ARE YOU MALNOURISHED FOOD WISE AS WELL AS SPIRITUALLY?

My mornings are spent doing a great deal of research on my handy dandy computer.  Do I grow by leaps and bounds by reading?  SO many subject matters come to mind.  The way my bean works is as I am reading thoughts flash through my mind and I'm off going down a rabbit hole chasing them.  

Attention deficit comes to mind or having to be light on my feet jumping from one subject to another.  Actually quick to click and type.  Slowing down the mind must take place as I cannot surf fast enough.

As I am working at getting healthier, I believe I need to walk first thing in the morning instead of sitting researching.  Need to do a switch-er-roo here.  Get the exercise in before eye strain on the keyboard.  Lazy me is very comfortable sitting and sitting instead of walking.  Must be in full body motion.

During the winter months when it is way too cold and slick out, I can use the indoor treadmill.  I have to have a change of planning brought on by a change of heart and thought.  Period.  It can happen and should.

I WATCHED you tube's OFF GRID WITH DOUG AND STACY.  Stacy said something that rang a bell for me.  She mentioned that we should eat as close to the vine as we can.  The food in many of the stores has already traveled around 12 to 2,000 miles before you get it having lost nutrition. When we eat this highly processed food, our bodies aren't getting the nutrition they need, so you eat more than you should and get OVERWEIGHT.  You don't have the energy you need feeling lethargic and not sleeping properly.  It gets harder for the liver to detox this kind of food.  The body is starving.  The empty calories are not doing the job of assisting you to be healthy.  We should eat as close to the vine as possible because it's healthier and more nutritious. 

If you eat food that's close to the vine, it'll be socked full of nutrients and healthier for you.  This is the first time I've heard the term EAT CLOSE TO THE VINE about food.  

MADE SENSE TO ME.  Many moons ago when I was a young momma, I watched our little black & white tele in our small rental we were living in when a talk show came on.  Don't recall which one it was.  Might have been THE PHIL DONAHUE SHOW. 

Something one of the guest said has stuck with me for over 40 years.  He said overweight people are malnourished.  MALNOURISHED.  Tis true, but at the time the idea of being malnourished in the United States of America seemed odd to me and I didn't believe the comment or the guest's mindset.  I did't accept that the way I was eating was contributing to being malnourished. I believed at the time that what we were eating was completely healthy, yet I wasn't the healthiest person on the planet.  If those calories eaten are not nutritiously dense you'll get malnourished. Makes sense. 

There were comments a plenty about food colorings and dyes being bad for you, but that was it for me.  The additional chemicals and additives to foods were not known to me at the time.  I think very little was in the food at the time, but then I really don't recall.  White bread was available and man 'o man did it taste good.  In the early 80s, unbleached, whole wheat was talked about.  I tried baking whole wheat bread and decided it wasn't for me and I ignored healthier eating.    

As a young mom, I thought if I ate a certain way I was doing nutrition right.  Canned veggies were all the rage.  The Food Pyramid was the model and I truly tried to follow it, but I used processed foods left and right.  Now I know the Food Pyramid I followed was originally designed around World War II to make the citizens of the United States put on weight to look heavier to the world so it appeared all were healthy in America.  During the war many were too skinny partly due to food rationing.  Entirely too many carbs on the Food Pyramid. 

The food pyramid has its origins not in recommendations for a balanced diet but in food shortages.   The USDA released the Basic 7 food guide in 1943 to help U.S. citizens cope with food rationing during World War II.  As its name indicates, this guide divided foods into seven groups, among them bread and cereals, several covering fruits and vegetables, and meat and poultry.  In Sweden in the 1970s, the National Board of Health and Welfare was tasked with tackling rising food costs.  It came up with two food groups, titled "basic" and "supplementary." This was a nutritionally problematic categorization, however, because "supplementary" foods included fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish.  The Swedish government also relied on a dietary circle that resembled a cake divided into seven pieces.  It did not tell the reader how much to consume of each piece.

https://www.britannica.com/science/food-pyramid

Not only should you eat what you know to be nutritiously dense food, it would be beneficial to take into account where the food was grown and what type of soil the crop grew in.  Yes, you can eat ORGANIC until you're blue in the face, but the foods need to have been grown in good soil and the crops not sprayed at all.

A few years back Mrs. Michelle Obama pushed KALE as a great food to eat.  EAT MORE KALE!  I now question why KALE was the product of choice when so many vegetables are nutritious?  I wonder if she had stock in promoting this particular crop to help out a friend or herself OR was there a dark side to eating so much KALE?

It's comes to light that KALE has a tendency to pull lead into the plant from the soil it has grown in.  hum.  That's not good.  

If your moo cows are grass-fed, but the grass has been grown in radioactive soil then guess who's getting radioactive cow to eat? GRASS-FED is better for you than grain-fed.  SO make sure the grass isn't radioactive.  This educating of what I eat has been very eye opening.  

