Archive for the ‘Health & Wellness’ Category
Good evening, Dear Readers:
Well, Houston’s warm spell was broken with a cold front that literally blew through last night. I was in shorts all day yesterday, and later in the evening found my self. ..chilled. I managed to gather a bag of dry leaves for composting before the rain came through, and will try to get more in a little while; cheap rakes are great, aren’t they? I made coffee last night AND this morning! Enjoy it while you can. . .because soon enough it’ll be HOT again. This is Houston, after all.
All the housework is done, and coupons cut and sorted for whenever I go shopping again. I actually have done some shopping, but not so much for groceries–more spare parts and things, mostly. But not a whole lot. For instance, I had no idea that household cleaning manufacturer Casabella made a tool to scrub your bathtub. No kidding! It’s a tub scrubber on a long pole, much like a mop or broom. How did I not know about this? I actually saw a similar tub scrubber by Oxo on Facebook, but Bed, Bath and Beyond does not have OXO’s model yet. Armed with coupons, I got one of the Casabella models and a refill pad. My tub and surroundings is clean, and I do not suffer with pain from it.
Soon I will be getting the HeatCageKitchen garden started for this year. Although my rosemary plant keeled over after so much rain, I’ve sprouted a bit of rosemary I leftover from Christmas. Takes a while, and you just keep the water fresh in the cup. The green onions are shooting up nicely, and I may need to transplant them to a bigger container.
Last night I cooked up some tenderloin medallions. No kidding. Upstairs neighbor J goes deer hunting, and some time ago gave me some delicious deer sausage he’d had made after a trip to West Texas. I was kind of “saving it,” and then he gave me a package of these:
Venison Tenderloin Medallions
I’ve had venison twice before, and cooked it once, at someone’s house. (Never again.) I was not aware that venison can be tough, and because it’s so incredibly lean, needs a fair amount of oil to cook properly. I am now, so of course I first hit them with my handy-dandy meat tenderizer:
The only meat tenderizer you’ll ever need
This is the model I think I have, but I don’t believe I paid that much for it–I’m too cheap. However, this is a comparable model for a lot less.
Olive oil in a cast iron pan is the only way to go:
They cook up quick, too.
It wasn’t long before I was enjoying something delicious.
Yum.
Yesterday also saw some on-sale chicken breasts and what looks like the last of the “fish unspecified” from the GER cooked up for the week. I also have a little of last week’s chicken chili, but I’ll have to post that recipe later. I meant to do it already, it’s for the slow cooker.
Now, the next one I sort of stumbled upon. . .well, let me start it this way. Remember a while back I had a fascination with the Hamilton Beach breakfast sandwich maker? I still think it’s neat, but. . .well, I gave it another try, minus the sandwich maker.
In the Wheat Belly 30-Minute (Or Less) Cookbook, there is, on page 19, a recipe for an “All Purpose Baking Mix.” With this mix, you can make a number of baked-goods recipes in the book. In fact, this book has a number of different mixes for a number of different applications. (On Page 25, there is a mix for the wonderful flaxseed wraps, and on page 28, one for tortillia baking mix, which I haven’t tried yet.)
When it got cold enough to bake a couple of weeks ago, I decided to cook up some chicken thighs, just stick them in the toaster oven on 350 with some olive oil and spices until they were done. Didn’t think more about it, just something to eat. (I got a bunch on sale again.) Separately, I decided to make some of the Basic Sandwich Muffins on page 24, using the All Purpose Baking Mix. First, I had to whip some up:
Wheat Belly All Purpose Baking Mix
To make these little sandwich muffins, you’ll need a whoopie pie pan. These muffins are small but quite filling. Once you make enough of the baking mix, you mix up the muffin dough and bake them. They’re not very big, honest:
One Wheat Belly Basic Sandwich Muffin, about 3″ across
They’re only about a half inch thick, really:
The recipe makes 4 of these little muffin halves, and the recipe says that each one is a half. Two of these are quite filling. Well, I decided to cut them in half to see what happened, and at some point, I realized that the chicken thighs were the perfect accompaniment. I mean, the chicken isn’t that big, either, once it’s cooked:
The muffins are great toasted:
And you slice up the chicken thighs lengthwise like turkey breasts to make them fit. With some Just Mayo on the muffin halves, and a dot of Zatarain’s Creole Mustard on top of the chicken:
Voila!
