Little Tricks

[digitS']

For better health.

I 've talked about my eating "more" to keep weight off and have a healthier diet. More is more fruit and I'm careful about it in the winter, especially. Three servings of fruit for breakfast - there's hardly room for a slice of toast!

Today, a chef on teevee says she uses a 1-2-3 approach, daily. She makes sure to make 3 "healthier" choices about her diet, every day.

I had just sat down to my trick to keep me hydrated a little better on hot days. I like coffee for breakfast. I like black coffee but I also like coffee with milk. If it is just coffee, toast and fruit for breakfast - I add milk to the coffee, a lot of it! I'm outdoors too much in the heat and it starts me off drinking more.

So, I get my mug & a half of coffee and that much more soy milk. Any tricks you have for a healthier diet???

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

Winter is tough, but I plant a cherry tomato near my garden gate purely for me to snack on. Of course that is for my eating enjoyment but it has to be healthier than grabbing handfuls of peanuts or other stuff like I do in winter for snacks. I eat way too many peanuts. I munch on fruit and especially berries too during the season. In winter I put on weight and in summer I take weight off, but the older I get the less that balances out. This year I'm easily ten pounds form where I normally am and I normally am not where I should be.

I normally cook the fresh vegetables for our supper. I tend to cook more than a "normal" portion and try to fill up on that veggie instead of other more-potent parts of the meal. That's usually not that much of a sacrifice. And dessert if I have it I normally fruit, not cookies, candy, pies, or cake.

I watch my salt too, like eating unsalted peanuts. That has a big effect on my blood pressure. In summer when I am sweating a lot I use more salt, but in the winter when I don't sweat it out I really cut back.

 

[ninnymary]

I try to have 2 vegetables at lunch or dinner. It helps fill up the plate and me. For example, for lunch I may have one scramble egg, zuchinni, and sugar snap peas. In the afternoon is when it gets tough because I want something sweet like desert! I try to have will power and have a good size fruit salad instead. I know that the fruit has lots of sugar but I figured that it's better than having cookies and tea.

Mary

 

[digitS']

Fortunately, DW likes veggies and fruit.

We buy lots of fruit and have stir-fry aaaalll th' taym! Often, the veggies are even more simply prepared. May as well have all we want and then some. The bok choy diet, we might call it but I'm having baby beets tonight .

These are nutritious foods and not just calories, like so much of what passes as food. There is also a good deal of water and fiber in these foods. Can't fault them for that.

Steve

 

[ninnymary]

Steve, do you stir fry in a wok or pan? Cast iron? I need to do more of that.

Mary

 

[digitS']

I guess it is a wok, Mary.

It is wide and high. There are 2 smaller skillets that can be used. They are not really small. Big as skillets and have somewhat of a similar shape. The larger pot gets the most use. It works well for even a small amount of veggies.

All the technology is in the wooden spoon, after all .

DW won't touch cast iron. Those pans are in the basement except for a small one I use once in awhile for other things.

Steve

 

[so lucky]

I've been on a campaign the last few years to try to eliminate pre-packaged food products from our diet. This does eliminate a lot of sugar/corn sweeteners and artificial additives, but it sure makes "variety" a lot harder. Add this to my DH's new-found phobias about eating, and every meal is a struggle. However, one thing is constant: more real food, more veggies, less sugar, less bread. (I don't bake bread in the hot months, so any bread we eat is packaged, thus suspect)
Also, we don't drink soda pop, so that is better for our blood sugar, less weight gain, better appetite for real food, and less bloated stomach from carbonation.
My weight has stayed in the same range for about 10 years. DH lost about 30 lbs from anxiety last year, and has struggled to gain most of it back. He practically force-feeds himself. (He has been thoroughly checked out for physical causes)
We do eat real butter, whole raw milk, lard when we can get it, and lots of eggs, by the way.
Just as an aside, studies show that people who have lactose intolerance can safely drink milk from Jersey or Guernsey cows, rather than from the Holstein (?) cows that commercial dairies use. There is a slight but important variance in the chemistry of the milk that makes all the difference. I have read that the milk industry is well aware of this, but refuse to consider switching to "lactose safe" cows because their production is a little lower. I am relating all this without going back and verifying the particulars, Seedcorn, but if anyone doubts the validity of this, I can look it up for you.

 

[ninnymary]

so lucky, I so agree with you. I'm trying to do the same. I only drink almond milk but my husband and son don't drink much milk at all. I'm always telling them to eat more leafy greens, cheese, and yogurt to make up for the calcium. But they don't listen very well.

