Hi,
I just have a few things on my mind. One, I wanted to say how surprised I am that my new Secura Convection oven still does not have any stains of any kind on the upper fan compartment. I remember the first time I used my Nuwave Oven how it already had stains from the food on it and I was never really able to get them out because that is the electrical part that you cannot submerge in water to let it soak or get it clean. I don't know if oven cleaner would have worked because the housing is plastic, so I never tried it. But the Secura is, so far, still without spatters and sparkling clean.
Two, the chocolate syrup made with coconut oil does seem to be keeping my cravings at bay. I had to have it twice yesterday, but, other than that, I've not gone off the program due to cravings at all. I think I forgot to mention that I am also chewing Orbit gum which I believe is sugar free (I'm not absolutely sure), and yesterday I used that three times. None so far today. I did postpone my breakfast and did not eat until about two. I was getting really famished and used the chocolate syrup to tide me over until I got some salad made and cooked a couple of eggs to garnish the salad. Feeling full now, and I could tell when the "full" signal went off. I still ate two more bites (hard to break a lifelong habit) but left the last one in the bowl.
Three, I've received my "BPDown" program in the mail and have used it twice in the evening to try to assist in lowering my blood pressure. It consists of two red heart shaped squeeze toys for your hands and a CD with timed breathing instructions. It also has written instructions but is easier to "time" with the CD.
At first I thought the lady on the CD was simply going too fast for me. I tend to take long slow breaths when I'm doing my own BP lowering exercise just before I test my BP, but she was going at a pretty fast clip, in my estimation. I measured my BP after the first session and it was higher than usual. I was a little disappointed with that, but remembered that some folks don't see results for about four weeks, so I simply forged ahead. During the morning of the second day (yesterday) I thought about it and decided not to resist her speedy breathing rhythms and simply followed them as close as I could. I figured that my idea of how this is "supposed" to go, may be in error and it just seemed to make more sense to follow it obediently. After all, they have said that many other people have done their program and lowered their blood pressure.
I read a few of the research articles on both the breathing techniques and the isometric hand squeezing exercises and it seems to be confirmed that these two methods do, oddly, lower blood pressure. I noticed in the reading that the breathing exercises seem to affect the upper BP number and the squeezing affects the lower number, so a combination of the two of them should be effective. I also remembered reading in one of the research papers that the measurement of import was the one taken in the morning after having done the exercises the night before. I was actually quite surprised that my BP this morning was 138 over 88 which is considerably lower on the upper number, but a little elevated on the lower one. I also noticed that my pulse was faster than usual by about 20 points. So, something seems to be happening. Of course you cannot tell with one reading, but I'm taking it as a good sign, and will keep going with it.
I have a doctor's appointment on June 28th and I want to be able to show that my blood pressure is under better control than it has been recently. When I went to my new doctor, my nurse practitioner made me increase my Losartan by double the dose I had been taking because my BP was something like 160 over 90 in her office. That is a lot higher than it usually is when I measure it myself at home every morning but she would not take "No" for an answer. I had not yet found the BPDown program at that time so had no recourse.
I was compliant and started to double the dose immediately but did not see any affect on my home BP readings at all over a couple of weeks time. They continued to be the same as usual, so when I found the BPDown program I hopped right on it. I am really not interested in taking any more BP medications after all the trouble I've had with them before from suffering from asthma for three or four weeks after taking one dose of Lisinopril to having the symptoms of a small heart attack with another one. When I tried Amlodipine I had a bad chest cold for four months which did not clear up until I stopped taking it. I really hope the BPDown program works.
I've also been surprised that after all this time of exercising in the pool that that has not helped with my BP readings, either. I go three times a week, unless I'm sick, and have gotten myself up to just under an hour of time spent doing the exercises my therapist taught me plus a regimen of simply "keeping it moving" in the water. I've added a couple more things on my own that I do, too. I feel overall much stronger and have more stamina for having kept going, but it just has not made my BP come down at all. Again, I really hope the BPDown program works.
Well, anyway. I'm currently making my salads and following my original program. I don't think about cheat days, yet. Maybe later. Maybe not. I don't know. I put on a pound this morning but figured I'm not going to sweat it unless I see a trend. I did eat four meals yesterday, so that might be the source. But that is part of my original program: if I'm hungry, I eat. I just make sure I eat fresh raw salad, and some cooked animal protein, and I am on my program.
Write a comment and let me know how you are doing. Would love to hear from you.
Be back soon,
Marcia
Note: Link to BPDown web site: http://www.bpdown.us/
Monday, May 28, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
True Gluten Free
Hi,
I thought I was going to be able to share about the "coconut oil" experiment, but I'm not yet convinced either way on that one, yet. I'm not much into taking the spoonfuls straight as I had thought I could do. It's just too much, so I cook my eggs with it and I make a little concoction for a snack that seems to help my appetite, which I eat about once a day and that is about it. What I started off doing was using some dry unsweetened coconut, about an equal portion of coconut oil and baker's chocolate, with a little sprinkle of xylitol and vanilla to make a kind of thick coconutty chocolate syrup. I only used the xylitol about twice when I switched to plain white Stevia.
I don't really like Stevia that much, but the xylitol was simply too sweet for my palate. After I ran out of desicated coconut, I switched to walnuts, and when those were gone, I simply ate the syrup. The only thing I think I can see from this is that I just don't seem to get any cravings for forbidden foods when I eat it, once day. If I eat it about 30 minutes before a meal, it does set my mouth to water for the food I am preparing but the food seems to satisfy me and I don't even recall when I last had a craving for something that I should not have. So far so very good.
In my investigating different diet programs I think I got way off track again. I keep believing it when some expert says that a little oatmeal is good for you. Well I should know better by now. A little oatmeal is not good for ME! I actually started to put weight on with one serving a day of oatmeal. When I got back up to 330 pounds and the complete frustration of watching the scale go up every day, I put a stop to the oatmeal all together. Perhaps I was eating too much oatmeal at a serving. I started off with 1 cup of uncooked old fashioned oats, as was recommended in something I was reading at the time. This makes a pretty huge amount of oatmeal. The next time I cooked only 1/2 cup of oatmeal and it still seemed like a lot to eat.
I don't like it the way my mom used to make it, which is pretty much like it says in the recipe on the box. I never pour milk or anything over it and I season it with garlic, pepper, curry powder and real salt and relate to it like it was a sort of soft meat loaf without the meat. I just like it that way. I learned to do that when I was a vegan for a while a few years ago. At that time I, of course, did not eat meat, but wanted something like meat loaf so I just made the oatmeal with real rolled oats which are firmer and seasoned it like I would a meat loaf and tried it. I really liked it and have eaten it that way ever since -- that is, when I eat it. I hope I never eat it again.
I started reading about the true gluten free diet and realized that I really need to get back on my original protein and raw veggies with occasional cooked veggies plan. Turns out my plan is actually gluten free. I did that about four days ago and have lost weight every morning since I stopped eating the oatmeal. Thank God!! I'm back down to 325 with hopes of going lower.
I had clicked on a link from a trusted e-mail source and went to: http://www.glutenfreehealthsolution.com/index1.shtml which is the "infomercial" for the book on true gluten free eating plus another book with 103 true gluten free recipes. They sell it for $49 which seemed like a lot to me, so I tried the "leave the site method" to see if they had a better offer and I got it for $29 which seemed much more reasonable to me.
I have found the e-book to be packed with good information about gluten and true gluten free eating. It explained a lot of things, is easy to read, and I think that everyone should read it -- especially if you have some sort of chronic disease like rheumatoid arthritis, or other autoimmune diseases. It also explains the difference between Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.
It seems that gluten sensitivity is not a disease but it causes other diseases, especially ones that are hard to nail down, like thyroid functioning that is "off" and even acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, and asthma or osteoporosis. It is written by Dr. Peter Osborne who is a nutritionist and chiropractor who has helped thousands to go what he calls "true gluten free." He calls it that because the traditional grains that were thought to cause Celiac disease and other gluten sensitivities were wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oatmeal. But he points out that every single grain there is has some kind of gluten in it. There are different kinds of gluten and even rice has another form of gluten that is different from the gliadin of wheat, but still affects certain individuals by causing mystery diseases.
