The Essence of Garlic

Want your house to smell like an Italian restaurant? Or a Mexican casa? Or the narrow streets of Chinatown? How about an Irish pub or Middle Eastern market? Here’s what you do: take a pan and set it atop a hot flame, pour some extra virgin olive oil into it, then take a bulb of garlic and bust out a clove.
Okay, maybe bust out ten cloves, then remove the skin (here‘s an easy way to remove the skin from a clove of garlic), chop, slice, dice, or just toss in the whole clove, and wait. In a few minutes your house will fill with the unmistakable aroma of garlic sautéing, and then, if your salivary glands are functioning properly, your mouth will water and then your brain will send a signal down to that mouth and instruct it to utter:

“Mmmmm, that smell! Whatcha cookin’?”

Garlic, a member of the onion family, has been around for thousands of years. It is a basic component in many dishes in just about every country on the planet. Being a lover of Italian cuisine (have you tried my mom‘s lasagna?), I am conditioned to carry gum or mints with me whenever I dine out due to the pungent aftertaste of garlic in most Italian cooking. Yes, garlic has a strong taste, smell, attitude. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, garlic’s sometimes overwhelming “attitude” is what makes is such a standout addition to not just Italian cooking, but as I mention earlier, just about all cooking. From spicy Mexican meals to stir-fry Asian fare, garlic mingles easily with tomatoes, ginger, onions, and my favorite, olive oil.

Still, some people shy away from this caustic clove, afraid that once ingested, or even touched, they will be forever labeled “Mr. Garlic Breath.” And while having a nickname that calls attention to foul smelling fumes emitting from your pie hole is not pleasant, it surely is not enough of a liability to keep you away from making garlic a part of your everyday dietary routine.

Here’s a video where I talk more about the benefits of garlic, as well as demonstrate an easy way to remove its skin:



The addition of garlic spices up marinara sauces, salsa, hummus, and hundreds of other dishes. It also has many health benefits and has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Among the claims:

* helps prevent heart disease
* lowers cholesterol and high blood pressure
* fights cancer
* combats the common cold
* regulates blood sugar levels
* works as an antiseptic

While the health benefits of garlic are not all medically proven or approved, one claim I’m sure we can all agree with is:

GARLIC KEEPS VAMPIRES AWAY!!

(and that’s a good thing!)

The next time you’re grocery shopping, grab a few bulbs of garlic and chop away. Sure, your hands and breath and hair and shirt and house and backyard and entire neighborhood will reek from garlic, but you will also, no doubt, have cooked up a tasty dinner that will make those same neighbors' mouths water and their brains send signals to those salivating mouths, inspiring them to utter:

“Mmmmm, that smell! Whatcha cookin’?”

Garlic.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike

Turn Bad Habits Into Good Ones

I recently received an email from someone who had visited my video site, livelife365.com. After viewing my video on how to beat addictions, she wanted to share with me her own recent success in overcoming her struggles with alcohol, and then ask me if I had any advice for helping her overcome her ongoing addiction to cigarettes. I offered several successful methods and programs that helped me quit smoking (years and years ago, thank goodness), and then added one of my favorite sayings:

TURN BAD HABITS INTO GOOD ONES!

While far from a cure-all, especially when attempting to quit smoking cigarettes (nicotine addiction is one of the most difficult battles to overcome), this advice has helped me change my life for the better time and time again.

Using smoking as an example, what I suggested to my email friend was to stop cold turkey. Actually, I suggested that she check with her medical professional first before making any drastic lifestyle change in diet, fitness or addictions. Once she stopped smoking she should then replace that nasty habit with a healthier one—like exercise. Start off slowly at first (a walking program is always my first choice for those just beginning to get back into an exercise routine), and then build from there. I then suggested eating healthier foods. Essentially, what this does is force you to stay away from the butts. By introducing healthy habits into your life, your mind and body (and don’t forget the other member of the triad of balance, the spirit) will rebel against such a negative intrusion—like inhaling burning tobacco leaves into your once pink lungs, introducing a toxic poison that will cut years off your precious life. After awhile, not only will your body reject tobacco (or alcohol or greasy fast-foods), but your mind and spirit will too.

I am a huge believer that diet and exercise, along with a positive mental approach, can cure just about anything. Most of the good habits I recommended to combat the struggle with quitting nicotine addiction can be applied to other bad habits that afflict us all—be it trying to stop the over-consumption of alcohol or attempting to cut down on fast-foods or soda.

I used to be a Diet Coke fiend. Let me give you some background about myself first. I was once a heavy drinker, from the age of sixteen to thirty-six. I figure I used up all of my booze tickets in twenty years, when they should have lasted me a lifetime. Using the bad habits/good habits method, along with other effective programs, I was able to quit drinking, and haven’t touched a drop in over fifteen years. But one habit I acquired, after giving up the vodka, was soda. Diet Coke, to be precise.

Figuring I had eliminated just about all other vices from my life, what harm could soda do me, right? Especially diet soda. I used to suck down five, six, seven or more bottles a day for years…until I started reading up on what was actually in diet soda. Along with the high sodium, which causes bloating, and various gastrointestinal side effects, overconsumption of diet soda is far from a healthy beverage option.

The solution: Turn that bad habit into a good one. My good one was: green tea. Never that much of a coffee drinker, I had read about the health benefits of drinking green tea, so I tried it—and have enjoyed it ever since.

This method can be applied to just about any bad habit. Watching too much bad TV? Shut off the set (there are some good shows on television, but it’s up to you to find them and then only watch the good ones) and pick up a good habit—like reading. Or a fun or interesting hobby. Relationship with your spouse getting dull? Spice it up or switch things around. Some of our routines, while necessary and comforting, can become ruts, if we allow them to. Turn that bad habit into a good one.

As I have said, this is not a cure-all for whatever ails you (some problems need bigger solutions), but give this method a try and see for yourself. The results may surprise you.

Good luck with whatever challenges you face. And may all your habits be good ones.

Until next time...

peace,

Mike

In Search Of Vegetable Protein

I wasn’t always a vegetarian. Back in the day, I used to be seated right beside some of you, gnawing away on that rib bone, masticating that filet mignon, devouring a double double from my (former) favorite burger place, In-n-Out. I was an animal-eating carnivore most of my life—just like over 90% of the population. Then I had some blood work done and got a glimpse of my cholesterol levels. Yikes!

Here’s the thing: I was never what you would call a BIG meat eater. More often than not, I was just as interested in the vegetable and salad portion of my meal as the animal protein part. And once I’d done further research about the contributing factors of high cholesterol (mine, by the way, was closing in on 300) and unhealthy weight gain—namely: saturated fats—it made perfect sense to gradually cut down on the meats. Years before I became a full-time vegetarian, I often would go days without consuming any animal protein. My palette, as well as some deeper region of my subconscious, was changing, sounding an alarm: Reduce your saturated fats or die!

Okay, Mike, you can stop with the dramatics. But it was a wake-up call, and my unhealthy cholesterol and weight gain (I was up over 200 pounds—far too heavy for my barely 5’ 11’’ frame) forced me to do something else—discover healthier eating options. More to the point: I needed to reduced saturated fats, which meant limit the consumption of animal proteins. The answer:

VEGETABLE PROTEIN!

Here are some of the best sources of vegetable protein that I incorporate into my daily eating routine. Eat as much of this stuff as you can and you will not only get the necessary amount of protein into your diet, but tons of fiber (a good thing!). All without those harmful saturated fats; instead filling up with the good fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

NUTS
I eat nuts every day—mostly almonds, but all nuts have a decent amount of vegetable protein. In addition to almonds, eat walnuts, Brazil nuts, pistachios, even peanuts. They have anywhere from 6-8 grams of protein and 3.0 grams of fiber. I also suggest trying some of the butters. Almond butter is delicious and has 8.0 gms of protein per serving.

BEANS
I love Mexican food, and eat it at least twice a week. I’ve found that you can replace just about any of the meat dishes with healthy black beans (7.0 gms protein/7.0 gms fiber) or refried beans (be sure to check if they are made with lard, in they are, opt out). There are dozens of varieties of beans (see one of my previous blog posts, You Don’t Know Beans…or Do You?); pinto, navy, garbanzo—add them to salads or eat as a side dish. Most have around 6-8 gms of protein and about the same amounts of fiber.

And don’t forget lentils. These tasty tidbits are loaded with vegetable protein—10.0 gms. And 9.0 gms of fiber.

