Start Date: December 1st

[LadyLisbette]

I really liked reading about your approach to movement right now, and I am going to take a page from your book. Home to yoga. I think I mentioned that I was wanting to ramp things up...and that I did with a youtube workout 5 days ago. It was upper and lower body body-weight resistance, and while some of it I can safely continue, and am grateful to have learned, I know better than to do squats and lunges. I did half the work out, and enjoyed the slight upper body, rib, and quad soreness the next two days, but my knees are still saying, "Hell no!" I had never heard of Nutritious Movement before, so I spent some time looking into that online. Just reading the words in your post "movement vs. working out" was a consciousness raiser. Down to my knees, I feel the wisdom there. Thank you for bringing me back to my senses.

Oh, the irony, of spending a much needed day of rest, on my back, reading about moving more.  But it has been a sweet day. I also listened to a podcast of two Jungian psychologist authors telling the story of Briar Rose and discussing how each element plays out in our lives regarding belonging, inclusion, timing, devotion, and owning our lives.

Then I made a big pot of Lebanese 7-spiced HASH! I froze half of it for when we get home...this time next week we'll be packing for Portland! I'll also have some shrimp cakes on hand because I'm cooking them up in order to have some in the freezer for a big reception the day after we get home. My compatriots and I are unveiling the second edition of oral histories of local elders. Whew! I did one more last minute interview 10 days ago, and the transcribing is a lot of work!....so I'm thawing the shrimp in the fridge, and will make the cakes on Tuesday morning, and freeze some for the party, some for us, and when we get home I'll have hash and shrimp cakes, and plenty of broccoli that I've frozen for the first time. Will broccoli be steamable after freezing, or should that be soup, in your opinion? I also am trying out freezing sliced kale from my CSA, for future hash. So, I'm learning to save some of the food I cook! 

How was the debriefing party? Did you make white bean hummus? I thought the cucumber dippers sounded great - i want to make some. When I unpacked my CSA box yesterday I couldn't tell the difference between the Italian squash and the Mediterranean cucumbers at first, and wished I had some hummus! I thought that your husband's salad at work choice bodes very well for the future. Lettuce is so beautiful. You're a good influence on him! What's on the menu this week?

It's time for me to go back to MovNat and expand on the two exercises I learned...the last two weeks I was so busy at my desk finishing up that last transcript that I sacrificed morning exercise except for a couple of walks, a little stretching, and that one youtube workout...so it's time to have a good, solid week before leaving town. I expect to walk a lot in Portland. Did I tell you I'm going to enjoy a Watsu massage? I'm very excited about that, a huge treat. http://aqua4lifepdx.com/

Have a good Monday!

[hollysmokes]

Sometimes we just need a little irony in our lives! Glad you're liking MovNat and I really like Katy Bowman even if some of her videos are awful. There is one about squatting and I think it would be very informative except it's filmed outside in the wind and I can't understand half of what she's saying. She did have a couple of short pieces about how to move more efficiently and be kind to your knees going uphill and down and another one about gardening and bending over. 

Your trip is going to be fabulous. What a great way to celebrate another year on this earth. That Watsu massage sounds like it's going to be amazing- as close as you can get to floating AND having a massage at the same time. It sounds like you have yourself all set to get right back in the groove when you return home, too. Lebanese hash is in my future! I got some ground chicken last week so I'll pull it out of the freezer this weekend and hash it up. I've never frozen broccoli unless it was already cooked in something and I blanch kale and freeze it all the time but I've never done it without blanching it first. I've always thought that freezing them without blanching first leads to mush but I do it with corn and it's delicious. You'll have to let me know how they work out. Great planning on having your party food ready before you even leave. The oral histories sound like such a great project to be involved in. Have you ever read any of the Foxfire books? There's a jillion of them now but my dad gave me the first three a really long time ago. I've been wanting to go back and reread them especially since I've started do some of the "old timey" things they talk about.

The party was good but the future of Hoedown is a little shaky; they need some investors if they're going to keep this afloat. It took some doing but the white bean hummus came out pretty good. I had a really hard time getting flavor into it. I started with preserved lemons and roasted garlic and I think the beans just overpowered the more subtle flavors. I kept adding garlic and lemon juice and, finally, some cumin and salt and more lemon and more cumin. It finally woke up and got devoured in minutes. I was kind of surprised because 3 cups of beans makes a pretty good-sized bowl of hummus so I thought I'd be eating it all week. I did get some tzatziki made with the leftover cucumbers and it was a great salad dressing for a big salad with sauteed shrimp last night. 

I have a couple of new items on the menu: a slow roasted chicken from Mark Sisson's page and tostones (probably not together, though). I just happened to see a couple of nice green plantains at the store yesterday so I grabbed them. I remember my grandmother on my mother's side making them when I was a kid and they were really good. I'm also going to try plaeorunningmomma's Salisbury steak meatballs. I'll let you know the verdict on all of them.

Trying to keep "movement" in the front of my consciousness!

 

[hollysmokes]

You're almost there!

I'm going to spend the weekend doing all of that cooking that I mentioned but didn't get around to and trying to get back to what passes as "normal" around our house. Except for a little lingering drama with the carpenter, a "slight" problem with some door knobs and waiting for the gutters to get installed, THE CONSTRUCTION IS FINISHED!!!! We're planning on spending some time enjoying the expanded deck and admiring the new siding and paint on the house. I think we'll probably fire up the Weber kettle for some surf and turf and grilled veggies to celebrate.

Have a wonderful trip and a happy birthday!

[LadyLisbette]

Hash it up, Holly! LOL. Congrats on the finale of construction! Yayyyy! The part where you get to sit back and look at it, and enjoy it, and fire up the grill, aahhh. That sounds heavenly. You guys earned it. Please find your new normal and send a little of that vibe my way, I'm going to need it when I get home! I'm already feeling that nesty anxiousness about leaving my house and routine. I know that once I get on the plane, and to the wonderful place I've never been before, I won't look back. Meanwhile, well, I don't get out much, can you tell? 