He even lists all the ingredients that can be found in not only food but cosmetics, too that can affect the body in adverse ways. I've witnessed the problems that a good friend of mine who has full blown Celiac disease goes through. It even sometimes affects her personality making her very sensitive and hyper. This is no joke and it is no fad diet. She suffers from abdominal pain and all sorts of problems if she even touches wheat flour. It severely limits her life, but she makes sure to carry clean food with her and keep herself on track most of the time. I feel for her.
Dr Osborne explains how you can tell if you are gluten sensitive and where to get the right kind of testing -- DNA testing -- so you can truly find out if you should go this route to heal yourself or not. There are certain DNA markers for gluten sensitivity that some individuals have and the only way to find out for absolute sure is to do that kind of a test. He shares how to get that testing done at www.GlutenFreeSociety.org
It has a charge to become a member and then a yearly fee, too, so I did not join, but if you find that you need what they have to offer, it seems like the perfect place to find out all you need to know about going true gluten free.
From what I read, you need to pay close attention to the ingredients on the labels of processed foods because there is no legal definition of what "gluten free" means. It is all voluntary and there has been some testing done of foods that say they are "gluten free" on the label but when tested they had gluten in them. My friend even pays attention to see if there are any notices on the label that say where the food has been processed.
His final program is pretty much like my original program that included veggies and animal protein. He also includes fruit, and potatoes, but being glucose intolerant, I need to limit those foods, too.
As far as I can tell, from my own experience and from observing my friend, it is a little difficult to completely give up all the processed foods we are used to, but it can be done. And when it is done, a person simply begins to feel alive and healthy again. Dr Osborne says that if your gluten sensitivity is severe it may take from six months to a year to finally clear everything up, but you can see real improvements after about two months on the program. I personally know that some changes will show up after only six days on the program -- it usually takes about six days of not eating any kind of bread for my pain levels to greatly reduce.
I noticed with eating the oatmeal that my back and hip pain returned with a vengence, so much so that I even had to ice my back a couple of times like in the old days. So that is it for me. I am back on the program that works for me, and glad of it.
One of the things that really surprised me was to discover that there are some mental disorders that clear up when that person stops eating grain. I had that confirmed by a family friend, with experience in this area, too. So... if you suffer from mystery aches and pains and never seem to find relief, check out the "true gluten free" information and see if it helps you regain your pain-free life back again. If you don't want to buy the books at this time, just attempt to leave the web site a third time and you can get a free PDF and MP3 recording that is very helpful, too, at: http://www.glutenfreehealthsolution.com/index1.shtml
I'm glad it helped me get back on track.
Here's to your good health, Hip Hip, Hooray!!
Be back soon,
Marcia
I thought I was going to be able to share about the "coconut oil" experiment, but I'm not yet convinced either way on that one, yet. I'm not much into taking the spoonfuls straight as I had thought I could do. It's just too much, so I cook my eggs with it and I make a little concoction for a snack that seems to help my appetite, which I eat about once a day and that is about it. What I started off doing was using some dry unsweetened coconut, about an equal portion of coconut oil and baker's chocolate, with a little sprinkle of xylitol and vanilla to make a kind of thick coconutty chocolate syrup. I only used the xylitol about twice when I switched to plain white Stevia.
I don't really like Stevia that much, but the xylitol was simply too sweet for my palate. After I ran out of desicated coconut, I switched to walnuts, and when those were gone, I simply ate the syrup. The only thing I think I can see from this is that I just don't seem to get any cravings for forbidden foods when I eat it, once day. If I eat it about 30 minutes before a meal, it does set my mouth to water for the food I am preparing but the food seems to satisfy me and I don't even recall when I last had a craving for something that I should not have. So far so very good.
In my investigating different diet programs I think I got way off track again. I keep believing it when some expert says that a little oatmeal is good for you. Well I should know better by now. A little oatmeal is not good for ME! I actually started to put weight on with one serving a day of oatmeal. When I got back up to 330 pounds and the complete frustration of watching the scale go up every day, I put a stop to the oatmeal all together. Perhaps I was eating too much oatmeal at a serving. I started off with 1 cup of uncooked old fashioned oats, as was recommended in something I was reading at the time. This makes a pretty huge amount of oatmeal. The next time I cooked only 1/2 cup of oatmeal and it still seemed like a lot to eat.
I don't like it the way my mom used to make it, which is pretty much like it says in the recipe on the box. I never pour milk or anything over it and I season it with garlic, pepper, curry powder and real salt and relate to it like it was a sort of soft meat loaf without the meat. I just like it that way. I learned to do that when I was a vegan for a while a few years ago. At that time I, of course, did not eat meat, but wanted something like meat loaf so I just made the oatmeal with real rolled oats which are firmer and seasoned it like I would a meat loaf and tried it. I really liked it and have eaten it that way ever since -- that is, when I eat it. I hope I never eat it again.
I started reading about the true gluten free diet and realized that I really need to get back on my original protein and raw veggies with occasional cooked veggies plan. Turns out my plan is actually gluten free. I did that about four days ago and have lost weight every morning since I stopped eating the oatmeal. Thank God!! I'm back down to 325 with hopes of going lower.
I had clicked on a link from a trusted e-mail source and went to: http://www.glutenfreehealthsolution.com/index1.shtml which is the "infomercial" for the book on true gluten free eating plus another book with 103 true gluten free recipes. They sell it for $49 which seemed like a lot to me, so I tried the "leave the site method" to see if they had a better offer and I got it for $29 which seemed much more reasonable to me.
I have found the e-book to be packed with good information about gluten and true gluten free eating. It explained a lot of things, is easy to read, and I think that everyone should read it -- especially if you have some sort of chronic disease like rheumatoid arthritis, or other autoimmune diseases. It also explains the difference between Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.
It seems that gluten sensitivity is not a disease but it causes other diseases, especially ones that are hard to nail down, like thyroid functioning that is "off" and even acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, and asthma or osteoporosis. It is written by Dr. Peter Osborne who is a nutritionist and chiropractor who has helped thousands to go what he calls "true gluten free." He calls it that because the traditional grains that were thought to cause Celiac disease and other gluten sensitivities were wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oatmeal. But he points out that every single grain there is has some kind of gluten in it. There are different kinds of gluten and even rice has another form of gluten that is different from the gliadin of wheat, but still affects certain individuals by causing mystery diseases.
He even lists all the ingredients that can be found in not only food but cosmetics, too that can affect the body in adverse ways. I've witnessed the problems that a good friend of mine who has full blown Celiac disease goes through. It even sometimes affects her personality making her very sensitive and hyper. This is no joke and it is no fad diet. She suffers from abdominal pain and all sorts of problems if she even touches wheat flour. It severely limits her life, but she makes sure to carry clean food with her and keep herself on track most of the time. I feel for her.
Dr Osborne explains how you can tell if you are gluten sensitive and where to get the right kind of testing -- DNA testing -- so you can truly find out if you should go this route to heal yourself or not. There are certain DNA markers for gluten sensitivity that some individuals have and the only way to find out for absolute sure is to do that kind of a test. He shares how to get that testing done at www.GlutenFreeSociety.org
It has a charge to become a member and then a yearly fee, too, so I did not join, but if you find that you need what they have to offer, it seems like the perfect place to find out all you need to know about going true gluten free.
From what I read, you need to pay close attention to the ingredients on the labels of processed foods because there is no legal definition of what "gluten free" means. It is all voluntary and there has been some testing done of foods that say they are "gluten free" on the label but when tested they had gluten in them. My friend even pays attention to see if there are any notices on the label that say where the food has been processed.
His final program is pretty much like my original program that included veggies and animal protein. He also includes fruit, and potatoes, but being glucose intolerant, I need to limit those foods, too.
As far as I can tell, from my own experience and from observing my friend, it is a little difficult to completely give up all the processed foods we are used to, but it can be done. And when it is done, a person simply begins to feel alive and healthy again. Dr Osborne says that if your gluten sensitivity is severe it may take from six months to a year to finally clear everything up, but you can see real improvements after about two months on the program. I personally know that some changes will show up after only six days on the program -- it usually takes about six days of not eating any kind of bread for my pain levels to greatly reduce.
I noticed with eating the oatmeal that my back and hip pain returned with a vengence, so much so that I even had to ice my back a couple of times like in the old days. So that is it for me. I am back on the program that works for me, and glad of it.
