Taste the rainbow

Earlier this evening, I had the pleasure of seeing a wonderful acoustic set by the Head and the Heart. If you haven't heard of this band yet, I pity you. They're so wonderful. Their voices harmonize so perfectly together and you can tell they're genuinely enjoying themselves up on stage. Also, I had a chance to talk to them very quickly afterward and they are incredibly nice.

You can check out a song from them here:



As I was driving home, I thought back to a post I made a few days back with some fitness and health advice for busy people. I realized that I forgot to include a tidbit of nutrition advice that I always try to follow but I guess it's just as well (but I miss your face like hell. [Watch the video if you don't get this]) because it's really great advice for everyone, not just busy people... and it gives me an excuse to share a recipe!

In my other blog, I said that it's a good idea to try to eat a lot of foods that are brightly colored (but not artificially colored!) and this kind of builds on that. I like to call it the "Rainbow Rule" and no, it's not just for gays. In case you didn't imply this from the name, you basically make sure that you get at least one food that's every color of the rainbow somewhere in each of your meals throughout the day. What's the reasoning behind this? It makes sure they you get a variety of nutrients as foods with different colors generally will have different nutritional content. It also encourages you to get foods from a variety of different food groups.

Of course, some of the colors (read: blue and purple) can be difficult to find. Off hand, I think of blueberries for blue and... nothing else. Purple makes me think of eggplant, plums, and grapes. For that reason, I usually combine these two colors into one and if I can get both, great!

That brings me to the recipe I mentioned earlier! A couple friends and I were making dinner the other night and, me being me, I insisted upon it being mostly healthy. My friends took care of making garlic bread, a fruit salad (for dessert... As Marge Simpson once said, "Fruit is nature's candy!"), and an improvised baked pasta while I was in charge of a salad. Obviously, I wanted to pack as many nutrients as I could into the salad. Everyone seemed to enjoy the salad so the next week when I was looking to make a quick, healthy meal for myself, I decided to bust out the salad again, but this time with a slight modification to add yet another color that wasn't included in the original salad. I ended up enjoying it even more the original so I thought I'd share the recipe with you all.

And by share the recipe, I mean I'm going to give it a name and tell you what's in it. I'm going to give you any specifics or measurements or anything because it's a fucking salad. So let's call it Rainbow Salad because it's very colorful. Can everyone agree on that? Good.

So start with a big ass bowl and fill it with some spinach. Notice how I said spinach and not lettuce. Spinach=darker green=more nutrients than lettuce. You'll want about as much spinach as you think will feed however many people you're serving (duuuuuh!) unless you want to have left overs for later (double duuuuuuh!) Use your best estimation skillz.

So yeah, we're off to a great start and we already have green! But we're not going to stop the green there. Oooooh, no. Next up is cucumbers! I usually cut some into circles and then cut them into four pieces after that. I also keep some in thin circles to put on top of the salad at the end.

Next, git yerself sum peppars! Or, in English, get yourself some peppers! More specifically, you'll want red, orange, and yellow peppers. After washing them, cut them into small squares and then toss them into your bowl. Bam! Four colors down. God, isn't this amazing?! I feel like Emeril.

Now comes the really exciting part... AS IF SPINACH ISN'T EXCITING ENOUGH. Are you ready for it?!

BLUEBERRIES.

Holy. Fuck.

Mind blowing, right? Right. So wash yourself some of those deeeeelicious blueberries (I recommend using organic for less exposure to pesticides... Blueberries are on the EWG's Dirty Dozen!). There's blue! Woo! You've got all your colors, more or less! Now you're ready to toss the salad. Soooo... toss the salad. And I mean that in a non-sexual way, you pervert.

But we're not done yet! For an added dash of red, let's add some strawberries, why don't we? I also recommend getting these organic for the same reason. I've also noticed that the organic strawberries at my local grocery store tend to be straight up better quality than the conventional ones. Slice the strawberries into the thin slices and spread them nicely across the top along with any cucumber slices you saved. Awwww, now it looks awesome, too!

If you feel the need for dressing, which I highly recommend against because it's basically empty calories, go with olive oil as a healthy alternative and make sure you only put on a light amount. Trust me, this salad is so flavorful you won't even need dressing!

So there you go. My half assed approach to sharing a recipe. Try it, let me know what you think. Also, if you have any blue or purple foods you can think of, let me know!

Stop Telephoning Me

I finished one of the books on my summer reading list, "Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me"! Yahoo!!! I can't recommend this book enough. It's not quite as good as her previous books, which may be because she didn't actually write most of it, but it's still a hilarious read. One story in particular that stands out is by her assistant about a time when she takes a couple Excedrine from Chelsea's medicine cabinet. I won't say more than that to ruin it for any of you who choose to read it, but trust me, it has a hilarious twist!

Speaking of Chelsea Handler, I'm going to see her on Saturday! I can't wait!! Kristen came over tonight and we started making shirts to wear to the show. We're currently waiting for the front to dry so we can work on the back but they're going to be pretty awesome. Maybe Chelsea will notice them!

On a more serious note, the WHO today announced that it would be classifying cell phone use as possibly carcinogenic. This is kind of a disturbing revelation but it doesn't surprise me in the least because I've been cautious about possible risks from cell phone use for a while now. I'd rather be overly cautious than end up with a brain tumor down the line. There are still so many unknowns about cell phones seeing as they haven't been around for that long and many public health risks take years to show up and it's a bit disturbing how quickly we've changed our whole lifestyle to revolve around this new technology. Also, studies have shown that cell phones are linked to the decline in the bee population as well as have been shown to be able to have sometimes lethal effects on other animals.

Am I advocating that we all get rid of our cell phones? No, not at all. Just be smart about using them. Use speaker phone option when it's possible, text instead of calling, and use a headset to reduce your radiation exposure.

So what am I personally doing? All of the above. I've always hated talking on the phone anyway so it's not like I'm really giving up that much by relying mainly on testing. I also ordered a really cool headset that looks like a classic corded phone that I can plug into my phone for longer phone calls. I'm going to make sure I'm more prudent from now on and keep my phone out of my pocket when not absolutely necessary and not make phone calls in areas with poor reception. I also made sure when I bought my cell phone that it had a low SAR rating, which is a measure of how much radiation your body absorbs when the device is transmitting data. Actually, my phone is one of (if not the) lowest SAR rated phones available currently. (Some bad news for those with smart phones: In general, smart phones have some of the highest SAR ratings)

What am I NOT doing? Freaking out or doing anything drastic like not using my phone all together. I'm cautious to a point but when being cautious becomes TOO much of an interference with normal functioning, I'm not going to go there based on this announcement.

Keep in mind the following two things: First, don't listen to what the cell phone industry is saying about the results of any studies. They obviously hold a huge stake in this as it would be a HUGE blow to them if cell phones are definitively linked to cancer. Also, for those of you who actually read the research, be wary of studies that are even partially funded by the cell phone industries. It's amazing how money can corrupt even something that's supposed to be as unbiased as science and lead to whacky results.

Second, keep in mind that there is not yet a DEFINITIVE link between cell phone use and cancer. There is just evidence that suggests that it may cause cancer so don't panic. The announcement today wasn't based on any new research but instead a review of research that has already been done. Don't run to the doctor or toss your cell phone yet. Again, be prudent. If you'd like more information on what you can do to limit your exposure, visit the Environmental Working Group's page on cell phone safety. They have lots of fantastic tips, ratings on accessories, and you can even look up the SAR rating of your phone to see how much radiation you're exposed to. Stay safe, everyone!