Salad Days and Flip Yogurts

Our whirlwind summer break of 2024 has come to an end, and a new school year has started- we have a third grader and a seventh grader this year. School starts very early here in the South- unlike in other parts of the US where schools start closer to Labor Day- and temperatures are still so high that kids sometimes have to have indoor recess to stay safe in the heat. 

Our son turned 8 last month, while he was visiting India with his dad, but when he got home we had a small celebration at home with an ice cream cake. I tried this recipe with good success- even busting out a piping bag and tip to make some decorative swirls with homemade whipped cream.

Ice cream cake for an 8th birthday

Other good eats this week-

This tahini dressing is called "liquid gold" on the original post and I am inclined to agree. It is plant based, is made by simply mixing a few ingredients in a bowl (no blender needed), and tastes fantastic on any kind of salad. I served it all week with a basic spring mix. A keeper dressing recipe!

Spring greens, cucumber, and
 tahini dressing

I'm making more of an effort to soak whole legumes regularly for sprouts. Here, I cooked whole moong bean sprouts lightly, and made a "bhel" of sorts by topping them with onion, tomato, chopped mixed greens, a bit of yogurt and cornflakes mixture- it made for a light, nutritious, and tasty summer dinner!

Sprouts bhel

There's a constant struggle of sorts in my home between the sugar-loving kids and my attempt to balance the "fun" foods with more wholesome meals and snacks that are not straight-up sugar-delivery devices.  My kids enjoy snacking on "flip yogurts"- the ones from Chobani and other brands sold in supermarkets- where you flip a small container of mix-ins into the yogurt and stir it together. They come, of course, in all sorts of enticing flavors.  

I've started making our own version at home by buying a tub of vanilla greek yogurt (I choose a lower sugar variety with a good amount of protein) and portioning it into small containers. And preparing tiny containers of mix-ins- a favorite is a combination of crushed Oreo cookies, crushed graham crackers, and chocolate chips. 

A batch of DIY flip yogurts

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Media round up from this week:

• Listened to a podcast episode that was highly recommended somewhere- The Mel Robbins Podcast "Let Them Theory" episode. It calls for a subtle but powerful mindset shift to stop controlling the behavior and choices of others, and to "let them" do whatever they want to do and focus your energy on your own life. 
• Read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. First published in 1922, and translated from German, this is a classic short novel. It is a story written very simply, in easy language- a parable of a young man and his search for meaning through different seasons of life. The simple language belies the deeper philosophical message. This is a book definitely worth reading once in your life. 
• Reading What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles, the all-time bestselling guide for finding meaningful work and career success. My current project is ending soon and I'm trying to be more thoughtful and intentional about what sort of work I want to do next. Wish me luck! 
• Started watching The Good Place, a sitcom on Netflix. A self-absorbed young woman arrives in the "good place" after her death, but her placement is an error, and she tried to becomes a better person in an effort to earn her place there. I'm only 3 episodes in and it is pretty good so far.
• My son and I watched the comedy movie Matilda (1996) yesterday on Netflix- Danny DeVito's over the top adaptation of the Roald Dahl book. It is a classic. My son was slack-jawed at the tyrannical principal in the movie, and expressed relief that he goes to a better school than the one shown in this movie!

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A moment of fitness: I've had a wonderful time testing our my "fitness chats" with a variety of people- and I want to thank everyone who gave me an hour of their time, and their valuable feedback. It is inspiring to hear of each person's unique relationship to fitness over their lifetime. In every post going forward, I'll try to talk about one aspect of fitness.

Today, I'm thinking of a very basic question: Why is there such a disconnect between the need for exercise, and the average person's ability/motivation to exercise? 80% of US adults do not meet exercise requirements. (What exactly are the exercise requirements for adults? More on that in my next post.) 

Is it really necessary to exercise? All available research overwhelmingly suggests that this is the case. There is no reasonable debate any more about whether exercise is important. It is quite simply the closest thing we have to a magic pill. 

But why do we need to exercise? It just seems so darn inconvenient and pointless! The whole problem is an evolutionary mismatch between how humans evolved, over 6 million years or so, and the modern environment that we now live in, which has only existed for a few hundred years (negligible in evolutionary terms), with time and labor saving appliances like washing machines and dishwashers really only being widely available for a few decades. For millions of years, humans had no choice but to be active for hunting and gathering and survival; our brains and bodies and behaviors evolved for regular and rigorous exercise. Our bodies also evolved to consume sugar and fat whenever it was available and to rest whenever we could to avoid spending extra calories when not required. 

But here we are in modern life where everything has been turned upside down. On one hand, our fridges and pantries are full of caloric food that our bodies can't get enough of. On the other hand, with transportation and appliances, there are few natural opportunities to exercise. And that is why we now have to resort to "artificial exertion" with gyms and weights and exercise regimens and fitness apps and organized sports. We are expected to do these while working long hours in mostly sedentary jobs, and, for many people, while raising kids and caring for elders without the benefits of a "village". It is a tough and somewhat perverse situation to be in, even though we recognize that modern life blesses us with many advantages. 

What does all of this mean for us? If you don't intrinsically love to exercise, that is understandable and normal and expected. The good news is that you are a human- intelligent and adaptable. You can use behavior change strategies to put an exercise habit into place. The world of exercise is so vast that you can find something that you enjoy that will fit into your life. And the best news of all- because humans have evolved to exercise, once you start doing it, you reap the benefits and grow to tolerate it/ like it/ love it! But it all starts with understanding and accepting that exercise is essential and that we have to hack our inner tendencies and find a way to include it in our life.

An interesting article on this subject: Humans Evolved to Exercise (Sci Am, 2019)

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A doe has been leaving her newborn fawn in 
our backyard for several hours every day this week