Food for Thought

  Blue Zones I have been researching healthy foods recently and came across something interesting to share with everyone.   It is called geographical blue zones and is five geographically located places known for having the naturally longest life span in the world.   These places are Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California.                                                         Image source Of these five places, Sardinia has the highest number of people who live to be over 100, they are known as centenarians.  Many residents of these blue zones believe diet and a high-activity lifestyle are the main reasons for increased life expectancy.  Selvi Rajagopal, MD, MPH, an internal medicine and obesity ...

  My Two Favorite Parks around the Valley Hello readers, for this blog I would like to share my two favorite parks around the Phoenix area.  If you have children or just like to go for a walk on a beautiful day, this blog is for you.    My first choice is Kiwanis Park in Tempe because it has a very large play area with many options of playground equipment for kids of any size or age.  Some of our favorite playground equipment includes a giant multi story tube slide, several different climbing structures, and the zip line.   This park also has a few different water features like the splash pad that operates during the summer and into fall as well as a recreation center that has a heated wave pool.     You can also hang out by the 125-acre lake and feed the ducks or rent a paddle boat to take out on the lake.   This location has a tennis center and batting cage as well.   My second choice is DesertBreeze Park in Chandler....

  How We Think About Food                                                                   Image source For this blog I want to talk about a very important topic that many of us might not often think about, our food and where it comes from.   I recently watched a movie called Fresh that highlights some critical areas of food products such as the treatment of livestock and how our crops are grown.   The purpose of the movie is to educate the viewer about the current practices of industrialized farming and the many negative effects it has on our bodies, economy, the earth, and the horrible conditions of livestock.   It also urges the viewer to change their purchasing habits and or become active in the growing of their own produ...

  Local Fun with the Family One of the many reasons that I love Phoenix is the abundance of great family fun things to do.   In the spring and winter when the weather is a perfect 70 degrees you can go hiking, play at a park, go to the zoo, walk around downtown and shop, or stroll along Tempe Beach Park.   The summer and early fall however is a different story, and it can feel like you’re living in an oven.   Thankfully we have some very fun indoor activities to do as well that are great for people of any age.   One of my favorite place to go is a jump park, and Phoenix has many of them to choose from.   Most of them offer trampolines, rock climbing walls, obstacle courses and just this last weekend we went to one with an indoor go cart track .   Phoenix also has lots of museums and educational activities that are a fun way to beat the heat such as The Phoenix Art Museum, Childrens Museum, Natural History Museum, Heard Museum, and a Science Center. ...

  Not So Helpful Technology Commercial Analysis This ad begins with images of a common experience of having problems with internet Wi-Fi.   It shows several common household things that are connected to the internet and are glitching.   After our lockdown from Covid this is a familiar feeling for most who have had to rely on the internet for everyday things.   So many of us have had to work or attend school via online meetings.   I believe most of us have experienced glitching internet connections during this time.   This commercial is aimed at an ever-growing number of people who are using smart home technology to make life more convenient.   It makes you consider how reliant we are on this technology and the possibilities of what can go wrong with them because of connectivity issues.   At the end of the ad has a family coming home from vacation to find this technology has malfunctioned and caused damage to their home.   Most American...

  My Favorite Day Trip Spot This blog is for anyone who lives in the Phoenix area and is looking for a great place to visit for the day.   When it is 115 degrees outside, and you are looking for a place to go and get away from the sweltering heat you should consider heading north to the Mogollon Rim area.   Depending on where you live it’s should only take about 2 hours by car.   Once you get to that area you’ve got several great options to spend the day or camp.   You can drive to the top of the rim and visit Woods Canyon Lake where you can rent a small fishing boat for the day.   And if you don’t have any fishing gear don’t worry, you can rent that too.   The lake is stocked regularly with rainbow trout. If boating isn’t your thing, consider checking out one of the hiking trails at Christopher Creek or Horton Creek.   These are both great locations to go early n the fall to see the foliage change to the most vibrant pink, yellows, and bro...