Quick n Dirty: A Hearty Breakfast

The benefits of a good breakfast are not news.  Even just a cursory glance at some of the web’s info hotspots on health and nutrition (WebMD, breakfastfirst.org, eatright.org, ivillage, etc) gives plenty of solid ammo against this modern misconception.  If anything, just pay attention to your body on the days you eat a good breakfast.  The most common effects are improved concentration, improved physical performance, and a greater feeling of satiety during the day.  If you are not a believer then try it tomorrow.

Protein, especially a lean form, is one of the best breakfast items for its real benefits: better mental acuity, memory and problem solving.  Enter the incredible, edible egg.  While still in school I made it a rule to eat an egg any day before an exam or when a new subject was being covered.  As an athlete it became status quo to have at least one egg and cheese sandwich before heading off climbing, hiking, skiing, surfing, etc.  Being able to perform at one’s optimal level, for the sake of performance and safety, is aided by this simple and satisfying step.

Skipping breakfast has been linked to greater body fat down the road.  Research shows that you are often left hungrier later in the day, and thus scrambling to fill the void.  The lack of concentration from a low glucose level alone is also no fun and, again, so easily remedied.  High sugar breakfast bars are never enough, they are like throwing gas on a fire.  A bowl of breakfast cereal, although a good option, still lacks the protein and nutrition an egg offers.  Pop tarts…forget about it.  I’ve been down and back on that road and it is as unproductive as that sweet sugary inside is lava-like after a minute of heating up.

Looking in the fridge this morning there wasn’t much.  It would be a bagel with slatherings, a bowl of cereal or an egg.  Throwing the pan on medium high and greasing her down with some Pam (I should have used olive oil), I put a half a cup of left over couscous in there to quickly saute and get a crunchier texture.  This could be done with rice, some chopped up pasta, bits of bread or other whole grain starch.  After a minute or two I pushed the couscous into the center and cracked two eggs on top and proceeded to break the yolks while still keeping the content in a patty-esque form.  Let cook, flip and let cook some more.  Voila!  Simple, healthy and tasty breakfast that a) gets rid of leftovers, b) completely satisfies hunger and nutrition and c) lets you attack the day like the warrior you are!  Washed down with a glass of watered down cranberry juice, all of the nutritional points to a good breakfast have been met: lean protein, whole grains and a fruit source.

The Locomotion of Change

The change has already begun.  Right from the beginning, the new administration is keeping its promises, whatever those may be.  Many people balked at the Obama campaign before the election for the lack of details on a few topics.  A campaign that touted change for the better is not a new thing around these parts was the competition’s retort.  Truthfully, politics, DC and false promises go together like Larry, Moe and Curly.  What is different about the show these days, is that people are not laughing at the cliche any more, but getting critical instead.  Movements and decisions with the national welfare in mind are already being made and it seems that there will be plenty more.  Now the people are going from doubting to nods of assent.

For a while many people have been worried about the future of print in daily news delivery, there may be a solution now: there will be news to print.  If the headlines of war mongering and death to poor grammar and even worse critical thinking skills will be replaced.  It seems the new headlines actually have news.  There are no glam photo sessions of this president, just tag-lines and newspaper content.  In two days there has been a tidal change in the quality and moral direction of the subject matter .

Tim Geithner’s name emerges from text that tells the story of the administrations stance on Chinese currency manipulation.  Our trade deficit with them is substance enough, yet since stances were not being taken (cowtowing is more like it), such an important topic did not get the proper media.  Can you hear the crickets (not the whining)?  After a 60-34 senate confirmation no one is talking about back taxes or domestic help.  Ahh…just as it should be.

There are stories about the closing of the Guantanamo military base to curtail or reallocate current Defense spending.  This is an opportunity in many ways.  Communications with Cuba can be opened, the trade embargo can go to the wayside and more peace can exist in the world.  A smear on American integrity equal to Abu Graib and a vestige of the cold war era will be swept away to make room for better relations.  There are so many positive aspects about opening up relations with Cuba, the majors being: a new market for American goods; a travel destination (chaching!) that combines old world culture with UNESCO protected countryside; a new source for importing raw materials like sugar and cobalt.  So Cuban exports may not solve our current economic dilemma, but it cannot hurt.

The kicker, to round off this trio of current domestic news items with international twists, is the permission for stem-cell research to be performed on humans.  So this is not exactly a treasure chest of federal monies, but it is an astral leap compared to the last administration.  Federal monies are better served in other federal programs right now, ones that will give a more immediate jolt towards stopping this slow churning locomotive of economic depression.  Once we stop that steam breathing demon we can all get aboard and go for a much, much better ride.

This thread is just the beginning.  This is change.  It is only the first week, but already there is a renewed spirit matched with action.  Up markets, up people and a feeling that good things are on their way up too; this bodes for a better future.  This new well-spring of news is the tapping of an aquifer that has always known to be there, as it has been tapped a few times in the past, yet for some reason became an El Dorado.  Now the national GPS has put a way-point on it and will keep going back, so as to keep this new engine of change a’going.