Day Four - Gathering Inspiration From An Unusual Place

This morning as I watched a YouTube video hosted by a talk show host whom I shall not name - he has been around a long time and is quite famous - I noticed something.

Mr. Host has lost some weight. His face is thinner, as is his neck. His shoulders are less round and schlumping. 

I remembered him saying a couple of weeks ago, just in passing, that he'd been off sugar for about four months. I didn't think anything of it, but did retain the information. He'd become quite obese, lumbering even, and I wondered if his sugar denial stemmed from a health issue. Again, I didn't give it much thought at the time.

But today, his appearance revealed a noticeable change. I guess I hadn't been paying attention, usually just finding a video and listening, not watching. The change caught me off-guard this morning. I was surprised at how good and healthy and content he looks. His countenance more than anything gives away the fact that his determination to work toward better health is really paying off. 

In just four months.

I went back to former videos and sure enough, he was much larger four months ago. My, how he's changed in that one-third of a year.

His eyes are clearer, his skin, too, not waxy and sweaty looking as it has been. His freshly trimmed beard and hair reveal someone who is no longer averse to glancing in the mirror. His clothing suits him better; gone are the baggy flannel shirts and bulky hoodies.

Energetic, engaged, excited. He is back to his old self, and I couldn't be more impressed or happier for him, because I know what mirror avoidance is like. I know what breathlessness from too much abdominal fat is like. I know what facing limited and ugly clothing choices feels like, with extra girth keeping buttons from buttoning. I know what panic and anxiety over being stuck is like. It's horrible. 

I also know what success feels like, to befriend the mirror, and to find satisfaction and happiness in clothing that is attractive and fits well. I know the joy of breathing easier. I know the happiness of your face reappearing after having sunken into cheeks swollen with fat. I know the giddiness of feeling lighter, walking easier, doing everything easier. It's bliss. Every day.

Yes, podcast guy whom many people know, you inspired me today.

 

Congratulations on your successful journey. Keep it up! 

Your health flatters you!

Day Three - Unlearning and Relearning

An injury in my foot is really cramping my style. It is healing, slowly, as in the way of things.

I want to be in the kitchen whipping up all sorts of delicious foods but, alas, it's not to be. I have to stay off my foot awhile longer.

But I did carefully step into my herb and flower garden today where I sat at my little table to pluck coriander seeds and roll them into a bowl to dry. It's a ritual that always pleases me. The aroma! The colors! The peace and quiet!

Afterwards I again carefully stepped into another garden, the sun drenched backyard garden where the lush lawn cushioned my healing foot enough so that I could make it to the chaise lounge for a good long sun bathing, staring up into the maples, still green-leaved for the most part with a smattering of reds and yellows. A brilliant blue sky for a background, a warm low-in-the-sky autumn sun coaxing creatures out for a ramble.

All this got me to thinking about food. When, I wondered, did we go off the rails? I mean, ultra processed food is a rather new invention, becoming ubiquitous in the1980's according to Wikipedia. The addiction and dependence snuck up on us from then on creating massive sugar addictions and obesity, among other things. Who knew the dangers? 

Well, we do now.  

It's a hard habit to fully break for me, having utilized ultra processed food-like substances all of my married life without thinking about the harm they cause. I have gained a ton of weight from the 1980's until now. It is all too easy to stress-eat high-calorie fake foods: affordable, accessible, and palatable. 

I have to say, my palate has undergone an unlearning when it comes to these substances, though sometimes the Siren call wins. I'm always sorry afterwards, and I'm learning to remember the longer lasting sorrow before partaking. Most of the time. The gratification lasts minutes, the regret, hours. This I full well know.

Lying in a garden under the sun in between a large strawberry bed and an autumnally colored blueberry bush affirms to me that eating as God intended in not hard once the truth is known and embraced.

It just takes focus.

Now, for a cottage cheese and freshly picked tomato salad sprinkled with a few pumpkin seeds for my light supper. 

This is truly living!

Day Two - Check Those Labels

 Good choices again today even though plantar fasciitis is acting up today in my left foot. It happened once before - years ago! - and I was able to conquer it with proper home treatment, which I am doing today. It means I can't stand on my feet for a week or so while I ice, stretch, rest, and allow the inflammation to subside.

So, today I didn't prepare or eat what I wanted to, but I made good choice nevertheless. Husband was sent to pick up some healthy rice and bean and veg bowls for our supper with homemade tortilla chips. So good!

Tip for the Day: Always read your labels!

October Unprocessed, Second Time Around, Thirteen years Later, Day One

In 2011 my family and I participated in October Unprocessed, a month of eating better. According to the guidelines, unprocessed can be whatever a person wants it to be, but it must be an improvement on the quality of food one eats, especially with regards to processed vs unprocessed foods.

We went completely unprocessed last time. We read labels, we ate the way our great grandmothers would have eaten. In the end, we felt better, clearer, and more knowledgeable about the foods this country offers.

Well, here I am again, this time going it alone and with a few tweaks.

See, my family and I have greatly improved our eating since our adventure that October. We still eat processed foods now and then - mostly sweets because, to be honest, we are all addicted. But the quality of sweets is improved and the quantity reduced.

This go 'round my aim is to tighten up the screws a bit and get back to more unprocessed and less sugar, because as we all know by now, sugar is the devil. (My blood sugar levels are always perfect, in case you wonder. Sugar is bad no matter how good ones' numbers are. It does terrible things to our bodies.)

Unless specifically noted, everything is fresh, homemade, organic, and the best I can find.

