Down Time

Like the title says, R.~N~R. or better explained as Rest~And~Relaxation. I had so much that I wanted to accomplish this weekend, while I was off of work. Like working in the yard ~ filling in some more of the wholes that the dogs keep digging, mowing some, trimming some trees and bushes of the dead branches and some that are just in the way. Also wanted to work on this weeks blog posting. Am still trying to dig out my new burn pit as well, but to no avail this weekend.

Then it started with this weeks work being more hectic, than I remember this time last year being. My work is as a dishwasher, in a fairly busy restaurant, just off of Interstate 75 and State Road 200 in Ocala, Florida. It turns out that part of the reason that we were so busy, was because people were leaving low laying areas of Tampa Bay to our South West. As the fourth named system of the hurricane season was building in the Gulf of Mexico and heading our way. It's name is Debby, currently a strong tropical storm, that has been drenching south Florida for a week now. Where I live just North East of Ocala is a small town called Anthony.

As I write this the sun must have just set as it is dark out now, on Sunday 2012/6/24. Looking at my electronic rain gauge and seeing that 3.44 inches of rain has fallen today with no let up in sight. It has been a steady and heavy drizzle for the last 12hrs now. This is the kind of soaking that we need, as we have been in a drought for far to long now.

So yes, being tired from the paying job and while trying to stay dry. I took the whole weekend off. To enjoy some down time for myself. Oh, just so that everyone knows, this posting was one of those freight train hitting type of postings.

So my friends,

Next week it is back to the grind ...

Summer Treats

Many have asked me, how do I come up with ideas each week for my blog postings. Well sometimes an idea will hit early in the week, giving me time to work on it all week long. Allowing for a smooth and easy to read posting. Other times it can be like a being hit by a freight train out of the blue, and entirely off of the cuff so to speak. Those tend to just flow out of me at the last minute, just in time for my deadline. Now the deadline that I've set for myself, is to be posted by Monday at 9pm EST of each week. That was my chosen deadline when I had Mondays off. Currently I work on Mondays, so now I'm trying to post by Sundays ~ Time will tell how long before my posting day will shift again. As to how the ideas come to me, I still do not know.

OK, let's get to the meat of this posting. It is June in the northern hemisphere, That means late Spring into early Summer. The days are getting longer and hotter. People are camping and hiking and biking and generally enjoying the outdoors a whole lot more. Now unless you have a summer kitchen (not many do anymore), then the kitchen in your house or apartment is really hot and sticky if you do much cooking. So Dad gets to barbecue a whole lot more. Here is a quick reference for summer kitchens, generally they are screened in gazebos with weather louvers that an be closed against the rain. Also they are usually located under a big shade tree. We had one back on the farm, not far from our garden. That way it could also be used as our harvest kitchen.

Well so much for a short and quick introduction. Ah well, I do like to talk. At any rate with temperatures rising, I thought that you all might enjoy some more of the recipes that I like in the summer time heat. Let's start with Crepes, shall we. Endless filling combinations inside of these paper thin pancakes, can make for a hearty breakfast or a light lunch or a satisfying evening meal, along with delectable desert possibilities. So here is your basic crepe shell batter:

Basic Crepe Batter

          1 cup all purpose flour

          2 eggs

          1/2 cup milk

          1/2 cup water

          1/4 teaspoon salt

          2 tablespoon butter - melted

          1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

          1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon (optional)

          1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

          1/8 teaspoon ground clove (optional)

 ~ In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs and flour. Gradually adding the milk and water, then add in the salt and butter and any flavorings, beat until smooth.

 ~ Heat a small griddle or skillet over medium high heat, while melting a tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Swirl it around to coat the hot surface, then pour off the excess and reserve. Now ladle about a 1/4 cup of the batter into the hot buttered skillet, tilt and gently swirl the batter in a circular motion until the crepe starts to set. 

 ~ Cook until bottom is light brown (1 - 2 minutes). Loosen with spatula and flip, cook other side about 1 minute. Turn out onto a warm plate and cover with cheese cloth. Now cook off the rest of your batter the same way, stacking each with cheese cloth for ease of use later. You should get about a dozen crepes. If you google crepe fillings and I think that you will be surprised by the number of response listings. The number that I got was 219,000 response hits. Now it's your turn, so have some fun.

