silverthorne | Ideas? Suggestions?

Okay, spinach is a gimmie, especially since you can buy it FRESH in the veggie isle now. Steamed, either on stovetop, or in the microwave, with just a little bit of vinegar, they're top notch yummy. For awhile, Dominus and I were putting raw spinach on sammiches in place of lettuce.

Also though, fresh beet greens are amazingly good for you, and they taste delicious! Just pick up a bunch of raw beets in the green section of the grocery. Cut the tubers off, scrub them and bake them like you would a potato, but take the well-washed greens, and chop them roughly -- about like you would salad lettuce. Then take a pan (with a lid!) large enough to hold them, saute them briefly in a little bit of olive oil and salt, toss in a tiny bit of water or broth -- a quarter cup or less -- and get that lid on quick. Stay close by, so you can stir every few minutes, and in five or less, those greens will turn tender and amazing! I like to finish them with balsamic vinaigrette. Also, they cook WAY down, so a huge mound of leaves will make a little less than a serving.

Any green leafy can be cooked like this -- kale, chard, bok choi, cabbage, etc. But I like beet greens best.

Yep, spinach is definitely a gimme. I don't have any fresh ATM, but I do have a couple of cans. Not as good, but still. ^^
OOhhhhh, I did not know you could do that for beet greens. I will have to try. And the bonus is that I like beets as well, so there will be no waste there.

Of course, you've just managed to remind me that I haven't had turnips in eight years either...and I miss me turnips...

I have a feeling there will be raiding of the veggie aisle very soon. ^^ Thank you!

Cauliflower (chopped, tossed with fat--olive oil-- dry spices like steak seasoning, curry, or plain turmeric), roasted in the oven. Broccoli, steamed or oven roasted; frozen or fresh spinach, oven-roasted, steamed or sauteed; kale; collard greens (boiled, seasoned with fat and garlic); carrots (raw, shredded, boiled, sauteed); water cress (cleaned, dressed with olive oil, salt, a bit of vinegar). For leafy greens of freshness and variety, try specialty grocery store (Asian, Latino, etc) if you haven't already.

Those all sound great. I'll have to sub for/watch the fat intake though, if I want to keep losing weight. My body has grown increasingly stubborn about holding onto anything fatty that gets put in the stomach. It's a pain in the arse, really. I eat a McDonalds or Long John silvers meal, and I'll gain five pounds from the fat on the spot. No joke.

Okay, but that's bad fat. A tablespoon of olive oil for a head of cauliflower, I don't think it's the same thing, y'know?

Aren't olives fatty though? As in transfat? (Obviously, I haven't gotten around to checking out the whole oil thing yet).

I'm kind of funny in that I'm someone who eats butter as opposed to margarine, and olive oil/coconut oil as opposed to canola/corn.

I think if oily vegetables and fruits, like olives and mangos, are God's gift to us and fat that we can eat as we like. It is important to watch out for curing methods with olives though. But yeah, if it's an oil that we have usual access to/could reproduce in your kitchen with the base fruit, a heavy bowl, and some pressure?

I think you can eat it and worry less than if you're eating fast food at McD's or Wendy's. That ish is the devil. If only it was just weird stale heavily processed fats you had to watch out for in those meals. I bet the hormones in the meat do jacked up things to your body too: thus the five pounds.

I once gained five pounds after an order of chicken wings at a bar. Never repeated that one. Eventually, I figured it was the hormones, the sodium, and the ancient oil in the fryer. My body was all, "I HATE YOU." And my friend, the stripper, who split the order with me? She gained five too.

*nods* Yeah, I see your point. I just can't remember off hand if it's the canola thats worse, or the olive. I'm thinking though it's the canola, since that's what most restuarants, including fast food, uses in their fryers. Also, I think most recent findings do say butter is actualyl better for you than the margerine alts these days, now that folks know about transfats. It;s all the oil and addidive I think that make the margerine softer and easier to blend that does it. So, butter is the better option.

I used the Micky D's as an example, but yeah, any fast food is going to be TONS worse than anything you can cook at home. That, and even regular restuarants will over-butter and over-oil food to make it taste better. Even the 'lowfat' options have more in the way of not-so-good additives than you usually get at home.

