Welcome! › Forums › Non-Running Forum › Time to eat better
- This topic has 21 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 9 months ago by ksrunner.
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- April 14, 2011 at 5:58 pm #12330edParticipant
We all need to do our part with healthier eating and help to influence others around us. I am working on breaking my addiction to soda – switching to seltzer water when I crave the cold fizz and regular water. When the office wants to order food as a group – I opt out more times now than I opt in. I am going to start bringing a salad for my lunches. This is just at the office. At home we are starting to eat healthier meals and becuase we didn't have the money to eat our meals out we have grown accustomed to that not being in our diet. When we do eat out, we all feel slightly sick. The children (12 and almost 9) never ask for fast food.
- June 22, 2011 at 12:17 am #31541Andrew A.Participant
I am liking this blog more and more: http://enduranceandsustainability.blogspot.com/2011/06/junk-food-endurance-and-longevity.html
- June 22, 2011 at 12:17 am #31641Andrew A.Participant
I am liking this blog more and more: http://enduranceandsustainability.blogspot.com/2011/06/junk-food-endurance-and-longevity.html
- June 24, 2011 at 10:53 am #31542runner4Participant
good post and forum
- June 24, 2011 at 10:53 am #31642runner4Participant
good post and forum
- June 30, 2011 at 4:04 pm #31543ksrunnerParticipant
Two relevant Mercola articles:
- Some interesting historical facts about bread in Britain
- Summary: refined white flour = bad
- Interesting that today's bread from refined white flour is even poorer quality than refined white flour bread from 1911.
- Children whose parents swear that their kids only eat wonder white bread tend to make liars of their parents when presented with my wife's whole grain bread — even asking specifically for sandwiches on subsequent visits.
- Buy seasonal: Fruits and vegetables are both cheaper and tastier when purchased in season.
- Use the bulk bins: You won't pay for packaging, labeling and advertising.
- Grow your own: A sunny yard or even a window box can add cheap, fresh food to your plate.
- Use your freezer: Stock up and freeze when whole food is on sale.
- Reduce waste: Don't let leftovers go to waste.
If you enjoy Salsa you can save a lot of money by canning your own. Mrs. Wages makes a very tasty salsa mix such that you provide your own tomatoes and vinegar. Even if you cannot grow your own tomatoes, buying tomatoes from a local farmer and then using them to make Salsa can save a lot. One year, our tomatoes did not produce adequately and we bought several boxes of tomatoes from a local organic farmer and used those to can salsa. Though my wife doesn't usually use mixes, Mrs. Wages eliminated the need to grow peppers which we do not consume other than salsa, saved her hands from the sensitivity to pepper juice, and Mrs. Wages salsa tastes REALLY good. The mild salsa provides just the right amount of spiciness for us.
You could also save on salad dressings by making your own dressings:
- Sweet Raspberry Dressing — especially good if you add pears, apples, or berries to your salad
The Mercola article mentions buying in bulk. That can be a huge savings. Take black beans, for instance. You can buy a 25# bag black beans for much less than the equivalent amount of canned black beans. Though it takes a couple of hours to cook them, you could be working around the house or watching a movie or something while you cook them. If you make a large batch of them, you can store them in the refrigerator for quick meals during the week. (Warm beans (and corn if you like). Spread some cream cheese (we use Chevre — a goat cheese) on a whole wheat tortilla. Add beans and top with lettuce, and tomatoes or salsa.)
Note on Mercola
If you do any research on Mercola, you will see that some call him a quack. Although I think that he is very over the top with his marketing to the consumer and think that that could easily constitute a conflict of interest since many of his articles directly relate to a product that he sells, I think that much of what he publishes is right on. I also think that his approach looks more to the root of health problems than the mainstream healthcare system. If our health care system were working, I don't think that Mercola's marketing would work so well.
- June 30, 2011 at 4:04 pm #31643ksrunnerParticipant
Two relevant Mercola articles:
- Some interesting historical facts about bread in Britain
- Summary: refined white flour = bad
- Interesting that today's bread from refined white flour is even poorer quality than refined white flour bread from 1911.
- Children whose parents swear that their kids only eat wonder white bread tend to make liars of their parents when presented with my wife's whole grain bread — even asking specifically for sandwiches on subsequent visits.
- Buy seasonal: Fruits and vegetables are both cheaper and tastier when purchased in season.
- Use the bulk bins: You won't pay for packaging, labeling and advertising.
- Grow your own: A sunny yard or even a window box can add cheap, fresh food to your plate.
- Use your freezer: Stock up and freeze when whole food is on sale.
- Reduce waste: Don't let leftovers go to waste.
If you enjoy Salsa you can save a lot of money by canning your own. Mrs. Wages makes a very tasty salsa mix such that you provide your own tomatoes and vinegar. Even if you cannot grow your own tomatoes, buying tomatoes from a local farmer and then using them to make Salsa can save a lot. One year, our tomatoes did not produce adequately and we bought several boxes of tomatoes from a local organic farmer and used those to can salsa. Though my wife doesn't usually use mixes, Mrs. Wages eliminated the need to grow peppers which we do not consume other than salsa, saved her hands from the sensitivity to pepper juice, and Mrs. Wages salsa tastes REALLY good. The mild salsa provides just the right amount of spiciness for us.
You could also save on salad dressings by making your own dressings:
- Sweet Raspberry Dressing — especially good if you add pears, apples, or berries to your salad
The Mercola article mentions buying in bulk. That can be a huge savings. Take black beans, for instance. You can buy a 25# bag black beans for much less than the equivalent amount of canned black beans. Though it takes a couple of hours to cook them, you could be working around the house or watching a movie or something while you cook them. If you make a large batch of them, you can store them in the refrigerator for quick meals during the week. (Warm beans (and corn if you like). Spread some cream cheese (we use Chevre — a goat cheese) on a whole wheat tortilla. Add beans and top with lettuce, and tomatoes or salsa.)
Note on Mercola
If you do any research on Mercola, you will see that some call him a quack. Although I think that he is very over the top with his marketing to the consumer and think that that could easily constitute a conflict of interest since many of his articles directly relate to a product that he sells, I think that much of what he publishes is right on. I also think that his approach looks more to the root of health problems than the mainstream healthcare system. If our health care system were working, I don't think that Mercola's marketing would work so well.
- June 30, 2011 at 5:24 pm #31544edParticipant
Excellent addition to this topic. Thank You –
This summer we are trying to grow:
Tomatoes
Strawberries
Raspberries
Watermellon
Honeydew
Red Cabbage
Cucumbers
Green Peppers
Red Peppers
Onions
Zuchinni
Broccoli - June 30, 2011 at 5:24 pm #31644edParticipant
Excellent addition to this topic. Thank You –
This summer we are trying to grow:
Tomatoes
Strawberries
Raspberries
Watermellon
Honeydew
Red Cabbage
Cucumbers
Green Peppers
Red Peppers
Onions
Zuchinni
Broccoli - June 30, 2011 at 6:37 pm #31545RyanKeymaster
Great article.
Ed, that's a nice garden. We have similar:
Tomatoes
Thai peppers (HOT!!! I'll stay away but Lisa uses them a lot)
Pumpkins
Cucumbers
Lettuce (a lot of it)
Eggplant
Raspberries
Strawberries
Blueberries
Grapes (not sure how they are going to turn out but we're giving them a shot)
I know I'm missing a couple of thingsI want to do some root plants (onions, carrots, etc.) but I need to do a lot more work in our very rocky soil before they can be expected to do well.
I'd also like to do a couple melons but we have to plan out how to fit them into the garden or prep for a bigger garden next year.
The garden got off to a slow start this year, I think it was just too cool and damp for most of June, but it's really taking off now. I'm hoping to begin getting tomatoes soon. A lot of berries, especially the blueberries, are looking just about ready. The only things I'm worried about right now are the grapes but they aren't supposed to produce until I believe September and October so they have time to get going before I'm going to be too worried about them.
- June 30, 2011 at 6:37 pm #31645RyanKeymaster
Great article.
Ed, that's a nice garden. We have similar:
Tomatoes
Thai peppers (HOT!!! I'll stay away but Lisa uses them a lot)
Pumpkins
Cucumbers
Lettuce (a lot of it)
Eggplant
Raspberries
Strawberries
Blueberries
Grapes (not sure how they are going to turn out but we're giving them a shot)
I know I'm missing a couple of thingsI want to do some root plants (onions, carrots, etc.) but I need to do a lot more work in our very rocky soil before they can be expected to do well.
I'd also like to do a couple melons but we have to plan out how to fit them into the garden or prep for a bigger garden next year.
The garden got off to a slow start this year, I think it was just too cool and damp for most of June, but it's really taking off now. I'm hoping to begin getting tomatoes soon. A lot of berries, especially the blueberries, are looking just about ready. The only things I'm worried about right now are the grapes but they aren't supposed to produce until I believe September and October so they have time to get going before I'm going to be too worried about them.
- June 30, 2011 at 10:41 pm #31646Andrew A.Participant
I want to do some root plants (onions, carrots, etc.) but I need to do a lot more work in our very rocky soil before they can be expected to do well.
Two words: raised beds. 😉
- July 1, 2011 at 12:21 am #31647RyanKeymaster
We're considering raised beds, possibly some method of doing some kind of raised bed/retaining wall hybrid on the slope behind the garage.
- October 14, 2011 at 2:28 pm #31648ksrunnerParticipant
Cost of fast vs. real food.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html?pagewanted=2&_r=3
- July 10, 2012 at 4:04 pm #31649RyanKeymaster
Some interesting thoughts on the Running Times website today that made me think of this topic: https://web.archive.org/web/20121009170236/http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=26491
BTW: With 0.15 inches of rain since June 1 and no rain of any substance I can recall since mid-May, the garden is not doing well this year. Especially after the heatwave we just survived. We're watering like crazy and I recently put a mister hose on our berry patch, which I think will help, but it's hard when it's this hot and dry. We already lost quite a few strawberries that simply dried up on the vine and I'd say about half of our blueberries dried up on the bush, though the blueberries that remain are now starting to look pretty good. It won't be a total loss thanks to our watering but our harvest is not going to match last year's.
- July 12, 2012 at 4:26 am #31650Andrew A.Participant
Some recent dietary changes I have made are 1) did a 30-day internal cleanse for the first time this spring (helped a lot with energy, as it aided nutrient absorption) and 2) take a probiotic daily.
- July 12, 2012 at 3:26 pm #31651edParticipant
I am going to have to look into that internal cleanse.
- July 13, 2012 at 12:07 am #31652Andrew A.Participant
Here is the one I did:
I just took the caps morning and night and the only dietary modification that was recommended during the cleanse was to avoid gluten, which I did not find difficult though I eat little pasta or bread anymore anyway. - July 17, 2012 at 9:12 pm #31653edParticipant
This looks pretty good and is somewhat affordable – Thank you.
Just one question – Is there a taste or aftertaste to this product?
- July 18, 2012 at 1:18 am #31654Andrew A.Participant
I cannot recall, so likely not. They are just capsules, though they are directed to be taken on an empty stomach.
- July 18, 2012 at 6:37 pm #31655edParticipant
I'll give it a go – can only help.
Thanks again Andrew.
- April 11, 2013 at 10:24 pm #31656ksrunnerParticipant
I just re-read this this blog post that Andrew had posted earlier: http://enduranceandsustainability.blogspot.com/2011/06/junk-food-endurance-and-longevity.html
Our family recently made diet changes based upon the same idea that Ed wrote: “If a natural-foods diet could help make a sick person well, wouldn't it also make a well person more well?”
In our case, we were already eating “natural-foods” (buying organic, grinding our own grain to make whole grain foods, etc), but, Pamela was having an increasingly harder time digesting grain. After months of research and finding things like Dr. Wahls and the specific carbohydrate diet and talking to friends about their diets, she had reduced her grain consumption, but was not yet ready to make the change to a grain-free diet. If a natural-foods diet could help make a sick person well, wouldn't it also make a well person more well?
Eventually, she found Lierre Keith's book The Vegetarian Myth. Though the book targets practicing vegans and vegetarians to convince them that the lifestyle they are leading is good neither for their own health nor for that of the planet or the animals that they strive to protect, it is a good read for non-vegetarians as well.Lierre Keith's book does not pull any punches and answered the question of “Why should we change our diet?” That was in December. At that time, I knew that the change was in the works, but she acted on it suddenly and decisively which is how she usually does things. I bought into the change on two fronts. First, the diet will prevent diabetes which is problematic in my family. Second, the facts that archeological evidence and observations of hunter-gatherer peoples in the 1800's and early 1900's revealed that many of our modern diseases did not exist before agriculture and the cultivation of grains convinced me that they are not really necessary and I am probably better off without them. She also showed that agriculture is an annual natural disaster for the environment.
Since around mid-December, I have not eaten any grains (wheat, corn, oatmeal, etc), legumes, or potatoes. We also nearly eliminated sugar. We still have some sugar in the form of chocolate. We have chocolate chips in our trail mix and often have 1/3 of a chocolate bar each after dinner. Other than that, our only sweetener is honey which we use in moderation.
Physically, the only changes that I've noticed is that I lost a bit of weight around my middle (~8 lbs) and I also lost a bulge or tightness in my lower abdomen that did not seem to be fat, but protruded a bit more than I thought was right. Our Rolfer theorized that it was inflammation in my gut that was alleviated by the new diet and that seems as good a theory as any. One other change that I've noticed is that my appreciation of the foods that we eat has grown. My wife is an excellent cook and I have always enjoyed what we eat, but it seems to me that my enjoyment has deepened. For instance, I usually have a smoothie with breakfast. I especially notice the new appreciation with my morning smoothie at work. When I take my first sip of smoothie, I feel like giving vent to a deep sigh of contentment. I take it as my body's approval of the food that I am giving it. Interestingly, I only noticed this feeling regarding the smoothie after our milking doe had her baby and we had fresh, raw goat milk to add to our smoothies again. Over the winter when we were making smoothies with grape juice, I did not have such a strong reaction. I have not noticed any adverse reactions.
My smoothie (I have feel good just thinking about it.):
- 1 banana
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup raw goat milk
- 2 oz each of: blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries
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