Dealing with Stress and Stress-Relief Tips

[serious crayons]

On the local scene, there was another Columbine incident yesterday, only 7 miles away from where two students shot up a school 20 years ago.

That was so sad about the one kid, about to graduate, who lunged at the shooter and was killed but gave his classmates time to escape.

Step One in the battle against this madness is self-care: strengthening and preparing to be the Sacred Warrior, as it's called in permaculture. I'm working to improve my diet. It wasn't that bad before but I slid into some bad habits. My daughter was cleaning out all products containing yeast (it's a requirement for Passover) and gave me a bunch of doughy stuff that I really didn't need. I've worked through most of that and am stocking up on more healthy choices. For lunch today, I had cream of chicken soup with added bone broth and spring greens. (I really have a craving for those delicious scallions and fortunately, many are coming up in my garden!) I also made a salad with dandelion greens, cottage cheese, tiny tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, chick peas, and spinach. Yummy! I feel energized!

Good plan! I'll take some inspiration from you. Lately I've let my diet and exercise habits slip and I'm feeling tired a lot. I need to get back on track with things like bone broth and greens.

BTW yesterday I was reading this piece about kelp, which made it sound great: delicious, sustainable, nutritious. I'm not sure where it's available but I'll look either online or at local co-ops.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/dining/kelp-seaweed-recipes.html?fallback=0&recId=1KomnhJnxA1A0ikMgnr2PNemWHZ&locked=0&geoContinent=NA&geoRegion=MN&recAlloc=story&geoCountry=US&blockId=home-featured&imp_id=992375983&action=click&module=editorContent&pgtype=Article&region=CompanionColumn&contentCollection=Trending

[Front-Ranger]

I have some dried kelp that I put into boiling water to make a broth called dashi. Also, I have this seasoning called furikake, which contains sesame seed and seaweed. It is a basic seasoning that you can add to rice, soup, or anything to add flavor and nutrition. I obtained both things at the local Oriental market.

[serious crayons]

I have some dried kelp that I put into boiling water to make a broth called dashi. Also, I have this seasoning called furikake, which contains sesame seed and seaweed. It is a basic seasoning that you can add to rice, soup, or anything to add flavor and nutrition. I obtained both things at the local Oriental market.

Both sound delicious, and very umami! But these recipes were using fresh or frozen kelp the way you would arugula or some other green.

[Front-Ranger]

Oh, okay, like those seaweed salads served in Japanese restaurants? I like them and their pleasantly rubbery mouthfeel. I don't order them often because they're kind of expensive.

[serious crayons]

Oh, okay, like those seaweed salads served in Japanese restaurants? I like them and their pleasantly rubbery mouthfeel. I don't order them often because they're kind of expensive.

The author of the article says this kelp was much better than those seaweed salads. Well, here are her words:

I’d eaten plenty of seaweed salads at Japanese and vegan restaurants, but this was not that. A variety called skinny kelp, it was lightly salty and profoundly savory, with a flavor like ice-cold oyster liquor, and a crisp, snappy texture somewhere between stewed collard greens and al dente fettuccine. The chef Brooks Headley, who adds it in slippery slivers to the barbecued carrots he serves at Superiority Burger in New York, described it in an email as “insanely delicious and texturally incredible.”

Yesterday for lunch I had a build-your-own rice bowl from One Two Three Sushi that had, among other toppings, a scoop of seaweed. They just called it seaweed, so I don't know what kind it was. It tasted very much like stewed collard greens, like the kelp in her description. I wouldn't call it "insanely delicious" but I would definitely get it in my next rice bowl.

And yes, the rice bowls are kind of expensive for a work lunch ($10) but they are one of my favorite lunches. And almost all of the lunches within a few minutes walk from my office are $10, or close to.

[Front-Ranger]

Food is getting more expensive, mostly due to the stupid trade war and the stupid war on immigrants. Some foods, like beef, are going to get even more expensive because Midwestern crops used for livestock food have been wiped out. These include corn and soy beans. I read one time that 40% of the world's calories come from either corn or soy, mainly in the form of corn syrup and soy oil.

SO, I'm supposed to be writing about how I'm relieving stress and instead I write about the opposite! I feel a growing sense of foreboding. People tell me to just not watch the news but it doesn't help; indeed, I feel more foreboding when I deliberately ignore the news. 

[serious crayons]

Another reason for expensive food is a shortage of truck drivers. 

As for the war on immigrants, one thing I can't understand is why left-leaning experts don't speak up more about how much our economy needs immigrants. The only time I've ever heard an expert discuss that on TV (admittedly, I don't watch much TV news, but I read a lot and haven't seen much there, either) is when an economist appeared ... on the Tucker Carlson show! Tucker Carlson kept arguing with him and telling this guy, a self-identified conservative who spends 40 hours a week studying immigration and the economy, that he was wrong about immigration and the economy. And that Tucker, the talking head, knows more about it. Finally Tucker said they'd just have to agree to disagree.

But elsewhere, we get the Pelosi-Schumer lame "Our borders do need strengthening, but Trump's is not the right way" bullshit. Our economy actually desperately needs immigrant labor and somebody should be getting that word out.

Sorry, that's just more stressfulness! The good news is, the coming widespread use of self-driving vehicles will help the trucking industry and some environmental things, too.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Some foods, like beef, are going to get even more expensive because Midwestern crops used for livestock food have been wiped out.

Well, less beef in the diet is supposed to be a Good Thing. My cardiologist just told me I should cut out beer altogether.

An economist appeared ... on the Tucker Carlson show! Tucker Carlson kept arguing with him and telling this guy, a self-identified conservative who spends 40 hours a week studying immigration and the economy, that he was wrong about immigration and the economy. And that Tucker, the talking head, knows more about it.

Nothing gets through to these people. They believe, therefore what they believe is correct, and they know better than anyone else. Experts are distrusted, but then there's always been a strain of that in the U.S.

[serious crayons]

Well, less beef in the diet is supposed to be a Good Thing. My cardiologist just told me I should cut out beer altogether.

Less beef is definitely good for the planet, both by reducing methane and lessening the need for cutting down rainforests for pasture land (if they're still doing that).

Nothing gets through to these people. They believe, therefore what they believe is correct, and they know better than anyone else. Experts are distrusted, but then there's always been a strain of that in the U.S.

Good point. In this case, I think because the expert was a self-described conservative, they (FOX and Tucker) expected him to agree with them. They only trust experts who confirm what they already believe.

In my newsroom, we have a big screen playing CNN next to a big screen with FOX. One day last week, I saw both of them using the exact same footage of Trump at the exact same time. Except CNN's caption was something like "Trump screws up visits to comfort shooting survivors" and the FOX one said "Trump talks foreign policy." 

[Jeff Wrangler]

Well, less beef in the diet is supposed to be a Good Thing. My cardiologist just told me I should cut out beer altogether.

Actually, my cardiologist did NOT tell me to cut out beer, which I don't drink anyway. He told me to cut out beef.