I haven't heard of Foxfire, but I will look that up, with you and your dear dad in mind! So many books....so little time! Yes, the oral history project has been awesome. Everyone has a story...like your Hoedown, our endeavor will need to go through some changes if it's to be sustainable. The new volunteers aren't as word-nerdy as the original crew, so those of us who got things going have had to take on a much bigger load this time around with the formatting, word processing, etc, for the others. Kind of a nightmare, but in the end, in the exhausted, bleary-eyed end, it will be okay...I am bowing out after this edition, and my partner in crime wants to continue, but scale it waayyy back, and it won't be a real oral history, but a collection of charming anecdotes. Or something. I will be part of a brain trust for my friend and collaborator, but won't do it again! Mark my word! Please. LOL As for Hoedown, I hope your friends get some investors! It looks so promising, and the early years are so important to get traction, and for word to get out, right? It's a miracle to go from idea to event, shampoo rinse repeat. So much work. Once upon a time I co-organized First Night Festivals, do you have those out your way?

Well, I am woefully unexercised, and recovering from multiple sub-optimal meals. Two weeks ago the mornings were sacrificed for the desk tasks, then this early week I stayed up late and got up early fashioning my ruby red slippers. Yep, I was Dorothy for Halloween, and we had a Wicked Witch of the West, and a Cowardly Lion, and a Wizard of Oz at work. I guess it was worth it. Yeah, it was fun, but it took up my exercise time, so that just is what it was...and I never recovered my momentum. Instead, I was so tired, and so fried from all the excitement (and yes, a little what the heck candy, nothing obscene) that I set my alarm an hour *later* than usual and just enjoyed a little sleep. With that, I'm planning to pack gym clothes and enjoy the hotel gym, that is the plan....walking Portland will be walking in the rain, which will be lovely, but I'm thinking gym workouts will keep my consciousness raised and will be better than nothing while I'm sure it will be a yummy caution to the winds type week foodwise, and I am SO looking forward! yeah, I'd really like to have a slightly exercise sore body feeling when I get in the pool for the watsu experience.

Thanks for the birthday fanfare! Happy weekend, sister, and keep moving!! xo

[LadyLisbette]

I'm baaacckkk! We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back. Now it's back to routine...I know it's here somewhere, my life line. I'm a little short on sleep since we got back, and feeling like a little mole, feeling my way through tunnels in the dark. The trip was a dream, and I will share more with time. I went way off road, and it was worth every moment. 

For the party yesterday, the shrimp cakes came out of the freezer well, and I plattered them with snap peas and lime-ginger aioli, which I will definitely make again. To the rest of the mayo batch, for home, I whirled up a little chili-lime theme, also bright and yummy.  The food table was filled with some savory offerings, and mostly sweets, and I noticed that the shrimp cakes got devoured pretty quickly. Hubs has noticed that he has better workouts after eating them, so it's become an inside joke around the house and we both favor them lately. The shrimp is a little pricey though, of course, so can't go too crazy, plus it doesn't fit into the SMASH scheme of things, so might be better to approach as a treat. Hash is on the menu this week, and I'm inspired by all the delicious brussels sprouts dishes I ate on our vacation. A lot of folks seem to be deep frying/flash frying, and I sure do like that (plus all the mind blowing flavor profiles it invites, they seem to pair up with sour/spicy/pungent so well, my mouth waters remembering), but not sure that's what I should be doing...seems to bump the fat intake quite a bit. Might save that for when I feel like I've got a good grip on things again. I was just there, in October, I can get there again! 

How are you doing, Miss Holly? Is the house more and more settled? How goes the movement, the cook ups now that you're on the other side of remodel and Hoedown? 

It sure is hazy from nearby wild fires, not a good time to hike the hills. The big Paradise fire you are reading about is way north of here, so we are safe. The whole state is smoky and hazy, and everyone is mourning and fretting...we have to stick close and take care of each other in these worrisome times. It seems to have turned to winter while we were gone, and we've had the heater on. Now to wait for rain.

[hollysmokes]

There's no place like home. There's no place like home.

So glad the fires are far from you even if the air is not so good. My husband was asking about you on Sunday so I pulled up a map of CA to show him where you are. So many people have died and so many more have lost everything. I've grown accustomed to people losing their homes in floods and hurricanes because that's what I've always experienced but fire seems so much more final and devastating- brutal, I guess. 

OK, can you say "Hot mess??!!" That's me! The house got painted the wrong color!!!! It's the painter's fault (sort of). If I had been there, I would have marked the correct color on the card but my husband just told them which one it was and they mistakenly got the next lighter color. It looks good but, ultimately, I'll never be happy with it so they're going to repaint. They are very professional and realize it was their mistake but I feel badly about it anyway. Between house stuff, the time change and my husband having cataract surgery, I've just totally veered off of the road. My meals have been pretty good but I've been "supplementing" them with a cookie here and pizza there, quesadillas, grits on a couple of (delicious) occasions, a little fried pumpkin pie (that was also delicious). My sleep has been crazily off and I haven't moved or exercised even though I know that would have helped with the sleep issues which, in turn, would have helped with the out of control eating issues. Finally, yesterday I started feeling better. I slept pretty well, ate well and did some intentional movement. Since I seem unable to commit to a real workout schedule, I'm going to try to ease myself back into it with movement "snacks" throughout the day. The next cataract surgery is Monday with a follow-up visit Tuesday AND I have a big meeting Tuesday then Thanksgiving on Thursday so next week is going to be crazy and hectic. I'm ready for it this time, though. I AM going to eat well and keep moving and know that it will settle down and I'll nudge myself back on track. I don't know if I'm up for another W30 but it seems fitting-or ironic, I'm not sure which at this point- that I think my world will settle into it's regular orbit right around the anniversary of our Stardate.

