Food & Drink

Grumpy Bear · August 24, 2021

BLT

So what's the fuss over a sandwich you can order any day of the week in any ma/pa restaurant?

There is something about home grown produce you can not replicate from a market. Not even a farm market. Tomatoes have been ripening regular now for some weeks but I caught a nice sandwich sized slicing Bonnie Original at it's peak right out of my back yard. Still sun warm. What a great day! I had on hand a head of garden Iceberg and a pound of extra thick hickory locally smoked bacon along with my favorite whole multigrain bread a few hours out of the oven. To top it off with Irish butter and some homemade Mayonnaise....

Breads that are made from everything but the hull and especially those of more than one grain are 'toothy', dense flavorFUL and rich.

If I have to tell you the difference between an out of the yard To-Mater picked peak vs a NC truck farmed and gas ripened in the truck on the way to market's flavor then stop reading right here. Fresh lettuce is just extra crunchy and brightly flavored.

There is bacon then there is oak timber feed packer sow bacon the farmer keeps for himself. Butcher bacon doesn't compare. My grandfather was a pork producer and smoked/salted and butchered his own. I was raised on the difference. You can't buy this at your local IGA. This little piggy goes from timber to butcher to smoke house to your table. It's manageable if you get say four guys to split a sow.

Irish butter is just grass feed vs corn feed but it makes a difference. Like the difference between Bourbon and Rye.

It happens just a few weeks a year where everything is perfect at the same moment. It was heaven......

Pretty good recipe. He is saying 'Groundnut Oil". Not from roasted nuts.

Grumpy Bear · September 2, 2021

So da wifey did me a solid buying a Handle of Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Handing it to me she comments. "It allot of money if you don't happen to like it".

(She also bought a fifth of the Double Oaked, My favorite)

Rest easy Sugar Bear...this one is a winner.

I think she likes me

Edited September 2, 2021 by Grumpy Bear

dieselfan1 · September 2, 2021

No wonder you married her.

Grumpy Bear · September 15, 2021

20 some odd weeks on the diet and 20 pounds to date lost. I can see my belt buckle again! My ankles no longer swell on long trips. My back hurts less..... All good stuff.

This summer has been educational. Our garden is small but our neighbors...younger neighbors are more than willing to share their surplus. I will hate to see it end shortly with the change of seasons. I've gotten use to eating fresh and raw and like it....allot. At least a portion of the meal.

Still learning the features and flaws in the Calorie King App and adjusting as I go. Patients young one...patients.

For example I just noticed the App uses the 'Standard 2,000" calorie to base fats and carb goals from instead of the ADJUSTED calorie goal you've been assigned. Meaning? I was still over the mark on things like saturated fat. I use Cleveland Medical as a guide post on all things nutritional.

https://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html

I wondered what criteria was used by the App to assign the calorie target. The above link answered the question and that knowing raised a few more. Like, why does the USDA pin everyone to 2,000 calories misleading everyone on the fractional components of diet? Ease is the only answer I come up with. BUT it isn't that hard. For example at 185 lbs my target is 1700 calories. Which is 85% of 2000 so; vitamin, mineral, fat, and so on are 85% of the USDA with exceptions as Cleveland suggest.

One exception that made smile and made me think was Protein. Cleveland makes the point that extra protein is harmful ONLY those with kidney or liver issues. The Media has been spreading the half truth that it is harmful to everyone. But that this the media these days. Lies, half truths and innuendo.

I've spent some time with the idea that we eat with ALL our senses. I've eaten like a wolf my entire life being in a hurry to do the worlds bidding. I worked in an industry that has no 'lunchbreak'. Eat when you can in as short a time as possible. The meals the bookended this shift were 'quick get to work' and 'to tired to enjoy'. That would not stand today.

I gave up smoking eight years ago and my senses are still improving. This is making eating the joy God meant it to be.

Okay that's enough random rambling for one session, eh?

Claire Buenavides · September 16, 2021

On 9/2/2021 at 11:59 AM, Grumpy Bear said:

So da wifey did me a solid buying a Handle of Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Handing it to me she comments. "It allot of money if you don't happen to like it".

(She also bought a fifth of the Double Oaked, My favorite)

Rest easy Sugar Bear...this one is a winner.

I think she likes me

You're lucky to have her as your wife.

Grumpy Bear · September 18, 2021

Fats, salt & sugar etc.

