Dr. Perlutter created a mini-firestorm when, right before his book launch, he stated that Alzheimer's disease is a choice.
So, he's the guy who wrote Grain Brain, and is running all over the place with his interviews and videos. I guess the book is doing well, though I haven't read it yet.
By now, most readers of this here blog have heard of Alzheimer's disease characterized as "type 3 diabetes". Perlmutter would have you believing that if you eat bread, you are choosing to raise your blood sugar, and that raise will cause diabetes, and also the 3rd kind.
Trouble is, though we have a few ideas as to what can minimize the effects or symptoms of types 1 and 2 diabetes, and now Perlmutter says also type 3, we really don't know what causes diabetes. So, how can it really be a choice?
I know several women who ate "healthy" diets before and through pregnancy and then, BAM!, gestational diabetes. Yep, they chose that. Right back when Eve ate the apple. Women have been paying for that with gestional diabetes ever since. These women chose to be mothers, not choosing diabetes or Alzheimers. Sorry Dr. Perlmutter.
I did try an experiment or two with progesterone cream. The really weird thing about the cream is that after a dab or two, I had a seemingly normal response to carbs. I could handle exercise without exhaustion. I could handle heat without wilting. I slept!!! When I ate carbs, I acted like a normal person. Like, I ate them, and then I got full and I didn't want to eat anymore. (I know, in what universe has THAT happened before???) It even reminded me during my early 40's when things were starting to get out of whack for me hormonally. I would go pretty crazy during the high-progesterone days, until I realized that I had boundless energy and capacity for exercise. I crammed lots of exercise in during those days, and got fast times, long endurance, and felt better. I had a good weight and good glucose control, too.
And I thought, "Hey, this Woo-person is soooo wrong!" A couple of weeks on higher levels of progesterone and I thought to myself, hey not so fast! I had settled into eating more carbs regularly, and soon had weight gain, zits and more skin tags. Now I am even more careful with progesterone. If I am eating more carbs than usual, or even planning to, I stay off the cream.
Here's an interesting paper. Perhaps there is another use for the morning after pill?
I was waiting for Perlmutter to clarify his incendiary statement, but he never did. Perhaps after a pregnancy or when he finishes menopause, he will reconsider.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
Start Etching the Tombstone
Yep. The results are in. You-all regulars readers of this here blog probably remember what my doc said awhile back. Hey, low carb is OK for weight loss, but after two years I'll start getting the risk factors for heart disease.
Of course, we all know a risk factor isn't a risk, and a risk factor isn't even a disease. But I don't even have risk factors! After 3 years of low (or lowish, some days) carb, my doc might be surprised that I am not coming into the office for chest pains. Here's what a few blood tests are currently showing.
Total cholesterol 174
Triglycerides 70
HDL 69
LDL calculated 91
Cholesterol/HDL ratio 2.5
Cholesterol, non-HDL 105
My total cholesterol continues to go down from its peak at the start of my low-carb journey.
My triglycerides were higher than the last time, but still less than half what they were 25 years ago when I was eating a "clean" heathywholegrains vegetarian diet and running 35 miles a week.
My HDL went down slightly from the peak in 2012, but it is still about double what I had measured 25 years ago.
My LDL calculation continues to decrease from the recent peak in 2009. (I don't remember what it was 25 years ago, but it was probably low since my total cholesterol was in the 130's.)
My Chol/HDL ratio is a "healthy" 2.5. My more meaningful Trig/HDL ratio is one. (Twenty-five years ago, this ratio was around 5!)
The non-HDL cholesterol reading is new, so I have nothing to compare. Who knows if that is a good number or not.
This morning I enjoyed a tiny amount of sweet potato strips cooked with undrained bacon and greens. Then I had a couple of eggs cooked in butter. I washed all that down with a mug of joe and real full-fat cream. For lunch, I enjoyed salmon with mayonnaise and basil, pork rinds with sour cream (don't worry, doc, it was low-fat sour cream I bought by mistake), a tiny fig and a full-cream iced coffee. Arterycloggingfersure. The numbers tell all.
Of course, we all know a risk factor isn't a risk, and a risk factor isn't even a disease. But I don't even have risk factors! After 3 years of low (or lowish, some days) carb, my doc might be surprised that I am not coming into the office for chest pains. Here's what a few blood tests are currently showing.
Total cholesterol 174
Triglycerides 70
HDL 69
LDL calculated 91
Cholesterol/HDL ratio 2.5
Cholesterol, non-HDL 105
My total cholesterol continues to go down from its peak at the start of my low-carb journey.
My triglycerides were higher than the last time, but still less than half what they were 25 years ago when I was eating a "clean" heathywholegrains vegetarian diet and running 35 miles a week.
My HDL went down slightly from the peak in 2012, but it is still about double what I had measured 25 years ago.
My LDL calculation continues to decrease from the recent peak in 2009. (I don't remember what it was 25 years ago, but it was probably low since my total cholesterol was in the 130's.)
My Chol/HDL ratio is a "healthy" 2.5. My more meaningful Trig/HDL ratio is one. (Twenty-five years ago, this ratio was around 5!)
The non-HDL cholesterol reading is new, so I have nothing to compare. Who knows if that is a good number or not.
This morning I enjoyed a tiny amount of sweet potato strips cooked with undrained bacon and greens. Then I had a couple of eggs cooked in butter. I washed all that down with a mug of joe and real full-fat cream. For lunch, I enjoyed salmon with mayonnaise and basil, pork rinds with sour cream (don't worry, doc, it was low-fat sour cream I bought by mistake), a tiny fig and a full-cream iced coffee. Arterycloggingfersure. The numbers tell all.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
OK, so I actually read it
A "friend" gave me a copy of Dr. Atkins' latest low carb book. It was last updated in 2002. This is the first time I actually read it.
While I was well-versed in the basics of the diet, I was pleasantly surprised at all the other content. It is certainly NOT what the RD's have been making it out to be. Surely, as diet professionals, they have had over a decade to get and read this book.
There were (gasp!) vegetables in there. And pleas to take yer vitamins, do moderate exercise, take yer fiber if you need it. Truly, it wasn't gluttony and sloth. He said, hey, take it easy on the artificial sweeteners and "bars".
I was mostly surprised at the fairly long chapter on stalls. He had many suggestions and reasons for stalls, suggestions that I thought had been discovered much more recently. Yep. Stuff like cheese and nuts and hormones.
I think that complaining about how stupid Atkins is by the RD's, is the best marker of professional stupidity around. If all you can say about Atkins is that while you are on it, you will die with your last bad breath, well then yer an effin' idiot. Rant over.
While I was well-versed in the basics of the diet, I was pleasantly surprised at all the other content. It is certainly NOT what the RD's have been making it out to be. Surely, as diet professionals, they have had over a decade to get and read this book.
There were (gasp!) vegetables in there. And pleas to take yer vitamins, do moderate exercise, take yer fiber if you need it. Truly, it wasn't gluttony and sloth. He said, hey, take it easy on the artificial sweeteners and "bars".
I was mostly surprised at the fairly long chapter on stalls. He had many suggestions and reasons for stalls, suggestions that I thought had been discovered much more recently. Yep. Stuff like cheese and nuts and hormones.
I think that complaining about how stupid Atkins is by the RD's, is the best marker of professional stupidity around. If all you can say about Atkins is that while you are on it, you will die with your last bad breath, well then yer an effin' idiot. Rant over.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
My Vegan Friends
Hey, my friends are nice people, mostly. They love animals, and the planet. Or, they are allergic to meat.
And then, there is Dr. MacDougall. Well, based on his interview with Jimmy ("what is your authority") Moore, he is certainly not in it for the spiritual reasons. He represents all that is wrong with our medical and nutrition professions. He has no authority.
When I first started listening, it sounded like an exchange at a typical holiday dinner around here, except after someone yells out,
"Atkins diet KILLS PEOPLE!!!! I saw a study!!!!!!" and then everything settles down and someone offers a piece of pie.
At the last dinner, I met a new vegan. We were talking about diet and I mentioned that I used to be vegan but now am pretty much the opposite. She had an interesting response, unlike our Dr. MacDougall (who has ALL this DATA showing that Atkins KILLS people!!!!!!).
"Hey, everyone is different."
Cool.
And then, there is Dr. MacDougall. Well, based on his interview with Jimmy ("what is your authority") Moore, he is certainly not in it for the spiritual reasons. He represents all that is wrong with our medical and nutrition professions. He has no authority.
When I first started listening, it sounded like an exchange at a typical holiday dinner around here, except after someone yells out,
"Atkins diet KILLS PEOPLE!!!! I saw a study!!!!!!" and then everything settles down and someone offers a piece of pie.
At the last dinner, I met a new vegan. We were talking about diet and I mentioned that I used to be vegan but now am pretty much the opposite. She had an interesting response, unlike our Dr. MacDougall (who has ALL this DATA showing that Atkins KILLS people!!!!!!).
"Hey, everyone is different."
Cool.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
I unfriended another vegan this weekend
I am pretty slow to cut people off, I think, but it just got too much to deal with. She's not really a good friend, just someone I run into here and there and we chat. We used to have more in common when I was a vegetarian. Since then, diet discussions have been made off limits. Forget politics, even though we share similar views on most points. Oh, and Atkins is dead and he died fat and with heart disease because that is what she read on the internet.
I have seen her go ballistic with other people, too, including her very sick, footless diabetic friend, and decided that I had just had enough.
I remembered Peter Dee's post with his link to a youtube video concerning vitamin B12. I think many of the symptoms fit her to a T. Then I felt a little bit more compassion for her illness until I caught myself. It has always been her choice.
Maybe it is not B12, maybe it is protein. Another friend did some yardwork for her once, and she said, "Hey, I'll buy you lunch." When lunchtime came around, she went to the store and bought a granola bar and a Diet Coke. Poor thing! (I mean the gardener!)
I have seen her go ballistic with other people, too, including her very sick, footless diabetic friend, and decided that I had just had enough.
I remembered Peter Dee's post with his link to a youtube video concerning vitamin B12. I think many of the symptoms fit her to a T. Then I felt a little bit more compassion for her illness until I caught myself. It has always been her choice.
Maybe it is not B12, maybe it is protein. Another friend did some yardwork for her once, and she said, "Hey, I'll buy you lunch." When lunchtime came around, she went to the store and bought a granola bar and a Diet Coke. Poor thing! (I mean the gardener!)
Under Construction
I have wanted to say so many things since Our Mister Moore leaked out a few youtube teasers with his interview with Dick MacDougall, but I didn't even know where to start. This topic warrants a whole series.
Here's the short part.
I followed the MacDougall diet religiously for as long as I could stand it. I got fatter, and felt miserable.
Warning: listening and watching this is like watching a train wreck with an entire load of fingernails crashing into another train head-on, carrying a load of blackboards. Just do the ole'NLP trick, put the podcast in a frame, turn it into "black and white", and move it away in your mind during the scary parts. This will make the podcast seem less like one of my famous holiday get-togethers.
Here's the short part.
I followed the MacDougall diet religiously for as long as I could stand it. I got fatter, and felt miserable.
Warning: listening and watching this is like watching a train wreck with an entire load of fingernails crashing into another train head-on, carrying a load of blackboards. Just do the ole'NLP trick, put the podcast in a frame, turn it into "black and white", and move it away in your mind during the scary parts. This will make the podcast seem less like one of my famous holiday get-togethers.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Another reason not to eat wheat?
Hey, I'm not really into food disparagement, but really, what is happening with the GMO scene in this country?
Before he got elected, Obama promised to take positive action on the GMO issue, but he's been a steady supporter of the companies who are trying to ram GMO's down our throats and make us like it.
By now, most have heard about the GMO wheat found on an Oregon farm. This whole story is troubling for several reasons.
First of all, does this mean that GMO's are not contained like they were promised? Surprise. Surprise. Agriculture was already suspect in Oregon, due to all the testing that has been going on there. That's why I select and grow out my own beet and swiss chard seeds. Their pollen travels so far that I fear that every seed-producing plot around that area is probably already contaminated with GMO pollen.
Second, there are many countries who have insisted on no-GMO's, and today we just heard loud and clear from Japan. I think other countries will follow.
Third, this is so bad for the farmer's. I don't eat much wheat myself, but I always have thought it is OK for everyone else to make their own food choices. These Oregon farmers', whose trade organization has rejected GMO wheat, are now stuck with the consequences. Now, ideally, I would like to see them switch to farming that is more integrated with livestock, and to start growing forage crops like with "grass-fed" cattle eat. But they have a problem there, too. Many of the alternative crops are also GMO, in fact, wheat was pretty much the last holdout.
Here's a recent story.
(BTW, my take on GMO's is that they should be more carefully reviewed before release. The technique alters proteins in unexpected ways, which can produce toxins and allergies. Earlier I had assumed, like the researchers told me, that proteins are broken down by the animals who eat them. Now I know that this is not true, and that gut bacteria can assimilate the protein easily, and then propagate it. Even though I avoid eating GMO protein, I am sure my garden compost, and the microbes that live there, are contaminated. Oh well.)
Before he got elected, Obama promised to take positive action on the GMO issue, but he's been a steady supporter of the companies who are trying to ram GMO's down our throats and make us like it.
By now, most have heard about the GMO wheat found on an Oregon farm. This whole story is troubling for several reasons.
First of all, does this mean that GMO's are not contained like they were promised? Surprise. Surprise. Agriculture was already suspect in Oregon, due to all the testing that has been going on there. That's why I select and grow out my own beet and swiss chard seeds. Their pollen travels so far that I fear that every seed-producing plot around that area is probably already contaminated with GMO pollen.
Second, there are many countries who have insisted on no-GMO's, and today we just heard loud and clear from Japan. I think other countries will follow.
Third, this is so bad for the farmer's. I don't eat much wheat myself, but I always have thought it is OK for everyone else to make their own food choices. These Oregon farmers', whose trade organization has rejected GMO wheat, are now stuck with the consequences. Now, ideally, I would like to see them switch to farming that is more integrated with livestock, and to start growing forage crops like with "grass-fed" cattle eat. But they have a problem there, too. Many of the alternative crops are also GMO, in fact, wheat was pretty much the last holdout.
Here's a recent story.
(BTW, my take on GMO's is that they should be more carefully reviewed before release. The technique alters proteins in unexpected ways, which can produce toxins and allergies. Earlier I had assumed, like the researchers told me, that proteins are broken down by the animals who eat them. Now I know that this is not true, and that gut bacteria can assimilate the protein easily, and then propagate it. Even though I avoid eating GMO protein, I am sure my garden compost, and the microbes that live there, are contaminated. Oh well.)
Friday, May 17, 2013
It's time to smash myPlate
Hi readers! Y'all know by now that I am not a big fan of MyPlate, and that My Plate usually is a bowl, and filled with some meat and probably more than half the volume (at least before cooking!) of my home-grown organic veggies. Nuts and dairy and fruit are usually off to the side, much farther away, like in a snack at a different time of the day.
Hey, get a load of this picture of the Kardashians tossing plates. I guess they were stamped with the USDA's terrible-two-year-old MyPlate. While they were in Greece, I sure hope they enjoyed a REAL Mediterranean diet. I was going to fix the format, but I kind of like the way it spills all over the page, do you?
Here's the plate video. Don't they all look smashing? (Here's the link.) Or, you can wait until the TV show features it.
(Check out the myplate category on the side for my earlier plate-y posts.)
http://www.splashnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/spl534698_034-wm900.jpg
Hey, get a load of this picture of the Kardashians tossing plates. I guess they were stamped with the USDA's terrible-two-year-old MyPlate. While they were in Greece, I sure hope they enjoyed a REAL Mediterranean diet. I was going to fix the format, but I kind of like the way it spills all over the page, do you?
Here's the plate video. Don't they all look smashing? (Here's the link.) Or, you can wait until the TV show features it.
(Check out the myplate category on the side for my earlier plate-y posts.)
http://www.splashnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/spl534698_034-wm900.jpg
Thursday, May 16, 2013
I just want to set the record straight
There is so much backlash regarding grain-free or paleo diets. I just wanted to tell the world here, those who say it is lots of bacon and everything....
I haven't had bacon for around 6 weeks, I guess? My local store no longer carries bacon ends, and the other store has the ends in a large package that doesn't keep well enough before I can use it all. I don't have any more bacon fat in the fridge, either.
So, what's with the full-scale attack on grain-free diets? Is it some vast grain conspiracy? The dietitians seem to be out in full force, making some of us look foolish, faddish, whatever. How is that working for your credibility as a profession?
I have been cooking with more butter lately, both because the grass-fed stuff has been on sale and also in arterycloggingsaturatedfat-"solid"-arity with those poor kids in NYC who are denied it.
Oh wait! I had some bacon bits on a salad when we went out to eat recently. Made it edible, in fact, made it tasty.
I haven't had bacon for around 6 weeks, I guess? My local store no longer carries bacon ends, and the other store has the ends in a large package that doesn't keep well enough before I can use it all. I don't have any more bacon fat in the fridge, either.
