Vivian's Daily Journal

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, carolve, Heather McDougall

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Fri Dec 25, 2020 8:41 pm

VivianS December 25, 2020 to next weigh in January 1, 2021
New Year

Weight on December 25,
Weight on January 1, 2021:

Weight change

Compliance with Maximum Weight Loss checklist = *
Non compliance =×
1. Start each meal with a soup and / or salad and / or fruit. * * * * * * * I keep prepared soup, salad and fruit ready at all times. They have designated spots in my refrigerator.
2. Follow the 50 / 50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate ( by visual volume ) with nonstarchy vegetables and 50 % ( by visual volume ) with nonstarchy minimally processed starches. Choose
Last edited by VivianS on Thu Feb 04, 2021 10:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Fri Jan 01, 2021 11:06 pm

VivianS January 1, 2021 to January 8, 2021 flying solo

Weight on January 1, 2021: 147.2, 35"waist
Weight on January 8, 2021: 146.4, 35"waist

Weight change: -0.8

Compliance = * Non compliance = ×
Maximum Weight Loss checklist
1. Start each meal with a soup and / or salad and / or fruit. * * * * * * *
2. Follow the 50 / 50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate ( by visual volume ) with nonstarchy vegetables and 50 % ( by visual volume ) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. * * * * * * *
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. * * * * X pecan pie, *, x tootsie rolls
4. Eliminate all animal foods ( dairy, meat, egg, fish, seafood ). * * * * X dairy, ×pecan pie filling may have butter and eggs, but I didn't eat the crust, ×;chicken fried rice
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods( i.e. , nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy ).
* * * * X pecans
6. Eliminate any added oil. * * * * X pecan pie, egg rolls x chicken fried rice. *
7. Eliminate all higher calorie - dense foods including flour products ( i.e. , bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes ), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. F*, S *2 cookies , Sun*, M X birthday plain muffins , T x Italian cheesy bread, cheese pizza, fried egg roll, W *, Th x Tootsie Rolls,
8. Don't drink your calories ( especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages ). * * * X unsweetened tea *, *, *
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. * * * * * * *
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily ( i.e. , brisk walking ). * * * * * * *

Victories, comments, concerns, questions :
I ate 21 meals that were compliant to MWL guidelines. I also ate snacks of 7 foods that were not compliant. I kept my weight with in the range requested by one of my doctors.
FRIDAY, January 1, 2021 statistics: 147.2 pounds, 35"waist I lifted weights, 100 ounces of water.

I cooked 2 veggie soup, collards and 6x4 soup. The funny thing is that I prepared soup on a 3: 2 ratio for myself and my husband. I like 1.5 cups of soup as a serving. He just increased his serving to one cup. I put his soup (minus pinto beans) in big jars so he could eat it when he wanted it. I was surprised when he ate 2.5 cups as a serving! He said he had to add ketchup to it. He can buy more soup makings if he runs out of soup. I am so happy that he is eating more vegetables!

SATURDAY, January 2, 2021 statistics: 145.6 pounds, 35"waist
I went to bed before midnight and didn't take my night meds until my first
bathroom visit. I feel a little more rested today. Walk outside 30 minutes.

SUNDAY, January 3, 2021 statistics: 145.2 pounds, 35"waist, 25.7 BMI, 30.1 % fat 146.5 running average, 1148 kcal needed to maintain. Walk outside 30 minutes.

A lady I met at the YMCA asked me about my diet and talked about her own struggles with her weight and her discussions with her doctor. Because of the coaching I have had from you, Mark Cooper, I tried to gently remind her of the truth. I laughed inside my head as she reminded me of myself in not wanting to eat a big, plain salad. She didn't want to do any of the things that lead to weight loss. Since she won't do the 10 behaviors, she won't lose weight. She balked at anything beyond a little salad, saying,"I don't want to do all that." Her sister is diabetic and she is afraid of carbs.
Similarly, my niece's friend has developed diabetes. She is taking classes on counting carbs.
I am thankful that I have listened to Dr. Doug Lisle and realize that I don't have to be embroiled in discussions with them. I know what to do for myself and I will do those ten behaviors, even if I fall off the wagon, I get right back on immediately. I am also trying to sleep at night and not be bumped off schedule by my husband. I hope that season is over. He wants me to be able to sleep at night as well.
I am cooking more soup due to my husband's desire for more soup. I am finding ways to speed up the process, like blending 3 of the totatoes and chopping the 11 others. For 6x4 soup, I have understood that I can measure the peppers and use .25 cup for each jar to get a more standardized serving. In doing so, the taste is the same every time. Pouring the peppers from the small 1/4 cup into the jar is much easier than trying to chop and drop equal amounts of pepper into the jars. Similarly, I open a can of water chestnuts, rince them and divide them into five groups then scoop them into 5 jars. The second can goes into the next five jars the same way. Cooking the same foods again and again helps me see shortcuts until I can do the job easily. I am also developing my stock of storage jars. On the days I travel to take care of children, I have my 6x4 soup in pint sized jars. I have room at the top of a pint jar to add 1/2 cup of frozen green peas to the 6x4 soup. At home, I use the smaller jars containing only the 6x4 soup.
Dr. Doug Lisle spoke on having containers of food ready and keeping the menu simple to be able to maintain the diet. He is so right!
TEMPTATION: (LAST WEEK) On Thursday night, my niece brought home Chinese food. I ate MooGooGai Pan but pushed aside the chicken. I ate an egg roll.(Fried, added oil). I thought to myself, "Well, it is the last time this year that I will be off my diet." I should have left the house immediately! I also learned that the movies that show folks baking cookies send me to the kitchen to raid Beloved's cookie supply. I will watch documentaries, start sewing, painting, read a book, or go for a walk. It's not wise to sit there and be tempted. I can escape!
MONDAY, January 4, 2021, statistics: 144.4 pounds, 35"waist, 25.6 BMI, running average 146.29, 30.1 % fat, 1144 kcal to maintain, actual calories consumed 1818 (502 calories more than I needed even with -200 calories for lifting weights for 30 minutes.) I plan to walk outside tomorrow and
I was compliant to maximum weight loss checklist except for my wild birthday party! My niece and I ate a cupcake and I blew out an imaginary candle. I told her, "That's it. Nothing else." Regarding my age and actual birthdate, I will tell you what my aunt told me when I asked her age at her sister's 100th birthday party. She was at least 97. When she leaned over to whisper in my ear she said, "Can you keep a secret?" I nodded. She said,"I can, too."
Some temptations are not to be avoided, but limited and enjoyed. I enjoyed some unsweetened tea. Water is on the menu for tomorrow.
I ate all my usual foods. I have made collards cooked from fresh and I included lots of stems. Goodbye constipation!
For breakfast I enjoyed steel cut oats and 1 cup of cantaloupe.
Lunch is my usual:
6x4 soup with .5 cup of green peas cooked from frozen,
The 50/50 plate by visual volume is collard greens 1.5 cups, 1.5 cups of 2 veggie soup, .75 cup of pinto beans and .75 cup of brown rice. On top of that I piled 3 cups of Romaine lettuce and .5 of a small tomato. The salad gets eaten first and with the 50/50 plate. I ate 1 cup of red seedless grapes.
At home I ate 1 cup of potato with 1 cup of filtered water and 1 cup sliced boiled okra. I only ate 3 cups of lettuce because my meal was interrupted by a phone call from my elderly cousin. My husband didn't go buy the salad I requested, so I can eat the rest of the lettuce tomorrow. Things work out. We don't need to fret. The fresh collards will be doing what those other three cups of lettuce usually do for me - give me an easy bowel movement.

