Fall Feast: Butternut Squash, Apples, Chicken, and Grains

One of my new favorite recipes, so I thought I would share. A true OP Sands invention here.

 1/2 package of Harvest Grains Blend from Trader Joe's. (Israeli Style Couscous, Orzo, Baby Garbanzo Beans, and Red Quinoa.)
1 3/4 cup reduced sodium organic chicken broth
1 onion
1 apple
1 butternut squash
2 chicken breasts
1 tbsp. butter
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Ok, so this could really be a one pot deal if you wanted it to... But this is what I did:

Make the Harvest Grains by bringing the chicken broth to a boil.  Add 1 tbsp of butter and the harvest grains. Bring back to a boil and then let simmer covered for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice and dice the butternut squash, onion, and apple. Put all the ingredients into a plastic baggie, add olive oil and salt and pepper, and toss. Then spread onto a cookie tray. Roast all three of these together at 450 for about 25 minutes, and broil for 2 minutes on high at the end to get a slight crisp.

Cook the 2  chicken breasts and cut into bite size pieces.

Combine everything into one pot of delicious fall taste sensation! Add a glass of wine if you will.

Thai Coconut Curry with Jasmine Rice

This is one of my all time favorite dishes. This recipe is really simple, and brings a little Thai to my home. Try it out!

1 can lite coconut milk
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 package of stir fry veggies (or cut up your own: mushrooms, broccoli, red pepper, onion, snap peas)
1-2 tbsp fish sauce
Thai basil leaves
Jasmine rice for serving

Bring the coconut milk to a simmer. Add the brown sugar and curry paste (more if you like a kick!). Bring to a boil. Add the veggies. (You can add chicken and shrimp, too!)  Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add some Thai basil leaves if you like, and the fish sauce to taste. Serve over jasmine rice.
Makes 4 servings. 

Delicious!

Heat Wave Water

Thirsty?

When it is so hot outside that you feel as though you are in a sauna, you need to hydrate. But plain old tap water may not taste that great. And who wants to ruin the environment with plastic bottle waste? So, from someone who dislikes Jersey tap water because I'm a New York City tap water snob, here is a great way to make the best drink for you incredibly refreshing and tasty!

1. Fill a pitcher with water (approx 2 liters)
2. Add sliced, fresh ginger (1 tsp)
3. Add cucumber slices (1 medium)
4. Add lemon slices (1 lemon)
5. Add mint leaves (approx 12)

I swear, this is delicious, and the ginger helps to soothe your tummy.

Try it! Soooo good.

Spicy Fish Tacos with Pineapple Slaw

So you made the stir-fry, but you have some pineapple left over? And you loveeee fish tacos? Well, I have a treat for you!

You need:
1 can of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (International section, by Goya products).
1/2 cup sour cream (reduced fat/fat free or Greek Yogurt fat free is an awesome substitute)
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
some olive oil
1 pound firm fish--salmon, mahimahi, tilapia if you must... I used canned wild Alaskan salmon because a. time b. cost c. quality of fish
4 cups thinly shaved green cabbage (love that food processor!)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (I food processed this, too, since it was already out and utilized)
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced (I took this out; didn't seem necessary with the chipotle, but if you LOVE spice, go for it!)
1/2 cup small diced FRESH pineapple
1 lime
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 oregano
1 avocado, pitted and sliced
corn or flour tortillas, toasted

As you can see, a decent amount of prep. But don't let that scare you! These tacos are amazing! And even if you don't like fish, you can always substitute with chicken, beef, shrimp, or even black beans. The flavor is incredible.

Ok, so here's what you do:

In a bowl, combine the chiptole peppers with the sour cream/Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup of the cilantro. Now, this is to taste. The recipe I used said to use 1/2 of a 7 oz can. But if you can't handle heat, you should use an EXTREMELY small portion. These chipotles pack a lot of bang for their buck. I used one pepper for myself and scooped out many of the seeds, and it was still pretty spicy. So beware. This could ruin it for you. I suggest tasting it as you go until you've reached your "hot spot."

If you're using real fish (or chicken, or beef, or shrimp), coat your fish with the sauce, reserving 1/4 of the mixture. Try to let it marinate for at least 30 minutes. If you're me, dump your canned salmon right on in there (do the same for precooked black beans). Then toss your fish, chicken, beef, shrimp on the barbie. Grill it up nice--you want it charred. Turn once, 6-8 minutes total for fish. Then coarsely chop it up.

While it's marinating, combine cabbage, red onion, jalapeno, pineapple, the juice of the 1 lime, the rest of the cilantro, cumin, and oregano. Toss and season with salt.

This cole slaw is incredible. Seriously. You have no idea. Magnificent. I might serve this separate from these tacos one day.

Ok, now lay out your toasted tortillas (or not toasted if you're me and you're starving and a few minutes and another dirty dish is starting to make you anxious). Divide your fish/meat among them. Top with the slaw and a slice or 2 of avocado. Spoon reserved sauce on top. Serves 4. (You get 2 each! yay!)

Sweet and Sour Tofu Stir-Fry with Pineapple!

Ok. So I have accepted reality. I am no longer on vacation. Which means I can no longer eat Mexican (Read: CHEESE. Copious amounts of melted cheese!) and wave my hand proclaiming, "It's ok, it's vacation!"

Time to get back on track. So for the next week, I'm putting myself on a veggie-heavy, extremely healthy meal plan. Last night I made this gem, and let me tell you... FANTASTIC. Loved it. Could have eaten the entire wok. But I didn't... because I am no longer on vacation. Sigh.

But, here's the recipe:

1 block Firm tofu
1/3 cup veggie broth
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp soy sauce (reduced sodium, obviously)
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp cornstarch (I use 3 tsp of arrowroot instead. Why? Because I'm mad healthy like that!)
1 red bell pepper
2 cups broccoli florets
3 green onions (scallions) or, if you're me, one onion
1 tbsp fresh ginger, sliced
2 sliced garlic cloves
1 cup fresh pineapple
some oil. You can use grapeseed, peanut, avocado, rice bran, or canola (withstands high heat), or if you're me and you don't have those right now, then use olive and go "oh well."

First, make the sweet and sour sauce. This consists of the ketchup, rice vinegar, veggie broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch (arrowroot). Whisk it all together and set aside.

Heat wok over medium high heat. Add some oil. Cube the tofu and then add it to the wok, browning it for about 4 minutes.

*Note: when using tofu, you must drain it. For a long time. I wrap mine in paper towels, put a cutting board on top for weight, and change the paper towels every so often. If you don't drain it, it doesn't take on the flavors and is pretty nasty.

Remove the tofu. Chop your veggies!

Add more oil if needed, and throw in the sliced red pepper, your onion choice, the broccoli, 2 sliced garlic cloves and the sliced ginger and let it cook until everything becomes soft.

Throw the tofu back in along with  the 1 cup of pineapple. Add the sweet and sour sauce. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Serve over brown rice.

Voila!

I served this with a green bean salad:

Cut the ends off the french green beans
Boil french green beans for 4 minutes
Immediately drain and put in ice water.
Put in a bowl along with a 1-2 chopped tomatoes, some chopped red onion, a drizzle of olive oil, and some salt.

Healthy and delicious, for sure.

Fly Over States: Our Honeymoon Roadtrip to the Southwest

When you have two scheduled weddings, you might as well have two scheduled honeymoons! This was the trip of a lifetime. 

Just in case you don't know what I mean about Fly Over States, you should check out the song by Jason Aldean: 

Fly Over States

Now, let me tell you about what it's like to drive through the "fly over states."

We started Wednesday night, July 3rd. After dropping Shea off at "Summer Camp" in south Jersey, we headed southwest. I had the graveyard driving shift, and wouldn't you know it, about an hour after I took over the wheel it started torrential downpouring. Not fun to drive in during the day, let alone at 3:00AM. But, we eventually made it to Nashville, safely, and spent the fourth of July hanging out with the family. We went to a small get together with the people in our fantasy baseball league who we have never met before, and played an epic game of lawn darts. Haaaayyyyyyy. We lost, but it was fun. And Larry made the best ribs I'd ever had.

The next morning, we headed to Dallas. We made a detour to Mississippi to eat some world championship BBQ at a restaurant called Memphis BBQ Co owned by the only woman to win a grand championship: Melissa Cookston. And yes, Memphis BBQ in Mississippi. It's actually only a few miles away. We ordered a massive spread, and Brad had two new experiences: 1) Mississippi and 2) Okra.

After a hearty lunch, we drove west to Dallas through Little Rock. I don't think I had been to Arkansas before, so it was cool to see the landscape. After driving through Dallas, we went to Arlington to see the Texas Rangers play the Houston Astros. Kind of like a subway series. Texas won. Then there was an amazing free fireworks show after the game that lasted forever. Everything's bigger in Texas.

The next day we had a short drive to Austin. We had an amazing lunch at Jack Allen's,

 and burned it off by walking down South Congress Street and in and out of the stores (just as much for the Air Conditioning as for the items for sale). There was a terrific boot store that I enjoyed very much (but didn't purchase anything, because I don't have Cowboy Money).

We had a cocktail at The Driskill which is famous for LBJ (we later drove through Johnson City, his hometown, on our way west) (I had a delicious batini -an invention of The Driskill-, which will make sense in a bit)

and took a brief gander of 6th Ave (think Macdougal Street with a little bit of Nashville honky-tonk). Then we headed to Rainy Street (LOVED THIS!) and Craft Pride, an all Texan craft beer pub where we sampled some of the local brews. Then we grabbed some Thai at the food truck across the street and walked on over to see the bats. Hence the batini. Austin is famous for the bats flying out from under the Congress Street Bridge at dusk. Largest population of bats in an urban environment in America. It was pretty amazing. They just kept coming! Then we headed back to Rainy Street to a beer garden called Bangers and called it a night.

The next morning we continued West to Tuscon.

For lunch, we stopped in a small town called Ozona, Texas. The place was called the Wagon Wheel and it was inside an old gas station. I'm not sure you could find this joint if you weren't A) Local B) A Dedicated Foodie. It was fabulous. We were the only people in there, and it was more like being in some couple's house. It looked like it was set up for a buffet, and we had the brisket and ribs. Fall of the bone good, and the best brisket I'd ever had. Kirby, the pitmaster, was ridiculously nice, and was all excited because a group of boyscouts had come in earlier. I don't think there's a lot of action in Ozona. But that man makes a MEAN BBQ. Highly recommend.

Around dinner time, we stopped in El Paso for a meal at Kiki's famous restaurant, where we each had our first machaca. If I ate Machaca every day, I'd be 700 lbs in a week. It was wayyyy too rich for me, but when in Rome...El Paso is sad. On one side is America, on the other side is Mexico and there's a wall reminiscent of Germany separating the two. You have to go through border control to get out of El Paso. Sad, sad sad.

After El Paso, we drove through Las Cruces, NM and then finally made it to Tuscon where we learned that Arizona doesn't respect Daylight Savings Time, so we were IN Mountain time and ON Pacific time (gained a free hour).

Tuscon looked pretty cool. We went to the Desert Museum which was awesome: we learned about and saw the animals in their natural desert habitat, and we got to see pretty much every species of cacti you could imagine.

Then we went to Saguaro National Park and drove around the desert. The cacti were incredible, and I think we had the park all to ourselves.

Next we drove up to Phoenix. We went to a little pub called Copper Blues where we had my favorite selection of craft beers on the entire trip: Arizona crafts are awesome. Think Hell or High Watermelon type good. Slightly fruity, but not overpowering. There was an orange blossom beer from Papago which was heavenly. It was also 115 degrees in Phoenix, which made it feel as though you were in a sauna. Afterwards, we walked over to Chase Field where we watched our first indoor baseball game: Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers, and again, a heated rivalry. There were a ton of Dodger fans. We speculated that before the D'backs came to town, people must have been Dodger fans.

The next day we drove to the Grand Canyon. This was the most breathtaking aspect of the entire trip. You have to see it in person. There are no words. We walked the Outer Rim Trail and then walked the Kaibib Trail into the Canyon. Gorgeous. Reminded me of being in Verbier. So quiet, and so incredible that something that magnificent exists.

We drove next to the canyon for a while and stopped at a spot where you could see the Colorado River flowing through. After the Grand Canyon, you drive through Native American lands, which is kind of sad as well. For dinner, we went to a little place in Flagstaff, AZ for pizza and beer called Beaver Brewery. Then we headed west to Albuquerque and stayed for the night.

In the morning, we went to Santa Fe. We walked up and down Canyon Rd, which is famous for the art work and had many beautiful sculptures.

Then we went for lunch at a fantastic place called Pasqual's. Brad's carne asada tacos were delectable. My chicken quesadilla was very well done and had an awesome salsa dipping sauce.

Afterwards, we just cruised around Santa Fe, popping in and out of stores. We also saw the mysterious steps at the Loretto Church. No nails, no support.

When we felt like we had seen everything, we headed to a park and listened to a duo play the accordion and a cello and some Mexican music. There was a crazy pigeon lady dancing. There was a huge Mexican band about to go on, but we had dinner reservations at The Shed. The Shed was delicious. Very spicy, but actually managed to keep the flavor as well. We started with some chips and guac. I had a lovely margarita and the red chile enchiladas. I love enchiladas, and these were fantastic, served with posole which I had never had before, but rather enjoyed. It was #5:

5. Enchilada Plate
Two rolled blue corn tortillas filled with cheddar cheese, onion & covered with red chile & baked. Served with pinto beans & posole

Delicious. Brad had the same thing, but with chicken. And then I ate much of his. After, we went to The Marble Brewery Tap Room and hung out for a bit. 

Then, sadly, we were headed east. But we made it cool by following Route 66. The Mother Road, or Main Street America, is actually pretty sad. Mostly run-down towns begging for business with dilapidated houses dotting the landscape. A lot of big signs that have seen better days and signs with no businesses in sight. Look, I cried at the movie Cars. So I'm a bit nostalgic. We stopped in Amarillo for some delicious (if not nutritious) burgers at Blue Sky, and then walked around Cadillac Ranch for a bit, which I thought was pretty cool. 

We drove through Oklahoma City and decided to stop in Bricktown for some grub. 

Very cool section of the city, and lived up to its name. We went to a great place called TapWerks, which had an awesome selection of brews and gave us free Dead Armadillo Pint glasses, which was rather appropriate considering how many deceased armadillos we saw on the side of the road! We then drove past the OK City Bombing Memorial, which was sobering. 

We ended up driving to Tulsa, where we crashed for the night.

We went to Waffle House. Check that off Brad's bucketlist. When you drive by them in the South all the time, it's a given that you'll one day stop there. 

Then we continued through Missouri, starting in Joplin. We stopped at a place called Devil's Elbow, which used to be on the original Route 66, and then was taken off because of the world war and not being able to get army machinery down the windy road. Instead, they built the only section of 4 lane Route 66 nearby. To get to Devil's Elbow you have to go over a scary, rusted, corroded bridge. Then we stopped at the Elbow Inn, a true biker bar with bras on the ceiling and lots of hair and leather. You can still smoke in bars in MO, and this place seemed to take full advantage of that. Unique experience, and really good pulled pork with coleslaw and awesome brisket. 

We went through Springfield and St. Louis, 

re-crossed the Mississippi, and then made it to Indianapolis. We drove past the Colts' Stadium and into SoBro (South Broad Ripple), the hip area by College Ave. We went to the Wellington where we had some Indy brews 

and then drove to Greenfield, a suburb, where we crashed for the night. Our last hotel! Indy is cool because it has different sections of the city that are connected by a greenway bike trail system. Loved that aspect. SoBro was HOPPING! It was insane. Looked pretty cool. And apparently punk and vegan is the way to go. 

After Indy, we cruised on home, stopping at a Steak N Shake in Zanesville, Ohio (known for 2 things: 1) has the only Y bridge in the country, and there are only 2 in the world, the other one is in Hong Kong! and 2) some crazy guy who collected exotic animals let them all loose and then killed himself. Almost all of the animals had to be killed for public safety reasons, which is sad--compounded by the fact that some of them were endangered species like the Bengali Tigers). 

Brad grew a beard:

Then, back in NJ.

What a honeymoon! Loved every minute of it. 

Smoothies

Summer is here. Despite the rain. As I get myself ready for a cross-country adventure, I find myself desperately avoiding the grocery store so as not to waste any food. So, summertime smoothies it is.

Here are some awesome recipes I've come across that I figured I'd share. They're from the Wholeliving.com website, and love or hate Martha, they're pretty darn good. (And I'm not much of a smoothie person, but I thought these were all pretty delicious.)

Banana-Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 ripe banana
1 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Serves 2. Per serving: 356 calories; 4 g saturated fat; 13 g unsaturated fat; 6 mg cholesterol; 43 g carbs; 202 mg sodium; 13 g protein; 3.5 g fiber.

Chocolate-Almond Smoothie

1 ripe banana
1 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup almond butter
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Serves 2. Per serving: 346 calories; 3 g saturated fat; 17 g unsaturated fat; 6 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbs; 196 mg sodium; 11 g protein; 4.5 g fiber.

Chamomile-Banana Smoothie

1 cup strong chamomile tea, room temperature
1 ripe banana
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons maple syrup

1. Freeze chamomile tea in an ice cube tray.
2. Combine with remaining ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Serves 2. Per serving: 183 calories; 1 g saturated fat; 1 g unsaturated fat; 7 mg cholesterol; 36 g carbs; 89 mg sodium; 7 g protein; 2 g fiber.

Blueberry and Green Tea Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 cups green tea, room temperature
1 tablespoon agave nectar

1. Divide blueberries between compartments of an ice cube tray. Fill with green tea and freeze.
2. Puree in blender with remaining green tea and agave.

Serves 2. Per serving: 50 calories; 0 g saturated fat; 0 g unsaturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbs; 0 mg sodium; 0 g protein; 1 g fiber.

Kale, Pineapple, and Almond Milk Smoothie
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (preferably homemade)
1 cup packed chopped kale
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup diced pineapple
1 banana

Directions

Puree ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Green Machine Smoothie


Ingredients

6 romaine leaves, chopped
4 kale leaves, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley sprigs
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/2 cup chopped mango
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

Directions

Combine romaine, kale, parsley, pineapple, mango, ginger, and 1 1/2 cups water in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pear, Oat, Ginger, Cinnamon Shake

2 1/2 medium to large pears, such as red Anjou, peeled, seeded, and chopped (2 2/3 cups)
1 3/4 cups skim milk
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2/3 cup rolled or quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup ice cubes
2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons almond butter
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish
Coarse salt

Directions

Freeze pears in a single layer on a baking sheet overnight.

Combine pears, milk, buttermilk, oats, ice, maple syrup, almond butter, ginger, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a blender. Blend on low speed, then gradually increase speed to high. Blend until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into chilled glasses, and garnish with ground cinnamon. Serve immediately.

Banana Oat Smoothie

Ingredients

1 ripe banana
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 teaspoons flaxseeds
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup ice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth



Cheers!

My Season as an Extra on Glee (Also Known as My 1 Year Stint in the 'Burbs)

This will work better in a list format. So, these are the things I've learned experienced in the classroom at Glee High School.

1. A classroom on the first floor doesn't mean you can escape out the window. And mulch smells really bad.

2. The suburbs don't have air conditioning because they're too wealthy, but not rich. Teaching in an extremely hot room is almost as miserable as being a student in an extremely hot room.

3. I deserve a brown bag award every year. And so does almost every other teacher.

4. Cheerleaders wear their cheerleading uniforms to school and bake cookies for senior football players. Or in other words, "The Feminine Mystique" is not on the curriculum.

