Perfect Combinations

I was reading an article on food pairings this morning on the train. The topic is one I've read quite a bit about since vegetable protein absorption depends on the appropriate pairings.

I'll copy the article below, it's from Runner's World, but it got me thinking about how combining certain things or people can result in a more desirable outcome.

For example, as I get dressed in the morning, I am often about to reject an outfit when I realize that one more article can solve the problem and make it wearable. I'm sure we all have friends that we adore, but we adore them more when one of our "buffer" friends is around.

I think I forget that often a fun time, a nice place, or a good day are the direct result of a combination of things: the right people, the right place, and the right mood - everything aligning to make it perfect.

Here's the article:
Perfect Food Pairs
By Liz Applegate, Runner's World
Runner's World

Cereal + Strawberries = Higher iron absorption
Even if your bowl of iron-rich breakfast cereal contains 50 percent of your daily iron needs, your body will absorb only eight percent. Double the absorption simply by topping it with a vitamin C-rich food like strawberries or kiwi.

Whole-grain toast + Peanut butter = Higher vitamin E absorption
Whole grains, especially breads, are a good source of the antioxidant vitamin E, which helps stave off muscle soreness after a tough workout and offers protection against heart disease. Your body, however, needs help getting vitamin E into your circulation. Pairing healthy fats, such as peanut butter or a dip of olive oil, with your whole grains helps the body access vitamin E.

Black beans + Salsa = Higher mineral absorption
Beans are chock full of nutrients, but the phytic acid in them blocks absorption of important minerals, such as zinc and iron. To help your body absorb more minerals, eat beans with a vitamin C-rich food like salsa, since vitamin C counters the effects of phytic acid.

Yogurt + Jerusalem artichokes = Higher calcium absorption and increased immunity
Yogurt is loaded with calcium and live bacteria that help keep your immune system strong. Jerusalem artichokes, also called sunchokes, contain inulin-an indigestible carbohydrate that helps promote the growth of healthy bacteria and increases calcium absorption in the intestines.

Mixed greens + Olive or canola oil = Higher beta-carotene absorption
Arugula, romaine, and other leafy greens are a great source of carotenoids like beta-carotene, which offer protection against cancer and Alzheimer's. But a study from Iowa State University revealed that virtually no carotenoids were absorbed by those who ate a salad with fat-free dressing, since carotenoids need fat to be utilized by the body.

Angels and Little Children

I'm back from my somewhat exhausting trip to see my grandmother.

I had a wonderful time, she was so sweet and childlike, and she seemed so happy to have me there.

One of the things challenges of the weekend was listening to the tales of small children who come to visit her. Now I've always been the willing ear to her visions. Years ago when I visited she confided in me that her mother was coming to visit her in the night. She slept under her bed, and my grandmother worried that she didn't have enough space under there because she has these under-the-bed storage boxes with her extra linens.

Well this visit, the visions seem to have become more intense and a bit more troubling for her. There is one good one: a little girl that runs into her room, on Easter morning, kisses her on the cheek and runs out. Every time my grandmother told me about her, she kept saying "I still haven't figured out what that's all about." In her sweet, sing-songy voice.

The other visions seem to bother her and keep her from sleeping well. I didn't even have my coat off before she started telling me about them. My aunt had told her to give me a tour, and she took me into the bedroom and said, "This is where they have their door." And proceeded to tell me about these little boys that have a secret door into her apartment under her bed. She lives next to a machine room - so for her - the boys come in to bother her and then go slipping out their door when she tries to tell others about them. She's more indignant about these visitors, and more upset that people don't believe her stories. She even told the maintenance men about them and made them check the machine room for the door!

I just listened. Listened with concern and she seemed comforted by that. She talked about them over and over again, each time feeling a bit better and more relaxed.

It must be so hard to survive everyone you feel truly close to, to have been strong, but to now grow old and become sick and failing. Even with her trouble breathing and her awful cough, she still goes to visit my great uncle several times a day and forces him back to consciousness. She needs him, needs to care for him, needs his companionship, and needs a confidant. He was thin, bedridden, and didn't recognize me. But I felt like I said goodbye, so I hope he goes peacefully soon - for his sake, even though it will be so hard for her.

I realized she's a man's woman. Even with all her sisters, her two daughters, and three granddaughters to her two grandsons, she was always closest to the men. For example, her brother Lewis, he's the youngest of their family, and the only one sibling still active. She was so close to my grandfather, their neighbor Kermit, and to my uncle Chuck. Couples were always the male first and then the woman "Lewis and Dell," "Bill and Jeanie," the subtle emphasis on the man. I always felt like my aunt did all the work and my father got all the praise, but I think it was just her flirtatious adoration of the male.

Regardless, I was so glad to see her. So happy to hug and kiss her. So delighted to listen to her. So happy to hear her laugh and see her joke. She was adorable and she tried very hard to be okay. For that I thank her. I want her to be at peace and feel loved and adored. I want it for her and for all of us who love her and find it hard to watch her slip away.