Now for some really fun ones. That can be made up at home for snacks or trail energy boosts or maybe made by fire light when camping, instead of s'mores :

Peanut Butter Balls

          1/2 cup peanut butter - creamy

          1/2 cup honey

          1/2 cup crushed nuts - personally I use cashew halves and pieces ground in a blender

          3/4 cup wheat germ

          1/2 cup powdered milk

 ~ Mix all of the ingredients together in a large pot or bowl. Now pull out golf ball sized globs and roll into balls, then roll them in sprinkles packing them on. NOTE if these are made with kids around, when the last ball is fully coated ... then there may be no more left for you to nibble on. Better make a double batch. Enjoy.

Trail Mix Goop

          1/2 cup granola

          1/2 cup powdered milk

          1/4 cup brown sugar

          1/4 cup raisins

          1/2 cup finely chopped tropical trail mix

          1/2 cup chopped nuts - personally I use cashew halves and pieces ground in a blender

          1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

          cooked white rice - well drained

 ~ Mix granola, milk, sugar, raisins, nuts, trail mix and peanut butter in a large pot. Slowly add a handful of well drained cooked rice to stiffen the dough - if still loose add more rice. Roll into golf ball sized balls, then coat with shredded coconut and shaved sweet bakers chocolate (white or dark). 

* If you want any of these ~ guard them well. Great for cycle touring. Enjoy.

Sweet Potato Tag-a-longs

 ~ Wash a number of sweet potatoes, some people peel them, I do not. Cut into strips of 1/2 inch thick, about an inch wide and 3 to 4 inches long, basically steak fries. Shallow fry these in a large skillet with 4 tablespoons each of olive oil (extra virgin) and butter. Toss the sweet potato steak fries in the combined hot oils to coat them, then fry them about 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Potatoes should be crispy outside and tender inside. Sprinkle with sweet potato seasoning (below). When cool place in double zip lock bags, great for a cycle touring light lunch. Enjoy.

Sweet Potato Tag-a-long Seasoning

          2 tablespoon brown sugar

          1 tablespoon Cinnamon

          1 teaspoon nutmeg

          1 teaspoon ground ginger

          1/2 teaspoon ground clove

          2 tablespoon salt

          1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 ~ Thoroughly mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk. Then put in a shaker jar with a screw on lid. It is ready to use. NOTE - a few grains of uncooked white rice will maintain a dry mix - dry.

 * This is my seasoning mix, remember that recipes are not written in stone - to accommodate personal taste.

Almost Peanut Butter Cups

          1/4 cup butter

          3/4 creamy peanut butter

          1/2 pound powdered sugar

          3/4 cup ground Oreo cookies

          1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

 ~ Melt butter in a pot, mix in creamy peanut butter, sugar and ground Oreo cookies. Press into bottoms of a cupcake tin. Now melt chocolate chips and pour over the crust. Chill until firm ~ if you can wait that long.

Peanut Brittle (Cashew Brittle)

          1/4 cup butter

          1 1/2 cup sugar

          1/4 teaspoon salt

          2 cups dry roasted peanuts - personally I prefer dry roasted cashews

 ~ Melt the butter in a pot, dissolve the sugar in the butter. Stirring constantly because this mixture likes to burn. I like to use a whisk for this reason. You can tell when the mixture is ready by splattering the whisk over cold water, if little balls of candy form it's done. At this point stir in the peanuts (cashews). Cool immediately by placing the mixture in but not under cold water. What I like to do is to pour the mixture into a walled cookie sheet, then set in a larger walled cookie sheet that has cool running under and around the smaller pan. When cooled, dry the cookie sheet with your brittle in it and put it in the fridge for at least one hour. After which time remove your brittle and smack the flat of the cookie sheet on a hard surface, to break up your brittle. Enjoy.

There you go my friends, half a dozen recipes to tantalize and tickle your taste buds. You all should have noticed that if the recipe called for butter, I wrote butter. You can use margarine if you like, but butter tastes better and is better for you. So no matter what you do in the great outdoors, eat healthy, be smart about your surroundings at all times and stay safe my friends.

