Why?

Why do people speed up to close the gap in traffic as soon as I put on my turn signal to pull into the space?

Why do drivers dart across three lanes of traffic to make a turn they almost missed instead of driving 200 yards further to safely make a U-turn?

Why do drivers in parking lots rarely yield for pedestrians (the other drivers walking to and from their own cars) even in horrible weather?


Why do old women think it's fine to cut in front of others at the grocery store check-out line?

Why do guys think it's okay to crowd into my personal space in the grocery store check-out line?

Why don't stores increase their stock of items on sale until several days into the sale?


Why does Starbucks advertise holiday drinks and then intentionally cause their stores to run out of the toppings long before the holidays are over?

Why did I get hooked on Starbucks holiday drinks again when I swore I wouldn't this winter?

Why do people drink tasteless, wimpy tea when full-flavored, robust coffee exists?


Why does "having a good Christmas" mean rushing - often in anger and frustration - to buy stuff for people instead of taking the time to actually talk to these people?

Why didn't a single store in this area sell good old-fashioned crisp, decorated sugar cookies over the holidays?

Why don't stores give us a breather between holiday displays?


Why did I bother writing my weight down almost every day last year on the calendar only to throw it in recycling on January 1?

Why do people ask "Wow! How much weight have you lost?" but never "Whoa! How much weight have you gained?"

Why is it so hard to commit to doing those things that are the best for our health?


Why do my dogs shed more in the winter than in the summer?

Why do I have to empty the vacuum cleaner canister so often when I vacuum yet the carpet still looks like it's made of dog fur?

Why does my dog always crap right on the hose?


Why does every house project take three times longer and cost three times more than originally projected?

Why do building supply stores always discontinue products before we realize we only bought half as much as we need?

Why is nothing in a manufactured house the standard size as regular houses?


Why do people with skittish horses ride on trails where lots of people run and walk their dogs?

Why do all my worries fade away when I'm hiking yet return the instant I walk back in the door?

Why can't I live my life on the trail?

"Are you a nutritionist?"

I was asked that question today, and it was not the first time. Sadly, I don't have the credentials to call myself a nutritionist, but I am passionate about reading about health and nutrition. Somehow I occasionally find myself in conversations with complete strangers about nutrition and often find myself sharing little known information with them.

Such as today... I was picking up a carton of Silk Nog at the same time a lady was picking up a carton of Almond Milk. I asked if she'd ever tried the nog and she hadn't, but I also mentioned that mine was better. My homemade eggless, dairy-free nog uses pumpkin to get that nice thick mouthfeel without the icky raw eggs. Here's the recipe:

Chile’s Pumpkin Nog

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Chilling Time: at least 2 hours ahead
Servings: makes about 3 cups

