It's The Weigh YOU do the Thin(gs) YOU Do! It flows, shimmer & glow...spinning and dancing in the light of THIS Moon for ... as it is the weigh you do the Thin(g) YOU do!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Red Beans & Rice
Fred’s Red Beans & Rice
1 Smoked turkey leg (or wing) or ham hock
1 Pound Smoked Sausage
1 Pound Camellia red beans
1 Onion; chopped
1 Bell pepper; chopped
2 Celery stalks, chopped
1 Tablespoon Paprika
3 Bay leaves
1-1/2 Teaspoon Thyme; dried
1 teaspoon Sage
2 Garlic cloves; crushed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Oregano; dried
2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
2 teaspoon Parsley (but it’s better with about ½ cup fresh chopped parsley)
Salt to taste
Cooked rice
=======================
Cover the beans by about an inch with water and allow to stand overnight in a big pot. (or place the beans in water and bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand at least 2 hours). Some people like to drain the beans, but I don’t. Make sure beans are covered by about an inch of water, then bring beans to a boil.
Meanwhile, sauté the onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper and add to the beans. Brown the sausage and add it to the beans also.
Replenish the water, if needed, just covering the beans. Add the turkey leg, Bay leaves, thyme, sage, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Cook on low heat for about 2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally and add additional water as needed.
Mash a cup of the beans to make a paste, if you need to, and return to the pot. Remove the bay leaves. Add the hot sauce, paprika, parsley, and cayenne.
The beans should be tender as they simmer for about another 1 or 2 hours. Serve over the rice.
Some people like to go through taking the ham from the hocks, but I just leave them in there if I use ham hocks.
1 Smoked turkey leg (or wing) or ham hock
1 Pound Smoked Sausage
1 Pound Camellia red beans
1 Onion; chopped
1 Bell pepper; chopped
2 Celery stalks, chopped
1 Tablespoon Paprika
3 Bay leaves
1-1/2 Teaspoon Thyme; dried
1 teaspoon Sage
2 Garlic cloves; crushed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Oregano; dried
2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
2 teaspoon Parsley (but it’s better with about ½ cup fresh chopped parsley)
Salt to taste
Cooked rice
=======================
Cover the beans by about an inch with water and allow to stand overnight in a big pot. (or place the beans in water and bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand at least 2 hours). Some people like to drain the beans, but I don’t. Make sure beans are covered by about an inch of water, then bring beans to a boil.
Meanwhile, sauté the onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper and add to the beans. Brown the sausage and add it to the beans also.
Replenish the water, if needed, just covering the beans. Add the turkey leg, Bay leaves, thyme, sage, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Cook on low heat for about 2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally and add additional water as needed.
Mash a cup of the beans to make a paste, if you need to, and return to the pot. Remove the bay leaves. Add the hot sauce, paprika, parsley, and cayenne.
The beans should be tender as they simmer for about another 1 or 2 hours. Serve over the rice.
Some people like to go through taking the ham from the hocks, but I just leave them in there if I use ham hocks.
Red Beans & Rice
Fred’s Red Beans & Rice
1 Smoked turkey leg (or wing) or ham hock
1 Pound Smoked Sausage
1 Pound Camellia red beans
1 Onion; chopped
1 Bell pepper; chopped
2 Celery stalks, chopped
1 Tablespoon Paprika
3 Bay leaves
1-1/2 Teaspoon Thyme; dried
1 teaspoon Sage
2 Garlic cloves; crushed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Oregano; dried
2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
2 teaspoon Parsley (but it’s better with about ½ cup fresh chopped parsley)
Salt to taste
Cooked rice
=======================
Cover the beans by about an inch with water and allow to stand overnight in a big pot. (or place the beans in water and bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand at least 2 hours). Some people like to drain the beans, but I don’t. Make sure beans are covered by about an inch of water, then bring beans to a boil.
Meanwhile, sauté the onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper and add to the beans. Brown the sausage and add it to the beans also.
Replenish the water, if needed, just covering the beans. Add the turkey leg, Bay leaves, thyme, sage, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Cook on low heat for about 2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally and add additional water as needed.
Mash a cup of the beans to make a paste, if you need to, and return to the pot. Remove the bay leaves. Add the hot sauce, paprika, parsley, and cayenne.
The beans should be tender as they simmer for about another 1 or 2 hours. Serve over the rice.
Some people like to go through taking the ham from the hocks, but I just leave them in there if I use ham hocks.
