Is Weight Watchers our friend?

Matt Stone is a favorite blogger of mine. He's also written ebooks. He has an interesting perspective on the weight loss/health issue that runs contrary to much that we hear in conventional circles. He makes a lot of sense, but I haven't totally wrapped my mind around the "putting into action" of his theories. Makes for interesting reading/listening though.

Spring is in the air

I am seeing lots of people out working in their yards already and have to confess that the digging-in-the-dirt thought has been floating through my mind as well. But it's only the beginning of March!

A book to wet your appetite to do things the organic way is "Diary of a Compost Hotline Operator". Uniquely written; local(Vancouver, BC.) Everything you ever wanted to know about setting up and maintaining a composting system set down in a humorous and easy-to-read way. This was a fun way to begin the gardening season. Now to keep up the momentum.

I finally finished a pair of socks that have been languishing in a corner for well over a year. Showing how much my knitting has improved, I whipped through some lacework that had me stumped back when I was working first on them. However, my tension has loosened up quite a bit, so the second sock is considerable larger than the first. But they're done! I got to cross them off the list - very satisfying. (Knit Picks Essential yarn; Girl's Best Friend Anklets Knit Picks pattern) [Ravelry picture - I think we lost all our pictures with the computer crash]

Do I have blinders on?

Sometimes I come across new information that is so mind- boggling, so radically opposed to what I have always believed that I wonder how I possibly got to where I'm at today without knowing it. A big part of the answer to that is that it's usually not "politically correct" information and therefore, not readily available. So it is with two recent areas of interest - politics and health.

Richard Maybury and his book "World War I : The Rest of the story and how it affects you today" has blown my ideas of politics and how countries function in relation to each other out of the water. The funny thing is that I have had his books on the required reading list for my high school students, but had never read them myself. They were just accepted to be good reading and I didn't go any further than that. Now I want to read the whole series (I'm partway through WWII and am having to stretch my thinking once again). Basically, Mr. Maybury says that we should have as little government as possible - only the bare minimum. His perspective on war, and in particular the cause of WWI, is well-researched and fascinating. Prepare to be challenged in your thinking!

On the health front, a recent blog post from a radical health nutter that I follow included the following video. It's long, but well worth the watch. It's called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth". In a nutshell, he considers fructose and high fructose corn syrup, toxins, and spends considerable time sharing information that proves his assertion. He's got me convinced.

Not so healthy

We are in the midst of an epidemic...5 of my 6 kids have the chicken pox. That might not be so unusual, except that the older ones are 17, 23 and 24. And the older two are in agony. I feel for them, but there's not much I can do except comfort them and send food.

This picture is of my 9 year old, who probably had the least number of spots.

My 19 year swears that he will. not. get. chicken pox.

I'm torn. Part of me hopes that he doesn't. But it would be nice for him to get it over with. It's out of my hands, though.

Just sayin'

Attention all women:

1. Drink your fluids

2. Take your cranberry or vitamin C capsules daily

Avoid pain.

Just sayin'

Lesser known kefir facts

1. Kefir eggnog is actually quite tasty.

2. Drinking kefir on a regular basis will ruin your sweet tooth. Be warned...you may need to find new comfort foods.

3. That white stuff in the margarine tub - it's NOT margarine.

One piece of Christmas knitting I CAN share...Opal socks for the piano teacher. This dear lady comes right to my house for lessons - she deserves a medal for that, but must settle for wooly socks.

Pets anyone?

I have some new pets.

Now keep in mind that I’m not the traditional dog/cat kind of person. We have two outdoor cats – allergies keep them in their proper place outside the home. I'd have a cat in the house in a flash, but husband and some kids would be miserable.

We’ve had dogs over the years. According to the experts, having a dog can build character in your children. Ours always tend to die or get killed; the last one was a barker and went to the SPCA. So I’ve found that worms make the greatest pets. No fuss; no muss. They mind their own business and produce fertilizer to boot. How can you go wrong?

But just when I thought that worms headed the list as the go-to pet, along came kefir grains. My kefir grains came dehydrated through the mail. A quick 24 hour soak-in-water later they were plumped up and ready to do my bidding.

It took about a week of regular 24 hour milk changes, but now those grains are producing a luscious, creamy, tangy milk kefir. I don’t know that it’s that much different than the product that came from the store-bought starter. But using the grains is so cool! Each morning I strain the baby grains out of the kefir and add them to a mason jar of fresh milk. That jar sits on the counter till the next morning, when I do it over again.

