Buns Again

[Ruff]

Hello Buns, I wrote a long post and it vanished, so here is the short version. I remember you for when I was here before, and just wanted to say Hi.

Also I shall have to look up ‘congee’ on google. This is a new word for me, and hopefully a new wonderful meal!?

Katie

[bunsofaluminum]

Hi Katie!

I'm a returnee, too. Keeping track carefully, and engaging frequently here are helping IMMENSELY. It's good to see you! thanks for dropping by

And yes! congee is amazing. This is the recipe I've been using, and it is perfect. I haven't added the Chinese broccoli because I don't have any, and I want to leave my options open...savory? or sweet?

https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/brown-rice-and-gai-lan-jook-rice-porridge-29368

It's so impressive, how many servings you get from one cup of rice. I ended up with probably four heaping cups of porridge, and ate a large (like two cups, I'm sure) serving for brekkie. It stuck to my ribs very nicely and I plan on making it again. Many times.

[bunsofaluminum]

I just realized, I've made a little tweak, in that I'm trying not to eat as much beans as I have been. Seems lately I've made beans the main part of my eating, rather than starch. Not at every meal by any stretch, but yeah...I love eating them out of the can, or I'll make quesadilla style, with refried beans for breakfast, and then faux tuna with garbanzos for dinner, and hardly any starch, anywhere.

a couple of days ago, I said to myself "Self, you are eating more than a cup of beans a day. Stahp!" and have made an effort to make starch the center of my meals.

Doesn't air fryer fries with vegan brown gravy over them sound JUST SCRUMPTIOUS! That's dinner tonight! I'll pick up some cucumbers at the store on my way home, and make spears. Yum!

[AlwaysAgnes]

I just realized, I've made a little tweak, in that I'm trying not to eat as much beans as I have been. Seems lately I've made beans the main part of my eating, rather than starch. Not at every meal by any stretch, but yeah...I love eating them out of the can, or I'll make quesadilla style, with refried beans for breakfast, and then faux tuna with garbanzos for dinner, and hardly any starch, anywhere.

a couple of days ago, I said to myself "Self, you are eating more than a cup of beans a day. Stahp!" and have made an effort to make starch the center of my meals.

Doesn't air fryer fries with vegan brown gravy over them sound JUST SCRUMPTIOUS! That's dinner tonight! I'll pick up some cucumbers at the store on my way home, and make spears. Yum!

Beans are a starch. (They just tend to be higher in protein than other starches.) Soy beans would be the exception, being too high in fat to be a starch staple. https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... h-staples/



But variety is good...in starches and in life.

[Ruff]

I’ve heard people refer to ‘air fryers’, and you obviously have one! What are these, and do they use oil, and how do they work, and what does one cook in them?

Air fried chips sound wonderful, but slightly worrying.......

Katie

[bunsofaluminum]

I’ve heard people refer to ‘air fryers’, and you obviously have one! What are these, and do they use oil, and how do they work, and what does one cook in them?

Air fried chips sound wonderful, but slightly worrying.......

Katie

Oooh, I love my air fryer. It sits on the countertop and has a basket where you can put things to cook, and they come out crispy. I think it's called a fryer because it works similar, with a basket. but instead of putting it in hot fat, there's heated air. Like a convection oven. The fries are the best. They come out crispy. Hashbrowns are good, too. The little cookbook that came with mine mentions baking things, if you have little baking pans that fit inside. I guess you can use a tiny bit of oil, like shake whatever with a TBSP of oil to coat. But things crisp up pretty nice with just the heated air.

I found mine for about $70 it's the GoWise brand, which is the best for the price according to Google. There are some pricey ones out there that have bells and whistles, but mine does what I need, no problem. I have made fries a few times, and hashbrowns a few. Brussels sprouts with a honey balsamic twice...mmmm! cauliflower florets once. Going to do that again! Yum! I bet the cauliflower would be good with the honey balsamic. Yah, I'll be giving that a go for sure.

Air Fried Pickles

Yes! Doesn't that sound good? Crispy fried pickles! I'll have to give it a try.

[bunsofaluminum]

I've lost four pounds!

When I was attacked in that Maverik, I ended up with the man's blood on me and so I went in the next day for blood tests...hepatitis and HIV...and they weighed me. Of course. And I haven't stepped on the scale since then, because I was appalled at how FAT I've gotten! But today I went in for a first patient visit (establishing a PCP because my foot has GOT to get fixed)...anyway, they had to weigh me. Of course. And I was down four pounds! Wearing the same type of clothing, and weighed on the exact same kind of scale! so YAAAAAY!

the Dr thinks the high carbs are detrimental, but he's very open to me continuing as is. Though I am going to set up a time with the bariatric specialist in his office, because I want to know if metabolic issues are...an issue. Menopausal, does that mean I won't lose weight as fast? hmmm. I doubt she will agree that McDougalling is the best way to lose weight. but whatever. The doctor himself told me that his main concern is my health. If what I am doing turns out to be healthy, then he recommends I keep doing it. Going to have blood panels done and we'll see how horrible my glucose is from all the starch. eh? He all but predicted that I am insulin resistant, though he didn't say so in as many words.

Anyway, i guess we'll see. The main thing really is exercise, and getting the ankle pain-free is FIRST for that endeavor. I've got to get walking again. But I'm excited about the four pounds in three weeks? That's decent, I'd say.

[Ruff]

4 pounds! Congratulations! Well done!

I would be interested to see what your blood tests come out as too.

Good luck with getting that foot fixed.

And an air fryer sounds very exciting indeed. I shall have to look into them. But I just brought a food processor, so I shall have to save up again.