So...on the (mostly) yummy food front: slow-roasted chicken-fail! It was horribly over cooked and I am finally eating the last of it for lunch today. Tostones-amazingly wonderful even if it was sort-of deep frying. I served them as a snack for our Hoedown friends and my husband and they loved them. They were just like I remembered! Paleorunningmomma's Salisbury meatballs-YUM!!! I loved them, my husband loved them and I made a double batch of the gravy based on someone else's suggestion and so glad I did. Next up is scotch eggs. We're having a breakfast get-together here at work and I'm bringing scotch eggs made with chicken chorizo sausage since we have at least one person that doesn't eat pork. I've been wanting to try these for ages so I'll let you know how it goes. I'm thinking they would be great to have in the fridge as a grab-n-go item or just for breakfast. I didn't get to make the Lebanese hash yet because I donated my ground chicken to the scotch egg effort but I'll get to that soon, too. 

Just hearing from you and getting to touch base makes everything seem a little less wobbly. We can do this. Together.

[LadyLisbette]

On 11/13/2018 at 7:38 AM, hollysmokes said:

Just hearing from you and getting to touch base makes everything seem a little less wobbly. We can do this. Together.

Yes! Thanks, I needed that! Each day this week has been a little better, and today was actually a pretty good day. 

Oh no, the wrong color! Good for you for letting them make it right, absolutely. As for veering off road, well, it sounds pretty delicious. It's no big deal! You can get back on the path any time. I'll hang out with you there! It's time. Yeah. Like you, my exercise this week has been a kind of survival 10 minutes in the morning of stretching and then dashing off to long days at work. I like the idea of movement snacks. I'll have to see if I can take one movement break at work, see how that goes. Yes, sketchy sleep really throws a monkey wrench into everything! Without a vigorous cardio, or vigorous anything in the way of exercise, my system wakes up at 3ish and doesn't like to go back to sleep, which happened twice this week including last night, which is such an awful feeling. I find that once I get showered and dressed my energy is okay, but I know it just sucks for the brain health etc. Tonight I took some valerian root caps to make sure I get some zzzs.

On 11/13/2018 at 7:38 AM, hollysmokes said:

I AM going to eat well and keep moving and know that it will settle down and I'll nudge myself back on track.

Yes!

On 11/13/2018 at 7:38 AM, hollysmokes said:

I don't know if I'm up for another W30

Are you sure? Oh, c'mon, pleeeze?  Well, I keep coming back to your Meadowlily quotation about only really needing to do it once. I think I'm wanting the rules to keep myself safe during the sugar orgies. So, I'm thinking about another December W30...the only thing is that re-intros might be tough as I may go back to my bro's in January, the land of no meat allowed in the house. So, I'm not deciding just yet...but leaning in that direction. Peer pressure aside, I really like the way you're thinking.

That's sweet that your husband asked about me and you got out the map. When I last wrote here I thought the smoke in my community was from forest fires nearby. I've since figured out that it's from the Paradise fire just filling up the valley and spreading all over the state. The central valley is a big giant bowl with mountains for edges, and that's why the air gets so bad - it doesn't get to circulate much. Every morning with all the doors and windows shut, it smells like a camp fire is burning in the house. Sunrises and sunsets are eerily blood orange. It's really hurting so many people with respiratory problems. I dare say, as much off-roading as I've been doing, my gut health/immunity must be still in good shape because I'm not bothered at all by the smoke...except psychologically and emotionally of course. Heartbreaking. Good news: it might rain on Thanksgiving! For movement I should be doing a rain dance every day, how do you like that? I'm liking that idea.

Tostones, yum! Hey, I saw that Salisbury meatballs recipe once, that looks good, I'll have to try that. Also, funny, I was just looking at slow roasting chicken. What would you do differently to avoid over cooking? Did you use an insta-read thermometer? Did it let you down? I'm not doing pork right now, but once I started using an insta-read thermometer with pork tenderloin my husband even noticed. [that sounds like a dorky 1950s tv commercial. It's late, I'm tired, now I'm laughing at myself] Please let me know how your scotch eggs turn out. I want to love them, but mine were a bust, one of the first WF recipes I tried out a few years ago...I'm sure it was user error. Have I mentioned how much I love eggs. Oh! And you mentioned chorizo. To my knowledge I've never had any until Portland. It was in a hash dish at our hotel that I ate twice, with sweet potatoes, brussels, onions, red bells, roast garlic cloves, and a couple of poached eggs on top. Heaven on a plate.

For Thanksgiving I think we'll just stay home and I'll make turkey legs, yams, roast brussels or maybe a cauli gratin...just dreaming of a day off already.

Hope you're sleeping well! Thanks for being here.

[hollysmokes]

We're on the same Thanksgiving page! We're all about keeping it simple and, since it'll just be the two of us, that makes it easy. I have a pastured turkey breast vacuum-sealed from last year and even have some cranberries in the freezer. The only splurge will be a very small batch of cornbread dressing that I will probably have a dab of since I make the cornbread with a delicious heirloom cornmeal and no flour.  I think I'll do butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes because I still have 3 of them left from Hoedown and we had sweet potatoes a couple of times this week. Since my husband is having cataract surgery #2 on Monday with a follow-up visit on Tuesday that I need to take him to, and he's off on Friday, I think I'm going to treat myself to a 4-day weekend with him. I know it will fly by but the thought of having the long weekend at home is very calming right now.

Oh, I'm a thermometer junkie! I have several and swear by them. I'm going to try the slow-roasted chicken again. The time/temp recommendation was 300 for 3 hrs for a 3-4 lb bird and mine was a tad over 5 lbs. I figured it would take longer so I didn't even take its temp until the 3 hr mark and it was at 200 already I've been thinking that my oven is running a tad hot as well so that didn't help matters. Next time I'm going to use my meat-smoking thermometer that has an ambient temp probe as well as another probe that I can leave in the meat to monitor it continuously. I should have listened to that little voice in my head that kept nagging me. I usually roast at 350 for an hour or hour and a quarter so how does decreasing the temp by 50 degrees justify doubling the cook time? Should have listened...

I'm jonesing for more tostones and was thinking about trying MJ's idea of slicing them thinly and arranging them in a small circle so they come out more like a chip to make nachos. I've been on a pretty good run trying some new things so maybe I'll give those a whirl. The scotch eggs came out great. I think I would have liked the traditional breakfast sausage rather than the chorizo but they were still really good and everyone liked the "fancy eggs". My hubbie thought it was funny that they were orange from the chorizo because everything in TN is orange because that's UT colors. I ate a couple of the leftovers for breakfast this morning and they're really holding me. I was worried about the meat not adhering to the eggs and falling off so I mixed a raw egg into the meat to give it some glue. I also under-cooked the eggs just a little so the yolks would be pretty with no green overcooked ring around them. For a crowd I might try using smaller eggs, though. They came out really big using large eggs and about 3 ounces of meat. I cut them in half to serve; I was afraid people would be scared of the giant (orange) dinosaur eggs!

Yeah, get that rain dance going! I wish I could send y'all some of our rain; you need it way more than we do, for sure. 

Why no pork?

I'm a sucker for peer pressure (from the right peer, of course!) and "should" get on board with you. It's still a couple of weeks away so I'm going to work on getting my head in a W30 place. My jeans are definitely tighter and we've been eating out more than usual so it would be nice to rein in both of those things. Even though I want my clothes to be looser, for the first time I'm not tempted to get on the evil scale and judge my W30 success by what it says or doesn't say. Hey, I think that's an NSV!!

Peace, love and rain to you

[LadyLisbette]

How did the cataract surgery go? All is well, I hope. Oh yes, a four-day weekend sounds heavenly and much-needed, much deserved. I hear that after cataract surgery everything is so beautiful and bright, like pop art at every turn, according to a friend. I hope he is enjoying that!

I should have known that you have bunches of thermometers in your kitchen. Ha! And, yes to listening to that little voice in our head. Oh, I should have listened yesterday afternoon when there was a problem at work...the panic and fear in my bloodstream overrode the little voice in my head (and flared up my rosacea like I haven't seen in years!) but wouldn't you know that voice knew what it was talking about. Everything is okay, whew! Soon, it will be time to leave work-cares behind and enjoy TimeOffDay! It's wonderful you already have so much of what you need from Hoedown and also in your bountiful freezers! I only got two turkey drumsticks but I'll thaw them out tomorrow and marinate them for Thursday, and also pre-roast a chicken so there is plenty, or a small size of plenty anyway...I'm liking the idea of yams served up like classic baked potatoes, all steamy and fluffy, and brussels maybe as a (Nom Nom) slaw, or else roasted with bacon and apples as we haven't had that in a while. Maybe dinner rolls for hubs, but really he doesn't care. Every time I ask for his input on the menu, he just says, "turkey", miming a caveman. With that in mind I'd be wise to skip the rolls, keep myself safe from them as I do like a soft pillowy roll. Since he doesn't dig cranberry, I usually keep a jar of cranberry chutney in the fridge for m'self, and that always satisfies! 

I think I tried Mel J's plantain nachos once, and boy was that good! My brain files that with kale chips as pretty labor intensive, but definitely worth it! There's an Asian grocery that has plantains, and next time I go, I'll have to get me some! Also the heirloom cornbread sounds Heavenly!

Oh, forgoing pork has been part of an experiment since reading The End of Alzheimer's by Dr. Dale Bredesen earlier this year. I'm tempted to keep mum about it because I don't want to cause undue fear, and also because as a lay person, I'm not super versed in the science, and there's a lot of hard science in the book, a lot of which I can barely grasp. But I also feel I can be honest here, and you're a smart woman who can read more if wish to!

So here goes: I was really impressed with the way his book and nutrition recommendations complement Whole30 nutrition concepts. The jist of the book is that the infamous plaques and tangles that cause cognitive impairment are the brain's defense from sub-optimal nutrition, sub-optimal hormones, and various toxins. He has hard science and tons of peer reviewed material, and case studies in the book showing that (unless advanced) dementia is preventable and reversible. So the good news is that we actually do have more control than we think we do. Where he goes farther than W30 is that he recommends cutting pork and beef, and sticking with chicken, eggs, and SMASH. I read in his book that heartburn can result from eating pork and beef (I'll have to go back and find the name of the chemical that causes heartburn, it starts with an "m", and that chemical can also be a problem for the brain). I was startled because even in my most faithful weeks of W30 eating, I did experience some heartburn, using baking soda to ease it. So with that, I decided to cut out the pork and beef for a while and see what happened. Bam, no more heartburn. This could be from the m word, but it could also be psychosomatic or placebo effect, but anyway it's just become my habit, and I have been making exceptions like occasional bacon, occasional beef patty, and that delish chorizo in Portland. Are you sorry you asked? I hope not! I do not wish to cause fear, there is already so much fear around cognition and memory. I think we fear it more than we fear death, but don't get me started, I have a lot on this! Anyway, I love this book, and the hope that it offers. I've given the book to a precious loved one who is, in 40s, suffering with memory impairment, and hangs out for hours in a workshop filled with mold and mildew, and this is a common, known neurotoxin. I hope he reads it. 

Hey, congrats on that freedom from the scale! Yahoo!

I'm taking a half day today to get some tech support at home, but could so easily lose hours, so I'd best get on the phone. 

Did I mention our new favorite adult beverage? The hotel was serving up gingersnaps: spiced rum, ginger beer, and simple syrup...this will be on the Thanksgiving table, and worth it. = )

Happy Thanksgiving! 

