2.59 When we have some great purpose we feel called to, we end up investing a lot of our life in it, besides time, attention and maybe a lot of money. And when things get challenging or downright unbearable, we need need to review in our minds, "why am I doing this?" If it's tough to think of a ready response, maybe our endeavor wasn't so purposeful to begin with. We all need a pick-me-up when we face those kinds of situations. We may need a reminder which takes us back to our baseline and reaffirms our conviction to press on. I have numerous mental cues like that, and one that stands out is a scene from a movie from several years ago, "Facing the Giants".
Facing the Giants - on YouTube In the scene, Brock, a key student leader, doesn't acknowledge the influential role he has with his teammates, and it quickly becomes apparent that the Coach knows how to bring out Brock's best. Once Brock commits to the team's success, and is all in, he helps bring out the best effort of the whole team. Often, the key to success is found in not giving up. Finding your groove and building momentum is fundamental to results, and then all we need to do is persevere. Living a power pantry lifestyle is like that. It can take a great amount of conviction and effort to improve what and how we eat, to be intentional about increasing physical activity and finding and thriving in community with others. Be intentional this week. Drive for results in your wellness choices. Set your mind on your destination and take a step. And another. Most of all, don't quit.
By the Way
Winston Churchill has a famous quote which captures fundamental perseverance: "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense."
2.58 I'm training for a half marathon this fall, and trying to catch some momentum. Summer is almost over and everyone seems to feel the tug of life getting back to schedules and responsibilities. That tug for me includes getting my running miles back up. So this past week I've gotten a few runs in, and yesterday and today I did two back-to-back. Yesterday was a 60 minute run (more of a jog really) and I just went, not particularly focused or driven. This morning, I decided to put my heart into it a bit more and see how far I would get in 36 minutes. Yesterday's run turned out to be a fairly slow 5 miles (12 minutes per mile... that's a bit lazy). Today, I did 3.6 miles in 36 minutes... right at 10 minutes per mile - that's more like it for my normal pace. It wasn't the 4 miles I was planning for, but it was okay. Momentum is like that. Anyone committed to a purpose or a cause knows that the perspective you bring to the day will color the results. If positive momentum is with you, you can use that to invigorate the next decision and exertion of effort. If momentum isn't with you, the first task is to turn things in your favor, and then dig in to get and keep things going. How is your momentum? How about the big-picture purpose you're trying to tackle? Is there something you have been pursuing half-heartedly, and things are flagging? Maybe it's time to dig in and recommit.... bring some creative perspective to the situation. See with new eyes. How can you bring things out of the red and create positive momentum? For me, I have a month to get more miles on my shoes and wrap my mind around another half-marathon. I love the challenge and I'm digging into it with some steely resolve. I can feel the momentum growing already.
By the Way
For a casual runner like me, a 9 - 10 minute mile is okay. Not stellar, and not terrible. Check out this page from www.whyIexercise.com on the rating of age groups to average times for a 1.5 mile run (known as the Cooper test): Cooper Test with Charts & Instructions
2.57 Jen and I unsubscribed from cable 1997... hard to believe that was 18 years ago. Nowadays we can thank the internet for access to anything, anytime; so who needs cable? And with the content available, there's a good chance to find some worth our time. Some months ago I posted about Studio C and that it was fun and a bit goofy, and gave our family a good laugh. Well, we've added another laughable resource to our video selections in the form of "Good Mythical Morning" on YouTube. I'm surprised at the creativity that some of these folks bring to their content, and they certainly can build an audience (7.8 million subscribers for Good Mythical Morning, and counting). GMM's audience is now worthy of advertising deals with Alka-Seltzer, McDonald's, Wendy's and Cadillac, to name a few. See their Wikipedia page, describing the two life-long friend, Rhett and Link, behind the silliness of Good Mythical Morning. They post a video every Monday through Friday morning, and have over a thousand videos on YouTube... plenty to keep you busy catching up. For us, we enjoy gathering at the end of the night for some family TV time, and of course the kids may pull up a video or two during the day on their devices for a few laughs as well. The chance to hang out as a family is very important to us, and it's important for a power pantry lifestyle. Whether you are married or not, or have kids or don't, it's vital to have community around you, be it friends or coworkers or immediate family. The common bonds you share and the chance to do life together keep you connected with the world, and grounded in the full experiences of life. Give Rhett and Link a try sometime. Not all their stuff is a total hoot, and some of it is a bit PG13, but mostly you'll find two guys who have known each other over 30 years enjoying the chance to laugh together and make others laugh as well.
