the day before Thanksgiving
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1. I’m thankful for stuff
My family has been out of the habit of sharing our thanks around the Thanksgiving table, but I hope to do better tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m thankful for my kids, who are pretty cool, fairly polite, and shower regularly. I’m thankful that my wife, Galya, came to the USA to share her life with me, and that I get to share our Thanksgiving with her. I’m thankful for the good health that many of us share, because there are many who don’t have their health. There are a lot of smaller things, but I won’t drone on. I will end this thing by sharing that I’m thankful I can share my passion for fitness, nutrition, and health with you, our readers.
2. Chicken has as much cholesterol as beef!
Galya’s reading a book, and I get to hear all the funnies. This is how I decide whether or not to read some of these books when she’s done. Her quotes and shares have to be good or I might not read the book.
From a book that I don’t plan to read, despite the funny things she pulls from it…
“But they use chicken in their salads, and chicken has as much cholesterol as beef!”
Granted, the book is from 2006, but even in 2006 I knew that dietary cholesterol has little to no bearing on your own body’s cholesterol readings. It’s also written by someone who advises against eating meat.
Always read books with a grain of salt. …Himalayan salt, if you like. Consider the author and the date it was written. What are the motivations of the author and what were the beliefs at the time of writing? This holds true for all health, fitness, and nutrition books, whether it’s from a paleo author, a vegetarian, or an advocate of “super slow training.”
I like to think of myself as a voice of reason, so please ask; I promise to be kind and open minded.
3. A cookbook find
“Step One – Cook the bacon “
You have to love a cook book where many of the recipes start with bacon!
meals in minutes – hearty soups – quick, easy, & delicious
Sure, it’s not gluten free, vegetarian, low fat, or paleo, and some of the recipes contain canola oil, but every one of us needs to be able to recognize foods that are bad for us and make the swap; leave the flour our or use some cornstarch to thicken your soup. Use olive oil, or bacon fat, instead of canola. You get the picture.
I’m asked to recommend healthy cookbooks all the time, and it’s hard to do. I don’t buy healthy cookbooks very often. I buy cookbooks that focus on real food and real cooking techniques, then make them as healthy as I need them to be.
4. My daughter wants to write a book
She’s written since she was very young, and she’s very good. She writes fiction, with amazing dialog. In fact, she’s read things to me, and I thought she was reading from a book that she’d read. She was 10, and kids of 10 years-old don’t write dialog that is that believable.
I hope she pursues this; she’s going to be great.
5. The gift of health
This last Saturday, we were invited to a Christmas Boutique at our local gym; Athlete’s Choice. In addition to the beautiful Christmas items, clothing, and home decor, there were also many health and fitness related gift opportunities that I don’t often consider, including:
- Massage Session
- Personal Training Sessions
- Workout Clothes
- Training or Workout Plans
- Gym Memberships
- Fitness Gear
- Nutrition Coaching
- Fitness Books
- Kitchen Tools
- Diet Plans
- Cooking Classes
While it can be awkward to get someone to use a gift gym membership, it’s a simpler thing to give someone the gift of a massage or spa day, a few sessions with a personal trainer, or maybe even a cooking class.
If your local area doesn’t have a specialist that you like, there are many online options for nutrition coaching and training plans, these days. Both Galya and I work with many clients online, and would love to talk to you about the options to bring the gift of health to your friends or family. For things that you want to wrap and tuck under the tree, you can find a lot of fitnessy ideas in in our Amazon Store.