TUESDAY, January 5, 2021 statistics : 147.2 pounds, 35"waist
When I got up at 3:30 p.m. I weighed 144.6 pounds, 35"waist I walked 30 minutes.
I'm enjoying my favorite behavior of the 10 point checklist in Maximum Weight Loss program :EAT WHEN HUNGRY. I went to bed early and I woke up hungry. I took my medicine just now and must wait an hour to eat. Ulcers from years ago (Once an ulcer patient, always an ulcer patient.), acid reflux, arthritis medicines and irritation from tons of acid in mucus make it necessary to take medicine to prevent stomach problems. Take it. Wait an hour, eat. That gives me time to be grateful. I remember the pain and sickness before such medicine was invented.
I want to tell you one of my management tricks for finding my journal entry for the week. I assign a unique word to a journal entry. This week the search word is "flying". Seemingly it may not have anything to do with the entry, but it brings up only one week of thoughts. I can write that on my notebook and bring it up quickly. Learning to navigate these pages has been interesting. Maybe this trick will save you some time and frustration. This may be an "Everybody knows that" kind of thing, but it helps me to write it.
Tempting others. Early in writing my journal someone pointed out that when I write about specific foods as I have done this week, it may send others off into temptation. Being in contact with someone new to the journey made me remember how small compromises such as those I have made this week cause the weight to jump back on very quickly and slow weight loss.
I was hungry and tempted by muffins because my meal was interrupted by a phone call and I didn't eat but half my salad. I think of my friend saying she was only going to eat a small salad. Her stomach won't be full of low calorie food and she will be hungry, cheating on her diet and discouraged. At least I understand what happened. Eating the right foods takes away the temptation for wrong foods. That is the lesson. Eating right foods when you are hungry prevents you from eating wrong foods. Temptation is lessened when you are full of life giving whole food plant based meals.
Breakfast:
30 oz. Hot water with laxitive powder
Steel cut oats with cantaloupe 10 oz.
Lunch:
6x4 soup and .5 cup of green peas
collard greens 1.5 cups,
2 veggie soup 1.5 cups,
.75 cup of brown rice,
.75 cup of pinto beans
3 cups of Romaine lettuce and .5 small tomato
Dinner:
POTATO 1 cup and 1 cup filtered water
.25 teaspoon iodized salt
.25 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup of sliced okra cooked in water in mictowave.
I'm eating the rest of last night's salad tonight. Beloved was too tired to go to the grocery store last night. I may go today.
When we got to the store tonight, there were no salad bags. I bought 2 hearts of Romaine. Going late to the store means fewer shoppers and fewer products.
I saw a specialty home built with his and hers refrigerators.
Dr. Doug Lisle suggested such a thing in his New Year's interview. I believe it would help to remove forbidden foods from sight, but as my latest cookie button got hit, I know where Beloved keeps them. Having a place for a separate refrigetator could be a problem. Keeping a separate area in the pantry may be possible as is keeping a box of beans easily accessible. Since space is finite, I just need to cook soup more often, because Beloved is eating more. That's great!
I have cooked brown rice and need to put it in cups for my individual servings.

On Tuesday I was on a binge after my usual meals. I think I ate more than 3,000 calories today. My niece brought home Chinese food again. My husband opted for Italian food and pecan pie. He said, "I can't eat at home without getting you off your diet." He shouldn't be eating those foods either. All I know to do it pack my lunch and do better at the next meal. I will walk 30 minutes before I go to bed. I am not happy with myself. I am also feeling angry about another niece with a washing machine problem who will not let me get her machine fixed. Why should anybody suffer when it can be helped?

WEDNESDAY,January 6, 2021 statistics: 146.0 pounds, 35"waist, 25.9 BMI, 30.1 % fat, running average 146.11 , kcal to maintain 1151. I lifted weights 35 minutes.

Yeah, right! Suffer. I woke up.at 5 a.m. with acid reflux burning my esophagus
Why would I eat those foods because other people stuck their health in the fire? Why would anybody suffer when it could be prevented.? The PLEASURE TRAP GOT ME! Beloved wants me to outlive him and be healthy to take care of him and be able to take care of myself. He pointed out that my sweet little nephew still wanted me to hold him even after I corrected him when he was banging two jars together. His grandmother told him to stop. When he picked them up again, I jumped up and took them away from him saying ,"If they break, they will hurt you!" I need to take my own advice and put down the things that hurt me. I need to get out of the room/ house when those hurtful foods come in the door. I must leave my niece's house when she has ordered the foods and be ready to grab my bags and go instead of being tempted beyond what I can endure. Little one brought his plate and said, "Feed me the noodles like a baby bird." He lay on his seat and opened his mouth. I fed him noodles and we laughed.. When the egg roll went crunch, so did my resistance.