So, what's with the full-scale attack on grain-free diets? Is it some vast grain conspiracy? The dietitians seem to be out in full force, making some of us look foolish, faddish, whatever. How is that working for your credibility as a profession?
I have been cooking with more butter lately, both because the grass-fed stuff has been on sale and also in arterycloggingsaturatedfat-"solid"-arity with those poor kids in NYC who are denied it.
Oh wait! I had some bacon bits on a salad when we went out to eat recently. Made it edible, in fact, made it tasty.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Who Got Ancel Keys' office?
Oh, I don't know who got it either, but I got somethin' better.
This REALLY COOL THING that happened today.
I had been feeling out of sorts lately at the local Sunday potluck, since it has gone so much towards vegetarian/vegan. Earlier I spoke about the demonization of butter, and how coconut oil is the new star.
Maybe it was my speech, or maybe just chance, but a few friendly people joined me at the dinner table, and we continued the discussion regarding butter-as-evil. Then one guy said something I really didn't expect to hear in polite company:
"We really don't know all that much about nutrition, do we?" Well, I sure could agree with that. People tried to recall the exact time (and what they were eating) when butter was declared B-A-D. Then my friend offered another tidbit.
"Do you know Ancel Keys?"
I replied that I did know him. Well.....I didn't really know him. I had read some of his work, and many of the critiques.
"Did you REALLY know him?" I asked.
"Yes I did, in fact, I shared an office with him." He went on to explain that they used to share lots of the data, and years after Keys' first papers on arterycloggingsaturatedfat, long-term data started coming in that didn't match the theory.
Keys said, "Based on what these people are eating, they should be dead by now." He couldn't figure it out.
Of course, many were still alive. These old folks were eating BAD stuff, probably some of that evil butter. Keys admitted that he had come to the conclusion that his theory was wrong.
"What were these people eating that was supposed to make them dead? Sat fat? Lots of eggs?" I asked.
"Yes, lots of eggs and fat. At first we tried to explain it away by saying that some people were hanging on longer because lots of the fat-eaters must have died so early."
There were lots of rationalizations. My friend and I talked about our theories as to why all the rationalizations, and will be the subject of another blog post. I wanted to know why the about-face wasn't made public.
"Well, it was a professional reputation issue," my friend continued. "This was in the late 80's." I guess at the time, people weren't allowed to have another opinion on the matter.
My how times have changed! Or have they?
(Here's the information that spurred the thoughts on butter. I thought, HUH? Have I been punked? Is this from the Onion?)
This REALLY COOL THING that happened today.
I had been feeling out of sorts lately at the local Sunday potluck, since it has gone so much towards vegetarian/vegan. Earlier I spoke about the demonization of butter, and how coconut oil is the new star.
Maybe it was my speech, or maybe just chance, but a few friendly people joined me at the dinner table, and we continued the discussion regarding butter-as-evil. Then one guy said something I really didn't expect to hear in polite company:
"We really don't know all that much about nutrition, do we?" Well, I sure could agree with that. People tried to recall the exact time (and what they were eating) when butter was declared B-A-D. Then my friend offered another tidbit.
"Do you know Ancel Keys?"
I replied that I did know him. Well.....I didn't really know him. I had read some of his work, and many of the critiques.
"Did you REALLY know him?" I asked.
"Yes I did, in fact, I shared an office with him." He went on to explain that they used to share lots of the data, and years after Keys' first papers on arterycloggingsaturatedfat, long-term data started coming in that didn't match the theory.
Keys said, "Based on what these people are eating, they should be dead by now." He couldn't figure it out.
Of course, many were still alive. These old folks were eating BAD stuff, probably some of that evil butter. Keys admitted that he had come to the conclusion that his theory was wrong.
"What were these people eating that was supposed to make them dead? Sat fat? Lots of eggs?" I asked.
"Yes, lots of eggs and fat. At first we tried to explain it away by saying that some people were hanging on longer because lots of the fat-eaters must have died so early."
There were lots of rationalizations. My friend and I talked about our theories as to why all the rationalizations, and will be the subject of another blog post. I wanted to know why the about-face wasn't made public.
"Well, it was a professional reputation issue," my friend continued. "This was in the late 80's." I guess at the time, people weren't allowed to have another opinion on the matter.
My how times have changed! Or have they?
(Here's the information that spurred the thoughts on butter. I thought, HUH? Have I been punked? Is this from the Onion?)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Paleo on $84.88 a month day 30 - Done!
I finished the last challenge day by finishing odds and ends.
For breakfast, I had the usual greens and eggs, with some of the container of grass-fed beef that I had put in the freezer (containing lots of leeks and fennel) and beets and half a grapefruit from trader Delta.
Lunch was a stir-fry of greens, the last of the mushrooms and chicken. I also enjoyed beet juice with lemon, and a dab of pineapple guava jam from trader Rebekah.
For dinner, I enjoyed the other half of the grapefruit, chicken cooked in butter, a soup made with meat broth, fennel, leek and celery, nuts from trader Dean, beets, a can of smoked oysters and and eggs cooked in beef fat with greens and feta cheese from trader Felix.
I bought a can of smoked oysters for a dollar, leaving me with $15.12 in the kitty. I still have tons of food: purchased chicken and a kitchen full of lemons, oranges, tangerines and kumquats.
This challenge was much more fun than last year, probably because I got to know of more places in town that hold quick sales. Within the year, a new dollar-type store came to town, and I was able to enjoy a few more luxuries like liver sausage, sardines, oysters and eggs at a much better price than before. It also helped that a trading partner moved across the country a few weeks before starting the challenge and left me with a couple of bags of pantry and fridge stuff. There was lots of crap in the bag, too, but you didn't hear about it until now. I took all the pasta and bean soup to a local community center, and then threw out (I mean composted) the inedibles like the 20-year-old spices and the rancid snacks. But I did have several kinds of vinegars, pickles, sauces and sugars at my disposal, and that helped with variety. It also helped that I started a seasonal volunteering gig mid-challenge, and they sure did come through with some wonderful food and some really great coffee. (And a wonderful time, I might add. I will certainly be helping them out next time!)
I get so so tired of hearing how a paleo diet is unattainable financially. Sure, it is more expensive than the beans and rice diet I used to follow. But I really doubt that eating paleo for 84-some dollars a month is three times what a vast majority of vegetarians and SAD-eaters pay for their food, with the required soy analogs and packaged necessities.
Some friends were complaining about the price of bread, and of having to pay more than $5 for the loaves that they enjoy, and then having to waste it when they made a sandwich for a visitor and they wouldn't eat the bread. Mock meats and bags of salad greens are also really expensive, as is almost any type of fruit. So, I really saved some bucks by not having to purchase 3-5 pieces of exotic fruit every day. I was fine on just my locally-sourced and home-grown citrus, and the few berries and freezer jam I came across.
Today, I thought I would jump out of bed, go to the kitchen and scarf down a sweet potato or some cheese. But instead, I made my normal breakfast with the last of the grass-fed beef, and forgot about the other foods. Could I do this forever? It certainly is a pain to cook "my food" and "their food" at home, and to keep track of everything, but I think it is certainly doable.
Thank you for reading!
For breakfast, I had the usual greens and eggs, with some of the container of grass-fed beef that I had put in the freezer (containing lots of leeks and fennel) and beets and half a grapefruit from trader Delta.
Lunch was a stir-fry of greens, the last of the mushrooms and chicken. I also enjoyed beet juice with lemon, and a dab of pineapple guava jam from trader Rebekah.
For dinner, I enjoyed the other half of the grapefruit, chicken cooked in butter, a soup made with meat broth, fennel, leek and celery, nuts from trader Dean, beets, a can of smoked oysters and and eggs cooked in beef fat with greens and feta cheese from trader Felix.
I bought a can of smoked oysters for a dollar, leaving me with $15.12 in the kitty. I still have tons of food: purchased chicken and a kitchen full of lemons, oranges, tangerines and kumquats.
This challenge was much more fun than last year, probably because I got to know of more places in town that hold quick sales. Within the year, a new dollar-type store came to town, and I was able to enjoy a few more luxuries like liver sausage, sardines, oysters and eggs at a much better price than before. It also helped that a trading partner moved across the country a few weeks before starting the challenge and left me with a couple of bags of pantry and fridge stuff. There was lots of crap in the bag, too, but you didn't hear about it until now. I took all the pasta and bean soup to a local community center, and then threw out (I mean composted) the inedibles like the 20-year-old spices and the rancid snacks. But I did have several kinds of vinegars, pickles, sauces and sugars at my disposal, and that helped with variety. It also helped that I started a seasonal volunteering gig mid-challenge, and they sure did come through with some wonderful food and some really great coffee. (And a wonderful time, I might add. I will certainly be helping them out next time!)
I get so so tired of hearing how a paleo diet is unattainable financially. Sure, it is more expensive than the beans and rice diet I used to follow. But I really doubt that eating paleo for 84-some dollars a month is three times what a vast majority of vegetarians and SAD-eaters pay for their food, with the required soy analogs and packaged necessities.
Some friends were complaining about the price of bread, and of having to pay more than $5 for the loaves that they enjoy, and then having to waste it when they made a sandwich for a visitor and they wouldn't eat the bread. Mock meats and bags of salad greens are also really expensive, as is almost any type of fruit. So, I really saved some bucks by not having to purchase 3-5 pieces of exotic fruit every day. I was fine on just my locally-sourced and home-grown citrus, and the few berries and freezer jam I came across.
Today, I thought I would jump out of bed, go to the kitchen and scarf down a sweet potato or some cheese. But instead, I made my normal breakfast with the last of the grass-fed beef, and forgot about the other foods. Could I do this forever? It certainly is a pain to cook "my food" and "their food" at home, and to keep track of everything, but I think it is certainly doable.
Thank you for reading!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month - day 29 - yes, Virginia, I can eat blueberries, avocados and eggs on the same day
I should have taken a photo of my garden basket today, as it would have looked better than the finest farm-to-table article in any fancy wine magazine. I had blueberries. I had strawberries. I had potatoes. I had fave beans. I had beets. I had baby onions. I had artichokes. And of course, the usual greens, fennel and lemon balm.
I am harvesting and drying the lemon balm in earnest, especially after a trading partner asked for another container. She said she would even go in on a dehydrator, because the lemon balm was so important and helpful for her family. I probably gave her about $100 worth of dried lemon balm this season, that is, if she had to buy it on the open market as packaged tea.
Today's breakfast was the usual, along with grapefruit from trader Eta. While commenting to my family that I might even run out of lemons, I ran into a lemon bonanza from traders Humberto and Delta, and so have plenty. Delta also gave me several giant grapefruit, so there won't be any vitamin C deficiencies here for awhile.
Lunch was cold chicken burgers with pickles and feta cheese from trader Felix, beet and lemon juice, nuts from trader Dean, kumquats, blueberries, strawberries and the other half of the avocado. I also finished the last of the olives and the last tangerine from trader Humberto.
Dinner was chicken, fava, potato, leeks, greens, beets, artichokes and nuts from trader Dean. Oh, and kumquats. I also finished the last of the buffalo, with pickles. Dinner took a long time, because so many of the food selections for the day needed the pressure cooker or extra preparation.
A vegetarian friend send me a link to the "archaeological scientist" with vegetarian leanings. I must say, she should stick to something she knows, maybe like science or or maybe archaeology, because she sure is effin' clueless about real food. Her talk is also a great illustration of how there is no good review process for choosing TEDx lecturers.
She made some crack about the stupid paleos who think they are OK with eating a meal of eggs, blueberries and avocado, when EVERYBODY KNOWS that blueberries all come from Maine and there aren't any avocados there. Hey paleo peeps, I would like you to make this post viral. I DID eat real-time eggs, avocados and blueberries on the same day. It is not hard to do. Millions of people in SoCal can do this all through February to May, that is, if they can source that many local eggs. This is the time of the year where backyard farmers are selling their excess eggs, their blueberry plants are bursting at the seams, and the avocados are ready. Yep, fully available for one in ten people in the US in February, and more and more, as the blueberry harvest gets in full swing all the way up the coast.
Maybe she was spending so much time in the scientific lab studying ancient animal scat to notice that avocados do not ripen until they are removed from the tree, resulting in an extremely long season, and the ability of long-distance transport. Even by food, the avocados could reach over 100 miles away from the orchard no problem.
No food purchases today, leaving me with $18.42 in the kitty.
I am harvesting and drying the lemon balm in earnest, especially after a trading partner asked for another container. She said she would even go in on a dehydrator, because the lemon balm was so important and helpful for her family. I probably gave her about $100 worth of dried lemon balm this season, that is, if she had to buy it on the open market as packaged tea.
Today's breakfast was the usual, along with grapefruit from trader Eta. While commenting to my family that I might even run out of lemons, I ran into a lemon bonanza from traders Humberto and Delta, and so have plenty. Delta also gave me several giant grapefruit, so there won't be any vitamin C deficiencies here for awhile.
Lunch was cold chicken burgers with pickles and feta cheese from trader Felix, beet and lemon juice, nuts from trader Dean, kumquats, blueberries, strawberries and the other half of the avocado. I also finished the last of the olives and the last tangerine from trader Humberto.
Dinner was chicken, fava, potato, leeks, greens, beets, artichokes and nuts from trader Dean. Oh, and kumquats. I also finished the last of the buffalo, with pickles. Dinner took a long time, because so many of the food selections for the day needed the pressure cooker or extra preparation.
A vegetarian friend send me a link to the "archaeological scientist" with vegetarian leanings. I must say, she should stick to something she knows, maybe like science or or maybe archaeology, because she sure is effin' clueless about real food. Her talk is also a great illustration of how there is no good review process for choosing TEDx lecturers.
She made some crack about the stupid paleos who think they are OK with eating a meal of eggs, blueberries and avocado, when EVERYBODY KNOWS that blueberries all come from Maine and there aren't any avocados there. Hey paleo peeps, I would like you to make this post viral. I DID eat real-time eggs, avocados and blueberries on the same day. It is not hard to do. Millions of people in SoCal can do this all through February to May, that is, if they can source that many local eggs. This is the time of the year where backyard farmers are selling their excess eggs, their blueberry plants are bursting at the seams, and the avocados are ready. Yep, fully available for one in ten people in the US in February, and more and more, as the blueberry harvest gets in full swing all the way up the coast.
Maybe she was spending so much time in the scientific lab studying ancient animal scat to notice that avocados do not ripen until they are removed from the tree, resulting in an extremely long season, and the ability of long-distance transport. Even by food, the avocados could reach over 100 miles away from the orchard no problem.
No food purchases today, leaving me with $18.42 in the kitty.
Paleo on $100 a month - day 28 - Going Nuts!
Now that I am winding down with this challenge, I am trying to use up what I have instead of buying more items. This means that breakfast was the usual eggs, with kale from trader Gamma, and some baby buffalo burgers for breakfast, with tea from trader Olga and kumquats from trader Rebekah.
Lunch was a handful of nuts from trader Epsilon. MMM, the good kind I don't even let myself buy when I am not on a challenge. It looked like most people at the meeting were following a low fat diet, and no one else was enjoying them, so I grabbed another handful. Trader Eta also brought in a bowl of avocadoes. I also had an afternoon snack of buffalo burgers with lettuce, feta cheese from trader Felix and yogurt with lemon.
I planned to buy some sale pork, but it was max pack only, so I would have had to save it for Wednesday, or dip even further into the kitty. As it turned out, the pork was SO CHEAP that it turned out to be only pennies more than the chicken. I found a container of boneless skinless chicken breasts (not really my fave food now that I am a fat-burner) and marinated them in lemon and olive juice. The lemons were from trader Delta.
Dinner was a bowl of chicken cooked in butter, greens, fennel, leek, hot pepper and zucchini, served with beet and lemon juice. I'll have to say, I outdid myself. The dish was beautiful so I made more of it for later. I also ate half the avocado and saved the rest for Monday. (Please stay tuned to THAT story!!!!)
I had another nut snack in the evening, courtesy of trader Dean.
I bought the chicken for $4.12, leaving me with $15.21 in the kitty.
Lunch was a handful of nuts from trader Epsilon. MMM, the good kind I don't even let myself buy when I am not on a challenge. It looked like most people at the meeting were following a low fat diet, and no one else was enjoying them, so I grabbed another handful. Trader Eta also brought in a bowl of avocadoes. I also had an afternoon snack of buffalo burgers with lettuce, feta cheese from trader Felix and yogurt with lemon.
I planned to buy some sale pork, but it was max pack only, so I would have had to save it for Wednesday, or dip even further into the kitty. As it turned out, the pork was SO CHEAP that it turned out to be only pennies more than the chicken. I found a container of boneless skinless chicken breasts (not really my fave food now that I am a fat-burner) and marinated them in lemon and olive juice. The lemons were from trader Delta.
Dinner was a bowl of chicken cooked in butter, greens, fennel, leek, hot pepper and zucchini, served with beet and lemon juice. I'll have to say, I outdid myself. The dish was beautiful so I made more of it for later. I also ate half the avocado and saved the rest for Monday. (Please stay tuned to THAT story!!!!)