ALSO The bottom line is, organically produced fruits and vegetables may not be pesticide-free. The truth is, in some cases, organically produced crops could have been sprayed many times and many pesticides could have been used on them before they reach the store shelf.

Just because a food item is called organic 
does not mean it's pesticide-free.

https://www.johnson.k-state.edu/lawn-garden/agent-articles/environment/organic-does-not-mean-pesticide-free.html#:~:text=The%20bottom%20line%20is%2C%20organically,they%20reach%20the%20store%20shelf.

I shop at a multitude of stores including Natural Grocers in Topeka, Kansas.  The more I learn about organic items not sprayed with pesticides, the more I shop at Natural Grocers.  Looking for labels on food is the name of the game.  

https://www.naturalgrocers.com/health-hotline-article/gmos-and-pesticides-american-tragedy-making#:~:text=Even%20though%20they%27re%20non,law%2C%20contain%20any%20GMO%20ingredients.

You can eat what you to believe is a balanced diet thinking it's the healthiest way to eat, but not take into account the quality of the item.  You may be eating foods that have been sprayed with pesticides and grown in radioactive ground.  Sounds like science fiction, doesn't it?  But true to reality, profit over people is greedy and leads in the way of how things are done in the worldly system.  Those selling their products may not be interested in what is heathy for people, but what makes more money for them.  P.O.P.  Profit over people.  Ungodly and mean spirited. Pharmaceutical companies operate in the same fashion and a multitude of doctors.  Not all, but hey, it's profitable.  

Not only can we be physically malnourished eating the wrong kinds of food, but we can also be spiritually malnourished.  Both stemming from believing falsehoods.  I have detoxed from the word of faith movement and am spiritually healthier these days.  Now I am working at getting healthier in my body that walks the earth.  

When coming into the world, I was like a sponge soaking up what I was told was truth in many areas of society.  Social peer pressure was there as well as what was being shared in general conversations with family, friends, acquaintances at school, church and in stores.  What is told as truth may not be.  How do you get around it?  Tis helpful while growing up if ones guardians are doing LIFE as close to right as possible, but then who would that be?  Christ takes you where you are at and begins to mold you in a godly fashion stripping away bad habits after being spiritually regenerated by being born again.  You might be 65 when coming to the knowledge of HIS saving grace after which you begin changing the ways you were raised or lifestyles that destroys health. Knowing what the scriptures shares about foods, lifestyles, behavior, etc. clarifies confusion and puts a spot light on holiness and what's truly healthy for us as humans.

Slowly, through the years I have been changing my mindset.  It took some serious illnesses and heartache to get my attention about God's ways.  I was not a Bible Student.  I had difficulties understanding and comprehending what I was reading so I have had a tendency to not read.  I was lazy and wanted the preaching I listened to entertain me and teach me instead of diving into reading the Bible for myself.  I wanted to be entertained by others instead of reading the words for myself.

If I had read small chunks of wisdom and meditated on it, I would have been better off than being so trusting of the word of faith preachers/teachers and being a part of this movement that molds you into a cookie cutter christian that is a minion of the ministers and not Christ.  I was a candidate of being led astray getting into a cult as I did.  The word of God is powerful and people easily twist the content to get what they want out of it.  The word of faith teachers did and continue to do so.  Bottom line, is all about being prosperous with money.  God has so much more for you than filthy lucre.  The LOVE of MONEY is the root of ALL EVILS.  Money can be a tool, but we are not to be in LOVE with it.  

When looking for refuge after being deeply hurt, I didn't want to hurt anymore or be hurt again and went after teachers/teachings I thought would make me a stronger person preventing getting hurt again.  The teachers I was drawn to surely KNEW more about the Christian WALK than I did.  I was deceived.  I was an easy target to be manipulated into becoming a minion of theirs.  

I got very militant in my beliefs, prayers and fell for false teachers and teachings.  My prayers began to resemble what I had been hearing without tenderness to the Father when barking out demands came out of my mouth instead.  Their approach to being a Christian and how to live is warped especially when it comes to money and tithing.  The organization and preacher that is preaching the prosperity message makes out well and the lil guy remains impoverished and out of balance.  

There are churches on the planet that have prospered in a gross way and do not use their pearls, precious gold, oil paintings, icons, real estate holdings and land to help the needy, but use it to serve themselves and a system that molest humans.  The wealth of their possessions they have accumulated could feed the world a million times over, but they practice materialism in their palaces that stays put.    

Being healthier has huge benefits.  How I get there will be with the help of God's Holy Spirit.  

It truly takes the Holy Spirit ministering to us to see the light.  When I began to find God's peace sitting in my HOME instead of attending yet another conference amongst thousands, it soaked in that I needed time alone with the Lord to embrace His peace and holiness.  