Oh No, Mister Bear This Is My Berry Patch,

AHHH ... !!!

OOPSY ...

Sorry everyone but this weeks post is not ready, I'll finish it up and post it this coming Sunday.

She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed had a list longer than Santa's wish-n-want list this past weekend. Also the heat and humidity did not help. I felt as though I have been burning the candle at more than two ends, so when the sun set my eye lids did as well.

I should be back to normal by this weekend ... I hope.

Till then my friends ...

Ending Human Drudgery ...

I had an idea for this post, so out of curiosity I googled "pedal powered machines". I was floored ~ 1,820,000 result hits. Looking through some of the sites on the first page, I kept seeing references to treadle power. So I googled "treadle powered machines". This really blew me away, now remember that treadle power predates pedal power. But there were only 248,000 result hits, and both pedal and treadle powered machines came about thanks to the industrial revolution. Also both are descended from winches and capstans. For those of you who are not into nautical terminology, a popular style of capstan is what draws in an anchor on ancient ships, and wind sailing ships of old. It is still in use today on modern ships to draw up, or "to weigh the anchor" as the saying goes.

Now what makes the treadle and pedal so revolutionary in terms of human powered machines, is that they allowed people to do more. You see pedals or foot cranks had a higher work ratio over hand cranks, treadles, and capstans because of compact versatility. Also the power of human legs could be harnessed, while allowing the hands to do other things. Ah yes, an early expression of multi-tasking.

In other posts I have referenced that the cycle came about in the late 1800's, well this time I have found a closer date. No one knows for sure (that I am aware of) just when the first cycle was invented exactly, but the time frame reference that I now keep finding is in the 1870's. To me that means that for some 10 - 15 years earlier, some inventors were possibly tinkering with ideas. All of the early cycles were direct drive. Later cycles starting using rope or leather thongs or crude chains to transfer power. Also some early versions had a large gear or wheel at the pedals, with a smaller gear or wheel powering the object being moved or rotated. Sometimes the object being rotated was a large fly wheel, to aide in powering what ever the machine was used for. In essence the inventors were borrowing from steam engine technology to aide in human powered machines. There you have it folks, some history into pedal powered machines.

Now let me get into the reason for my current curiosity into types of pedal powered machines. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbKHoCDwIOg  Is a you tube video created by: Chris Turitzin, Jaireh Teccarro, Jennifer Chen and Nathen Lee ~ about their idea for the "Innovate Or Die contest". They used a bicycle to make ice cream, while pedaling around for a while. I also knew of other uses for a bicycle, so I went looking around the web to see what else I could find. Thinking that maybe my findings would make for an interesting post, here on my blog that is basically on a similar subject. Granted I do tend to wander into other subjects along the way, but I always do return to my root subject matter in a post or two.

OK, here we go in no particular order: a miller/thrasher; several versions of clothes washers were found; a blade sharpener; a blender; a meat grinder; several trike styles of a taxi or rickshaw; a rope or chain water lifter; a water pump; a nut sheller; a coffee or grain grinder; with the use of a winch and pedals to plow a field or garden; using a trike as a tractor to disk, drag, hoe, and plant food; wood and metal cutting saws; a pedal powered log splitter ~ that powers a hydraulic jack to push a log into a set splitting wedge; early sewing machines - before the popular treadle sewing machines; pedal powered cranes for heavy lifting; pedal powering of a generator or dynamo to charge up batteries; powering devices like laptops; powering a shaker that aides in the making of concrete tiling for roofs; shelling corn; grinding meal or flour; found several versions of ice cream makers; lawn mowing ~ mainly the old reel type of mower, however I did find one version where three push type power mowers were combined with a trike for a very interesting type of pedal powered riding mower; a water transport and filtration unit called an "aquaduck"; found several versions of a bladed snowplow ~ am wondering how long before someone comes up with a pedal powered snow thrower; also found a pedal powered drill press; a lathe; a grinder; a sander; tool sharpeners; boring and drilling and cutting machines; also a pedal powered scroll saw. All of these and more were designed for use in homes and workshops that have or had no power sources from in our past. However in currently developing countries around the world of today, I don't see why all of these ideas and more can not be used by everyone. As we all are trying to save some of our hard earned coins. Even in the modern world, where it seems that the working poor is the fastest growing class of people.