By the Way
Rhett and Link also have a second YouTube channel with further goofiness in the form of parody and original songs, skits and spoof commercials. Check it out here: Rhett & Link
2.56 It's peach season! Summer is quickly slipping away, and soon it will be apple picking time, but for now, be sure to enjoy some fresh, juicy peaches from a local farm. The Pennsylvania peach harvest peak is July, August and September, so now is the time to pick up a few pounds or a few baskets of fresh peaches. You'll be glad to know peaches are available in 23 states... Here are a few stats from the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, just for fun:
As of 2012, peaches are commercially produced in 23 states. The top four states in peach production are California, South Carolina, Georgia and New Jersey. California is a significant producer of both fresh and processed peaches, while South Carolina and Georgia mainly produce fresh peaches. (NASS 2013) In 2012 California continued to be the dominant peach-producing state, accounting for nearly 74 percent of peach production and supplying nearly 51 percent of the fresh peach crop and more than 97 percent of processing peaches...
So while Georgia has a great reputation as the Peach State, it is really California which should get all the peach-glory for their exorbitant production rates. Don't let summer pass you by without enjoying all of what the fruit harvest has to offer. Fresh, local fruits and veggies are a key asset to a power pantry, so be sure to find a great farmer's market soon to enhance you shopping choices.
By the Way
Peaches come in numerous varieties, with the most common distinctions being yellow-flesh and white-flesh peaches... and keep an eye on those pits when you're biting in. The cling stones are the messier ones (because the peach doesn't separate from the pit); the free stone peaches come right off and are much easier to clean, cook with and eat as is. Enjoy!
2.55 It's the peak of summer, and the ideal time to enjoy the quintessential summer fruit: watermelon! The growing seasons of various states in the US give good overlap of watermelon availability, so you should be finding, fresh, sweet, juicy watermelon at your local market from July through September (and parts of California and Texas have their growing peaks in May and June). Check out these fun facts on watermelon from the Watermelon Board (yes, there is one of those - see www.watermelon.org):
The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt.
Watermelon is 92% water.
Watermelon's official name is Citrullus Lanatus of the botanical family Curcurbitaceae. It is cousins to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash.
By weight, watermelon is the most-consumed melon in the U.S., followed by cantaloupe and honeydew.
Early explorers used watermelons as canteens.
The first cookbook published in the U.S. in 1776 contained a recipe for watermelon rind pickles.
Updated! According to Guinness World Records, the world's heaviest watermelon was grown by Lloyd Bright of Arkadelphia, Arkansas in 2005, weighing in at 268.8 lbs (121.93 kg). Lloyd grew and weighed in for the Annual Hope, Arkansas Big Watermelon Contest on September 3, 2005.
The United States currently ranks 5th in worldwide production of watermelon. Many states grow watermelons with Florida, Texas, California, Georgia and Arizona consistently leading the country in production.
The great thing about our global, integrated economy is that you can easily get fresh watermelon year long, from places like Brazil, Costa Rico, and the Dominican Republic covering the winter months. So, if you haven't yet indulged in this staple of summer fare, grab a watermelon this week and enjoy.
By the Way
If you want some convincing that watermelon is a worthwhile addition to a power pantry nutritionally, check out these articles on the various health benefits of watermelon: Dr. Joel Furhman on 3 Benefits of watermelon (from a recent email blast) Dr. Joseph Mercola on 6 Things You Didn't Know About Watermelon
2.54 Did you ever find yourself in the middle of something and realize it's not at all going as planned? I had that happen a couple of nights ago, and not only didn't it go as planned, it turned into an epic fail on my part. The setting: playing capture the flag with my wife and four kids, in the dark (with flashlights). The grass was getting wet and slippery from dew. Teams had been picked, flags were set, and we were underway. About 10 minutes into the action, I made a bold run through the opposing territory, being chased by my wife. (Capture the flag is kind of like tag, with a jail and home base, and you need to find and capture the opponents flag and make it back to your side without being tug...) What happened next was a blur of poor, 40-something, physical coordination. Running full-tilt and trying to avoid the front boundary of our field-of-play (which is defined by concrete curb along our street) I found my shoes slipping in the wet grass, becoming a tangle of feet and legs in "I'm-too-old-for-this-and-it-won't-end-well" fashion. I went headlong over the curb and out into the street (which is paved with a very fine, gravely oil-and-chip surface.) After what my wife described as at least two or three rolls and somersaults I found myself on my back groaning, with sharp pains shooting through my hands and a few other places. The kids came running, and all gathered to see if they had gotten dad killed. The damage assessment yielded two gouged palms, and one knee, elbow and shoulder missing a good bit of skin. They collected my flashlight and me and all helped me hobble into the house for a home-nursing patch job...the game was obviously over. I was in a lot of pain, but kept chuckling at the scenario and my inept wipeout - lots of apologies were offered (from me for wrecking the game, and from the kids for almost getting me killed). A couple of days later I'm very much on the mend, and so glad we invest in family time the way we do. While it didn't go as planned, we have a great memory of the wild game of capture the flag that we shared. A power pantry wellness lifestyle is like that -- taking on life's opportunities with some drive and passion, alongside people you really care about, and seeing where things go. It may not go as planned, and you may even end up with scars along the way, but you'll have rich experiences and great memories to show for it. Go find some experiences you can dig into with gusto this week, and see where you end up. For us, the kids say that next time we'll play in the daylight...
By the Way
I like a quote we keep on our kitchen cabinet... it frames exactly what our experience this week yielded: "Go at life with abandon; give it all you've got. And life will give all it has to you." Norman Vincent Peale
2.53 Choices, choices, choices... if you've been tuned into Power Pantry for a while, you realize that our health is in our hands, and mostly, it is controlled by our power to choose wisely. I was reminded of the power of my choices this past week on a short vacation, and while we really enjoyed great food on the road, we also exercised appropriate restraint and made good food choices in general. The array of items in our pantries is obviously influenced by where we do our shopping, and that was very apparent when Jen did a 'big' shopping trip after vacation. The trekking included our favorite roadside stand, a bigger chain-related grocery store, and a smaller 'family owned' grocery store (which has a great meat counter). That's a lot of effort, but the resulting pantry stock is just what we need. Good choices can take that kind of effort and attention to detail, although sometimes having the right store nearby brings a quicker solution. While searching for a good dessert recipe yesterday, I landed on one from the Whole Foods website, and I remembered that Whole Foods is headed to Lancaster, PA. We still have a while to wait, though; they don't expect to be open until fall of 2017. Whole Foods is a tremendous shopping resource for healthy choices, all in one place...I'm really looking forward to their Lancaster location. If you haven't taken advantage of Whole Foods, be sure to give their website a try. Maybe you have a Whole Foods near you, and can shop there, but either way, their site has great content, like awesome, healthy, unique recipes (even for rice pudding, which we made and enjoyed last night.) Check out Whole Foods here: Whole Foods website. Here's to great choices, and the resources which support them. Whether it is the grilled salmon on the romaine salad while on vacation, or the commitment to trek to various grocery stores and farm stands for the healthiest selections, great choices are worth it.
By the Way
If you live in the Lancaster, PA area, you can benefit from a local whole foods grocery store called Rhubarb's Market. They have a good selection of healthy and organic foods. Check them out when you have a chance: Rhubarb's web site and contact information.