Jambalaya...
www.cajunfoodie.com
JAMBALAYA
Joshua “Bubba” Hebert
The most important part about a jambalaya is having time to do it. It is not the type of dish that can be done without a little TLC and it is best to use a cured black iron pot if you have one. It is also very important to use the right proportions so that your rice, vegetables and meat will come together just right.
Knowing how much jambalaya your pot can handle is a little tricky the first time, but for every pound of rice you need 1 quart of water/chicken stock, ½ pound of vegetables, and 2 pounds of meat. I usually don’t count the bacon itself as part of the 2 pounds of meat, but you need it for the flavor and the grease.
Long grain parboiled rice is the easiest to use but if your are feeling adventurous after a few times you can use regular long grain white rice.
Here’s the ingredient list:
Yellow onions
Bell peppers
Green onions
Garlic crushed
Sliced mushrooms (optional)
1lb of smoked bacon diced (you can use less if you’re doing a small batch with a 1lb. of rice)
1 qt of Chicken Stock (most are quart sized for ease)
1 bottle of granulated chicken bouillon
Manda Green Onion smoked sausage
Rice
Pork (Boston butt) cut into cubes 1-2 inches squared
Kitchen B0uquet if needed for color hopefully you won’t
Prep:
First get you some beer because no good chef cooks without it “I Guarantee” (a la Justin Wilson); plus it helps pass the time while you are cooking and solving the world’s problems.
I marinate my Boston butt in Worchestershire, oil, garlic salt, Tony’s and liquid smoke just enough to coat the chunks; let sit, the longer the better. I also marinate my smoked green onion sausage in liquid smoke, but be careful with the liquid smoke it is very powerful.
You want to cut your fresh vegetables just before cooking or the night before at the longest; if you must you can get fresh cut vegetables (Guidry’s) but don’t be lazy and get frozen vegetables.
Cooking:
Start with cooking the diced bacon until it is almost completely cooked.
Add pork with marinade and cook until tender. This is a very gray area on how much to cook the pork; I like to cook it until it is completely done and tender, others like to just brown the meat. In my opinion it never comes out tender enough if you do not completely cook it.
About ten minutes before the pork is done put the sausage in.
Once all of this is cooked next add your chicken stock/water, your rice and granulated boulli0n. It will ALWAYS look like you have too much water, its ok if you follow the proportions I talked about at the beginning.
Now depending on how good your pot is will depend on how much you have to do from here. If you have a crappy pot you will likely need to stir to prevent sticking of the rice. If you have a great pot you won’t need to stir as often, and most pots are somewhere in the middle. A heavy lid will help to steam the rice, and if you don’t have one consider using a layer of aluminum foil under the lid.
Get the water to a rolling boil then reduce heat and stir occasionally. When the water has cooked out of the pot try your rice, if done you are ready to serve. If not quite cooked turn off fire and cover your pot, it will continue to steam/cook so check rice every so often.
Notes:
Chicken can also be substituted in place of the pork. I would put the chicken in at the same time as the sausage and don’t overcook the chicken. Remember chicken will dry out and start to get stringy if cooked too long.
There are always different recipes for each Cajun dish which make our cooking very unique. Please take this recipe and use it as a base to find out what you like to use or not use.
A lot of people use Tabasco/hot sauce and tomato paste/diced tomatoes, I have used both and don’t feel like it adds anything extra to the recipe except one more step and I think there are enough steps as it is.
Consider white beans as a side.
Don’t expect to get it right the first time, its not the easiest dish to cook. Try a small jambalaya first then graduate to bigger sizes. Cook for family and friends before cooking for strangers, we often take criticism from people we know better than others.
JAMBALAYA
Joshua “Bubba” Hebert
The most important part about a jambalaya is having time to do it. It is not the type of dish that can be done without a little TLC and it is best to use a cured black iron pot if you have one. It is also very important to use the right proportions so that your rice, vegetables and meat will come together just right.
Knowing how much jambalaya your pot can handle is a little tricky the first time, but for every pound of rice you need 1 quart of water/chicken stock, ½ pound of vegetables, and 2 pounds of meat. I usually don’t count the bacon itself as part of the 2 pounds of meat, but you need it for the flavor and the grease.
Long grain parboiled rice is the easiest to use but if your are feeling adventurous after a few times you can use regular long grain white rice.
Here’s the ingredient list:
Yellow onions
Bell peppers
Green onions
Garlic crushed
Sliced mushrooms (optional)
1lb of smoked bacon diced (you can use less if you’re doing a small batch with a 1lb. of rice)
1 qt of Chicken Stock (most are quart sized for ease)
1 bottle of granulated chicken bouillon
Manda Green Onion smoked sausage
Rice
Pork (Boston butt) cut into cubes 1-2 inches squared
Kitchen B0uquet if needed for color hopefully you won’t
Prep:
First get you some beer because no good chef cooks without it “I Guarantee” (a la Justin Wilson); plus it helps pass the time while you are cooking and solving the world’s problems.