Little chicken sandwiches, Wheat Belly style
I had them every day for breakfast, just because I could. Admittedly, I didn’t make any more, I want to try something else next.
Now, of course, I’m down a couple of bags of almond flour. Next trip to Trader Joe’s, I’ll be stocking up again. But between these little babies and the recent Meyer Lemon Cake, oh, is it so worth it.
If you’re looking for a little treat, give these a try, because they’re quite good. The recipes are below.
Please note that one recipe for the muffins makes four, but if you have a 12-cup whoopie pie pan like I do, you can triple the recipe to fill it and bake 12 at once. Nothing wrong with that, right?
Oh, and Valentine’s Day is next week! Are you ready? There are some chocolate recipes here on HeatCageKitchen, just do a search (or start here). But there’s one more thing you can make with that baking mix, and fast–a Coconut-Chocolate Quick Muffin, on page 87 of the same book the muffins are in.
They’re actually listed under breakfast, but they’re pretty good about anytime. In fact, I might make one tomorrow. Let me tell you, though, all these quick muffins are microwavable in a cup. How cool is that?
So get ready for Valentine’s Day the HeatCageKitchen way! Or at least an easy way. . .recipes are below.
Happy Dining!
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Wheat Belly Recipes
All-Purpose Baking Mix
- 4 cups alond meal/flour
- 1 cup ground golden flaxseeds
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1teaspoon ground psyllium seed (optional)
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond meal/flour, flaxseeds, coconut flour, baking soda and psyllium seed (if desired.) Store in an airtight container, preferably in the refrigerator.
Basic sandwich muffins (makes 4)
- 1 cup All-Purpose Baking Mix
- 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water, plus additional water if needed
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease 4 cups of a whoopie pie baking pan (or all, if tripling recipe for 12.)
In a bowl, combine the baking mix, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the oil thoroughly. Add the the egg and stir until mixed. If the dough is too stiff, add water 1 tablespoon at a time.
Divide the dough among the 4 whoopie pie cups (or 12 if tripling recipe). Using a spoon, flatten the mounds until approximately 1/2″ thick, leaving a shallow well in the center. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool for 3 minutes before carefully removing from the pan.
Coconut-Chocolate Quick Muffin
- 1/2 cup All Purpose Baking mix
- 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Sweetener equivalent to 2 tablespoons sugar (3 is better; I use SomerSweet)
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk (almond milk works too)
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted (use coconut oil if doing yeast-free diet)
In a medium bowl, combine the baking mix, cocoa, coconut, cinnamon, sweetener and salt. Whisk in the egg. Add the milk and butter (or coconut oil) and whisk thoroughly. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture into a large mug or 10-ounce ramekin.
Microwave on hgh power for 2 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. let cool for 5 minutes.
Hello, Dear Readers:
Now that we’re all over the holidays again, time to get back to some “regular” cooking. For some of you, that will mean “light” cooking, some will just be cutting out the wheat, dairy, red meat, or whatever. In my case, as I mentioned last time, I’m back doing yeast free because I’ve got a bug in my gut. Again. Got more Yeast Control, and started taking it last Friday with some nausea, so I guess it’s killing off the little buggers
I’ve written about the yeast-free diet before and Candida albicans. If you are experiencing gastric things like heartburn, gas, bloating, and other embarassing symptoms, consider reading more and get rid of the yeast overgrowth. It’s an infection, like any other kind, it’s just not visible. NOTE: I’m not a doctor, nurse, medical person or scientist–just a patient who reads and pays attention. The Green Willow Tree still sells Yeast Control, and even though the price went up $4, it’s still relatively inexpensive. Especially when you consider how much not treating will cost you.
Oh, BTW–the garden will be revamped real soon. However, I bought some green onions recently to make sure I had enough for a recipe I was making, and planted the white rooted stems. Guess what? Five out of the six are growing:
The little stubs. They’re growing!
Plant the bottoms,and they grow. The rest of them have been growing for five years. I chop them and use them whenever I want to, and I don’t buy them unless, like that instance, I wanted to have the right amount.
So. . .
Are you still on your obligatory New Year’s diet? Or have you fallen off the wagon already? Most people do by the second week. It’s fine, til you get HUNGRY. Or someone brings delicious food into the office.