Mary

 

[bobm]

I've been on a campaign the last few years to try to eliminate pre-packaged food products from our diet. This does eliminate a lot of sugar/corn sweeteners and artificial additives, but it sure makes "variety" a lot harder. Add this to my DH's new-found phobias about eating, and every meal is a struggle. However, one thing is constant: more real food, more veggies, less sugar, less bread. (I don't bake bread in the hot months, so any bread we eat is packaged, thus suspect)
Also, we don't drink soda pop, so that is better for our blood sugar, less weight gain, better appetite for real food, and less bloated stomach from carbonation.
My weight has stayed in the same range for about 10 years. DH lost about 30 lbs from anxiety last year, and has struggled to gain most of it back. He practically force-feeds himself. (He has been thoroughly checked out for physical causes)
We do eat real butter, whole raw milk, lard when we can get it, and lots of eggs, by the way.
Just as an aside, studies show that people who have lactose intolerance can safely drink milk from Jersey or Guernsey cows, rather than from the Holstein (?) cows that commercial dairies use. There is a slight but important variance in the chemistry of the milk that makes all the difference. I have read that the milk industry is well aware of this, but refuse to consider switching to "lactose safe" cows because their production is a little lower. I am relating all this without going back and verifying the particulars, Seedcorn, but if anyone doubts the validity of this, I can look it up for you.

I've been on a campaign the last few years to try to eliminate pre-packaged food products from our diet. This does eliminate a lot of sugar/corn sweeteners and artificial additives, but it sure makes "variety" a lot harder. Add this to my DH's new-found phobias about eating, and every meal is a struggle. However, one thing is constant: more real food, more veggies, less sugar, less bread. (I don't bake bread in the hot months, so any bread we eat is packaged, thus suspect)
Also, we don't drink soda pop, so that is better for our blood sugar, less weight gain, better appetite for real food, and less bloated stomach from carbonation.
My weight has stayed in the same range for about 10 years. DH lost about 30 lbs from anxiety last year, and has struggled to gain most of it back. He practically force-feeds himself. (He has been thoroughly checked out for physical causes)
We do eat real butter, whole raw milk, lard when we can get it, and lots of eggs, by the way.
Just as an aside, studies show that people who have lactose intolerance can safely drink milk from Jersey or Guernsey cows, rather than from the Holstein (?) cows that commercial dairies use. There is a slight but important variance in the chemistry of the milk that makes all the difference. I have read that the milk industry is well aware of this, but refuse to consider switching to "lactose safe" cows because their production is a little lower. I am relating all this without going back and verifying the particulars, Seedcorn, but if anyone doubts the validity of this, I can look it up for you.

Are you refering to the cow that was bred by GMO method of inserting a bacterium gene into a calf's embrio to eventually produce " Lactose Safe" milk by Dr. Li in China ? This could be a boon to those that are lactose intolerant. However, there are those that cry foul for anything that is GMO or "man made " while Mother Nature has been playing around with this for eons... called evolution and selection of the fitest. Other than that, I have never heard of any other "lactose safe" cows producing that type of milk. As far as I have heard or seen there is only a difference in AMOUNT of fat content of Jersey and Guernsey breed cows than that of Holstein. The Holstein average is 3.4 % +/- butter fat while the Jersey and Guernsey is over 4.3 % to 5.7 % +/- butter fat. Also the Holstein produces more milk on average than the Jersey or Guernsey and these produce more milk than any beef breed cow. This is a breed trait only. The reason that the Holstein is prefered is because the dairyman is paid by the gallon of milk. The Jersey and Guernsey is used to increase the butterfat average in the amount of milk produced by the Holstein. This equates to increased profits for the dairymen. I would be interested is seeing any scientific paper published in a peer revued magazine on the validity of cows that produce "lactose safe " milk.

 

[digitS']

The chef was talking about something as simple as plate size to try to help with overeating. (Might work with undereating.) But, this was a 1-2-3 thing with her so that, I assume, she could toss that idea for a day if she had 3 other healthy choices.

I like that but would probably abuse the opportunity .

Ice cream goes only in small bowls. I began doing that when I realized that DW apparently decided to substitute ice cream during the winter for my summertime beer! If I could get a flavor of ice cream that would go with beer ...

Oh well, I have a fresh cookie for dessert then I'm running off to the garden for awhile. Mostly oatmeal and raisins in that cookie, ya know!

Steve