#Brain Curd 365

[notsocheezy]

Brain Curd #365

Brain Curds are lightly edited daily writing - usually flash fiction and sometimes terrible on purpose. This is not fiction.

My car broke down in the turn lane. To be more precise, the radiator exploded as I was on a detour to purchase coolant. We love foreshadowing, don't we?

Anyway, since I'm stuck at an intersection, why not use this opportunity to describe all the wonderful visuals which surround me?

For one, the sky: no clouds. A lovely blue, slightly more saturated than the outfit I'm wearing. Oh, yes, you're wondering about that. I was on my way to a date.

Anyway, we've got sand… rocks… some bushes, trees. Palm trees in particular stand out. Good palm trees. I think I see a pepper tree in the distance. You ever pluck a leaf from one of those and sniff it? One of the best smells in the world. Love that. Next to eucalyptus, one of my favorite-smelling trees.

There are some street signs, too. Not gonna say what's written on them, though. None of your business. One's a lane, one's a road, that's all I'll say. The pavement is slightly cracked, but smooth enough. All the traffic lights appear to be in order.

I'd like to take a detour to describe the aroma of an exploded car radiator, if I may. It's sweet. Sickly sweet. Syrupy, like I imagine the distillation of birch sap may smell like. Not maple, though. It doesn't smell like maple. Breathing this probably took a few days off my life, assuming a natural death rather than murder or genocide or something.

Men keep coming up to me to ask if I need help moving the car. But I'm not budging. This engine isn't starting again until my mechanic sees it. Those of you turning into the Walmart parking lot will just have to deal with the obstruction.

What else… I can see two separate storage unit places. Both the same company, but across the street from one another. I actually can't see any other business from here, just the signs.

Some of these drivers must be illiterate, because they can't even manage to read the hazard lights. It means go around, dipshit. Stop honking at me. I didn't ask for this.

Anyway, I think that pretty much does it without revealing identifying information. I could describe the cars around me, but most of them are pretty boring. Tesla, VW, Chevy… ooh, Dodge Charger. Bright red. I'm not really a muscle car kind of girl, but I'd sure rather be driving that right now.

Tow truck's here! See ya, losers.

Please comment, reblog, like, and follow if you enjoyed - I'd love to know what you think! See you again tomorrow.

[reshblogger]

How To Maintain A Balanced Diet

We all need a certain amount of nutrients and calories to stay healthy and sustain in our life. Balanced diet doesn’t have anything to do with eating less or eating more. But it is essential to take the right type and amount of foods to support a healthy lifestyle. By eating a healthy diet, one can avoid binging on to the junk foods and replace them with foods containing high nutritional value.

What is a balanced diet ?

A balanced diet is the one which fulfills all the nutritional needs of a person. It comprises macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients include proteins, carbohydrates and fats while the micronutrients consist of vitamins and minerals.

In addition, it also offers bioactive phytochemicals like dietary fiber, antioxidants and nutraceuticals.

There are 6 major food groups which are to be included in a healthy diet

Proteins

Grains

Fruits

Vegetables

Dairy products

Fats

Proteins

Protein intake plays a crucial role in keeping to your cells in good shape. It helps in building bones, muscles, hair, nails and skin. Our body uses proteins to build and repair the tissues. Protein rich foods helps you to have a speedy recovery after an injury or exercise.

It is important in hormone regulation especially during the transformation and development of cells. Here are some of the foods which contain proteins

Lean meats

Chicken and turkey

Fish and sea foods

Oats

Broccoli

Beans, peas and legumes

Grains

Grains are naturally high in fiber. They make you feel full and satisfied, thereby maintaining a healthy body weight. Grains contain healthy carbs which are needed to the body. They are an excellent source of Vitamin B and folate.

