For those who don't know, Bob and I have bought my mom's old house and are officially living in it as of yesterday, (though we started moving in a couple weeks ago.) We've already done some upgrades and made some major purchases.
It's going to be very tight for the rest of the year. I plan to stop working near the end of September. The baby will be born at the end of October and then there's Christmas. Plus, Bob's car needs major repairs, but it will cost more than the car is worth so we plan on buying a vehicle this month. We're going to be broke!
Which leads me to my point: Freezer cooking. In an effort to save time and money, I decided to give freezer cooking another try. It was something I did a couple times in the past, but wasn't entirely satisfied with the results. This time I did my research. I found a website called Once a Month Meals. It's fantastic!
There's hundred of recipes all for different lifestyles, including Paleo, Whole 30, and Gluten/Dairy Free. There's a menu builder, where you pick out 15 different recipes and a shopping list is generated for you, plus a prep list of things to do before your big cook day, full cooking instructions, labels you can print off for when it's time to freeze, and thawing instructions! You have to be a member and that costs $16 a month for the Pro Membership. It's totally worth the money guys!
The whole process is supposed to take 3-4 days. You go shopping one day and spend anywhere from $300-$600 worth of groceries. The groceries you have to buy will depend on the recipes you've chosen and what you have available in your house already. I definitely spent on the high end cooking all primal and paleo meals, plus my new kitchen was void of food due to the move. A lot of the shelf stable items will carry forward into the next month's mass cooking spree making my next big grocery shop cheaper than this one.
The second day, you prep the food. Chop up veggies, steam veggies, make rice and pasta, brown your meat and chop it ect.
The third day is when you put it all together. You're expected to spend 8-12 hours cooking depending on the recipes you've chosen and how many dishes you have to wash in between.
For me, this process has already taken 7 days and I'm still not done. I couldn't prep in a day. I didn't have enough room in my fridge for everything. I definitely bit off more than I could chew trying to cook 15 different double batches of meals. I completed about 8 recipes and then I said fuck it I can't cook any more!
Tesla's in my way all the time, my ankles would swell slightly from being on my feet for hours, my portable dishwasher takes up the entire kitchen so I can't do much while dishes are washing except try and rest. Bob refused to help me for longer than an hour. I still have my canvassing job to go to. It was too much! I froze what I prepped so it wouldn't spoil, but I still have more vegetables to prep including sweet potatoes, onions, bell peppers, and carrots.
On the plus side, I learned a lot about freezer cooking and what to do next time. There will definitely be a next time! I want to get good at this so that in September and October I can fill my freezer with food and then when the baby's born, I won't have to cook for a couple months and can use that time I would have spent cooking on doing other things.
We've been spending a lot of money on eating out the last few weeks and it seems like there's never anything ready to eat at home. My goal with freezer cooking is to save money by going grocery shopping less often, buying in bulk, and wasting less fresh food. I even got a costco membership!
As it stands now, all we have to buy for the month of June is dairy, fresh fruit, and salad stuff.
I hope I can one day feed my family for less than $10 a day, because right now it's costing me double that. But this is just month one. As I stock up my pantry with more items and get better at freezing meals, I'll actually be able to fully utilize the deals I find in stores on fresh produce and meat. That's something I never did before, a lot got wasted, so I'm excited about it!
Showing posts with label healthy living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy living. Show all posts
Monday, June 2, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Natural Hair Care Fail
Today was my first time washing my hair with store-bought shampoo and conditioner in a month!
It. Was. Glorious!
I've had an interest in natural health remedies ever since I found a book about it in the spare room of my parent's old house in Ste. Anne. It was a very informative book and after getting the internet in the late 90's, I continued to search for information and recipes.
After graduating from college, I sort of got out of it and stopped caring. But since becoming interested in eating primal almost a year ago now, I've been very interested in using natural products to cure what ails me as well as for health and beauty.
I can't remember the last time I used soap or body wash in the shower. I wash my hands with soap but that's about it. I use an oil and sugar scrub which doesn't dry out my skin or make it itch like all the different commercial products I've tried. I clean my face with oil and honey. All the facial cleansers I've tried irritate my skin and dry it out. Every hand and body lotion I've ever used has dried out my skin. The easiest solution was to just stop using these commercial products.
After having great success for many, many months not using soaps and lotions, I thought, surely there's got to be a natural solution to maintaining my hair? My hair has always been fine, dry,and limp. When I was a little kid it wasn't, but as I got older, starting showering every day and using hair products, I definitely noticed my hair change. It never felt touchable, it was getting harder to style and it never looked healthy.
The commercial solution is add more product to your hair. More hair serum, more anti-frizz creme, more volumizing hair spray. When you wake up your hair is absolutely disgusting. It's a mess. You have to wash all that junk out, dry it, flat-iron it, add in more products and go about your day. How exhausting. I couldn't be bothered to do all that after high school, so I used less and less hair products and only washed my hair every other day.
This worked out okay for me for many years. Since becoming a stay at home mom though, I can honestly go a week without showering. It's too cold to leave the house and nobody ever comes over here except more kids who don't give a damn what I look like . It probably sounds disgusting, but it's not that bad. I brush my hair and teeth every day! I'm not a total slob.
Commercial shampoo cleans the hair too much. It strips everything away. So then you use a commercial conditioner which uses chemicals that bond to your hair in an effort to replace some of what the shampoo stripped away. Then the scalp goes nuts producing extra oil to try to protect the hair, but it's for nothing because you just wash your hair again the next day.
So, after much reading, I decided I would attempt to only use natural hair cleansers, like vinegar. I kept reading about the "transition phase" and how it can take several weeks for your hair to adapt to any natural and homemade hair cleansers. And if your hair never adapts, try another recipe because "hair care is personal" and not all cleansers will be right for all hair.
I was getting sick of all that and read on someone's blog they just use water to wash their hair and then they have a special brushing routine to distribute the oils down to the ends of the hair. So, I started doing that for a bit. At first I noticed my roots were lifted and my hair had more volume. When I styled it, it actually stayed in place. But then my hair kept feeling thicker and heavier and oilier and after a month I couldn't take it anymore!
Fuck the transition phase! Store-bought shampoo and conditioner make my hair feel awesome. It feels lighter, cleaner, it smells like flowers, and it's very soft. I'm not going to use it every day, but perhaps only washing it once a week combined with the new brushing technique I learned will be a better compromise.
It. Was. Glorious!
I've had an interest in natural health remedies ever since I found a book about it in the spare room of my parent's old house in Ste. Anne. It was a very informative book and after getting the internet in the late 90's, I continued to search for information and recipes.
After graduating from college, I sort of got out of it and stopped caring. But since becoming interested in eating primal almost a year ago now, I've been very interested in using natural products to cure what ails me as well as for health and beauty.
I can't remember the last time I used soap or body wash in the shower. I wash my hands with soap but that's about it. I use an oil and sugar scrub which doesn't dry out my skin or make it itch like all the different commercial products I've tried. I clean my face with oil and honey. All the facial cleansers I've tried irritate my skin and dry it out. Every hand and body lotion I've ever used has dried out my skin. The easiest solution was to just stop using these commercial products.
After having great success for many, many months not using soaps and lotions, I thought, surely there's got to be a natural solution to maintaining my hair? My hair has always been fine, dry,and limp. When I was a little kid it wasn't, but as I got older, starting showering every day and using hair products, I definitely noticed my hair change. It never felt touchable, it was getting harder to style and it never looked healthy.
The commercial solution is add more product to your hair. More hair serum, more anti-frizz creme, more volumizing hair spray. When you wake up your hair is absolutely disgusting. It's a mess. You have to wash all that junk out, dry it, flat-iron it, add in more products and go about your day. How exhausting. I couldn't be bothered to do all that after high school, so I used less and less hair products and only washed my hair every other day.
This worked out okay for me for many years. Since becoming a stay at home mom though, I can honestly go a week without showering. It's too cold to leave the house and nobody ever comes over here except more kids who don't give a damn what I look like . It probably sounds disgusting, but it's not that bad. I brush my hair and teeth every day! I'm not a total slob.
