New year, new rut | San Francisco question | I won!

Ah, breakfast ruts ... I've written about my breakfast rut problem in the past. My last rut, which involved polenta and olives, or occasionally polenta and fruit, was a very satisfying one, and lasted quite a long time, but now I have a new one. It started when I walked into Whole Foods one day and saw a large bag of pink grapefruit from Texas on sale for the irresistible price of $3.99. While I stood admiring the bag of fruit, I remembered reading about a study that showed that red grapefruit slowed down bone loss, and the combination of the possibility of added health benefits plus the remarkable price, was more than I could resist. I bought the bag, and thus started my latest breakfast craze.



Every morning I have a red grapefruit, a handful of organic dried figs from Costco and a handfull of roasted, unsalted pistachios. Then I'm good until lunch. The rut has been maintained by a second bag from WF at the inflated price of $5.99, an unexpected gift box of fabulous Florida oranges and grapefruit sent by a friend, and a bunch of fruit picked by our kids and brought back from a trip to Arizona. I'm so entrenched in my rut that I will now have to purchase more grapefruit, and head back to Costco for another giant bag of figs (at Costco, all bags are giant) because I'm too entrenched in my rut at the moment to make a graceful move to a new one.

But hey, there are worse ruts. Pistachios and figs are loaded with health benefits, and according to the Website livestrong.com, pink (also known as red) grapefruit provides a lot of nutritional benefits.

Nutritional Content
The pink grapefruit provides significant nutritional content. A serving of one grapefruit provides 3.7 g of dietary fiber, 310 mg of potassium, 72 mg of vitamin C, 30 mcg of folate and 2645 IU of vitamin A. Pink grapefruit provides 120 percent of this recommended Daily Value of Vitamin C.
Antioxidants
Grapefruit contains the antioxidants lycopene and beta-carotene, known for their ability to protect the body's cells and organs from free-radical damage. Free radicals are the byproducts of normal metabolic processes and environmental toxins that alter DNA and cause damage to healthy cells, contributing to disease and premature aging. The lycopene and beta-carotene carotenoids also protect the skin from UV rays and stimulate the immune response.
Cholesterol
Pink grapefruit may help lower blood triglycerides, a type of cholesterol known to significantly contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease, according to a 2006 study by researchers at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The results showed the pink grapefruit lowered cholesterol levels more than white grapefruit. The researchers said either the fruit's antioxidants cause the beneficial effect or pink grapefruit may contain a chemical yet undiscovered.

(Grapefruit and grapefruit juice should be avoided by those taking certain heart medications or statin cholesterol lowering drugs.)

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San Francisco Question
I have a question for anyone reading this who lives in or visits the Bay Area. We're heading to San Francisco for a few days, and want some suggestions about where to eat.

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I won something!

Way back in November, I entered a giveaway on Kathy Hester's blog, Healthy Slow Cooking, and I won a swag bag of samples and coupons! It's always fun to win a giveaway and get a bunch of stuff in the mail. Kathy is the author of the cookbook, "The Vegan Slow Cooker," and I suggest you check out her blog and book. The book is on my wish list.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who wrote comforting words on my last post or sent emails of condolence. Although every one made me cry, you can't imagine how much I appreciated each and every thought. Thank you.

I've been a slacker in my blog commenting but I promise to try to do better.



I've been nominated for the Top 25. Now all I need are votes, and I'd be honored to have yours. :D