Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Photo:
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley

Midday hunger will be a thing of the past, thanks to these tasty lunch recipes! Each delicious meal is made lower in calories for something light yet satisfying. Plus, they are packed with ingredients like legumes, whole grains, vegetables, healthy fats and lean proteins, which are staples of the Mediterranean diet, one of the healthiest eating patterns you can follow. You’ll love options like our Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tostadas or our No-Cook White Bean & Spinach Caprese Salad for a nourishing lunch that will help you feel your best.
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Veggie Wraps


Photographer: Brie Goldman, Food Stylist: Annie Probst, Prop Stylist: Joseph Wanek

These wraps are packed with veggies, including zucchini, bell pepper and spinach. The vegetables cook quickly in a skillet, so you can pull together this easy lunch in no time. Hummus adds plant-based protein and keeps the wrap from getting dry.
View Recipe

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Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tostadas


Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley

These sweet potato tostadas pack in plenty of plant-based protein, combining hearty black beans and nutrient-packed sweet potatoes for a satisfying and flavorful meal. Along with the protein, you’ll also get a boost of gut-healthy fiber and plenty of anti-inflammatory vitamins and minerals from the sweet potatoes
View Recipe

TO READ MORE ABOUT THESE RECIPES...  CLICK HERE

Guns and Roses - Sweet Child of Mine

In The NEWS

Officials restrict helicopters near Reagan National Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration is allowing only medical and police helicopters between the Washington, DC-area airport and nearby bridges after Wednesday's tragic collision (see map) between an American Airlines regional commuter jet and an Army helicopter. As of this writing, at least 41 bodies of a total of 67 people have been found in the Potomac River. See a list of the victims here.



Hamas to release three hostages today, including an American.

In turn, Israel will release a batch of imprisoned Palestinians. Today's exchange between Hamas and Israel will mark the fourth such swap since the two sides agreed to a ceasefire deal last month. Around 80 hostages are still being held by Hamas militants in Gaza. See latest updates on the war here.



FDA approves first new non-opioid painkiller in over 20 years.

The Food and Drug Administration greenlighted Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Journavx, a new medication to treat short-term pain after surgeries or injuries. The drug offers a non-opioid alternative that aims to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with traditional opioid medications like OxyContin and Vicodin.



Federal appeals court strikes down ban on handgun sales to teens.

A federal appeals court struck down a longstanding federal ban that prevented handgun sales to Americans ages 18 to 20, ruling the restriction is inconsistent with the Second Amendment. The decision, which cites the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen opinion, is likely to be appealed to the high court and could have implications for gun control laws nationwide.



The 67th Grammy Awards show to be held tomorrow (8 pm ET, CBS).

Hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, the ceremony will feature performances by six of this year's best new artist nominees, including Benson Boone, Chappell Roan, Teddy Swims, and Sabrina Carpenter. Other performers include Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, and Shakira. Beyoncé led this year's nominations with 11 nods, including album of the year. See how the Grammy Awards are made here.



Fed's key inflation gauge rises as expected in December.

The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which measures costs consumers pay across a wide swath of items, excluding food and energy, rose 2.8% year-over-year and 0.2% month-over-month. The index is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure; the central bank targets 2% annual inflation.

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

HATE

It has come to my attention, something quite disturbing, and that is the amount of HATE that exists on social media, exhibited by the liberals because they lost the election.

They claim that this HATE is directed totally towards Donald Trump, but then they also add MAGA supporters, anyone who supports MAGA, and any capitalist that operates a company that endorses some of his principles like DEI, WOKE, or no longer working from home.

And, if you dig a little deeper into their HATE it extends to those who are anti-trans, anti-trans in female restrooms, anti-trans in female sports, gay marriages, anti-abortion of any kind, building up the military, or removing any social program of which they want to participate.

In short, they HATE anyone who opposes what they believe.  Not only do they HATE the opposition but the wish the opposition was dead, and if that cannot happen, they want the opposition completely censored.

HATE is a strong word and the use of HATE to them is being kind.  They have no desire to compromise, no desire to listen to you, no desire to change their opinions, and no desire to try to reach a solution that will achieve UNITY.

