My new and modified Paleo Diet!

After giving the standard Paleo Diet a good go for the money, I've decided that a life without at least some dairy and bread products was just not for me.

Last December, I embarked on a new 'natural' diet aka the Paleo Diet that consisted of the kinds of foods that our long distant ancestors ate for a million or so years! It consisted of fresh meats, fish and poultry, vegetables and fruits. What was left out was practically everything else! No diary, no breads or pasties and definitely nothing out of a can or box wit the exception of frozen veggies. This life style did have one perk – it made a trip to the grocery store a breeze. However, I quickly found that eating fresh also translated into eating myself into the poor house! My grocery bills had skyrocketed and with other rising costs in my life (Obamacare), I quickly realized that I would have to either abandon or quickly modify this approach to healthy eating.

To that end, I decided to make do with a mixture of both approaches. That is, I would keep eating a lot of fruits and vegetables (assuming they were on sale), while also not shunning the occasional sandwich or glass of milk. Still on the 'severely limit' list were such items as processed meat and any of the canned goods that are mostly packed in salt.

So far, this modified approach seems to be working for me. As far as weight control, I learned long ago that it doesn't matter what you eat just so long as you control the amounts you eat! For instance, whenever I have stir fry or pasta (two of my favorites), I make sure to weigh them down to the gram to make sure they are fitting in with the overall number of calories that I can consume for the day. In my particular case, that's about 1600, assuming I also exercised on that day.

Banana bread, in a jar!

After living all these years, you'd think I would have seen most every way that a food can be prepared. Not so, as I discovered that when a wonderful lady by the name of Sunny gave me a gift of banana bread in a jar!

Now, while I'm not really sure when or where this idea originated, I' was very happy concerning this women's wonderful generosity. I hold banana bread right up there as one of my most favorite

comfort foods as it makes a welcome ending to most any meal! And, this banana bread tasted beyond belief!

Thanks Sunny! You are the best!!

Induction cooking- wave of the future or just a passing fad?

Note: Do not trying frying eggs on stainless steel - use a non stick pan instead!

My very first induction cooking device arrived on this date. A Duxtop 1800 watt model that was ordered through Amazon just a couple of days ago and I was excited to see what it could do. I bought it more out of curiosity than for any other reason. The information at the site assured me that induction cooking was faster and more economical than using either a regular electric or a gas stove top. I wanted the find out if that claim was really true.

My first test involved using a ceramic covered iron pot (a small 1.5 qt LeCreuset) to make up some pasta on both my regular electric stove top and the new Duxtop. To be considered for this test, was the power used to cook the pasta as I assumed that the speed of cooking would be about the same (i.e. 12 minutes) but, I was also quite curious to see just how fast the water boiled so that was timed also. In order to do this accurately, I employed the use of a Kill-A-Watt meter for the Duxtop and also the services of a whole house monitoring device known as a TED or Total Energy Detective. Each device would (hopefully) give me a general idea of how much electrical power in kilowatt hours would be needed to simmer the pasta for 12 minutes. The winner would be the device that cooked the pasta for the least amount of power used. Here are the results:

Device      kWh used      Time to boil             Comments

Duxtop         2                  4 minutes                power setting at 8

Stove top      3.5               6 minutes                dial set to high

Technical: The amount of spaghetti pasta used in both tests was about 100 grams with each bindle broken in half to better fit the pot. The water used was ordinary tap water, and it was measured at 65F at the start of each run. The amount of water was about 6 cups, in both cases. In both tests, the ceramic pot was left uncovered. No salt or other additives were used in either test.

The bottom line is that induction cooking may be somewhat cheaper than the electric stove top. For sure, the cooking temperatures are much more precise with induction. I'd give this concept a thumbs up! Just make sure to get one with the timer feature. I found that being able to set a precise temperature range and time worked out very well when making stuff like soup.

Ten signs that you've had enough to drink at a bar!

