38carrots
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Posts posted by 38carrots
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Thank you! I'm so happy I asked, because I would not have thought about flat and eggshell of the same colour. I think that's exactly what I'd like! Deciding between New House White and Spun Wool by Behr.
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What kind of white? And what about the trim? The same as the walls or brighter?
How did you decide on that particular white? I'm hoping to find a warm white, but not a pastel yellow, kwim.
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No, I don't do everything for my children, and there are consequences for actions and choices - but I will step in to prevent them from grave harm.
Maybe harm is a matter of scale and perspective. If souls exists and are immortal, then death and even physical suffering might not be seen as "harm."
Maybe having their own country was more important for the Jewish people (in the grand scheme of things and in the context of eternal soul) than being saved from the Holocaust in a miraculous way.
I really don't know. I'm just thinking out loud.
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Congrats!
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Just wanted to offer hugs to you and your DD. And your entire family.
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Yes, the carbs. Oatmeal etc sends my body out of whack unless I have lots of protein with it, but other people do fine with it. I rarely have it.
I don't see why you'd have to increase your carbs since you are already doing well on a low carb diet; I don't think they are integral to eating vegetarian. Since it sounds like you have a balance that works for you, can you start by simply swapping some protein sources--instead of chicken in a stir fry, try crispy tofu, have a black bean burger instead of your usual, etc. That might make the transition smoother and let you see organically what other dietary changes your body needs--if any.
Good luck! :)
Thank you, this makes sense. I got all the oatmeal / quinoa / teff ideas as I was looking for vegetarian sources of protein! I think I need to look at this more holistically.
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I've been vegetarian my entire adult life. Personally I would be hypoglycaemic on the diet you are mentioning above--it's a LOT of sugars (oatmeal, bread, fruits, yogurt unless plain) and doesn't sound sustainable to me. But every body is different.
Idk. I'm in the process of tweaking how I eat--I've switched from my usual breakfast to a green smoothie (no fruit or sugars) with lots of fats and protein. The rest of the day I eat like I always have (big salad for lunch, usually what people would call ethnic food or fish for dinner) except I need much less of it. I wasn't feeling poorly before but I'm feeling much clearer now, which fascinates me, and I'm needing to eat much less now that sugars are virtually non existent in my diet.
Protein has never really been a concern. I suspect the numbers "they" say we need are hugely inflated; I've never gotten close when I pay attention. So mostly I don't pay attention and just eat according to how my body feels.
I will say iron is the only thing that I seem to be low on, but it's doubtful that's due to vegetarianism and more likely because most women are low (and I have a delightful 3 week cycle that certainly contributes). I did notice a difference when I started taking an iron pill.
This is a good point about sugars. Though I only have plain yogurt. Do you mean sugars as in carbs? Even if it is plain oatmeal (like steelcut oats)?
I was just thinking about the protein "requirement"--I similarly feel I can't trust some number. The same as we've been told how many carbs we need, and I'm doing so well on so little carbs.
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I'm not strict LO, but I try to eat that way most of the time. I did have a period of several years where I was very strict with it.
For breakfast I usually have one of these:
- Smoothie made with vanilla almond milk, a frozen banana, frozen berries, and either spinach or kale (frozen greens work fine when it's too hot to find them fresh enough in summer to last more than 2 days without wilting)
- Frozen fruit or fruit salad with greek yogurt (typically frozen berries)
- Spanish omelette (made with baked potatoes cooled & sliced rather than typical fried potatoes)
- Spinach omelette with swiss
- Veggie omelette with fajita veggies, black beans, and cheddar
Lunch:
- A pound steambag of frozen broccoli, black beans, a spoonful of sunflower seeds, dressed with mixed mustard and italian dressing
- Some combination of soup, salad, and sandwich
- A favorite sandwich is roasted eggplant slices topped with caramelized onions, olive oil and balsamic vinegar on french bread.
Dinner:
- Mexican Mondays (tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, taco salad, etc).