One of the things that really surprised me was to discover that there are some mental disorders that clear up when that person stops eating grain. I had that confirmed by a family friend, with experience in this area, too. So... if you suffer from mystery aches and pains and never seem to find relief, check out the "true gluten free" information and see if it helps you regain your pain-free life back again. If you don't want to buy the books at this time, just attempt to leave the web site a third time and you can get a free PDF and MP3 recording that is very helpful, too, at: http://www.glutenfreehealthsolution.com/index1.shtml
I'm glad it helped me get back on track.
Here's to your good health, Hip Hip, Hooray!!
Be back soon,
Marcia
Friday, May 18, 2012
Comparing Secura & Nuwave Convection Ovens
Hi,
Since my last post I purchased and am using a new Secura Halogen Convection oven and so far, I like it very much. I've packed up my old Nuwave Oven and am giving it to a friend who has told me repeatedly that he wished he had one. I'm a little embarrassed about the color of the plastic dome on the NWO but it can't be helped (as far as I know). I've tried soaking it, and using baking soda on a scrubby sponge but it is simply baked into the plastic and won't come out. My friend wondered if CLR would work on it, but I had to remind him that it is plastic. Anyway, he will get the opportunity to own one and use it and see if he likes it.
I also included the original operating manual and the laminated cooking chart that came with the oven. I scanned the cooking chart so I would still have a copy of it for myself in case I needed it for the new oven. I really like being able to choose the temperature and time with the two little dials on the Secura. I did not want digital like I had on the NWO. I don't really have a reason for not wanting the digital except for maybe the readout was hard for me to see -- which is why I prefer the nice little dials: they are easier for my old eyes to read.
I've only cooked some chicken sausage links and hamburger patties in the new oven so far, but it seems to work very well. I'm still getting used to choosing the time and temp settings and have been using the manual as a guide. As I was shopping online I found an oven made by Deni with a design very similar to the Secura that had a downloadable owner's manual so I printed out one of those to give to my friend, also. It had a few nice recipes which can be used as guides.
The thing about a convection oven is that it has a fan that forces the hot air to circulate and cook the food on both sides at once. You rarely have to turn anything over because it crisps on both sides at once as long as it is on a rack and not in a pan. It also cuts the cooking time by about twenty-five percent (I think.) That is why restaurant food comes to the table so quickly, they have high powered convection ovens to get the job done fast. So when using your favorite recipe in a convection oven you will need to either lower the temperature or shorten the cooking time or both. It should only take one time to experiment and see how it works on any particular favorite recipe.
The price you pay on the two ovens is nearly identical but you get a lot more "stuff" with the Nuwave, including a carrying case, a DVD to show you how to use it, a drink mixer and a food chopper and a nice recipe book. This makes me think the Nuwave is made more cheaply because how could they provide all that free stuff and make a profit if making the Nuwave took up all the profits? That's not happening, or else they would not still be in business. But, I must certainly admit that it cooks just like they promise it will. You just have to be careful to follow the cooking instructions -- but that is true of any oven.
So why am I happy with my Secura if I didn't get any free stuff with it? I never used any of the free stuff I got with the Nuwave. The carrying case sat in a corner. The cook book got lost. I viewed the DVD when I got the oven and never needed to view it again. I don't mix drinks and I rarely chop up veggies as small as the chopper makes them, so they ended up not being of true value to me -- not that they might not be of value to someone else. I would just as soon have paid the real price for the oven and skipped the "free stuff." I suggest that the price might have been about a third of what is charged -- or half, at the very least.
And the Secura? You don't need a DVD to show you how to use it. You put your food on the rack. You set the time. You set the temperature. You turn it on. What is difficult about that? This is the same as any other oven you've used in the past. Of course there may be a few who have never used an oven before and need a little more instruction to build up their confidence. There is plenty of information on the internet if you just search for it.
The glass oven bowl in the Secura is solid, heavy and, so far, has no stains or discoloration. I am especially liking the halogen cooking device. The Nuwave has a conventional heating coil, but the Secura has a halogen light that does the cooking and it is hot almost immediately. There does not seem to be a noticeable warm up time that I can tell. As soon as it comes on, I can feel the heat through the glass bowl with my hand. And the thing that really delights me is that I can see what is cooking inside because it is completely bathed in a spot light!! It's like having a little camp fire on my counter top that glows!! I just like it. The light cycles off and on as it adjusts the temperature inside the glass oven bowl and it has a nice loud "ding" when it is done.
I did read one or two reviews of halogen convection ovens that caught on fire or broke more easily than the Nuwave, but I would imagine you should be able to get a replacement bulb from the manufacturer. So for dependability the Nuwave cooking coil seems like it will probably last longer. But I still like that little campfire on my counter top so much better!
The only thing that I don't like about the Secura, so far, is that the little rack upon which the hot lid is placed seems a little flimsy and coated with plastic, so I wonder how long that will last. I have to pay close attention to getting it properly settled in the rack because if I miss it by a little it warps out of shape, becoming nearly impossible to correct, so I have to lift it up and start again. Did I mention the lid is heavy and hot? I may need to adjust the angle to make it easier for me to see. I never had to do that with the Nuwave. Their little rack is anchored under the bottom platform and I could even be a little careless and it would end up sitting in the right place. I could almost do it blindfolded, but that could simply be a result of experience with the appliance.
The Secura has a slightly smaller cooking area inside but I prefer it. I like to line the bottom with aluminum foil for fast cleanup but the foil that you can buy is not wide enough for the Nuwave so I always had to use two pieces and criss cross them to line the bottom. Fat and oil would often seep under the layers and I would still have a mess to clean up, but it was not a baked on mess, just an oily mess. With the Secura one piece of foil covers the whole bottom with no seeping space. When I lifted out the rack the foil came with it and there was absolutely nothing underneath that needed to be cleaned up.The bowl was as clean afterwards as it was when I started. That is a real plus!
I did like the racks on the Nuwave a little better than the ones on the Secura. The wires on the Secura racks are much farther apart and when I first looked at them as I was opening the package I wondered if food would slip down between the wide open spaces. So far, no problem. I suppose if you were cooking vegetables if you just cut them a little larger that would solve this minor problem. One advantage that I can see would be that you have fewer of those little wires to clean when you're done and you can get your sponge around them more easily, so, two checks for easier clean up on the Secura.
Here is a third check for easier clean up on the Secura. I have not tried it yet, but am looking forward to trying out the self cleaning feature. The instructions say to put about 1.5 inches of hot water in the bottom of the bowl, spritz in some dish washing detergent, put the lid on it, and turn it to "wash." I imagine the fan creating a small tornado inside which does the cleaning for you. You just empty the bowl and rinse it out and wipe it dry. Sounds easy enough. I don't have a dishwasher so I really like this feature. If you have a dishwasher you can always place the bowl and racks in there for cleaning, too.
Clean up was always a chore for me on the Nuwave. I live in a mobile home so my sinks are extra small and the Nuwave racks and lower drip pan just barely fit in the sink. I had to use the lower drip pan to rinse the racks in, too. It seemed to save on water. Anyway, I never really enjoyed the clean up on the Nuwave, but the Secura seems to be much easier to keep clean -- and the racks now fit in my sinks. Of course the glass bowl is much heavier than the drip pan in the Nuwave, but with the aluminum foil that fits, plus the self clean feature, I don't imagine that I will be lifting it all that often.
If someone has the idea of cooking pizza in either one of these ovens they will have a problem that I learned to solve in a novel way. Most any pizza you can buy is too large for either of the racks. I learned that when I occasionally bought frozen pizza, I could cut it before I baked it (still frozen) and cook only the number of pieces that I needed, one or two at a time depending upon the size. I don't eat pizza very often because of the healthier diet that I am eating, but for those who do indulge in pizza from time to time, this suggestion may be helpful. Of course if you have a large family and need to cook the whole thing at once, then your regular oven is the place to do that.
I will make another post to talk about the coconut oil experiment in the not too distant future.
Be back soon
Marcia
P.S. You can get either one of these ovens at Amazon.com for cheaper than at the manufacturers web sites. How do they do that? Glad they do!
