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Natural food choices at LAX

You haven’t heard from me for a few days as I’ve been at Book Expo America 2008 in Los Angeles. See photos of my time there on my other blog, Recipes For Publicity.

I did, though, have a couple hours to kill in the Los Angeles airport (LAX) on my way back, and was pleased to discover an alternative to the typical heavy airport food at the Naked Juice Bar and Natural Foods counter in the terminal where Southwest Airlines has gates. It’s immediately inside security, in a small food court.

For $10 (seemed to be the going price for a sandwich anywhere inside that terminal), I enjoyed a whole wheat tortilla wrapped around albacore tuna spiced with fresh dill and stuffed with fresh lettuce shreds. Not a browned leaf edge in sight.

I was torn between washing it down with a mango smoothie or an alcoholic beverage from the bar next door. After being on my feet for three days straight roaming through a convention center crammed with some 40,000 attendees and exhibitors, I opted for a gin and tonic. Yes, I’m human! It turned out to be a great choice as I slept through the entire flight and landed sometime after midnight. 🙂

The 4-year old Happy Meal

This video presents an alarming testament as to the preservatives in fast food, as exemplified by a 4-year old cheeseburger. Check it out.

[youtube 4IGtDPG4UfI Petrified McDonald’s Happy Meal]

Turkey burgers with pesto one-pot meal

Last week it snowed; this week has seen temps in the 80s. That’s Colorado weather for you.

Large toaster ovenWhen it gets hot like this, I hate to turn on my oven and heat up the whole house. So I pulled out my large toaster oven and set it up on the back patio. This toaster oven is big enough to hold an oval 3 1/2-quart cast iron Dutch oven. (I bought it at Bed Bath & Beyond — and it’s only $29!)

Then I created a quick and easy Glorious One-Pot Meal for dinner: frozen, packaged, organic turkey burgers slathered with last summer’s homemade pesto (pulled out of the freezer), a sweet potato scrubbed Turkey burger with pestoand sliced thinly, and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables (Cascadian Farms organic California mix).

The verdict? Super delicious. Not a bite was left over.

Plastic bottles and BPA

I’ve been trying to stick my head in the sand and not think about the dangers posed by plastic drinking vessels.

Here’s the problem: polycarbonate plastic, the kind used in baby bottles, sippy cups, sports bottles, etc., leaches a chemical called bisphenol A into liquids. In mice, the effects of BPA include increased body weight, early puberty, and increases in hormone-dependent cancers, according to BPA researchers at the University of Missouri.

Unfortunately, The National Toxicology Program of the National Instititutes of Health found that humans are exposed to up to 1,000-times higher levels of BPA than those mice.

So what is a concerned person or parent to do now?

There are alternatives for non-BPA plastic items. I bought my Nalgene non-BPA polycarbonate sports bottles at Whole Foods. Granted, they were a bit pricey, but I consider it worth it for the safety of my family.

For baby bottles, look for MAM, Adiri, Thinkbaby, Born Free, and Green to Grow brands of bottles. Some of these can be found at Whole Foods, Target, or BabiesRUs.

For sippy cups, look for Born Free, Klean Kanteen, Thermos, and BPAFreeKids. Some can be found at REI, Whole Foods, and even Walgreens.

Relaxation at the Cellular Level

“She has only one thing on her mind…” went the line from the song on the speakers in my exercise class. “I don’t know who he’s talking about,” commented the instructor, Kathy, a mother of three and a business owner. “I never have fewer than five things on MY mind!”

Oh yes, I know what you mean! My mind is racing morning ‘til night with lists of things that need to get done, anxieties about my kids health or school, new ideas to implement in my home or business, detailed schedules for everyone in the family… Buy milk. Swimming lessons tomorrow. The kids are out of clean underwear, so better do the laundry. Project due Friday. And on, and on.

I know I’m not alone. Many mothers feel overworked and run down. But besides the issue of simply having too much to do, many of us simply don’t know how to relax.

No, I don’t mean the watching-tv-type of relaxing, even if you’re not multi-tasking by folding laundry, knitting, etc. while you take in American Idol. Nor do I mean the day-at-the-spa type of relaxing, though that’s always nice, too, don’t get me wrong. I’m talking about relaxing the body down to the cellular level in a way that will allow the adrenal glands and other organs to rest and replenish.

So what do I mean what I say “relaxation”? Well, here are a few of the many avenues available to find that deep, cellular-level relaxation that encompasses mind and body.

Deep breathing. This is a learned skill of bringing a breath past the lungs and into the stomach for more efficient and effective respiration. I have used deep breathing to combat everything from claustrophobia to an attack of hives, not to mention as a time-out for myself during trying child-rearing situations!

Yoga. Yoga is a great place to learn correct breathing techniques as well as to stretch and release tension in the muscles. Regular yoga practice can result in a more peaceful mind along with a stronger body.

Meditation. Meditation, or the practice of stilling the mind, can be done anywhere at almost any time. It can slow the heart rate, release anxiety, and leave you recharged for life.

Skilled Relaxation. This is a form of meditation advocated by Dr. Walt Stoll, coauthor of Recapture Your Health. In combination with a perfect whole foods diet and regular exercise, skilled relaxation has been shown to help cure some chronic medical conditions.

Self-hypnosis. By using visualization techniques along with relaxation exercises, you can exert mind over body and hypnotize your way to relaxation. It’s helpful to have an instructor or a book to show the way.

So, for the Mother’s Day that just passed, give yourself the gift of a longer, more healthful, and more relaxed life and commit yourself to learning and practicing a deep relaxation skill that you can use to calm the mind and the body.