WriteCamp 4
I want to tell you about an event that is taking place in Milwaukee next month that I am really excited about! This event is called, WriteCamp4 (www.WriteCampMilwaukee.com). This will be the fourth WriteCamp taking place here in Milwaukee. I have had the pleasure of helping out with the planning process for this special event, and I want to share a little bit about it with you.
WriteCamp is totally free. It is for Milwaukee locals to get together and teach, learn, and laugh about all things writing related. Everything is up in the air as far as WriteCamp is concerned. You can actually just walk into a room and spontaneously teach a table full of writing-loving strangers the art of songwriting, or poetry.
There will be food for hungry stomachs and other goodies for writing fanatics. All are welcome to join the WriteCamp staff on May 19th at Mercy Hill at The Hide House in Milwaukee, WI.
2625 S Greeley St
Milwaukee, WI 53207
Kaitlyn Mekertichian, Community Blog Content Editor
Being A 13 Year Old Veggie
Vegetarianism. Many people consider this an impossible concept. They see meat as an essential part of growth. However, it’s not at all. Growing up in a household of vegans, I was always exposed to the trendy veggie lifestyle. At the age of ten, I decided to try it out. In the beginning, I was slightly tempted by bacon at a sleepover or a hot dog at a barbeque, but as I got into the veggie groove, meat became inedible to me.
Being such a young vegetarian, people constantly ask me, “Don’t you need meat to grow?” I’ve been asked this question an uncountable number of times. And let me say…responding to this gets very tiresome. Meat is not a growth pill. It’s a slaughtered animal seasoned with spices and sauces. I grow from eating all of my vegetables, fruits, whole grains and drinking lots of water. Also, I have never been considered short for my age, I might add.
It’s actually proven that meat messes around with your hormones too. Do we really needs our hormones messed around with? Okay, now that I have dissolved that question, I usually am smacked with another one. People will ask, “Aren’t you tempted by meat?” It’s almost funny how people see me as this deprived poor thing just because I don’t eat meat. There isn’t a single thing that I’ve been deprived of since becoming a vegetarian. There isn’t a single food that I have lost through my diet change (There are vegan versions of everything! My favorite? Coconut milk ice cream.). I recommend at least attempting the lifestyle of a veggie lover, just for a day. Give it a go before you judge it from the get-go.
Brayden Anne, Middle School Student
Marshmallows and Employee Wellness
Remember all the recent studies about kids who are able to delay gratification in order to get an extra marshmallow, cookie or other treat? They go something like this: Children between the ages of about 3 and 8 are invited to choose whether to accept a treat right away or hold off for an extra minute or two in order to get 2 treats. Findings from these studies corroborate that the kids who choose to wait for twice the reward are also more successful later in life. Apparently, the self-discipline to delay gratification results in even greater rewards in adulthood.
Come to think of it, life is like that. Everywhere we turn, human behavior that results in an easy payoff or immediate comfort turns out to be untrue, impractical, morally unacceptable or downright harmful. Think slavery, smoking, fossil fueled vehicles, Bernie Madoff, credit card debt, grain-fed beef, and on and on.
The “gotta have my marshmallow now” mindset carries particularly unfortunate consequences in business. Employers are conditioned to value earnings and ROI above all else. If some part of their business isn’t in line with that thinking, it’s replaced. Happy stockholders and holistic business decisions that don’t blossom into money trees overnight really don’t mix.
That said, some smaller employers have now started setting incredible examples for their colleagues by taking the time to listen to their own common sense. They’re taking a look around at all the disjointed, quick-fix bandaids and contests passing for employee wellness initiatives and instead dedicating themselves to corporate wellness programs that approach people as the amazing, complex creatures they are. They’re looking at global success stories like Googleplex in Santa Clara County, California and adopting integrative health models that truly invest in their people, knowing the “two marshmallows” will be more than worth the wait.
Currently, workplaces are heavy with wellness programs no one will participate in without heavy monetary “incentives.” This sets up expectations for more of the same, and makes the employer with the most money able to lure the best people away with more generous monetary kickbacks. Have these employers moved the needle in terms of enlightening people on the need to take more responsibility for their own well being? Have they decreased claims or premiums or increased productivity? Not a bit.
On the other hand, when you provide people programs that educate and support them to develop into their best selves you get employee loyalty, top performance and a reputation of being a great place to work. Oh, and primarily, people who now take responsibility for their health and due to their heightened understanding can be truly instrumental in turning our embattled healthcare system around. Will claims and premiums decrease and profits increase? What else could possibly result?
Disclaimer: Rarely will there be first-year ROI with this whole-person approach. But it’s pretty clear that, once implemented, the marshmallows will multiply exponentially. Here’s hoping more middle and small firms recognize these benefits and take the time to implement employee wellness programs that work.
Annette Gelhar, Director of Marketing, InWellness
Red Meat and Premature Death
Early death from eating red meat! This sounds really awful. But the study was very large; 38,000 men for 22 years and some 84,000 women for 28 years. The participants filled out a food frequency questionnaire every four years about their eating habits in the last week, and data was extrapolated from that. And the data is compelling. Those who ate a serving of meat, about the size of a deck of cards had a 13% increase risk of cancer and heart disease. If the meat was processed, meaning a hot dog or salami or sausage, the risk rose to 20%.
Interesting data in the study was what happened if nuts were substituted there was a 19% lowering of mortality. If chicken was substituted, there was 14% reduction and fish had a 7% reduction. The conclusion was that premature mortality could be reduced 7-9% of everyone ate fewer than 3 servings a week of red meat, and really reduced their processed meat. They blamed saturated fat, nitrites and sodium as the potential causes of the increased morbidity.
I take this at face value and will add it to my practice, but I think you, my reader should have a more nuanced and sophisticated consideration of the data. It just doesn’t make sense quite the way it is and I think needs a bit more context. There are societies around the globe where meat eating has been the predominant nutrition and folks have had very little cancer or cardiovascular disease. We don’t have studies of this magnitude, but I think the exception has to be considered and alternatives have to be entertained.
Maybe the issue is “meat in America”. That may be different than meat elsewhere. We are pretty certain that the meat itself is not different one place to another. The protein, the red part just can’t be that different. Muscles don’t change their content much at all. But something else changes dramatically. The fats! Our meat in America is raised on feedlots, being fed corn and beans. The subsequent product has 30% of its calories coming from saturated fats that aren’t seen in meat raised on grass in a natural state. Animals raised in the wild have only 7% of their calories in meat coming from fat, and most of that is omega fatty acid fat. Those fats acts like hormones when they hit your body sending very different messages to your metabolic system. Notice, in this study that risk was reduced when nuts were substituted. Nuts are a rich source of omega fats, particularly omega-3 s that are precursors to anti-inflammatory eicosinoids. Natural meat once upon a time, when grass raised, was rich in omega-3s. I think the indictment shouldn’t be on the meat, per se, but the processing of meat that injects chemicals, and the raising of animals on feedlots. The product becomes toxic.
WWW. What Will Work For Me? My script going forward is that feedlot raised meat raises your risk for premature heart disease and cancer at least 20%. That can be ameliorated if you change your protein source to nuts where your risk is reduced 20% for a total compared risk reduction of 40%. But I’m not going to indict grass raised meat. That study hasn’t been done. And I suspect strongly that it would not show harm. For now, living in America…I’d pass on the sausage and bacon, reduce my red meat to less than once a week and go for the fish, chicken and almonds.
John E Whitcomb, MD Brookfield Longevity and Healthy Living Clinic
Oat Burgers!
Last night I looked in my kitchen cupboard and saw how embarrassingly full it was with so much sitting unused. So instead of running out and buying even more food, I made a pact with myself to use what I had. I wanted to make something healthy, but I was tired of beans and lentils and instead reached for the canister of rolled oats that I had bought with the ambitious idea of making my own health bars. What I made turned out pretty good, even if I say so myself, and I think I have discovered my new standby dinner.
