Pencil Thin

Santa sprained his ankle while playing basketball this week. Santa is a surprisingly active guy considering his age and the that bowl full of jelly he carries around. Mrs. Claus looked up some tips on caring for a sprain and decided to post it in honor of a Christmas with Santa putting his feet up.

Treatments for sprains :

Rest the injured area. If the ankle or knee is hurt you may need to use crutches or a cane (as per your doctor).

Put ice on the injury for 20 minutes at a time. The doctor might say to do this 4 to 8 times a day.

Compress (squeeze) the injury using special bandages, casts, boots, or splints. Your doctor will tell you which one is best for you.

Put the injured ankle, knee, elbow, or wrist up on a pillow.

Take medicines, such as aspirin or ibuprofen.

It is important to see a doctor if you have a painful sprain or strain to ensure that you are treating the problem in the most effective manner.

Being on the run and always short of time I often grab my morning meal and coffee from my local service station. I had fool heartedly told myself for many visits that a muffin and coffee were perfectly good alternative to say a doughnut and cappucino LOL.

I never took the time to read the calorie count on one of my favorite muffins (after many months of consuming them) until one day as I sat in the drive through at the bank. As I read my heart literally stopped (it should have anyways)! My healthy blueberry muffin that I figured had maybe 350 calories tops had a whopping 1,040!!!!

1,040 calories is that really possible in one muffin??? Well, it gets worse I then sadly scrolled down the wrapper to the fat grams and yet again felt the fluttering of my heart- 43 grams of fat!!!

What were these people trying to kill me? That is almost an entire days worth of fat for a person in one muffin.  I then read very, very carefully and found that this single muffin actually was considered 4 servings. Hold the phone who shares a muffin with four people?

Guess I will if I want to live to see another year LOL!

Carbs are not all bad you should opt for wholegrain, whole wheat, wholemeal, brown or high fiber choices for the best nutritional punch. Whole grains maintain the  bran and the germ and result in keeping you feeling fuller for longer. Look for whole grains when buying rice, bread, oats, and  pasta. 

• Bread
• Breakfast cereals
• Oats
• Pasta
• Noodles
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Beans
• Lentils

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted and cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine the flour and the next 4 ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl. Combine the buttermilk, butter, and egg, and add to the flour mixture, stirring with a whisk until smooth.Spoon about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet. Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.

Or do I ? I decided to investigate why it is that when my head just throbs caffeine seems to be the fix I need. What is it about this power packed ingredient that makes my head feel happy?

Here is what I found from the Cleveland Clinic:

“Caffeine is a common ingredient in many prescription and over-the-counter headache medications (see list below). Caffeine additives make pain-relievers 40% more effective in treating headaches. Caffeine also helps the body absorb headache medications more quickly, bringing faster relief. By adding caffeine and, in turn, taking less medication, you can reduce the risk for potential side effects and possible drug addiction.”

Well that is interesting but this is even better.

Now it is time for my cup of joe!