Tag: heart disease

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INDULGE IN CREAMED ASPARAGUS

Back when almost everyone either lived on a farm, or knew someone who did, creamed vegetables were very popular.  That was before anyone had made the connection between animal fat and heart disease.  In the springtime, asparagus was plentiful and cheap.  It grew all over the place, even along the railroad tracks! Any good  cook would serve bowls of creamed asparagus in April and May.  Never mind the calories. Every once in a while, we’ll give into temptation and indulge in creamed asparagus, just for old times sake.

Asparagus is a nutritional power house. First of all, it is  high in fiber–especially insoluble fiber that adds bulk to the stool and supports regular bowel movements. It also contains soluble fiber which is good for the digestive tract by feeding friendly bacteria in the gut. It’s  low in calories and packed with at least 10 essential  vitamins and minerals.

Asparagus can be eaten in many different ways.  For just plain, low calorie asparagus, I simply cover it with water and microwave it for 7 minutes.  You can add butter and salt for extra flavor. Or, you can line the spears up on a lettuce leaf to make a marvelous salad. Another favorite is asparagus bacon quiche—there are many recipes on the internet.

Indulge in Creamed Asparagus. It's a nutritional powerhouse.
Indulge in creamed asparagus. Make it with either cream or milk.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, and we decided to forget about our diets for the day.  I don’t know how many calories we consumed,  but we certainly enjoyed a fine meal which included creamed asparagus.

When preparing asparagus, be sure to separate the edible part from the tough woody ends.  Hold each stalk in the middle and at the bottom. Bend the stalk, and the woody end will snap off. Discard the bottom.

CREAMED ASPARAGUS

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (about 1 pound)  trimmed asparagus, cut in 2 inch pieces

3 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons flour

1  1/2 cups Half n Half cream or milk

Directions:

Cover asparagus with water. Either boil for 3 minutes in sauce pan, or cook in microwave for 3 min , just until tender.  Drain asparagus and set aside.

In saucepan, melt butter. Add flour to make a roux and cook for one minute.  Stir in milk. Bring to a boil and add asparagus.  Salt to taste.

Serve as a side dish, or over toast.

If you love asparagus as much as we do, this is as good as it gets.

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RISK TAKING IS IN AMERICA’S DNA

Yes, we know.  All those European countries have lower Covid-19  positivity rates than we do, here  in the USA.  But guess what?  Europeans are the ones who stayed home over the past four centuries. They put up with dictators and monarchies.  Our ancestors who emigrated to  America in hope of independence and  a better life were risk takers, and they still are. Risk taking is in America’s DNA

Consider these facts:

More than 38,000 people die every year in crashes on U.S. roadways. The U.S. traffic fatality rate is 12.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. An additional 4.4 million are injured seriously enough to require medical attention. Does that stop people from driving? Most of us own at least one motor vehicle, and don’t worry when taking trips and running errands in our cars.

57% of all motorcycle fatalities are due to drivers without helmets.
Risk Taking is in America’s DNA. 57% of motorcycle fatalities are because the driver didn’t wear a helmet.

Because motorcycles lack the protection of cars, accidents tend to be more severe for motorcyclists when a collision does occur. In fact, bikers are 27 times more likely to experience a fatal accident than car drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Some states require motorcyclists wear helmets.  But many don’t.  And yet,  57% of motorcyclists killed in 2017 weren’t wearing helmets, according to  NHTSA,.

 All grocery stores, pharmacies and dollar stores sell cigarettes. Smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure.  On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers.  

 Ever count the number of liquor stores in your city?  They were considered an essential business during the pandemic.   Few people stop to consider  that  1 million people died from alcohol-related causes between 1999 and 2017. The number of death certificates mentioning alcohol more than doubled from 35,914 in 1999 to 72,558 in 2017. That year,  alcohol played a role in 2.6% of all deaths in the United States.

Snack foods take up an entire aisle in most grocery stores, pharmacies, and dollar stores. Most of these chips and snacks are alarmingly high in salt.  But they’re big sellers.  Unfortunately, according to the American Heart Association a high salt diet may  may lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, and strokes. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

On Labor Day, I walked past a house full of people having an indoor-outdoor barbeque .  It looked like a family get together, and I didn’t see any masks.

Politicians and the CDC are  desperately trying to regulate the behavior of Americans  during this Covid-19 pandemic.  Nevertheless,  people  continue to congregate, travel,  and go without masks.  Is it any wonder? If you consider the above statistics, it’s clear that risk taking is in America’s DNA.