Approaching my 80th birthday seems like a good time to ruminate on all the things I regret. I’m listing all the things I regret that are safe to share without a visit from the police department. 👮♀️
Not taking more pride in my day-to-day appearance. When I walk out of my beautiful home, people assume I work for the owner.
Ordering dark chocolate online… in the summer! ☀️
Not staying in touch with childhood friends.
Assuming I’d never forget how to apply black eye liner.
Giving up on making pork chops. I love pork chops but not my pork chop door stops.
Never learning how to tap dance.
Doing my own highlights with the shower cap and a crochet hook.
Not being open to trying new foods, but oysters? Really? 🦪🦪
I think I have too many spatulas.
Never trying yoga because you have to wear yoga pants.
Not going to my reunion because I was having a bad hair day.
Vegetables are your lifeline to good health, especially a variety of colors, both cooked and raw. But which ones are better cooked or better raw? I’ll keep it simple. Some vegetables should be cooked to get the most benefits. Some not so much. Heat destroys vitamin C but heat helps your body absorb vitamin A. What should we do? It can be confusing so here is my own take on it:
BETTER COOKED:
Tomatoes
Spinach
Carrots
Collard greens
Swiss chard
Broccoli – short steaming (3-4 minutes) preserves its cancer-fighting compounds
Cabbage – easier to digest, cooking still provides some cancer fighting compounds
Mushrooms
Kale for mineral absorption
Bell peppers for vitamin A
Green beans
BETTER RAW:
Leafy salad greens
Bell peppers for vitamin C
Broccoli for cancer fighting compounds (who eats raw broccoli?? 🤮)
Cabbage – raw cabbage has more cancer fighting compounds
Cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, etc.)
Beets (again, who eats raw beets??)
Kale for vitamin C
STILL GOOD EITHER WAY:
Bell peppers
Cabbage
Cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables
Broccoli
Kale
Beets (cooked beets provide betacarotene and are more digestible when cooked)
Most vegetables need fat to absorb efficiently so my salads always have lots of heart healthy olive oil and sometimes avocado or nuts. I also drizzle extra olive oil on most pasta dishes. Steaming is generally the best way to cook most vegetables, retaining a lot of their nutrients. Roasting is my next choice but boiling is the least optimal way to cook any vegetable, except in soup, chili or stew where you consume the liquid.
*Several reputable sources are reporting that to gain the most benefits from cooked cruciferous vegetables, you should chop them 40 minutes before cooking to activate the beneficial enzymes. I don’t know if I’d have the time… ⏰
I hope this helps. I eat lots of vegetables in lots of colors. In fact, every meal I cook starts with what vegetables are in the fridge. Then I build the rest of the meal on that. When I serve a colorful plate of food, I ask my husband, “How beautiful are these vegetables?” He always replies, “Not as beautiful as you.” 😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️ Awwwww… (or he’s just angling for me to make brownies. 🤔)
Here’s a closing poem:
Bake them or steam them, or roast in a pan, Eat lots of veggies, as many as you can.
Mix up the colors, you’ll benefit more, You’ll look and feel way better than before.
If you take my advice, if you do as you should, Your friends will all say… “Bitch, you look good!” 😀
“Fat-free” might sound like a good idea but fat is something not to be avoided, even if you’re trying to lose weight. Your body needs fat, particularly healthy fat so if you avoid fat altogether, your skin and hair and nails will pay the price. Worse than that, there are many reasons why healthy fat is essential in your diet.
Some important vitamins require fat to be absorbed by your body. (vitamins A, D, E, and K)
Your brain needs fat to function at its fullest. (Omega-3 fats from salmon, sardines & walnuts are best for the brain.)
Consuming healthy fat helps prevent chronic inflammation, which can lead to many diseases like some cancers, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, depression, and Alzheimer’s.
If you avoid fat, your skin will be dry, more prone to pimples & blackheads, and you’ll have more wrinkles.
All I’m saying is fat is good, but only the good kind. Here is a basic guide:
FOODS WITH UNHEALTHY FATS:
Bacon, hot dogs, sausages, and pepperoni… you know… the things we all love! ☹️
Ham, salami, and other deli meats.
Cheese, especially soft cheeses like Brie. The harder the cheese, the healthier.
