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!

Cooking for Super Bowl Week-End the Tim Tebow Way

Interesting article- "5 Reasons Why Tim Tebow is the Chosen One." 1) Tebow works well under pressure as noted in his 4th quarter come backs and 4 OT wins. We cooks also work well under pressure and can be creative scrambling an array of foods for a winning combination. 2) Tebow delivers and we cooks deliver every time we put dinner on the plate. 3) Tebow defys the critics. Naysayers tell us there is no time to cook or have family dinner in this hectic day with parent's demanding work schedules and children's sports and after school activities but many of us fighting this trend enjoy the "fruits" of our labor by sitting and enjoying food and fellowship on a regular basis. 4) Tebow has a dedicated fan base. Good cooks also have a dedicated fan base - the smile on a son's face when you've fixed his favorite meal is our equivalent of a touchdown with all the cheers. And finally, 5) Tim Tebow "...is enthusiastic, but not arrogant. He is fired up, but not obnoxious." Cooks fighting for a dinner time slot know it takes enthusiasm, determination, and a sense of duty to make dinnertime a priority in the day. So let's plan ahead our menu, shopping list, and carve out a time to cook the best super bowl lunch ever. Yes, have a big sit down lunch with the TV off and enjoy your family and pre-game meal! Once your victory is in the bag, enjoy the Super Bowl with family and friends.

70-75% Do Not Qualify For Our Military

General Collin Powell gave this statistic in his talk at St. Christopher's Leadership Symposium. Here are the reasons he gave: 1) Obesity 2) Criminal records 3) Not fit. Let that sink in - 70-75% of military applicants can not even qualify. Another speaker, Wes Moore quoted the same stat- only 30% qualify for military service. Wes More in his book "The Other Wes Moore" describes 2 lives- he came from inner city Baltimore and went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, paratrooper in Afghanistan and a White House Fellow- now youth advocate. The other Wes Moore, grew up several blocks away, also from inner city Baltimore, is now serving a life sentence for murder. In his talk, Wes Moore emphasized how much education matters. He believes we have had a holistic break down to create these problems with our youth, and we need a holistic build up to get back on track. One small step for mankind would be to get back to having a dinner hour- I would even settle for a dinner 1/2 hour. We have just celebrated Thanksgiving and what a great time of enjoying good food and family. The other stats are- kids who eat 4 or more meals with their family per week are less overweight, better students and less involved in risky behavior. What if here in Virginia we could change the above statistic to 1 in 2 (50%) of youth applying for military service DO qualify for the military? Is there a better place to start a holistic rebuild of our society that a simple dinner table?

O Taste And See...

That The Lord is Good. Friday morning, as I was eating my breakfast, I read, "...who have tasted the goodness of the word of God..." Humm. Why not use "...who have felt the goodness?" So what's the difference between feel, felt and taste, tasted? So maybe taste is sharper and more true- hard to mask- than feelings. I looked up in the concordance and found a number of passages using taste , tasted but found 0 passages using feel, felt. And as I pondered this in church yesterday, the words in our last hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, listen to this:"...Prone to wander- Lord, I feel it- prone to leave the God I love. And so the point is TASTE is a very important sense and FEELINGS can cause us to wonder. You might not FEEL like cooking, but let's cook and excite those taste buds while you have them. A very dear lady and great cook in our church made me realize how I take my taste buds for granted as she described how her food tasted like metal due to the radiation treatments. O taste how see how wonderful your family and friends are as you cook and share dinner with others!

7 Billion and Counting...

Today the world's population surpassed 7 billion. And this month of October saw crude oil increase 17% this month alone and prices of corn and orange juice futures increased 9 and 13%. Experts believe rising food prices are due to people in the emerging economies getting used to having more than one meal a day or having protein on a more regular basis. Rising food prices could be something we all need to factor in our spending. Eating at home is one way to lower our food and energy costs. Instead of driving someplace to eat, then go home- cut the mileage and just drive home and cook. In addition to saving food, energy and calorie costs- food at restaurants very often have high level of sodium in order to make your food taste especially good.

Many believe we should limit our sodium intake to 1500mg/day. Start looking at the labels for the sodium content. Your health is worth it!

Maybe Orange Could Become the New Pink

The inroads made in breast cancer awareness is amazing. My mother approached heads of companies in North Carolina to have mamograms covered by medical insurance. And Nancy Brinker has made all of us wake up to fight this killer! High school boys at football games wear pink shirts and then this week-end at the UVA game, the cheerleaders had pink pom poms and the players had pink strechy hats on under their helmuts. So maybe orange- representing healthy foods like oranges, carrots, mangos etc. could be the rallying color for waging a war against obesity. We need to wake up and realize what a killer bad eating habits have become. Obesity saps energy and productivity. Band together, even if it is just with one other person, to cook a meal for each other and try healthier cooking in your own home. And with the time savings on the day you receive your meal- try a 30 minute brisk walk and enjoy the changing color in the leaves.