First of all the almond is a seed and not a nut.  Always makes me laugh when I learn stuff like this because all my life I thought of it as a nut . . . still do.  Almonds have a lot of fat, with 15 grams of fat per ounce, that is 23% of the Daily Value.  But it is the monounsaturated fat, the kind that we need, but still not too much.

Per ounce they have about three grams a fiber.  I think they are a nice addition to fiber you are already eating but should not be the only source as you would need to eat almost 4 ounces to get 10 grams of fiber.  That would be 60 grams of fat. 

Studies have shown almonds to help in lowering cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.  Almonds seems to have the ability to help keep blood sugar even which can help reduce the risk of diabetes.  They contain vitamin E which is an antioxidant.  The magnesium and potassium help with blood flow and blood pressure.  Almonds are naturally gluten free.

Nutrient Values of Almonds:  Single Serving (1 ounce)
Calories—–170.0 
Protein—–6.0 g   Daily Value—–12%
Carbohydrate—–6.0 g Daily Value—–2%
Fat—–15.0 g Daily Value—–23%
  
Fats  
Cholesterol 0.000 mg Daily Value—–0%
Saturated Fat 1.5 g Daily Value—–8%
Mono Fat 10.0 g 
Poly Fat 3.0 g 
  
Carbohydrates  
Dietary Fiber 3.0 g Daily Value—–12%
  
Vitamins  
Vitamin E 10.0 IU Daily Value—–35%
Riboflavin 0.22 mg Daily Value—–4%
Niacin 0.95 mg Daily Value—–4%
Vitamin B6 0.03 mg Daily Value—–2%
Folate 17.0 mcg Daily Value—–4%
  
Minerals  
Potassium 207.0 mg Daily Value—–6%
Iron 1.0 mg Daily Value—–6%
Calcium 75.0 mg Daily Value—–8%
Magnesium 84.0 mg Daily Value—–20%
Phosphorous 147.0 mg Daily Value—–14%
Zinc 1.0 mg Daily Value—–6%
Copper 0.27 mg Daily Value—–14%
From  Nutfarm 

According to Wiki, there are no truly RAW almonds grown in and sold from California:

Because of two cases of salmonellosis traced to almonds in 2001 and 2004, the Almond Board of California proposed rules in 2006 regarding pasteurization of almonds available to the public, and the USDA approved them. The almond pasteurization program became mandatory for the California industry on September 1, 2007, and was implemented voluntarily over the previous two years.  Since September 1, 2007, raw untreated California almonds have technically not been available in the United States. Controversially, California almonds labeled as “raw” are required to be steam-pasteurized or chemically treated with propylene oxide. This does not apply to imported almonds, or to almonds sold from the grower directly to the consumer in small quantities.  Nor is the treatment required for raw almonds sold as exports to countries outside of North America.

I found the fact that California Almonds sold as “raw” are not really raw to be very interesting.  Hmmmm.  So much of what food labels say is untrue and deceitful.  I don’t know why I was surprised.

So in case you are wondering what “propylene oxide” is besides just the chemical that California Almonds are treated with.  It was according to Wiki ”a racing fuel, but that usage is now prohibited under the US NHRA rules for safety reasons. It has also been used in glow fuel for model aircraft and surface vehicles.”  Yes, they use a RACING FUEL that is now prohibited for safety reasons to treat California Almonds.  I think I would take my chances with salmonellosis.  There were TWO cases of that, but now they are treating our almonds with a, yes, get this—-a “probable human carcinogen”.  

It seems as if California Almonds might not really be that healthy after all considering they are probably being treated with a chemical that has “been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as Group 2B: The agent (mixture) is possibly carcinogenic to humans.”  According to the California Almond Board:

PPO is also a surface treatment which has been approved for use on foods since 1958, . . . . PPO is very effective at reducing harmful bacteria on almonds and poses no risk to consumers. In fact, PPO residue dissipates after treatment.

Also according to the board Organic Almonds are steam pasteurized.