If you’re trying to cut down on meat, or calories, or whatever’s new and popular in dieting, you may be considering going vegetarian/vegan. Many meat substitutes are made with soy and other ingredients humans should not be ingesting. However, over the weekend, I found this little item, called Neat, in HEB and thought I should pass it along:
Neat, a soy-free substitute for meat.
I haven’t tried it yet, just looked. This is what’s in it:
I’ll do some more investigative reporting and get back to you. Warning: if you are allergic to nuts, keep going–there are indeed tree nuts in this mix. YUM. . .
So I’m back on doing whatever I need to during the week, and housekeeping stuff mostly on the weekends. I belong to a number of groups on Facebook, many for writing and some for cooking. Neighbor K told me about Low Carb Among Friends, the group headed by George Stella. If you don’t remember that name, he had a low-carb cooking show on The Food Network; some of his recipes are still on FoodNetwork.com, if you search. Low carb faded away, except for die-hards like myself. I bought his first book, and I knew he had one more book available, but I never looked for any more. They’re all available, either as Kindle books or paperback. One day I’ll go look them up and maybe get the paperbacks.
Why not just get the Kindle version? Because. . .I found a great recipe on Facebook and couldn’t find it again, darnit! But after quite a lot of searching and re-posting it to my wall, I’ve got it for you at this link. (Scroll down past the article to find it.) Gluten free, using almond flour, and sugar free using Somersweet:
And a few berries, meaning I can’t make them right now because that makes it not yeast-free, darnit–but they’re good. You start out with some berries, which, in my case were blackberries on sale:
Big, juicy blackberries!
Just cut them to the same size as blueberries and raspberries:
The recipe is supposed to make 12, but I ended up with a few more. After you grease the muffin tin, start beating the eggs:
My favorite little hand mixer
And then add in some other stuff to make a batter:
That may have been the blueberry batch
Bake them, and let them cool:
Don’t do this, BTW–you want to use the same size muffin tins for extras. Otherwise, if you forget like I did, they cook too fast and burn a little. . . .
And you have some delicious, fruity, gluten-free muffins for breakfast or anytime you want something sweet.
Yum. . .
Simple as using a mix, and a lot healthier. (The actual recipe is below.) Except that I can’t have butter for a while, darnit. I’ll live.
Now for something completely different.
Quick question for you: Do you like meatloaf?
Lots of people are divided on the subject, much like cats (people either love them or hate them, but very little in between.) My mother made it occasionally, but I can’t say it was particularly memorable. Then again, with 4 kids, meals don’t tend to be memorable, they tend to be as fast as you can. Meatloaf didn’t happen often, and honestly, it wasn’t one of my favorite meals until recently.
You know how I like to find meat on sale? Well, frequently ground beef is marked down for quick sale. One day I realized I had a lot of it and figured I needed to do something WITH it. . .hence meatloaf.
Additionally, I’ve developed a liking for meatloaf sandwiches, complete with mayo and other stuff, but I didn’t bake any bread this week. Didn’t feel like it this week.
Here’s the problem: in a loaf pan, they take FOREVER. One day I figured out how to bake it in about 30 minutes. But I digress. . .I’m getting ahead of the story.
See, meatloaf just needs some flavorings and a binder. You just dump them into a bowl, mix them up and bake them. Easy, right? Most standard meatloaf recipes call for bread crumbs. Not in my kitchen! If I do have bread crumbs, it’s from gluten-free bread, and I’ve usually eaten them anyway.
So what do you do, Miss Food Blogger?
Longtime low-carb devotees will tell you some Parmesan cheese will work well. And it does. . .long as you’ve not given up dairy. A couple of things I’ve tried have been ground chia seeds (not much!) and this past week, about 1/8 cup of coconut flour in place of the breadcrumbs. I still used beaten eggs as a binder, but somehow without the flour component, it can fall apart. The coconut flour worked great, and no crumbly meat loaf. I’m thinking that’s a keeper.
Since I’m also a devotee of the Tex-Mex, I started tossing in a can or two of chiles. Yes, THOSE canned chiles. I get the mild ones so that they don’t burn me, but if you like it hotter, by all means, get the spicier ones, or even the canned chiles in adobo sauce. (That’s hot!)