 

[hollysmokes]

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I've defrosted the turkey breast but that's as far as I've gotten on our Thanksgiving dinner. Paleomg had a recipe for butternut squash and bacon souffle and I think I'm going to HAVE to try it. If I bake the squash tonight, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to put together tomorrow. I've been craving green bean casserole, too but it's kind of a project so I think I'll just roast them. I should treat my husband to a pecan pie but I always have really mixed emotions about doing that. I know he would be over-the-moon thrilled but then I feel guilty for knowingly feeding him super-sugar and flour. Does it make me a sugar enabler?

Once again, I owe you some thanks; peer pressure worked! I've been mulling it over since your last post and I think another W30 is just what I need right now so thanks for the nudge. After all of the trials and tribulations of the last few months, ending the year on a BIG positive note sounds like the way to go and now I'm getting excited about it and have already started plotting and planning. I'm thinking a bit differently about this one, though. Last year I really felt like I needed  60 days to get my W30 act together and I still think that was the right decision. Even though I've done some backsliding, I'm starting from such a better place this year. NSV!! It's been really easy to start looking at my meals from a totally compliant W30 perspective so I think I'll be able to just slide right back in. I'm thinking of this one along the lines of self love and care and am liking how that feels. All that being said, I do have some planned off-roading and am looking forward to it. Aside from the cornbread dressing I already mentioned, we're going to a farewell party for some friends at a really good wood-fired pizza place next week. I will totally enjoy that pizza and be ready to start 3 days later. You're new adult beverage sounds seriously delicious and I just started a new batch of ginger beer-hmmmm, yummmm. I've already warned my hubby that all of this eating out is going to stop a week from Saturday (at least for me) and he's good with that. Not so good, however, that he will join me . It's probably for the best; I don't know that he would own his W30 and I would wind up being the police- don't see anything good coming out of that. 

Definitely not sorry I asked about the pork. I'll have to check it out. The problem that I usually run into is that nutritional research rarely, if ever, distinguishes between gawd-awful CAFO meat and humanely raised, well fed meat and they are worlds and worlds apart. I've been caving in to the pressures of budget limitations recently and bought some grocery store pork. I try to stick to the very lean cuts like tenderloin but I really caved and got a pork butt to grind up for breakfast sausage. Of all of the CAFO meat to buy, pork is the worst plus the icky stuff tends to accumulate in the fat so it's double icky (at least). Have you ever tried a drop of peppermint oil for heartburn? I rarely have that problem but my husband does sometimes and it really helps. 

I was going to ask you if you wanted to start a new thread or continue here but I see you've already put some feelers out. Do we want to put our Stardate 12012017 to bed and start a new adventure?  

 

[LadyLisbette]

Hey there! It seems like forever since I've been here, so glad to read your words. Ooh, ooh, how was the butternut squash and bacon souffle? OMG. That sounds so good. 

We are so funny! Since my last post you're feeling geared up for a W30, and meanwhile I've been thinking that I liked your approach of just getting back in the mind set of being on program. Even though I've been so off road since Portland, and feeling it in my clothes, I'm also feeling a confidence and self respect, and self love vibe, ready to usher myself back to best practices. So we are really on the same page, Friend! We've had a good year, look at how far we've come! XO I don't see any reason, occasion-wise, other than the general rain of powdered sugar, why I couldn't go all the way through December on an actual W30, although my vitamins and supplements are not compliant, so I'll have to either go without or get some new ones.

I've been offline since Thanksgiving mostly because I've been working long hours on Friday and Saturday, and also because I'm in a computer crisis at home. It's almost resolved, but this MacBook I'm writing on now will be my last activity on this machine  I'm going into uncharted linux territory now. Double checking my back-ups...will write again soon!

 

[LadyLisbette]

Well, we've officially declared our independence from both Windows and Mac. I got past the nail-biting part of final back-ups, and once I've re-organized my file management system, I'll be happier.I do love me some organized folders. I know it will take some getting used to overall, but maybe the switch will be good for my brain health. It's already way faster!

Now where were we. That's right, a December W30! If I'm honest, I think I could really benefit a lot from it, and I really loved the self esteem boost it gave me last year: increasing my health instead of tanking all month. If you're game, I'm game! Let's do it! Yeah! Woo hoo! Happy dance, happy days are here again, la la la, la la, la la la, la la...Happy Whole30 days are here again!

Before the back ups and the nail-biting I knew I'd need a little cook up action to help me get through the week, so roasted a big cauliflower and tossed it in with the leftover roast vegetables from Turkey Day, and made a double batch of chicken apple patties. I'll make a fresh batch of mayo tomorrow, and with ginger and lime if I have time. My game plan is to eat those and steamed or roasted veg at breakfast, and a big salad for late lunch with protein, cukes, and peppers, and then fast from 4pm until breakfast again at 8. If I'm hungry when hubs eats dinner (he eats lunch and dinner, skipping breakfast) I'll make tea. I have a lot of tea, and am ready to let go of coffee again, too.

Hey, wait, did you just say you make your own ginger beer? God, you are amazing! I'm visualizing having a good week, also sliding back into movement with some morning yoga, and will look forward to that gingersnap cocktail as a first re-intro! The wood fired pizza sounds good, too, you enjoy yourself.

Your point is well taken about the difference between CAFO meat and the good, humane stuff. I need to figure out where in my area I can get the good, well raised stuff. We don't have space for our own extra freezers, but maybe there's a way around that. I must say, I love love love pork tenderloin, seared and roasted, or even just roasted with a dry rub, or better yet, medallions, no matter how splattery they get my kitchen. Yum. If you read the book I'd love to discuss with you. I don't make much time to cruise these boards, but the material is such a dove tail with W30 I could see gathering up some interest.

Enjoy that party and wood-fired pizza!

 

[hollysmokes]

So good to hear from you! Ugh! Computer crises are the worst! I can't quite wrap my head around freedom from Windows & Mac. How does that work? I Mac and my husband Windows (seems like I have the power to turn nouns into verbs today) even at work- he's a SAS programmer. He asked "Why Linux?" Do you still use the usual search engines when surfing? Those are the ones I really hate- Google is the devil. 