This is a very scary movement and if it is not corrected or stopped, it will lay the foundation for a division that will cause us to collapse to the point that we are controlled by a foreign power.

Somewhat Political

 

Human VS Humanoids

China plans to host a groundbreaking race like no other — a “world’s first” half-marathon where humans will go head-to-head with their own creation: humanoid robots.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that t
he marathon is scheduled for April in Daxing district, Beijing.

The humanoid robots, developed by companies from around the globe, will take to the streets alongside 12,000 human runners. The robots will run the entire race for the very first time this year.

This unprecedented race reflects China’s ambitious push to become a global leader in artificial intelligence and robotics

Reportedly, this first-of-its-kind race will see humans and robots challenge themselves on a 13-mile (21km) route. The top three runners will receive prizes.     READ MORE...

The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up

American Politics

 

We have two parties in this country of ours, the Democratic party and the Republican party.  In the past, these two parties would disagree and argue until the cows came home but, in the end, they would always reach some sort of compromise, and we would more forward.

Today that no longer happens.  Let me give you an example.

From 2012-2015 Obama was president and when Trump began president from 2016-2019, he reversed everything that Obama had set into motion, creating his own version of those programs.  

From 2020-2024, Joe Biden was president, and he reversed everything that Donald Trump had done, creating his own version.  

In 2025, Donald Trump became president and reversed everything that Joe Biden had done putting in his own programs.   

In 2029, if a Democratic wins the presidency, they will reverse Trump's programs and put in their own.

Since we no longer have political parties that want to compromise, we simply reverse what was previously done, and start something else.  This accomplishes nothing, the country does not really move forward, and the US citizens are the ones who must pay the negative price to this to happen.

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 67th Grammy Awards to be presented Sunday (8 pm ET, CBS); see nominations and predictions for all categories (More) | Marianne Faithfull, Grammy-nominated singer and actress, dies at age 78 (More)

> NFL Pro Bowl Games kick off, will continue Sunday (3 pm ET, ESPN) (More) | Miami Heat's Terry Rozier under federal investigation for alleged involvement in illegal sports betting scheme (More)

> Denver selected as National Women's Soccer League's 16th team (More) | 2025 Leagues Cup format, teams, and matchups announced (More)


Science & Technology
> Pair of astronauts stuck aboard the International Space Station take first spacewalk together since their arrival in June following a malfunction on their Boeing Starliner; return expected as soon as late March (More)

> Archaeologists discover 76-million-year-old fossil of a juvenile pterosaur with a puncture wound on its neck; researchers suggest the animal was killed by a prehistoric crocodile (More)

> Humans have herded sheep for at least 11,000 years, genetic analysis suggests; samples taken from locations ranging from Ireland to Mongolia shed light on role the domestication played in ancient human societies (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.5%, Dow +0.4%, Nasdaq +0.2%) as slew of companies report earnings (More) | US economy grew at 2.8% annualized pace in 2024, lower than 2.9% in 2023, per new data (More)

> UPS shares tumble 14% after the shipping giant issues weak full-year revenue guidance and plans to slash Amazon deliveries by more than half (More) | Apple reports Q4 revenue growth but misses iPhone sales estimates partly due to 11% drop in China sales (More) | Intel tops Q4 revenue and earnings forecasts (More)

> Justice Department files antitrust challenge to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise's proposed $14B acquisition of Juniper Networks (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Politics & World Affairs > Senate confirmation hearings for Trump Cabinet continue, with FBI director pick Kash Patel and national intelligence director pick Tulsi Gabbard; health secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. begins second hearing (More) | See tracker (More) > Hamas releases eight hostages from Gaza and Israel releases 110 imprisoned Palestinians under ceasefire deal (More) | See war updates (More, w/maps) > Authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis launch investigation after 19 people found dead in vessel drifting at sea in the eastern Caribbean (More)

Changing

 

Life changes as we get older; we see things a little differently than we did as a child, a teenager, or even a young adult.  Most of the time, but not all of the time, we change from being liberal to being conservative in the way we think and act; however, the change hardly ever pertains to our political views and opinions.

This transformation is particular obvious in the way we spend our money.  When young, we borrow whatever we can, whenever we can, to have whatever we can.  That behavior typically puts us eyeballs deep in debt.  As we age, our desire is to remove/eliminate that debt and spend the rest of our lives only spending the money that we have.

Another example might be the clothes that we wear being more flamboyant and exotic when we are young and more sedate as we get older.  Same holds true for the vacations we take, the excursions we go on, or our desire to body surf in the ocean not too worried about the waves or riptides that might be present.

There is nothing wrong with being either liberal or conservative in the way we behave, it is just an observation that this is the transition through which must of us pass on our way to death.  It does not mean that once we are through this transition that we will soon die, it just means that we are close to death than we were before.

Somewhat Political

 

AI Models Big Bang

Researchers from the Flatiron Institute and collaborators have developed an innovative method that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to estimate the universe's cosmological parameters with unprecedented precision. This breakthrough could reshape how scientists study the cosmos.


The method, called Simulation-Based Inference of Galaxies (SimBIG), extracts hidden insights from galaxy distributions, offering a significant improvement over traditional techniques.


By leveraging AI, the team reduced uncertainty in key parameters, such as the universe’s matter clumpiness, to less than half that of conventional methods. This enhanced accuracy aligns closely with other observations, including measurements of the universe’s oldest light, further validating the approach.


Published in Nature Astronomy, the findings promise to advance our understanding of the universe's fundamental properties.     READ MORE...

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - Cover Of The Rolling Stone (Austrian TV, ...

Sat Vid

Supports

 

DEI/WOKE

 

Social Media

 

Children

 

China

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> FireAid benefit concert for Los Angeles wildfires takes place tonight, featuring Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Lady Gaga, and Stevie Wonder (More) | Magic Johnson among business and civic leaders tapped to head wildfire recovery philanthropy LA Rises (More)

> William E. Leuchtenburg, renowned US presidential historian, dies at age 102 (More) | Temple University student, 18, dies after falling from light pole while celebrating Philadelphia Eagles NFC Championship victory (More)

> Harvey Weinstein's New York City retrial on rape charges set for April 15 (More) | Rapper A$AP Rocky's trial on felony assault charges is ongoing in Los Angeles (More)


Science & Technology
> OpenAI accuses Chinese AI startup DeepSeek of using its models to train its own chatbots; recent announcement of DeepSeek's cheap-but-powerful R1 model caused shockwaves in Silicon Valley (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Lab-grown muscle patch developed from stem cells helps patient with heart failure survive until transplant; roughly 6 million people worldwide currently experience advanced heart failure, with demand outstripping organ supply (More)

> Researchers reveal first map of the ice-free land area of Antarctica, which makes up less than 0.5% of the continent; survey expected to aid in future conservation measures (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq -0.5%); Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady (More) | Global arabica coffee prices reach record high above $3.60 per pound (More)

> IBM shares rise 9% in after-hours trading after topping Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations (More) | Tesla reports lower-than-expected Q4 earnings and revenue (More) | Meta beats Q4 earnings and revenue forecasts (More)

> Frontier Airlines makes second bid for Spirit Airlines three years after first attempt; comes after JetBlue's failed $3.8B bid to buy Spirit (More) | Trump Media to invest up to $250M in financial services venture with Charles Schwab (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Hamas expected to release eight hostages today—three Israelis and five Thai nationals who were abducted in Oct. 7, 2023, attack (More) | Ahmad al-Sharaa, leader of rebels who toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December, is named country’s interim president (More)

> At least 30 people killed, 60 injured from crowd surge at India's Maha Kumbh Mela festival, considered one of the largest religious gatherings in history (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Average reading scores for both US fourth and eighth graders dropped five points from 2019 to 2024, per results of latest exam known as the nation's report card (More) | See reading scores (More) | See math scores (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

End of January 2025

 

January marks several items:

• First - the beginning of winter here
• Second - presidential inauguration this year 
• Third - the beginning of my 17th being treated for 2 kinds of cancers
• Fourth - beginning 11th year of retirement
• Fifth - the end of the first month of winter
• Sixth - the beginning of a new year

I like seeing the end of January because I mentally feel like there is not much left to winter...  maybe 4 weeks...

By the time January ends, most of us pretty much know, if we are going to be serious about any of our news year's resolutions.  I have learned not to take on anything that I would like to do, rather take on those things I MUST DO.

Must Do's for me include:

1. Watch my diet (<2000 calories/day)
2. Be nice to my cats/wife
3. Continue blogs/writing
4. Enjoy my life/proactive
5. Maintain my house/yard

Anything else is just icing on the cake and does not matter if I do or not do.

I would like to have a better relationship with my siblings and daughter, but I know that is a two-way street and is not going to happen.

I also know that making more friends is highly unlikely given the fact that I don't venture out in public much anymore.

The end of January is symbolic for the most part of that winter is almost halfway over...  and, as a result is a cause for celebration.

Somewhat Political

 

Nuke on Truck

US-based NANO Nuclear Energy has announced an expansion of its microreactor technology portfolio.

It has acquired a significant portfolio of intellectual property related to its transportable, modular microreactor technologies.

“We are pleased to expand our intellectual property portfolio with these recently acquired patents, further strengthening the protections surrounding our proprietary, portable and modular microreactor technologies in development,” said Jay Yu, founder and chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy.

These reactors are designed to provide clean, reliable, and on-demand power for a variety of applications, including remote communities, industrial sites, and, more importantly, military bases.     READ MORE...

THE ROLLING STONES WITH JOHN LEE HOOKER AND ERIC CLAPTON

Evil

 

Lie

 

Attack

 

The Poor

 

Medicine

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The "Mona Lisa" to receive dedicated room inside the Louvre in Paris as the world's most-visited museum undergoes a yearslong renovation; the Louvre received 8.7 million visitors in 2024 (More)

> Dolly Parton's autobiographical stage musical to debut in Nashville before a planned 2026 release on Broadway (More)

> CNN anchor Jim Acosta to depart after nearly 20 years with the cable news network (More) | NFL's AFC Championship Game hauls in a record 58 million viewers (More)


Science & Technology
> US health regulators approve Ozempic to treat chronic kidney disease in diabetic patients; drug is already approved to treat diabetes, with a separate formulation approved for weight loss under the brand name Wegovy (More) | How Ozempic works (More, w/video)

> OpenAI launches ChatGPT Gov, an AI chatbot for government agencies; platform allows use of the company's AI features while still allowing for internal security measures (More)

> Fossil hunter discovers 66-million-year-old vomit; researchers believe the specimen is a regurgitated sea lily, finding sheds light on marine ecosystem during the Cretaceous period (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +0.3%, Nasdaq +2.0%) in recovery rally a day after China's DeepSeek triggered a tech stock sell-off; Nvidia closes up nearly 9% (More)

> Elon Musk's X partners with Visa to offer real-time payment system on the social media platform later this year; users will be able to transfer money from Visa debit cards or bank accounts to X Money accounts hosted on the platform (More)

> JetBlue shares tumble nearly 26% after reporting downbeat Q1 and full-year outlook (More) | General Motors shares close down 9% amid regulatory volatility despite automaker beating Q4 revenue and earnings expectations (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Sen. Gary Peters (D) won't seek third term in 2026, opening battleground seat in Michigan (More) | Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine win GOP primaries for US House seats of former Reps. Matt Gaetz (FL-1) and Mike Waltz (FL-6), respectively (More) | President Donald Trump signs executive order seeking to ban federal funding for youth gender-affirming care (More)

> Mystery drones spotted last year along US East Coast were authorized by the FAA for research and recreational purposes, White House says (More) | Karoline Leavitt, 27, makes briefing room debut as youngest White House press secretary (More)

> Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigns after monthslong anticorruption protests (More) | Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni under investigation over release of Libyan war crimes suspect (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS