WAYS TO GET MORE VEGGIES IN YOUR DIET
Always a good thing:

"Vegetables are important for a good diet — they can reduce risk of stroke, heart disease and some cancers and can contribute to healthy weight. The people at TOPS (Take Pounds Off Sensibly), a nonprofit, weight-loss support group, came up with a Top 10 list of ways to get more veggies in your diet.
1. Make a “pasta” dish with spaghetti squash instead of noodles.
2. Puree cooked vegetables and add them to stews, gravies, and soups.
3. Add raw spinach leaves and an extra-ripe banana to a fruit smoothie. It may sound strange, but the sweetness of the banana masks the taste of the spinach.
4. Baking? Add shredded carrots to muffins or bread.
5. Instead of cheese and meat, pile your morning omelet with onions, mushrooms, and red and green peppers. Chop vegetables the night before to save time in the morning.
6. Add chopped spinach to meat when preparing meatballs or hamburgers.
7. Try mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes.
8. Add salsa to a breakfast burrito, pile it on a veggie burger, or use it in place of high-fat, creamy vegetable dips.
9. Puree pasta sauce with vegetables such as winter squash or chopped broccoli.
10. Add chopped carrots to casseroles or meatloaf."

THE VALUE OF FRIENDS
Meanwhile, good friends help keep you healthier and living longer:
"...research suggests that good friends may actually be great medicine: Strong social ties may help stave off memory loss as you age; reduce stress; boost immunity; help you lose weight and keep it off; and buffer against depression, among other health benefits. There’s also a strong longevity link, says Carl Latkin, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: “If you have supportive relationships, you’re going to live longer.”  In fact, a 2010 review of nearly 150 studies that was published in PLoS Medicine found that people with strong social ties had a 50 percent better chance of survival, regardless of age, sex, health status and cause of death, than those with weaker ties. This conclusion was based on information about more than 300,000 individuals who were followed for an average of 7.5 years."

And now, here's some NCAA tourney picks for tomorrow's games, along with Friday's:

Look for #8 seed George Mason to defeat Villanova.  Villanova has struggled badly towards the end of this season.

#12 seed Clemson will upset West Virginia.  Clemson is playing well right now---see their decent run in the ACC Tournament, and their smackdown of UAB last night.

I like #7 Washington to survive and defeat #10 seed Georgia (many see that as a potential upset).  Washington has an excellent guard in Isaiah Thomas and some good bigs inside.

I like #8 Michigan to survive over #9 Tennessee.  Michigan has played well in the last few weeks.

I think #4 seed Texas' talent will allow them to survive vs a good team in #13 Oakland (many have predicted this as an upset; I don't see it).

Look for #11 seed Missouri to upset #6 seed Cincinnati.  Missouri can score, and uses a good pressure, up-tempo style; Cincinnati can struggle to score.

#9 seed Illinois will upset #8 seed UNLV.  Illinois has an excellent guard in McCamey; good guard play is crucial in the college game.

I like #12 seed Richmond to upset #5 seed Vanderbilt.  Richmond plays a solid, deliberate style that gives teams fits.

I think #11 seed VCU will win tonight over USC, and then upset #6 seed Georgetown.  Georgetown lost their mojo towards the end of the season; VCU has good tourney experience.

I like #8 seed Butler to survive and defeat #9 seed Old Dominion (many see this too as a potential upset).  Butler is playing Butler basketball again, and won their conference tournament; and they have a number of players who got seasoned in last year's run to the final game.

I like #12 Utah State to upset #5 Kansas State.  Utah State is experienced and has won a lot of games.

Many pick #13 Belmont to upset #4 seed Wisconsin.  I don't; look for Wisconsin's efficient, defensive-minded, deliberate style to again bear fruit.

#11 Gonzaga will defeat #6 St. John's.  The Johnnies just lost a key player to injury; Gonzaga has lots of tournament experience.

#10 seed Michigan State to upset #7 seed UCLA.  The Bruins are young; the highly-touted-in-the-pre-season Spartans have struggled, but they still have talent and tourney experience, and look for coach Tom Izzo to at least get them past this one.

"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you

didn't." -Martin Van Buren