The offical proof is here! Caffeine is good for you in a plethora of ways. Just look at the photographic proof here of Denise and we'll get to it after this wonderful visual reference. Thanks a mill, Denise!!!!
As Denise shows us the effects of ones morning coffee we can see it sparks her right up and preps her for yet another lovely day. Caffeine is a natural stimulant, most commonly found in coffee, tea, cocoa and kola, that when consumed in reasonable amounts has a positive effect on us humans.
Energy & Stamina
Caffeine is probably used mostly for increasing energy and stamping out drowsy lethargy. It helps us burn more calories when exercising and enables us to exercise even longer. Win win if you ask me.
Mood & Mental Health
Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system giving us feelings of alterness, well-being and encourages concentration. It has been said by many psychiatrists that caffeine is a mood elevator; plain as day.
Heart Health & Disease/Ailment Protection
Coffee (not kola) is loaded with anti-oxidants which help in the prevention of heart disease.
GET THIS! Regular coffee drinkers are "significantly" less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Regular moderate intake of Caffeine has been shown to decrease the loss of dopamine producing brain cells. It's the loss of those brain cells that causes Parkinson's disease. Coffee specifically has also been proven to lower the risk of cirrhosis of the liver, colon cancer and gallstones. Caffeine can also help relieve headaches.
As little as 20 mgs of caffeine can cause noticeable physical & mood changes.
Here's a rough-guide showing caffeine content:
An average cup of tea contains around 50 mgs of caffeine. An average cup of instant coffee contains around 70-100 mgs. Instant decaffeinated coffee contains about 3 mgs. A 6 oz cup of espresso coffee (much larger than the normal cafe cup, incidentally) contains about 80-90 mgs. A single-hit cappuccino will contain the same amount. Filter coffee (called 'drip' in the US) can contain 25-50% more caffeine than instant. A 340 ml or 12 oz can of regular or diet cola contains between 35 and 45 mgs. of caffeine depending on the brand Some so-called 'energy drinks' contain very high doses of caffeine - equivalent to to 4+ cups of strong coffee in one dose! |
| One ounce or 28 grams of chocolate contains about 10-15 mgs .
I've been drinking coffee off and on for more than a couple of decades now and keeping up with a lot of the studies regularly done on caffeine...and I have to say that caffeine intake like everything else is all based upon the individual but, all in all, I really think that 1-2 cups of coffee or tea a day is rather healthful.
Backgammon is a game I played as a kid and then didn't play for many many moons until this year. My mom gave me an adorable travel set earlier this year that she totally scored on at her local Flea Market, Howard's* for 2 bucks! I can't even begin to say how far that $2 has gone and is going. We play almost everyday and it's so much fun! We one day aspire to figure out and use the doubling cube. Haha!
This game lives on our kitchen table. We play almost everyday. It's so much fun because we are even-steven on skill level and that makes it all a matter of 'luck of the dice'!!
*Howard's Flea Market in Homosassa, Florida is where Mike is from. He was all by himself and that is one of the most precious days of my lives; finding that little guy. What a firey little blessing he is. Talk about a flea market find!
There's nothing like have herbs and spices to cook with! And there's nothing like not having herbs and spices to cook with. While there are many wonderful ingredients to be found in the markets here in Xela....there are a few things that I have grown accustom to cooking with that are not to be found! My solution? Grow them! Mustard seeds are something I incorporated into my cooking while living in Portland, Oregon some years back. I was going to traditional Indian food-themed pot lucks. I discovered a couple of dishes that influenced my cooking still to this day and probably for my ever. One of the dishes I made that had a huge impact on me was Bombay Potatoes. You start the dish by frying a bunch of spices...YUM!
Harvesting mustard seeds is fun but, a wee bit tedious. Thank goodness I've found a huge bag of mustard seeds (the dark ones) in the market...at a pet food stall. They are fed to birds. Who knew? Not me!!! Out of all the plants we had room to grow we only got about 2 tablespoons of mustard. It was a fun project and I've never regretted growing anything!
Mike even loved the plants and helped out, of course he did, he's a very good boy!
There are so very many things that are fresh and amazing about Guatemala; fresh herbs being one of them!
Mind you it's really hard to find fresh Basil and that's a bummer but, this bunch of fresh Cilantro is what you get for Q1 (which is about 1/7 of a dollar). ...you can not beat that!
Fresh herbs are so healthful to eat and now I can easily eat them up with every meal! It's a good thing as you know who would say. Oh! And they are grown organically......sweet!
Living in Guatemala has changed me in many ways. And I wasn't about to let these changes (such as not having access to the lovely Weleda products I've been using for years) make me stink so, I had to find a solution and quick! Just kidding about the quickness part but, I am super stoked to have found a super simple solution. I have used and love Weleda Sage spray deodorant for a while now. It's light and airy and effective. I love that it's a simple refreshing herbal spray and I didn't want to compromise by using something un-natural. I won't even talk about stick deodorants...gross!
Well, after a tiny bit of research and thought, Rosemary is really the only fresh herb I could easily find here that I wanted to use. All I did was stuff in a bunch of fresh clean Rosemary in my empty deodorant bottles& fill with quality Vodka. They have been sitting in the dark for a week; I shake them everyday & they already smell really great!!!!
***UPDATE***
I should have removed the Rosemary at about 10 days in or less. It smelt great and was a very effective deodorant. I left the Rosemary in too long and it turned on me. Maybe it's because I used fresh Rosemary instead of dried. Nothing like learning things the hard way!!!!
