What do I hear? A growl, a purr, a whimper, a flip, a flirt, a bird, a laugh, a giggle and more!

November is National Gratitude Month. Those two special words, Thank you, important daily and celebrated during National Gratitude Month.

Those two words, Thank you, have amazing powers.

Most recently, I was strolling the streets of downtown Lake Worth. Quaint shops, the cultural center, and boom, artwork. Artwork in the form of a large or huge mural. A dog and cat mural staring at me with loving eyes. Oh, my memories of my pets of the past. Carioca Cat was a college pet, named after my favorite ice cream. Sundance dog, named after the movies. He was a wonderful golden retriever that took strolls in the neighborhood and swims in open pools. Then there was Indy, Racerama. This golden retriever was named Independence as we adopted him and gave him independence. He soon got a nickname, Indy Racerama, for running laps in the backyard, never quite catching his tail.

Then there was my little green turtle as a child, in that plastic bowl with a plastic palm tree. Least I forget the aquarium of fish, or lightning bugs I caught in a jar, or the baby frogs that I caught but could not keep. House rules.

I am grateful and have gratitude for having these pets in my life. On National Gratitude Month, I look around, and say Thank you! Thank you to people, pets, my stuff and more. I plan on celebrating National gratitude month every day, all year. After all, those two words, Thank you, are very powerful and priceless.

*No content in this article and any article on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or healthcare provider.*

“If the apple tree could talk to me, what would the apple tree say, truly?” The answers are infinite. How would you answer this question? I hear you thinking.

This question is the first line of my poem titled, “What would the Apple Tree Say?” published in Serenity View Poems and Images of the Blue Ridge Mountains book. Like other spoken words, this question tugs at the brain. Brain, become engaged, think, talk, discuss, interact, and laugh. Ahh! Enjoying National Family Literacy Month today.

National Family Literacy Month started in 1994, even though the first dictionary dates back to 1582. Reading out loud by adults, for adults, to children, for children, by families, for families is fun. One of my favorite places to roam is a library and bookstore. My imagination is captured by the book title, the illustrations, the first sentence, paragraph, or word. Oh, the places my mind goes when reading.

Want to travel, read about that special place yet to be explored. Go back in history to the days of. As a child, I loved escaping into a book. I was one of those kids that read under the covers with a flashlight when instructed to put out the lights and go to sleep. I hear chuckles from my fellow flashlight night readers in the days before screen reading and e-books.

National Family Literacy Month, on my calendar, is every month of the year. Have fun reading out loud by being expressive with pauses and different voices of different characters. Talking and chuckling about the book brings the words to life.

Comprehending and listening to how others viewed the book is eye opening and at times, eye rolling. My mom, age 95, asked me a great question about my children’s book, Happy Ever After A Pandemic Tale. She said, “Marlene, what is in the magical unicorn dust?” My answer, “Mom, you have to ask the unicorns!”

Reference: National Family Literacy Month November 22, (2022), National Today, [https://nationaltoday.com/national-family-literacy-month/]

Diet is a 4-letter word! Wow, you are thinking! She can count. The connotation is that a “4 letter word” is a “bad” word. A 4-letter word can be the response to a situation that deserves no response. A 4-letter word is not a happy place.

What thoughts enter the mind with the 4-letter word “diet”? Deprivation, eating less, rabbit food, green lettuce, no desserts, short term, temporary. An alphabet soup of words. Commonly, a person says in a negative, sad tone, “No, thanks to that chocolate cake. I’m on a diet!” Then, with a smile and deep sigh , adds, “The diet ends tomorrow so save me a piece of that homemade chocolate cake!

I have gotten rid of the diet from my vocabulary. From this moment forth, let us call what we eat and drink what it really is, “food”. We love to think about and plan our meals, hence, a “food plan”. EveryWAY Nutrition is about a food plan, eliminating that diet 4-letter word. It is a food plan that contains great nutrients for our body needs. Food that its simple, easy, nutritious, and delicious.

Me in the supermarket, reading the ingredient list. Supermarket employee, “May I help you?” Me, “No.” The ingredient list often reads like a science experiment. Not for this EveryWAY Nutrition person. Next food product ingredient list to read. This process is time-consuming and a bit scary. But considering I only have one, wonderful body, worth all the time and effort.

My food plan is simple, easy, fun, tasty, and above all healthy. I can pronounce and know what I eat. EveryWAY Nutrition made easy.

*No content in this article and any article on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or healthcare provider.*

I looked at my plate of food and wandered, are you part of my EveryWAY Nutrition? What is your density? Density as in weight, pounds, or kilograms? Density as in volcanic rock density?

No, density as in food, nutrient-dense or energy-dense food. The battle of the nutrient-dense versus energy-dense is in full throttle. EveryWAY Nutrition will determine the winner.

