tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71927079706012129972024-03-12T16:24:08.608-07:00Eating Modern Foods with an Ancestral ViewAn older woman engaging in conversation about eating your way toward physical/emotional health.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-37293636303249396702013-06-07T18:07:00.000-07:002013-06-07T18:07:38.428-07:00In Praise of Pork FatbackYep, you read the title right. The sole purpose of this post is to appreciate pork fatback.<br />
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Despite living in the Midwest for 40 years, where a great quantity of pork is produced, I never saw/noticed pork fatback in the meat department until I was living out here in Nevada and living on whole foods.<br />
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What I noticed first was that they basically give it away. The prices must barely cover the labor and packaging costs, but I guess they'd be trimming the pricier meat cuts anyhow. After I became enchanted with it and learned how it works best for me I chatted with a few ladies and found it's popular in Hispanic cuisine so they're probably offering it due to local demand.<br />
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I just realized this instant that I forgot to take a picture of some I bought yesterday. The next time I buy it I'll take a pic and insert it into this post. It's not a uniform, cookie-cutter item, but the best general description is small irregular strips/pieces of pork fat with variable amounts of meat scraps.<br />
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Sometimes there's a surprising amount of meat in there too--yesterday I bought 2 small packages for a total of 27 cents which was more than enough for 6 nice portions that I'll describe in more detail later. Like I said, nearly free. One of the packages had a surprise in the middle--a small pork cutlet that would have cost a couple dollars in another package but was probably judged too small.<br />
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As a single, I typically break packages of meat up into individual portions and freeze them. If I buy fatback at the same time I add some pieces to each meat portion. I've also frozen separate portions of meat and fatback and just defrosted both so I do whatever's more convenient at the time.<br />
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I use the fatback almost exactly the way I used to use bacon and/or butter, but the win-win is that I actually like the flavor of fatback better and it also allows me to buy more produce with the savings over bacon. I've gradually shifted my daily cooking routine to make more and more use of the fatback. If I'm having meat, particularly with vegetables, I usually season the pan with a portion of fatback. What I call a portion would probably be the equivalent of 3 strips of bacon in volume. If I'm not having meat and the main dish is eggs and/or vegetables, I season the pan with lard from the fridge.<br />
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Anyhow, some pieces are quite flat and "thick bacon" thin, and others are twice that thick and look like trimmings from the outside of a roast. The pieces have a wide range of sizes too, with some taking half a medium skillet but most fairly small and some tiny. When I cook the fatback, I do my best to equalize the thickness of the pieces by slicing the thicker ones.<br />
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I render the lard out of the fatback, pouring it out a couple times as I fry the fat/meat pieces to a wonderful golden brown crisp. It's more tender than bacon as it's thicker, and I've found I like the flavor much better because it's uncured and has only the salt I sprinkle on it once cooked. The lard is refrigerated. In the Midwest I think they'd call what I make cracklings, which I remember my elderly mother in law making in Wisconsin.<br />
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The cracklings are fabulous as an appetizer while you're cooking your main dish or munching your salad. I use some or all of the rendered lard to cook the main dish, which for me is usually a mixture of meat and vegetables. If not used as an appetizer, meaning you have more patience than I, the cracklings are also very tasty crumbled over stir-fried veggies or meat/eggs.<br />
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Just as I've found that the vinegar and EVOO left over from my salad is a great sauce on my main dish, I've also found that the home-rendered lard is a tasty substitute for butter or mayo. I haven't yet mastered home-made mayo and don't want to use store bought, so the last time I had tuna I used some of my home-rendered lard to hold the tuna together in a salad with celery, cheese, tomato and green olives and I was delighted with the flavor.<br />
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In addition to no longer buying expensive bacon, my Kerrygold butter costs are way down as well and it's a preference decision rather than just money driven. The only caution I'd throw out is that I've always had low cholesterol. I assume anyone with a pattern of high cholesterol might want to do some experimenting and test the results before using it as a frequent menu item. <i>My</i> body's reaction has been very positive, better I believe with the fatback than the bacon and butter it replaced.<br />
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P.S. Did you notice my new mugshot at left? I didn't notice at first that my face looked shiny, but you know it's usually shiny now because it's over 100 outside and at least 80 inside because I don't like cool drafts. If you saw me in person, odds are my face would be moist. :-)<br />
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Anyhow, what struck me about the new pic is that I'm not the thinnest I've been since 2011--I'm not that far from it, though--but I believe I'm the healthiest I've been in 30 years despite the "avoid processed food" ups and downs I've had to describe here. It's been a struggle due to my binge eating history, but it's definitely been worth it.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-8154323978052386122013-05-13T19:08:00.001-07:002013-05-13T19:08:10.024-07:00About the Relative Importance of FoodIf you thought my recent silence might mean I was having difficulties with my eating approach or health, I have good news--the opposite is true.<br />
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First, I have a story too funny not to share.<br />
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A little background: a month or 2 ago I ordered some water kefir grains and about 4 days ago I discontinued the daily brewing routine of water kefir (again.) I wasn't enjoying the kefir as much as I had a year ago and I decided I didn't want to be tied to a daily routine for something that wasn't proving delightful. Either my taste buds have changed or those grains didn't produce kefir as tasty as the ones I had before (I was using the same ingredients otherwise.)<br />
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My practice has always been to rinse bottles, bowls, etc., in plain water. When I stopped brewing the water kefir I had a little juice left over so I put a little in some plain water in a well-rinsed seal-tight bottle and put it in the fridge to chill. As it happened, I had company and forgot about it and I just opened it today. To my surprise, there was a hiss when I opened it and it had become very light, slightly carbonated WATER KEFIR! Oh, I laughed so hard.<br />
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Anyhow, I've been doing very well eating meat, fruit and vegetables. About once per week after my 2 mugs of coffee--cream and honey--I decide to skip solid food that day. I am so "normal" the next morning that last week I realized at 8 pm I'd accidentally skipped for a second day. My rate of fat loss has picked up because I don't seem to eat any extra food after the skip days. But I do think one skip day per week is enough. I'm just about back to the best measurements I achieved on my first round of "paleo" and this time there's been no need for willpower, no cravings and no anxiety.<br />
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Since I haven't had to apply much energy to food management, I've been knitting and helping out with a new web site, <a href="http://www.newsbacon.com/" target="_blank">NewsBacon</a>. I've been enjoying it so much that food just isn't as important as it was. And that's good.<br />
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I hope you're also having the kind of spring that makes food management a natural part of your life rather than a focal point.<br />
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Oh, I almost forgot. About once every month or 2, I now have a treat day and my usual choice is to drink some Coke since most manufactured/baked treats have negative consequences but a tall glass of Coke doesn't seem to trigger any problems at all. For the first time since I began having weight issues, I'm able to savor how much I love the Coke and even have a 2nd glass if I wish. The next day I go back to drinking carbonated water with a wedge of lemon or lime and life is good.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-49051774297894418042013-04-23T08:14:00.002-07:002013-04-23T08:35:35.602-07:00The Blackout Was a Healthy Thing<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a 24 hour period I stayed off the web. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm embarrassed to admit I got more done in one day than I had in the previous week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Granted, it was an extraordinary week and I spent many hours browsing and chatting about the events in Boston and Texas. But still ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm feeling great and eating healthy but it's time to look at how sedentary I've been lately. I was very active in March but somehow in April my primary exercise routine has involved my sitting muscles. ::-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did enough yesterday to feel ouchy in my back and a little stiff and tired in my muscles--in other words, wonderful. Physical work is always great for my spirits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks to walking my dogs and tending my potted garden, plus parking in the outer fringes of parking lots, carrying my own laundry, groceries, etc., I get more exercise than most of my friends. Despite being 66 my muscles still respond vigorously to work and have good tone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I certainly don't plan to stop knitting, reading, and engaging in online activity but I need to do a better job of keeping the body machine in motion and using those muscles.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-15956051661243779462013-04-21T01:09:00.002-07:002013-04-21T01:09:49.573-07:00Tragedy, Magnificence Experienced From a Distance<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've never mentioned it here but I was born in Massachusetts and lived there until I was eleven.