5. There is a curriculum. And no offense, but multiple "guess" in English is not useful in any way, shape, or form.

6. Homecoming actually exists. And people actually go. But don't go to the homecoming dance unless you are one of those twisted people who laugh when people fail on American Idol.

7. Friday Night Lights aren't just in Texas or on TV.

8. There are fields NEXT TO THE SCHOOL. Multiple fields. And people COMPLAIN about them!

9. Kids take buses to school. Yellow ones. I would have LOVED a yellow bus. And seniors can DRIVE to school! How cool is that?

10. School starts WAYYYYY too early.

11. Just because you say when you move to NJ you'll go to the beach after school doesn't mean you'll actually go to the beach after school. Pesky papers and grades.

12. Everyone smiles. A lot. And people share. It's kind of weird. But really nice. But still weird. Like when you're walking down the street and some random guy is mowing his lawn, and he waves, and you look behind you to see who he's waving to and there's nobody there but you. And then you feel sort of bad because you didn't wave back right away.

13. SWAT teams can point guns at you during lockdown drills. Which is actually pretty terrifying.

14. There are no metal detectors, but more of my students own guns than when I worked in NYC.

15. Suburban teachers have too many jobs and not enough in-school prep time. And bathroom duty is literally crappy.

16. Extracurriculars are mandatory volunteer and take up more time than teaching. But if you don't bring a championship home...well... In other words, sports reign supreme. More stereotypes being perpetuated? (See #4).

17.  Kids sing and dance in the hallways like it's no big deal. While wearing leotards. There are tap shoes involved in some cases.

18. Kids eat baby food and perform other events that Marc Summers would have been thrilled to host in the early 90s. The goal is to beat the other classes in an epic display of... well, actually I'm not entirely sure what it's a display of. It's not intelligence. It's not really brawn. It's like trying to find a red flag in a giant nose and/or waffle. It's called Battle of the Classes, and it's really strange and REALLY loud.

19. Kids are kids are kids. No matter where they live. And the ones who need the most help are often the ones who don't receive it. Nobody should ever give up on a kid--in the city or the 'burbs.

20. Doves are released at graduation. Live ones. Seriously. That happened. Doves.

So, if I had known in college what I know now, I probably would have understood Boston College. As it stands now, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this experience. I really like the people I worked with. I like the idea of the school spirit. I like my students. But a lot of it doesn't mesh with my idea of reality. It was a little Stepford-wives for me, and I mean that in the best way possible. But, I'm thankful for the experience, and now I can put a check on my list of things I have done. Taught in the Suburbs? Check. Thanks for the memories, Glee High School!

Heat Waves, Sheldon Cooper, and the Ocean

I think I have reached the point where I have finally begun to separate the essential from the non-essential, and let go of all the things that have been seriously weighing me down. No joke, it feels amazing. I don't think I've felt this happy since high school.

Forging a path is scary. Really scary.

But...

If you can manage to let go of the advice that everyone else spews at you, especially those who have no actual experience with the subject matter they are advising you on, then you can live free. If you follow your heart and cast other people's opinions aside, you can eventually hear your heart. And you'll hear it everywhere. And I do mean EVERYWHERE. It's crazy. It really is as stated in The Alchemist: the whole universe conspires to help you achieve what you are meant to achieve. I think I can actually hear my heart again.

I've never felt so content. 

Forging a path and being okay with it is entirely liberating.

Transcendental Puppies

So, you leave a dog at home alone and the dog freaks out. Separation anxiety, they say. But, if you exercise your dog, a lot of the bad puppy behaviors tend to dissipate.

Well, helllooooo genius.

Law of syllogism: dogs need to be exercised. dogs are animals. people are animals.... Figure out the rest.

Did you know that Thoreau was an avid walker?

Perhaps if we started exercising more, we'd have less anxiety, less stress, and more perspective of the important things in life. Cast away your cell phones. Get off your couches. Get outside. Watching someone else's life on TV does not constitute living. Go for a walk. Find your purpose.