Tag: Health

Ultimate Bean & Feta Salad

I started development on this recipe way back in 2004, when it was little more than chick peas and feta cheese, but it has evolved to the following amazingness over time.

It’s a great dish to bring to parties, serve as an appetizer at your dinner party, or to just enjoy as a healthy yet filling and delicious meal during the week.

It’ll keep in the fridge for 5 to 6 days. Feel free to experiment and add or substitute all sorts of new things. Enjoy!

The Ultimate Bean & Feta Salad

Total prep time: 30 minutes of chopping and mixing
Serves 8 to 10

  • beans, 3 x 15oz cans (pick any three: kidney, pinto, red, cannellini, black, black-eyed, white, butter, garbanzo)
  • green beans, sliced, 1 can (alternate: 1 can of corn)
  • red onion, 1 small or ½ large
  • olives, pitted, 1 can (green or black)
  • feta cheese, 6-10 oz (around ½ pound) crumbled
  • parsley, 1 handful, finely chopped (optional addition or substitution: cilantro)
  • roasted red peppers, 1 10-12oz jar
  • garlic, 2-3 cloves, crushed or finely diced
  • olive oil, several dollops
  • balsamic vinegar, several dollops (alternate: cider vinegar)
  • pepper, salt, oregano, paprika, etc (to taste)
  1. Drain and rinse in a colander the beans and green beans (or corn) and add to a large mixing bowl.
  2. Finely dice the red onion and add in.
  3. Drain the olives, slice & dice, and add to the bowl.
  4. Chop up and crumble in the feta cheese. This is a good point to mix what’s already in the bowl.
  5. Dice the roasted red peppers and garlic and add to the bowl.
  6. Chop up the parsley (and/or cilantro) and add in.
  7. Add in the olive oil, vinegar, and any spices.
  8. Mix thoroughly and it’s done!

AotM #14: King Tut Day

Happy Tutankhamen Day! Go to a museum!

  1. But before some serious stuff, let’s start it off with BEARS!!! Despite what Stephen Colbert may say, Bears are OK in my book—after all, they’re part of the international coalition fighting the war on terror! But that’s not too surprising, since bears have been fighting for us since at least WWII. And who doesn’t want beer-swilling, cigarette-smoking, artillery-carrying, Nazi-fighting large clawed mammals on their side?
  2. Another area where new studies are only confirming folk wisdom and old knowledge—TV makes kids more aggressive. I mean, it’s been ignored by the media and politicians for a decade, but we’ve known for a long time that violent imagery does indeed condition and desensitize people to violence (I highly recommend reading On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society for some fascinating research and discussion on the topic). And yet, it’s still a social faux pas to condemn violence in media, even while we’re still vehemently puritanical about love & sex. Time to grow up, America.
  3. Parental control and restriction is psychologically damaging anywhere, but here’s an interesting study that shows the differences between Eastern & Western parenting.
  4. Not only are over-the-counter pain meds the most widely used pharmaceuticals in the world, but turns out they can degrade your flu shot and depress your immune system. Pain is a wonderful thing, since it tells us when something is out of whack, so embrace it and work on the core problem—there’s not much to be gained from masking it, at least for most minor things.
  5. Retrospectives, books, and movies about our men and women in the military all too often focus on standout cases of elite heroes. But the story of an average recruit who spends time in Iraq or Afghanistan is equally important to share, as it reveals more of the realities of military life and war. So enjoy this fascinating and wonderfully open photoessay that follows the life of a young Army enlistee, from recruitment, through training, to Iraq, and back. Bad decisions, warts, & all.

AotM #13: Mischief Night

I never knew this before, but it certainly makes perfect sense that it was those hooliganish Brits who invented Mischief Night.

  1. No matter how often studies like these that promote the benefits of exercise come along, I’ll never stop sharing them, since getting sweaty really does make everything better. Today, Tai Chi reduces depression and joint pain in the elderly, and moderate exercise can lessen or even prevent flu.
  2. Although it’s certainly nothing new, here’s yet more research showing that even just beginning to study and play music improves brain function and memory. Get out and play something now!
  3. Where does dust come from? Surprisingly, we didn’t quite know where until now.
  4. While it’s about 90% true that you always get what you pay for, Monster Cables are one solid example of the remaining 10% of utter scams. Never trust marketing or commissioned “experts” (cough cough RadioShack).
  5. Here is an excellent proposal describing why English should NOT ever be legally made our official language. The fact that this topic is even an issue really does only go to show how discombobulated and disconnected we have become as One Nation, Indivisible, with Liberty & Justice for All (I have omitted the “Under God” since it’s a relatively recent addition to the Pledge). If we felt more unified as a nation, it wouldn’t matter what languages people spoke.
  6. Finally, here’s a fascinating study showing how our unconscious biases effect the “results” of torture. Combined with the uselessness of most lie detection methodologies, we as a nation should most definitely forbid torture for anything related to our national interests. It just doesn’t work, and only serves to reduce our standing in the world.