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After travelling in many states and living in Wisconsin for 40 years I didn't usually mention New England unless I got to know someone fairly well and we were sharing life histories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This past week, though, showed me that you never lose the bond with your childhood home. I'm a rabid fan of <a href="http://www.reddit.com/" target="_blank">Reddit</a> and my all-day TV channel is ESPN. I was browsing Reddit and had ESPN on in the background when the story about the bombing broke. Noticing quickly that a) reddit was way ahead of any news site and b) ESPN did an amazing job with their coverage, I stayed where I was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was pretty emotional but I was very pleased I had no immediate urge to hit the junk foods that used to be my kneejerk response to stress. My lifeline was something I discovered the next afternoon/evening, <a href="http://www.redditchat.com/" target="_blank">Reddit Real-Time</a>. It was a group of people chatting online while gathering/sharing information, and one of the things shared was that you could listen to police scanners via the web. I am highly curious--that's actually an understatement--so of course I connected and was listening with great interest to routine communications. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't think I'd been listening 30 minutes yet when an officer reported a high-speed vehice had almost hit him head-on. Suddenly I found myself listening to a high-speed chase and then, the man who'd narrated events to that point reported guns fired and explosives. He was directing the officers on scene and said over the radio he was joining the fight--you could hear a mixture of danger-awareness and courage in his voice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Very soon, as the command post was asking for an update, a different and flustered voice came on and reported "officers down." Oh, man. The new voice gathered itself and did an admirable job of pulling communications back together but I was burning to know what had happened to the first guy (a sergeant I think.) I was relieved to hear later that there were police injuries but, unlike the MIT officer, there were no law enforcement fatalities at this scene.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After that hair-raising experience, I spent the rest of the evening with the TV on but muted, following the Reddit Real Time chat and listening to the scanner. Instead of listening to talking heads speculate, I was hearing about events directly on the scanner and following the chat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last night I followed the same muted TV, Reddit chat and scanner routine and I was fascinated. Over and over, there were leads that came up empty so it was a surprise when an officer calmly reported they had the suspect located and under surveillance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Again, I was profoundly impressed with the careful attention to detail the law enforcement group displayed in preparing and executing a plan to safely arrest the suspect.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not sure of the timing any more, but somewhere in there I was also exposed to the devastation in Texas. Just as happened in Boston, heroes put their lives on the line to save others but in Texas a number of the heroes were killed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, this morning I choked up repeatedly during the Red Sox pre-game ceremony honoring heroes, volunteers, law enforcement and those injured at the marathon. It was my catharsis and I was able to release much of the emotion I'd retained during the crises.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week brought the flaws and magnificence of humans into sharp focus for me in a way that hadn't happened since 9/11. On <i>that</i> awful day, I hit the junk food hard but this time I found my comfort in the online community and that's a very good thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I'd be really pleased to write a post about how bored I am because nothing's happening. If we could please arrange that, that would be great.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-60184635649283389122013-04-14T22:03:00.002-07:002013-04-14T22:06:12.978-07:00Finding a Label That Fits, aka I Don't Care If It's Paleo<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It seems that some of the people who influenced me when I first went "primal" or "paleo" back in 2011 are squirming a bit under those labels. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That actually pleases me, because I just can't seem to be comfortable with those labels myself these days. I played with the term "easygoing paleo" lately, but that was because I didn't know what else to call myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's the thing: I have no patience for conversations based on "Is it paleo?" I agree with Melissa McEwen over at <a href="http://huntgatherlove.com/" target="_blank">Hunt Gather Love</a> that it's about eating in whatever way works to improve or sustain your health. It's a process of discovery, not an education on how to conform to a label or some one-size-fits-all set of rules.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As we experiment over time, some things that work for me won't work for you and vice versa. I don't see that as failure. Ideally, as we learn from our experiments and personal reactions we can all succeed in becoming and staying as healthy as possible. We can share information at community level for testing at the individual level.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As Melissa's <a href="http://huntgatherlove.com/content/breaking-paleo" target="_blank">current post</a> points out, what works in one month or year isn't necessarily what works later. We start with different problems and our bodies change over time based on so many factors that we're trying to catch raindrops with a sieve half the time. Sometimes the changes allow us to be more indulgent and other times they force us to retreat back to "safe" foods for a while.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, where does that leave me? I'm doing very well, thank you. I am ignoring, quite cheerfully, all the conflicting admonitions about what are/aren't the correct paleo foods, ratios, macros, schedules, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't care what is/is not paleo or [insert label here.] I care how I'm reacting to my last few meals and what that says about planning my next few meals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please note that I'm not anti-paleo or [insert label here.] The latest findings and recommendations are of interest and may generate new ideas for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know that how quickly/slowly I lose my remaining excess fat will be influenced by how often I choose to indulge in a sugary treat or extra fruit. Right now, I'm not indulging often because losing fat is a higher priority than dessert.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The only problem I have is coming up with a label that <b>does</b> describe my current eating habits. There's some overlap with paleo, vegan and other regimens that emphasize whole foods, but I don't think I'm in full compliance with any popular approach. I suspect that means I'm doing it right, so if we must have a label for my eating habits I choose "common sense."</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-443831886284894552013-04-11T10:00:00.002-07:002013-04-20T13:19:44.155-07:00Resuming Water Kefir Production<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strike>Note: I read and enjoy every single comment. At the moment, though, the darn blog isn't letting me reply. My comments disappear into thin air, so any comments received will be answered by inserting them as q/a updates to this post.</strike> <span style="color: red;">fixed!</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think I mentioned in one or more of my recent posts that I used to brew and drink water kefir, then stopped during a significant relapse back onto SAD (standard American diet) because water kefir only tastes good to me if I'm not eating a lot of sugar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A week ago, I decided that since I've been back on whole foods for a while it would be nice to have water kefir available again. It seems to have a great effect on my gut, making me more lactose tolerant, and I enjoy making home-made sodas by adding fruit juice and bottling it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyhow, my new water kefir grains came yesterday. Very exciting! I'm pretty sure they were somewhat starved; when I opened them, they looked a little dehydrated and there was an "off" smell I don't remember from the first time I ordered grains.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I gave them a good rinse and put them into feeding solution, expecting to refresh the liquid this afternoon. Last night, though, I noticed the liquid was already a very light color and I realized I may have put in too many grains for the amount of feeding solution I made. So, I fed them then and carefully measured the right amount of grains for the amount of solution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning the grains look more plump and the solution is lightening but not yet exhausted. I want a mid-day feeding schedule, so I plan to feed them again in a few hours. They may or may not have consumed all the sugar by then but I'm only planning to drink a small amount so it doesn't matter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Update: </b>It's now mid-morning and I just did a routine jostling of the jar. I have tiny bubbles! That's a great sign that my water kefir grains are happy and are actively turning my feeding solution into water kefir. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One thing I learned the first time around is that you start with a small dose and work your way up to a glassful per day. Water kefir clearly makes it though the stomach and interacts with your gut flora. If you happen to have some nasty bugs, or SIBO, the kefir could actually make you ill if you drink a lot to begin with. Since I had a very unhappy gut a couple days ago I plan to be <i>very careful.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Update #2: </b>I started a new brewing cycle at noon PDST as planned. I was very happy to see a few grains that were markedly bigger than any of them were when received. As suspected, they were dehydrated when they arrived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I measured 2 tbsp of grains into 2 cups of feeding solution in late evening yesterday, and by noon today I had about 3 tbsp. In a full 24-hour cycle the ideal is for the grains to about double in volume.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tasted the "kefir" from this batch. Because of the incomplete brewing cycle, it still had a sweetness to it and didn't yet have the signature kefir flavor; it was as if I was expecting to taste hard cider but tasted fresh cider instead. I will consider tomorrow's spoonful my first "dose" and take things very slowly as planned.