Life in Your Years Blog: Health, Finance, & More

Before I went to graduate school, I never thought much about buying groceries and other everyday items. During high school, my parents took care of that for the most part, and in college, we had the dining hall and dorms to basically provide our needs (hardly for free, but I didn’t notice it). However, when I arrived at graduate school, suddenly I was responsible for buying groceries and having some money left over at the end of the week to do the things I wanted to do.

Some people call me cheap, and others tight. I prefer to look at myself as frugal, or perhaps thrifty, and my beliefs about money do not render me stingy, although I do like to save money. I tend to look at having and spending money like this: I like to save money on things I don’t really care about, so I can have money to spend on things I do. So, for example, there is no difference between buying eggs at Aldi, or eggs at Meijer. However, I save about 40 cents/dozen by getting the eggs for 79 cents a dozen at Aldi. At a dozen per week, I save over $20.00 a year. Twenty dollars buys a few books, which I do enjoy. Another example is generic pop. How much is a 2-liter of Pepsi? Somewhere around $1.25. The generic is $.75. Savings per week if I buy 2? $1.00 a week. In a year, that is $52.00. Chicken noodle soup is basically chicken stock, noodles, and a few chunks of chicken. I can get Campbell’s for $1.00 or Aldi for 50 cents. If I buy 4 a week, in the course of a year I have saved $104.00. I don’t really care enough about pop, eggs, or chicken noodle soup to readily distinguish between generic and name brand, but I do enjoy having an extra $176.00 at the end of the year.

Like I said, I don’t think I am cheap. I like to buy people gifts, and I always try to tip 20-25% when I go out to eat. I also make sure I give a fair percentage of my income to charity, including my church. In fact, one thing I save money for is to share it with others. However, I would much rather “share” my money with others than with the electric company, gas company, or grocery store. This is one main reason I also go to extremes to save energy, and this is reflected by the fact that our air-conditioning has kicked on probably 10 times this whole summer (it has been unseasonably cool, so we don’t usually save as much energy as we have this summer).

So what is my basic philosophy and challenge to you? Well, it could be summarized as “tighten your finances where it doesn’t really matter, so you can have more money where it does.” There are many creative ways to save money, and the way I look at it is that if you can put effort into whatever it is you put effort into (school, job, hobby, etc), you can put effort into saving money, since it will likely benefit you and those that matter to you!

Research from psychologists has indicated that mothers who exercise 30 minutes a day during pregnancy increase their child’s IQ by as much as eight percentage points. The study  also noted an increase in IQ associated with breast feeding and other positive factors.

We have been discovering over the years that having healthy children is more than just early childhood parental decisions, but even the woman’s behavior while pregnant. While we have known that drugs, alcohol, and smoking were bad, it’s nice to find positive things we can do to help our children while even in the womb. Fortunately my wife exercised and took DHA while our baby was in utero and breastfeeding. I hope it makes a difference.

The reason the Spanish Flu of 1918 was so deadly to young people was that it probably caused what is known as a cytokine storm, a potentially fatal immune reaction that is strongest in those with healthy immune systems. While this current swine flu scare is nothing compared to the Spanish Flu outbreak (yet), it has currently killed people in Mexico, many who apparently are in the 25-45 year old range, which, according to experts, makes it look like a pandemic flu strain much like the 1918 Spanish flu. Normally, the flu is only a serious concern for the very young and the very old, not people in the prime of life.

If the swine flu breaking out in Mexico (and in Texas and California) is indeed similar to the Spanish flu, then immune boosting treatments may actually hasten death. I went looking online to see which nutrients, herbs, foods, vitamins, and drugs actually increase, or inhibit, a cytokine storm. Some of the substances that may hasten death in infections that trigger a cytokine storm may actually be helpful in treating the regular, seasonal, flu, so it is important to understand what type of flu you have. Below I have divided them by category, and included a few natural substances that may act as anti-viral agents. Bear in mind, that while I link to sources for every one, sometimes the rationale is hypothetical, as opposed to based on actual research, and often the research is at the cellular level, or in animals, which means it may or may not work the same with in an actual human body. Also, remember that I am not a medical doctor, and I am presenting my personal research here for everybody to see. If you think you have the swine flu, bird flu, etc, see a doctor and/or follow the instructions of your local health department. It looks like there are currently effective anti-viral treatments for this type of swine flu, so there is no need to treat yourself.

