Hummus, Anyone?

If someone were to ask me a few years ago what one of my favorite snacks was, I would have probably said: potato chips, or some other salty treat. Hummus would have been far down the list; in fact, it would not have even made the list. Back then, I didn’t even know what hummus was. Do you?

Well, today, most of us have at least heard of hummus. But how many of you have actually eaten it? Interested in learning more about this intriguing food? Read on.

Hummus is a dip, spread, or paste made from cooked and mashed chickpeas. It is then blended with tahini (crushed and soaked sesame seeds), olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. The best way for me to describe how this delicious spread is made is by letting watch this video:

 
Hummus is Middle Eastern in origin, and has been around forever. Chickpeas have been a food item for over 10,000 years. Wow, that’s a lot of hummus over the years, huh? Most people eat hummus with pita bread—tearing off pieces to use as a scoop. You can also use your favorite dipping chip or cracker. I like to eat it with soy chips. My favorites can be found at Glenny’s; and they are loaded with vegetable protein. A snack of soy chips and hummus, which I consume two or three times a week, gives me around 10.0 grams of healthy protein and 7.0 grams of fiber. And they taste amazing!

Besides being a wonderful source of vegetable protein and fiber, hummus is also high in vitamin C, calcium, and iron--and is a good source for antioxidants.

As for different types of hummus—shop around, there are dozens of flavors and styles and brands out there. And, as always, read the nutritional information—some are high in fat and calories (read the ingredients, see what you’re eating!). These days you can find hummus in most grocery stores. I love the eggplant hummus at Trader Joe’s. And this site has some excellent organic hummus and other products you may enjoy.

For all you lovers of hummus (like me!) out there, keep enjoying this flavorful food’s myriad tastes and healthy benefits. And for those of you who have yet to try hummus? Give it a shot; you may end up loving it and making it one of your favorite snacks.

For more about hummus, I suggest visiting these two great sites:
The Hummus Blog
Desert Candy

And, as always, you can enjoy self-help videos about health, personal development, entertainment and much more at my video site, livelife365.com.

Until next time...

peace,
Mike

Reward Your Weaknesses (By Turning Them Into Strengths)

We all have weaknesses, encompassing myriad aspects of our lives, be it health and fitness challenges, personal development and growth issues, or career and relationship struggles. And then there are food weaknesses. For me, I have a soft spot for salty snacks, like potato chips. I have also been known to power down copious amounts of Doritos with the best of them. What’s your food weakness? Candy? Chocolate? Pizza? Cheese? Cake? Soda? Fast food?

The good news is: help is only a video away:



REWARD YOUR WEAKNESSES (BY TURNING THEM INTO STRENGTHS)

* by the way, if you enjoyed this video (or despised it), please visit livelife365.com and let me know your feelings by utilizing my new comment system; if would be mucho appreciated!

In the above vid, I focused on food weaknesses, like my naughty secret (not-so-secret anymore!) addiction to potato chips. But most of our weaknesses do not stop there. We are, after all, human beings, which makes us flawed individuals, which throughout a lifetime of living leads us to acquire a multitude of weaknesses. Anything from not exercising enough to watching too much daytime TV; from procrastination to condescension. Being too unorganized to being just plain lazy. These are all typical human weaknesses, and all share one commonality:

THEY CAN BE OVERCOME!

Let’s start with some common, and not-so-common, quotes:

“The mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
“Mind over matter.”
“If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” (one of mine)
“To err is human, to forgive divine.”
“Cut yourself some slack, man!” (another one of mine)

By admitting and accepting that as human beings we are going to have our share of weaknesses, we can then begin to understand them, and then work on overcoming them.

Let’s return to that potato chip (and Doritos) jones I’ve been nursing since I tasted my first salty treat as a curious child growing up in New England.

FACT: Chips, while made for the most part from natural ingredients, are loaded with sodium and empty calories.
FACT: Mass consumption of chips will contribute to unhealthy weight gain, hypertension, and a laundry list of assorted maladies (possibly diabetes, heart disease, obesity).
FACT: I love chips and could eat them every day.

SOLUTION: Don’t run from your favorite weaknesses, embrace them! Use that weakness as a reward for sacrifice.

Here’s where those earlier quotes come into play. Use them to play mind games with yourself. By embracing your weakness as a good thing, you will eliminate some of the guilt associated with said weakness. By denying yourself your weakness (and, granted, this is by far the most difficult part) through self-sacrifice, focusing instead on exercise, moderation, concentration, and good, old-fashion determination during the five-day workweek, you can then reward yourself with said weakness, in moderation, on the weekend.

Make sense?

It’s all about risk versus reward. We know what the reward is: taste, comfort, fun, and favorite foods. And I’ve already listed the risks. The rest is up to you; your choice. While I have focused mainly on food weaknesses, this formula can be used for almost any other weakness; just follow the formula and give it a try.

If you want to live a better, happier, healthier, longer life, then you have to make sacrifices, need to deprive yourself of some things, and then reward yourself for your efforts.

I’d like to close with my favorite quote on this topic, and one I’m the most proud of:

“Exercise control, control your weaknesses, and your weaknesses will become your strengths.”

Think about it.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike