Potty Talk

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Almost daily, new products claiming to drastically reduce weight or improve health find their way into stores and onto shelves around the country. Specifically, laxatives for detoxification have grown very popular as a means to rid your body of pollutants that may inhibit weight loss or cause cancer.   Never fear; however, manufactures of laxatives, enemas, and, other supplements designed to increase the frequency and amount of bowel movements have come to your rescue, or have they?   To date, no documented research exists proving excessively large or frequent bowel movements will make drastic changes in your weight or health status. In fact, overuse of these products can cause diarrhea leading to dehydration, which can do far more harm to your body than good. Excessive loss of fluids and electrolytes can lead to heart and/or kidney failure.  Unfortunately for quick fix seekers, the best plan is still regular exercise and a good diet including plenty of fiber to stay regular.

Resource:

http://prescribersletter.therapeuticresearch.com/pl/Rumor.aspx?rtid=233&cs=&s=PRL

A Bowl of Cheerios

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Bananas like to mingle with other bananas.  Bananas are not social butterflies; however, they are not averse to making new friends.  Every new banana has something to share, something to be learned.  Each new banana in the bunch leaves his or her mark long after they have wound up in a bowl of cheerios.  Some bananas leave a lasting impression that remains for years on end.  If bananas have soul mates, this would be the one whose shadow remains until the end.  Some bananas wait their entire short lives without meeting such a banana and those who have, know that it is a once in a lifetime experience.  The next time you see a banana, befriend that banana and learn from that banana because it just a matter of one good night’s sleep and a wake up before the call to the great honey-nut bowl of cheerios in the sky.

Red Velvet Cake

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• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• ½ cup of shortening
• 1-½ cups of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1-cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 ounces of red food coloring
• Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Dissolve baking soda in vinegar; set aside.  Cream shortening by slowly adding sugar and beating well with an electric mixer.  Add eggs to mixture one at a time and beat mixture after adding each egg.  After all of the eggs are beaten into the mixture, beat in the baking soda and vinegar mixture.

Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt.  Combine buttermilk, vanilla, and food coloring.  Next, add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cape pans.  Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until done.  Cool both pans for 10 minutes.  Remove cakes from pans and allow continuing to cool on wire racks.  Spread cream cheese frosting between layers, on top and sides of the cake.  Sprinkle with coconut and serve!

Substitutions for ingredients such as sugar, works well with this recipe.  Ultimately this is a fun cake to make and even more fun to share.  Not recommended for those who fall faint at the though of gaining an ounce or two of weight.

Day in the Life of a Banana!

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• ex·cit·ed   

[ik-sahy-tid]

–adjective

1. stirred emotionally; agitated: An excited crowd awaited the arrival of the famed rock group.

• an·tic·i·pa·tion   

[an-tis-uh-pey-shuhn]  

–noun

1. the act of anticipating or the state of being anticipated.

• ex·pec·ta·tion   

[ek-spek-tey-shuhn]  

–noun.

1. the act or state of looking forward or anticipating.

• dis·ap·point·ment   

[dis-uh-point-muhnt]  

–noun

1. the act or fact of disappointing: All of his efforts only led to the disappointment of his supporters.

Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

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1)  Stick to a regular sleep schedule---even on weekends. 

2)  Exercise regularly---avoid exercise in the late evening. 

3)  Go to bed only when sleepy. 

4)  Put your worries away when you go to bed. 

5)  Do something relaxing and enjoyable before bedtime. 

6)  Make your bedroom quiet and comfortable. 

7)  Avoid large meals just before bedtime. 

8)  If you cannot sleep within 15 to 20 minutes get up and go to another room.    Return to bed only when drowsy. 

9)  Remove the clock from eyesight. 

Do not nap during the day. If you must nap, limit it to 30 minutes in the early afternoon. 

10) Avoid alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine use. 

11) Have your pharmacist check your medications for potential sleep effects. 

12) Avoid bright lights (e.g. from TV, computers, video games) before   bed. 

Still Tired?

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Insomnia is a common complaint. Some symptoms of insomnia are difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and difficulty with early morning awakening. Sometimes insomnia only lasts for a short time and can be easily managed. Persistent insomnia is more troublesome and can affect work, school, social relation-ships, and health. Many conditions are associated with insomnia such as depression, anxiety, allergies, and pain. Much of the time insomnia is simply the result of poor sleep habits. 

How Is Insomnia Treated? 

Insomnia treatment in adults may include use of an over-the-counter medication or, in other cases, use of a prescription sedative. It is important to determine the cause of insomnia before treatment begins. Maintaining a sleep diary for one to two weeks is a good way to start. Keeping track of sleep times, caffeine and alcohol ingestion, etc. may provide clues as to the cause of insomnia. Behavioral changes are often all that's needed to improve sleep. By maintaining good sleep habits the need for medication may be avoided. 

What If Non-drug Treatment Fails?