Since my last post I purchased and am using a new Secura Halogen Convection oven and so far, I like it very much. I've packed up my old Nuwave Oven and am giving it to a friend who has told me repeatedly that he wished he had one. I'm a little embarrassed about the color of the plastic dome on the NWO but it can't be helped (as far as I know). I've tried soaking it, and using baking soda on a scrubby sponge but it is simply baked into the plastic and won't come out. My friend wondered if CLR would work on it, but I had to remind him that it is plastic. Anyway, he will get the opportunity to own one and use it and see if he likes it.
I also included the original operating manual and the laminated cooking chart that came with the oven. I scanned the cooking chart so I would still have a copy of it for myself in case I needed it for the new oven. I really like being able to choose the temperature and time with the two little dials on the Secura. I did not want digital like I had on the NWO. I don't really have a reason for not wanting the digital except for maybe the readout was hard for me to see -- which is why I prefer the nice little dials: they are easier for my old eyes to read.
I've only cooked some chicken sausage links and hamburger patties in the new oven so far, but it seems to work very well. I'm still getting used to choosing the time and temp settings and have been using the manual as a guide. As I was shopping online I found an oven made by Deni with a design very similar to the Secura that had a downloadable owner's manual so I printed out one of those to give to my friend, also. It had a few nice recipes which can be used as guides.
The thing about a convection oven is that it has a fan that forces the hot air to circulate and cook the food on both sides at once. You rarely have to turn anything over because it crisps on both sides at once as long as it is on a rack and not in a pan. It also cuts the cooking time by about twenty-five percent (I think.) That is why restaurant food comes to the table so quickly, they have high powered convection ovens to get the job done fast. So when using your favorite recipe in a convection oven you will need to either lower the temperature or shorten the cooking time or both. It should only take one time to experiment and see how it works on any particular favorite recipe.
The price you pay on the two ovens is nearly identical but you get a lot more "stuff" with the Nuwave, including a carrying case, a DVD to show you how to use it, a drink mixer and a food chopper and a nice recipe book. This makes me think the Nuwave is made more cheaply because how could they provide all that free stuff and make a profit if making the Nuwave took up all the profits? That's not happening, or else they would not still be in business. But, I must certainly admit that it cooks just like they promise it will. You just have to be careful to follow the cooking instructions -- but that is true of any oven.
So why am I happy with my Secura if I didn't get any free stuff with it? I never used any of the free stuff I got with the Nuwave. The carrying case sat in a corner. The cook book got lost. I viewed the DVD when I got the oven and never needed to view it again. I don't mix drinks and I rarely chop up veggies as small as the chopper makes them, so they ended up not being of true value to me -- not that they might not be of value to someone else. I would just as soon have paid the real price for the oven and skipped the "free stuff." I suggest that the price might have been about a third of what is charged -- or half, at the very least.
And the Secura? You don't need a DVD to show you how to use it. You put your food on the rack. You set the time. You set the temperature. You turn it on. What is difficult about that? This is the same as any other oven you've used in the past. Of course there may be a few who have never used an oven before and need a little more instruction to build up their confidence. There is plenty of information on the internet if you just search for it.
The glass oven bowl in the Secura is solid, heavy and, so far, has no stains or discoloration. I am especially liking the halogen cooking device. The Nuwave has a conventional heating coil, but the Secura has a halogen light that does the cooking and it is hot almost immediately. There does not seem to be a noticeable warm up time that I can tell. As soon as it comes on, I can feel the heat through the glass bowl with my hand. And the thing that really delights me is that I can see what is cooking inside because it is completely bathed in a spot light!! It's like having a little camp fire on my counter top that glows!! I just like it. The light cycles off and on as it adjusts the temperature inside the glass oven bowl and it has a nice loud "ding" when it is done.
I did read one or two reviews of halogen convection ovens that caught on fire or broke more easily than the Nuwave, but I would imagine you should be able to get a replacement bulb from the manufacturer. So for dependability the Nuwave cooking coil seems like it will probably last longer. But I still like that little campfire on my counter top so much better!
The only thing that I don't like about the Secura, so far, is that the little rack upon which the hot lid is placed seems a little flimsy and coated with plastic, so I wonder how long that will last. I have to pay close attention to getting it properly settled in the rack because if I miss it by a little it warps out of shape, becoming nearly impossible to correct, so I have to lift it up and start again. Did I mention the lid is heavy and hot? I may need to adjust the angle to make it easier for me to see. I never had to do that with the Nuwave. Their little rack is anchored under the bottom platform and I could even be a little careless and it would end up sitting in the right place. I could almost do it blindfolded, but that could simply be a result of experience with the appliance.
The Secura has a slightly smaller cooking area inside but I prefer it. I like to line the bottom with aluminum foil for fast cleanup but the foil that you can buy is not wide enough for the Nuwave so I always had to use two pieces and criss cross them to line the bottom. Fat and oil would often seep under the layers and I would still have a mess to clean up, but it was not a baked on mess, just an oily mess. With the Secura one piece of foil covers the whole bottom with no seeping space. When I lifted out the rack the foil came with it and there was absolutely nothing underneath that needed to be cleaned up.The bowl was as clean afterwards as it was when I started. That is a real plus!
I did like the racks on the Nuwave a little better than the ones on the Secura. The wires on the Secura racks are much farther apart and when I first looked at them as I was opening the package I wondered if food would slip down between the wide open spaces. So far, no problem. I suppose if you were cooking vegetables if you just cut them a little larger that would solve this minor problem. One advantage that I can see would be that you have fewer of those little wires to clean when you're done and you can get your sponge around them more easily, so, two checks for easier clean up on the Secura.
Here is a third check for easier clean up on the Secura. I have not tried it yet, but am looking forward to trying out the self cleaning feature. The instructions say to put about 1.5 inches of hot water in the bottom of the bowl, spritz in some dish washing detergent, put the lid on it, and turn it to "wash." I imagine the fan creating a small tornado inside which does the cleaning for you. You just empty the bowl and rinse it out and wipe it dry. Sounds easy enough. I don't have a dishwasher so I really like this feature. If you have a dishwasher you can always place the bowl and racks in there for cleaning, too.
Clean up was always a chore for me on the Nuwave. I live in a mobile home so my sinks are extra small and the Nuwave racks and lower drip pan just barely fit in the sink. I had to use the lower drip pan to rinse the racks in, too. It seemed to save on water. Anyway, I never really enjoyed the clean up on the Nuwave, but the Secura seems to be much easier to keep clean -- and the racks now fit in my sinks. Of course the glass bowl is much heavier than the drip pan in the Nuwave, but with the aluminum foil that fits, plus the self clean feature, I don't imagine that I will be lifting it all that often.
If someone has the idea of cooking pizza in either one of these ovens they will have a problem that I learned to solve in a novel way. Most any pizza you can buy is too large for either of the racks. I learned that when I occasionally bought frozen pizza, I could cut it before I baked it (still frozen) and cook only the number of pieces that I needed, one or two at a time depending upon the size. I don't eat pizza very often because of the healthier diet that I am eating, but for those who do indulge in pizza from time to time, this suggestion may be helpful. Of course if you have a large family and need to cook the whole thing at once, then your regular oven is the place to do that.
I will make another post to talk about the coconut oil experiment in the not too distant future.
Be back soon
Marcia
P.S. You can get either one of these ovens at Amazon.com for cheaper than at the manufacturers web sites. How do they do that? Glad they do!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Stocking Up, Convection Ovens, and Stuff
Hi,
I went shopping today at Sam's Club with a friend. I decided to go there so I could stock up on meat and salad veggies. I brought the large packages of pork chops and hamburger patties home and talked with my friend as I separated everything into individual zipper lock bags and placed them in the freezer. It only took about 30 minutes to get it all in the freezer. Of course, now I need to stock up on the zipper lock bags that I like to buy from Aldi's because they are cheaper there.
I will still need to go to Kroger for the cage free eggs and smaller packages of bleach, etc., but the main protein and veggies are bought.
I'm thinking about getting a new table top convection oven. I have a Nuwave Oven which I've been using for a couple of years and I'd like to get a new one. The design of the NWO could be improved upon. For one, I would like to be able to choose the temperature I am using to cook my food. It has a "high, med, low" but I'd like to be more precise. I also no longer like the plastic dome because it has become cracked (not yet broken) and discolored -- even a part of the edge at the bottom has "bubbled." The bubbles are extremely small but I don't like them and no matter how long I let the plastic dome soak in the dish water it just does not come out clean looking. My sink is very small so I can only let it stand in the water and turn it after a while to soak it, but It still works so I am using it until I decide which new one to get.
