What is Wrong With “Normal” Foods?

September 16, 2013 brendanolen 2 Comments

I may not be the most “natural” eater (I do use supplements and Whey protein, after all) but I don’t understand some of the ingredients that are “must haves”. I’ve been reading (yes, mostly reading since I’m so out of shape) about health and fitness for most of my life (We recently started watching “The Shield” from the beginning of the series and right there in the 3^rd or 4^th season was Cory Everson and I just about died. I looked at my husband and exclaimed, “Wait until I show you who that is!”. Then I dragged him to the computer and showed him her Ms. Olympia-era pictures.) So, that proves how long I’ve been reading! Anyway, it seems like every two to three years, a magical, miracle food shows up with claims that it will revolutionize your fat loss, your muscle gains, your health and wellness, or some other claim. Most of them I either wanted desperately (who wouldn’t want an easy, no exercise needed fat loss supplement?) or totally discounted because the claims were just too outlandish.

One of my favorite pieces in Muscle and Fitness magazine (I truly hated “Muscle and Fitness Hers”) was just inside the back cover when they would bash themselves for the stories published in the past about everything from exercise, food/supplements, and clothing fads. Who doesn’t still giggle at the brightly colored spandex, headbands, and mullets?

Well, now that so many people are either going low carbohydrate in one way or another (or gluten free), I’ve been seeing a lot of recipes with the latest miracle foods: flax, quinoa and chia seeds. I typically just bypass those recipes just because they include the “it” foods of the day (yeah, I’m such a rebel).

While I have done my best to include flax in my diet (I can’t pass up the Omega fatty acids since I am unable to eat any seafood). I hate it. I tolerate it as long as I can’t really taste it. The first full-blown recipes I tried were MIMs – Muffin In a Minute. The first one was a cinnamon muffin. It was awful! I hated the flavor and boy, did it bound me up! The next one I tried was a chocolate muffin. That one tasted great and, since I had that intestinal issue with the first one, I sliced it and didn’t scarf the entire muffin in one sitting. My mouth’s initial reaction: What flax meal? BUT if you are on a low carbohydrate diet, have you looked at the nutritional breakdown of the basic muffin? Whether you do net carbs or not, one muffin contains 12.7 grams (9.3 grams fiber). If you are limiting your carbohydrate intake to 20 grams per day, you just blew most of them on one muffin! I think I’ll stick with adding it to my protein powder shake. Plus, with it adding only 3 grams carbohydrates (3 grams fiber) and 3 grams of protein in two tablespoons per day, that’s not bad!

Next is quinoa. I have not tried it and probably will not (no, I take that back. I tried an ancient grain tortilla with quinoa, amaranth, flax and other grains I can’t remember. It was alright but the carbohydrate count was still too high for me). Quinoa is the magical Andean grain that will give you everything you need to stay healthy, right? Well, yes, as long as that’s pretty much all you eat. If you look into the diet of those who have been eating it the longest, you will see this is a staple of their diet (little meat, whatever vegetables they can get, and quinoa). Well, it was until it was more expensive for them to eat it than to sell it. Now, their health is beginning to suffer because this miracle grain is a “must-have” for those who are in with the in-crowd. Another thing to consider is the nutritional content of quinoa. Yes, it has 8 grams of protein per cup of cooked quinoa but in that cup of quinoa is also 39 grams of carbohydrates.

The next is chia seeds. Every single time I see this in a recipe, the song from the Chia Pet commercial goes through my head. I had never considered this a food because of those dang commercials. I thought it was interesting, but that was it. That is, until I began reading about it. I’m intrigued, especially since this (and the flax) I can grow here (which is always a bonus for me). I tried growing maca but I guess everything about my region is wrong (I’m in Central California). I really like plants that have more than one purpose (more edible/medicinal parts) and all I’ve been able to find on leaf usage is as a medicinal tea. If anyone has any more information, I would love to see it. From what I read, it’s suggested that you only consume 2 to 3 Tablespoons per day but it gives a powerful nutritional punch! In two Tablespoons, there are 12 grams carbohydrate (10 grams fiber) and 4.7 grams of protein. It seems hefty on the carbohydrates but with all the other nutritional benefits, this one just may be worth it! Here’s a great article on the health benefits: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/super-seed-the-case-for-chia.html. I haven’t quite jumped on the band wagon but it can’t hurt to buy a chia pet if it’s majorly on sale! 🙂

After writing all of this (and second guessing myself on chia seeds) I really think it’s important to get as much of our macros (protein, carbohydrate, fat) from as much whole food as possible and make the wisest choices for ourselves. If I could eat seafood, you can bet your bottom dollar I would rather have salmon over this stuff any day of the week!