Another “essential” in most meatloaf recipes is the presence of something I used to like but now avoid: ketchup. Unless you make it yourself, and I have, ketchup can be as much as 25% sugar–usually in the form of the evil high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). A few years ago, I found a store-bought ketchup brand with “100% pure sugar.” But. . .it’s still sugar, so I don’t mess with it. (That was for the weekend boyfriend who didn’t give a fig about any healthy stuff.)
So what did you do, Miss Food Blogger?
The simple and inexpensive solution was to simply use tomato paste. A whole can. No kidding, per pound of meat, one 6-ounce can of any kind of tomato paste, so long as it’s not flavored with stuff. I can’t find the picture, but I actually did buy tomato paste once with some kind of “Italian seasoning” in it, only to discover later that it had sugar in it, and quite a lot of it. Back to Kroger I went for a can of the correct type.
As I’ve said before–if I’m eating cake, chocolate, or something else confectionary, I know I’m probably eating sugar. But if I don’t know it’s in my tomato paste, or something else where you wouldn’t expect it, I get testy about that.
If you’re diabetic, or otherwise sensitive, you get it.
So here’s the set up:
Basics for the HeatCageKitchen meatloaf
Two tablespoons of chili powder and one tablespoon of cumin and coriander, and mix it all together with some garden onions and 1/8 cup of coconut flour:
The dry ingredients first
And two pounds of meat, two beaten eggs, some garlic, and maybe some salt:
Getting there. . . .
Stash it in the pan, bake at 350 for about 35 minutes, but keep an eye on it.
Now here’s the difference:
The flat meat loaf!
Yes, it’s FLAT. That’s the pan that goes into the toaster oven (it actually came with it) and after I line it with parchment paper, I pat down that mixture and bake it.
I know, this one split. . .I can’t find the picture of this week’s meatloaf, darnit. This week’s got a little over-done, but didn’t split. I think this is the one I used ground chia seeds in.
The pan is actually 12″ square, and is the broiler drip pan for the toaster oven. It can be used individually as a baking sheet, and can be purchased separately. Because I’ve used it so often as a baking sheet, I wore off the finish and now use parchment or foil for that. (It’s not stainless steel, I think it’s aluminum or something.)
If you don’t have a countertop oven, you can use a regular baking sheet and spread it out to whatever size you want it.
The key here is FLAT. And it takes less time than the loaf pan–a lot less.
However you make your meatloaf, there’s a chance flat might work for you.
So, that’s what’s up here, whilst my writer friends up north are digging through snow and ice and camping in until the state of emergency is lifted. One of those writer friends is in North Salem, MA–she just posted a picture showing snow that’s nearly 6 feet. Poor thing is from San Diego. . .and I am jealous. We don’t get snow in Houston very often, and it sure don’t look like a Hallmark card!
Here’s one of her pictures, if you’re in the South and don’t know what it looks like:
Snow from my friend Robbin in North Salem.
If you’re in the middle of all that, please take care, stay warm, and don’t go out unless you have to.
I’m in shorts and a T-shirt, and have been on my patio for a few days now. But that’s not every day, because Friday it’ll be cold again, and I’ll be back in front of the fireplace this weekend.
Stay warm, if you’re up north, and please be careful. If you’re in a baking mood, and you’re snowed in, now’s the time to bake, folks.
And if you’re of a mind, here’s my favorite yeast-free hot chocolate recipe, good anytime, even if you’re not yeast free.
Enjoy, wherever you are!!
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George Stella’s Berry Muffins
Prep Time 15 min / Cook Time 25 min / Serves 12
SHOPPING LIST
Nonstick cooking spray
4 large eggs
2 cups almond flour
¾ cup sugar substitute
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup blueberries
1⁄3 cup raspberries
- Place oven rack in the center position and preheat to 375°. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Add the almond flour, sugar substitute, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt, and mix well, creating a batter.
- Gently fold the berries into the batter and fill each of the greased muffin cups 2⁄3 of the way full.
- Bake 20–25 minutes, until the tops of the muffins turn a light golden brown and a toothpick stuck into the center of one comes out mostly clean. Let cool 10 minutes be-fore serving.
NOTE: The recipe states that strawberries should not be used because of their high water content.