At one point in my life I couldn't go to enough conferences as I was a religious groupie sort to speak.  Not in a sexual way, but I was eagerly attending all kinds of religious meetings constantly filling my ears with false teachings from the radio broadcast, television programs, recordings of sermons, camp meetings where I  purchased thousands of dollars of reading materials and audio tapes.  My ears were itching big time.  I was addicted to their lies taking them as truth.  Jesus is the son of God and the way of salvation, but their messages were about behavior modification without the power of the Holy Spirit and giving money to them even if you had none to give.  Go ahead and CHARGE IT baby.  It would be just fine for you to go into debt so they could take yo money for their gain.

Living in this day and age, I know that the world is full of things that are not good to eat, drink, or wear.  There are activities that cause hardships and heartache.  Lifestyles that destroy others as well as self.  Mindsets that deceive.  Seeing clearly and being healthy takes nourishment from the creator.  Just as things aren't quite right when dealing with nutrition, there are counterfeit religions to avoid.  Just because a church building says christian church on it or Jesus is mentioned in part of the title does not mean it is balanced.  

The Bible is the printed LIVING WORD of GOD.  When wanting to do things that are good for you, then this information can be found in the printed word of the Bible.  The LIVING word of God is actually Jesus speaking.  I want to read as close to the original scrolls/scripture as possible so I lean towards the King James Version.

I will be reading the word for more instructions to embrace.  If I had followed Old Testament dietary laws all along, I'd still be dealing with has this food had pesticides sprayed on it to what kind of soil was it grown in?  I'd still be wiggling at doing life healthy.  After being made aware of what the Bible says about avoiding false teachings, am I?  What is a false teacher?  Look it up, Deanna.  Am I wearing the wrong type of fibers in clothing?  Should I only wear cotton, wool, linen and silk?  Is the bedding on my mattress what it should be or am I lying in bed in synthetic materials?  Is my mattress okay? Is leather the best material to have on furniture? Wood floors with wool rugs or is synthetic alright?  Full of questions.  

AS I go through life learning, I am reminded that I don't know it all, but belong to the one that does and HE cares me.

~d

FRIDGE JUST FOR VEGGIES

I'D BEEN THINKING ABOUT GETTING A FRIDGE JUST FOR HOLDING VEGETABLES ONLY.  With the drastic change in the way of eating, which has been going on for at least three years now, the desire to have a more organized fridge and freezer has come to light.  With wanting a neater fridge, I have tried to come up with some form of order that shows it.  The fridge only has so much room then what can you do but not buy so much.  

Things are crammed inside the fridge after a shopping trip. I tried to make some order out of it. Didn't get very far.

The idea of having another fridge just for veggies started floating around in my head.  Last THANKSGIVING we purchased a small chest-like freezer and placed it in the cellar to hold extra turkeys and hams.  I had been wanting a small freezer chest for years and the timing was ideal for us.  Now the idea of having more fridge space for veggies and fruits seemed like a good thing as we are buying a larger variety of vegetables that we didn't use to eat.

When we saw a Column Fridge at SAMS we thought about it again and decided to buy one.  11.4 cubit feet.  Silver front.  Narrow body.  Plans have been made to bring it HOME.  

We are shuffling things to make room for the utility room column fridge.  We had shopped earlier and purchased quite a few veggies putting them away in the Kitchen fridge.  After the smaller fridge comes HOME and gets set up, then the veggies can be relocated to it.  The main Kitchen fridge will hold everything it normally does EXCEPT the veggies.  Can't wait and wish it were already done.

We really didn't need another project right now as our plates are full, but the price was so good with there only being one boxed fridge available so we jumped at it.  Pictures to follow.

I'm looking forward to having the fridge in the house!  So pleased we will have a fridge JUST FOR VEGGIES.  A wonderful treat for us.

LORD, please help me deal appropriately with all the messes.  I am worn down.

~d on the prairie

LETTING SOME NATURAL LIGHT INTO THE HOUSE

TADAAH!  THE DINING ROOM CURTAINS CAME DOWN so Hubby could hang new blinds we purchased.  When the curtains were down, natural lighting came indoors.  The room filled with sunshine.  It made a difference as the light filled the room.  UPLIFTING after a very long WINTER.  

We are still tidying the room, but this step of hanging the blinds is completed.  One small step toward making our small COTTAGE a lovely HOME for us.

Later the room will be painted a lighter color.  

Blessings,
~d on the prairie

 

FREELY I GIVE

OFF TO FOLD ANOTHER QUILT.  I spread it out on top of the bed and worked at folding it.  Walking around the bed takes place and the quilt gets a good folding.  I am not done as I spy a couple more quilts in the front bedroom that are needing attention.  The front Bedroom won't be touched until we are further along on the Dining room with cataract surgery and healing over THEN I will venture into the abyss where another huge mess awaits.  Ugg.

I have made progress with settling in.  More things rounded up to go for a donation to thrift.  It is easier for me to turn loose now and it is much needed.  With so many of my High School Classmates dying, I can turn loose.  Getting on with LIFE.  As I watched a classmate's Saturday funeral on the internet, I'm saddened that he was so young.  68 doesn't sound as old as it used to when I was younger.  I've lost count of the classmates that have died.

