healthysapien:

Peanut Butter and Greens Soup

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “no way” and “get out of here with that crazy idea,” but it’s true. There is such a thing as Peanut Butter and Greens Soup. It’s delicious, it’s vegan, and it’s a bowl full of vitamins.

I came across this recipe while searching for ways to prepare my CSA collard greens that, sadly, did not include bacon or butter. Years ago I made a peanut butter soup that I have been meaning to make it again, so I was eager to try this one. As I scanned the ingredients list I was happy to see that, not only is this soup right in line with my new diet objectives, I had just about all the ingredients lying around the house. Incidentally, I joined a CSA so I would be forced to try a variety of fruits and vegetables. My evil plan is working. World domination is next, but in the meantime…

Check-out the recipe. You will see it’s quick and easy. I used boxed organic low sodium vegetable broth, but if you have your own homemade veggie broth, use it. I also used an all natural no sugar added peanut butter. This recipe yielded a medium sized batch of soup, somewhere around six bowls or so. It is very hearty. I froze what I couldn’t eat in two days.

Give it a shot. Let me know what you think.

xxxooo

Nom!

healthysapien:

It was hot, and oh did I sweat…

Last Friday I tried an herbal detox body wrap at the local day spa where I get my monthly massage, which my massage therapist recommended when I told him about my healthy living ramp-up, and that I’m working toward doing a short juice fast. Here’s how it went:

After changing into disposable unmentionables, I laid face-down on a massage table outfitted to the corners with a giant heating pad covered in mylar sheets. My first job was to cover my tush with a towel, after which he returned to the room and flipped-on the room’s heat lamps for slathering time. He applied the special herbal oil to all of the back sides of my parts. I was then given another towel and some privacy for my second job, which was to flip over and cover my top and bottom privates with the towels so he could apply the oil to the front sides of my parts.

When all the slathering was done, he lifted the ends of the mylar sheets from the side of the bed furthest from him and brought them towards himself to drape over me and my towels. Once I was covered from that side, the towels were slid-out from under the mylar, all decency remaining in tact, and then the mylar sheets on the side closest to him were wrapped over me (after some last chance nose scratching), and I was tucked in like a human herbal oil burrito.

The room’s heat lamps were turned off, the bed’s heating pad was turned-up, and now my final job was to sweat. Note: As with going into any sweaty endeavor, being appropriately hydrated is key. If you have already made proper hydration a part of your life, you should be golden. If not, drink a bunch of water, and ixnay on the tipsy body wrapping-ay. The point is to sweat-out the toxins. If you’re dehydrated, you’re wasting your time and money, and will just be hurting yourself.

Start to finish, it was a little over an hour. We chatted throughout my basting and he gave me a scalp massage to distract me from being immobilized. (I’m a little claustrophobic, so not being able to move my arms and legs sometimes gets to me.) As I laid there I could feel the sweat starting to roll in my silver body bag, but that wasn’t good enough. My face was the sweat test, since the heat lamps were turned-off at the beginning of the massage, any sweat on my face came from the heating pads and my confinement in mylar.

The verdict:

I did an excellent job of sweating, and I felt great afterward. It would seem I sweat as much as I would during some enthusiastic afternoon bed shenanigans, minus the orgasms, plus the beneficial herbal oils (though I suppose that’s easy enough to remedy). Pictured above is one of about ten or so pools of the sweat I left behind. According to the massage therapist, it was the equivalent of about three pounds of water weight, which is good information, but not the goal of the treatment for me. It seems that some people use these types of body treatments to wiggle into clothes the’ve bloated themselves out of. I could have taken body measurements before and after, but I didn’t, and I don’t own a scale. My goal is to be healthy, which will be judged by how I feel and where my blood sugar goes, not that you won’t find an old pair of goal-jeans in my closet. Just saying…

xxxooo

(Source: meandyoudotws)

healthysapien:

Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink, because wrestling water bottles out of strangers’ hands is apparently a big no no among polite society. I had water bottle envy, and I had it bad. That was until now. Meet my new love, Eddy.