Bread, Recipe

Plain-Old White Bread (with variations)

May 26, 2013 brendanolen Leave a comment

I adapted this recipe from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated American Cookbook but you can basically take any recipe for white bread and substitute water for the milk. You end up with something closer to white bread from the store (without all the extra garbage). This recipe makes 2 loaves.

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons sugar (any sugar will do as long as it IS sugar and not a sugar substitute)
2 teaspoons salt
1 package dry active yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can substitute up to half the flour with any other kind of flour and still end up with a good tasting bread)
2 cups warm water
3 Tablespoons butter

Put the yeast into a bowl and mix in about 1/2 cup of the warm water (for specifics on temperature, go here http://www.cookistry.com/2011/01/technique-water-temperature-for-yeast.html. I turn on my hot water, which gets very hot, then turn it down just until I can stand it.). I then place this on top (above the vent) of my still on drip coffee maker. No matter what I’ve tried, this seems to get the yeast going faster than anything else I’ve tried. If you don’t have a warm place like this, it just takes a little longer (maybe placing a towel over it to hold in the warmth will help it move along faster). Leave it there until it is bubbling. Now, before it actually ever really did anything I had no idea what people were talking about when they said to proof the yeast.

This is what I thought it was supposed to look like:

But this is what is is supposed to look like:

This was my first breakthrough. The second was the warm required for all processes of rising.

While the yeast is proofing, heat the rest of the water with the butter, just until the butter is melted (can be done in the microwave or on the stove top).

Mix 2 cups of flour with the salt, sugar, water/butter and yeast mixture. Mix until there is no sign of flour or lumps (this was my second breakthrough and helps IMMENSELY when NOT using a Kitchen Aide mixer, since mine died about a year ago). It’s almost like this gives you a head start on kneading the dough (which helps your hands, later on). Continue mixing, adding one cup at a time until the dough no longer sticks to your finger when you touch it (if using a Kitchen Aide) or if mixing by hand, it’s much easier to incorporate the rest of the flour while kneading on a table or counter top. If you haven’t done so already, generously flour your table or counter top with flour and turn out your dough. I have always found it helpful to have a flat scraper (like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BenchScraper.JPG) to scrape up any dough that sticks to your work surface so you don’t waste anything.

Now, about kneading your dough. If you use a Kitchen Aide (or even a bread machine), you REALLY don’t have to worry about this. The machine does it all for you. All you need to do is just make sure there are no overly wet spots left.

If you are hand kneading (which I struggled with for years), there’s a bit of a technique to it so you don’t end up with a rock for a loaf of bread. I used to manhandle it, squishing the hell out of it until there was pretty much no life left to it (it would be ugly and look torn by the time I was done). I now only knead with one hand. You place the dough on the table, sprinkle it with flour, then fold it in half toward me, then push down with the heel of my hand. I then turn the dough counter clockwise (doesn’t matter which way but it’s just a quarter turn) and repeat until I’m done and the dough no longer sticks to my hands. The only way I can describe how it feels when it done is to ask a question: When you were a kid, did you play with Play-Doh? Remember how it felt when it was warm (just without the slightly greasy feeling)? That’s how the dough should feel when you are done. The closest video I could find it this one (wish I had a video camera) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmGawHsRAAk. It IS more difficult to knead if you add other flours (whole wheat, spelt, etc.) so you will have to use a little more muscle. Place in a large bowl that has been oiled (I put some oil on a paper towel and rub all but the upper edge of the bowl). Cover with plastic wrap that has also been rubbed with oil (if the dough rises that high, it WILL stick to plastic wrap, which is quite annoying). If you don’t have/use plastic wrap, you could cover with a damp towel. The only problem I have with that is the towel gets cold, which makes the dough take longer to rise.

Now, find the warmest spot in your house to let the dough rise. This has to be figured out ahead of time so you can prepare the area. If it’s the dead of winter, who wants to spend all that money cranking up the heat in your house so you can “save money” by making your own bread? What kind of a heater do you have? Is there a spot where it enters your house that is warmer than others? What about where your hot water heater is? Is it in an enclosed closet? If you use a wood stove, figure out how close you can get the dough without actually cooking it (it may take some trial and error but it will be well worth it). If none of those work, how about where you have your electronics? Behind your refrigerator? Cover with a whole bunch of blankets just to keep the dough’s warmth in? OH! A sub-zero sleeping bag would work! You just need to keep your dough draft and dust free.

