A Reader Encouraged More Posts on Nutrition

 

I just left the online Old Testament class, so I opened a favorite passage in Hebrews. I cannot find the ideal soccer camp, popcorn munching, soda slurping, rock band cacophony of the missional church in Hebrews 12.

There is a junk form of everything, whether spiritual nutrition or bodily nutrition. My parents looked at vegetables as delicacies. They went through the Great Depression (and it was great because they never stopped talking about it) eating vegetables to fill their stomachs. They had animals on the farm, but FDR (Democrat) closed down both farms. They learned that they would never be full on the meat available and fast foods were raw veggies. Oh, did they love them, raw or cooked. 

We tended to screw up our faces about eating anything not on TV or served as dessert. Fortunately, Mom and Dad were soft on desserts themselves and we exploited that. I was always willing to make the whipped cream. I added my own secret ingredient, rum flavoring which made the whipped cream even creamier tasting. Mom admitted to making her own whipped cream on the farm, hiding somewhere and enjoying it herself. She knew how to rescue spoiled dairy too. 

However, we often heard at full volume, "You know what's wrong with you kids?" Pause. "What Dad?" He thundered, "You are all spoiled rotten."

I thought of vegetables as something to get past for dessert or meat. They remembered how delicious vegetables were when nothing else was there for food, because they worked hard on the farm. 

Getting into gardening changed my attitudes because there is no comparison between 

1. fresh  picked sweet corn and grocery corn on the cob, or
2. peas off the vine and peas in a can, 
3. green peppers in the garden and from the store, 
4. green beans from the vine (for some), and beans from a can
5. lettuce and spinach in the garden, the same from the store - even when sprayed.
6. tomatoes warm from the sun, dipped in dill seed, and wretched sour or watery tomatoes in the store.
7. Sweet tender carrots with crunch, and orange dried up tree roots marketed as carrots.

I enjoyed all those until we moved to Rabbit Corners, where the squirrels show off, the possums waddle around, and the bunnies eat more than their share. Five thousand carrot seeds produced no carrots at all, but the rabbits looked happy. They love carrot greens.

Shock into looking up food to suppress blood pressure came from seeing how the often neglected vegetables are loaded with nutrition and are not culprits in boosting blood sugar. They are doubly valuable, so I am aiming at using frozen vegetables and maybe farmer's market in the warm weather for that change in diet.

I will get into those in the coming weeks or years. Ideas are welcome. I get a lot of great suggestions and tips.

Dandelions were brought over as herbs, not weeds, but Scott Lawn and Garden thought otherwise. The greens are remarkably good for salads, usually without herbicide on them. The flowers are sweet enough to make wine. The roots can be used as a coffee substitute if washed carefully.

A Little Rain in the Forecast - A Lot of Rain over Three Days. Happy Hardy Bulbs

 

California Dreamin is one of those roses that people remember and talk about.

I got some clearance roses from Springhill. They were so carefully wrapped that I planted the small roses much faster than I opened them. I gave them rainwater from the barrel after planting, in case it did not rain that night.

Some rain was predicted, and we had big storm and at least one inch of rain. This morning, we had rain predicted, and it was dripping down slowly. Sassy needed her rain towel when she came back in. She always pauses for the wipe down.

Now the trees are changing color and the leaves are dropping. I am thinking of all the bulbs filling out and growing their roots for the big spring show.

One popped out (only one!) during the latest planting. The roots were out, all over the bulb, so I carefully replanted it. 

Here is a recycling project. We had an enormous pile of cardboard. Now all of it is spread over the backyard gardens where Hosta will be planted. Leaves will hold the cardboard down, with help from rain barrels. Humpback Whale Hosta is already growing next to the house.

 This hawk visited our garbage barrel bird feeders. Surprisingly, no birds came near!

 "Did I give you permission to photograph me?"

Energy Is Paradoxical -- Good Nutrition Works Surprisingly Well

I was born with a Dairy Queen cone in my mouth - instead of a silver spoon.

Being held captive in a donut shop was not exactly torture. I made the most of it and ate my mistakes.

My father spent his working life testing the products in his bakery and became insulin sensitive, prone to high blood sugars. I could see that happening with the famous A1C tests for me, a 90 day test that betrays the individual who likes carbohydrates.

So here are the changes I made in eating.

Sassy and I have eggs and toast for breakfast each day. The combo is loaded with protein and nutrition and quells the appetite that bread and sweet rolls promote. 

Daily fresh fruit is now a necessity. Oranges are the top pick. The end of the day snack is no longer bakery-centered but fresh fruit and walnuts. The walnuts are for heart health and other benefits. They are very satisfying and worth the cost. 

Ice cream is off the menu entirely and desserts are rare and small. No more diet sodas at home, period. The paradox is that sugar and caffeine provide instant energy, but they also demand replenishment for more energy until the sluggishness is alarming and A1C triggered.

Lunch is light, and supper is often chicken plus a Southern biscuit. Cheese and toast is one option. 

I like Schwan packaged dinners, but like fast food items, they are high in salt. I am just ordering frozen chicken and vegetables from them, now. And we like biscuits ready to bake.

I returned to the gym, which is handy on my rounds with Sassy. We go to the credit union, Lowe's hardware, the business store, the gym, and the post office in one grand sweep, depending on needs. Sassy loves snuggling between the front seats and getting pets at red lights. She barks and demands her dog treats at the credit union drive through, often drowning out my attempts to do some banking.

The results are good. I have a lot more energy, more strength. I have lost 64 ounces so far. I am tracking in ounces to stay motivated. Four pounds sounds like nothing, but 64 ounces! So quickly! "How did you do that, Greg?" Simple - conversion from pounds to ounces.

 This was posed in an apple orchard for the annual donut calendar. Was I eating fruit? No, I was enjoying my favorite bread donut and a Classics Illustrated comic.

I still love coffee. Costa Rican pour-over is magical, great flavor and mellow at the same time. No sugar or cream, though I fondly remember Seattle coffee with heavy whipped cream inches deep. 

Sassy and I have a little fast food, but not much. Cravings for diet cola and desserts - they are gone almost gone. Whatever I want at the moment - I cut the amounts. Fast eating is a way to be hungry from the start to finish - to be repented later. 

"Little boys eat big bites. Big boys take small bites." Why was my mother right about so many things? The truth is, when we eat less, the food is far more enjoyable and satisfying.

Later I will point out some nutrition facts. Many common foods are loaded with special, key nutrition factors.