipes and recollections.
While a White American won’t celebrate Kwanzaa I’m fond of how a holiday like this was created for Black Americans to celebrate. Sharing community meals is what’s needed at this time in history where things seem to be going backwards in terms of others giving you and me and everyone else dignity.
We each of us should be proud of our culture and our heritage regardless of whether others hold us in high regard or don’t when we’re of that background.
I’m going to create a festival for those of us living in recovery to celebrate at this time of the year. We should have our own gathering with themed days.
You can like I did check A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook out of the library. Some of the recipes feature vegetables not just meat which can be good for vegetarians or vegans who celebrate Kwanzaa.
Coming up reflections on the New Year and setting resolutions that we can actually keep. My thinking is that a New Year’s resolution should be easy to get done. It’s the ideal time to focus on Who we want to Be not just on What we want to Do.
This is the first post re: the Integrative Health Coach eating plan that I’m going to use as a weekly practice starting this fall.
She recommends consuming 100 grams protein per day or at least at or near 90 grams protein for the ideal RDA. The calculation using your weight only accounts for the average grams of protein that are thought to be acceptable.
On Amazon–yes on Amazon–I found the Truvani protein powder shown. It’s the only protein powder source without a chemical additive called natural flavor. In California–yes in Cali–I think it’s Prop65 that lists Truvani as having a cancer-causing agent.
I’m taking my chances as this product has been on the market for at least a decade. The Mooala almond milk you can order on Fresh Direct online grocery delivery service in New York City.
About a decade ago I bought soy milk and the soy milk tasted awful to me. So I was hopeful when the Health Coach vetted that I could use almond milk. Again, the Mooala almond milk was the only almond milk I found that didn’t have a questionable ingredient.
Inside the Truvani package is a scoop you use to pour the protein powder in the almond milk. I used a 12 ounce ceramic mug that I bought in Starbucks long ago. It might be Venti sized according to the Starbucks system. I have no idea. I used the 12 ounce mug and tossed one scoop of Truvani in the almond milk. Filled the mug with the milk to an inch below the rim.
One scoop of Truvani has 20 grams of protein. It has 2 grams of fiber too if that counts for anything towards your RDA of fiber while you’re at it.
After the awful taste of the soy milk I was reluctant to try the almond milk. To my surprise the protein drink is drinkable because it tastes better than I thought it would.
As the drink is actually drinkable to me I’ll be getting 20 extra grams of protein with breakfast. My said breakfast 3 large organic eggs scrambled with organic shitake mushrooms.
So there I’ll have it–at least 30 grams of protein in my first meal of the day. Like real experts to trust have repeated for years a person should have 20 to 30 grams of protein with each meal starting with breakfast. Not waiting until dinner to load up on protein.
Va bene! A protein drink that is really kind of delicious! With no chemical additives in the form of natural flavor.
The only drawback is that the scoop is big so I envision going through a package of Truvani in one week or so. And the Truvani if I recall costs at least $30/per package.
For those of us who can’t afford Truvani there are other options like having with the eggs a container of Fage plain Greek yogurt. Mix blueberries into the yogurt like I do if you want. Use only a drizzle of honey. As per my Health Coach honey is not really okay to have except in tiny amounts.
Fage plain Greek yogurt doesn’t contain chemical additives in the form of natural flavor. Should you be okay with it you can opt for the Fage full-fat plain yogurt not the 0 fat. I happen to be sensitive to food that contains fat in it.
So having the eggs plus a container of the Fage plain yogurt could bump your grams of protein up to near 30 grams for breakfast.
Forget buying a boxed cereal labeled as a better protein source. A food with only 8 grams of protein per serving for breakfast won’t cut it for optimizing your energy and health throughout the day. Should you really want to go the boxed cereal breakfast route it’s imperative to find a container of yogurt or other protein source that will bump up the grams of protein for the meal.
Also forget the commercial that claims having a round waffle product with added protein is an acceptable food for getting protein. I don’t think so. Not all sources of protein are the best sources.
Though who’s kidding who. I have pasta all the time being Italian. And it’s not really an ideal food even when it’s whole wheat pasta according to my Health Coach.
That’s OK. I plan to stick with my 80 percent rule: having healthy food at least 80 percent of the time.
My life is getting shorter. With life being short I’ll have the pasta. You can have the cheesecake. Enjoying life–and the food you eat–guilt-free is the way to go.
The book above was published in March of this year 2025.
The Nine Tenets are Self-Awareness, Nutrition, Movement, Sleep, Connection, Engagement, Grounding, Unburdening, and Purpose.
This has to be the best book I’ve read on the topic.
In his books Dr. Ramsey gives advice that runs counter to what Dr. Ede says. He’s a fan of kale and wrote the book Fifty Shades of Kale. She is not. He recommends and eats dark chocolate regularly. She does not.
Healing the Modern Brain is a lifestyle guide. Diet alone or pills alone likely cannot be the only factor helping a person have a better life. In terms of an organic approach where the parts of the whole come together to create a sustainable routine.
I checked out of the library years ago the Dr. Ramsey book Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety. I recommend that book too.
The chapter on engagement in Healing the Modern Brain deserves a careful read.
“All work and no play” seems to be the tenet of American grind culture at our jobs where we spend most of our time each week. We should be having fun outside of our jobs routinely. And also find ways to have fun on our jobs if that is possible.
Engaging in something that gives you joy to wake up in the morning to do is paramount to healing.
Between Dr. Ramsey and Dr. Ede I err on the side of Dr. Ramsey. I talk about Dr. Ede’s approach because a person should have choices when all else fails. And too they might want to consider her guidelines first.
Either way it’s 2025. As of today giving up isn’t an option when it comes to recovery and having a happy healthy life. Giving up was not ever an option.
Coming up soon the recipe for Pistachio Ice Cream Affogato that uses espresso. To brew the espresso you can use a coffee maker like the one above. I recommend the Bialetti.
This coffee maker with the Dolce & Gabbana logo I bought even though the designers were in a controversy a few years ago over comments they made. Though I wouldn’t wear their clothes I ordered the machine because of the design.
Plus, it’s at a reduced cost this week with a code on the Macy’s website. You could order another Bialetti for only $50 that is just as good.
Before the first use you add water and heat up the water solo without ground coffee. After that you use the maker 3 times with ground coffee in it to lock in the aroma of coffee. Then you can use the machine to brew a cup to drink.
The machine will sound off when it’s getting too full. Shut it off before coffee bursts out. You pull out the safety valve before using it. Position the coffee maker on the stove so that the safety valve is not facing you.
Parts should be stored separately to let air circulate. The leaflet doesn’t tell you that you should use the machine with white vinegar and water every so often so that your coffee doesn’t get saturated with coffee oil from repeated brewing. A Google search will bring up how to do this.
It takes only about 5 minutes to use the coffee maker.
The flame shouldn’t extend beyond the rim of the bottom of the machine.
Affogato is my new favorite every-so-often treat. Not an everyday indulgence as ice cream is high in saturated fat and added sugar. Yet I love affogato so I’m glad I can make it at home. Instead of paying $10 for it in a restaurant.
Pam Danziger reports on retail, focused on the luxury consumer market.
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Feb 25, 2025,07:06am EST
Updated Feb 25, 2025, 10:47am EST
Topline
A consumer-activist group founded by John Schwarz has launched a grassroots campaign to halt spending online or instore and not use credit or debit cards for 24 hours on Friday, Feb. 28, in an attempt to disrupt the economic order and “take back control of our economy, government and future of our country,” reports CBSNews.
Key Facts
The People’s Union boycott calls for no spending on fast food, gas or at major retailers – “No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy” – beginning at midnight on Feb. 27 through midnight Feb. 28.
Purchases deemed essential, i.e. food, medicine, emergency supplies, are permitted but only in cash and with small, local businesses.
After the single-day spending pause, People’s Union plans week-long protests against specific retailers, including Amazon Mar. 7-14, Nestlé Mar. 21-28 and Walmart Apr. 7-13.
In an unaffiliated protest, Black faith leaders are calling for a 40-day “fast” or boycott of Target to protest its dialing back DEI initiatives to run during Lent starting on Ash Wednesday, Mar. 5.
Hey everyone – I edited the last post by adding new information and changing the ending.
This because I didn’t want to come across in a way I hadn’t intended with the first version.
You can read the revised blog entry again if you want.
I’m as leery as anyone of white women influencers peddling “thinspiration.”
In this blog I would like to giver common-sense information that readers can use to create a better life for themselves.
Let’s face it Americans are coming down with all sorts of health issues. Separating trustworthy claims from sensational ones is my goal. There are people hanging out shingles as experts to cash in on our ill health.
I’m going to talk in a coming blog entry about liking yourself at any size. Which is more to the point.
I’m a tiny person with a big mouth. I’ve always been a feminist. What surprises me today is the alacrity with which I’m speaking out about real issues.
I think it’s a myth that a healthy woman can have disordered eating. Unless you have anorexia or bulimia I don’t think it’s possible that your eating is disordered.
Having a so-called expert or another person judge us can be shame inducing. Not only can a 200-pound woman feel poorly. We girls of any size can feel insecure.
I had not intended to lose weight. It’s just how it is. I want everyone to feel good at any size. Which is why the policing of how and what women eat should end.