So I guess that “raw” almonds is the same as “No trans fat” on food labels.  And along with all the other chemicals IN our food and used to TREAT, GROW, and MANIPULATE the very DNA of our food, there is no risk posed to consumers.  Meanwhile Americans grow more obese and unhealthy and more and more drugs sold as medicine are being pushed upon the public. 

I started this post ready to extol the benefits of almonds, but now all I can say is eat at your own risk, along with all of our food supply.

Water -  If you drink water you feel full.  In fact research has stated that sometimes the body indicates dehydration as hunger.  So it could be that you are not really hungry but dehydrated and in need of water.

Ginger – Is also an appetite suppressant.  Not only does it help suppress, but as mentioned on my blog before it helps with digestion once you do eat.

Avocado - Studies have shown that the body converts an acid contained in the avocado to a hormone that increases the feeling of satiety and fullness. But just as with almonds they do contain a high amount of fat so the key is still moderation.

Coffee - The caffeine, coffee stimulates the central nervous system and can suppresses the appetite.  Suppressing the appetite yet drinking  a lot of cream and sugar might not give you the result you want, so black coffee could be the answer.  Don’t drink too much because then you could get jittery AND hungry!  

Apples – With the fiber and the bulk an apple can help fill you up and help with regulating your system.

Sweet Potatoes – As a complex carbohydrate a sweet potato can give you the feeling of fullness and sustained energy.

Tofu - Studies have shown that the hormone peptide is an appetite suppressant. Tofu is a great source of protein and it is protein that is responsible for the release of this hormone.  Helps explain why a breakfast with protein keeps you feeling full longer than one just full of simple carbohydrates. 

Wasabi – Some say spicy foods make you feel full.  If you like hot and spicy you can be the judge.

Green Tea – Research has proven that green tea helps you feel full.  As with all of these listed, it really is up to you and what you think, but I am sure you have heard about the other benefits of green tea with its anti-oxidants.  Remember unless you get decaffeinated green tea, it does have caffeine.
 
Oatmeal – Slow cook oatmeal has a lot of fiber.  Fiber helps you feel full and stay full.

Green leafy veggies -  With leafy greens it is fiber and the fact that you can eat a lot and actually GET full!  So leafy greens actually fill you AND suppress the appetite.

Salmon – Salmon has Omega 3, fat helps you feel full.  It also has protein. 

Flax Seeds – Omega 3 and fiber.  A winning combination.

Cinnamon – Since cinnamon helps stabilize blood sugar and there is a link between hunger and blood sugar levels, it is logical that cinnamon would help suppress or at least help stabilize the feeling of being hungry or full.

Pine Nuts – Remember, we have already said that protein helps suppress the appetite, well, Pine nuts contain the highest amount of protein of any nut or seed. They also affect the hormones that work to signal the brain that you’re no longer hungry.

Some of these can be eaten as a snack in between meals to help you from being too hungry and maybe eating something unhealthy.  Or then can be added to a meal to help you feel more satisfied and stay full longer.  Or you can combine them to help you keep from in between meal snacking. 

You can add wasabi to your salmon.  Throw some flax seeds, pine nuts, or almonds on your leafy greens.  Sprinkle some cinnamon in your coffee.  Add some ginger to your water.  Apple in your oatmeal.  Avocado and tofu?  Either way you have some health natural ways to suppress your appetite and/or keeping you feeling full and satisfied.  What do you think?

Parsnips, Broccoli, Baby bok choy, and Spinach Soup

–olive oil
–1 medium sized onion chopped (save some for garnish)
–2 parsnips (chopped)
–1 bunch of broccoli (chopped)
–4 bundles of baby bok choy  (bottom portion separate from leafy portion, chop both and leave separate, they are added to the soup at different times)
–2 or 3 tsp of minced garlic
–1.5 tsp granulated garlic
–1.5 tsp garlic salt
–48 oz of chicken broth
–a half of bottle or can of beer
–shake or two of teriyaki
–small piece (3/4 of an inch) of ginger, chopped
–3/4 of a 6-oz bag of spinach
–1.5 (ish) wooden spoonful of cream cheese spread whipped with chives