- Pasta Tuesday (brown rice pasta or black bean pasta)
- Asian Wednesday (typically stir fry)
- Seafood Thursday
- Pizza Friday
- Saturdays we go out to eat or have leftovers or DH cooks
- Sundays I make one of the family member's favorite meals. Sometimes they are elaborate (Eggplant Parmesan), and sometimes they contain meat (Chicken Marsala)
Snacks:
- Typically fruit & nuts,
- fruit & cheese,
- apple & peanut butter
I've found the family is much more receptive to vegetarian meals if I add more acid (vinegar, wine, lemon juice) than I typically would when cooking or caramelize vegetables more than I typically would. So that means caramelize the onions, roast the vegetables for maximum flavor before pureeing into soup, etc. Definitely check out Vegetarian Times magazine, as well as every vegetarian cookbook at your library. I also sneak beans into everything (there are beans in the stir fry, for example), and I add sliced chicken or beef or whatever to the plates of those eating meat.
This is something that I would enjoy. Thank you for sharing. I doubt I'll ever be as organized though!
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If you don't think about it carefully, you might find you aren't accomplishing your goals. If you care about animal life, for example, eating an environmentally sustainable diet that maintains ecosystems might be a lot more effective than cutting out all meat.
Yes, this makes sense. A big part of my decision is based on a nutritional approach recommended to those who practice meditation / yoga. So it is not only caring about animal life, but also about what I want to put into myself.
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I would try to separate out health and ethical questions.
But I wouldn't leave things at something as amorphous as "an inner need not to eat animals". I'd try and draw a much more complete, rational picture of what it is you are looking to accomplish, and why.
Hm...I think that sometimes innner need / intuition is enough. It is not that I just abruptly took this decision. It's been in the air for a while...
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I decided to start a more focused thread eating lacto-ovo-vegetarian. I looked up some numbers, and I should be eating around 70g of protein per day as a moderately active woman (and less as I lose weight). Should protein be my main concern? Something else to be aware of? I will be avoiding added sugars. My main goal is to be healthy (feel energetic) but if I want to lose weight (need to), should I be watching calories as well?
If my breakfast is 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of quinoa / teff / oatmeal with a teaspoon of butter and some nuts / seeds, and a slice of Ezikiel bread with peanut butter and fruit / berries I'm at about 30g of protein.
For dinner I can have beans or lentil stew with veggies and salad. Chia seed pudding with nuts and seeds and some stevia sweetener. 25g
Greek yogurt with fruits for supper plus veggies and hummus. Another slice of Ezikiel bread with peanutbutter and apple; 30 g
So it seems to me that I can easily cover the required proteins with the foods that I will enjoy. Coming from a LCHF way of eating--this is different!
I really want to avoid the cravings for sugary baked foods which I completely don't have right now.
I also feel I don't need huge variety, I feel.
Any other advice or ideas? What am I missing?
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One word of caution. It has been my personal experience that vegetarians/vegans often downplay the very real risk of becoming B12 deficient on a meatless diet. B12 deficiency is very dangerous and horrible, and if it's severe enough or goes untreated for long enough, the neurological damage can be permanent. Some people will argue that fermented soy products contain B12, but that was only the case with traditional fermenting methods, not with modern production methods. I'd recommend you go on a sublingual B12 supplement immediately if you do decide to give up meat.
I have tremendous respect for vegans and vegetarians who make that choice for ethical reasons. But the arguments that it's healthy do not convince me at all. It doesn't make sense that a species that evolved to be omnivorous would be healthier by giving up meat -- just like it would make no sense for me to say that a species that evolved to be omnivorous would be healthier by giving up vegetables! The all-cause mortality rate for vegans is troubling. Plus, my own personal experience leads me to believe it is an unhealthy diet: by the end of five years of it, I was hypoglycemic, weak as a kitten because I had so little muscle tone left, constantly fatigued, immune-compromised, and living in a brain fog so bad I could barely think straight. (But I was skinny! :lol: )
I understand the desire to not have to kill animals for your food. It's something that still troubles me. My husband and I both are hoping that the day will come when some miraculous meat-like substance with ALL of the nutrients of real meat can be artificially grown and mass-produced. But until that day comes, I'm personally just not willing to go back to feeling that bad all the time. But you should do what works for YOU. It is entirely possible that if I had supplemented with more protein (such as whey protein shakes, or hydrolyzed egg protein, etc.) and taken B12 supplements all along, it wouldn't have affected me so badly.
Thank you for this. Yes, I'm worried about not feeling well. I'd really like to feel well on an lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. I like feeling healthy and this is a concern...
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I haven't read through all the responses, but I am LCHF, which naturally helps me restrict calories because I just don't feel hungry. However, I was reading an article (something along the lines of "Does the keto diet work") and the general idea was...Yes, it works, but any calorie restricted diet will work. From what I understand, though, you will gain water weight as you add carbs back in.