Yaaaay! I'm so glad you're leaning back towards the W30 that you instigated! We had lots of down time this 4-day weekend but I did a long, drawn-out cook-up, inventoried my compliant groceries and used up a couple of non-compliant things so they wouldn't go to waste. The big thing I accomplished was that I finally made beef bone broth. I've had the bones for months because they went on sale a while back but it's a long, greasy project and we have finicky (AKA improperly installed) plumbing in our kitchen so I have to be really careful not to put grease down the sink. I was supposed to can it all yesterday but started working on my veggies for breakfasts for the week and that took on a life of its own so canning is on the agenda for this evening. With your Lebanese hash in mind, I roasted my veggies with MJ's Lebanese spice mix, made a quickie breakfast sausage with sriracha and ginger then topped it all off with a couple of scrambled eggs. It came out great! Speaking of MJ, have you ever made her Better Butter? Holy cow that's good stuff plus it made the kitchen smell amazing. 

Thanksgiving highs and lows: the butternut squash souffle was good but not great. It was pretty easy to make and the texture was great with lots of bacon flavor but not much else; we both agreed it was lacking. The recipe called for thyme and sage but I backed off on it because my dressing and gravy had the same herbs. I should have added more garlic and maybe some cinnamon or Lebanese spice mix. My gravy came out really good even if it was a tiny bit thin but my husband never guessed that it wasn't made with the usual flour base. I used almond flour to make it look more like a flour-based gravy and tapioca to thicken it. It's pretty much impossible to make a compliant cranberry sauce. I tried last year and it was awful so this year I just tried to mitigate the amount of sugar in it and did pretty well. I used about a 1/2 cup of OJ and about a 1/4 cup of this fermented blackberry honey I did a couple of years ago. It's really interesting because honey won't ferment but if you put some berries in it, it pulls all of the liquid (and flavor) out of the berries and will thin out and ferment. When it's finished, it's like a watery, berry-y version of honey. So I used that and a little stevia tea that I made when my stevia plant was going full blast this summer. Not compliant but very tasty and I was able to slip a less sugary version in under my hubbie's radar. He devoured it and I just had a little bite but... I face-planted right into the pan of cornbread. Instead of dinner on Thanksgiving Eve, we had a big slab of cornbread with butter. And then we had another one. I don't know if it was the corn, the butter, the excess or the lack of anything else for dinner but I woke up in the middle of the night with some pretty severe gastric distress. I will delve into that issue after December 30, for sure!

W30 Happy Dance = Movement! Yay! I did a shoulder, arm and hand mobilization video of Katy Bowman's (Nutritious Movement) yesterday and really like it. She gave me so many more ways to move and it felt SO good. This W30  is going to be about kindness to myself. I am treating myself to things that I think of as splurges or rewards but never get them because I don't think I'm deserving. (1) I ordered some collagen peptides and have already started using it. (2) I LOVE Aveda's Foot Relief lotion but it's crazy $$ so I only get it when it's a freebie with another purchase. Now I have my very own tube of lovely peppermint-y lotion coming so I can give myself a mini foot massage every morning when I dress for work. (3) I'm going to sign up for Katy Bowman's movement classes for the month of December and see how much movement I can incorporate. (4) I'm going to get a Squatty Potty!  TMI??

Thought for the day/week/month/year (life): 

Quote

Gratitude asks us to resist the temptation to judge the height of our own fortune (or the depth of our misfortune) by comparison with others. It's self-referencing, which is the seat of its power. So many things become possible when we operate from that place. -Mark Sisson

 

[LadyLisbette]

That's funny, I Mac, too, and hubs Windowed. He got into Linux before me, but we both feel really frustrated with all the built in obsolescence, having machines that at a certain point can't support the next upgraded OS. Argh! The computer I'm using now should be the only one I ever need! I hope so! I already miss the slick design and feel of my MacBook Pro, but if this is the last computer I ever need, I can so live with that. Also, the Linux programs are free online, as well as the upgrades, and there is something out there for anyone to fit their needs. There are really light ones that are super fast, such as Puppy. We like Ubuntu. I had to look up what SAS means, that looks impressive. Hubs spent most of the weekend trying to install a Linux program on my oldest favorite laptop ever, a Powerbook from 2005, but alas, it's too old even for Linux. I guess it can be done with a Mac post-2010, but in any event is way easier to convert from Windows to Linux. It kills me to have to send equipment to e-waste because these behemoths planned it that way. Aye aye aye! I wasn't going to make the switch until I had to, but now is the time. So far so good! I'll have to re-learn what can be done with a right click. And the keyboard controls, like putting accents on French words...

Yay for us! Woo hoo! Your cooking sounds YUM. No, I've never made that better butter, but I'm going to look it up again and try it out! I'm going to have to do some cooking...I'm craving chili, and it's time for some grass fed bison out of the freezer. Have you ever made MJ's chocolate chili? Might try that. Also thinking about another batch of holy mackerel cakes. 

If you got a good texture from your souffle then it sounds definitely like a second shot might be worth the effort! I'll be on the edge of my seat, mouth watering. If you think of it, send me a link, I'd love to try that out. I've never tried my hand at a souffle. I have a soft spot in my heart for a special little place in SF's North Beach neighborhood called Cafe Jacqueline. All souffle's. It's a modest room with high ceilings, wood floors, no art, crystal chandeliers, big wooden tables and good linens: plain, for all for your attention to go to your dining partner and then the food. Of course it takes a long time so when you order your entree and dessert, you start with a bottle of something, and take your time with some beautiful salad vert, maybe an onion tart, and enjoy yourself while you wait. And wait. If you need the restroom, you walk through the kitchen, and there's Jacqueline with a mountain of eggs, cracking eggs in her chef's whites, serving at the altar of beauty and gastronomy. Gosh, I hope it's still there. I haven't been there in ages. Mmmm.

