My husband listens to a podcast called “The Art of Manliness,” but it should really be called “The Art of Living Well.” They’re up to well over 500 episodes, with different guests and topics. A recent one featured Dr. Dr. John Berardi, who earned a PhD in exercise physiology and nutrient biochemistry, and is a writer, athlete, coach, and professor, as well as the co-founder of Precision Nutrition and the founder of the Change Maker Academy. So this is a guy who actually has scientific chops. He’s not peddling some nutty theory and trying to make money off of it. I found this podcast episode to be so packed with good information that I had to listen to it in chunks, then stop and absorb what I’d heard before going on to the next section.
A Lovely, Festive Holiday Sweet Roll Recipe—That’s Not Too Sweet!
For the main dish at the Cherry Creek Chorale’s Saturday-morning rehearsal breakfast, I’m making my old reliable Union Square Breakfast Casserole. I didn’t make enough of my Caramel-Apple French Toast casseroles last time; I think for this event I’ll make a six-fold batch. But . . . I have some nice ham on hand that I need to use up, so I’m just going to dice that up and use it instead of the Italian sausage called for, and I’m going to make 1/3 (so two panfuls) without the ham so it can be vegetarian/kosher. I won’t have to brown sausage, which is a whole step in the recipe. [Also, later update: I didn’t do the fresh mushrooms, nor did I cube the bread. The casseroles were pretty thrown together, but they tasted great.] You do need to follow the recipe for the egg/milk proportions and for the basic amount of bread, but beyond that you can do pretty much what you want. Which I did!
Join Me in No-Sugar November
Well, this past Friday, Nov. 1, was supposed to be an encouraging day because I had scheduled an A1C re-test, using the second kit in the two-pack that my in-laws gave me for my birthday back in March. (As I’ve said before, the A1C test measures what percentage of your hemoglobin cells have glucose molecules stuck to them, and since those cells live for only three months your results are seen as a three-month view of your blood sugar rather than the one-time reading you get from a simple glucose monitor.) That March test had registered as a 5.3, which was super, super great–but I wasn’t completely sure that it was accurate. Although the brand I had (from Walgreen’s) is pretty well rated, I just didn’t think I could possibly have a score that low. There’s been one time that I hit 5.7, which is the threshold for what is called “pre-diabetes,” the yellow warning zone that comes before the red alert of 6.5 of higher. Once you hit 6.5 you’re considered to have full-blown diabetes. I’ve usually hovered in that 6.0-6.4 range, and as far as I know I’ve never hit 6.5 My doctor told me at one point that he didn’t think I would ever topple over into full-blown diabetes, and I sure hope he’s right.
Happy Halloween! (And How to Stay Away from the Candy)
I have a podcast on my “favorites” list from Dr. Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary, the flagship divinity school for the Southern Baptist Convention. I’ve heard him preach a number of times at our former church, Capitol Hill Baptist, which we attended from 1999 to our move here in 2009. He’s a great guy for whom I have great respect and is very much concerned about the direction our society is going, but sometimes this concern causes him to overreact a little. So back when the whole drag-queen story-hour brouhaha broke out (and if you missed out on that one, lucky you! I’m a committed David Frenchian on the subject), Dr. Mohler saw it as a “cultural crisis.” We all needed to Do Something About It. But the thing of it was, and is, that these events are local and non-compulsory. Giving so much attention to them vaulted the performers into the spotlight for weeks.
Thoughts on Keeping Up With Exercise Routines and Other Good Habits
I wrote last week about my accidental weight loss of 2-3 pounds and how I’m trying to hang onto it. So far, so good. Yesterday was 115.5. I have my A1C reading on Friday, so we’ll hope that’s okay, too. But, just to show that life is always throwing a curve ball, that very same Wednesday I started getting sick, which doesn’t happen too often. Once in a while, though, maybe every other year or so, my chronic allergies and my chronic sinus problems combine to give me an actual infection. Nothing serious, and I’m not going to share any gross details about nose blowing or anything, but I was laid low through Monday after caving in and going to a doctor last Friday. Once I started in on antibiotics there was a definite improvement, but the process took several days. No floor exercises or walks took place during that time, and then we started in with snow and cold as of Tuesday. I wasn’t going to get out on the trail with those conditions, so the dreaded treadmill was in the cards. I wimped out yesterday but finally got myself upstairs today, putting in 45 minutes at a fairly slow pace and also doing a full round of the floor thingies. (I should do a post sometime about what I do, but it would have to involve a video. Have to think about that one. Let me just say here that I’m a firm believer in doing something simple and short, qualities that make the routine much easier to stick with.) In theory I’m back in the saddle.