Sautee chopped onion in the olive oil.  When the onions look tender add in the chopped parsnip, add granulated garlic and garlic salt.  Cook parsnip until it seems a bit tender, then add the bottom portion of the bok choy and broccoli. Let it cook a minute, then add the minced garlic.  Sautee until tender.  Then pour in the broth.  Add about a half can or bottle of beer and the few splashes of teriyaki.  Stir it as you feel necessary throughout the entire process.  Bring to boil. Add the cream cheese if you are going to use it.  Add the ginger.  Add leafy portion of the bok choy and bag of spinach.  Let cook for a few minutes or until the veggies are wilted.  Once the veggies looked wilted use the blender to mix it all up.  (I use the immersion blender so I can keep it all in the same pot.  Please remember to be cautious of the steam.)

The parsnips give this a little difference flavor and the broccoli leaves little green specks in the soup no matter how much you blend it.  Actually when you look at it, it looks the same as all the other soup I make.  But it tastes different.

I was trying to make something easy to eat for someone with a sore throat.  This soup is kind of thick yet easy to swallow and it packs a punch with all the vegetables it contains.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and let me to continue to share my soup experiments and at the same time put spending time with friends and family at the forefront of life!

Enjoy!

I thought I would try spicing it up myself.  So I added my own ginger, cinnamon, and I even added nutmeg.  I figured that I would be able to reap the benefits of the spices if I put them directly in my tea.  I ended up making a pretty tasty beverage.  I would imagine that I could add my own spices to hot water and make any type of “tea” I want.  I know it shouldn’t really be called tea as tea is make with actually leaves from a plant and not just spices.  All I need to know is it tastes good and it helps keep me warm (it has been a bit cold around here lately). 

And, as I said, I can get the benefits from some of the spices.  Granted the spices do tend to sink to the bottom of the mug in a wet pile, but if you keep it stirred you actually drink them.  That would be the point—to drink them.

One day, I grabbed the cayenne pepper instead of cinnamon — and you frequent readers must know — I DO NOT tolerate spice at all.  I don’t like heat.  I made a really spicy hot concoction.  I saved it for my hubby, because it didn’t TASTE bad it was just to hot for me and I thought he would like it.  He did.  So I guess I can make him some spicy hot beverages too.

As a reminder, ginger is an anti-inflammatory, so it is good for the body to help keep chronic inflammation at bay.  It also has some nutrients and is used as a digestive aid.  I usually use the powdered kind for my tea, but when I have the actual root I toss a little piece in my mug.

Cinnamon is also an anti-inflammatory food.  I have thought to add it to my coffee before and as stated in this post, my tea, but now I will just start making a spice hot water mix.  Cinnamon is also consider a digestive aid.  So why not just add some spices to some hot water and see what you come up with? Or add it to your coffee or tea? 

Honey and lemon are common things to put in hot water, I think I will try that with some of my spices.  Get the whole shebang.  Warmth, water, lemon, spices . . . sound like a winner to me.  How about you?  Spices to drink?

But with that lesson under my belt and a half of bunch left, I put the remaining kale on the cookie sheet.  I just pulled the leafy greens off the stem at the same time I ripped it into bite sized pieces.  And I washed it first because I didn’t want to be handling the dirty (it was really dirty) kale. 

I spayed the pan with olive oil, then set the ripped pieces of kale on the pan, then sprayed the kale with olive oil, then sprinkled garlic salt on it. 

I didn’t use the convection part, but I kept the oven at 300, but only for ten minutes.  Let me tell you, the kale cooks a lot slower with the convection off and oil on it.  I think I cooked it a total of forty minutes — maybe it was 30?  I did turn the oven down to 200 after the first ten minutes.  I can’t sit there and watch stuff cook so I thought 200 would be ok, and kept checking it.  I think the last 10 minutes I turned the oven off.  I think it is the type of thing that I will have to cook in ten minute intervals and check on.
 