His service was at the church I grew up in, The First United Methodist Church of Liberal, Kansas.  The sanctuary has been very well taken care of.  Seeing it via streaming brought good memories to mind.  I've attended many Weddings, Funerals, Revivals, and numerous Sunday Services there while I was growing up.  One day, I'd like to sit in the sanctuary and listen to a sermon in person.  Sit on a wooden pew and remember when.

I have wondered if all my classmates that died recently were vaccinated for  c o v i d  and the shots help to kill them?  Conspiracy or not, the vaccine wasn't tested like it should have been. Upsetting.  I had the first two shots and avoided the boosters.  My concern was it hadn't been a complete year before the government was encouraging boosters.  I said no.

My Mom, Sister, Brother-in-law, brother and sister-in-law did the whole nine yards and all of them came down with c o v i d.  Mom, Sis and BIL had it twice.  Twice.  The C O V I D dilemma was an awful time in our lives.  Awful. 

There is an uproar within the Methodist Church these days.  A great parting of the ways is taking place.  I haven't attended the Methodist Church on a regular basis since 1995 I think it was.  I was 40 when I last attended.  I grew up in this particular church with a God fearing Pastor.  I wonder what he would say about the controversy going on today.  To allow same sex marriages and have a practicing homosexual pastor goes against all this man believed in.  We are to imitate God's HOLY ways.  Practicing an abomination isn't imitating God's Holy ways.  End of story.   

With another classmate gone, I am reminded that we are just passing through.  I'm freely giving away things.  LIFE on earth is short.  Eternity is longer.  I am just passing through.  My physical needs have been met.  I have gone from holding on too tightly to THINGS to being able to freely give away.  It is refreshing.  It's necessary.  To God be the glory...great things HE had done.  I am able to turn loose of much.  Our things don't make us have value or make us important.  It's whose we are.        

1 Peter 5: 5 - 11  
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

As an older woman, I sit a bit and work a bit.  Repeat.  Laundry going as I speak.  Going through boxes.  Gathering donation things.  More clothing, dishes, knick knacks.  Hubby is loading tubs up in the car to take to storage to get them out of the house.  We're aiming to make the rooms functioning and this means that lots has to be taken away.  After we get to where we have the floor plan like we like then the next step will be to go through the stuff out of the storage units.  THIS IS THE HARDEST MOVE I HAVE HAD A PART IN.  Time is getting away, but this has to be taken care of.

Age, illnesses, time speeding up and my slowing down add to the challenge.  BUT I CAN part with much and be well.  It will be perfectly alright to be orderly and streamlined.  No worries.  If there is something I need in the future then I will see about getting it.  No worries.

DAY SEVEN ON THE DANIEL DIET.  I am staying busy and doing other things besides EATING.  Staying in MOTION.  

I managed to eat well on Day 6.  It is a doable food program.  

Breakfast:  1/2 Banana and peanut butter.  Good ole water.
Lunch:  Greek Salad without the cheese.  Water.
Snack:  Hot Pomegranate Tea and cashews.
Supper:  Baked Potato topped with salsa and lots of green beans with almonds to the side.  Water to drink.
Snack:  Baby Carrots and crunchy celery.

Made it through another day of eating well, but on a fantastic plan.  Day 7 was about the same way.  We were invited to eat with our kids.  I brought a huge salad to eat.  I don't want to mess this up by eating meat or bread.  Can I do it?  Yes, I can.

Evening out with the KIDS to celebrate Grandson's 18th birthday  and I stayed TRUE to the diet.

I did it.  I ate salad and strawberries.  No dressing.  My piece of cake has gone into the freezer. Later this month I will be able to nibble some on it.  

DAY EIGHT is Monday.  How's 'bout that?  Keep on keeping on.  This week is off to a nice start.

~d

WINDOW TO THE FUTURE

THAT TRAIN THAT JUST BLEW BY has a very loud horn on it.  I had forgotten how many trains travel near the out skirts of the small town I live in.  I can hear the rattling of the train tracks from here.  

We lived in this small community back in 2006 to HALF THROUGH 2017 with the trains being closer to us.  It took me 7 years to get use to their noise making sleeping through the night very challenging.  Not getting sound sleep affected my peace of mind.  I finally adjusted.  We'd live in the rock house about 3 more years before the devastating house fire that forced us out of our historic house made of native limestone.

DO I miss the house?  Sometimes I do.  Sometimes, I am just fine where I'm at. If the rock house had been in the country away from the maddening crowd, I think I would have lived there the rest of my human life.  We lived in the 1883 house after the fire for 6 and a half years and now, I am living in a very small 1900 Folk Victorian Cottage.

This sweet place is a stepping stone in our lives to thin out 80% of our earthly belongings making the most of the small storage spaces.  A LIFE LESSON in downsizing and getting back up.  

The washer and clothes dryer are both running.  Woke early starting the laundry on this fine day. Washed some dishes left in the sink.  On some days, I can hear the church bells ringing to announce that church services will take place soon.  On other days, they sometimes ring the bells at 6 in the morning.  When the city sirens go off at noon on Mondays, we can hear it loud and clear.  The sirens work very well.  Hello there.  

