Dare You To...

Last week, my dad sent me a link to an article about Michael Pollan and the Paleo diet.  He knows that I'm a big fan of BOTH, so it made sense that he'd forward this to me, and I was eager to read it.

You can read the original article here: Michael Pollan Explains What's Wrong With The Paleo Diet"- The celebrated food author dishes on how to eat well: less meat, more microbes, and cook it for yourself.".  Based on the title, you'd logically assume that this interview was just that: The Great Michael Pollan going through reasons why the "paleo diet" is wrong.  If you read the full article, you may still think that. But, if you listen to the actual interview... you see this title is completely misleading.



First, I read the article (by Cynthia Graber), and immediately sent my reactions back to my dad.  To be clear, my gripes below are with the article's framing and titling, not with Pollan's arguments.

My initial email response:

----- Thanks, b…

I had a lovely day off today, but now it's back to work... back to bed!

Maybe you already set a bedtime alarmor take the time to shut down before bed, but maybe you slipped back into old ways.  Maybe you have so much work to do that by the time you're done on your computer, you're ready to crash and don't have time to "unwind" before you drift off to sleep!  Does that mean you're doomed to reap the consequences of evening blue light exposure?  Not at all!  There are a few ways you can block out blue light to help you achieve a good night's sleep.


First of all, why do we care about blue light?

Our bodies know well that daylight is "awake" time, and that darkness means time to sleep and recover for the next day.

According to the Harvard Health Letter (May 2013),blue wavelengths help boost attention and reaction times (great for during the day), but also serves to powerfully suppress melatonin--the sleep hormone.  It makes sense that our melat…

Dropping in to post a quick WIAW, documenting eats from my trip last week to Sedona, Arizona!  (Read all about our adventures here)

We didn't have a single bad meal, and I was highly impressed by the gluten-free accommodations everywhere we went!

Picazzo's, a restaurant that is some 90% gluten-free, was outstanding.  We started by sharing the "Heart Healthy Gourmet" salad, which was SO good we got it again the next day to pair with our leftovers for dinner!!

As an entree, I very much enjoyed my mushroomy-goodness rotelli:


Even my gluten-loving compadre enjoyed his buffalo chicken pasta dish!



Brunch at Red Rock Cafewith the locals was quite satisfying.




In the evening, we sampled the local wine: Kokopelli



On our hikes, I sustained my energy by munching on Quest Protein Bars:




Lunch uptown was at Wildflower Bread Company ("making up for the gluten-free dinner"), where I got a delicious Chopped Salad with Salmon!



In town, I also enjoyed a bit of fresh fudge from th…

[The winner of the recently closed book giveaway is Christy!  Congratulations!]


Where have I been?  Hiking red rocks in Sedona, Arizona!



I typically dream of tropical islands for a winter getaway, but this year I dared to visit one of America's most beautiful cities and get back to nature.

For an alternative, off-season, ACTIVE trip, I can't recommend Sedona enough.  There's endless hiking options, each trail a unique experience.  There are fine Arizona wines.  There are spas and wellness centers galore.  There is beautiful art on display in the many galleries.  There are wild off-road jeep rides.   There are stars spread across the sky, untainted by city lights.

Beautiful landscapes!

Here are some scenes from the trip:


Bell Rock and Cathedral Butte Loop





Sunset view from Airport Vista




Sunrise on the red rock



Pink Jeep Tour: Broken Arrow (Thank you, Hilary, for the recommendation!)










Cathedral Rock

Today, I bring you a hodgepodge of some things I'm loving lately:



The Calorie Myth. I love Jonathan Bailor's message.  I know the book's tagline sounds gimmicky, but his "eat more, exercise less, but smarter" message is really important, and is supported by scientific research.  Just give it a read, or enter the giveaway to win a copy.  Giveaway ends TODAY, so enter now!












Gel polish.  Okay, I'm late to the game on this one.  My fingernails are pretty healthy and strong, so I  always avoid weakening or damaging them with any fancy acrylic/gel/fake business.  However, I recently went on a trip (recaps coming soon!), and wanted my nails to look good and stay strong for the whole week.  I hear that the new gel polish doesn't do damage to the nails if it's used only once in a while.  Really, I just didn't want to worry about my nails chipping or breaking while I was away, so I finally bit the bullet and tried getting the gel polish everyone's raving a…