I ask you, should a peach be that LARGE? What happened to fruit? Peaches, nectarines, apples – they’ve all gotten so big. I thought of “James and the Giant Peach,” when I saw this large one.
There was a huge section of large peaches, nectarines, apples. I had to scout around to find normal small size fruit, I did find a few as you can see. The large fruit has no flavor. Also, if I am taking a fruit with me for lunch, I only need one portion size, not two portions. How about kids? How can we encourage them to eat fruit if we can’t give them normal small size?
First the chicken was plumped up, now fruit. Portion sizes for everything keep getting bigger and bigger. We really don’t need such big portions. It’s not healthy for us, for sure.
Do you eat a lot of oatmeal? This morning, in memory of my ex/father/n/law, I ate oatmeal. He was a retired Doctor from Germany. He LOVED oatmeal! He had his ritual. He would microwave a packet of oatmeal, stir in one packet of sweetener (yellow one) and then add cream on top. FINISHED – nothing else, ie fruit/nuts, etc. Toward the end, at 99, all he would ask for was “oatmeal.”
My Italian mother, on the other hand, preferred cream of rice. Probably because it reminded her of polenta. Although, she never made polenta for us. She would cook cream of rice (for 4 kids) and stir in one raw egg. Since the cream of rice was hot, stirring in the egg cooked it. Voila – breakfast served.
My mother enjoyed something else. She would take a raw egg, some sugar and whip/whip/whip it with a fork until it was creamy like a custard and then she would eat it. Did she cook it? I don’t remember seeing her cook it, I will ask her, but I remember thinking how “odd” that was and worried she’d get SICK!
So, WHAT was IT in your house growing up — OATMEAL or CREAM of RICE?
I like walking/hiking. This year, I needed some new hiking socks. Due to COVID restrictions, I was lazy and did not go to a sporting goods store. I was at Costco in November and I was in luck. They had these great looking bundle of socks, 4 in a pack, great price. As you see from photo, they looked like a good quality pair of socks and the color was pleasing. So, I bought them. They’ve been comfortable.
Fast forward three months. This is how my socks look now. Really worn out. I thought if I need to see a foot doctor, I would just show him the bottom of my sock. He could determine from that how I am walking, and where foot pain is coming from.
In the past, I leaned toward Smartwool and Darn Tough brand of socks. They are very pricey, no question, but they last for years. Personally, I think the Smartwool run a little narrow.
Well, this year I’ve learned a valuable lesson. Quality of socks does make a difference if you want to use them for walking/hiking. These socks from Costco are nice socks, but they were meant for every day minimal walking.
So, GUESS where I am headed today? YES, Smartwool shopping!!
Spring is here, ready to get back out there and walk. The weather is finally warming up. I’m also searching for some good podcasts to listen to as well. Any suggestions, please share.
Well, I was over zealous in my squats. For a few weeks now, doing squats was fine. No pain. I take that back, I mean, I had some normal “exercise pain,” which means our routine is WORKING, but no severe pain. UNTIL a few days ago. Walking was fine, but stairs…*#!&
Holy Moley, I suddenly felt like a 90 year old woman. Where did that left hip pain come from? I had obviously aggravated something. I immediately knew I had to stop the squats, but I have been on a rhythm. It’s always annoying to be in a routine, get an injury, and then either be side lined or have to refocus a workout in a different way.
I decided I would walk more, that should be OK, right. WRONG, I was fine until mile 3, when I got to the start of mile 4, my hip was on fire! It was saying, “What the heck are you doing?” I did chuckle to myself. OK, ok, I’ll ice YOU (the hip) when I get home.
On to YouTube for hip pain physical therapy. There are a lot of great videos on stretches that target the outer hip. Also, I liked one guy’s take on this. He said that doctors always say REST. His opinion was that stretching is critical to lengthen the muscles and tendons for quicker recovery. I agree. If we become sedentary, then one day turns into 6+ months of inactivity.
So… I’ve been BENCHED for a little bit!
Next time I’ll take those squats SLOWER! Lesson learned!
Well, it’s Sunday, I decided to make waffles. I wrote about the Kodiak Cake brand mix the other day. Today I used the buttermilk and chocolate mix. Why not be adventurous. I topped my waffles with blueberries and raspberries that I picked in Michigan this summer and froze for winter. By the way, frozen raspberries are quite the treat. They change color and become darker once frozen, but the flavor is still there. I added some maple syrup. It’s the PERFECT breakfast!
My friend is in France…. she’s probably eating a wonderful croissant right now!
I’ve been trying to embrace this health craze. Less fat, more protein — pancakes, waffles, cakes – NOTHING is the same anymore. Lately, the talk of the town is the Kodiak Cakes brand. Different people I spoke to were raving about their high protein pancakes. Delicious and kept them full until 1 pm. Of course, I asked, “What are you talking about?”
I like to eat pancakes / waffles occasionally, so was not up to speed on this Kodiak Cakes brand. Turns out, Kodiak Cakes, has been around since 1995. The company was started by Joel Clark based on his mother’s buttermilk flapjack mix. They are located in Utah. Due to funding the company was slow to take off, but now it has and it’s the latest craze.
It’s an interesting story, you should read about it. Joel Clark was even on Shark Tank in 2014; however, he did not accept a deal with any of the Shark Tankers. That show though introduced his product, people were interested and sales took off at Target. 14 grams of protein per serving does sound good, right!
I bought a box of Kodiak Cakes and made pancakes. I have to say, they had a great chocolate taste. This chocolate mix though, I felt was heavy and the texture was more like a cake than a fluffy pancake. I found a recipe for using the Kodiak mix to make little muffins. I decided to make mini cakes instead. They are cute looking, but the recipe I used was not good. The texture of the cakes were so dense. I went by the reviews and they were saying how “fantastic” their muffins were.
Imagine a cake with these ingredients (too much protein): 1 cup Kodiak mix, 4 eggs, 1 cup unsweetened applesauce or 4 smashed medium bananas. Mix, cook at 350 until done.
Baking is about experimenting. We win some, we lose some, but we don’t give up.
I’m on a quest to make these little cakes healthy and delicious. I just need to fine-tune the recipe.
If you haven’t heard of Kodiak Cakes give them a try. They have all kinds of flavored mixes. You can’t go wrong! High protein, just add some fruit, light syrup – you’ll be in breakfast heaven!
Why do I resist eating oatmeal? Same feelings toward Greek yogurt or smoothies. As soon as I hear those words: oatmeal, greek yogurt and smoothies — I GET MAD!
I think none of us want something shoved down our throat, so to speak. Media, any kind, is on a health kick. That’s fine! I do my best to eat healthy, but sometimes they go OVER BOARD. They make us FEEL guilty. If we don’t eat oatmeal, greek yogurt and smoothies that ANY health issues we have are DIRECTLY RELATED to not eating these foods, THAT they TOLD US, we needed to eat, to STAY ALIVE!
Phew, my rant is complete!
I don’t mind these foods, I just don’t want to be told EVERY DAY to eat them. I feel like a little kid annoyed with his mother for telling him to drink his milk. Trying to change my mind set.
My ex/father/n/law was a doctor. He LOVED oatmeal. At 99 years old when he had his leg amputated from diabetes — YES, this was a sad situation, ALL he wanted was — OATMEAL!
I need to lower my cholesterol. First food on the list to help with this — OATMEAL. Laughing, the dreaded oatmeal. To enjoy oatmeal and cross off a lot of healthy food boxes, I got creative. I read walnuts help lower cholesterol. Also, they say, “An Apple a Day, Keeps the Dr Away.” So, walnuts and an apple went into the oatmeal.
I ONLY used 1/4 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup too much. Start out small. Learn to EMBRACE the love of oatmeal.
See photo, my oatmeal looked and tasted good. Apple adds a lot of sweetness. Food is about presentation, Folks. I made the effort.
WARNING -> Eat oatmeal warm. Once it gets cold, it becomes a blob, not liquidy anymore.
You know what will happen, don’t you? Soon, I will ONLY want oatmeal for breakfast. I’ll even bring instant oatmeal packets on vacation.
Sometimes we get LUCKY! I was in Michigan at a fair. They had an historical center with different log cabins.
