Avoiding the flu seems to be a popular topic these days, not surprising as flu has now been reported in almost every state! Today, Mile High Mamas, an entertaining and informative online resource for Colorado parents, re-posted my article on 10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Getting the Flu.
Looking back at recent posts, I can see the flu has been on my mind as well:
…because fecal matter and vomit can become aerosolized and molecules, including those carrying virus cells from flu or norovirus (better known as the winter vomiting bug), and these airborne cells can be breathed in or land in food or drink, contaminating a new person. Airborne fecal or vomit cells are a known viral transmission method.
Eeeewwww.
So close the lid whenever you flush and keep food and drink out of a bathroom, especially when a family member is already suffering from a virus! Store any bathroom cups upside down to ensure they stay clean, and utilize the fan after stinky sessions to remove any stray airborne molecules.
Sometimes a little hygiene goes a long way, especially when it comes to prevention of viral infection.
1. Wash your hands with soap any time you come into contact with others, and any time you walk in your house. Antibacterial gels are not a substitute for a good hand washing. Hand washing standards call for at least 30 seconds of washing with soap under water, or, as they teach the preschoolers, while singing the ABC’s twice through.
The view inside an air duct in my house before it was cleaned recently. Eeewww!
Oh, and you do not need to use antibacterial soap; regular old soap is plenty fine. Antibacterial soaps, gels, and other products are likely contributing to the emergence of super antibiotic-resistant bugs in our hospitals and water supplies.
2. Clean all sheets and towels often, and especially after any illness. Don’t re-use washclothes between washings. Some virus germs, like the norovirus that causes “winter vomiting bug,” can live on fabrics for as long as twelve days! Remember the infamous story of early American colonists delivering smallpox-infected blankets to a Native American village? The entire village was shortly wiped out from smallpox.
3. Replace your toothbrush regularly, and especially after any illness.
4. Get the air ducts cleaned and sanitized in your house, particularly if it has been longer than five years since this has been done. Virus germs, mold spores, and other types of filth can live in your air ducts and be re-circulated through your indoor air every time you turn on heat or air conditioning.
5. Wipe down your phone and keyboard with cleaners. Do this on a regular basis with other objects that you touch constantly after you’ve been out and about as well, like your steering wheel, tablet, television remote control, etc.
You may have heard the popular theory that the poorest or least educated among us are the ones that eat the most fast food, but you would have been misled.
Rodale News reports on a recent study released by the University of California-Davis that found that most fast-food eaters are considered “middle-income” Americans: i.e., those families of four who are living off of incomes of $50,000-$75,000 each year.
In a comment by the study’s lead author J. Paul Leigh, professor of public health sciences at UC–Davis and a specialist in health economics, he noted:
“Low prices, convenience, and free toys target the middle class—especially budget-conscious, hurried parents—very well,” he said, adding that the fast-food industry attracts the middle class by locating restaurants right off freeways in middle-income areas and by offering food with broad appeal. He also found that people who work long hours were more likely to hit the drive-thru…
As an aside, I’m amazed that supporting a family of four on an annual income of $50,000 could possibly still be classified as “middle class” anymore. Really? Who makes these classifications? Have they themselves ever tried to support four people on about $2,000/ month? Is this kind of hand-to-mouth existance what we think of when we think of “middle class”? I met a professor from the University of Denver last fall who was doing a study on bankruptcy and how people recover after filing for a bankruptcy. His results were showing him, in his words, that “most people are just a fender-bender away from complete financial ruin.”
This report shows us that the American “middle class” is overworked, stressed, underpaid, and mal-nourished by fast food in a lifestyle that demands speed and convenience in everything in order just to survive, including our essential task of procuring nourishment. Is this the life of the future we envisioned?
I was inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow’s latest Goop newsletter and her recipe for lentil “meatballs”.
Of course, I couldn’t make it exactly as Gwyneth had suggested: for one thing, her recipe calls for cheese and I need to make my household’s lentil balls dairy-free. Her recipe also called for garlic and oregano, two herbs my son is very sensitive to, so those went out of my version, too. I kept in the beaten eggs, but if you need to make this egg-free, simply substitute with pureed cooked sweet potato. I also made my version gluten-free by using quinoa flakes instead of breadcrumbs.
Here’s my dairy-free, gluten-free version of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Lentil Meatballs.
[print-me target=”.recipe”]
Dairy-free Gluten-Free Lentil “Meatballs”
Makes about 4 dozen small balls.
4 cups cooked lentils (2 cups of raw lentils simmered in water until soft)
7 oz. tomato paste
1 tsp. Celtic sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp. Aleppo red chile powder, or regular red chile powder
Preheat oven to 375F. Place lentils and spices into a food processor and pulse into a thick paste.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in the lentil mixture and slowly add the quinoa flakes, not adding so much that the mixture is too dry. Add olive oil if needed to moisten the batter.
Form the lentil mixture into small balls and place cookie sheets coated thinly in olive oil. Drizzle lentil balls with olive oil. Place the sheets in the oven. Turn balls when the bottoms brown (about 10 minutes), and cook 5 minutes more. Be careful not to overcook as the balls will become dry.
Serve with marinara sauce. Freeze leftover lentil balls for later use.
*If I had had any in my house, I would have included frozen or fresh chopped spinach in the lentil mixture or in the marinara sauce. Unfortunately, we were out of spinach when I made this recipe and served it with lettuce and carrots instead.
Today, Mile High Mamas, an entertaining and informative online resource for Colorado parents, re-posted my article on 10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Getting the Flu.
…because fecal matter and vomit can become 
