OCD

I don't talk about it often ... My sister has OCD... in the early days over 28 years ago... she was obsessed with cleanliness.. I would pull her out of the shower, I saw the skin on her hands peel off....
Now its ritualistic... for example she can not turn on and off a light switch with out a routine.. with out a ritual set of steps she has to do... getting dressed , same thing... basically every aspect of her life is affected... she can not throw out a coke bottle or can with out a specific set of steps.. ( I learned this today and the light switch as well.. )  I watch her and it makes me sad... her battle with in..
If you saw her you would not see it... and if you watched her... you might see it... but if you know what to look for... well as I said it just makes me sad..  She is here visiting..
It makes me think about those of us that are working to change our bodies.. or are trying to get healthier for whatever reason.... We.. as a whole are fixable... for us the solutions are many and somewhat simple.. for my sister not so much....
Well still have some work today.. busy week ahead...
Have a great one.. not sure how much I will post this week due to the shows...

FOOD SHOW TIME

SERIOUSLY BUSY WEEK... not sure how much I will be around...
Had done a super post and the stupid thing never saved... will try and work on it again later.. damn...

SERIOUS RESEARCH GOING ON HERE

FOR  a week now We have been researching  the Forks over Knives programs.. and reviewing each of the doctors plans.... the jest is eating Plant based foods.. Whole foods.. NO meat, NO Dairy , No Animal Fat and in  a couple of the plans no OIL whatsoever not even olive oil...  the two easist plans to follow are the Engine 2  plan and Dr. Mcdougalls plan.. they allow for the most variety and creativity in the kitchen and explain in easier terms what to eat and what not to eat... lots of recipes as well.. and shopping in places like Costco Walmart and Publix and going to Specialty stores like health food based stores as needed for certain but not neccessary product... so its a bit easier to follow.. It will be a a HUGE HUGE HUGE thing for Steve to stop eating meat... its how he grew up, he was a butcher growing up... and meat was all 3 meals in some form... since we have been together he eats a lot less meat... and since he had prostate cancer even less.. so I am hoping as we come up with meat substitutes he adapts.. all though he said  that every now and then he will have to have a steak... I know how he feels giving up Dairy is a MASSIVE thing for me... but for both of us a lot of the substitutes so far we like.. Steve loves Lentils... I love soy based products like light soy milk.. ... the week after next ( after the 3 food shows this week) .. we are  going to cut out the meat.. , Steve is not ready to give up fish or chicken yet... but he said he would.. eventually ... He does not want to jump 1000 percent into it and then quit.. we both know thats how we would do it and have had to stop ourselves from jumping right in and being obssessed with it.. .we are eliminating things   so far white bread is gone, so far meat is has been cut out by 3/4ths... chicken and fish are still there... most cheese is gone ( THAT IS HUGE) and we are looking for soy replacements for that as well..  instead of snacking on chips today we snacked on cauliflower with a special homemade light dressing.. . I love that Dr. Mcdougall gives you a list of foods to use.. to help you... and most are foods you can find anywhere... This is a huge serious step for us... to totally change our way of eating and be in the food business selling items that are .. less than healthy.. but this is something that is very livable and can be done... I dont know if we will ever go to the extreme end of the program..Nothing that has a mother, or eyses , no dairy, no fat whatsoever, no Nuts,  we might .. but for now. the other  2 programs are pretty intense.. and that is  going to be our starting part.. Steve has said he would like to be totally on board  no meat at all by  next spring... that means no chicken or fish either... its easier for me because I really like the idea of a vegan way of eating... simply because I feel better.. ... ..we shall see where this takes us....

FAIR FOOD ITS THAT TIME AGAIN

Follow this link .. .its an older post but well worth checking out... what in the hell is fried PEPSI ... lol... 
great article from the blog novice chef... THE NOVICE CHEF
Well  I was taking a quick break... back to work..


Have a great day!..

FORKS OVER KNIVES

We watched a phenomenal documentary the other evening called Forks over Knives... FORKSOVERKNIVES website . the website is a good place to peruse and read about the doc, as well as read about the doctors who did this documentary.. It makes you think about what you eat and what it does to your body and how you can turn food into medicine .. let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food said Hippocrates ... They discuss living on a plant based diet and how it can reverse and stop heart disease and many other aliments that are masked and not cured with medications.. How we eat and what we eat is carefully examined I highly recommend this documentary .. you find even find it on Netflix now..
Steve and I are researching this heavily and are contemplating me going for one of the sessions at Dr. Mcdougalls clinic to learn more and really get started on a totally different way of life... for now though I am reading all I can and reading the recommended books  so i can learn about this.. it would be a tremendous change.. There are plenty of videos to watch on all the doctors websites.. and I am going through those now.. Dr. Caldwell has a very strict program, and so does Dr Esseltyn... Dr. Mcdougall has a very user friendly site as well as providing a list of good foods  to eat .. he is also the one with the clinic and his program is a bit easier to follow and to me seems the most reasonable way to start... Former President Bill Clinton lost all his weight and improved his heart health with  Dr. Dean Ornish as well as Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. Campbell.. its a whole new way of eating and one that deserves some  attention.. I have never looked at being a Vegan until I  started exploring all of this.
I have had  Migraine symptoms since Thursday due to a new pill  the gyn wanted me to try .. BIG DISASTER I am now on the original pill hopefully I will get back to normal soon..i do not like changing things when everything is going smoothly even my internist thought it was a bit wrong to take me off of what was working fine..
Life goes on...
Here is a link to Recipes from Dr.MCDougall the cooking program instructor is Alex Bury
RECIPES

FOOD LISTS

EASY RECIPES WITH GREAT FLAVOR

The  hot wrap up of summer brings to mind two favorite recipes.. 
We enjoyed both for dinner last night and have plenty of the tunafish to enjoy for the next day or two..