I had another nut snack in the evening, courtesy of trader Dean.
I bought the chicken for $4.12, leaving me with $15.21 in the kitty.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 27 - kumquats!
Hey, day 27 I just coasted, eating the usual breakfast of eggs, greens, beet juice, tea from trader Olga, and a couple of buffalo burger bites.
I snacked on blueberries in the garden, and then on purslane and strawberries. I could have enjoyed more. Then I ran into trading partner Rebekah, who offered me a huge bowl of kumquats. We exchanged recipes, and then I ate a few of them without the benefit of any type of recipe.
I continued to snack on them all day long. I put a couple in the yogurt I had for lunch, a few slices in the buffalo lettuce wraps, even a bit of the juice in my beet drink.
Oh, I love getting seasonal gifts, and now, to work! Those buggers are small and there are lots of seeds.
No purchases today, so there is 16.12 in the kitty. Dinner out (entertainment budget, dear readers, and yes, we were entertained!)
I snacked on blueberries in the garden, and then on purslane and strawberries. I could have enjoyed more. Then I ran into trading partner Rebekah, who offered me a huge bowl of kumquats. We exchanged recipes, and then I ate a few of them without the benefit of any type of recipe.
I continued to snack on them all day long. I put a couple in the yogurt I had for lunch, a few slices in the buffalo lettuce wraps, even a bit of the juice in my beet drink.
Oh, I love getting seasonal gifts, and now, to work! Those buggers are small and there are lots of seeds.
No purchases today, so there is 16.12 in the kitty. Dinner out (entertainment budget, dear readers, and yes, we were entertained!)
Paleo on $100 a month day 26 - Buffalo Stampede
I lucked out at the supermarket today! I found a few packages of veal for a very low price, and started digging down for what ever else was down in the pile.
Yes! A pound of buffalo for only $2.99. When I got it home I realized it was beyond the sell-by date, and probably was frozen even though the package said it was fresh. Well, I am not going to turn this violation into the meat authorities, because when I opened the package, it smelled fine.
Of course, I made more dehydrated-zucchini-and-olive-brine hamburgers, and ate them with sauteed leeks, kale from trader Gamma, feta cheese from trader Felix, wrapped in lettuce. This time I made a ton of mini-burgers so that I could eat a whole plate of them. And, that's just what I did.
I also ate the rest of the scallops, with mushroom, leek and fennel, along with eggs, for breakfast, with the usual fresh juices. For lunch, I enjoyed more blueberries, but the strawberries were all eaten by pests, so no strawberries today. Dinner included more of the mini-burgers, yogurt with lemon and a pinch of sugar from one of my traders, fresh roasted butternut squash, two artichokes, a few olives and a couple of pea pods from trader Beta.
Today's purchases: buffalo for $2.99, yogurt for $1.00, eggs for $1.00, leaving me with 12.91 in the kitty.
Yes! A pound of buffalo for only $2.99. When I got it home I realized it was beyond the sell-by date, and probably was frozen even though the package said it was fresh. Well, I am not going to turn this violation into the meat authorities, because when I opened the package, it smelled fine.
Of course, I made more dehydrated-zucchini-and-olive-brine hamburgers, and ate them with sauteed leeks, kale from trader Gamma, feta cheese from trader Felix, wrapped in lettuce. This time I made a ton of mini-burgers so that I could eat a whole plate of them. And, that's just what I did.
I also ate the rest of the scallops, with mushroom, leek and fennel, along with eggs, for breakfast, with the usual fresh juices. For lunch, I enjoyed more blueberries, but the strawberries were all eaten by pests, so no strawberries today. Dinner included more of the mini-burgers, yogurt with lemon and a pinch of sugar from one of my traders, fresh roasted butternut squash, two artichokes, a few olives and a couple of pea pods from trader Beta.
Today's purchases: buffalo for $2.99, yogurt for $1.00, eggs for $1.00, leaving me with 12.91 in the kitty.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 25 - Splurge!!!!!!
This week, I have been pretty happy with my food choices, always managing to hit a sale or two at just the right time. Due to all the frugality, I was able to save up enough in the kitty in case something interesting came along.
Yes, yes it did! I found a huge package of scallops and mushrooms, and I also picked up another package of Kerry Gold butter. (Sorry to break it to you, Steve Cooksey, but I got the same slab for half the price that you did!!!)
Breakfast: eggs, turkey sausage, fennel, tea from trader Olga.
Lunch: coffee and turkey sausage from trader Ingrid, blueberries, beet juice, vegetable broth, tangerines from trader Humberto, scallops cooked with mushrooms and butter, then more butter.
Dinner: Leeks, fennel, feta cheese from trader Felix, greens cooked in beef fat, scallops and mushrooms cooked in butter, then even more butter.
Evening snack: almonds from trader Dean. (And how about that full moon?)
There is only $14.69 left in the kitty, but there are only 5 more days left on the challenge and I still have beef in the freezer.
Yes, yes it did! I found a huge package of scallops and mushrooms, and I also picked up another package of Kerry Gold butter. (Sorry to break it to you, Steve Cooksey, but I got the same slab for half the price that you did!!!)
Breakfast: eggs, turkey sausage, fennel, tea from trader Olga.
Lunch: coffee and turkey sausage from trader Ingrid, blueberries, beet juice, vegetable broth, tangerines from trader Humberto, scallops cooked with mushrooms and butter, then more butter.
Dinner: Leeks, fennel, feta cheese from trader Felix, greens cooked in beef fat, scallops and mushrooms cooked in butter, then even more butter.
Evening snack: almonds from trader Dean. (And how about that full moon?)
There is only $14.69 left in the kitty, but there are only 5 more days left on the challenge and I still have beef in the freezer.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month days 23 and 24 - Deep seasonality
This week marks the beginning of the blueberry season, and also the first fava beans. Some of the lettuces are bolting, but the romaine is still going strong.
For Tuesday's breakfast, I ate chicken and eggs with greens, coffee from trader Van and a tangerine from trader Humberto.
I found a really great deal on chicken sausage and so I cooked it with greens, and also had bone broth, herb tea, black tea from trader Olga, strawberries, blueberries and beet juice.
For dinner, I had beef, sauteed leeks and fennel and more chicken sausage served with lettuce, olives, fava beans and feta cheese from trader Felix and "chocolate" milk made with cocoa from trader Felix.
For Wednesday's breakfast, I had chicken sausage with eggs and greens and tea from trader Olga.
For lunch, I opened up a pouch of hot-sauce-laden sardines, which were much more appetizing when heated slightly. I also had some coffee and an apple-fritter-thing from trader Gabrielle.
For dinner, I had another chicken sausage cooked with purple cabbage and celery, tangerine and lemon from trader Humberto, some lamb and veggie broth, feta cheese, olives, butter, tea, beet juice, lettuce and purslane. That wasn't really lots of protein for the day, so I finished up with a chocolat-y shake made with hemp powder from trader Jerry, cocoa from trader Felix and cream.
The chicken sausage was two dollars and the sardines were 70 cents. I still have $27.16 in the kitty.
For Tuesday's breakfast, I ate chicken and eggs with greens, coffee from trader Van and a tangerine from trader Humberto.
I found a really great deal on chicken sausage and so I cooked it with greens, and also had bone broth, herb tea, black tea from trader Olga, strawberries, blueberries and beet juice.
For dinner, I had beef, sauteed leeks and fennel and more chicken sausage served with lettuce, olives, fava beans and feta cheese from trader Felix and "chocolate" milk made with cocoa from trader Felix.
For Wednesday's breakfast, I had chicken sausage with eggs and greens and tea from trader Olga.
For lunch, I opened up a pouch of hot-sauce-laden sardines, which were much more appetizing when heated slightly. I also had some coffee and an apple-fritter-thing from trader Gabrielle.
For dinner, I had another chicken sausage cooked with purple cabbage and celery, tangerine and lemon from trader Humberto, some lamb and veggie broth, feta cheese, olives, butter, tea, beet juice, lettuce and purslane. That wasn't really lots of protein for the day, so I finished up with a chocolat-y shake made with hemp powder from trader Jerry, cocoa from trader Felix and cream.
The chicken sausage was two dollars and the sardines were 70 cents. I still have $27.16 in the kitty.
Paleo on $100 a month day 22 - We're just a bunch of porkers
For breakfast I enjoyed the usual greens, eggs and this time chicken cooked with fennel and leek, and a tangerine from trader Humberto.
For lunch I enjoyed some coffee and chicken salad from trader Ingrid, beet juice, chocolate mint tea, strawberries and blueberries fresh from the garden and some nasturtium blossoms.
For dinner, I ate the whole package of pork sausage, cooked with leek, fennel and peas from trader Beta, "chocolate" milk made with chocolate mint tea, heavy cream and sugar from trader Felix.
I spent 99 cents on the pork, and so have $23.44 in the kitty.
For lunch I enjoyed some coffee and chicken salad from trader Ingrid, beet juice, chocolate mint tea, strawberries and blueberries fresh from the garden and some nasturtium blossoms.
For dinner, I ate the whole package of pork sausage, cooked with leek, fennel and peas from trader Beta, "chocolate" milk made with chocolate mint tea, heavy cream and sugar from trader Felix.
I spent 99 cents on the pork, and so have $23.44 in the kitty.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 21 - The 3 C's
Hmmm, not so paleo today, trouble with the 3-C's again. I went to a potluck. The "menu" was full of Carbs, Corn and Canola.
I am going to have to re-think my potluck strategy. We used to have attendees who thought someone would starve, so they brought several dishes, enough for each person for each dish. Those folks don't attend regularly anymore, and the place seems to be taken over by vegetarians and carbaholics. Some of the meat-eaters started bringing their own dishes, from fast food places, but they weren't sharing. (I wouldn't want to eat crusted, fried meat anyway.) One thing we can all agree on: putting aspartame in milk without a label is BAD.
I brought a cucumber salad made with the persian cucumbers I purchased, red shiso, olives and rice vinegar from trader Felix. Nobody ate much of it.
We also had berries and whipped cream, cornbread, lentils, salad and a custard dessert made with rosewater. Carbfest for sure.
When I got in, I tore into the leftover braunschweiger and cheese, and finished most of it.
The rest of the day was just leftovers and grazing from the garden, no new purchases today.
I am going to have to re-think my potluck strategy. We used to have attendees who thought someone would starve, so they brought several dishes, enough for each person for each dish. Those folks don't attend regularly anymore, and the place seems to be taken over by vegetarians and carbaholics. Some of the meat-eaters started bringing their own dishes, from fast food places, but they weren't sharing. (I wouldn't want to eat crusted, fried meat anyway.) One thing we can all agree on: putting aspartame in milk without a label is BAD.
I brought a cucumber salad made with the persian cucumbers I purchased, red shiso, olives and rice vinegar from trader Felix. Nobody ate much of it.
We also had berries and whipped cream, cornbread, lentils, salad and a custard dessert made with rosewater. Carbfest for sure.
When I got in, I tore into the leftover braunschweiger and cheese, and finished most of it.
The rest of the day was just leftovers and grazing from the garden, no new purchases today.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month days 19 and 20 - lamb burgers
I finally made it to the store to get a bit more variety. I bought more eggs (great sale!), some cheese, braunschweiger, cream and Persian cucumbers. I toyed with the idea of buying brie, but ended up with a cheaper cheddar block. I also found some cooked "fresh" mussels on quicksale, but the package was HUGE and I didn't want to risk it. I haven't ever eaten them in this form before.
I have $18.01 in the kitty. OK, time for the macadamia nuts? Not so fast. The butter is running out.
For my meals, I finished up the bean soup and sugar-free Jello from trader Humberto, had lunchtime coffee from traders Ingrid and Jerry, enjoyed morning tea from trader Olga, oranges from trader Noel, tangerines and lemons from trader Humberto. I made lots of tea, mostly lemon balm, mint medley and chocolate mint. Of course, nasturtium blossoms and purslane for lunch.
The bone broth turned out really well, so I have that for breakfast too.
The huge treat for both days was the lamb. I made burgers with lots of dehydrated zucchini and pepper, olive brine, and a ton of greek oregano. I ate them wrapped with cheese in large leaves of lettuce. Then I couldn't stop eating them!
I ran into a trading partner on my shopping trip, and that is always a nice treat. She yelled, "Hey! Thanks for the fennel, it was wonderful."
I have $18.01 in the kitty. OK, time for the macadamia nuts? Not so fast. The butter is running out.
For my meals, I finished up the bean soup and sugar-free Jello from trader Humberto, had lunchtime coffee from traders Ingrid and Jerry, enjoyed morning tea from trader Olga, oranges from trader Noel, tangerines and lemons from trader Humberto. I made lots of tea, mostly lemon balm, mint medley and chocolate mint. Of course, nasturtium blossoms and purslane for lunch.
The bone broth turned out really well, so I have that for breakfast too.
The huge treat for both days was the lamb. I made burgers with lots of dehydrated zucchini and pepper, olive brine, and a ton of greek oregano. I ate them wrapped with cheese in large leaves of lettuce. Then I couldn't stop eating them!
I ran into a trading partner on my shopping trip, and that is always a nice treat. She yelled, "Hey! Thanks for the fennel, it was wonderful."
Friday, April 19, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 18 - What would Grok do?
Well...when the going gets tough, Grok would head for the freezer, and tucked behind all the animal skins and bear grease he had frozen before he got caught up on all the tanning he'd been planning to do after Christmas, there's some other stuff. Stuff that will free him from the boredom and monotony that an early-spring, deeply seasonal diet affords.
I dug past my own sale liver, ham bone, multiple ice packs, bits of beef fat and rendered this and that, searching for something else. Yes! I found variety somewhere under there, and even after removing a few packages of food-put-by, I still had trouble getting the door closed. I found some jerusalem artichoke puree and some applesauce, made with apples from trader Rebekah. And I savored each bite of the applesauce, knowing that trader Rebekah cut down the apple trees and this will be the last year to enjoy them.
I cleaned the fridge yesterday. Now that it is mostly empty, every little crumb or spill is really bothersome. That's when I found the forgotten cabbage. It was my own, and small, but put aside when I received a gift cabbage that needed to be rushed into the ER immediately. It is still in great shape after over a month in the fridge and should make everyone wonder how old that stuff is in the store that we buy as "fresh".
Today's menu
Breakfast: coffee from trader Gabrielle, the last of the pork, fennel, tangerine and green tea from trader Humberto.
Lunch: bean soup, beef, sugar-free jello from trader Humberto, purslane, nasturtium blossoms, parsley, turkey with onion, fennel, pepper and jerusalem artichoke, iced herb tea, iced green tea, beet and lemon juice.
Dinner: artichoke from trader Alpha, beef, apple sauce, purple cabbage, leek, olives, bone broth with lettuce and celery
I bought some more ground lamb for $2.99 and I have 18.27 left in the kitty.
I dug past my own sale liver, ham bone, multiple ice packs, bits of beef fat and rendered this and that, searching for something else. Yes! I found variety somewhere under there, and even after removing a few packages of food-put-by, I still had trouble getting the door closed. I found some jerusalem artichoke puree and some applesauce, made with apples from trader Rebekah. And I savored each bite of the applesauce, knowing that trader Rebekah cut down the apple trees and this will be the last year to enjoy them.
I cleaned the fridge yesterday. Now that it is mostly empty, every little crumb or spill is really bothersome. That's when I found the forgotten cabbage. It was my own, and small, but put aside when I received a gift cabbage that needed to be rushed into the ER immediately. It is still in great shape after over a month in the fridge and should make everyone wonder how old that stuff is in the store that we buy as "fresh".
Today's menu
Breakfast: coffee from trader Gabrielle, the last of the pork, fennel, tangerine and green tea from trader Humberto.
Lunch: bean soup, beef, sugar-free jello from trader Humberto, purslane, nasturtium blossoms, parsley, turkey with onion, fennel, pepper and jerusalem artichoke, iced herb tea, iced green tea, beet and lemon juice.
Dinner: artichoke from trader Alpha, beef, apple sauce, purple cabbage, leek, olives, bone broth with lettuce and celery
I bought some more ground lamb for $2.99 and I have 18.27 left in the kitty.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month - day 17 - citrus!
Today was the same as most weekdays. I ate some leftover meat for breakfast, enjoyed some coffee from trader Gabrielle, and stayed away from the free donuts.
For lunch, I had the usual purslane and nasturtium blossoms, with bean soup, herb tea and some wonderful tangerines from trader Humberto. They are a bit dry and seedy, but very sweet. There is no way they can be eaten quickly for that sugar rush, since they need to be peeled, all the strings pulled off, and then each section deseeded. The original slow food.
For dinner I ate more beef and pork, a tangerine, lemon balm tea with lemon, beet juice, olives, potato pancakes cooked in butter, and a bowl of lettuce soup.
