Posts Tagged ‘Covid-19’

My COVID Recovery: No Problem

I’d just come home from seeing the very fun Top Gun Maverick movie with a good group of fellow Hickory Velo Cycling Club buds when I felt flu or bad cold symptoms come on fast. Later that night, I woke with the telltale signs of COVID: mild fever, full body ache, big headache and on-fire sore throat.

Some quick personal health facts. I did not get any COVID shots and am fine with that decision. I’m almost 64 years old, 6′ 3″ and under 160 pounds. I eat and drink exactly what you see on this site with an emphasis on eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. I usually only supplement my diet with Vitamins D3 and B12 and a light dose of zinc. And I’m on the bike every day.

I’ve mentioned here many times that the keys to good life quality and both disease prevention and disease recovery are what you eat and how you move your body.

When I came down with COVID last week, I checked in with a good, reliable friend who runs a health food store here in Hickory. She recommended supplementing my diet with the immunity support kit and flu symptom reducing tablets you see here.

I’ve followed her advice to a “T”. I’ve stuck to my diet (regular eating). And I haven’t missed a day on the bike – though I did cut back from “normal” last week, which, even on days I felt worst, always made me feel better both on the road and when I got back home. I mean, how bad can you feel when you’re bathed in North Carolina glory like this?

Bottom line: yes, COVID, the virus, is real. But just like a bad cold or the flu, your outcome is heavily influenced by your health state when you get infected. My good buds here keep an eye out and ask how I’m doing. My answer: considering how severely others have been affected, I got off lightly and am doing great. Thanks, good friends. I sure wish the same for you!

Enabling Empowerment Vs. Covid-19 and Enabling Kitchen Self-Sufficiency with an Instant 5-Ingredient Salad Dressing

Covid-19 statistics and how to make an instant 5-ingredient salad dressing 

You are the only person who can empower yourself. You can, however, get and find the needed help to enable your empowerment.

Regarding Covid-19 and seasonal flu and their effect to date – and the numbers are sobering, first, the seasonal flu; Global Research reported on Feb. 22, 2020, that “The common flu causes up to 5 million cases of severe illness worldwide and kills up to 650,000 people every year, according to the World Health Organization .”

In the US alone, here’s an image from the CDC showing 2019-2020 US-only seasonal flu statistics through the end of March 2020.

CDC 2019-2020 US Seasonal Flu Impact

Staggering!

Now, Covid-19; As of yesterday, April 6, 2020, according to the WHO, there have been 1,210,956 reported cases and 67,594 deaths related to Covid-19 globally. According to the CDC, again as of yesterday, there have been 330,981 reported cases and 8,910 deaths related to Covid-19 just in the United States.

The big problem with Covid-19 is that it is new, hence the name Novel (new) Coronavirus 2019-nCoV, and that means that avoiding the disease can only be accomplished by following all but the first of the WHO-published five easy steps to avoid the flu:

  • getting vaccinated (Only about 4 in 10 US adults get vaccinated. I’ve not been vaccinated in years. I will start getting vaccinated next season – and document it here.)
  • frequent handwashing
  • avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth
  • avoiding being around sick people
  • staying home if you are sick to prevent contamination to others

These are all common sense steps to take, and following each can help empower us to cope with all strains of the flu with less fear.

That said, let’s switch gears to help empower better eating, which always improves a brighter outlook, with a quick, easy, richly flavorful and incredibly versatile recipe that you can make no matter how little cooking experience you have. The instant 5-ingredient salad dressing you see here  goes great, of course, on warm or cold salads but is also a go-to for me on sandwiches, with cooked grains, over pasta, and much more. 

how to make a 5-ingredient instant salad dressing

As shown in the picture below (yes, I did use 2 vinegars for added flavor that count as only one ingredient), the only five ingredients you need are garlic powder, black pepper, mustard, vinegar and oil. For equipment, all you need is a 16-ounce jar with a snug fitting lid (if you don’t have a jar, you can use a measuring cup instead).

how to make an instant 5-ingredient salad dressingClick this link or any salad dressing related picture on this page for a complete, easy to follow step-by-step picture book recipe.

how to make an instant 5-ingredient salad dressing

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