Now that I have spilled my guts about my off diet SINS, I.am going to lift weights and go back to sleep. Maybe the other niece will let me bring the repairman to her house today. NOPE! I'll try again tomorrow.
Because I thought I was going to be up all day, I ate my oats and pineapple breakfast and the three remaining pieces of Italian cheese bread with the tomato sauce dip. My niece told her daddy that she wanted to spend the day playing with her kids, she plans to have them stay with their grandmother tomorrow so perhaps she can allow the repairman to come fix the washer then. Now we see the TV commercial where the repairman sits around sleeping waiting for the phone call. The image I prefer is the man posing as a washing machine or refrigerator working constantly and then proclaiming, "Lazy toaster!" I have not slept well today. I called my niece early at 9 a.m. and told her to call the repairman and then call me. The repairman called me at 2:30 and said "Now or we are looking at tomorrow." I called her daddy and he said she just wanted to rest and play with the kids today. She called me and told me her plan for tomorrow. I told her she could have told me the truth about today and that would have been acceptable and good to know. I hope that my niece who is mother to two young children and runs constantly doesn't think I am a LAZY TOASTER trying to tell her what to do. I hope to persuade her to accept my help by reminding her that children are an inheritance from the Lord and that the financial responsibility for them does not ALL rest on her. Maybe she will see my offer as a gift and not a loan or any kind obligation. I don't know why she won't let the repairman come fix her machine. He has the needed part and I will ask again and hope she will allow him to come fix it on her day off next week.

I am wrestling with myself about telling myself the truth about being in the pleasure trap, wanting to eat the cheese bread, but knowing that it is bad for my heart, knowing that I am tired and I can't worry about what someone else is going to do. God has our good works prepared from before the foundation of the world. He has perfect timing. Why don't I trust Him and rest? Why don't I eat my food and leave that nonfood alone? So what if I throw $2 worth of leftovers in the trash? That is better than paying monthly for acid reflux medicine, or worse, having a million dollars of heart surgery and the suffering to go with it. Why do I have trouble telling my husband anything? I have done well on the vegan diet for 5 months. I know what to eat. My husband has done well for almost 13 years on a restricted diet. He knows what he can eat even the limited amount of water he can drink. He loses weight. He can barely keep his pants up. He wants to eat pecan pie to gain a little weight and have a little pleasure. It makes him hurt and worried that I won't be well if I eat the pie even without the crust. Eating anything off my diet worries him. It should make me think, too. I just don't bother to tell myself the truth when enticed by the PLEASURE TRAP.
It's time to help with the kids. I have my lunch packed. I'm going to eat my food and nothing else.
Ha! We make our plans and God laughs! On Thursday When I got to my niece's house, the little girl and her momma had lice. There is no shame in getting lice. The shame is in keeping lice. While grandmother did the lice treatment, I started the cleanup required. "Washing, washing, washing, everything needs washing, raw hide! Vacuuming and disinfecting, every neck needs checking, don't give up 'til everything is done, rawhide!( That was sung to the tune of an old song, if you are old enough to remember it.) I told Momma as I have already been telling her since she started bathing the children herself that they need to have their hair dried. The heat helps kill and prevent lice. They have never had an infestation before, but they are at a new daycare and cold weather brings out caps and coats. I think Momma got lice, too, but didn't realize it.. She has dry skin and doesn't want to use a hair dryer. Since she is lying down with them in bed at night to help them get to sleep, I think she brought them to the children. After her treatment, she showered and blow-dried her hair. We often decide to change after suffering. Momma was on her toes and changed the sheets on the children's bed while I had the other sheets in the washer. She does not want any more suffering.
I spent all night at my niece's house. I had to stay awake. I ate all my food then I ate anything available that was less offensive - canned peaches with oats, rice and veggies made with oil, but I made it through the night and stayed on task. I mopped and vacuumed, washed everything and quarantined the Teddy bear. When I came home, I put my clothes in the washer and scrubbed my own head. I don't have lice, never do, and that is why I don't.
My mother told me tales from her life. Lice is a fact of life concerning small children along with many other ills. Watching over children constantly and checking anything they scratch or comment about is the only way to help them stay healthy. Long ago there were no medicines available to treat lice and a host of childhood illnesses. Immediate and thorough cleaning is the only effective way to get rid of lice and keep them from coming back.
I think the same thing applies to our kitchens and food environment. Stop the calories at the grocery store. Don't bring wrong foods home and you reduce temptation. Having plenty of the right foods with you at all times is one way to keep yourself on track to stay healthy. I didn't expect to stay there at my niece's house all night, so I didn't want to get my canned meals from the car. I just helped myself to what was in my niece's pantry and refrigerator to save time and clean up. I did not eat cookies that the children beg to eat at night. I thought that was a little victory.
This has been a tough week for me physically and emotionally. I know my weight fluxuates over a few pounds in a day. I want to stay between 143 and 147 until my blood test on January 25th and the visit with my internist on Feb. 4th. After that I may start losing weight again. I weighed 146.4 Friday evening. That's 0.8 pounds less than last Friday. I think I did very well with being compliant to the maximum weight loss checklist on the majority of my meals, but during difficult days I ate things not on the list. I am too tired to mark my little chart about compliance right now. I have hope to do better next week. I managed to make fresh "2 veggie soup" this morning before I went to sleep. I am ready to enjoy several meals. My husband is eating 2 veggie soup every day. I hope you are eating enough vegetables and soup and having continued success in your weight loss journey.
I finished marking my compliance checklist from my paper notebook. I decided to add initials for days of the week to make it a little easier. Easiest of all for record keeping is full compliance every day. It is those extra foods that pack on pounds or keep me from losing weight. I don't know if I am at my ideal weight or not. I have seen loved ones lose lots of weight in the dying process. Perhaps the doctor told me to stop losing weight in the event that I get Covid. An extra pound could give me some fighting calories. The doctor urged me to get the immunization as soon as possible, but that is not being offered yet.
VivianS
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Sat Jan 09, 2021 9:48 am

