Saturday, August 20, 2011

Vegetarians, Vegans, and Iron

When I went to give blood today, the gentleman who took my vitals and checked my iron levels said, "You're a vegetarian, aren't you?"

"Yes," I said. "How'd you know that?"

"I've processed you before, and I remember us talking about it," he said.

"Nice of you to remember," I said. "I like to give blood regularly because it allows me to check my iron levels just to make sure I'm getting enough iron since I don't eat meat."

"Well," he said, continuing to check my vitals, "there's a lot of them that come in here and get in trouble."

"Vegetarians and vegans, you mean?" I asked.

"Yes, sir. Either they can't pass the iron test or, if they do, then they go out there to give blood and get sick—get light-headed or nauseous," he said.

"I can't tell you how much that distresses me," I said. "The truth is, too many people who don't eat meat aren't careful about what they do eat—they don't take in enough leafy greens and other iron-bearing foods to keep their iron levels up. They want to save the animals, which is good, but then they don't take care of their own health at the same time."

In all fairness, my iron levels were just barely high enough when I last gave blood. The iron reading has to be a minimum of 12.5 to give, and mine was 12.7. I was frustrated with that, but I redoubled my efforts and today it was 14.1 (14-15 is normal).

Because heavy perspiration and physical exertion deletes iron levels, I have had to be extra conscious of iron intake over the last couple months due to my lengthy bike rides 4-5 times per week where I perspire like crazy and know I probably lose iron on every ride. But I also read something recently I had read before but had not implemented—that Vitamin C aids in the absorption of iron (and things like tea block the absorption of iron). So when I fix my daily bowl of breakfast "oatmeal" (an oatmeal-based hot cereal with eight grains plus red and white quinoa and buckwheat and blackstrap molasses—most of which carry some iron), I'll drink a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice with it to get the Vitamin C mixed with the iron. And on nights when I eat lots of spinach, kale, and other greens I'll take a 1,000 milligram Vit. C tab along with the meal.

I don't know if those combinations help with absorption, but I am happy that my iron levels were fine today.

Vegetarians and vegans who can't give blood because of having low iron give the whole program a bad name, especially when it's unnecessary. We need to do better—for our own sake but also for the sake of those who would like to eat less meat but wonder if all their nutritional needs can be met with a plant-based diet. The answer is, Yes they can—if we eat healthfully.

Breakfast in Peru: Quinoa and Apples

While giving blood today at the Red Cross blood drive, I had a great chat with the clinician who was drawing my blood. Carmen is originally from Peru, so of course I asked her if she ate a lot of quinoa—which she definitely does. And she told me how they fix it traditionally in Peru for breakfast: cooked with apples.

She didn't give me any measurements, but it basically involves cooking quinoa with chunks of apple, then when it's done putting it in a blender along with cinnamon and sugar and blending it until it becomes a smooth porridge, adding water or milk as needed to thin it out.

Being a pint low on blood when I got home, I decided Carmen's quinoa dish would be a perfect booster to rebuild my system. So I created my own measurements:

3/4 cup quinoa
one medium apple
Tbsp of cinnamon
Tbsp of blackstrap molasses (for iron after giving blood)
Tbsp of maple syrup
Almond milk as needed while blending to desired consistency (like oatmeal or thick porridge)

I cooked the quinoa with the chunks of apple (skin included) in the pot. When finished I poured the quinoa and apples in the Vitamix, added cinnamon, molasses, and maple syrup and blended on high. If all the water has been absorbed by the quinoa you'll need to add milk right away to allow the blending to start since it's very thick.

It was still very hot after blending, and was delicious! A really smooth, velvety consistency, and great taste (think apple pie with the apple, cinnamon, sweetener, etc.).

Carmen also told me there is a brand of spaghetti available at EarthFare made from quinoa which I'm going to look for. What a great grain!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Summer Candy

Black cherry tomatoes and some-other-kind-of cherry tomatoes ready daily for pick-'n-eat treats:

IMG_3278

Thought for the Day 11.0

"Never let the lizard send an email."

I laughed out loud when I read this, of course, precisely because my lizard brain has sent some doozy emails that I wish I could take back. (And I have received emails sent by others' lizard brains.)

The quote is from Seth Godin's Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? I'm on my second read of this book and have underlined lots of pithy statements like the above.

To understand his meaning you have to read chapter xx (they aren't numbered), "The Resistance." Godin's "lizard brain" is the flip side of Steven Pressfield's "resistance" as defined in the latter's book The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle. (Godin's Domino Project published a short version of The War of Art called Do the Work as a free e-book available on Amazon. It's no longer free, but Pressfield's short and long treatise on "resistance" are both worth the read.)

The lizard brain is what kicks in when resistance to creativity, starting, and shipping arises. Godin describes the lizard brain this way (p. 107 in Linchpin):
Your lizard brain, the part that the [creative force] has no control over, is working overtime to get you to shut up, sit down, and do your (day) job. It will invent stories, illnesses, emergencies, and distractions in order to keep the genius bottled up. The resistance is afraid. Afraid of what will happen to you (and to it) if the ideas get out, if your gifts are received, if the magic happens.
If we aren't aware of the existence of resistance, if we don't do battle daily with the lizard brain, then we have become overtaken by it and live in submission to it.

Why should the lizard never be allowed to send an email? Because it's usually an act of self-sabotage; an effort by the lizard to create trouble that will keep us from our true task of starting and shipping creativity to the world.

(Don't misunderstand: not all email is sent by the lizard. If we don't know the ones that are when we hit "Send," we will soon find out.)

For an 18-minute overview of how the lizard and resistance (using different terms) work in the creative process, watch this. (Rather than leaving you to watch the video in peace, I have to add this: I'm always intrigued when I hear secular, or quasi-spiritual, talks that contain ideas or explorations in thought that are more fully explicated in the Bible. There is nothing biblical about this talk, yet the spiritual sources of creativity she discusses [with a helpful overview of creativity from the Roman and Greek perspectives] could easily find a place in the outline of cosmology found in Scripture, imho. Yet many folks are unwilling to end their quest and settle into that outline, for some reason. Too simple, perhaps. As Luke said of the Athenians, "[they] spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas" [Acts 17:21].)

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

So 'Ya Think You Miss Anything by Watching the MSM?

Thanks to Daniel for the link:

So 'Ya Think You Can Ride a Bike?




Thanks to Robert for the link.