When I go for more than a week without a blog, it’s a pretty safe bet that instead of blogging I am bogged down in paperwork. I had two or three things that I wanted to write about after Spring Break, but they were overshadowed by executrix duties and computer issues.

One of the required courses for graduation where DD goes to college is a healthy life class. As you would expect, they do not teach the BTD, but DD has enjoyed the course and learned that there is more to health than diet and exercise.

The instructor sent the students to a website called realage.com/. It is a free site, but you do have to register with an e-mail address. You take a 10 – 15 minute survey giving health, diet, exercise, and life style information. It calculates how your biological age compares to your calendar age.

The students had to take the survey and write an essay on what they learned about themselves and how they can improve their biological age. DD learned that she is still about two pounds below a healthy weight.

I could hardly wait to try it myself. I’m 56 years old. I know that I don’t have the body of a 20 or 30 year old, but I wanted to see if seven years on the BTD made me score better than other women my age.

Woo Hoo! Biologically I am 47.8 years old.

The website says that while I exercise enough overall, I need to spend more time lifting weights. That is probably true. A big factor in my score was losing both parents and starting my own business within the last 18 months. That is way more stress than any body needs. It also advises me to carve out more time for myself. Ha! I want to do that too - - tomorrow.

Of course it says I should eat more grain and less red meat, but I will ignore that advice. Overall I was happy with my score. I can go back in 90 days and take the survey again to see how I am doing.

The best thing about the survey is the reminder that while we have no control over some factors in aging, there are many things people do to destroy their own health. I want to live every day with maximum energy, maximum joy, and maximum service to God.

Friday was a perfect Spring Break day. The weather was cool; the skies were bright blue; the sun was shining. DD and I went for a run. We ran for time rather than distance, and I ran a little farther than I usually do in 45 minutes. It certainly didn't spoil the run, but I couldn't help noticing all of the trash, particularly cans, on the side of the road.

The weather changed during the night. We woke to rain pelting on the windows. The rain stopped during the morning but it was cold and windy all day. Late in the afternoon my husband announced he and the dog were going to walk to the mailbox. I said that I’d go along, if we could walk the route that I had run on Friday.

I put on plastic gloves and grabbed a trash bag. We were off. Every time I saw an aluminum can I stopped and picked it up. HH walked one side of the street and I walked the other. We walked for a little more than an hour and picked up a half a trash bag of cans. It was good exercise, and it made our neighborhood look nicer. On Monday I will visit the recycle center and sell the aluminum.

This gives new meaning to the phrase, “It pays to exercise.”

DD’s Type AB friend sent me a recipe for sweet potato custard right before Spring Break. Since DD was coming home, I was reluctant to make such a yummy sounding dish just for me. Sweet potatoes are avoid for the Type As in the family. DD and I decided to try it with pumpkin.

Here is the original recipe for Sweet Potato Custard
1 & 1/2 cup pureed sweet potato
2 eggs
1 cup milk
Mix together. Spoon into custard cups which have been sprayed with non stick cooking spray and bake at 350 deg. F for 20 minutes.

Here is DD’s and my Pumpkin Custard
3 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups soy milk
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp all spice
½ tsp cloves
Mix together. Pour into a square baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a knife poked into the custard comes out clean. Cut in squares to serve.

Let me remind you about DD’s marketing survey. She is taking a college class in how to write a survey and analyze the data. The more responses she gets the better her grade. It is very quick and easy. You will not be asked for any identifying information, just a few general demographic questions. Thank you in advance for visiting the link.

DD's Survey

DD is home for Spring Break. I love cooking with her, exercising with her, and bouncing ideas off her head.

Last night she made curried green beans for her dad and me. She took a curried chicken recipe that she likes, and made it vegetarian. Clever girl! I’m proud of her!

Green beans – last night she used a 12 oz package of frozen green beans. You could, of course use fresh. If you use canned, drain them completely – no green bean juice!
Pineapple cubed – she used about a cup of canned pineapple, drained.
Raisins – she didn’t measure, about a half a cup
Walnuts – about a cup. She really likes using pine nuts, but I was out.
Curry powder – sprinkle generously. You should be able to see the yellow on the beans.
Ghee – she didn’t use ghee, but when I make this recipe, I will add 2-3 teaspoons.

Drain all but a little water from the cooked beans. Add the fruit, nuts, and curry powder. Heat until the flavors have a chance to mix.

I asked her if the measurements were right, and she said, “I just throw stuff in there until it looks tasty. You want the green beans to dominate, but a serving should have several pieces of pineapple, raisins, and nuts.”

One more thing. DD is trying to make an A in a Marketing course. You can help by filling out a simple survey (less than 3 minutes) on celebrity endorsements. Here is the link. DD thanks you in advance.

DD's Survey

I had never eaten hummus until a year ago. I was on my way home from my Mom’s house and was looking for a barbeque restaurant where I could pick up brisket. The barbeque restaurant was closed, but there was a Mediterranean restaurant across the street where I got lamb shawarma. It came with a side order of hummus and I was instantly hooked. Hummus is made from garbanzo beans, also called chickpeas. It is avoid for As, Bs, and ABs; but it is neutral for Type Os. However on the GenoType diet it is beneficial for Hunters. So I consider it beneficial for me. I know better than to trust my feelings, but I just feel good when I eat hummus.

I’ve started buying it at a local health food store. If you’ve read my blogs for long, you know that I’m not usually interested in sauces on my food. A little ghee or a little extra virgin olive oil suits me better than a fancy sauce. However, I love using hummus as a sauce.

Today I pulled leftover chicken and left over English peas out of the refrigerator. I warmed them together with 3-4 Tbsp of hummus. It was an outstanding lunch.