Oat Burgers
1 finely chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
Salt and pepper
1 T olive oil
1 cup rolled oats
2 cup flour
1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped nuts
3-4 T water
1/4 cup minced cilantro
First sauté the onion and garlic in the oil and then set aside. In a mixing bowl add the oats, peanut butter, nuts, and flour and give it a stir. Then mix in the onion mixture and add the water a little at a time so that you can form patties. I added cilantro because I wanted to put some color in, but it is optional. Form firm patties and brown them in a pan with a little more oil.
I served them on toasted French rolls garnished with lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced avocado and a dollop of homemade Thousand Island dressing. Along side I served some homemade potato chips because after all, what is a burger without fried potatoes on the side?
Kaitlyn Mekertichian, Community Blog Content Editor
She’s A Super Freekeh
Okay, so I’m at the grocery store looking for something new, something to jump out at me from the shelf and say “make me for dinner”. We don’t eat chicken, fish or steak or any of the other easy standbys and I am tired of pasta, also I’m running out of time before the car pools start. When I do finally get home there is nothing worse than the family walking in and saying “what’s for dinner”? You know if I knew that, I would make it and whenever I come up with something there are complaints. “We had that last week, I don’t like that or that’s weird”. So today I found a box of Freekeh pronounced Freekah unlike the other ancient grain called Quinoa that I can never pronounce right. For sure no one can tell me they had this the other day as I have never even heard of it before. So, I buy a box and run home to “google” it to figure out what it is and how to make it.
Freekeh, (I know, you have to love the name), originated in 2300 B.C. somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. The story goes that there was a siege expected on this particular walled city and so the people picked all the green heads off of the wheat so that they could store it in the event of possible starvation. Well it turns out that they must have forgotten to replace the batteries in their smoke alarms and the buildings that stored their food supply burned to the ground. However, not people to give up, they rubbed the heads off of the smouldering green wheat and Freekeh, meaning “rubbed one” was born.
The delicious, smoky, roasted green grains are now giving popular Quinoa a run for its money! They have four times the fiber of brown rice, more protein than pasta and pretty much top all of the other grains in terms of nutrients including calcium, potassium and zinc. They can be used in the preparation of muffins, bread, side dishes, breakfast cereal and a million other recipes that previously have used couscous, rice, pasta or Quinoa. Some people are even saying that Freekeh is gluten free but I would wait until the jury is back in on that if you suffer from Celiac disease or live a gluten free diet.
Tonight I intend on using this incredible grain, which uses one cup of grains to five cups of water and cooks for about 45 minutes. Then I will infuse it with some lightly fried onions, peppers, a lot of cumin and a dash of cinnamon. Any plain Freekeh left over I will use tomorrow morning for breakfast cereal with a lot of fresh fruit and a drizzle of maple syrup. Wow, I may have found the answer to my dreams in that Freekeh is delicious, different and so versatile. And I will make a bet that none of my family will object or try and say “we’re having that again”! Well I have to go and get dinner started and for some reason as I dance to the kitchen to make dinner I am singing the old Rick James song “She’s a Super Freekeh”, oops that should be “She’s a Super Freak”…I know you have to wonder.
Okay, so I’m at the grocery store looking for something new, something to jump out at me from the shelf and say “make me for dinner”. We don’t eat chicken, fish or steak or any of the other easy standbys and I am tired of pasta, also I’m running out of time before the car pools start. When I do finally get home there is nothing worse than the family walking in and saying “what’s for dinner”? You know if I knew that, I would make it and whenever I come up with something there are complaints. “We had that last week, I don’t like that or that’s weird”. So today I found a box of Freekeh pronounced Freekah unlike the other ancient grain called Quinoa that I can never pronounce right. For sure no one can tell me they had this the other day as I have never even heard of it before. So, I buy a box and run home to “google” it to figure out what it is and how to make it.
Freekeh (I know, you have to love the name), originated in 2300 B.C. somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. The story goes that there was a siege expected on this particular walled city and so the people picked all the green heads off of the wheat so that they could store it in the event of possible starvation. Well it turns out that they must have forgotten to replace the batteries in their smoke alarms and the buildings that stored their food supply burned to the ground. However, not people to give up, they rubbed the heads off of the smouldering green wheat and Freekeh, meaning “rubbed one,” was born.
