Are you rooting for a special team right now? With college basketball play offs narrowing down, you may be finding yourself sitting on the edge of your seat, cheering for your team!

Are you hoping that the ball will have just the right amount of spin go in for more points or dance around the rim to keep the opposing team from taking the lead?

Passions runs high. Just look at the faces of the fans in the stands. You see everything from pure ecstasy to total despondency. And the players … every missed shot will be replayed for the rest of their lives.

Actions bring results – every time.  Being good – or bad – depends on the action.

Players work very hard on perfecting their actions. They hone their skills and work so closely with each other every day, they can read and anticipate their teammates’ movements in an instant.

Getting a team to function like a whole does not happen overnight. Each member must be totally committed to the team. Their goals are the same. They are headed in the same direction. Everyone has each other’s back. They pull for each other.

YOU are on a team.

You ARE the team.

Each of us needs our brain, body, and emotions to be working together as a team – pulling in the same direction.

Oh, your body may be dragging along with your brain, but are the decisions your brain is making helping your body?

Is your body being allowed to rest enough to help your brain function and keep your emotions balanced? Are you feeding your team the right food?

Or, are you putting diesel fuel into a gasoline engine and still expecting it to drive smoothly?

Keeping our respective teams functioning smoothly is what foodtalk4you is all about. Food for the body, mind, and spirit!

After an innocent conversation with a fellow patient in a doctor’s office waiting room recently, I felt compelled to remind each of us about the concept of teamwork.

We were just passing the time and making the day by talking about collards, of all things. Her daughter had remarked earlier about wanting some collards. I added that they sounded good to me, too. We exchanged information about where to buy the freshest ones.

As we all gradually moved up the next-patient-to-be-seen pecking ladder, we were ultimately transferred to the inner office waiting room before being called to see our doctors.  We resumed our collard collaborations.

How do I fix mine? I render out a piece of “streak of lean” – that’s Southern for salt pork with a bit of meat in it – followed by steaming cut, cleaned collard leaves, minus the stems, in that same pan. I rely on the moisture of the wet leaves and on gradual small additions of low sodium chicken broth to steam the leaves until tender. The rendered fat will be chopped and added to the cooking leaves. Maybe add some crushed red pepper. Extra salt may or may not be needed. Everyone loves my collards.

My waiting room companion exclaimed, “Oh, you do it healthy!”

She related her method which included generous portions of ham, some type of pig’s tails, lots of fat, and added salt.

Two people. Two choices. Two teams with different results.

You want a lower blood pressure? Your body certainly does! Rather than reach for another blood pressure pill, take the reins and captain your team!

Allow your body to work the way you’d like it to work. You want it to work perfectly – all day, every day, right? Pull in the same direction. All day, every day. Stop putting diesel fuel into your gas engine!

Okay, but there’s Thanksgiving – Christmas – Hanukah – New Year’s – Super Bowl – Valentines – St. Patrick’s – March Madness – birthdays – anniversaries – graduations – (I-could-go-on-and-on).

Clearly, there is no time to avoid justifying going off the deep end.

Every day could be a cheat day – if you think that treating your body is a negative.

Is loving your sweetheart a negative? How about your child? A negative? Looking for a ‘cheat’ day to not love them?

Sounds outrageous, right?

Sometimes it may take an extra effort to do what’s right for our bodies, but we are on a TEAM and we are called to do what’s right because we love our team.

What we put into our bodies, how we treat our bodies, should be a reflection of that love.

Just sayin’-

Deidre –

I’m headed to the kitchen for a workout with Beach Boy oldies playing. There’s too much pollen outside to walk or jog around a la Jane Austen (see last week’s post). Trying to show some love here.