Health for life

Are you tired of Thanksgivings when your entire family comes to visit, but you don’t have time to talk to any of them? Do you dream of serving fresh, home-prepared food instead of Stove Top and Potato Buds on Turkey Day? Come this holiday, do you wanna save a coupla bucks?

Sweet. We gotcha covered.

By following these steps and devoting an hour or two to planning ahead, you can cook up a wholesome, economically sound Thanksgiving feast without going completely insane. You’ll have time to actually interact with your loved ones, and no one will leave the house hungry.

Of course, if you’re not up for these strategies (and yo, it’s understood), A) do whatever works for you, or B) try a potluck. Roast some poultry and have each guest bring a side, a dessert, or some booze. No muss, no fuss, and no one can blame you if the green bean casserole came out a little weird this year.

In the meantime, behold! And if you have anything to add, fire away in the comment section.

Step #1: Start shopping now.
Supermarkets begin offering Thanksgiving bargains weeks before the actual holiday. So, if you know you need an item – say, unsalted butter or canned sweet potatoes – buy them on sale a.s.a.p. You’ll save cash AND get to check something off your list.

NOTE: Obviously, this doesn’t apply to perishable goods. If you know you’re making applesauce, wait until the week-of to pick up the fruit. Otherwise, Rot City.

Step #2: Get a headcount.
Is it just the immediate fam this year, or are your 16 second cousins from South Carolina stopping by for some big, juicy bird? Having an approximate attendance will help you plan and budget accordingly.

Step #3: Prep your recipes.
Once you have a headcount, research and start amassing the appropriate recipes based on number of attendees, dietary restrictions, taste perences, and budget. (It’s easier than it sounds, since Thanksgiving tends to focus on a few traditional dishes.) Cut and paste them into a Word Document, so they’re easily searchable and erenced. My favorites include:

• Alton Brown’s Brined Turkey, roasted via Cook’s Illustrated directions
• Pioneer Woman’s Cranberry Sauce
• Honey-Glazed Roasted Carrots
• Ma’s Applesauce
• Sweet Potatoes with Mini Marshmallows

Don’t worry about appetizers, as people are going to stuff themselves at dinner. If you do opt for hors d’oeuvres, choose something light, like crudite and bean dip.

Ask guests to bring wine and desserts. Of course, you can prep a pie or two the night before, but letting family pitch in will A) make them feel validated/as if they contributed, B) ease your stress level, and C) save you a buck or two.

Step #4: Create a grocery list.
Now that you have all the recipes, make a big ol’ grocery list of their ingredients. (This is super easy if you’ve already compiled the recipes in a Word Document.)

Helpful hint: If two dishes call for the same ingredient, combine the quantities so you don’t overbuy. For example, if your mashed potatoes need 4 tablespoons of butter, and your stuffing needs 6 tablespoons of butter, combine them into a single line, reading “10 tablespoons of butter.” Shopping will be way less complicated.

Step #5: Check off what you already have.
Odds are, a few list items are already floating around your pantry. Olive oil? Check. Salt? Check. Sixteen-pound game bird? Che- … oh, wait.

Step #6: Spread the remaining shopping out over the next few weeks.
To reiterate, supermarkets tend to spread sales out in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Buy a little of your list each week, during your regular grocery shopping, using online circulars to check for deals. You’ll have to make a final trip, of course, but you’ll have already banked a bunch of money, and reduced your list by leaps and bounds.

Step #7: Create a schedule.
Okay. This one is where it gets a little nuts, but trust me – creating a schedule really, really helps. Why? It does four things:

1. Manages your time. Worried about what you’re supposed to be doing, and when? No longer. Also, you actually get to socialize.
2. Coordinates the stovetop and oven. If you’ve ever tried to cram stuffing, turkey, and sweet potatoes into the oven simultaneously, only to have nothing cook all the way through, you know what I’m talking about.
3. Ensures you remember everything. Have you ever blanked on the biscuits? Forgotten the beans in the fridge? This visual cue will stop it from happening.
4. Gets all the food to the table at the same time. Never again will your turkey be ready two hours after the mashed potatoes.

