Mr. Hank's Corner - March 2019

Did you have the chance to come and watch this amazing movie? I did and I tell you that not only is screen addiction a huge problem in the world of teens but it is one that affects adults as well. Since watching this film I came to my senses of what we already knew with how much we depend on our electronic devices. It amazing to me how I reach for my phone to turn off my alarm in the morning and find myself looking to see what everyone in the social media world is doing or has done in the last 24 hours. Really? Is it that important? So I myself wanted to see how much time do I spend on an electric device and work towards knocking that time down. How could you maintain a balance during the day when in today’s world we so depend on electronic devices?

I find myself sucked in at times and it doesn’t make any sense why other than it is just what we think is the social norm these days. So, I told myself to grab a book and read over the weekends so I could disconnect myself from what we think is “Reality” but as we all know is far from the truth. Believe it or not sitting and reading a book was quite nice in fact. So how can you take a giant step to reduce the amount of time you sit in front of a blue screen in this digital era we live in?

Asian Inspired dishes will be the theme this March when we get together for another evening of “Cooking it Up with Mr. Hank.” I really love making simple foods and when you start making Asian flavored style of foods you can do so much with vegetables. I think of what the plates used to look like in eastern diets compared to ours in the western world. Ours tend to have plates "rich in red meat, dairy products, processed and artificially sweetened foods, and salt, with minimal intake of fruits, vegetables, fish, legumes, and whole grains." The typical American diet is about 50% carbohydrate, 15% protein, and 35% fat. Really? So fast and cheap is not doing anything for you except making us fatter and sicker. However, this western diet has begun to take over the eastern diet and what was once a healthier diet with more vegetables, low or moderate amounts of meats and fishes and good starches like rice or noodles. Dessert was never a part of the eastern diet like it is in ours, but fruits would be served after a meal to help aid in digestion. Not like here where we go right after the high calorie and high sugar dessert which just adds to our waste lines. I mean after all when you go to a place like Souplantation and you think that you just did amazing by eating mountains of salad and veggies only to ruin it with an ending of sugary desserts. Classic western thinking.

So that evening I look to teach how fun it is to make spring rolls filled with veggies accompanied with a flavorful sauce that will enhance the taste of the spring rolls and get your kids hooked on eating more veggies. As always no meats will be served but tofu makes a great substitute for a protein in any world diet if you are looking at a way to take back your health.