Filterless

It's Turkey Time!

Thanksgiving has arrived once again. The turkey is stuffed and in the oven (well, ok, it's a chicken since my sister and mom don't like turkey), the dough for honey rolls is rising on the counter, the pie is in the fridge cooling, and the sides don't need to go in for another few hours.

It's time for the Filterless to pause and give thanks for what I have in my life. I am thankful for:

My interesting, if somewhat insane, family

My spectacular Heffas who help keep me sane

Being employed and earning a paycheck (no matter how dainty it may be)

Having health insurance (even though I'm having to pay out of pocket to get it myself and don't get me started on that)

All the well done, and entertaining shows available on television such as Supernatural (CW), NCIS, NCIS: LA, The Big Bang Theory, Criminal Minds, CSI: NY (CBS), Ace of Cakes (Food Network), Being Human, Doctor Who (BBCA), Sanctuary, Eureka (SyFy), White Collar (USA) and V (ABC) that bring so many laughs and thoughtful moments

My favorite authors (whether or not they're still publishing the series) such as Sherrilyn Kenyon, Laurell K Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, Janet Evanovich, and Elizabeth Peters. 

Dungeons and Dragons Online which provides regular hours of stress relief

My craft projects which help me focus and clear my mind. It's hard not to zen out while knitting, stringing beads, taking photos while hiking or even figuring out how to draw in photoshop (ignoring the moments of swearing).

Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you have much to be thankful for as well.

Weeks 6 to 8 Plus the Results

The vegetarian experiment continued.

Week 6: I was feeling lazy this week with having Veteran's Day off and working 12 hour days on Monday and Tuesday. Pretty much I didn't want to have to put much effort out on Sunday night making dinners for work. I used the Curried Couscous Salad recipe but tweaked it some more. Here's what I did:

1 box Near East plain wheat couscous
3/4 cup Crasins
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon sugar
1 orange, juiced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
1 can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed


Stir the couscous, cranberries, curry powder, parsley, salt, and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Bring water listed on the couscous package to a boil (I used an electric tea kettle) and pour it over the couscous. Add the orange juice. Give it a big stir, cover the bowl tightly and let it stand about 5 minutes.

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and pepper. Pour over the couscous. Add the kidney beans and toss to coat.

Week 7: By week 7, I was getting tired of the whole thing. Coming up with a high fiber, low fat, high protein vegetarian dish that can be prepared in advance, reheated in a microwave, and store well for 4 days is a bitch especially when you don't necessarily have experience in being a vegetarian. I finally went with an Asian flavored couscous.

1 box Near East plain wheat couscous
1.5 cups water
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
4 TB soy sauce
2 medium zucchini
3 carrots
1 TB olive oil
2 TB sesame seeds

Mix the couscous, ginger, garlic powder, and cayenne together in a heat proof bowl. Bring the water to a boil (I use an electric tea kettle). Pour water over couscous. Add 2 TB of the soy sauce, stir and let sit covered for 5 minutes.

Chop the zucchini into even bite sized pieces. Peel and finely grate the carrots. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Saute the zucchini and when almost al dente add the carrots and remaining 2 TB of soy sauce. Saute for another minute. Stir the vegetable mixture in with the couscous adding the sesame seeds.

It's not especially creative but it was quick and fairly tasty. I originally meant to add beans but forgot.

Week 8: Week 8 started this past Monday. I wanted to get my blood work out of the way before Thanksgiving because diet and cholesterol be damned, I'm eating our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The only other time I get this is for my birthday so I'm not going to worry about how healthy it is. I began fasting on Sunday night around 9:30 pm after making up the dinner I'd be taking into work (recipe will follow). I had set up an appointment with Quest Diagnostics in town (you can do it at their website) rather than show up and wait. They take the appointments back first. I was in and out of the office in under 10 minutes. On my way to work, I picked up my traditional "I just had fasting blood work" breakfast which is 2 hash browns and a large sweet tea from McDonald's.

Work dinner (for Monday and yesterday at least) was Deviled Egg Salad Sandwiches. I love deviled eggs but find when it comes to egg salad I usually prefer egg mayonnaise. Most people fancy egg salad up too much for my tastes. Egg white, mayo, pepper and some mustard on the bread is my usual deal. I've had a craving for deviled eggs recently though so I came up with this to make it easier to transport and keep.

5 eggs
1.5 TB Dijon mustard
1.5 TB Hellmann's mayo
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1.5 tsp juice from sweet pickles

Put the eggs in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Pour out the hot water and rinse several times with cold. Then crack the shell on the counter and peel under running water. Put the eggs in a bowl in the fridge to cool.

Cut the eggs in half placing the yolks from 4 in a bowl. Discard the other yolk. Chop the whites. Using a fork (or food processor if you're lazy) mash up the yolks. Add in the other ingredients and mix. Taste the mix. You can then tweak it for your preferences. Sometimes I do more mustard or sweet pickle juice. Pretty much I do it to desired taste and consistency.

Then stir in the chopped egg whites. Eat plain, on a sandwich or crackers. I had mine on sandwich size Hawaiian rolls. It was exceptionally good.

The Results: Since my doctor's office gets sent electronic versions of results from Quest, I got a call this morning with the results. They freaking floored me. I'm still pissed. My triglycerides went from 148 to 169. My LDL went from 158 to 167. My HDL (i.e. the only thing that did well) went from 35 to 39. My total cholesterol went from 215 to 240. Apparently, the diet did crap for me cholesterol wise though my clothes fit a little looser.I'm being told I HAVE to take a statin now (and apparently forever). I'll spend the next two months on it and cut the vegetarian back to 3 weeks out of every 4 and see what happens. I'd prefer to find something other than a statin to take. Recommendations and links to research on natural methods are always welcome.

Previous weeks:

The Experiment is on

Weeks 4 and 5 of the Vegetarian Experiment

Patriotism, an essay by the 14 year old son of an Army father

This essay was written by a good friend's son. He shows a real and touching meaning of patriotism as it defines his everyday life. We may give occasional thought to our troops whether stationed here or abroad, but frequently, forget about those on the home front helping them soldier on. In this essay, the son demonstrates not just love of his country but a profound love and respect for his father.

I have a big, virtual hug for you, baby doll. Young men like you are one of the reason's I'm proud to be an American.

PATRIOTISM
BY: H Peterson

Patriotism is the love of your homeland. It is also about the blood sweat and tears that are shed for it and the sacrifices that are made to keep it free. My father is in the military and has been away from home for 2 years. He comes home in December before Christmas this will be the first Christmas that we have had with him in that time. Patriotism is not always easy especially for military families. You can love your country and still struggle with the hard parts of that love.

Patriotism is more than just a word and only just a word until you see it in action. It’s the families left behind, the many moments you can’t get back, the holidays you miss and wishing for an end to fighting that will bring your parent home. It’s doing without because you know that why they are gone is important.

I am surrounded by people every day who can’t imagine being apart from their Dad for as long as we have, but could you imagine our country without people willing to do that to keep this nation free?

Patriots are the ones who are loyal to their country and stand up for what they believe in. No matter what branch of the military someone is in, we should make it clear that we are all thankful, even if some people don’t show it just know they are better off for what you do.

I have many friends and family members in different branches, the Marine Corp, the Air force and the Navy, they all have one thing in common, all of them sacrifice and so do their families. They have taught me pride and a sense of family.

We should honor our heroes at all times by keeping in mind that what they do doesn’t pay a lot; it has long hours and can be dangerous. When someone decides to support their military they also act like a patriot.


This is the link where Sunny posted it on her blog: This Life is Not For Sissies: In the Words of My Son

Macon Memories: The Buffy Theme Song

Random Macon Memory: Driving someplace with Chris, Jen and Mel after the Buffy the Vampire Slayer soundtrack came out when the Buffy theme played and the 4 of us dancing so hard in place the car was shifting in the lane.

We danced to that song every time we heard it including when the group of us (plus Sarah and Karina) would get together to watch new episodes.

Happy 234th Birthday, US Marine Corps!

Special Birthday Message for the 234th Birthday of the Marine Corps

I wanted to send out a special Happy Birthday and a giant Thank You to all the members of our US Marine Corps and also to their families for all their sacrifices and support in defense of our great nation.  Happy Birthday and Thank You!

If you see a Marine today, shake their hand (or hug them), and wish them a happy Corps birthday.

Weeks 4 and 5 of the Vegetarian Experiment

As I mentioned in The Experiment Is On, Monday through Thursday I am going vegetarian, most notably in the dinners I am bringing into work. It isn't for any political or social statement. I still eat meat Friday through Sunday.  It is to see if in 8 weeks I can bring my total cholesterol level down 15 points. If I can, it means I don't have to go back to taking statins. 

Week Four: In keeping with my focus on high fiber and protein dishes, I decided to try Dave Lieberman's Curried Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries from Food Network.  It was simple and easy to make. I mean, how can you dismiss a recipe where the only "cooking" is boiling water. Admittedly, I tweaked the recipe by adding light red kidney beans for protein.  It was tasty but needed something more.  Also, the recipe called for toasted walnuts that I was feeling too lazy to toast and fresh parsley that I forgot to pick up when I was at the store. Here's the recipe with the changes:

1 box Near East plain wheat couscous
3/4 cup Crasins
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 orange, juiced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
Freshly ground pepper
1 can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Stir the couscous, cranberries, curry powder, parsley, salt, and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Bring water listed on the couscous package to a boil (I used an electric tea kettle) and pour it over the couscous. Add the orange juice. Give it a big stir, cover the bowl tightly and let it stand about 5 minutes.

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and pepper. Pour over the couscous. Add the kidney beans and toss to coat.

It stored well over 4 days in the fridge.

Week Five: I was getting tired of couscous by Sunday evening rolled around so I went with something different. I decided to try a quick tomato sauce with whole wheat pasta. It's simple and not too bad but looks a little odd.

1 can petit diced tomatoes, basil and oregano blend
1 can tomato sauce, the small one
1 medium zucchini, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and grated in the food processor
1/2 can Great Northern beans, drained, rinsed and pureed
1/2 box Barilla whole wheat pasta
1 teaspoon olive oil

First, I washed and chopped the zucchini. Then, peeled the carrots, gave them a rough chop and tossed the carrots into the food processor. I have a cute mini prep that my sister gave me for Christmas a few years ago. I ran them through on Chop for about 5 pulses. Next, heat the olive oil in a pot and saute the zucchini and carrots.  When the zucchini starts to soften, add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and let simmer. Add the half can of drained and rinsed white beans to the food processor and pulse on Grind until you have a thick paste (you may need to add water as it pulses).  Stir the paste into the tomato sauce. Let simmer over low heat.

Now heat the water for the pasta.  Personally, I'm a little lazy when it comes to pasta.  I use our largest pot and don't really measure the water or the pasta.  I used about half the box.  Cook until al dente which I've found is longer than the box says it is. Once the pasta was drained, I separated it into 4 Gladware containers and used a measuring cup so each one would have the same amount of sauce. Once they were sealed, I stuck them in the freezer and am pulling one out each day and letting it thaw in the fridge at work. It's oddly lumpy because of the carrots but the taste is fine. If I'm going to keep making it, some refinement will be necessary.

I still haven't decided what next week's entree will be.

Note: The product names listed have not compensated me in any way or encouraged me to use their names. They are the products I prefer to use either through taste and convenience (they're what the Publix near me carries) or habit (my mother has always used them).