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The Apology Post – 11.01.20

Before we go any further I am guilty as charged. I’m spending a lot of time with https://lifeunderwriter.net/ and even more time at my Day Job so the posts here have been somewhat sparse. I promise to be better. A lot of time has also been devoted to my Pandemic Weight Loss Program. I started the year at 192 pounds. This morning the scale was 176.2 pounds. A lot of folks have been on the Pandemic Weight Gain Plan. And for faithful readers who want to know more about my weight plan you’ll just have to buy the book (if and when I ever finish writing it). But for now, here’s the latest I’ve stumbled upon in the plant based diet craze.

CONCLUSIONS: Young adults who increased plant-centered diet quality had a lower diabetes risk and gained less weight by middle adulthood.

A Shift Toward a Plant-Centered Diet From Young to Middle Adulthood and Subsequent Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Weight Gain: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study — Diabetes Care 2020 Nov; 43(11): 2796-2803. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc20-1005

Small study (n=206) but still interesting.

CONCLUSIONS: Replacement of red and processed meat with cheese, yogurt, nuts, or cereals was associated with a lower rate of type 2 diabetes. Substituting red and processed meat by other protein sources may contribute to the prevention of incident type 2 diabetes in European populations.

Replacement of Red and Processed Meat With Other Food Sources of Protein and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in European Populations: The EPIC-InterAct Study — https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/43/11/2660?rss=1

Another interesting study but with serious limitations as the authors themselves point out:

A limitation of the current study is that the food substitutions were inferred based on a statistical model that compared individuals with different average intakes while no one actively changed their diet.

Well, I’ve actively changed my diet the past several months. I know increased exercise did not contribute to my weight loss (I have some physical limitations and actually cancelled my gym membership due to the virus). Hopefully I’ll find the time to review and document the changes that generated the loss.

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    21 Cheap Family Meals – Healthy Vegetarian Budget Food — Hurry The Food Up

    21 Cheap Family Meals – Healthy Vegetarian Budget Food It’s not always easy to cook for families, especially as a vegan or vegetarian. It often gets expensive, too. To help out, we’ve compiled a collection of our favourite cheap family meals. As well as being budget and wallet-friendly, each of these recipes does something else…

    via 21 Cheap Family Meals – Healthy Vegetarian Budget Food — Hurry The Food Up

    This article appeared in my WordPress reader and I thought it was worth sharing the link.  I have not made nor tested any of the recipes.  Yet.

    I’m only two pounds heavier after two Thanksgiving meals.

    But I have to wear my “fat” jeans because my “skinny” jeans are too tight.

    Thus the search for veggie recipes.

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    How to Eat to Lose Weight

    It’s important to provide information on the healthfulness of food choices, rather than to simply recommend decreasing portion sizes.

    There is a link to the study abstract in the source article here.

    Small number of subjects but a crossover design RCT.

    English Translation:

    Portion sizes and food choices matter.

    (so if you go out for Tex Mex eat half the number of tortillas you usually eat and take home half of what’s on your plate for another meal).

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    The Unoriginal Cabbage Soup

    Nothing of importance is ever achieved without discipline. I feel myself sometimes not wholly in sympathy with some modern educational theorists, because I think that they underestimate the part that discipline plays. But the discipline you have in your life should be one determined by your own desires and your own needs, not put upon you by society or authority.

    Bertrand Russell

    We all know better, but we don’t choose better. I was a cokehead, a heroin addict. At night you get coked up knowing you’re going to feel terrible in the morning. You have to make the habit of doing what’s difficult now to make you better. It’s easy to do the right thing when you’re used to it.

    Russell Simmons

    I named this soup Unoriginal because there’s really nothing original about cabbage soup.  It could just as easily be called What’s in the Fridge Soup because I had a small head of cabbage that needed to be eaten.  There were two halves of two different peppers and half an onion.  What do you do with these odds and ends?

    Soup.

    Something happened to me this summer.  I was a lapsed vegetarian for over 30 years and in the beginning of August I got serious about my diet (again).  Kyrie credits his diet for the recent Celtics winning streak.  Clearly something is happening to a lot of people.  It’s not just me.

    Choose better.  Losing 200 pounds was not easy.  Regaining 40 pounds was easy.  Making the right food choices?  Trust me, it’s easier than you think.

    1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    1 clove garlic minced
    1/2 large onion, thin sliced
    2 carrots, peeled cut into coins
    1 stalk celery sliced thin diagonally
    1/2 each red and green bell pepper, slice
    1 cup frozen corn
    7 oz canned diced tomatoes with juice
    1 small head green cabbage sliced
    1 quart organic vegetable broth
    1/2 Tbsp paprika
    1 tsp dried oregano
    1/2 tsp dried thyme
    Salt and pepper to taste

    1. In a medium size pot heat the olive oil.
    2. Everybody (except tomatoes, corn and broth) in the pool in the following order: onion, carrots, celery, peppers, garlic, cabbage.
    3. Saute until the cabbage wilts, add herbs, salt, and pepper.
    4. Add vegetable broth and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
    5. Simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.  Add corn and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes.
    6. Yum.

     

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    Garlic Toast with Balsamic Tomatoes and White Beans

    It’s been really interesting getting used to the new ingredient selection and price differences at the grocery stores since moving from New Orleans to Nashville. One major difference is that canned goods at Kroger are almost half the price of the canned goods at the local grocery store that I used to frequent.

