Just a little smoky.
One of our neighbors tried to grill a patio.
Nevermind that it is illegal to have a grill on a patio or balcony here.
Gas grills are provided on the grounds in an attempt to avoid this type of thing but, I guess, that’s not as convenient as right on your patio.
Until that’s not convenient either.
TTYL,
Linda
Actually, it’s not new food at all. In fact, it is as old as most native peoples treated their food for preservation purposes. Ok, it has a newer twist to it.
I’m talking about dried food. In this case, freeze-dried food.
A blog friend and I were commiserating with one another about healthful food not being easy food. We neither one like to cook but we have each discovered that what we eat affects our health.
When I set out in my van last fall I had stocked up on freeze-dried entrees. I only had to heat water, stir it into the food, and wait ten minutes. Easy, right?
But not healthful. When I showed the stats to a nutritionist at Structure House she was unhappy about the amount of sodium in those entrees. And I was unhappy with the amount of grains in them.
I don’t know how many of you have read the book Wheatbelly but I know my midriff bulge is wheat because it went away when I stopped eating grains and came back when I started eating them again.
So, I was looking online at beprepared.com where I buy my freeze-dried entrees when it occurred to me I didn’t have to buy whole entrees. I could buy meats, vegetables, and fruits individually. With the bonus that the fruits and vegetables had nothing on their ingredients list except that fruit or vegetable. Yes, the meats have salt but not as much as the entrees have. And some of the meats have grains and/or sweeteners so I still have to pay attention to their ingredients. I’m looking at you Italian Meatballs.
Each can of food lists a serving size and how to rehydrate that particular food.
So if I want a meal of one meat, two vegetables, and a fruit I have to have four different containers to rehydrate them, right?
Not so fast there. We were looking for easy, right?
So, who says I have to rehydrate them at all?
After all, something else I was looking for was snack type foods that would satisfy my desire for lots of crunchy pieces.
So here’s last night’s dinner: Italian chicken, peas, zucchini, and pineapple.
Scooped out of four different cans into a 9″ pie plate and eaten without rehydrating. Eaten with my hands like popcorn. Lots of hand to mouth motion. Easy. Healthful. About 300 calories.
Now, I just have to figure out how to add some fat to those foods so the fat soluble vitamins in the vegetables don’t go to waste.
Be aware when eating freeze-dried foods right from the container, though, that you need to drink lots of water. The guidelines for drinking eight 8-oz glasses of water per day originally said you get most of that from the food you eat. But not in this case.
I spent all evening drinking more than usual. Then made a couple extra middle of the night trips. So I should probably eat and drink these “new” foods earlier in the day, right?
In a few minutes I think I’ll have roast beef, sweet potatoes, green beans, and peaches. Sound good?
TTYL,
Linda
I just read this on a blog I read regularly, http://cairncrestfarm.com/blog/. “Almost all livestock fencing is ultimately a psychological ploy. This is obvious in the case of a single strand of flimsy electric twine successfully containing a few dozen beef cows”
It made me start wondering what fences around myself I’ve accepted as true boundaries.
Have you looked at your fences lately?
TTYL,
Linda
Our daughter pointed out to me yesterday that I never told you all I am back home. Been home a month already so sorry about not updating. I’ve been busy trying to figure out how to live healthfully here. Only semi-successful at that so far having tried and demolished several theories. I get bored so easily with any routine. I need a lot of variety. And I still don’t like cooking. Anyone out there want to tell me how I can eat healthfully without cooking? 🙂
TTYL,
Linda
Sometimes when I refer to the monster in my head I mean that misshapen being who misinterpreted so many things over the years which now tells me a lot of wrong messages based on those misinterpretations. I am working hard here to clear up some of those misconceptions–like food is my friend who entertains me or comforts me.
But the main monster that is giving me trouble right now is the one in charge of the mucus production facility in my head. It has gone bonkers and is way overproducing. I am constantly sneezing and my nose is running and I am not fit to be seen in public.
This monster went into overproduction last Saturday and I have been holed up in my apartment here ever since refusing to share this monster with the staff and other participants here. Selfish of me, I know, but I’m trying hard not to share this one.
The only people I see are the ones who deliver my food and medicines to me.
For almost a week now.
Most head colds last 7-10 days so I’m hoping my confinement will end this weekend.
In the meantime I have been sorting through the handouts from all the classes I’ve attended. I’ve been rereading many and doing unfinished homework from others and trying hard to teach my brain all the new things I’ve been learning here.
So it has actually not been a bad things to be confined to quarters.
But, I am ready for this monster and others to move on now.
TTYL,
Linda