Once it it doubled in size (if you don’t remember, make some indentations in the dough with your fingers. If they do not spring back, your dough is ready), turn it out onto a floured work surface and knead it just a few times. Form it into a ball and cut it into two equal pieces. Set one aside and roll one piece into a rectangle about 12″ by 8″ (or as wide as your dough pan). If you want to play with your bread, now is the time to do it and it’s all by your tastes and what you prefer:

For cinnamon bread, sprinkle (leaving about 1/2″ of the edges free) with brown sugar and cinnamon (for us, I use so much of these two ingredients I can’t see any dough but the edges). If you want nuts and/or raisins, sprinkle those on.
For jalapeno cheese bread, sprinkle grated sharp cheddar and jalapenos on the dough (not too much cheese, though. This is one of the few times when too much cheese makes something taste nasty).
For garlic bread, sprinkle with some minced garlic and grated Parmesan cheese … I think butter would keep the loaf in separate layers, so save that for the top of the loaf when it’s done baking.

Anyway, you get the picture. You can pretty much do whatever you want so you don’t end up with plain white bread for the rest of your life. 🙂 Now, starting with the short side, roll the dough up (imagine making cinnamon rolls) tight. Pinch the seam together along the bottom of the roll. Pinch the ends of the roll together and tuck them under (toward the seam) then place this into the loaf pan. Repeat for the other half of the dough. Cover your dough with oiled plastic wrap (treat it the same as the dough in the bowl) and let rise until doubled (about an hour).

When your dough is almost done rising, heat your oven to 400 degrees F. If you want, brush your risen dough with butter (I usually do this just after pulling the bread out of the oven). Bake 25 to 30 minutes (the bread will be golden brown and sound hollow when you lightly tap it with something hard, like your knuckle or a spoon). Let cool just a bit on a raised surface (cooling rack or trivet) then turn the bread out onto a rack and let it cool completely (hard to do the first few times but it’s well worth the wait).

If any of this is unclear, let me know. I’m typing this as I remember doing it (it’s been a couple of months since I’ve made bread).

Bread, Cake, Recipe

Blueberry Muffins

February 14, 2013 brendanolen Leave a comment

O.k. I was on a mission to find the closest replacement for Costco’s Blueberry Muffins. I tried 4 or 5 different recipes, with only one being a true bust (I messed with the recipe so much that I threw the whole batch out … the muffins were gummy and I had to scrape them off the muffin liners). This, right here, is the closest I will ever get because I’m not taking the chance of wasting any more of these delicious blueberries! This recipe was adapted from here. Take a look at the picture of the muffins on that page … that’s what these looked like! Yum! This recipe would be wonderful baked in loaf pans (maybe to standard-sized) … for about an hour or so. The texture would be firm enough to slice and make French toast with it (if you are that kind of a person *grin*).

Bread, Recipe

Tortillas (Corn or Flour)

February 11, 2013 brendanolen Leave a comment

I found a web page with instructions for “30 second bread,” which was really just tortillas, although they didn’t call it that.

Tortillas… despite being genetically the whitest person you may know, I grew up eating fresh flour tortillas. No one around ever made corn tortillas at home, and I can understand why. They call for a special corn flour that isn’t readily available in some areas but you can find all-purpose flour everywhere! However, as much as I love fresh flour tortillas, nothing beats fresh corn tortillas! I am lucky enough to live near some Mexican markets that make them fresh every day and I can be seen wandering around the market eating warm tortillas right out of the bag.

I’ll be honest. I have the recipe for making corn tortillas. I tried it once, but they tasted like fried mush. They were nothing like store-bought tortillas. I used the wrong masa (yellow corn meal instead of yellow corn flour). I realized today that the method for making corn tortillas can also work with any grain flour since it doesn’t rely on gluten at all.

Here are the recipes for both flour and corn tortillas. Play around with them. In the picture, those tortillas were made with about 1/3 sprouted grain flour (red and white wheat, with a little barley).

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Print Recipe

Flour Tortillas

Author: brendanolen Cuisine: Mexican Courses: Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Difficulty: Beginner

Ingredients

2.2 pounds all-purpose flour (1 kg)
1.1 pounds vegetable shortening or lard (1/2 kg)
1 tablespoon salt (15 grams)
water, room temperature (as needed)
vegetable shortening or lard (to coat the dough balls)

Instructions

Stir together the flour and salt in a large bowl. With your fingertips, mix in the shortening (LARD *grin*). Add the water, working the liquid into the dough until a sticky ball forms (Kitchenaid with a dough hook works wonders).