To make this magical document: Take each recipe, and working backwards from the time you’re serving dinner, assign each prep step a time slot. For example, if the stuffing needs to be served at 4pm, it should go in the oven at 3pm, be assembled about a half-hour earlier, at 2:30pm.

This is tough to explain, so here’s mine from last year. (Click to enlarge.)

Click to enlarge

I usually stick my schedule to the fridge, along with the recipes I’m making that day. This way, it’s convenient, accessible, and I won’t spill gravy on it.

Step #8: Enlist a Sous Chef, a Dish Doer, and a Table Setter.
Unless you’re Ina Garten, Superman, or SuperInaGartenMan (whom, I assure you, exists), you’re gonna need some help in the kitchen. Your Sous Chef can take care of potato mashing while you’re making the gravy. The Dish Doer will wash kitchen gear throughout the day, guaranteeing the appropriate equipment (whisk, measuring cup, etc.) is always clean. And heck, you know all about the Table Setter.

Fun fact: One person can cover the three jobs, if he/she is particularly talented. Last year, my sister’s boyfriend basically made Thanksgiving possible.

Step #9: Do as much as you can the night before.
The Night Before Thanksgiving 2009, my schedule read like this:

• Make brine
• Dunk turkey
• Make applesauce
• Make cranberry sauce
• Make cornbread
• Dice all gravy ingredients
• Peel and cut carrots
• Wash and cut green beans
• Prep all remaining ingredients

It looks complicated, but only took a few hours, and allowed me tons of time to hang out on Thanksgiving Day. With a similar strategy, you’ll reduce potential stressors and eliminate last-minute trips to the grocery store for cranberry sauce.

Step #10: Stick to the gameplan.
Adhere to the schedule, and Thanksgiving Day will be a walk in the turkey park. (Yes, the turkey park.) Youll not only have plenty of quality time with family and friends, but theyll applaud your efforts for decades to come.

BONUS Step #11: Start drinking, but wait until AFTER you’re finished chopping.
Don’t ask me how I know this.

Readers, what think you? Does this seem crazy, or does a little time invested up front seem like a good trade-off for the day-of? What would you add or take away? The comment section, she is open.

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Is it too late to still be wishing happy new years? Well, it’s my first column of 2011, so I hope no one will mind if, two weeks into January, I’m still talking about it.

From Flickrs apocs

Two weeks into January, you say? And how many broken resolutions?

I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions. I think January 1 is an arbitrary start date that might not match up with actual good timing. Take the chestnut of a resolution to eat better and work out more – why not time this with the time of year that’s actually conducive to activity and healthy eating? In the depths of winter our bodies want to store fat, its cold and snowy outside and, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, vegetables are wan and flavorless. You want to lose weight? Talk to me in June.

Waah, but I need to be bikini-ready already by then! Who exactly is telling you you’re not bikini-ready now? That’s another problem with New Year’s Resolutions – the outside pressure. We’re told it’s the time to make commitments, and so we leap in, and then berate ourselves for falling short. But what else should we expect when the drive to change hasn’t come from within ourselves?

Also it’s an easy way for gyms to sell more memberships.

On the other hand, though, sometimes we need an arbitrary impetus for change. Something that says, Hey, evaluate! And change what needs changing! One of my good friends made a resolution two years ago to set aside at least one night every week as a free night – no plans, no commitments. (This friend works in the music industry, where nighttime commitments are rampant, and is a generally popular guy.) Not only did he keep this resolution but it so improved his life that now, years later, the free night is a solid institution.

Don’t make resolutions for resolutions’ sake. But if the swooping tide of reevaluation and reinvention that comes with the new year inspires you, go for it! Just make sure you’re excited and inspired about your plans, and that your goals are not unattainable. Impossible or awful goals – to drop 20 pounds in a month, switching from a McDonalds diet to strict raw foodism – are just a set-up for disappointment and self-flagellation down the line.

