My Health Journey

My mother's recipe, and a favorite of my daughter. Needs no baking. The idea is to arrange layers of tea biscuits (known as petit beurre , which can be found in Middle Eastern grocery stores, among others), with alternate layers of custard and chocolate pudding in between. Instead of custard, which is hard to find nowadays, I substitute any kind of pudding I like. Layer cake with chocolate, tapioca, and custard. Shown below is my latest with layers of Kozy Shack chocolate and tapioca puddings, and a powder pudding mix that I combine with milk over heat, like custard. I skipped the eggs on the last one, to give it more of a custard consistency that hardens when cooled. Depending on the shape of your baking tray, you may need to cut out parts of some of the biscuits. I used a 9"x9" tray. I also recommend putting the chocolate pudding at the bottom since it's thicker and will hold the consistency better. Once the layers are arranged, cover the tray with foi...

These pizzettas are easy and quick to prepare, and are a sure hit with my daughter. For a crust, you can use slices of any kind of bread you have.  For a cheese, hard cheeses that melt nicely are preferred, like Gruyere. I personally like yellow Balkan cheeses like Kashkeval (Bulgarian) and Kefalograveira (Greek), which you can obtain from Middle Eastern and Balkan grocery stores. For toppings, mushrooms, bell peppers, pitted and halved kalamata olives, and grape tomatoes go well. You can add coarsely chopped garlic if you wish. Bake at 400-425 F for about 10-12 min, until the cheese starts to brown. Top with baby arugula if you like. Pizzettas with Kashkeval cheese on whole wheat sourdough, topped with bell peppers, mushrooms, kalamata olives, garlic, and baby arugula. Hint: If using mushrooms, don't chop them too small and don't bake for too long, or their water will seep out and make the bread soggy.

In the post "How I Lost 50 Pounds and Kept Them Off" , I discussed the changes I took over the course of the last few years to gradually lose the weight. The main idea is to lose weight gradually enough, while keeping the focus on building healthy eating and exercise habits, so that by the time you reach your desired weight, those habits are so ingrained that you would keep staying active and eating healthy.  In all those years, for instance, I counted calories for only 4 or 5 days. That's all I needed to get an idea of portion sizes and see how what I'm eating measures up against my caloric needs. Beyond that, counting calories felt like a waste of time. As I saw from my own results, it was unnecessary, as long as I eat nutritious whole foods and stop eating when I'm full. What I left out of that earlier post, is how I got myself to instill each of those habits in me. The book No Meat Athlete has excellent sections about habit-forming. For me it meant ...

With the weather cooling down yesterday, I took my daughter out on a rowboat. It was a beautiful day. Not too hot, not too cold, not to cloudy, not too sunny, a few sprinkles of rain, ... Since my daughter is only 8 years old, I ended up doing all the rowing. I don't row much so found it much harder to move and control the rowboat compared to a paddle boat. My left arm was hurting until I realized that the oars had slipped through their rings and thus weren't of equal length. After correcting their alignment, the rowing became easier.  I ended up rowing steadily for 2 hours, with only two short breaks. That's the same length of time it takes me to run a half-marathon. I fully expected my back, chest, and upper arm muscles to be sore and hurting. Thankfully, that hasn't materialized (yet). After getting back home I was exhausted, energy-drained, and starving. Practiced yoga at night to ease the tension in my neck, accentuated by the need to constantly turn my head...

In Getting Enough Nutrition , I wrote about my increased interest in eating healthy. Fortunately, a year later, I heard from a friend about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Essentially, rather than getting their groceries from the supermarket, they contract with the local farm to deliver their produce. Pasta sauce from CSA farm vegetables The basil is also from the CSA farm It turns out this nice farm I pass along my way to work - a green oasis amid a growing suburban sprawl - has its own CSA program. For about $30 a week, I share in the produce of the farm, receiving a decent quantity of 10-12 different vegetables a week, all organic, in-season, and fresh from the earth. There are no guarantees as to what we get. We pay for our share at the beginning of the year, and receive whatever the earth gives, which bounty varies from year to year and depends on the weather. Thus we share the risks and rewards with the farmer, and the adventure of finding out what's in store...

my jogging stroller One of the earliest challenges I faced was integrating my exercise with my single-parent life. I had separated from my marriage when my daughter was only three years old, retaining shared custody. On my custody days, the child demanded much attention. She could not be left alone, so I was unable to do any early morning outdoor activities. Enter the jogging stroller. Upon a friend's advice, I purchased it a month after my separation. For less than $100, I bought my freedom to exercise outdoors anytime I wanted. The Baby Trend Expedition stroller I got was fairly sturdy. It supported my child until she was five years of age, and weighed 50 lb., as advertised. It also has two cup-holders for each of us and a phone / wipes compartment, along with storage at bottom. We kept it in good shape, so I sold it on Craigslist after for $35.                             I started with walking. I...