Tag: Memoir

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What to Eat if You Are Prediabetic (hint, low carbs)

One of the most studied diets for reversing diabetes and prediabetes is a low carbohydrate diet² that’s personalized to your carb tolerance. People with a high carb tolerance might be able to eat a carbohydrate-heavy diet and keep their blood sugar in a normal range, but someone with prediabetes and a low carb tolerance may experience chronic blood sugar spikes and struggle with fatigue, weight gain, and more. 

Prediabetes Diet: What to Eat, and What to Avoid — https://www.virtahealth.com/blog/prediabetes-diet

I need to be better with the list of foods to avoid.

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New Security System!

The other day a salesperson was doing door to door in the neighborhood selling wifi enabled security systems. He was unsuccessful with me but per his list of neighbors who recently signed up I could tell he was a very good salesperson.

This young man managed to scare the crap out of me with his stories of break-ins, theft, and medical emergencies. I started thinking, do I need a new security system? After some serious thought weighing the pros and cons I decided it would be good to have a better security system.

Meet my new security system.

They will rip your face off if you try to steal my guitars.

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Saturday 07.22.22 – The Day I Remembered This is a Food Blog

“So what are you going to do when I’m in Colorado?”

“Work.”

“So what are you going to do on the weekend?”

(silence…)

There are people who have to have to make plans and have plans for every day. There are people who don’t plan and see what the day brings. I am one of the second type of people. It’s Saturday and despite having a list of chores and errands I didn’t “plan” on doing much of anything at all. But I did manage to complete a few things off my list which made the entire day a guilt-free experience.

serendipity (noun) from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
  • The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
  • An instance of making such a discovery.

One errand I absolutely needed done was getting gas for my Non-Green Non-EV. On the way home I stopped in a Pakistani/Indian restaurant and grocery store in Edmond Oklahoma. I’ve lived in this town for nearly 20 years and only learned today that Edmond has a Pakistani/Indian restaurant and grocery store. Of course I had to explore and see what I could find. I was motivated to see if I could locate some replacement spices and herbs because one of the other things on my list was to clean out the spice rack. There were just a few that expired.

  • Cayenne – August 2017
  • Dill – July 2010
  • Coriander – December 2016
  • Curry powder – February 2019
  • Ground mustard – no date
  • Ground ginger – no date
  • Sesame seeds – January 2018

No I’m not embarrassed. I’m mortified. The rack looks better now that I’ve tossed 7 or 8 containers.

At the Pakistani/Indian restaurant and grocery store I chose not to replace any of discards from the list. I simply don’t use these spices enough to justify buying replacements just to have sitting around for another 10 years or more before getting tossed out from lack of use. But here’s my haul from the Pakistani/Indian restaurant and grocery store:

Tomato paste from Turkey. Five bucks for 25 ounces.

Mild red chili powder. This is not the chili powder blend in the store but just ground chili from India. I almost bought the hot version but chickened out at the last moment.

Roti from Canada. Yes, Canada.

Photo by ZNu2019s Food&NatureArt on Pexels.com

I bought a single samosa for a snack. But I neglected to snap a picture before I ate it so here’s a stock photo. I did get some of the red sauce and it’s spicy hot.

Morning stretches followed by a morning walk. Drank coffee. Read a book. Cooked a pot of chickpeas. Wrote a journal entry. Cleaned the shower and scrubbed a toilet (totally guilt-free after knocking these two things off my list). Got gas in my Non-Green Non-EV. Cleaned out my spice rack. Found a Pakistani/Indian restaurant and grocery store in of all places Edmond Oklahoma and bought some awesome tomato paste, ground chili and roti.

5:00 PM. Drinking a beer. It’s been a good day. Hopefully there’s a World Cup soccer game on the tube tonight.

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Drink More Water

Keep an eye on how often you pee—pale urine, six to seven times a day, or every two to three hours, is good. You want it to be “basically like a Chablis, a Riesling, Pinot Grigio, or champagne-colored,” John Higgins, a sports cardiologist at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, in Houston, told me. “If you notice the urine is getting darker, like a Chardonnay- or Sauvignon Blanc–type of thing, that generally means you are dehydrated.”


Are You Sure You’re Not Thirsty? — https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/07/the-dos-and-donts-of-hydrating-in-a-heat-wave/674704/
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Research Reveals One Simple Habit That Promotes Longevity AND Provides Extra Income in Retirement

Many thanks to OlRedHair at https://olredhair.wordpress.com/ for the CNN link.

Studies point to the health benefits of beans, backing up what people in blue zones have long known, Buettner said. The soluble fiber in beans can cut cholesterol and help prevent type 2 diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar. A 2001 study found eating beans four times a week cut heart disease by 22%. A 2004 study found people lived approximately eight more years for every 20-gram intake of legumes — that’s about an ounce.

Eating this food may be a reason why some people live to 100 — https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/29/health/beans-longevity-blue-zone-wellness

Beans are cheap and good for you.

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Trouble in Paradise – June 2023

So far, it’s been a pleasant summer. We have had temps in the 80’s until recently.

What happens in the summer when it starts getting hot?

BEER happens. Willpower gone. There’s beer in the house.

I’ve been holding steady at 172 for a few months. But the arrival of beer weather does concern me.

The Boss has been working tirelessly in the yard and it looks the best it has in years. New shrubs, flowers, perennials and rose bushes were added this year. As for me, I try to find plants that I can’t kill. Meet Pepper Plant #4.

Readers with sharp eyes will note this tiny thing already has two peppers. Yeah, I cheated and bought a plant that already had fruit. I still remember the horrors of my last Pepper Plant 08.02.18. So I cheated. Pepper Plants #3 and #2 are in a pot and about twice the size of #4. No fruits yet, but I remain hopeful.

There’s basil on the patio too. I taught myself how to prune basil properly and hopefully I’ve learned something from watching hours of basil pruning videos on YouTube. Upon careful inspection today the plant needs to be pruned. So tonight’s meal will be Pasta with Vegetables, Olive oil, and Garlic. I don’t think I’ve ever written this recipe down but One Rotisserie Chicken, 50 Meals – #6 Pasta with Chicken, Vegetables, Oiive Oil and Garlic is close enough. No chicken or squash tonight. I’m heading down the broccoli route with lots of fresh basil and garlic. Go 4 cloves. Or more.

The basil is healthy and my new pepper plant has peppers. Hopefully this summer will be better than The Tomato Plant – 2014 Final Update. My basil didn’t’ do well that year either.

Time for a beer and to give thanks for not living in Texas anymore.

Update –

I used about a half cup of fresh basil.

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More Sugar More Fat Please

Food Addiction?

The study, published online Wednesday in the journal Cell Metabolism, found eating a snack high in fat and sugar every day alters the reward circuits in human brains to create lasting preferences.

Fatty and sugary foods train your brain to hate healthier options: Yale study — New York Post, March 22, 2023

HT to Sally Feltner for the original post. Link to the original post is provided above. I’ve also credited the New York Post because I’m not sure who wrote the sentence I’ve quoted.

What I am sure about is my cerebral reward circuits still function very well if I have to choose between a piece of fruit or a cup of ice cream. Or a piece of pizza versus a salad. Or french fries rather than a plain baked potato.