Anything deep fried, batter fried or French fried. 🍟 I know. I love French fries too… but I love me more. ❤️
Chicken wings are at the top of the bad list. Don’t eat poultry skin.
Check ingredients in processed foods. Avoid palm oil and all partially hydrogenated oils.
FOODS WITH HEALTHY FATS:
Olive oil 🫒
Avocados 🥑
Nuts, with best being walnuts, almonds, and cashews. (I have almond butter sandwiches all the time – yummy & healthy!)
Fish, primarily fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel. (Salmon sandwiches, anyone? Yes!)
It’s not hard to incorporate good fats into your meals.
I eat salmon sandwiches and almond butter & jam sandwiches all the time.
I cook salmon, too.
My salad dressing is always homemade and olive oil based and I often add avocados to salads.
I always keep containers of raw nuts in the fridge for snacking.
If you’re still not convinced, maybe my poem will help…
Fat is good. Fat is fine. Eat healthy fat like I eat mine.
Why not give sardines a whirl? You just might like them. You might not hurl. 🤮
Walnuts, olive oil, salmon too. Bacon and ham? Not good for you.
Eat healthy fat, I’m saying it twice, Or eat more bacon and roll the dice. 🥓 🎲
At 17, I worked as a driver for an Encyclopedia Britannica salesman who lost his license after too many DUIs. I went inside with him and sat through all the sales pitches. That was more uncomfortable than being in the car alone with this guy.
I just found a gray hair… in my nose! I shouldn’t have looked up there. 👀
In 1991, I sang the national anthem at a Chicago White Sox game in Comiskey Park. As a Canadian, I didn’t know all the words and had to study them first. I don’t know if they applauded for me or just for the anthem. 🇺🇸
As a standup comic playing clubs on the road in the 1980s, I worked with lots of other comics playing the circuit, all of us hoping to make it big, including Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Billy Crystal, Bob Saget, Larry Miller, and Brad Garrett. We all played clubs across the country, never knowing who would be on the bill until we got there. 🎤
Every night right before bed, I eat a muffin, a glass of milk, and a small piece of dark chocolate. Then right to bed. I think that’s against the rules…🤔
I was a contestant on The Match Game.
When I was 11 years old, I ran away from home with an older girl – she was 13. We passed for 16 and we both worked as waitresses. They didn’t find us for a month and we only got caught because we shoplifted an iron for our uniforms.
I’m not afraid of snakes. Only spiders.
I’m not an adventurous eater. I’ve never had sushi, escargot, or blood sausage (did they HAVE to call it that?) or oysters. People eat them raw? Seriously? I won’t eat anything that might still be moving. 🤢
I was born in 1946. My parents were Polish refugees. They came to Canada with their own history and experiences, trying to make a new life and raise their two daughters. They were doing the best they knew how… ❤️
THEN: As children, to keep us from getting sick, my sister and I were given sugar cubes soaked in naphtha. I still remember the awful aftertaste. Naphthalene, which is highly flammable, is processed from crude oil and is used to make gasoline, solvents, and paint.
NOW: We just eat right.
THEN:One of our lunches as kids was a sugar sandwich. It was on Wonder bread of course, and here’s the recipe: Slather the bread with butter and top it with lots of sugar. What kid wouldn’t love that?
NOW: A salmon sandwich on whole wheat bread.
THEN:If we got sick, we ate a big raw clove of garlic followed by a piece of bread. I don’t know what the bread was for. Just so you know, raw garlic is hot, spicy, and burns when you eat it, nothing like when it’s cooked.
NOW:We cook with garlic for its antibiotic properties.
THEN: When we cut ourselves, the treatment was usually more painful than the cut. Mercurochrome! Yes, there’s nothing like a burning dose of mercury on an open wound! It was either mercurochrome or iodine, which was equally painful. After applying it, my mother would blow on it to cool down the burn! 🔥
NOW: Luckily, we have antibiotic creams with pain medicine added.
THEN: Zimne Nogi. ⬆ That’s Polish for “cold legs” and it was my dad’s specialty. He cooked a big pot of pigs feet and other ingredients for hours on the stove and wound up with a gelatinous glob that I could barely look at, and definitely not eat. He called it Galaretka. He loved it but I saw it as pigs in aspic and just couldn’t even try it.
NOW:Still no.
