Heat it up with Ginger

Today we celebrate the health and healing powers of ginger. Aromatic, pungent and spicy, ginger adds a special flavor and zest to main dishes and many fruit and vegetable dishes. Ginger has long been known to tame digestive discomfort and many post-weight loss surgery patients report that including ginger as an ingredient in their healthy diet helps reduce stomach distress.Ginger can be found in

If you are Fat and you haven't got a Lap Band then GET ONE!

BRUGGE - FEB, 2007

MAY 2008 36 pounds lighter

Oh man I LOOOOOOOVE the lap band.

Seriously, we have been through rough times me and my silicone friend, but I am just 'luvin it, luvin it, luvin it right now!

It is ONE YEAR to the day that my Lap Band Broke (See May 2007 posts).

I am also 11 pounds lighter than I was this time last year. I am in a seriously cool place. Trust me, it messes with your head having a lap band break on you, but OMG is it worth it. HELL YEAH!

I cannot believe that I am 15 stone something. That is totally awesome. I feel bright, energised and happy. I had my hair done today to celebrate the fact that my band IS working, and I feel young and vibrant and great.

I am wearing a pair of trousers and a top I bought last year before Sri Lanka, and obviously never got to wear them. Well this summer I fit into them perfectly. 3 weeks ago I couldn't do them up! Now they fit comfy... like they actually FIT! Wow. I feel so great about myself now, in a well deserved way, not an arrogant way. I just feel really pleased that something I did has finally gone right, and its making me feel a whole lot better.

THEN

NOW

RIGHT NOW!!

Today's food diary read thus:

1 banana

1 jacket potato (small) with curry sauce

2 chocolate yoghurts

That's all folk's!

California "Raw" Almonds

I bought about a pound of almonds yesterday for a backpacking trip I'll be doing this weekend. I like to soak raw almonds, then lightly toast them. It sweetens them and breaks down some of their anti-nutrients.

When I arrived at the grocery store, the only raw almonds they had were from California. I prefer to buy domestic products when I can, but in case you haven't heard, "raw" almonds from California are no longer raw. They are required to be sterilized using steam or antiseptic gases, despite their relative safety as a raw food.

The worst part is that they are not required to label them as pasteurized; they can still be labeled as raw. The Almond Board's argument is that there's no difference in quality and pasteurized almonds are safer. I find this highly offensive and deceptive. It flies in the face of common sense. If you walked up to someone in the street and asked them what the phrase "raw milk" means, would they say "oh yeah, that means pasteurized"? A raw seed can sprout. A pasteurized seed can't. Remember all those enzymes that break down anti-nutrients when you soak beans, grains and nuts? Denatured by heat.

I tried soaking them like I would regular raw almonds. I covered them in water overnight. In the morning, I noticed that the soaking water was milky and had an unpleasant smell. The outer layer of the almonds (the most cooked part) was falling apart into the water. They also didn't have the crisp texture of soaked raw almonds.

Tonight, I toasted them lightly. They definitely taste "off", and the texture isn't as good. There's no doubt about it, pasteurized California almonds are inferior. Despite my preference for domestic products, I'll be buying Spanish almonds the next time around. If enough of us do the same, we'll hit the Almond Board in the only place that counts: its wallet.

One of the most irritating things is that the new rule is designed to edge out small producers. I can't see any other reason for it. Raw almonds are a safe food. Far safer than lettuce. Should we pasteurize lettuce? Pasteurization requires specialized, expensive equipment that will be prohibitive for the little guys. I'm sure the bigger producers will generously offer to fill the production gap.

Wild Caught vs. Farm Raised Salmon

Hello Neighbors!You know I'm a big fan of salmon and eat it regularly. Normally I get my salmon from a big-box super center in large quantities to portion out, vacuum pack and freeze for later use. But I've often wondered where this salmon comes from and is it my healthiest option.George Mateljan over at The World's Healthiest Foods is featuring salmon this week and he offers insight to the farm

Daylight Robbery and the Judas Kiss

Today we found that the cheque Spelman had paid us bounced.

What a low life.

The guy came here, wasted another hour in my life with his inane chatter about bog all, which I only tolerated because he was going to finally cough up my husbands wages, then takes his stock back (several thousand pounds worth) then shakes my hand and gives me a kiss on the cheek "no hard feelings".

A week later the cheque has bounced and the bastard has all his stock back. He is supposed to be a millionaire. Money here there and everywhere. I have never clapped eyes on such a down and out millionaire in my life. He drives a poxy L reg car with rust and dents. He wears cheap shiny well worn Farah slacks and plastic shoes and a shirt - no tie. If he is a millionaire, then I am a monkey's fucking uncle.

I never liked the guy from the moment I met him. 10 minutes in his company and you just KNOW that the whole evening is going to governed by him and a waste of at least 5 hours talking about him and his and how great hes got it.

The guy holidays in Ibiza for god's sake. Tragic.

Food diary:
2 Finn Crisp slim crackers with garlic and herb cheese spread. I made myself 3, but couldn't eat the last one. I used to eat a box of these in an afternoon no trouble.

several cups of Coffee

Tonight's dinner is going to be... Roast beef, carrots, roast potato and creamed leeks. Horseradish naturally, but no Yorkshire pud for me... not worth the vomiting.
I will let ya know how much I get through!

Real Food VII: Lentils

Lentils are a healthy food that comes with a few caveats. They have more protein and less carbohydrate than any other legume besides soybeans and peanuts. In fact, the ratio of protein to digestible carbohydrate is almost 1:1. The carbohydrate in lentils is slow-digesting, giving them a relatively low glycemic load. They also contain a remarkable array of vitamins and minerals, particularly B vitamins. One cup delivers 90% of your RDA of folate, so between lentils and liver there's no need for those sketchy prenatal vitamins.

Lentils must be properly prepared to be digestible and nutritious! I can't emphasize this enough. We did not evolve eating legumes, so we have to take certain steps to be able to digest them adequately. As with all beans and grains, proper soaking is essential to neutralize their naturally occurring toxins and anti-nutrients. Anti-nutrients are substances that interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Soaking activates enzymes in the seeds themselves that degrade these substances. It also cuts down substantially on cooking time and reduces flatulence.

Phytic acid is an anti-nutrient that's abundant in beans, grains and nuts. It can dramatically reduce the absorption of important minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc, leading to deficiencies over time. It may be one of the main reasons human stature decreased after the adoption of agriculture, and it probably continues to contribute to short stature and health problems around the world.

Lentils and other seeds also contain trypsin inhibitors. Trypsin is one of the digestive system's main protein-digesting enzymes, and seeds probably inhibit it as a defense against predators. Another class of toxins are the lectins. Certain lectins are able to bind to and damage the digestive tract, and even pass into the circulation and possibly wreak havoc. This is a short list of a few of the toxins found in beans and grains. Fortunately, all of these toxins can be reduced or eliminated by proper soaking. I like to soak all legumes for a full 24 hours, adding warm water halfway through. This increases the activity of the toxin-degrading enzymes.

Here's a method for preparing lentils that I've found to be effective. You will actually save time by doing it this way rather than cooking them without soaking, because they cook so much more quickly:

1. 24 hours before cooking, place dry lentils in a large bowl and cover with 2" of water or more.
2. After 12 hours or so, drain and cover the lentils with very warm water (not hot tap water).
3. Drain and rinse before cooking.
4. To cook, simply cover the soaked lentils with fresh water and boil until tender. I like to add a 2-inch piece of the seaweed kombu to increase mineral content and digestibility.

many thanks to *clarity* for the CC photo

Getting VERY excited

I think today was the day that I finally cracked my stupid psychological issue of thinking I am not losing weight...

I AM losing weight, physically I know this, but mentally I don't seem to be able to see it.

However, today I wore my new size 16 skirt and top and cardigan ALL DAY and went to slimmingworld and weighed in at 15 stone 6 pounds!! So this last week I have lost 4 pounds in total. That's so cool! I am getting there head-space wise.

It dawned on me that its 2 days until the anniversary of my band breakage.
This time last year I weighed 16 stone 3.

I am 11 pounds lower than I was this time last year! OMG!!! THAT'S SO EXCELLENT!

That's what has done it. I remember thinking that I would be pleased if, after regaining all the initial weight loss after the band break, I was 16 stone 3 by the anniversary of the band break.

Well people, I did a fucking hell of a lot better than that! 11 POUNDS! WOW MAN! That's so good.

I feel like a new person tonight, I really do. I am feeling positive about strutting my stuff on Holiday as I will be a lot less than I weighed last year. I felt ACE in Sri Lanka and really felt on cloud nine about my appearance and was in a kind of awestruck expectation of amazing weight loss results. I am now back there. I don't need to lose 4 pound a week... I don't need to lose 2 pound a week to be honest. 1 pound a week will mean that by next summer I will be BINT! I will be absolutely fit as.

I figure that I have about 3 to 3 and a half more stone to lose until I feel like a regular person. My ideal weight is 4 stone away, and I know that I might never reach that weight, because the last time I was 11 and a half stone I was 17. Since then, I have actually developed a bust, had a child and all kinds of excess fat and shit, so I guess its a little optimistic, but this band makes me wanna aim high now.

I feel FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC

Today's food, if any of you are interested...:

Salad and 1 Bulgarian meat thing that I can only describe as a sausage...

1 banana

that's it.

Love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!