This nutrient-dense concept is part of that famous 2020 year. Ugh! December 29, 2020 brought to the world the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025” from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). What to eat: “nutrient-dense food”.

The easy, non-dense way to understand food density is nutrient-dense is low in calories, high in nutrients; energy-dense is high in calories and low in nutrients.

Hey, food, are you nutrient-dense? The food looks at me, begging me to chow down but stubbornly remaining silent. If this food looks like its food source, then most likely the answer is yes, this food is nutrient dense.

The USDA probably feels obligated to define these terms with a long expose using foodie lingo. Nutrient-dense foods are “Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seafood, eggs, beans, peas, and lentils, unsalted nuts and seeds, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and lean meats and poultry—when prepared with no or little added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium” and contain vitamins and minerals with little added sugars, saturated fat, or sodium. Got it!

Proud to be in the energy-dense column are processed snacks, cakes, candy, cookies, sugary beverages, and other food products. They are made in factories, not grown by the farmer. Never saw a farmer tending a field growing chips! These foods are on the USDA unhealthy, best not to eat, list, my EveryWAY Nutrition list. Energy-dense food, once consumed, gives you a jolt of energy, a kilowatt of electricity, several volts, a big bang. Shockingly true, with a long ingredient list of chemicals and other hard-to-pronounce substances.

EveryWAY Nutrition promotes consuming nutrient-dense food, those fruits, vegetables, beans in easy to recognize form. Nutrient-dense food helps to decrease chronic diseases such as Diabetes and heart disease. Knowledge is power. Ultimately, the winner in the battle of food density is you.

Your heart is your home, pumping so wise Amazing organ, a simple surprise.

Keeping it simple, having some fun.
Learn from the Doctor, Heart Anatomy 101
Presented on June 23, 2022
The Meridian Senior Living
Boca Raton, Florida

PDF Version of Presentation

The gutsy gut is alive, moving in motion, noisily growling, a normal situation.

The gut is full of life, bacteria live here, healthy and normal, without any fear.

Digestion occurs from the food galore. Vitamins and nutrients, the gutsy gut scores.

Read More

A holiday gift. Just looking at the box was overwhelming. I stood there for a few minutes.

Smile, take a deep breath, pump yourself up. I tell my brain, just take one piece at a time.

Like a whole pizza, I need to open the box, savor the moment, decide which piece to take, and where to start. In this case, there are 1000 pieces in this jigsaw puzzle gift. One piece at a time. Now go forth and conquer.

This approach, one piece at a time, works for me be it a 1000-piece puzzle or changing a habit. Change, especially when it comes to that glorious, savory, delicious food habit, is tough. Changing food habits makes my eyes twitch and mouth dry as I automatically want to say a big, fat, NO!

Just what am I eating, I pondered after scanning the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025. Swiping down the PDF, my fingers stop on the fruit section. An 80 % of the US population do not meet the daily fruit recommendations of 2 cups of fruit. Non-sweetened juices count but not for me. I gave up juices, last century, when it contained added hard to pronounce chemicals and preservatives. I incorporated one whole piece of fruit and wonderful fiber and nutrients into my diet years ago.

The question begs, what is a fruit? Every natural fruit has seeds, usually on the inside. The strawberry is the only fruit with seeds on the outside. With innovative farming, there are seedless varieties of the once seeded fruits, such a cucumber. Tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers are fruits. Deep sigh. I do get 2 servings a day.

The 1000-piece puzzle box is opened, border done, pieces sorted by color, one piece at a time. The fresh fruit bowl is positioned on the table, next to that 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Fruit and puzzle look at me! One piece at a time, EveryWAY Nutrition!

Conservation. Wildlife. World. Day. What do these words have I common? December 4 is World Wildlife Conservation Day. It is my opinion, that every day should be World Wildlife Conservation Day.

Most recently, I went to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, in Juno Beach, Florida. They actively practice and promote conservation solutions with more than 90 partners across 16 countries and 6 continents. Conservation day is every day for them.

They rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles. They have in-person and virtual educational programs. Monitoring and protecting sea turtle nests on the beaches of Florida is a priority.

Charles LeBuff, now 86, is the patriarch of the Florida sea turtle conservation. All kids live turtles. I love turtles. Mr. LeBuff is still intrigued by sea turtles. We both are big kids at heart.

I was happy to see familiar signs at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Quiet, turtles recovering. Do not enter, turtle surgical hospital. Caring for wildlife means caring for the turtles during health and illness, good times, and bad times. Caring means conservation of their home, food supply, and life in this world, on this world planet.

Thank you, Loggerhead Marinelife Center, for assisting the sea turtles in their life’s journey and practicing World Wildlife Conservation Day every day.

Link to Logerhead Marinelife Center: https://marinelife.org/

Link to Ways to protect sea turtles: https://turtletime.org/