I like the ones that are a glass bowl because they appear to be easier to clean. You just fill the bowl with soapy water and turn the cooker on -- at least that is what is advertized online. Although I read one review that said the glass bowl is very heavy and awkward to handle in the sink which is a consideration for me, but if I use the aforementioned method, perhaps I won't run into too much of that.
I can see only one disadvantage to the deep bowl: you have to reach down into a hot bowl to remove the hot food. I suppose tongs will work fine for that, and some of them come with a pair of tongs, but the NO design is easier to retrieve your food. The only thing that is a small problem is that the cooking rack has four standing metal loops that protrude above the grill and I sometimes brush my hands against them when I'm slicing meat on the grill while checking for done-ness. They are, of course, very hot at that point in time and they burn. I guess you just have to adjust to the design you've purchased.
I have not decided whether I want to go with the 10.4 quart or the 12 quart in some other model. I usually cook for only one so don't really need the 12-qt for everyday cooking... but what if I want to make a nice meal for someone? I suppose I could use the big oven for that, so perhaps I should just go for the smaller one for everyday practicality.
I also like the counter-top height of the appliance. No more bending over a huge hot oven to check, baste, or remove hot dishes. Being able to manage the cooking from the same height I do everything else in the kitchen is very convenient and easier on the back. Since I don't eat starchy vegetables like potatoes and such, the only thing I actually cook is meat. I've been seasoning nearly everything with lots of garlic and curry powder and loving the robust flavors. I really like the curry powder on hamburger patties -- it gives them a flavor punch.
I've also been using reduced sugar ketchup (which I learned about at Thrive) along with spicy brown mustard which I've always used. I may not purchase the ketchup again, because it has sucralose in it, even though a reduced calorie amount. I just don't think I need to get used to using ketchup. So, for now, I'll use it, but when it is gone, I'll not replace it.
About the coconut oil experiment: It has been a little difficult to remember to down the two tablespoons of CO thirty minutes before each one of my meals. It is simply a rather odd thing to do. I can't imagine my great grandmother doing such a thing, except for her health. I know that our ancestors used to take cod liver oil by the spoonful, so maybe it is not as odd as I was thinking. They used to take castor oil, too.
My mother had some ancient bottles of both of these under the sink when I was growing up. I remember being very curious about them. I had never seen her open or use them so I asked Mom what they were for. I don't recall her precise wording but I remember her telling me they were supposed to be good for you but they did not taste very good. I had to, of course, try them. I only tried them once. Whew-eeee! I never did that again. Now that I think about it, they were probably rancid. The bottles were very old even when I was a child.
I have tried a simple dry (unsweetened) coconut recipe that is interesting. I take about a tablespoon of desicated coconut and mix it with a pinch of xylitol, a shake of salt and a teaspoon of baking cocoa along with the tablespoon of coconut oil. It becomes a little like fudge and is pretty tasty, but I cannot eat more than that small batch. It is very filling.
The coconut oil also seems to do something to my throat which makes me cough. It somehow seems to coat the top of the throat and then melt, leaking down the wrong pipe. It is somewhat uncomfortable. It seems to be worse when made into the "fudge" than simply taking it straight. (I'm not sure why.) I think I also prefer to mix the CO into something or cook with it rather than to take it "straight.".
I will have to continue the experiment now that I have the proper foods to eat. I was not actually eating "improper" foods, I just had run out of raw veggies and was eating simple meals of protein only. My body gets out of balance when I do that and I have to start taking antacids, but now that I have the right supplies I shall continue the CO experiment and see if I lose weight doing it properly.
I've got some water seepage in my back bathroom and have asked a local handy man to come and look at it. He will be here at ten in the morning. My idea of the solution to the problem is threefold: 1 Apply a fresh coat of roof seal on the entire roof, 2. Clean the gutters, and 3. fill any gaps in the metal siding with "Great Stuff." I will have to wait and see if he thinks that is the proper route, and if he will do it, and for how much. I will be glad when the job is done and there is no more seepage. I had to apply many sprayings of Febreze to get rid of the smell of mildew last week and this weekend it rained pretty long and hard so the carpet was wet again. There is still a faint oder of mildew which might be coming from the walls. Don't know what can be done about that, except for more Febreze. (Here's a link to some Febreze coupons if you need them: http://www.febreze.com/SpecialOffers.aspx .)
That's all for now,
Be back soon,
Marcia
I went shopping today at Sam's Club with a friend. I decided to go there so I could stock up on meat and salad veggies. I brought the large packages of pork chops and hamburger patties home and talked with my friend as I separated everything into individual zipper lock bags and placed them in the freezer. It only took about 30 minutes to get it all in the freezer. Of course, now I need to stock up on the zipper lock bags that I like to buy from Aldi's because they are cheaper there.
I will still need to go to Kroger for the cage free eggs and smaller packages of bleach, etc., but the main protein and veggies are bought.
I'm thinking about getting a new table top convection oven. I have a Nuwave Oven which I've been using for a couple of years and I'd like to get a new one. The design of the NWO could be improved upon. For one, I would like to be able to choose the temperature I am using to cook my food. It has a "high, med, low" but I'd like to be more precise. I also no longer like the plastic dome because it has become cracked (not yet broken) and discolored -- even a part of the edge at the bottom has "bubbled." The bubbles are extremely small but I don't like them and no matter how long I let the plastic dome soak in the dish water it just does not come out clean looking. My sink is very small so I can only let it stand in the water and turn it after a while to soak it, but It still works so I am using it until I decide which new one to get.
I like the ones that are a glass bowl because they appear to be easier to clean. You just fill the bowl with soapy water and turn the cooker on -- at least that is what is advertized online. Although I read one review that said the glass bowl is very heavy and awkward to handle in the sink which is a consideration for me, but if I use the aforementioned method, perhaps I won't run into too much of that.
I can see only one disadvantage to the deep bowl: you have to reach down into a hot bowl to remove the hot food. I suppose tongs will work fine for that, and some of them come with a pair of tongs, but the NO design is easier to retrieve your food. The only thing that is a small problem is that the cooking rack has four standing metal loops that protrude above the grill and I sometimes brush my hands against them when I'm slicing meat on the grill while checking for done-ness. They are, of course, very hot at that point in time and they burn. I guess you just have to adjust to the design you've purchased.
I have not decided whether I want to go with the 10.4 quart or the 12 quart in some other model. I usually cook for only one so don't really need the 12-qt for everyday cooking... but what if I want to make a nice meal for someone? I suppose I could use the big oven for that, so perhaps I should just go for the smaller one for everyday practicality.
I also like the counter-top height of the appliance. No more bending over a huge hot oven to check, baste, or remove hot dishes. Being able to manage the cooking from the same height I do everything else in the kitchen is very convenient and easier on the back. Since I don't eat starchy vegetables like potatoes and such, the only thing I actually cook is meat. I've been seasoning nearly everything with lots of garlic and curry powder and loving the robust flavors. I really like the curry powder on hamburger patties -- it gives them a flavor punch.
I've also been using reduced sugar ketchup (which I learned about at Thrive) along with spicy brown mustard which I've always used. I may not purchase the ketchup again, because it has sucralose in it, even though a reduced calorie amount. I just don't think I need to get used to using ketchup. So, for now, I'll use it, but when it is gone, I'll not replace it.
About the coconut oil experiment: It has been a little difficult to remember to down the two tablespoons of CO thirty minutes before each one of my meals. It is simply a rather odd thing to do. I can't imagine my great grandmother doing such a thing, except for her health. I know that our ancestors used to take cod liver oil by the spoonful, so maybe it is not as odd as I was thinking. They used to take castor oil, too.
My mother had some ancient bottles of both of these under the sink when I was growing up. I remember being very curious about them. I had never seen her open or use them so I asked Mom what they were for. I don't recall her precise wording but I remember her telling me they were supposed to be good for you but they did not taste very good. I had to, of course, try them. I only tried them once. Whew-eeee! I never did that again. Now that I think about it, they were probably rancid. The bottles were very old even when I was a child.