VivianS Frday, January 8, 2021 to Friday , January 15, 2021
Alpha

Weight on January 8, 2021: 146.4
Weight on January 15, 2021: 145.2

Change in weight: - 1.2 pounds

Compliance to Maxim Weight Loss checklist = day and *
Non compliance to MWL checklist = day x and explained error.
1. Start each meal with a soup and / or salad and / or fruit. * * * *
2. Follow the 50 / 50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate ( by visual volume ) with nonstarchy vegetables and 50 % ( by visual volume ) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. * * * *
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. * * * *
4. Eliminate all animalfoods ( dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood ). * * * *
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods ( i.e. , nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy ).
* * * *
6. Eliminate any added oil. * * * *
7. Eliminate all higher calorie - dense foods including flour products ( i.e. , bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes ), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. * * * *
8. Don't drink your calories ( especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages ). * * * *
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. * * * *
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily ( i.e. , brisk walking ). X X X X
Friday, January 8, 2021. statistics : 146.4 pounds, 35"waist
Saturday, January 9, 2021 statistics : 147.3 pounds, 35"waist
Sunday, January 10, 2021 statistics : 146.2 pounds, 35"waist
Monday, January 11, 2021 statistics :145.4 pounds, 35"waist
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 statistics : 147 pounds, 35"waist
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 statistics : 145.4 pounds, 35"waist
Thursday, January 14, 2021, statistics : 144.2 pounds, 35"waist
Friday, January 15, 2022, statistics : 145.2 pounds, 35"waist
On Friday 1/8/21 the children stayed home from daycare. Mom and Dad promised to take the little boy for a haircut, but they didn't. That task was mine on Monday when the children were again sent home from daycare. I did cut his hair and then gave him a soothing bath. Little darling girl had to be treated for head lice again and all the washing and cleaning had to be done again. I have not needed brisk walking to get my exercise done.
Warning: Joke approaching! It looks like the one member of the household who has not been treated for lice will need the old fashioned treatment. While he is sleeping, I will call Delilah's barber and have him shave off half Dad's hair, set fire to the other half and stab each louse when it runs out of the fire! Of course, Dad will complain of a stabbing headache after he is treated for lice. Ha!, Ha, ha ha!
Question: After all these centuries of lousy living, why don't humans have herd immunity to lice?
Answer: Lice are not viruses. Soap and water plus fingernails, combs and medicines kill them, not the immune system. No go ask someone who actually knows. This journal is supposed to be about what we eat, not what is eating us. The trouble is if something is bugging us, we often eat what is handy instead of what is necessary to thrive.
Like dead heart tissue, some things can't be fixed. If we can't fix what is bugging us, we must learn to cope, accept, ignore or otherwise deal with what is bugging us. My hope is that my attempt to fix things that bother me won't make the situation worse. I am grateful for the guidance I have had from the Maximum Weight Loss team. Without the facts I might have believed that the highly touted meatless burger might be good for a human body (other than the stock holders of the corporation). A salad in a taco shell is one of the most calorie laden things on the menu of another fast food place.
The fast food that is best for me is the salad I just chopped and dropped in my bowl. Want fast food? Learn to chop faster.
The more I prepare the same menu item, the more shortcuts I have found. I can make the basic soup portion of 6x4 soup (.5 cup of instant brown rice, .25 cup of quinoa, .25 cup of lentils and .25 cup of dried split peas, one 8 oz. pack of sliced portobello mushrooms, one 8 oz. pack of white sliced mushrooms and 8 cups of filtered water.) I chop a couple of onions and some garlic and throw those in the pot. I let that cook, cool and I use a .25 metal measuring cup to put into 10 jars. (4 are pint jars for the days I travel to my niece's house and the other 6 are 12 oz. jars.) The next day I chop the sweet peppers which are frozen raw. I add about 2 tablespoons of sweet bell peppers to each jar. I drain and divide the contents of two small cans of sliced water chestnuts and add those to the 10 jars. Each day I add .5 cup of frozen green peas to the 6x4 soup along with an extra .5 cup of filtered water. The little boy I love calls the water chestnuts "apple" and crunches them happily. I say, " No, that's a water chestnut." He knows what he knows. He won't eat apples that are not crunchy. I won't either.
Dad did get his lice treatment before he went to sleep! He didn't want to get a stabbing headache or a new hairstyle.
The little ones went back to daycare yesterday! :-D
Beloved and I attended another birthday party. He told me he is proud of me for losing weight and keeping it off. He is concerned about the fat laden dessert...cake icing. He said it made him feel.sick.
We are not obligated to eat cake or the icing. I can roll food around on my plate like my mother in law used to do to make it appear as if she had eaten. I have to clean food off other people's plates with a wet cloth or their used paper napkin as I rake food into a trash can or it will go into my mouth. I also must use a long handled dust pan and broom to get food from the floor or I can use a wet cloth to do the same job. I think I ate popcorn with my hands so much that my fingers touch food, elbow bends, mouth opens and it's a slam dunk without a jump. It is a conditioned response that I must to be mindful of at all times. Some people have criticized me for wiping the floor with my wet cloths, but they don't live in my home and are not happy being with me due to their perfectionism, so they can stay out of my presence. I have plenty of clean cloths to use. I have a cloth mop I use. I see no difference in cleaning the floor with a cloth and cleaning with a washable cloth mop. Either a washing machine works well enough to clean the cloths and the mop head or you don't have to be in my house.
Since I am not a good cook, I serve on the clean up crew when we have large gatherings. Once at an outdoor party, a friend of mine with a good sense of humor saw me dragging a heavy black trash bag to the dumpster. He joined me in pulling the bag and said, "Oh, Vivian, you didn't have to bring your lunch!
Ha! Ha, ha, ha!"
Lately my canvas bags with my lunch and the fruit for the kids have started to feel really heavy. The truth is that it is probably all those years (decades) I am dragging behind me.
I cooked fresh collard green again this week. I include as much of the stems as I can. They are soft when cooked and really help prevent constipation. Beloved doesn't like the smell, but he tolerates it because he knows how beneficial they are to me and how much I enjoy them.
I am finally getting some sleep. I slept 2 hours past my alarm. Since Momma and Nannie are with the kids, all I hope to do is read to the kids tonight before bed while they eat fruit. They will eat fruit, but hide and seek may over rule reading books. My sweet girl came back to me after her bath and we read one baby board book. That makes 901 books for her that we have counted and recorded before she enters kindergarten. It's like calories consumed. The books you don't record add up quickly and are important, but books you record are recognized and contribute to your understanding of what has gone into the child's educational experience, especially the ones the child has heard again and refer to in their speech. Baby Bird passed 1,000 books in December. He has had books read to him since the day he was born. He couldn't run away from me! He was not free to choose whether he looked or listened. The little girl has been more selective with her feet. If she doesn't like the book, she walks away. He can, too, now.
Calories eaten mindlessly make you wonder why your triglycerides and cholesterol are high. When you start noticing and recording, you find out that Nannie makes linguine with margerine and garlic salt. Maximum Weight Loss checklist thinking would knock those out of baby bird's fingers when he wants to feed me in play and think, "No, thank you! Linguine is a highly refined, calorie laden flour product which is not good for me. It has added oil and added salt." I eat what I prepare myself.
This week has been good in spite of all the extra hours of washing, mopping, and shopping for toboggans for Baby Bird's hair bare head. I rejoiced that the children passed the examination at daycare, and watched carefully as each child was examined for heat lice. These are not my children by birth, but they are my children by love. All things are possible with God. Even getting two adults at home to continue their own lice treatment and daily examinations to keep the lice killed and prevent future infestations. Everybody has to follow the same rules or everybody suffers. We are all tired, but we must be clean. Two little visitors can bring thousands of unwanted guests. Same thing for pets. Cat will damage the inside of the house and bring in unwanted fleas. Momma wants her cat, but doesn't care who suffers because of it. She feeds two extra cats outside, plus the opossum and racoon. Her disability causes the rest of us to suffer, but we still love her.
After a lifetime of struggling with my weight, I now understand and implement the rules of eating high nutrition, low calorie density food.Thank you, MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS team, especially Jeff N. You have made me understand how costly the fat I eat is to my waistline and my health. When the doctor told me to stop losing weight for now, I am staying within the guidelines that she told me: 143 to 150 pounds. I will have a blood test on February 1st and see my internist on Feb.8th. I rechecked my schedule and found my mistake. I thought that my appointment was on Feb. 3. This journal has proved its worth again. Thank you for allowing me to continue writing. I can do this writing while lying on my bed in the dark. My neck doesn't hurt and I can think well enough to come to some conclusions that help me.
I hope you are learning the value of the Maximum Weight Loss checklist and are having success in your weight loss journey! Most importantly, I hope your health is improving and you are enjoying your life even with the challenges.
I hope to write to you next week! I will have a new search word. To find the newest journal entry, think of the alphabet used for spelling airplane call letters. To find the silly jokes, search for "Ha! Ha, ha, ha!" A merry heart does good like a medicine.
VivianS
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Sun Jan 17, 2021 1:50 am