THEN: When my boobs didn’t grow by 14, my parents were not happy. They had ideas. My dad said to try ice water on my chest and to drink wine to stimulate my appetite to eat more, hoping if I gained weight, it would all go to my chest. My mother bought me falsies and ordered a Mark Eden bust developer from the back of a magazine. ⬇
I don’t take for granted how fortunate I’ve been that I can splurge on pricey cosmetics but they’re not all expensive. Here, I’m sharing a list of my favorite products priced low to high. These are all in my medicine cabinet right now…
Under $25:
Fresh Sugar Advanced Lip Therapy
Fresh Face Vitamin Nectar Face Mist
LaRoche-Posay Toleraine Double Repair Face Moisturizer
Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream
Gold Bond Age Renew Retinol Overnight Body & Face Lotion (I use for the body)
Under $50:
Dr. Hauschka Rose Day Cream Light
SkinCeuticals Micro-Exfoliating Scrub
EltaMD UV Sheer SPF 50+ Sunscreen
Avene Tolerance Extremely Gentle Cleanser
Under $100:
Dr. Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Overnight Wrinkle Treatment Serum
Dr. Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Intense Wrinkle Cream
Natura Bisse C+C Vitamin Splash Face Mist
Over $100:
SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore Moisturizer
SkinMedica TNS Recovery Complex
Natura Bisse Diamond Extreme (it’s best to be seated when checking this price! 😳)
I’m not sure how helpful my skincare notes will be since I don’t really do a lot, but I’m consistent so that makes a difference. Anyway, here I go with my first skincare notes:
MORNING: First thing I do after brushing my teeth is apply lip balm and spray my face with a facial spray. The cool blast helps me wake up and provides a little immediate moisture while I have my green tea.
Ready to start the day, I wash my face using an unscented cream cleanser and a warm (cheap) washcloth. For years I used Cetaphil cleanser but they changed the formula and now I use Avene because it’s similar and unscented. I am bothered by perfumes and scents – an allergy I think – so all my home cleaning and laundry products are “free and clear.” (Windex makes me gag but that’s for another time! 🤢) Anyway, back to the face. I let the cleanser “melt’ for a minute and then run a washcloth under warm, not hot water. At 79, my skin is thinner and drier and hot water strips the skin’s natural oils. I wipe off the cleanser with the washcloth and let the skin dry for a minute.
Cheap washcloths are my preference. Mine come in a stack at Target and they are anything but soft and that’s the point. Every time I wash my face, I get a very gentle exfoliating from these “grainy” washcloths. After many many uses, they soften up so I buy a new stack and keep the old, soft ones for cleaning.
When my face is dry, I apply a serum and let it set for a couple of minutes. I follow that with a moisturizer on my face and neck. I wait a bit for the moisturizer to absorb and follow with sunscreen on my face, neck, and the back of my hands.
THROUGHOUT THE DAY: There is water and lip balm everywhere – at my desk, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, by the sofa, and in my car. My skin benefits greatly from sipping water all day long. I drink before I get thirsty because if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. At 79, our lips get dry easily so I apply lip balm whenever needed.
NIGHTTIME: My face washing is the same, using the cleanser and washcloth, but about every 3rd day, I use a gentle scrub instead of the cleanser. Mature skin doesn’t need harsh grainy scrubs so I use a very fine, gentle exfoliating scrub, using that warm washcloth to remove it. Once the skin is dry, I apply a serum, let it set for a couple of minutes and follow with a moisturizer.
BRANDS I LIKE: Avene, EltaMD (sunscreen), Laroche-Posay, Dr. Dennis Gross, SkinCeuticals, SkinMedica, Rilastil, and Natura Bissa ⬅ Sticker Shock on this one! 💰💰 (I never do paid endorsements – just sharing here in case someone is interested.)
HUMIDITY: I run humidifiers in the winter. Even in California, when the heat comes on, it dries the air and that is bad for your skin. (Dry air also increases your chances of getting sick but that’s for another time.) We have two humidifiers that need constant filling and occasional cleaning but I do the work because it’s worth it. I keep hygrometers around and can see that with the humidifier tanks running constantly, the humidity stays above 40%. If you get sparks when you touch things, your air it too dry – and so is your skin and cuticles, too. When I’m someplace else where the air is really dry, I use lots of hand cream and I put Vaseline in my nose.👃
NO MAKEUP: I don’t wear makeup. That may be why my skin glows because the pores don’t get clogged up with foundation and the skin can breathe. I had to wear lots of makeup on TV with even more touchups between shows, and I couldn’t wait to wash it off as soon as I could. It felt like a heavy mask but now I’m free so… no makeup!