If you are still having difficulty getting a good night's sleep, you should talk to your PCM or NCM. The cause of your insomnia will need to be determined and a medication may be needed. Even if medication is used for insomnia, sleep hygiene principles should still be followed and can provide added benefit.

Real Banana Pudding

Photo By tammyzrecipez

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•    3 cups sugar (Splenda works great!)
•    ½ cup all-purpose flour
•    ¼ cup cornstarch
•    6 eggs, separated, plus 2 additional egg yolks (8 egg yolks altogether)
•    7 cups of milk (soy milk not recommended)
•    ½ cup margarine
•    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•    1 16-ounce box of vanilla wafers
•    10-12 medium bananas (ripe not green, black, or brown) peeled and sliced.

Thoroughly mix 2½ cups of the sugar, the flour, and cornstarch in a large heavy saucepan.  Lightly beat the 8 egg yolks; combine milk and egg yolks and whisk into sugar mixture.  Add margarine and cook over medium heat (avoid scolding), stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat; stir in 1-teaspoon of the vanilla.  Cool. Preheat oven to 425⁰F.  Line bottom of a 13X9X2-inch baking dish with one-third of vanilla wafers; layer one-third of bananas and one-third of custard on top.  Repeat layers twice.  Beat egg whites until foamy; gradually add remaining ½ cup sugar, 1-tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.  Beat in remaining 1-tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.  Beat in remaining 1-teaspoon vanilla.  Spread over custard, sealing to edges.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Chill overnight before serving.

What are head lice (Uku)?

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Uku are small, wingless parasites that live on human hair. They cannot fly or jump however, they have claws that allow them to crawl and cling firmly to hair. Living among human hair is vital to Uku because they feed on small amounts of blood drawn from the human scalp. Uku do not live long once they fall off a person. Because Uku need human heads to survive, they are highly contagious and spread quickly from person to person.

Symptoms and Treatment of Uku Infestations 

The most common symptom of Uku is itching of the scalp. Uku bites cause itching and for some children, red bumps, sores, or bacterial infections can occur depending how sensitive your child’s skin is to Uku. Further, heavy scratching can lead to a bacterial infection (the skin would become read and tender and may have crusting and oozing along with swollen lymph glands). If you think your child may have an Uku infestation, take your child to his or her pediatrician for evaluation and treatment, especially if your child is two years or younger. Medicated treatments are not recommended for children two years or younger. It is important to know that catching an Uku infestation is not a sign of poor hygiene. Uku can be a problem for children of all ages and socioeconomic levels, regardless of how often they bathe or wash their hair. 

Preventing Uku Infestation

Uku are spread through close head-to-head contact or sharing of personal items. Tell children not to share personal care items such as combs, brushes, towels, helmets, hats, or scarves with anyone else. Also, tell children to avoid head-to-head contact while playing at home or in school with other children. Group activities such as slumber parties and camps are easy settings for Uku to spread. During slumber parties, children should not share bedding and pillows if someone with Uku has used them. 

***For further detailed information about head lice prevention, infestation, and treatment please contact your physician, pediatrician, pharmacist, or, nurse.  Notify your child’s school or Childcare Center director if you find that your child has an Uku infestation. 

"Keep lice from ruining summer: The chance of contact increases when a child is staying at a camp.", Tulsa World (Tulsa, OK), June 17 2008 Issue

Banana - Zero, Cockroaches -Millions

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Life, or something vaguely resembling bananas, is not always funny and, this time I am not laughing.  I have been diagnosed with katsaridaphobia.  Katsaridaphobia is the fear of cockroaches.  I take comfort that cockroach phobia is common, ranking as high as fear of the dark.  Of course, this small measure of comfort lends no solace to driving my car.  As life would have it, a family of cockroaches has decided to take up residency in my car.  I discovered my car-pooling friends late one night when I entered my car.  Much to my fright, there was one sitting on the dash ready to ride.  Given my phobia, my next course of action was to evacuate myself to safety and put Mr. Doo Funny on the case of the offending car poolers.  As hoped, Doo Funny rushed in and removed the offending be roadie. However, everyone knows cockroaches are not lone wolfs, where there is one, there is bound to be a million or so more.  I present Doo Funny with this fact only to be laughed at and told that I am millions times larger compared to my car-pooling friends (I paused to examine his comment because it smacked of a stab to call me fat).  To make a fruit salad moment even fruitier, he pontificated, “they have always lived in your car, and you have never seen them because you do not drive late at night.”  He finished his off-centered advice with, “you have to over come your fear because cockroaches are prevalent here, in Hawaii, and they are in everyone’s car!”  Hmmm, I am speechless and about to WALK to the store and by a few bugs bombs and commence to wage war to reclaim what is rightfully mine, my car!

Self Portrait of a Banana

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I am a miracle, a child of God

I am a woman

I am a daughter

I am a mother

I am a sister

I am a niece

I am a granddaughter

I am a cousin

I am an aunty

I am an ex-wife (oh well)

I am an ex-girlfriend (stopped counting)

I am an ex-fiancé (wasn’t in the cards)

I am my own hero

I am someone else’s hero

I am a BFF

I am a friend

I am the light in someone’s storm

I am a nurse

I am a Soldier

I am an Officer

I am a writer (self-proclaimed)

I am a student

I am a teacher

Best of all, I am me, a banana!

Who are you?

Doo Funny SMELLS Funny!

I know that I probably should not write this but it is just too funny to keep to myself.  Mr. Doo Funny is obsessed with cleanliness.  He takes multiple showers and runs around the house picking up, cleaning, and scolding the rest of us slobs for failing to notice a piece of lint.  Mr. Doo Funny refuses even the smallest peck on the lips before brushing his teeth.  I guess there is no morning sex with Mr. Doo Funny before he performs the three S’s.  I can only imagine him going through this process, returning to bed, only to get sweaty and get up to do it all over again.  Well, much to my entertainment, Mr. Doo Funny announced today (after spending all day moving furniture) that he could smell himself.  He expressed that he was disturbed by the fact that he had a body odor.  To me, this was hysterical and I gave in to my better judgment and asked him what it was like to smell his own A**?

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Banana Style’s Let’s Go Shopping!

Banana Style’s Let’s Go Shopping!

Grapes and Bananas - This week's favorite..... - ourbananamoments's posterous

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

A few of our favorites.....

• Pinot Grigio
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Ridge Three Valley Reds, Sonoma County
• Eiswein

This week’s favorite.........

The Cabernet Sauvignon grape is a small berry with a thick skin, giving it a high solid to juice ratio and creating a wine high in color, tannin and extract. Some typical Cabernet Sauvignon descriptors are cassis, cedar and currant. Because the grape adapts to so many different soils and climates and can flourish with different types of winemaking, its characteristics are different depending on its origin.

Bordeaux generally have more of an earthy, tannic side of Cabernet. It's almost always blended in Bordeaux, using other grapes to soften the tannins and add complexity. In warmer regions like California, grapes are picked when higher in fruit and lower in acid, often giving a sweeter wine.

Adjustment Disorder, is it the label applied when adult bananas have tantrums for not getting their own way?

According to Mayo Clinic staff, (2009), the definition of an adjustment disorder is a type of stress-related mental illness.  Common triggers can be work problems, divorce, getting married, loss of a loved one and the list could go on.  The difference between someone experiencing the same stressors and someone with an adjustment disorder is that those with the disorder have a harder time adjusting to life changes.  People with the adjustment disorder may skip work or school, forget to pay bills, pick fights, abuse drugs or alcohol, or experience suicidal ideation.   In comparison to others who are, adapt at mobilizing effective coping techniques.  The bright side to having an adjustment disorder is that it is self -limiting with symptoms only lasting a few months.

In contrast, Mayo Clinic staff, (2010), writes that a tantrum is the expression of a child’s frustration with mental or emotional challenges of the moment.  A child’s tantrum can be characterized as kicking, supersonic screaming, flailing uncontrollably on the floor, hitting, and breath holding.  These characteristics represent a child’s lack of coping skills and such episodes tend to decrease as the child ages and gains more effective means to express his or her needs.  Similarly, adults with adjustment disorder do not have effective coping mechanisms to handle negative life changes that occur outside of their control.  Adjustment disorder suffers may require psychotherapy to explore more effective means of coping with life changes.  In addition, unlike children, adults may have destructive means of coping at their disposal and, therefore, signs of an adjustment disorder should not be taken lightly.

More importantly, if you or a loved one is suffering from signs of an adjustment disorder, please seek medical attention as the symptoms may lead to suicidal ideation.  This blog was written for entertainment purposes only and is not to be used as a diagnostic tool.

References

·         Mayo Clinic Staff, . (2009). Adjustment disorders. MayoClinic.com. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adjustment-disorders/DS00584

·         Mayo Clinic Staff, . (2010). Temper tantrums: how to keep the peace. MayoClinic.com. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tantrum/HQ01622

Neighbors Before Coffee

Neighbors Before Coffee

Ugh, it is early, too early to get out of bed. Moreover, it is insanely early to have someone knocking at the door. My new neighbor, whom I have been ignoring ever since he first rapped on my door two days ago, is knocking again. New neighbors from the mainland are all the same at first. Each on is bright-eyed and eager to explore all that the island has to offer. Their pace is in high gear while mine; well let us just say that I know the island is not going any place. The newbie’s don’t get the fact of how small this island is and so they rush through every possible site within a few weeks time and then reality sets in…what do we do next?

I am going to roll over and hope the newbie’s leaves my door and perhaps I may answer if he returns at a decent hour after I have had my first cup of coffee and breakfast!

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