Being able to hear is a huge blessing.  Right now a group of birds are chirping outside my window.  When they do this, it reminds me that SPRING is coming.  In the dead of WINTER, they sing which reminds me that SPRING is near even when it is so cold outside.  Spring is 16 days away!  That turns my crank.  

ON THE HOME FRONT.  I looked at the Kitchen window hardware which needs the paint stripped from it.  That can happen anytime now, but isn't a priority even with it being so grossly grungy.  Shabby Chic it aint.  

Getting settled is the priority.  Have mercy.  As I work I do look at things like this and if I'm not careful, it gets to me.  I don't like grungy anything.  I have to remind myself to stay focused and keep on keeping on.  Some would not be bothered by this grunge.  I am.  Gets to me. 

Started SPRING cleaning and will do a little each day until completed.  The window opens and that's a plus grungy and all.  Sometimes windows are painted shut which causes different issues.
This little window OPENS.  I do like the two small windows above the Kitchen sink.  Small, but mighty.  I want to keep them as they are original to the COTTAGE.  The clean up as it comes will be uplifting to say the least.  Perhaps my blood pressure will go down on its own.

To look at the COTTAGE inside and out, we appear to be ROUGHING IT.  I think of this time as if we are PIONEERS.  We have running water, but for awhile there we did not have any HOT water.  I heated it on the stove and used the Keurig to get instant HOT water.  When the new hot water heater was installed, it made for a happy day.

I got use to using the Keurig to run 4 oz. of water onto a washcloth so I washed my face at the Kitchen sink.  Feels so good placing a very hot washcloth on my face first thing.  Thankful we have running water and the house has heating and cooling.  I've thought about living off grid, but I truly love hot and cold running water straight from the faucet and I LOVE having a flushing TOILET!  If I can cut our expenses is the best procedure for me.  I won't be living off grid although I wouldn't mind subsidizing our groceries some by collecting vegetables from a small garden. 

I continue to fold my comforters and quilt stash.  Nice and neat. Taking shape.  Washed the mattress pad cover and bedsheets for the Victorian Bed that we are sleeping on for the time being.  The bed will get made up.  I moved the Victorian sofa making more room to get in the bed on the far side.  It's a narrow pathway.  After the walls are repaired from closing them off, the Vanity Dresser will be moved to the other wall and the sofa put in its place.  In hopes this makes the room better arranged to live with.  For now, it'll have to do.

Grandma's Quilt

Working on catching up on laundry.  This is ongoing.  It'll take a bit of time to get this done.

AND then of course the Dining room needs attention.  I shredded more papers last night as I came across them in boxes.  Some need filed.  Always an opportunity to get organized again.  It was over a year ago I started my adventure of shredding thousands of pieces of paper.  Here I find some more.  It is manageable now.  

Large trash bags were filled with the shredded papers now confetti.  Lost count of how many bags were filled and thrown away.  It is a relief to have this behind me.  Some of these papers were old credit card statements and I hang my head down low.  I had wondered how much we had spent plus interest on this mess?  Relieved we are out of the credit card jungle.  It was awful to be enslaved to so much debt.  Awful and taxing.  I'm not use to NOT HAVING a credit card payment due.  It's like aren't we suppose to pay a bill?  The freedom that comes from not having a house payment, car payment, credit cards to pay, etc. hasn't soaked in yet.  A newby at this.  We were slaves to debt.  It takes some time to get use to doing things differently.  A welcomed practice.  

I didn't want the debt.  Hubby and I had a huge difference of opinion through the years and it wore me down.  We are finally on the same page after 49 years of marriage.  That's a chunk of time. 

God would rather we stay out of debt.  I have to remember this by honoring HIS WORD.  If I want to be HAPPY in the LORD then I need to embrace HIS counsel and know HE is right. Something that has been going on in life is realizing that GOD's ways are BEST.  After I've made horrible mistakes and bow my knee to HIS counsel, I know HE is right.  To honor HIS COUNSEL before making the mistakes is a far better way to live.  Oh, the pain that could have been avoided.     

MOVIE TIME:  We watched a double feature last night on the television and I have to say it was a waste of time.  MISS JULIE was not my cup of tea.  I wouldn't suggest watching it.  Blah. Terrible.  The second feature was ALL THE GOOD.  It was more interesting, but when the movie has so much killing in it, I need to do something else besides watch it.  Movies do affect the way I feel.  Needing to guard my heart.

If I detox from movies, I have to fill the time with something else.  I use to watch soap operas during the day when my kids were young.  Slowly I detoxed from it and the tv rarely came on during the daytime.  I don't miss it.  Like drinking soda, I am better off not doing it.  I have adjusted and am thankful I no longer watch daytime tele.  I have found plenty to do besides watching it.  It was a habit I did away with.  Praise the LORD.

Be right back.  Gotta check on the laundry.  The machine is chiming. The dryer has a quilt in it so it's drying on the delicate cycle.  I'll let it finish drying by air.  Delicate.  It's a quilt my Grandma made.  Proud to have it.

~Daniel Diet~

I patted myself on the back as Day 5 was a rough one.  Things that I wanted to eat came to mind. I.want.meatloaf.  Cho-co-late.  MEAT.  I kept as strong as I could and didn't blow it.  Day 5 was tough.  I weighed myself and I had lost a couple of pounds.  PTLord.  Stay strong girl.

Day 6.  Fabulous.  Day 6  Had a TBSP. of peanut butter and half a banana with water for Breakfast.  Nibbled on a juicy navel orange and still sipping on water, the drink of CHAMPIONS!

LUNCH was a huge salad.  Probably 4 cups of salad.  Wish I had some sunflower seeds.  Would be perfect.  

SUPPER.  Baked potato topped with salsa and green beans with almonds.  
Snack?  Baby carrots and crunchy celery.

DAY SEVEN.  Think for Breakfast I'll have blueberries and pineapple.  Water of course.

LUNCH will more than likely be a vegetable salad and SUPPER a different kind of salad with other vegetables and legumes like chick peas. 

By sundown, I will have put my first full week of eating the Daniel Diet.  How do I feel about my progress? Glad to have the first week under my belt.  The struggle I have is that I want this to be over and in reality I will need to eat more like this all the time to lose weight.  Which do I want more, to lose weight, to be healthier or to eat whatever and as much as I want?  

I have to remind myself that its alright to change habits for the better and that means I have to change the way I eat.  It's alright to be healthy.  When eating the right kind of food it's a blessing and a healing takes place.  I don't have to feel guilty that I am eating differently than I did growing up.  It's not an insult against my parents and my upbringing that I have had to change what I eat.  I'm not dishonoring them and I'm not being disrespectful to change my mindset that is different than what it was.  I am a new creation.  It is alright to change.  Perfectly alright.  It is possible to change and be better off.  I do not have to be imprisoned to the past even with what foods I ate.  I discovered that I am breaking free from past mistakes and it's alright to be a different person than how I was raised.  Take the good and be thankful.  The past was then and I'm living in the present.  I must go forward and be.

The rebellious Deanna wants to be able to do whatever.  The logical Deanna wants to be healthier which means I have to be proactive and apply myself.  The educated Deanna wants to be well informed and do what is best.  The spiritual Deanna wants to embrace God's dietary instructions. The physical Deanna wants to slim down and be healthier.  SO with all that said, for now it's the Daniel Diet way.  Two more weeks of this and then I begin to add in chicken, tuna and turkey. Some beef, eggs and cheese.  I will continue to hold off on the bread, pasta and desserts.  More water and a variety of fruits and vegetables.  I know along life's road that I failed to eat enough fruits and vegetables.  This is a bad habit I am breaking.

Temps are suppose to hit the low 70s today.  
Like SPRING!!!  That will be sweet.
God bless you,

~d on the prairie

JUNK FOOD eVEryWhErE

DAY FIVE OF THIS DANIEL DIET.  Smiling all the way to the scale.  Looks like I have lost a pound or two!  It usually happens after three days of eating this way.  3 days under my belt and a couple of pounds go away.  Maybe water loss.    

My VICTORY TREAT when I  f i n i s h  my 21 days will include a trip to the HAPPY HIPPY in Manhattan where I will get a large Acai Bowl.  This is what happens when I diet...I think about FOOD.  It is a trick the mind plays on me when I decide to eat differently.

LOOK at that.  DOn't you want some?  I do.  I do.  It's been awhile, hasn't it?  Be still and know that God is GOD.  I can ignore the cravings.  Eventually the cravings go away.  THINK HARD ABOUT NUTRIENTS and feeding myself real food.

REAL FOOD.  Plant based and healthy.  
When at a store, I notice the JUNK FOOD eVEryWhErE.  DOn't look...it'll get cha.  This go round, I thought of all the sugar and fat in the snack foods.  Walked away.  Quickly.  

My treat will be one with the Acai berries as a sorbet topped with banana slices, strawberries, drizzled with peanut butter, coconut and extra granola.  I have to wait, but looking forward to this.  St. Patty's Day is the end of my 21 day Daniel Diet.  So on the 22nd day of my food program I CAN GO GET ONE of these treats.  I plan to continue eating more like what I have been on this food program, but adding some chicken, tuna, and turkey.

I've made up LOW-CAL meals for later to help me during this journey of reducing when I need a VERY LOW CALORIE MEAL.  Some days the calorie count is uncomfortably high so I aim to have a lower calorie day the day after the high cal day.

A GREAT LOW-CAL MEAL is a bed of lettuce with 4 oz. of chicken from a can.  Protein and low cal veggie.

A bed of lettuce with 4 oz. of tuna.  Squeeze lemon juice on it.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Protein and low cal veggie. 

A cup of cottage cheese with a cup of blueberries.  Protein and fruit.