WHOLE GRAINS
I eat a high-protein, whole grain cereal every other day. Kashi makes excellent products. Try their Go Lean. It has 13.0 gms of protein per serving, also 10.0 gms fiber. I mix mine with their Good Friends (5.0 gms protein/12.0 gms fiber) for a vegetarian protein and fiber blast (pun intended!) The days I don’t eat whole grain cereals, I have some toasted whole grain bread (4-6 gms protein; shop around and read labels, some have more protein than others. I recommend Milton's) with almond butter. You can see how the vegetable protein is adding up, huh?

Pastas, especially whole grain pastas, are another great source of vegetable protein. Most have at least 6-8 gms, while some go as high as 12-15 gms. Again, read labels, and you will be pleasantly surprised by all of the healthy vegetable protein options available to you.

I also eat oatmeal (8.0 gms protein/ 6.0 gms fiber) every day. And wild rice will get you around 5.0 gms of vegetable protein per serving.

VEGETABLES
Not all veggies are created equal. Some have more protein than others. Here are the ones you should look for when looking to increase your vegetable protein consumption:

SOY
I eat edamame, or soybeans, (11.0 gms protein/ 6.0 gms fiber) several times a week. I like to mix in another vegetable, usually broccoli (5.0 gms protein/ 4.0 gms fiber), add a little olive oil, salt, pepper. How’s that for veggie protein? Also, soy chips are a wonderful source of protein: 6.0 gms--I like Glenny's and Gen soy. And Dr Soy makes a tasty soy bar (11 gms protein) that I devour most days.

ALSO:
Avocado: (4.0 gms protein/8.0 gms fiber)
Peas: (5.0 gms protein/ 4.0 gms fiber)
Corn: (4.5 gms protein/3.0 gms fiber)
Lima beans: (6.0 gms protein/4.0 gms fiber)
Brussels sprouts: (4.0 gms protein/3.0 gms fiber)
Artichoke hearts: (4.0 gms protein/4.0 gms fiber)
Asparagus: (4.0 gms protein/3.0 gms fiber)

This is by no means a complete list, and a lot of it is personal preference. But, as you can see, the variety of vegetable proteins available to you are endless. And the best part—they are low in saturated fats, high in good fats, loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that contribute to a longer, happier, skinnier, healthier life.

As always, you can watch me talk about all of these healthy topics at my video website, livelife365.com

peace,

Mike

Earth Day Means Think Green...Every Day

Happy Earth Day. And while I think celebrating environmental awareness is essential and important, it is something that should be done every day. And, since I do try to bring my own bags, made out of recycled materials, to the store when I purchase organic products most every time I shop, I would like to talk about other things green. Like healthy things. Like green food. Now, come back here. I see you running away from your computer screen in search of a thick, greasy cheeseburger, dreaming about washing that baby down with a thick cholesterol-laden chocolate shake. And, if that is something that you cannot live without, who am I to stand in your way?

Okay, those of you still remaining, let's talk green stuff, good, green foods that will not only lengthen your stay on this planet, whose day it is today, remember? But I'm talking about green foods that taste good, help you lose weight, and lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, the risk of heart disease, and diabetes. Would somebody go and get those cheeseburger eaters and drag them back here? Thanks, I'll wait...

Let's start with the F-word. No, not that one: FIBER. Fiber-rich foods are not all green, but they do help with all of what I described above: weight-loss, health improvement, and good taste. So, enough small talk, let's eat:

(in no particular order)
apples
broccoli
peas
salads, lots of it
cucumbers
edamame, which is nothing but soy beans
speaking of beans, add those: green beans, navy beans, pinto, kidney, black, they are all great for you, filled with vegetarian protein and fiber
pears
spinach
hummus (if you add some dill or parsley, it will look green)
herbs, speaking of dill and parsley
melons
squash
nuts (most are not green, but pistachios are)
whole grains (again, most are not green but can't keep them off the list)
avocados
artichokes
asparagus
bananas (but wait until they turn yellow)
Brussels sprouts
tomatoes (fried green ones)
cabbage
peppers

I could go on and on, and will in coming entries. But, you get the idea. Notice what's missing from this list? Yes, meats. And dairy. Now, I'm not suggesting you go without a burger once and a while, or cheese or milk, but we're talking green today. And every day, if you want to live longer, feel better, drastically reduce your ailments, lose weight. And do your part to celebrate Earth (green) Day every day.

Think about it.

peace,
Mike