Cool Summer Foods

Greetings LIFEers! We had a tasty treat in store for us today. Claire Gunnels and her daughter Barbara joined our class to teach us how to make some cold summer foods: ice-cream and gazpacho soup. Check out the history of ice-cream and their recipes in the slide show below, and stay cool this summer my friends!

You Scream I Scream Gazpacho

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175 Years of Texas History

Howdy LIFEers! Weeeeellll, I reckon this musta been one of THE most interestin' and thought provokin' LIFE classes we ever done had. Lotsa facts and history flyin' around the room, and folks just a scratchin' their heads tryin' to remember back to their grade school histry class. Yessir, it was a fascinatin' class: so fascinatin' that we ran over time and folks just stayed to keep learnin' more. But of course we all stayed, this class was about a subject near 'n dear to our hearts: Texas history.

Professor Thomas Kelly (a yankee, but we won't hold that against him) joined us to teach us all about the facts (and dispel some fictions) about the Lone Star State. Some interesting highlights:

• The original Tejas (state of Mexico) encompassed the south-east portion of the current state. The Republic was much bigger in part because after the battle of San Jacinto, Santa Ana withdrew his troops to the south side of the Rio Grande. In the treaty of Velasco, Santa Anna agreed to withdraw his troops from Texas (Tejas he thought). But since he withdrew to the Rio Grande, the Rio Grande became the new boundary of Texas.



• Texas was a Republic for 9 years, but it applied for US statehood each year of those 9 years, so one could argue it was a republic by default. The US rejected Texas' application for several reasons; possible war with Mexico, possible war with the Indians, and concerns about the massive debt Texas would enter the union with due to its recent war with Mexico.



• True or false: Texas is the only state with the right to fly the state flag at the same height or above the national flag. False. There were no rules about flag flying at the time of the Republic, and the Lone Star flag wasn't made the official state flag until 1933. The official US flag code allows any state flag to fly at the same height as the national flag, provided the national flag is on the left side, from the viewer's perspective. The Texas flag code also states that when on a single flag pole, the national flag must be on top.



• True or False: Texas has a treaty with the US that allows it to split into 5 states someday. Trick question. Texas has no treaty with the US. It was annexed by an act of Congress in 1845 (and we went to war with Mexico in 1846). The annexation allowed Texas to someday be broken up into 5 smaller states, mostly because of slavery. Other states (namely California) entering the union at the time were entering as free states, and southerners wanted to maintain the balance of slave states to non-slave states, so they reserved the right to create more (slave) states out of Texas, although most Texans were not slave owners. This was all settled with the Compromise of 1850 (where Texas got its current shape), and the entire topic was rendered moot by Article 4, Section 3 of the Constitution.



• Does Texas have any special laws? Yes! Texas is the only state that was granted the right to own its public lands. This is huge and for some reason few people know about this. More than 225 million acres of land were public at the time of annexation, which didn't do much for the state at first until the discovery of..oil! Massive profits from the oil sales went into Texas educational funds, which are still being used today.

Please read Professor Kelly's slide show below, and check out the links to the Texas state web pages for more information on (or verification of) today's history lesson.

Ya'll come back now, ya' hear!

You can learn more Texas history at the state’s official website:
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/index.html#history
Narrative History of Annexation of Texas:
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/annexation/index.html
The actual annexation document:
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/annexation/march1845.html

175 Years of Texas

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Cake Balls

Greetings LIFEers! Today we got a tasty treat as Librarian Krissy Conn joined us to share more of her cake making and decorating skills: this time with ...cake balls.

Cake balls are exactly like they sound: small balls of cake dipped in icing making for the perfect sized desert. The nice thing about cake balls is it lets your friends and family try several types of cake without having to eat an entire slice. So you can have a red velvet cake ball, chocolate cake ball, carrot cake ball, etc... and get a little taste of each one. Push a little stick inside the ball for a cake pop as a twist. These are great for parties, wedding receptions, or just a fun treat for guests. Check out Krissy's recipe below and enjoy this tasty, bite-sized treat!

Cake Balls

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Weight Loss

Greetings LIFEers! Dr. Chase Hayden returned after his fascinating lecture on omega 3 fatty acids to talk to us about weight loss, and why most of us are not having success with our diets and various weight loss programs. Statistically speaking, over two thirds of Americans are overweight and one third are obese. So weight loss is a big issue (no pun intended) for many of us. But why do we fail, and fail repeatedly? Dr. Chase gave us some answers today.

One issue surrounding weight loss and diets that we are beginning to hear more about is our blood type and our blood pH. These two factors are crucial in many of our bodies' functioning, and yet many people know little about it. A diet plan for a blood type A won't necessarily work for a type O, and vice versa. Our blood types developed over thousands of years due to people living in specific environment surrounded by different types of food sources. Eskimos have different blood types than Australian Aborigines, who differ from the ancient Maya who differ from Pygmies. Our blood types have mixed over time as humans crossed the globe, but we are still tied to our ancient DNA. Knowing your blood type can help you determine which foods to avoid and what foods to eat in your quest for health.

Another issue is your blood pH, or potential of hydrogen. Go back to high school chemistry. Remember the pH scale? The scale ranges from 0-14, with 1 being the most acidic, 7 being neutral and 14 being the most alkaline. Our blood wants to be about 7.2-7.4. But the western diet is heavily acidic, which lowers our pH. So our body has to pull alkaline minerals like calcium, iodine, potassium, magnesium and others out of our bones, organs and tissue to help balance our blood pH. As a result, our bones are more brittle and our organs function more poorly simply because of our diets. The answer is what you've been told all along: eat more fruits and vegetables (mostly vegetables) and very lean meat. Fruits and vegetables are alkaline, and don't require our bodies to sacrifice any nutrients to balance our blood pH. But wait, aren't lemons and limes and tomatoes acidic, you ask? In their natural, uneaten form, yes. But, once we've digested them, they function as alkaline in our bodies. Cut out processed foods, alcohol, dairy and grains and you will see a dramatic improvement in your health. Of course, you should never begin a weight loss program or diet without consulting your doctor, but if you went to your doctor and said you wanted to eat mostly veggies and lean meat, he or she will probably be thrilled.

Check out Dr. Chase's slide show below. Below that is a link to a YouTube video explaining more about our blood pH and how our foods impact our health. Stay happy and healthy my friends!

Weight Loss

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoAtwVyzZI

Organic Coop pick-up in Cypress

Greetings LIFEers! As an update to a previous post about Rawfully Organic, a member of our Cypress community is becoming a drop-off point for the Rawfully Organic coop. If you were interested in eating organic food, but didn't want to drive to any of the pick-up locations, you are in luck, because we will have one here soon! The location is

7826 Black Gap Drive, Cypress TX 77433
Pick up hours are 4-7PM

Go to the Rawfully Organic website, put in your order and choose the address above as your pick-up point. Rawfully Organic will email you when the delivery is made so you can pick up your food. See the link below.

http://www.rawfullyorganic.com/content.php?section=site_content&selector=contact_us

Eat healthy my friends!

Hurricanes

Greetings LIFEers! We were joined this morning by morning meteorologist Anthony Yanez. Hurricane season is upon us, and we Houstonites (and anyone living along the gulf coastline) are in the path of these monstrous storms. Learn about how they form, some hurricane history, and what you can do to protect yourself in the slide show below. Get prepared now and stay tuned to the weather channels to keep you and your loved ones safe during hurricane season.

Hurricanes

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Eat It Raw!

Greetings LIFEers - this summer we are trying to get you healthier! Hot on the heels of Dr. Hayden's class about the health benefits of Omega 3s, today's LIFE class was all about the health benefits of eating raw foods. We were joined by Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram, a Rice graduate with a degree in Kinesiology who also founded Rawfully Organic, a coop here in Houston which brings in organic foods from around the country. Kristina shared with us her success story eating the raw food diet, and shared with us some recipes from her website, rawfullyorganic.com (see link below).

