Close enough is never close enough.
Author: Henry Barnard
I am a voracious reader and also enjoy writing. I often have a very different point of view than the popular one. I do see value in debate, and thought it might add to the public debate on controversial issues if I were to express my contrarian opinions. I also started keeping my poems recently (I've written little pieces my whole adult life but never kept any); and I've been a photographer now for over 25 years. So I will be adding an occasional poem and hopefully interesting photograph to the blog along the way, just to spice things up.
Roasted Sweet Potato, Oil Free
Chop up the sweet potato into bite-sized cubes but definitely keep the skin — it has a lot of the nutrition. First, coat the cubes with a very liquid Tahini. Then, sprinkle on a generous amount of Ceylon cinnamon — the best cinnamon because it doesn’t contain a pathogen common to the other cinnamons.
Cook in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Delicious both warm or cold.
US Foreign Policy
Instead of promoting wars around the world, US foreign policy should focus on doing things that actually benefit other countries and their citizens — a foreign policy focused on benevolence. Ultimately, that would also be in OUR best interest.
Old Age and Digestion
If you are into your 60s and 70s, it would be a good idea to take a digestive enzyme pill with your primary meal, as these enzymes decrease with old age, so that without a supplement, you are getting much less value from the food that you eat because it doesn’t get thoroughly digested for lack of digestive enzymes.
Yet another problem with old age and digestion is that the hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach to breakdown food decreases with old age, so that food — and proteins in particular, which are more complex compounds — don’t get broken down as efficiently by digestion in the stomach for lack of this acid, which is another reason why the old should increase the amount of protein in their diet somewhat to compensate for this inefficient digestion. A sprinkle of lemon juice on your salad would help here with digestion in the stomach.
When Winter’s on the Prowl
Cholesterol-Free Scrambled Eggs
The entire container of Trader Joe’s Liquid Range-Free Egg Whites (250 calories) — put it into a blender with a generous amount of nutritional yeast (that appealing eggy taste) and some black salt (that foul eggy smell). Large assortment of leafy greens (Kale, Spinach, etc.) diced to very small sizes. Steam a wide assortment of mixed vegetables. Chives.
Start with one large diced sweet onion in a heated pan until it starts to brown, then add diced garlic, and then some vegetable broth or avocado oil spray to prevent sticking. Once that onion/garlic combination has cooked sufficiently, add the egg whites and stir occasionally as it solidifies. As it comes close to being fully cooked, add the leafy greens and the chives, and mix them in well. Just before you finish cooking, add all the vegetables and mix well.
Eat it with Ezekiel Sesame toasted bread with a generous coating of clover honey.
Discipline
You can’t achieve anything without it.
But you can improve your discipline “muscle” with use. The more you get yourself to do things you know you ought to do but would rather not, the stronger that muscle becomes.
Surprise
They say old age is the biggest surprise.
Cinnamon Lovers
Steam cook sweet potatoes. Boil canned cannellini beans. In a large bowl, using a potato masher, mash the sweet potatoes, beans, and whole-grain oat flour together, adding ample cinnamon and some nutmeg and allspice.
Next time I do this, I may add crumbled bits of walnuts or almond slivers.
Mindset
What I believe in is continuous improvement as a mindset. Commit yourself to the idea of continuously improving whatever you do, both in terms of big things and even very small and seemingly trivial things.
Managing your finances — a big thing — how can you improve that? Washing the dishes — a trivial thing — how can you improve that?
Continuous improvement — that should be your mindset permanently. Nothing short of that.
Henry's Views 