1 cup pureed pumpkin, chilled (canned is fine, but not pumpkin pie mix)
2 cups non-dairy milk, chilled
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve with a bit of grated fresh nutmeg on top for a special presentation.
~~~~~~~~~~

We got to talking about nutrition and disease, and I mentioned a couple of tips she might be interested in. I also gave her the last "business card" for my blog that was in my wallet. On the off-chance she actually makes it here, I'm going to provide links to the items I mentioned. Who knows, maybe you, the reader, will also happen to find these of interest.

First is Dr. Neal Barnard's book, Program for Reversing Diabetes. Contrary to what is generally believed, fat is the real dietary culprit, not sugar. Fat, especially animal fat, seems to gum up the cell's "lock" for which insulin is the key. The insulin key is unable to open up the cell because the lock is gummed up and thus unable to usher the glucose into the cell for use. (Your body's cells burn glucose - sugar - for fuel.) Because it can't get the glucose into the cells, the glucose continues to circulate in the bloodstream, keeping blood sugar elevated. This makes it look like sugar is the culprit when it really isn't.

Dr. McDougall has information on diabetes and dietary treatment here, as well.

I also mentioned that protein is blown way out of proportion in this country. Human protein needs are met easily. So easily I'll bet you've never, ever heard of anyone in this country with a disease of protein deficiency. Nope. In the US, we specialize in diseases of dietary excess, as witnessed by the rapidly growing obesity rates!

Just 5% of your calories need to come from protein, an amount very easily met by eating even a strict plant-based diet. Did you know that raw broccoli is 36% protein?! Even iceberg lettuce is 26% protein. Brown rice is almost 10% protein. I could eat brown rice and broccoli every day, and get enough protein even if I was doing intensive daily body building routines. But, don't believe me. Remember, I am NOT a nutritionist. I just read what smart write. For more interesting health and diet-related links, check out the sidebar of my other blog.

Preserving Food Today

My heart goes out to all the folks impacted by the superstorm, Sandy, on the East Coast. I foresee ongoing problems for quite some time due to saltwater corrosion of infrastructure and hope that people will pull together to make it through the trying times after the immediate clean-up and repair efforts.

With disasters in mind, I seemed to have gravitated towards food preservation activities today. It's ironic in one way because the methods I am using in some cases require electricity, something many people are doing without today. Some of the preserved food will continue to use electricity, too, but in a disaster, one eats the perishable stuff first, sharing with the neighbors to keep food from being wasted.

Here's what I've done today so far:

Chopped hot peppers and piled them into an ice cube tray. Added a smidgen of water and put it in the freezer. I'll pop out the frozen cubes later and use them for soups and chili through the winter.

Chopped sweet peppers and vacuum-packed them for the freezer. I bagged them in small quantities to, again, use in soups over winter.

Shredded the giant zucchini I never made into a stuffed zucchini boat and piled it in the dehydrator. The shreds will be easy to add to soups, breads, pilafs, and more.

Chopped up the two large white icicle radishes, head of Napa cabbage, and a carrot for kimchi. They are soaking in a brine solution right now. Later, I'll drain them and toss with ginger, garlic, onion, and hot pepper before stuffing into a large jar and setting on the counter for a week or two to ferment.

Sliced a cucumber and some onion. Tossed with sugar, salt, cayenne, and a splash of vinegar for a "quick kimchi" pickle. Hopefully I'll get the bibim bap made later and enjoy it with that dish.

Tonight I'll be using up vegetables and leftovers lurking in the fridge to make a tasty soup. As usual, I won't be using a recipe, instead just tossing together foods that sound like they will go well together. Tonight, for instance, it's looking like the soup will have the following ingredients in it: onion, celery, sweet pepper, hot pepper, carrot, mashed potatoes, and non-dairy cheezy sauce. If I remember, I'll even slice up some bread and make croutons. Mmmm, I love soup in the winter.

Soups are also a great way to use up perishable food from the refrigerator (first) and then the freezer when facing a power outage. Set up a backpacking or camp stove outside for simmering the dish. If you are including animal products, keep food safety issues in mind, both in the cooking and the prep/clean-up aspects.

Happy Fall!

As was pointed out to me in comments, it is no longer summer yet my blog still appears to be "closed". It's not closed anymore; I just have nothing to say. Comments are open again, as the spammers quickly discovered. Omitting the word verification step lasted only a few hours before I reinstated it in disgust. (Three spams in the first three hours after opening up the comments again!)

I don't have much to post here as my focus these days is primarily on healing. To that end, I am making sure I eat what is best for my health (no oil, whole foods, plant-based), get some exercise (hiking, weights, learning Zumba), manage my stress, and, currently, figure out how to get rid of the plastic in my life.

What have you been up to?

Closed For the Summer

This blog will be closed until Fall. Enjoy your summer. Stay hydrated. And don't get a sunburn!

Too Much Stuff (Again!)

So, who's up for another round of decluttering? My house is a mess and I blame it on the fact that there is too much stuff in it. Too much stuff clamoring for my attention, too many papers waited to be sorted and filed, too many thing being kept just in case (of what?!).

For months I have been following Karen's blog as she gets rid of her excess, moving towards her eventual dream of having a tiny house. And yesterday, on the headlines that scroll on my home page, what article should come up but one on tiny houses? After watching several of the video clips, walking through my house bothered me even more. The reason there are stacks of cookbooks on the kitchen cart is that I have too many cookbooks. The answer is not more space or more furniture. The answer is cutting back to what I truly need and use.

It seems I have to go through this every few years. I declutter and then suddenly there's all this empty space so when I see something I kinda, sorta, might someday want, it is that much easier for it to make it into the house. Yes, you may roll your eyes now. I'm rolling mine at my own ridiculousness.

Here are all my cookbooks. The stacks are organized by type of cookbook: food preservation, ethnic cooking (mostly Asian - Thai, Indian, & Korean), bread-baking, garden and native foods, vegetarian/vegan, no-added-fat low-sugar vegan, and specialty like the solar cooking.

My goal was to reduce these 58 cookbooks to however many will fit in my kitchen cart without stacking any sideways. I hate when books are stacked sideways, making them hard to retrieve without handling, or knocking over, the whole stack. Give me clean, ordered shelves. They don't have to be shelved by the Dewey Decimal System as my mother did with our 10,000 books in my childhood home, but I do want to be able to put my hands on the one I want easily.

Here is the After picture. All the books I'm keeping fit in the kitchen cart plus my file of 5x7" recipe cards. The stack on top are the ones that are going away. Most were too similar to ones I kept to make the cut. Notice there is space for another book or two on the top left shelf. What do you think the odds are of me finding something to stick in there while trading the others at the used bookstore tomorrow?


Next up for decluttering? I have no idea yet, although we did remove five DVDs from our collection yesterday.

Juice Fast Update

I planned to go 60 days. I went two weeks instead. In those two weeks, I accomplished what I set out on the juice fast to do: I overcame my food addictions, the worst of which was coffee; I jump-started my weight loss again (down 16 pounds); and I totally reset my tastebuds to enjoy no sugar and no salt.

I'm in the midst of transitioning back into "normal" eating now, with the new normal being what I've strived to stick to for years: no added oil, whole foods, plant-based. A new cookbook is on its way to me now that will have even more exciting recipes to help me enjoy the food.

For those concerned that perhaps juice fasting is at odds with a "green" low-impact lifestyle, let me assure you that this is not entirely true. Yes, more produce is used to make a meal than one would normally eat. However, the leftover pulp can be saved to use in recipes (it can even be frozen), it can be fed to your dogs or chickens, or it can be added to your compost, which I assure you will really like it. Also, during a juice fast, no animal products are consumed so this is definitely lightening the load on the earth as well as on your body, which, if one sticks with a plant-based diet, also means you'll be reducing the resources used for your future health care. In fact, many people are able to get off cigarettes and coffee quickly by using a juice fast, not to mention getting off some medications.

I am looking forward to reducing my use of sugar and salt in preserving garden produce, too. If anyone has tips or links for doing this safely, please feel free to share. I've got some low-sugar pectin on hand but I haven't tried making jam with it yet.