If I were getting as regular and vigorous a workout as my credit card, I would be doing an Ironman every Sunday. Two weeks ago the amazon prime angels brought me the Camelback Eddy, a 1 Liter BPA-Free water bottle and elegant solution to my two problems:

1. Drinking when I’m thirsty.
2. Wondering if I’m getting enough water every day.

It seems there is a debate on exactly how much water a person should drink daily. I understand it depends on what you eat, since some foods have a higher water content than others, and how active you are, but to be conservative, I have decided to err on the side of having at least the amount of water generally recommended - eight glasses.

I schlep this baby with me everywhere. I usually kill one bottle-full by noon, and another by 5:00, which means I have had eight glasses of water before dinner. Eddy and me, sitting a tree - forever ♥

xxxooo

healthysapien:

A life without pizza is… well… just as you would expect - kind of sad. So what’s a wheat sensitive, pizza loving, all around wonderful person to do? Run out and buy faux dough? Hell no. Fake bread sucks. Instead of continuing to invest time, effort, and wasted carbs on bread-like food type things, learn to appreciate naturally gluten free foods, and find ways to use them creatively. Lettuce wrap anyone? Wait. How did I get on the topic of lettuce when I should be talking about pizza?

Back on point, take a moment to check out the picture. Do you see corn tortillas? Yes. Yes you do. Let me tell you all about corn tortilla pizza, unless you would like to continue salivating over the picture a little more first. Go ahead. Take your time. The internet will wait.

Hello. Welcome back.

So, I’ve been making these for so long, I can’t remember where the recipe originally came from, but start to finish you should be done in less than 30 minutes, and all you need are:

• 6 Soft corn tortillas
• 1 8oz Can tomato paste
• Italian Seasoning
• Parmesan Cheese
• Garlic Powder (optional)
• Mozzarella Cheese (I used part skim), sliced medium-thin.
• Toppings of your choice

1. Place corn tortillas in a dry, non-stick frying pan or non-stick griddle over medium heat. You do not need to add oil, butter, or any other sort of lube or nonsense. When the edges start to curl, flip ‘em over. What you want is a crisp tortilla that does not go limp when you hold it by one edge. If you have to flip them back over a few times to get it just right, do it. Crispy is a critical.
2. While the tortillas are crisping, in a small bowl mix the tomato paste with about a tablespoon of italian seasoning and a tablespoon of parmesan cheese with a sprinkle of garlic powder if that’s your thing. Add more of each from there to your taste.
3. Place crisped tortillas on a foil lined cookie sheet. Top with tomato paste concoction, mozzarella, and toppings of your choice.
4. Heat in 350 degree oven until the cheese reaches the goo stage, somewhere between 5-10 minutes. I don’t know how long exactly, because I get impatient and just watch them through the oven window like I do a pair of Cole Haans through a store window, waiting for them to go on sale.
5. Nom.

Pictured above, you see that I topped mine with sautéed garlic scapes, canned sliced black olives, sautéed fresh mushrooms, and turkey pepperoni. Two notes:

• This was the first time I tried using garlic scapes like this. I actually do not recommend it because they do not soften enough when sauteed. They taste really good but are hard to chew. I will stick with turning my scapes into pesto. If you want green on your pizza, go peppers.
• You might wonder what business turkey pepperoni has being on a wellness blog. Well, firstly, turkey pepperoni is gluten free, which is the point of this post, and secondly, 17 pieces of turkey pepperoni have only 1.5 grams of saturated fat. I used 7 pieces. Don’t worry so much. Worrying isn’t good for you.

xxxooo

healthysapien:

“At your age you should start taking calcium.” MY WHAT?!

As much as I didn’t like to hear it, my doctor had a point. I look young for MY AGE, but now is the time to start protecting myself from future possible osteo-issues, so I followed doctor’s orders and bought a bottle of calcium supplements. Big. Chalky. Supplements. I did my best to take them, but their size and chalkiness made it seem less likely a broken hip would get me than choking to death on one of those monsters.

And while we’re on the subject of aging bones…

I worked with a woman who swore by glucosamine chondroitin for her knees. She said taking it made a huge difference for her, especially for running. After doing some research, I decided if I’m taking bone precautions, I should also take joint precautions, and so I bought a bottle of that too. Directions: Take three capsules, three times a day.

And while we’re on the subject of aging joints…

If I had a perfect diet all of the time, I would never need to take a multivitamin. But I don’t. So I do. When I remember. So, along with the the calcium and the glucosamine chondtroitin, I take a multivitamin. Okay. That last statement wasn’t exactly true. I couldn’t handle the calcium, I was inconsistant with the glucosamine chondroitin, and I forgot to take my multivitamin, a lot.

And then there were gummies.

Pictured above, the squares are my daily calcium, wrapped in gold are my daily glucosamine chondtroitin, and the buttons in the front are my multivitamins. I keep the calcium and multivitamins at work, and take them after lunch. I take the glucosamine chondtroitin at home after dinner. 

Do these have sugar and a few other unnecessary things the tablets and capsules don’t? Yes.

Was I taking the tablets and capsules? No.

Have I been taking all of these since I transitioned to the gummies? Yes.

Note: When I finish this pack of glucosamine chondroitin, I may switch to a liquid, since it has fewer undesirable ingredients.

healthysapien:

It seems appropriate to start any given new blog the same way you should start any given new day - with breakfast. But let me explain…

Before refocusing my energy on regaining the healthy diet I once kept, I allowed myself to replace nearly all workweek breakfasts and lunches with coffee and more coffee, that is, unless there was a meeting. In that case, I’d replace some of the coffee with typical office breakfast or luncheon fare such as bagels, overstuffed sandwiches, pasta, or pizza. I think you get the picture.

Now that I’m back on track, five days a week I enjoy my morning repast at my desk while I catch-up on email and such. With what, you ask? (Psst! Check out the picture.) Oh, you mean what’s going on in that bowl? OK. I’ll tell you all about it, but first, let me tell you how I got there. Like most good stories, this one too starts in a grocery store.

Once upon a time I stood in the cereal asile reading labels for what most people would call a “really really” long time. Box after box I read, and box after box had ingredients I did not want. For example, I am nothing if not sure blueberry muffin and cinnamon bun oatmeals are delicious, but is a patisserie in a bowl really the healthiest option? I found a few which at first looked promising, but then I saw they had some gluteny things (technical term) in there, which I avoid as much as possible. (I made an exception for seitan once. More on that another time.)

And just when I thought I’d exhausted my search, it occurred to me the simplest solution was to buy the constituant ingredients I wanted, and just make my own concoction, which is what you see above. It starts out as plain ol’ plain ol’ oatmeal. To it I add about two tablespoons of goji berries, which are antioxidants, two heaping teaspoons of flaxseed meal, for its Omega 3s, and one heaping teaspoon of inulin fiber. With the added goji, flax, and fiber, it takes about twice as much hot water to prepare, which means twice the hydration power, it consists of foods low on the glycemic index (goji is 29 where raisins are 64), and oh yeah. it’s tasty.

Bonjour! Bon appétit!

Folks! I started a new blog about doing my best to be healthy. Follow me at healthysapien for my updates!

jopincushion:

Love him

animalstalkinginallcaps:

OH, HEY. THERE YOU ARE. THOUGHT I’D LOST YOU. SORRY, I WAS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WING LOOKING AT THESE HORRIBLE BUTZER PIECES. IT’S LIKE THE NEW YORK GRAFFITI SCHOOL PURPOSELY WENT COLORBLIND AND STARTED APING A.R. PENCK. JUST REALLY HORRIBLE STUFF. PLUS I FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO ENTER INTO GIVEN THAT THE OPTICAL SUGGESTION OF BIOMORPHIC FORMS SPATIALLY UNDERMINES THE INTENDED DISJUNCTIVE PRETURBATION OF THE NEGATIVE SPACE.

ANYWAY, HOW WAS THE DEKOONING RETROSPECTIVE? WORTH A LOOK?

giraffe