I marinate my Boston butt in Worchestershire, oil, garlic salt, Tony’s and liquid smoke just enough to coat the chunks; let sit, the longer the better. I also marinate my smoked green onion sausage in liquid smoke, but be careful with the liquid smoke it is very powerful.
You want to cut your fresh vegetables just before cooking or the night before at the longest; if you must you can get fresh cut vegetables (Guidry’s) but don’t be lazy and get frozen vegetables.
Cooking:
Start with cooking the diced bacon until it is almost completely cooked.
Add pork with marinade and cook until tender. This is a very gray area on how much to cook the pork; I like to cook it until it is completely done and tender, others like to just brown the meat. In my opinion it never comes out tender enough if you do not completely cook it.
About ten minutes before the pork is done put the sausage in.
Once all of this is cooked next add your chicken stock/water, your rice and granulated boulli0n. It will ALWAYS look like you have too much water, its ok if you follow the proportions I talked about at the beginning.
Now depending on how good your pot is will depend on how much you have to do from here. If you have a crappy pot you will likely need to stir to prevent sticking of the rice. If you have a great pot you won’t need to stir as often, and most pots are somewhere in the middle. A heavy lid will help to steam the rice, and if you don’t have one consider using a layer of aluminum foil under the lid.
Get the water to a rolling boil then reduce heat and stir occasionally. When the water has cooked out of the pot try your rice, if done you are ready to serve. If not quite cooked turn off fire and cover your pot, it will continue to steam/cook so check rice every so often.
Notes:
Chicken can also be substituted in place of the pork. I would put the chicken in at the same time as the sausage and don’t overcook the chicken. Remember chicken will dry out and start to get stringy if cooked too long.
There are always different recipes for each Cajun dish which make our cooking very unique. Please take this recipe and use it as a base to find out what you like to use or not use.
A lot of people use Tabasco/hot sauce and tomato paste/diced tomatoes, I have used both and don’t feel like it adds anything extra to the recipe except one more step and I think there are enough steps as it is.
Consider white beans as a side.
Don’t expect to get it right the first time, its not the easiest dish to cook. Try a small jambalaya first then graduate to bigger sizes. Cook for family and friends before cooking for strangers, we often take criticism from people we know better than others.
Fried Shrimp recipe.
Some days you just have to:
http://www.thecajunfoodie.com/cajun-recipes/leslies-fried-shrimp-recipe/
Leslie’s fried shrimp recipe The Cajun Foodie
http://www.thecajunfoodie.com/cajun-recipes/leslies-fried-shrimp-recipe/
Leslie’s fried shrimp recipe The Cajun Foodie
Monday, April 20, 2009
Now we smoke!
From AARP magazineBaked Shrimp Toast
(Makes 24 toasts)
Instead of the fried approach, our version is baked and also features cilantro.
12 ounces precooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 thin slices white bread
3 tablespoons melted butter
Fresh cilantro leaves and toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the shrimp until finely chopped. Add egg white, cilantro, scallion, cornstarch, ginger, and salt. Pulse several more times until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. 2. Remove crusts from bread. Lightly brush both sides of each slice with melted butter. Cut each slice into 4 triangles. Spread shrimp mixture over each of the triangles, distributing evenly. 3. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired. Make-ahead tip: Make shrimp toast topping up to a day in advance and refrigerate until ready to use.
Nutrients per serving (1 toast)
Calories 42
Protein 4g
Carbohydrate 3g
Fat 2g
Dietary fiber 0g
Cholesterol 31mg
Sodium 118mg
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Stuff it!
3 Holes You Might Be Trying to Fill With Food
TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2009 POSTED BY MICHELLE
http://www.shrinkyourself.com/blog_item.asp?i=-99&gclid=&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklynewsletter_04_17_09&e=&p=
To fill up with food presupposes that there is an emptiness that longs to be filled. And for many of us there is. Our impulse to fill up with food is an attempt to fill a hole. April is National Emotional Overeating Month.
To truly understand emotional overeating one must be willing to bravely look into the abysmal emptiness that so many of us are trying to fill with food, albeit futilely. When we look at people that are overweight, particularly when that person is us, we can be filled with negative judgments. Amongst all the common stereotypes about overweight people we overlook that an overweight person is likely a person in pain. If we can remember that, we are more likely to approach the issue of weight, for ourselves and others, from a place of curiosity, care, and compassion.
