Chris Pedersen's Blog, page 14

Remembering 9/11

We will never forget that Tuesday when an ordinary morning was attacked by evil and changed America forever. It punched a hole in the fabric of our security. Up to then, most felt America was invincible.

Many families have a story to tell about that day. For those who lost loved ones, the story may still hold a painful grip on hearts—even thirteen years later. We have vivid memories of exactly what we were doing when we heard the fateful news. What were you doing?

Bob and I were up early that morning preparing to go to the airport in San Francisco to pick up our son, Nur, and his half-brother, Daak, returning from three weeks in Japan.
Showering and getting ready to leave, we listened to the news and made passing glances at the TV that sat in the corner between the bedroom and bathroom. We began to linger in front of the screen when the news broke that a small plane apparently hit one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Once cameras televised the scene, we were hooked—seeing thick, black smoke spew from the tower. Then watched in horror as a second plane, clearly a large plane, hit the South Tower.

I became numb, my mouth gaping as I held my hand over it. Then began to sob, realizing that we had been attacked by some horrible enemy of America. Even the news anchors claimed, "We are at war!"

Nur and Daak were in the air over the Pacific on Japan Airlines (JAL) headed for San Francisco. We learned that all air traffic was grounded and in-bound flights would be diverted. But where would his plane go? My heart pounded. God, please keep them safe.

Yes, it occurred to us that his plane could have been highjacked and now flew with a destructive intent toward the US. "I can't allow my mind to go there." I told Bob.

Our home became like a search and rescue hub. Radios and televisions were on throughout the house. We searched news sites on the Internet to gather every tidbit of information we could. Being ever mindful of the possibility of more attacks, we busied ourselves with finding our son to keep us from despairing over the state of the country.
Accurate information was very difficult to get on that day. Piecing together information from the radio and the Internet, we learned their plane should have diverted to Vancouver, Canada along with stranded passengers from thirty-three other international flights intended for the US when the terrorists struck.

We operated in a surreal world that day as did every other American. The day seemed to last forever as details of the tragedy came together. Two jumbo jets struck the World Trade Center Twin Towers causing them to collapse. Another plowed into the Pentagon. And another crashed in a field in Pennsylvania thought to have been bound for Washington DC.

No word about our son.

Finally, at 7:30 PM we heard from Nur. I heaved a sigh of relief. He called us from a pay phone at the Vancouver airport after he and Daak were allowed off the plane. Their plane had been sitting on the airport tarmac for seven hours!

"We didn't know what had happened until we got off the plane."

"What did the pilot tell you?" I wondered what kind of nightmare he might have endured all those hours.

"He told us that something happened and we had to go to Vancouver. I didn't know what to think."

Obviously confused with the situation, JAL told disembarking passengers they were “on their own” to get lodging and get home. Thank God for the Internet and airport courtesy phones. We procured lodging for Nur and Daak and paged them to communicate the information.

Then the waiting game began.

We tried to figure our what to do to get them home. We booked flights on the Internet with Alaska Airlines hoping to get them home the next day, but learned flights were still grounded. Each day we attempted to get them a flight to no avail.

Finally on Thursday September 13, we heard that misplaced flights would fly to their originally intended destination. We contacted the boys at their hotel instructing them to get in touch with JAL.

Early that next morning we prepared again to pick up our son at the San Francisco airport. On the way we picked up balloons and called the local TV station.

Waiting in the reception area for incoming international flights, we watched throngs of Japanese passengers from the JAL flight appear from behind the wall that separated us from immigration. Seeing Nur and Daak eventually emerge gave my heart a lift. He's home and safe.

After the media interviewed the boys about their experience, we travelled back home. I contemplated what I felt at Nur's arrival. Home and safe had new meanings. Yes, he was home in America, but was he safe—were we safe?

Now thirteen year later, I think of safety and home in a different light—from an eternal perspective. And look to the LORD for my safety and understand that heaven is my real home.

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Proverbs 18:10

Where were you on 9/11?

What Does a Bully Look Like?

What does a bully look like? Pretty ugly when they blindside you, yelling unfounded accusations in your face. Really? Why does a 50-ish man find it necessary to scream at a women sitting in her camp chair visiting with a friend.