    Source: Garlic Toast with Balsamic Tomatoes and White Beans

    I personally have not tried this recipe but the pictures look awesome and I wanted to “bookmark” the source.  I’ve been following Budget Bytes for some time and Beth does a great job.

    Besides the beans, tomatoes and pictures what caught my eye was the comment on the food cost differential by geography.  Why should canned beans be twice the price in one city versus another?  Dynamic pricing and profits.  Simple answer.

    Beans are cheap.  And beans are cheaper in Oklahoma too.

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    Intersection of Interests

    I’ve spent most of my life working in various areas of the life insurance industry. Currently I am back where I started over 41 years ago as an underwriter specializing in mortality risk assessment. My job is to understand what kills people. Sounds simple but it’s not that simple. As a creative and destructive species people have figured out a myriad of ways to kill themselves. When someone applies for life insurance I figure out what is most likely to kill them and charge an appropriate rate for the risk. I really like what I do. Each and every day is another opportunity to learn and improve.

    I also love to cook. The Boss has to declare a No Cook Night otherwise I will cook. This love started early watching my father cook supper every night. Dad was a great cook and I had a role model from the beginning. One day I asked him

    “Why do you cook?”

    “You’ve tasted your Mother’s cooking. Survival.”

    Eat to live. Not live to eat. For me, this was a hard lesson learned. Before the age of 20 I weighed over 370 pounds. I’ve used 370 as my highest weight but it could have been higher. I stopped weighing myself because I really didn’t want to know how heavy I was. The story of how is for another time but suffice to say I managed to lose 200 pounds by the time I turned 21. As the years have passed my weight has slowly crept up. I’m proud to be near 190 pounds and approximately 180 pounds lighter than my personal peak. Eat to live, not the other way around. I’ve learned not only how to lose weight but how to keep the pounds off.

    I’m a published writer. It’s been decades since I’ve published any of my writing but I’m still a published writer. I maintain two blogs and a journal. This short piece started in my journal and ended up public. This food blog got started to share family recipes. Over time it has changed to the point where I now describe this blog as a food memoir. Now I’m beginning to think the description should be changed again. There is a lot more space devoted to nutrition science which used to be posted on my other blog. For now though, food memoir still works.

    One of the fascinating things about writing here is how the recipes are not the dishes I grew up with eating my Dad’s cooking. You also won’t find a lot of the recipes I made years ago for my own family. Some family favorites are here but not many Box Project recipes. For example I pulled one of my “favorites” from the box, handwritten on a white lined 3 x 5 index card. It’s an old James Beard chicken recipe that is delicious. When was the last time I made this dish? I can’t remember. I suspect that many of the recipes I considered to be family favorites I no longer make. What I’m learning is I don’t cook nor eat the same as I did when I was younger. As Dr. Wareham says you start with one good habit at a time. I say you also stop one bad habit at a time (but I did quit smoking, drinking Jack, and start running all at the same time).

    The writing, research, and recipes that end up here are mostly where I am at now. And that’s fine. There’s a pot of Vegan Chili Beans on the stove as I’m writing. Defiinitely not a family favorite recipe from the past. But it might just become a family favorite for now and the future.

     

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    Semi-Organic Beef Vegetable Soup

    • 1 T extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/4 C sweet onion, diced
    • 2 large carrots,peeled and diced
    • 2 stalks celery, diced
    • 2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, diced, skin on
    • 1 medium green squash, diced
    • 1 to 1 1/4 pound top blade roast
    • 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes with juice
    • 4 large white button mushrooms, thick dice
    • 1/2 C frozen corn
    • garlic powder, to taste
    • pinch dried parsley
    • pinch dried thyme
    • 1 quart organic beef broth
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Makes about four healthy servings.

    1. In a small stockpot heat olive oil until hot.  Salt and pepper the roast.  Brown the beef on both sides over medium high heat.
    2. Add the celery and onion.  Reduce heat to medium and saute for several minutes.
    3. Add garlic powder and thyme.  Add enough broth to almost but not completely cover the roast.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer.
    4. Simmer slowly for two hours.
    5. After two hours, remove the roast to a cutting board and allow to cool.
    6. Add the rest of the beef broth and tomatoes to the pot.
    7. Add the potatoes and carrots. Simmer for 30 minutes.
    8. After 30 minutes add the squash , mushrooms and corn.  Simmer for another 30 minutes.
    9. When the roast is cooled, trim any excess fat, cube and add to the soup.
    10.  Adjust your seasonings.  Add parsley.

    My meals since Friday evening have been soup, cereal, soup, soup, toast/banana, soup, and soup.   The jeans are getting a little loose.  I cannot remember a weekend of such healthy eating ever.  Yes, The Boss is still sick.  Friday I made chicken soup.  Last night I made Vegetarian Vegetable Soup.  Today I decided upon Beef Vegetable for a change in pace.

    A high quality beef vegetable soup is the end result of the right cut of beef and some high quality broth.  This recipe is semi-organic because most of the ingredients were organic but some were not.  The beef broth was hand selected store bought prepared organic broth.  I used top blade which IMO makes a big difference  due to the cut and marbling.

    Tips

    I remembered the mushrooms.   Use vegetables you have on hand.  I also decided to leave out peas because peas are not one of my favorite vegetables.  The corn adds a touch of sweetness.  Note the roast is braised whole for several hours, cooled, cubed and returned to the soup.  The beef stays tender this way.  You won’t end up with tiny hockey pucks.

    A salad on the side and crusty bread would make this a meal.

    So would a three pound top blade roast.  But with that much beef you might as well make Pot Roast.