Dust a counter with flour and knead the dough vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. The mixture should be soft but no longer sticky. Let the dough rest, covered with a damp cloth, for about 15 minutes. Divide the dough into about 25 balls, coat in shortening, cover them again with the damp cloth, and let them rest for at least 45 minutes longer (this is to allow the gluten to form … if you don’t have the time, it won’t hurt them too much). **If not for use immediately, the dough can be greased lightly and refrigerated for up to 12 hours. Bring the dough back to room temperature before proceeding.

Lightly flour your counter. Flatten a ball with your hand, then roll the dough from the center outward, turn the tortilla a few inches and roll again, attempting to keep the growing circle even. Roll out the dough into a circle as thin as possible, preferably 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick. They don’t have to be perfectly round … just make sure you do not have any folds. OR you can use a tortilla press with plastic wrap or oiled parchment paper. These will result in a less-chewy tortilla.

Heat a dry griddle or large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook each tortilla 10 seconds on each side, then continue flipping (about 10 seconds on each side) until the dough looks slightly dry and wrinkled with a few brown speckles on the surface. It helps to use a cloth or paper towel to pop any air bubbles that form but be careful … that steam is HOT!

Place cooked tortillas between on a flat surface, ensuring they do not touch. This will prevent them from sticking together. Once cool, you can put them into a 1 gallon Ziploc bag and place in the fridge (if you do this while they are still warm, the steam will cause them to become mushy, and nothing’s worse than a mushy tortilla).

I don’t know how long these will last … they are so good, they are gone in no time!

Keywords: Mexican, flour, tortilla, flat, bread, quick

To see how it’s done (none of the videos I found are the same recipe), here’s a great video:

Flour Tortillas (For Tacos and Burritos)
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Corn Tortillas

Author: brendanolen Cuisine: Mexican Courses: Main Course, Side Dish

Difficulty: Beginner

Ingredients

2 cups masa harina (make sure it’s for tortillas, not tamales)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
1 ¹⁄₄ cups warm water

Instructions

There are two types available in the stores. One is for tamales, the other is for tortillas. The difference is the grind. The masa harina for tortillas is a fine flour, the tamale one is courser but not as course as corn meal. For authentic tortillas, you cannot use corn flour. Masa harina is made by taking the dried corn and soaking it in a water/lime solution (to read more about this, go here: What is Masa Harina?). For any other grain, just grind to a fine flour.

Heat a dry griddle or heavy skillet over medium-high heat.

In a large bowl, mix the ingredients with a sturdy spoon or your hands until the dough is smooth and forms a ball. The dough should be quite moist but hold its shape. Add a little more water or masa harina, if needed, to achieve the proper consistency.

Form the dough into 12 balls approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cover the balls with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out. If any of the balls do dry out before cooking, knead more water into them. Unlike the dough for flour tortillas, this dough can be reworked.

Place one ball of dough in a tortilla press between the two sheets of plastic that are sometimes sold with the tortillas press or two a 1 gallon freezer bag, cut into two sections. If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can either roll each ball between two sheets of waxed paper or press between two sheets of waxed paper with a heavy, flat bottomed pot (my pressure canner worked great for this). Flatten to about 1/8 inch thick. Carefully pull the plastic from the tortilla and lay on the hot griddle or skillet.

Cook for 30 seconds, flip over and cook about another minute, flip and cook the first side an additional 30 seconds. Place the cooked tortillas between two cloth towels until all tortillas are cooked. Store as above (once cooled, place in a gallon Ziploc bag and store in fridge).

Keywords: Mexican, corn, tortilla, flat, bread, gluten, free

Here’s a video for making corn tortillas (these videos are to show the techniques):
Making Tortillas in Puebla, Mexico

Bread, Breakfast, Desserts, Dough, Recipe

Sweet Dough

December 1, 2012 brendanolen Leave a comment

I’ve been using this recipe for about 6 months now and it hasn’t failed me yet. I got it from my mom’s friend Bernice (who got it from a neighbor when her kids were little … and they are about my age). I love it! One note I would like to make: I have tried substituting Splenda for all (and then part) of the sugar. They just weren’t the same. Splenda doesn’t have the same “bite” as sugar. So, if you can’t have any sugar, just don’t make these. I haven’t used whole grains yet. Now that I’m more comfortable with the recipe, I’ll start branching out and maybe substitute some for the all-purpose flour but today I’m making these for other people (a memorial for my dear friend’s mother).

Recipe Card

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Sweet Dough

Author: brendanolen Cuisine: American Courses: Breakfast, Dessert

Difficulty: Intermediate

Description

For pastries, cinnamon rolls, anything sweet.