It happened to me last night while waiting for the band to start at an outdoor free concert. My husband was at the restroom at the time of the instigating incident. When Bob returned, he was puzzled to find our friend arguing with the bully (never argue with a bully—they don't listen and reason is not a trait they embrace).
What is it that makes grown people turn on anger like that? This guy was p^@*&%. He accused me of moving his camp chair from the spot where he placed it 90 minutes earlier. Really? First of all I did not touch his chair (if it truly was his chair). Second, why would he accuse me out of hand like that? Third, why wouldn't he just pick up his chair and move it back to where his group of friends were and not make a scene?

Instead he chose to bully me. Scream right in my face. It caught me quite by surprise. His friends were clearly uncomfortable with the situation, yet none of them encouraged their friend to calm down and let it go.

I chose to close up my camp chair and leave. My evening was ruined by a narcissistic, belligerent person who had a warped idea of the universe—the world revolved around him. He knows it all.

Here's a newsflash—he wore a t-shirt bearing the team mascot of the local high school. Want to bet his kids are bullies themselves?

I'm sure a few of you have experienced a similar episode. It certainly wasn't my first. We experienced an assault by a stranger one evening driving home from a formal event with friends many years ago. Catch up with me some time and I'll tell you that tragic story.

Watch out for the blindside bullying by family. They are damaging beyond imagination.

All in all the best thing to do is ignore the bully. Don't engage. Bob retorted to the bully, "Why would you yell at my wife?" The bully replied, "She moved my chair," sitting in a chair 25 feet from the precious chair he insisted was his. Ya see? No reasoning.

"You should treat people with more respect," I said to the bully before he left the scene. I'm sure he didn't hear that.

So when the children's writer in me pens a book for impressionable kids about bullies, you can believe there's a bit of non-fiction in the story. Drawing from the realities of a fallen world.

And just like in my book Ethan Blecher Braves a Bully, that man/bully needs saving—if nothing else certainly from himself.

8 Tips to Lose Your Gut

Rock Man at Tamarack Lake, CARather than show you an ugly picture of belly fat or the flat stomach of a twenty-year-old... I bring you Rock Man. He spouts wisdom to help you lose that gut you're tired of feeling around your middle. Maybe you're not interested in getting a rock-hard stomach (although it's easy to attain... right, Rock Man?), but you'd like to get rid of that roll. Read on.

Building muscle, losing fat, and improving overall health is dependent on one very important hormone—insulin. Follow these tips to control your insulin and lose that fat!
First, let me say that losing fat is less about cutting down on fat in your diet and more about cutting out sugar or foods that quickly turn to sugar like breads, pasta, rice and corn. In fact, healthy fats keep you satiated, which means you are less likely to be hungry soon after eating. So let me just say it... Fats don't make you fat, sugar does.

Now on to the tips:

1. Feed Your Belly-Zapping Hormone
Eat as close to zero grams of sugar as possible. Sugar turns to fat. Remember that every time you eat something with sugar. Read labels on food—almost everything has sugar added. Restricting sugar will keep your insulin levels low, and also keep your glucagon levels high. Glucagon, a hormone, helps keep your belly FLAT not FAT.

2. Chew On This
Chewing prevents bloating. Chew food until it is like applesauce in your mouth. Digestion begins in the mouth, and better-digested food means less gas and bloating.

3. Size Matters
Eating portion-controlled meals will reduce your abdominal flab. Serve reasonable portions of food on a plate—don't pile on and don't take extra helpings. Give your body a chance to let you know you're full.

4. Nix Refined Carbs
One of the primary reasons people develop diabetes is their overconsumption of refined carbs and sugars, which causes their pancreas to continually pump out more and more insulin. Refined carbs like bread and pastas turn to sugar. Cut out desserts and limit yourself to one slice of bread or handful of pasta one or two times a week. We eat pasta once a month on average and bread once a week—and always made from whole grain.

5. Eat At The Magic Hour
Have a snack that contains protein between 3 PM and 4 PM. It will boost your metabolism and balance your blood sugar. I find myself eating a snack at this time often (okay... everyday). I might choose a handful of nuts & seeds, a few veggies dipped in hummus, almond butter on a piece of celery, a stalk of purslane (remember eating weeds and loving it!) or a small piece of meat (you don't have to eat meat to get protein).
6. Eat Healthy Fats
Another way to balance your insulin is by optimizing the rate at which your body processes carbohydrates by eating plenty of healthy fats. Fats help keep your hunger down by sending a message to your brain. Examples of healthy fats are in the foods mentioned in Tip #5. Yay! That's right—you can tackle two tips with one food.

7. Stay Active All Day
Most people hit the gym regularly, but they succumb to long periods of inactivity during the rest of their day. This is asking for trouble. Don't sit at your computer for hours on end. Get up and take a walk. Better yet, go outside and take in nature. It gives your eyes a needed rest too.