It was ok.  It taste like roasted lettuce to me.  I don’t think it deserves the rave reviews that I have heard from people.  And by no means can it beat a potato chip (as so many have claimed), but it is ok.  It is a way to get some greens in.  It is not too hard to make.  It is a great thing to snack on.  And I think my husband REALLY liked them. He kept reaching for them.  Anytime he reaches for something over and over again, I know it is a hit!  So I will be making them again.  I probably will pay as much attention to cooking them as I did this time.  I should have paid more attention because I knew I was going to post about it.  But I didn’t.  After I burned the first batch I was kind up grumpy at myself.  The funny thing is, I burned the first batch because I was so excited to write my kale post.  So I set the time more based on how long it would take me to finish up and post my article then how long it would take to dry the kale.

So have you made kale chips?  Have you tried them?

While I was in the store a woman started talking to me about eggplant. She said it was too difficult to cook so when her neighbors gives it to her she just throws it away. For on brief moment I considered asking her if I could give her my phone number and she could call me and I would take it! Then we started talking about some of the other vegetables that were in the same area. She was saying collard greens are good for you. I told her that my husband loves them. She asked me how I cooked them and I told her I sautéed them. She said she fried them, the same as the eggplant. While we were talking I noticed the Kale. I always forget about kale. I was happy that we were talking and it allowed me to focus for a moment on the kale. I bought some.

Kale is part of the cabbage family. It is just leaves. Kale is part of the family of vegetables that are called cruciferous vegetables. Some other cruciferous vegetables are broccoli, collard greens, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.

You know how I don’t understand plant species and families and all that. But more and more research is providing information that these types of vegetables are very good for us in regards to nutrients we need.

As much as we all know to take the governmental daily values with a grain of salt, a cup of kale has over 1300% of the daily value of vitamin K, over 350% of vitamin A, and over 80% of vitamin C. It also contains calcium and beta carotene. Research has shown that kale is rich in antioxidant, is an anti-inflammatory, and has properties that are thought to be of the anti-cancer nature. Steamed kale is thought to have cholesterol-lowering benefits.

According to Wiki: Kale freezes well and actually tastes sweeter and more flavourful after being exposed to a frost. I, myself, am going to try to make the oh-so-talked-about-you-have-probably-heard-about-them kale chips. In fact I could swear that one of you — one of you that I read your blog — posted about kale chips, but I can’t remember who. I went looking but I couldn’t find the post.

Anyway . . . do you eat kale? If you do how do you eat it? I am going to go experiment right now!

One reason I have been putting off writing this post is I like to post pictures with my posts.  So I was going to take pictures of what I am about to explain, but I really didn’t want to waste the cheese.  I could not — every time since then that I have had a hunk of cheese, I could not bring myself to touch it!  Cheese is made from curdled milk.  In some cases they use bacteria to make the cheese.  Cheese contains living organisms.  With all these facts that make up cheese most cheese tends to mold quite easily and quickly. 

It is my experience that the mold begins to grow where the cheese is touched.  Go ahead, see for yourself.  As I said, I will not sacrifice my cheese to show you pictures of this type of experiment.  I know it to be true.  Even though you wash your hands before you touch the cheese, you still have bacteria and things on your hand that apparently help the mold grow.  Again, this is just what I have experienced.  I have found that if the cheese is touched that is where the mold grows.  I have found that if the BAG or wrapper in which the cheese is stored is touched and that area touches the cheese that is where the mold grows. 

Of course, if cheese is old enough it starts to grow mold on its own, but wherever it is touched it grows faster.  Have you experienced this to be true?  I have, so that is why there is a “rule” in our house that the cheese cannot be touched.  That includes ALL cheese in all forms.  You cannot put your hand in a bag of shredded cheese.  You can pour a small amount into a bowl (or whatever) and handle it from there using what you want, but hopefully you will end up using all of it.  If not, it gets put in a separate bag or container it does not go back in the bag with the rest of the cheese.  Tubs of cheese . . . . same thing.  Even cream and ricotta, you can’t use a utensil then “double-dip” if the utensil has touched hands or mouth.  Mouth is probably even worse than hands touching the cheese. 