You've likely heard that it isn't the potato that is fattening; it's all the junk you put on it. Ditto a dozen other foods that become vehicles for fats and sugar.

So let me ask you a question. How much butter do you put on your toast? Why do we butter toast?

That second question is telling. Taste naturally. We butter it to enhance the taste. Okay lets say that's true.

How much does it take to make it tasty? Obviously a pound of butter is silly. But so is none.

Eating out it is served in 'pats' or in small containers whipped at times, maybe with honey and we've gotten use to this a a serving size. 9 grams and each grams carries 9 calories. 81 grams a slice and we always eat at least two slices with breakfast...right? 162 grams!

I've played with this. As an ex-smoker whose taste buds are 7 years in recovery I expect my sense of taste is a bit duller than average. At 3 grams over two slices and I can not tell a bit of difference in taste past this amount. That's 27 grams total!

I find this to be true of other things as well. I like a bit of sugar on a nice ruby grapefruit for example. 1 gram. That's my threshold for sweet. Mother use to use a teaspoon. 4 times as much!

This brings me to a thought that has been a source of anger. That sandwich you bought at XYZ eatery most often will have a nutrition placard on a handout or on their website. These things are scary. You can make that same dish at home with fresh foods with a fraction of the salt, sugar and fat cutting the calories in half or more AND it taste better! Is plated nicer. Is made with better and fresher ingredients.... Canned tomato soup and a grilled cheese v homemade tomato soup and that same grilled cheese is like 1/4 the calories. WHY? Not because XYZ thinks it will taste better. It most certainly does not...BUT....it does make it ADDICTIVE.

Little adjustments like this greatly increases the volume of foods you can eat for the same calorie count.

Just things that make me go...huh?????????

Donstar · September 20, 2021

Another option is no butter. Every morning for many years I've made toast and directly added a layer of peanut butter and marmalade for my wife. I use other types of jam for my toast. Often I'll fry myself an egg or two for lunch and place them directly on unbuttered toast. I like a little crunch to my toast and found that butter or margarine make for a soft or greasy texture. When I was young my grandparents would give me a bowl of porridge with a huge dollop of butter in the centre. I would add a sizeable layer of white or golden sugar and enjoy! I like the taste of butter and a little bit on a piece of freshly baked bread is pretty nice!

diyer2 · September 20, 2021

Common sense is all it takes and we all know that is lacking. So many over weight people eating them self's to a dirt blanket.

If fat caused pain there would be a shortage of pain pills.

I could loose a few pounds.

KARNUT · September 20, 2021

About 30 years ago my wife joined WWatchers. The gradual learning process for us, especially me was priceless. I had figured just eating less was the key I learned differently. Simple things like different ways of cooking other than frying everything. I didn’t need toast with my eggs every morning. If I did I didn’t need butter and jam. Just jam with no change in flavor. After many years of using fake alternative foods and condiments. Going back to real foods I find that I’m satisfied eating less. Even with my Saturday night pig out I’m noticing quality is replacing the pig out. We actually share our meals most time and have desert at home. I’m not on a diet. Just re learning how to eat and prepare food.

Grumpy Bear · September 20, 2021

There's a joke that says, "If it taste good; spit it out". I disagree.

Excess seems to be the only common denominator. Excess in everything. Including 'thinking'.

Some fat is essential and your calories must come from somewhere. Fat is somewhere. It's also a thing that makes food taste good, as does salt, spice etc. That said there are fats that are not essential nor beneficial. Trans fats for example are not good in ANY amount. Saturated fats can be fine to a limit, but poly and mono fats have essential uses.

I, personally, would prefer butter to margarine. Butter contains zero trans fats. Margarine has allot of trans fats. It's how it is made. HYROGENATED oils! Yes there are spreads like "Earth Balance" that have less saturated fat and some like it. But I still prefer 'less butter' to more "Earth Balance" and for the same reason stated earlier. I can't tell the difference in taste between 3 grams and 30 grams. Well and I can still tell the difference between the taste of real to chemical substances.

20-35% of our calorie intake comes from, or should come from fats. Use them wisely and enjoy what you eat. No need to be extreme in either view. It's isn't all or nothing. Fat is not like nicotine or heroin. Both substances your body has no functional need for. It's more like salt or iodine. You can not live without out it but too much and and some forms are not healthy.

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/fats-oils.html

This doesn't mean I'm a butter freak. I use a dab here and there where taste matters most and something from below on everything else.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Grumpy Bear

shakenfake · September 20, 2021

If you aren't fasting until lunch and then drinking around a gallon of water each day you are doing it wrong.

KARNUT · September 20, 2021

1 hour ago, shakenfake said:

If you aren't fasting until lunch and then drinking around a gallon of water each day you are doing it wrong.

I’ve seen studies that 15 hours is enough. I do that. My last meal is at 5. I eat breakfast 15 hours later. The water deal is bogus. Drink fluids as needed heavy on the water. You don’t need to drown yourself. More when you you work obviously. What do I know I lost 40Lbs and kept it off for 30 years.

Grumpy Bear · September 21, 2021

There are lots of diet models based on calorie intake. Others on fasting. Some avoid this food group or that. What many; have in common is the "I want results NOW" cry behind them. By result I don't mean direction, I mean final goal. They lack patients because people like instant gratification.

My BMR is 1700 calories for my weight target, age, gender and height. My activity level is low which can add 300 calories, on average, to my day. My target range is 1500 to 1700 calories with 30 minutes of exercise. Ergo if I stay in my calorie coral my loss is tied to my activity which as I noted is about 300 calories a day. A pound a week loss is 500 calories a day so the math says I should be loosing about 6/10 of a pound per week. I've been doing this 29 weeks and have lost 20.8 lbs so 0.71 lbs. per week. A bit ahead but I don't always fill my goal calories either.

Just got back my annual blood work and my numbers are not just good....they are perfect. (So we ate like pigs for three days :crackup: )

I've never been a 'fad' chaser. I was pretty good at science and math and stay close to what I know to work. The calorie model is over 100 years old and every few years, or months, someone tries to sink it with a fad. It's like a Timex. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

As I've noted before the count is easy. That balance is hard. I made up a cheat sheet and taped it to the back of my phone as a quick reference guide. I NEVER try to be perfect. I try to be really good really often and it's working.

I use the 'pinch test' for hydration and my number of trips to the boys room. I like coffee. I like my bourbon. I like a soda now and again and I like unsweet tea. And yea, I drink some water when I mow. Take a shower now and again. I don't count my water and a I don't intentionally fast although it has been a life long habit to not eat breakfast at an early hour so for me it is passive. I even skip lunch sometimes.

Now I don't know what "doing it right" looks like to anyone else but gradual weight loss and great checkups are a guide post I find useful. Took me years to gain it. May take me years to loose it and I'm good with that. So is my Doctor who is now copying the same model seeing how effective it has been on me. (We are the same age and general build).

BTW, wife is on the same model and has lost almost 30 so far. She a bit more aggressive with the exercise being younger and all. :rolleyes:

shakenfake · September 21, 2021

14 hours ago, KARNUT said:

I’ve seen studies that 15 hours is enough. I do that. My last meal is at 5. I eat breakfast 15 hours later. The water deal is bogus. Drink fluids as needed heavy on the water. You don’t need to drown yourself. More when you you work obviously. What do I know I lost 40Lbs and kept it off for 30 years.

The reason for the water is so that you are full throughout the day. The other reason for water is that normally us Amerifats drink Coke, sugary drinks, alcoholic beverages, etc. this is one of the quickest ways to gain weight. If you only drink water all day then you'll feel better, be less hungry and won't permit excess calories in the form of bad drinks. A gallon is really an exaggeration but you should be drinking a lot. 0 calorie drinks are permitted though.

Good for you for eating at 5 and then eating at 8. I don't eat dinner until very very late sometimes 9 or 10 and I am eating lunch the next day at 12.

The calorie thing is the most true. I think a lot of people forget that when dealing with fads lol.

KARNUT · September 21, 2021

1 hour ago, shakenfake said:

The reason for the water is so that you are full throughout the day. The other reason for water is that normally us Amerifats drink Coke, sugary drinks, alcoholic beverages, etc. this is one of the quickest ways to gain weight. If you only drink water all day then you'll feel better, be less hungry and won't permit excess calories in the form of bad drinks. A gallon is really an exaggeration but you should be drinking a lot. 0 calorie drinks are permitted though.

Good for you for eating at 5 and then eating at 8. I don't eat dinner until very very late sometimes 9 or 10 and I am eating lunch the next day at 12.

The calorie thing is the most true. I think a lot of people forget that when dealing with fads lol.

There are good calories and bad. Protein is good, sugar in comparison is bad. Lots of water has another benefit. More frequent trips to the restroom equals more burnt calories.