So, What’s This Hole We’re Trying to Fill With Food? Sure, we all have a literal hole in us. There is space in our stomachs that food can fill up. But the hole that many of us seek to fill with food can’t be filled no matter how much we stuff in. The hole that we try to fill with food can be:
A VOID
Does your life lack meaning? Do you wonder what your purpose is? Do you go about the tasks of your everyday life wondering what they’re for and what difference they’re actually going to make in the world at large? If so, your hole could be a void. You could be longing to imbue your life with more meaning and mindfulness. Food can’t fill this kind of void. What can fill this kind of void is finding a cause to help with, a craft to be passionate about, or a spiritual practice.
A LOSS
Have you experienced the loss of a loved one? A break-up? A divorce? Has someone in your life lost some part of their functioning to illness or injury? Have you been laid off from a job? If so, your hole could be a loss. You could be missing someone or something. Food can’t quell this longing. It can fill you up momentarily. It can numb you out. But food only delays the necessary work of grieving and getting back to living. Loss is undeniably painful but when you eat you actually prevent yourself from doing the things that would actually be healing. Taking actions like re-membering (putting yourself back together), reaching out for help, and surrendering to the process can all offer real soothing.
A LONELINESS
Do you feel lonely even when in the company of others? Do you long for a connection but aren’t quite sure how to bridge the gap? Do you spend way too much time alone, in hiding, or isolating? If so, your hole could be loneliness. I’m sure you guessed that food can’t help this kind of hole either, but here are some things that can: first, find ways to connect to yourself through prayer, art, spirituality, beauty or nature and then look for ways to fill your life with quality people that make you feel seen, known, loved, and understood. Part of being alive is tolerating the discomfort of that gnawing, aching emptiness inside ourselves. But on our journey towards recovering from Emotional Overeating, we must always remember that no matter how satisfying it might seem to actually fill that hole inside with something, we deny ourselves of the feeling of real fullness by accepting the quick fix of food.
TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2009 POSTED BY MICHELLE
http://www.shrinkyourself.com/blog_item.asp?i=-99&gclid=&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklynewsletter_04_17_09&e=&p=
To fill up with food presupposes that there is an emptiness that longs to be filled. And for many of us there is. Our impulse to fill up with food is an attempt to fill a hole. April is National Emotional Overeating Month.
To truly understand emotional overeating one must be willing to bravely look into the abysmal emptiness that so many of us are trying to fill with food, albeit futilely. When we look at people that are overweight, particularly when that person is us, we can be filled with negative judgments. Amongst all the common stereotypes about overweight people we overlook that an overweight person is likely a person in pain. If we can remember that, we are more likely to approach the issue of weight, for ourselves and others, from a place of curiosity, care, and compassion.
So, What’s This Hole We’re Trying to Fill With Food? Sure, we all have a literal hole in us. There is space in our stomachs that food can fill up. But the hole that many of us seek to fill with food can’t be filled no matter how much we stuff in. The hole that we try to fill with food can be:
A VOID
Does your life lack meaning? Do you wonder what your purpose is? Do you go about the tasks of your everyday life wondering what they’re for and what difference they’re actually going to make in the world at large? If so, your hole could be a void. You could be longing to imbue your life with more meaning and mindfulness. Food can’t fill this kind of void. What can fill this kind of void is finding a cause to help with, a craft to be passionate about, or a spiritual practice.
A LOSS
Have you experienced the loss of a loved one? A break-up? A divorce? Has someone in your life lost some part of their functioning to illness or injury? Have you been laid off from a job? If so, your hole could be a loss. You could be missing someone or something. Food can’t quell this longing. It can fill you up momentarily. It can numb you out. But food only delays the necessary work of grieving and getting back to living. Loss is undeniably painful but when you eat you actually prevent yourself from doing the things that would actually be healing. Taking actions like re-membering (putting yourself back together), reaching out for help, and surrendering to the process can all offer real soothing.
