Could it be?

So I have been getting headaches at work for the past couple of weeks. I thought it was just stress, until one day, when my left eyeball started twitching. I dumped some eye drops in, and closed my eyes for a minute, but it kept twitching. It was like my eye was trying to get away from my contact lens. I am pretty sure my prescription is changing. I got home from work that evening and quickly exchanged my contacts for glasses, but it kept going. My eye does not want to be hanging out with my current prescription. In examining my eye after putting my contacts in one day, it looks like it doesn't even 'fit' anymore. There is a little pucker in the contact on one side of my eye.

I am hoping to get an appointment to see my optometrist this week. Until then, this is what I feel like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WLCSHoc4ZM

Based on MomK's experience with her eyesight improving after giving up sugar, I can't help but wonder if that is what is happening to me to. As a child and teenager, I had perfect eyesight. Then after a year in college, I showed up for my first class of my sophomore year, I realized I couldn't see the notes on the chalkboard. My eyes had gone from great to awful in the course of a year. (Please note that my daily food intake in college included a frappachino, two doughnuts, and several trips to the vending machine).

Here's to Hoping I'm right!!
JamiK

Time Marches On

I have nothing exciting to report.

Random observations:
1) I am pretty sure I could live on the cinnamon raisin bread I baked last weekend. I have three slices left, and they might not last the night.
2) The Mediteranean Quinoa is a whole different dish if you add a little dash of Melinda's Habanero Sauce. Yum Yum.
3) Baby carrots and hummus are the perfect snack food when you just want to eat 'because'.

Perhaps I shall have something more interesting to say by the weekend.
Peace,
JamiK

Confessions, Recipes & Results

Confession # 1: I detest exercise. I don't like going to the gym. I don't run, I barely walk, and I can't stand to be sweaty & smelly. I realize this is not good. Exercise is healthy. It promotes a healthy heart, and good circulation. Nevertheless, I place it on the priority list somewhere below picking up dog poop. Yesterday, however, exercise was thrust upon me when I realized that I really needed to go chop up the ice on my driveway (which is approximately 40 yards in length). Needless to say, my arms and shoulders are now killing me.

To boot, my neighbors think I am losing my marbles. Until now, I would have thought the same of anyone I discovered shoveling the snow out of their back yard. There is so much snow already piled up on either side of my driveway, and in the street, and in the front yard, that there was nowhere to dump all the ice I broke up. So I shoveled out a big space in the back yard and used a wheelbarrow to move it back there. Funny Farm, here I come.

Confession # 2: I have never cooked with quinoa. I've been hearing about it for years. I see it on the shelves and in the bins at the organic markets. I know what it is, and I always act like it's something I am familiar with when people talk about it. I don't want to be the only health wacko on the planet who's never cooked with quinoa - so tonight I remedied that particular void in my culinary repertoire.

Mediterranean Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth or stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree
3 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
Italian seasoning

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and red, green and yellow peppers; cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for about 2 more minutes.
2. Rinse and drain the quinoa. Put it in a pan and dry toast it until a few grains pop. Add the toasted quinoa, vegetable stock, and tomato puree to the vegetables.
3. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, or until quinoa grains are soft. Stir in the diced tomatoes and season with Italian seasoning. Cook until heated through, then serve.

Last night, I prepped, and today I finished baking Cinnamon Raisin Bread courtesy of a recipe from one of my favorite bloggers "My Years Without".

Recipe Results: The bread was amazing. I followed the recipe to a 'T', and it rocked.
The Mediterranean Quinoa was good. Different than what I'm used to. Good texture, but not as flavorful as I usually make my dishes. I believe I shall try find some way to make it spicier next time.

Other Results: I have lost 10 lbs since I began this experiment. Let me elaborate - I HAVE LOST 10 LBS IN 7 WEEKS WITH VERY LITTLE EXERCISE, AND I EAT ALL THE TIME.

Eat that, sugar pushers.

Be Brave, Be Weird,
Shovel the Snow out of your yard,
Avoid Sugar.

JamiK

Rockin & Rollin in PA

Hanging out on the road is truckloads of fun. I am truly blessed to have a job I enjoy so much. While travelling, I plan to do some serious research in grocery stores around the country. I hit the local 'Super Eagle' here in Moon Township, PA this evening.

Goal #1: Find hummus & something to dip in hummus.

Goal #2: Check out the organic section - look for new stuff

Results: I found my favorite Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus, and picked up a little bag of mini carrots and a box of triscuits. They have a decent organic selection - plenty of chips & crackers, and snack type foods, but fewer staples - good variety of Naked, Bolthouse Farms, and Odwalla beverages. I did find what is bound to be a new favorite: Lundberg Rice Chips. Awesome flavor - no sugar. While wandering the aisles looking for hummus (which was not where one would have expected it to be) I FOUND CHICKEN STOCK WITH NO ADDED SUGAR!!

It's true folks. Kitchen Basics makes their chicken stock with honey, not sugar.

I will be talking to HyVee (my hometown grocery) about adding this product to their shelves next week.

I also found this analysis of chicken stocks/broths where Kitchen Basics got top honors in one category, and second in another.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/01/difference-between-chicken-stock-and-broth-which-store-bought-stock-is-the-best.html

Thanks for reading tonight folks:)

Au Revoir,

JamiK

On the Road Again. . . . .

I was not prepared to travel. There was not enough time to find a decent meal during my short layover in Minneapolis last night. I settled for a bag of Miss Vickies 'Simply Sea Salt' potato chips, and a cup of coffee. By the time I reached my destination it was too late to seek out a grocery store and stock up on acceptable dressings, snacks, & beverages.

Breakfast: Fresh Fruit Salad & a Cup of Coffee with Stevia & Half & Half

Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad with Lite Italian Dressing
(yes, there was sugar in the dressing. I'm stopping at the grocery store tomorrow to find a sugar free variety)

Dinner: French Onion Soup, Honey Soy Salmon, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, & Iced Tea.
The Sewickley Cafe had the most delightful atmosphere, and amazing food. Our Server was happy to ask the Chef about sugar content of the items I was interested in ordering, and the Chef was happy to make my Honey Soy Salmon without the usual brown sugar in the glaze. Amazing food. If you're ever in Pittsburgh, check it out.

Keep Truckin'
JamiK

No Worries:)

I have not fallen off the wagon. I realized late last night that I hadn't posted anything in a week. Life has been a bit crazy and out of order for the past week, but I am still living greed free. I spent a considerable amount of time berating myself last week when I found out that to make sushi, the rice is cooked with rice vinegar, which contains sugar. Boo. Shame on me for not researching the topic well enough before eating it. Nevertheless, I shall carry on.

I have come to the realization that I may not be able to blog on a daily basis from here on out due to the fact that I have already run into the biggest of the brick walls. I am more comfortable navigating the grocery store. I don't have as many things to write about that are all that interesting. I am still working on some serious analyses of the 'Psychology of Greed' and an in-depth study of my own health over the course of the past ten years and the part that sugar played in it.

I know that several of my readers have also given up sugar. How are you doing? Insights? Suggestions?

JamiK

One of Those Days

ugg.


That is the entirety of what goes through my mind every time I think about going back to work tomorrow. Today was one of those days where every time you get off the phone, there are three new urgent voicemail messages waiting to be listened to and addressed. In case you were wondering, there seems to be an overabundance of freight in the Midwestern United States, and a dearth of trucks to transport it where it needs to go.

The one bright spot in the day, was when my boss and dear friend, Mary, and I went to lunch together for the first time in a year. Where did we go, you ask? To Wok in Motion in West Des Moines, IA for some really amazing Sushi. We ordered a Spicy Tuna Roll, a Salmon Maki, a California Golden Crisp, and a Spicy Scallop. As long as you avoid sushi rolls which contain Mayonnaise, and the soy sauce doesn't have added sugar (don't worry, I checked) - you are good to go! There is no added sugar in wasabi paste. There is no added sugar in the rice, the fish, the vegetables, or the seaweed wraps.

I hope to add many suggestions for dining out to this blog as I begin my tour of the US for work this month. First stop - Pittsburgh.

Help!!

I need meal ideas! I had no 'oomph' to make dinner tonight. Nothing interesting came to mind when I opened the cupboards and refrigerator. I have food in the house, I just don't know what to make. Tonight I have opted for a salad, but tomorrow, I shall probably want something a bit more substantial to eat.

I am especially interested in any ideas that include rice, or rice pasta. I have both in the house, but I don't know what to do with them. Fish? Chicken? Help!

Recipe for my brother's amazing salad:
2 cups fresh diced tomatoes
1/2 - 3/4 cup fresh mozzerella in small pieces/cubes
1/4 cup thin sliced onion
Chopped fresh basil
A little drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
A splash of red wine vinegar

Toss, and let marinate in the refrigerator for a half hour.

I also brewed up some unsweetened tea (I used the standard Lipton variety) and sweetened it with honey. This will do nicely for an afternoon beverage at work when I need something more interesting than water.

:)
JamiK