My preferred morning routine -- even on vacation -- is to read the blogs while drinking my first cup of coffee in bed. Even though i don't list Primal Docs in my collection, i frequently go there from TheLowCarbDiabetic site.
This morning i see http://primaldocs.com/opinion/11-tips-to-remove-toxins-from-your-life/ -- okay! Let's see what they recommend that i'm not doing already! :-) ...One jumps straight out. Microwaving broccoli has been shown to reduce the amount of antioxidants contained there. The primal docs recommend eschewing the nuke.
Here's a LOL moment. Those of us who have FODMAP troubles just maybe WANT to reduce the amount of active phytochemicals in the vegetables we eat! Cooking brassicas reduces the goitrogenic properties -- so here we go! Instead of lightly steaming, perhaps a good stout cooking in the nuker could make these VLC condiments less distressing?
NOT the message they meant to give me, but interesting nonetheless....
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
amen
Reading the entire Hyperlipid archives is an enriching, enlightening experience. THIS:
Amen. Thank you, Peter!
"I think that one of the things which has struck me about LC eating is the whole raft of uncontrolled variables involved. On the average LC diet is it the drop in glucose, fructose, gluten or fibre which produces the metabolic improvements? Are the effects direct or mediated through the intestinal microbiota? What about the addition of bulk fat, mostly saturated? Or the avoidance of trans fats if LC also involves a switch to eating real food? What about the increase in both cholesterol and choline intake if you go for a high egg intake."
Amen. Thank you, Peter!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
gumbo: soul food, no matter what kind of diet you're on!
I broke my fast around noon today with some of the gumbo I made yesterday.
My gumbo is not EXACTLY traditional.... Anyone who knows my dietary interests nowadays will be amused by the fact that the concoction I make now is based on a version that came out of Dean Ornish's old "Eat More Weigh Less" cookbook! Yes, about twenty years ago I too had been brainwashed by low-fat vegetarian propaganda! My best friend at that time was the woman who introduced me to esoteric philosophy, which suggests that vegetarianism promotes good karma and better psychism.
DO's recipe, of course, uses lots of vegetables and veg bouillon cubes, and tofu to provide a reasonable amount of protein. Needless to say the last two additives are where that recipe and mine differ most.
I finely-chopped a good-sized onion and sautéed it in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. To this I added three sliced carrots, three sliced celery ribs (should have used more, but it was okay anyhow), 1 1/2 bell peppers cut in dice (because that's what I had to use up), two small zucchinis cut in half-moons, a tablespoon or two of minced garlic, a bag of sliced frozen okra, a can of tomatoes, and the rest of the bunch of Italian parsley in the fridge (which needed using). To this, I added a package of frozen crawdad tail-meat, a bag of frozen small shrimp (12 oz. or so), two chicken breasts sliced into spoon-sized morsels, and a couple of quarts of bone broth I had in the freezer (I had lamb and beef handy). About a tablespoon of Tony Cachere's "more spice" (i.e. less salt-to-cayenne balance) creole seasoning gave the degree of heat that J and I like.
There is no single definitive recipe for gumbo, you see! I have a copy of the Original Picayune Creole Cook Book that was printed around the time of the Great War (looking backward nostalgically), in which there's an entire chapter of just Creole Gumbo recipes -- nine of them! There's Gumbo Filé, Turkey Gumbo, Squirrel or Rabbit Gumbo, Okra Gumbo, Crab Gumbo, Oyster Gumbo, Shrimp Gumbo Filé, Green or Herb Gumbo and Cabbage Gumbo. Some are simpler and some more numerous of ingredients. Some have chicken, some beef, sausage, veal, or oyster-liquor and water as their soup base in various combinations; some have a roux and some don't.
Gumbo, to me, is one of the few soup/stews which are good year-round -- and why wouldn't it be, considering the wide variety of ingredients appropriate! What I put in depends on what I have in the fridge. These days, of course, I usually make mine higher in fat and lower in carby ingredients (I never use roux), but the one I made yesterday was pretty low-fat, only because I expected to be eating/drinking higher carb (oh, that king cake...) -- and we know that it's when high-carb and high-fat MEET that we have the most trouble!
It turned out DELICIOUS. Since I used crayfish (first time for me), I left out the Andouille sausage that I usually include. It's therefore more seafoody and lighter than most of my renditions, but all the more reminiscent of N'Orleans.
The peppery goodness of it makes it appropriate for a warm summer evening, as well as a cold snowy winter one. With every day that passes the leftovers get tastier, even though the vegetables kinda disintegrate ... which makes the soup thicker and less broth-like as time goes by.
