Stegner

Congratulations Lizl61 and Mama E! It's good to hear Success Stories from the hormonally challenged. Things continue to evolve for me, but W30 remains my default way of eating - there's magic in following a practice for 30 days. Some say it takes longer than that to cement a new habit, but 30 days worked pretty well for me. Carry on, and check back.

The singing lion is the best thing on facebook in some time - glad to see you appreciated it too. As always, I enjoy your blather and foaming at the mouth. Carry on, Meadowlily, I'm listening.

This is my issue as well - and there are a few things I've found helpful. 1) I do 5-10 day resets but I've never done a second thirty days - I find that after only a few days, I feel a lot better and my body gets why self-discipline around food is worth it. I think what's happening to me is that W30 is becoming my default and each time I wander off and wander back, it becomes a stronger default. 2) I stock my refrigerator with prepped W30 ingredients and I keep it that way. I make it easy to cook better food for myself than I can order in most restaurants. 3) I drink very little alcohol. La Croix with a shot of kombucha on the rocks is a great substitute for beer. 4) I read the forum - it helps me keep the faith. Good Luck, everybody.

I hope with my whole heart that she makes it. And because I always think of Lyme when there's a mystery illness, that's what I am thinking of. Around here, it's so prevalent the vets treat for it without a blood test.

Why don't you bring her into the house? The thought of you sleeping on the garage floor again is painful to me.

Those old doggies can surprise us. I'm so happy your dear old doggie has perked up. Go probiotics!

Oh Meadowlily, so sorry to hear this sad news. My heart goes out to you. J

Asian fish soup - I use my own chicken stock and pour the hot soup over raw greens or zucchini cut to resemble noodles. Lots of ginger, lots of garlic, raw cilantro and finely diced hot peppers on top.

I do what Mel Joulwan does - see the link in Shannon's response above - except I don't pre-cook anything. When it's time to eat, I heat up the frying pan and start to improvise - and if the red cabbage in my refrigerator looks a little wilted, my meal will be heavy on the red cabbage. I prep vegetables soon after I buy them - I listen to podcasts in the kitchen and just wash and chop until I have a LOT of veg in containers ready to cook with. It goes fast and makes me feel great to have done myself this great kindness. That said, it's only me I'm prepping for, not 8 people! If I were you, I would be making things that they could eat over pasta or rice, and I could eat over raw greens or zucchini noodles. Curry works that way, and so does tomato sauce with ground beef. Good luck!

Sending much love to you and your Maw. May the road rise to meet you.

Great suggestions. For me, prepping vegetables and keeping them in containers in the refrigerator is key to preventing waste. I live alone, and I waste less food than anyone I know - I think it's because I know what I have on hand and I plan my meals based on that, not the other way around. I think it's important to use a cooking "method" rather than following recipes - I use proteins plus prepped vegetables, spice blends, mayo, coconut milk, salsas, pestos, tapenades, etc, and I really can whip up an amazing meal fast, using whatever I have. It's the daily surprise... every day.

Just have to say one more time - I love reading your stuff, Meadowlily. There's always something that I need to hear - today it's the paragraph that begins... "stop editing." I know you follow your own advice because your spirit shines through your writing.

Kraut is really easy to make at home - just cabbage, water, and salt fermented in a wide-mouth quart jar. You can google recipes. It takes a few weeks. I have a Kraut Kap (I think that's what it's called) that makes it pretty near foolproof. I bought mine at the local co-op, but you can order them online.

Chickpea flour flatbread, called socca, makes a good pizza crust. When I've made it, I've used Mark Bittman's recipe and my results have varied, but it was always edible and sometimes fantastic. If you do any experimentation with this and find a reliable recipe/method, please share.

Clear your head. You don't have to hop on a plane or go backpacking all across Europe to clear your head. Just remove yourself from those negative people and situations of the past. Forgive those who've wronged you but you don't have to ingratiate yourself to them again. Start making new memories. Having too many old negative memories of the past makes it more difficult to make new ones. Making new memories is better than being stuck in the past. And tomorrow has enough worries of its own. This is helpful to me right now, this very minute - because I've been taking a stroll down the part of my memory lane that is paved with razor wire and broken glass and it's time to get off it. Thanks, meadowlily.