Healing recipes: A multicultural potluck

Today I completed week five of my six-week Coursera class on nutrition for health promotion and disease prevention. This week's assignment was so interesting I thought I'd put a poll out there to see what you would do if this was your homework.

Professor Ferraro asked us to identify a food with cultural, personal, religious or political importance to us, with "purported effects on health promotion or disease prevention". We were to prepare the dish (eliminating my obvious choice of madzoon), keeping notes on the ingredients and step-by-step instructions, take a photograph of the food and prepare a nutrient analysis of the food we prepared. She continues:

No matter the culture you align with, to some degree, food in your culture is polysemic. Polysemic symbols are those that carry several, simultaneous meanings. For this assignment, you will create a food item or dish that represents the ability to prevent disease or promote health in your food culture.
Examples of food items with perceived therapeutic benefits include:

• Use of nopales (cactus) in Mexican food culture to help lower blood sugar in people with diabetes 

• Use of chicken soup in the United States to convey healing for people who are sick with the common cold or flu 

• Kimchi used in Korea is thought to promote digestive health among other health benefits

So, my questions for you are: if this was your assignment, what would you make? And, of course, what do you think I turned in for my homework?

Tiny Habits

My company pays me to find creative ways to build healthy workplace cultures through behavior change. To use Dominic's language, this is a 'pretty sweet gig'. I, like most people, have plenty of unhealthy behaviors I'm trying to change so I often try out new ideas in my own life before incorporating them into my client's toolkits and programming plans. One trial was so interesting I thought I'd write about it here for your own enjoyment.

Dr. BJ Fogg, Stanford professor and author of Persuasive Technology, kept coming up in conversation. I had intended to read his book last September for book club, he was interviewed on a radio program more than a year ago, and to be honest he had been on my mind last week as I'm quickly realizing I really need to get my act together in preparation for graduate school. Dr. Fogg believes in changing behavior by creating tiny habits. The process is fairly straight forward and I thought it would be helpful to experience the approach for myself this week.

I enrolled online last Friday and spent this week honing my tiny habits. So far I'm two for three. A tiny habit is: something you do at least once a day, something that takes you less than 30 seconds to complete, and something that requires little effort. Mine were:

1. After taking off my work clothes do two pushups 
2. After getting in the car say a prayer
3. After answering the phone stand up

I'll admit, mine aren't great. I never remembered to do the pushups (my one failure this week) and I couldn't remember to say a prayer when I got in the car after work, only before. Here are some other examples that are probably better.

I was initially quite attracted to the 'something that requires little effort' description. Dr. Fogg writes: "The easier the behavior, the less it depends on motivation". Wise words considering we all know how reliable motivation can be. He goes on to explain that the habit should be on schedule. The new habit should come directly after an existing habit. He calls the existing habit an anchor and instructs us to always use an existing anchor to trigger the new tiny behavior we want. Another important requirement is to celebrate successes. He suggests saying 'victory' to ourselves not only when we do the behavior but also when we think of doing the behavior. I kept finding myself saying yes and jolting my elbow back like I've done since I was in first grade. Whatever works.

I'm going to keep trying to work on these tiny habits because the payoff could be big. If I'm already standing when I answer the phone, chances are I'll stay standing during the entire conversation. If I can do two pushups, chances are I'll stay down there to do 10 more. You see where this is going.

Curious? Try it here, or just follow some of Dr. Fogg's thoughts here.

Gather Around

Thursday evening LIFE group.

Tom & Peg, an Introduction

Today is Tom & Peg's 40th Wedding Anniversary!

In honor of this couple I've come to love, respect and admire I thought I'd share my memory of our first encounter:

It was November 2008 and Dominic had invited me to Los Angeles for his big sister Lina's wedding. I was excited about this trip but knew I had my work cut out for me so I began studying the Monley family tree on the flight from Seattle. We had flown down after work and didn't arrive to LAX until at least 10 p.m. Anyone who knows me knows that that's very late. 

Peg graciously picked us up at the airport and, as anyone would be at the wedding weekend of their only daughter, was a bundle of energy and excitement. I sat in front and concentrated on our conversation which, according to Dominic, was a good idea given the traffic and lane maneuvering required to get us to the hotel. He still teases her about nearly stopping on the 405 when she missed the exit.

We made it safe and sound to the hotel and went straight to Tom & Peg's room for a meet & greet. I still remember walking in to find Tom in the back of the room next to a flying pig. Honestly, it was circling from the ceiling just like in a children's toy store. You've all seen them:

 I was quite shocked (and remember, very tired), so in the most polite tone possible, I asked my future father-in-law something to the extent of: "Is this something the hotel installs in every room?" Everyone laughed and I found out I had passed the test! If you can't laugh off a flying pig after all, how are you going to make a relationship work for the long haul?

Thank you, Tom & Peg, for your enthusiasm and energy, for your sense of humor, and for welcoming me into this family from day one. I love you dearly. 

Gather Around

Family, old and new

Coursera vs. Winter

My attitude and overall mood rise and fall with the temperature. This morning we were listening to the radio and heard that the windchill would hold steady around 1 degree today, so as you can imagine my general disposition hasn't been too pleasant.

I was sitting at home feeling sorry for my sorry self when I remembered that I recently signed up for a free Coursera course called Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Coursera is this brilliant website started by a few social entrepreneurs who decided to partner with the top universities around the world to offer courses online for free. I signed up for this nutrition class, but there are topics ranging from control of mobile robots to songwriting. My class is taught through the University of California San Francisco, but I could go to University of Melbourne or Princeton! My professor is Katie Ferraro. She's a Registered Dietitian and an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Health Care Nursing. She works as a consultant dietitian.

Believe it or not, I started watching my course lectures and like magic the learning started washing away my winter woes. Who knew learning could improve mood?

Professor Ferraro challenged my classmates and I to consider interesting concepts like malnutrition being the result of under- and over-nourishment. She also helped remind me of macro and micro nutrients and which ones yield energy. I learned helpful information about my personal diet like the fact that tannins found in tea can interfere with iron absorption. I even calculated how many calories I need (1269) and Dominic needs (1738) per day based on the Harris Benedict Equation. 

We know that poor nutrition increases our risk for chronic disease, reduces our quality of life, and impacts our financial status. If knowledge is power watch out winter!

Gather Around

Dear friends and loving Lord of Life members Mike & Lorie gathered around for Mark's Mexican carnitas last night.

Happy New Year

Is that pork and kraut? 

Then it must be a New Year!

Wishing you and yours all the best in 2013.