Kristina was diagnosed hyperglycemia at age 16. She was in the grocery store one day when she was approached by a stranger asking her if she was a raw foodie. Not knowing anything about it at the time, Kristina did some research, and decided to try the raw food diet. After 30 days, Kristina felt noticeably better, and her blood sugar was testing within the normal range. After a year and a half of the raw food diet, Kristina's condition was gone. Now in her early 20s, she runs several miles a day and keeps up with her blood tests, but her doctor reports her health is excellent.

Inspired by this turnaround, she started working with organic farmers to bring more organic foods into the Houston area. She began by selling the food (not-for-profit) out her garage, which evolved into the Rawfully Organic coop, with several locations around Houston. The coop prices are on par with, and sometimes less than, organic food prices at regular grocery stores.

Suggested books on the raw food diet:

• The China Study by Colin Campbell (available in the library)




• The 80-10-10 Diet by Douglas N. Graham

Suggested equipment: Vitamix blender http://www.vitamix.com/index.asp - Kristina makes a lot of smoothies with leafy greens that regular blenders have trouble with

Website: http://www.rawfullyorganic.com/

Smoothie Recipes:

• Blueberry Peach
  5-6 Peaches
  2 Cartons of Blueberries





• Banana Blueberry
  5-6 Bananas
  1 Carton of Blueberries





• Blueberry Kiwi
  5 Kiwis
  2-3 Cartons of Blueberries





• Blueberry Strawberry Banana
  3-4 Bananas
  1-2 Cartons of Blueberries
  Handful of Strawberries





• Blueberry Nectarine
  4 Bananas
  3-4 Nectarines





• Blueberry Pineapple
  2 Cartons of Blueberries
  1/2 a RIPE Pineapple

Mexican Sweet Corn Salad:
Ingredients:
2-3 Ears of Sweet Corn
3-4 Tomatoes (Add More if Desired)
1/2 or One Full Cucumber Diced
1 Stalk of Celery
1 Red Bell Pepper (Optional if picked as a choice item)
Fourth of One Yellow Onion (Optional)
Quarter of One Avocado (Optional)
Bunch of Basil, Cilantro, or Parsley (Free to add a little of all if desired)
Half of One Fresh Squeezed Lemon
For Extra Pizazz, Add in a PEACH!

Cut and dice up all ingredients and mix into a bowl. Mix all of the ingredients together until the flavors mix and create a savory salad!

The Side Salsa:
4-5 Tomatoes
Third of an Avocado
4 Celery Stalks
Slice of Yellow Onion
Herb of Choice
Fresh Squeezed Lemon or Lime (optional)

In a food processor, combine all ingredients for a short period of time and then pour over salad! Mix!!

Baby Bok Choy Salad:
Ingredients
1-2 heads of baby bok choy (depends on for how many you are preparing)
Juice of 1-2 Lemons
Bunch of Cilantro
Quarter of Red, Green, or Yellow Onion
1 Garlic Clove (optional)
1 Cucumber
1/4 of One Avocado (optional)
1 Tomato (optional)

Chop up the baby bok choy stalks until they are good to put into a salad. Tiny chunks are much better here.
Dice the cilantro, tomato, avocado, and onions together.
Dice up half of the cucumber, and save the other half for the dressing.
Put these ingredients on top of the salad, and mix them in with your hands. That's right, get messy! Eating with your hands is liberating!
For the dressing, you have two options.
For the first option, you can merely sprinkle the salad with a squeeze of your lemon, chop up a TINY bit of garlic, and mesh it all within your salad.
For the second option, you can use the other half of the cucumber and blend it in your vitamix with a stalk or two of celery, lemon juice from one lemon, a bit of cilantro, and a TINY bit of garlic. If you wish, you can add in a tablespoon of raw sesame seeds to grind in the mix.
Enjoy this salad, and be creative with it! The more flavors, the better for this one!

Learn more about Christina and the Rawfully Organic coop at their website, http://www.rawfullyorganic.com/

Eat healthy and stay happy my friends!