I meant to write this blog post about a month ago, and I’m still bringing the final touches on the last installment of Economics Made Simple, The Case for NO Interest. However there are other pressing issues that have just as much to do with economics and that is you own personal health. If you want to jump straight to the Banana Coconut Porridge recipe AKA Banana Morning Surprise, click here. (this will take you straight to the recipe). I came up with the porridge recipe after a bit of frustration with the powdered banana cinnamon porridge mix I used to buy from the local Jamaican store that just took way too long to make and required continuous mixing throughout the entire 20 minute cook time. Even then the mix would be lumpy, uneven, and if you didn’t add the right amount of sugar, the porridge would taste awful.
About a month ago a co-worker of mine provided me with a really great set of Raw food restaurants in NYC and recipe books. The Raw Food links and information are below. As some of you know, I used to be be a vegetarian…well actually a “Fishetarian“. Last year I went back to meat, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a healthy diet. What I’m looking for is balance. A healthy amount of fruits and vegetables with a bit of meat. Last week me and the family went to The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. This is a really fascinating place. Just beautiful trees, vegetation, streams, and food markets that really put you at peace. I was so overwhelmed that we decided to get a yearly membership. On $120.00 a year. That’s $10 bucks a month!
I found a very fascinating book at the NYBG bookstore called What to Eat by Marion Nestle. Here’s a simple explanation straight from the book:
Marion Nestle’s What to Eat is a new guide for a new era in American food and nutrition the-the one book that tells you everything you need to know about food, with clarity, insight, wit, and wisdom.
A good friend of mine on FB posted, you are what you eat. So simple, so true, and often ignored. I would even go a step further and say you are what you think. We often ignore our mental health, while staying squarely focused on the physical.
So in the last couple weeks, I have felt a need to re-focus my efforts on taking a more aggressive approach to my own personal health. I just recently bought World’s Most Hardest Exercises and I’m looking to step my exercise game up. With all the talk about health-care, clearly there is a need for Preventive Behaviorism Healthcare (PBHC). What is PBHC? Being proactive about your health before you get some debilitating illness or sickness etc. It has been estimated that up 25% of every dollar spent on healthcare is related to personal neglect. Even if the number was 10%, that would still be too much. Just think of the efficiencies that can happen by just eating right and exercising. I know, it’s easier said than done, and there are whole host of political, regulatory reform, misinformation on eating habit, food education, class issues, that need to be addressed to bring about proper health care reform, but change starts with us. Not the just the government and private healthcare firms.
Is it any surprise to anyone that the most obese country in the world is suffering from a healthcare crisis? Is it any surprise to anyone that we know the top realty t.v. shows but don’t know what our local politician’s position is for true healthcare reform? Is any surprise to anyone that gossip blogs, nonsensical videos on YouTube, and other lude forms of entertainment get more traffic than intelligent discussions on ideas for healthcare reform on the likes of fora.tv, cpan.org, catoinstitute.org, etc but yet we still wonder why the government and private companies take advantage of our laziness? Is it any surprise to anyone that the number one way (if you haven’t already been inflicted with some debilitating disease) to “healthcare reform” is a low-fat diet, exercise, no smoking (of anything), no abusing your brain with illegal drugs, low sugar, low salt and clean living so you can stay out of the hospital in the first place?
Most times when people say “health care”, they immediately think of taking care of some physical ailment. But what about our mental health? Do we ever think about the types of things that we watch on television and how that impacts our social behavior? Do we ever think about our spiritual health? Do we ever think about how healthy we are in regards to controlling our desires? Do we ever think about how healthy we are in regards to respecting the people around us? How healthy is our sense of compassion for others who are less fortunate? How healthy is our sense of purpose in this world? How healthy is our general knowledge regarding pressing matters around the world? How healthy is our ability to have insight, intellect, and humility?
Healthcare Reform is more than just what the government or private healthcare firms have in store for us once the bill gets passed (Already passed in the House), but is truly about accountability towards our own personal health and helping the people around us.
Banana Coconut Porridge AKA Banana Morning Surprise
(1 serving)
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Ready In: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- Instant Cream of Wheat (1 serving size)
I actually use the instant Cream of Wheat so this is the only synthetic part but you can use regular Cream of Wheat if you like (takes more time) - *1 Banana
- *2-3 good shakes of Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of Coconut Milk
- 1 Tablespoon of Wheatgerm (Kretschmer Honey Crunch Wheat Germ preferred)
- * 1 good shake of Nutmeg
- 2/3 Cups of Organic Mlik
- (optional) Handful of Blueberries or Strawberries
- (optional) chocolate chips
Directions:
- Create the Cream of Wheat with the 2/3 Cup of Millk
- Drop the banana(s) in the hot Cream of Wheat and blend till merged (Best to use a hand blender)
- Add in Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Wheatgerm, and Coconut Milk while blender is on (as needed)
- Drop in blueberries or strawberries.
- Enjoy!
* If you want a stronger or sweeter banana taste you can add two bananas for each serving. As much or as little cinnamon as you like. Depends on your preference.
Obviously the chocolate chips somewhat moves it out of the “healthy” category but it’s nice to have every now and then. (probably can use organic cocoa for this) it melts real nice in the hot cereal
Get Your Raw Food on’:
- Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet
- Raw: The Uncook Book: New Vegetarian Food for Life Juliano Brotman and Erika Lenkert
- Raw for Thirty: Raw food documentary about the people with diabetes
http://www.rawfor30days.com/index_coast.html