Grains are low in saturated fat but they are a source of polyunsaturated fats. They are a significant source of minerals such as iron, magnesium, copper, phosphorus and zinc. Here are few grains listed below

Barley

Quinoa

Wheat

Corn

Buckwheat

Millet

Fruits

Fruits are low in calories and promote digestive health. They are rich in dietary fiber, Vitamins and folic acid. Taking fruits in the form of direct raw fruits is better than taking fruit juices.It also prevents us from adding other artificial sweeteners.

Fruits also help you in preventing diabetes, heart diseases etc. Prefer fresh or frozen fruits for better results. All fruits are nutritionally rich. Take different types of fruits for a variety of nutrients.

Vegetables

Vegetables serve as the best source for vitamins and minerals. They are low in sodium and cholesterol. They are important as they are especially rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A and dietary fiber. People can enjoy vegetables both ways either raw or cooked.

Adequate vegetable consumption can protect you from various chronic diseases. You get to enjoy several flavours and textures. Vegetables protect your overall health and help to reduce blood cholesterol levels and lowers the risk of heart diseases.

Dairy products

Dairy products are rich in calcium. Calcium helps us in building strong bones and teeth. They also contribute to many other nutrients such as proteins, riboflavin, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and vitamins A and B12.

Dairy products provide numerous health benefits to people of all the ages. They help us to curb hunger and maintain a healthy weight. Preferring low fat dairy products can bring you the better results. Here are a few diary products listed below.

Low-fat milk

Cottage cheese

Yogurt

Soy milk

Low fat paneer

Low fat curd and buttermilk

Fats

Healthy fats are essential to the body. We all need a certain amount of fats to protect our organs, absorb certain vitamins and to help us grow. Eating excess fats can increase the risk of heart diseases. Therefore, we need to be highly careful regarding the type and amount of fats we take in.

Unsaturated fats are good for health when compared to saturated fats. Here are the foods which contain saturated and unsaturated fats.

Saturated fats

Butter

Cheese

Chocolates

Processed meats

Coconut and palm oils

Cakes, puddings and pastries

Unsaturated fats

Nuts

Seeds

Avocados

Peanut butter

Salmon

oils from vegetables, seeds and nuts

Benefits of healthy eating

A Balanced diet can have an overall positive effect on your body in all the aspects. Here are the few benefits listed below.

Improves memory and brain health

Gives strong bones and teeth

Better mood and high energy levels

Reduces the risk of stress and depression

Promotes heart health and reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases

Prevents weight gain

Slows the effects of aging

Boosts immunity system and fights against various diseases

Prevents diabetes

Helps you live longer

How balanced diet helps in weight loss ?

Our eating habits play a vital role in weight loss. Poor diet is a common reason for not losing weight effectively. If all the required nutrients are not supplied to the body on a regular basis we cannot lose weight.

A Balanced diet can help a person to lose weight because

It includes all the essential nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fiber etc. It replaces unhealthy food patterns with healthy foods Increases the protein intake which can make you feel full for longer periods.

Adding some physical activities along with your diet can help you reach your weight loss goals at a faster pace. They also help you to reduce the risk of belly fat and obesity. Working out for at least 30-45 minutes a day can keep you fit and healthy.

These days there are plenty of workouts out there which are available online. You can choose any of those as per your body type, health issues and convenience. You can prefer walking for 30 – 40 minutes.

For those people who cannot actually make time for workouts, can make minor changes in your daily activities. Prefer walking to the nearby places whenever necessary rather than using your vehicle.Take stairs rather than taking a lift. All these physical activities can help you burn out more calories and speed up your weight loss process.

Conclusion

Balanced diet is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Healthy foods lead to healthy thoughts and a healthy body. Make sure that every part of your meal is properly balanced with all the required nutrients.

However, eating a healthy balanced diet does not mean that you need to entirely stick to it for 365 days. You can also enjoy all your favourite foods on your cheat days, which depend on your weight loss goals.

I hope you loved the article. Thank you so much for your love and support.

Let’s share the knowledge further if you feel interested. Also let me know your feedback through comments.