I have tried a simple dry (unsweetened) coconut recipe that is interesting. I take about a tablespoon of desicated coconut and mix it with a pinch of xylitol, a shake of salt and a teaspoon of baking cocoa along with the tablespoon of coconut oil. It becomes a little like fudge and is pretty tasty, but I cannot eat more than that small batch. It is very filling.
The coconut oil also seems to do something to my throat which makes me cough. It somehow seems to coat the top of the throat and then melt, leaking down the wrong pipe. It is somewhat uncomfortable. It seems to be worse when made into the "fudge" than simply taking it straight. (I'm not sure why.) I think I also prefer to mix the CO into something or cook with it rather than to take it "straight.".
I will have to continue the experiment now that I have the proper foods to eat. I was not actually eating "improper" foods, I just had run out of raw veggies and was eating simple meals of protein only. My body gets out of balance when I do that and I have to start taking antacids, but now that I have the right supplies I shall continue the CO experiment and see if I lose weight doing it properly.
I've got some water seepage in my back bathroom and have asked a local handy man to come and look at it. He will be here at ten in the morning. My idea of the solution to the problem is threefold: 1 Apply a fresh coat of roof seal on the entire roof, 2. Clean the gutters, and 3. fill any gaps in the metal siding with "Great Stuff." I will have to wait and see if he thinks that is the proper route, and if he will do it, and for how much. I will be glad when the job is done and there is no more seepage. I had to apply many sprayings of Febreze to get rid of the smell of mildew last week and this weekend it rained pretty long and hard so the carpet was wet again. There is still a faint oder of mildew which might be coming from the walls. Don't know what can be done about that, except for more Febreze. (Here's a link to some Febreze coupons if you need them: http://www.febreze.com/SpecialOffers.aspx .)
That's all for now,
Be back soon,
Marcia
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Diet and Inflammation -- is there a correlation?
Quote that got my attention:
"Usually, however, when ducks are domesticated, they get fed bread most of the times. This is the sort of food that other people have come to associate with ducks. Ducks do eat bread and crackers. The problem with too much of these carbohydrate-enriched foods is that they can make ducks to get fat and unhealthy. Ducks could develop heart or liver diseases."
Quote from: "How to Raise Ducks", http://www.howtoraiseducks.com/what-do-ducks-eat.html
It seems that ducks in their natural habitat eat grasses and greens, aquatic plants, bugs, small fish and worms. I thought it was a little ironic that humans eat a similar balance of protein and greens and vegetables and if we eat too much bread we also develop heart or liver disease along with diabetes and chronic inflammation.
We can learn a lot from animal husbandry. The folks who are trained to take care of farm animals for profit know precisely what to feed their pigs and cows and chickens when they want to fatten them up for market -- and that is grain.
I read an article where a heart surgeon described his surgeon's-eye view of inflammation in the arteries of people with heart disease. Dr. Dwight Lundell, M.D. has been seeing blood vessels filled with inflammation for twenty-five years and is now speaking out against the low-fat/high carb processed foods diet that most Americans eat and which causes inflammation. He says the medical establishment has created an epidemic of heart disease and diabetes by recommending that people switch from healthy saturated fats to unhealthy polyunsaturated fats over the last decades. He also says that excess sugar from starchy carbs and processed foods should be avoided if you want to calm down the inflammation in your circulatory system.
Dr. Lundell used a sweet roll as his example of what not to eat. He pointed out that when we eat foods like sweet rolls, chips, pizza, or other simple carbs processed with polyunsaturated oils repeatedly throughout the day we are causing chronic inflammation and irritation in our blood stream to occur over and over again inside our bodies. Each time we consume high carb or processed foods such as chips and bread we are adding to the inflammation. (If you'd like to read the article and see a picture of Dr. Lundell copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/242516-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease )
I don't know about you, but, for some odd reason, I need these reminders to be in front of my face over and over again. It is so easy to slip over into eating processed foods and leave behind the eating of good fresh raw veggies and freshly home cooked meat and poultry that I must constantly yank my own chain to get me back on track. Reading about this stuff does that for me.
I also found this rather interesting article with pictures about what individual families from all over the world eat in a week: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/244818-Amazing-Photos-Show-What-the-World-Really-Eats
As I examined the photos and captions with great interest it dawned on me that not every family in each of these countries eat what these families eat. I wondered if they really are "typical." The only one I had any evidence to compare to was the American family and I just don't think every family eats this way. They had almost no fresh vegetables, or even fruit on display. Every single thing they ate was processed or packaged. They have quite a bit of fruit juice (which is pure sugar) and some milk along with fast food sodas that are consumed every single week, too. Is this really a typical American diet?
I guess the only way I could have any idea what other people eat in the USA, or at least in Stone Mountain, GA, would be to begin paying attention to the shopping carts of others at the grocery store. Don't worry, I'm not going to be going through shopping carts, I'm just going to make a mental check in my mind as I pass them in an aisle or stand in line at the checkout. I should be able to get a good look at what the person ahead of me in line is eating by viewing their purchases laid out on the counter in front of me. I might even compare what is on the counter with the body build of the person to see if there is a correlation. There is no guarantee that this will be a week's worth of groceries, but it will certainly be evidence of what they probably eat every week.
I have no idea what purpose this will serve, except to satisfy my own curiosity about what people actually eat. As I thought about that I recalled a chance encounter in a grocery store during the time I was a vegan many years ago. As I pulled into the check out line a lady took a look at my cart and exclaimed that I had only healthy food in my cart. She seemed quite amazed. Maybe she was comparing my cart with my body and there did not seem to be a correlation. So as I become aware of the buying practices around me there may be others who are trying out a new way of eating so I need to not "judge" but simply observe. I've never done this before... feeling it to be rather intrusive to check out other people's purchases. Who knows, maybe I won't have the guts. LOL Perhaps it is just a silly thought after all.
By the way, the only picture in the article that showed a family eating a traditional diet was the family from Chad who ate mostly soup from sheep meat with some rice and beans added to it. There were a few open packages of other items but I could not really make them out for sure. They appeared to be fresh round vegetables or fruit and nuts of varying kinds. Certainly there were no "pre-packaged" foods (bread, sweet rolls, or pizza) like the article says the rest of the world eats. The family was all dressed nicely and they appear to live in a tent. I looked in the background and saw what appeared to be a tent city. I suppose it could be a large nomadic family, but it kind of reminded me of some of the tent citys that refugees occupy that I had seen on the news in recent years. Please pardon my ignorance, here. I'm just going by what I observed in the picture.
Anyway... I need to get back on track again. I ran out of fresh raw veggies a few days ago and have been procrastinating on my fresh grocery shopping. I really have no idea why I begin to resist going to the store and getting what I need to stay on my program. Part of it has something to do with spending excess money. Yes, I know, groceries, is not excess spending. It just feels like that to me and it becomes an obstacle for me.
I recently watched a comedian on Netflix by the name of Demetri Martin. I had never heard of him before but watched part of his video (until he started to get raunchy) but the beginning had a few good laughs in it. He seems to like to make charts of the weird stuff in his head as if he is giving a lecture and one of them really smacked me in the face. It was his "Pie Chart of Procrastination" which was simply a big round empty circle. That one still makes me laugh because it is so extremely succinct and accurate.
Well that is about all that's on my mind to say this time. Hope you are doing well. Still trying out the coconut oil. We'll see.
Be back soon,
Marcia
"Usually, however, when ducks are domesticated, they get fed bread most of the times. This is the sort of food that other people have come to associate with ducks. Ducks do eat bread and crackers. The problem with too much of these carbohydrate-enriched foods is that they can make ducks to get fat and unhealthy. Ducks could develop heart or liver diseases."
Quote from: "How to Raise Ducks", http://www.howtoraiseducks.com/what-do-ducks-eat.html
It seems that ducks in their natural habitat eat grasses and greens, aquatic plants, bugs, small fish and worms. I thought it was a little ironic that humans eat a similar balance of protein and greens and vegetables and if we eat too much bread we also develop heart or liver disease along with diabetes and chronic inflammation.
We can learn a lot from animal husbandry. The folks who are trained to take care of farm animals for profit know precisely what to feed their pigs and cows and chickens when they want to fatten them up for market -- and that is grain.