FWIW. I have lost about 10 lbs, I have 30-40 left to go. I am not a nutritionist and just trying to figure out how to shed some weight.
This is how I feel on LCHF--I stop craving sweets, I'm never hungry and I pretty much eat all I want, but it isn't that much because I'm not craving junk. Easy to lose weight and without the cravings I feel like my life is under control! lol
How to transition to the lacto-ovo vegetarian without immediately gaining weight? And more importantly--without the CRAVINGS!
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Vegans are generally much thinner than the normal population, and to my knowledge, the only group whose normal is to be of "normal" weight. If you're avoiding junk food, it's difficult to get fat from whole, unprocessed foods. The lack of fat and high fiber tends to make one full.
I would encourage you to occasionally eat eggs though, even if you have to raise the chickens yourself to be sure they are treated ethically. The reason for this is that your brain is primarily made of saturated fat, and for some (unknown) reason, lacto ovo vegetarians live longer than the general population, but vegans die sooner than the general population, of (arguably worse) neurological diseases. Also, strong family histories do not necessarily mean you can't die from heart disease, even as a life-long vegan.
If you are going to follow it, eating 90% of the time like Dr Fuhrman recommends will make a huge difference in your weight and health. Then if you want to throw in a veggie & cheese omelette once or twice a week you'd probably have the perfect balance of nutrients to saturated fats for health, at least in my experience.
Highly recommend reading up on Dr Fuhrman for the healthiest plan, The Starch Solution (Dr McDougall) for the easiest & cheapest plan, A Pound of Cure by Dr Matthew Weiner for a Fuhrman-inspired rapid weight loss plan that can permanently change your body's set point, and Dr Michael Gregor of NutritionFacts.org for interesting science if you tend towards wanting to read medical studies. I have linked to their YouTube channels in case you're more of a watcher than a reader, or just don't want the library fees or $60 Amazon bill right now.
Thank you! I will look into those!!!
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I don't know - it seems to me like you are really flipping around between "diets" a bit. But, I don't think it's possible to get away from killed things, myself. If ethical food sources concerns you, I'd start looking at what you can find available in your community, both in terms of animal and plant products,
Yeah, I've been thinking that to feel physically healthy and to be losing weight I enjoy LCHF and it works and I can maintain it easily. But something else, maybe like emotionally / spiritually (?) is making me think that I have this inner need not to eat animals. I guess if this is the case, I should not worry about my weight. And yet it is tempting to lose some more. Maybe I'm just slowly losing my mind! lol
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You need to find a way of eating that works for you that you can stick with. I'm LCHF but that doesn't mean that you should be. If you settle on a way of eating and want/need additional strategies to lose weight, I recommend that you read up on fasting. Dr. Jason Fung is my favorite resource for fasting.
See, LCHF is what I can easily stick to. Yes, I've strayed, but I also ate like this for years, and I lose weight I feel great. But I feel something is changing in me in terms of what I want to be not eating. I'd like to explore this more.
I occassionally do a 5:2 fasting week.
I guess I should stop being worried about my weight and just give it a go.
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When I don't "stray" from my way of eating, I eat no sugar (other than minimal berries), some veggies low in the GI, and lots of protein and fat. No grains, no beans. I'm relatively happy this way and feel healthy.
After several months of disorganized snacking on everything, I've been back on the LCHF for 3 weeks now and also quite a few inches around my hips and waste (very needed.) I need to lose another 30-40lb.
I've been discussing vegan / vegetarian diets with my teen DD on and off for years--many of our friends are vegan. Frankly, nothing compelled me to even think "vegetarian." I always maintained that I am a meat eater, and that was it. I feel best on a paleo style diet.
But I feel something is changing. I think I don't want to eat something that was killed anymore. I'm not sure where it is coming from and I'm not sure if it is a phase, but right now I'm seriously considering becoming a vegetarian.
I'm envisioning myself eating different beans, lentils, veggies, fruits, grains such as quinoa, oatmeal, teff. Yogurt. Occassional free range eggs. Those are all the foods that I love. I won't eat added sugar, but would eat fruits.
However, I really want to lose weight, once and for all this time. It's my "baby weight" that should've been gone 7 years ago! I'm done with this. I'm worried that I will stop losing weight if I switch from LCHF to vegetarian.