A LONELINESS
Do you feel lonely even when in the company of others? Do you long for a connection but aren’t quite sure how to bridge the gap? Do you spend way too much time alone, in hiding, or isolating? If so, your hole could be loneliness. I’m sure you guessed that food can’t help this kind of hole either, but here are some things that can: first, find ways to connect to yourself through prayer, art, spirituality, beauty or nature and then look for ways to fill your life with quality people that make you feel seen, known, loved, and understood. Part of being alive is tolerating the discomfort of that gnawing, aching emptiness inside ourselves. But on our journey towards recovering from Emotional Overeating, we must always remember that no matter how satisfying it might seem to actually fill that hole inside with something, we deny ourselves of the feeling of real fullness by accepting the quick fix of food.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Covering my Heart-Comforting with food in a recession
TUESDAY, APRIL 07, 2009 POSTED BY MICHELLE
We are currently experiencing the greatest recession in the past sixty years. There’s no doubt that it affects many aspects of our lives. But do you realize how it affects your overeating, binging, and emotional eating? There are both positive and negative ways the recession might be affecting what you eat. Let’s take a look at all sides:
PEOPLE ARE EATING OUT LESS
This is one way that the recession could affect your eating in a positive way. Having less access to disposable income is contributing to people frequenting restaurants much less. When you eat out it’s difficult to know exactly how much fat, sodium, and sugar are in your meal. Portions tend to be larger than what you might eat at home. There is more alcohol, more bread, and more dessert consumed. By eating at home, not only will you save money but you can more closely monitor what you’re eating.
One thing to be aware of is that when you’re in the red it can be very tempting to fill up on inexpensive fast food. McDonald’s is advertising their $3 meal deal.
Now, more than ever, it’s important to fill your body with food that will be grounding and nutritive so that you can face these trying times with a clear mind.
PEOPLE ARE WORRIED
Emotional eaters are known for catastrophizing. What this means is that your mind has a tendency to imagine the worst case scenario. It means that everyday concerns become huge worries that keep you up at night. When fears become overly inflated it’s more likely that you’ll need to be soothed. And if food is the thing that calms you, your worries about money, job security, and retirement could make you crave food more and more.
To combat this, write out a list of your fears. Then, give them a reality check asking yourself how likely it is that your fears will become reality. Finally, create a game plan for what you would do if those fears came true. Are there ways that you can plan ahead to protect yourself from the worst possible outcome?
PEOPLE ARE IN CRISIS
If you’ve been laid off, lost some of your investments or retirement money, or have a spouse who has experienced a cut in some way, you could currently be in a state of crisis. The stress you’re feeling is legitimate. It’s understandable that you would need an escape right now. But you’ll have to ask yourself if food is the best form of escape to reach for.
How can you and your family experience escape that doesn’t make you feel bad? Find activities that are free: concerts, nature walks, DVDs from your local library. A member wrote to us this week and said that she often chose the relief of food because it worked even if the positive effect was only for a few hours.
However, she finally realized that feeling better by eating didn’t affect the problem at hand in a direct way. In fact, it just postponed getting on with the business of improving her circumstances. If the stress of these financial times is sending you in search of food, stop and think things through. How is eating ultimately going to help with what you’re handling?
Remember that overeating is often a sign of powerlessness and defeat. When you think there’s no way that you can positively change your circumstances you might conclude, Why not at least give myself a few moments of pleasure by eating this treat?
However, eating reinforces your belief that you’re powerless. It leaves you defenseless in these times when you need to be cultivating your sharpest mind, your most effective self, and your most creative thinking. Put the food down and play a game. Put the food down and think of a new way to generate income. Put the food down and plan ahead. We are all faced with more challenges than ever these days. But that also means we have the opportunity to rise to the challenges that face us.
Step to the left.. step to the right into health
I am giving an update on a post from Dec 2008 of movements that accomodate ones who are obese or if you need some ease into before full blown workout.
Zydeco is my favorite music and even some of the step line dances can be use to Zydeco music even some Cajun since Zydeco is the granddaddy of R&B/soul//blues/hiphop, etc. You'll notice seniors, people who are obese and even a sassy sister sporting her cane. I would use some of these when the weather is too inclement for me to get out for walking. Be sure to warm up and have at it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iie91k_eZwk&feature=related My fave
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhsYsuxZ6xs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDcocf92HtI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbzzVWVgBmI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUtC7I_XGFs&feature=related
In really good shape?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87lSxFnmzwk&feature=related
A lot is out there to view.
I am only showing samples.
Go to You tube and search zydeco dance or linedancing or step dance and have big fun!
Zydeco is my favorite music and even some of the step line dances can be use to Zydeco music even some Cajun since Zydeco is the granddaddy of R&B/soul//blues/hiphop, etc. You'll notice seniors, people who are obese and even a sassy sister sporting her cane. I would use some of these when the weather is too inclement for me to get out for walking. Be sure to warm up and have at it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iie91k_eZwk&feature=related My fave
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhsYsuxZ6xs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDcocf92HtI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbzzVWVgBmI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUtC7I_XGFs&feature=related
In really good shape?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87lSxFnmzwk&feature=related
A lot is out there to view.
