Category Archives: food

A More Beautiful Life

Posted on by ninjanurse

Not to get all Martha Stewart, but author Mary Callahan had this up on Facebook today, Save Food From the Fridge.

Fridges are big, and energy suckers too. For keeping things cold, they’re great. But for the default food storage? Maybe not. Especially when so many things taste so much better at room temp.

Seems like unwisdom to congeal in the fridge and zap in the microwave. I use my ambient defrosting system (countertop) when I can plan that far ahead. But knowing what’s safe to leave at room temp means getting involved with your food. Maybe a good idea.

I’m on track to screw up the latest weight loss study (not really, they have a mathematical way to screen out the total fails), due to I can’t get started.

I’m reading, Born Round, by Frank Bruni.

Frank Bruni was set up by heredity to crave food and pack it on. His secret–I’ll spoil it– was more exercise and smaller portions. How he got to that point is the interesting part. His book is a love letter to food, fast and slow, haute and low.

So how to get on track, and not a joyless track, is my weight loss challenge.

It Was Bound to Happen

Posted on by ninjanurse

In today’s news–

Man Suffers Heart Attack After Eating Triple Bypass Burger at Heart Attack Grill

He’s probably going to be okay. Heart Attack Grill has waitresses dressed in sexy nurse costumes, maybe one of them had a cell phone and the presence of mind to call 911.

Last year, Blair River, the public face of the restaurant, died at age 29 of the flu. Bummer.

You can’t fault them for deceptive advertising.

We’re coming off decades of sugary cereal for the kids and pink slime burgers for the whole family. It’s a hard habit to break when that’s what you’re used to. Broccoli is an acquired taste.

I’m on day 4 of ShapeUpRI. They send you a pedometer and lots of encouragement. So far, I’ve been seduced by Valentines chocolates, leftover cake at work, and Chinese food. But I’m counting my steps, the sun is shining, I’ve had nothing but coffee and milk so far.

Most of us aren’t swigging bacon milkshakes or going to the Heart Attack Grill. It’s the day to day that gets us. That’s the greater challenge.

Bursting With Food Energy

Posted on by ninjanurse

That’s the kind of copy advertising agents would put on a box of candy-coated cereal before they realized that even the American public knows ‘food energy’ is another word for ‘calories’.

‘Extreme’– a manly word, still works. MacDonald’s sold a lot of ‘Double Down’ sandwiches by appealing to our inner ‘bad boy’. The Jack in the Box Bacon Milkshake sounds like an idea whose time has come.

The bacon shake is made with no actual bacon, just real vanilla ice cream, bacon-flavored syrup, whipped topping and a maraschino cherry, according to the website. We were thinking this had to be the most trayf food known to mankind before we saw the ingredient list. We’ll get to the nutritional info in a minute.

If you guessed a thousand calories, you’re guessing low. I love it that most of the ingredients are not found in nature. ‘Whipped topping’?

I start the ‘ShapeUpRI’ weight loss study on Monday. I went to a meeting last night and there– placed on each chair– were the dreaded books. Like in the TRIM study, we’re going to record every calorie we eat. With a bacon shake and a bunch of celery, I’ll be good for a week.

Forks over Knives and Portlandia

Posted on by Kiersten Marek

No, they’re not really related, but both are great viewing material. Forks over Knives is sobering and reminds us all to eat our vegetables. Portlandia is just plain hysterical — skits riffing on all the outrageous people in Portland and beyond. BTW, the Mayor of Portland portrayed in the skits has an uncanny likeness to Linc Chafee. He is seen bouncing on his exercise ball, working on his “core” while chatting with young musicians about writing a song to promote about Portland.

Here’s the trailer for Forks and Knives:

Smart Charity

Posted on by ninjanurse

A woman who lives on a limited income and relies on food pantries to get through the month told me she likes a particular church, “they let you pick out what you need. I’m on a special diet and I can’t eat a lot of foods.”

I like the food pantry at First Unitarian. They group the cans and bags by type and let people pick a few from each group. It’s very practical to do it that way. A food pantry exists to feed people, not randomly dispense groceries.

Matt Yglesias in Slate.com Money has a provocative post on why it is better to write a check, Can the Cans–Why Food Drives are a Terrible Idea

All across America, charitable organizations and the food industry have set up mechanisms through which emergency food providers can get their hands on surplus food for a nominal handling charge. Katherina Rosqueta, executive director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania, explains that food providers can get what they need for “pennies on the dollar.” She estimates that they pay about 10 cents a pound for food that would cost you $2 per pound retail. You’d be doing dramatically more good, in basic dollars and cents terms, by eating that tuna yourself and forking over a check for half the price of a single can of Chicken of the Sea.

Plenty of cans get distributed and it’s all well meant and does some good, but if you’re really getting into a particular charity it makes sense to find out what they need the most.

Coffee Break

Posted on by ninjanurse

It’s said that Rhode Island is the birthplace of the diner, and the Liberty Elm keeps the tradition alive. I’m between Warwick and Providence today, so I get to stop off on Elmwood Ave.

Today there’s lime and coconut muffins ( for some reason that rings a bell with me) that are really good grilled with butter. It looks like it’s going to pour any minute, but when the sun comes back out the Liberty will have outdoor dining, with a scenic view of the train tracks out back and the RIPTA bus depot across the street.