A baked potato with sugar-free spaghetti sauce.  Veggies.

A LARGE veggie salad with boiled eggs, chick peas and black beans.  Veggies, protein, protein, protein.

A veggie platter.  Veggies all the way.  Very low cal.

2 boiled eggs mixed into avocado.

Avocado with piece of Dave's Killer Bread toasted.  Healthy FAT and grain.

Oatmeal with blueberries.  Grain and fruit.

Steamed veggies with turkey patty.  Veggies and protein.

Celery stalks with 2 Tbsp. of peanut butter.  Veggie and protein.

ALL LOW-CAL.  Could add small amount of fruit.

These meals are not the Daniel Diet.  Daniel Diet meal has no cheese, eggs, milk, meats, or grains.  All veggies, fruit, legumes, some seeds and nuts.  Going for a VARIETY of veggies I don't usually eat.  One article I read, they allowed whole grains.  I just think I need to skip the grains.  

March will be a busy month for me as I will be having two cataract surgeries two weeks apart from one another.  Daylight Savings Time happens.  St. Patty's Day. Palm Sunday.  Good Friday.  Easter.  AND the month is over!!!

Previously I had plans of working in the flowerbeds during the month of MARCH preparing them for SPRING blooms, but this has changed because of the surgeries that will take place.  No bending or lifting.  I won't be exercising or walking long walks.  Have to baby myself so I properly heal. 

SO back to the drawing board.  For now, I am preparing the dining room for the recliner to sit in so I can have assistance with getting up and lying down after cataract surgery.  I look at what needs to be done and I sigh really loud because there is much to do. 

CHOW,

~d on the prairie 

LEAP DAY SAUNA, DATE, and LOWERING BLOOD PRESSURE

KNOWING THAT THIS FEBRUARY WAS A LEAP YEAR with a 29th in it, I made an appointment to have a session in a sauna.  Infrared sauna.  I read about it on the internet connected with THE HAPPY HIPPY in Manhattan, KS. and decided I'd book a session on the last day of February.  The sister location is located in Clay Center.  

Many studies have looked at using infrared saunas in the treatment of long-lasting health problems and found some proof that saunas may help. Conditions studied include high blood pressure, heart failure, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, headache, type 2 diabetes, and arthritis.  

I hit the mark with high blood pressure, T2 diabetes and arthritis. Enuff.

Our session was 15 minutes and I was ready to get out when we hit 12 minutes.  Stuck it out.  We did sweat a bit.  With starting out, 15 minutes is plenty for a newbie.  No ill affects.  Tolerated it well.  

One should be deodorant-free and clean when doing a sauna.  Remove all jewelry because they get hot.  Clean clothes and no shoes.  Come to sweat.  I think I will take a large towel or house coat next time and since it is a drive, I will bag up a wet washcloth and allow it to heat up in the sauna to wipe myself off afterwards.  Tis best to shower afterwards, but there were no showers and we have a drive.  If I wet wipe with a washcloth afterwards this would be the next best thing. It's best to shower afterwards if you can to help wash off your skin any toxins you might have sweated out so your body doesn't reabsorb them.  Makes sense, huh? Then you are to hydrate afterwards.

Tis a drive, but wanted to see what this sauna was like then eat lunch at their HAPPY HIPPY in Clay Center.  What a neat town it is.  Population of about 4100 people. 

The HAPPY HIPPY.

https://happyhippiestudios.org

BACK UP.  
ON OUR WAY.  On our way to Clay Center, we went through Manhattan making a Goodwill DONATION DROP.  Drank water on the way to be well hydrated.  Talked up a storm.  Arrived early in Clay Center.  Drove around town locating the studio then with an hour before appointment found a DOLLAR TREE~FAMILY DOLLAR to use the bathroom and shop.  Picked up some cashews and mixed nuts for afternoon snacks.  

We arrived early at the studio visiting with the owner about the sauna, filled out a medical form and went from there.  I've never done a infrared sauna so we did a 15 minute session.  I left my undies on and held a towel in hand to wipe sweat off with. 

Inside the sauna box was very clean and I liked it.  Hubby and I sat together in the hot box talking and soaking in the heat.  We both liked it.  After our session, we dried off getting dressed and paid for our time.  We dined at the Happy Hippy.  I had a large salad for lunch.  WE HAD A DATE together.

🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨

Looked at some murals about town then drove HOME across the prairie on a cold day.  Rested.

It was a treat to see the large murals on the buildings.  SO colorful and interesting.  We didn't see all of them and plan to take their tour with their map on another day.  It seems that more and more small towns in Kansas are getting on board about having murals on their buildings.  Neat.  
Had a nice trip HOME.

MOVIE TIME:  Wished I had POPCORN.  Habit.

We watched a good movie starring Matthew McConaughey based off of a true story.  FREE STATE OF JONES.  I'll watch it again.  This time era intrigues me. 

