Great little Chinese vegetarian/vegan restaurant in New Jersey.
My sister took us there a couple of years ago.
Hopefully, I didn’t forget to say thank you.
Never forgot the yummy food there (and of course, the good family company).
Good descriptive name and eats at Veggie Heaven! 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)vvv
These are crispy fried mushrooms.
They look like worms.
And they are sweet and taste out of this world.
From a local vegan restaurant.
It’s one of the best appetizers.
Like candy really. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Trader Joe’s has the best food shopping experience, hands down.
They also have the best edible and good tasting fresh, healthy food.
On top of it, they have a nice gift card for a Happy Hanukah!
I vote that we replace all the other crummy supermarkets with Trader Joes instead. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “The Magical Letters of Tishrei.”
It is ingenious how the letters of the Aleph and Bet and Tishrei (the dates when Rosh Hashanah occurs) is exactly equivalent to the letters in the Hebrew word for Genesis (Bereshit), which is the event of creation that we celebrate on the Jewish New Year.
Truly, this magical genius evident in the Torah can only be from one source and that is the one Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, Himself!
Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a truly magical Rosh Hashanah and one that is filled G-d’s mercy and blessings for a happy, healthy, prosperous, and peaceful New Year!
(Credit Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)
So my terrific, son-in-law Itzchak surprised us with some delicious Beyond Burgers before Shabbat.
They are meatless burgers, and supposed to be pretty healthy, but they taste good too.
Let’s just say these were very delicious and we gobbled them down.
Cheesy with tomato, onion, bun, and all.
As my father would say, “It tastes like more!” 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal and thank you again to Itzchak and Rebecca!)
So this was funny today at Harris Teeter.
I’m checking out on the express line with a few things.
First some tofu.
The lady at the cash register goes:
Hmm. Healthy!
Then some Meal Mart Buffalo Style Chicken Wings.
Again, the lady at the cash register comments:
Have you tried that? Is it good? It looks good!
Politely, I replied:
Yes, they are really good.
At the same time I was feeing smart-alecy, like what the heck, should I open the package on the conveyer belt and let you taste one–right here, right now.
Sure privacy is a big issue when it comes to technology, social media, and all sorts of surveillance these days
But even when one simply goes to the grocery store–there is the very basic privacy about what one is buying.
Yes, I see people looking into my cart, with eyebrows raised eyeing my goodies. I can hear them thinking:
What is he buying? Is it marked Kosher? (Uh, actually it is!] That doesn’t seem like a balanced diet!
Another time, the checkout person asked me when I was buying a bunch of something:
Oh, are you having a party? What’s the occasion?
While I appreciate the good-natured banter and people being friendly, it seems more than weird in a way to be discussing what I’m buying, why, and for whom.
Not quite Big Brother, but maybe that’s the leftover small town feel in our lonely urban and high-tech living. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So my daughter went out for dinner in Israel and she sends me this photo of an amazing cup of tea.
– Cinnamon
– Lemon
– Ginger
– Mint
What’s so great is you can actually see the cinnamon stick, mint leaves, and lemon and ginger slices.
It’s completely fresh and healthy, and not just from a tea bag or minced up tea in a tin.
To me, this looks absolutely appetizing and delicious!
Usually, I’m a Snapple Iced Tea type of a guy, but for sure, I’d go for some this fresh tea from Israel…L’Chaim! 😉
(Source Photo: Minna Blumenthal)
So I had this great conversation today with someone about values.
Thinking about what I really value and whether I am living consistently with these…
For me, I was able to clarify for myself these critical values:
1) Being a good person and influence in the world (having a positive impact on people and ideas)
2) Being a good family man (a loving husband, father, and previously son)
3) Being spiritual and serving G-d (living selflessly for my Maker and not selfishly for myself)
4) Being a hard worker (living productively and not as a laggard or sloth)
5) Being a balanced person (living along the “golden path” or “middle of the road”–not an extremist)
6) Being a generally healthy person (living a lifestyle that includes activity, exercise, good nutrition, and no smoking, drugs, or excessive drinking)
What I realized is that when I need to let my values guide me every moment of every day.
This ultimately means my success and happiness!
Being what I think that I am supposed to be or what others would want me to be, just doesn’t work–it’s a strategy for failure.
My father used to tell me:
“Let your conscience be your guide” (that and the Torah, of course)
This is the answer to a lot of questions that I have in my life–about what to do with my life and what decisions to make.
Values–driven by conscience and integrity–that’s where I want to go next and next. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Ok, folks.
This picture is not the message you want to get before Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year and time of judgement).
We want to see the long hand of G-d come down with love, caring, forgiveness, and blessings!
A flick of the Almighty index finger, definitely not what we want to see or get.
Worse would be getting the middle finger, of course.
But I definitely don’t think G-d does that!
Talking about rejection with a big R.
To all my family and friends, a most happy, healthy, peaceful, and prosperous New Year! 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Here is an interesting idea.
In front of the inner doors to this supermarket in Florida…
There is a huge scale for weighing yourself.
Before you shop for the mac and cheese, hero sandwiches, pizza slices, cookies, cakes, ice cream, and chips, why not have a look at the scale!
Then decide what you want to buy in the supermarket today.
Maybe you’ll spend a little more time and money in the fruit and vegetable isle.
Or getting some healthy and diet snacks.
The scale only goes up to 300 pounds.
So if that that doesn’t scare you straight…
Maybe the fact that everyone can see your weight when you get on, will. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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