A Shocking Statistic, and Holding onto Accidental Weight Loss
This morning on the “Happier” podcast Gretchen Rubin gave a truly shocking statistic:
“Research suggests that Americans consume an astonishing 30% of their daily calories in the evening, after 8:00 p.m., and as the day wears on, we tend to choose increasingly unhealthy options.” (from the show notes for the 10/23/19 episode)
There’s some controversy about whether or not this evening snacking causes actual weight gain in and of itself; in other words, are calories consumed in the evening more likely to be stored as fat than those consumed during the day? According to Healthline, which I’ve found to be a pretty good online resource: “You won’t gain weight by merely eating later if you eat within your daily calorie needs. Still, studies show that nighttime eaters typically make poorer food choices and eat more calories, which can lead to weight gain.” As Gretch and Liz say in the podcast, you aren’t going to be eating celery sticks or scrambled eggs at 10:00 PM; you’ll be eating junk/snack/convenience food. (Liz mentions Cheez-Its.) Of course, one way to keep yourself from eating junk food at 10:00 PM is to not have the junk food in the house.
A New Occasion for Feeding People—And Some New Lessons Learned
There’s been a friendly rivalry of sorts going on at our church between another woman and myself over who gets to do what food events. Neither one of us is actually running a business per se, but we both enjoy(?) putting on big meals. I had done our church Christmas party dinner (60-75 people) for about three years, then I said it was just too much. So my friendly rival (henceforth designated FR) took it over and did a spectacular job. I stayed out of the fray except for making desserts and my famous pink eggnog for several years, but then I sort of missed it. Last year I asked the woman in charge if I could do it. “Oh, I’m so sorry, but FR already asked if she could do it again this year, and I said yes.” So I stuck with my usual role. FR had also done the food for our annual women’s retreat for a couple of years, with the 2018 one being especially good. She made her grandmother’s green chile (chili? I can never remember when to use which spelling), and it was awesome. Plus she made this cold strawberry soup for dessert. Man! Plus, she made some little chocolate tarts that were . . . vegan. And in spite of that drawback they were honestly one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth. So rich!
Take a Sip Instead of a Snack
Hi folks! I’m rather taken aback to see that it’s been over a month since I posted anything on this blog. Are you a subscriber? If not, sign up on the sidebar. How about to my other blog, Behind the Music? You can also sign up for that one on the same form, or you can follow the link and see what’s going on there first. That blog seems to be consuming a lot of my time and attention these days, but I’m still very interested in writing about food and health, so I want to make a stab at keeping both sites going.
Breakfast For a Crowd—Lessons Learned and a New Recipe
This previous Saturday the Cherry Creek Chorale held the first of four special Saturday-morning rehearsals as we prepare for our October concert. To add a note of conviviality—and to encourage attendance—breakfast is traditionally served at 8:30 before we get to work at 9:00. It’s always hard to know how many attendees to plan for, as it seems to be the case that since Saturday counts as somewhat of a “makeup” rehearsal that can replace a regular one (and we’re supposed to miss no more than two regular rehearsals for any given concert), some people
The Falsity of “Don’t Allow Yourself to Get Hungry”
Just back on Monday from a lightning-like trip to North Carolina to celebrate the 80th birthday of a family member. Such a nice time! Once again, as I mentioned back in May, much of that time was spent eating in restaurants—or at the party itself, of course. I tried to be very conscious of the time between meals, as no sooner had we finished one session than we started talking about the next: “Where are we going for dinner?” “What are we doing for lunch?” Also, the inevitable “Are we going to Goodberry’s?”