I am only showing samples.
Go to You tube and search zydeco dance or linedancing or step dance and have big fun!
Resizing Moon~where I 'tis
I took this a couple of days ago right before the Memorial. I don't know about other folks but it is really hard vo take shots of yourself with your own camera. I was way to close up on myself but its the best that can be done an arm's lenth away.
But after my very comical experience the other day of trying on a beautiful "bubble dress" which was one of those "what was I thinking?",moments having one of the best laughs I've had in awhile. I wanted to see via a camera's eyes what I looked like. From time to time I will come back and put new pictures as I finish up this work but it suffices for now of this is where I "'tis"
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Playing around with numbers and people's lives...
I was just thinking about it after reading the article on Health & African Americans. And honestly it made me seethe at a slow burn and now I am getting hopping mad.
(I guess I better watch that so I don't become a new stat)!
We hear so much much about all we are doing wrong and not so much about what we are doing right,it makes me boil. Again using myself as an example as a non-smoking, non-drinking never used drugs non-promiscuous aware, book reading reasonably intelligent post-menopausal almost 60 year old black woman among a host of other things, have to, no matter what I do, I will still be relegated to a stat! And people being the flawed human beings as they are, won't even look at you let along touch you can make health decisions about your life because of a stat, a stereotype...
Imagine for a moment going into an examining room having someone check your blood pressure with a small cuff which will not give an accurate reading on a plus size woman, then when its an exceptional high reading which should have cause them to call 911, do not bat an eye no matter how much you protest to the contrary, decided they need to weigh you take 3 inches off your height and proceeds to write in your chart a host of inaccurate info and then the doctor walks in and announces you are hypertensive and that's all it is to it & starts quoting statistics.
Oh yeah and start giving you pills to take.
No lab work, no concern about your life style or the fact that a very painful BP cuff + plus now you are totally P.O'd may have some bearing on why it is that high.
No mention of alternatives. No one mention about exercise, nutrition/meditation, or anything that can help a person work in concert with the "health care practioner".
And when stat or studies are done to get stats, how little is mentioned about that A.A. get fewer face on time with doctors who may (not necessarily with bad intentions) may be culturally ignorant, let along ones who do indeed have biases whether it is race, gender, age or size. Or that A.A. may be pushed a pill versus using alternatives to assist them in their health even among those who do have the health insurance or discretionary income.
Or our lives today despite all the advances still have to contend with a lot of institutionalized stressors which may bear (no pun intended) on obesity, stroke etc.
I am a pretty assertive person. Imagine what it must be like for one more passive or quiet who get shoved aside or ignored and takes the doctor's word as gospel truth which could be at least an educated guess?
It might not be malice involved, but we are left out too often when studies are done to see how something is or no working with race as a factor. Just like it is now being recognized that women's heart attacks are different in symptoms then a man or cancer or treatments may vary based on gender how is it not impossible that race may be a factor not only in research but in treatment?
Some may say this is a contradiction, but one is about attitude, the other is about accurate knowledge. I am surprised that some people still do not know that county hospitals, clinics etc where majority poor people go there are public records. I am not talking about the individual private medical records, but statistical information is indeed gathered from these places. And if proportionally, A.A. that are are poor (not every A.A. is poor) use these facilities guess what shows up in these reports?
Poor people's ,not African American people, information is used to prove the stat that renders you invisible when one walks into a office. And very few doctors know or may even care or too busy unfortunately to be abreast of this.
Understand, I am not demonizing doctors. Many are caring hardworking professionals...
Make no mistake I do believe because of all of this , it is incumbent for us to do all we can, to be as proactive as we can in our own health and well being.
Do it!
And if we are not being listen to fire them and get someone else. You are paying in one way or another for a service "rendered". Fire them or demand someone else or demand that they do a better job then what you are getting. But be armed with information. You do not have to go in shouting and screaming. Be your best advocate as you are the one with the most to lose. Seek out info instead of watching American Idol or hanging out at My Space Go to & join www.onebodyonelifetime.com for excellent information and great tips+ recipes in common down to earth no nonsense health & fitness. Join www.sparkspeople.com Look for & join the 50 Million Pound Challenge http://www.50millionpounds.com/ .
Instead of the soap and you can't live without your soap opera (know those folks work out and not watching you)!record it and go for a walk.
We can ill afford sitting passively on the side line while others run roughshod over us or even worse render us invisible or reduced to a stat. Or for that matter anecdotal in a article about all that is wrong rather what can be right!