The delicious, smoky, roasted green grains are now giving popular Quinoa a run for its money! They have four times the fiber of brown rice, more protein than pasta and pretty much top all of the other grains in terms of nutrients including calcium, potassium and zinc. They can be used in the preparation of muffins, bread, side dishes, breakfast cereal and a million other recipes that previously have used couscous, rice, pasta or Quinoa. Some people are even saying that Freekeh is gluten free but I would wait until the jury is back in on that if you suffer from Celiac disease or live a gluten free diet.
Tonight I intend on using this incredible grain, which uses one cup of grains to five cups of water and cooks for about 45 minutes. Then I will infuse it with some lightly fried onions, peppers, a lot of cumin and a dash of cinnamon. Any plain Freekeh left over I will use tomorrow morning for breakfast cereal with a lot of fresh fruit and a drizzle of maple syrup. Wow, I may have found the answer to my dreams in that Freekeh is delicious, different and so versatile. And I will make a bet that none of my family will object or try and say “we’re having that again”! Well I have to go and get dinner started and for some reason as I dance to the kitchen to make dinner I am singing the old Rick James song “She’s a Super Freekeh”, oops that should be “She’s a Super Freak”…I know you have to wonder.
Beverley Robb, Homemaker
Very P-Interesting…
Pinterest is a website that I have recently discovered and signed up for. This savvy site is an online pinboard where users can pin images that they find most appealing. Essentially, Pinterest is an online vision board where you can motivate yourself, unleash creativity and search for new ideas, products, recipes or designs that you want to implement into your life.
I can honestly say that this website has gotten me hooked. Let me preface by saying: I am not one of those tech people who dwell in their Facebook accounts and love everything that comes with a charger. Sometimes I actually wish technology would stop advancing, cell phones would stop buzzing with texts and we could all hand write letters, read tangible books and spend our extra time conversing face-to-face. I know that the advancement of technology keeps us innovative and betters our lives in some way or another, but I can’t say that I’m not apprehensive about it at times.
However, my love for interactive social websites has been rekindled all thanks to Pinterest.com. This website is pure brilliance, especially for the female population. While it may unintentionally take a good two hours out of my day, I think that it is actually a very positive and motivating tool. These are five reasons why I think that Pinterest is thebomb.com, literally.
Reason Number One: Pinterest will keep you goal oriented.
One day, I want to visit Machu Picchu—pin, run a race—pin, live in a beautiful modern apartment overlooking the city—pin, grow my own garden—pin…
Instead of thinking these things and then forgetting them two seconds later, Pinterest allows you to pin these wishes by associating images with all of these goals. Your mental bucket list can now be transformed into an online vision board.
Reason Number Two: Pinterest will open you up to new things.
Getting bored of the same dinners? Need some pizzazz in your life? Let Pinterest open you up to a new world of possibilities where nothing is dull and everything is cool, trendy, fun, clever and aesthetically pleasing. Homemade vegan mozerella? Yes please.
Reason Number Three: Pinterest will nurture your creative spirit.
As a young twenty-something year old girl, I am always looking for new ways to save money. On Pinterest, I have learned how to make homemade house cleaners, laundry detergent and other Do-It-Yourself projects. Heck, just the other day I learned how to turn a Clementine into a candle. Now that’s crafty.
Reason Number Four: Pinterest will teach you savvy lifestyle tips.
I have always hated tangled necklace and bracelet chains with a passion. Might sound petty, but it can be pretty frustrating when you want to wear your favorite necklace and it is weaved inside of a giant ball of knotted metal. With the help of Pinterest, I have learned how to store my necklaces in a more efficient way by looping them through a straw. I consider myself a clever girl, but never in a million years would I have thought about doing something like that.
Reason Number Five: Pinterest will provide you with pictures that will make your day.
Who doesn’t want to see ten squishy Labrador puppies cuddling on top of a pile of blankets? Or an elephant bathing under a waterfall with a smile like expression on her face? Whether you will admit to it or not, these are the images that make your head tilt, your lips pout and your heart melt. You can count on this site to provide a multitude of images that will make you smile, laugh and feel better about your day.
Now go and make yourself a Pinterest account. Pin away!
Kaitlyn Mekertichian, Community Blog Content Editor
