Freemotion's food journal: Expanding the gardens, pics p 53

[freemotion]

Friday, July 17, 2009

Supplements
16 oz warm chocolate goat's milk
3 eggs, scrambled
Another big shake
A HUGE bison burger with cheddar!!!! Stuffed!!!
Popcorn with butter and romano cheese

About 8 servings of fruits/veggies

I was so hot today, it was hard to eat. I drank a LOT today.

 

[freemotion]

Free, you inspired me again. For breakfast I made a nice smoothie with spinach, strawberries, bananas, yogurt etc. Oh and for the first time in my life...raw eggs. Nobody suspected the spinach either. I served in opaque glasses so you couldn't pick up on the little green bits.

I am curious, what are your supplements? Did you mention that already?

The spinach goes nicely into the shakes, doesn't it? We used to use the raw baby spinach, it has a taste similar to "new-mown lawns!" But now I use frozen spinach, which is partially cooked. Many very dark greens contain a lot of oxylates (sp? It is late!) that are broken down by cooking. I drink so many shakes in the hot weather, that I realized I was getting too much raw spinach, so I switched. I will eat salad with baby spinach on occasion though, without worrying about it.

My supplements are mostly nutraMetrix isotonic-capable supplements. They have the highest bio-availability around, and one of my doctors got me hooked when I took her up on a challenge and did a little test. The results amazed me, and I started reading and learning and here I am today, still learning, but....my passion for this led me to introduce these products to health professionals wanting to add wellness options to their practice, instead of just dealing with sickness. It is an uphill battle, but some are coming around, slowly. I consult part-time now, but plan to go full-time eventually, as my hands are wearing out.... Hope I didn't sound like a commercial, but it is the answer....

 

[Blackbird]

Thank you! I could have asked my mom and she probably would have told me, but shes not here and I just thought of it.

Even the more bitter things like dandelion and curly dock will be great in winter, I get desperate. Store bought salads are ok, but its not the same.

Theres much to learn from you!

 

[lorihadams]

What kind of omega III supplements would you recommend and what dosage for someone with fibromyalgia?

 

[freemotion]

Many of the docs at a course I took this year recommend 3-10 grams per day of combined EPA and DHA. Usually the labels list mg's, so think in terms of 1000 mgs for maintenence, and start with 3000 for treatment. Well, don't start with 3000...work your way up...to bowel tolerence. In other words, until you get diarrhea, then back off. Maintain for a few days, then try to inch up again.

You will need to find a really good brand of fish oil, with no soy oil or other fillers. The cheaper brands aren't really cheaper, because you may need to take 10 or more capsules to get the basic 1000 mgs.

This is done, of course, along with a wonderful diet free of inflammation-promoting foods. Reducing veg oils (omega 6's) reduces competition for Omega III use. Eliminating processed foods eliminates hydrogenated veg fats and veg oils.

People on blood thinners need to have their meds adjusted when taking certain supplements, and Omega III's are one of them. This is not a contraindication....the blood-thinning that takes place with supplements is the healthy kind, the same kind that takes place when one suddenly starts eating lots of green stuff from the garden.

What I have found to work really well, rather than a huge dose of one supplement, is a multi-faceted approach, using a number of supplements that all have proven anti-inflammatory effects, but most in larger-than-maintenence dosage, but not necessarily huge doses.

The bioavailability of the supplement is important, too. Most fish oils (talking about good brands only) on the market are similar in this way. To increase absorption, always take your fish oils with a food that has saturated fat in it. Otherwise, you won't absorb the fish oil nearly as well, and you may feel nauseous and/or burp fishy taste....ew! So if you take it with breakfast, use whole milk, or butter on toast, or eggs, or any meat, or whole-milk yogurt, etc. Think animal fat. Not cereal with skim milk.

Hope this is useful!

If you want specifics....I like the nutraMetrix capsules because they have an extremely high EPA/DHA level per capsule. If you can take the liquid, try Nordic Naturals. You will still need to take it at higher dosage rates....the label is for a very healthy person in ideal conditions, basically, if you think about what the average person is eating.

and I can arrange for you to be able to get it through your own doctor or other health care professional! That is the "shameless commerce" part of this little article....

 

[freemotion]

Saturday, July18, 2009

Supplements
HUGE double-sized shake with 3 egg yolks
A bison cheeseburger and a hotdog (no bread or condiments....straight up!)
Anther normal-sized shake, just fruit and veggies and yogurt
Popcorn with butter and romano cheese.