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com  and  http://www.notechmagazine.com  Are two interesting web sites to wander around on. So my friends, the information is out there on the web. Just do like I do, go for a stroll in cyber space. Also you tube is a lot of fun to get lost on. Wandering and wondering while doodling on the web is not only fun, but it can also be rewarding and educational along the way.

Remember this my friends;

When we stop learning or growing or doing,

We are pushing up the flowers ...

The Journey's Importance ...

A couple of days ago I was reading an article on line, and silly me I forgot to bookmark it, so that I could reference it here and give proper due. So I guess that I'll just have to try paraphrasing what I remember of it. It was the conclusions of a study conducted of young people in the 16-29 age group in larger cities. It seems that this age group is for the most part fore going their driver's licenses. In Lew of taxises, trams, subways and buses, basically the public transportation system. Recreational transportation for the most part for them is pedal powered. The study also went on to speculate that these people may fore go ownership of any internal combustion engined vehicle, for the rest of their lives. I see this conclusion as a good thing over all.

Personally having grown up on a dairy farm in up state New York. Then growing away from my roots, I have had many a car and truck in my life, even some motorcycles. I am not saying that any of them are bad in and of themselves. Just that I can no longer afford them. What with costs forever going up, and with my income being either stagnant or falling. It just makes more sense that I turn to a more economical form of transportation, and for myself that takes the form of pedal power. Now with a trailer behind the, in my case a recumbent trike, that will allow for as much storage as a small car or truck.

Now granted going places and doing errands may take a little longer. But as a whole that can transform into "the journey being as important as the destination", or however that saying goes. Remember that by pedaling my "phat arse" around town, I will slowly start to slim down and firm up. Which will in turn translate into better health in the long run. Being that I'm over the 50 year mark, OK closer to 60 ~ about 1 1/2 years to go on that one. Slowing down is not a bad thing really. Getting into a better shape than roundish in the middle, should help me to see more of my golden years as well.

Yes I poke fun at myself, after all laughter is the best medicine, or so I have been told. Also if I am picking on myself, then I'm leaving others alone. Wait a minute here, maybe I should charge for that service. No, I could not do that to my fellow man, as I don't want anyone to think that I might be attached to some governmental branch, any where.

So as I pedal my phat arse ever onward,

Ohhh, look at the pretty flowers ...

As The Wheel Turns ...

Recently I saw a trailer on You Tube, for a television series that is set for this fall to be hosted by NBC. The title of this series is "Revolution", and it is set in a post electrical era. Now the opening of the show is in a modern world. Then as some warnings are given by a few about something about to be turned off. However before anyone can get a handle on what is happening, a world wide blackout occurs. Then the announcer chimes in and tells of how major cities and governments collapsed. How warlords and fiefdoms sprang up. Various militia groups hold sway over expanses of land and peoples. As mankind rebuilds after 15 years a society fashioned from 200 years ago. The hook is that a decorative pendent is a device of some kind, that when it is activated reveals that some limited electricity still exists. Also that there is a covert group of some kind, who not only knows that electricity still exists ~ but seam to operate and manipulate outside and within the remaining population. In my view it looks to be a very interesting show.

Now the reason that I bring this up, is because in that event electric welding would be no more. Welding could still be done with gas, or maybe even blacksmithing possibly even rivet welding. Gas welding is not really that much more difficult to learn, any more than electric welding. However blacksmithing and rivet welding, on the other hand both are a whole other thing altogether and different from each other, but each would be do able. Also a human powered vehicle, be it a bike or trike or quadracycle, could rival the horse or other beasts of burden. We as a whole are not that far removed from the late 1800's, when industry was booming without the use of electricity. true there was some places that had electricity, but for the most part it was still a novelty, that frightened the masses. Remember that they did have power ~ steam power, coal power, natural gas power, people power, beasts of burden power, hydro power and wind power just to name a few. Did I mention people power? Yes a pedal powered machine could power a washing machine, a water pump sew clothes, plow a field or move products and goods from one place to another. We are not a helpless species by any means. If we had to, we could live with out electricity. Our pace would slow down and some things may take longer to build or to acquire but we could survive.