I read an article where a heart surgeon described his surgeon's-eye view of inflammation in the arteries of people with heart disease. Dr. Dwight Lundell, M.D. has been seeing blood vessels filled with inflammation for twenty-five years and is now speaking out against the low-fat/high carb processed foods diet that most Americans eat and which causes inflammation. He says the medical establishment has created an epidemic of heart disease and diabetes by recommending that people switch from healthy saturated fats to unhealthy polyunsaturated fats over the last decades. He also says that excess sugar from starchy carbs and processed foods should be avoided if you want to calm down the inflammation in your circulatory system.
Dr. Lundell used a sweet roll as his example of what not to eat. He pointed out that when we eat foods like sweet rolls, chips, pizza, or other simple carbs processed with polyunsaturated oils repeatedly throughout the day we are causing chronic inflammation and irritation in our blood stream to occur over and over again inside our bodies. Each time we consume high carb or processed foods such as chips and bread we are adding to the inflammation. (If you'd like to read the article and see a picture of Dr. Lundell copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/242516-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease )
I don't know about you, but, for some odd reason, I need these reminders to be in front of my face over and over again. It is so easy to slip over into eating processed foods and leave behind the eating of good fresh raw veggies and freshly home cooked meat and poultry that I must constantly yank my own chain to get me back on track. Reading about this stuff does that for me.
I also found this rather interesting article with pictures about what individual families from all over the world eat in a week: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/244818-Amazing-Photos-Show-What-the-World-Really-Eats
As I examined the photos and captions with great interest it dawned on me that not every family in each of these countries eat what these families eat. I wondered if they really are "typical." The only one I had any evidence to compare to was the American family and I just don't think every family eats this way. They had almost no fresh vegetables, or even fruit on display. Every single thing they ate was processed or packaged. They have quite a bit of fruit juice (which is pure sugar) and some milk along with fast food sodas that are consumed every single week, too. Is this really a typical American diet?
I guess the only way I could have any idea what other people eat in the USA, or at least in Stone Mountain, GA, would be to begin paying attention to the shopping carts of others at the grocery store. Don't worry, I'm not going to be going through shopping carts, I'm just going to make a mental check in my mind as I pass them in an aisle or stand in line at the checkout. I should be able to get a good look at what the person ahead of me in line is eating by viewing their purchases laid out on the counter in front of me. I might even compare what is on the counter with the body build of the person to see if there is a correlation. There is no guarantee that this will be a week's worth of groceries, but it will certainly be evidence of what they probably eat every week.
I have no idea what purpose this will serve, except to satisfy my own curiosity about what people actually eat. As I thought about that I recalled a chance encounter in a grocery store during the time I was a vegan many years ago. As I pulled into the check out line a lady took a look at my cart and exclaimed that I had only healthy food in my cart. She seemed quite amazed. Maybe she was comparing my cart with my body and there did not seem to be a correlation. So as I become aware of the buying practices around me there may be others who are trying out a new way of eating so I need to not "judge" but simply observe. I've never done this before... feeling it to be rather intrusive to check out other people's purchases. Who knows, maybe I won't have the guts. LOL Perhaps it is just a silly thought after all.
By the way, the only picture in the article that showed a family eating a traditional diet was the family from Chad who ate mostly soup from sheep meat with some rice and beans added to it. There were a few open packages of other items but I could not really make them out for sure. They appeared to be fresh round vegetables or fruit and nuts of varying kinds. Certainly there were no "pre-packaged" foods (bread, sweet rolls, or pizza) like the article says the rest of the world eats. The family was all dressed nicely and they appear to live in a tent. I looked in the background and saw what appeared to be a tent city. I suppose it could be a large nomadic family, but it kind of reminded me of some of the tent citys that refugees occupy that I had seen on the news in recent years. Please pardon my ignorance, here. I'm just going by what I observed in the picture.
Anyway... I need to get back on track again. I ran out of fresh raw veggies a few days ago and have been procrastinating on my fresh grocery shopping. I really have no idea why I begin to resist going to the store and getting what I need to stay on my program. Part of it has something to do with spending excess money. Yes, I know, groceries, is not excess spending. It just feels like that to me and it becomes an obstacle for me.
I recently watched a comedian on Netflix by the name of Demetri Martin. I had never heard of him before but watched part of his video (until he started to get raunchy) but the beginning had a few good laughs in it. He seems to like to make charts of the weird stuff in his head as if he is giving a lecture and one of them really smacked me in the face. It was his "Pie Chart of Procrastination" which was simply a big round empty circle. That one still makes me laugh because it is so extremely succinct and accurate.
Well that is about all that's on my mind to say this time. Hope you are doing well. Still trying out the coconut oil. We'll see.
Be back soon,
Marcia
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Coconut Galore!! For Your Health!!
Hi!
Been reading a book called "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" and for the past few days I have been taking extra virgin coconut oil as a supplement. I've been using it for a while to fry my eggs or anything else I fry, but taking it as a supplement is new for me.
The book (EFLF) recommends taking from one to two tablespoons (based on your present weight) of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO) before every meal if you want to lose weight. It also recommends limiting sugar and carbs, as in "processed foods," and returning to cooking like great grandma did. GG used to cook everything from scratch and she did not use margarine, she used fresh wholesome butter from grass fed cows. In GG's day there was no other kind of cow. All the cows were grass fed. Not so now. Now they are fed grain. Why? To fatten them up!! Guess what? Grain does the same thing to humans that it does to cows: it fattens us up! So: go easy on the grains and eat grass fed meat if you can.
If you are trying to lose weight, improve your diabetes glucose numbers, and improve your health in many ways you must also eliminate polyunsaturated oils (soy oil, corn oil, canola oil, etc.) from your diet. Saturated fat (SF) is not the villain that it has been painted to be in recent years. In fact, SF helps to prevent free radicals in your body, while the polyunsaturated oils cause them!
Taking EVCO as a supplement is quite an experience. Opening the jar lets out this wonderful absolutely delicious coconut aroma that just sucks me in like a bee to honey. It smells wonderful! I take a table spoon and dip out a heaping spoonful of the creamy white oil which I keep in the cupboard, and put it in my mouth. (I consider that two tablespoons.) I've tried to think of how to describe its texture and I think the closest thing I have come up with is soft Jello. You know how when you put soft jello in your mouth and you "chew" it, it kind of slips everywhere around your teeth and tongue? EVCO is the same. As I chew I swallow the small amount in the center and continue portioning it down my throat until it is all down. If I'm not careful it will make me cough a little on the last swallow because it is oil, after all. But a swig of water washes it down nicely.
In the book they recommend putting the oil in some hot camomile tea and drinking it. I tried it but not in camomile tea. I take "Calm" magnesium supplements every day, too, and I have found that I like to heat some water in the coffee maker and fix a cup of magnesium, so I put the EVCO in that. It turned into what reminded me of chicken noodle soup, but went down a little easier. When you're done the inside of the cup shines with an oily sheen, so I wonder if I'm getting the full benefit of the coconut oil. I actually prefer to take the heaping tablespoonful of EVCO and wash it down with the magnesium. That way I know it is all going into my body and not down the drain with the dish water.
Why do they recommend taking coconut oil as a supplement? Because it helps to control appetite and blood sugar levels. I have found that taking the EVCO about thirty minutes before a meal really does help to make the meal satisfying. I'm not left thinking I want more food when I'm done, and the "shut off control" works very plainly. I can tell a lot better when "enough is enough" and I don't walk away wishing for more. I walk away feeling like I've had enough.
I'm looking forward to including more coconut in my diet, too. They have lots of recipes that I want to try and a few that I'm sure I won't, but all recipe books are like that. You are just not going to like every one of them. I consider a recipe book to be a good one if I actually use two or three recipes from it. I am not an exotic eater and I live by myself so I'm not going to go to the trouble of cooking large meals that I am then stuck eating for the next two days. I want one serving and that is enough. Many of their recipes are for a family situation, but they still have good ideas.