Pineapples are so affordable right now! And they are so refreshing on these super hot Florida days!! We've been buying them whole, last time we were at the bodega they were 2 for $3!! Zach cut them up for us today. We squeezed fresh lime and liberally sprinkled hot red pepper flakes all over the chunks! So sweet and delicious!! Yum!
We took it in the car today for a snack on the way to the thrift store.
I am supposed to have a ton of calcium a day. I am sure most people especially women are. I am not good at remembering to take a calcium supplement and am picky as all get about supplements anyway. It just seems much more legit to eat calicum rich foods. I think my body will recognize a food and know what to do with it as opposed to a calcium supplement! AND...not to mention dairy products most especially milk mostly suck (see my link for mucho information on the subject!)
Here are some really good tips for eating calcium rich food from Dr. Weil!!
Don't like milk - or can't digest it properly? You aren't alone. The good news is there are plenty of non-dairy foods that provide calcium:
- Calcium-fortified beverages. Orange juice and soymilk are good choices. Read the labels to see how much calcium is in each serving, and how big the serving size is, as well as how much one serving contributes to your total daily percentage of calcium. Look for products containing calcium citrate and malate, which may be better absorbed than tricalcium phosphate and calcium lactate. A six-oz serving of calcium-fortified orange juice usually provides about 20 to 25 percent of your daily value (DV); an eight-oz serving of soymilk contains anywhere from eight to 50 percent of your DV, depending on the brand.
- Cooked greens. Turnip greens, kale, and spinach are just a few examples of natural sources of calcium from the greens family. A half-cup of cooked spinach contains about 12 percent of your DV of calcium, one cup of cooked kale has nine percent, and a half-cup of boiled turnip greens offers 10 percent.
- Canned salmon with bones. The bones of this fish are softened in the canning process, making them edible—and an excellent source of calcium. You'll get a whopping 18 percent of your DV of calcium from three ounces of canned salmon (including bones). Choose canned salmon from sources in the wild (not farmed).
- Broccoli. When eaten raw, you'll get two percent of your DV of calcium from a half-cup of this versatile vegetable.
- Tofu. Read the package label to make sure calcium was used in its preparation. If so, a half-cup of firm tofu typically contains 20 percent of your DV, while the same amount of soft tofu provides 14 percent.
You may want to consider adding a balanced calcium-magnesium supplement to fill in any dietary gaps, as well (Dr. Weil suggests women take a supplement with 500-700 mg daily, for a total daily intake of 1,000-1,200 mg from all sources, while men should get no more than 500-600 mg daily from all sources, and probably do not need to supplement.)
For additional calcium intake without the dairy, use molasses and sesame seeds-simply add them to your favorite recipes for a healthy calcium boost.
I by no means claim to be vegan but, I am not a fan or consumer of typical bovine products!!
I've never like papaya, whether it be fresh, juiced or in a dish of any kind. It's mainly always been the smell which, consequently is exactly how it tastes! Well, I think the main reason I've never liked it is that I never knew how to property eat it!! Now I love it! All it takes is: squeeze some fresh lime juice on it and a little sprinkle of sea salt, viola!!! A delicious and very nutritious fruit!
The papaya is a big fruit, which is a good thing. I cut it up and put it in a container in the fridge to use mostly for my breakfasts but, it also makes a great snack!
PS-Check out that rad container. Love it!!!
wow! it's been two weeks since i stopped drinking coffee. the first week i didn't notice much of a difference. 1/2 way through the second week and i started feeling rather different. i've only been slightly tempted to have a cup of coffee but, strangely enough both times have been in the afternoon & evening; not in the morning as i would have suspected. all in all, i think ditching coffee for tea is going to be a great thing!!!
*my first step was to remove the coffee maker from my kitchen. i did this once i had used up all my coffee (waste not, want not). the second step of my master 'forget about coffee' plan was to set up a conveinent tea 'station' in my kitchen (pictured here). a very important componet for me was to have an electric stainless steel kettle....it's a dream!! boiling water in a minute! tea of choice lately is: organic english breakfast tea. no cream. no sugar.
2010: a year of healthy choices for me!
Sometimes a very simple walk around the block you live on can be so inspiring (espcially with camera in hand) and pretty relaxing. On this day as we stepped outside there was a flock of birds fluttering by. Leisurely walks are one of the healthiest things you can do!!!
The block we live on is split by an alley, as are all of the blocks in the neighbourhood. Mike & I walk the alleys more than the streets. This is the alley right behind our casita and the start of all our walks. The red fence is ours.
Beautiful citrus! I hope our recent cold weather didn't hurt the fruits!
One very gorgeous set of mouldy coloured stairs.
John, is in another food groove! He'll pick one thing and eat the mess out of it for a long time until he moves onto his next food trend!
As of late, his favourite food of choice is biscuits & gravy from the corner store here in our neighborhood, (I'm stuck on calling it a bodega! Their speciality is Cuban sandwiches.) Forest Hills. The crew working there says, 'I know which one you are', most days when he calls in his order. Funny! Look what they wrote on his breakfast container today!!! He's loved!
It's beautiful outside; I have the day off and some time on my hands.
It's the perfect opportunity to hit up a thrift store.
And I have time to go to one that's a bit away.
I always bring my own bags.
I try and always have a drink and a snack with me too!
I made it!
I am fully aware of my power as a consumer.
Yes, even when thrifting. I love to buy as many things 2nd hand as possible. It is a fantastic way to save loads of money. I also prefer to shop at thrift stores where I know the money I make my purchases with is going towards a good cause (whether it just be supporting a locally owned shop or it's a social services store such as this one).
Look at these rad clip on ties I passed up!
This is the upstairs part of the store I was at.
I scored some great stuffs on this venture!
Yay, it was a success!!!