VivianS January 15, 2021 to January 22, 2021
BRAVO
Weight on January 15, 2021: 145.2 pounds, 35"waist
Weight on January 22, 2021: 144.6 pounds, 35"waist

Weight change:
-0.6
Maximum Weight Loss checklist :
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes
2. Follow the 50 / 50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate ( by visual volume ) with nonstarchy vegetables and 50 % ( by visual volume ) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. Yes
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. Yes
4. Eliminate all animal foods. Yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods ( i.e. , nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy ). No ...I have eaten pecans.
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes
7. Eliminate all higher calorie - dense foods including flour products ( i.e. , bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes ), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. Yes
8. Don't drink your calories ( especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages ). Yes
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily ( i.e. , brisk walking ). Limited, working long hours

Friday, January 15, 2021: 145.2 pounds, 35"waist
Saturday, January 16, 2021: 143.6 pounds, 35"waist
Sunday, January 17, 2021: 145.0 pounds, 35"waist
Monday, January 18, 2021: 144.8 pounds, 35"waist
Tuesday, January 19, 2021: I forgot to weigh. I'm still tired.
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021:145 pounds, 35"waist
Thursday, January 21, 2021:
Friday, January 22, 2021: 144.6 pounds, 35"waist

I went to the YMCA on Friday, walked on treadmill at 2.5 mph for 30 minutes. I used the rowing machine for 5 minutes the took my shower. It is safe to say that the "cooties" kicked my ambition to exercise right out of me.
I slept from 9 p.m. to midnight and started cooking. Saturday night was spent cooking vegetable soup and collard greens. At 6 :30 a.m. Saturday morning, I got in bed.
The good news is that my husband has traded his corn breakfast cereal for the corn in vegetable soup. The bad news is that I must spend more time cooking it. He is eating at least 2 cups a day. He can't tolerate okra so I prepared this batch without okra and I will add okra when I put my soup in my bowl. Okra helps bring cholesterol down. Okra is a high fiber/ low calorie food.
I am eating my usual foods:
100 ounces of filtered water
Steel cut oats and fruit (blueberries on Friday, pineapple on Saturday )
Potato (1.5 cups) and 1.5 cups of water in blender with salt sprinkled on top at the table. With it I eat fruit or salad or okra and tomato.
My regular lunch:
6x4 soup with .5 cups of green peas
1.5 cups collard greens cooked from fresh
1.5 cups of 2 veggie soup + 0.5 cup of sliced okra
.75 cup of brown rice
.75 cup of pinto beans
Fruit for dessert;
Friday I ate 2 cups of fresh cherries
Saturday I ate 1.5 cups of black seedless grapes

After musing about my enjoyment of eating popcorn from a bowl with my hands, I decided to put my established habit to good use. I put my fresh Romaine lettuce and chopped tomato in a big plastic bowl and happily munched it with my hands. The crunch was very satisfying. My hands don't bump my teeth like a fork does and I felt very happy. I don't use salad dressing and I had my clean hands on the salad to chop it so why not eat it with my fingers?
Baby Bird sits in my lap 4 nights a week and he likes what I give him as long as I offer it with my fingers. He will eat soup with his own tablespoon. He helps himself at almost age three to my salad, my soup and a few select things from my "lunch bowl" along with nearly every fruit I have offered him. He can use a spoon and fork very well, but we like fingers. We wash hands and fruit carefully before we begin. (I wash fruit at home, but I want the children to remember to always wash fresh fruit.) I grew up eating my first meals with my daddy. When I was big enough to move to a chair, a grand child was eating from Daddy's plate. It is a time honored tradition. Mom feeds the baby. Dad feeds the child with teeth who is tall enough to start walking, the "knee baby". Baby Bird's dad is working at night. I have the available lap. I read to each child and let them watch video on my cellphone. I laughed when Baby Bird didn't like a television program and he got up to touch the screen. He looked so surprised when nothing happened. Touching the screen makes things happen on my cellphone.
Screens can be great or terrible. I am still tempted by the food I see on TV commercials. I mute the TV, switch to a public TV station for a few minutes or leave the room, but even a second of seeing some foods can "fling a craving on me".
Baby Bird asks for honey. When I told Beloved to buy honey for Baby Bird, it flung a craving on him. Beloved happily ate his toast with honey today. I happily licked up the sticky leavings on the plate- just honey, no bread. . "Just a little won't hurt me."...famous last words before falling off a cliff into a deep dive of rushing cravings and drowning in calories. This time I survived, but I know that Beloved needs to wash his own plate. I need to step out of the room when he is eating something tempting to me.
Beloved visited the kids without me today. He brought home some cheese/potato soup my niece sent me. I ate two bites. I should have poured the rest in the trash immediately. I will face that task tomorrow. The trash goes out on Monday.
A different niece has developed diabetes. Her husband had them on the Keto diet for about 3 years. She has gotten fatter and fatter. Her daddy, grand daddy and great grand daddy have/had type 2 diabetes. Now I understand why she refused to allow me to bring a repair man to fix her washer. She has been too tired to cope with another thing. Time and information gives us a different perspective if we can be patient. I wonder if she will be open to the idea of a whole food plant based diet now. I'm going to call her "Hairdresser" to help you keep my cast of characters straight. Hairdresser has a 4 year old son and a year old son who still needs a bottle. You know that she has a steep learning curve when it comes to controlling her diabetes.
A YMCA friend has asked me about my diet and about BMI. Like most of us, she is resistant to the idea of changing. Her sister has diabetes and she is afraid she will get it, too.
My pharmacist died with Covid last Thursday. Sorrow has gripped my heart. Her daddy was my pharmacist for 20 years. She and her sister and brother let him retire about 20 years ago. Of course, Beloved and I can't go to her funeral.

I keep hearing about friends and relatives that have Covid and have had it 20 days or longer. I saw a friend buying a pulseoximeter. She said her husband has had Covid and pneumonia. She knows I have chronic bronchitis and asthma. Since I have been on this whole food, plant based diet, I have been very healthy. She asked me if I am afraid I will get pneumonia. I told her that my lung specialist has given me every pneumonia immunization known to man. For once, I am glad I have been treated by a lung specialist for 40 years.
Folks who cough have not been popular at concerts and in other social situations. Now with Covid in the world, coughing is really not acceptable. I will continue to wear a mask as long as I might cough. There is no reason to make anyone else nervous, afraid or sick.
Monday, January 18, 2021 144.8 pounds, 35"waist
I lifted weights, but I am still tired from last week.
Breakfast :
Steel cut oats and 10 ounces of fresh pineapple
Lunch: (already packed for M-Th)
6×4 soup +.5 cup green peas
1.5 cup collard greens cooked from fresh
1.5 cup 2 veggie soup +.5 cup sliced okra
.75 cup Pinto beans
.75 cup steamed brown rice
6 cups Romaine lettuce with 1 chopped tomato
Fruit for dessert :fresh cherries, blueberries, cantaloupe or black seedless grapes
One of these days I'm going to learn to cook dry beans. I burned the rice last night, but still had 7 servings that were OK. Maybe the beans will have to wait a while. I have plenty of canned beans. I drain and rinse them. For a few cents more, some one can keep a job canning beans.
I was not able to get one of my medicines last week when my pharmacist died and the date for my last refill passed. I called the doctor's office and the nurse was not working today. I will be without medicine only one day ( today).. I left a message. Perhaps the pharmacy will have my prescription tomorrow.Thursday, I got my medicines. I know the sorrow my friend (also a pharmacist) feels. She has lost two siblings. That means the care for her aging parents and all the family pharmacy business has shifted to her. She said she is just numb. I went inside the pharmacy to see her. No only is the pandemic working her to death between testing for Covid and now the flu immunizations, she has to deal with her grief for her sister and business partner. I know I'm going to die one day, but even if I get Covid, I wanted to see her. Covid has made this a crazy year.
Covid has also made people forget that heart disease kills more people every year than Covid and yet we continue as a nation to eat animal products and get stopped up arteries as a result.
Tonight I saw my niece, Hairdresser. She told me she has been sick and has been to the doctor. From her example, I have found out that I can turn off my phone and get some sleep. When I wake up, if someone leaves a message, I will call back.
My husband's pacemaker check has been postponed. My internist has postponed my visit with him. Beloved has concluded that Covid is pushing aside many more things than we imagined at first.
I am staying in the weight range my neurologist asked me to stay, even though I am showing a 0.6 loss for this week. My weight goes up and down a lot. I have not felt like exercising a lot and it has been a relief to not think about losing weight. I did go to the YMCA tonight, but I limited myself to 30 minutes of exercise: 18 minutes on the rowing machine and 12 minutes on the treadmill at the highest angle of rise at 2.5 mph.
I hope all of you are staying safe, eating well to stay well and having a meaningful life. May God bless you, my fellow veggie and fruit lovers!
VivianS
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Fri Feb 12, 2021 4:10 pm

VivianS February 12, 2012
I weigh 149 pounds this afternoon.
I have gained about six pounds since the neurologist told me to stop losing weight. The gynecologist told me that I need to try to reschedule with a surgeon for the internal hemorrhoid that has given me so much pain. My mammogram was "NORMAL". What a relief! Last year a spot was found and I had to have two extra mammograms and a sonogram on it. They recommended that I continue to have annual mammograms even though I am past my 70th birthday because my family has a strong history of cancer.
I think the stress about the breast exams and tension of the constant hemorrhoid pain has caused me to sit down, lie down and give up. I have also been discouraged about going anywhere because many people have been so careless about Covid. Another friend died with Covid yesterday. I saw two men in the grocery store without masks. A young man without a mask told me he was afraid I was going to open my car door on his car and damage it. I said, " You notice I didn't. " He moved his car and came into the store without wearing a mask. He cared more about his car than he cared about the people around him. Love does no harm to a neighbor. I don't know if masks work or not, but I know that I cough and at least if I do, perhaps it may keep particulate matter off others. I have been healthy this year at least in part because I have stayed away from other people. I have not had flu or even a cold. I thank God for his mercy.
I keep hoping that my diet will resolve the hemorrhoid problem, but the general practitioner told me that it may be a blood clot. He did not examine me .Neither did the gynecologist.. In her words,"I'm not going to make a bad situation worse." I hope to see the vascular surgeon on February 25th.
I have been eating primarily on the Maximum Weight Loss checklist, but lack of exercise and those celebration foods have done some damage. I am not going to give up. This way of eating is so pleasant and makes me feel better.
I hope you are getting healthier in your world!
VivianS
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Fri Feb 19, 2021 11:44 am

VivianS February 19, 2021
I had blood tests for the visit with my internist next Wednesday. My weight on Wednesday was 148.2 and according to the portal where my results were reported, they were "Normal". My weight was 148.2 in November when I was tested previously. The actual numbers. were not as good as the numbers in November because pecan pie has been available to me and chocolate kisses hve also nibbled me off my diet . When I cheat, I cheat myself out of good health.
I listened to Dr. Doug Lisle last night. The YouTube discussion was ftom the past. The last question was from the past and it was about CHOCOLATE: Quit cold turkey and hang on for a rough few days and the temptation will begin to be less. Get those forbidden, health wrecking foods out of the environment!!!.
My 86 year old cousin has been to the emergency room 4 or 5 times in the last year for dangerously high blood sugar. He daughter told me not to send her any Valentine candy or money for candy. She ate a whole pie and that put her in the hospital. Another time it was a whole bag of candy. How did that sruff get in her house since my cousin can't drive? Right. Her daughter had not realized her mother's lack of control concerning sweets. Daughter brought wrong foods into the environment.
Last night I made 17 servings ( one and 1/2 cup each) of Beloved's vegetable soup. Since I put them in 12 oz jars, either of us can mindless dump the contents into a bowl for at least part of one daily meal. He adds ketchup and crackers. I add sliced, frozen okra and have the soup over brown rice with my usual 6x4 soup, beans, collard greens, salad and fruit.
During the late night when I was cleaning, resting and planning my activities for the weekend, I ate some chocolate and looked at email when I found my test results. Doug Lisle had also spoken about sleep. The need to sleep is generated by the body's clean up process. Thanks to my wrong choices in food and working long hours, I understood why I have been reluctant to get out of bed lately. Those facts are reflected in my blood tests and the 5 pounds I have regained ...right in my belly.
My niece has a washing machine with blades that tear fabrics. NEVER WASH AN OLD QUILT IN A WASHING MACHINE!. She washed a quilt which is more than 60 years old and it tore in places. I have been given the task of repairing it. My body can repair itself when given the right foods, sleep and movement, but like that quilt, I feel like I have developed some damage. I have some old quilt piecs that will serve in the repair process, but the quilt will not survive another trip through that washing machine.
I finally realized that I have an internal hemorrhoid that requires special care. Even though MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS CHECKLIST requires no seeds, my guts require ground flaxseed to get my stool past that hemorrhoid. I have been in such misery. Ground flaxseed the only thing that keeps me comfortable. I have also gone back to the use of probiotics/prebiotics and plenty of water as usual. I quit taking the calcium supplement (which causes constipation). I quit using the Cronometer subscription and removed the app from my phone. As Mark suggedted, I am going to focus on the Maximum Weight Loss checklist and do my best to get to my healthiest weight and stay there. I am like that old quilt. I am damaged by rough treatment that younger folks can withstand.
My husband is still afraid of Covid and asked me to cancel the visit with the vascular surgeon again. My nephew has Covid. My sisters have had their Covid shots. The second one made them really sick. My 86 year old sister has a broken leg. She can't stand up to cook or clean. From her wheelchair she must eat what her 90 year old husband cooks. She is tired of eating the same old thing after a month of being in a wheelchair. My problems are small when I consider the plight of others and my problems as easily fixed as the quilt I am going to repair today. The trick for me and the quilt is to remain in service, stay gently cleaned and avoid further damage. I may have to accept some added fiber (flaxseed) like the added fabric needed to patch the quilt, but at least I can remain useful and continue to have the joy of being with the little ones in my family.
Each day is in God's book. I accept the day with gratitude and delight in the messages of love He gives me. Yesterday I picked up 10 baby board books selected by the librarian for Baby Bird who will be three next month. His sister will be four this summer. I read a book about tools to them. Because the chairs in the kitchen are pushed to the sink, knocked over regularly and are old, a screw fell out of a chair. My husband requested a screwdriver and started repairing the chair. Baby Bird helped turn the screwdriver to repair the chair. He remembered seeing the screwdriver in the book and was able to talk about it. My husband was delighted. God has perfect timing and each day is prepared in love for me with everything I need.
Even the quilt piece I will use today was prepared by some unknown woman and given to me by a well loved , deceased friend. That quilt piece speaks to me of God's love. It is in the Dutch doll pattern and contains exactly the same shade of pink as the quilt I am repairing. (The odds of the colors matching are astronomical.) The piece is old fabric and it will not shrink and damage the old quilt I am repairing. The Dutch doll has a hat. I always wear a hat. That quilt will remind those children of me, long after I am gone. Maybe they will remember the lessons I am teaching them and will show others the love they have received from me that I have received from God.
I hope you will see God's hand of mercy today and hear His messages of love in your every day existence. Even our pain is a message of love. He designed our bodies to tell us (with pain!) when something is wrong. I finally understand that I had several sacks of flaxseed in my freezer to use daily to avoid constipation. I'm not cheating with flaxseed. It is necessary for me to avoid constipation.
Dr. McDougall recommends flaxseed for constipation.
Even if I can get that hemorrhoid fixed by vascular surgery, I may continue to need flaxseed. I must eat vegetables, fruit , starch in the form of whole grains and beans. That's the food that God lovingly made for me to eat. Thank you, God. I'm going to agree with You and eat those foods and nothing else. Thank you, McDougall team, for helping me to realize that good health is a choice that I make one bite at a time, with a brisk walk and smile on my face.
VivianS
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Thu Apr 01, 2021 2:53 pm

VivianS April 1, 2021 Okra and oats are better than heart attacks and strokes!

I eat oats for breakfast every day I can. I add okra to my soup everyday I can. If I avoid animal products and high fat anything, I will also be helping my cholesterol stay low to avoid heart attack and strokes. Cut, naked okra (Not breaded or fried) will help me avoid being cut, naked and died.

There is no April fooling about this message. Oats and okra make an emulsion (slime) in the guts to clean out any cholesterol. Whole barley is reputed to do the same, but I have not found anything but pearled barley. I don't know if there is such a thing as whole barley available for sale anywhere. Finding whole barley, cooking it and eating it may be my April fool's day surprise one day. I want to try it!
Happy guts to you!
VivianS
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Fri Apr 16, 2021 9:04 am

VivianS April 16, 2021 Feasting
I am reading my personal copy of THE MCDOUGALL PROGRAM FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS. Yesterday at my niece's birthday party, I commented that we would again be having a party next month. That's one of the joys of being in a BIG family. It is time for another party in a few days.
I took strawberries, chopped cantaloupe, apples and grapes to the party. When a niece who has diabetes came to the party for a few minutes, I handed her a package of fresh fruit. I said, "Celebrate with us!" She accepted the cantaloupe with a smile and didn't get off her diet.
I also had a package of frozen riced cauliflower in the microwave. She turned it on for the six minutes as requested, but wouldn't stay to try it. I ate all three 20 calorie servings by myself. The risotto (riced cauliflower with asparagus and mushrooms) was a bowl of belly filling deliciousness which kept me from eating too much of the sugar and fat laden birthday feast foods.
I hope to go swimming at the YMCA today. I thought I was going to get a vaccination for Covid19 today, but my shot was cancelled because some 1 in a million people get a blood clot from the vaccine. Who knows what a day will bring forth? I make my plan, but God directs my steps.
I hope you get your steps done today!
VivianS
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Thu Jul 01, 2021 4:46 pm

VivianS July 1, 2021
I'm back! I hope to post on the weigh in tomorrow.
Thank you, Dr. McDougall and team, for making this possible for me to lose weight and stay healthy!
This is my second time to participate in the program. I am looking forward to success again. I am looking forward to reading your success stories, too.
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Sat Jul 03, 2021 2:21 am

VivianS July 3, 2021
Weight change - none. This is my first weigh in in seveal months.
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Sat Jul 03, 2021 5:29 am

VivianS July 3, 2021
Weight change +/- zero. Today is the first time I have tried to participate in a while.
I have read the orientation materials and would like to be added to the list.
I am not sure where I am supposed to post my weigh in.. I wrote one after Midnight Friday, but this morning it was not there.
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby JeffN » Sat Jul 03, 2021 12:32 pm

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Re: Vivian's Daily Journal

Postby VivianS » Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:07 am

2022, January 14 Potatoes and Greens for every day
My journal should be "Vivian's Once in a While Journal" since I am not writing daily.
In water I cook a large potato, which is cleaned but unpeeled. I steam mustard greens of an equal amount. After the timer goes off at 50 minutes of cooking, I let the foods cool for a while before working with them. I put the potato (yes, with the peel) in a blender with enough water to cover it. After blending that part, I add the mustard greens and blend until smooth. I pour these into cup sized containers for myself and half cup stainless steel containers for my husband. That makes 4 servings for each of us. I eat mine cold at breakfast. He puts the metal cup in the steamer to reheat and eats them anytime during the day. My husband wants things cooked for long periods and blended. You may enjoy mustard greens that have been cooked less. They are healthier.
I enjoy selecting a few fresh green leaves from my friend's garden and eating the raw greens with a small sweet potato. Two small, tender cabbage leaves with tiny kale leaves makes a cup of greens that are easily sliced and served quickly. Delicious! Broccoli leaves, Romaine and any other thing from that fresh little garden is wonderful. The garden is just a couple of raised beds 4'×6' in size. I used to have greens in my flower beds, but a little bunny eats all of them.
Four collard leaves including the stems plus a little water makes a powerful serving of nutrients. I wash and roll the leaves around those glorious stems full of fiber. I chop them quickly and cook them in water just 4 minutes in a microwave.
A sweet potato can be washed and rolled in a wet paper towel then cooked in microwave 6 minutes, then turned on the other side for 6 more minutes. You could also bake a pan full of sweet potatoes and reheat as you eat them through the week. I also eat the peel of the sweet potatoes. You may have to trim a bad spot, but that is easily done. Potatoes are not the only ones with eyes. If you see something you don't think will be good, don't eat it!
Enjoy!
VivianS
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

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