If you want to read some really good articles about the effects of traditional nutrition and coconut oil on the body try some of these:
http://coconutoil.com/coconut-oil-research/
http://diabeteslight.com/hello-world-2/
http://coconutoil.com/truth_saturated_fats/
Here is a link to the coconut oil that I personally use:
http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-extra-virgin-certified-organic-coconut-oil-54-fl-oz
This is the best price I have ever seen for it. I think the one from Tropical Traditions (below) is maybe a superior coconut oil but it is very expensive and comes in glass jars or huge plastic buckets. In case you are interested here is the link to theirs:
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/virgin_coconut_oil.htm
Coconut oil naturally has a long shelf life so don't worry about buying a large quantity, it will not go bad for a very long time. Don't store it in the refrigerator because, like butter, it will harden, but it gets harder than butter and is difficult to get out of the jar. Just put it in a cupboard and let it stay room temperature. It melts and becomes a liquid at about 76 degrees. So as the day gets warmer the coconut oil gets softer. This is normal, too.
As a side note: I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that a diabetic stumbled upon the fact that coconut lowered his blood sugar when he tested his numbers after having eaten some coconut macaroons. So adding actual coconut to your diet is a good thing too. Just be sure to NOT buy the kind at the regular grocery store because it has been sweetened which cancels out the good effects. You can find this kind of coconut at: http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/organic_dried_coconut.htm -- and the price is right, on this item!!
You can find coconut water vinegar here:
http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/coconut_water_vinegar_recipes.htm
This one has a video that shows you how to make coconut milk:
http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/dried_coconut_recipes.htm
I don't have enough data on my personal experiment to verify the claims from the EFLF book, yet, but I am working on that and will get back to you with the facts when I know them.
Here's what I am doing:
2 TSB EVCO 30 minutes before each meal
Meals consist of fresh raw salad and animal protein (eggs, beef, pork, chicken) in "normal proportions"
Some meals have cooked veggies, too. (broccoli & green beans mostly)
Every other day or so, I have a bowl of oatmeal -- to keep my mood level.
That is pretty much it.
In the book they have many more recipes for all kinds of wonderful traditional meals. It is a reduced carb / high fat diet which is very satisfying. They give you three diet options, quick weight loss, faster weight loss, and a gourmet maintenance plan.
In the book they also claim that you can follow their menu and eat about 2500 carlories per day while taking the coconut oil before meals and lose from 1 to 2 pounds per week. If that does not happen for you, then they have a Phase Two diet which is about 2000 carlores. Here's hoping it works for me -- and you too, if you try it.
You can check out the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Fat-Lose-Healthy-Alternative/dp/0452285666/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336606733&sr=1-1
Have fun!!
Be back soon,
Marcia
Been reading a book called "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" and for the past few days I have been taking extra virgin coconut oil as a supplement. I've been using it for a while to fry my eggs or anything else I fry, but taking it as a supplement is new for me.
The book (EFLF) recommends taking from one to two tablespoons (based on your present weight) of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO) before every meal if you want to lose weight. It also recommends limiting sugar and carbs, as in "processed foods," and returning to cooking like great grandma did. GG used to cook everything from scratch and she did not use margarine, she used fresh wholesome butter from grass fed cows. In GG's day there was no other kind of cow. All the cows were grass fed. Not so now. Now they are fed grain. Why? To fatten them up!! Guess what? Grain does the same thing to humans that it does to cows: it fattens us up! So: go easy on the grains and eat grass fed meat if you can.
If you are trying to lose weight, improve your diabetes glucose numbers, and improve your health in many ways you must also eliminate polyunsaturated oils (soy oil, corn oil, canola oil, etc.) from your diet. Saturated fat (SF) is not the villain that it has been painted to be in recent years. In fact, SF helps to prevent free radicals in your body, while the polyunsaturated oils cause them!
Taking EVCO as a supplement is quite an experience. Opening the jar lets out this wonderful absolutely delicious coconut aroma that just sucks me in like a bee to honey. It smells wonderful! I take a table spoon and dip out a heaping spoonful of the creamy white oil which I keep in the cupboard, and put it in my mouth. (I consider that two tablespoons.) I've tried to think of how to describe its texture and I think the closest thing I have come up with is soft Jello. You know how when you put soft jello in your mouth and you "chew" it, it kind of slips everywhere around your teeth and tongue? EVCO is the same. As I chew I swallow the small amount in the center and continue portioning it down my throat until it is all down. If I'm not careful it will make me cough a little on the last swallow because it is oil, after all. But a swig of water washes it down nicely.
In the book they recommend putting the oil in some hot camomile tea and drinking it. I tried it but not in camomile tea. I take "Calm" magnesium supplements every day, too, and I have found that I like to heat some water in the coffee maker and fix a cup of magnesium, so I put the EVCO in that. It turned into what reminded me of chicken noodle soup, but went down a little easier. When you're done the inside of the cup shines with an oily sheen, so I wonder if I'm getting the full benefit of the coconut oil. I actually prefer to take the heaping tablespoonful of EVCO and wash it down with the magnesium. That way I know it is all going into my body and not down the drain with the dish water.
Why do they recommend taking coconut oil as a supplement? Because it helps to control appetite and blood sugar levels. I have found that taking the EVCO about thirty minutes before a meal really does help to make the meal satisfying. I'm not left thinking I want more food when I'm done, and the "shut off control" works very plainly. I can tell a lot better when "enough is enough" and I don't walk away wishing for more. I walk away feeling like I've had enough.
I'm looking forward to including more coconut in my diet, too. They have lots of recipes that I want to try and a few that I'm sure I won't, but all recipe books are like that. You are just not going to like every one of them. I consider a recipe book to be a good one if I actually use two or three recipes from it. I am not an exotic eater and I live by myself so I'm not going to go to the trouble of cooking large meals that I am then stuck eating for the next two days. I want one serving and that is enough. Many of their recipes are for a family situation, but they still have good ideas.
If you want to read some really good articles about the effects of traditional nutrition and coconut oil on the body try some of these:
http://coconutoil.com/coconut-oil-research/
http://diabeteslight.com/hello-world-2/
http://coconutoil.com/truth_saturated_fats/
Here is a link to the coconut oil that I personally use:
http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-extra-virgin-certified-organic-coconut-oil-54-fl-oz
This is the best price I have ever seen for it. I think the one from Tropical Traditions (below) is maybe a superior coconut oil but it is very expensive and comes in glass jars or huge plastic buckets. In case you are interested here is the link to theirs:
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/virgin_coconut_oil.htm
Coconut oil naturally has a long shelf life so don't worry about buying a large quantity, it will not go bad for a very long time. Don't store it in the refrigerator because, like butter, it will harden, but it gets harder than butter and is difficult to get out of the jar. Just put it in a cupboard and let it stay room temperature. It melts and becomes a liquid at about 76 degrees. So as the day gets warmer the coconut oil gets softer. This is normal, too.
As a side note: I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that a diabetic stumbled upon the fact that coconut lowered his blood sugar when he tested his numbers after having eaten some coconut macaroons. So adding actual coconut to your diet is a good thing too. Just be sure to NOT buy the kind at the regular grocery store because it has been sweetened which cancels out the good effects. You can find this kind of coconut at: http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/organic_dried_coconut.htm -- and the price is right, on this item!!
You can find coconut water vinegar here:
http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/coconut_water_vinegar_recipes.htm
This one has a video that shows you how to make coconut milk:
http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/dried_coconut_recipes.htm
I don't have enough data on my personal experiment to verify the claims from the EFLF book, yet, but I am working on that and will get back to you with the facts when I know them.
Here's what I am doing:
2 TSB EVCO 30 minutes before each meal
Meals consist of fresh raw salad and animal protein (eggs, beef, pork, chicken) in "normal proportions"
Some meals have cooked veggies, too. (broccoli & green beans mostly)
Every other day or so, I have a bowl of oatmeal -- to keep my mood level.
That is pretty much it.
In the book they have many more recipes for all kinds of wonderful traditional meals. It is a reduced carb / high fat diet which is very satisfying. They give you three diet options, quick weight loss, faster weight loss, and a gourmet maintenance plan.
In the book they also claim that you can follow their menu and eat about 2500 carlories per day while taking the coconut oil before meals and lose from 1 to 2 pounds per week. If that does not happen for you, then they have a Phase Two diet which is about 2000 carlores. Here's hoping it works for me -- and you too, if you try it.
You can check out the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Fat-Lose-Healthy-Alternative/dp/0452285666/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336606733&sr=1-1
Have fun!!
Be back soon,
Marcia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)