Ideas on an ideal diet.

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Sewfrench
People ask me all the time, what *should* I eat???  These are just some guidelines I like to start with.  5 veggies a day is great 7 is a major goal.   Fruits I consider God’s candy.  One, two max, per day, will help to get you where you need to be without causing a blood sugar crash.
di·et 1 n.
1. The usual food and drink of a person or animal.  The way we eat, the norm.
1. Grapefruit ~ at least 3 sections, per day (not juice – you need the fresh fruit) and no sweeteners.  Fabulous for the skin, I bought grapefruit again this week…..  I’ve been slacking…  The peels in the bath are fabulous for cellulite, weird but true….

2. Romaine lettuce ~ at least 3 leaves a day. I love those triple washed romaine hearts that come 3 to a bag. I don’t even make salad with them, they make great snacks or holders for sandwich fixings.  Egg salad is awesome on one (or two)!

3. Cherry or grape tomatoes  3-5 daily. These small tomatoes are so convenient, great to poop as a snack at any time of day. Otherwise I aim for ½ a regular tomato per day.

4. Broccoli ~ 2 cups every day. This is a super veggie, a must for everyone.  Just keep trying, LOL!  I’m much better mixing this count up with spinach, kale, brussell sprouts and/or cabbage.

5. Carrots ~ 2 daily  preferably the kind with green tops, still attached, so you know that they are fresh and full of nutrients.  I feel good if I get one of those bunches in per week, but I keep trying.

6. Almonds  7-10 raw (not roasted) daily ~ love to keep a handful in my pocket to snack on throughout the day.  And I realize I photographed raw almonds.  They are awesome, two.  I can not believe, me, the promoter of almonds, found myself lacking in raw almonds…  Other raw nuts available, just not almonds, today….

7. Red bell peppers ~ 3 “strips” a day. Usually one will last for 3 days ~super high in vitamin C.

8. Parsley ~ one fresh small bunch per week ~ very cleansing.  Awesome in smoothies.

9. Cucumber ~ one per week, divided throughout the week.  Another green smoothie favorite.

10. Sweet potato ~ one per week ~ love them as oven fries, besides being baked.

11. Eggs ~ 2 per week, not much of an egg person, but I do love egg salad.  Can I have that on a croissant???  Of course, you can!

12. Brown rice and/or wild rice ~ 2 cups per week.  A rice cooker makes this SO much easier!  Leftovers we toss in the freezer and they are handy for the next meal!

13. Kiwi ~ as often as posible. Very high in nutritional value, which few people appreciate. Weight for weight they are substantially richer in vitamin C than oranges and contain more fiber than apple. They’re very rich in potassium, too.

14. Blueberries ~ or any of the dark berries, rich in phytonutrients – antioxidants such anthrocyanin – as well as anti-inflammatories.  If you don’t drink red wine, this is a fabulous addition to your diet.  If you do, they are still tasty and healthy.  We buy them locally and freeze them for year round goodness!
Posted in Eating, Health, Wellness | 2 Comments

Saturdays…….

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Sewfrench

Amanda’s last Saturday home…….

She and Peter did some banking, then she and I did some produce/grocery shopping.  She is all set for healthy eating for her first week back.  This is good, because she is going to be busy, just unloading her car…..

We enjoyed a lazy afternoon watching Gasland, very enlightening, very scary, very, very…  And a bit of quilting……  An intentionally out of full view shot of a Kona cotton solids project, I’m working on.  Love Kona Cotton!  And I love Sue!  Her selection, prices and most importantly, customer service, is tops.  For real.

And another fabulous dinner, if I do say so myself!  Who knew you could get such fresh okra in January?  OMG, I believe it was fresher than most we get *in season*!  I might go get more tomorrow!

Current quilting project. I know you can't see it, that's the point...

Fried okra. Is there *anything* better in the world??? I didn't think so.

Long grain wild rice, sauteed orange roughy and fried okra, this was after another asian dressed salad. SO good!

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Movie and a Date

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Sewfrench

The Fighter and The Bluewater Grill.  It doesn’t get *any* better than this.

This movie will win lots of awards, predicted, no doubts.  We all loved it.

The Asian Salad, Mahi Mahi tacos and Blue Water Grill Prime Sandwich have already won them.  Oh, and let us not forget the Walnut Crest Pinot Grigio and the world famous fries!  Oh my!  Glad I did a kick butt workout yesterday!

Thanks Amanda for joining us!

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I eat, therefore, I run.

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Sewfrench

I ♥ Running!

What a difference great gear makes.  I would never run as far or as often without comfortable lightweight shoes and my Nike gadgetry! But I might really, really need this next!