8. Mom Says, "Eat Your Veggies"
Add more vegetables to your meals, cut them up and eat them raw, make salads and smoothies with lots of dark greens. You'll find a whole new experience in taste and melt off that belly bump, roll or inner tube that encircles you. The week I added more veggies to my diet I lost my belly bump. Combine Tip #4 with Tip #8 and you'll be surprised.

Which tips could you take on this week? Or which tips are you already doing? Scroll down and leave a comment.

Summer Squash & Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese

I tossed this together for my lunch the other day. It's the perfect example of what I do regularly. With plenty of green and yellow summer squash coming out of home gardens, you'll find this one a winner. It fits my simple and quick to prepare requirements.

From now on simple and quick shall be known as SAQ—yes, it's time to give those recipes an identity.

This recipe includes smoked paprika. If you haven's discovered this spice, you better go get some. Once you start adding it to recipes, you can become a revered chef like me (in my own head).

For dressing I used what I had pre-made, which is typically equal amounts of extra-virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar. I might add a bit of balsamic vinegar, honey, lemon or lime, spices or even fruit concentrate. Mix a tiny amount of this and that and you've got yourself a delicious fresh dressing without all the #%*&% added that you find in store-bought dressing—even the organic ones. The additives are just as hard to decipher as #%*&%.
Summer Squash & Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese

from Chris Pedersenyield 1-2 servings category Saladcuisine Raw, Vegan
ingredients1 yellow squash, chopped1 zucchini, chopped1 handful spinach, chopped small1/8 C crumbled goat cheese feta1 leaf of kale, chopped small1-2 shakes smoked paprikaDressing
directions1. Combine vegetables in a bowl.2. Add smoked paprika and dressing.3. Toss and serve.

I only eat non-cow dairy. Although feta cheese is traditionally made with sheep's milk and maybe some goat's milk, you can find lots of feta now made from cow's milk... tsk tsk. Check when you order something with feta cheese at a restaurant. It might not be what you think.

I love the Valbreso Feta at Costco imported from France (pictured left). I cut it up into slabs and freeze each one. I don't eat enough to use the whole brick before it turns too soft to crumble. If you're looking for real feta, don't buy the large container of feta next to the Valbreso at Costco, it's cow's milk.

What did you create on the spot with ingredients on hand? Please share.
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Wisdom Wednesday

Tip:
To get probiotics into your daily meals there's Kimchi (great with eggs for breakfast), Kombucha tea, plain Yogurt, and Sauerkraut—each giving you different types of bacteria. Add to that Miso, which is commonly used to make miso soup, however the bacteria are likely destroyed in the cooking. Instead add a little miso paste to your salad dressing—it acts as an emulsifier.

Here's a quick dressing recipe from Summer Tomato:
1 Tbsp miso paste, splash of rice vinegar to 1/2 C olive oil, add salt & pepper, fresh chives and some grated ginger to make a nutritious and delicious dressing.

Why Is Vitamin D So Important?

Vitamin D has been getting some press lately as a growing body of evidence points to the importance of the vitamin. Just how important? It could be a matter of life and death. Let's examine.

#1 Vitamin D is an Essential Vitamin
Essential means we need it for life itself. Good health and disease prevention hangs on it. The US government long ago classified 13 nutrients, it called vitamins, to be essential for normal cell growth, development and function. Vitamin D is one of those nutrients.

#2 Vitamin D Makes Healthy Bones
It is key to helping the body absorb calcium for healthy bones and teeth. In addition, Vitamin D helps maintain proper blood levels of calcium and phosphorus (another component for healthy bones and teeth).
#3 Vitamin D Influences 10% of Your Genes
It impacts over 1,000 genes making Vitamin D critical for disease prevention. Genes tell the body how to behave in a certain way. When genes go awry, problems occur and disease begins.

#4 Vitamin D is Effective in Cancer Prevention and Treatment
Vitamin D has been shown to promote cancer cell death, known as apoptosis, and inhibit angiogenesis, the growth of blood vessels that feed a tumor.

A Study at UC San Diego points to Vitamin D for effective breast cancer treatment.

#5 Lower Levels of Vitamin D Linked to Death from Any Cause
Since exposure to the sun is the best way to get vitamin D, could we be seeing the result of over use of sunscreen (many of which contain cancer-causing ingredients) as the reason cancer (especially melanoma and breast cancer) and other diseases are on the rise?

