BACON!!!!

People who know me...really, really KNOW me...know that there are two things that are essential for life:  bacon and coffee!!

Coffee has not been a problem for me while doing Whole30...I just had to learn to drink it without any sweetener...using unsweetened coconut milk as "cream".  It took me about 3 days to adjust to drinking it that way.

Bacon has been a different story because I don't eat nitrates/nitrates.  Also, it is hard to find meat and pork that hasn't been given hormones or antibiotics...two other things I don't eat anymore.  

BUT, last week when I was grocery shopping I found some Appleton Farms "Never Any" uncured bacon with NO hormones, NO antibiotics, and NO nitrates/nitrites!!  It does contain a small amount of sugar...but it is the next to the last ingredient on the list.  (This is actually the FIRST food item I've eaten since Jan. 15 that has had ANY sugar in it!)

And guess where I found this bundle of happiness???

At Aldi's, of all places...so it was actually affordable!!!

I cooked the entire package off in the oven this evening so that I can enjoy some in the morning with breakfast!  (Andy & I both tried one piece tonight to see how it tasted.  Andy thought it wasn't as tasty as "regular" bacon, but I thought I had died and GONE TO HEAVEN!!!  Of course, Andy would complain if he were "hung with a new rope", as my dad used to say...but I've learned to not pay attention to his nay-saying!)

Since I'm still not interested in adding sugar as a staple back into to my diet, I will eat the bacon conservatively and just enjoy it occasionally, although, I don't think that the scant amount of sugar that is in this bacon is going to cause issues.  

Forecast for tomorrow's breakfast looks VERY good!!!

Loretta

Clean, Healthy Eating for 30 Days...

Quote(s) For the Day:

"Whether you think you can or you can't, you are right."

~Henry Ford

“The food you eat either makes you more healthy or less healthy. Those are your options.” 

~Melissa Hartwig, It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways

Today is Day 31 of my Whole30 way of eating.  I started on Jan 15 and am loving the results so far.  Some people are ready at this point to slowly re-introduce the foods that they have eliminated during the Whole30 to see how they effect them.  I, however, am not ready.  I plan to continue eating on this food plan...hopefully, until it becomes just "the way I eat".  

The "Before" and "After" pictures...I'm not sure that I can tell a difference in the pictures...which is very disappointing...but here they are...

The "hard" results:

Weight:  -10 pounds

Measurements:  -11" 

• Bust -1/4"
• Waist -2 1/4"
• Hips - 2"
• Thighs - 2 1/4" total
• Calves - 1 1/2" total
• Upper Arms - 2" total
• Neck - 3/4"

The "soft" results:

• I'm off of my medication for GERD (Gastro-esophageal reflux disorder)...something I have suffered with for 30+ years and have been on medication for 20+ years.  (I have found that it does return when I eat grapefruit, though, but that is easily taken care of by a few drops of Digestzen essential oil by doTerra.)
• Blood pressure has dropped by 10 points, both diastolic and systolic!
• Resting heart rate is in the 60's!!  (It has been in the 80's for the last several years.)
• No more ankle swelling.
• No intestinal gas or bloating.
• My insomnia is GONE.
• I wake up feeling refreshed and energized.
• I have more energy throughout the day and get more things accomplished.
• I've learned to cook some very tasty and healthy recipes and have eaten some new foods for the first time ever!  
• Food has FLAVOR without adding any sugar.
• YES, I CAN drink my coffee with just unsweetened coconut milk added...no sweetener of any kind....and still enjoy it!  (Who knew???)
• My sugar cravings have decreased by probably 80-90%.
• My desire to eat out my frustrations or emotions has also decreased by 80-90%.
• No afternoon brain-fog or sluggishness.
• Improved/upbeat mood.
• I've joined a fitness center and work-out a couple times a week...something I haven't been able to do since 2008!

I had my usual 6 month check-up with my cardiologist this week and he is quite pleased with the changes.  He wants to recheck my cholesterol after a few more weeks of eating this way and, if possible, he will make changes in both my cholesterol medication and my blood pressure medication.  In the meantime, I'm going to keep track of my blood pressure because if it drops any lower, it will be too low!  

What I have found to be IRONIC, is that EVERYONE agrees that the current American diet is very unhealthy.  However, in the next breath those very same people give me grief about "why did you stop eating 'fill-in-the-blank' "...the very foods that make up the contemporary American diet.  It seems that most people think you should continue to eat the contemporary American diet...just eat "less" of it.  Is "less poison" not just as bad for you as "poison"???

Loretta

Today I Made Ghee...

Quote for the Day:

"Your health will never be found at the bottom of a box or bag."

~author unknown

As many of my friends, family, and long-time readers know, I suffer from a LOT of inflammation, ie, osteoarthritis, hip tendonitis, bursitis, as well as several other diet-caused disorders.  Being overweight is just one of the symptoms of my poor diet.

So on January 15th, I started on a health project.  I decided to do a dietary "cleanse".  

No, no, no...not the kind of "cleanse" that requires lots of high colonics!  This is an "elimination" diet...which still sounds bad, I guess.  In reality, you remove all dietary "offenders" that can cause inflammation in the body.  Then after your body...and gut...have a chance to heal, you slowly start re-introducing foods to see which ones cause a negative reaction in your body.  Or...you can just stay on the diet, which is pretty much just a "paleo" diet.  

Basically, the diet is REAL FOOD!!!  NO sugar or sweeteners of any kind, NO dairy, NO legumes, NO grains, NO alcohol, NO soy, NO carrageenan, MSG or sulfites, and NO trying to re-create baked goods,  junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients.

Since you don't used processed foods, I've spent a lot of time prepping and cooking meals.  I joked with Andy that I've cooked more in the last couple of days than I have in the last 10 years....and that's not too much of an exaggeration, either!  

I have such a sweet tooth, it isn't even funny.  But I've learned to drink my coffee with just unsweetened coconut milk...and sometimes a dash of nutmeg!  Who knew? 

With the "no dairy" rule, there is one exception...you can use "ghee"...which is butter with the milk solids cooked out.  But have you priced "ghee"???   OMGhee!!!  That is certainly cost-prohibitive!!!

So today, I made it myself using this online tutorial!  Now let me just tell you this...before a few days ago I didn't even KNOW what ghee was...but today I made some!!!  (BTW, it's pronounced with a hard "g"...as in "gravy"...not a soft "g" like in the word "gee-whiz".) 

Here is my finished product from one pound of butter...

It turned out pretty clear, even though I can't get that to show up in pictures.  It was still warm in these pictures, but will harden at room temperature and can be stored at room temp...which is a plus since my fridge is currently overrun with fresh veggies, eggs, and leftovers right now!

This is exciting to me, because now I will have "butter" to cook with and to use on veggies!

Loretta