Possibly Lessen/Inhibit a Cytokine Storm:

Vitamin C

Green Tea

Saint John’s Wort

Quercetin

Vitamin D (.pdf) (I should note that Dr. John Cannell observes that in the 1918 pandemic, generally those with the lowest Vitamin D levels lived [blacks, the elderly], while those with presumably the highest levels [young people] died. The pandemic was around in the summer, when Vitamin D blood levels would have been generally elevated anyway, but it definitely was weaker in the summer, and started getting juiced up at the end of the summer and beginning of the fall when Vitamin D levels were falling off. Cannell believes that either very low, or very high, levels of Vitamin D are protective against an influenza-caused cytokine storm. If I am reading him correctly, perhaps a moderate level of Vitamin D is the most dangerous in this case. It would be nice if Cannell would address this.)

Vitamin E

N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (and here)

Turmeric

Aspirin

Prednisone

Possibly Increase Cytokine Storm

Bromelain
(Papain? Pancreatin?)

Cocoa

Echinacea

Elderberry

Possible Natural Anti-Viral Agents

Lauric Acid

Emodin

Resveratrol

Scullcap

Lauric Acid is a saturated fat and medium-chain fatty acid found in abundance in coconut products. It has been found to hinder the entry of some viruses into cells. The last three may work similar to Tamiflu, based on research at the cellular-level. Emodin and Resveratrol are both available in Japanese Knotweed, commonly used as a Resveratrol supplement. Emodin is a laxative, which is why taking a lot of Japanese Knotweed has a laxative effect.

It seems like every house, apartment, or dorm I’ve lived in during these past 10 years has had some type of light right outside the bedroom window.  Right outside!?!  While they do make me feel more secure, they also make it harder for me to get quality sleep. I am not totally off-base, as studies show that sleeping in a room with some light is associated with higher levels of some cancers. In fact, just last week, Science News announced a new study has linked artificial light at night to a higher risk of prostate cancer. The studies are clear: artificial light leaking into our bedrooms at night cause health problems due to a lack of sleep. However, as I explain below, the solution need not be expensive (or involve you wearing one of those strange-looking sleep masks).

I’ve tried every solution, from taping up garbage bags to buying fancy curtains.  Yet, nothing seemed to work as well as the high-end brand black out shades my mom installed in her house.  I commented about this to her one day.  Her response was for me to go get some black out material at the fabric store.  Obviously I’ve never made curtains before, and I didn’t even know they had this “stuff”!  But for around $6 (after using the 40% off coupon in the paper), I got 2 yards of fabric.   I sewed a pocket for a tension rod and I was done.  Instant dark! Even in the day time it’s really dark in the room. It makes for a world of difference in our room.   I can’t tell you how great this material is.  You do not need to hem it.  Even if you don’t sew very well, you can make these.  As a matter of fact you don’t have to sew it either if you get a tube of liquid stitch.  Or if you’d like to take it one step further Martha Stewart has a How to Make Your Own Roman Shade tutorial here.

It’s Valentine’s Day this weekend, in case you didn’t already know. Some would rather avoid this holiday, and quite frankly I’ve never been into all the hype. I’d also rather receive something more useful then flowers and chocolate… not to say that flowers in the dead of winter aren’t a nice. And really, what girl is going to refuse chocolate!?! But I digress. Even though it does come with a lot of hype, there are opportunities to turn the holiday into something wonderful for those around you. You can have a friends night out, spend time with your family, or just give yourself a little you time.

I’ve been trying to think of something special to do for David this year. As a SAHW this can be quite the challenge. Fortunately, we will be able to spend Valentine’s Day with family. So instead of one, big, celebration, I decided to give him a week of small surprises. My first surprise (and fourth) were Scones with Stevia.

We have been trying to cut down on white sugar for quite some time, and for a few years we have been content to use suclarose instead (Splenda).  After reading about some negative side effects of sucralose, we started looking into alternatives.  We tried to find one that was economical, natural, and preferably low in calories.  Enter Stevia.  We’ve been using this almost as long as Splenda, but until recently our Stevia usage has been confined to drinks.  We like the undiluted Stevia,  because it was more economical.  However it is also very difficult to measure (25 milligrams of Stevia extract is equal to about 4 grams of sugar), and too much becomes bitter.

I’d first thought about baking with Stevia this summer, but hadn’t gotten around to figuring out the proper ratio of sugar-to-Stevia.  And then there is the risk of making it too bitter.  But this weekend I braved the unknown, and decided to try it in a scones recipe.  This recipe only calls for 1/4 cup of sugar, making it very easy to figure out just how many of those tiny scoops I need. One tiny scoop of pure Stevia extract is the equivalent to 1 teaspoon sugar. Yep it is *that* powerful!

First I had to find the perfect recipe. I ended up merging two scones recipes, one from Allrecipe.com and the other from America’s Test Kitchen (video clip).

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
12 scoops Stevia (use the one that came with it)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest (optional)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt

For Wash
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Grate frozen butter, using the largest hole on your grater.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, Stevia, zest, and salt into a large bowl.
4. Add frozen butter, gently toss till covered.
5. Mix together 1/2 cup milk and sour cream in a measuring cup. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, and fold with spatula until just combined. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to liberally floured work surface. Dust surface of dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.
6. Roll dough into approximate 12-inch square. Following illustrations, fold dough into thirds like a business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to countertop. Lift short ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square. Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 minutes.
7. Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into approximate 12-inch square again. Sprinkle cranberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are slightly embedded in dough. Using bench scraper or thin metal spatula, loosen dough from work surface. Roll dough, pressing to form tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Whisk together large egg and 1 tbsp milk.  Brush tops with mixture. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

I promise this only looks complex.  I highly recommend watching the ATK video to get an idea of just how easy this really is. These come out quite light and fluffy.

To create Chocolate Scones (my fourth surprise) I added:

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder & 1/2 teaspoon more baking soda to step 3
• I also stirred in 3 tablespoons honey into the milk before mixing it with the sour cream.  You will need something to help sweeten the cocoa powder. I just couldn’t bring myself to use 24 scoops of Stevia…not yet anyways.
• You can keep the cranberries or add nuts in their place.  Or both!

Have a taste for something chocolate now?  I know I do.  Check out the Nourishing Chocolate Recipes Carnival over at The Nourishing Gourmet.

***Note: There are 48 teaspoons in a cup.  Check your stevia for proper conversion.

I absolutely love Christmas. Ever since I was young, I have enjoyed everything about Christmas: late-night Church services, Christmas lights, Christmas presents, family gatherings, Christmas carols, Christmas cards, etc. This year is no different. Tonight we went to Christmas Eve Mass (not midnight as usual…but my brother has a baby now) and a lessons-and-carols service at my dad’s church. Tomorrow, on Christmas Day, we will get up early, have some nice peppermint coffee, and have a big lunch with the family. After that we will open presents, and maybe if the weather is nice, Jonathan and I will go out and toss some football. Tomorrow night, we will travel the area, looking for nice Christmas light displays. We usually hit a few big displays. One is so big you can drive through it, and a little bit down the road is a business building that has no outside lights, but in two rooms on the second floor are old fashioned Santa and Frosty light-up figurines. We call it the “eerie Santa” display.

We are eating well, but trying to keep our calories and activities in check so as not to gain any weight during the holiday break.

I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas!

Image of my parents’ Christmas tree above. Bottom image is a photo of the “eerie santa” (and an eerie Frosty) building

I hope all of our readers had a blessed and restful Thanksgiving. I have been spending my break (which started Tuesday evening) with my wife, my parents, grandma, and my brother and his family. We had a nice big meal, and I had plenty of turkey, stuffing, cranberry dessert, mashed potatoes, and of course, pumpkin pie. Jonathan and I began the day by running at the school I graduated from. There are nice rolling hills surrounding the track, so we ran a few “country miles” as our old football coach would call them. I overate quite a bit, but the extra activity made me closer to breaking even, although I still consumed more than I burned. I suppose if there is one day of the year that is allowed, it is Thanksgiving. So yeah, I consumed too much, but boy was it good!

I have a lot to be thankful for, and in the end, I am always more thankful for people than I am for stuff, so it was nice to spend time with my family.

Image of Pumpkin Pie taken by me

This past weekend, the stores seemed to be getting ready for autumn, so naturally we obliged and bought a few pumpkin flavored products that we usually buy this time of year: Edy’s Pumpkin Ice Cream, Pumpkin Spice Coffee, and canned pumpkin (to make Jennifer’s super lite, sugar free, Pumpkin muffins). It has been cold enough in the mornings that it really does feel like Fall! Nothing beats enjoying a cool breeze while drinking Pumpkin Spice coffee.

Schools in my county go back to school this week. My first day is tomorrow, and the students come on Wednesday. I am glad to be back in the routine again. I tend to get  more things done when I have a full work day than when I have a day open (it’s easy to push things back when you know you can do then later). Of course, going back to school is also symbolic of the summer being over, even though technically it runs until the end of September, but most students and teachers tend to base their “summer” on the time out of school.

While I am looking forward to going back to work, I admit that the summer nearly ending is usually kind of depressing for me. Part of it is because it seems like with every advancing year I dislike the winter more and more. I love fall (it is probably my favorite season), and I actually enjoy the winter all the way up to mid-January. Why? Because I associate cold and snow with Christmas, and usually for the first two weeks of January, I am excited about the new year. However, the last two weeks of January, and the month of February are always hard on me. I think it is because in the last few years I have become very active, and very much outdoor oriented. During the warm months I run outside, golf, walk during the evenings, swim, travel, go to pick-your-own-fruit farms, attend festivals, etc. The winter weather seriously curtails this, and I am just not into being inside all the time. I am sure this winter I will be writing posts about how to overcome the winter blahs. I guess until then I should focus on the positives: a month left of actual summer, football season is starting (Go Bucks! Go Browns!), autumn will be here soon, Halloween is coming, Advent and Christmas are approaching, and so is my wedding anniversary. So hey, what’s not to like??

Above is a nice autumn photo to get us all thinking about that season

My brother David and I have struggled with weight since we began puberty. It is surely genetic in some way since my paternal grandpa struggled with weight, my uncle (also dad’s side) died of morbid obesity, and my dad has been very overweight since he was around my age. I fear that my beautiful baby daughter will also struggle, even though her mother has always been thin.  Of course, my grandpa and dad’s wives were/are thin. At least I feel that I am equipped to help my daughter (and my step daughter) make healthy choices. For example, they will never have pop in their home, which is at least a head start in a healthy life.

However, I am very worried about my dad. He is a great guy and I love him a lot. I want him around to watch my kids grow up. He loves his grandkids very much and I know he wouldn’t want to miss out on their lives. And yet, his weight puts him at great risk of not only an early death, but also a declining quality of life. My brother, mom, and I have struggled about how to handle the situation. We sat down and explained how we care about him and want him to lose weight. We also vowed to help him. We bought him a copy of the You On A Diet book and are reading it along with him. Still, we’ve done much of this before and hope this time something will stick. It’s hard watching family members you love struggle with weight, especially when you have been there and struggle yourself.

It is no surprise to me. A new study finds that restaurant kids meals have too many calories. Most kids meals exceed the 430 calorie threshold for kids to stay in normal weight ranges. Some of the meals even hover around the 1000 calorie mark! Kids in the 4-8 age range need about 1300 calories a day, so one of these meals puts them at around 77% of their needed calories for a day. Most adults would likely be overweight if they consumed 1000 calories in one meal.

When I say this isn’t surprising to me, I mean that there aren’t that many choices for adults either. In fact, there are some restaurants I nearly have to avoid if I want to eat right, and at most restaurants, I have to avoid the majority of the meals. That kids meals would fit this same logic makes perfect sense. So how can you eat healthy when eating out? Well, it is pretty difficult, but it can be done. I eat out about once or twice a week, and these are the tips I use.

- Look at the nutritional information beforehand, and plan out what you want. Almost every restaurant has something available that is healthy

- Avoid caloric drinks; stick to unsweet tea, diet, or water. It is very easy to put down 3-4 glasses of pop in one sitting, and this adds a LOT of needless calories

- Avoid appetizers, bread, etc. I try to limit my intake of these items, because their calories can easily add up

- Avoid dessert, or get a low calorie dessert. Again, check the calories beforehand

- Exercise that day so you have more calories to play with

- Eat at home. You don’t have to eat out a lot

The last point is probably the most important. The article says:

“Parents want to feed their children healthy meals, but America’s chain restaurants are setting parents up to fail,” CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan said in a statement. “McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, and other chains are conditioning kids to expect burgers, fried chicken, pizza, French fries, macaroni and cheese, and soda in various combination at almost every lunch and dinner.”

I find this rather amusing. So now parents are being controlled by restaurants? While I think it is probably true to some degree, it doesn’t have to be this way. Not every kid is conditioned to think “fast food” is real food, but when parents don’t have the time or will to ever cook at home, so that the family can experience a real home-cooked meal, I can see why many kids probably think a home-cooked meal is warming up left over fast food. I often wonder if we (including our children) would all be thinner if we ate at home as a family more often, instead of allowing corporations to plan our meals for us.

I reluctantly joined Facebook last year. I say “reluctantly” because I didn’t really see its point. However, I have to admit that I have really warmed up to the concept lately. Why? Think of what Facebook actually does. It allows us to keep in contact with friends, past and present, all across the world for free. Facebook allows for this sort of contact in a unique way, with photos, games, groups, etc. You can really get a sense of what your friends are into, and what direction their lives have taken/are taking. I am not saying that I am really all that interested in meeting up with all of my friends or aquaintences from high school or college, but it is nice to know what they are up to, where they are, and I like that I can occasionally send them greetings if need be. Plus, it is cool to be able to share things about my life with my friends, like photos of the new house, or photos of me with my (temporary) beard. Oh yeah, it is also cool to meet new friends online and connect with them through facebook.

Dad bought us some wooden stakes and some chicken fencing at a hardware store yesterday, so we could finally take the pile of grass clippings in our yard and turn it into a real compost pile. Our city doesn’t accept grass clippings in the weekly garbage pick-up, but we can take them to the city compost pile for free. Rather than deal with wet grass clippings in our car, we decided to just start our own pile, and in turn have some fertilizer for our plants next year. It’s nothing too exciting, but it is one of the first things I have built for our home. Mind you, it is very, very, simple, and not too pretty to look at, but as I told Jennifer, “relax, we’re building a pen for waste…how nice does it have to look?” I happen to have a few “Do-It-Yourself” type books on my wishlist at Amazon, so I can maybe try my hand at fixing/making a few things in the future. I’ll be honest, being a homeowner has already been changing me…I never understood until now why my dad actually gets a real thrill from looking at, buying, and using tools! Anybody else feel this way?

So why compost? Well, besides providing fertilizer for next year’s plants, composting helps keep waste management costs down because compostable materials don’t end up in landfills, filled in garbage bags made of plastic. If enough people composted there would be fewer garbage trucks on the road, saving oil and gasoline.

Now that Jennifer and I have a house, we are growing a few vegetables in large pots (the pots came free with the house). We got the vegetables, minus the cilantro, for free at a greenhouse that was giving them away in June. We also have a blueberry plant Jennifer ordered online (which she takes on overnight trips with us…parenting practice I guess!). We currently are growing cucumbers, multiple types of tomatoes, habanero peppers, cayenne peppers, romaine lettuce, gourmet lettuce, collards, leeks, onions, cilantro, and, of course, blueberries. Next year we want to expand to include green beans, carrots, garlic, and broccoli, at the very least.

I am not usually into growing plants, although I do like nature. However, I find myself excited about what is growing, and even proud to be helping to feed our family with healthy vegetables, even if it is (at this point) a rather insignificant portion of our food intake. I check on them every morning, and water them if they need it. I remember LutherPunk mentioning on his former blog about seeing the vegetables form, and the excitement that this gave him. I had him in mind when I got the cayenne plants, and I dutifully check every morning to see how long the peppers are. I don’t want to get overly philosophical, but many thinkers believe that man does have a connection with the land. I have heard this expressed by hunters and hippies alike (I know a lot more hunters than hippies though). Where does the Bible place the center of man’s creation, where God himself walked? In a garden! Maybe growing things is really a part of what we were created to be. Philosophy aside, fresh, healthy vegetables make a great addition to our meals, and we have had some interesting vegetable-chicken noodle soups for lunch.

Related to the Garden of Eden, I found this prayer for the farmer (or gardener) that I liked:

O God, Source and Giver of all things, Who manifests Your infinite majesty, power and goodness in the earth about us, we give You honor and glory.

For the sun and rain, for the manifold fruits of our fields, for the increase of our herds and flocks we thank You. For the enrichment of our souls with divine grace, we are grateful.

Supreme Lord of the harvest, graciously accept us and the fruits of our toil, in union with Christ Your Son, as atonement for our sins, for the growth of Your Church, for peace and charity in our homes, for salvation to all. Amen.

From conservation.catholic.org/prayers.htm

The Images are all taken by me. The first and third photos are of our vegetables. The second is a photo of the green cayenne peppers, still growing. The final photo is of marigolds, planted with the tomatoes to keep bugs off them.

Recently I ordered a book online, Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills. It contains information on learning to be more self-sufficient, to learn things that people in past times would have learned to survive and thrive, but we don’t know today. The book teaches you how to build a smokehouse, make cheese, build a house, raise animals, and much, much more, all explained in a helpful, visual, way.

We are very interested in becoming more self-sufficient and less dependent upon big business and big government. I don’t have a problem with either per se, but why be so dependent on either? We borrowed the book from the library and decided to purchase it. In these times of high oil prices and a weak dollar, these efforts at simplicity and self-sufficiency save money and reduce dependency on others (and I think make us stronger and happier).