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was disappointed when I bought supplies for brewing the water kefir. I found a lemon and organic raisins easily, but I didn't yet find a wheel of dehydrated, non-additive figs. Not only do the water kefir grains seem to like having a fig in the solution, I absolutely LOVE the fermented figs after they've been through 1 or 2 brewing cycles. So I need to try more outlets to find some. The fermented raisins are okay, but nothing like as good as those figs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Update, 4/14: I'm now making and drinking carbonated blueberry sodas as described in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7192707970601212997#editor/target=post;postID=2667093370389198930" target="_blank">Brewing Water Kefir, part 2</a>. The grains smell nice and fresh and they're doubling in volume each day. The fresh water kefir has a nice zing to it and the first soda, which I drank today, had great flavor and was nice and fizzy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The good news is that I didn't have any strong reaction to drinking water kefir again despite my relapses last winter with wheat. Apparently my gut community was still pretty robust, because the kefir tastes great to me both fresh and carbonated and there was no churning or cramping from the initial doses of the kefir.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-78877808875782790582013-04-09T15:10:00.003-07:002013-04-20T13:20:29.489-07:00Online Reading and a Digestive Upset Impact My Thoughts<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strike>Note: I read and enjoy every single comment. At the moment, though, the darn blog isn't letting me reply. My comments disappear into thin air, so any comments received will be answered by inserting them as q/a updates to this post.</strike><span style="color: red;">fixed!</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, this will be a fun post to write! It's now about 2 months since I went back to eating whole foods. I resumed reading some paleo blogs and discussion sites a little over 2 weeks ago and I resumed posting thoughts on this blog at the very end of March. And today, I have suffered the first digestive upset <i style="font-weight: bold;">not</i> caused by wheat since April 2011.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, what has been the impact of all this? Well, good and bad--what else did you expect?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's consider these things in temporal order:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My return to eating whole foods again fostered a dramatic improvement in my subjective health and energy. I did things differently this time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In April 2011, for my first few weeks I ate a high-meat, high-fat, very-low-carb regimen. I then gradually introduced fruit with later additions of fermented foods and tubers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This time, with a playfully coined label of "easygoing" paleo, I reverted immediately to the fully-rounded whole foods assortment I had most enjoyed in 2011-2012. During my first 2 weeks I had 2 social situations in which I ate a significant amount of sweets. At the first, I deliberately chose to take a sugary dessert--jello, mandarin orange segments and whipped cream topping. At and after that event, I hit the jello hard. At the second event, a buffet, I ate a pretty spartan paleo meal with 2 exceptions: a tall glass of Coke and a few bites of a breaded fried chicken wing. The Coke was wonderful, but I think the breaded wing bit me back a little.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since then my general regimen has been to eat fruit and low-starch vegetables as desired, with main servings of meat and tubers on alternate days. About the only specific goal I have tried to follow is to average 6 teaspoons or less of sugars per day from my honey, fruit and whatever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During the first few days that I resumed scanning paleo sites, I enjoyed checking out the recent topics and seeing which sites were about the same and which had changed in tone or opinions. The impact of the sites on my mental state was benign. I'm pretty comfortable with my approach to eating and whether I agree or disagree with other bloggers doesn't seem to affect my mental balance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also resumed reading and participating in 2 paleo discussion sites: the paleo sub on reddit.com and the question/answer forum on paleohacks.com</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My reactions to the 2 discussion sites are different but, surprisingly, both have had a negative impact on my mental balance. In the case of the subreddit, I think I simply don't have a "pure" enough alignment with what their definition of paleo is. On paleohacks, I'm troubled by the amount of spam and the impulsive, anxious nature of many of the questions. I tried to respond to some of the latter, but I found myself stirring up the old conflicts and anxieties of my disordered past. <Step away from the edge!></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Resuming my participation in this blog has been a positive thing for me and a few of my recent posts actually were valuable to me this morning in an unintended way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's my segue to discuss today's digestive upset. I was quite surprised to wake up this morning with a bloated, gassy gut. Unlike my historical symptoms from wheat, there was no brain fog or GERD or head/chest congestion. Just the unhappy gut.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I walked my dogs and when we returned I used the bathroom. [warning: I'm about to get grossly specific so make your own best choices.]</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ensuing bowel movement was larger than my usual. It looked completely digested, but was the consitency of oatmeal which is definitely not my norm. After a brief period of relief, I noticed lower gut soreness and mild cramping and was back in the bathroom. This time, I had a very small movement with some gassy spatters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Okay, another short period of relief followed by more soreness and somewhat more urgent cramping sent me back to the small room. To my considerable surprise, this third movement was about normal volume but consisted of at least half undigested food. The 2 most untouched items were sweet potato and chopped hazelnuts, which had been eaten on recent-but-separate days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The bottom line there is that something I ate was apparently contaminated or beginning to spoil. It shut down my gut temporarily and some of my food was pushed through rather than being digested. I'm not assuming the guilty party was either the yam or the nuts--it could just as easily have been the the boiled shrimp or fresh pineapple I also ate on the days in question. Whatever the cause, my Superwoman cape is slightly tattered because this is the first time in 2 years that I've suffered any illness or GI distress not caused by wheat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, where does all this leave me? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1- I plan to continue eating mostly whole foods with occasional sugary treats. The only thing that will stop me from sweet indulgences is elevated blood sugar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2- I will still read at least a few of the paleo sites listed on this blog's reading list, but I may prune that list and I plan to *stop* visiting the 2 discussion sites. It's just not worth risking my hard-earned and slowly-gained mental balance even if I know I could possibly serve as a resource for some anxious people. If I can't control my own anxiety, it's not feasible right now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3- I won't change anything because of today's gut rebellion. If you are going to buy and eat fresh fruit, vegetables and meat and particularly if your budget forces you to shop at big-box supermarkets, you will occasionally bring home some uninvited guests. That beats the heck out of eating processed food-like items that are mildly toxic in their own right and have minimal nutritional value. After all, I used to have an unhappy gut <b>every</b> morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4- I will continue to share thoughts on this blog. I won't recommend any one way of eating other than to build your nutritional foundation around foods that have been processed as little as possible. After that, to each their own!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Next Day Update: </i>LOL, my resolution to avoid the discussion sites isn't going so well. Curiosity is driving me back "to see if I have comments deserving responses." Yeah, right. Okay, so I'll probably keep visiting *but* I am doing better at avoiding threads that seem based on anxiety. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yesterday after my gut calmed a bit I ate a baked potato, a baked sweet potato and a leftover piece of beef with garlic. Everything seemed to hit the spot except th</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">e garlic. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My spirits are good but my lower gut is still a bit sore so I plan to avoid citrus, nuts and garlic today--mainly because the thought of eating any of them turns off my appetite.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-70615096836993883262013-04-07T10:10:00.000-07:002013-04-07T11:10:14.182-07:00Thoughts About Ancestral Eating<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Note: I read and enjoy every single comment. At the moment, though, the darn blog isn't letting me reply. My comments disappear into thin air--maybe the universe is trying to tell me something?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been somewhat philosophical this weekend, pondering what I/we mean when we say we practice ancestral eating. There are many iterations out there, after all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was reading a great blog post over at <a href="http://www.paleoforwomen.com/my-paleo-fx-experience-anxiety-community-twelve-apples-a-day-high-carb-and-low-fat-diets-and-what-the-hell-is-this-all-for-anyway/" target="_blank">Paleo for Women</a> and her comments were centered around the recent paleo conference, paleo fx.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two of her comments caught my eye: eating lots of fruit, and being ashamed of it, and <i>"</i></span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>I suspect the paleo diet’s infatuation with fat with some day be debunked."</i></span> </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She wasn't saying fat was bad, by the way, but questioning the assumption that it's somehow holy and the only good body fuel.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyhow, I had to laugh when she said she "came out" about loving fruit but still shaded her confessed intake downward--I did that just yesterday! When I wrote my <a href="http://ancestralcrone.blogspot.com/2013/04/saturday-brunch.html" target="_blank">Saturday Brunch</a> post I described my fruit dish as "banana and a mineola orange" rather than "2 bananas and a mineola orange." I definitely eat more fruit than many paleos if their online comments are accurate.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Her other comment, about paleo infatuation with fat, also struck a chord because I'm convinced it's healthy, for me at least, to avoid meals that consist <i>only</i> of high-fat/starch foods. My gut, brain and muscles all perform much better after meals if I eat a combination of food types and densities. On a daily basis, that means my main dish may be meat and/or tubers but the total meal includes greens, low-starch vegetables and/or fruit. If I eat just the meat/tubers my brain and gut just aren't satisfied enough to leave me alone until the next day. I love fatty meat, but it's a bit much without the salad. I enjoy tubers, but I enjoy them more paired with colorful low-starch veggies.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning I was not in a mood to cook; I spent my time outside enjoying our beautiful cool Nevada morning. So, I popped 2 nice potatoes into my toaster oven, one sweet and one white, and went back outside.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since I wanted to go low-prep, I completed my meal plan with banana (just 1 this time) and an orange. When I dished out the sweet potato, which was ready before the white one, I rinsed and added canned green beans. The beans have a pleasant flavor with the yam and make a decent substitute for greens when I'm too <strike>lazy</strike> busy to make a salad. I might have added broccoli, asparagus or something else low starch instead. Low-starch plants add a nice amount of food volume while diluting the intensity of the tubers/meat. I didn't bother heating the beans; I just put a little butter on the yam, waited for it to melt, then dumped on the beans. I flipped them over after a minute or so and they were nicely warm when I ate them.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I finished my potatoes--the white one was simply buttered with salt and pepper--I had the banana/orange dish as my dessert.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What works for you? Do you also eat meals of mixed food densities, or do you strongly favor density vs. volume?</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-27785079728357447502013-04-06T13:45:00.000-07:002013-04-06T13:45:17.240-07:00Saturday Brunch<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Note: I read and enjoy every single comment. At the moment, though, the blog isn't letting me reply to them. I hope to resolve that soon!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even though I'm retired, I still tend to differentiate between weekdays and the weekend. I'm more apt to do housework and errands during the week and relax or do fun things on weekends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Usually I have at least one meal per weekend that is designed to be a little different than my typical meal and is large enough to make me feel very full of food. Doing this seems to help me succeed at relegating food to a place of lower importance the rest of the time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm pleased enough with today's Saturday brunch to share it here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I started with some fresh pork fatback. If you aren't familiar with it, it's basically scraps of fat and meat that aren't pretty enough to sell <strike>at a higher price</strike> as a more familiar named cut. I bought a large package, enough for 9 portions, for a dollar and change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I usually use the fatback to season a pan for the main meat and/or veggies of the meal, but 2 servings stuck together in the freezer so I defrosted them both. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I browned the fatback really well on low-medium heat, which gave me some nice liquid fat in the pan into which I scrambled 3 eggs when the fatback was done and crispy. When the eggs were about done, I dumped a can of cut asparagus onto the mix and prepared a dish of banana and mineola orange.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you can see from the pic, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5L3Eegd7sQYR02tQKYklC1fUoy8s6s1plp9WrIq6bjsNCwH6ORqa1J9NG1TUuTZF7IRkUCuIAaIAb07IZybCX7ihWila0uhyphenhyphenlH7MN7-TaI-bUL20sOgy2xmMfId6Pe7GpoCYygECpaIs/s1600/SaturdayBrunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5L3Eegd7sQYR02tQKYklC1fUoy8s6s1plp9WrIq6bjsNCwH6ORqa1J9NG1TUuTZF7IRkUCuIAaIAb07IZybCX7ihWila0uhyphenhyphenlH7MN7-TaI-bUL20sOgy2xmMfId6Pe7GpoCYygECpaIs/s320/SaturdayBrunch.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">this was a larger than usual meal for me. Many of my meals consist of large food volume but lower density due to large green salads. I do that to encourage gradual fat loss, but today was intended to be more of a healthy splurge or maintenance day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did leave some chunks of pork fat uneaten, mainly the centers of pieces from which I chewed the crispy exterior, but I ate everything else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't intend to eat anything else today. Tomorrow is tentatively planned as a fruit/salad/tuber-and-veggie roast day, which should leave me hungry for the beef I'm planning for Monday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-9159437851003192242013-04-03T10:33:00.001-07:002013-04-03T10:33:41.600-07:00A Simple Feast<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Note: I read and enjoy every single comment. At the moment, though, the blog isn't letting me reply to them. I hope to resolve that soon!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had an amazing culinary experience yesterday. It probably helped that I didn't eat until 5:30 pm, ensuring that I was good and hungry. I love food to begin with, obviously, but when I'm hungry I <i>really</i> enjoy it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyhow, one of my errands was the grocery store and I bought a lot of fresh produce and found some <strike>cheap </strike> inexpensive packages of meat. One of those was a $2+ package of raw shrimp. It was a generous single serving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I was putting the food away, I boiled water for the shrimp and dumped them in. I then cored and sliced the fresh pineapple I'd purchased. I intended to make a nice green salad, too, but somehow I found myself </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">eating the flesh off the core and rind of the pineapple. I have the handy-dandy utensil that creates a spiral of beautiful slices in about 15 seconds flat, but there would be quite a bit of waste if you threw away the trimmings. Besides, it's more fun (as far as I'm concerned) to gnaw the good stuff off the trimmings, kind of like corn on the cob, than it is to eat the "prime" slices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of the slices went into the fridge for tomorrow because the core, rind and ends gave me a nice portion of fruit. I also ate a few fresh strawberries but that stung after chewing on the pineapple; my lips and tongue were quite sensitive and they let me know right away that the berries were still acidic and not summer-ripe. Note to self: Eat the strawberries first, then the pineapple!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took the hot shrimp out of the shells and poured some melted butter over them. They made a great counterpoint to the pineapple and strawberries and I had no interest in additional food so the salad fixings are still in the fridge and on the counter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll have to remind myself today to make and eat the salad before I taste the pineapple and/or meat. if I don't, I may just skip salad again. I have no clue why, but I'm a maniac for fresh pineapple right now. I reacted the same way at the recent pot luck and buffet visits (see earlier post, <a href="http://ancestralcrone.blogspot.com/2013/03/out-of-shadows-into-sun.html" target="_blank">Out of the Shadows, Into the Sun</a>.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, the very best thing about my feast last night was that it was so delicious it felt somehow naughty, yet it was totally legal under my easygoing paleo approach. I didn't eat until I was actively hungry, I ate food I liked and I skipped the salad because I no longer felt hungry. The only item worthy of possible debate would be the butter and I'm not asking for feedback on that. I use butter on hot shrimp, period. If I had chilled them, they would've gone into my salad with the usual vinegar and EVOO.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-31005133429067280382013-04-02T18:43:00.000-07:002013-04-03T10:33:04.083-07:00To Fellow Grapefruit Lovers<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Note: I read and enjoy every single comment. At the moment, though, the blog isn't letting me reply to them. I hope to resolve that soon!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apologies to the majority of humans who eat little or no grapefruit, but this short post is dedicated to my favorite fruit, red/pink grapefruit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we start with the question, Why?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why, for all those 60-some years, did I carefully cut my grapefruit in half, slice around each half just inside the rind and separate the segments by painstakingly cutting on both sides of each membrane?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My current method is SO MUCH EASIER!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holding my grapefruit with the stem at the top, I slice it into quarters vertically and then slice each quarter into 3 wedges. There's no magic number, but I find a 1/12th wedge the perfect size to put partially into my mouth in order to suck the yummy flesh/membranes off the rind. Edit: I peel the rind away from the pointed corners, put the partially peeled flesh in my mouth and pull off the remaining rind. Just in case you were wondering.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I like many fruits, there's no nothing I enjoy more, and nothing that seems to stimulate good health, more than a good ripe grapefruit. I know many people take 1 or more prescriptions that force them to avoid grapefruit, but the irony is I really believe my love of grapefruit is one of the reasons this old lady takes no prescriptions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been told I'm a fast healer, but I certainly wasn't as a poor child from the north who rarely saw citrus. When I was 11, we spent a few winter months in Florida and I ate a lifetime's dosage. What happened, you ask? Well, lifelong minor nosebleeds and bleeding gums disappeared never to be heard from again AND in about 4 months I grew 3 inches.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, of course, there are hopefully very kids at risk for scurvy but I can attest that my best heath has always been those times when I eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and meat. Hmm, sounds like a food plan, doesn't it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With all due respect to the "an apple a day" folks, the menu item I'm most eager to dive into each day is my grapefruit. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-40262169839000266402013-04-01T09:37:00.000-07:002013-04-01T09:37:19.990-07:00How'd It Go?<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Note: I read and enjoy every single comment. At the moment, though, the blog isn't letting me reply to them. I hope to resolve that soon!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Holidays and other family/social events can be challenging and unsettling for those of us trying to manage our health.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm pleased to report I had an easy go of it. I started with a grapefruit cut into wedges, Starkist tuna with sun-dried tomatoes, mayo (I didn't have paleo so I <gasp!