For the record: people think that the okra makes this stew "slimy" but that's absolutely NOT TRUE. If you slice fresh okra to put in it, there is a sliminess to them, but it doesn't survive cooking! If you eat someone's gumbo and there's a "stringy" or "slimy" texture, that means they don't know how to use filé powder correctly! The OPCCB informs us that this stuff should NEVER be put into the cooking pot, but added to the bowl or tureen at the last minute, and never re-heated. ...THAT is why traditional recipes are so much better when taken from a period source, not from an ignorant modern transcriber! ;-)
My gumbo is not EXACTLY traditional.... Anyone who knows my dietary interests nowadays will be amused by the fact that the concoction I make now is based on a version that came out of Dean Ornish's old "Eat More Weigh Less" cookbook! Yes, about twenty years ago I too had been brainwashed by low-fat vegetarian propaganda! My best friend at that time was the woman who introduced me to esoteric philosophy, which suggests that vegetarianism promotes good karma and better psychism.
DO's recipe, of course, uses lots of vegetables and veg bouillon cubes, and tofu to provide a reasonable amount of protein. Needless to say the last two additives are where that recipe and mine differ most.
I finely-chopped a good-sized onion and sautéed it in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. To this I added three sliced carrots, three sliced celery ribs (should have used more, but it was okay anyhow), 1 1/2 bell peppers cut in dice (because that's what I had to use up), two small zucchinis cut in half-moons, a tablespoon or two of minced garlic, a bag of sliced frozen okra, a can of tomatoes, and the rest of the bunch of Italian parsley in the fridge (which needed using). To this, I added a package of frozen crawdad tail-meat, a bag of frozen small shrimp (12 oz. or so), two chicken breasts sliced into spoon-sized morsels, and a couple of quarts of bone broth I had in the freezer (I had lamb and beef handy). About a tablespoon of Tony Cachere's "more spice" (i.e. less salt-to-cayenne balance) creole seasoning gave the degree of heat that J and I like.
There is no single definitive recipe for gumbo, you see! I have a copy of the Original Picayune Creole Cook Book that was printed around the time of the Great War (looking backward nostalgically), in which there's an entire chapter of just Creole Gumbo recipes -- nine of them! There's Gumbo Filé, Turkey Gumbo, Squirrel or Rabbit Gumbo, Okra Gumbo, Crab Gumbo, Oyster Gumbo, Shrimp Gumbo Filé, Green or Herb Gumbo and Cabbage Gumbo. Some are simpler and some more numerous of ingredients. Some have chicken, some beef, sausage, veal, or oyster-liquor and water as their soup base in various combinations; some have a roux and some don't.
Gumbo, to me, is one of the few soup/stews which are good year-round -- and why wouldn't it be, considering the wide variety of ingredients appropriate! What I put in depends on what I have in the fridge. These days, of course, I usually make mine higher in fat and lower in carby ingredients (I never use roux), but the one I made yesterday was pretty low-fat, only because I expected to be eating/drinking higher carb (oh, that king cake...) -- and we know that it's when high-carb and high-fat MEET that we have the most trouble!
It turned out DELICIOUS. Since I used crayfish (first time for me), I left out the Andouille sausage that I usually include. It's therefore more seafoody and lighter than most of my renditions, but all the more reminiscent of N'Orleans.
The peppery goodness of it makes it appropriate for a warm summer evening, as well as a cold snowy winter one. With every day that passes the leftovers get tastier, even though the vegetables kinda disintegrate ... which makes the soup thicker and less broth-like as time goes by.
For the record: people think that the okra makes this stew "slimy" but that's absolutely NOT TRUE. If you slice fresh okra to put in it, there is a sliminess to them, but it doesn't survive cooking! If you eat someone's gumbo and there's a "stringy" or "slimy" texture, that means they don't know how to use filé powder correctly! The OPCCB informs us that this stuff should NEVER be put into the cooking pot, but added to the bowl or tureen at the last minute, and never re-heated. ...THAT is why traditional recipes are so much better when taken from a period source, not from an ignorant modern transcriber! ;-)
lent begins -- do we care?
Reading Charlotte Bronte's "Villette" gave me an interesting slant on some aspects of Roman Catholicism. The Bronte girls got a good part of their educations in Belgium, and a first-hand look at the older religion from the perspective of Anglicanism, its direct descendant (which they find very different, but which actually has a lot in common).
The Catholic teachers and schoolgirls in Villette enjoyed many church festivals which provided holidays and breaks from what was otherwise a rather tedious and unchanging lifestyle -- developed and made traditional by all the centuries of "dark-age" and medieval life. The RC church did this PURPOSELY. All the pleasant, fun, memorable events of life were centered on holy days, thus centered around the church. LIFE was centered around THE CHURCH.