O yes we can.
(I guess I better watch that so I don't become a new stat)!
We hear so much much about all we are doing wrong and not so much about what we are doing right,it makes me boil. Again using myself as an example as a non-smoking, non-drinking never used drugs non-promiscuous aware, book reading reasonably intelligent post-menopausal almost 60 year old black woman among a host of other things, have to, no matter what I do, I will still be relegated to a stat! And people being the flawed human beings as they are, won't even look at you let along touch you can make health decisions about your life because of a stat, a stereotype...
Imagine for a moment going into an examining room having someone check your blood pressure with a small cuff which will not give an accurate reading on a plus size woman, then when its an exceptional high reading which should have cause them to call 911, do not bat an eye no matter how much you protest to the contrary, decided they need to weigh you take 3 inches off your height and proceeds to write in your chart a host of inaccurate info and then the doctor walks in and announces you are hypertensive and that's all it is to it & starts quoting statistics.
Oh yeah and start giving you pills to take.
No lab work, no concern about your life style or the fact that a very painful BP cuff + plus now you are totally P.O'd may have some bearing on why it is that high.
No mention of alternatives. No one mention about exercise, nutrition/meditation, or anything that can help a person work in concert with the "health care practioner".
And when stat or studies are done to get stats, how little is mentioned about that A.A. get fewer face on time with doctors who may (not necessarily with bad intentions) may be culturally ignorant, let along ones who do indeed have biases whether it is race, gender, age or size. Or that A.A. may be pushed a pill versus using alternatives to assist them in their health even among those who do have the health insurance or discretionary income.
Or our lives today despite all the advances still have to contend with a lot of institutionalized stressors which may bear (no pun intended) on obesity, stroke etc.
I am a pretty assertive person. Imagine what it must be like for one more passive or quiet who get shoved aside or ignored and takes the doctor's word as gospel truth which could be at least an educated guess?
It might not be malice involved, but we are left out too often when studies are done to see how something is or no working with race as a factor. Just like it is now being recognized that women's heart attacks are different in symptoms then a man or cancer or treatments may vary based on gender how is it not impossible that race may be a factor not only in research but in treatment?
Some may say this is a contradiction, but one is about attitude, the other is about accurate knowledge. I am surprised that some people still do not know that county hospitals, clinics etc where majority poor people go there are public records. I am not talking about the individual private medical records, but statistical information is indeed gathered from these places. And if proportionally, A.A. that are are poor (not every A.A. is poor) use these facilities guess what shows up in these reports?
Poor people's ,not African American people, information is used to prove the stat that renders you invisible when one walks into a office. And very few doctors know or may even care or too busy unfortunately to be abreast of this.
Understand, I am not demonizing doctors. Many are caring hardworking professionals...
Make no mistake I do believe because of all of this , it is incumbent for us to do all we can, to be as proactive as we can in our own health and well being.
Do it!
And if we are not being listen to fire them and get someone else. You are paying in one way or another for a service "rendered". Fire them or demand someone else or demand that they do a better job then what you are getting. But be armed with information. You do not have to go in shouting and screaming. Be your best advocate as you are the one with the most to lose. Seek out info instead of watching American Idol or hanging out at My Space Go to & join www.onebodyonelifetime.com for excellent information and great tips+ recipes in common down to earth no nonsense health & fitness. Join www.sparkspeople.com Look for & join the 50 Million Pound Challenge http://www.50millionpounds.com/ .
Instead of the soap and you can't live without your soap opera (know those folks work out and not watching you)!record it and go for a walk.
We can ill afford sitting passively on the side line while others run roughshod over us or even worse render us invisible or reduced to a stat. Or for that matter anecdotal in a article about all that is wrong rather what can be right!
O yes we can.
We have to do more then try...
Can we ever get a break?
Yet even when you work hard toward breaking cycles you can still walk into medical facility and w/o saying a word, you automatically become a stat. And medical professionals do not hear you.
One becomes a stat at what price? And we do have to be conscious of where these studies are done and whose doing them. I do believe there is so much more invdividually we could be doing to help ourselves as people, however I do not live in the South. In fact, 75% of my life has not been in the South. Yet when I walk into see a health care practioner first thing they start doing is quoting statistics and do not see me.
High Cost of Living Unhealthy More Than in Just Dollars
Date: Tuesday, April 07, 2009, 2:14 pm By: Zack Burgess, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com
It’s strange when you think about it. There are over 44 million people in the United States of America without healthcare - a nation so rich, so powerful, so full of expectations - yet so full flaws; just a microcosm of the human spirit. Unfortunately, there are enormous amounts of people who have no idea how they are going to pay a medical bill if they have to take that proverbial trip to the doctor or emergency room. Face it, life can not be pretty for the under or uninsured.