Commercial shampoo cleans the hair too much. It strips everything away. So then you use a commercial conditioner which uses chemicals that bond to your hair in an effort to replace some of what the shampoo stripped away. Then the scalp goes nuts producing extra oil to try to protect the hair, but it's for nothing because you just wash your hair again the next day.
So, after much reading, I decided I would attempt to only use natural hair cleansers, like vinegar. I kept reading about the "transition phase" and how it can take several weeks for your hair to adapt to any natural and homemade hair cleansers. And if your hair never adapts, try another recipe because "hair care is personal" and not all cleansers will be right for all hair.
I was getting sick of all that and read on someone's blog they just use water to wash their hair and then they have a special brushing routine to distribute the oils down to the ends of the hair. So, I started doing that for a bit. At first I noticed my roots were lifted and my hair had more volume. When I styled it, it actually stayed in place. But then my hair kept feeling thicker and heavier and oilier and after a month I couldn't take it anymore!
Fuck the transition phase! Store-bought shampoo and conditioner make my hair feel awesome. It feels lighter, cleaner, it smells like flowers, and it's very soft. I'm not going to use it every day, but perhaps only washing it once a week combined with the new brushing technique I learned will be a better compromise.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Back On The Primal Bandwagon
Sunday I committed myself to eating primal again. I like eating that way and I like the way it makes me feel. After going on a month long hiatus and having nothing but problems, I felt like I needed to go back to what works. Three days in, I'm so happy I started eating this way again!
I'm using CalorieCount.com again to help me stay on track for the first little bit. I have to reteach myself how to eat again haha. (But it's not taking me long to relearn! Just like riding a bicycle!)
50% of my calories come from fat (89 grams a day)
25% of my calories come from protein (100 grams a day)
25% of my calories come from carbs (100 grams a day)
Because I'm not eating grains, I only need about 15 g of fiber a day and even though my carbs are very low, I'm still getting more than enough vitamin A & C. I'm not taking any supplements either. (Though I might start taking my prenatal vitamin again.)
I'm aiming to eat 1600 calories a day, but I keep coming in slightly under calories. Part of it is I'm not eating back all my calories I burn working out and the other part is I'm just not hungry. Fat really does make you feel full! My calorie deficit has been averaging 700 calories too! I think that's a pretty decent number for steady, sustainable weight loss, especially since my meals are very satisfying.
So, everything seems to be going good so far, but I'm adding in one more element that I've always wanted to try, and that is intermittent fasting. In my research I've discovered that your body starts to burn fat as fuel only 12 hours or so after eating. If you shorten your window of eating to less than 12 hours and do a morning work out, you can burn off more fat. (And this effect should be compounded by the fact that I'm only eating 400 calories worth of carbohydrates daily.)
I start "feasting" at 9am and I try to eat all of my calories by 8pm. From 8pm to 9am I am fasting. It's only a 13 hour fast, and I do a 20-30 minutes workout before I eat breakfast at 9am. I'm hoping to work my way up to a 16 hour fast in the next few months.
My scale tracks weight and body fat, so I really hope I see some positive results in the next few weeks. I hope to reach my ideal weight before the end of the year. Once I do reach my ideal weight, I'll probably ease up on the fasting, allowing me to snack socially, and I'll also increase my carb intake slightly, allowing me eat more things like fruit and chocolate.
We'll see how it goes!
I'm using CalorieCount.com again to help me stay on track for the first little bit. I have to reteach myself how to eat again haha. (But it's not taking me long to relearn! Just like riding a bicycle!)
50% of my calories come from fat (89 grams a day)
25% of my calories come from protein (100 grams a day)
25% of my calories come from carbs (100 grams a day)
Because I'm not eating grains, I only need about 15 g of fiber a day and even though my carbs are very low, I'm still getting more than enough vitamin A & C. I'm not taking any supplements either. (Though I might start taking my prenatal vitamin again.)
I'm aiming to eat 1600 calories a day, but I keep coming in slightly under calories. Part of it is I'm not eating back all my calories I burn working out and the other part is I'm just not hungry. Fat really does make you feel full! My calorie deficit has been averaging 700 calories too! I think that's a pretty decent number for steady, sustainable weight loss, especially since my meals are very satisfying.
So, everything seems to be going good so far, but I'm adding in one more element that I've always wanted to try, and that is intermittent fasting. In my research I've discovered that your body starts to burn fat as fuel only 12 hours or so after eating. If you shorten your window of eating to less than 12 hours and do a morning work out, you can burn off more fat. (And this effect should be compounded by the fact that I'm only eating 400 calories worth of carbohydrates daily.)
I start "feasting" at 9am and I try to eat all of my calories by 8pm. From 8pm to 9am I am fasting. It's only a 13 hour fast, and I do a 20-30 minutes workout before I eat breakfast at 9am. I'm hoping to work my way up to a 16 hour fast in the next few months.
My scale tracks weight and body fat, so I really hope I see some positive results in the next few weeks. I hope to reach my ideal weight before the end of the year. Once I do reach my ideal weight, I'll probably ease up on the fasting, allowing me to snack socially, and I'll also increase my carb intake slightly, allowing me eat more things like fruit and chocolate.
We'll see how it goes!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
"Bread"
I have been trying very hard to find a paleo bread recipe to make a damn sandwich and I keep failing. I have thrown out half a dozen recipes already, straight from the oven directly to the garbage. They all taste so salty! And the coconut flour sometimes has an odd flavour. The almond flour often burns. Sometimes the dough isn't binding. Ugh, such a hassle! I just want a recipe to come out right for a change!
I have one recipe that always works for me, but it's a banana bread recipe, so it's on the sweeter, softer side and not conducive to sandwich making. I've always sucked at making normal bread and now I suck at making paleo bread too. The difference is that the ingredients are now more expensive and it's that much more infuriating when they get wasted. At least back in the day I was able to make biscuits or a simple quick bread with wheat flour.
I've even tried to adapt a normal recipe into a paleo recipe, but both times that was a disaster too. Very discouraging. I'm so close to going out and buying some gluten-free bread just to get over this odd obsession with making a sandwich. I don't even like sandwiches. I've never liked them. I don't know what's with me. I mean, certain sandwiches are okay, but I've never craved one before like I have been recently. It's so weird. It won't go away! It must be satisfied!!
There are SO many paleo "bread" recipes. Sifting through them is horrible. I've looked through at least 100 recipes. It's overwhelming. There are too many recipes in my bookmark menu and in multiple windows on multiple tabs. I'm trying to compare recipes and comments and I don't have all the ingredients I need or I lose the damn recipe by closing the tab by accident then I don't know where to find it because I've looked at too many recipes already. It's just a blur.
Maybe I'll go to Chapters and pick up a paleo recipe book or two. You know, recipes written by real chefs and bakers who actually know about paleo baking, and not some know-it-all internet person who only exists on the internet and keeps a food blog. You know, the kind of food blog where you just want to get to the damn recipe but you have to scroll through all this anecdotal crap and a slew of artistic pictures of them carefully and artfully mixing each ingredient and then of course several final products shots that all look the same. (I don't care about your journey! Get to the damn recipe)
And the 200 comments below all say the exact same thing: "Sounds yummy! Can't wait to try it!" No constructive feedback whatsoever. No opinions from people who actually made the bread and ate it.
Yes, I'm bitter and this is gone on too long, but I needed to rant.
I have one recipe that always works for me, but it's a banana bread recipe, so it's on the sweeter, softer side and not conducive to sandwich making. I've always sucked at making normal bread and now I suck at making paleo bread too. The difference is that the ingredients are now more expensive and it's that much more infuriating when they get wasted. At least back in the day I was able to make biscuits or a simple quick bread with wheat flour.
I've even tried to adapt a normal recipe into a paleo recipe, but both times that was a disaster too. Very discouraging. I'm so close to going out and buying some gluten-free bread just to get over this odd obsession with making a sandwich. I don't even like sandwiches. I've never liked them. I don't know what's with me. I mean, certain sandwiches are okay, but I've never craved one before like I have been recently. It's so weird. It won't go away! It must be satisfied!!