Ingredients

2 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons dried yeast (or one packet)
¹⁄₄ cup water (warm between 100°–110°F)
¹⁄₄ cup sugar (white, light brown, dark brown, whatever you prefer)
3 tablespoons butter
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
³⁄₄ cup milk
1 large egg
2 ¹⁄₂ – 3 cups flour

Instructions

Basic Dough Instructions

Basic Dough Instructions

In a small bowl, mix yeast and water. Let sit while preparing the milk mixture.

In a medium saucepan, mix sugar, butter, salt and milk. Heat just until the butter and sugar melt (stirring continually to prevent scorching). Pour into a large bowl. Once lukewarm, beat in the egg and the yeast mixture. Now, mix in the flour, a cup at a time, until a soft dough forms. Pour out onto a floured surface and knead until it’s fairly smooth (I don’t knead this as much as bread dough).

Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and set in a warm place until doubled (about an hour). Now, form into whatever you decide to make, let rise another hour, then bake at 350 degrees F until slightly brown (about 15 to 20 minutes).

A friend of mine just suggested this dough could be used to make kolaches.

For Cinnamon Rolls:

For Cinnamon Rolls:
You need
- room temperature butter
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
Roll out the dough into a rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick (the thinner it is, the more sugary-cinnamony goodness your rolls will have). Spread with butter (I use a rubber spatula so I don’t stick the dough). Do not spread the butter all the way to the edge (leave about 1/4 inch gap). Now, sprinkle with brown sugar. I think the first time I did this I used about 1/2 cup packed brown sugar. Now, I just go by look (I want it everywhere). Then, sprinkle with cinnamon. I use a lot. I make sure all the sugar/butter has a dusting of cinnamon.

Starting at a long side, slowly start rolling the dough tightly (I can’t emphasize this more … the first time I made these I didn’t roll tight enough and they unrolled while baking … tasted great, looked awful). Once you get the the end, pinch the ends of the dough together (or, they will unroll). Slice across the dough, making your rolls about and inch or more thick. Place in a well greased 13X9 pan, cover, and let stand u

For Fruit Danishes:

For Fruit Danishes:
You need
- room temperature butter
- sugar
- jam (I’ve used blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, grape, apricot-pineapple)
Now, this one’s trickier. Roll out the dough just like you are making the cinnamon rolls above. I got the technique from Joe Pastry (http://www.joepastry.com/category/pastry/danish-pastry/). He describes it much better than I do (and he has great pictures) so go there and read how he does it. He also has other pastry ideas that this dough would be perfect for. I originally made it like he does, with pastry cream. Well, I don’t have any today so I’m just going to spread the dough with butter and sprinkle sugar on it (I’m wondering if brown sugar would be

For Icing:

For Icing:
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk
For a double recipe of sweet goodness, I use about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, then slowly add the milk until it’s the consistency I like. If it’s too runny, add more powdered sugar. See in the picture on Joe Pastry’s web page of the icing? That’s how it should look after you mix it. Still white (can’t see through it) but liquid enough so it will stream a bit off a fork (I tried using a spoon and a tiny whisk but ended up with giant blobs of icing).

Keywords: pastry, dough, sweet, danish, cinnamon, roll,

Health, Health And Wellness, personal

Living with Type 2 Diabetes: My Personal Journey

August 22, 2012 brendanolen 1 Comment

My friend’s mother was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I wanted to bestow my wisdom (yeah, I know) on him so that perhaps it could help during this transition. Then, I realized I had never really shared my experience with anyone (well, not too many). So, here I am.

I don’t actually remember when I was diagnosed (last year or the year before). What I do know is I had been having health problems for years that I kept attributing to other factors, illnesses, conditions, whatever I could find via Google. I experimented with different treatments (yes, acting as my own doctor because not one of these problems I felt was important enough to see a doctor about). Then God thumped me on the head, like He has so many times in my life. I developed a severe allergy to seafood. It is so severe now that I can’t even go near an aquarium (you should have seen me at Bass Pro Shops … that’s how I found out about that one). So, Emergency Room, followed by a visit to my family doctor, which included all the tests you can imagine when you have never (and I mean never) had a thorough yearly exam.

That’s when I was hit with it and now, looking back over my life, I think I had type 2 diabetes for at least 21 years (well, 21 years this past February). I was thirsty all the time. If I did not have something to drink at all times (I couldn’t go more than 20 minutes without drinking something) my mouth and throat would become so dry I would cough and have a hard time breathing.

