Choose Wisely

I’m really only two weeks away from the start of my Pick Five. I think I better cough up one of my choices.

Chocolate chip cookies.

What? That’s a good choice! Oh, except that has 9 ingredients. Too many, too bad. Yes, I’m that serious.

I feel like Indiana Jones in the “Last Crusade” as he’s standing in the temple of the Holy Grail. The seven hundred year old grail knight warns, “You must choose. But choose wisely.” There is a beautiful buffet of options, most of which are visually appealing, but only one is life-sustaining. I certainly don’t want to end up like Donovan. No skin turning brown and leathery and stretching across my bones until it splits, thankyouverymuch. “He chose… poorly.” (Don’t be mad at me for that description. I lifted it verbatim from the screenplay.)

So, what then? Okay. This is it. No going back….

1. Almonds.

There. That wasn’t so hard.

Almonds are a low-carbohydrate, nutrient-rich food. They've also got some protein punch, and although they are high in fat, very little of it is saturated fat. Almonds are a "superfood", which is only to say that the health and nutrition industry wants to sell more of them. But I did learn something. There is a thing called an IF rating, which is not a game of craps but rather a scale to rate inflammation factors in foods. Who gives a crap? Well, this isn't news to many, but I have Rheumatoid Arthritis , which is punctuated by periods of inflammation that lead to joint damage, and eventually deformation (and can only be spelled by those who have it). So, I give a crap. And almonds happen to be a natural anti-inflammatory. And a great snack food. So there. Almonds.