Unbroken

Last night I had the priviledge to hear WWII veteran Louie Zamperini speak. I am in the middle of reading the book describing his miraculous survival of floating 47 days on a raft, POW camps and even his road home back to America. At age 95, we would all be thankful to have his sharp mind. While on the raft, he realized he had to keep his mind occupied with good thoughts and one tactic was to describe to his 2 fellow survivors some of his favorite home-cooked meals: "Every conversation meandered back to food. Louie had often boasted to Phil about his mother's cooking, and at some point, Phil asked Louie to describe how she made a meal. Louie began describing a dish, and all three men found it satisfying, so Louie kept going, telling them about each dish in the greatest possible detail. Soon, Louise's kitchen floated there with them: Sauces simmered, spices were pinched and scattered, butter melted on tongues." Perhaps our family and friends will not be faced with such trials and tribulation, but what will they remember of our kitchens? Mr. Zamperini encouraged us last night to take all the survival courses you can. I encourage you to start that process by learning all you can about cooking up your own food in your own kitchen. Instead of survival of the fittest- survival lessons to be the fittest(mind, body and soul).

How To Maintain Intact Communities Without Broken Windows

John Q. Wilson was a political scientist and authority on public administration who taught at Harvard from 1961-1987. He helped put forward the "broken windows" theory of crime- if police ignore public disorder, such as broken windows, criminals will get the idea they can get away with anything. His published report in 1982 in the "Atlantic Monthly" states, "...one unrepaired window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing." His article concludes, "Just as physicians now recognize the importance of fostering health rather than simply treating illness, so the police- and the rest of us- ought to recognize the importance of maintaining intact, communities without broken windows." So maybe we parents are ignoring a "broken window" by not insisting our teenagers sit down for a family meal at least 4 times / week. I spoke with a local high school teacher last night who started "team cooking" after reading an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch "Cook for a Night, Eat for a Week." Now she and a neighbor do a "Cooking Co-op" together as she enters her 4th year of a team approach to putting dinner on the table for her family of 4. She mentioned her students were living "very independent lives." One student commented they had not sat down with their family to eat in a year. How can we maintain and keep intact one of the most important communities, family, without regularly sitting down for a meal every week? Many of our big cities like NYC enjoyed a huge financial comeback in the 1980's and 1990's by cleaning up graffitti and repairing broken windows which helped reduce crime. Parents, it's time to insist your teenagers are at your family meal at least 4 times/week. Why 4? Studies show that children eating 4 or more meals with a parent are better students, healthier and involved in less risky behavior. This would make for a dramatic housing and family come back. Resurrect the family meal this Easter.

28% of Americans Can't or Won't Cook

If you asked me if I could mow the lawn, I would admit I did not have the know how. But the truth of the matter is I don't want to know how. I was told ages ago in my early 20's that if I knew how to mow, I would be stuck performing that task forever. If instead I was told that mowing the lawn was a physically and mentally rewarding excercise that improved my health and saved me thousands of dollars a year, and was a benefit to my family, I could learn. In a recent survey, Impulse Research found that 28% of Americans say they do not know how to cook. Others avoid cooking because they hate cleaning up the kitchen, say they do not have time, and/or see grocery shopping as a time-consuming vacuum to their day. Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, directorof Tufts' HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, believes, "The results of this survey highlight what we have known for some time: the importance of incorporating food preparation and purchasing skills into the school curriculum. Food shopping, preparation and clean-up do not have to be time-consuming if you plan ahead and know some simple facts. This is the message we need to propagate and we need to back it up with examples of how to achieve it." This is EXACTLY why I have this web site, put together a 15 minute DVD, and blog about the importance of banning together with your spouse, friends, neighbors to form your own "Team of Cooks" to put dinner on your own table!!! My night 2 cook means you find a way to cook one night a week in quantity, then share the planning, cooking, cleaning-up , and shopping with others. Yahoo finance cited "Cooking Co-Op" as the #1 best way to save big bucks( they estimate a family of 4 could save $3-4,000/ per year- maybe more with the high cost of gas). The beauty of cooking yourself is you can always learn new recipes. This week-end I had the most delicious dinner eating out which included a sweet potato- black bean cake with a cilantro sauce- so I will be searching the internet to find that recipe. Where there is a will, there is a way. Don't tell an American they no can do- yes we can!