Right now I’m making just enough to drink in one day with a little extra for guests J. (Yes, I’m the only one in the house that enjoys this healthy drink) Apparently the grains continue to grow, so just like my worms, at a certain point I should have grains to share. Any takers? J

Lots of knitting has been going on, but the only finished project is a crocheted dishcloth. Having made many knitted dishcloths over the last few years, I had a bag of leftover cotton yarn on hand. Experiment time. Most crocheted dishcloths are too stiff for my liking. So I tried a granny square one for a change and actually quite like the prototype. It looks nice, works well and dries quicker than the others. So I’ll make more of them. Doesn’t this one match my dishtowel well? Purely accidental.

Is fat my enemy?

Reading about nutrition and nutrition trends is a hobby of mine. It has been since I was about 13 or 14. (40 years!) Fads come and go; science learns new things; popular knowledge continues to be influenced by big business. In the area of health, it is important to keep your perspective. So many people have an agenda or a bias. Just as in everything else in life, you must consider the source; consider what they might gain by what they are putting forward. A friend asked how to judge what you are reading about, since there are so many differing opinions and theories on what constitutes good health. I told her that one thing I do is look at the footnotes and scientific studies quoted. Can they be substantiated? Does the science work? Are there conflicting messages?

A blogger that I follow posted these guidelines, which I think can keep the confusion in perspective:

This is my method: first I ask God to guide me, and then I ask myself these questions

1. What is the most natural, traditional way…the way God originally intended?
2. How did our ancestors eat?
3. What makes the most sense?
4. Whatever I’m reading at the moment, what are they selling or how do they benefit if I believe what they say?

You can’t go too wrong following these guidelines.

A recent, fascinating read was "Rethinking Thin" by Gina Kolata. She studied diets and dieting and challenged conventional wisdom regarding weight loss. Can we lose weight and keep it off? Do we need to lose weight? The answer might surprise you. The conclusion she came to (and yes, she has pages of footnotes) was that contrary to what we've been lead to believe, being overweight is not necessarily the health hazard it's made out to be. Our culture's standard of allowable fat may tell us that those rolls shouldn't be there. But health-wise, longevity-wise, maybe you can keep them and still come out ahead. Of course, bucking the image when it's in our face constantly is another story.

Smooth, creamy goodness

My latest nutrition find is kefir. My husband calls it rotten milk. The kids won't go near it. But I can't get enough of it. The store-bought kefir is OK. What I make myself is so much better. And it's one of the easiest traditional foods you can make. Truth be told, getting back to eating traditionally is a lot of work. Making everything from scratch takes time. But to make kefir you merely stir some culture into the milk, sit it on the counter for 12-24 hours (or longer) and you get a smooth, sour drink that doesn't taste anything like sour milk. I promise. I mix mine with a little yogurt or juice concentrate or, my favorite, a smidge of real maple syrup. Yummy!

I've spent the last number of hot weeks knitting on a project that normally I wouldn't choose for the summer - a moderne baby blanket.

However, it is a gift for a young lad in our church who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. So sad. I hope that this blanket will remind him of how much he is being prayed for. I made it out of Vanna's Choice yarn from Michaels so that it

will be fully washable. My youngest son gave it the cuddle test and it passed with flying colours.

On the weekend I made a classic WWII watchcap. Apparently a million of these were made during the war and sent over to the troops. I like a little history with my knitting. The pattern comes with a few variations, so I may be making these for a while. They will go to our "Hats for the Homeless" program at church. Made out of Paton's Classic Wool on size 4.5 mm needles.

Is God stupid?

I don't think so... listen below to what the underground wellness guy has to say.

This guy is great. I follow his podcast and recently came across some youtube videos. I'm deep into nutrition research right now and feel like something finally makes sense. In past posts I've talked about the traditional diet as espoused by Weston Price and Sally Fallon. My knowledge base continues to grow - it's fascinating stuff to someone who has always been interested in nutrition.

Am I knitting? You bet! Miles and miles of garter stitch. On the needles is a blanket for a family that is going through a tough time with cancer in the 11 yo son and the father. So all other projects have been put on hold till that is done. And a power outage fried my hard drive the other day, so pictures will have to be another day.

Memory - friend or foe?

Some books I must have choosen because the contrast between me and the subject matter fascinates me. For example, the allure of reading about the Arctic and Antarctic is that it's unconceivable to me that anyone would choose to spend time in absolute cold. "The Woman Who Can't Forget" is a true story about a woman who remembers everything she ever did or read or heard. It boggles the mind! I have a hard time with several hours ago! She even remembers things from others people's lives. As long as she had contact with the person or information, it's filed away in her brain. In a instantaneously retrieved mind file.

I can often remember information. It just takes my file manager several hours to bring it up from cold storage to the front of my mind. Of course, by then the moment may have passed when I needed it. Such is life - I've always had a memory like this, it just gets worse as time passes. This quote sums up my experience with memory: The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Even more than a look into this woman's life story and what having the most remarkable memory known to science means to her, this book gives a great deal of insight into how the mind works and memory in general. An absorbing read. Three stars.

