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Banana Sandwiches
Here’s my family’s latest obsession for breakfast: banana sandwiches! They’re a great source of carbs and can have a lot of healthy toppings. Plus they’re fun for the kids. Here’s what I like:
Banana Sandwich
- Banana (duh)
- Blanched Almond Butter*
- Raw honey**
- Organic cinnamon
- Cacao nibs
Another tasty option is to take the same above ingredients (except use frozen bananas) and blend them into a smoothie.
* – Blanched almonds have been peeled, thus they’re much easier on the stomach and better for people with food sensitivities
** – Raw honey (not the typical honey from the store that’s loaded with sugar) has many great properties including seasonal allergy prevention. Your best bet to find some is your local farmer’s market or a bakery like Five Points.
Incredible Free Educational Opportunities
Last year I stumbled upon the free Introduction to Databases online class offered by Stanford University. It was one of a couple free classes they were offering for the first time. In my opinion, the class was a HUGE success. It was a 9 week course that covered about 15 topics that had hours of video lectures and interactive assignments for each topic. There were a few quizzes and two tests. It was the real deal!
I’m very proficient in my overall database knowledge, so it was great to review some basics, but they also delved into complex topics that certainly taught me quite a bit! There was an incredibly well-designed FAQ section to the website where the students could help each other with problem topics. Oh yeah, did I mention there were ninety thousand (90,000!) students who enrolled?! 25,000 submitted assignments and 6,500 (including me!) got a Statement of Accomplishment for completing the whole course. I can’t express enough about how first class this course was through and through. Plus, the professor, Jennifer Widom, has added a few videos since the course ended so students can learn even more!
The coolest part is, Stanford is back at it again! I signed up for these two classes, but unfortunately I don’t think I’m going to have time to take either. But, if you have any interest in them, you should definitely sign up!
Game Theory Online – starts March 19th
Probabilistic Graphical Models – starts March 19th
Here’s more information on the whole program as well as a list of other classes: Coursera
I’d love to hear if anyone ends up taking one of these courses!
Motivational Quotes
One of the many e-mail I receive during the week is a daily “Free Thought” from BeFreeForMe.com. It’s typically a brief quote and I always find it worthwhile reading. Today’s quote is very appropriate for me and my constant struggle with wanting everything to be perfect:
If you wait to do everything until you’re sure it’s right, you’ll probably never do much of anything.
– Win Borden
I’d also like to share the quotes I’ve posted around my office. They are thoughts that motivate me to stay organized, positive, and driven. Hopefully you enjoy them!
If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.
– David Allen, author of Getting Things Done
I like my data raw, and my analysis well done
– @cariaso (no idea who this is, but LOVE the quote)
Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.
– Abe Lincoln
A ship is safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.
– William Shedd
Failures are lessons you learn on the way to success.
Nobody can make you mad or hurt your feelings. You do those things all by yourself.
– Ann Landers
Finally, here’s a collection of great pieces of advice. Take all of it to heart and act upon it!
Update:
I want to link to the other things I’ve got posted on my office wall, as I think they’re both incredible pieces of work:
Paleo Breakfast: loaded scrambled eggs and fruit salad
Dish 1
- 3 eggs from Jacob’s Acres Farm
- scrambled w/tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 avocado
- spinach
- onion
- sundried tomato pieces
- Trader Joe‘s salsa (not pictured)
Dish 2
- frozen strawberries
- organic blueberries
- fresh mango
- sliced banana
- cacao nibs
- shredded coconut
- 1/3 c coconut milk (not pictured)
Breakfast is easily the hardest thing to change when adjusting to Paleo because everything we used to eat had grains in them. But, adding some fun toppings and mix-ins to eggs and fruit can really spice them up and make them taste even better. With all of this good fat (see: coconut, avocado), I was left satiated and feeling alert and energetic the whole morning.
How to Excel 