1. You can no longer quite make out the bartender's face.
2. You suddenly realize that all the ugly, single women in bar have left and were replaced by extra hotties! Lucky you!
3. You think up an invention that will make you millions (really it will), and then promptly forget about it.
4. You cell phone rings, it's your boss and you tell him what you really think!
5. Throwing up suddenly seems very doable.
6. Your car keys are missing and you spend an hour looking for them. Hint: The bartender took them.
7. You realize that you are the most intelligent man at the bar and then proceed to let everyone know this ....for hours.
8. You can't quite get your head around the concept that your credit card is maxed out! 'No, seriously bartender try swiping that sucker again!'
9. You take a selfie with your tongue hanging out and then post it on Facebook! Which your boss also sees...
   
   
   & finally...
10. You're in a really crowded bar and yet, for some strange reason, the stools on either side of you remain completely empty!

Critique: HC Roasted Chicken and Potatoes!

According to the package this 180 calorie entree has 'savory slices of chicken breast with redskin potatoes, crisp carrots and tender pearl onions all in a light chicken and herb sauce.' How, I wondered can you go wrong with that offering from the folks at Healthy Choice?

I posted a glowing review concerning their Chicken and Spinach Alfredo offering some time ago and still feel that it was one of the best TV style dinners I've ever had. It is one of like seven of their 'Baked' microwave meals that run on sale for about $2.80 plus tax here in Forsyth Missouri where I make my home.

This meal, like the Chicken and Alfredo also boasts only 560 mg of sodium and just 35 mg of cholesterol! However, please remember that this is an entree and as such, you don't get all that much to eat. But, when combined with a vegetable salad on the side, it does make for a good sit down meal.

Also, like the other entree I have reviewed, it is a slit and nuke affair that doesn't take much over five minutes to get on the table. (I like that in both my TV dinners and my women)! Once again and not to belabor the point, for under $3 you are getting something that is considered a fast food, yet is also healthy for you to eat! If I remember correctly, my last outing to McDonald's netted me only a hamburger and medium fry for something like $7! It was also over 900 calories and chock full of cholesterol and salt! And, while I do admit to slinking over to the 'Golden Arches' from time to time, I surely do not make it a regular habit.

Overall, the taste was pretty durn good! Maybe the carrots were a tad too crisp while the potatoes seemed somewhat so, I guess it's a preference thing. The sauce they used, compliments the entire entree and the chicken tasted like... chicken. Another winner! Score of 8 on a scale of 10.

Random thoughts for February 10th!

Snow snow, please go away!!

Old Man Winter, you've been a total grouch this year! So, get outta here! And, please take your crappy low temps with you when you hit that door marked exit! As of the tenth of the month, we've had just one day where the high temperature exceeded the daily low from last year! That truly sucks. And, to make matters worst, the snow is hanging around making my home in southwest Missouri more reminiscent of Nome Alaska. Oh, and yes, I just saw a snow plow going down my street... because it's been snowing once again!

A snappy and healthy pasta meal!

Never one to miss out entirely on the joys of eating pasta (while staying on a diet), I've come up with a filling luncheon style combo that works for me! OK sure, the amounts are a bit small, with the pasta weighing in at only 45 grams. But, as you can see in the nutritional panel, this is a very doable diet-minded entree. The spaghetti sauce was homemade and is also low salt. I used romaine for the greens, in the salad mix, as it is much more nutritious that what you get from the mostly water filled iceberg varieties. Now, I wonder, why it is that I'm still craving a Big Mac??

So, how big is your heating bill gonna be?

$$Ca-Ching$$! Talk about getting slammed in the old cojones! We've had back to back to back really cold months that have jacked up everyone's heating costs big time! (That is, unless you have a lot of free wood for a fireplace, or are using and averaging plan from your electric company). And, you propane users - Well, I've heard you really got screwed this year!

As of the tenth of the month, my area near Forsyth Missouri is averaging fourteen degrees below normal and at the noon hour, it's just 23F outdoors. And, we're it not for a warming trend arriving in a few days, I'd start to wonder if I was caught up in some weird Stephen King novel.