A few years back when we visited President Abraham Lincoln's Museum, for the first time I realized that not all slaves were set free as I previously had thought.  I thought ALL the slaves were set free at the same time.  No.  I did not know the history of when all the slaves were set free.  Sorry.  Still learning.  Why didn't Lincoln free all of the slaves?

“The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves only in those states under Confederate control.  It didn't affect slavery in the North.” The reason is that, contrary to popular belief, Lincoln's primary motivation wasn't to free the slaves but to win the Civil War and reunite the Republic. 

Although Lincoln had announced the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier, freedom did not come for most African Americans until Union victory in April 1865 and, officially, in December 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. 

Mary Todd Lincoln's family in Kentucky did have slaves.  Kentucky was one of the states that still had slaves after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.  hum.  

Still learning the truth about American History.  I wasn't taught that there were those who came against the Confederate Army within their own southern communities.  I wasn't aware that the Confederate Army went after people's belongings, crops and animals leaving the people without to where they starved.  An eye opener. 

🥪🥪🥪🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍎🍏🍎🍏🍎🍏🍎🍏🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕

PRESENT DAY UPDATED FOOD PROGRAM:  DAY 4 of the Daniel Diet.  Did well.  The 2nd day of the diet was hard for me, but I managed to get through it.  When I was in the discount store, I noticed all the food products for sell.  Mostly sugary, salty, snacky things.  Not a great place to be when dieting and deliberately avoiding these kinds of products.  Stayed focused and did well getting out of there. 

Breakfast was a half of a green apple, 5 Brazilian nuts, some Macadamia nuts and water.  That's all I wanted.  
Lunch was a large salad at the HAPPY HIPPY.  Diced lettuce, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, red onion, chick peas, sunflower seeds with raspberry dressing.  It was delicious.  
Snacks were mixed nuts and Iced Green Tea.
Supper would be corn on the cob and baked potato topped with meatless chili.  Water to drink.

Plenty of calories and nutrients.  Could do more fluids.  This is where I'm going to have to encourage myself to drink more water.  

DAY FIVE on Friday of Daniel Diet will be more vegetables, fruits and nuts.  It makes me HAPPY that I am on day 5 of this food plan. I can relax while I change my eating habits.  

PLANS FOR THIS GLORIOUS DAY:  I have quilts on the Victorian Bed that I want to fold neatly and stack on the Victorian sofa.  Some laundry will get done and I will continue tidying on the Dining room.  It's taking some time to get the room dealt with.  That's just the way it is.  Keep plugging along.  

When I go through a cardboard box that has 100 items or so in it, it does take some time to deal with each item.  When we sit the dining room table up, it will be what I call progress. The Dining room is now the new staging room where I work at getting settled.  What an active mess to look at.

With Cataract surgery coming in March, I'd like to be able to sleep in the electric recliner which will be placed in the corner of the Dining room.  It may not look the best, but it'll have to do. First the corner of the room has to be emptied and the recliner taken out of storage.  Lots more shuffling.  It seems to take more effort to get things done when in the middle of getting settled.

DO I DARE SAY:  How to take your blood pressure.  

In all the years I have gone to doctors and medical facilities with nurses and medical staff, I have NEVER been instructed about how to take one's blood pressure and when.  Usually I go to the doctor's office and sit in the lobby waiting for the nurse to call out my name in which I stand and walk across the lobby to hear the nurse ask me, How I am.  

Politely I usually respond, fine or good.  If I'm fine, why am I at the doctor's office?  grins.  Social etiquette is practiced.  Be NICE.  I can gently say, "I've been better and striving to get healthier. How are you?"

People laugh when I answer them after they say, "Have a nice day." with, "Have a nice life." Sometimes their head slants sideways.

As for taking BLOOD PRESSURE...you should not eat or drink anything for at least 30 minutes including water and caffeine drinks like coffee and tea BEFORE taking blood pressure.

Empty bladder before BP is taken.

You should be sitting upright in a comfortable chair for at least 5 minutes without talking BEFORE taking BP.

While pressure is being taken, you should not be talking or moving.

Blood pressure cuff should be next to bare skin and not on fabric.

Cuff at heart level.

Feet flat on the floor.  Legs uncrossed.

You should be relaxed.

Shouldn't the nurse practice this?

HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE.  If you need your blood pressure to lower quickly, lie down and take deep breaths.  Take a warm bath or shower.  Eat a banana.  

HELPING WITH LOWERING Blood Pressure:  Drink Pomegranate juice.  Live as stress free as you can.  Rest and eat a balanced diet.  Eliminate sodium from diet as much as possible.  Avoid highly processed foods.  Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.  Take potassium supplements.  

AND that ALL TIME FAVORITE, be a manageable weight.  Makes me crack a smile and go how?  

It may take a minute to figure out what a balanced diet really is.  This has helped to change my LIFE for the better doing research about nutrition.

TIS MARCH and I'm so HAPPY about this.  March 2024.  Looking forward to having the Dining room set up and making plans for another room to get tidied.  Praise the LORD.  He is good.

Well, here's to a blessed day.

~d on the prairie