A I explored the buildings, I came across this Wishing Well. I’ve always wanted to see a Wishing Well up close, throw a coin in and make my wish. Of course, I was a bit disappointed when I got closer. Turns out it was a “fake” Well, no water, and you can probably see from the photo a plastic container inside that was very shallow for a plant maybe.
So, I could not make a wish. It would have been ridiculous. Throwing a penny in, would have felt like throwing my penny in the grass – no meaning. Sigh, but from a distance, the visual of the Well was GOOD!
When I got home, I did a search for Wishing Wells. Amazon sells quite a few, people buy them as a decoration for their garden. I had no idea. I know, it sounds silly, but I live in a city, we don’t put Wishing Wells on our roof tops. I think of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairly Tales when I think of Wishing Wells.
On to my next adventure. Blueberry and raspberry picking. Take a look at this. A field of raspberries, it was amazing. They are a thorny bush, so next time I wouldn’t wear shorts. Your legs can really get scratched up.
I met some really nice people who were picking. There was an older couple in their 70s, who have been coming to the same farm for years. They said they pick about 8 lbs each time. Their grandkids love the blueberries. There was one mother who said she had been coming for 22 years with her daughter. She was sad, because this summer her daughter could not make it. Kids grow up, but she was picking some for her. Keep the tradition alive.
I got to say, it was wonderful to get out of the city and be on a farm. Smell the fresh air, hear the farm animals.
Oh, guess what, while I was getting gas, I found TWO Lucky pennies.
So, the Wishing Well DID WORK — in a round about way! Don’t you enjoy coincidences like that!
A miracle happened! I found a pillow that gives me great neck support. I can sleep again!
Where did this miracle happen? At the Asian grocery store.
In the past few years, I have had trouble sleeping. The issue was my pillow. Not sure why or when my pillow became uncomfortable, but it did. I needed specific neck support. Most pillows are soft and if they are firm, it’s not specific to support the neck.
Recently, I was at the Asian store buying curry. I decided to see what pretty dishes/tea pots they had when I came across these pillows. It said they were buckwheat pillows. I felt them, I really liked how firm they were, so decided to give them a try.
I LOVE this pillow. The smaller one is better, because it fits perfectly under my neck. Turns out, buckwheat pillows, also known as sobakawa, originated in Japan. They are good for spinal alignment. Now, more people are using them around the world. I had not heard of these pillows. I do want to visit Japan, so now I have a very good reason. First stop, pillow shop!
The big question, as I was reading online, is whether or not these pillows have mites/bugs.
Some reviews said, “No,” but others said, “Yes.” So, it’s interesting, because our normal pillows/bedding can have mites, etc. We don’t see them, but they can be there. Then I thought about our clothing in the closet, moths love to each my cashmere and woolen jackets. Our houses have a lot of dust.
Here I found a pillow I LOVE, it lets me sleep. Do I worry about bugs?
I honestly don’t have neck pain anymore. This is what I am wondering. I don’t know enough about buckwheat, but I do know it is SUPER comfy. I mean it’s a hard pillow, but that’s what I need. I’ll just keep cleaning the pillow covers, and put the inner buckwheat pillow out in the sun.
Anyone use a buckwheat pillow? Share your experience, so we can learn.
It looks like our mask freedom was short lived. Back to wearing masks indoors even if we are vaccinated. So, with that in mind, I thought I might as well brush up on my baking skills. Fall is coming, who knows what will happen in September. If we are house bound again, back to cooking/baking at home.
I haven’t made peanut butter cookies since I was a child. I’m not a vegan, but I saw this recipe on The Simple Veganista. So easy, seven ingredients in one bowl. Mix and bake.
If you live where there is hot weather, you should let the cookie dough set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes; otherwise, when you put the cookies on the cookie sheet, and into the oven — they melt and all blend together.
I would have been so dismayed, if I looked in the oven window and saw a sheet of peanut butter cake, instead of individual cookies. Another tip, I used a cookie scooper, so cookies look uniform. However, my cookie scooper is medium size and even though I used a fork to press the cookies down, they were chunky and took longer to cook.
Brilliant Viewpoint 