So, that is the reason for the “Don’t Touch the Cheese” rule in our house.  It has nothing to do with sharing.  We will gladly share our cheese with you, just don’t HANDLE it! 

Are you willing to experiment?  Use two pieces of cheese to see if the one you touch goes bad before the one you don’t touch?  Let us know?  Remember you have to have cheese around your house long enough for this to even happen.  Ha, ha!  (I know how some of you cheese lovers are!)

One of the most important things I have posted about is Balance. The post is called Nia Balance and I was sharing about how balance was challenging because of my injured toe, but the main point of the post is that balance is really important and that our Nia routines are full of opportunities in which we can practice our balance. Since balance is so important you can practice it throughout your day without really changing the way you do things too much. Balance is so important, especially as we age.

It’s Out There is my post about how great Nia is! Ha, ha! Well it is a little bit about Nia, but a lot about the fact that there are many, many, many other movement forms out there. There are so many different forms of movements that there really has to be something for everyone. Nia is for everyBODY as it was created to move the body in the body’s way, but it is not for everyone. There is something out there for everyone! If you look you can find a class for you!

I posted about Feeling Vs. Sensing. Feeling is emotion. Feelings are how you FEEL. Sensing is what your body does. You FEEL happy. Your body senses heat. You FEEL sad. Your body senses cold. Knowing the difference can help you give your body and/or your emotional self, your spirit the workout it needs.

I made up a list of ten exercises that can be done in ten minutes. There is actually a lot of different ways you can do the list of ten exercises, but the idea was to get a full body workout in ten minutes. The hope was that the ten in ten would be an inspiration and a catalyst for actually doing more.

This past week I had company and they were here through the dinner hour. I didn’t know that they would be here that long so I didn’t have anything planned for dinner that would feed all four of us, but I still wanted to feed my husband when they left. So about the time they were talking about leaving I went into the kitchen. I was in the kitchen all of seven minutes. I washed the rice, turned on the rice maker, chopped the end off the asparagus, rinsed them, put them in a pan then put them in the oven, and dumped the marinated chicken in a pan and put it in the oven. I then set the timer for 20 minutes at which time dinner would be ready. I achieved a 30 minutes meal. All because when I froze the chicken I made a sauce for it at the same time. So when I took it out to defrost it was already marinating or doing so as it defrosted. So it really took seven minutes for me to make dinner. My friends didn’t even miss me because I was only gone seven minutes. This post is about Shopping Step to help Dinner Prep. After shopping before you freeze the meat make your marinade right inside the bag. It has really helped me get dinner ready much faster! Love it!

So this is five on my list out of nine post I think really could use repeating.   I hope you check back Saturday to see the rest of the list.  I thank you very much for taking the time to read this. If all of these or some of these are “repeats” to you, then I really thank you. Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you reading and if you are a commenter . . . I appreciate you even more!!!  See you back here on Saturday for the rest of the review of my Year End Review!

I was talking with someone who was telling me someone else wasn’t doing something.  We were trying to figure out why.  Why wouldn’t this person want to do that?  The person talking suggested it was because she was afraid and didn’t want to fail and her comment was, “So what?  Fail, but at least you tried and you can do it again.  Do it until you don’t fail.”  Ah-ha!  It was one of those moments.  What I was not doing because I was afraid of failure was much less serious than what we were talking about.  I am being vague to protect the innocent.    But believe me, yeast is a lot less serious and traumatic than the other situation.  So I realized how silly I was being.  It’s bread.  It’s yeast.  Whoppedee-do, if it doesn’t work.  Granted I wouldn’t want to waste all the ingredients that go into it, but it is not THAT big of a thing.