How to approach this? Can I be LCHF-ish and vegetarian? How to lose weight while vegetarian?
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I find I don't need to tighten it super-hard; a firm fit will do just fine.
It's also much easier to clean if I do it right away; leaving it with fluid in it will mean it needs a serious scrub afterwards, whereas depending what I've blended, sometimes I can fill it with water and give it a quick blend to get it nominally clean then a quick handwash and I can put it in the drying rack and be done with it.
My old blender I could tighten just right. This new one has a notch and I'm supposed to tighten over the notch. Which is tight. I love the blender, but I'm really sturggling with undoing the base... Only pouring hot water in it for about 20 min, and sometimes even another round of hot water, will help me unscrew. Or DH. But I blend more than he is home lol
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You can unscrew the base by affixing it to the blender (as though you were going to blend something) and then turning.
I can think of two reasons why leaving liquids in the base may be bad (disclaimer: this is my own reasoning here). The first is that it is not really a liquid tight seal. It works in the short time that you're blending, but it might fail over an extended period (that said, when I was in college, I would blend up a batch of that Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing and leave it in the base in the refrigerator for, well, a good long while :ack2:). The other is that possibly the metal of the blades might not be compatible with certain blended substances, though I think this is less likely than the possibility of leaking.
My blender wouldn't work this way. There's a notch to prevent this kind of turning.
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My instructions say not to store fluids in it, but the only way I can unscrew it from the base is after leaving some very hot water in it. Am I ruining my blender? I love my blender.
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I wear makeup most days because I like to feel better about myself, and makeup accentuates the positive and minimizes the negative. Plus I want people to be able to tolerate looking at me. ;-p
So do you wear it for yourself or for others?
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Do you wear it to be attactive to men, or for some other reason? Can we be biology-reductionist about this? As in, make-up highlights the features a mate would be looking for, such as bright lips, rosey complexion, dark lines around the eyes, i.e. the signs of fertility?
I don't wear make up. In the past years I'd wear some barely pink lip gloss or some foundation to even out my skin. My reason was that it was fun, pretty, different (from my routine.) I never thought about it as "pretty" for someone else. Especially not as "pretty" as in sexually attractive to some men who would see me. But again, I just didn't think about this much.
I'm sure women have different reasons to wear make up. Those who are in the process of looking for a husband / dating, might even think that they are dressing up to be attractive to potential mates. But the idea of "make up is for the men" seems to be so repulsive to me.
I was surprised to hear this argument. (Yes, I'm naive! lol) It made me uncomfortable that there are men who would think that because I take care of myself and dress nicely and have some make up on, that this is somehow "for them." I feel so exposed. I feel my daughters are so exposed. They don't wear make up, one is too practical for this and they other one is too young, but this objectification is horrifying. I'm struggling because it is someone close to me and my daughters who talks openly about this.
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Xylitol mints? We like the Spry brand.
or the chewing gums.
Xylitol is actually great for teeth. When I have a tooth sensitivity I take a spoonful of xylitol and just swish it around in my mouth for some a couple of minutes, several times a day. My teeth feel so so clean after and the sensitivity goes away.
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Good for your DD for setting up boundaries and protecting herself. It is your DH who is acting like a spoiled brat. Well, actually, like an abusive manipulator. The world does not revolve around him. Your DD is making good decisions for her own mental health, and this is what mature and this is responsible and mature on her part. DH forbidding you to see her in her place? Wow...sorry, but this is insane.
Hugs to you and your DD. Don't promise things on her behalf anymore. Don't force her to see him on his terms. Her mental health is fragile, she doesn't need her dad's controlling behaviour in her life.
And KUDOS to your DD for trying out that art class and following her dreams.
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Book recommendations for a 9 year old DD / "late" reader?
in The Chat Board
Posted
She read and loved all the Harry Potten books when she was 8, as her first books, and is now re-reading them. Not my first choice of literature for an 8 year old, but it is what it is. Blaming the older brother. :rolleyes:
Now at nine she just finished the Warrior Cat series. (I don't really like them either, but she is crazy about cats in general.)
She is reading now the Julie of the Wolves trilogy. Darker than I would've liked, but she's loving it.
She read some of the Narnia books but didn't love them as much. Started a series by Tamora Pierce and likes it, but doesn't love it.
None of those are the books that I would enjoy.
I'd really like for her to try to explore something more literary. She's understands nuances well and is a deep thinker. What would be good books to transition with?