Fun Sunday Finds!

Posted on by
2

Seth and I had a lot of errands to run today, and while we’re out I always have my eye open for fun things that will save time or add convenience to my life. Here is what I found today: a honey dipper (for our raw honey, so much easier than a spoon), salad hands (for tossing salads, since we eat them almost every day), and a handy produce saver:

I don’t refrigerate near as much produce as I once did (it depletes nutrients, especially in red fruits/veggies), but those I do refrigerate, will now last longer. This handy little gadget turns the ethylene gas produced by refrigerated produce into water vapor, so they last longer. It has a little guage on it, lasts about 3 months, but will tell you when it needs to be replaced.

The salad hands-well, I have never used them, but I’ve been running out of spoons, LOL!

Honey dipper, well it just makes getting honey out of the jar, that much easier (sorry, Pooh, I can’t dip with my “paws”).

I love things that make cooking easier. I often say, “oh no, spoons are fine,” etc… but then I actually buy what I should be using and am always pleasantly surprised by the convenience and time-saving. So worth it!

Friday Food Insight

Posted on by
1

I’ve really been on a path of improving my health over the past year, which has included a lot of self education so I can make better choices for myself. Disclaimer: I post things like this, to share. Not to try to influence how others eat or make them feel bad about their choices, but to provide information that I’ve found helpful or insightful, in one easy, centralized location. Please don’t confuse my passion for food with criticism. What you decide to do with it, is totally up to you, and furthermore, if it really bothers you, don’t read it 🙂 As with everything, what I like or don’t like, what I eat or don’t eat, is up to me. Same for you. If nothing else, I help one person by sharing knowledge, then I consider that a win. My dad used to tell me with regard to attending business classes or seminars, etc. that if you walk away having learned just one thing, then it was beneficial. Same goes for here.

Here are some pretty interesting things I’ve learned about commercial food today (some might have duplicates, but they each contain unique items too):

10 Weird and Gross Ingredients in Processed Food: http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/05/08/10-weird-and-gross-ingredients-in-processed-food/

11 Revolting Things Government Lets in Your Food: http://www.radicalhippie.com/revoltingThings.html

7 Grossest Things in Your Food: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/grossest-things-food/story?id=16824388

18 Things Hiding in Your Food: http://www.cbsnews.com/8334-504763_162-57423146-10391704/gross-grub-18-ingredients-hiding-in-your-food/?tag=back

More concerning for me, are the long term affects this stuff has on our bodies-we weren’t meant to eat this stuff, plain and simple. I continue to be baffled by the lack of regulation and safety from governing bodies on the long term effects of consuming this stuff. Hence my self education.

What do I eat?

Posted on by
6

Almost daily, I receive some sort of inquiry into what I eat, what I don’t eat, why I eat what I eat or don’t, recipe and cooking questions, how it affects my type 1 diabetes, etc. so, here is the simplified version for you:

I do eat:

  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Eggs
  • Nuts
  • Oils
  • Meat
  • Seafood
  • Dark chocolate
  • Almond/coconut milk
  • Almond butter
  • Almond/coconut flour
  • Coffee
  • Raw butter/Ghee
  • Fresh herbs
  • Spices
  • Agave/Stevia in the Raw/Raw Turbinado

I don’t eat:

  • Peanuts
  • Corn
  • Beans
  • Rice
  • Soy
  • Pasta
  • Canola/corn/rapeseed oils
  • Yogurt/Cottage Cheese
  • Grain (no wheat, bulgur, rye, oats, etc.)
  • Candy
  • Sweeteners
  • Refined flours/sugars
  • Nothing in a box or with an ingredient list

Simply put, I live the paleo lifestyle. It has been a very slow progression of change over the last year or so, so as not to feel deprived when I remove/eliminate/substitute food. I do not diet. It is a lifestyle. My sister shared this link with me and it is an excellent resource in easily understanding the Paleo lifestyle: http://greatist.com/health/the-ultimate-guide-to-eating-paleo-022012/

What have I learned? What food does to my body, my skin, my hair, my digestive system, my weight, my type 1 diabetes, on and on. It has been fascinating and I’m really passionate about it. I read A LOT, and am always trying to educate myself on how I can be healthier and feel better.

I eat more food than I ever have in my life, I’m constantly eating, and I am the leanest and most fulfilled I have ever been, but more important I feel the best I ever have. I am in no way starving, and while I eat a pretty “small” group of food, the options are endless. A lot of the comments and questions I’ve gotten have been, “wow, that’s an awful lot of food you’ve removed,” or, “what DO you eat?” Individuals seem to get overwhelmed by what I don’t eat, but I try to focus on what I do, and have taken it one step at a time. The first thing I eliminated was black beans-which I ate a lot of before. Then I moved on to corn, dairy, etc. Much to my surprise, the foods I thought would be most difficult, weren’t, and ones I thought wouldn’t be, were. Another learning experience!

Do I splurge? Absolutely. What I splurge on now is a little different than what I splurged on before. Are there times when I cave and eat something I don’t normally, of course! Am I 100% Paleo, 100% of the time? No.  But I sure try and I think that counts for a lot.

Real calories are different.