Good evening, Dear Readers:
OK, I just found this delicious recipe and HAD to share it. And I plan to make them. I LOVE biscotti, but don’t have it anymore because it’s empty calories and white flour.
Here you go.
Cranberries. Chocolate. Almonds. Sea Salt. Yum
Does that not just say “tasty Christmas treat” to you? No flour, some sugar (which we can fix) and even vegan. I can’t wait–because it looks DELISH. You know I always want to have my cake and eat it too. . .as it should be.
I found this recipe on Facebook, and it’s very similar to a Martha Stewart recipe I’ve made a few times with pecans and cranberries. I made some last year, but it was flour-based, and not for me. I did nibble on the ends of the biscotti, but you know what? As delicious as I remember them, they tasted like baked flour balls with pecans and cranberries thrown in. Neighbor K went bonkers for them, and if I get around to it, I’ll bake her some next week. But to me, the long-ago memories that I couldn’t get enough of were just, meh.
I will try this biscotti and report back, but I thought you should have the recipe now, so you have time to make some for yourself, your family, or your gluten-free friends if you want them.
Thanks to the nice folks at Blog.FreePeople.com for this awesome treat. I can’t wait to make some!
Enjoy!
Good afternoon, Dear Readers:
Are you warm? If you’re snowed in, I envy you. But that’s just me, OK?
Neighbor K knocked on my door Sunday and handed me a little plastic container and said, “you have got to try this!” She found a breakfast, um, casserole (I hate that word) that had all kinds of things in it, and the crust is chopped up cauliflower. She put some mushrooms and chopped bell pepper in it, and it was pretty darn good.
K and I have been going walking very early for the better part of 2 months now. I say better part because we’ve missed a few days–me a week when I was ill, and later, she was hurt and didn’t walk for about ten days. I myself missed two days this week, but I’ll tell you why in a minute.
I still have my habit of cooking for a week, and K got the idea to do the same, since after we walk, she takes out Daft Pug for a walk, gets cleaned up and goes to work. So, this weekend she hit on a really tasty breakfast. Of course it’s good! From the page Low Carbing With Friends on Facebook, the Cauli-Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole is full of good things, low carb, gluten free, and just delish.
You make a crust of the chopped cauliflower and butter, bake that for 30 minutes, and while that bakes, prep the other stuff. It does call for coconut milk, although I’m not sure why. It takes a while to make, but on a Sunday, bake one of these up and you’ll have it all week and not have to fuss. (As long as you’re single, that is.) If you’re part of a family. . .make two.
The deep freeze that gripped Houston last week has eased, and I once again have the patio doors open and the doorstops in place and a nice breeze blowing through the HeatCageKitchen headquarters. I burned fire logs for three days and nights last week, and set up my computer in front of it. Actually, it was just me and the Jezebel the Step Kitty, parked on the futon with my feet up and my little laptop running. I made cappuccino, then made regular decaf and put it in that tall black pipe of a travel mug and camped out there for three days.
I asked the GER recently about when he was planning to take Jezebel home, but he felt like she was bonded with me and maybe taking her home might not be a good idea. I enjoyed having her, even if she did get on my nerves once in a while, and always figured she would go back to live with the GER. (I’ve jokingly told people that we were “cat co-parents.”)
Not everything I have is hot wings, but she didn’t care, she wanted some.
I didn’t close the fireplace damper a couple of times, because the embers were still bright red, and I was afraid of not having any oxygen in the middle of the night.
Now, Sunday morning, the weather eased a bit, and I hadn’t lit the fireplace in a couple of days. What I didn’t know is during that cold snap, we got a visitor. He apparently arrived during the night when I left the damper open, and he found his way down the chimney. But he didn’t get far.
Jezebel the Step-Kitty was on the prowl. I was watching TV and doing something else when I looked over and saw she was hanging onto something small and grey that looked like a piece of fabric that I tossed aside. (I do that and throw them all away at once.) Irony: I actually WAS cutting grey fabric, no kidding, so I didn’t realize that it wasn’t fabric. She was acting a bit funny, so I got a little closer and realized. . .fabric scraps don’t have tails. This did.
EEEEEEEEEK!! A MOUSE!!!!!
Yes, Jezebel earned her keep that day, and became my little mouser. I don’t know how Neighbor K didn’t hear me scream and kvetch at the top of my lungs.