There are SO many paleo "bread" recipes. Sifting through them is horrible. I've looked through at least 100 recipes. It's overwhelming. There are too many recipes in my bookmark menu and in multiple windows on multiple tabs. I'm trying to compare recipes and comments and I don't have all the ingredients I need or I lose the damn recipe by closing the tab by accident then I don't know where to find it because I've looked at too many recipes already. It's just a blur.
Maybe I'll go to Chapters and pick up a paleo recipe book or two. You know, recipes written by real chefs and bakers who actually know about paleo baking, and not some know-it-all internet person who only exists on the internet and keeps a food blog. You know, the kind of food blog where you just want to get to the damn recipe but you have to scroll through all this anecdotal crap and a slew of artistic pictures of them carefully and artfully mixing each ingredient and then of course several final products shots that all look the same. (I don't care about your journey! Get to the damn recipe)
And the 200 comments below all say the exact same thing: "Sounds yummy! Can't wait to try it!" No constructive feedback whatsoever. No opinions from people who actually made the bread and ate it.
Yes, I'm bitter and this is gone on too long, but I needed to rant.
Friday, December 27, 2013
The Proof is In The (Christmas) Pudding
I had hunch that my hormonal acne was caused by the wheat and corn in my diet because it went away when I started eating primal/paleo. While I do try to watch what I eat, I did have some purposeful slip-ups over the month. I knew that I was going to be going off my primal diet over Christmas and I wanted to test my tolerance level.
It started off with a Pop-tart in the evening a couple weeks ago. It gave me diarrhea. The next night I had another Pop-tart and nothing happened. I was totally fine. So from there I progressed. I made homemade macaroni and cheese (with a real cream sauce) and penne with Alfredo sauce. Oh, so delicious! I really love pasta. There were no negative side effects right away.
As Christmas approached, I ate more popcorn, more baking, and just more junk food in general, along with more anti-primal food. And what do you know, my face completely broke out! I had three Christmas dinners to attend in a row and I did not hold back! Perogies, gravy, dainties, french toast, Pillsbury rolls, vegetable casserole with breadcrumbs baked on top, homemade nuts and bolts mix, and Christmas pudding! Oh, how I love Christmas pudding!
Also, I could really see the difference between how full eating primal makes me feel. When eating wheat, my stomach was this bottomless pit where it took so much more to fill me up.
Now my face is really irritated! I hope it doesn't take long to go back to normal. My sister got me some detox tea for Christmas, so I'm going on a raw fruit + veggie + tea fast today and for the weekend to try to help bring my body back into balance. Then it's back to good primal eating.
Because wheat and corn doesn't make me feel sick or make me have to go to the bathroom, the effect it has on my body is more subtle and lasts over time. In the past, I would have never connected eating wheat and corn with my complexion, but there is a very clear connection now. This is all the proof I need to stay far, far away from wheat and corn.
Plus, Tesla needs to detox too. For 3 days all she's eaten is starchy carbs, meat, and refined sugar. It's time for everyone to get back on track.
It started off with a Pop-tart in the evening a couple weeks ago. It gave me diarrhea. The next night I had another Pop-tart and nothing happened. I was totally fine. So from there I progressed. I made homemade macaroni and cheese (with a real cream sauce) and penne with Alfredo sauce. Oh, so delicious! I really love pasta. There were no negative side effects right away.
As Christmas approached, I ate more popcorn, more baking, and just more junk food in general, along with more anti-primal food. And what do you know, my face completely broke out! I had three Christmas dinners to attend in a row and I did not hold back! Perogies, gravy, dainties, french toast, Pillsbury rolls, vegetable casserole with breadcrumbs baked on top, homemade nuts and bolts mix, and Christmas pudding! Oh, how I love Christmas pudding!
Also, I could really see the difference between how full eating primal makes me feel. When eating wheat, my stomach was this bottomless pit where it took so much more to fill me up.
Now my face is really irritated! I hope it doesn't take long to go back to normal. My sister got me some detox tea for Christmas, so I'm going on a raw fruit + veggie + tea fast today and for the weekend to try to help bring my body back into balance. Then it's back to good primal eating.
Because wheat and corn doesn't make me feel sick or make me have to go to the bathroom, the effect it has on my body is more subtle and lasts over time. In the past, I would have never connected eating wheat and corn with my complexion, but there is a very clear connection now. This is all the proof I need to stay far, far away from wheat and corn.
Plus, Tesla needs to detox too. For 3 days all she's eaten is starchy carbs, meat, and refined sugar. It's time for everyone to get back on track.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Immunity Tea
Yesterday I felt a flu coming on. I did a search to see if there was anything that could be done about it and came across a recipe for Immunity Tea. The writer claimed if you drink this tea, your symptoms for a cold or flu will be greatly reduced and would be the difference between staying home sick and feeling like hell or going to work with mildly annoying symptoms. I had to try it. With the daycare kids coming over and Bob going to work, I needed to find a way to get through the day. Plus, my great-grandmother was a huge fan of garlic and onions, eating them raw to maintain her immune system. She was never sick apparently. My dad eats tons of fresh garlic and I've only seen him have the flu once in my life. It was definitely worth a shot.
I mixed in a tablespoon of Buckwheat Honey and poured out two cups. Bob isn't sick, but I told him he must drink it for preventative measures to see if it actually prevents him from getting sick. It smelled good to me, but Bob didn't agree. It tasted like an Asian stir-fry sauce, very salty, and adding more honey didn't help the flavour. It was kind of like drinking soya sauce or terriyaki sauce. I brought out fresh pineapple and strawberry slices so that we could have a chaser to help us get the tea down. It worked well and actually complimented the tea nicely.
My symptoms before the tea were:
I was very, very dehydrated. I could feel the cold water splash down my throat and hit my stomach. I know some people like that feeling, but I do not. It's very uncomfortable for me and I'm not used to that feeling. I ate some more fresh pineapple and strawberries and went to the bathroom. Let's just say my number 2 was more akin to a number 1, but it was a one time deal.
I wasn't sick to my stomach anymore. I felt thirsty and hungry which I think is a sign of being more well than ill. I kept down the fruit and the thought of throwing up never crossed my mind. My back pain and migraine are not extreme as they had been before. Neck pain is still brutal. I drank a large chocolate milk and the dairy did not affect me negatively at all.
I've been awake for almost 3 hours and watching TV for an hour didn't lull me to sleep like I wanted it to; that's why I'm blogging so damn early in the morning. I'm going to try to go back to sleep now and see how the rest of the day goes. Bob bought some "real" flu medication for me to take in the event this tea isn't all it's claimed to be. I may make another batch this afternoon, though, I will reduce the amount of Chicken OXO I add to the water. I found it to be way, way too salty, but I also condensed the hell out of it, so that's probably why it was like that. Live and learn. (Though drinking 100ml is way more manageable than a cup and a half! I don't know if I could drink that much! Maybe I'll just boil the hell out of it again and use less OXO.)
If you feel even the slightest inkling that you're about to get sick, I highly recommend this tea. I didn't think it was as nasty as Bob did, but you be the judge. I'm not totally cured or anything, but I feel like it's safe to open up the daycare and that I'll be able to do my job properly without breaking out into a cold sweat and passing out. This will probably be the shortest flu I've ever had!
Ingredients for 2 servings:After bringing your broth up to a boil, add in the lemon juice. If you have a submersible colander,put your chopped up ginger and garlic in it and place in the boiling water. I didn't have that, but I did have a bunch of tea infusers and those did the job quite well. The recipe said to reduce the pot to a simmer for 15 minutes, but I did not read the recipe properly. I let it go for a full boil for 15 minutes. The end result was 200ml of very potent tea.