> I used store-bought,) celery stalks, grape tomatoes and pimento-stuffed olives. I did treat it as a special day, though, so dessert was a well-rinsed small can of mandarin orange segments with a generous handful of frozen blueberries on top. Yum!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In terms of food volume, my meal was smaller than usual as I usually load up with a high-volume green salad or large servings of low-carb veggies. The main reason I didn't on Easter was that I was expecting a repair person on Saturday and didn't get to go to the store.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyhow, I wasn't shocked when I felt hungry by mid-afternoon despite usually eating only a single meal. I simply scrambled 3 eggs with butter and turmeric and that did the trick. I feel fine this morning and very happy that I didn't do anything with consequences. Why couldn't it have been this easy for the last 50 years?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Note to self: add to-do list item, make paleo mayo</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-53254289936766461472013-03-30T20:34:00.006-07:002013-04-07T13:50:36.606-07:00Out of the Shadows, Into the Sun<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Note: I read and enjoy every single comment. At the moment, though, the blog isn't letting me reply to them. I hope to resolve that soon!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I guess I'm one of those people who have to relapse a few times before my internal conflicts settle into one behavior pattern that works for all of me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here's the summary of my recent past. I followed a fairly rigorous regimen (whole foods plus coffee, butter, cream and cheddar) for a full year, with many physical benefits. However, I really did that on willpower and still had the binge eating disorder whispering/screaming about how great it would be to eat wheat again. Each and every day during that year was a personal battle to do what I thought best rather than what I wanted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then I slid ever so slowly down that slippery slope of asking myself if I could safely eat limited quantities of wheat--because I desperately wanted to. And wow, what a surprise, I started to binge and gain weight with the added "benefit" of feeling really awful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After 3 cycles of going onto-off wheat, getting sicker and fatter each time, I very naturally and calmly started buying only whole foods plus coffee, butter, cream and cheddar. In other words, I went back off wheat and there was no willpower or effort involved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All the other times I went off wheat, I set a date in advance as a deadline to make the change and I then dreaded the approach of that date. This time, there was simply no thought of buying wheat because that stuff is <b>toxic</b> for me. I may be slow but I can learn if you whack me with negative consequences enough times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm now a month in with no subconscious whispering or cravings or wishes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Without wheat, even though I was eating to satiation each day, I immediately started to lose the weight I gained during my relapses. I'm again morphing from apple to pear shape, with about 2/3 of the regained weight back off. I'll be posting a new mug shot on the blog in the next few days. I've already experienced 2 opportunities to gauge my mental status and I'll describe them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Event #1: About 2 weeks ago I attended a pot luck dinner. There were lots of great foods that were legal for me and there were lots of foods containing wheat. I very calmly took the non-wheat foods and enjoyed visiting with my friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>However,</b> this is not a fairy tale. The truth is that I found the event emotionally unsettling. When I returned home, I did in fact have a strong urge to eat even though I was not actually hungry. The good news is that the urges weren't for wheat and I did not eat any wheat. The facts are that I ate some sugared jello with rinsed mandarin orange segments and whipped cream.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I was naughty, but I did not abuse myself with wheat. The next day I calmly resumed my comfortable routine of whole fruit, low-carb salad and meat. Note: On alternate days, I vary my routine with "veggie roasts" of tubers and other veggies. That day happened to be a day I'd planned to eat meat vs. tubers. So I followed my plan for the day and I continued to feel great and lose weight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Event #2: A few evenings ago, I attended a large buffet with friends. We began by giving our server our beverage requests and I asked for ... a Coke. Go ahead, scream No!!!, but keep reading. I ate some pieces of chopped fruit, a nice salad with vinegar and their oil (I'm not assuming it was EVOO but it did seem close) and some roast beef, baked salmon and one small wing of fried chicken.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When my friends went to get desserts, I happily sipped my Coke. As they ate their desserts, I happily sipped my Coke. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This time when I returned home there was no emotional backlash. There must have been a little flour in the fried chicken breading, because I was a little bleary and had mild congestion the next morning, but I just resumed my normal routine and I felt fine by afternoon. I seem to have lost a little more weight in the few days since.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other than 1 or 2 family visits, I don't expect more social events as my winter friends have headed north to their summer locations. So I have a clear path to continue eating in the way that makes me feel great and allows me to lose weight without dieting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For fun, I'm calling it easygoing paleo. Hope things are easy for you!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-28041486262968275812012-10-28T09:04:00.004-07:002012-10-28T09:04:56.395-07:00Food Experiments ...In my previous post I mentioned the beef stew base I made that serves as a quick-start for ad hoc meals. The stew base is slow-cooked beef shank meat/marrow, long grain rice and french-style green beans.<br />
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Here's a great example of how the stew base contributes to ongoing menus. When I went food shopping this week they had large turkey wings priced insanely cheap. For the first meal I just baked the wings and ate about half of one with fruit and cole slaw. Yes, the wings were that large and the meal was tasty but not innovative.<br />
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The next day WAS innovative and I'm still enjoying the glow of a great meal that broke many "SAD" (Standard American Diet) rules.<br />
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I pre-heated the oven to 325F. In the bottom of my broiler pan I spread a serving of chilled stew base like a thick paste. I sprinkled some raw peeled carrot on top of the paste. On the top rack of the broiler pan I put leftover turkey wing. There was a small quantity of jellied turkey broth/fat in the bottom of the dish the wings had been in I put that in the bottom of the pan on top of the carrots/stew base.<br />
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An hour or so later the wings were thoroughly reheated and the carrots were at my favored mostly-tender stage. <br />
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Let me tell you, I LOVED this meal. First, the skin on the partial wing I ate was wonderfully crispy. The beef, broth and carrots tasted fabulous paired with turkey.<br />
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Instead of--or, should I say, as--dessert I had a cereal bowl full of cole slaw with shredded cheddar. After a meal of mostly meat, the slaw had a light, tart flavor that worked better than any true dessert could have. And in 2 meals I only ate 1 of the 2 wings so I there are many possibilities for 2 upcoming menus.<br />
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Who knew that cole slaw could be one of my favorite desserts? Changing how you assemble meals means that the definition of appetizers and desserts can/should change as well.<br />
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Have fun experimenting!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-90596710612478157192012-10-23T14:51:00.002-07:002012-10-23T14:53:36.457-07:00I Don't Like Food Politics EitherYes, today's title is a not-so-subtle mention that we're in an election season. I have opinions about political matters but, unfortunately, like many others I am disillusioned about either party making things better any time soon. Let's face it, if they really had a plan they'd be less excited and more calm/confident that they knew what to do.<br />
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When it comes to food, I find I'm pretty apolitical there too. I don't care whether we call it paleo, primal, ancestral or insert-your-preference here. I'll browse long detailed articles as fun reading but my philosophy is short and sweet:<br />
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<ol>
<li>I prefer whole or minimally processed foods. A banana is a whole food, as is an egg or a carrot. Heavy cream or a slice of beef shank or ground coffee beans with hot water poured through them are minimally processed but I don't care. Milled wheat powder mixed with a list of other such ingredients is a processed food whether you call it bread, spaghetti or a pancake.</li>
<li>What's right for me doesn't have to match exactly what's right for you. My teeth, GI tract and other personal traits reflect my personal genetics and so my best mix of foods is just that--mine.</li>
<li>I try to be honest about what I'm eating. If I'm dying for some ice cream I'll have it, but I will admit it's junk and I won't complain about my mild gastric symptoms.</li>
</ol>
I'm still making some use of #3 above, but I seem to be eating/drinking less junk and becoming more happy to eat healthy.<br />
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The other day I made an interesting base for upcoming dishes; I slow-cooked some slices of beef shank until the bone cross-sections were completely clean and the meat broke easily into small chunks. With the fat and marrow the broth is very thick. I added some long grain rice and deliberately over-cooked it, making it a soft consistency very similar to barley added to a soup. The final base ingredient was a can of French-sliced green beans. I then portioned the batch into 7 portions and froze 5. Each portion is used as the base for a stew that is finished with a unique mix of vegetables for palatability. I tend to add small amounts of processed meats such as kielbasa or sausage plus large amounts of vegetables such as carrots, yams, squash, brussels sprouts, broccoli, rutabagas or even beets. <br />
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I know my food choices are moving in the right direction when--as happened this week--I have little interest in a bagel but go nuts over baked chicken thighs or my above-described stew base.<br />
