An eclectic November collection

Confession time: For the past 3 weeks, I've been feeling twinges of guilt and anxiety every time I see Greens & Berries in my web browser's toolbar. Yes, my blog. I've been avoiding it. Until earlier today.

You see, I've convinced myself I don't have enough uninterrupted time for writing and publishing posts on a regular schedule. Inspiration has been hiding, too, perhaps behind the heavy, grey November clouds. Or more likely, she's gone south, looking for sunshine. I would if I could.

That said, reviewing, organizing and annotating Web links don't require inspiration. Just self-discipline and a couple of focused hours, which -- amazingly -- I had this morning between 10 and noon!

Here's a sample of November's additions to my Connotea (clinical nutrition) and Delicious (food and all other interests) bookmarks.

Applying nutrition science

• If you don't have time to read every article or abstract in the latest issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, you can keep up with nutrition research by checking out the highlights page and 50 Most-Frequently Read Articles.
  

• Leslie Beck, RD, on her web site and in her weekly Globe and Mail column, translates the latest nutrition science into practical guidelines. Recently she provided timely tips on how to boost your immune system with the right foods and supplements.

• New York Times health writer Jane E. Brody explores and clearly, succinctly explains how a low-acid diet promotes bone health. If you're interested in reading other studies, you can find them listed in a post I published earlier this month: Nutrition & Bone Health: How to build & maintain healthy bones on a plant-based diet

• Are Vegetarian Diets OK? - In her typical, no-nonsense style, Marion Nestle says "yes", which is no surprise. But I'd encourage you to read beyond Dr. Nestle's post for evidence-based and ethical reasons why they're more than "ok" for humans (adults AND children), animals and the environment.
  

   For example, two of my trusted sources are the Vegetarian Resource Group (look for articles by Reed Mangels, Ph.D, RD) & The Vegan Dietitian (Virginia Messina, MPH, RD.)  Also, in May 2009 the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a supplement on the 5th International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition.

Writing with integrity

Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical writing (PDF) - Even though I'm not writing my own research now or in the foreseeable future, I'll be applying these guidelines to blog posts where I summarize study results.

Nourishing the senses

These past two weeks there have been many posts and tweets about Vegetarian and Vegan Thanksgiving recipes and I'm not going to repeat them here. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't share this one, my pick for the most elegant meal I've seen on any blog this year: chef and writer Viviane Bauquet Farre's Vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast.

Nourishing the spirit

And one evening, at the end of a day heavy and dark with rain, I found the perfect poem for the moment:

Then too there is this

joy in the day's being done, however
clumsily, and in the ticked-off lists....

(you can read the rest of the poem here)

And let me add there is also joy (!) in this post's being done, however clumsily.

Thank you for reading. I hope you find something in this post to help you get through your day with greater knowledge, better health, and deeper commitment to doing your best work in all things.

Comments

[kathryn]

What a beautiful, perfect two lines of poetry. It's true, these things are a joy. And thank you for all the notes and links above - what a useful and interesting reading list this is.

Love your little calendar above by the way, what a cheery little round bird that is. Good for a gloomy November day I suspect.

[Elaine]

Thanks for your comment, Kathryn. Yes, little things like a folksy, hand-crafted calendar and finding the right words to express nutrition discoveries help me get through these grey, gloomy days. Also, visiting my blogging friends -- I'll be popping down (virtually) to Australia this evening for some more cheer.

I hope you find some of these links useful in your practice. I often think of you and my other dietitian and nutritionist friends when I find them.

[Sophie]

I think occasional blog guilt is completely normal, but it does seem to be able to nag away at you a bit doesn't it?

Lots of wonderful resources - I'm enjoying all of your bone health links having now inherited my osteoporosis clinic!

Interested to read that you use Connotea. I've been wondering about using an online citation management too but having recently started to use Evernote for all other kinds of notes I might give that a go first. Would you recommend Connotea?

[Elaine]

Hi Sophie. I like Connotea for a few reasons:

#1) Saving links with tags is quick & easy. Because I have my blog, I don't record notes (e.g., description, comments) on the references but this is also an option.

#2) It helps me intern education. Instead of giving the interns a binder of readings, which was impossible to keep-up-to-date, I can simply assign or recommend readings from my Connotea library.

#3) It's web-based rather than computer-based so I can add resources either from work or home.

I've never tried Evernote, though I've heard about it. I'm going to check it out.

Thanks for your visit. So glad you're finding all the bone health references helpful.

[Sophie]

Thanks for your thoughts on Connotea Elaine. I will check it out in a bit more detail - I'm weighing up whether it's better to have another tool but one that is dedicated to reference management or to have all of my notes in one place

p.s Evernote is great for the more creative, 'scrapbook' type stuff

[Elaine]

Hi Sophie. Evernote sounds good to me, too. I'm evolving into scrapbook recording of info (versus more linear or discrete filing).

[Diana Dyer]

Elaine,
I learn something new everyday! I have not known how to save articles in a library like you have done. Wow - I am going to have to figure this out (does not look hard) and start doing this, too. Many thanks for showing the way.

I love your little calendar, too. That bird drew right into this post.

I also feel guilt, about how little I have posted on my www.cancervictorygardens.com blog. I think that organizing articles I have saved about gardening would be a good place to start in order to "get back". :-)

All my best wishes for 2010!
Diana