I weigh 103 pounds because I lift weights and eat healthful food 90 percent of the time. I lost 20 pounds at the height of Covid because I lifted weights in my home gym and did not buy “snacks” to eat while indoors. Instead I bought organic CSA boxes of produce to make recipes with.
More to the point is that I follow the advice in the book I reviewed here How to Be Well by Dr. Frank Lipman, MD– a functional medicine doctor who is a trustworthy expert.
Big Food will sell you the cheeseburgers and Big Pharma will tell you that if you take a cholesterol pill, it will be OK to keep eating cheeseburgers.
One female nutritionist in a print advertisement recommended using Splenda years ago. How could a supposed diet expert accept funding to promote an artificial sweetener? Instead of needing to use an artificial sweetener simply cut out using sugar to begin with.
This is why what a so-called expert claims is disordered eating should be questioned. Policing how and what women eat is only going to shame us. Nobody accuses a man of having disordered eating when he mouths down a Porterhouse steak.
The shaming of women for our eating habits will have the opposite effect: Turn us away from eating dark leafy greens which you are supposed to eat. Who’s kidding who about what constitutes disordered eating.
Coca-Cola hired academic researchers at a college to promote the health benefits of Coca-Cola. You can see where I’m going with this line of thinking.
In the 1990s SYMS clothing store ran this commercial on TV in New York City touting: “An educated consumer is our best customer.”
We need to educate ourselves and seek out the truth. I’m not an influencer peddling a product. I take NO money from advertisements on my blogs or from a drug company or anyone else.
It was not lost on me that the Saturday after the election I woke up with a sore left arm. Since then the PT sessions took only exactly 2 months. Doubt I did that it would be over so quickly.
Not able I was to lift weights then. At the end of this setback I realized things must change. Ordinarily I work out like a madwoman in training for the prizefight of her life. The PT assistants at the rehab center kept telling me to ease up when I first started the sessions whirling into each exercise too intensely. Wise up I did and took it slower and calmer.
My PT therapist cleared me to end my time there. The quandary is: how to recover mentally from a setback after you’ve physically healed. How to begin again your normal fitness routine.
You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. I took my fitness for granted. The time had come to rethink my approach not just to lifting but also to living life.
I would practice mindful exercise and pace myself. Say a prayer before I first lifted in the routine thanking my body for being a workhorse that enabled me to achieve my goals.
Today I choose to act in a slow and deliberate fashion. The violent and quick workouts are gone like the dinosaurs. They outlived their usefulness.
Not only is the bigger better more ethic of consumerism an economic trap the bigger better more extreme of fitness is quicksand.
I became fitter after I started working out in my “home gym” (OK–the clear unobstructed hardwood floor in my apartment).
My new approach is going from fast and furious to serene and lean. As I turn 60 soon. Being proactive in our older years will help us stay mentally and physically fit.
Getting infirm is not the guaranteed outcome in old age. It’s the result of poor eating, not enough sleep, and not being active.
Recovery from any injury or illness or any kind of setback at all takes time, patience, hard work, and determination.
My goal is to return to the floor and gradually increase the weight as I begin to lift again.
We each should have the radical grace to change what’s not working and chart a new course. As hard as it is to start all over from square one the alternative is no option: not getting back in the ring.
This time around I want to lift weights to lift my spirits not just get muscle.
Perhaps this blog can be a guidepost for everyone who needs a shot of confidence to embark on a new path after the old route was a dead-end.
Per Sherry Pocknett chef owner of Sly Fox Den Too restaurant:
“Everything that comes out of the ocean is Indigenous food.”
Her Nation (commonly called a Tribe) is the Mashpee Wampanoag. She is the James Beard Award-winning Northeast chef based in Charlestown, Rhode Island. Pocknett’s restaurant serves food native to her culture.
I too prefer to eat what swims in the blue sea or grows on the green earth.
You can buy a copy of the November Bon Appetit magazine to read the Pocknett story.
We are all of us Indigenous or not losing our moorings in this precious world that is God’s gift to us to live on.
We need to truly embrace not just tolerate others’ unique perspectives. We have so much to learn from each other that can help us live happy healthy lives together.
Decades ago I watched a band of Native Americans give a musical performance. The lead singer told the audience that Native American history is OUR history not just theirs. They are our ancestors too.
It’s time to honor embrace and accept Indigenous Nations as American royalty so to speak. They were here before us and we’re ravaging their land that we took over and live on today.
No one can achieve perfection in our lifetime. However we can strive to do better and be a little better every day.
I’ll end here by saying that whatever we’re doing in tiny ways can make a big difference.
Like with climate change little actions can be sustainable versus drastic dramatic action you’re forced to take after the damage has been done.
I recommend subscribing to Bon Appetit magazine. It’s gotten better with the new Editor in Chief.
Full and Robust Life Hacks 