I had to chase Jezebel away from the mouse, because she looked like she was going to take it and head under the bed. She gave me a look that said, “Hey–this is mine, go get your own!” When I finally caught my breath (read: quit yelling), I got a small whisk broom and dustpan and put the thing in a bag and set it outside. I did apologize to the mouse for the way his visit went, but I don’t want any mouse visitors, either. K took it out to the dumpster when she walked the Daft Pug.
I was so proud of that cat! The GER said she chased a dog out of his house once, too. Good kitty!
Our good news didn’t last for long. Jezebel also had problems keeping food down. She was eating, but it wasn’t sticking with her, and in addition to cleaning up the carpet, I noticed she was getting bony besides the big belly on her. I knew she was fixed, so pregnancy wasn’t an option, so off to the vet we went. It was a beautiful day, we hopped in my ride and drove to a great vet clinic in Pearland. I told her that they were going to take care of that super-duper hairball she had, and it was all going to be OK.
Well. . .she was carrying something–a “huge mass” on her left side that was pushing her organs over to the right. The vet mentioned “lymphoma,” and it took up her entire left side. The vet showed me the X-rays, and could not believe what I was seeing. That’s why she couldn’t hold food down, and she was actually starving. Frantic calls to the GER voice mail went unanswered, until finally, he called back, and drove to Pearland to meet me at the clinic.
The prognosis was not good, and on that day, (11/17/2014) our little mouser went to the Rainbow Bridge. The GER and I said goodbye to a fussy, independent little tabby cat that suddenly was the only cat in the world. And for the first time in 21 years, I am living alone, without a cat.
She was gone, just like that.
And that’s why I didn’t sleep for two nights and skipped walking for two days. (K understood.)
We will have cats again one day, but both me and the GER are heartbroken right now and are grieving. No more cats for a while (and please don’t bring us any.) He took her home, and she’s buried in his backyard with three other beloved felines that already went to the Rainbow Bridge, along with Catmandu and Kismet (who are cremated and in little boxes in my living room.)
I feel bad that I didn’t give her more roast chicken, turkey and little bowls of milk. She got to be a little bit pushy after the hot wings, and I figured she was just being a chow hound. No. . .she wasn’t well. I thought she was just pudgy with a big hairball.
Goodbye, Jezebel. See you again at the Rainbow Bridge. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of delicious food there for you, too. Your Cat Daddy and I miss you very, very much. We know you are out of pain, and happy with new friends there.
Jezebel the Step Kitty. Independent, but wanted attention on her own terms. And, whatever you’re having, please.
I’ve washed up her food dishes and put them away, but I just don’t have the heart to get rid of her litterbox or kitty bed, nor that little scratch pad on the floor on the left of that picture. I took down the little tin sign outside that says “Mind the Cat.” I’ve also gathered up as many pictures as I could find of her and put them in a DropBox file to share with the GER. I’ll go look for more this weekend, but I fear I’ve lost more because I didn’t realize my photos weren’t being backed up to my iCloud. I’m hoping GER has some at home that I sent him previously. We’ll get some prints made soon, too.
Please remember to be nice to your pets, and always, always bring them in when it’s cold. They’re our pets, they love us and trust us, and they can’t help themselves.
Thank you.
Good evening, Dear Readers:
Well, I’ve had a busy day, not all of it good, and I don’t feel like doing anything else. And then I remembered that I hadn’t written a blog post in a while. Good heavens, more than two weeks! My apologies.
Now, did you make it to McDonald’s for a free coffee? Not bad, is it? I brought my own Sweet N’ Low, and nobody cared. They put the cream in the coffee FOR YOU, and I had my back turned when I added sweetener. Drank my happy coffee all the way home. Twice. It’s pretty good, just be aware of the sugar/Equal thing, and bring your own if you want different. The small coffee is regularly $1.39, and I think the larger is about 20 cents more; I didn’t look too close. But if you need a coffee, and there’s no Starbucks nearby, (or like my family, you hate Starbucks), it’s pretty good. I might have a coffee there more often, and as my late grandmother would tell you, “Don’t knock it.”