The fallout gets worse because there is a segment of society that continues to lead in most categories when it comes to poor health – it happens to be African-Americans.“When you talk about cost, black folks put an enormous amount of stress on the system,” said Dr. Roderick Brown, 39, of Philadelphia. “The bad health habits are drawing dollars away from what should and could go towards prevention. I don’t think people understand that it cost a couple hundred dollars a minute just to be in the operating room.”
“I see it everyday, and it’s sad that I have to see it with my people," said Brown. "Whether it’s dealing with the 34-year-old grandmother, who happens to be 300-pounds, who does not want to do the necessary things just to get herself healthy, or the person who has not done the necessary things to treat their diabetes - then you find yourself having explain to them why you have to amputate their leg. It gets to be overwhelming. After a while, you become numb."
More than 886,000 deaths could have been prevented from 1991 to 2000 if African-Americans had received the same care as whites, according to an analysis in the American Journal of Public Health.
The study estimates that technological improvements in medicine - including better drugs, devices and procedures – averted only 176,633 deaths during the same period.That means "five times as many lives can be saved by correcting the disparities [in care between whites and blacks] than in developing new treatments," Steven H. Woolf, lead author and director of research at Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Family Medicine, said in a telephone interview with The Washington Post.
The American Cancer Society recently came out with statistics on cancer prevalence and death rates. And while the news might appear positive overall, reflecting advances in cancer treatments and screening technology, the United States continues to deliver the best care to wealthier, white citizens. According to the data, African-American men have a 19 percent higher incidence rate and 37 percent higher death rate from all cancers combined than white men. African-American women have a six percent lower incidence rate, but a 17 percent higher death rate than white women for all cancers combined. It is not just cancer.
African-American men and women are twice as likely as whites to die of cerebrovascular disease or experience stroke, according to the National Institutes of Health. The rate of AIDS cases among African-Americans is 10 times higher than for whites, according to the department of Health and Human Services.African-Americans awaiting lung transplants are more likely to die or be denied than whites. African-Americans lag in almost every category. High blood pressure, heart failure, obesity and diabetes are just a few of the major problems that persist in the Black community.
And if you’re African-American and living in the South, your health prospects are worse.
In a study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in 2005, researchers reported that African-Americans living in the South were at the greatest disadvantage for combating stroke."When it comes to your risk of stroke, you get a penalty for being African-American, you get a penalty for living in the South, and you get an 'extra' penalty for being an African-American living in the South," George Howard, professor and chair of the biostatistics department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told the conference.Howard’s team compared the stroke rates among the so-called "stroke belt" states including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia, with non-southern states with large black populations including California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Maybe help is on the way.
With President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, billions will be poured into healthcare, propping up Medicaid, the government health insurance plan for the poor, and pushing doctors and hospitals to move from paper to computers.At least $100 billion is slated to go to health care proposals that widen the safety net for the unemployed and back up the idea that improving a fractured U.S. health care system.
But Dr. Brown says the onus is on us."I know a lot of it has to do with economics; you can not compare the single mother who has to raise two or three kids in the inner city to the soccer mom of the suburbs," he said, "but I know with discipline, we should and could do better. I go to a church laden with very successful black people, and I don’t see many of them going to gym either. They have some of the same problems. Black people age well, but with all of the problems we bring on ourselves with bad diet, smoking and whatever else we do, it negates whatever good genes we have been blessed with. We have to do better.”
O yes we can!
Yahoo!
In order to get a BP prescription filled, I had to go in to have my blood pressure checked. Despite the fact I was somewhat stressed because of a huge delay, had eaten and only 2 hours sleep, my BP was 150-85!!Yes still "high normal" but considering all that, that is not bad. And all I've done is increase my water intake 2 qts minimum per day. Endema has been gone for 2 mos. I took myself off the diaruetics as they were increasingly making me ill.
And while my weight did not go down, neither did it go up. Now to step it up a notch
And while my weight did not go down, neither did it go up. Now to step it up a notch
Sunday, April 5, 2009
On this gorgeous day!
Lincoln Street near the dog park.
Finally after several false starts I go my walk in.
30 minutes 1 mile.
I could have done more but I wanted to gradually get back in the groove. What was good was even better as I discovered a protected natural habitat only 2 blocks from my home with a walking path.
Hot dog!
So I will have my walking shoes on with the trusty camera and do some exploring there too!
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