Fresh Food as a Muse for Visionary Gardeners

Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Buildings for Increased Well Being

Weather developments-prolonged droughts here, massive flooding there, record-breaking heat, unprecedented temperature extremes...

As human food supply becomes more vulnerable, inadequate to population needs, and subject to transportation disruptions, an important question to ask is: Just how much food can we grow where people live? New forms of community agricultural infrastructure are crucial to improve food security and access. The trend towards urban agriculture doesn't have to stop with the empty lots, green rooftops with rainwater collection systems or plans for new vertical farming construction (growing food in high-rise structures with freshwater irrigation or hydroponics). Existing buildings, in regions around the country, can be repurposed - turned towards sustainable, localized agriculture production.

The "Instinct" Instinct

Can you override an instinct with deliberate practice?

First there was Basic Instinct. It was a movie about a dagger wielding, leg-(un)crossing psycho killer. Then "instinct" got intellectual.

Ever since Steven Pinker's masterful The Language Instinct, our, ahem, instincts have been aroused with the following books: The Death Instinct, The Art Instinct, The Faith Instinct, The Belief Instinct, The Killer Instinct, The Compassionate Instinct, The Music Instinct, The Puzzle Instinct, Primal Instincts, and soon, I'm looking forward to The Consuming Instinct, by fellow blogger Dr. Gad Saad.

The concept of instinct reintroduces human nature into respectable discourse. Of course, yawning and blinking are also instincts, but apparently not so newsworthy or controversial. Maybe The Blink Instinct has a ring to it--at least if it's written by Malcolm Gladwell.

The Damage of Dieting

Restrictive diets don't always work for kids. They may lead children to unhealthful eating habits.

Weight-conscious mothers beware: Counting your young daughter's calories -- and your own -- may lead her to develop unhealthful eating habits.

In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 5-year-old girls whose mothers restricted them from eating sweet, savory, energy-dense foods on a daily basis consumed about 50% more of these foods when presented with them -- even on a full stomach -- than girls who were allowed to include these foods in their everyday diet.

"Heavier girls get more restrictions, but restriction leads to greater intake," explains study author Leann Birch, Ph.D., head of Pennsylvania State University's human development department. "It's a case of the chicken and the egg, and we don't know which came first." Birch asked 192 girls what they knew about dieting, and was surprised to learn that roughly half recognized its link to weight. And all of the girls who knew about dieting had a mother who was watching her own weight.

No-Diet Tip 1: Log It

A “diet diary” tip to lose weight.

Starting and sustaining positive dietary changes is a complex, nuanced, process. Uncovering what is happening beneath the surface is normally warranted when you attempt a major lifestyle diet change. A diet diary can help in this process of losing weight and keeping it off.

The facts are friendly when you use them to build awareness and support your no-diet plan. To gather facts, create a diet diary. A pocket notebook will do. As you work to make changes in your eating habits, record what is happening. Use this process measure to log your progress as well as target areas for change.

No-Diet Tips for High Risk Times

Cognitive, emotive, and behavioral tips to control your eating anytime.

Try to lose weight and your human nature goes against you. But you also have a lot going for you. You can successfully cope with unhealthy eating urges. Use these three cognitive, emotive, and behavioral tips to control urges in high risk times and stick to healthy eating.

Stop the Pink Elephant

Knowing what is right to do and then doing the opposite, is common. You see this conflict play out in both procrastination and eating unhealthily. Both activities have common features. One is to do what is easiest in the short term. On a procrastination thinking path, you believe you will take corrective actions later to avoid negative fallout. How well has that worked for you? You also stay stuck in the middle with sorry results.

Five Perfect Persimmon Recipes for Holiday Gatherings

The persimmon is a sweet, tangy fruit whose name is derived from the Greek word Diospyros which means “fruit of the gods.” Persimmons are a wonderful, out-of-the-ordinary treat. Just be sure to eat them when soft and ripe, as an under-ripe persimmon will be the most sour thing you have ever tasted! However, your patience will be rewarded and you can delight your friends and family with these exotic recipes.

Persimmon Cheesecake. Mmmmm…cheesecake! Give this classic favorite a new twist with the addition of tangy persimmon. “This light and delicious cheesecake is made with fresh persimmons and a walnut crust,” says a contributor to Allrecipes.com.

No-Diet Weight Loss

A no-diet plan to lose weight and keep it off.

Losing weight is not as much an issue as keeping it off. Weight cycling is common. If you want to get off this treadmill, try a different way. Support your effort with a combination of psychological strategies and tips that you'll find here. Stick with this experimental series. Check in weekly. Stay on track. Build a healthy lifestyle into your daily routine. Improve your way of living.

The series consists of blogs where I explore topics, such as how to stop procrastinating on taking weight control measures and how to subdue seductive inner cons that snafu healthy eating habits. You'll get briefer tips that address topics, such as how to politely refuse fattening food at a party. The blogs and tips help you stay engaged in learning to get to your goal weight and stay there. Tips are labeled No-Diet Tip 1, 2, etc. Guest experts will share their thoughts on how to attain permanent weight loss. You'll see evidence from the research literature on what goes into weight loss success.