How will I feel in the end? We'll see?

I shall record my journey weekly, just for fun and accountability.

Today:

Breakfast: unsweetened oatmeal with organic raisins, cream (NOT ultra pasteurized), and a small pat of good butter. An organic apple, Good Belly probiotic juice, cinnamon tea with cream

*Gouter: Reese's peanut butter cups - okay not ideal, I admit it

Dinner: Baked chicken, mashed potatoes with cream and butter, fresh steamed broccoli, fresh picked tomatoes, sliced.

Dessert: Kefir

* 'Gouter', is a French word for the light afternoon snack enjoyed around three or four o'clock. For me, it's usually around three, if I partake at all.

Here we go!

Weird Weather, Yellowjackets, and a Zealous Husband

Last Summer's Oregano

Stupidly, last spring, I didn't harvest my lush new crop of oregano.

A miscalculation on my part. 

I thought I had a bumper crop of the dried herb leftover from the year before. 

Nope.

And by the time I realized my mistake a whole slew of things occurred which put the kibosh on harvesting any during the summer. 

A yellowjacket nest at the roots of the herb and the subsequent spray dosed by our professional bug guy not only poisoned the plant for eating, but disturbed her tremendously.

Then, a weird hot summer prevented Oregano from rallying after the shock of the yellowjacket infestation. She appeared to give up the ghost.

In early fall the final death blow happened . . .

. . . or so I thought.

My husband was helping me with end-of-season weeding when he pulled up all the oregano thinking it was weeds because it looked wild and untamed and, well, weed-like. 

You'd be proud of me. I took it like a trooper. My beautiful Oregano, which had graced my garden for many years and kept us loaded up on its dried goodness, was no more.

After sighing, I said, "I can plant more in the spring. Don't worry about it. She had a good run. You didn't know."

Oregano Today

Fast forward to this spring. 

Imagine my happiness, ever the optimist and constant gardener that I am, when I spotted new growth pushing through the mud a couple of weeks ago. One good warm day was all the coaxing she needed.

Today more sprouts and bunches of my darling Oregano absorb the sun and water.

I will harvest this year.

I never give up on my little herbs. Ever. They usually pull through.

And that makes me ever so jolly!

Click here to learn more about the many benefits of oregano.

Limoncello Bottled

Last Monday's post described  Part One of my recent foray into making limoncello, something I have done only once before, two years ago. The results were both excellent and satisfying the first time. I'm happy to say the results seem to be the same today.

Part Two was completed this morning. I made syrup and mixed it with the lemon peel and vodka which occupied my kitchen counter for one week. Then, I bottled it.

The first time I made the citrusy concoction, two years ago, I used regular organic lemons. This time I used organic Meyer Lemons. When I took a little sample today, I was pleasantly surprised that there was a subtle difference, more mellow, and a bit brighter. Meyer Lemons' rinds have a more complex scent than regular lemons, with a spicy bergamot fragrance which tastes and smells more like an herb or a spice.

Now, I have four bottles of the delicious Italian beverage resting at room temperature for two weeks. After that, to the freezer they go until such time as we wish to imbibe. This supply will last for the rest of this year, unless we have a larger get-together than usual. My husband and I love sharing it with our family at Christmas for an out-of-season treat. I am eager to sample this Meyer Lemon batch when the aging process is finished. 

When I serve it in slender limoncello flutes, I use about one third to one half limoncello and the rest good quality sparkling water, not mineral water, though, as it distorts the flavor. We enjoy San Pellegrino with other juices, but it did not pair well with limoncello. At all. Different people like different ratios, to each his own. We don't drink it straight. It's pretty strong for us as we are not alcohol drinkers for the most part. But diluted, it is just so refreshing!

If you click on the hyperlink in the first sentence, you'll discover information about exactly what limoncello is and where it originally comes from. If you click the link in the third paragraph, you will learn the differences between regular lemons and the Meyer variety.

Bottling liquid sunshine was the perfect remedy for another gray, rainy, Oregon day, and I enjoyed the process tremendously.

When Life Gives You Lemons - Limoncello!

Rain rain rain rain rain ..... today it is coming down in sheets, sideways. Like a Hollywood set with rain machines and humongous fans blowing it in horizontal waves across our neighborhood. An atmospheric river, according to the weatherman, gesticulating like a bad dancer at a worn-out wedding.

Life seems to be giving me lemons today, weather-wise anyway.

And what is the adage? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?

Well, as it happens, I bought ten fresh beautiful Meyer Lemons last week to make limoncello for refreshment on hot sticky days to come. It takes awhile to make, patience is required.

Today's gloom beckons optimistic me to create a little sunshine. Instead of lemonade, the limoncello process has begun. I wash the lemons, hold a sharp paring knife like a scalpel, and begin removing peel in very thin layers, no bitter-white allowed.

Immediately citrus scent permeates the soggy shadowy gray even as curtains of rain-rivulets dribble down my window panes. The storm is no match for repeated spritzes of lemon oil. 

My hands deliciously smell of the yellow, oily bits.

I am smiling. Summer has entered my home. 

Golden peels, delicately placed into a jar, are covered with one liter of vodka, and left to befriend one another. 

For one week.

Until Step Two.

Soon, after more ingredients are mixed, heated, and added, there will be lovely narrow-necked, whimsically labeled bottles tucked away in the freezer, available for perfect moments with the best of friends and family. Thoughts of sharing limoncello plants a smile on my face and zippidy-doo-dah in my heart.

It may be a lion of an April day outside, but sunshiny summer skies are alive and well in my heart.