What would make this winter's cost much more bearable for everyone, is if we have a prolonged and mild spring to help even everything out. (By prolonged, I'm talking through September of this year with maybe a warmish winter to follow... I know I'm dreaming).

Those wonderful Facebook photos!

Oh gosh, those are all so good!

Most every day, someone is kind enough to post pictures they took on my Facebook page.  More oftentimes than not, they are pictures of children, adults with children or all the above with a pet thrown in for good measure! I particularly enjoy looking at the groups of six photos that are poorly framed and out of focus, with each frame more poorly composed than the one before it.

It would be seriously refreshing if everyone would put a just little more thought into what they desire to share with all their 'friends'. A good picture tells a story and communicates more than words ever could.


Troubling times!

Living in America, these days, is certainly no cake walk when it comes to individual or family economic survival. There was a time, not long ago, when jobs were plentiful and (if you had to) you could easily hold down two jobs at once! I remember those times, and you know what – I worked a full time and a part time job in order to put food on the table and to pay the rent! Those times were tough in that I remember I was always tired, but I did survive and over time things got better for me and other that I knew.

Sadly, those days maybe long gone. The fact is, even finding a single low paying part time work is a real challenge – and that's disheartening. Even if you have a job, constantly rising grocery and energy costs at happening at a time when the value of the dollar is going down! So, you could say that under the current administration, the average Middle Class worker is also going downhill. You could also say that things probably are not going to improve very quickly as the mechanisms that supported a recovery in the past are no longer in place or valid. Currently 43% of the adult population are on some form of government assistance and those numbers continue to rise as more and more individuals drop out of the work force. At this rate when over 50% are on support – one wonders who will pay the bills? Correction: 49.1% of the population is receiving government assistance as of the 2011 census!

On a parting shot, I did go to McDonald's, ate a Big Mac and blew my diet all to hell and gone!

On Democrats and Coddled eggs!

After doing a recent post on poached eggs, I got to thinking about the many different styles of fixing eggs and the people that like to eat them a certain way.

In my world view there are exactly four different crowds who like their eggs a certain way. Not surprisingly, they also tend to fall into certain political buckets, A place from which they never seem able to climb out of....

The hard boiled crowd!

Icon: Billy Joel  Theme song: A Matter of Trust!

This beer drinking, hard working bunch of guys and gals can be found in any city where things are happening. Why? Cause these are the folks that make things happen; be it construction, power generation, mechanics or whatever! They tend to be Independents politically and they take life like they take their eggs hard boiled and tough!

The sunny side crowd!

Icon: Ray Stevens  Theme song: Everything is beautiful!

Here we find all the 'artsie fartsies'! They are talented, gifted and want everyone to know it! Money is never a problem for them and life is so beautiful they almost can't stand it. Politically they comprise the part of the Democratic Party that is so far to the right that they almost aren't in the left!

We're all scrambled and loving it!

https://forsythkid.blogspot.com/2014/02/on-democrats-and-coddled-eggs.html?spref=fb&fbclid=IwAR1cstyFBTRGkxAQquPZ0pIS-nktI33y1Wg90zlhc-cYcCaeGo3Ws8MZmSk

This is most certainly the largest crowd out there. It's comprised mostly of the middle class who all are struggling to make ends meet and who will listen to anyone who shouts loud enough to be heard. You'll find a confusing...well scrambled mix of just about every party here, all moving this way and that without rhyme or reason.

Those egg sucking aristocrats!

Icon: President Barack Obama   Theme song: The Barack Obama Song

My personal favorite crowd. You'll find them are most any Democratic rally. These folks have a singular and awesome talent to share with the rest of us boobs. They can adroitly talk out of both sides of their mouths, while sucking a coddled egg down, all at the same time! President Obama is their charismatic leader for life. A man who can talk for hours, saying nothing, but lifting your wallet all the same. Ya just gotta love someone with talent like that!