That's a great movement report! I'm so glad the Katie Bowman is so awesome for you, YAY! Ah, movement! had a good day today in that regard, too! I took my first morning hike since the air cleared up, then a nice 30 minute yoga session. It occurred to me that all is not lost: my energy level is good, my balance is still darned good, including closing my eyes for awhile at the end of tree pose, and I have focus that comes with maturity! Today I was focused. Determined to have a good day, to launch a good week. Tomorrow I'll have lunch with a friend and enjoy a little off-roading, and that will be a sort of last hurrah before our Whole30! I love, love, love what you wrote about what this W30 is about for you. Can I tell you, that stuff about the foot lotion really spoke to me. When I took care of Mom, there was a kind of survival instinct kicked in for me, and I ramped up my self care big time, including running for the first time since hs. Part of my routine included putting lotion on my feet every day before I got dressed. It was like an anchor of self care and self love. Come hell or high water, I did that, and when I did, I knew that I was okay. = ) I think it is a great luxury, that Aveda lotion of yours, and you  deserve it, and it's somehow also symbolic. I'm thinking about reflexology, and that all the body is represented in the feet, all the organs, everything. Maybe that's why lotioning the feet seems so powerful....good stuff!! As for the Squatty Potty, not TMI! Thumbs up! I tried it once at someone's house, and although I was only going #1 I could really appreciate how supportive it is of all manner of letting go business. Good for you!

I haven't checked in yet on the thread I started...I'll do that next...

Good night!

[hollysmokes]

I love my MacBook as well and am in the same boat; it's a 2009 and I can't upgrade the OS anymore. Planned obsolescence pisses me off!!! Like I can afford to drop $2K every few years for a new one when there's nothing wrong with the old one. Same with my phone; I never have the latest and greatest and that's fine by me. Use, re-use and recycle and I'm heavily into the "use it till it dies" group. That's why I drive a 14 year old car with 260K miles on it! Plus it doesn't spy on me! I'll have to look into the Linux thing. My husband said the only problem he's noticed with it is that if someone sends him a document, he can't open it up because Word doesn't recognize it. He's never really looked into the details, though, so it might be time. We cut the cord with satellite TV a year ago so maybe we can cut a couple more cords with our 'puters!

11 hours ago, LadyLisbette said:

...serving at the altar of beauty and gastronomy.

That sounds like a wonderful place and you described it so beautifully. If I ever make it that far west it will have to be on the must-experience list. 

I haven't tried MJ's chocolate chili but I know everybody raves about it. I do a pretty traditional version with stew meat instead of ground meat. In the great chili debate of beans vs no beans, I am a no-beaner now but I sorta miss them since I grew up on the beany version- except on hot dogs; beans on hot dogs is just weird. Here is the link to the souffle: http://paleomg.com/thanksgiving-savory-bacon-butternut-squash-souffle/. I will definitely give it another go. My Mom has requested it so I baked extra butternut squash (easy to do since I'm trying to use up a surplus) and have it in the freezer ready to go for her next visit. Two butternuts down and two to go. I saw a recipe for roasted pumpkin with a tahini sauce so I think I'm going to give that a try. I'll let you know how it goes. I've been unintentionally ramping up my intake of carb dense veg and I'd like to reverse that trend so that will be one of my goals in our new W30 adventure. 

On the movement front...it seems that Katy Bowman does an Exercise Advent every year that starts on Dec 1. Does that date ring a bell?? I think the universe is telling me that I have to do this. She hasn't announced the theme yet but here's a look at the last four years: https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/squat-exercise-advent-roundup/ and after it's over, I want to go through the previous years so that ought to keep me moving for a while. 

So glad to hear that the air cleared up. Did you get any rain?  Thankfully, we just got a little but winter has arrived; it was 28 degrees this morning after hitting the mid 60's last weekend but the roads were dry with no ice so I'm not complaining. 

Time to move!

[LadyLisbette]

Yes to everything you wrote about the planned obsolescence! I feel your pain. A car that doesn't spy on you: yes! You've got me wondering, though... I just paid off a 2013 Honda Fit and it's the first car I've ever had with automatic features. I think it has blue tooth, but I don't use it on purpose, I guess I should look into that! For the exact reasons you mentioned, I switched from iphone to an Android last spring -- it's new to me, but an older generation to $ave. Not sure how that will go with time, but I got so sick of Apple, which was both annoying and disappointing because I used to love Apple products! I guess this year is my year for switch overs. Your husband's point about documents is my MAIN concern! I haven't gotten that far yet, but I know how frustrating that can be. It looks like I can name my files docx or whatever I need, but the proof will be in the pudding when I try to share. I'll keep you posted! I want to tell you to go for it, but really I'm still test driving. My husband loves it, will never go back, but one big difference is he doesn't have need to share files with collaborators like I do, so I'm taking a chance.

Thank you so much for exercise advent link - it's loading and I'm looking forward to coming back to it later today! She seems smart, generous, and all about awareness. I like it.

I agree that beans on hotdogs are weird. At first I missed beans in chili, but I'm over it now, I think...the only time I miss beans is blended as in hummus type creations. Thanks also for the souffle link, giving me something new to look forward to! I'm dreaming and drooling. = )

Yes, it rained and rained just before Thanksgiving, giving us all such a relief! The air is see through, "hello mountains, old friends, haven't seen you in an age!" The fires are contained but not completely out. 

More soon!

[hollysmokes]

Hmmmm...I've never really considered blue tooth to be a problem since it only broadcasts for such a short distance. Before I went to Big Bend, my husband got me a little blue tooth speaker so I could listen to music from my phone and I use it all the time. I keep it on the kitchen counter and sometimes bring it out to the garden and on the deck when we're hanging out. Maybe I need to look into what's really happening there. My husband went in the android direction for his phone and it seems to spy on him more than my iPhone does (hence the "Google is the devil" comment above). Maybe Apple is just more subtle about it, though. Aside from marketing (and I am not your standard consumer since I don't do social media, I don't shop much and when I do, I tend towards local, small businesses as much as possible) anybody spying on me is going to be bored to tears unless they're into W30, cooking, fermenting, music and movement

If you need a guinea pig to try to open a test document, I'd be glad to help. 

Are you a green bean casserole fan? I am and I wanted to make one for Thanksgiving but it was a bigger project than I wanted to tackle that day. I was poking around the interweb looking at recipes and ran across a vegan (!!) version that used cauli puree instead of the original canned cream of mushroom soup. I've done it before with a bechamel but I wanted to make a W30 compliant version. It worked! I still need to do some tweaking on it but it came out really good and extra bonus points for being all vegetables! I added sauteed mushrooms to the puree so it even looked pretty standard. I was hoping my husband wouldn't ask what was in it but he did so I had to 'fess up and he liked it anyway. I abandoned the W30 compliant aspect at the last minute due to time limitations (last night we were canning all of that beef bone broth I made). I used the canned fried onions (of COURSE they have sugar in them! WHY????) instead of frying my own and decided to put a layer of cheddar cheese on it since I am about to be cheese-less for 30 days. It came out so good but next time I'm going to do the onions the right way: no breading just thinly sliced and fried in a couple of cups of (compliant) oil until brown and crispy. I saw that method in a couple of different places and everyone said it was delicious and the leftover oil is even more delicious. One of my big gripes about frying is that it's such a waste of expensive oil but if I can use it and it's yummy then, why not?!

My phone just reminded me that I need to get up and move around. So I am!

[LadyLisbette]

It is really creepy the way Google spies and markets. I hate it. When I was flying home from that July trip to see my bro, from high above the Sierra Nevadas, I photographed this beautiful, eerie, large scale solar (?) operation shaped like a giant cone or saucer. It was reflecting light, pale gold, and seemed like something from another planet. Now it's being marketed at me, what, like I'm going to buy one, or invest in one? With this dislike of Google, I do not store things on the cloud, but really, using Gmail I realize as I type these words, I am a tool of Google nevertheless, and I hate it. Now I'm wondering how to get around that, too!!

Do you have good back-ups for your 2009 MacBook? Is it symptomatic with an older OS like slowness? Is it still behaving otherwise in terms of hardware? The Linux based laptop I'm using now (a System76 hand-me-down from the hubs) is plain, and the keyboard is a bit clunky. Then I thought about the typewriter I learned on in 7th grade, and the old IBM Selectric I used in high school and junior college, and realized, yes, I am adaptable, this is not a big deal. 

You are my not-standard-consumer sister! Part of the appeal of Linux is that no one stands to make money from it. Which is why no one has heard of it! Hubs learned about it in a cranky fit when an updated XP became out of reach with an older machine. He just started looking around, and now he's really fluent. Thanks for the offer to be a guinea pig. It doesn't look like I can attach docx files on this website. Can you DM me your e-address and I'll send you an attachment from the new Linux laptop? Last night I was pleased with first attempts to save Word files from the external drive to the new hard drive, so now we'll see what happens!

You used the bluetooth speaker to listen to music in your car from your phone - I'll have to look into that! The headphone jack in my car seems not to work, so I'm still using CDs in the car, but would l o v e  to listen to podcasts from my phone...I'm 3 or 4 episodes behind on one I really like and car-time would be perfect! I don't like to multi-task, and listening while cooking and cleaning just doesn't work for me at all. I'd have to crank it up, and anyway, one thing at a time suits me better! If you think of it, could you send a link to the speaker you like? Thanks!

I do love anything with green beans! Your recipe sounds divine, and so cool that it's all vegetables. Also, the addition of mushrooms was right on, it sounds like! Funny the dynamic with your hubs and the full disclosure! The canned fried onions and added sugar =  It's an outrage! But we're awake, we will not be slaves! My husband is not a fan of the green beans, so I only make them for myself when I can find good looking haricot vert, but I think he would eat and enjoy a casserole, and I never thought of that, so thanks! He really is like a child with the vegetables. But as a word nerd type, he takes offense at the nick name "veggies" and gets very much in a huff about it. When I plate his dish with green things he devours them first just to get them out of the way.

On 11/28/2018 at 7:37 AM, hollysmokes said:

One of my big gripes about frying is that it's such a waste of expensive oil but if I can use it and it's yummy then, why not?!

Investment in our health and making it delicious: I like it! The good meat place I like is now carrying Sun Coco, blend of organic high-oleic sunflower oil that you turned me onto last year (thanks!) and organic refined coconut oil. It's cheaper by the oz than the sunflower oil I was buying there, same brand, and cheaper also than the walnut oil I've been splurging on for salads and sauteeing/roasting. It's mild in mayo, which delighted me. I might try it with my first batch of flash fried brussels sometime! I'm not sure it's cheaper than the oil you taught me to get at Vitacost, I'll have to check. 

It's almost the weekend! We're pretty caught up at work after Portland, so Saturday might be an actual proper half day of rest, yay! Proper for start date!

[hollysmokes]

Happy Day -1! After having a pretty civilized work week this week, today is insane so I just have a minute. I finally remembered to check my bottle of balsamic and it does not have any added sulfites. Right now I have Vitacost's organic brand but I've used all of these and they're compliant as well: Monari Federzoni Organic Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, Bionaturae Organic Balsamic Vinegar, Spectrum Organic Balsamic Vinegar. 

My bluetooth speaker is a JBL charge 3 and it sounds great. When I used it in the car in Big Bend, the GPS would broadcast through it and mute the music so I could actually hear it. I keep it in the kitchen now so I can listen to music but, like you, no podcasts or anything like that.

Funny about your husband and the vegetables (no veggies here!) especially since he's still embracing the low-fat thing, right? I wasn't a big fan of green beans either but my husband convinced me of their deliciousness so now I love all things haricot vert. Tough beans make me choke- blech.

Gotta fly!