Month: March 2024

Originally posted at: Lala Kent’s Purple Short Sleeve Pajama Set

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Originally posted at: Lala Kent’s Pink Short Sleeve Swim Top

Originally posted at: Scheana Shay’s Green One Piece Bathing Suit

For many of us, when it comes to healthy aging, wheat or gluten is a newcomer to our dietary “foods to avoid” list. Even though we love our baguettes, pasta and pizza, they don’t seem to love us anymore.

While some people cannot handle wheat, others find that it is the gluten in wheat, rye or barley that is bothersome. Many people report feeling bloated, gassy, spacey and tired soon after they eat a meal containing wheat or gluten.

What Is Going on with “Modern” Wheat?

Today’s “modern” wheat is altered, hybridized and stripped of its bran and germ. As a result, the proportion of gluten protein in wheat is enormously elevated. Correlated to that, there is a fourfold upward trend of people becoming sensitive or intolerant to the gluten in wheat, rye and barley.

In other words, these people were not born with Celiac’s disease, which is an allergy to gluten. These people became intolerant to wheat or gluten over time.

Some researchers point to gut dysbiosis as a reason for the sensitivity. Gut dysbiosis is a condition where not enough beneficial bacteria inhabit the bowel. In their place is an overgrowth of “bad” bacteria and yeast. This condition is a result of taking antibiotics, experiencing stress and eating too much sugar. It occurs naturally with age.

We all know how yeast works when baking bread. Add a sweetener to yeast and bread rises, giving off carbon dioxide (CO2) and alcohol. When yeast overpopulates the bowels, eating foods that contain sugar or yeast, “feeds” the yeast, causing them to release gas. Thus, you get bloated and gassy.

Leaky Gut

Gut dysbiosis can lead to changes in the lining of the bowel, which increases the permeability of the intestines. This results in a condition called leaky gut. Leaky gut makes it easier for larger food particles to breach the walls of the intestines. Our immune system sitting behind the wall protects us from foreign invaders.

When we have leaky gut, the immune system doesn’t recognize these larger particles of wheat or gluten as food and mounts an attack that causes inflammation, bloating and that feeling of being spacey!

For me, a combination of genetics, blood sugar issues, a low white blood cell count and elevated gluten protein in the wheat probably contributed to my sensitivity. But what is a girl to do if her favorite foods contain wheat?

How Can I Satisfy My Cravings with Healthy Aging Choices?

Zucchini Pasta

Head out to an upscale supermarket, like Whole Foods, and buy pre-made raw vegetable noodles like zucchini. Place the “zoodles” in a frying pan and drizzle olive oil over them to take the chill out. In another pot, heat up your favorite spaghetti sauce (or make your own.) Put the zoodles in a bowl, add sauce and voila, it’s pasta night!

I add parmesan cheese and some fresh basil. I am very happy. If you really love this recipe I recommend investing in a spiralizer or a Paderno turning slicer. Zucchini is good for about 24 hours once turned into pasta.

Tabouli or Tabbouleh

I love tabbouleh, a Middle Eastern vegetable dish that uses bulgur wheat for the base. Easy substitutes are cooked quinoa or cauliflower. Take the cauliflower and cut into large pieces. Place the cauliflower in a food processer and using the “S” blade, pulse until the cauliflower is in tiny pieces.

Place a cup of minced cauliflower (or a cup of quinoa) in a bowl. Add 1 cut up tomato, ½ cucumber chopped, ¼ cup fresh mint, 1 cup parsley. Dress with ¼ cup lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

How I Make Sandwiches

If you really want a sandwich “sandwich,” then gluten-free bread, waffles or wraps are your best option. I wanted to see what I could create with vegetables. My three favorites are nori wraps, blanched collard greens and red cabbage.

Nori Sandwich

For my favorite nori sandwich: Take one sheet of nori and place it on a bamboo sushi rolling mat. Goal: fill ¼ of the nori sheet with what you want to add. I start with a little smear of peanut butter on the nori. Next, I add brown rice, thin avocado slices, steamed fish and ½ a scallion cut vertically. Once filled, roll the nori from the full end to the empty end, using the rolling mat to hold everything in place. Your sandwich should look like one long sushi roll when you are done.

