The Apple Theives and Cinnamon

We had overnight company last week.  I wanted them to feel as comfortable in our home as I did when I stayed with my most special com-padre' in the world, Kathrin.  When I arrived to her German home, they had a saucer filled with all sorts of fruits and goodies for me to eat during my stay.  I always loved this, so I was excited to get to do it for our friends.  I filled a bowl with granola bars, candy bars, and apples.  The only problem is that we have three, always-hungry boys in the house who kept helping themselves to the bedside bowl before our guests arrived.  I couldn't get them in trouble, though, because I was just so proud.  A bowl full of goodies and they kept eating the apples out of it! They never even touched the candy.  I'm so proud that it is just in them to make the healthful choices.  Of course that is not always the case, but it showed me they have it in them.

Nutritional Nugget:  Cinnamon

I made a recipe tonight and decided to add cinnamon.  I think herbs and spices are so dandy.   They add flavor allowing the elimination of salt, but also provide health benefits. I've spoken of cinnamon before, but just felt I wanted to mention some of the health benefits again..

There are many inconclusive studies regarding cinnamon.  Some research says that cinnamon helps to regulate blood sugar which is just super cool.  Other research is still pending regarding reducing cholesterol, yeast infections, and arthritic pain. One piece of research said cinnamon helps prevent the spreading of cancer cells. It's a natural preservative. Some believe it helps with menstrual pain and infertility as well as help to balance hormones. Some research also says that cinnamon helps to decrease the inflammation associated with neurological diseases.

Some people (like one our favorite people in the whole world) have cinnamon allergies.  Too much might cause irritation to the mouth.

 

Honey Do

We are minimizing our house which feels really awesome.  There is a similar feeling between purging stuff and pounds.  But that is not what I want to talk about today.

I was going to trash an old notebook I came across during the cleaning, but thought I better look through it first. I'm so glad I did.  I found a treasure.  I don't know how I managed to catch this hidden in the pages.  I saw  where I had brainstormed some thoughts years ago about  my weight.  Down at the bottom of one of the pages was Wayne's handwriting that said something like, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and I hate that you have thoughts about yourself like this."(I'm blushing. It still feels weird to type it out.)

I almost didn't know what to do or think or say.  How sweet was that? It definitely sparked life inside my heart. Who knows how long it had been hidden in those pages, but the timing for me was perfect.  My thoughts are not as severe as they once were, but there are elements from the past that creep up from time to time like weeds in a garden.  Wayne's acceptance reminded me of the right way to think.  I feel even more empowered for health with every healthy thought that blooms.  This journey really is about nothing except an innate desire to choose life.  Unconditional love always does that....makes space enough for life to bloom.   It is nice to have such a great guy who accepts me as I am at this moment.  It reminds me I can accept myself.  And as I rest in myself, the real me manifests and sheds this weight of my old nature.  I am loving this journey!

Nutritional Nugget:  Honey

I thought this was the perfect post to talk about sweet, sweet honey.

I used to be allergic to honey, but I can tolerate it now.  A family favorite is peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  Honey is a natural sweetener that has been used as a functional food for all sorts of ailments by all sorts of people.  I believe we don't know all there is to know about honey.  The medical world has to have sufficient evidence before coming to a consensus for practice.   But we do know a few things....

First the dangers... Honey should never be given to an baby.  I allowed my boys to have it at two-years-old, but some people caution to age three.  There is a risk for botulism with their immature immune system and also a risk for developing allergies.

Secondly, just because honey is natural, doesn't mean it can be treated differently than sugar with conditions such as diabetes.  Sugar is still sugar when blood sugar is concerned.  Often it is wiser to choose carbohydrate foods that are more filling or complex such as those that contain fiber such as fresh fruit or whole grains.  When you think that 1 tablespoon of honey contains as much sugar as a bowl full of berries or a container of yogurt, it puts things in perspective.

Having said that, I believe in the power of honey even if nothing more than a placebo effect to make a sore throat feel a little sweeter.  I do feel its natural state trumps that of more processed sugars.  The darker the honey, the more antioxidants it will have.  The grade that honey gets more reflects the quality of the honey such as taste, color, and lack of honey comb than the nutritive value.  I believe buying local honey is best because of the belief that it helps to battle allergens from local plants even though I've not read any evidence-based research on that one.  Besides that, isn't it fun to buy from a local farmer?  Thanks to my organic friend Heather, I now add a tablespoon of bee pollen in my smoothies.  Honey has antibacterial properties that are used in all sorts of regions to help with things like wound healing.  It's exciting to think about discoveries to come from such a sweet, natural treat.