I learned a new knitting technique the other day. The project got frogged and turned into something else (see Aviatrix baby hat), but it was a learning experience in any case. To get a knitting project started, you must first cast on (CO), which is setting up the yarn onto your needles so that you can proceed with the actual knitting. I have always CO in the manner that I learned as a child - a form called the long-tail cast on. I really didn't know there was any other way to do it until I took up knitting again in the last few years. Now I know that there are many, many different ways to cast on. The cable CO is the one that I just learned. It created a nice looking edge, but was more time consuming than I'm used to, so only if the pattern calls for it will I use it. Here's a video that shows how it's done:

Wasted calories

One unexpected change that has come with my aging body is that I can no longer eat anything that I want and maintain a healthy weight. Every calorie that crosses my lips must be considered for its nutritive value and pleasure factor. That's why the ice cream snack I had the other night was such a waste! A little background - the grocery store that I regularly shop at has discontinued selling our favorite 4 litre bucket of ice cream. Despite many dissatisfied customers, they have decided that our opinion isn't worth bringing it back. So I was forced to buy the other brand (which is more expensive). Upon bringing it home I thought I'd give it a try. Bad, bad, bad. Taste that is. I wasted my snack calories on substandard ice cream! And once it's down the gullet, there's no going back. At least, for me there's not. Now I will be in search of another brand of ice cream and will have to break my rule of only food shopping at one store.

Our one camping trip of the year takes place this weekend. Major packing up of gear. Major headache. But it's all worth it once we get there. We love our homeschool campout. As a knitter, the question becomes - what projects to take? how many to take? will I take enough? 

I had decided on three sock projects. One pair is 

just about finished - I just love this yarn! So instead of tucking it into the luggage to bring along, I had to keep on knitting. The foot will get finished at the campground and I should get to wear this luscious, glowing wooly gem. Unless the weather warms up, of course, which we're all hoping for. Then I'll just wear them to bed. (Chameleon Colorworks Footsie Yarn in Figgy Pudding Colourway; Roundabout pattern on the leg)

I'm chewing a lot of gum these days

One of the hazards of being a stay-at-home mom is that ....I'm home a lot. Which I like. Make that - love. But...I find that I constantly want to snack. So I decided that every time I feel like putting a little something in my mouth, I'll stick in some sugarless gum.

My jaws are getting sore.

Is anyone sick of Edward and Bella yet? After speed reading through the first Twilight book, I was ready for a break. But my daughter brought home the last 2 in the series of four, so even though I had sworn I wouldn't buy the second book - I did. Read that this week and am now half way into book four. These are "quick reads" from the library. $1 a day overdue fines! So my daughter and I are fighting for reading privileges as we hurry to the ending. (at least I hope it's the ending!)

Between book one and two I watched the movie. Give it a pass, unless you just have to see it. Very melodramatic and bad acting. After book two I was ready to give Bella a knock over the head with a two by four. I did not like that girl! How selfish was she?!! If she could come up with a plan to put anyone that loved her in danger she would do it, all to satisfy her own wants and desires. Book three I skipped over a lot. Let's get on with it! Now in book four there's not so much Bella and it's going much better. But I'll be glad when it's all over and I can get back to my life. (note: I've now finished and wasn't totally happy with the ending)

In the knitting realm I've been working feverishly on a baby blanket - garter stitch takes forever. But it came out nicely and I'm happy with it. The pattern will be a keeper. Of course, there are some socks on the needles, too. A loverly Opal yarn.

I've discovered a new, healthy taste sensation. Sauerkraut. Who would have thought? All these years I've avoided it like the plague, thinking it was so awful. But it's not - it's quite delicious. And if you can believe the traditional diet people it's also very good for you. Check out this article. Now if I can only get the rest of my family on board...

I made great strides in knitting this evening. It's amazing how quickly worsted weight yarn knits up into a sock. My current project is almost the same length after a few hours as the other sock that I've been working on for four days. Both gift socks for special men in my life - one a sophisticated grey and one a rustic oatmeal. Both a real treat to work with. I love knitting!

Nutrition Nugget

I just realized that I have been a follower of Centre for Science in the Public Interest for over 25 years. They have changed a lot in that time. While I do detect some bias these days in their editorials (toward vegetarianism), they continue to be set apart from big business and therefore can "tell it like it really is".

The magazine that they put out, Nutrition Action, has a theme for each issue. January/February 2009 is on inflammation in the heart. Very interesting. There is also an article on kidney stones (my husband had these once and thought he would surely die). A regular feature is recipes and this time they all look yummy. Vegetable were rated from best to not-best-but-still-good. In other words, with vegetables it's hard to go wrong. Me and vegetables aren't best friends I have to admit. I spent so many years not being able to eat them because of gall bladder problems that I have a slight aversion to them. But eat them I must and I will develop a taste for them.

