A smoothie recipe for all but especially those of us over 40

There has been a smoothie craze for at least 5 years or more.  I have often thought that it was a bit crazy to drink ones breakfast but it is wise for those on the go to whip this up and take it on ones commute.  You can even prepackage most of your smoothie and freeze it so that you just have to pour a few things in the morning.

I think smoothies are also a great replacement for the malt or shake craving.  It is the same kind of cool texture, better for you and of course if done correctly less calories.

I say this smoothie is good for us over 40 because some of the items in this recipe are "supposed" to help our shot metabolism, fight inflammation and are good antioxidants.  Who knows, but I do think it has been good for me.  (Sources are authority in nutrition, lives strong, WebMD, worlds healthiest foods)

Recipe

1- 3/4 cup crushed ice

1 cup skim milk (protein and calcium)

1-3/4 cup mixed berries ( I like to use the mix with cherries and blueberries, as cherries are good for combating inflammation and blueberries are an antioxidant.)

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (this is good vitamin C and antioxidant, it has many properties but one main one is it can eliminate the occurrence of kidney stones. If you like tart use more)

1-2 table spoons fruit flavored balsamic vinegar.  (I use blueberry or any other fruit I have on hand.  This is expensive but I use this instead of sugar.  Balsamic is suppose to lower blood pressure and keep sugar levels steady.)

1 tablespoon flax seed (Has good fat in it, estrogen, antioxidant and of course fiber.)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon turmeric (Largest property anti inflammatory. As good as ibuprofen, so they say.)

1 teaspoon cinnamon (Has several properties but for me the most important is it reduces blood sugar, which is very good for those susceptible to type 2 diabetes.)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ginger (Reduces muscle pain, reduces inflammation, reduces nausea.)

pinch of red pepper (good flavor accent)

About 230 calories

This will yield about 2 cups.  I mix in a individual blender but you can use a regular size blender too.  You want to make sure that you have everything covered in liquid.  If not just add a bit of water.

Try it I think you will like it.

With love from you retired FACS teacher, Jane

One generation versus another, or Type A versus type B?

Two things got my mind rolling this week.

One was a conversation at the New Years gathering that I went to and the other was a dialog on the Family and Consumer Sciences Facebook page this week.  Both of these conversations made me wonder if sometimes being in a field of mostly women trying to do too much in very little time might cause an inner battle.  Then again maybe it is just a female thing.  Because the dialog that I witnessed reminded me of the ever going debate.....breastfeed-formula, stay at home-work, sleep alone-family bed...etc.

My New Years conversation was quite funny and made me feel really hip.  Two sisters were looking at there phone and talking (one 25, one 28).  The 25 year old was showing her sister a website that she was using to sell and purchase clothing.  She says, "Jane, I think you will like this it is called Poshmark."  and I reply, "Oh, I have been on that for quite awhile."  I have sold several items and it really does work but the funny part was the generational shock that an old lady like me would have been using a technology app before them was pure "Golden".

The second dialog that I followed and participated in was about a new FACS/FCS teacher taking over a classroom after a long time teacher and feeling like they had left a mess, archaic information, and tools that people no longer use for her to clean up.

My point in all of this is that sometimes we look at a books cover and we don't really have all of the facts to make a proper judgement of what really happened.

For me, when I decided to retire early, I knew that would more than likely not be teaching FACS/FCS again.  I cleaned out many file cabinets without looking at anything and just tossed them into the garbage.  (Most items from courses I no longer taught, or items from people before me.) This seemed very odd to people around me because each year I was teased about my desk and the mess in my office to the extent that it sometimes made me angry inside.  (Not enough to clean it though)  But I often went along with it and toward the end of my career I would send out an all staff email saying they could now view the Formica on my desk on the rare occasion that it was clean.

I really do want to address the "why" in the question, "Why would anyone leave this old stuff here?" Women that started teaching in the 70's grew up with parents that were raised during the depression. During that time people had very little and they were the inventors of reuse and recycle.  Some of the practices that they did are now looked on as ridiculous but were truly the key to survival for many. Other ideas are still used and thought of as wise.

When I started teaching again in 1999 it was a new school but the teachers before me moved EVERYTHING over to the new school.  My co-worker at the time did not want things thrown away and she was department chair.  She believed that it might be used someday and that it was school property so we did not have the jurisdiction to throw it.  When I became department chair we often gathered in the foods room and talked about what needed to go to the district garage sale and what needed to stay.  Guess what?  It was time for most of those items to move on but sometimes we were looking for something and said, "Did we put that in the sale last year?" But truly there is only so much storage space and you do have to "get rid of old stuff!"

I am not advocating that being a pack rat or a hoarder is a good thing.  I knew my bins full of scrap fabric would not make others happy but my style was to cherish fabric and use every bit of it.  After I left my room, which I thought was pretty clean, my three former co-workers went over it, tossed things, changed things and made it theirs.  They did not want me to know, I felt bad.  Not because it was changed to their liking but because I thought I left it in pretty good shape.  I felt horrible that they had to do that extra work and "pick up after me."  Now, when I look back, I know that no matter what I would have done the person taking my place had to make the space theirs and it would involve tossing, cleaning, organizing and more.

Please hold your judgement, because those teachers that you are replacing had good intentions and were more than likely doing a pretty good job teaching.   There might very well be a reason a film strip from the 1960's was still in your classroom, (maybe) but everyone is different, uses different methods, systems and resources.   But, if you are in a place that the person was over the top with keeping and hoarding please don't think all "old" people are out of touch.  (Boy that is a great deal of writing to get that point across.)

Let me leave you with this crazy story.  A young person teaching in the South took over a classroom during the middle of the year for a person ready to retire and was sick.  When the new teacher arrived, the classroom had 11 donated couches in it and there was barely enough room to walk around the desks the children were sitting in during class.  So, there you go, take the outdated full file cabinets.

We all tried or are trying to do our best.  Please work together, Seasoned teachers need to embrace new ideas, New teachers need to accept some old things just work and everyone needs to be supportive of each other for FACS/FCS to work and be a team.  In the end, don't we really all have the same goal; To educate mindful, productive citizens in society.

And remember, "One day at a time".

With love,
Your retired FACS teacher,
Jane