NO FACIALS: I stopped doing facials years ago after I got better at my skincare. The last time I did my own facial (about 15 years ago) I did not see any improvement because my skin was in such good condition already.
6 THINGS TO AVOID FOR BEAUTIFUL SKIN: Smoking, alcohol, hot water, the sun, dehydration, and sleep deprivation.
HONORABLE MENTION: With everything above being important, I still believe my diet… what I’m eating/drinking and not eating/drinking… is the biggest contributor to my healthy skin.
Well I hope this is helpful.🙂 Once when my sister was visiting, I convinced her one night to stop wearing (matte!) makeup and just scrub and moisturize, and the next morning at breakfast, her skin was glowing! I remember it to this day. It was an immediate improvement that even I wasn’t expecting. We were both surprised. ❤️ I hope you find yourself pleasantly surprised, too.
I hate it but I do it. I exercise religiously every single day and that is a lie. 🙂 The truth is I do the best I can. What I can’t do is set aside time every day for a 10 or 15 minute workout. I’d rather clean my oven. But the good news is… cleaning your oven counts as exercise! So does vacuuming, dusting, doing laundry, cleaning floors, and gardening… all of which I’d rather be doing than taking laundry off the treadmill to walk on it! By the way, underwear and socks dry beautifully on the treadmill. 🧦🧦🧦🧦 So am I using a treadmill? Yes. 😉 For laundry.
I do walk pretty much every day but to me, it’s fun. I get to see birds and flowers and clouds, and sometimes other people walking, but using headphones and not enjoying nature. I am motivated to walk because there’s always something to experience. You never know when you might see somebody walking a cute dog or teaching a child to ride a bike. So I’m all in on walking.
Here is the best I can do with “exercising.” I work things into my busy day so it doesn’t feel like a chore. I exercise mostly when I’m waiting for something. I do pushups against the kitchen counter while waiting for water to boil. I do reverse pushups on the counter while steeping tea. I do squats while on hold with the phone company – there’s always A LOT of time for squats! I also do reverse lunges, which I highly recommend – that’s gas company time! ⏰ I’ve even done my standing alternate arm & leg raises while waiting for the doctor to come in. I do that for my back.
I’ll get more specific about those few things I do, some with weights, but for now these are some basic details. Being active all day is how I have always lived. These days I’m up at 8 and on the go until 8 or 9:00 pm and almost always moving… from cooking, baking, washing dishes, grocery shopping, loading groceries, running errands, walking around Target (that counts), taking out the trash – I believe all that activity is beneficial if only because it’s time not spent sitting down. I walk up and down stairs and escalators. I park far away and walk to my car. We have to move! I told my husband we have to move and he said, “Okay, I’ll start packing boxes!” (more about the funny man I live with later ❤️)
My system is not for everyone but for someone who really does not like to exercise, it works for me. I like being busy so I’m also using my brain all day long. I can barely sit through an hour of television so I am the farthest thing from sedentary. I just find ways to insert some weight-bearing moves throughout my day. I also stretch every night before bed (more on that later). I do not, however, participate in any activity that requires a helmet or getting on the floor. I am NOT getting on the floor! If I do, I’m staying there until help arrives. 😀
This is me walking. Big hat, long sleeves, shirt buttoned up, collar up, sunglasses, and sunscreen – sunny or overcast, I do this every time I walk. This is how my skincare starts. Here are some things you may not know:
Did you know that there is no such thing as sunblock? Nothing can block the sun from damaging your skin. They used to call it sunblock but then the FDA got involved so now it’s called sunscreen.
But sunscreen does not block the sun’s damage – it only helps decrease the risk of skin cancer and the aging effects of the sun. The risk is still there. So even with a high SPF, you are only reducing the exposure from dangerous UVA/UVB rays, which is why I always cover up when I’m outside. UVA rays age the skin with wrinkles and spots and UVB rays cause sun burn. Both contribute to skin cancer risk.
Here’s a shocker: On overcast or cloudy days, I’ll bet you didn’t know you’re still getting up to 80% of the sun’s damaging rays. Look it up!
