Gothic Granola

Running with scissors is fun until you fall.   via GIPHY So is corporate wellness: it sounds like a tonne of fun, with stretch breaks on the clock, healthy snacks in the break room, employer-sponsored massages, health coaching, exercise classes...

...Because 99.9% of the food produced in this household befits the adjective "mysterious," to the uninitiated.

If you're vegan or vegetarian, you've probably stared at a plate like this often: cooked grain, beans, and greens. Videre licet , lentils and rice.  Nota bene the rice was cooked with cumin and saffron.

VNV Nation is the official dishwashing music of Gothic Granola.   There's nothing particular about Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson's synthpop that makes me want to wash dishes; their music has a way of keeping up my momentum. I don't have any issues with dishwashing motivation, but I like music while I work.

I'm not a fan of baking with protein powder, for the record. The " Shakeology Cookies " I made this time last year tasted odd and sharply fake-sweet. The stevia and other low-calorie sweeteners in most protein powders just don't set well with me either raw (by themselves) or baked. These brownies are good, in theory, when you're looking for a substantial but sweet snack, and the texture became almost cheesecake-like. I haven't been impressed with the vanilla blended Sun Warrior protein powder, and it's still pretty gross in brownie form, too. So use whatever protein powder, preferably chocolate, that you already like. Since I used vanilla powder, the brownies were not as chocolate-coloured as they could be.  

News from the Intertubes regarding health and wellness: Sleeplessness, the same problem that plagues teenagers, also plagues adults! To continue the analogy, school: adolescents :: work : adults. So, as with suggestions to push back school start times, some experts suggest pushing back work start times and/or operating on a flexible schedule. How revolutionary!   As I've been discussing using lower-GI sweeteners in treats as a suggestion, new studies show that lower GI diets aren't all they're cracked up to be . Still wouldn't hurt to avoid massive amounts of refined, high-GI foods, though.   There's now h ard data showing how sitting all day is killing office workers (increasing mortality) . What more does one need to light a fire under one's ass and stand periodically at work (and encourage the executive team to buy some standing desks and have walking meetings)?  

Cake and smoothies, cake and smoothies...they're all I seem to have posted about lately, and they are amongst what I eat, pretty much every day.  Let's get real about energy drinks. While all the B vitamins, taurine, caffeine, and sugar in Monster give you a temporary boost (and a serious crash), energy drinks don't address the real issue(s) underlying fatigue. Don't want to go to sleep? Or do you just not want to wake up because of X, Y, Z happening the next day? Feeling powerless to solve a problem and so you can't sleep but lie awake worrying about it? Daily tasks not challenging enough so you have excess energy? Think about that the next time you find yourself reaching for that fourth cup of coffee or that Red Bull. Constricting your blood vessels with caffeine probably isn't the long-term solution to why you're feeling tired. I'm not you, so I don't know what's going on in your life. You know your life best; you have the power to adjust thin...

...For when you have cranberries, but sauce seems like too much of a project and pie or bars or muffins are really too much of a project. Juice is also a project. But you have to eat breakfast, right? Why not make a smoothie?

TC had surgery last week and has been drinking all the smoothies. While I haven't made this one for him yet, here is the pineapple-loaded smoothie I plan to make for him.     Why pineapple? Pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme shown to reduce inflammation. Since post-surgery care involves keeping swelling and inflammation to a minimum, this smoothie is a good way to get some natural inflammation-reducing bromelain in your system. Feel free to add a scoop of protein powder if smoothies are all your "patient" will eat.

My friend Potter said the above years ago. I blogged about it without stating it in 2011 . Join me in a thought experiment. Nota bene that this thought experiment is in the setting of 20th-21st Century Western Hemisphere society.  

Seasonal Switch Cliché: when faced with a challenge, go with your strengths. Thinking: when faced with the unknown, what’s in your toolbox?

Tofu shirataki noodles and I have a contentious relationship. At 20 calories per serving (40 calories in the entire bag), what's not to love, you ask? (If I may put words in your mouth...)