Books would again be read for their printed knowledge's of how things "old" once worked. We would look to books and our elderly for the collective knowledge to do everything "the old way" once again. Like tending the garden, or raising animals for food ~ remember milk comes from cows and goats and a few others. Cheese and butter comes from milk and so on. Cloth can be woven from some grasses or hair or fur. How many of us living today still really remember how to do any of these things? You see it is all of the little things that our grandparents and great grandparents did to make their lives a little more comfortable. If the lights went out tomorrow, it would be the first two generations that would have the most difficult time handling it. As we would be the ones who would remember what was lost. Also that there would be a lot of hard work relearning to again live with nature and within our means. However after a time of adjustment, things would start to settle into a pattern of practicality and necessity once again.

Now I don't mean to sound all doom and gloom here, but as a whole it has been nearly four years since the world economic collapse of 2008 began. Without showing any real sign of progress at much of a recovery just yet. Some countries around the world are in dire straits. While some economists here in the United States, are giving out predictions of yet another money disaster. That is yet to hit sometime in late summer or the fall of this year, They are calling it hyper inflation. Should this come to pass, things could be quite dire indeed.

Should the worst happen, myself and those around me will survive. I know how to garden and raise my own food. As well as how to preserve the harvest, along with the saving of seeds. We will barter with our neighbors, as we set up a defensive perimeter to patrol and maintain. I know how to make alcohol for drinking and to use as barter or fuel or a sterilization dip if needed. The knowledge of bio-diesel also is not lost to me. Surviving outside of what is normal is never easy at first, but it is all learn able and do able.

Something else that I find interesting, is that the Mayan calender is said to end on 12-20-2012. The deciphered hieroglyphs depict an "end of days as we know it" kind of scenario. Wait a minute here. First of all the Mayans never heard of leap year, so how could they be precise in their prediction? Second, it is my understanding that their calendar is several large circular stone rings that interact with each other endlessly. So how can anyone say that their calendar ever really ends? Let alone on a particular day like the winter solstice ~ which is in reality the beginning of the coming year, like any pagan or native of nature can tell you. At least in the northern hemisphere. Thirdly it has been rumored that when the Spanish missionaries first stumbled across the ruins of an ancient culture (like the Mayans), then if they saw serpentine hieroglyphs, then they would have assumed the worst from their religious view point. They therefore proceeded to destroy as much of it as they could. As I understand it, most of the codex's are lost for all time. So in deciphering a dead language, without a code to decipher it with, a prediction of a disaster yet to unfold of major proportions ... it all just sounds to convenient for me. Now I am not saying that nothing will happen, just that as a whole, it sounds like chance and possibility just maybe the victims of a hit and run with a massive cover up. So that the general population will have something to look at as the cause of their current problems, instead of the real culprits. Now don't quote me on all of this as I am just thinking a lot of what ifs here, along with historical facts that could create a possible explanation.

For as the wheel of the world turns,

A new day dawns ...

A Mother's Love ...

Without a Mother's Love, how many of us would have survived past puberty? Or would have had the mired of pets in our younger years, that we teased and enticed into following us home. So that we could say, "Mom, look at what followed me home. Can I keep it? Huh, can I? I'll feed it, clean up after it, love it and care for it, you will not have to do anything. Pleasssssse?" Even though mom knows that with in a month at best, that she will be tending and caring for another of our whims. Being a mom she will usually give in. Sometimes with a stern warning though, "That if we don't live up to our end of the bargain ~ Out the door it goes." However that usually does not happen, thanks in part to mom's soft heart.

Without a Mother's Love, where would any of us be? Where would we be living? How would we have found the will and courage, to fight for our selves and what is right? Or to strive to better our selves? Our mother's may have tried to teach us all, good nutritional habits even though the older that we get, cold pizza and warm beer sounds so good. For those of us who were lucky to have a dad as we grew up, mom was still the nurturing one. The one that we would turn to, to sooth our many hurts and pains. To help heal our boo boos. To be our guiding light in the darkest of closets, where the boogie man hides.