I’ve got a lot of things going on, so I’ll fill you in some of it. First, Neighbor K and I are getting up early and walking. When I say “early,” I do mean “early.” As in 4:00 am Central Daylight Time. I am not joking–we get up and go walking in the 4:00 am hour. And walk for 30 to 45 minutes. She takes out the Daft Pug for a quickie and then we start walking. We’ve seen some, shall we say, interesting things on our early morning treks, as well as had a really good early start to our day. She goes to work, but sometimes, I go back to sleep.
I’m working on not doing that anymore. But I have gotten lots done when I get up and stay up.
We started last Monday, and while I got up and went, she didn’t sleep well that night, so I was on my own. I didn’t waste the chance, though–I went back inside, did morning prayers and chanted for a while, then went out about 5:45 and walked. Last lap involved me dropping off my hand weights and going straight up the street to McDonald’s for a free decaf on the last day. (I’d walked there on Sunday too, but didn’t walk 2 or 3 miles beforehand.) Last Friday it rained when a cold front came through, so I did the same thing I did Monday, and the rain was over by 5:45 am.
Second: the New Orleans Saints won yesterday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I’m only a real football fan when the Saints are in the playoffs on the way to the Superbowl. I was, indeed, in shock when they went the last time, so I just wait for it to happen again. They’ll play the Houston Texans this week, I think, so we’ll see what happens.
Irony: a lot of folks who came to Houston after Katrina stayed after Katrina. I see a split loyalty at that game, and probably a lot of torn emotions. But I’m not a football aficionado, so I’m not so worried.
In other news. . . .
You remember years ago there used to be the SAVE Club, where every month you’d get a box filled with new and different products for you to try? (I got them for a while in the early 80’s for a while, right after I got married–the first time.) They were about $10, if I remember correctly, and they sent coupons and new and interesting products like Simple Green cleaner and. . .ramen noodles. Yes, I’m not kidding. At the time, ramen noodles were a new gourmet item, and were at least $1 a packet. Hard to believe that they’re now about a quarter, (in health food stores they might be more but healthier ingredients) but times change. I can’t find any info about it on the web, but I’m sure it was called the SAVE club.
Then in in 2000, there came StartSampling.com, and getting curious, I discovered that I still have an account and can still earn points and stuff. I haven’t thought about that site in years, until just now. I donated a bunch of my points after 9/11. In fact, the account still had the GER’s house as the address; I’ve since updated that. Oh, dear. . . .
Now, in 2014, there are so many subscription boxes to choose from. Makeup. Jewelry. Dogs. Cats. Clothes. Handymen/Handywomen (tools and such.) “Favorites” picked by minor celebrities. (I got Cosmetique a few times, too.) Even a monthly box for. . .cyclic needs, if you know what I mean. I kid you not. Check out FindSubscriptionBoxes.com if you’re interested in seeing more of these. You can also find lots of info and pictures on these subscriptions on Pinterest.
I haven’t thought about this kind of thing in years, and had no idea it had expanded so much.
I know what you’re thinking: “Why are you bringing this up, Amy, and what does this have to do with all things foodie?” Well. . . .
You like to have delicious nibbles? Looking for something new? Then Graze.com is the place for you.
No, I did not get paid for this. I’m just passing along info. But it’s great!! Neighbor K said she was considering giving them a try, since she got a flier at work for them. I told her to go for it.
My flier came from a magazine a week or two ago, and said that the first box was free. Woo hoo! You can cancel at anytime, and even speed up or slow down the delivery of the boxes, all online.
How could I resist? I sent for one. It arrived on Saturday. Oh, boy! (Oh, and they fit right in the mailbox.)
What’s inside?
Carefully I turned it over and popped open the package:
My Graze treats are here!
Inside, you find:
Surprise! (Well, it’s always a surprise, that’s the fun of it)
Take a closer look:
Four delicious choices!
Graze.com wants to revitalize snacking with healthier choices like the ones you see here. No GMO, no HFCS, no artificial flavors or colors, and no trans-fat, either. They were about a cup of each, I think, selected according to what I told them I prefer–gluten free, of course, and one or two other criteria. However, there are 90 different type of snacks, and you can “like,” “love,” or “trash” them. You tell them what you like and they send you healthier, portion-controlled snacks from what you would like and what you tell them. You can get a box weekly, bi-weekly, or more often, just go online and tell them, it’s simple.
You can read more about the people and the company here.
Graze says it’s not a good choice for folks with allergies, because they can’t guarantee everything to be allergy-free. Be forewarned if you’re allergic.
The packaging is all made from recycled materials, including the literature that comes with it. Don’t just toss it, recycle it all! However, for those of us who like to garden, take a look at what else you can do:
Portable planting! (With the clean, empty plastic containers in it.) Start your seeds here.
All of these little snacks were great–because I nibbled them all day on Saturday. Yeah, yeah, I know–but I also cleaned up the HeatCageKitchen garden, and dug up some roots of the “houseplant gone wild” that me and Neighbor K battle occasionally, plus did housework and laundry. The maintenance guy cut most of that mess down and took it away, but I dug up as much of the root system as I could and took out another weed that was masquerading as a plant in the monkey grass. So, I was workin’ it, and nibbled off and on. See what I did?
And now, it’s neat again.
I lost the strawberry plant that was giving me those weird little frankenberries, and I will need to dig through those white buckets on the left to see if any garlic actually grew. Basil’s gone, but as you can see, there is a large Meyer lemon on the tree on the right starting to turn yellow, and I’ve got not only a new little bell pepper at the top of the pepper plant, but another little Hatch/Anaheim chile pepper on that plant. I trimmed the mint down, but with watering, it will be overgrowing again soon. (Closeups in an upcoming post.)
Yes, the snacks were very good. The Super Berry Detox was nice and sweet, and so was the Toffee Apple, although it had sugar in the small amount of toffee sauce. Never had that before, much as I like apples. I won’t be buying goji berries anytime soon, but if they send it again, no problem. The nuts, well, they were nuts, and I like just about everything but chestnuts, so no complaint there, either. The salt and vinegar taste is a little strong next to the unsalted ones, but I got used to that, too.
Once you try them, go back to the website and tell them that you “like,” “love” or “trash” them. They’ll send them occasionally, regularly, or not at all based on that little rating system and how often you elect to get a “nibblebox.”
Oh, yes, well. . .I went to cancel it, and the second shipment is already on its way. I’ll cancel it after that’s done. I’ve “snoozed” them so they don’t come for a while. Or, I could just keep snoozing it and get one occasionally if I want one. I’ll think about that for a while.
You’re probably wondering how my my little “nibblebox” cost, aren’t you? Well, the first one is free, and subsequent boxes are $6.99. That makes each snack about $1.75 each. If you work in an office, how much do you spend getting something from a vending machine? Is anything in that vending machine as healthy? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. (With all due respect to folks who run and service said vending machines, some of us prefer healthier fare, we’re not judging you.) You can have the box sent to your office, or to your home, and the little sealed plastic packets fit nicely in a purse, lunch bag, briefcase or desk drawer. You can also gift a box to other people at any time from your online account–they get a box in the mail, there’s a gift card with it, it doesn’t cost extra, and they’ll be happy when they see that you sent it.
How cool is that? Don’t know what to get for a birthday or a special occasion? With a week’s lead time, you can send a tasty “nibblebox” and the recipient will know you care.
Oh, and the holidays, including Christmas, are coming, so keep Graze in mind, OK? They are soon planning something called the “Big Box,” consisting of 5 larger, resealable bags of different snacks; those are $25 a box. But you have to join the waiting list for that–but when they’re ready, that’s also a good thing for a holiday gift.
Now, if you’re interested in trying out Graze’s neat “nibbleboxes,” here’s what you do–go to the website and where it says in small print under the “Get Started Now” button, “have a special code? enter it here,” you put this code into the popup field: AMYO2RN7B. Why would you do that? That’s the code on my packing slip to give to friends to get your first and fifth box for free. No kidding–fifth box is free if you decide to keep going with it. Within a week, you could start nibbling!
Now I don’t expect that hundreds of people will try to use the code, but I figure a few might consider it, so I’m putting it here for anyone who might like to try a “nibblebox.” Not sure how many times it will work, either. I think I get points or something, but mostly I figure a few of my readers just might be interested, so why not?
Again, no commitment, and cancel anytime. But you just might like it, too. What would be wrong with that?
Well, it’s getting late, and the 4 am wake-up alarm happens before you know it.
I’ll try to write again real soon, so I can tell you about the delicious baked pear, and a few other things. Oh, and more gluten-free stuff, too.
Happy Snacking!