- 1 Garlic Bulb
- 2 inch piece of Ginger
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- 3 cups Chicken (or Vegetable) Broth
- Honey to taste
I mixed in a tablespoon of Buckwheat Honey and poured out two cups. Bob isn't sick, but I told him he must drink it for preventative measures to see if it actually prevents him from getting sick. It smelled good to me, but Bob didn't agree. It tasted like an Asian stir-fry sauce, very salty, and adding more honey didn't help the flavour. It was kind of like drinking soya sauce or terriyaki sauce. I brought out fresh pineapple and strawberry slices so that we could have a chaser to help us get the tea down. It worked well and actually complimented the tea nicely.
My symptoms before the tea were:
- Muscle pain in my lower back, shoulders, and neck
- Sore throat
- Migraine
- Nausa
I was very, very dehydrated. I could feel the cold water splash down my throat and hit my stomach. I know some people like that feeling, but I do not. It's very uncomfortable for me and I'm not used to that feeling. I ate some more fresh pineapple and strawberries and went to the bathroom. Let's just say my number 2 was more akin to a number 1, but it was a one time deal.
I wasn't sick to my stomach anymore. I felt thirsty and hungry which I think is a sign of being more well than ill. I kept down the fruit and the thought of throwing up never crossed my mind. My back pain and migraine are not extreme as they had been before. Neck pain is still brutal. I drank a large chocolate milk and the dairy did not affect me negatively at all.
I've been awake for almost 3 hours and watching TV for an hour didn't lull me to sleep like I wanted it to; that's why I'm blogging so damn early in the morning. I'm going to try to go back to sleep now and see how the rest of the day goes. Bob bought some "real" flu medication for me to take in the event this tea isn't all it's claimed to be. I may make another batch this afternoon, though, I will reduce the amount of Chicken OXO I add to the water. I found it to be way, way too salty, but I also condensed the hell out of it, so that's probably why it was like that. Live and learn. (Though drinking 100ml is way more manageable than a cup and a half! I don't know if I could drink that much! Maybe I'll just boil the hell out of it again and use less OXO.)
If you feel even the slightest inkling that you're about to get sick, I highly recommend this tea. I didn't think it was as nasty as Bob did, but you be the judge. I'm not totally cured or anything, but I feel like it's safe to open up the daycare and that I'll be able to do my job properly without breaking out into a cold sweat and passing out. This will probably be the shortest flu I've ever had!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Milk vs Juice
I drink water. A cool glassful on it's own, or often I'll add a frozen lemon wedge or a squirt of lemon juice. It's so refreshing! It's the perfect drink to rehydrate or accompany any meal. I rarely drink anything else. (Except my guilty pleasure of chocolate milk.) So, naturally I want Tesla to drink water too. And she does! But I think that she needs some liquid calories too.
My pediatrician recommended she drink no more than 16 oz of milk a day, (or 2 cups if you understand metric better.) He made no mention of what she should drink at other times and we never talked about juice.
I was doing some research online and from multiple sites I read that children should drink unlimited amounts of milk and water, but only 4-6 oz of 100% juice. They claim that juice has too much sugar and too many calories compared to milk and that drinking sugary drinks all the time can fill their little bellies leaving not enough room for real food. Also, the more sugary drinks a child has per day, the more likely the child will be obese.
For the past month, Tesla has been drinking:
10 oz of 3% milk a day
5 oz of Bolthouse Farms 100% fruit juice smoothie (assorted varieties) and
5 oz of Bolthouse Farms 100% Carrot juice daily.
She eats 4 meals a day, so at each meal I offer a cup of milk or juice to drink and the rest of the time she has water. I see milk and juice as a supplement to the meal. She's been drinking her food for her whole life, so I see milk and juice as an extension of that. She can quickly and easily get some of the calories and nutrition she needs without having to spend all that extra time in her high chair.
But I still can't wrap my head around why milk is "healthier" than juice. Why should I cut out one of her juices and replace it with milk? Honestly, I don't believe one is necessarily better than the other. They both have their place. Yes, the juice has twice as much sugar, but it's natural sugar she would have eaten anyway had I fed her all the ingredients in the juice raw.
I think the reason why whole milk is pushed over juice is because A) Dairy is a made up food group that we don't need to consume, but it happens to employ a lot of people and many people make a profit off dairy farming, and B) there is fat in milk and infants and toddlers require a high fat diet for proper growth and development, but so many children exist on carbohydrates, their milk is the only thing they consume that has fat in it.
Tesla eats a high fat diet just like her parents do. The only foods we have trouble getting her to eat are non-starchy vegetables. (She tries a bite or two, but usually just spits it out.) She'll eat them if they're mixed into her omelet, or blended into a drink or smoothie though. It just makes sense for me to give her 100% fruit and vegetable juice. She doesn't need more milk.
Raising a primal baby is so much harder than raising a SAD baby. When she's bugging me for a pre-dinner snack, I can't just throw some goldfish crackers or a cheerios into a bowl to distract her. Any of the acceptable foods to give her are either messy or a choking hazard, except for a stick of cheese, but sometimes she's already had cheese, so there's a fine line between how many ounces of cheese I want her to eat in a day. Filling up a sippy cup with 100% Orange-Carrot juice... vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, potassium... that's pretty quick and easy for an appetizer and damn nutritious too.
As she gets older the juice will be less necessary because she'll be eating more well rounded. I don't think I'm making her at risk for being obese by feeding her twice the daily recommended limit for juice. She's tall and her weight is average, plus we brush her teeth every day. She eats a hell of a lot better than most other kids I've met, and she eats more variety too.
Only time will tell if I'm making a good, healthy choice for my daughter.
My pediatrician recommended she drink no more than 16 oz of milk a day, (or 2 cups if you understand metric better.) He made no mention of what she should drink at other times and we never talked about juice.
I was doing some research online and from multiple sites I read that children should drink unlimited amounts of milk and water, but only 4-6 oz of 100% juice. They claim that juice has too much sugar and too many calories compared to milk and that drinking sugary drinks all the time can fill their little bellies leaving not enough room for real food. Also, the more sugary drinks a child has per day, the more likely the child will be obese.
For the past month, Tesla has been drinking:
10 oz of 3% milk a day
5 oz of Bolthouse Farms 100% fruit juice smoothie (assorted varieties) and
5 oz of Bolthouse Farms 100% Carrot juice daily.
She eats 4 meals a day, so at each meal I offer a cup of milk or juice to drink and the rest of the time she has water. I see milk and juice as a supplement to the meal. She's been drinking her food for her whole life, so I see milk and juice as an extension of that. She can quickly and easily get some of the calories and nutrition she needs without having to spend all that extra time in her high chair.
But I still can't wrap my head around why milk is "healthier" than juice. Why should I cut out one of her juices and replace it with milk? Honestly, I don't believe one is necessarily better than the other. They both have their place. Yes, the juice has twice as much sugar, but it's natural sugar she would have eaten anyway had I fed her all the ingredients in the juice raw.
I think the reason why whole milk is pushed over juice is because A) Dairy is a made up food group that we don't need to consume, but it happens to employ a lot of people and many people make a profit off dairy farming, and B) there is fat in milk and infants and toddlers require a high fat diet for proper growth and development, but so many children exist on carbohydrates, their milk is the only thing they consume that has fat in it.
Tesla eats a high fat diet just like her parents do. The only foods we have trouble getting her to eat are non-starchy vegetables. (She tries a bite or two, but usually just spits it out.) She'll eat them if they're mixed into her omelet, or blended into a drink or smoothie though. It just makes sense for me to give her 100% fruit and vegetable juice. She doesn't need more milk.
Raising a primal baby is so much harder than raising a SAD baby. When she's bugging me for a pre-dinner snack, I can't just throw some goldfish crackers or a cheerios into a bowl to distract her. Any of the acceptable foods to give her are either messy or a choking hazard, except for a stick of cheese, but sometimes she's already had cheese, so there's a fine line between how many ounces of cheese I want her to eat in a day. Filling up a sippy cup with 100% Orange-Carrot juice... vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, potassium... that's pretty quick and easy for an appetizer and damn nutritious too.