Lettuce soup you say? I tried this after seeing cooked lettuce at an Asian eatery. I just heated up some beef broth, added plenty of oregano and summer savory, and then the bottom half of the lettuce leaf, shredded. I also added in bits of pork.
No purchases today, so there is $18.05 left in the kitty.
For lunch, I had the usual purslane and nasturtium blossoms, with bean soup, herb tea and some wonderful tangerines from trader Humberto. They are a bit dry and seedy, but very sweet. There is no way they can be eaten quickly for that sugar rush, since they need to be peeled, all the strings pulled off, and then each section deseeded. The original slow food.
For dinner I ate more beef and pork, a tangerine, lemon balm tea with lemon, beet juice, olives, potato pancakes cooked in butter, and a bowl of lettuce soup.
Lettuce soup you say? I tried this after seeing cooked lettuce at an Asian eatery. I just heated up some beef broth, added plenty of oregano and summer savory, and then the bottom half of the lettuce leaf, shredded. I also added in bits of pork.
No purchases today, so there is $18.05 left in the kitty.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 16 - I'm very bored
The cherries are gone, but the blueberries aren't ready yet. There are just a few blackberry blossoms, so it will be awhile. Meanwhile, all I will get from the veggie garden this week is chard, fennel, onion, beets and lettuce, and the lettuce is about to bolt. Today I will pick a bunch of it and throw it in the fridge so I can enjoy it for another week. Hopefully that will put off bolting for another few days, while the predicted heat wave blows over.
Snails ate virtually all of my seedlings, but there is one lone yellow zucchini plant. All the new cucumbers, winter squash and gourds will have to be replanted and then will be late. Sigh. I might have to break down and actually buy a vegetable.
The good news is that I finally found some poultry on sale. This year's challenge is weird in that there seems to be so much sale beef, and I am getting tired of the same old same old. The turkey package was 2.07, leaving me with $14.84 in the kitty.
Today's meals
Breakfast: swiss chard, eggs and ground beef with enchilada sauce from trader Humberto, coffee from trader Gabrielle.
Lunch: nasturtium blossoms, purslane, beef with fennel and onion, beet and lemon juice, chocolate coconut milk from trader Felix; coffee, cheese and a bite of turkey roll-up from trader Ingrid. Green drink made from celery, shiso, mint and lemon.
Dinner: liverwurst (yea, I froze it), bean soup, turkey cooked with onion, fennel, hot pepper and summer savory; beet and lemon juice from trader Gabrielle, butter, bread and butter pickles from trader Felix, potato pancakes made with egg and a mix from trader Felix, cooked in pork fat.
Snails ate virtually all of my seedlings, but there is one lone yellow zucchini plant. All the new cucumbers, winter squash and gourds will have to be replanted and then will be late. Sigh. I might have to break down and actually buy a vegetable.
The good news is that I finally found some poultry on sale. This year's challenge is weird in that there seems to be so much sale beef, and I am getting tired of the same old same old. The turkey package was 2.07, leaving me with $14.84 in the kitty.
Today's meals
Breakfast: swiss chard, eggs and ground beef with enchilada sauce from trader Humberto, coffee from trader Gabrielle.
Lunch: nasturtium blossoms, purslane, beef with fennel and onion, beet and lemon juice, chocolate coconut milk from trader Felix; coffee, cheese and a bite of turkey roll-up from trader Ingrid. Green drink made from celery, shiso, mint and lemon.
Dinner: liverwurst (yea, I froze it), bean soup, turkey cooked with onion, fennel, hot pepper and summer savory; beet and lemon juice from trader Gabrielle, butter, bread and butter pickles from trader Felix, potato pancakes made with egg and a mix from trader Felix, cooked in pork fat.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month - day 15 ups and downs
Today's plan went pretty well, and then not so hot. I started out with the potluck coffee, with the usual eggs and greens cooked in butter.
I had even more coffee from trader Gabrielle, and then couldn't pass up the donuts either. I did pick one with cinnamon, quipping that cinnamon helps reduce the incidence of diabetes. Some non-careful listeners were taken in by my argument.
I just have to find a way to pass on the donuts. It is so hard when I have to walk by them all the time and they call out to me. Earlier it has been a bite or two, or a donut hole, but today it was a full-fledged pastry.
For lunch I had nasturtium blossoms, coffee, salad and trek mix from trader Ingrid and some bean soup and the last of the herb tea made yesterday.
The REALLY GOOD THING that happened today is that I found some organic grass-fed ground beef on sale. This was especially nice to find after my weekend phone call turned up only boutique prices for local beef. The quick-sale beef was $3.99 a package, so I snapped up three of them. This compares to the $8 a pound from the other place.
The store had about a half-dozen packages. I should have gotten more, but I don't have room in the freezer.
For dinner, I had BEEF, cooked with the last of the enchilada sauce from trader Humberto, leeks, fennel, oregano and celery, a huge artichoke from trader Alpha, butter, coconut milk with chocolate powder from trader Felix, a tangerine from trader Pablo and some winter squash with even more butter.
The grass-fed beef was $8.97, so I have only $13.70 left in the kitty. However, I am doing well, with some liverwurst in the freezer, several servings of pork, a half dozen eggs, almost two sticks of butter and almost half a can of olives.
I had even more coffee from trader Gabrielle, and then couldn't pass up the donuts either. I did pick one with cinnamon, quipping that cinnamon helps reduce the incidence of diabetes. Some non-careful listeners were taken in by my argument.
I just have to find a way to pass on the donuts. It is so hard when I have to walk by them all the time and they call out to me. Earlier it has been a bite or two, or a donut hole, but today it was a full-fledged pastry.
For lunch I had nasturtium blossoms, coffee, salad and trek mix from trader Ingrid and some bean soup and the last of the herb tea made yesterday.
The REALLY GOOD THING that happened today is that I found some organic grass-fed ground beef on sale. This was especially nice to find after my weekend phone call turned up only boutique prices for local beef. The quick-sale beef was $3.99 a package, so I snapped up three of them. This compares to the $8 a pound from the other place.
The store had about a half-dozen packages. I should have gotten more, but I don't have room in the freezer.
For dinner, I had BEEF, cooked with the last of the enchilada sauce from trader Humberto, leeks, fennel, oregano and celery, a huge artichoke from trader Alpha, butter, coconut milk with chocolate powder from trader Felix, a tangerine from trader Pablo and some winter squash with even more butter.
The grass-fed beef was $8.97, so I have only $13.70 left in the kitty. However, I am doing well, with some liverwurst in the freezer, several servings of pork, a half dozen eggs, almost two sticks of butter and almost half a can of olives.
Paleo on $100 a month day 14 - Are these Vegetarian times?
Sunday was potluck day, and unfortunately, lots of people attending were vegetarians and worse yet, vegans, which meant that there was a dearth of protein and even fat. Since I was one of the first in line, I did snag some half and half for my coffee and a couple slices of cheese, but the rest of it was carby, wheaty or had mostly salad greens in it. There wasn't even any butter to be found anywhere (except in my dish, of course!) I took a huge container of swiss chard cooked in butter and a container of herb tea with citrus from my trees from trader Noel and honey from trader Felix.
The chard was immediately devoured but the tea went untouched, probably because of all the competition from the sugary fruit drinks.
I came home hungry for protein and so raided the fridge for more beef ribs and pork and a small package of protein powder from trader Jerry. I also steamed three artichokes and enjoyed the tea I had prepared earlier, along with extra beet juice, 4 salty olives and some butter. Breakfast was just more leftovers with tea from trader Olga. It sure was nice to have the free-trade coffee. I poured another mug and then my ride announced that we were leaving immediately. Good for me I had my trusty thermos!
The vegans seemed malnourished and righteous. The food issue at these potlucks has been contentious for awhile, with the ethical vegans insisting that "flesh" not be served for anyone. For a time, some folks refused to comply with the request. (The vote to keep it all vegan didn't pass so the measure died and the ban was voluntary.) I started bringing lots and lots of garden veggies to these events, since most people don't bring enough food for everyone who attends and I always have tons of greens. This time it was all vegetarian, which wouldn't be all that bad for a meal if there was some protein besides hummus.
No purchases today, so I have $19.46 left in the kitty.
The chard was immediately devoured but the tea went untouched, probably because of all the competition from the sugary fruit drinks.
I came home hungry for protein and so raided the fridge for more beef ribs and pork and a small package of protein powder from trader Jerry. I also steamed three artichokes and enjoyed the tea I had prepared earlier, along with extra beet juice, 4 salty olives and some butter. Breakfast was just more leftovers with tea from trader Olga. It sure was nice to have the free-trade coffee. I poured another mug and then my ride announced that we were leaving immediately. Good for me I had my trusty thermos!
The vegans seemed malnourished and righteous. The food issue at these potlucks has been contentious for awhile, with the ethical vegans insisting that "flesh" not be served for anyone. For a time, some folks refused to comply with the request. (The vote to keep it all vegan didn't pass so the measure died and the ban was voluntary.) I started bringing lots and lots of garden veggies to these events, since most people don't bring enough food for everyone who attends and I always have tons of greens. This time it was all vegetarian, which wouldn't be all that bad for a meal if there was some protein besides hummus.
No purchases today, so I have $19.46 left in the kitty.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month - day 13 - back to reality
The reality is, cheap food is hard to get and hard to grow. I spent much of the morning in the garden, putting up a couple of trellises salvaged from damaged patio umbrellas, and killing the snails that have been taking up residence all winter long underneath them.
Oh, I am just too tired to get out the camera and take a picture of it all. Besides, I ate much of it, and the rest is in the fridge for tomorrow.
For breakfast, I enjoyed the last of the leftover coffee from trader Pablo, greens and eggs cooked in pork fat. For some reason, this didn't fill me up, so I had a whey shake mix from trader Jerry mixed with some coconut milk from trader Felix and my own strawberries.
Today's garden haul consisted of a boatload of swiss chard, a pile of fennel bulbs and several artichokes. I could have harvested more herbs, but I won't be cooking today and I am tired of throwing them out. The parsley is starting to look sad, and the rabbits ate my reserve plants. So, now that the cow has gotten out, I am going to go outside and close the barn door, and put a better screen on the parsley plant.
For lunch, I ate more ribs, nasturtium flowers, strawberries, winter squash and lemonade. I also ate a bit of the liverwurst, even though the package says to eat or freeze by the 11th. I am going to live dangerously and leave a little bit for tomorrow, too.
No purchases today, so there is $16.25 left in the kitty.
I chatted for awhile with the grass-fed beef distributor I was introduced to yesterday. He was lots of fun, but pretty much out of my price range. It is just a bit less than WF, and even he said I could do better if I did mail-order through some of the other farms in NorCal. They can jack up the prices here because there is so much demand for local food and the volume is so low. I am not about to pay boutique prices, challenge or not. Besides, he never has hamburger, that goes fast. He did mention a good source of grass-fed marrow bones, which I will follow up on after the challenge.
Oh, I am just too tired to get out the camera and take a picture of it all. Besides, I ate much of it, and the rest is in the fridge for tomorrow.
For breakfast, I enjoyed the last of the leftover coffee from trader Pablo, greens and eggs cooked in pork fat. For some reason, this didn't fill me up, so I had a whey shake mix from trader Jerry mixed with some coconut milk from trader Felix and my own strawberries.
Today's garden haul consisted of a boatload of swiss chard, a pile of fennel bulbs and several artichokes. I could have harvested more herbs, but I won't be cooking today and I am tired of throwing them out. The parsley is starting to look sad, and the rabbits ate my reserve plants. So, now that the cow has gotten out, I am going to go outside and close the barn door, and put a better screen on the parsley plant.
For lunch, I ate more ribs, nasturtium flowers, strawberries, winter squash and lemonade. I also ate a bit of the liverwurst, even though the package says to eat or freeze by the 11th. I am going to live dangerously and leave a little bit for tomorrow, too.
No purchases today, so there is $16.25 left in the kitty.
I chatted for awhile with the grass-fed beef distributor I was introduced to yesterday. He was lots of fun, but pretty much out of my price range. It is just a bit less than WF, and even he said I could do better if I did mail-order through some of the other farms in NorCal. They can jack up the prices here because there is so much demand for local food and the volume is so low. I am not about to pay boutique prices, challenge or not. Besides, he never has hamburger, that goes fast. He did mention a good source of grass-fed marrow bones, which I will follow up on after the challenge.
Paleo on $100 a month day 12 - Food Reward Friday
I was a good day in paleo-land. I met my first IRL paleo pal (not counting those at AHS11, as that was deliberate) and got a source for local grass-fed beef.
The day continued with generosity from trader Pablo, with a nice breakfast of chicken salad, coffee and a corn chip.
I enjoyed a lunch with trader Noel. It started with a salad topped with garbanzo beans and avocado. There was some really great hard cheese, hummus topped with lemon, and home-made bread with butter. I washed it all down with a diet coke from trader Pablo.
Well, that's the end of the ton of free food, now that a big project is winding down. This weekend, I'll be returning back to reality.
For dinner, I enjoyed leftover beef ribs and pork, greens cooked in meat fat, lettuce straight from the garden, beet and lemon juice and a couple of licks off a lollipop from trader Wendy.
No purchases today, so I have $13.04 left in the kitty.
The day continued with generosity from trader Pablo, with a nice breakfast of chicken salad, coffee and a corn chip.
I enjoyed a lunch with trader Noel. It started with a salad topped with garbanzo beans and avocado. There was some really great hard cheese, hummus topped with lemon, and home-made bread with butter. I washed it all down with a diet coke from trader Pablo.
Well, that's the end of the ton of free food, now that a big project is winding down. This weekend, I'll be returning back to reality.
For dinner, I enjoyed leftover beef ribs and pork, greens cooked in meat fat, lettuce straight from the garden, beet and lemon juice and a couple of licks off a lollipop from trader Wendy.
No purchases today, so I have $13.04 left in the kitty.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 11 - this will kill me
Day 11 brought more trades with a trading partner, so for breakfast, I ate more roast beef, with a really sad, sad salad, some cheesecake and coffee from trader Pablo. After all that, I had to work it off, so took a nice mid-morning walk in the open space. I would have taken off my shoes except for the rattlesnake warning signs.
For lunch, I enjoyed beef, chicken, mashed potatoes and salad courtesy of trader Pablo, and some diet soda and a brownie. I'm waaay too high on the aimed-for carb count for the day, but the desserts were worth it! The food looked like this.
Afternoon snack: green drink with celery, lemon and orange juice. The oranges were from trader Noel.
It was a light dinner, with some beef ribs, the last of the bone broth and lettuce.
Beef! Its what's for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. I can feel my TMAO rising as I type this last sentence. Hope I make it to the end.
For lunch, I enjoyed beef, chicken, mashed potatoes and salad courtesy of trader Pablo, and some diet soda and a brownie. I'm waaay too high on the aimed-for carb count for the day, but the desserts were worth it! The food looked like this.
Afternoon snack: green drink with celery, lemon and orange juice. The oranges were from trader Noel.
It was a light dinner, with some beef ribs, the last of the bone broth and lettuce.
Beef! Its what's for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. I can feel my TMAO rising as I type this last sentence. Hope I make it to the end.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 10 - I threw something away!
Hey free food! Who wants to waste anything?
I drank a cup of bone broth before I dashed out early. Pre-breakfast?
Today I was determined to limit the wheat. I enjoyed breakfast courtesy of trader Pablo. There were leftover cut-up giant roast beef sandwiches in the fridge, probably due to the overabundance of vegetarians there the day before, who knows? I rescued the roast beef and threw away the bread. Truth be told, it is pretty easy to throw away bread on an old sandwich. It was smashed and soggy, pink with the meat juices. Anybody else would do it.
I put gobs of roast beef on a salad and topped it with a bit of grated cheese and the dressing. Coffee, too, and one tortilla chip. Later I had more coffee from Gabrielle, and cheese and a piece of turkey roll-up from trader Ingrid. I avoided the brownies, trays of donuts, several giant packages of cinnamon rolls, the several packages of blueberry bagels, the diet Coke, the sugary Sprite, and the rest of a very huge bag of tortilla chips.
Lunch was some leftover pork, lemon balm tea, bone broth, purslane, nasturtium flowers, beet juice and some lemon.
Dinner was the last of the lamb, cooked with kale from trader Alpha and a few olives. I also had lettuce, purslane, and a beef rib. Oh, and one strawberry. Well, I have blown past all the hurricane names with all my trading partners, now onto the Greek alphabet. Thank goodness Alpha came through with the kale, because I am a bit tired of swiss chard.
After the beefy breakfast, I was ready for something else, but nothing else was on sale. I guess there was a glut of beef after the latest beef-kills-you-"study". No glut of chicken. The Authorities have declared chicken to be a perfect food. Economical. Healthy. Eco-friendly. Oh well.
The package of ribs cost $4.11. I have $6.62 left over.
I drank a cup of bone broth before I dashed out early. Pre-breakfast?