I couldn’t go more than an hour or two (two was pushing it) or less time if I was doing heavy manual labor without eating. If I did, I would get the shakes and feel very weak (sometimes I felt like I was going to pass out). I describe the start of it like this, “It feels like my stomach is shaking, like it’s cold”. After meeting, then marrying my husband, I always felt self-conscious about raiding their cupboards so we would be there for hours before he would force me to eat something (that’s one of the times it felt like I was about to pass out).

Cuts and scrapes (especially on my hands/fingers) became infected quickly and took forever to heal once the infection was dealt with (sometimes, soap and water just don’t work like they should). Even though I was always diligent (too much information for some but I’m a female … what are you going to do?) I got yeast infections all the time. Before being diagnosed, I thought I had just developed allergies to certain ingredients but after changing everything, nothing worked. And even though I can’t say they are directly related to the diabetes, I got bladder/kidney infections at least once a year. I say directly related because my view of my body is, when one thing goes wrong, a lot goes wrong at the same time. It’s like my body has A.D.D. (it can’t really focus on one thing while there are too many distractions).

So, when I was diagnosed, I did exactly what my doctor said (but, as always, took it to the extreme). I took my Metformin and Glucophage. I regularly cut myself (tested my blood sugar). Instead of living on sugar (sugared coffee all day during the winter and sugared tea and soda during the summer) I went sugar-free everything (and let me tell you, Sugar-Free Sees Candies are not even worth the bother … yuck!). I even embarked on the 1970’s version of Atkins (as in fats, meat and salad). After 4 months, I was off all my medications. Due to my diet and the medications, my blood sugar would drop so low I would have to scarf sugar to bring it back up (fruits and juices didn’t work fast enough). As long as I followed that sugar intake with a slower digesting carbohydrate (or even just some straight meat), I wouldn’t experience a sugar high, then crash. It wasn’t easy. I actually cried one night because I could smell the Cheez-Itz my step-daughter was eating.

Due to other health issues (not mine) I had to abandon the die-hard Atkins way of eating. Although my blood sugars have been normal for at least a year, I am always watching for the signs to come back. Last week I got REALLY thirsty so I freaked out. I checked my blood sugar and it was normal. I guess it was just the 100+ degree weather and I was legitimately thirsty! 🙂 I just eat better, still focusing on proteins (not having a pile of toast for breakfast like before) with a side of good carbohydrates and a sprinkling of bad if I still want them. I think, as in all things, the key (in my case) is simply moderation. If I were to lose more inches, I would be better physically but that’s not my main focus (since this saga began, I have only lost roughly 10 pounds but I have lost 9 inches off my waist alone). I actually squeezed my rear into a size 14 pants yesterday (it wasn’t pretty … I looked like a mushroom) but I could breathe AND sit without busting out the seams!

My point in all this is, it’s not the end of the world. It may feel like it (especially in the beginning when you have to give up all that you have loved to eat for so many years) but you will eventually learn to appreciate food again, I promise.

Health And Wellness, Journal

Why the Scale Lies

October 21, 2011 brendanolen 2 Comments

This was an illuminating read:
Internet Archive Link
WHY THE SCALE LIES
by Renee Cloe,
ACE Certified Personal Trainer

A biologist at Berkeley shared something very revealing on the low-carb BBS system about 4 years ago that helps us all through the erratic weight fluctuations you invariably encounter: Fat cells are resilient, stubborn little creatures that do not want to give up their actual cell volume. Over a period of weeks, maybe months of “proper dieting”, each of your fat cells may have actually lost a good percentage of the actual fat contained in those cells. But the fat cells themselves, stubborn little guys, replace that lost fat with water to retain their size. That is, instead of shrinking to match the reduced amount of fat in the cell, they stay the same size! Result – you weigh the same, look the same, maybe even gained some scale weight, even though you have actually lost some serious fat.

The good news is that this water replacement is temporary. It’s a defensive measure to keep your body from changing too rapidly. It allows the fat cell to counter the rapid change in cell composition, allowing for a slow, gradual reduction in cell size. The problem is, most people are frustrated with their apparent lack of success, assume they have lost nothing, and stop dieting.

However, if you give those fat cells some time, like 4-6 months, and ignore the scale weight fluctuations, your real weight/shape will slowly begin to show. The moral of the story – be patient! Your body is changing even if the number on the scale isn’t.

PATTERNS OF WEIGHT LOSS

Common patterns of weight loss from tracking a lot of people who become assimilated into the low carb lifestyle, a pattern emerges…. the 2 week induction is pretty heady…weight lost just about every single day, enormous and unbelievable amounts of weight loss are reported. This is often followed by complaints that weight loss “stalls” or that the rate drops to only 1 pound per week.

Many people just don’t know that fat-loss …the actual goal when on a weight-reduction” diet, is rate-limited. In other words, the human body has factors that prevent more than a certain amount of fatty-acid release from storage…and even more factors that prevent those released fatty acids from being used up instead of stored back into the fat cells.

A priority of the human body is survival. Anything that threatens its survival results in the cascade of events to maintain the previous status quo. Water fluctuations are one way the body does this. OK…so you done good on Atkins’ during induction…lost 10 pounds the first 2 weeks. Maybe 7 the first week and 3 the second. But, whoa! Weeks 3 and 4 there is NO loss! And weeks 5 and 6 is only 1/2 pound each!

So… what gives? Initially, the body jettisons the water attached to the glycogen stores that we diligently deplete to get into ketosis…this accounts for about 3-5 pounds of water. In addition, muscle stores of glycogen are not being replaced when used…which will account for the rest. All in all…MAYBE 1/2 pound of fat was metabolized during the first week… and MAYBE 1/2 pound of fat was metabolized the 2nd week. Of that 10 initial pounds, only 1 pound was fat and 9 pounds water…

The body senses this lack and sirens start shrieking: Warning! Warning! Losing water… new thing…got to get back to the status quo! Brain tells body to produce and release that vasopressin anti-diuretic hormone….more water is retained, and no weight loss noticed. Fat loss is still occurring, MAYBE even 2 pounds per week, because ketosis is firmly established and appetite suppression is in effect…but water retention is hiding that continuing fat loss. The body is preventing dehydration with this mechanism, and that’s a good thing.

From the perspective of the scale, it can be discouraging. Which is why the mantra: Water retention masks fat loss (repeated frequently to oneself) is helpful. Water retention will mask ongoing fat-loss for as long as the body retains the water. We can combat this by drinking more water…but we aren’t going to totally overcome this mechanism during the initial water-loss phase of the Atkins diet. By weeks 5 and 6, things start to get back in balance, and the scale will begin to reflect the true fat-loss…which, as mentioned before is rate-limited.

Individuals vary, but max weight loss runs about 2 pounds per week…under extremely optimal conditions… or 1% of body weight (whichever is the lower number). So don’t use the scale as an excuse to undermine your progress. Even when the scale is in a stall, fat loss can be occurring.

We’ve been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can’t resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can’t bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence its readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.

Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body’s water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don’t understand what’s happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto its water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.

Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it’s easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn’t have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts.

The more highly processed food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That’s why, when it comes to eating, it’s wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.

Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.

Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it’s packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it’s stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates.

As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with its associated water. It’s normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.

Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it’s wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different from putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It’s the actual weight of everything you’ve had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you’ve finished digesting it.

Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it’s not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it’s likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in.
Generally, it’s only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low-calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it’s physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you’re really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.

This brings us to the scale’s sneakiest attribute. It doesn’t just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose “weight,” that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you’ve lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you’re just sitting around. That’s one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.
Robin Landis, author of “Body Fueling,” compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn’t differentiate between the two. It can’t tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat.

There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.

If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn’t appeal to you, don’t worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don’t be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride.
It’s a matter of mind over scale.

Garden

DIY Capsicum Tincture: A Natural Pest Solution

September 14, 2011 brendanolen 1 Comment

I have to share this with everyone! I was told about this a while ago, forgot, and was just reminded. So, I made this up last night, sprayed, and my prayers have been answered! Those cabbage loopers that have wreaked havoc all over every bit of food I have been growing are DEAD! There was no new damage this morning (after me going out every night with a flash light and take care of the little buggers but always missing some) AND I found a number of them dead! I am SO HAPPY! Thank you, Don!

Hi Brenda,

I don’t know if I have told you this before so here goes. I make up a tincture of capsicum. It is made by putting a large can of Cayenne Pepper into a pint of Vodka. Sit in the sun for two weeks, shaking twice a day.
Strain. Make sure you label it because it is liquid fire. Now for chewing and sucking insects, I put several cloves of garlic and a coarsely chopped onion in a blender with water. I puree and then strain out the large pieces. Add an ounce or more of the tincture of capsicum (from above) and add some liquid soap. The liquid soap helps the proper ingredients to stay on the leaves when the water dries. Put into a spray bottle. Since this is a water based insect repellent, it will have to be sprayed on after each rain or sprinkling.

I have used this on many plants and it can also be used to stop chewing animals.