As she gets older the juice will be less necessary because she'll be eating more well rounded. I don't think I'm making her at risk for being obese by feeding her twice the daily recommended limit for juice. She's tall and her weight is average, plus we brush her teeth every day. She eats a hell of a lot better than most other kids I've met, and she eats more variety too.
Only time will tell if I'm making a good, healthy choice for my daughter.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Progress
Yesterday I ate a few Reece cups. I used to really like them and they were in my top 10 favourite chocolate bars. However, there was one problem; It tasted disgusting. It tasted like sugary, cheap, artificial dollarama candy. Reece used to taste like the perfect blend of peanut butter and chocolate, but now it tastes fake. I just couldn't believe it!
Well, I guess I can believe it. The main ingredient is processed sugar. It's more sugar than chocolate and peanuts and I guess I'm not used to eating that anymore. I still eat processed white and brown sugar, just not as much. I use honey, maple syrup, and organic cane sugar too.
I find that I'm somewhere in between my new way of eating and my old way. Most of the paleo dessert recipes I've tried are not sweet enough and I find myself adding sugar, yet all my old dessert recipes are too sweet and don't taste good like they used to!
Bob's taste-buds haven't adjusted the way mine have yet. Not only did I have a head start on him, but he also still drinks Pepsi, and lately, vodka coolers. Though he has been trying some natural sodas and spritzers and says he enjoys them. Some of them are a tad pricey, but we have a soda stream so one of my goals is to make natural cherry cola for Bob before the year is through.
I'm impressed with the progress my whole family's made. We're trying totally new foods, (squash varieties, plantains, cassava, pumpkin seed butter, dried fruits, coconut products...) we're eating more meat and eggs, eating healthier starches, and more fruits and veggies. I can see a difference in my skin and hair. I can see a reduction in the dark circles under my eyes. My adult acne always flares up at that time of the month and this month my acne was greatly reduced and lasted half as long.
Keeping this family on track is a lot of work. I do an incredible amount of list making, research, and prep work. Cooking primal/paleo meals isn't necessarily difficult, but it's sort of like relearning how to cook and bake. I never used to use recipes because I never needed to. I looked at the ingredients I had and knew just what to do with them. Now I'm working with some unfamiliar ingredients a lot of the time and their cooking properties are totally different from what I'm used to working with. I have to do my research.
Tesla's doctor's appointment is this week and I'm really excited to show off how big and strong my grain-free baby is. I don't know how her doctor's going to react when I tell him she doesn't eat bread or crackers or cereal since that's what most children live off of, but I guess we'll see how the examination goes.
Well, I guess I can believe it. The main ingredient is processed sugar. It's more sugar than chocolate and peanuts and I guess I'm not used to eating that anymore. I still eat processed white and brown sugar, just not as much. I use honey, maple syrup, and organic cane sugar too.
I find that I'm somewhere in between my new way of eating and my old way. Most of the paleo dessert recipes I've tried are not sweet enough and I find myself adding sugar, yet all my old dessert recipes are too sweet and don't taste good like they used to!
Bob's taste-buds haven't adjusted the way mine have yet. Not only did I have a head start on him, but he also still drinks Pepsi, and lately, vodka coolers. Though he has been trying some natural sodas and spritzers and says he enjoys them. Some of them are a tad pricey, but we have a soda stream so one of my goals is to make natural cherry cola for Bob before the year is through.
I'm impressed with the progress my whole family's made. We're trying totally new foods, (squash varieties, plantains, cassava, pumpkin seed butter, dried fruits, coconut products...) we're eating more meat and eggs, eating healthier starches, and more fruits and veggies. I can see a difference in my skin and hair. I can see a reduction in the dark circles under my eyes. My adult acne always flares up at that time of the month and this month my acne was greatly reduced and lasted half as long.
Keeping this family on track is a lot of work. I do an incredible amount of list making, research, and prep work. Cooking primal/paleo meals isn't necessarily difficult, but it's sort of like relearning how to cook and bake. I never used to use recipes because I never needed to. I looked at the ingredients I had and knew just what to do with them. Now I'm working with some unfamiliar ingredients a lot of the time and their cooking properties are totally different from what I'm used to working with. I have to do my research.
Tesla's doctor's appointment is this week and I'm really excited to show off how big and strong my grain-free baby is. I don't know how her doctor's going to react when I tell him she doesn't eat bread or crackers or cereal since that's what most children live off of, but I guess we'll see how the examination goes.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Putting Away the Kitchen Scale
I've spent a solid month counting calories, weighing my food, and logging every bite I eat. It can be tedious and even exhausting at times, but it's been a necessary evil in order to achieve my desired weight. However, I know I can't be spending the rest of my life living this way, so I've been taking a break from it to see if I can continue with my 1.5 lbs per week weight-loss trend without the scale.
I weigh myself on a daily basis and log it online. Some people say not to torture yourself doing that and to stick to once a week weigh ins, but waiting a week to weigh myself would be torture. It's only been half a week, but I've noticed that I'm maintaining my weight and not really losing anything. I also know I haven't exercised since last week. That's probably part of it.
Maintaining is better than gaining, but I want to be losing! I thought about bringing back the kitchen scale because I don't want to mess up my progress I've worked so hard for in the past month. On the days I did no exercise, I really relied heavily on counting calories so I could still make sure I was going to have a deficit by the end of the day. Now I go to bed and I have no idea how I did for the day. Well, I sort of know, but I don't exactly know. I like exactly knowing.
By the weekend I'll decide if I should start using my kitchen scale again. I honestly can't imagine someone trying to lose weight without a scale. I'm little bit obsessed with mine. Is it weird that I miss using it? Don't get me wrong, I love the freedom of being able to cook and eat a meal without going through all those extra preparations, but I do miss the security blanket of knowing exactly how much I was eating. I like pouring the food in and watching the number of grams climb. I can have this much.
The only 2 kitchen appliances/gadgets that rank higher than my scale are my blender and my food processor, (which is now deceased, RIP Black & Decker Food Processor, and I've yet to replace.) I could live without a microwave, a toaster, a coffeemaker, but my kitchen scale is here to stay even if it stays in the cupboard while fit and sexy me eyeballs all future portions of food. It's just too damn handy!
I weigh myself on a daily basis and log it online. Some people say not to torture yourself doing that and to stick to once a week weigh ins, but waiting a week to weigh myself would be torture. It's only been half a week, but I've noticed that I'm maintaining my weight and not really losing anything. I also know I haven't exercised since last week. That's probably part of it.
Maintaining is better than gaining, but I want to be losing! I thought about bringing back the kitchen scale because I don't want to mess up my progress I've worked so hard for in the past month. On the days I did no exercise, I really relied heavily on counting calories so I could still make sure I was going to have a deficit by the end of the day. Now I go to bed and I have no idea how I did for the day. Well, I sort of know, but I don't exactly know. I like exactly knowing.
By the weekend I'll decide if I should start using my kitchen scale again. I honestly can't imagine someone trying to lose weight without a scale. I'm little bit obsessed with mine. Is it weird that I miss using it? Don't get me wrong, I love the freedom of being able to cook and eat a meal without going through all those extra preparations, but I do miss the security blanket of knowing exactly how much I was eating. I like pouring the food in and watching the number of grams climb. I can have this much.
The only 2 kitchen appliances/gadgets that rank higher than my scale are my blender and my food processor, (which is now deceased, RIP Black & Decker Food Processor, and I've yet to replace.) I could live without a microwave, a toaster, a coffeemaker, but my kitchen scale is here to stay even if it stays in the cupboard while fit and sexy me eyeballs all future portions of food. It's just too damn handy!
Saturday, August 17, 2013
A Primal Birthday Party
My little girl's is turning a year old in a few short weeks. She's so bright, funny, and totally adorable every single day. I just want to squish her with all of my love! If you know me, you know how much I hate celebrating my birthday 6 bloody times in the month of April. And how I hate celebrating it again in the month of May even more. There's the dinner with my family, the dinner with Bob's family, dinner with Bob on my actual birthday, and then the going out with friends party, and then the going out with the other friends party. And there's the random people who couldn't make it to any of these events and so we do lunch. For my birthday. Ugh!
Well, let it be known that Tesla also hates more than one birthday celebration by association. She's getting one party. If those invited can't make it, too bad for them. See ya next year! Literally, it's all the family from far and wide and a few honorary aunties that happen to live close. One big mega party!
Due to the eating restrictions I have placed on myself and Tesla, Food for this party is going to be essential. Also, there will be one vegetarian in attendance. This is my chance to introduce primal eating to a bunch of people at once and show them how rich and delicious our diet is. We can eat satisfying and filling meals without ever using grains!
The menu I've prepared for our Sunday brunch birthday party consists of:
- Spinach and avocado quiche with cheese. No crust obviously, and no meat so the vegetarian can have some.
- Greek yogurt and mixed berry parfait with a topping of toasted nuts and seeds on the side so the birthday girl can have some.
- Bacon wrapped prunes. Not vegetarian, but I gotta eat some meat at this meal! This is the one thing I haven't taste-tested it yet, but it got rave reviews online.
- Spiced Paleo cake with maple cashew frosting. This will be Tesla's birthday dessert. After much consideration, I think I will make a tray of dainty squares instead of cupcakes or a layer cake. Paleo cakes just don't rise and a layer cake would be a lot of work. This way, everyone can sample the cake and I don't have to listen to "a small piece place," 15 times while cutting the cake and then have all this dessert left over.
And my mom is going to prepare some non-primal foods as well. Apparently my menu is "interesting" and she's worried certain people invited aren't going to be able to eat anything because it's too weird for them. That's fine. I know this menu will be a hit. Yeah, it is different from what is normally served, but it's not like I'm trying to feed people goat's tongue wrapped in lettuce or something. I thought I chose really normal foods. Well, they're normal to me.
There's always opposition every time someone comes along and introduces a new dietary restriction, but over time it becomes normal, acceptable even, and people accommodate it. Bob's sister was saying that when she decided to become a vegetarian almost 20 years ago, her family didn't approve and the best they could do for her was buy 2 Michaelina's a week, those frozen microwave dinners. Everyone had a laugh and we looked how far the family's come.
I hope I can have the same happy ending because eating this way is really important to me. Not many people seem to get it right now, but over time I hope they will.
Well, let it be known that Tesla also hates more than one birthday celebration by association. She's getting one party. If those invited can't make it, too bad for them. See ya next year! Literally, it's all the family from far and wide and a few honorary aunties that happen to live close. One big mega party!
Due to the eating restrictions I have placed on myself and Tesla, Food for this party is going to be essential. Also, there will be one vegetarian in attendance. This is my chance to introduce primal eating to a bunch of people at once and show them how rich and delicious our diet is. We can eat satisfying and filling meals without ever using grains!
The menu I've prepared for our Sunday brunch birthday party consists of:
- Spinach and avocado quiche with cheese. No crust obviously, and no meat so the vegetarian can have some.
- Greek yogurt and mixed berry parfait with a topping of toasted nuts and seeds on the side so the birthday girl can have some.
- Bacon wrapped prunes. Not vegetarian, but I gotta eat some meat at this meal! This is the one thing I haven't taste-tested it yet, but it got rave reviews online.
- Spiced Paleo cake with maple cashew frosting. This will be Tesla's birthday dessert. After much consideration, I think I will make a tray of dainty squares instead of cupcakes or a layer cake. Paleo cakes just don't rise and a layer cake would be a lot of work. This way, everyone can sample the cake and I don't have to listen to "a small piece place," 15 times while cutting the cake and then have all this dessert left over.
And my mom is going to prepare some non-primal foods as well. Apparently my menu is "interesting" and she's worried certain people invited aren't going to be able to eat anything because it's too weird for them. That's fine. I know this menu will be a hit. Yeah, it is different from what is normally served, but it's not like I'm trying to feed people goat's tongue wrapped in lettuce or something. I thought I chose really normal foods. Well, they're normal to me.
There's always opposition every time someone comes along and introduces a new dietary restriction, but over time it becomes normal, acceptable even, and people accommodate it. Bob's sister was saying that when she decided to become a vegetarian almost 20 years ago, her family didn't approve and the best they could do for her was buy 2 Michaelina's a week, those frozen microwave dinners. Everyone had a laugh and we looked how far the family's come.
I hope I can have the same happy ending because eating this way is really important to me. Not many people seem to get it right now, but over time I hope they will.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Eating Paleo This Week
On the weekend I decided I was going to do a full week of paleo only meals just to see what it felt like and if it was something I could adapt to at this point in my life. Changing your lifestyle overnight is hard, but I've been working toward this for nearly a month now, so I am ready to give it a test drive.
Our Sunday grocery shopping didn't cost any more than it normally does, so that was a relief. (Also sort of telling in a way. Those who base their meals around discounted boxes of processed foods are the only who get the sticker shock of what real food costs I think.) We did buy more meat than usual though and more fresh veggies, but a lot less dairy items. I also had to buy some staple items that were expensive to get all at once now, but will last a while. Things like coconut oil, milk, and flakes, as well as almond flour.
Planning out my menu was easy and I've been in the habit of doing this for months now. It makes shopping and cooking so much easier and really takes the guesswork out of eating. I even tried to get Bob in on the action by packing a Paleo Pack for him for lunch. (It's a trail-mix made up of jerky, nuts, and dried fruit.) He said it was good and filling and it was only 500 calories. Definitely better for him than the bologna sandwich and Fibre 1 bar he's been taking, cringe. In the future, I think I'll make some more Paleo Pack variations. It's very portable and easy for either a meal or a snack on the go.
For breakfast this morning, I was originally going to make some quiche. I like crust, so I was going to make a paleo crust, but I was feeling tired and lazy this morning. Bob made my bacon for me, so I just needed to make something else. I decided to make an omelette. Avocado, spinach, and cheese! It was fantastic! I fried up a bit of frozen shredded hash-browns in bacon grease and my meal was complete. It was absolutely to die for delicious! I am making it again next week for sure!
I'm making a stirfry sans rice or noodles for lunch and roasted chicken with broccoli and sweet potato for dinner. For Tesla's birthday coming up, I think I'd like to tackle making some sort of paleo dessert. I'm not a cake person and paleo cakes are so dense and heavy anyway. For my birthday I always have a birthday trifle, so not serving birthday cake for my little girl's first birthday is not a crime, I promise. Perhaps there's some sort of paleo parfait I can make for our guests.
If I can be full on paleo by the time Tesla turns 1 in 3 weeks, that would be amazing. I very much would like to raise a paleo baby, but that's another post for another time. Until then, I urge any and all who read this to try one meal a day without grains just to see how you like it for a week. It's filling, it's satisfying, and that's what I did before deciding to eliminate them altogether. Happy eating!
Our Sunday grocery shopping didn't cost any more than it normally does, so that was a relief. (Also sort of telling in a way. Those who base their meals around discounted boxes of processed foods are the only who get the sticker shock of what real food costs I think.) We did buy more meat than usual though and more fresh veggies, but a lot less dairy items. I also had to buy some staple items that were expensive to get all at once now, but will last a while. Things like coconut oil, milk, and flakes, as well as almond flour.
Planning out my menu was easy and I've been in the habit of doing this for months now. It makes shopping and cooking so much easier and really takes the guesswork out of eating. I even tried to get Bob in on the action by packing a Paleo Pack for him for lunch. (It's a trail-mix made up of jerky, nuts, and dried fruit.) He said it was good and filling and it was only 500 calories. Definitely better for him than the bologna sandwich and Fibre 1 bar he's been taking, cringe. In the future, I think I'll make some more Paleo Pack variations. It's very portable and easy for either a meal or a snack on the go.
For breakfast this morning, I was originally going to make some quiche. I like crust, so I was going to make a paleo crust, but I was feeling tired and lazy this morning. Bob made my bacon for me, so I just needed to make something else. I decided to make an omelette. Avocado, spinach, and cheese! It was fantastic! I fried up a bit of frozen shredded hash-browns in bacon grease and my meal was complete. It was absolutely to die for delicious! I am making it again next week for sure!
