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Kumquaty Garden! May 16, 2013
We’ve had some crazy weather but spring has finely sprung, too bad its pretty much summer already
Sprouts! April 29, 2013
So I was planting lettuce in my window so I could have some fresh organic microgreens in the winter but my kitty kind of destroyed that dream by jumping into it and knocking the whole thing onto the floor….bye bye microgreens (fyi microgreens are supposedly higher in vitamins than their older siblings, that’s kinda cool)
It just happens that a few days before the disastrous event my mom gave me a seed sprouting kit. It’s cute. I probably wouldn’t have bought it myself since I have seen online that you can do the same thing with a mason jar full of seeds and something on top to strain the water with. But since I have it might as well give it a try. And it seems to work great. defiantly easier than using a mason jar and a pretty green box to put in my window 🙂
If you want to buy one of your own you can follow my link to amazon and I will get a small referal commission.
Whole 30 here I come April 22, 2013
So I have been eating really bad lately and feel equally bad so I decided to do the Whole30. I think the name paleo is the stupidest thing ever since there was no paleolithic man ever but I have read enough things to convince me that added sugar especially in the doses modern americans eat it is killing us, franken wheat is bloating us, and that maybe dairy isn’t the best thing for non-baby cows to be eating that I would try it. So I am starting on April 24 which would allow me to be done on May 24 which is JQ and my 5th anniversary yay! Not that I intend to pig out but maybe by then I will feel a little better, be a little less fluffy and be allowed to eat something special on our anniversary weekend.
So in 2 days I will be:
Eat real food – meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed. Don’t worry… these guidelines are outlined in extensive detail in our free shopping list.
More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.
•Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
•Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
•Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
•Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
•Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
•Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
•Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate.
In addition, no Paleo-ifying dessert or junk food choices. Trying to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold will ruin your program faster than you can say, “Paleo pizza.” This means no desserts or junk food made with “approved” ingredients—no coconut-flour pancakes, almond-flour muffins, flourless brownies, or coconut milk ice cream. Don’t try to replicate junk food during your 30 days! That misses the point of the Whole30 entirely.
One last and final rule. You are not allowed to step on the scale or take any body measurements for the duration of the program. This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most dramatic and lifelong benefits this plan has to offer. So, no weighing yourself, analyzing body fat or taking comparative measurements during your Whole30. (We do encourage you to weigh yourself before and after, however, so you can see one of the more tangible results of your efforts when your program is over.)
The Fine Print
A few concessions, based on our experience, and those of our clients. These foods are exceptions to the rule, and are allowed during your Whole30. Including these foods as part of your varied healthy eating plan should not negatively impact the results of your Whole30 program.
•Clarified Butter or Ghee. Clarified butter or ghee is the only source of dairy allowed during your Whole30. Plain old butter is NOT allowed, as the milk proteins found in non-clarified butter could impact the results of your program. Refer to our Butter Manifesto for more details on the milk proteins found in butter, purchasing high quality butter, and how to clarify it yourself.
•Fruit juice as a sweetener. Some products will use orange or apple juice as a sweetener. We have to draw the line somewhere, so we’re okay with a small amount of fruit juice as an added ingredient during your Whole30… but this doesn’t mean a cup of fruit juice is a healthy choice! Refer to your Shopping Guide for clarification.
•Certain legumes. We’re fine with green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas. While they’re technically a legume, these are far more “pod” than “bean,” and green plant matter is generally good for you.
•Vinegar. Most forms of vinegar, including white, balsamic, apple cider, red wine, and rice, are allowed during your Whole30 program. The only exceptions are vinegars with added sugar, or malt vinegar, which generally contains gluten.
•Processed foods. Minimally processed foods like canned coconut milk, applesauce, tomato sauce, chicken broth or canned olives are all acceptable on the Whole30 – but remember, avoid anything with carageenan, MSG or sulfites. We’ve singled these three additives/preservatives out because they all have potentially nasty side effects – and you can easily find processed foods without them. (Refer to It Starts With Food for details on why we exclude these three in particular.)
And I will be doing so as cheaply as possible. For about 2 months I was eating mostly organic, attempting free range/ grass fed etc and now we are scraping the street for change so I will be doing this while sticking to a $35/week grocery budget. And as typical I will keep to my schedule of cooking for the whole week on the weekends….so only 4 meal plans to worry about. Get ready set go!
I just opened an Etsy shop *woot* March 13, 2013
So totally off topic from my normal recipes that I post. I am excited to say that I just opened my own etsy store! It’s my first attempt to sell my paintings to people besides friends and family. Woo-hoo!
Come visit my Kumquaty Etsy Store
and let me know what you think 🙂
It’s BACON! March 7, 2013
We have had Smithfield, Hormel, Gwaltney, Generic, and from the local farmers markets(I won’t touch Oscar Meyer just because it makes me think of bologna).
But my bacon connoisseur husband’s favorite is Applegate Sunday Bacon (Surprise! I didn’t really expect that). He likes his bacon cooked short of crisp. He says it loses all its flavor if you cook it until it’s completely crisp. And I like to pour the hot dripping into a container to store in the fridge and even the FAT is different from the other brands….it is smooth and silky even when cold…almost enough …..to spread on toast…. if I still ate toast 🙂
Tropical Traditions Giveaway!!!! cue the hula dancers and the smell of salt water and coconuts!! February 28, 2013
[Update 3/31/13: the giveaway is over! congratulations Beth!]
I loved it and now you get to try it too…for FREE!
If you’ve never tried coconut oil or have just never tried Tropical Traditions now here is your chance!
I did a review a few days ago…this coconut oil is a wonderful all purpose coconut oil
WordPress won’t let me put a Rafflecoptor widget onto my post so you have to go to this link 😦 sorry just scroll down to where you can sign in with facebook or your email
Click here for my Rafflecopter Tropical Traditions giveaway !!!
If you win I will need your name, telephone number, email address and shipping address to forward to Tropical Traditions they do not share your information.
This giveaway is open to US and Canada (you may be charged customs or duty in Canada) only (sorry for all you who visit me from other countries this is Tropical Tradition’s rule)
If you don’t win you can of course go to Tropical Traditions directly to try some of their coconut oil and other products if you do so through my link I get a referral gift certificate. Yay me! and if it’s your first time ordering they give you a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil. Yay you!
[Update: please don’t cheat and say that you have accomplished a requirement to get more entries into the giveaway, I will delete your entries]
Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!
Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?
You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:
Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.
Posted on FoodRenegade’s blogcarnival
Whoo hoo! February 25, 2013
Whoo hoo! My husband has joined me in my path to better health (kind of) I try not to nag but as I learn things I tell him what I learn. How sugar is bad, how caffeine makes me feel, what wheat does to you, what vitamins are especially good for, you know….and he like the most of society feels yah that’s probably true but I can’t cut out x,y,z and be happy. SO sure that’s fine he’s an adult like I’m an adult and he’s entitled to eat what he wants (as long as sugar isn’t illegal like cocaine…when will that be in the works? ok never I know but one can hope) so he gave me pats on the back when I did my sugar detox and I kept him up to date on the weight I lost but what had the most effect was how I felt….I felt great! and he wanted to feel great too. So while he hasn’t made the jump he has significantly cut out his intake of caffeinated soda. WHich I am very happy about. He’s paying for it in withdrawal and isn’t replacing it with the best things… but I’m still happy as I bake him brownies to help him get through it all 🙂
Using Oil to Combat Oil- My skin project February 21, 2013
Winter is harsh on my skin. As a youngling I had very oily skin, now as a middle aged wench I have combination skin, alittle bit of acne, and some wicked dry patches of gross scaly skin in the winter. Last winter was especially bad. I even went to the local pharmacy to try and figure out what could possibly help with the weird scaly patches. I reached for some Ponds. It was supposed to deep clean my skin (no acne?) but not remove the natural oils…good right? My first case of eczema. It was NOT pretty. I looked like I had grown reptile skin around my eyes and it burned real bad…..
Ugh
This year I heard about oil cleansing. I saw that typically people used olive oil mixed with castor oil. I didn’t have any castor oil…and I heard that coconut oil was probably to heavy and might make me breakout….but grapeseed oil was said to be noncomedogenic and I had some due to an earlier home made lotion experiment. I don’t completely follow the typical rules to oil cleansing. I heard that the really hot steam can be harsh on your skin. SO my daily routine consists of a bottle of grapeseed oil in my shower. I put it all over my face and neck as soon as I get in and then massage it in real good. The I continue with washing my hair etc. allowing the steam in the bathroom to do it’s thing. They I massage it one more time before taking a wash cloth warmed and wetted in the shower to wipe off all the oil and then exfoliate the dry crusty spots on my face. About once a week I follow this with some baking soda (that is also kept in a small container in my tub) and massage it onto my face for some extra exfoliation.
Verdict: It doesn’t make my face breakout….but I also doesn’t really clear out my pores or the few hormonal breakouts I still get. BUT no more crusty dry spots! and my face feels so smooth and soft! I don’t even need to put on lotion when I get out. Hurray! and of course no exzema due to chemicals in typical face cleansing products…so I would say definitely a winter win…and probably a summer one to since i don’t seem to have combination skin with this method.
Now how to combat super dry winter hands….hmmmm
I get most of my skin/ herbal products from Mountain Rose Herbs love that place.
How many of you have either successfully or unsuccessfully tried oil cleansing?
[image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net by Sura Nualpradid]
Must get Fruits and Veggies in the Kumquaty Family Belly February 18, 2013
I really really need to eat more vegetables. Fruits are easy but forking all those salads into my mouth seems like so much effort…oh the chewing and the forking….anyways a friend of mine mentioned that pineapple makes everything taste better and that she uses it to blend with spinach to help her get her veggies down the hatch so I tried brainstorming some veggie fruit combos that sounded tasty and that gave some taste/nutrient/color variety.
I tried to keep it to 3 ingredients or less to keep the flavor pure and clean I find that juices and smoothies tend to get kind of muddy and all start tasting the same when you add too many of the same ingredients into all of them.
pineapple + spinach
peach + spinach
blueberry + beets
coconut + pumpkin
cucumber + strawberry + lime
orange + carrot
green apple + beet + carrot
coconut + spinach
cantaloupe + cucumber + mint
kiwi + spinach + chia seed
kiwi + avocado
What tasty fruit/veggie smoothie combos do you have? Have you ever come up with a good smoothie including brocoli or red bell pepper? How do you get your veggie on?
Kumquaty It 