Give it a try. To do things simply, you could probably put a large quantity of cayenne into water and let it simmer for a while and use it in place of the tincture. B*B, Don

Low Carb, Recipe

Stevia

August 30, 2011 brendanolen Leave a comment

I have just started my journey with stevia. The one plant I got a few months ago (I need more) just isn’t enough for all the experimenting I need to do in order to fully incorporate this wonderful plant into my diet. From all the reading I have been doing, it seems the best way to use the stevia plant as a sweetener is as an extract. This E-How article explains it perfectly:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2083187_make-stevia-extract.html

It seems the key to eliminate the bitterness is to limit the time the plant material is in the alcohol. While there are directions out there that use water instead of alcohol, it seems the alcohol pulls out the sweet elements of the plant more efficiently.

So, once I have the extract, how will I use it? I found this conversion in this .pdf:

http://www.itascanaturopathicclinic.com/Stevia___FOS_Recipes_00000.pdf

Now, I did make a coffee drink with stevia (this is where my leaves have gone so far) but I tripled the amount of stevia called for and it still wasn’t sweet enough for me (so I added a little Splenda). It also uses water, which from what I’ve read does not extract enough sweetness. Here’s the coffee drink:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/bulk-herb-store/iced-coffee-sugar-free-and-delicious/10150263228642086

So, onward and upward. I will be purchasing a few more stevia plants this week and we’ll see how things go!

Garden

Strange Weather and Planting

June 7, 2011 brendanolen 1 Comment

As most of you know, we have not had our typical California weather this year. It is June 7 and today is supposed to be a high of 77 degrees F. Plus, possible showers tonight. I’m tired of waiting. Tired of waiting for the weather to cooperate and tired of waiting for a house of our own so I can STOP growing in these dang pots!

So, I am making a truck garden. While I’m still growing in containers, the plants will get all the sun they need, and we may be able to get a little more food aside from sugar snap peas and tomatoes this year (though the tomatoes are questionable). Here’s what I already have planted (and growing):

Sugar Snap Peas and Mixed salad greens, which didn’t really perform like I had hoped. Next time, I’ll just stick with spinach in its own container.

Carrots (yes, they are there somewhere)

Cherokee Purple tomatoes (only had room for this one, Toni, but THANK YOU FOR THE SEEDS!)

Early Girl Tomato (which isn’t all that early … dang thing just now got it’s second set of leaves)

Zucchini

And I’m going to tempt the weather gods by planting … tuscan melon! Please let us have a mild/warm autumn! This isn’t including the pots I’m not moving: brussel sprouts, collard greens, celery, three different mints (peppermint, spearmint, and chocolate mint) plus a couple kitchen herbs (basil and oregano … I need more of these).

Like I said, all these are in containers. The only problem (aside from weather, which I’m going to complain about constantly) is the lack of sun in my back yard. This is my back yard:

Notice the HUGE pecan tree? Well, it just keeps getting bigger (at least one thing is growing well this year) and now my pots get sun until about noon. That’s it. So, I complain every time I go out there to take care of them, just about ready to put the pots on the roof of the garage when it hits me. Our truck! We non-oped it a couple years ago because 8 miles to the gallon! I love the truck. I love the fact that if we need to move a whole bunch of stuff, we have the truck. BUT, it’s just sitting there, in the driveway, getting more sun than any spot in my back yard! So I took out the tool box, sprayed the wasp nests all over the place (they really like the side rails), knocked the nests down, and raked out the truck:

I hosed it out and put my containers in the bed … oh, I also drilled an extra drainage hole in the dent in the bed where the water keeps pooling. Then I found a set of misters that have been sitting in my garage for about 5 years (I keep finding uses for all my junk and I’ll NEVER throw anything away again), took off the misting heads, and voila! Drip system!

Now, I have a garden that may actually produce this year! Do you see that? That’s sun! As you can see, there’s plenty of room to add more! BTW, those are water containers cut in half and the blue container is one of those toy containers you can buy just about anywhere. Since the kids are no longer kids, I recycled!

Oh, see that upside down recycling bin? That is a REAL multipurpose tool! As it is right there, it’s my step ladder (which I need because the tailgate is chest level). Turn it over and it holds the weeds, leaves, and garbage. It holds my clippings. I can hold harvested food (sturdy and has handles). AND whenever it’s time to move, it will hold miscellaneous garage items! I love these things!

So, anyway, here are the links I found while trying to figure out what I could plant now:

list-of-companion-plants Download

What to do in your Northern California garden in June

Monthly Vegetable Gardening Tips – Sacramento Master Gardeners

Now, I’m tired. I did this, trimmed, weed-eated, and mowed my weeds (I mean lawn) so I’m done! Time to wash up and eat lunch!

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