The New Scale

Well, the weight loss snowball is really rolling.  I could tell I had lost weight, but our scales haven't worked for months.  I had really made a switch to healthful foods.  I am of the mind that all foods fit, but something just sort of clicked and I found myself craving the good stuff....organic whole foods.  My ring became loose on my finger.  I have an organic-eating BFF who has really taught me a lot about cooking combinations of these foods.  I told her I could really tell a big difference in the way I feel.  I don't have the munchies  that I used to.  It is like my body works more efficiently now.  I told her that I felt like I had lost weight, but wasn't sure.  She profoundly said, "Well it doesn't matter if you have lost weight or not.  You feel better and that is what counts."  And she was right! 

We finally bought a new scale.  This week alone I lost 5.4lbs!   It is easier than ever.  I have a desire for healthy food and weight loss.  Finally the issues I've struggled with for years have been trumped by my desire for health.  It's just sort of in me to eat healthy.   It's not mindless (yet), but definitely easier.  Things about my eating are changing naturally the more my eyes are opened to who I really am.  I really do think the foods we eat match who we believe we are.

I still have a long way to go, but instead of feeling overwhelmed and discouraged when I look in the mirror, I see my reflection and feel excitement and a deeper desire to keep on this path.  I have become mentally separated from my weight and the things that kept me clinging to bondage. I am enjoying this journey.

Nutritional Nugget:  Coconut Milk

I like coconut.  I used to feel guilty for desiring it so much because of its bad reputation.  I'm glad it is viewed as a positive food again.  I tried coconut milk some time ago, but now I feel like it is something I need to always keep in my frig.  It is still not my refreshing beverage of choice, but I do love to cook with it and will drink it when I feel I need a boost.  Coconut milk and granola is among my favorite breakfasts. Something about the flavors together is exceptionally tasty to me.  I prefer the unsweetened kind without added flavors.  Since there are 4.5g of fat in 1 cup,  I find it shocking that it has half the amount of calories in skim milk. Skim milk has 0 fat and about 90 calories.  Coconut milk is almost all fat.  It doesn't have any protein and only 2 grams of carbohydrate yeilding a total of 45 calories in one cup!  The fat in the coconut milk contains about 60% of the medium chain fatty acids which behaves differently in our body.  Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFA) are absorbed more easily and directly into the blood as opposed to the longer chains that are absorbed into the lymphatic system.  They are burned more efficiently in the cell and may even help to promote weight loss.  As stated in my previous post, MCFA actually raise the good cholesterol improving our overall lipid profile.  I definitely think it's worth a try.

In school, I had a project to discuss eating from other cultures.  I chose the Philippines.  The beverage I served was a Filipino recipe of chilled honeydew melon slices and coconut milk.  It was so good.  I haven't had it since that class many years ago, but since the resurrected reputation of coconut milk, I'm looking forward to trying it again when the melons become ripe.

Cutting the Cord

This week, I had a thought rise up to try to bring me down.  This thought was trying to get me to identify with my weight instead of the person I really am.  It was attached to a fear that next week my weight loss journey would become hard, impossible, and end. "What if I fail again?  I'm doing so good this go around.  I don't want to fall back on this journey."

I captured that thought and gave it a good old fashioned whoopin'.    #1: I am NOT my weight.  The lbs on the scale do not define me.  #2:  Am I really making this my effort after a proven track record that I in my own self cannot do it?  #3: Anything attached to fear is just imaginary. I don't want any of my behaviors to be birthed from a fearful thought even if the outcome is positive.  Where is the life in that?  

I dissected that ponder just for fun.  I discovered it came from an a dark place where I still am hanging on to some things old stinky things about me.  It was crazy!  I'm just about to cross into my next goal weight.  It was almost like the old me didn't want to.  "The last time I weighed that weight, this and that were happening in my life.  I was trying to identify with circumstances and using the number on the scale to sort of subcontiously tie me down to that time in my life.  It was as if I didn't want to visit that weight because it reminded me of things that were happening when I weighed that.  (weirdo.)   I cut that cord quickly by just settling that those thoughts are ridiculous and reminded myself that SHE doesn't live here anymore. I want to dismiss anything that ties me to my old nature, habits, and beliefs.   I dismissed it as if it was piece of trash I tossed in the garbage can.  I choose life.  I am letting go of that old bondage. It's a waste of time to think like that.  I was thankful for the emotions that alerted me of such a dangerous hidden thought.  Let's cross that weight loss goal milestone and continue this journey.

Nutritional Nugget:  Coconut Oil

Coconut oil seems to be talk of the town in health circles.  It's a strange phenomenon to me because it had such a bad reputation not too long ago. I don't want to know what my face looked like the first time I heard a health nut advocate coconut oil in a lecture.  It was among the worst of fats as I learned in lectures and observed in a plethora of fat profile charts because of the terribly high saturated fat content.  I'm not 100% sure what caused the turnover, but I have read that the initial research used a partially hydrogenated coconut oil.  Partially hydrogenated anything is TERRIBLE.  It's trans fat and terrible for health.  Virgin coconut oil is a different story.  It is LOADED in saturated fats, but not all saturated fats are created equal.  Coconut oil is a medium chain fatty acid and reacts differently in the body.  It actually raises the HDL (healthy) cholesterol.  Conclusive research is still pending regarding a host of other benefits.  Fat is still fat, but it seems coconut oil is a healthy alternative to many.  Vegan recipes use it for things such as frostings.  My BFF bought me a jar last year for my birthday and I thought it was such a neat gift.  She uses for things beyond cooking including skin care.  I've been cooking with it and really enjoy the flavor and outcome of my recipes.  It's nice to be friends with such a natural goody again.

Vegetables and Spicy Black Beans

 I've been finding it a pleasure to go grocery shopping, and loving that I've realized I will purchase more vegetables than needed if I go to the store hungry.   Wayne and I had a conversation about increasing the overall nutritive value of the family menu.  We were finding that our boys, who have always eaten well for us, were holding out for less nutritious snacks.   I don't quite know how it improved.  I just know that I decided I was not going to be a Sugar Nazi, but just continue to add nutrient-dense items with the meals.  Almost overnight we are finding a nutrition evolution of  our family meals.  Three times this week we have had vegetarian suppers with big compliments from the boys....even some hugs for such a great dinner.  Nothing has been really spectacular or difficult.  When given the choice, they like healthy food.  I get lots of questions like, "What is the good stuff that is in cabbage?"  It makes for some good family conversation over the dinner table.  Once this week, Jack didn't like the flavor of something, but he ate it anyway just because I told him how good it was for him.  For now, simple is best.  They eat steamed or roasted, plain vegetables better than things like butternut squash soup.  I have also been having them pick out the fresh produce when they are with me at the store.  We are still not perfect, but much improved.  I try to get a variety of veggies, but not over do it.  In the past I might buy too much and become frustrated when they just end up rotting in the refrigerator.  I'm finding that less is more even if it means stopping at the store a few more times during the week.  The Internet makes preparing vegetables so easy.   Even if I go shopping without a plan, I can find quick recipes and cooking methods online for whatever veg I had a hankering for in the grocery store.   Vegetables are so easy to fix even if just throwing a bunch in a pot and steaming for quick and easy meal with little clean up.  For those quick meal needs, I keep the brown rice boil-in-bag on hand.   I have literally stocked the pantry with all kinds of beans because lately I cannot get enough.  I have wanted to eat them every night for supper.  I'm hungry for beans and rice right now! I lost my favorite spicy black bean recipe, so I have been experimenting.  I finally have one I can live with, and it is VERY easy and quick.   Serve over brown rice and enjoy!

Audrey's As-The-Spirit-Leads Spicy Black Beans

2 cans black beans,  low sodium if possible.
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies, drained.
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 red pepper diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 jalapeño diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Black pepper, Red pepper, Cumin, Cilantro flakes as the spirit leads

Sauté the garlic, onions, and red bell pepper in the olive oil until onions are transparent.   Add the remaining ingredients.  Simmer.  Leftover beans are even better!

Nutritional Nugget
Black Beans the musical fruit......
No, seriously.  Black beans are super good for us.  1 cup has about 220 calories and 15 grams of fiber!  They also have phytochemicals which are the  goodies that give produce their colors and help fight things like cancers.  Beans are high in protein and  become complete when combined with a grain such as brown rice.