Vegas' Healthcare Lessons: A Field Trip Report

The Population Health Blog spent the last week in Vegas exploring the actuarial, medical, predictive, economic, social and quality dimensions of an important part of the property and casualty insurance industry.

If memory serves, this was the fourth time it was there.  And a lot has changed over the last few years

Naturally, the PHB's commitment to lifelong learning shielded it from Sin City's too-numerous -to-count temptations.  Being in windowless conference rooms from 7 AM to 6 PM prevented it from the succumbing to The Strip's scintillating jewelry displays, blinka-blinka light pollution and siren call of unfavorable risk-transfer arrangements (a.k.a. "gambling").

Plus, having the spouse for company helped, even though she vetoed perfectly reasonable entertainment options like this and this.  As a consequence, the PHB limited itself to an evening show and a variety of interesting eateries. The good news is that, as a result, the field trips outside the meeting venue gave it some time to compare the "old" and today's "new" Vegas to derive some healthcare lessons:

Old Vegas:

Small hotel lobbies, walls, winding walkways.

New Vegas:

Open hotel atriums, mirrors but still winding walkways

Lesson: You don't have to give away the keys to the business to give the consumer the impression of transparency. While healthcare has a long way to go on truly transparent pricing, the PHB suspects there will be a lot of mirrors and winding walkways between where we are now and where we want to go.

Old Vegas:

Rooms at $250 per night

New Vegas:

While rooms on The Strip can be $300 per night, that's comparatively less in inflation adjusted dollars, plus there are remote controlled curtains for the floor to ceiling windows and one, if not two, flat screen TVs.

Lesson: Consumers are expecting more quality at less cost. Healthcare remains an economic outlier.

Old Vegas:

Computerized slot machines

New Vegas:

Computerized insights on the users of the slot machines

Lesson: Knowing background, revenue/cost determinants and risk preferences of your customers is critical.  In healthcare, we call this "big data."

Old Vegas:

Illusionists, Carrot Top, The Osmonds, Elton John and Cirque

New Vegas:

Illusionists, Carrot Top, The Osmonds, Elton John and Cirque in over the top stages and elaborate auditoriums.

Lesson: If you have a winning formula, stick to it and do it better. Even though health insurers may get in the way, more patients will seek you out.

And finally.....

Old Vegas:

Some homeless people

New Vegas:

More homeless people. 

Lesson: The economy recovery is failing the most vulnerable. 

Image from Wikipedia

Healthy Vegan Chocolate Mousse (Low-Carb Alternative!)

Blogging just got so much more exciting - I've finally begun to grasp the very basics of Adobe Lightroom which makes my pictures look a teeny bit more professional and I don't have to be embarrassed about posting them anymore. Half a year after getting my camera hehe. You know what they say, better late than never!

This obviously calls for a celebratory (and nowadays rare) new recipe by yours truly. Apologies for taking so long but here it is, my vegan chocolate mousse recipe! It's vegan (duh), can be made low-carb and tastes absolutely d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s if I may say so myself. Although the recipe calls for fresh berries, I could highly recommend squeezing some passion fruit over this beauty as well since chocolate and passion fruit were made for each other (we all know it).

Hopefully it won't be long before the next recipe and if so, please give me remind me of what a lousy blogger I am and I will get to it immediately. Pinkie swear!

'

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

- 300 g silken tofu

- 2 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder

- 1 tbsp mesquite powder (could possibly sub for lucuma powder or omit)

- 25 g 80-90% dark chocolate

- 5-6 dates (50-60 g depending on how sweet you like it) or 3 tbsp erythritol for a low-carb free version

Toppings:

- Fresh strawberries and blueberries

- Coconut chips or cacao nibs for crunch

How to:

1. Place all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and blend until entirely smooth. Scrape down the sides with a spatula to make sure that no unblended pieces remain.

2. Top with berries and a sprinkle of coconut chips or cacao nibs if you wish and serve immediately or keep in the fridge for a couple of days at most.

Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... Hardee's Most American Thickburger!!

Read more »

Recent Interviews

Here are two recent interviews I'd like to share with readers:

Danny Lennon of Sigma Nutrition

Danny Lennon is an evidence-based nutrition coach who publishes a podcast called Sigma Nutriton Radio.  We had a nice conversation about why we overeat, including energy homeostasis and the personal economics of food choice.  The podcast has a high production value.  You can listen to the interview here.

Angelo Coppola of Latest in Paleo

Angelo Coppola and I hit it off recently due to our mutual interests in gardening and self-reliance.  We recently had a nice conversation about hunter-gatherer dietary patterns, the personal economics of food choice, US diet history, legumes and the Paleo diet, and how much meat we should eat.  You also get to hear a personal story about the only existing video of me as a child (that I'm aware of).  This one also has a high production value.  You can listen to it here.

Zucchini Noodles with a Zesty Broccoli Dressing

Sometimes it just so happens that you throw a bunch of ingredients in a bowl, blend them up and end up with some unexpected awesomeness you didn't see coming. I'd like to think that was the case with this dish so I'm going to share the recipe with you even though I've only made it once. This is a perfect side dish to go with anything really, and makes for a nice, refreshing addition to any meal. Because you just can't go wrong with zoodles. Yum. Let me know if you give it a try!

Serves: 2

Zucchini Noodles:

- 2 large zucchinis

Dressing:

- 200 g broccoli florets (about small head)

- 100 g silken tofu

- 1 tbsp lime juice

- 3 tbsp unsweetened plant-based milk

- 1-2 handfuls fresh basil leaves

- 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp sweet white miso paste

How to:

1. Peel (optional) the zucchinis and spiralize them to make zoodles or make 'zagliatelle' t´ribbons using a carrot peeler.
2. Steam the broccoli until just cooked through.
3. Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and blend with a hand blender until fairly smooth. This would probably work even better in a real blender so go for that if you, unlike me, have access to one.
4. Dress the zoodles/zagliatelle in the broccoli sauce and add some fresh basil leaves on top for decoration!