I'm making a stirfry sans rice or noodles for lunch and roasted chicken with broccoli and sweet potato for dinner. For Tesla's birthday coming up, I think I'd like to tackle making some sort of paleo dessert. I'm not a cake person and paleo cakes are so dense and heavy anyway. For my birthday I always have a birthday trifle, so not serving birthday cake for my little girl's first birthday is not a crime, I promise. Perhaps there's some sort of paleo parfait I can make for our guests.
If I can be full on paleo by the time Tesla turns 1 in 3 weeks, that would be amazing. I very much would like to raise a paleo baby, but that's another post for another time. Until then, I urge any and all who read this to try one meal a day without grains just to see how you like it for a week. It's filling, it's satisfying, and that's what I did before deciding to eliminate them altogether. Happy eating!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Paleo for BP
I've been counting calories for nearly 3 weeks now. I'm having a moderate amount of success, having lost 5 and a half pounds thus far. It should be higher, but I mostly maintained my weight this week and didn't lose anything.
One thing I'm trying to do is keep my carbohydrate intake to 150g or less a day. I guess it's sort of like a Zone thing I'm doing, 40% of calories from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat. Eventually I want to be able to only have 30% of my calories from carbs and then 20%, but I'll get there in my own time.
I quickly realized that if I cut out grains, I will meet my carbohydrate goal. I love rice and pasta and chips and crackers! I still have extremely small amounts of these foods, but I hope to one day completely remove them from my diet. I want to follow a paleo diet.
For those not in the loop, a paleo diet focuses on eating vegetables, meat, fruit, seeds and nuts in that order. No grains allowed! Any breads or desserts would be made with nut flour. Dairy is permitted in small quantities, though the purists stay away from it, as well as peanuts, beans, and rice. The whole point is to eat like our ancestors did prior to agriculture existing.
In my quest to find more information about the paleo diet, I came across something very interesting and relevant. There is a link between eating a modified ketogenic diet and having a reduction in mood swings in bipolar patients. There has yet to be a single scientific study of ketogenic diets in bipolar disorder patients, but in the article I was reading, the doctor said he had patients who followed an Atkins, paleo, or other low carbohydrate diet and reported a significant improvement in their symptoms.
How incredible would it be for me to change my diet, lose the weight, and stop taking lithium?
Studies have shown there's a whole bunch of medical conditions that patients have seen improvements in when switching to a low carb diet, (we're talking 10-20 grams a day,) like:
I want to be off medication so bad. I know it may take a few years and I need to be comfortable with the transition, but losing weight isn't nearly as big of a motivator as this! I will gladly never step into an Olive Garden, order in a pizza, or eat deep fried food again if it means controlling my bipolar naturally. There's no proof it will work for my body specifically, but there's no harm in trying, and I was going to try it anyway, so this new piece of information is a nice bonus!
One thing I'm trying to do is keep my carbohydrate intake to 150g or less a day. I guess it's sort of like a Zone thing I'm doing, 40% of calories from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat. Eventually I want to be able to only have 30% of my calories from carbs and then 20%, but I'll get there in my own time.
I quickly realized that if I cut out grains, I will meet my carbohydrate goal. I love rice and pasta and chips and crackers! I still have extremely small amounts of these foods, but I hope to one day completely remove them from my diet. I want to follow a paleo diet.
For those not in the loop, a paleo diet focuses on eating vegetables, meat, fruit, seeds and nuts in that order. No grains allowed! Any breads or desserts would be made with nut flour. Dairy is permitted in small quantities, though the purists stay away from it, as well as peanuts, beans, and rice. The whole point is to eat like our ancestors did prior to agriculture existing.
In my quest to find more information about the paleo diet, I came across something very interesting and relevant. There is a link between eating a modified ketogenic diet and having a reduction in mood swings in bipolar patients. There has yet to be a single scientific study of ketogenic diets in bipolar disorder patients, but in the article I was reading, the doctor said he had patients who followed an Atkins, paleo, or other low carbohydrate diet and reported a significant improvement in their symptoms.
How incredible would it be for me to change my diet, lose the weight, and stop taking lithium?
Studies have shown there's a whole bunch of medical conditions that patients have seen improvements in when switching to a low carb diet, (we're talking 10-20 grams a day,) like:
- Autism
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Brain Cancer
- Diabetes
- Prostate Cancer
- Obesity
- Chronic Pain/Inflammation
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Insomnia/Circadian Rhythm disorders
I want to be off medication so bad. I know it may take a few years and I need to be comfortable with the transition, but losing weight isn't nearly as big of a motivator as this! I will gladly never step into an Olive Garden, order in a pizza, or eat deep fried food again if it means controlling my bipolar naturally. There's no proof it will work for my body specifically, but there's no harm in trying, and I was going to try it anyway, so this new piece of information is a nice bonus!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Cottage Cheese
It's a body builder's dream food. It's clean, it's high in protein, but low in carbs and fat, and it's very versatile! Some people love it so much, they eat it straight out of the tub with a spoon. (A certain scholarly gentleman named Chad from ACC comes to mind.)
The only time I've ever bought and eaten cottage cheese is when I'm making a lasagna, but even then, half the time I use ricotta cheese instead. In my effort to lose some weight before November, I bought Dairyland Cottage Cheese Combos on sale at Safeway. I didn't like it at first, but quickly acquired a taste for it and came to enjoy the filling snack.
When they were all gone, I bought a tub of plain cottage cheese so that I could mix in whatever I wanted. I went on some forums and got some ideas. This morning I mixed 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with a half of a thinly sliced banana, flax, and cinnamon. I took one bite and wanted to throw up. SALT! Holy effing sodium! I added 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and it still tasted like ass. Those cottage cheese combos must have had a lot of added sugar because my concoction tastes nothing at all the same.
In order to cut the salt, I think I'll need a fruit like pineapple which pairs very well with salty foods and cheese. I thought bananas would be good since I find them to be too sweet already, but pineapple taste more like juicy candy than bananas do.
I don't know what I'm going to do with all this cottage cheese if I can't find a suitable way to consume it. I don't eat pasta anymore and I don't eat breads or tortillas either. There's so many recipes out there, I'm sure I'll find something that fits my lifestyle.
The only time I've ever bought and eaten cottage cheese is when I'm making a lasagna, but even then, half the time I use ricotta cheese instead. In my effort to lose some weight before November, I bought Dairyland Cottage Cheese Combos on sale at Safeway. I didn't like it at first, but quickly acquired a taste for it and came to enjoy the filling snack.
When they were all gone, I bought a tub of plain cottage cheese so that I could mix in whatever I wanted. I went on some forums and got some ideas. This morning I mixed 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with a half of a thinly sliced banana, flax, and cinnamon. I took one bite and wanted to throw up. SALT! Holy effing sodium! I added 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and it still tasted like ass. Those cottage cheese combos must have had a lot of added sugar because my concoction tastes nothing at all the same.
In order to cut the salt, I think I'll need a fruit like pineapple which pairs very well with salty foods and cheese. I thought bananas would be good since I find them to be too sweet already, but pineapple taste more like juicy candy than bananas do.
I don't know what I'm going to do with all this cottage cheese if I can't find a suitable way to consume it. I don't eat pasta anymore and I don't eat breads or tortillas either. There's so many recipes out there, I'm sure I'll find something that fits my lifestyle.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Dieting is like Banking
I like to think of my body as a bank account and calories like money. Every day I receive a small allowance of calories to spend on food. This meets my basic needs for weight loss, but I also have the option to exercise to earn extra calories for more food. I can save up my calories and those go toward my deficit so I can lose weight faster.
This analogy really helps me stay on track every day. These are the things I think about every day.
Eating 2 Pop-Tarts for breakfast is not a good investment strategy for my body. I would much rather spend 400 calories on more nutrient dense foods that provide the many things Pop-Tarts are lacking. Maybe you really love Pop-Tarts though and are able to make it work for you.