The church may be corrupt but it ain't stupid. Jesuits have the reputation of having been astute psychologists before the concept of psychology even crystalized! In the winter all over Europe (even the warmer places), there was a steadily decreasing supply of the kind of food people preferred to eat. The darkness (before glass windows), the dearth, the cold, the depressive aspects of late winter.... How can we use this to our advantage...?
We can make a virtue of necessity! :-) We can take our "Jesus' life story" of x number of days of misery, and tell our people to mimic it, to voluntarily suffer for the sake of their souls' health! YES! By the time Easter comes, springtime will usually have sprung, and the fasting ends with feasting on the new milk, butter, eggs, and spring greens and lamb.
At least this is how I interpret the phenomenon....
Mardi Gras, as I suggested yesterday, is the "holiday" which has no other rationale than to feast -- be indulgent with everything a good Catholic should be giving up for the next six weeks. People were intent upon using up everything that would probably go bad before Easter Day arrived. Parts of Europe created the tradition of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday because making pancakes uses up your eggs, butter, sugar, etc -- and they're great with bacon, sausage, ham and other meatstuffs which were supposed to be off the menu for a month and a half! (Later reformations by the Church loosened up what was allowed, until only Fridays became no-meat days ... probably when modernization of production and transportation allowed greater availability? ...or am I being too cynical?)
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season. I AM fasting this morning, but only because of my feasting behavior of yesterday afternoon. ;-) I often find it therapeutic to follow a carb-fest with a recovery period for my body to readjust to fat-burning. Later this afternoon, when the weather gets as warm as expected, i'll probably go out and walk the dog so as to normalize my glucose-insulin-glycogen metabolism to the best of my ability. A little fasting, a little "forced" activity (Lenten hardship?) ... I don't think that does much for the SOUL, but it's definitely got value for the body.
I may even end up eating fish every Friday, but it will have nothing to do with privation and self-denial -- it's because I really enjoy eating fish, and all the parish churches of St. Louis have big signs outside promoting their fund-raising "fish fry events" which will remind me to go home and cook something a lot more tasty and health-conscious. I found a recipe for low-carb batter which turned out pretty good! A few tweaks, and look out Long John Silver!
The Catholic teachers and schoolgirls in Villette enjoyed many church festivals which provided holidays and breaks from what was otherwise a rather tedious and unchanging lifestyle -- developed and made traditional by all the centuries of "dark-age" and medieval life. The RC church did this PURPOSELY. All the pleasant, fun, memorable events of life were centered on holy days, thus centered around the church. LIFE was centered around THE CHURCH.
The church may be corrupt but it ain't stupid. Jesuits have the reputation of having been astute psychologists before the concept of psychology even crystalized! In the winter all over Europe (even the warmer places), there was a steadily decreasing supply of the kind of food people preferred to eat. The darkness (before glass windows), the dearth, the cold, the depressive aspects of late winter.... How can we use this to our advantage...?
We can make a virtue of necessity! :-) We can take our "Jesus' life story" of x number of days of misery, and tell our people to mimic it, to voluntarily suffer for the sake of their souls' health! YES! By the time Easter comes, springtime will usually have sprung, and the fasting ends with feasting on the new milk, butter, eggs, and spring greens and lamb.
At least this is how I interpret the phenomenon....
Mardi Gras, as I suggested yesterday, is the "holiday" which has no other rationale than to feast -- be indulgent with everything a good Catholic should be giving up for the next six weeks. People were intent upon using up everything that would probably go bad before Easter Day arrived. Parts of Europe created the tradition of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday because making pancakes uses up your eggs, butter, sugar, etc -- and they're great with bacon, sausage, ham and other meatstuffs which were supposed to be off the menu for a month and a half! (Later reformations by the Church loosened up what was allowed, until only Fridays became no-meat days ... probably when modernization of production and transportation allowed greater availability? ...or am I being too cynical?)
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season. I AM fasting this morning, but only because of my feasting behavior of yesterday afternoon. ;-) I often find it therapeutic to follow a carb-fest with a recovery period for my body to readjust to fat-burning. Later this afternoon, when the weather gets as warm as expected, i'll probably go out and walk the dog so as to normalize my glucose-insulin-glycogen metabolism to the best of my ability. A little fasting, a little "forced" activity (Lenten hardship?) ... I don't think that does much for the SOUL, but it's definitely got value for the body.
I may even end up eating fish every Friday, but it will have nothing to do with privation and self-denial -- it's because I really enjoy eating fish, and all the parish churches of St. Louis have big signs outside promoting their fund-raising "fish fry events" which will remind me to go home and cook something a lot more tasty and health-conscious. I found a recipe for low-carb batter which turned out pretty good! A few tweaks, and look out Long John Silver!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
happy mardi gras! laissez les bons temps rouler!
Since becoming "infected" with New Orleans, Mardi Gras has joined Halloween as a favorite holiday with us! It's unique in that its only raison d'etre is to be self-indulgent!