In the spirit of positive, attainable change – and the spirit of this column! – I’ve put together what I hope will be a helpful and inspiring list. These aren’t commandments or edicts, just steps you can choose to take. You can choose a couple of items on the list as goals for yourself, or just keep them in mind next time you hit the supermarket (or farmers market). Figure out what’s important to you, what you might want to change, and how you can reasonably reach those goals.

1. Rethink Your Meat.
One of the strongest environmental impacts you can make with your food choices is what meat you eat, and how much. Conventional industrial meat production is, in a word, not-so-good. It’s not-so-good for the environment, it’s not-so-good for workers, and it’s not-so-good for animals. (I don’t think there’s anything morally wrong with killing animals for meat; I do think it’s horrible to make animals live miserable lives of suffering leading up to the slaughter.) And yes, human beings evolved to eat meat. But not miserable chickens that live immobile in cages, pecking out their own feathers, eating nothing but cornmeal and animal byproducts.

From Flickrs stickeresq

Industrial meat also has a markedly different nutritional profile than wild or pastured meat – the balance between Omega-3s and -6s swings way towards the 6s, which is not what your body wants – and animals who eat real food, rather than food-like sludge, taste better, too! Pastured, humanely-raised meat is, yes, more expensive. As it should be! Don’t skimp here. Buy less meat, and choose to spend your money on higher-quality, tastier, more ethical stuff. Dairy and eggs (also from happy-animal farms!) and plant proteins are cheap, good for you, and delicious.

2. Process Food Yourself.
Think about what goes into processing a processed food. All of the ingredients must be collected; any additives, preservatives, flavorings, or nutritional enrichments must be either derived or created themselves. The food is processed – mixed, cooked, prepared – in a factory. The food is packaged – plastic is made, trees are turned into cardboard, paints are applied to the label. The food has to be tested – the recipe was devised in a lab, and nutritional information has to be determined for the label. Odds are the food is marketed – someone designed its package and a marketing campaign; time is bought for television commercials, ad space is purchased in magazines, coupons are sent to you in the mail. Then the food is packed and driven – possibly in a rigerated truck – to a warehouse, and then to your supermarket. Now think about how much of the dollars you spend on that processed food is going toward quality ingredients, and how much of your money is going to… everything else.

There is no question that for a little more time in the kitchen, you get so much more bang for your buck with unprocessed foods. And I mean your literal buck, but also your nutritional buck and whatever metaphorical bucks this is all costing Earth. Unprocessed foods are closer to what our bodies evolved to eat. They are more nutritious, and their nutrients – naturally-occurring rather than added later on – are in better forms for our bodies to absorb. Also, who knows what undiscovered chemicals and compounds are in kale that haven’t been discovered yet and distilled into vitamins?

Eat real food and your body will thank you. You’ll notice a difference in your wallet, too. Even something as simple as shredding your own cheese rather than buying a bag already done – it’s cheaper per ounce and you skip the weird powdery coating that stops shredded cheese from sticking – makes a difference on every count.

3. Cook
So what do you do without processed food, just a pile of raw ingredients in your kitchen? Cook! There’s no better way to control what you eat than to cook your food yourself. Don’t trust the folks at Lean Cuisine to do it for you. Not only will you save money by starting with raw ingredients, but you’ll have way more control over exactly what you put in your body. Do you feel best eating a high-fat, grain-free diet? (Lots of people do!) Then pour on the coconut oil and enjoy! Would you rather focus on fresh fruits and vegetables? Bust out the blender and skip the Jamba Juice smoothies. You can decide if your home is powered with wind energy – no promises for the restaurant down the street. And how much salt did they put in your soup? When restaurants serve us giant portions, we’re inclined to finish them. Take responsibility here by taking control. And then have the satisfaction of knowing that you can make your own food.