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So, while it's great fun to read the various paleo blogs I just don't see the need to fight over the details of the menu. I'm ready to put food back where it belongs as an enjoyable and important (but not all-important) part of my life.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-80294970535541708962012-10-10T09:32:00.001-07:002012-10-10T13:23:32.976-07:00Fall is a Great Time to Examine the MenuAutumn comes very late in southern Nevada. I'll define autumn as morning lows under 80F, since we've been above that since early May. When I lived in Wisconsin it was more like late August or early September when the nights and mornings became pleasantly cool, but Nevada doesn't really have what northers would call true autumn weather until December. Wherever I am, autumn seems to be a good time to think about my eating patterns because I seem naturally programmed for changes as my body reacts to the end of summer heat.<br />
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I find myself with more energy and, I'm happy to say, declining appetite. I don't think I've lost any weight but I have been able to get myself on a 1-meal-per-day schedule and that meal is built around whole foods although it usually ends with a processed treat. I haven't yet achieved a true hunger/satiation cycle but I feel I've made progress. <br />
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This morning I was definitely high energy and that's usually a signal that I've switched to fat-burning and my body is "ready for the hunt." Limiting myself to one meal per day seems to be an essential trigger in order to experience normal hunger/satiation and any semblance of weight control is impossible without that cycle.<br />
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I'm still using liquid CoffeeMate but I've gone from 3 mugs of coffee to 2. I'm down to 25% soda to 75% ice/water in each tall mug, with only ice water overnight, and I think I'll be back off soda within a few weeks. I'll then drink carbonated water with a wedge of lime.<br />
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If you're wondering why I haven't just made a clean break to whole foods only, it's very simple--I tried that twice and it triggered binge eating. I have to approach my eating regimen as a sidewalk rather than a line, because the line seems to function as a cliff with a strong wind trying to push me over the edge. <br />
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With the sidewalk approach, binge eating is outside one border and "pure paleo" is outside the other. Between those boundaries, I find the best balance I can manage. I don't have my house full of processed treats, and I shop only once per week (as early morning as possible to manage temptation.) I buy ONE treat (along with the CoffeeMate and soda.) So far, I've been able to VERY gradually reducce the portion sizes and frequencies of treats. Eating a healthy meal has improved my appetite for real food without sending me into another binge. There is still a point 1-3 hours after the meal when I have a strong urge for something junky but I'm happy to report that a reasonable portion size is working right now--by reasonable, I mean a cup or 2 of ice cream rather than a quart, or 2 snack-sized bars of candy rather than 10.<br />
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<strong><em>Edit:</em></strong> On good days, when the meal is a great match to my emotional/physical needs, I don't need the SAD treat at all. Since I eat the fruit and salad/veggies first, the meat serves as the treat. On other days, I do seem to need a treat and the question becomes "How little is enough?"<strong><em> </em></strong><br />
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Can I do better? That'd be nice, but frankly I'd rather continue some width of sidewalk approach than set myself up for another miserable, lengthy binge like the one I endured this past summer.<br />
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Wish me luck!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-35887539647576346142012-10-04T14:42:00.001-07:002012-10-04T14:42:40.131-07:00Are Some People Asking the Wrong Questions?I've given a lot of thought to the following questions:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>What triggers my binge eating?</li>
<li>How can I control/avoid binge eating?</li>
<li>Why is it so hard to eat small portions?</li>
<li>Etc., etc., etc.</li>
</ul>
Well, you know what? The question that's on my mind right now is, "Why is my appetite bigger than what is required to maintain a normal weight?" And part 2 of the question is, "How come my stomach happily accepts the large meals my appetite demands?" The assumption that my appetite IS bigger than my caloric needs is pretty much proven as my "natural" weight seems to be 50+ lbs. overweight.<br />
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I've decided to forgive myself for my large appetite by the way. Yes, I'd like to eat as little as I can manage without triggering massive binge eating and, yes, I'd like to gradually lose weight over time BUT I've demonstrated numerous times that I have great willpower over the short haul (6 to 12 months) only to face the long term reality that my choice is between being hungry 24/7 or being fat. I have a naturally large appetite and I've always had it. It didn't develop gradually as I grew up or as I became fatter--I remember eating 2 large plates of supper and still wanting dessert when I was 6 years old. And yes, I was a chubby kid except for those times my family was too poor to buy enough food.<br />
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I follow a list of blogs focused on health and nutrition and many of them discuss why so many people are fat. They look at what types of foods we eat, when we eat, how fast we eat and how active/inactive we are. I don't see a lot of discussion about differing appetites. I define appetite as how much food feels like "enough" to turn off interest in eating more food.<br />
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For example, many people eat junk food frequently. Many of them eat a HANDFUL of chips and consider that a serving. Some eat a CEREAL BOWL full. But I, friends, eat the bag of chips--small, medium or large--and I'm just as happy to eat the last bite as the first.<br />
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Second example, let's say we're eating healthy--a meal of fruit, salad and veg/meat. Many people will eat 1/2 cup or less of the fruit, a cup or 2 of salad and about a cup each of vegetables and meat. So their total meal volume is between 4 and 5 cups and they'll consider that a huge meal. Okay, but if I follow my natural appetite I'll eat 2-4 cups of fruit, 3-5 cups of salad and still eat at least 2-3 cups of meat and vegetables. I'll be happily full but I definitely won't be forcing myself to eat the last bites.<br />
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I see a similar pattern with companion animals. With some cats, you can leave food out at all times and they'll maintain a nice weight; with others, you have to measure the food or they'll eat themselves fat.<br />
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I don't have a data-driven answer to my question, sadly, although I do have interesting background information. My father once confessed that my parents were so happy to have a healthy baby after the one before me died that they fed me each bottle/food meal until I spat the food out. In other words, from day one they conditioned me to eat as much food as I could hold. And I've already described my "natural" eating behavior from early childhood on.<br />
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When I had my son, I didn't follow my parents' example. I dished out a small portion of formula or food and when it was gone it was gone. My son is now 40 (gasp!) and has never had any problem with over-eating. He's been lean his entire life. But does that mean anything? His father had no weight problem either and ate whatever he wanted. I have an older brother (the one that died would have been the middle child) and while he has a healthy appetite he's never had as much trouble with his weight as I have and he eats smaller portions without willpower being involved.<br />
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So, I can't help wondering why I am cursed/blessed with my large appetite. Genetics? Parenting? What? I suppose it doesn't really matter, since it's not going to change, but I do wonder. What I do know is that it doesn't make me a bad person although the word glutton might/could apply.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-46060399885296233922012-09-18T13:05:00.003-07:002012-09-18T13:05:41.552-07:003 Steps Forward, 2 Steps Back: Where's That Leave Me?<em><strong>Hello to any and all who choose to read this post--hope you had a great summer.</strong></em><br />
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First, if you came to this blog expecting a "pure Primal/Paleo/Ancestral" point of view, you'll need to read posts dated April 2012 or earlier or go elsewhere. From now on, I will only claim to be Human. I'll communicate what's going on and how I react. <br />
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If I had found the paleo community in my 20s, which assumes it would have existed then, I truly believe I could have followed that lifestyle all my life. Due to the conditioning from 40+ years of binge/starve eating cycles, plus the stresses life will always include, I'm not able to manage ancestral eating on a sustained basis although I continue to respect and admire those who can.<br />
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My current eating pattern seems to be supporting my health and well-being but it doesn't fit any of the above labels as I stress whole/real foods but also compromise around my entrenched emotional cravings. This post was hard to write as it's a confession of weakness, including a much-dreaded new mugshot. <br />
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In April 2012, I celebrated a full year of "ancestral" eating. The first 3 months were Primal, the next 6 were Primal plus fermented water kefir/yogurt, and the final 3 incorporated occasional processed treats. In March 2012, I believed I had achieved a permanent healthy regimen and was no longer an out-of-control binge eater. I was down at least 30 pounds from my starting weight and I felt better physically than I had in 20+ years.<br />
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BUT, on the emotional side I was not so good. I'd already suffered weeks of severe family-related stress and frankly it was stressful to consistently avoid processed foods. My stress and performance grew worse in May but I tried my best to hold on. The underlying problems were that I couldn't solve the ongoing family stresses and I was in denial that I could avoid all junk food forever. While many claim there's no such thing as food addiction, my symptoms are pretty damn close--it's always been all or nothing. In mid-May I cracked, people. Folded, collapsed, lost control. Yes, I finally found comfort but I found it in the old familiar standby, binge eating of processed junk foods.<br />
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As always, binge eating of processed foods made me feel like total crap and trust me when I say my loss of control and rapid weight gain did nothing good for my self-esteem. For about 2 months, I'd say I was clinically depressed and in addition to eating mostly junk food I instinctively avoided people--not just in person but by avoiding email and Facebook--all human contact. Not only did I shy away from writing blog posts, I stopped reading my extensive list of health/diet blogs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgdLyaaG2ko2Wpf309TDJmyhHwbfIgH4m5vZw35bEVDEA_1cD3QD8btLxRiDcExwzJwURhlr9faDgImAP-lSDu6BnVzoaNY6oYXNyT7JdDWZR43V-7ZAmVj487m50kmN4P1PGECNkOKc/s1600/Binge+vs+Not.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgdLyaaG2ko2Wpf309TDJmyhHwbfIgH4m5vZw35bEVDEA_1cD3QD8btLxRiDcExwzJwURhlr9faDgImAP-lSDu6BnVzoaNY6oYXNyT7JdDWZR43V-7ZAmVj487m50kmN4P1PGECNkOKc/s320/Binge+vs+Not.png" width="313" /></a></div>
The somewhat-good news is that I didn't settle into the junk food binge for long this time. In the past I would've wallowed in my misery for years. This time, I thought and thought and thought about what had gone so well for a whole year, what had gone so wrong in May and where that left me. I was also less tolerant of the heartburn and other physical symptoms of eating junk.<br />
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So, where I am now?<br />
My current mental health is good because I'm pretty clear on who I believe I am--or, should I say, who I am not.<br />
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I am not comfortable with a plant-exclusive eating pattern. My natural lifestyle is clearly tilted toward meat although I truly enjoy greens, veggies and fruits. My emotional cravings insist junk food is all I need/want but that's a guaranteed ticket to GI issues and malaise.<br />
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I am not a social butterfly. Put bluntly, I am an introvert and while I am naturally positive and serene when surrounded by Mother Nature, and companion animals, I am easily stressed by contact with the negative energy frequently surrounding other people. I love my family and friends but can only handle them in positive situations or limited doses. Bottom line: I am an emotional wimp.<br />
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To feel my best, I need nutritious food such as salads, fruit and beef or oily fish, but emotionally I can only handle that as a pure regimen for 6-12 months using maximum willpower. In order to avoid explosive junk food binges, I appear to need reasonable daily doses of the items my lifelong conditioning defines as "comfort."<br />
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Exactly what am I doing, you ask? I sip a couple mugs of coffee each morning--coffee that includes CoffeeMate liquid creamer. I'd prefer to use organic whole cream and quality honey but can't afford it. I've found coffee depresses my appetite for several hours and is soothing. For the remainder of the day, I drink ice water or carbonated water or 1 cup soda diluted into a 3-cup mug topped with water.<br />
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In late morning, I eat a meal that's usually 3 courses: fruit, salad and entree. My meals include meat but otherwise are some combination of vegetables, tubers, legumes and grains. Since my fruit and salad portions are large, my main meal portions are generous but not huge. I use oil and vinegar on my salads and thankfully that's my personal preference.<br />
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Within 2 hours after my meal, while I am physically full but subject to emotional cravings, I have a treat. One week it might be chips or pretzels, another week it could be mini-Snickers bars and another week ice cream. In other words, whatever I'm most craving but only one kind of processed food and I must be full when I eat it.<br />
<br />
I limit myself to one coffee--meal--treat cycle per day. I don't feel physical hunger but I do (at present at least) still feel strong cravings for junk food in late afternoon and evening. I try to shift the cravings into anticipation of the next day's food and that's been working well. Discipline is still required, but not extreme willpower and not for extended periods--like forever.<br />
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The result of this compromise--so far--is that my GI tract is again happy, my energy level has rebounded and I'm not obsessing about a massive junk food binge. After all, I'll be having another treat tomorrow.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-71568784356491192942012-04-30T16:52:00.001-07:002012-05-01T19:31:08.592-07:00I'm Not HereI have decided to suspend my activity on this blog effective immediately. Feel free to click on the labels at the right side of the blog to view any articles in which you may have interest.<br />
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The good news: I am not suffering a relapse of my lifelong binge eating disorder. In fact, it's about time to stop using the term remission and declare me cured. These days a hungry/reckless day involves eating an extra serving of meat or fruit and I think we can agree that is not a binge. I still have every reason to believe I can lose my remaining 20-30 pounds of excess fat and maintain a healthy weight indefinitely.<br />
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No, the real problem is that I'm not a qualified expert in any topic except the experience of being an older woman who used to suffer from binge eating and was quite fat as well as sick from eating the standard American diet of junk food. My solution was to drink water kefir and avoid processed foods and that's all that's really worth sharing.<br />
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My only promise is that if/when I have thoughts I'm excited about sharing I'll mention them in 2 places: <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/nance13two" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100003148539945" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. It's possible, if it's that major, that I'll post a series of articles here but I make no promises at this point.<br />
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Otherwise, if you're reading this you have my sincere thanks for your past interest and friendship and best wishes for a happy and healthy summer and beyond. Now go outside and enjoy Mother Nature and then eat some unprocessed foods. :-))Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-34513076181203997572012-04-29T09:36:00.000-07:002012-04-29T09:36:30.249-07:00Update: We Interrupt This Fast With Breaking News ...Okay, "life happens." Friday morning my friends pulled out and headed for Wisconsin. I was sad but I was fine with it being a fasting day. <br />
<br />
An hour later I got a call from school saying the grandkid was being suspended from school again. Oops. I gave it a few hours but finally decided I didn't want to deal with my first all-day fast in over a month on the same day I was coping with family drama. So I ate, but what I DIDN'T do was my traditional "drive to the store, buy a shopping cart full of junk and binge" routine. <br />
<br />
On Saturday, I ate but delayed my main meal until 2 pm; I actually ate a little less than usual so I do feel I'm back in weight-loss mode even though I haven't fasted yet. The plan for today is to eat at 4 pm and take another stab at fasting on Monday. Sunday would normally be my no-limits day but since I didn't fast Friday I've changed it to a moderate day.<br />
<br />
There's a family meeting planned for Tuesday and it will probably be helpful to be in a fasted state for the meeting as it makes my mind very clear.<br />
<br />
Some days it's easy to sympathize with female cats who eat their young ...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-45156596453338598352012-04-25T12:39:00.002-07:002012-04-25T12:39:33.764-07:00Back to Fat Loss ...Despite my generally impulsive/right-brain nature--or perhaps because of it?--when I want to make a significant lifestyle change the actual decision is spur of the moment but I almost always pick some future day to implement the idea. The delay allows my level of commitment to deepen or lessen and allows me to consider possible strategies.<br />
<br />
So, about a month ago I decided to "practice maintenance" during the month of April. There were only 2 rules. One rule was to not eat processed foods and the other was to not eat unless I had strong "gut hunger" (as opposed to brain cravings) and then to use a mix of low- and high-density foods to help achieve the "happily stuffed" feeling without actually ingesting too many calories.<br />
<br />
At the same time, I also decided I would wage a final campaign of weight loss this year to reach a weight I feel good about and feel I can maintain. I lost 55-65% of my excess fat last spring/summer so my goals are reasonable.<br />
<br />
The final piece of my planning a month ago was to create/identify a trigger that would shift me from the relaxed mode to weight-loss. Without a clear trigger, the starting date can become a rolling "tomorrow." After thought, I decided to make the shift the day my winter friends left to return to their home up north.<br />
<br />
They're pulling out this Friday so my shift back to weight loss mode is upon me. What, you ask, does that mean?<br />
<br />
It's very simple. Between "maintenance" and "weight loss" modes there are only 3 differences: frequency/type of fasting, dairy allowance and fruit allowance.<br />
<br />
<strong>Frequency/type of fasting</strong>: For maintenance, nearly all fasting is IF (intermittent fasting) but for weight-loss I prefer modified ADF (alternate-day fasting.) My modified version is to fast Monday, Wednesday and Friday, eat fairly low-cal on Tuesday and Thursday and as desired (of unprocessed foods) on the weekend. For long term maintenance, next fall/winter I may still use modified ADF about one week every month or 2 to avoid a gradual erosion of appetite control.<br />
<br />
<strong>Dairy allowance:</strong> For maintenance, heavy cream is as desired, divided between coffee and berries/fruit with cream. I make extra-fat home-made yogurt (3 parts whole milk to 1 part heavy cream) and eat 2/3 c yogurt 3 times per week usually with fruit. I occasionally use Kerrygold butter on cooked vegetables but in the summer I go all-raw on veggies (probably with oil and vinegar) and raw or frozen on fruit.<br />
<br />
<strong>Fruit allowance:</strong> For weight loss, I eat no fruit on fasting days, 1 grapefruit on low-cal days and as desired on weekends (more like 3 total servingson average.) My natural preference for long term maintenance is to eat a generous amount of fruit but I rarely approach 50g of fructose daily. Note: I include water kefir in the fruit category as it contains at least a little fructose. I'm currently drinking 1-2 cups at least 3-4 days per week and that will remain stable this spring/summer.<br />
<br />
That's it. I don't tend to overeat meat or vegetables so there are never any specific allowances for those. What I've learned in the past year is that my weight is stable or decreases gradually as long as my brain cravings/binge impulses are in good control. I eat about the same whether or not I fasted yesterday, so fasting tends to accelerate weight/fat loss. We'll see what happens now.<br />
<br />