Without a Mother's Love, how would we have learned to shop for food or clothing or what ever? Where would we have found our selves, when we went looking for a mate? Who would have been there to criticize and critique our choices? With a line like, "Son or my darling Daughter, you know that I love you, will stand by you and back you up. But are you sure, I mean really positive that you want to spend the rest of your life with that, ... person?" Of course you could have gotten lucky with your first choice, in that your mother was so totally approving, that she interceded with dad on our behalf.

Yes a Mother's Love is unconditional and infinite, even as her patience can sometimes wear thin and be finite. How many remember a line that was blurted out when mother was loosing it? That went something like this, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it!" or "I still remember how to replace you, so Don't Push Your Luck!".

But as we grow past our innuendos and insecurities to become what and who our mothers want us to be. We tend to blossom and bloom into the full adulthood of men and women. For then as we can look back only after surviving our youth, can we see what it was that our mothers saw in us in the first place.

So I say to all of you, my friends ... wish your mother

A Happy Mother's Day.

Also she may like the Mom Song at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXgoJOf5EsQ

Or maybe this version of the Mum Song at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NemObkErGVY

For all that you did and still do 

Thank You Mom.

P.S. It seems that neither of the links are working, but if you google "the mom song" you will find them both. Sorry about any inconvenience. 

Your friend

HPVTraveler

Gravitationally Challenged ...

The title of this post is another rather colorful way of asking someone if they are a little over weight, packing a few extra pounds, pleasantly plump, has a shelf to set the beer mug on ~ namely the beer bellie, laying on the winter's larder, a little heavy, slightly rounder, rotund, imitating a blimp, obese or simply that they have a rare disorder where food to them, is like an asteroid belt is to a planetoid ~ it's like a gravitational pull that food just can not resist them. So ... let ask everyone a couple of questions here, "How many think that they might be gravitationally challenged? Could anyone maybe feel a little better if they lost a few pounds?" I am asking because here in the U. S. of A. a major health issue is the extra poundage, that many of us carry around ~ myself included. Even though I work hard and play hard, I still like to eat rather well. My problem being that I either eat to much and/or am eating the wrong foods for a healthy diet. Also like many, my relaxing time is usually spent in front of some kind of electrical device while playing with buttons and staring at a screen that is far to close to my eyes. So if you are like me, let's all turn off that electrical device and start exercising more ~ first our minds as we build our exercising machines, then going for a ride while pedaling our big arses around. You may even meet the neighbors (scary as that maybe), or see things that were only a blur when you were sitting in or on your internal combustion contraptions. That tend to suck your hard earned coins away faster than electricity can move. Also by pedaling we will loose the excess poundage and firm up while slimming down, all by pedaling around our county.

OK let's look at bad habits and/or vices for a bit now. Personally I have not gone off the deep end with illicit drug abuse, I did experiment and I did inhale in my younger years. Speaking of inhaling, I do enjoy smoking (about 30 years now) I enjoy cigars and a good pipe tobacco. Now as for drinking, I also enjoy that. My favorite metaphor on this subject is "that I don't drink any more than fish swim." Seriously though, I do drink (about 48 years on this one), and yes I am an alcoholic. However over the last 20 years or so I have painfully learned to control the cravings, even though I do tend to slip up sometimes. Smoking and drinking are my only two vices that I have left. They may end up killing me, but here is the big secret ... we can't get out of this world alive anyhow.

So as long as we are here, let's all try to get into a better shape than most of us are currently in. Maybe we cold give the grim reaper a heart attack while he tries to catch us. One way is to start walking more and not just casually strolling along. Work it up to a sweat and maintain it, start slowly by dragging our collective big arses out of that recliner. Then head for the door, without the keys to those gas and diesel guzzlers, then around the block as a starting point.

Also we need to start eating right, and a more healthy and natural diet at that. No it is not a diet per say, but more on the side of eating smaller portions with more healthy choices. It may be painful at first, but like all of our bad choices ~ our bodies will adjust. The experts all agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So why not trick our bodies into it, by making them think that a milk shake is the way to go. Well an ice cream shake is not, but a nutritional shake is. In the June 2012 issue of Bicycling magazine is an interesting article titled "Whip It Good" and on page 40 they have a list of 5 different smoothies (shakes) that are healthy and designed to revitalize a cyclist after a long work out. I think that they would also make for a healthy breakfast shake.