MAKE IT HAPPEN

How simple that sounds but it really is a choice.  The weekend is upon us and all the excitement of what that means to each of us: a break from work, social drinking, parties, indulgence in unhealthy foods, and plain slacking off from our goals of living a healthy lifestyle.  It is almost as if the weekend turns us into different people ... the "Jekyll and Hyde" of fitness and health exposed.







I admit to letting my hair down a bit on the weekend, and especially a little more this Sunday and Monday to celebrate Mother's Day and my Fabulous 51 Birthday.  However, I do not agree with plunging completely into the dark side of forgetfulness of living a healthy life, and not being able to exemplify what that means not only to me but those I teach and motivate on the daily. Moderation is knowing how to moderate.  A treat day does not need to turn into a cheat weekend because I guarantee that guilt and feeling like crap will come knocking at the door.

It is really OK to enjoy indulgences in life and that is called living and being realistic.  It is a wise healthy person that knows how to do so in moderation, without guilt, and getting right back on healthy track the next meal, or next day. Studies have actually shown that mixing up the nutrition and throwing in an occasional quality splurge day can benefit the body similar to muscle confusion when the exercise program is changed.  If you have been hardcore depleting your body of much needed nutrients and your muscles are screaming for some glycogen or blood sugar, a cheat meal or day can benefit both physiologically and psychologically. When you shock your system with a high influx of calories at one time, the body's metabolism will show an increase and you'll kick start your 'furnace' into high gear once again.

Wherever you are in your fitness program and especially with eating healthy, learning how to moderate splurges will make or break the success of reaching goals.  How you think about what you are eating is important because eating healthy should be a lifestyle and not looked upon as a punishment or burden. This type of thinking will lead to resentment of adopting a healthy lifestyle and the rebel within will eventually revolt and return to those foods that created the state of un-health in the first place.

YOUR CHOICE

Healthy foods not only taste good but are great for you.  Gravitate towards foods in their rawest forms, especially produce.  Enjoy the textures and tastes of vegetables, fruits, and raw nuts.  Indulge in lean proteins on the grill like salmon and chicken breast.  Stay away from processed junk, soda and basically those foods that do not support a healthy lifestyle.  Alcohol should be kept to a minimum or eliminated altogether.  Drink water over soda or sugared processed juices. Don't allow this fast paced society and marketing of "fake foods" pull you down a road of illness and obesity.  Enjoy those things minimally and in moderation and get back on track with what eating is really supposed to be ... HEALTHY!

MAKE IT HAPPEN AND STAY HEALTHY!

I dedicate this Blog to my beautiful Mother and friend.  Thank you Mom for blessing me with your love and support.  I love you dearly and wish you a very Happy Mother's Day.

Every Day is Mother's Day

Darla Leal, Fitness Expert and Fit at 50

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Vegan Sweet Potato Burgers

These past couple of weeks I've been completely stuck in a dinner rut, unable to get out. Or rather, I've been too lazy to cook any proper meals, making hummus and rice cakes my go-to din din companions for better or worse. So today was finally the day to put an end to the dreary repetitiveness and get my ass in the kitchen to actually cook, and not just blend things together and hope for the best.

You see, there was this sweet potato that had been sitting in the fridge for almost a week, glaring at me each time I neglected to acknowledge its existence, giving me a hard time for not putting its beautiful, sweet flesh to good use. So, I pondered. Sweet potato brownies (I'll probably never be able to top Deliciously Ella's, so no), sweet potato pie (come on Tilda, 'tis not the season), sweet potato gnocchi (been there, failed that) or ... sweet potato burgers! Yes, I'd gladly watch your metamorphosis into a burger, sweet potato o' mine.

I got so excited over these burgers, I even went ahead and made my own whole grain spelt buns! Sadly, there won't be a recipe for those as they were a disappointment but I'll try my luck again sometime in the future. As for now, I suggest you either find a better bun recipe on your own, or go buy some from the store. I won't judge. (But the sweet potato might o_o)

Now, time to stop with this nonsense and get down to business. The recipe's right here below, enjoy!

Vegan Sweet Potato Burgers

Burgers:

- 1 medium sweet potato (200 g peeled)

- 1/2 can chickpeas (120 g)

- 1/4 cup quinoa flakes (could sub for oats but then you may have to start with a little less than 1/4 cup)

- 1 tbsp sweet miso paste (you can omit the miso paste if you don't have any but it really takes away from the flavour...)

- 1/4 small bell pepper, finely chopped

- 1 tsp onion powder

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- Salt and pepper to taste

Condiments:

- 4 buns of your choice (bonus points if you make your own.)(I did.)

- Avocado

- Thinly sliced vegetables of your choice such as tomatoes, lettuce, red onions etc.

How to:

1. Start by peeling and chopping the sweet potato into large cubes. Steam until it's soft enough to pierce with a fork (15-20 min).
2. In a large bowl, mash all of the ingredients together with a fork until everything sticks together nicely. Blend with a hand blender for a smoother consistency. (Though I highly recommend keeping the chunks!)
3. Form 4 big or 6 small patties with your hands.
4. Fry the burgers in a non-stick pan or a spoonful of coconut oil over medium to low heat until the patties have a nice colour on both sides, approximately 5-10 minutes on each side.
5. Serve immediately and with all the toppings your heart desires! (That is, stuff as much avocado as you possibly can in there. So worth it.)