Averaging 3-4 runs per week at 12-20 miles/week.  Will need new shoes before I know it, they don’t last forever…..  Been working on kicking the cross training, up a notch, since the first of the year…  I’ve been slacking……….  No time for injuries, now….

For someone who had never run more than 10 seconds, at any one time, just 6 months ago, I’m pretty impressed with myself, aren’t you?

Perfect gear makes all the difference in the world.

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Oven fried dinner

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Sewfrench

Another delicious dinner!

Not very attractive but very delicious!  Grandma Ellis’s cole slaw, a mix of Idaho potato, sweet potato and rutabaga oven fries, and spicy hot chicken wings, oh my!

Oven roasted chicken wings,oven roasted root veggie fries and Grandma's cole slaw. Does it get any better than this????

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Todays fun, a new flash drive strap.

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Sewfrench

A new project

sewing it

pulling the ribbon through

the final stitching

the finished project. A pair of 8 GB flashdrives, with personalized lanyards, so that they are never left in public computer, again. Amen.

Posted in Crafting, Sewing | Leave a comment

Water, water, everywhere!

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Sewfrench

Lifefactory water bottles rock my world. 

Your body is anywhere from 60 to 70 percent water. Blood is mostly water. Your muscles, lungs, and brain all contain a lot of water. Your body needs water to regulate body temperature and to provide the means for nutrients to travel to all your organs. Water also transports oxygen to your cells, removes waste, and protects your joints and organs.

You lose water through urination, respiration, and by sweating. Obviously, if you are very active, you lose more water than if you are sedentary. Diuretics, such as caffeine and alcohol, cause you to need to drink more water because they trick your body into thinking you have more water than you have.

Symptoms of dehydration include pains in your joints and muscles, lower back pain, constipation, and for me a headache. A strong odor to your urine, along with anything less than a clear color, indicates that you may not be getting enough water. Thirst is an obvious sign of dehydration, and in fact, you need water long before you feel thirsty.

My favorite estimate figuring the amount of water you need is to take your body weight in pounds and divide that number in half. That gives you the number of ounces of water, per day, that you need to drink. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink at least 75 ounces of water per day. If you exercise, you should drink another glass of water for every 20 minutes you are active. If you drink alcohol, you should drink at least an equal amount of water.

When you are traveling on, or in, a plane, it is good to drink an extra glass every hour you are onboard the plane. If you live in a dry climate, you should add another two servings per day.

I like to count caffeinated beverages, such as tea or coffee, at half rates. 16 oz of coffee, I will allow for an 8 oz water count, but that’s just me. I mean, if you are drinking a gallon of coffee a day, that will not work for all your 125 pound self’s water…. Just sayin’….

So for the first sign of a headache, drink your water. Your skin will thank you, too!

 

Posted in Wellness | 2 Comments

Another wonderful day of food!

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Sewfrench

Oh my, Amanda needs to get back to school.  I feel like I am eating way too much with this project of hers.  At least this one is another really healthy dinner.  Peter did the shopping, prepping of the shrimp, and the cooking of it.  He is one awesome chef!

Coconut shrimp waiting to be fried in coconut oil.

All fried up, waiting to be devoured.

Coconut shrimp with spicy Thai chili sauce, wild brown rice, and asian salad with a homemade ginger, garlic dressing.

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Bars, an Uncle John favorite and the rest of the world!

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Pasty Pies

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Sewfrench

Oh my.  Amanda is still working on recreating family favorite recipes, including photographing them.. We haven’t made Pasty Pies in forever, until today.  OMG.  They kicked butt.   It didn’t matter if they were the vegetarian or the meat version.  I believe we will all be in food comas within minutes of posting…  well…  that has nothing to do with the pecan honey butter dressed popovers that we enjoyed as an appetizer, either…….  I am sure.  Sort of….

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“Happy New Year”, said with a Crusty the Snowman accent.

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Sewfrench

 

We went from 50° to a clean slate overnight. What a beautiful way to start the new year!

New Year’s Day dinner, a not to be missed opportunity to guarantee health, wealth and prosperity for the upcoming year.

Cornbread must be cooked with bacon fat in a cast iron skillet

Fried potatoes must also be cooked in cast iron. This is my fabulous, new, to me, cast iron, chicken fryer we found in Maine!

Black eyed peas with chow chow is a must for New Year's Day. Cooked greens with vinegar pepper sauce isn't too shabby, either!

If you find yourself needing chow chow, quickly, this is a wonderful substitute for homemade, to keep in your pantry. It's from WV, we discovered it on a road trip. Will buy again!

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