Today I was determined to limit the wheat. I enjoyed breakfast courtesy of trader Pablo. There were leftover cut-up giant roast beef sandwiches in the fridge, probably due to the overabundance of vegetarians there the day before, who knows? I rescued the roast beef and threw away the bread. Truth be told, it is pretty easy to throw away bread on an old sandwich. It was smashed and soggy, pink with the meat juices. Anybody else would do it.
I put gobs of roast beef on a salad and topped it with a bit of grated cheese and the dressing. Coffee, too, and one tortilla chip. Later I had more coffee from Gabrielle, and cheese and a piece of turkey roll-up from trader Ingrid. I avoided the brownies, trays of donuts, several giant packages of cinnamon rolls, the several packages of blueberry bagels, the diet Coke, the sugary Sprite, and the rest of a very huge bag of tortilla chips.
Lunch was some leftover pork, lemon balm tea, bone broth, purslane, nasturtium flowers, beet juice and some lemon.
Dinner was the last of the lamb, cooked with kale from trader Alpha and a few olives. I also had lettuce, purslane, and a beef rib. Oh, and one strawberry. Well, I have blown past all the hurricane names with all my trading partners, now onto the Greek alphabet. Thank goodness Alpha came through with the kale, because I am a bit tired of swiss chard.
After the beefy breakfast, I was ready for something else, but nothing else was on sale. I guess there was a glut of beef after the latest beef-kills-you-"study". No glut of chicken. The Authorities have declared chicken to be a perfect food. Economical. Healthy. Eco-friendly. Oh well.
The package of ribs cost $4.11. I have $6.62 left over.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 9 - Too busy
Today was a whirlwind, with plenty to do and no time to eat. No problem.
Breakfast: leftover lamb (with the cooked fennel and greens Yay!) and enchilada sauce from trader Humberto, lettuce, parsley.
Snacks: coffee from trader Van
Lunch: small lollipop. I know this sounds terrible, but it took me about a half hour to eat, so it provided a slow release of sugar and actually kept me full until I obtained another free snack.
Snack: purslane, nasturtium flowers, coffee and cheese from trader Ingrid.
Dinner: bone broth, lettuce, liverwurst, eggs, swiss chard, chocolate coconut milk from trader Felix, bean soup, even more ham!, strawberries, winter squash with butter, and sugar from trader Felix, lemon balm tea with lemon from trader Humberto.
I did shop a bit, but could not find much I wanted that fit my budget. This is because I was running late on all my appointments and the quick sale items were gone by the time I could get in there. Nothing spent, and $7.52 is left in the kitty. I did pass by a store that I don't go to all that frequently, but they have a nice price on cheese. I couldn't remember how much was in the kitty and didn't think I had enough. It turns out that I did have enough, but it is just as well that I didn't buy the cheese. I tend to eat too much of it, and like cashews, it is an expensive item that I would just fritter away in a meal or so.
Lettuce seems to be my go-to snack food. Just dash out the door and grab some leaves.
Breakfast: leftover lamb (with the cooked fennel and greens Yay!) and enchilada sauce from trader Humberto, lettuce, parsley.
Snacks: coffee from trader Van
Lunch: small lollipop. I know this sounds terrible, but it took me about a half hour to eat, so it provided a slow release of sugar and actually kept me full until I obtained another free snack.
Snack: purslane, nasturtium flowers, coffee and cheese from trader Ingrid.
Dinner: bone broth, lettuce, liverwurst, eggs, swiss chard, chocolate coconut milk from trader Felix, bean soup, even more ham!, strawberries, winter squash with butter, and sugar from trader Felix, lemon balm tea with lemon from trader Humberto.
I did shop a bit, but could not find much I wanted that fit my budget. This is because I was running late on all my appointments and the quick sale items were gone by the time I could get in there. Nothing spent, and $7.52 is left in the kitty. I did pass by a store that I don't go to all that frequently, but they have a nice price on cheese. I couldn't remember how much was in the kitty and didn't think I had enough. It turns out that I did have enough, but it is just as well that I didn't buy the cheese. I tend to eat too much of it, and like cashews, it is an expensive item that I would just fritter away in a meal or so.
Lettuce seems to be my go-to snack food. Just dash out the door and grab some leaves.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 8 - the perils of free food
Not a good day, paleowise. Various "free" wheaty things crept in. I guess they are not really free. I'll probably pay. The potatoes are gone. I ate the small taters, about 4 or 5 the size of grapes. Someone else got the large tater, and also ate most of my banana. Now you would think that putting a store-supplied "do not cross" tape over the banana would do the trick, but someone just cut some off the other end. Sigh.
Some traders really came through for me this time, and at the last minute. I never divulge their identity. But here is a clue on how to do this. If one of your friends says they are moving across the country, ask, "How can I help?" without making them sound like you want them to leave. Big payoff here.
Breakfast: tater tot with butter, and then strawberries, coffee, cole slaw, turkey sandwich, brownie bite from trader Pablo
Morning snack: part of a donut from trader Gabrielle and some coffee from trader Jerry.
Lunch: eggs with ham and chard, coconut chocolate-y milk from trader Felix, liverwurst, lemon balm tea
Dinner: bean soup, pork with enchilada sauce from trader Humberto, 4 more olives, the final tater tots, the last of the banana.
I have already seen a huge price spike this month. I could not get the eggs for a dollar, so I got 18 eggs for 2 dollars. I got a piece of pork roast for 3.78, leaving me $4.31 in the kitty.
Here's what is left. Half a pound of lamb, a chunk of liverwurst (shared it with the cat), a pile of cook pork, over half a can of olives, at least two sticks of butter and 18 eggs. I still haven't gotten any grass-fed beef. The store I frequent did have some in stock, and even some on sale, but it didn't look good and they still wanted $6.99 a pound for it. I had planned to use more canned seafood during the challenge, but I just haven't had a taste for it lately.
Some traders really came through for me this time, and at the last minute. I never divulge their identity. But here is a clue on how to do this. If one of your friends says they are moving across the country, ask, "How can I help?" without making them sound like you want them to leave. Big payoff here.
Breakfast: tater tot with butter, and then strawberries, coffee, cole slaw, turkey sandwich, brownie bite from trader Pablo
Morning snack: part of a donut from trader Gabrielle and some coffee from trader Jerry.
Lunch: eggs with ham and chard, coconut chocolate-y milk from trader Felix, liverwurst, lemon balm tea
Dinner: bean soup, pork with enchilada sauce from trader Humberto, 4 more olives, the final tater tots, the last of the banana.
I have already seen a huge price spike this month. I could not get the eggs for a dollar, so I got 18 eggs for 2 dollars. I got a piece of pork roast for 3.78, leaving me $4.31 in the kitty.
Here's what is left. Half a pound of lamb, a chunk of liverwurst (shared it with the cat), a pile of cook pork, over half a can of olives, at least two sticks of butter and 18 eggs. I still haven't gotten any grass-fed beef. The store I frequent did have some in stock, and even some on sale, but it didn't look good and they still wanted $6.99 a pound for it. I had planned to use more canned seafood during the challenge, but I just haven't had a taste for it lately.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day 7 - More tater tots
Today was a beautiful day so I spent quite a bit of time in the garden. While cleaning up and getting ready for squash planting, I came across some potato plants that were damaged in the frost. I pulled one up and found that there were several potatoes there, along with a dozen mini potatoes about the size of peanut M&M's. I replanted the tiniest tubers, but took out a handful of the others.
I made another batch of bean soup for this week.
Yesterday's egg purchase didn't happen, since the store was out of eggs. I found a sale on hamburgers, for only $2.99 a pound. One burger set me back $1.47 along with the bag credit. I also bought two packages of liverwurst for a dollar each. I did not purchase any additional items today, so I have $6.87 in the kitty.
Here's the food fare for the weekend:
Saturday lunch: hamburger with pickles from trader Felix, a huge plate of lettuce and some strawberries.
Saturday dinner: went out to eat (this is in the entertainment budget)
Sunday breakfast: Jerusalem artichokes from trader Tanya, with ham and parsley. I had some leftover coffee from trader Pablo, beet juice mixed with lime from trader Rebekah, and a mug of bone broth.
Sunday lunch: potluck
Sunday dinner: liverwurst, lettuce, leftover lamb, strawberries, lemon balm tea with lemon, butter
I made another batch of bean soup for this week.
Yesterday's egg purchase didn't happen, since the store was out of eggs. I found a sale on hamburgers, for only $2.99 a pound. One burger set me back $1.47 along with the bag credit. I also bought two packages of liverwurst for a dollar each. I did not purchase any additional items today, so I have $6.87 in the kitty.
Here's the food fare for the weekend:
Saturday lunch: hamburger with pickles from trader Felix, a huge plate of lettuce and some strawberries.
Saturday dinner: went out to eat (this is in the entertainment budget)
Sunday breakfast: Jerusalem artichokes from trader Tanya, with ham and parsley. I had some leftover coffee from trader Pablo, beet juice mixed with lime from trader Rebekah, and a mug of bone broth.
Sunday lunch: potluck
Sunday dinner: liverwurst, lettuce, leftover lamb, strawberries, lemon balm tea with lemon, butter
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Paleo on $100 a Month day 6 - Tater Tots
I woke up this morning with a weird taste in my mouth, not from all the ham, but really just thinking about how many of my internet friends were having trouble this week. I thought back to how many of us had created Facebook accounts to share our journey, and then some nasty, spiteful, or just generally mean person disrupted the process. Many took down their blogs and posts.
Well, sure, I hide somewhat behind a whole flock of screen names. I used to share pictures from time to time to friends, but took them all down after a certain busy bee started crabbing about "red-faced low carbers". Yes, I do have a red face from time to time, sometimes as red as the sweet potatoes that will hopefully be underneath the plants you see here, as red as the red shiso in a row behind. And even if I weigh 125 or 225, I am still old and female, and therefore, subject to derision by many in the paleo crowd, who will be more than happy to use my pictures as some sort of fuel to buttress their particular macronutrient-ratio or male-domination argument.
See, this thing isn't really about weight, or age, or macro ratios. It is really about just living your e-life and having to deal with creepy bullies.
This past week's holiday celebrations brought another opportunity to share and argue (with some) about what I eat. I am tired of defending my way of eating, a way that has brought greater health and sanity to me, when not being temporarily distracted by internet busybodies. When one attendee at the dinner suggested that I should look into this pattern of falling into controversy, I did take a look. For a few days.
Today I am writing about it. I will not shut up because some people are psycho on the internet. I will not take responsibility for the creepy behaviors displayed by some here, no, I will not let them hang their silver bracelets around my neck. I will not take the blame for the obesity crisis. I will continue to enjoy cream in my coffee.
Today, I was all set to write about how long it takes to secure food. The tiny plants in the photo may produce sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving. Then again, the plants may struggle and produce large tubers only by the end of the second year. The shiso plants behind them are weeds, but the seeds only germinate after a longish period in the cold damp soil. This season's freeze took out almost every single pepper plant, but gave me hundreds of shiso plants in return.
I got onto my EMF-spewing computer this morning, only to be greeted by this wonderful article, trying to make me feel guilty for eating the way I do.
"Adding cream and sugar to your daily coffee won't kill you, but most people won't like what can happen." So, what will happen? Will I die of a heart attack? Get attacked by a dietitian? Shamed by an obesity researcher? Should I have been shamed into running this idea past Kresser first?
Nope. Nope. Not gonna do it. I may just have to stay away from celebrations chocked with all sorts of ritual food, and then being told I must not eat it. Being told as I am pouring cream into my coffee that there are studies showing that low carb diets kill people, and then having that person not be able to produce any of these studies. Being told that by people who are very sick and red-faced. Well, they should be red-faced, but for the bad behavior, not the diet.
No, fluff-internet-article-writer. Cream in my coffee will probably not kill me. It is not a bad habit. This is my diet. My adding cream to my coffee is not mindless. Deal with it.
Now, as for the $100 dollar challenge: This morning I enjoyed a lovely breakfast of ham, eggs and greens cooked in pork fat, with a small cup of cofee (AND CREAM) from trader Pablo. I'll probably buy a carton of eggs today, and that is all. I have already eaten a stick of butter and not even a week has gone by.
 | |
| The original tater tots |
See, this thing isn't really about weight, or age, or macro ratios. It is really about just living your e-life and having to deal with creepy bullies.
This past week's holiday celebrations brought another opportunity to share and argue (with some) about what I eat. I am tired of defending my way of eating, a way that has brought greater health and sanity to me, when not being temporarily distracted by internet busybodies. When one attendee at the dinner suggested that I should look into this pattern of falling into controversy, I did take a look. For a few days.
Today I am writing about it. I will not shut up because some people are psycho on the internet. I will not take responsibility for the creepy behaviors displayed by some here, no, I will not let them hang their silver bracelets around my neck. I will not take the blame for the obesity crisis. I will continue to enjoy cream in my coffee.
Today, I was all set to write about how long it takes to secure food. The tiny plants in the photo may produce sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving. Then again, the plants may struggle and produce large tubers only by the end of the second year. The shiso plants behind them are weeds, but the seeds only germinate after a longish period in the cold damp soil. This season's freeze took out almost every single pepper plant, but gave me hundreds of shiso plants in return.
I got onto my EMF-spewing computer this morning, only to be greeted by this wonderful article, trying to make me feel guilty for eating the way I do.
"Adding cream and sugar to your daily coffee won't kill you, but most people won't like what can happen." So, what will happen? Will I die of a heart attack? Get attacked by a dietitian? Shamed by an obesity researcher? Should I have been shamed into running this idea past Kresser first?
Nope. Nope. Not gonna do it. I may just have to stay away from celebrations chocked with all sorts of ritual food, and then being told I must not eat it. Being told as I am pouring cream into my coffee that there are studies showing that low carb diets kill people, and then having that person not be able to produce any of these studies. Being told that by people who are very sick and red-faced. Well, they should be red-faced, but for the bad behavior, not the diet.
No, fluff-internet-article-writer. Cream in my coffee will probably not kill me. It is not a bad habit. This is my diet. My adding cream to my coffee is not mindless. Deal with it.
Now, as for the $100 dollar challenge: This morning I enjoyed a lovely breakfast of ham, eggs and greens cooked in pork fat, with a small cup of cofee (AND CREAM) from trader Pablo. I'll probably buy a carton of eggs today, and that is all. I have already eaten a stick of butter and not even a week has gone by.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month - Is this paleo?
OK, OK! I am officially sick of ham! And that is good, as it is a "red" meat and it is processed and the authorities are telling me not to eat it anymore.
Today, I dashed out of the house before dawn for an all-day project, where trader Pablo kept me somewhat busy and fed me. I avoided the bagels, cinnamon rolls and assorted breakfast gunk by helping myself to three large spoonfuls of full-fat cream cheese, washed down with several cups of coffee and a tangerine.
This held me over until lunch. I had a salad and a turkey sandwich, some evil aspartame-infested diet soda, a package of chips and some chocolate. This made me feel queasy and somewhat sleepy. More coffee to the rescue.
By evening, I was fine, and for dinner I had a mug of bone broth with some of the leftover lunch food, ham and lamb, a bite of banana, stir-fried purple cabbage from trader Rebekah, and of course, cherries from trader Lorenzo because, life, you know, is a plastic container of dehydrated cherries.
Now onto the studies department. I apologize for not posting the results of my study this Monday, as is appropriate. Jack Kruse is R-I-G-H-T. EMF is a killer. I tested two planting containers for the effects of EMF, and yes, I actually did have a control!
Note all the damage to the EMF-exposed plants, especially at the edges where there is more wave penetration due to proximity to my neighbor's smart meter. The large hole in the middle of the control plant was due to the removal of some of the leaves. The testing was both destructive and delicious.
The plants in the EMF-shielded pot show better color, better structure and less damage at the edges. The health if the plants is improved when the metal mesh shielding material extends over the top, thus completing the faraday cage to completely shield the plants.
You know H8trs gonna hate, but I think there's really something to all this EMF theory.
Today, I dashed out of the house before dawn for an all-day project, where trader Pablo kept me somewhat busy and fed me. I avoided the bagels, cinnamon rolls and assorted breakfast gunk by helping myself to three large spoonfuls of full-fat cream cheese, washed down with several cups of coffee and a tangerine.
This held me over until lunch. I had a salad and a turkey sandwich, some evil aspartame-infested diet soda, a package of chips and some chocolate. This made me feel queasy and somewhat sleepy. More coffee to the rescue.
By evening, I was fine, and for dinner I had a mug of bone broth with some of the leftover lunch food, ham and lamb, a bite of banana, stir-fried purple cabbage from trader Rebekah, and of course, cherries from trader Lorenzo because, life, you know, is a plastic container of dehydrated cherries.
Now onto the studies department. I apologize for not posting the results of my study this Monday, as is appropriate. Jack Kruse is R-I-G-H-T. EMF is a killer. I tested two planting containers for the effects of EMF, and yes, I actually did have a control!
 | ||||
| Control - pot exposed to EMF |
 | |
| Treatment - Pot shielded from EMF |
Note all the damage to the EMF-exposed plants, especially at the edges where there is more wave penetration due to proximity to my neighbor's smart meter. The large hole in the middle of the control plant was due to the removal of some of the leaves. The testing was both destructive and delicious.
The plants in the EMF-shielded pot show better color, better structure and less damage at the edges. The health if the plants is improved when the metal mesh shielding material extends over the top, thus completing the faraday cage to completely shield the plants.
You know H8trs gonna hate, but I think there's really something to all this EMF theory.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month Day 4 - Splurge! and a salt lick
 | |
| Today's catch, but where did I leave the onion? |
Great picture, right? But the astute reader will notice how similar the catch is to yesterday's. Such is deep seasonality. We all talk about the virtues of seasonality, but truth be told, most people would probably prefer if we traveled around the sun in 40 days instead of 365.
Today's breakfast was ham and eggs, with kale, swiss chard, butter and a slice of orange from trader Noel. I had a small amount of coffee from trader Gabrielle, followed by a couple of cups of tea courtesy of trader Olga. I sure got my share of free tea this year. Its everywhere. People LOVE buying tea, but apparently don't like drinking it very much. I wish people felt the same way about coffee, cause I need some!
I had a morning snack of fresh-steamed artichoke with butter. I had actually planned to melt the butter, but then got lazy and hungry and just ate the artichoke leaves with clumps of butter on top. Then I made a huge batch of "soft drink" tea with lemon balm, orange mint, and a bit of orange juice from the rest of the orange. Orange mint has only a hint of orange, to me, it reminds me more of lavender than oranges. These drinks are pretty good on a hot afternoon.
For lunch, I finished the beef ribs and put the bones in the crock pot. I had a shake with some banana, lemon juice from trader Humberto, coconut milk from trader Felix, cherries from trader Lorenzo, protein powder from trader Jerry, coffee and cream from trader Ingrid, and a small amount of chicken tortilla soup, also from trader Ingrid.
I decided to splurge on ground lamb, on sale probably because Easter is over. I got a one-pound package for $3.99. A sale banana for 16 cents and a can of olives for 90 cents made today's purchases total $5.05. I have 71 cents left in the kitty.
I cooked the lamb with fennel, olives, onion, parsley, celery, chard, pepper, oregano and mint, and served it with cold sliced beets and lettuce. I finished the bean soup. Dessert was more cherries from trader Lorenzo and a huge strawberry from the garden. I scored a small container of Doritos crumbs from trader Dean, and was saving it for the right time. Mmmmm...salt!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Paleo on $100 a Month day 3 - Getting settled
After a day of travel and a day of unpacking and laundry, I feel I am now ready to devote more time to this challenge. Nothing like a fat-filled breakfast to keep me full and focused.
The swiss chard is starting to bolt, so I cut off a large upper portion of the plant and cooked all of it in butter. It did cook down quite a bit, and the portion looked a bit dainty on the plate. (Since I have gone low carb, I have given up eating on tiny plates in order to control portions.) I made eggs scrambled with dots of ham and parsley.
Last night, I cut all the easy ham off the bone and threw the rest into the stock pot, so I now have quite a bit of boiled ham fat (yum?!), ham pieces and gallons of ham broth. I think I have around three pounds or so of really nice ham pieces. I might try making home-made smoked pork rinds with the skin. Either that, or make a new handbag. I'll eat skin if I have to, but with all this other really nice ham, the skin is starting to look less appetizing. And, who couldn't use a new handbag?
I had a large mug of coffee with cream and a bit of a doughnut from trader Gabrielle. I could have gotten even more free junk food, but I restrained myself.
I had some leftover ribs for lunch, along with a HUGE strawberry, cilantro, arugula, corn salad and lettuce, with sprigs of parsley and lovage from trader Melissa. I also made a large glass of chocolate mint tea, and half an orange from trader Noel.
And for dinner, I ate a pouch of sardines that I bought for 70 cents. They were packed in mustard and this is the first time I have tried the flavor, and can't say I like it all that much. I should have thought ahead and saved some of the mustard sauce for a salad dressing or something, but threw it away. The sardines were SWIMMING in the mustard sauce. I also had the rest of the butternut squash with butter and sugar from trader Felix, and a small roasted beet. The bean soup had onion, fennel, hot pepper, celery, parsley (again, from trader Melissa), mayocoba beans and ham. I ate another Jello cup from trader Humberto and finished off with a handful of dried cherries from trader Lorenzo, a bottle of chilled chocolate mint tea and a bottle of chilled lemon balm and orange mint tea.
If you look closely in the basket, you will see the first globe artichoke of the season. It is small, but I just couldn't wait.
$2.55 left in the kitty, with plenty of ham, eggs and some ribs. Tomorrow, I'll finish the ribs and then make me some bone broth
The swiss chard is starting to bolt, so I cut off a large upper portion of the plant and cooked all of it in butter. It did cook down quite a bit, and the portion looked a bit dainty on the plate. (Since I have gone low carb, I have given up eating on tiny plates in order to control portions.) I made eggs scrambled with dots of ham and parsley.
Last night, I cut all the easy ham off the bone and threw the rest into the stock pot, so I now have quite a bit of boiled ham fat (yum?!), ham pieces and gallons of ham broth. I think I have around three pounds or so of really nice ham pieces. I might try making home-made smoked pork rinds with the skin. Either that, or make a new handbag. I'll eat skin if I have to, but with all this other really nice ham, the skin is starting to look less appetizing. And, who couldn't use a new handbag?
I had a large mug of coffee with cream and a bit of a doughnut from trader Gabrielle. I could have gotten even more free junk food, but I restrained myself.
I had some leftover ribs for lunch, along with a HUGE strawberry, cilantro, arugula, corn salad and lettuce, with sprigs of parsley and lovage from trader Melissa. I also made a large glass of chocolate mint tea, and half an orange from trader Noel.
 |
| Today's garden haul, minus what I ate on the run |
And for dinner, I ate a pouch of sardines that I bought for 70 cents. They were packed in mustard and this is the first time I have tried the flavor, and can't say I like it all that much. I should have thought ahead and saved some of the mustard sauce for a salad dressing or something, but threw it away. The sardines were SWIMMING in the mustard sauce. I also had the rest of the butternut squash with butter and sugar from trader Felix, and a small roasted beet. The bean soup had onion, fennel, hot pepper, celery, parsley (again, from trader Melissa), mayocoba beans and ham. I ate another Jello cup from trader Humberto and finished off with a handful of dried cherries from trader Lorenzo, a bottle of chilled chocolate mint tea and a bottle of chilled lemon balm and orange mint tea.
If you look closely in the basket, you will see the first globe artichoke of the season. It is small, but I just couldn't wait.
$2.55 left in the kitty, with plenty of ham, eggs and some ribs. Tomorrow, I'll finish the ribs and then make me some bone broth
Paleo on $100 a month Day 2: Whew! That was close!
It turns out that the meat left on the ham bone was more than I expected. I HAD expected a bit of fat along with the bone, but it looked like the person who carved the ham wasn't an expert at it. Apparently, I have a ham log with a bone running through it.
Soooooo.....breakfast was a little bit better than I had planned. I had ham and ham fat cooked with spring onion, fennel and kale. I also made a shake with a packet of hemp protein courtesy of trader Jerry. I tried jazzing the hemp protein with some tart cherries from trader Lorenzo, but it was a waste of cherries, since NOTHING can make the taste of the vile hemp protein taste even faintly edible. Un-ree-WAR-ding!!!!!
I grazed through the day with coffee (and half and half!) from traders Gabrielle, Ingrid and Jerry, enjoyed a turkey meatball courtesy of trader Ingrid, and a glass of water with Meyer lemon.
Another visit to the garden turned up several huge strawberries, the first of the season. Most people would have considered them inedible, since they were "pretested" by snails, but I just ate the good parts. I also snacked on cilantro and arugala as I captured and sent even more snails off to the sweet hereafter.
I visited a few stores and picked up a dozen eggs for a dollar. I stumbled upon a sale on beef ribs and sorted through the packages to find a smaller rib that would fit my budget and still save room for butter. I mentally calculated and re-calculated my purchases, and I came in under the limit.
Here's what I got today: beef ribs at a scandalous price of $1.24 a pound for a total of $2.88, butter for $2.50 and eggs for a dollar, totaling $6.38. That leaves me with 4 cents. I might regret buying the butter, since it leaves me with much less flexibility for day 3. If things get really bad, I can pull a Jimmy Moore by keeping my protein low and just eating a stick of butter.
Dinner this evening was beef ribs marinated in Meyer lemon, cayenne pepper and za'atar, with balsamic vinegar and salt from trader Felix and fresh-cracked peppercorns from trader Karin. I made baked, buttered Butternut squash with roasted beets and a salad of mache, lettuces and parsley. Dessert is a sugar-free strawberry-flavored Jello cup with a fresh tangerine I got from trader Humberto.
In the evening, I made some bean soup, with beans from trader Karin and broth from the ham bone. Of course, I tried some, so I did not end the day in keto. I ended the evening with a mug of lemon balm tea with a touch of sugar from trader Felix.
Soooooo.....breakfast was a little bit better than I had planned. I had ham and ham fat cooked with spring onion, fennel and kale. I also made a shake with a packet of hemp protein courtesy of trader Jerry. I tried jazzing the hemp protein with some tart cherries from trader Lorenzo, but it was a waste of cherries, since NOTHING can make the taste of the vile hemp protein taste even faintly edible. Un-ree-WAR-ding!!!!!
I grazed through the day with coffee (and half and half!) from traders Gabrielle, Ingrid and Jerry, enjoyed a turkey meatball courtesy of trader Ingrid, and a glass of water with Meyer lemon.
Another visit to the garden turned up several huge strawberries, the first of the season. Most people would have considered them inedible, since they were "pretested" by snails, but I just ate the good parts. I also snacked on cilantro and arugala as I captured and sent even more snails off to the sweet hereafter.
I visited a few stores and picked up a dozen eggs for a dollar. I stumbled upon a sale on beef ribs and sorted through the packages to find a smaller rib that would fit my budget and still save room for butter. I mentally calculated and re-calculated my purchases, and I came in under the limit.
Here's what I got today: beef ribs at a scandalous price of $1.24 a pound for a total of $2.88, butter for $2.50 and eggs for a dollar, totaling $6.38. That leaves me with 4 cents. I might regret buying the butter, since it leaves me with much less flexibility for day 3. If things get really bad, I can pull a Jimmy Moore by keeping my protein low and just eating a stick of butter.
Dinner this evening was beef ribs marinated in Meyer lemon, cayenne pepper and za'atar, with balsamic vinegar and salt from trader Felix and fresh-cracked peppercorns from trader Karin. I made baked, buttered Butternut squash with roasted beets and a salad of mache, lettuces and parsley. Dessert is a sugar-free strawberry-flavored Jello cup with a fresh tangerine I got from trader Humberto.
In the evening, I made some bean soup, with beans from trader Karin and broth from the ham bone. Of course, I tried some, so I did not end the day in keto. I ended the evening with a mug of lemon balm tea with a touch of sugar from trader Felix.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Paleo on $100 a month day One - Eight heads in a duffel
I had planned to fast my way through the first day of my challenge, since it was a travel day. The day didn't go as planned. After a wonderful Easter potluck, there was plenty of food left over, and the attendees were looking for something to do with it.
I also acquired a ham bone, since the rest of the hangers-onerz gang was vegetarian and they wanted to offload the meaty bits as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I was so excited about sneaking an entire ham bone onto the train that I forgot some of the other side dishes, like a wonderful broccoli salad and an entire log of goat cheese. How foolish is that?
We froze the ham bone the night before, and then I wrapped it up in two produce bags, then shoved it into a huge Doritoes bag (shiny side in to reflect the cold!), then another plastic bag and sitting in a large aluminum baking pan in case it leaked somehow, then wrapped in a variety of old linen towels with calendars printed on them, and then wrapped in a large sweatshirt, and placed in my duffel bag.
No way could I have gotten past the TSA or all the bomb-sniffing dogs at the airport, thank goodness the train is filled with all those crazy people wielding knives, golf clubs, out-sized backpacks and all that other behavior that made cross-country ham transport seem tame by comparison. "Open up the mummy, Ma'am," I could hear those TSA-people commanding, as I begin to carefully unwind all the strips of linen...
Unfortunately, the train was very late, and I feared that the ham would heat up too much before I arrived. My train was so late that when we saw we were heading to that secret destination, "BFD", I announced that it stood for Big Effing Delay. But the ham was still fairly cold by the time I put it in my own fridge.
Here's what I ate today:
A breakfast of potluck leftovers from various trading partners: Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dean. It was mostly turkey and sweet potatoes, and a bit of flat diet soda, a roll and butter. I took some green tea along with me. Lunch was ham. Dinner was more ham, and all of a large piece of wheat-free cake from trading partner Erin. I had planned to stretch the cake out for a few more days, but was pretty hungry. I was pining for some vegetables, but I got home so late I could only muster up a batch of fresh lemonade with a bit of sugar from trader Felix.
Since I did not buy any more fertilizer this year, my gardening costs have gone lower, so I have $3.21 to spend on other food per day. Since I did not spend any money on food, I have $3.21 in the jar.
I also acquired a ham bone, since the rest of the hangers-onerz gang was vegetarian and they wanted to offload the meaty bits as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I was so excited about sneaking an entire ham bone onto the train that I forgot some of the other side dishes, like a wonderful broccoli salad and an entire log of goat cheese. How foolish is that?
We froze the ham bone the night before, and then I wrapped it up in two produce bags, then shoved it into a huge Doritoes bag (shiny side in to reflect the cold!), then another plastic bag and sitting in a large aluminum baking pan in case it leaked somehow, then wrapped in a variety of old linen towels with calendars printed on them, and then wrapped in a large sweatshirt, and placed in my duffel bag.
No way could I have gotten past the TSA or all the bomb-sniffing dogs at the airport, thank goodness the train is filled with all those crazy people wielding knives, golf clubs, out-sized backpacks and all that other behavior that made cross-country ham transport seem tame by comparison. "Open up the mummy, Ma'am," I could hear those TSA-people commanding, as I begin to carefully unwind all the strips of linen...
Unfortunately, the train was very late, and I feared that the ham would heat up too much before I arrived. My train was so late that when we saw we were heading to that secret destination, "BFD", I announced that it stood for Big Effing Delay. But the ham was still fairly cold by the time I put it in my own fridge.
Here's what I ate today:
A breakfast of potluck leftovers from various trading partners: Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dean. It was mostly turkey and sweet potatoes, and a bit of flat diet soda, a roll and butter. I took some green tea along with me. Lunch was ham. Dinner was more ham, and all of a large piece of wheat-free cake from trading partner Erin. I had planned to stretch the cake out for a few more days, but was pretty hungry. I was pining for some vegetables, but I got home so late I could only muster up a batch of fresh lemonade with a bit of sugar from trader Felix.
Since I did not buy any more fertilizer this year, my gardening costs have gone lower, so I have $3.21 to spend on other food per day. Since I did not spend any money on food, I have $3.21 in the jar.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Meat and Veggies on 100 dollars a Month
It's cheep food time! Once again, a food challenge, same rules as last time, only it's not really paleo, since the current version of paleo is still in a complete cesspool, full of KKK wizards, drunken misogynists, internet stalkers, dens of vipers, on and on althewhile while people trying to make money on tin-foil hat sales wring their hands as they hopelessly watch their whole market base go down in flames......
What's next? No, not paleo on Dr. Oz. Another great food challenge to cheer us all up.
I am armed with a camera this time, and a freezer full of free ham fat. Watch out world!
Paleo has been weird, but the rest of the world has been kind and generous. Still, this challenge won't be a cinch, especially since food prices are higher than last year. So, if there is to be any cheese-cutting around here in April, it will be because of the bumper crop of Jerusalem artichokes, not because I can afford an actual wheel of cheese.
This year will feature more food gifts and less home-grown produce, due to crop failure, laziness, and the general time of the year. It will be too late for lettuce and too early for tomatoes. The good news is that this has been a wonderful year for all types of citrus. Yay!!! No Scurvy.
What's next? No, not paleo on Dr. Oz. Another great food challenge to cheer us all up.
I am armed with a camera this time, and a freezer full of free ham fat. Watch out world!
Paleo has been weird, but the rest of the world has been kind and generous. Still, this challenge won't be a cinch, especially since food prices are higher than last year. So, if there is to be any cheese-cutting around here in April, it will be because of the bumper crop of Jerusalem artichokes, not because I can afford an actual wheel of cheese.
This year will feature more food gifts and less home-grown produce, due to crop failure, laziness, and the general time of the year. It will be too late for lettuce and too early for tomatoes. The good news is that this has been a wonderful year for all types of citrus. Yay!!! No Scurvy.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
A Trip down Memory Lane
I love to troll the free bin at the library. Lots of good, really old stuff to be discovered, or re-discovered. A certain person has been decluttering their library of all diet and recipe books, and several low carb favorites or classics have shown up.
A recent find is "The Steak Lovers' Diet" by Melvin Anchell, MD.
The foreword by Dr. William Campbell Douglass is worth a read. He is sort of an obscure alternative medicine author, and despite the foreword having been printed in 1998, it contains lots of information that has been popularized by paleo authors over just the past few years. You know, stuff like Weston Price and how we don't need all that Vitamin C and how vegetarians are wrong and there's just too many of them, and how the American Heart Association sucks.
I checked out another of Douglass' books, "Into the Light", and it is a fascinating read, if not a bit out of date. Some of the chapters read just like you might have found them in Jack Kruse's blog. All that quantum stuff, and light. Maybe that is where he got his stuff. It is too bad that the dominante alternative medicine folks didn't feature him more, perhaps because he wasn't a vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, the Steak book. This diet is apparently a rehash of the Pennington diet. You know, THAT Pennington who has a research center full of obesity researchers that we all love to make fun of. The original Pennington diet was rather low carb compared to today's standards. Apparently, Pennington didn't think people needed to eat lots of carbs for their brain. His patients lost weight on the diet by starting a meal of all types of meat, cooked in all sorts of ways (except breaded and stuffed) and afterwards, they could have one serving of a "second course".
The second course could be: white potatoes, sweet potatoes, grapes, watermelon, rice, grapefruit, banana, pear, raspberries or blueberries.
That's pretty much it. Coffee, and a bit of lemon is OK, NO artificial sweeteners. Notice that there is NO bread.
The original tater tots over there at DuPont lost a bunch of weight on this. Of course, they were execs, so they were all men. But, I am sure that "their women" as some paleo-writers like to phrase it, followed the diet, as they were frying, broiling and braising all the big game the men dragged home from their long day at the chemical plant, and probably got a bit envious of both the weight loss and the yummy food.
It is interesting to take a look at the carbs. They are mostly foods that contain quite a bit of glucose and little fructose. These are pretty much the foods that Dr. Rosedale says NOT to eat, presumably because of the high glucose content. This diet would probably send the majority of the woo-fueled-jihaddists into a tailspin.
Dr. Anchell has an interesting section on the recommendations of the Drs. Wortman, and their financial involvement in a recalled weight loss drug that might have colored their approach to weight loss recommendations. Never heard about that before.
A recent find is "The Steak Lovers' Diet" by Melvin Anchell, MD.
The foreword by Dr. William Campbell Douglass is worth a read. He is sort of an obscure alternative medicine author, and despite the foreword having been printed in 1998, it contains lots of information that has been popularized by paleo authors over just the past few years. You know, stuff like Weston Price and how we don't need all that Vitamin C and how vegetarians are wrong and there's just too many of them, and how the American Heart Association sucks.
I checked out another of Douglass' books, "Into the Light", and it is a fascinating read, if not a bit out of date. Some of the chapters read just like you might have found them in Jack Kruse's blog. All that quantum stuff, and light. Maybe that is where he got his stuff. It is too bad that the dominante alternative medicine folks didn't feature him more, perhaps because he wasn't a vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, the Steak book. This diet is apparently a rehash of the Pennington diet. You know, THAT Pennington who has a research center full of obesity researchers that we all love to make fun of. The original Pennington diet was rather low carb compared to today's standards. Apparently, Pennington didn't think people needed to eat lots of carbs for their brain. His patients lost weight on the diet by starting a meal of all types of meat, cooked in all sorts of ways (except breaded and stuffed) and afterwards, they could have one serving of a "second course".
The second course could be: white potatoes, sweet potatoes, grapes, watermelon, rice, grapefruit, banana, pear, raspberries or blueberries.
That's pretty much it. Coffee, and a bit of lemon is OK, NO artificial sweeteners. Notice that there is NO bread.
The original tater tots over there at DuPont lost a bunch of weight on this. Of course, they were execs, so they were all men. But, I am sure that "their women" as some paleo-writers like to phrase it, followed the diet, as they were frying, broiling and braising all the big game the men dragged home from their long day at the chemical plant, and probably got a bit envious of both the weight loss and the yummy food.
It is interesting to take a look at the carbs. They are mostly foods that contain quite a bit of glucose and little fructose. These are pretty much the foods that Dr. Rosedale says NOT to eat, presumably because of the high glucose content. This diet would probably send the majority of the woo-fueled-jihaddists into a tailspin.
Dr. Anchell has an interesting section on the recommendations of the Drs. Wortman, and their financial involvement in a recalled weight loss drug that might have colored their approach to weight loss recommendations. Never heard about that before.
Monday, March 18, 2013
The Guru Speaks
How long have we been waiting for a new dawn?
Robb Wolf earned his way back to my blog list. Nuff said.
Robb Wolf earned his way back to my blog list. Nuff said.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Things aren't what they seem even more than ever
My diet is dwindling down to fewer and fewer food groups, and moving into dangerous territory. And I was thinking that it would really dwindle down to only kale, except the bagrada bug has also taken care of kale. And, it is a good thing that Dr. Kruse just discovered that we can get all the electrons we need from the ground, instead of trying to get them from all this adulterated food.
First it was the genetically modified salmon, but now milk? I was mostly on the primal side of paleo, but now will I have to go full-blown paleo?
I had planned another milk post even before this new plan came out this week. It seems like People In Charge want to change our milk again, this time by adding artificial chemicals that cause neurological disruption (OK, at least in me.) I don't think this is a good idea for thisadulateration information not to be included prominently on the label.
This week, I visited that local store that says everything is 99 cents but that they really sell for a dollar. I grabbed a container of whipping cream. How bad can budget cream be? Well, I was shocked that cream now contains milk. I was somewhat prepared for the variety of gums and thickeners that are added to cream, but this addition of milk to cream and still calling it cream really stumped me.
...Like the label on one bottle of a dairy-type item "Fat-free half and half". And I don't know, maybe it the weird math-geek in me, but I am thinking that if it has no fat, how can it be half and half? To me, half and half means 50/50, not 100/0 with additives. If someone wanted to sell something with 100/0, then they couldn't call it something that implies some sort of 50/50.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, aspartame. Years ago, I actually had something in common with our Dear Dr. Emily. I had a diet coke habit. I enjoyed a diet coke mid-morning, and mid-afternoon, until the coke machine at work turned out such bad-tasting water that I couldn't drink it anymore. Then I started bringing my own cans to work. This opened up an opportunity to experience a wide variety of diet Coke flavors.
After about a decade of this, I realized that aspartame consumed regularly wasn't doing me any good. I thought it was the caffeine, but then realized I didn't get those effects from drinking gobs of caffeine-laden real coffee. I got unnecessarily jittery, and less clear-headed than before, and a bit anxious. After awhile, after reading so much negative press about aspartame, I switched from Diet Coke to regular Coke, but had only one "serving" a day. I figured that sugar wasn't be best for me, but better than aspartame.
When I switched from aspartame to HFCS, I did gain weight. Since then, of course, I have given up all pre-packaged soft drinks. Every once in awhile I'll buy a bottle of sparkling mineral water and add in some home-made syrup. I especially like chocolate-mint soda, but I have to be careful with it because it does contain too much sugar.
Now that I am not eating any adulterated unlabeled food anymore, I guess it is time to go to the beach and dig my feet into the sand and suck up all the electrons. Mmmmmm! Tasty! I love being a groundaterian.
I'm going to clue you-all in as to why I think dieting makes people crazy. Here's what is totally STUPID about the state of diet recommendations and our ability to follow them. Practically every "diet" food being sold on the market has added aspartame. Recently I visited a chain grocery store right in Dr. Mary Dan Eades backyard. I was shocked that there was a whole aisle of yogurts and yogurt-like products, and I could not find ONE SINGLE FULL-FAT variety of yogurt! Everything was low fat, and most contained aspartame.
Am I the only one thinking it is really funny that the People In Charge remove that nasty butterfat from the cow and treat it as toxic waste, and then add a real toxic unnatural additive to what is left and call that milk? Not funny-ha-ha, funny-this-is-weird.
First it was the genetically modified salmon, but now milk? I was mostly on the primal side of paleo, but now will I have to go full-blown paleo?
I had planned another milk post even before this new plan came out this week. It seems like People In Charge want to change our milk again, this time by adding artificial chemicals that cause neurological disruption (OK, at least in me.) I don't think this is a good idea for this
This week, I visited that local store that says everything is 99 cents but that they really sell for a dollar. I grabbed a container of whipping cream. How bad can budget cream be? Well, I was shocked that cream now contains milk. I was somewhat prepared for the variety of gums and thickeners that are added to cream, but this addition of milk to cream and still calling it cream really stumped me.
...Like the label on one bottle of a dairy-type item "Fat-free half and half". And I don't know, maybe it the weird math-geek in me, but I am thinking that if it has no fat, how can it be half and half? To me, half and half means 50/50, not 100/0 with additives. If someone wanted to sell something with 100/0, then they couldn't call it something that implies some sort of 50/50.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, aspartame. Years ago, I actually had something in common with our Dear Dr. Emily. I had a diet coke habit. I enjoyed a diet coke mid-morning, and mid-afternoon, until the coke machine at work turned out such bad-tasting water that I couldn't drink it anymore. Then I started bringing my own cans to work. This opened up an opportunity to experience a wide variety of diet Coke flavors.
After about a decade of this, I realized that aspartame consumed regularly wasn't doing me any good. I thought it was the caffeine, but then realized I didn't get those effects from drinking gobs of caffeine-laden real coffee. I got unnecessarily jittery, and less clear-headed than before, and a bit anxious. After awhile, after reading so much negative press about aspartame, I switched from Diet Coke to regular Coke, but had only one "serving" a day. I figured that sugar wasn't be best for me, but better than aspartame.
When I switched from aspartame to HFCS, I did gain weight. Since then, of course, I have given up all pre-packaged soft drinks. Every once in awhile I'll buy a bottle of sparkling mineral water and add in some home-made syrup. I especially like chocolate-mint soda, but I have to be careful with it because it does contain too much sugar.
Now that I am not eating any adulterated unlabeled food anymore, I guess it is time to go to the beach and dig my feet into the sand and suck up all the electrons. Mmmmmm! Tasty! I love being a groundaterian.
I'm going to clue you-all in as to why I think dieting makes people crazy. Here's what is totally STUPID about the state of diet recommendations and our ability to follow them. Practically every "diet" food being sold on the market has added aspartame. Recently I visited a chain grocery store right in Dr. Mary Dan Eades backyard. I was shocked that there was a whole aisle of yogurts and yogurt-like products, and I could not find ONE SINGLE FULL-FAT variety of yogurt! Everything was low fat, and most contained aspartame.
Am I the only one thinking it is really funny that the People In Charge remove that nasty butterfat from the cow and treat it as toxic waste, and then add a real toxic unnatural additive to what is left and call that milk? Not funny-ha-ha, funny-this-is-weird.
Friday, March 8, 2013
This Here Post is For My Friends
I have some really great friends who are locked in the stranglehold of current cardiology-thinking. They have been watching their food intake, especially things like sugar and junque food. They have tried to up their exercise in between injuries. Their cholesterol numbers have gone down for a time, then inched up, prompting their doctors to threaten statins if some body doesn't do something.
Here's a nice blogpost from the past by Peter. It shows lots of charts and graphs of data with a different light shined. They show the relationship between blood cholesterol levels and cardiac events. Not a very convincing relationship, is it?
If you aren't into charts and graphs, go to the bottom of the blog post and see the graph of cardiac events and HbA1c. Wow, not good. It shows that the relative risk of cardiac events go way up as the HbA1c is higher.
HbA1c is a measure of how much damage blood sugar has done. Blood sugar goes up when people eat lots of simple carbs. In normal people, when blood sugar goes up, insulin is released to clear all the sugar out. These people can keep their blood sugar levels lower by eating low-glycemic carbs.
As things progress, people may develop pre-diabetes or full-blown type 2 diabetes. At this stage, many can be helped by going on a low carb diet, but sometimes that still doesn't fix everything. It is surely better than feasting on chips, candy and soda on a regular basis.
I have another friend on metformin and a statin, but while the statin has lowered her cholesterol levels, she is tired and achey, and seems to be suffering from the side effects of the statin drug. She wants to stop the statin, but her doctor has insisted she continue. She asked me what she should do, and I gave her the name of another doctor.
I have another friend who is being badgered by her doctor because her total cholesterol is around 240. This is AFTER SHE WAS DOING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS!!!!! Unfortunately, I don't know of another doctor in her area, but I would suggest in the meantime that she quit beating herself up over the occasional barbeque dinner and focus more on keeping candy and sugary drinks out of the house.
Anyway, friends, thanks for reading.
Here's a nice blogpost from the past by Peter. It shows lots of charts and graphs of data with a different light shined. They show the relationship between blood cholesterol levels and cardiac events. Not a very convincing relationship, is it?
If you aren't into charts and graphs, go to the bottom of the blog post and see the graph of cardiac events and HbA1c. Wow, not good. It shows that the relative risk of cardiac events go way up as the HbA1c is higher.
HbA1c is a measure of how much damage blood sugar has done. Blood sugar goes up when people eat lots of simple carbs. In normal people, when blood sugar goes up, insulin is released to clear all the sugar out. These people can keep their blood sugar levels lower by eating low-glycemic carbs.
As things progress, people may develop pre-diabetes or full-blown type 2 diabetes. At this stage, many can be helped by going on a low carb diet, but sometimes that still doesn't fix everything. It is surely better than feasting on chips, candy and soda on a regular basis.
I have another friend on metformin and a statin, but while the statin has lowered her cholesterol levels, she is tired and achey, and seems to be suffering from the side effects of the statin drug. She wants to stop the statin, but her doctor has insisted she continue. She asked me what she should do, and I gave her the name of another doctor.
I have another friend who is being badgered by her doctor because her total cholesterol is around 240. This is AFTER SHE WAS DOING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS!!!!! Unfortunately, I don't know of another doctor in her area, but I would suggest in the meantime that she quit beating herself up over the occasional barbeque dinner and focus more on keeping candy and sugary drinks out of the house.
Anyway, friends, thanks for reading.
Friday, March 1, 2013
My Year on the Leptin Reset
It has been a year since I did my second version of Jack Kruse's leptin reset.
This week, I found and read through a little notebook with notes on the reset. At the time, I had planned several trips out of town, and so I wanted a compact format. This was also at the time when I started having lots of trouble with those [redacted]people, so I was reluctant to rely upon either them or any other computerized tracking system. After my trips, I abandoned the little notebook, so it was fun reading through it again.
I had started the leptin reset in the summer of 2011 when my lowish carb diet wasn't working well. In May, I started a couple of days of strict low carb, and then Drs. Eades free Metabosol came in the mail. I did the Metabosol throughout the first weeks in June, but after a few pizza meals, I was back to where I started, even up a couple of pounds, so I decided to abandon that plan and start the leptin reset in earnest in July.
By the beginning of that August, I had lost around 5 pounds on the leptin reset, was feeling much better and controlling carb cravings like never before. But, the success was short-lived, and I resumed my difficulty with carbs and gained all the weight and then some by fall.
In January 2012, I did the leptin reset again, this time for about 6 weeks before starting back in with the exercise. I lost more weight this time, and a total of around 15 pounds by the end of the "Paleo on 100 dollars a month challenge" in March. By this time, I had also started CT.
Throughout the summer, I added in a few more carbs, and quit monitoring my food and weight so regularly. The result was that I gained back the weight. By the beginning of 2013 I was exactly the same weight as I was the year before, but with some differences.
No chronic cardio, no regular strength training. I just live my regular active life, go on hikes here and there, and stretch if I feel un-stretchy.
Work like crazy to get wheat out of my diet. I realize now how delicate my improvements are, and how easy it is to get completely out of balance.
Eliminated the need for sleep medication. I started using progesterone, which has helped in so many ways. Even though it has contributed to my weight gain, it has made me much more accommodating to all types of stresses, like from heat and exercise. I also respond to carbohydrates differently, which can be alternatively a good thing and a dangerous thing. I think I am much more careful with carbohydrates while on progesterone because, while I can take a few more hits, when things go south, they go south much more rapidly.
Better body proportions. I weigh more but my clothing fits differently. People say I look better, younger and my skin is much better.
CT around once or twice a week. This usually involves going to the beach at least once a week and getting in the water for quite a long time, taking mostly cold showers and being in cold air some part of the day except for in the summer.
Moving back more towards a macrobiotic-but-grain-free diet consisting of more seafood, sea vegetables and seasonal food. I was never on strict epi-paleo. My carb and vegetable consumption is much higher. Not as high as what Dr. Wahls recommends, but much higher than what Jack recommends.
Lab-free. I haven't been sick, haven't been to the doctor for awhile, and I don't even know what my cholesterol levels are. I have my blood pressure measured when I give blood, and it is at high-school level (110/70).
I know how to get back on track. When the diet is hard to follow and I am craving carbs, I know I have moved from fat-burning territory back into carb-burning. The best way I have found to get back is to use Metabosol for a few days and also some CT.