Support your locals, folks.

Live at the Liberty

Summer Solstice

Posted on by ninjanurse

In the Park

Summer is here with bright, blue days. I went to the Farmer’s Market at Lippit Park, saw our beautiful fountain flowing for the first time in living memory, and I checked out a new business, Farmacy Herbs. They did not have what I wanted at their table. I wanted natural licorice as part of my weight loss scheme #527. Hope springs eternal.

And sometimes is rewarded, because I was able to buy licorice at their store on Cemetery Street, along with some nettle tea and catnip. If this works I’ll write a book and make some money. If not, it was cheap and it’s good to have an herb store in the neighborhood. The staff was pleasant, and the owner really does know where all the bodies are buried. Or at least most of them. She’s taken some walks through the historic North Main Street Cemetery.

You can visit the website for Farmacy Herbs here.

The Farmer’s Market is now open two days a week– Saturday mornings and Wednesday afternoons 3:30-6:30.

Farmacy Herbs

Community Garden Meeting Tonight!

Posted on by Kiersten Marek

Cranston residents: If you want to take your mind off politics and the difficult economy, consider joining the Cranston Community Garden! Information below on the meeting tonight.

From Democratic City Council Member Steve Stycos:

I am working with Mayor Fung to start a community garden in the park at the end of Narragansett Street and Bay View Avenues. Those participating would receive a small area of land, perhaps 10 by 20 feet, to grown vegetables or flowers. To gauge community interest, I am holding a community meeting for those interested in participating, Thursday March 3 at 7 PM at the Open Table of Christ Church at the corner of Broad Street and Montgomery Avenue. The church, also known as the Washington Park Methodist Church, is on the Cranston/Providence line, but the garden is only for Cranston residents.

Next week, a flyer announcing the meeting will be going home with kids from Edgewood Highland Elementary School. I would also like to hand it out door to door along Narragansett Street and Bay View Avenue, and surrounding streets. Would you be able to help me distribute leaflets this weekend?

I will have leaflets and maps available Saturday morning. You can hand out the leaflets whenever is convenient over the weekend. Please let me know if you can help. Hopefully, you may also want to participate in the garden.

Thanks.

Chocolate Kiss

Posted on by ninjanurse

Theresa Brown, RN captures the feeling of a busy hospital unit and the temptations that lurk in the break room…

A Hershey’s kiss can be exactly what I need to make the day feel better, especially since lunchtime has long passed and I haven’t had time to eat.

The truth is, though, I try to eat sparingly because I learned early in the job that stress eating is an occupational hazard. Having our conference room filled with doughnuts and caramel corn makes it all too easy to, as we say, “eat my feelings,” rather than just feeling them.

She thanks the patients and families who show their appreciation with home-made cookies or a box of candy. With all the stress patients and families go through it is really amazing how often they take time to give a word of thanks and encouragement to the staff.

The last time I worked inpatient, in a nursing home, I kind of dreaded the holidays. With the kindest of intentions families would send boxes of chocolate that I seldom managed to resist for the full eight hours. Especially when it was so often impossible to find time for a meal break.

Reading between the lines, Ms. Brown describes a work pace that is taxing, constant, and stressful, without time to rest, eat or drink some water. Heck, there’s hardly time to go to the bathroom. I used to kind of envy the smokers, because they managed to take their ten minutes off the unit.

Skipping break was not a badge of honor. You tried to be efficient enough to have time to eat. You didn’t advertise that shift after shift you used that thirty minutes just to keep up.

In the normal course of things, there will be times when a lot of people are sick all at once and everyone is flat out busy. When every day is like that there’s something wrong. Nurses work, and not only RN’s but LPN’s and CNA’s, is overloaded, with staff spread thin.

You really see the best of people when you work in nursing. The courage of patients and families stays with me. Even sitting here with nothing worse than a bad cold I think of the people I meet who feel sick every day, and how seldom they complain.

One of the commenters to Ms.Brown’s article suggests that families might want to send a card or a note to the unit and the boss, and I second that. While all acts of kindness are appreciated, these notes are read and have an impact. When some consultant comes along and decides to make the staff ‘leaner and meaner’ they will go over every aspect of the job looking for ‘fat to trim’. Those cards and letters mean a great deal then.

Community Garden Opportunity in Cranston

Posted on by Kiersten Marek

From Democratic City Council Member Steve Stycos:

I am working with Mayor Fung to start a community garden in the park at the end of Narragansett Street and Bay View Avenues. Those participating would receive a small area of land, perhaps 10 by 20 feet, to grown vegetables or flowers. To gauge community interest, I am holding a community meeting for those interested in participating, Thursday March 3 at 7 PM at the Open Table of Christ Church at the corner of Broad Street and Montgomery Avenue. The church, also known as the Washington Park Methodist Church, is on the Cranston/Providence line, but the garden is only for Cranston residents.

Next week, a flyer announcing the meeting will be going home with kids from Edgewood Highland Elementary School. I would also like to hand it out door to door along Narragansett Street and Bay View Avenue, and surrounding streets. Would you be able to help me distribute leaflets this weekend?

I will have leaflets and maps available Saturday morning. You can hand out the leaflets whenever is convenient over the weekend. Please let me know if you can help. Hopefully, you may also want to participate in the garden.

Thanks.