#6 Vitamin D Can Prevent Diabetes
A study in India found that taking vitamin D and calcium along with exercise prevented full-blown diabetes in individuals with pre-diabetic conditions.

#7 Vitamin D Effective Against Many Diseases
"Is there a food you can eat that increases vitamin D levels?" Only a small amount can be obtained by eating salmon, tuna, egg yolks and mushrooms. Best to get some sun without sunscreen. About 20 to 30 minutes a day will do. I use a zinc oxide herbal sunscreen on my face, wear a hat and run in a park where I get the appropriate amount (about 25 minutes) of sun exposure on my bare legs and arms.

Bottom Line
Insist that your doctor test your Vitamin D levels every year when you get your annual exam. Make sure you do the test during the cold months (January or February in the northern hemisphere). This test is critical if you have cancer, or are pregnant or planning to get pregnant.

"What should my blood levels be?"
Findings indicate you need at least 30ng/ml of Vitamin D in your system, but 50-70ng/ml is optimal especially if you're pregnant or planning to get pregnant. If you're fighting disease, particularly cancer, better to see levels of 70-100ng/ml.
Source: Dr. Mercola
"If I take a supplement, how much should I take?"
The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is 400 IU, however given the importance of vitamin D, you should take much more. Most supplements of D are provided in 1,000 IU capsules in the form of D3. You would have to take 40,000 IUs daily over several months to possibly experience an overdose of D. So go ahead, take a few 1,000. Great news too... it's a very inexpensive supplement. And of course, the sun is free.

A recent study showed that mothers who too 4,000 IU of vitamin D during pregnancy decreased their risk of premature birth by half!

Now you should have an idea of how important vitamin D is for your health. So shouldn't you be getting your vitamin D tested and get a short dose of sun daily (remember... without sunscreen).

Have you ever had your vitamin D levels checked? What kind of adjustments did you make following the results?

Raw Yam Salad with Sweet Corn & Black Beans

Besides making juice and smoothies to eat my partially raw food diet, I make lots of raw salads. These are not your lettuce salads. I'm talking raw cut-up vegetables that most people would not think of eating raw. But why not raw?

This salad is inspired by one I had with cooked yams. But yams are so yummy raw and they provide a crunch, which I love. So here you go—add another raw veggie salad to your salad recipe file.
Raw Yam Salad with Sweet Corn & Black Beans

from Chris Pedersenyield 6 servings
category Salad
cuisine Raw, Vegan
ingredients2 medium yams, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces1 ear sweet corn, removed from cob OR 3/4 C thawed sweet corn1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed and drained1 red pepper, diced2 green onions, sliced thin1/2 C chopped cilantro2 firm avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped2 limes, juicedsalt & pepper to taste
directions1. Add yams, corn, black beans, peppers, onions, and cilantro to large bowl. Stir together.2. Add avocados and lime juice then toss carefully so avocados don't get mashed.3. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and serve.

What do you eat raw that you used to eat cooked all the time?

How to Change a Bully

Many of you know I'm a children's author and today I'm pleased to announce my latest book, Ethan Blecher Braves a Bully, is officially launched. Volume 1 of this new series with Ethan Blecher navigates the struggles every child might encounter in elementary school. Parents and teachers will appreciate that it's a fun read for kids, but not irreverent.

Our "every child" hero finds himself the focus of a bully in his new school. His parents decide to send him to spring camp hoping he will make some friends, but the outlook turns terrifying when his nemesis shows up. Find out if Ethan's fearful attitude and shy nature get the best of him or will he muster some courage and stand up to the bully?
The sensitive issue of bullying is a timely subject in our culture today. It is a huge problem by the time kids enter middle school. Too many young children have tragically taken their own lives because they were being bullied at that tender age. Emotional trauma realized by kids in their tweens is so engrained they feel trapped.

It's important for kids to have a healthy self-esteem and positive emotional attitude so they feel empowered to confront kids that would put them down. Sometimes that confronting is simply ignoring the bully—not giving them the power to get what they want—an emotional response (e.g., fear, tears, etc) from the victim so the bully can feel superior.

Ethan Blecher Braves a Bully, early reader/chapter book for kids reading on their own (ages 5 to 10 years old), is a great tool for teaching kids the value of kindness and forgiveness. Most schools have anti-bullying programs. Including a fun story along side the program allows kids to discover a solution on their own through the experience of a fictional character. Kids more readily embrace what they discover on their own rather than a program that tells them what to do.