One popular sunscreen has this in their description: “Helps decrease the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging caused by the sun if used with other sun protection measures.” No sunscreen can completely prevent damage.
How about this? Time spent sitting near windows or in a car, also has risks. Glass blocks most UVB rays but UVA rays can pass through glass.
Here’s one more: Those harmful UVA/UVB rays also bounce off of concrete & pavement, water, sand, walls, and snow, with snow being especially dangerous. Skiers know that.
I’m not done yet. Did you know that the sun is also damaging to the eyes? Sunglasses are vital. I asked my eye doctor, “What’s the most important thing to do to protect your eyes?” He said, “Wear sunglasses.” Got it! (He also told me I had the retinas of a 40-year old! 👍) My big sunglasses also have protection on the sides so the rays can’t sneak in when I’m not looking. 👀
I’m old enough to remember not just basking in the sun, but actually applying coconut oil to intensify your tan! With a foil reflector!! 🔥 OMG!! Nobody knew – it was the 1950s. We tanned. We burned. Our shoulders peeled like blistered shishito peppers. 🌶
Too much fun in the sun… And you’ll end up “well done.” 🥵 I’ll shut up now, I made my case. Get some sunscreen and slap it on your face! 😎
p.s. Teresa made a valuable comment below. It’s important to get your skin checked regularly by a dermatologist. During my own screening late last year, the doctor said it was rare to see someone my age without skin cancer. Whew! 👍 I still go every year.
The things I mention here are all second nature to me, It’s just the way that I live and have lived for years. In fact, I had to think hard about what might be different since it’s all so normal to me. Here it is and I hope it’s no too long-winded!
I don’t use teabags. I use organic full leaf green tea and brew one cup at a time as needed in my mini glass teapot. The same goes for black tea – organic, full leaf tea brewed one cup at a time.
I never drink any very hot beverage. Into my biggest mug, I pour my hot brewed tea and add enough cold water to cool it down to luke-warm. It just feels like very hot beverages are not kind to the throat or tongue, and long term, they are also a risk factor for esophageal cancer.
No ice cold drinks either. Room temperature only.
The only beverages I drink at all are tea and water – nothing else. I have no desire for anything else.
I eat very little fruit, maybe a bite or two a day. (but I do eat LOTS of vegetables! 🥦 🥕🫑 🍅 🧅)
I never eat sweets on an empty stomach. It’s always better to include some fat and protein with sweets to slow down the sugar spike (like an apple with a few walnuts) (or a cookie with a glass of milk).
We have no aspirin, tylenol, antacids, cold medication, allergy pills, none of that in our house. If we have any discomfort, we focus on finding the cause, not masking the symptom. If I have pain, I use ice or heat. I sometimes consider getting anti-anxiety medication when I look in my lighted, magnified, makeup mirror, but I finally decided to stop looking so hard. 😳
Skin gets thinner and drier as we age, so I keep water and lip balm everywhere: in the kitchen, bathroom, at my desk, by the sofa, in my purse, and in my car.
I don’t take multi-vitamins. I feel my diet gives me all the nutrients I need.
I peel peppers before eating or cooking. The skins seem hard to digest.
Finger nails also get weaker as we age. They can crack or peel so I use a glass nail file. It’s a lot kinder to the nails than an emery board.
Manicures – pedicures – facials – massages? Not for me. I can’t seem to sit still long enough!
I eat something every 3-4 hours.
It’s my belief that in many cases, you can decide not to be sick. I have had occasions when I feel a cold coming on and I simply decide that, “this is not going to happen!” I make chicken soup, rest for the day, and start making a To Do list for tomorrow. That’s as far as it’s ever gotten. No cold or flu in over 50 years.
I trust what my body tells me. Some things are obvious: When I’m thirsty, it’s telling my I’m dehydrated and should drink some water. When I eat too much, it punishes me by making me lethargic and uncomfortable, to each me a lesson. Listen to your body. It will let you know what you need, and don’t need. Craving an orange? You might need some vitamin C. Craving a steak? You might need some heme iron. Craving something salty? You might be dehydrated – salt is an essential electrolyte. And you body will readily let you know what you don’t need. A perfect example is a hangover. 🤢
I hope these things are helpful without being too preachy… 🙂