15-16 servings of fruits and veggies.

I think I will add some of my food-oriented daily projects here, too, as students also ask how I manage my time. Today is Sunday, a good time to start, as I usually do a bit extra on Sunday when I work Thu-Fri-Sat. Today I have 10 ears of corn to parboil for corn salad, I have two big trays of lemon balm in the car to start dehydrating, I have the six cups of black beans on the stove, simmering.

For supper, I plan to make a quiche with swiss chard from the garden that I picked and washed yesterday. I made the pie crust yesterday.

When I go out to do chores now, I will pick some herbs for the quiche and maybe get some more things to dehydrate, if the mosquitoes aren't too vicious. It can always wait for tomorrow morning. We will have a sunny day tomorrow, so it will be a good time to get lots of stuff dried quickly in the car.

With laundry to do and exams and homework to make a dent in correcting, that is a lot to do yet! Gotta run!

 

[sylvie]

You will need to find a really good brand of fish oil, with no soy oil or other fillers. The cheaper brands aren't really cheaper, because you may need to take 10 or more capsules to get the basic 1000 mgs.

I was prescribed a very good fish oil, taken by teaspoons twice per day. What I noticed was the fishy smell coming out of my pores. My meat and fish eating DH noticed it on me, initially brought it to my attention.
I continue it but try to time it so I'm not obvious in close quarters.

 

[freemotion]

Well, Sylvie, that would make it great for the immune system.....no one will come near you! Garlic is more fun, though!

I cooked today. Now I'm stuffed!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Supplements
two scrambled eggs
One pint goat's milk warm chocolate
small plate of tortilla chips with goat cheese and re-hydrated plum tomatoes that I dried last year, and some fermented bean paste.....wow, was that good!
And corn salad, recipe below.
Swiss chard pie, recipe from this site, but I added homemade sausage, and more dried tomatoes.

I have to tell you about the pie. I'd ground the wheat (soft white) and made and fermented the dough yesterday....I'm out of lard, so I used butter. Almost all the ingredients came from our homestead: swiss chard, tomatoes, eggs, goat's milk, and goat's milk cheddar. I just opened a new wheel, three months, and quite sharp. Patience is a virtue I must continue to work on!!! I also used sausage that dh made from a pork loin we purchased and ground and spiced. I used the garlic I recently fermented. I purchased a vidalia onion and used half of that. Lots and lots of cheese on top! DH took pictures, he said it looked like it came from a magazine. Then we devoured half of it.

OK, here is how I made the corn salad. It is a forgiving recipe, so all amounts are guess-timates.

10 ears sweet corn, blanched about 3-4 minutes and then chilled in cold running water, then cut from cobs. (Don't forget to make cheese from the husks.....by feeding them to the goat!)

A bunch of cukes with the skin....I used pickling cukes from the garden. I had eight. Dice 'em up.

Generous sea salt and black pepper, and a bit of onion powder.

A big spoonful of my fermented herb salad dressing mix.

About 3-4 Tbsp each of white wine vinegar and olive oil.


I will often use tomatoes or red bell peppers, diced, to add more color, and a generous amount of chopped fresh basil in place of the salad dressing herbs. The recipe calls for diced fresh red onion, but I don't care for raw onion. I'd also have used dried onion bits if I had them available. I've also been known to dice up fresh green or yellow beans and sugar snap peas if I have them, and thinly sliced carrot coins scattered on top.

Don't be fooled, this is not a vegetable dish, it is a carb with a little veggies with the cukes and anything else you add. It is the same as having bread, rice, potatoes, any other carb, so treat it as a carb serving. Fresh sweet corn from roadside stands cannot be missed, so just use in moderation if you are on a weight management program. This is considered a "cheat," but still better than cookies, candy, etc. But it WILL lower your metabolism and switch you into fat storage mode, just know what you are eating. Make a much smaller batch with more of the other veggies and less of the corn if you will be alone in the house with this in the fridge, calling your name!

 

[Blackbird]

Now that I know, I have to ask - why not the egg whites and only the yolks?

 

[Blackbird]

Monique, a couple days ago I ordered Nourishing Traditions, I just got it! I'm liking it already, very informative and has some very interesting mouthwatering recipes.