To kick off the official launch, I will be signing books at our local independent bookstore Face in a Book in El Droado Hills, California.

Book Signing at Face in a Book Saturday, July 19th 11am - 1pm  4359 Town Center Blvd El Dorado Hills, CA 95762

If you're in town, please come by to say "Hi."

Three Bean Salad

My green beans are producing enough for a meal every day. Unfortunately those lengthy legumes are hard to spot amongst like-colored foliage. Plus foraging through the greenery, my arms get a bit chafed from the leaves. Lots of veggies have nasty little prickles on them that can scratch and poke at you.

The best part of those green delights? ... the plants were completely volunteer this year. That's the bonus of composting and then working the lovely completed soil into the garden in early spring.

Store fresh green beans unwashed in a plastic bag in the crisper. They will keep for a week. They freeze well while retaining valuable nutrients for up to six months. If you only have canned beans to use in your recipes, studies show that they still contain much of their nutrients. That's good news.

Three Bean Salad
From Chris PedersenYield 4 servings
Category SaladCuisine Healthy, Vegan
Ingredients1/2 C fresh green beans1/2 C kidney beans1/2 C garbanzo beans1/8 C of chopped red onion1/8 C of chopped celery1/8 C apple cider vinegar1/8 C extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp raw honeysalt & fresh ground pepper
Directions1. Trim beans and cook in steamer over boiling water for 3 minutes until beans are dark green and slightly soft.2. Rinse in cool water to stop them from cooking more. Pat dry and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place in bowl with lid.3. Add kidney beans, garbanzo beans, onions and celery to bowl and set aside.4. Mix oil, vinegar and raw honey together. Add salt and ground pepper.5. Pour dressing over the bowl of beans and stir.6. Cover the bowl with a lid and place in refrigerator for one hour to marinate before serving. Stir the mixture after 30 minutes to distribute the dressing.
This salad just gets better every day as the beans take on the flavor of the vinaigrette dressing. Enjoy this recipe the rest of the summer. Double the recipe so you have lots in the refrigerator or enough to take to your next barbecue.

Use any type of bean to make this salad. I picked my favorites. You might also like to add other veggies. For my last batch, I didn't have celery on hand. Instead I added diced red peppers from the garden. And how about changing up the dressing by adding a bit of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice or orange zest. You know I love to just throw things together—you can do it too! Really you can!

What are your favorite beans for salads?

Acid vs Alkaline in the Body—Is it Important?

Why should I be concerned about foods that make my body acidic?

Does that mean I shouldn't eat oranges or lemons?

What's this acid vs alkaline thing all about anyway?

It's likely the last time you heard the word pH was in high school chemistry and it set your head spinning. You've probably never heard that your body's pH level is important for good health. So let me try to make the subject clear for you.
Vegetables: Asparagus, Beets, Bell peppers, Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chicory, Cucumbers, Leafy greens, Sprouts (all types), ZucchiniPseudo-grains: Buckwheat, Millet, Quinoa, Amaranth, Wild and brown riceFruit: Lemons, Limes, Mangos, Apples, Melons (all types), Avocados, Papayas, Pomegranates, BananasSeeds: Flax, Hemp, ChiaNuts: Almonds, Chestnuts, CoconutDairy: Goat milk/cheese, Breast milkDrinks: Green tea, Herbal tea, Lemon waterCondiments: Extra virgin olive oil, Apple cider vinegarAcid-forming Foods
Meat: Cold-water fish, Beef, Venison, Pork, Wild game, Poultry, ShellfishDairy: Cow milk (raw or pasteurized), Cow cheese, Butter/creamGrains: Bread, Corn, Pasta, Wheat, White riceMiscellaneous: Synthetic vitamins, Coffee, Margarine, Peanuts (roasted), Prescription drugs, Soft drinks, Soy protein isolate, Sugar (real or artificial) Whey protein isolateThis list is not exhaustive by any means, but it gives you a guideline to start making healthy eating choices. Does everything you eat have to be alkaline-forming? No. Think balance and be mindful of your eating, always eating more alkaline-forming foods than acid-forming foods.

One more point to clarify. In answer to the question "Can I eat oranges or lemons?" Yes. Alkaline-forming refers to the effect foods have once digested, not the pH of the food outside the body. So eat all the lemons and citrus you like. It's very good for you.

If you're interested in learning more, I recommend The pH Miracle by Robert and Shelley Young.

What new food will you start eating to increase your body's pH to alkaline? Scroll down to leave a comment.