[bunsofaluminum]

I was thinking about dieting and diets this morning. I've lost four pounds in three weeks, which I consider a triumph considering how my body hates to release fat. And I did it eating real food. I thought about my boss who lost 100 lbs with some system where she ate their pre-packaged foods throughout the day, and one meal of real food for dinner. Her calories came to about 800 a day, and she nibbled on their processed high protein "snacks" every two hours. Something about starvation mode or increasing her metabolism. And it cost her an arm and a leg for that non-food stuff. She didn't stick to it, and gained 60 lbs back and is now on Weight Watchers and lost 5 lbs in a week.

She'd go nuts with my rate of weight loss, for sure! And most of my co-workers who try various diets would, too. They want to drop poundage right away, and slow loss would drive them crazy.

But because this is the way I eat, it doesn't really matter to me fast or slow, or otherwise. If I eat too much fatty stuff, I gain. If I take it seriously and eat compliant, I lose. I'm proof of that, AND I'm in menopause so my questions about that are also answered. With that said, as happy as I am to feel better and have energy again, and my joints easier, I am SUPER motivated to stick with it, now that some poundage has been released!

Go Me!

also, it just occurred to me...the past couple of days I've restricted myself to one mug of green tea a day, and I've been having freaking caffeine withdrawal headaches! I mean seriously, how much caffeine IS in green tea? I cut it way back because of the fluoride content, but never expected to have withdrawals from caffeine. Ugh.

[Lyndzie]

Hi buns! I made the congee, and it is AMAZING. Thank you for the delicious inspiration.

Also, I used to only drink green tea. I’d use just one tea bag a day. Then, I skipped it one day, and the headaches were awful! Quit drinking caffeine then and there. I totally feel your pain!

[bunsofaluminum]

Hi buns! I made the congee, and it is AMAZING. Thank you for the delicious inspiration.

Also, I used to only drink green tea. I’d use just one tea bag a day. Then, I skipped it one day, and the headaches were awful! Quit drinking caffeine then and there. I totally feel your pain!

Hi Lyndzie,

Yeah, I'm down to one cup a day, down from sipping on green tea all day long, and today the headache hasn't been nearly as bad. All I have left is a box with maybe 10 tea bags in it. I'll keep it around but I'm not going back to all day green tea. Even when I quit coffee, I didn't have headaches like that!

Glad you liked the congee. I'm planning on making some tomorrow. Yum!

[bunsofaluminum]

It's Monday. Things on the team at work are tense, and the boss just arrived...and she's not in a good mood at this point. But she also is not a morning person so we'll give it some time. However, there is some really bad bitchy smack talk going around all the time in this place, in whispers in various cubicles, and over the IM. I refuse to participate in that kind of thing, but I also know that it has to do with a couple of co-workers who are ticked at the boss and even though the boss has a ham-fisted managerial style, these women with their whispering angry gossip are making it SO MUCH WORSE. I've been thinking about it over the weekend, and wrote extensively in my journal. One co-worker, especially, is actively recruiting and pushing for what seems like the destruction of our supervisor.

The boss may need some training in how to lead a team, but this person is SO manipulative and angry...she has also tried to pull me in and I won't go there. I made a decision not to engage with her unless it's about work matters.

Ugh. Hopefully the day goes well. I'm going to keep my earbud(s) in and do my freaking job.

~~~~~

Massage tonight! yay! I signed up for a monthly massage when I went in, after that assault. It's like a subscription, similar to paying your gym membership, only it's for one massage a month. And they only have 60 minute massages so I'll probably drop it after my six month contract is up...but I do want to have a regular massage. Desk sitting wreaks havoc on your shoulders. It would be perfect if I could have two 30 minute massages a month, instead of one 60 minute. Oh, well. It's gonna be good.

My eating has been good overall. Wylie made some of his famous German potato salad, which is SO delicious. I had a small serving, even though the dressing has oil in it. Next time he makes it, I may scoop out a bowlful before he puts the dressing on. It is just red wine vinegar, oil, and salt (?)...I bet I could get good flavor with just the vinegar and maybe some other thing to act like an emulsifier. Anyway, I made that one small serving a "treat" for my weekend. Other than that, full compliance.

Planning on making minestrone soon.

[SilverDollar123]

Working in a toxic work environment in not productive to anyone.Hope it improves. The massage is going to be worth it. Enjoy!
I will keep you & work in my prayers. RAS

[bunsofaluminum]

Working in a toxic work environment in not productive to anyone.Hope it improves. The massage is going to be worth it. Enjoy!
I will keep you & work in my prayers. RAS

Thanks RAS. I pray about it frequently. And the day went better. Things were quiet, and my most trouble-making co-worker kept to herself for the most part. There was a team meeting that went calmly (which is new...the boss tends to be a bit frantic. Wanting to make things light-hearted and fun, but she doesn't know how to put on the brakes and it gets weird in our meetings) But this time she took a kind of secondary role and the manager...HER boss...did most of the talking, which is okay. Good, in fact. She's had a rough time of it, being new to the supervisory role and not sure of herself. I'm glad she recruited support from her upline.

The massage was good. Made me drowsy and I slept well.

Looking forward to a busy and calm work day. I may go get a couple of butternut squashes during my lunch break today, so I can make a huge batch of that curried butternut...ragout? ...stew? ... that was so delicious. It feels a little panicky, not having a couple of big batches of food in the fridge. I plan on making the creamy garlic alfredo sauce tonight... http://www.brandnewvegan.com/featured/vegan-garlic-alfredo-with-sun-dried-tomatoes but I'll gobble that stuff up! ha! it's so delicious, and really fast to make. Maybe I'll double it.

anyway, time to get to work. toodle ooooo!

[Ruff]

I’m glad she got support. Hopefully things will improve now. Maybe the trouble maker will shut up now the bigger boss is getting involved. Here’s hoping anyway.