The Importance Of Aspirin

We've all heard how important aspirin can be when you have a heart attack. It can literally be the difference between life and death. New information is always surfacing that adds to what we already know. Here is some information sent to me by Cyrelle from an article by the Mayo Clinic. Please read it and pass it on. Mayo Clinic Aspirin Dr. Virend Somers, is a Cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic, who is lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 A.M. and noon. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show that sleep apnea is to blame. 1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night. The reason: Aspirin has a 24-hour "half-life"; therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the Aspirin would be strongest in your system. 2. FYI, Aspirin lasts a really long time in your medicine chest for years, (when it gets old, it smells like vinegar). Please read on. Something that we can do to help ourselves - nice to know. Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve instantly on the tongue. They work much faster than the tablets. Why keep Aspirin by your bedside? It's about Heart Attacks - There are other symptoms of a heart attack, besides the pain on the left arm. One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating; however, these symptoms may also occur less frequently. Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack. The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep. If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water. Afterwards: - Call 911. - Phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by. - Say "heart attack!" - Say that you have taken 2 Aspirins. - Take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and ...DO NOT LIE DOWN! A Cardiologist has stated that if each person after receiving this e-mail, sends it to 10 people, probably one life could be saved! I have already shared this information. What about you? Do forward this message. It may save lives!

A New Kind of Pepsi

Ron gave up diet cola about a month ago. He feels so much better, and he has actually lost weight. Although diet cola contains no calories, there is a lot of evidence that is not good for you. How could it be good for you with all those ingredients in it that I can't pronounce? I've always thought it was better to drink the diet cola than to consume all the sugar found in regular soft drinks, but I may have been wrong. I only drink diet cola when I'm out at a restaurant eating a burger. Otherwise, I've been drinking tea and Ron has converted to plain soda water or flat water. Most of my kids have kicked the cola habit, and if they must have one, they go for a natural product like Izzy or Hansen's. I recently heard about the new Pepsi product, and can't wait to see what it really does. Could soda really be a fat blocker? I'm excited about the new product, and can't wait until it comes to America. In the mean time I will try to stick to tea and water. Much better for us all, I'm sure. Soda has recently been maligned as an empty food product that contributes to obesity in America. Mayor Bloomberg proposed a ban on all soft drinks larger than 16 ounces. Now Pepsi says its new product can prevent weight gain. The new special edition Pepsi in Japan is said to contain "fat blockers." The new soft drink, Pepsi Special, which will be released by Suntory and Pepsi, has been deemed by the Japanese government as a "food for specified health uses." According to the Huffington Post, it includes dextrin, which "some say helps prevent the digestive system from absorbing fat." What is dextrin? Essentially it's a powder used as an additive in foods to change texture or create coatings as a pharmaceutical thickening or binding agent. It is also used in textiles to increase the stiffness of fabrics. It is part of another word, maltodextrin, which is a digestible carbohydrate derived from rice, corn, or potato starch and can be found in the list of ingredients in everything from granola to snack foods. But dextrin alone is different. It's indigestible. And studies on Japanese lab rats have shown that when used as a food additive, dextrin makes it difficult for the body to absorb fat. Pepsi is the second manufacturer to release a fat-blocking soda in Japan. The first was Kirin Mets Cola, which has been extremely popular. Pepsi Special is due to hit shelves on November 13 and will cost ¥150, or just under two bucks.

Cinnamon Butter

Many years ago, when Phil first started his food business, now called Evol Foods, I was constantly thinking of other products he could sell or produce. My first thought was designer salt. Pretty good idea, I thought. My other idea was flavored butter. Honey butter, strawberry butter, garlic butter, apricot butter, for example, all ready to spread in a little tub. You can find that in most markets now. I don't know if it's a big seller, but it sure is convenient. Here's a butter that you can't buy ready to spread, but it's so easy to make, you can have it ready to go in just a few minutes. It's really called "Texas Roadhouse Cinnamon Honey Butter." I don't know why. I guess it was served in some roadhouse diners in Texas. It is so delicious on muffins, bagels, toast and croissants. Once you try it you'll keep it on hand all the time. Texas Roadhouse Cinnamon Honey Butter 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature 1/4 c. powdered sugar 1/4 c. honey 1 tsp. ground cinnamon Whip the room temperature butter with whisk attachment for 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar, honey and cinnamon and beat until completely combined and very smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl and turn up speed and whip for a minute or two or until really light and fluffy. Makes about 3/4 cup.