March Madness- Good Food, Good Results

Saturday I woke my 16 year old up early to play in his first AAU Basketball tournament. He grumbled about not getting to watch the VCU game that evening as he and the team would still be traveling. I encouraged him and said maybe one day he could be playing in March Madness vs. watching it. Now it took time but I had volunteered to make man sandwiches and brownies for the team. I made Deluxe Turkey and Havarti Cheese with Bacon Club Sandwiches in the round loaves of Hawaiian bread(see Youvegotsupper.com for recipe) and cut in wedges. They loved the sandwiches- 8 of them ate 18 wedges. But here is the rest of the story. They won the first game after eating my sandwiches in DOUBLE OT !!! Did the home-made sandwiches vs. eating fast food hamburgers give them the edge? Just 1 degree difference makes hot water boil. Haven't you noticed in these March Madness close games- so often the difference in winning or losing "boils" down to one shot or smart play? Good food brings winning results in games and in our health. And good food makes life so much more enjoyable. You are worth the extra effort! As Nike say, "Just do it"- fix more meals in your own kitchen!

Spring Break

Once again, food serves as the WD-40 to get conversation going. My daughter is home for Spring Break this week and my son came home from a week at the beach after his Spring Break. So I made a home-made-from scratch chocolate cake with fluffy 7 minute frosting. So I get my daughter to the table, and as we take a bite of the cake, "...so mom, did I tell you..." It is amazing what you can find out about your children's lives by listening at the table with good food on the plate. Now earlier, I had chopped up all these veges and made steak stir fry. No matter how hard I try, I can not make as good a sauce as Peking- our local Chinese food restaurant expert. So I have come up with an idea- I plan to call and see what the price would be to just buy their sauce. By the time I buy the oyster sauce and bean paste etc.- it would be worth it. Spend more time cooking and learn more of life's lessons!

Nutrition and Better Performance the Tim Tebow Way

We can learn from top athletes that changing our diet just might improve our performance at work and play. Djokovic with the "Diet That Changed Tennis" discovered he is allergic to gluten so out goes pizza, pasta, and bread. He lost some weight, is more agile, and feels better. Tyler Hansbrough, a 6' 9" 250 lb. NBA player for the Indiana Pacers was frequently sighted at Whole Foods during his years at North Carolina. And I just found out Friday that Tim Tebow started working with a nutritionist here in Richmond in October. He now eats more vegetables and is more careful as to what fuel he puts in his tank. You can gum up a high performance car by using low quality fuel and the same is true for our bodies. We tend to eat low quality foods when we don't take the time to cook or eat with others. One of the best Valentine's presents can be a home-cooked dinner- quality protein and colorful fruits and vegetables- for the top athletes in your family.

What if the Biggest Cause of Inequality in US is Cultural?

Charles Murray in his new book "Coming Apart" points out that a large % of blue-collar America is turning aside core values which have been a bedrock of our country- values such as marriage, honesty( includes obeying the law), hard work and religion. Marriage is down 36% in the the working class( high school grads) vs. down 11% in the upper middle class(college grads) since 1960. Our founding fathers, such as Patrick henry, believed that a stable family was necessary for a stable society. I find it interesting that the decline of marriage correlates to the demise of home economic classes and the decline of the family meal and home-cooking. Isn't it a part of the family culture weather you put time aside to at least have 4 family meals in a week? 4 is the magic # of meals which help produce better students and students with less risky behavior. So what are we going to do about it? Let's have that food revolution that Oprah and Jamie Oliver are talking about- start saving money and have more fun with less stress by cooking home-made meals AT LEAST 4 times a week. To prevent "coming apart" let everyone in your household take a part in shopping, cooking, setting the table, and cleaning. Then maybe Clint Eastwood in his Super Bowl ad might be right- it's halftime in America and we are coming back to restore equality because that is the American way of life!