Last weekend my wife wanted to get a blender, so that we can make smoothies. We had one several years ago, but after a bit of a mishap with my wife putting it onto a hot stove and melting the base, we never replaced it. There are many blenders out there ranging in price from about 40 dollars to about 600 dollars (euros are about the same), but we ended up getting an "okay" one for about 100. Like most of these things, I see them as a bit of a gimmick gadget that we will enthusiastically use for a short period of time, then put it away to collect dust.
As we would have done with the previous, had it not been melted.
However, this time I am going to at least use it as well as I can to improve my diet, rather than just for sweet drinks and strawberry margaritas and my favorite, mojoitos. I will save those for the summer though, as we grow fresh mint, and I have always wanted to learn how to make a great mojito.
I digress.
One of the problems with smoothies is that it is very easy to consume a massive amount of energy very quickly, and not necessarily feel full. This is made worse when they are fruit smoothies, where there is a huge amount of sugar contained in the fruit,, but it doesn't feel like it.
They taste so good.
But I am making mostly vegetable smoothies, with some a couple baby carrots, zucchini, cucumber, some chia seeds, an orange perhaps and some quark, which is a common thing here in the Nordics at least. And, while these aren't as sweet as a fruit smoothie, it is still definitely tasty and, filling enough to get me through the night, even though I am up late. I am having these as a replacement for my dinner, but I am eating a normal lunch meal.
And so far so good!
I actually feel pretty decent on them so far and I think I will continue for as long as I can, though I am not going to be obsessive about it.
A couple bonuses I like, is that the smoothies are fast and easy to make, and other than the machine, they are really cheap too. Meat has become quite expensive here, and let's face it, eating too much probably isn't doing me many favors and I have been meaning to cut back. I was raised pescatarian, and only started eating meat regularly when I was in my teen years, so eating less meat for me isn't much of a challenge. However, my wife does feel that it isn't a proper meal unless there is some kind of meat on the plate, whether it be beef, chicken, fish or pork.
She isn't on the smoothie diet.
Which is a bit annoying, because I think it is a thing that we could organize together, as well as both get the benefits from. She is definitely not overweight, but like anyone getting a bit longer in the tooth, we all benefit from a better diet.
I was talking with a colleague who turned thirty recently, and how we aren't very good at predicting how we are going to feel in the future. While it is often quoted that, "no one on their death bed looks back and regrets not working more", there are plenty of middle-aged people who wish they had exercised more, eaten better, and invested differently. I personally am yet to hear someone in their forties or fifties say, "I wish I went to more concerts in my twenties" or, "I wish I gamed more when I was younger".
And, it isn't that these things shouldn't be done, but with a little more experience and insight into the feelings associated with middle age, it is obvious that the return on the investment isn't there. The value in the moment, wasn't worth it in hindsight. And we all have hindsight, like when we enter worklife and realize that the work pressures of school were very low, even though some of us took them very seriously at the time.
Everyone feels that older generations don't have much to offer the younger (other than trillions in inheritance transfer). But, it would probably be wise for people to look to their elders at different stages of life and not only ask what regrets they might have about their past, but actually inquire into their current feelings across their physical, mental and emotional states. Perhaps a window into a potential future can help us better navigate our current situation, and mitigate some of the risks.
I don't know what it feels like to be seventy five years of age. I don't know what it will feel like to have my driver's license taken away. I don't know what it feels like to wave goodbye to my daughter who visits only a couple times a year. I don't know what it will feel like to be at home alone after a spouse has died. I don't know what it feels like to look in the mirror, and realize there is nothing more to come in life. I don't know what it feels like to not be able to take care of myself.
Perhaps I should ask those who do.
But, we don't blend as a community like we used to. We don't live together in the same way, with three or maybe even four generations under one roof. We are more isolated and compartmentalized, and we don't see the progress of age, and the problems with aging as often as we did. And perhaps because we have become more removed from each other, we don't see the damage that we are doing to our own futures. We can learn from the past, we can also learn from the present, by asking those who have already lived well beyond our own years.
Food of thought.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]