Good evening!
The Farmer’s Market bread returns for its’ last hoorah! It was a bit stale today, so I made sure to warm it in the micro for 15 seconds and put extra Earth balance on it! Perfecto.
As for the whole wheat loaf I purchased, I tried freezing it. I have doubts it will taste fresh when I take it out though…I guess my eyes were bigger than my belly at the market on Saturday!!!! Another reason why grocery shopping when hungry is trouble. :tongue:
For dinner tonight, I made garlic scape infused quinoa…
First I boiled the water with a vegetable bouillon cube until it had fully dissolved (this is crucial for not having bland quinoa!). Then I added the quinoa and a few processed garlic scapes, along with sea salt, 1 tbsp cold-pressed sunflower oil, and black pepper. I cooked the quinoa in this heavenly mixture for about 15 minutes or so.
The kitchen smelled glorious! It was so tasty and fresh. Simple food is good food.
Because dinner was lacking some colour, I decided a juice would be made for an energizing dessert…
It was 1 beet, 2 carrots, 1/2 lemon, 1 tiny CSA apple.
Last night, I had a hankering for my GF + Vegan chewy crackers, however this time I wanted to turn them into Glo Dough and also try my hand at dehydrating them in the food dehydrator.
I took the original recipe that I created a while back and I changed it around. I was out of brown rice so I used all quinoa. Second, I added a ton of garlic scapes which gave it great pop of flavour. I also added a few other seasonings and seeds and I dehydrated them for about 3 hours.
Despite not having brown rice, they were deelish. However, because I used only quinoa they didn’t hold together very well and were extremely crumbly! It was missing the brown rice. When brown rice is cooked and processed it acts like a paste, holding everything together. Next time = brown rice!
The balls held together much better than the flatbreads and crackers did…
They are sooo addicting though. They were awesome slathered in hummus…I made a huge plate for lunch that I promptly inhaled and could not peel myself away to get the camera. Blogger fail, I know.
I suspect the crackers will be great sprinkled over salads too. I am going to work on the recipe a bit before I post it because I want to iron out the kinks first!
Check out day 4 of the amazing sprouting Green Onion! Note the smaller lil guys popping up! I added those yesterday. What shall we name it?
As for the trans-planted basil, it does not seem to be growing. I have even been talking to it when I eat my breakfast al fresco!
Is Your Desk Job Harming Your Health?
This morning, I read an interesting article on Health.com about desk jobs and the toll they can take on our health. I find this topic particularly interesting because I suffered from a lot of health problems when I was sitting for 12-14 hours a day while a grad student and researcher. I would often have a ton of back, neck, and shoulder pain, headaches, lethargy, not to mention feeling stir-crazy all day long!
Health.com reports that sitting for extended periods of time can cause ‘back pain, repetitive stress injuries, obesity and even an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.’ Also, it can flatten out the curve of the lower back and put strain on the upper body, shoulders, and arms.
However, there are simple things that one can do to help reduce the negative impact that sitting for extended periods of time can have.
Health.com suggests…
1) Get moving! For 5 minutes every hour, get up and move around.
2) You need more than your daily gym workout. Just because you workout once a day does not mean you are ‘covered’ in terms of exercise if you are still sitting for 8-12 hours a day. Take several breaks throughout the day for 10-15 minutes to stretch and walk.
3) Practice good posture while sitting at your desk. An exercise ball or taking Pilates classes might help with this.
4) Have your desk assessed for proper ergonomic balance. Many workplaces now offer a physical therapist to come look at your workstation.
OSGMOM has always told me that I was a super active baby, toddler, and child always on the go. I could never sit still for long periods of time and was always moving around much to her chagrin. I have always had a love for physical work, especially working with my hands and I get this from my mom who is very artistic and loves to draw and paint. It is no wonder that a desk job + 3-4 hours of driving each day did not jive well with my personality!
When I left my research job and commute and started up the bakery, I went from sitting for 12-14 hours a day to standing for at least 10 hours a day. It was a huge shift for me and I suffered from other health issues such as bad foot pain (especially heel pain), sore shoulders, arms, thumbs, and elbows from doing repeated physical labour with my hands. I started wearing comfortable sneakers and using my cushion mat from Costco (it’s great by the way) and this has helped quite a bit, although it can still be hard to find a balance. Now I find that I look forward to sitting breaks to give my feet a rest, but if I am on the computer doing desk work for longer than 4 hours I really start to feel it in my back. I think with any job, it can be difficult to find that perfect balance for one’s body!
Thinking back to my previous desk job, it would have been extremely hard for me to take mini walking breaks as this article suggests. I barely had enough time to go to the washroom at my old job and I was glued to my desk for hours on end. I think that it can be really hard for some employees to ‘claim’ that break time for their health, especially when their supervisor doesn’t take breaks either and doesn’t seem to encourage them.
At my old job we were supposed to get 1/2 hour for lunch and two 15 minute breaks, but I was lucky to have 10 minutes to inhale my lunch. Obviously, I was part of the problem by not ‘claiming’ my break in a more assertive manner, but sometimes it puts the employee in a precarious position because no one wants to look like a ‘slacker’ even if they are nothing of the sort.
Workplaces have made significant improvements over the past several years, but they have a long way to go before the majority of ‘desk-jockies’ are feeling at their optimum health.
I have lots of food for thought for you tonight…
- Do you have a desk job or a standing/physical type job? Do you like it?
- Do you feel like your workplace would support mini walking breaks during the day?
- Do you implement any of the above suggestions into your day?
- Do you think that you get enough breaks at your current job and does your supervisor support breaks? How long and how frequent at your breaks? Do you take them?
On that note I am going to get up from this desk, stretch, and do some yoga. Have a great night!
i have a desk job (i’m actually here right now…shhhh!) and i noticed that i started getting bad back and neck aches. i even just went for a massage the other day (ahh, the perks of bridesmaid duties ;p ) and as soon as the therapist just touched my back she went “oh! wow, your back is really tight!”
i try to walk around but i don’t think it does much. :/
I work in an office and try to get up and get moving when I can – but as you said – sometimes you just cant.
My job is a volunteer coordinator at a non-profit nursing home and , although technically ‘desk jobish’, I get to move alot during the day. I do have a suggestion for your next Farmers Market bread. We often slice our bread and then freeze it. We remove as many slices as we need. And if the bread gets dry, what could be better than french toast with coconut butter and cocoa nibs on top?
Oooh, savory Glo Dough! That’s such a fun idea!
I’m lucky enough to have a job chasing after kids so I’m hardly ever sitting still. My whole day is one big walking break! The bummy thing is that I rarely get a lunch break to myself; we automatically get an hour break docked out by payroll (I’m full-time but not salaried), but soo many days I’m on an all-day field trip and am forced to stay with the students. That’s the one downside I guess :/
My job is the worst. Aside from the constant exposure to secondhand smoke, I am chained to my computer all day. It’s a small company, so we don’t get offered any ergonomic alternatives or exercise breaks. Luckily I have about 4 weeks left there, so it’s not for much longer! This post came at a great time, it will remind me to “claim my breaks” at my new job!
You have second hand smoke at work?! That is awful :(
A stale bread idea for you!
Wet a brown paper bag, put bread inside and then put in the oven for a few mins, you will have delish soft bread again!!
wow great tip!
Back support is crucial! My back has been killing me since I started a desk job again so I need to take my own advice and practice better posture.
I have a physical job were I move around constantly. It’s hard work but it keeps me active all day long and I’m thankful I don’t sit at a desk.
I have a desk job but I often get up and walk around as you suggested! Also, I divide my time between floors- the 4th floor and the basement- so I am always sure to use the stairs when traveling between offices!
I think that my desk job makes me healthier because I get so bored sitting there for so long that I read health blogs all day! bahahah ;)
“I think that my desk job makes me healthier because I get so bored sitting there for so long that I read health blogs all day! bahahah ;)”
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!! Thsi is quotable
OMG this is SOOOOOOOOO true. After a long time sitting at my desk my mind goes to work mush and I take a brain break and feed my soul with some blogs. I’ve been reading yours (catching up from the beginning, just got to 2009) and I’ve alredy made huge changes in my healthy activities!!!
My upper back KILLS by the end of the week and I walk at break and lunch usually. Bodies want to move. I guess it is all about finding balance between activity and rest.
Aww thank you I’m glad you enjoy it! :) Good for you for making all those healthy changes!!!
Holy cow! That onion grew that much in a day?! But the Glo Dough crackers take the cake here..they look fun to eat!
What a cute little onion you got there :) He just gets bigger everyday!
I work in retail/food and beverage so I don’t sit at a desk. I’m sure in a few years when I get out of University and find a career, I’ll probably wind up at a desk :( Hopefully I’ll find a job that doesn’t require me to be trapped in a tiny cubicle. I get very antsy when I sit for a long time, even when sitting in lectures.
I have a desk job. I’d rather be on my feet and moving around doing a bunch of random things than being chained to a desk, but it’s my only option right now.
My office has a 15 min break each in the morning and afternoon. I typically take them. And our supervisor is fine with it, but she wants us to take them at very specific times in the day, and sometimes that’s not possible to go at the very same time every day.
I walk around when I can. I walk around the campus during my break, and I walk up three flights of stairs to the bathroom on the very top floor when I need to go.
I rarely sit at work … I teach grade 7/8 and they always have me on my toes :-)
I’m a GIS technician, so I have a physical-type job with little desk time that requires me to be constantly moving and carrying heavy equipment to each location I’m surveying. For that reason, my co-workers and I make a point of putting everything down every 2 hours for at least 15 minutes to stretch, relax, or grab a snack. I find these little breaks are enough to keep me from being sore, and keep me sane!
I do have a desk job and I definitely find it to be a challenge to sit the majority of the day. While I like the people I work with and the company I work for, I am not a fan of a sit-down job. Luckily my workplace definitely supports getting up and moving around. They have implemented something called “Pause for Gym” where a trainer comes to the office twice a week and leads us through a 10-15 min exercise routine to get us moving. As part of the program, they also have 10 min massages once a week that we can sign up for. It is pretty awesome! Even with this progressive-ness, I am going to try and take these mini walking breaks, even if it is just walking around the office a couple times a day, as well as stretching at my desk. I find my hips get really tight being seated all day so sometimes I do lunges at my desk. Luckily my job isn’t stringent on the number or length of breaks that are taken. If you are getting your work done, they are pretty flexible!
I teach first grade so depending on the day I would guess I never sit more than 20 minutes (small group reading instruction) without moving. I also don’t sit much at home. My DH times me during tv shows/movies as I don’t sit through a whole show unless I am sleeping! I don’t think a desk job would work for me.
hahah I never sit through a movie…I’m always getting up. Eric always laughs at me.
I have a desk job, which definitely makes me feel a bit stir crazy at times. But now I just make up random errands that I simply must run (i.e. walking 3/4 mile each way to whole foods to buy a grapefruit for a snack :-) ). Everyone in my office loves it because I can pick up groceries for them too. It so important to move. Screw overbearing bosses!
Excellent blog subject. I work 9-11 hours every day and unfortunately too much of my job is sitting. I try to move around as much as possible, like talk face-to-face instead of email or go for mini walks, but I still fear THE OFFICE @SS. Yikes! ;) I would love if my work encouraged more mini walk breaks during the day, but I need to also take the ownership myself!
I have a desk job and it definitely takes a toll on my body. Where I work the corporate culture is all about working people to the brink of meltdown… and I have a very demanding boss who doesn’t take many breaks. She works through lunch unless she’s going out for a business lunch, although once in a rare while she’ll go for a short walk. 15 minute breaks don’t exist to her. It is actually the law here that if you work over 5 hours in a stretch, that you are entitled to 30 minutes lunch and two 15s. I’m in the same boat as you were, in that I don’t assert that right. I almost always take my half hour for lunch, although I stay sitting at my desk. I just stop working and read the news instead. I never take my 15s though… Although I work out about 1.5hours 5-6 days a week, I know I need to move more during the workday. I get really bloated after meals and my feet and ankles swell.
Thanks for the motivation to try harder to get up out of my chair more! I also wish the company would be cool with me replacing my chair with a stability ball.
Your situation sounds exactly like mine was! I hope you can find some relief…it is not fun by any means.
I work part time in child care, so most of the time I am jumping up chasing after kids, or standing during the teaching portions. I sit during movie time and sometimes while playing with the kids.
When I’m at home I sit at the computer or sometimes kick back with a good book. So I am active sometimes, and completely inactive at others. Hopefully it is the best of both worlds!