Ingredients:
- ½ soft avocado
- ¾ cup frozen peas
- 1 (15 oz.) can cannellini beans
- 1 med. sweet potato
- 1 red pepper
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- ¾ cup frozen corn
- 1 Macintosh apple (remove core and stem-leave skin)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parsley flakes
- Basil flakes
Directions:
- Cut up and steam red pepper and sweet potatoes (with skin) until soft
- In a blender place the avocado, peas, ½ can cannellini beans, apple, vegetable stock + steamed red pepper and sweet potato
- Add all blended ingredients to a pot as well as the other half of the beans, corn, salt, pepper, parsley, basil, and maple syrup.
- Medium flame, stir and serve hot.
Of all the green vegetables, broccoli is the most recognizable by most people. In working with small children, I find that if they will eat a green vegetable, it is most likely broccoli. I don’t think it is the nutritional value but more of a question of it resembling a small tree or flower. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower are all part of what is know as cruciferous vegetables. The strong sulfuric smell of broccoli is from a compound known as
sulforaphane which scientists believe may not only be beneficial to heart and bone health but may play a part in cancer prevention. Research is showing that the strong mineral compounds in broccoli may fight the harmful effects of pollution and secondhand smoke. Studies are showing that people who eat broccoli once a week have lower risks of common cancers (lung, breast, colon). However, it may be that those who eat broccoli may also have a healthier lifestyle in general. The high level of Vitamin K in broccoli can improve circulation for heart health, the fiber content can fight colon cancer, the potassium level can help with blood pressure, and the level of vitamin C and calcium can help with bone mineralization. Choose steaming over boiling to prevent some of these benefits from being lost. Try sautéing garlic, red peppers, pignoli nuts, salt, pepper to taste and then adding them to the steamed broccoli.
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Glass Half Full is a recycling company that converts glass into sand. It was founded by Franziska Trautmann, who has a background in chemical engineering. The goal was to find a solution to coastal erosion. Sand is part of 
coastal restoration, construction, landscaping and flooring. Her and her partner Max were students at Tulane University and wanted to do something regarding disaster relief after severe storms. The company started small in 2020. Instead of glass bottles going to a landfill, Glass Half Full now recycles over 100,000 lbs. of glass in its 40,000 square foot facility every month. After the glass is pulverized, it is then sorted into different size sand particles which can be utilized in different ways. Fine sand is used to fill sandbags while courser sand is used for coastal restoration. This is truly a positive solution to addressing our coastline which is eroding at an alarming rate.
https://www.ted.com/speakers/franziska_trautmann
...Read MoreBMI was first developed by a mathematician, Aldolphe Quetelet, in the 1830s as a way of defining the average man. Known then as the Quetelet Index, it wasn’t given the term Body Mass Index until 1972 and wasn’t adopted
by the World Health Organization until 1997. BMI is the ratio of height to weight. Although it is used by the medical profession as a screening tool for disease, some practitioners feel it is inaccurate. It will label a person as overweight or obese without taking into consideration the amount of muscle as opposed to fat in a person’s body. Opposition also stems from the fact that it was developed 200 years ago and was based on data from mostly white men. BMI does not consider racial, ethnic, age, sex, and gender diversity. A new metric is now being considered and used by many in the medical profession. It is BRI (Body Roundness Index) it measures the relationship between height and roundness (waist measurement). It is a way of measuring central body fat which is more of a predictor of disease. The consensus is that BMI may be overestimating disease risk for muscular athletes and underestimating disease risk for older adults who have replaced muscle for fat. BRI is more concerned with abdominal fat which is more of an indicator of future illness as opposed to BMI which does not consider this to be a part of its calculations. Looks like it is time to start a core exercise routine for the New Year.
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/is-the-body-roundness-index-the-new-bmi-what-it-says-about-your-health
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