One of my favorite parts of the magazine is on the last page. Here they have the "right stuff" (recommended food item) and "food porn" (bad, bad, bad). This time round Eden Organic No Salt Added Beans won the right stuff award. Hey! I had black beans in our bean salad on Wednesday! I love them. But boohoo, Pillsbury Grands!Flaky Supreme Cinnamon Rolls with Icing got the porn award. I've only had these once - yummy. But you don't want to know what's in them. Let's just say - eat them very infrequently.

What was my number one take-away from the magazine this time? Kale! I must start serving kale 'cause it's a superstar vegetable.

Appreciating the traditional diet

The cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" that I have been reading over the last few weeks is too meaty to plumb the depths of for only the time the library gives me. And I see that someone has it on hold now, so I won't be able to renew. Copies online are expensive, so I'll have to wait for a eureka! moment in the used book store. In the meantime, a good resource for information and recipes is the blog kelly the kitchen cop.

The cookbook has inspired me to get back to making old-fashioned soup with real bone stock and I even made my own creme fraiche (European style sour cream - delicious!) You're supposed to serve the soup with a dollop of the creme fraiche to boost the nutritional value. It's out of my eating comfort zone, but I found it to be wonderful.

Confession time

I have to confess that if it was up to me we would not subscribe to the local newspaper. There - I've said it. I've admitted that I'm not really all that interested in what is going on in the world around me. Some situations are of particular interest to me and those I follow online, through blogs or sites. If anything else of importance happens someone manages to inform me fairly quickly. So the fact that sometimes a week goes by without my reading the newspaper hasn't really impacted my life. A favorite health guru recommended limiting exposure to world news as it tends to increase your stress level. I took that advice to heart - I need all the stress reduction I can get.

At this point I know that I've lost the respect of my well-informed friends. Don't shoot me - just keep telling me what I need to know and maybe I'll knit you a pair of socks sometime soon.

I love a good cookbook!

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon is the kind of cookbook that can keep you up late at night. Besides recipes it includes sidebars on every page with interesting tidbits, there's a general overall nutrition section at the front and each food category begins with information. And the book is thick - 3.5 cm thick! (yes, I measured it)

So far I have skimmed through the whole thing, but read in detail the soup section. My soup making has slowed down lately and I am inspired to get back to it by reading how nutritious soup is - soup that is made from homemade stock that is. That's very important. Many years ago I took a soup making class where we learned to save onion peels, vegetable ends, etc. in the freezer and then simmer them with meat bones to make a nutritious and flavourful stock. Along with a whole grain bread, a well-made soup can make a full meal.

Last week I made a pea soup with stock made from turkey necks that I bought in the meat section of the grocery store. This week I'd like to get some beef bones and try a recipe from the Nourishing Traditions book. Maybe I'll finally get to grinding the wheat too.

Or at least, give the job to one of the children.

Bread the staff of life?

Wise Traditions, summer 2006 has several fascinating articles on grains and the pros and cons of eating, especially in the case of celiac disease. They don't deny that some people cannot eat gluten, but some alternatives are given and a good case is made that the condition comes about from the way that grain (especially wheat) has been modified over time. A number of gluten-free recipes are given as well.

Reading about the benefits of eating grains has given me the urge to dig out my wheat grinder. Several large sacks of wheat were discovered in storage (leftovers from Y2K if you can believe it!).

Maybe this should be my 10th New Year's resolution?

Just when I thought I had the nutrition thing figured out...

...along comes Dr. Weston Price.

On my last trip into the public library, I picked up an intriguing magazine entitled "Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts". There were subtitles all around the edge of the cover such as "a campaign for real milk", "pasture-fed livestock", "life-giving water", nutrient-dense food" and on and on. Right up my alley. I actually had to go onto the website to find out that Dr. Price was a dentist, who, in the early 1930's, traveled to isolated parts of the world to study their dental health practices. He came up with the characteristics of a traditional diet which he maintains is the best way for us to eat. From that list he developed dietary guidelines for modern people to use. The most striking place his list differs from "common knowledge" of our day is in his recommendation to eat high saturated fat food. He maintains that traditional high-fat diets have sustained people for thousands of years, and it's only in the more modernized society that health problems have arisen and that this is caused not by the fats, but by refining of sugars and fats.

This is not a light-reading magazine. In fact, it's almost like a scientific journal. But along with the numerous articles it also contains practical, start-right-now recipes, menu plans and time-saving meal prep ideas (in this issue at least - Spring 07). This fits in nicely with one of my New Year's resolutions, so that article will be one I spend some time on.

I hope I don't find out that he belongs to some weird religious cult.