Here are the conclusions I have made about the leptin reset:
1. The results are not permanent. I need to continue to be vigilant about diet. ANY higher-carb diet that I eat to satiety results in weight gain.
2. CT does not work for weight loss.
In the coming months, I'll be eating a basic whole foods low carb diet, with seasonal fruits and vegetables. I plan on a lifestyle of "deep seasonality". During the past months, while reading up on macrobiotics in prep for some blog posts, I really did see how much many similarities between where paleo is going and where macrobiotics already is.
During the past few weeks, I have also noticed that in the vegan, low carb, and Kruse-world communities, despite the advances in diet choices, lots of people are still mean and nasty. I found the Optimal Health Cave, but I immediately started having problems with some very difficult people on both sides of the current argument over the validity of some of Jack's EMF theories. So, I am trying to pull myself out of all that muck while I unfriend or "foe" certain people, and try my best not to be that way myself.
While I am not following the Leptin Reset to the letter anymore, I do think that while Dr. Kruse's understanding of physics and electronics seems atrocious, I think there is really something to the idea that EMF is polluting. I will continue my research and experimentation on this subject, but mostly off-line. I really agree with Jack, that there were some "askholes" on his site, and I am just not going to deal with their crap, so the best way to do that is to keep in touch with my IRL friends who know quite a bit about grounding and faraday cages. But, I was extremely disappointed in Jack's responses to many other participants, who had deep and real questions and concerns that I think need to be dealt with. Jack needs to understand that if his theories are so mind-blowing, groundbreaking, and life-changing, then why is he still a Jackhole? Slamming people on minor technicalities alternating with the posting of pithy motivational phrases lifted from others indicates he still has some balance work to do. It is true, people who insist that they have all the answers to the universe are held to a higher standard of behavior.
Recently, dealing with some of these people was like dealing with some of the Paleo/lc debates. I am not into debate, I am into inquiry, discussion and exploration, and finding things that work. Sooner or later, any fine discussion gets taken over by the high school debate teams, full of those pimply-faced nerds who couldn't even get on the "C" basketball team, which muck it up for every true seeker. I think nothing is ever settled by debate, only things torn down.
That means I'll be reconnecting with that neighborhood nerdy kid who became an astrophysicist, that radio guy who builds faraday cages as a hobby, and others who effing love science.
This week, I found and read through a little notebook with notes on the reset. At the time, I had planned several trips out of town, and so I wanted a compact format. This was also at the time when I started having lots of trouble with those [redacted]people, so I was reluctant to rely upon either them or any other computerized tracking system. After my trips, I abandoned the little notebook, so it was fun reading through it again.
I had started the leptin reset in the summer of 2011 when my lowish carb diet wasn't working well. In May, I started a couple of days of strict low carb, and then Drs. Eades free Metabosol came in the mail. I did the Metabosol throughout the first weeks in June, but after a few pizza meals, I was back to where I started, even up a couple of pounds, so I decided to abandon that plan and start the leptin reset in earnest in July.
By the beginning of that August, I had lost around 5 pounds on the leptin reset, was feeling much better and controlling carb cravings like never before. But, the success was short-lived, and I resumed my difficulty with carbs and gained all the weight and then some by fall.
In January 2012, I did the leptin reset again, this time for about 6 weeks before starting back in with the exercise. I lost more weight this time, and a total of around 15 pounds by the end of the "Paleo on 100 dollars a month challenge" in March. By this time, I had also started CT.
Throughout the summer, I added in a few more carbs, and quit monitoring my food and weight so regularly. The result was that I gained back the weight. By the beginning of 2013 I was exactly the same weight as I was the year before, but with some differences.
No chronic cardio, no regular strength training. I just live my regular active life, go on hikes here and there, and stretch if I feel un-stretchy.
Work like crazy to get wheat out of my diet. I realize now how delicate my improvements are, and how easy it is to get completely out of balance.
Eliminated the need for sleep medication. I started using progesterone, which has helped in so many ways. Even though it has contributed to my weight gain, it has made me much more accommodating to all types of stresses, like from heat and exercise. I also respond to carbohydrates differently, which can be alternatively a good thing and a dangerous thing. I think I am much more careful with carbohydrates while on progesterone because, while I can take a few more hits, when things go south, they go south much more rapidly.
Better body proportions. I weigh more but my clothing fits differently. People say I look better, younger and my skin is much better.
CT around once or twice a week. This usually involves going to the beach at least once a week and getting in the water for quite a long time, taking mostly cold showers and being in cold air some part of the day except for in the summer.
Moving back more towards a macrobiotic-but-grain-free diet consisting of more seafood, sea vegetables and seasonal food. I was never on strict epi-paleo. My carb and vegetable consumption is much higher. Not as high as what Dr. Wahls recommends, but much higher than what Jack recommends.
Lab-free. I haven't been sick, haven't been to the doctor for awhile, and I don't even know what my cholesterol levels are. I have my blood pressure measured when I give blood, and it is at high-school level (110/70).
I know how to get back on track. When the diet is hard to follow and I am craving carbs, I know I have moved from fat-burning territory back into carb-burning. The best way I have found to get back is to use Metabosol for a few days and also some CT.
Here are the conclusions I have made about the leptin reset:
1. The results are not permanent. I need to continue to be vigilant about diet. ANY higher-carb diet that I eat to satiety results in weight gain.
2. CT does not work for weight loss.
In the coming months, I'll be eating a basic whole foods low carb diet, with seasonal fruits and vegetables. I plan on a lifestyle of "deep seasonality". During the past months, while reading up on macrobiotics in prep for some blog posts, I really did see how much many similarities between where paleo is going and where macrobiotics already is.
During the past few weeks, I have also noticed that in the vegan, low carb, and Kruse-world communities, despite the advances in diet choices, lots of people are still mean and nasty. I found the Optimal Health Cave, but I immediately started having problems with some very difficult people on both sides of the current argument over the validity of some of Jack's EMF theories. So, I am trying to pull myself out of all that muck while I unfriend or "foe" certain people, and try my best not to be that way myself.
While I am not following the Leptin Reset to the letter anymore, I do think that while Dr. Kruse's understanding of physics and electronics seems atrocious, I think there is really something to the idea that EMF is polluting. I will continue my research and experimentation on this subject, but mostly off-line. I really agree with Jack, that there were some "askholes" on his site, and I am just not going to deal with their crap, so the best way to do that is to keep in touch with my IRL friends who know quite a bit about grounding and faraday cages. But, I was extremely disappointed in Jack's responses to many other participants, who had deep and real questions and concerns that I think need to be dealt with. Jack needs to understand that if his theories are so mind-blowing, groundbreaking, and life-changing, then why is he still a Jackhole? Slamming people on minor technicalities alternating with the posting of pithy motivational phrases lifted from others indicates he still has some balance work to do. It is true, people who insist that they have all the answers to the universe are held to a higher standard of behavior.
Recently, dealing with some of these people was like dealing with some of the Paleo/lc debates. I am not into debate, I am into inquiry, discussion and exploration, and finding things that work. Sooner or later, any fine discussion gets taken over by the high school debate teams, full of those pimply-faced nerds who couldn't even get on the "C" basketball team, which muck it up for every true seeker. I think nothing is ever settled by debate, only things torn down.
That means I'll be reconnecting with that neighborhood nerdy kid who became an astrophysicist, that radio guy who builds faraday cages as a hobby, and others who effing love science.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Slouching Towards Macrobiotics - Who thought of it First? Part 2
I love how a blog series drives up my traffic!! Today's quiz will be easy for most of my dear and faithful readers.
This diet was promoted by a concerned fellow citizen of the world who felt that our diet was ruining the planet. Not ecologically, necessarily, but spiritually, or morally, well not sure on that. Of course, the experts thought all that was bunk....
To correct the imbalance, food was supposed to be grown, harvested, prepared and eaten in a natural state. Meats were to be a small item on the table, and all food was to be gently prepared by steaming, braising and cooking with low heat.
Food was not to be seasoned with gobs of sugary and chemical-laden sauces purchased from the grocery store, but was to be carefully seasoned with tiny amounts of natural ingredients or home-prepared condiments. Most foods were to be eaten plain, with no seasoning added at all. Herbs and spices were discouraged, and reserved only for special occasions, like illness. Herbs and spices were seen more as a drug, and with unintended consequences (like lack of balance, or even obesity) if consumed regularly.
OK, you're probably thinking right now, trick me once, but never twice, 'cause you can tell by the title that this is the same sort of trick that I tried to pull when I used that title the last time.
And....DING DING DING DING DING... you are correct. This is a trick blog post. Who is this guru? It's Michio Kushi again. Not Dr. Guyenet. By the way, I eventually gained weight on this macrobiotic diet, so not only is Dr. G wrong, he's not even first! Not good for a PhD, not good at all, to not be first, that is. And to top all of that, a REAL doctor from a REAL school like Harvard has declared macrobiotics to be a fad diet and many of its fans to be eating-disordered, at least more disordered than paleo.
And here's a little end-note, to educate some of the experts. People who flock from fad to fad are just seekers who haven't found the diet that is right for their situation. Maybe some of the anxiety is caused by brain chemicals, but I'll suspect lots of the anxiety comes from the trashy way society treats fat people, and the un-ease fat people feel about their continued placement in that fat camp. So, it is good that Dr. Emily continues to clarify her position on eating disorders, and I hope she continues to herd the tribe towards a suitable and civil response to the camp.
This diet was promoted by a concerned fellow citizen of the world who felt that our diet was ruining the planet. Not ecologically, necessarily, but spiritually, or morally, well not sure on that. Of course, the experts thought all that was bunk....
To correct the imbalance, food was supposed to be grown, harvested, prepared and eaten in a natural state. Meats were to be a small item on the table, and all food was to be gently prepared by steaming, braising and cooking with low heat.
Food was not to be seasoned with gobs of sugary and chemical-laden sauces purchased from the grocery store, but was to be carefully seasoned with tiny amounts of natural ingredients or home-prepared condiments. Most foods were to be eaten plain, with no seasoning added at all. Herbs and spices were discouraged, and reserved only for special occasions, like illness. Herbs and spices were seen more as a drug, and with unintended consequences (like lack of balance, or even obesity) if consumed regularly.
OK, you're probably thinking right now, trick me once, but never twice, 'cause you can tell by the title that this is the same sort of trick that I tried to pull when I used that title the last time.
And....DING DING DING DING DING... you are correct. This is a trick blog post. Who is this guru? It's Michio Kushi again. Not Dr. Guyenet. By the way, I eventually gained weight on this macrobiotic diet, so not only is Dr. G wrong, he's not even first! Not good for a PhD, not good at all, to not be first, that is. And to top all of that, a REAL doctor from a REAL school like Harvard has declared macrobiotics to be a fad diet and many of its fans to be eating-disordered, at least more disordered than paleo.
And here's a little end-note, to educate some of the experts. People who flock from fad to fad are just seekers who haven't found the diet that is right for their situation. Maybe some of the anxiety is caused by brain chemicals, but I'll suspect lots of the anxiety comes from the trashy way society treats fat people, and the un-ease fat people feel about their continued placement in that fat camp. So, it is good that Dr. Emily continues to clarify her position on eating disorders, and I hope she continues to herd the tribe towards a suitable and civil response to the camp.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Oh How I hate Teachable Moments
Welcome new readers! I got lots of comments on my last blog post about vegan diets. I don't recall too many holier-than-thou vegans when I was as holy, I think that attitude is much stronger these days.
What bothers me even more is the behavior of some registered dietitians who act like Kashi shills and ram healthywholegrains down everyone's throats.
Once when I was at a weekend camp-out, this attending dietitian made a big deal about explaining to us the wonders of steel-cut oats. 'Course, I had my fill of the little buggers when I was a vegetarian, not so much now, but I used to even grind my own from whole oats.
I casually mentioned that I didn't eat wheat anymore, but she insisted that I try the oats, so I agreed to try them the next morning. She made a big deal out of soaking them and cooking them all night, too. Unfortunately, she neglected to tell me that the steel-cut oats also contained plenty of other steel-cut grains, like wheat.
That just made me so mad. Nothing like healthy, satiating, stomach-rumbling-all-day wholegrain wheat.
What bothers me even more is the behavior of some registered dietitians who act like Kashi shills and ram healthywholegrains down everyone's throats.
Once when I was at a weekend camp-out, this attending dietitian made a big deal about explaining to us the wonders of steel-cut oats. 'Course, I had my fill of the little buggers when I was a vegetarian, not so much now, but I used to even grind my own from whole oats.
I casually mentioned that I didn't eat wheat anymore, but she insisted that I try the oats, so I agreed to try them the next morning. She made a big deal out of soaking them and cooking them all night, too. Unfortunately, she neglected to tell me that the steel-cut oats also contained plenty of other steel-cut grains, like wheat.
That just made me so mad. Nothing like healthy, satiating, stomach-rumbling-all-day wholegrain wheat.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Oh, the Irony
OK, I am old, now who is this guy? Besides, I think I am going to be busy that day, can't go to a concert. I am not sure of the day, but I am sure I am busy.
Morrissey is coming to town. Now I am generally suspicious of stars that go by first names only, but really, he is insisting that only vegetarian fare be served at the concert site. And to appease him, the Staples center is trying to get nearby eateries to comply with hisdemands wishes? And, how much "clean" radius does a music star need before he'll perform?
I need to warn Morrissey that he is going into some serious carnitas territory here. Vegetarian fare near the Staples center would probably be a bean and cheese burrito, but then one really couldn't be sure..... Could a meat-eating, murderous carnivore have to go to the Valley or El Monte to get some serious carnitas?
Oh yeah, where was I? Oh, right, so he has cancelled some concerts already, due to illness. It seems he is having some severe stomach issues.
And I am thinking, "Hey, I used to have some serious stomach issues." And many times, a vegetarian diet made things better. Eventually I developed a long list of foods I could not tolerate. Meat fat, tomatoes, soy milk, nuts, peppers, eggplant, sour cream, butter, vegan cold cuts, milk, beets, alcohol on and on. And this is how the logic went down.
A + B => bad
A + C => bad
A + D => bad
Therefore, B and C and D are bad.
This flurry of logic is an embarrassment for someone as statistically gifted as I am. And yes, I was developing GERD before getting off the "healthy" vegetarian diet and onto a fat-swilling artery-clogging low carb diet. And here is what I found out:
GERD has nothing to do with what time of the day I eat, but everything to do with eating wheat. I can eat every food listed above (ok, except raw beets) without a problem as long as I haven't eaten any wheat. For years I avoided all those foods when I really should been avoiding that one food. The main reason I did not realize it is that wheat damage has a very long half-life for me. Even when I was eating wheat about a couple of times a week, I still didn't notice the problem, because at least until the end, it was always at a constant, low level.
This Morrissey guy, he has severe stomach problems, and Barrett's esophagus, and he wants to insist that everyone eat like he does? He could get cancer from this, and while I don't really know what he is eating, I am wondering if he is putting 2 and 2 together like I did. And, now I am getting this uneasy feeling in my stomach again, as I realize that he is demanding that others take the same dangerous path he has taken.
Morrissey is coming to town. Now I am generally suspicious of stars that go by first names only, but really, he is insisting that only vegetarian fare be served at the concert site. And to appease him, the Staples center is trying to get nearby eateries to comply with his
I need to warn Morrissey that he is going into some serious carnitas territory here. Vegetarian fare near the Staples center would probably be a bean and cheese burrito, but then one really couldn't be sure..... Could a meat-eating, murderous carnivore have to go to the Valley or El Monte to get some serious carnitas?
Oh yeah, where was I? Oh, right, so he has cancelled some concerts already, due to illness. It seems he is having some severe stomach issues.
And I am thinking, "Hey, I used to have some serious stomach issues." And many times, a vegetarian diet made things better. Eventually I developed a long list of foods I could not tolerate. Meat fat, tomatoes, soy milk, nuts, peppers, eggplant, sour cream, butter, vegan cold cuts, milk, beets, alcohol on and on. And this is how the logic went down.
A + B => bad
A + C => bad
A + D => bad
Therefore, B and C and D are bad.
This flurry of logic is an embarrassment for someone as statistically gifted as I am. And yes, I was developing GERD before getting off the "healthy" vegetarian diet and onto a fat-swilling artery-clogging low carb diet. And here is what I found out:
GERD has nothing to do with what time of the day I eat, but everything to do with eating wheat. I can eat every food listed above (ok, except raw beets) without a problem as long as I haven't eaten any wheat. For years I avoided all those foods when I really should been avoiding that one food. The main reason I did not realize it is that wheat damage has a very long half-life for me. Even when I was eating wheat about a couple of times a week, I still didn't notice the problem, because at least until the end, it was always at a constant, low level.
This Morrissey guy, he has severe stomach problems, and Barrett's esophagus, and he wants to insist that everyone eat like he does? He could get cancer from this, and while I don't really know what he is eating, I am wondering if he is putting 2 and 2 together like I did. And, now I am getting this uneasy feeling in my stomach again, as I realize that he is demanding that others take the same dangerous path he has taken.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)