Wish me luck!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-53998020837143911872012-04-17T10:24:00.000-07:002012-04-17T10:24:36.163-07:00Hands-On Eating: The Importance of Finger Food<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p>The other day I was thinking about my history of binge eating and I had an "ah-ha" moment. My personal binge foods list included: burgers, fries, hot dogs, chips, popcorn, crackers, cookies, Hostess cupcakes, etc. ALL of those are things you eat with your hands. There's a tactile element quite different from the typical use of silverware--which may relate to why so many Americans enjoy playing/eating with chopsticks.</o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p>I also realized that one of my favorite meals at present is the "tear and crunch." The "tear and crunch" meal is a large bowl of raw vegetables--today's included large, intact leaves of leaf lettuce (1/4 head?) plus about 5 stalks of celery, a palm-sized chunk of red bell pepper and a similar amount of fresh fennel and cauliflower. I also threw in 2 small skin-on carrots. Since I am not all-raw or vegan I measured 2 tbsp of vinegar and 3 of olive oil and sprinkled that over the lot. I also sprinkled on some kelp powder and RealSalt.</o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p>I don't blame you if you say that meal should be called "salad" but I like "tear and crunch" because I left everything in much larger pieces and used no silverware. It felt like a much more primitive way of eating as compared to polite forkfuls of salad. I wrapped the crunchy vegetables in 2-3 layers of folded lettuce leaves but ate the celery and carrots on their own. I'll freely admit that I could probably eat this meal without the oil and vinegar, but why would I?</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p>Look at the 2 photos below; see the difference?</o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkvxCFeRA_3KDXXTnijsmNWjXnU3T6fkBUmrZdRRdL_OM3JvEi3H5jWNTHtvHDm3CIII-zJ_cDw62Y-aAK0j6rrryVeRgtv7xS9dOdyvwgeYbapA2qYA__WXf_txTRZ_tdFJ5RsIdrGI/s1600/Tear+and+Crunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkvxCFeRA_3KDXXTnijsmNWjXnU3T6fkBUmrZdRRdL_OM3JvEi3H5jWNTHtvHDm3CIII-zJ_cDw62Y-aAK0j6rrryVeRgtv7xS9dOdyvwgeYbapA2qYA__WXf_txTRZ_tdFJ5RsIdrGI/s200/Tear+and+Crunch.jpg" width="174" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0gFWT-_WnXbj_xzWH8NSjeuEKCABVDg3NEy9jbCnlvx73us26KBX_jLt7XqzYVHSTocTKmdRkpdfXYyOR2Mo-XiQdsbF6brUAhIDk149w8ALuCPT_AIwEWvlw0AcxK5t5oCS0oYP93E/s1600/Leafy+Salad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0gFWT-_WnXbj_xzWH8NSjeuEKCABVDg3NEy9jbCnlvx73us26KBX_jLt7XqzYVHSTocTKmdRkpdfXYyOR2Mo-XiQdsbF6brUAhIDk149w8ALuCPT_AIwEWvlw0AcxK5t5oCS0oYP93E/s1600/Leafy+Salad.JPG" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p>I'm not saying that silverware caused my binge eating disorder, although there's probably a funny joke in there somewhere, but I'm convinced that part of the comfort I enjoyed from my binges was the tactile involvement of grabbing the food and sucking my fingers, etc.</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p>Based on that, I'm pretty sure part of my enjoyment of fruit and my "tear and crunch" meals is that my hands are involved. To the extent that it's helping sustain my apparent recovery from disordered eating, I'd say finger food aka "tear and crunch" is pretty important.</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p>How about you? Do you enjoy hands-on eating?</o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-9159682118244974452012-04-12T08:11:00.000-07:002012-04-12T08:13:43.203-07:00Meat Day Anyone?<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Note: I am participating in Chris Kresser's "Best Your Stress" challenge for the month of April. I have cut back 90% on my participation at Paleo Hacks and have also cut way back on reading various eating-related web sites. This has reduced my stress level so much I may call the change permanent unless/until some topic of discussion sucks me back into the daily whirl.</span></em><br />
<br />
I made a routine visit to the store yesterday because I was out of heavy cream for my coffee :O<br />
<br />
I had no intent to buy meat, but my eyes skimmed past a few turkeys sitting in a fresh meat case and there it was--a big "50% off" sign. These were minimally processed "no this or that" turkeys so .99/lb. got my attention. I bought a 14-pounder.<br />
<br />
Before I had all the groceries put away, that baby was de-bagged, rubbed with a bit of coconut oil and slapped into the oven. Instead of my usual main meal of grapefruit, salad, meat and vegetables I had crispy turkey wings, crispy turkey skin, some thigh and neck meat plus half of the liver (wrapped in crispy skin, of course.) My only other food yesterday was 2/3 c extra-fat yogurt with a banana and a handful of strawberries.<br />
<br />
A few times in early evening my brain asked about the possibility of eating "something yummy" but my gut happily replied, "Nope! We've got turkey down here!"<br />
<br />
Some days meat just hits the spot. Today I'll be freezing most of the white meat for use in mixed dishes and eating more wing, thigh and back meat (the grandkid claims the drumsticks.) The carcass will go into the slow-cooker with some leftover meat/broth from the Easter ham.<br />
<br />
Note to self: on future holidays, swing into the store the following Wednesday to see what's 50% off.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-49073688538380706492012-04-08T13:02:00.002-07:002012-04-08T13:05:19.352-07:00Mindfully Eating ... A Cadbury EggA very happy Easter to all Christians and a happy, festive holiday to others. <br />
<br />
My planned Easter holiday splurge this year was a Cadbury egg (sorry, no photo.) Just in case you live in a remote area yet are somehow reading this, a Cadbury egg is a milk chocolate shell with creme filling--and, through the miracle of Cadbury technology, the innermost creme is yolk-orange.<br />
<br />
So, I ate my holiday meal of ham, ham and more ham. Recipe: I bought a spiral-cut bone-in ham and gave it a thorough bath under the faucet, then warmed it in my slow-cooker with fresh water. I'd planned to make salad, bake a sweet potato and have a small side of canned pineapple but when the time came all I wanted was ham and I figure the other items can add novelty to leftovers in coming days.<br />
<br />
A couple hours later I was ready to have a go at the Cadbury egg. In years past, I would've eaten it in about 3 bites and moved on to other goodies but times have changed: I don't plan another neo-splurge until Memorial Day or beyond and I won't have another Cadbury egg for at least a year.<br />
<br />
It was very different, carefully and mindfully eating the egg. After the first taste, I asked myself, "Does it taste really good? Good enough to finish and count as my holiday neo-splurge?" My answer was yes so I continued to lick at the creme.<br />
<br />
"How would I rank the flavor?" was my next question. Is it better than the ham? I guess it is. Maybe better than a leafy salad with oil and vinegar, but not really that MUCH better. Is it as good as frozen berries with yogurt or heavy cream? Hmm. Yes, I decided, as good but not better. Better than a grapefruit? You know what, no, not better than a nice peeled grapefruit. And definitely not better than a ripe banana or a good plum.<br />
<br />
So now I know--the goodness of a Cadbury egg fits somewhere between ham and a grapefruit. Not something to crave or feel deprived without, actually, but a nice personal splurge to mark a segment of the holiday calendar.<br />
<br />
Do you fear eating neolithic treats in case you might binge? You might be surprised to find that if you really pay attention to the taste on your tongue, it's not that big a deal--and if you later detect brain cravings for more, remind yourself that your daily mix of foods includes items every bit as good or better and go take a walk or something.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7192707970601212997.post-69793424371799102522012-04-06T15:19:00.001-07:002012-04-06T15:52:59.081-07:00A Different Kind of Feast ...<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>"<span style="font-family: Georgia;">When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste." Laiko
Bahrs</span></em></span><br />
<br />
While practicing for maintenance by pretending not to be obsessed with food, tee hee, I've been thinking of holiday feasts and feasting in general. What do you think of when the words splurge or feast come up? <br />
<br />
When I ate SAD (Standard American Diet) I thought of huge Thanksgiving spreads with 3-5 kinds of pie, or Christmas baked goods and candies or Easter chocolates and peeps. Although I gradually ate less and less of those things over the course of the last year I still thought of them as the gold standards of festive eating.<br />
<br />
But today I ate a feast that included none of those things. I went shopping the other day so I have the maximum inventory of fresh produce. Yesterday I had a large, beautiful, leafy salad and lots of lamb, but today I wanted a different kind of feast. <br />
<br />
I lined a baking sheet with foil and spread a nice layer of slushy coconut oil, to which I added generous pats of Kerrygold butter. I had 2 mildly-wrinkly rutabagas that I peeled and sliced, along with a nice yellow summer squash. Three nice beets, peeled and sliced, added sweet flavor and spectacular color to 1/2 head of cauliflower divided into large florets.<br />
<br />
I folded foil over the veggies and baked them at 350F for 30 minutes, then flipped them over and re-covered them for about 25 minutes with fresh basil and chives added to "flavor" the steam. For the final 25 minute session, I just stirred the veggies and left the foil open.<br />
<br />
The rutabaga slices were slightly chewy, so on a future batch I'd probably give them 15 minutes on their own before adding the others which were all PERFECT, by which I mean barely cooked but not yet soft. A sprinkle of salt and I dived in:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSs32_Z39Q-qllE6GIFKA9SAFDRZCjcWmMnIGjdFVa4EcDyrB3KS59lXJNCN-liVRTd2mzQCeSFc-tBv81Kc12PH4qm3jW_0F1vhkQ-oiblQ8BgwvSCiGiZ8Hlox47cst5aDhg9bHw6JY/s1600/Veggies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSs32_Z39Q-qllE6GIFKA9SAFDRZCjcWmMnIGjdFVa4EcDyrB3KS59lXJNCN-liVRTd2mzQCeSFc-tBv81Kc12PH4qm3jW_0F1vhkQ-oiblQ8BgwvSCiGiZ8Hlox47cst5aDhg9bHw6JY/s320/Veggies.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rutabaga, yellow squash, beets and cauliflower with basil, chives and salt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Okay, I hear your thoughts. "Vegetables? She baked vegetables and she's calling it a feast? What's up with that?"<br />
<br />
But it WAS a feast. I usually include one fresh-cooked vegetable in my main meal--occasionally 2--but having generous quantities of four definitely felt a level above and was a delight to my senses. And that's my point today: we define what a feast is and how often to have one. On this particular day a four-vegetable baked dish was a guilt-free feast (which doesn't change the fact that I'm planning to have a Cadbury egg on Sunday.)<br />
<br />
I challenge YOU to go beyond cooking dinner and mix some whole foods into a feast. You'll feel better for it, I promise.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The pleasure of
junk food lasts until it slides down your throat: the pleasure of good health
manifests itself 24/7 in better sleep, less pain, greater mental clarity and
capacity, and greater physical ability.</i>” J Stanton – gnolls.org</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17072293473653277191noreply@blogger.com0