I had even bought the yeast a long time ago (well, not THAT long ago because then again, don’t want it not to be able to be activated).  So I decided to start with something I think of as even easier than bread—pizza dough.  Now you might know that I think of both sandwiches and pizza as the perfect foods.  They are bread/grains, veggies, dairy, and meat —- perfect.  Even more perfect because you can eat it with your hands.  Anyway . . . . I found an easy pizza dough recipe.  After going back and forth, “Do I follow the directions on the yeast package or the directions on the recipe?” I decided to just go with the recipe.  Actually, now that I am typing this up, I bought the yeast to make pita bread, but I let it sit until I had the above mentioned conversation at which time I decided to try pizza dough because I felt it was easier.

Anyway . . . my first shot was ok.  The flavor was good but it was very “bready”.  It was REALLY THICK, so I decided on my next try I would split the dough up and make two crust.  But the second one didn’t rise nearly has much.  Ya see, the recipe says to let the dough rise for 30 minutes.  But a few of the comments said they let it sit longer.  So I did that.  I let it sit for hours, then I rolled it out to as large as my pan, which seemed pretty thin to me, but during the baking it puffed up.  It was like thick crust pizza.  So that is why I decided to split it the second time.  But the second time the ball of dough seemed smaller, so I used it all and rolled it thin and it still puffed up.  Not as puffy as the first time, but thicker than I wanted.  I like thick crust, but I was trying to make thin(ner) crust pizza.  After I cooked it —- and we ate it, I thought, “Oh the temperature.”  Was that it?  Did it not rise as much because it was colder the second time?  I didn’t think about that until AFTER all was said and done.  But it was much colder in the house the second time than the first time.  So bready-people/pizza dough makers the temperature that the dough is left to rise in affects it, huh?

Here is a picture of my second pizza.  This is two meals.  Mine is the bottom portion, a half with spinach and mushrooms, and one with just spinach.  The top portion has mushrooms and raw onions for my hubby.  He is not a bready person, but he says he like the pizza even though the crust is REALLY thick.  I will keep at it.  I will experiment and play.  Now that I am not so afraid to fail I can play.  I am sure that one of these days I will get some bad yeast or I will do something wrong, but that is ok, at least I tried . . . . . and I look forward to all the pizza it will give us!

First of all, the amount of tryptophan is less in turkey than in cod, soybeans, Parmesan cheese, and cheddar cheese.  It is slightly higher in turkey than chicken, beef, and pork chops.  A direct quote from Wiki:  “It is particularly plentiful in chocolate, oats, dried dates, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, poultry, sesame, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, corn, spirulina, and peanuts.”  Basically protein based foods. Tryptohphan in turkey has been blamed for many people falling asleep after a Holiday meal.

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid so that means we must eat it because our bodies cannot produce it.  If you are experiencing depression, anxiety, irritability, impatience, impulsiveness, inability to concentrate, weight gain or unexplained weight loss, overeating and/or carbohydrate cravings, poor dream recall, or insomnia, according to WHFoods, you could need to add more tryptophan to your diet.  Adding more foods that contain high amounts of tryptophan could possibly help you with these things.  It helps form serotonin which can help you feel better and help you sleep.

The ByteSize Science did a little video explaining that tryptophan does not make you sleepy.  This video says there is LESS in turkey than in chicken.  It explains that tryptophan on its own could cause you to be sleepy, but the amount in turkey has to compete with all the other food and so it is not enough to actually cause you to be tired.  This video also says that most people eat more calories in one Thanksgiving meal than they normally it in a regular day.  This huge amount of food makes the body have to work extra hard to digest the food.  The blood goes from the brain to the stomach which causes the tiredness and grogginess.

Not sure how the turkey-tryptophan myth started, but science has proved it to be exactly that – a myth.  So instead of blaming turkey, and the amino acid that our body needs to make necessary compounds, for our post Holiday food coma we should actually acknowledge it is probably the amount of food and the combination of food that is responsible.  Armed with this information we could eat our turkey without fearing it will cause us to get sleepy and maybe eat less food and less carbs and avoid the food coma that usually ensues a Holiday meal.   What do you think?

This is a portion of a chart on Wiki: