The following thoughts are my own. This is a reprint from my post on YA Audiobook Addict's blog:
...Apples and Oranges, on the surface only. Both Bella and Katniss are self-sufficient and capable of supporting themselves and their families. Both grow to find inner and outer strength that they didn't know existed. Both fight to free their families from unjust dictators (Vulturi and Capital). The comparison has to take into account the entire saga, not just the first book, as the ladies grow and mature at different rates over time.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
First trip to the Grocery Store
First trip to the grocery store with my new eating rules. It was very frustrating to read packaged food labels, to say the least.
Most processed foods do not follow these simple rules:
Fat, less than 20 percent of calories
Salt, no more grams then overall calories (1:1 ratio). Can go higher for minimally-used condiments.
No added hydrogenated, trans, or saturated fats
No added sugars in first 3 ingredients. Having several different sugars listed as ingredients 4,5,6 also is bad.
Only whole grains.
Reasonable portion size. (i.e. small bag should be listed 1 portion, not 4)
For dry cereals, I bought Quaker Oats (old fashioned), and bite-sized shredded wheat. For side-dishes, I found some store-brand 10-minute multi-grain mixes to try. I purchased one of each.
For milk substitute, I picked up the store-brand, all-natural almond milk. It will be difficult to think of this as a condiment and use only on cereal and as a creamer. Wonder if I can use it in baking?
Of course, I purchased lots of different greens and some dried beans. Found a new one -- Mayocoba. Looks like they are also known as Canary beans, and should make a delish dip.
For bread, I picked low-sodium Ezekiel bread from the freezer section. It's pretty good toasted with some Gerber baby prunes spread on top as jam. Ann E. at last weekend's conference told me that the organic baby prunes have tuna oil in them, so I bought the regular ones. Why baby prunes? Only one ingredient--prunes!
Most processed foods do not follow these simple rules:
Fat, less than 20 percent of calories
Salt, no more grams then overall calories (1:1 ratio). Can go higher for minimally-used condiments.
No added hydrogenated, trans, or saturated fats
No added sugars in first 3 ingredients. Having several different sugars listed as ingredients 4,5,6 also is bad.
Only whole grains.
Reasonable portion size. (i.e. small bag should be listed 1 portion, not 4)
For dry cereals, I bought Quaker Oats (old fashioned), and bite-sized shredded wheat. For side-dishes, I found some store-brand 10-minute multi-grain mixes to try. I purchased one of each.
For milk substitute, I picked up the store-brand, all-natural almond milk. It will be difficult to think of this as a condiment and use only on cereal and as a creamer. Wonder if I can use it in baking?
Of course, I purchased lots of different greens and some dried beans. Found a new one -- Mayocoba. Looks like they are also known as Canary beans, and should make a delish dip.
For bread, I picked low-sodium Ezekiel bread from the freezer section. It's pretty good toasted with some Gerber baby prunes spread on top as jam. Ann E. at last weekend's conference told me that the organic baby prunes have tuna oil in them, so I bought the regular ones. Why baby prunes? Only one ingredient--prunes!
Monday, April 2, 2012
A New Direction - My Journey to Healthy
I live in a land where bar-b-que is king. All restaurant meals and all school meals contain either simple carbs or animal products. Usually both.
I choose to be different. Today is day 3 of eating Plant Strong & Plant Perfect. This is an experiment in my health.
On day 1, I was wild with hunger and cravings. By day 2, my blood sugar had stabilized, and I actually felt true hunger before dinner. The first two days of meals were provided for me at a Farms to Forks conference.
Today is the first day that I'm "on my own" with the new tools that have been given to me to help me live my life heathlier. I thought about creating a new blog, but then decided that since I was taking a break from writing fiction, I might as well re-purpose my blog for a bit of very personal non-fiction. My experiment in me will be an emotional roller-coaster, full of challenges.
My first challenge came quickly -- breakfast. Even the Arrowhead Mills amaranth flakes that I had purchased prior to this weekend were sweetened with fructose. All the oatmeal in the house has sugar in it, even my Dr. MacDougall's, and my Natures Own whole wheat bread has too much sodium and sugar. So, what did I do? I had a meal of cooked frozen corn, rinsed low sodium kidney beans, and a cup or so of frozen veggies (broccoli, cauli, carrot, red pepper, onion, squash). Steamed it and topped it with Mrs. Dash table blend.
For dinner, there's a crockpot of dried black beans with green pepper, onion, handful of diced carrotts, lots of garlic, dried chives, and dried parseley, seasoned with only black pepper and no salt. I'll serve that up with some brown rice from the pantry.
There's some chicken defrosting in the fridge for the rest of my family to eat.
Wonder what I'll have for lunch today? Absolutely NO IDEA. Yet.
I choose to be different. Today is day 3 of eating Plant Strong & Plant Perfect. This is an experiment in my health.
On day 1, I was wild with hunger and cravings. By day 2, my blood sugar had stabilized, and I actually felt true hunger before dinner. The first two days of meals were provided for me at a Farms to Forks conference.
Today is the first day that I'm "on my own" with the new tools that have been given to me to help me live my life heathlier. I thought about creating a new blog, but then decided that since I was taking a break from writing fiction, I might as well re-purpose my blog for a bit of very personal non-fiction. My experiment in me will be an emotional roller-coaster, full of challenges.
My first challenge came quickly -- breakfast. Even the Arrowhead Mills amaranth flakes that I had purchased prior to this weekend were sweetened with fructose. All the oatmeal in the house has sugar in it, even my Dr. MacDougall's, and my Natures Own whole wheat bread has too much sodium and sugar. So, what did I do? I had a meal of cooked frozen corn, rinsed low sodium kidney beans, and a cup or so of frozen veggies (broccoli, cauli, carrot, red pepper, onion, squash). Steamed it and topped it with Mrs. Dash table blend.
For dinner, there's a crockpot of dried black beans with green pepper, onion, handful of diced carrotts, lots of garlic, dried chives, and dried parseley, seasoned with only black pepper and no salt. I'll serve that up with some brown rice from the pantry.
There's some chicken defrosting in the fridge for the rest of my family to eat.
Wonder what I'll have for lunch today? Absolutely NO IDEA. Yet.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
I really haven't disappeared...
I've just been taking a break from writing to work on my health and on my singing. Still on break from writing. I might post some about my singing, when I have news.
To my author-blog-friends, Amy, Shallee, and Mary, keep up the great work. I'll be watching.
To everyone, enjoy springtime. Lots of birds this year.
To my author-blog-friends, Amy, Shallee, and Mary, keep up the great work. I'll be watching.
To everyone, enjoy springtime. Lots of birds this year.
Friday, February 3, 2012
In which I feel human again
With a blog title in the style of Jean Craighead George's chapter titles, I can't go wrong. Did I ever mention that my favorite book of all time is "My Side of the Mountain?" I love the fearlessness.
Truthfully, it was a very long 3-1/2 weeks. Just wish my hips hadn't spread so much while I was recovering! OK, maybe I can blame the post-illness depression for the extra snacking and lack of workouts. Or, maybe it was the intense boredom with not feeling well. Anyway, enough excuses already. I need to go get a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad and get back to writing.
Hey, did I tell y'all that I got Rory's Story Cubes and Action Cubes for Christmas? I'm looking forward to "rolling the dice" to try 'em out on a short story or three.
Truthfully, it was a very long 3-1/2 weeks. Just wish my hips hadn't spread so much while I was recovering! OK, maybe I can blame the post-illness depression for the extra snacking and lack of workouts. Or, maybe it was the intense boredom with not feeling well. Anyway, enough excuses already. I need to go get a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad and get back to writing.
Hey, did I tell y'all that I got Rory's Story Cubes and Action Cubes for Christmas? I'm looking forward to "rolling the dice" to try 'em out on a short story or three.
Monday, January 30, 2012
The end of coughing
Yes, I'm celebrating!!! I made it through an entire day with only one coughing fit. I consider that to be "cured"--horray!
In case anyone's wondering what kept this asthmatic down for nearly a month, the baddie is called Metapneumovirus (meta-numo-virus). Yup, it's a lower respiratory infection that can send asthmatics and children to ICU. I wasn't quite that bad, but 3 days in the hospital is enough for anyone to go a little batty.
Speaking of batty, I must be crazy to be playing so much solitaire on my PC. It stimulates my brain matter, but doesn't get anything productive actually accomplished. Hmmmmph.
In case anyone's wondering what kept this asthmatic down for nearly a month, the baddie is called Metapneumovirus (meta-numo-virus). Yup, it's a lower respiratory infection that can send asthmatics and children to ICU. I wasn't quite that bad, but 3 days in the hospital is enough for anyone to go a little batty.
Speaking of batty, I must be crazy to be playing so much solitaire on my PC. It stimulates my brain matter, but doesn't get anything productive actually accomplished. Hmmmmph.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Eating for Brain Power!
What do writers eat? I don't have much luck with creativity when I'm loaded down with cookies, chocolate, and sodas. In answer to a challenge on the Engine2Diet website, here's an ideal day of healthy eating...
Breakfast, veggie stirfry with portabella mushroom. Takes about 10 minutes to make. I have a desk job, so eating lots of carbs first thing in the morning doesn’t work well for me.
Snack, pistachios and a small banana
Lunch, refried beans, sliced tomato and corn chips (baked?)
Snack, raisin bran flake cereal with unsweetened soy milk.
Dinner, pan-fried tofu slices (non-stick spray), steamed greens, corn, and a salad
Desert, an apple or a frozen, 100% fruit pop
And, of course, lots of water.
Yes, I do feel better on the days that I eat like this; need to make sure I have more of these days in 2012!
Breakfast, veggie stirfry with portabella mushroom. Takes about 10 minutes to make. I have a desk job, so eating lots of carbs first thing in the morning doesn’t work well for me.
Snack, pistachios and a small banana
Lunch, refried beans, sliced tomato and corn chips (baked?)
Snack, raisin bran flake cereal with unsweetened soy milk.
Dinner, pan-fried tofu slices (non-stick spray), steamed greens, corn, and a salad
Desert, an apple or a frozen, 100% fruit pop
And, of course, lots of water.
Yes, I do feel better on the days that I eat like this; need to make sure I have more of these days in 2012!
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