No matter what type of diet you decide to follow, you need to find a ratio of protein to carbs to fat that works for you, keeps you feeling full and satisfied, and gives you energy for your day. Personally, I'm finding that my ratio of 55% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 20% fat is working for me. It's a moderate approach and it makes me happy.
On that note, this week I need to work extra hard so I can take the long weekend off. I'm going up north to visit one of my best friends and I don't want to be consumed by calorie counting. I still want to make good choices, and I know there will be opportunities for exercise, but I don't want to obsess. I sometimes obsess.
This analogy really helps me stay on track every day. These are the things I think about every day.
Budget Wisely
Just as you would calculate a budget for your household expenses to make sure you are living within your means, you need to budget your calories to make sure you're not getting fat, but still getting everything your body needs. Calories Consumed - Calories Burned = Net Calories. It's a very simple formula, however figuring out the numbers to plop into the equation can be time consuming. It's worth it though! And it gets easier to do the more you do it, especially with all the sites out there you can sign up to use for free.Choosing The Right Investment Strategy
Now that you've got your budget under control, you need to think about your investment strategy. We know in the banking world that what works for one person, may not work for you and the true is same for dieting. Eating fewer calories than you burn is only half the battle. You need to eat the foods that are right for you.Eating 2 Pop-Tarts for breakfast is not a good investment strategy for my body. I would much rather spend 400 calories on more nutrient dense foods that provide the many things Pop-Tarts are lacking. Maybe you really love Pop-Tarts though and are able to make it work for you.
No matter what type of diet you decide to follow, you need to find a ratio of protein to carbs to fat that works for you, keeps you feeling full and satisfied, and gives you energy for your day. Personally, I'm finding that my ratio of 55% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 20% fat is working for me. It's a moderate approach and it makes me happy.
Stay Out of Debt
Just as you shouldn't make purchases with a credit card you know you can't pay back later, don't eat extra calories that you know you're not going to work off later. I always earn my calories first by exercising before spending them on food I can't afford to eat. Plus, it's so much more rewarding to take that first big bite and know you had to sweat hard to get it. Someone once told me it's easier to work toward a goal rather than work off the guilt. True words!On that note, this week I need to work extra hard so I can take the long weekend off. I'm going up north to visit one of my best friends and I don't want to be consumed by calorie counting. I still want to make good choices, and I know there will be opportunities for exercise, but I don't want to obsess. I sometimes obsess.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Chili
Chili is not something I would ever order at a restaurant. The only chili I've ever really liked is my dad's recipe. He doesn't have the recipe written down and he's never told it to me, but I've spent some years trying to recreate it.
I'm not one of those chili purists either. I believe that "real" chili is for the foodie snobs who have nothing better to do than write food blogs and complain. All recipes are adaptations from other recipes and I think a little variation is always a good thing, especially in cooking!
With that being said, I put beans in my chili! Today I used black beans and pinto beans. I also used beer in my recipe. It made the chili smell so sweet! Chili powder, chili flakes, cayenne pepper, and lots of garlic too, very hot and spicy. I don't like stewed or diced tomatoes, so I just used crushed. I also added a bit of salsa and red onions. Then there's the corn, the ground beef and of course, dad's secret ingredient, peanut butter.
I let it simmer on the stove for 2 hours. I would have just used the crockpot, but it's not big enough. This huge pot of chili can feed 6 men! A cup and a half of my chili is 420 calories, 8.6g of fibre, 29.2g of protein, and 99% of your daily intake of iron. I consistently have low iron and I take supplements, so that is major for me!
I paired my bowl with some focaccia bread and a bit of butter. Boom 600 calories in total! What a delicious, filling, healthy meal that doesn't break the Calorie Bank. I don't think my chili will ever taste exactly like dad's, but this version here deserves an index card to be added to the recipe box.
I'm not one of those chili purists either. I believe that "real" chili is for the foodie snobs who have nothing better to do than write food blogs and complain. All recipes are adaptations from other recipes and I think a little variation is always a good thing, especially in cooking!
With that being said, I put beans in my chili! Today I used black beans and pinto beans. I also used beer in my recipe. It made the chili smell so sweet! Chili powder, chili flakes, cayenne pepper, and lots of garlic too, very hot and spicy. I don't like stewed or diced tomatoes, so I just used crushed. I also added a bit of salsa and red onions. Then there's the corn, the ground beef and of course, dad's secret ingredient, peanut butter.
I let it simmer on the stove for 2 hours. I would have just used the crockpot, but it's not big enough. This huge pot of chili can feed 6 men! A cup and a half of my chili is 420 calories, 8.6g of fibre, 29.2g of protein, and 99% of your daily intake of iron. I consistently have low iron and I take supplements, so that is major for me!
I paired my bowl with some focaccia bread and a bit of butter. Boom 600 calories in total! What a delicious, filling, healthy meal that doesn't break the Calorie Bank. I don't think my chili will ever taste exactly like dad's, but this version here deserves an index card to be added to the recipe box.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Healthy Living
Food tastes so much better when you work for it! I'm back on Calorie Count and I'm really impressed with my progress so far. Since Friday I've lost 1 pound! I was really upset over the weekend because when I weighed myself on Friday, I hadn't made any progress and then I got drunk on Saturday and had drunken onion rings and a turnover from A&W.
But I also did a lot of walking on the weekend. We had 2 hour long walks as a family and I did watch what I ate very carefully on Saturday and Sunday, (minus the booze and fast food, which was well over 2000 calories just by itself.)
Today I've been having fun keeping track of what I eat and it's getting easier to live on less. Last night I was starving so bad, I made a box of Kraft dinner at midnight. I just had a single portion and put the rest in the fridge, but I was hungry enough to eat the whole box. It took a lot of will power.
I had a walking friends date and we walked for a solid 90 minutes and just chatted about our lives. It was so nice, but now my hips are so sore because I did 3 rounds of tabata this morning too. I love walking friend dates. Instead of sitting on our asses talking, we can work off our asses talking. It's a win win situation. In fact, I think all my friend dates are going to active from now on. Why spend $20 at a restaurant when we could spend $10 and go bowling instead! I'm on to something....
Anyway, when I got inside from walking and put Tesla down for her nap, I realized it was time for a snack. I had 4 low sodium Triscuit crackers with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a container of low fat Greek yogourt. It was so delicious I actually said mmm more than once. I worked hard for that snack! I really savoured it.
I know 1 pound probably doesn't seem like much, but I'm really trying my hardest and I'm going to take this small victory and build on it. I have an end date in mind for when I want to reach my goal weight, but we'll talk about that later. Cheers, to healthy living!
But I also did a lot of walking on the weekend. We had 2 hour long walks as a family and I did watch what I ate very carefully on Saturday and Sunday, (minus the booze and fast food, which was well over 2000 calories just by itself.)
Today I've been having fun keeping track of what I eat and it's getting easier to live on less. Last night I was starving so bad, I made a box of Kraft dinner at midnight. I just had a single portion and put the rest in the fridge, but I was hungry enough to eat the whole box. It took a lot of will power.
I had a walking friends date and we walked for a solid 90 minutes and just chatted about our lives. It was so nice, but now my hips are so sore because I did 3 rounds of tabata this morning too. I love walking friend dates. Instead of sitting on our asses talking, we can work off our asses talking. It's a win win situation. In fact, I think all my friend dates are going to active from now on. Why spend $20 at a restaurant when we could spend $10 and go bowling instead! I'm on to something....
Anyway, when I got inside from walking and put Tesla down for her nap, I realized it was time for a snack. I had 4 low sodium Triscuit crackers with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a container of low fat Greek yogourt. It was so delicious I actually said mmm more than once. I worked hard for that snack! I really savoured it.
I know 1 pound probably doesn't seem like much, but I'm really trying my hardest and I'm going to take this small victory and build on it. I have an end date in mind for when I want to reach my goal weight, but we'll talk about that later. Cheers, to healthy living!
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