NHBPM #5

Day 5. List of 3 things you're thankful for/excited by/inspired by.

This is the alternate topic. The main topic is "Health Activist Soapbox." I'm not sure if I'm much of an activist or soapboxer (?), so I went with the alternative. (I love lists!) Maybe I'll climb up on a soapbox at the end, we shall see.

I am going to keep this list health related. Obviously there are many, many things I am thankful for besides these.

1) I am thankful for the provision of health care reform that requires insurance plans to provide birth control for women at no cost. As a woman and an employer that provides workplace health insurance, I have always found it astounding that insurance plans, which pay for medical expenses relating to pregnancy and childbirth, were not simply giving away birth control in their own financial interests! Our plans have always covered birth control with a co-pay, but I don't know if all plans did. Obviously I know that pregnancy is not covered in full, there are big copays and deductibles and so forth--it is hugely expensive for both the woman and the insurance company's portion. The cost of birth control is a bargain. Insurance companies should be thrilled to take it on.

2) I am excited by winter squash season, especially kabocha pumpkin and delicata squash, which are not available year round like acorn and butternut squash. Delicata squash fries for dinner tonight! I've already made Kabocha pumpkin soup once, and can hardly wait to have it again. And here's my newest obsession...

Pumpkin Hummus
1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 cup canned pumpkin puree, or 1 cup mashed kabocha or other squash
Minced garlic to taste (I want to try roasted garlic, but haven't yet)
1 teaspoon cumin, or more to taste
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil, or more to achieve desired texture

If you are using mashed squash instead of canned, blend up the squash in a food processor with some water to get a puree texture (the cooked squash is dryer than canned, especially if it was roasted in the oven. Add garbanzo beans, and process till smooth, adding olive oil. Blend in garlic, cumin, and salt to taste. Serve with raw veggies, pita chips, crackers, or whatever you want!

3) I am inspired by weight loss memoirs and athletic memoirs (mostly running and triathlon-type), and movies like Spirit of the Marathon, NOVA Marathon Challenge, Ultramarathon Man, and Hood to Coast.

Perhaps in a future post I will do a reading and viewing list, but that would be lengthy and unwieldy here. I'll just share a few of my most recent reads for now....

Eat and Run by Scott Jurek
Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs
My First 100 Marathons by Jeffrey Horowitz
14 Minutes: A Running Legend's Life and Death and Life by Alberto Salazar
Eating Ice Cream with My Dog by Frances Kuffel (currently reading)
Finding Ultra by Rich Roll (currently listening on audiobook, about 3/4 through, and I've only been listing on long runs--otherwise I'd be done by now, I'm sure).

So there you have it, three things. As for the soapbox thing--I think I pretty much got on that with #1.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad