Morning Joe Delight!

I blame my coffee addiction on Italy.

When I was a freshmen in college, I wanted to do it all....study, class, hockey, marathoning, partying, dating....everything. There just weren't enough hours in the day, so I cut back my sleep to nearly none and relied on coffee to fuel me through my days...every day. By second semester I had decided that PROBABLY wasn't a healthy way to live (duh)...so I cut the coffee cold turkey. 

Enter: worst headaches of my LIFE x 1 week. And I was still drinking diet soda to get a caffeine fix! Scary!

I remained "sober" (hehe) for YEARS...until I went to Italy with husband. My glorious 10 weeks in Italy reignited my love for coffee, particularly espresso and cappuccino! I've expanded my arsenal to most any form of coffee, just take a look at my kitchen...

My beloved Kitchen Aid espresso machine with frother for cappuccino. Yes, I have a mini Starbucks operation running over here!

And then I have my rinky-dinky Mr. Coffee coffee pot...which I opted for this morning.

Mmmm! And does everyone else have a favorite coffee mug? 

I am blessed to have a set of 6 so I never run out!

And how about coffee's healthfulness, huh? Let's consult WebMD for some truth...

Coffee is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer. Coffee can lift your mood and treat headaches...and lower the risk of cavities! 

...and the more your drink the better!

Harvard researchers found that consuming 6 or more cups of coffee daily reduced mens' risk of type 2 diabetes by 54% and womens' by 30% compared to those who don't consume coffee [1].

The article states [1]:

"Consider this: At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Other research shows that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups daily can translate to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis risk, and nearly half the risk of gallstones."
 
My take....
Drink in moderation. Too much caffeine can cause insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, an increased heart rate and respirations. Large doses of caffeine can cause headache, anxiety, agitation, chest pain, and ringing in the ears.

 

Question: Do you drink coffee?? Every day? How much? What's your FAVORITE coffee drink??

 

DON'T forget to enter into my Giving Back Giveaway...just scroll down and leave a comment to enter! Drawing will take place today at 6 pm Central Time. Thanks for your support!

 A HUGE THANKS to Lindsay with the National Peanut Board. I received a most exciting package this week containing this:

Peanut oil, peanut flour, a beautiful letter, recipe cards, and patient information 

(diabetes + peanut butter = heck yeah!!!)

Thank you!!!!!!!

TGIF...enjoy it, bloggies!

[1]. Kirchheimer, Sid. Coffee: The New Health Food? WebMD.

Holy pizza!

Mark LOVES pizza. Quite possibly more than Lily, and certainly more than me. ;) I can be cooking up a meal of fresh chicken fajitas with homemade pico de gallo and guacamole...and he'll be wanting Papa Johns. I've learned to not take it all too personally.

I, on the other hand, am very indifferent towards pizza (I'm the anti-Chi towner...I know, I know). That is unless, of course, it's Italian pizza. Most everyone reading my blog knows that I spent many a week-long trips in Italy (as well as a summer...not to rub it in or anything...) with Mark while he was working in Varese for 2 years. And one of the many valuable life lessons learned while in Italy: what REAL pizza looks like, tastes like, consists of, etc.

The Italians know their pizza better than they know Gucci, perhaps. Your pizza will arrive with a diameter easily spanning 20+ inches and be made with the freshest of ingredients including tomatoes, arugula and bresaola* (my personal favorite toppings), speck, prosciutto, olives, artichoke hearts, and so on and so forth. These pizza crusts are paper-thin and are loaded with the non-dairy toppings making them much more healthy ...and balanced in many cases. I had acquired a serious respect for the Italian pizza, until Mark discovered THIS:

Could he LOOK any happier? The above is my husband with a pizza topped with pepperoni ("salami piccante") and FRENCH FRIES. Oh, and also some mystery white sauce. WHAT a tragedy! Blasphemy on this pizza!

...of all the 2,394,802,324,921 photos we took all over Europe in those years...THIS picture had more comments on Facebook than any of the others. And we WONDER why we're obese (or if you're bitter like me, wonder why HE'S not at least a little chubby...yet).

Side note: Mark went on to eat many pizzas in Italy topped with pepperoni and french fries. He's my hopeless pizza fiend.

* Bresaola is a cured meat that is virtually fat-free - 23 calories and 5 grams of protein per ounce. It is heavy preserved in natural seawater and is consumed as a luncheon meat, pizza topping, primi piatti meat served with melon, etc. It is fantastic!