They are as follows:
Blueberry Almond ~ strengthens bones and fights free radicals
          1 & 1/2 cups of milk
          1/2 cup ricotta cheese
          1/2 cup frozen blueberries
          1 teaspoon almond butter (homemade ~ Google it)
          1 tablespoon wheat germ
          1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
     blend till smooth ~ 351 calories, 11 grams fat, 44 grams carbs., 4 grams fiber, 26 grams protein.
Banana Mocha ~ replenishes glycogen stores and increases endurance
          1 cup milk
          1/2 cup coffee, cooled (personally very strong)
          1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek yogurt has twice the protein)
          1 tablespoon almond butter (has calcium, magnesium and phosphorus for strong bones)
          2 teaspoon cocoa powder
          1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
          1 frozen banana
     blend till smooth ~ 357 calories, 11 grams fat, 49 grams carbs., 5 grams fiber, 23 grams protein.
Green Tea Ginger ~ speeds up metabolism and protects the heart
          1 cup milk
          1/2 cup coconut water (homemade, google it)
          1/2 cup silken tofu
          1/2 cup frozen citrus concentrate (or fruit)
          2 tablespoon walnut pieces
          1/2 teaspoon matcha (google it)
          1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
     blend till smooth ~ 309 calories, 13 grams fat, 36 carbs., 4 grams fiber, 17 grams protein.
Tangy Raspberry ~ soothes and repairs sore muscles
          1 cup milk
          1/2 cup pomegranate juice
          1/2 cup ricotta cheese
          1/2 cup frozen raspberries
          1 tablespoon ground flax seed
          1 tablespoon wheat germ
          1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
     blend till smooth ~ 305 calories, 5 grams fat, 51 grams carbs., 7 grams fiber, 21 grams protein.
Pumpkin Spice ~ boosts immunity and replaces electrolytes
          1 cup milk
          1/2 cup coconut water (Google it)
          1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (Greek)
          1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
          2 tablespoon walnut pieces
          1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
     blend till smooth ~ 292 calories, 10 grams fat, 30 grams  carbs., 5 grams fiber, 22 grams protein.

*nutritional information based on 1 serving, using nonfat dairy.

Now for lunch, I would say to keep it light with fresh fruit some yogurt (plain or flavored) and 1 or 2 energy bars. If you feel a energy crash coming on in mid morning or afternoon, grab a couple of fig bars and 1 or 2 energy bars. Alright the day is done, so ... what is for dinner?

Mediterranean Pasta

          1 pound farfalle pasta (or bow ties)

          4 sun-dried tomatoes (in oil) julienned

          18 ounces artichoke hearts (in oil) quartered

          6 cups (1 bag) fresh leaf spinach

          5 pieces thick cut bacon

          1/2 cup bread crumbs

          1 tablespoon minced garlic

          1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

          3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

          2 tablespoon real butter

          kosher or sea salt (not iodized) and fresh ground pepper to taste

          feta cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta. Place the bacon on a double layer of paper towels side by side, then cover with a double layer of paper towels. Cook on high for 2 minutes in the microwave, then crumble when cool. Julienne the sun-dried tomatoes, and strain the artichokes (reserving the fluids) then quarter. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, add the garlic, tomatoes, and red pepper stir together for about 5 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and cook for 3 - 5 more minutes. Add the spinach in intervals and saute down for about 3 minutes. Add in the bacon and cook for another minute while stirring it all together. Then transfer to a bowl. Now using the same skillet (do not clean) add 1/4 cup of reserved artichoke oil, reduce by 1/3rd, add breadcrumbs stir frequently until golden brown. 

Now take a large bowl or pot add the cooked pasta and 2 tablespoon of real butter, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Then add in the cooked bread crumbs to the pasta and toss together, add the artichoke heart mixture and toss again.

Plate and top with 1/4 cup of feta cheese on each plate. A rose or red wine goes well with this dish. Enjoy.

There you go my friends,

A healthy day of food choices to celebrate the first day of the rest of our lives,

Let us all make the reaper work to catch us ...