Collard Greens

Collard greens are big leafy greens with a firm stem in the middle. Following the stem line, cut the greens off the stem so you end up with two big greens. Boil a small amount of water and place the greens in the water for 30 seconds. They will wilt but will remain be strong. Use these greens like the nori wraps, filling ¼ of the green with your meal and rolling them.

Red Cabbage

Red cabbage is a very sturdy vegetable. The goal is to peel off one layer and fold it in half like a taco. You may have to slice it near the center core to help peel it off. Fill the cabbage taco with anything you imagine: rice and beans, egg salad, tuna fish, chicken, smoked salmon with cream cheese, tomatoes, Bermuda onions and some capers.

While it isn’t easy to give up comfort food, at least there are some easy alternatives that are nutritious and delicious!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you switched to a gluten free diet? Do you have any special foods or recipes that satisfy your cravings with healthy options? What other healthy aging tips can you share with the other women in our community? Please share in the comments.

As a guitar player, you need to be proficient in playing both single notes and chords. Most people struggle with aspects of these skills at some time, but with the right approach, you can navigate them both with ease. Start by looking at what mastering single note playing can do for you.

Single Notes

Proficiency in single note playing is essential if you want to play lead guitar, but it’s equally important for rhythm and accompaniment players. Bass lines, runs, intros, outros, and riffs all make your playing more interesting and fun, regardless of the style of music you play. But single note mastery offers even more than that.

The strength, stretch, and finger independence you gain from practicing single note exercises will enhance the accuracy, speed, and clarity of your chord playing. And, by practicing scales, you’ll learn more about music and the fretboard, enabling you to lift limits on your creativity and expression.

How to Start

Start by learning to keep your left hand, or fretting hand, close to the fretboard. This will help you achieve not only speed, but also fluidity and endurance. The following simple finger exercise can help you with this important skill.

Play the first fret of the first string (the high E string) with your first finger (index finger), followed by the second fret, second finger, third fret, third finger and fourth fret, fourth finger. As you play each note, keep the previous finger or fingers down. By the time you have the fourth finger down, all four of your left-hand fingers will be down.

Repeat the highest note (fourth finger) and reverse direction, playing one note at a time (4,3,2,1). Upon completion move up a fret without a pause and continue, repeating the exercise in the second position (first finger on the second fret). Continue in this way, moving up one fret at a time. Use a strict down, up alternating motion with the pick and keep a regular beat. When you’ve gone as far as you can up the neck on the first string, do the exercise on the second string, then the third and so on across the fretboard.

As you progress, you’ll benefit from an expanded version of this exercise. You can find my favorite one, along with four other important lessons, in this free e-book. By focusing on the principles in this small book, you can solve or avoid the most common problems that guitar players encounter.

Chords

If you’re plagued with pauses when switching from one chord to another, you’re not alone. This can occur even when you’ve practiced the chords diligently and focused on changing them smoothly. You want to solve that problem before it becomes a deep habit – but how?

First, simplify your strumming by playing only one downward strum per beat. Strum slowly and regularly, putting the same amount of time between beats that it takes you to change chords. Once you can consistently play the entire song without pauses, begin to gradually increase the tempo. When you’ve reached your desired tempo, add in the strumming or fingerpicking pattern of your choice.

If you go through this process and you’re still having trouble, you need to know the chord shapes more deeply. Regardless of how well you think you know them, you can know them better! Take some time to rehearse the chords and the changes mentally. Then, print some blank chord diagrams and use them to practice drawing your chords.

Hands Synchronicity

If the problem persists, you’re suffering from a lack of synchrony between your hands. Most beginners experience this issue, but fortunately there’s a quick solution. Just keep strumming a regular beat with your right hand, whether you think your left hand is ready or not. Although it may be hard to believe, your left hand is actually changing chords soon enough, but your right hand is taking too much time to register that and respond!

It won’t feel natural to keep your strumming hand going while your fretting hand is still fumbling for the chord. In fact, it may feel impossible at first. But push through it and everything will change! Watch your left hand, think ahead, and mentally aim at the upcoming chord. When you make the change with your left hand, keep strumming, regardless of how it sounds. Just keep a slow and steady tempo and you’ll get there!

Also read SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESSFUL GUITAR PRACTICE.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Where in your life have you experienced the value of committing to one small practice every day, without fail? Have you ever been surprised at how much difference in your playing a small shift in your approach can make?