Homemade Gifts For The Holidays Or Anytime

I was coming out of the Dollar Store last week, when I noticed a woman who had just bought about a dozen plastic holiday jars with tight fitting lids. I thought to myself that those jars would be great for some homemade holiday gifts, or gifts anytime of year. I went back the next day and bought a few jars. Here's what I'm doing with the jars. I'm making two different homemade gifts for giving. Hairdresser, manicurist, mailman, or anyone you want to remember will appreciate a homemade gift. I am making scented bath salts and sugar scrubs and chai tea (just add water). Here are the recipes for both. Peppermint Bath Salts or Sugar Scrub 1 cup Epsom salts or sugar 1 T. olive oil few drops of essential oil-peppermint for this batch food coloring In a bowl, mix salt or sugar with oil, to moisten. Add scent and food coloring, and mix until completely blended. Package in airtight containers. Other scents that work well are lemon or orange, eucalyptus and pine. The jars I bought are plastic, which makes them super safe to use in the bath. Chai Latte 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder 1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer 1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer 2 1/2 cups white sugar 1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea (regular or decaf) 2 teaspoons ground ginger 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon white pepper Yes, I know it sounds very sweet, but it's just right. Use about 2 heaping tablespoons per cup of hot water. No, this is not a low fat version. Package in jars for easy giftgiving. Other ideas for how to fill the plastic jars include bean soup ingredients, mixed nuts, hot chocolate mix, spiced or sugared pecans, licorice, potpourri, terrarium, granola or trail mix, or seasoning mix.

Avocado Fudge

Fallbrook is the avocado capital of the world.  There's a store there called Swirlz, which is a retro candy store, carrying all the wonderful candy bars, mints and gum you remember from your childhood.  They also have a lot of new items, like avocado fudge, touted as the world's healthiest, most satisfying fudge ever.  The fudge is handcrafted using only the finest ingredients available, including Haas avocados, grown in Fallbrook. 

Avocados are rich in vitamins, lecithin and healthy fats, thus making avocado fudge much healthier than fudge made from traditional recipes.  I tasted it, and it's yummy.  You'd never know avocados were a main ingredient.  The fudge comes in all the basic varieties, including chocolate, chocolate mocha, chocolate peanut butter, white chocolate, and rocky road.

Fran and I were in downtown Escondido one morning, scouting out a trip for our wanderers group.  We ran across a retro candy store called Swirlz on Grand Ave., where they sold the avocado fudge from Fallbrook.  I tried it and it is delicious.  Fran tried the avocado/coconut ice cream.  No good.  Anyway, here is the Fallbrook recipe for avocado fudge.  The key to this is making sure that you give it time to harden completely.  Otherwise, you'll end up eating it with a spoon.

                                                                Avocado Fudge

• 1 avocado, ripened
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup cocoa
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation:

In a medium sized saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Once margarine is melted, puree with avocado in food processor or blender until perfectly smooth. Be sure there are no chunks of avocado left!Return mixture to saucepan over very low heat and aff the rest of the ingredients,except the walnuts, adding the powdered sugar a portion at a time. Once all the sugar has been added, the mixture should be thick. Add walnuts if desired, and transfer to a loaf pan. Refrigerate until firm. Now, be patient! If you don't let it firm up, you won't be able to slice it up into squares.  

Cheesy Onions

Years ago, maybe 40+ years ago, my mom got me hooked on Gourmet Magazine. Every month I would anticipate its arrival, and devour the travel articles and recipes. In those days there was really no magazine that matched it for wonderful travel destinations (with great detail on restaurants and hotels) and fantastic, although often complicated recipes. One recipe that my mom found in the 1960's and has been making ever since, is what I call Cheesy Onions. It was first printed in a story about outdoor barbequeing, and although the barbeque is a great way to make this, you can also do it indoors in the oven. Here's the simple recipe that you will love. Cheesy Onions 4 medium sized onions (Bermuda or Spanish, it doesn't really matter) Parmesean cheese Butter Peel onions, slice off both ends so they're flat on the top and bottom, then slice in 1/4 inch slices. Place a small pat of butter and grated parmesean cheese in between each slice. You should have about 5 slices in all. Reassemble onion so it looks whole. You've got the sliced onion with butter and cheese between slices, put back together at this point. Now, wrap well in aluminium foil, making sure foil is folded so that juices cannot run out of the onion. Place on barbeque and cook until onion is soft. It could take close to an hour. Rotate onion to prevent burning. The oven method is the same except that you cook it in the oven, about an hour. What you have when you unwrap it, is just delicious. Soft, cooked onion, with butter and melted parmesean. What a combination. Enjoy with your favorite meat, fish or chicken. It goes with anything. Another way to make this which will cut down on cooking time is to peel the onion and par boil it for about 5 minutes. Then slice and proceed as above. This should cut oven or barbeque time considerably.

Quiet Time Together

With Thanksgiving behind us and Hanukkah and Christmas right around the corner, the talk everywhere is about what we are thankful for. It gets repetitious, as most people say they are thankful for good friends, family and health. Most of us don't sit around and talk about what we're thankful for, how our lives have evolved, hopefully improved, how we have evolved and improved, but Ron and I do. Maybe it's because we've been through a lot that we reflect on the past more than others might, and seize each moment and enjoy it to the max. A few weeks ago I blogged about Ron's birthday, and how we had been through alot, but that we were both so optimistic about the present and future. We talked more about what we have been through, and Ron said to me that it (his incarceration) doesn't seem so bad now. I said, "You've got to been kidding!" How time heals all wounds. He is now looking at our 19 months apart and thinking about the "good" that we found during that time. The anticipation of our weekly visits was the climax of our week apart. The four hours we spent together every Friday was the highlight of a predictable, rather mundane week. Yes, Ron developed some new skills at Taft, made new friends (although temporary friends), read some books, reflected on life and love and improved his health. I used the time to develop a deeper relationship with my mom and children, become more independant, learn bookkeeping skills (well sort of), and survive in the single world. I've always said to Ron that life is a roller coaster. At first you're chugging up the big hill, hoping to reach the top. You may get there, with a few little dips in the ride. Somewhere near the top, things usually level off, and for the latter years of your life you simply glide along. Our roller coaster has been a little different. We climbed up the first hill with a few ups and downs, reached the top, rode the top of the coaster for awhile, then crashed quickly to the bottom. Now we're chugging our way up again. Ron feels happier than he's ever been. I believe him. He says the big difference is living in the moment. We go to play bridge now, and Ron is totally focused on that activity, not thinking about what he'll do later. In the past, Ron would only partially enjoy anything he was doing, as he was always thinking about what came next. So what am I thankful for? All the usual things, like family and friends, and good health. I am also thankful for Pepper, our rescue Schnoodle that we brought home a year ago. What a wonderful addition to our life. We sometimes overlook the fact that without good health, nothing else matters. I have 2 friends that have recently lost a young family member, one 45 and one 48, both suddenly. They know the value of good health, and of living in the moment. I am most thankful that I have a partner who has grown, changed and developed into a man I am proud to call my husband. I am thankful for our wonderful talks about life, children, politics and the world, that encourage me to be the best mother, daughter, wife and human being I can be. I am thankful that I love to read and learn, and that I am constantly challenging myself in that department. Finally, I am thankful that my great grandparents didn't miss the boat, that I was born in America, that I have the freedom to speak my mind and believe what I want, even if it's not popular. I'm sorry if I've rambled a bit, but I'm writing this early on Thanksgiving morning, right before I go to the gym. I wanted to respond to a wonderful conversation Ron and I had last night before it got away from me. We're spending a quiet Thanksgiving together but alone, after last week having the family here for Ron's birthday. That's just one more thing that I have to be thankful for. I don't have a family that guilts everyone up if they can't make it to Thanksgiving dinner. For the last several years we have celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday or Saturday, because that was the day that worked for everyone. My family marches to it's own drum, something else for which I am thankful.