We had originally planned to have friends over for the evening, but that fell through. We're going through with most of the original menu, though -- oyster ceviche, gumbo and [i shame-facedly admit] king cake. J sent off for the cake from the BEST baker in Louisiana (his friends insisted it is, anyway), so we'll be sharing it with the neighbors, whether or not they dine WITH us.... There was to have been a baked-oyster course too, but we'll be having those tomorrow, instead.
So today becomes the semi-monthly carb-splurge! If i have any Hurricanes at all, they'll be my newly-crafted version using sugar-free fruit syrups instead of juices. I won't be including rice with the gumbo (i was going to indulge my guests -- J and i eat ours "neat" when i usually make it). But i WILL have a little bite of the cake! We ordered it with a cream-cheese filling, and i NEED to taste it, anyway.... ;-)
Since reading Jan Kwasniewski's "Homo Optimus" i'm interested in giving his Optimal Diet a try, and it recommends a higher carb allowance than my usual. There's a trade-off -- some carbs for a reduction of protein -- which i suspect might work pretty well for all but the most carb-intolerant. The trick, i suspect, is knowing what carbs one tolerates well, and which are individually problematic! I think i could work -- i'll report back later, of course.
In the meantime -- ENJOY THE HOLIDAY!
We had originally planned to have friends over for the evening, but that fell through. We're going through with most of the original menu, though -- oyster ceviche, gumbo and [i shame-facedly admit] king cake. J sent off for the cake from the BEST baker in Louisiana (his friends insisted it is, anyway), so we'll be sharing it with the neighbors, whether or not they dine WITH us.... There was to have been a baked-oyster course too, but we'll be having those tomorrow, instead.
So today becomes the semi-monthly carb-splurge! If i have any Hurricanes at all, they'll be my newly-crafted version using sugar-free fruit syrups instead of juices. I won't be including rice with the gumbo (i was going to indulge my guests -- J and i eat ours "neat" when i usually make it). But i WILL have a little bite of the cake! We ordered it with a cream-cheese filling, and i NEED to taste it, anyway.... ;-)
Since reading Jan Kwasniewski's "Homo Optimus" i'm interested in giving his Optimal Diet a try, and it recommends a higher carb allowance than my usual. There's a trade-off -- some carbs for a reduction of protein -- which i suspect might work pretty well for all but the most carb-intolerant. The trick, i suspect, is knowing what carbs one tolerates well, and which are individually problematic! I think i could work -- i'll report back later, of course.
In the meantime -- ENJOY THE HOLIDAY!
Sunday, March 2, 2014
barley bread shock
As a friend in Texas used to say -- WHOA! :-)
Yesterday I made a loaf of barley bread from the Bob's Red Mill site. Now, bearing in mind it wasn't a sourdough-based recipe, which may have made some difference in the rye and wheat loaves by converting some of the carb to acid, it REALLY did the ol' blood-sugar-spike thing! A full 20 points higher than the other gluten-grains I tried!
I didn't even like it as well, though my husband did. Even though the barley flour contained "no" fat, it had a smell that I associate with rancidity. I'm willing to eat evil things from time to time, but only if they're luscious.
All this is going to make it VERY easy to avoid barley-flour products. However, I do still like pearled barley in soup. I guess i'm going to have to run a similar test on intact-grain barley as compared with rice.
Yesterday I made a loaf of barley bread from the Bob's Red Mill site. Now, bearing in mind it wasn't a sourdough-based recipe, which may have made some difference in the rye and wheat loaves by converting some of the carb to acid, it REALLY did the ol' blood-sugar-spike thing! A full 20 points higher than the other gluten-grains I tried!
I didn't even like it as well, though my husband did. Even though the barley flour contained "no" fat, it had a smell that I associate with rancidity. I'm willing to eat evil things from time to time, but only if they're luscious.
All this is going to make it VERY easy to avoid barley-flour products. However, I do still like pearled barley in soup. I guess i'm going to have to run a similar test on intact-grain barley as compared with rice.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
T. Colin Campbell is a FUCKING LIAR
I can't believe that responsible individuals like Andreas Eenfeldt even mention assholes like Campbell, let alone print a big bright photograph worthy of the shiny pages of a BS magazine -- is he merely trying to get traffic and controversy on his blog? That's the only reason I can possibly imagine....
The eponymous idiot has a book out claiming that the lack of grains in one's diet causes the BIG C! OOOOH! All those celiacs who pretend that wheat actually makes them SICK must be wrong! Get thee to a granary -- GO!
[snicker...]
The eponymous idiot has a book out claiming that the lack of grains in one's diet causes the BIG C! OOOOH! All those celiacs who pretend that wheat actually makes them SICK must be wrong! Get thee to a granary -- GO!
[snicker...]
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