The first recipe is for my tunafish salad...
I have finally come up with a great recipe I am really enjoying and so does everyone I share it with..
 Tuna fish Salad
4 cans white albacore tuna packed in water  
half   Red or Orange pepper
half sweet (preferably Vidalia) onion coarsely chopped
1  heaping tablespoon minced roasted garlic ( I use a jar brand) 
Light helmans or Kraft Mayo.. in this house we do not like the flavor of fat free.
1 large stalk celery coarsly chopped
heaping dollop of sweet relish
a dash of pepper
1 tablespoon smart balance olive oil spread


Directions


 Saute on medium heat  chopped onion and garlic with tablespoon of smart balance olive oil spread.


while onions and garlic saute


DRAIN the Tuna WELL!
Put tuna in a bowl  toss and break up big pieces  
add relish, pepper, dash of pepper, celery


after onions and garlic are a nice semi translucent  or even crispy a little bit ( if you like it that way) 
add to mixture .. toss well... add Mayo and Mix well be sure the tuna is nice and flaked...  be sure and use just enough mayo to hold it all together.. no need to over use the mayo... you just want the mayo as the glue factor...  Less is more... 
Let get chilled and enjoy
the next day  it even gets better  YUM!   


Caprise Salad light


1 pint grape or cherry tomatos  rinsed
5 sticks light  string   cheese sliced up
splash olive oil
splash balsamic vinegar
fresh Basil about 4 or 5 large leaves  coarsely cut


In bowl  add tomatos,  and other ingredients ..use just enough olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste.. i love balsamic vinegar so I use a good splash..
This sald needs to be chilled and served... 
* because the cheese is not full fat mozzeralla  it will not be as moist... and really only holds up for the one serving.. buts a a very tasty salad..
Enjoy and have a great Labor day weekend..

BAH HEAT

So its the first of September and all I want is for the weather to finally CHILL OUT... we need some cool weather.. a cool breeze...   we need RAIN big time... fall can not come fast enough...
We are preping for a big food show coming up in 2 weeks... we have 3 shows that week.. 1 in Miss. 2 in Alabama... its gonna be crazy!... 
Today is laundry day can I get a whOOOO HOOO ... wow.. ... 
Shake is taken... water is being consumed now..  and waiting for the first load to come out of the wash.. and getting some work done in the process.. today is a stay at home day.. which is fine by me.. not many places I want to go in this heat..
Tomorrow AM  we take Baz for his senior or geriatric check up at the vet... he can hardly get up in the mornings now.. it takes him a while to get moving .. once he does he is in good shape...  
He has gotten very demanding in his old age... he does not like to be outside alone in the back yard... in fact he does not like to be outside anymore ...he will bark like a seal until he is let in... he is dumpster diving big time.. goes into all the waste baskets.. like they were his personal buffet... and does not care now if he gets in trouble... 
He can not hardly see anymore... and while I often joke about him sitting and staring at the wall it is sad... seeing him go into his older years this way..  He is so lumpy and bumpy now... lypomias everwhere... so far the doctors do not think any are cancerous but the fact is .. Baz is about 12 .. and who really knows with out invasive testing whats going on with him.. the lumps are huge .. but the vets say .. it would be harder on him to remove them than leave them.. so we leave them... He still has a HUGE appetite though.. and  is totally a food hound.. he still knows what  ARE YOU HUNGRY means ... and knows if you spell the word F O O D..   he tolerates Cookie.. and ignores Shayna...   he still trys to assert his ALPHA dog attitude with SHAYNA but fact is she no longer gives a shit... and will put him in his place when he gets on her nerves... 
Baz is also losing his bark due to part of his larnyx being paralyzed, its common with pure Labs... as they age.. eventually it will become completely paralyzed should he survive that long...
The vets keep telling us to be prepared.. we might have a year or 2 left with Baz maybe less... 
Its heartbreaking to see him in the mornings try to get up.. his legs are just not getting the message from his brain to work... and the aspirin does not seem to help the arthritis much anymore.. so maybe the vet can give us something to help him along... a suplliment or something.. we have done all the other supplements and they worked for a while.. but now .. not so much...  I guess though this is how it goes as they age though..poor doggie..
Cookie is sitting right by my side right now.. she is 7 ... and she has a little arthritis in her back legs otherwise she is is in great shape..
Shayna... is Shayna .. crazy and sweet as ever.. she is 3.  
Well laundry is calling.. and I best go answer..


                                                           BAZZIE

                           
                                                           COOKIE

SHAYNA

PICTURE OF ME AT STEPHS WEDDING MARCH 2010