[notsocheezy]

Brain Curd #290

Brain Curds are lightly edited daily writing - usually flash fiction and sometimes terrible on purpose. This is not fiction.

How the hell is it 2025? It’s been ten years since it became the future and we still don’t have flying cars, thank goddess. You can just imagine the fatal explosions we’d be seeing if Elon marketed hovercraft.

So yeah, things may not be so great, but we gotta count our blessings. For one, health insurers got inexplicably slightly less greedy last month. No idea how that happened, but whatever it is we should be doing more of it. There’s also a new Nintendo console launch just on the horizon, and I want to be excited about something for once so don’t ruin this for me.

I think in terms of the broader world, that might be all we have going for us. I really can’t think of anything else. But, hey, what about my very own alleged life?

My friend may be moving away, but at least it gives me an excuse to visit Hawaii. That’s a plus. And I can be proud that within the early days of this year, I will reach 300 Brain Curds, an unfathomable count of flash fiction, poems, songs, screenplay segments, and even a comic or two. I never thought I could pull something like this off, but I took it one day at a time, sometimes as few as a couple hundred words, and built this project up into a massive repository the likes of which Google Docs is ill-prepared to handle.

I don’t have a proper count, since a lot of words are caught up in screenshots, but I think I may soon hit 150,000 words. Not Alex Ritany numbers, to be sure, but it’s absolutely a record for me. A record that I have made through heartbreak, surgery, hardship, and heartbreak. That’s enough words to make up a novel or two! Y’know, if I could stay focused on one story long enough to put one together.

Which brings me to the future of this fine experiment. I don’t want to let this thing go - after all, I kinda feel like it’s the only thing I’ve got going for me. But I think 365 (I started in March, don’t give me this leap year nonsense) is a good time to take a break. If I can write every day for a whole year, I think I’ve proven to myself and everyone else that I can keep up with the writers who get paid to do it - even though I only wrote Brain Curds in my spare time between other projects. Who knows what else I’m capable of?

So, after Brain Curd #365, there’s going to be a hiatus. A week, maybe two. I may or may not keep writing every day, but you won’t be seeing all of it. And I won’t go back to daily posts after that. Expect a Monday through Friday release schedule, so I can keep some of this stuff to myself. I wouldn’t want any of you to get spoiled on something big, now would I?

Meanwhile, I’m ready for new love and a new job. Anybody hiring?

Please comment, reblog, like, and follow if you enjoyed - I'd love to know what you think! See you again tomorrow.

[notsocheezy]

The End of Brain Curds (Year One)

There's only one week left until I will have written at least one thing every single day for an entire year. That's a big deal. And I don't know how the numbers will work out in the end, but as of writing, this project has surpassed 185,000 words (probably 190 when you read this), built a community of 100 followers (give or take), and resulted in some of the best writing I've ever done. Also, some of the worst... but that's by design.

So yes, by this day next week, you will have seen Brain Curd #365, though it's not quite so predictable. The eagle-eyed among you will note that I've said (several times in fact) that I write these a week in advance, but it didn't start out that way. In the beginning, there was no buffer whatsoever, but the day I wrote Brain Curd #5, I became extremely enthusiastic about the idea of Fanfic Friday while taking a shower and wrote the first of those that same night.

Over the course of the first hundred Curds or so, I built up my backlog in various ways - writing extra Curds, throwing in a few Rerun Mondays, probably something else I forgot about - who knows? The point is, those counted toward daily posts (which have remained uninterrupted) but not always towards daily writing (which also has remained uninterrupted, but differs slightly in output). The takeaway is that there are seven extra Brain Curds.

So yeah, we're going out with a bang. Your year of Brain Curds will end the same day my year of Brain Curds ends. For the next week, there will be two new Brain Curds every day, released at eight in the morning and eight at night, wrapping up with Brain Curd #372 on Monday. The next day, I'll post a little debrief and take a well-earned break.

Enjoy the ride, folks! We're so very near the end!