Another mundane day. No excitement until the earthquake this evening. I made it a other 24 hrs. I’m on a roll.
I’m not sure yet if it’s just wishful thinking but it feels like I’m breathing easier with less sinus congestion (aka mucus). I’m hopeful that’s a positive change from my little experiment. Time will tell.
I’ve been reading as much as I can on inflammation and how to reduce or eliminate it from my body. There’s a plethora of info out there and from trusted sources! That’s a plus!
Most of what I’ve read says less meat and dairy, no processed foods, more leafy greens and bright colors, more plant protein, more fruit, and lean animal protein. Lots of Omega-3 and fish, healthy seeds and nuts. And a little red wine daily. 🍷 The Mediterranean Diet is often sited a proven anti-inflammatory diet.
Pretty much our entire diet is on the “don’t eat it list”… Lol Wonderful! I may exaggerate a bit.
I’ll be spending the next few weeks working on getting back to basics and returning to the healthier diet that I used to consume. Implementing some gradual changes so my crew doesn’t mutiny.
Fish is an easy start. We eat a lot of salmon, but not always in regular intervals. It’s often consumed for lunch. It’s in our diets weekly, sometimes twice a week or more. I can start making sure we eat at least two salmon meals a week, every week.
We eat quite a bit of poultry but red meat is Dean’s favorite and consequently we all have grown quite accustomed to it, regularly. This will be the main challenge to try and adjust down.
Some “experts” say it takes 8 weeks without added sugars to really notice changes in your health. Hmmm. That’s a long time. Lol
Here’s a few links if you’re interested in more information.
Harvard Health Foods that fight inflammation.
Very Well Health Anti-inflammatory diet.
Eating Well Anti-inflammatory Meal Plan
Eat This Steps to stop sugar cravings
We’ve been working on a custom rec cabin down by Ninilchik off and on for two years. It belongs to our boss Jake and we work on it when there no other more pressing contracts.
It’s an open floor plan with a central vaulted ceiling. This light will be the centerpiece for the cabin.
It’s is of course meant to offer light but it’s mostly a decorative piece to bring that level of rustic Alaskana to modern times.
I used a piece of local Alaska White Spruce that we milled. I distressed it and sealed the 4×6. Then I repurposed a belt for two decorative straps and added some natural fiber rope to finish the straps.
It’s hung by 4 eye lags capable of supporting over 100 lbs.
The lights are string Edison lights fixed by staples around the moose horns. Jake supplied the horns. I used my Makita cut off tool to cut the horns from the skull. I drill two holes in each paddle to attach them to the beam.
I lengthened the cord with a swag light kit to allow it to plug into the switch controlled ceiling outlet.
I can’t wait to install it at the cabin. I’ll update with a picture once it’s installed.
Nine days in, feeling pretty good. Having fruit yesterday was so nice.
I’ve got the day off from work today while Dean does snow removal, it’s work at home day for me! I’ve got lots of files to upload for the kids’ school. I need to catch up on housework, oy. And it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day. Clear blue skies right now.
I made the salad for lunch that I’ve been talking about, y’all, it was amazing! The picture doesn’t do it justice!
Here’s the recipe I actually used. I substituted a pomelo for the grapefruit. It takes a bit for the prep, peeling the pomelo segments. The girls also enjoyed it. I will definitely make this again. I feel like I have a better appreciation for the flavors in this salad after being off sugar for a week.
Dinner tonight will be instapot chili from scratch.
Days waiting to eat fruit. Not family size related.
I woke up super early today, not intentionally of course. But it allowed me plenty of time for study and planning our meals today. And I’m so excited to have some fruit!
I may have eaten 3 tangerines, a grapefruit and an apple over the course of the day. They tasted sooo good.
But the day didn’t go as planned so I skipped making my salad for dinner. I took a nap instead. So salad will be for lunch tomorrow!
No, wait, I got that wrong. It makes one strong! Strong enough to bypass the sweets.
I made it a week, way to go me! But why all this self denial anyway?
Too much added sugar in your diet is no bueno. I kept telling myself I wasn’t really eating that much sugar… But, when you compound that with a lot of simple carbohydrates (gluten free foods are loaded with them) and *gasp* alcohol, well you (I) might just be overloading your (my) liver.
“Your liver metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol, and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat,” says Dr. Hu.
Harvard Health Publishing
I’ve been feeling the effects of chronic inflammation for a while now. I gave up the daily coffee habit back in late September thinking that might help. (Notice it was easier to give up the Joe than convince me onesies to give up the sugar!) And as it turns out, I really haven’t missed the stuff. Although sometimes that cuppa tea isn’t quite as satisfying… And I haven’t noticed any benefits from not drinking coffee other than no more withdrawal headaches.
So by process of elimination, sugar is next on the list of priorities after coffee… Then dairy (cheese) but I don’t want to talk about that.
Today is my last day of avoiding fruits too. I’m looking forward to enjoying some apples, oranges & grapefruit this next week. Fruits are essential, which is why I didn’t want to go too long without them in my diet. I just wanted to go long enough to reprogram my taste buds!
So far, and I know a week isn’t that long… I haven’t noticed anything that’s a major breakthrough. But I’m persevering and hopefully by the end of thirty days I can notice something beneficial.
Tonight I took a shot at creating a virgin version of my favorite dirty martini. I poured olive brine into lemon lime seltzer and it wasn’t bad!
I made it through Sabbath and oneg without too much trouble. Thankfully there weren’t too many temptations!
I’m looking forward to eating fruit again, of course I have to wait a little longer. I found this recipe for citrus & avocado salad that looks scrumptious. It’s on the menu for Monday! I’ll just omit the sugar in the dressing. It will be sweet enough with the oranges & grapefruit.
Did you know that Little Phoebe means the cardinal number 5? I was today days old when I learned that. 🤓
I’m five days in y’all and I really just want a cookie and a glass of wine.
I’ll have butter chicken & iced tea for dinner instead.
I haven’t noticed any real changes, other than the aforementioned desire.
And me. It’s definitely with me. Four days.
Yesterday wasn’t terrible but I am feeling it. I’m preoccupied with food. I want to eat all the things. And the thought just occured to me that I should get back to taking my supplements. I’ve fallen off the wagon over the holiday season.
I may have had a little too much dinner.
Alaska on my mind... 