From Flickrs Nataliemaynor

4. Eat with the Seasons.
I love shopping at the farmers market, but it’s not for everyone – it takes time, can be crowded, and seasonal eating can be limiting. (I’ll sing the greenmarket’s praises in August, but let’s talk about the onions, apples, and potatoes we’ll be seeing all winter.) Luckily, this is not an all-or-nothing deal. You can eat seasonally with supermarket produce and still do good for your bank account, body, and tastebuds. Compare a January tomato with one in July – even at ShopRite there’s a huge difference. And that taste (and color!) is indicative of more nutrients, too. If there’s no local food this time of year for you, consider just eating food from within your country, or your own hemisphere. Food’s cheaper and tastier in its proper season, and when it comes from closer by as well.

5. Enjoy!
Its frightfully easy to get so caught up in worrying if our food is healthy, cheap, and good for the planet that we forget what else food is supposed to be: delicious! A meal is more than calories and nutrients, more than a grocery store receipt. A meal is a sensory pleasure, and a social one as well. If your approach to cooking is pure drudgery, itll never last, and youll find yourself at the drive-through before you know it.

Figure out how to incorporate what makes you happy into your healthy eating plan. Once in a while, round out your healthy protein and veggies with some Doritos. Give yourself permission to enjoy that occasional Chinese food delivery, or splurge on a delicious meal out. Buy an avocado even if its come from halfway around the world.

Dont beat yourself up for failing to meet some lofty goal. Recognize and celebrate the ways youre good to yourself – do you nourish yourself with healthy food, are you conscious of spending, do you take responsibility for how your choices impact the environment? Awesome. Now make sure youre enjoying yourself – and your food – as you go.

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Optimistic older adults face greater risk of disabilities and death

Older people who have low expectations for a satisfying future may be more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those who see brighter days ahead, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

"Our findings revealed that being overly optimistic in predicting a better future was associated with a greater risk of disability and death within the following decade," said lead author Frieder R. Lang, PhD, of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. "Pessimism about the future may encourage people to live more carefully, taking health and safety precautions." The study was published online in the journal Psychology and Aging.

Lang and colleagues examined data collected from 1993 to 2003 for the national German Socio-Economic Panel, an annual survey of private households consisting of approximately 40,000 people 18 to 96 years old. The researchers divided the data according to age groups: 18 to 39 years old, 40 to 64 years old and 65 years old and above. Through mostly in-person interviews, respondents were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their lives and how satisfied they thought they would be in five years.

Five years after the first interview, 43 percent of the oldest group had underestimated their future life satisfaction, 25 percent had predicted accurately and 32 percent had overestimated, according to the study. Based on the average level of change in life satisfaction over time for this group, each increase in overestimating future life satisfaction was related to a 9.5 percent increase in reporting disabilities and a 10 percent increased risk of death, the analysis revealed.

Because a darker outlook on the future is often more realistic, older adults predictions of their future satisfaction may be more accurate, according to the study. In contrast, the youngest group had the sunniest outlook while the middle-aged adults made the most accurate predictions, but became more pessimistic over time.

"Unexpectedly, we also found that stable and good health and income were associated with expecting a greater decline compared with those in poor health or with low incomes," Lang said. "Moreover, we found that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability."

The researchers measured the respondents current and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10 and determined accuracy in predicting life satisfaction by measuring the difference between anticipated life satisfaction reported in 1993 and actual life satisfaction reported in 1998. They analyzed the data to determine age differences in estimated life satisfaction; accuracy in predicting life satisfaction; age, gender and income differences in the accuracy of predicting life satisfaction; and rates of disability and death reported between 1999 and 2010. Other factors, such as illness, medical treatment or personal losses, may have driven health outcomes, the study said.

The findings do not contradict theories that unrealistic optimism about the future can sometimes help people feel better when they are facing inevitable negative outcomes, such as terminal disease, according to the authors. "We argue, though, that the outcomes of optimistic, accurate or pessimistic forecasts may depend on age and available resources," Lang said. "These findings shed new light on how our perspectives can either help or hinder us in taking actions that can help improve our chances of a long healthy life."