Good point on the hormone thing.

Oh, and I don't know anything about 360. If it's not Bang and Olufson's mp3 player, why not an ipod. I want one. And, cake. And Queen. But, Flash Gordon is one of my favorite movies. And I love the celebratory/sad nature of so many of Queen's songs.

We are the champions, my friend. And weeeeeeel keep on fiiiighting 'til the end...

LOL! '360' as in X-box. *g* IE: more musical portability, or the next gen of vid games. *g*

Cake is ever so much nicer.

Queen it'll be then, after Danny is all done. Right now the CD is on Same Old Lang Syne. This man is an excellent ballader.

Yes, Queen rules. And that is not an intentional pun. Really.

Dude...music inspires. I'd say Ipod.

What kind o' cake?

Danny who?

Queen is glorious.

Very true. Definitely fuels my silly little brain.

Hmn...right now I'm in the mood for something possibly lemony, with a 'sour cream' type icing (tastes better than it sounds).

Dan Fogelburg. I'm being obnoxious by calling him 'Danny'. 70-80's mostly. Would qualify as soft rock or easy listening. Contemprories would be Christopher Cross (Sailing, Ride Like the Wind), Billy Joel, or Eddie Rabbit (I Love a Rainy Night).

Hmn Hmn.

Green, leafy veggies (or any veggies, really), for me to eat/add to my diet? Frozen veggies are your friend. Do you eat eggs? Take a handful of chopped frozen spinach, nuke it for about 30 seconds, beat the egg in with it and cook in a patty. Eat by itself or with toast for a sandwich, or rolled in a tortilla with a spoonful of salsa.
Frozen broccoli is a good addition to spaghetti sauce, lasagna, on pizza, or with anything made with cheese.
Frozen corn can go in that chili recipe of yours. So can cauliflower, chopped fine. After the cauliflower soaks up the taste of the chili, you'll never even know it's there.

How to celebrate my birthday next Sunday? (must be budgeted and plan on a solo activity) I dunno, the zoo is fun. I my own self plan to spend the whole day reading Harry Potter.

Should I sleep some more, or build my other bookshelf? Bookshelf. For sure.

Save up for an iPod or a 360? This one will have to be your call. You already know what I bought.

Cake or Death? (Or however that goes). Cake

The Eagles or Queen? Queen. Followed by Eagles. Then Styx.

Totally forgot about the frozen option, but good idea.

Yep, I eat eggs. Right now, my favorite thing to do with them is add bell peppers of diff colors, mushrooms, and onions. Spinack could be a great addition (Heh...my 'eggs' are already more veggie than egg, but hey, whatever, right?).

*nods* Maybe I'll go tour Barnes and Noble or Borders...with cash and no cards. That way, I can only buy what I can afford with the cash on hand. Because, yes, I AM that bad when you let me loose in a book or media store. *g*

*nods* After lunch.

Yeah. The opal is doing me fine right now, but really, Since Bon Jovi constitutes about 75% of it's files right now (and there's pretty much just hairband music on it at the moment and not much room for a better variety of other genres), I know I'm gonna want to expand the available traveling music library. By the same token, I've been wanting the new Xbox, and the game 'Oblivion' for several months now. Hmn. Decisions, decisions.

Hee! Somehow, I think most folks would rather have cake.

...I like your idea, and would like to subscribe to your newletter.

I'm pretty happy so far with my refurbished iPod. It looks brand-new and I was able to get the 4gb Nano as a refurb for about the cost of the 2gb Nano new. And it has a one-year warranty, and free shipping. Apple has other refurbs besides the Nano. Here's a nice long link:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=EC0F3C63&node=home/specialdeals/ipod

In other news, didja like "Phoenix", huh? huh? it's awesome, yes?

I did! Very cool and upbeat. ^^

sugar snap peas! Raw, baby! In fact, take all the above veggie suggestions and eat them raw or very lightly steamed, and you won't destroy the nutritional content. :)

And a a few words about olive oil: GODS. GIFT. TO. OUR. BODIES. It helps prevent plaque buildup in the arteries, helps lower blood pressure, helps lower LDL and raise HDL cholesterol in the bloodstream, is loaded with antioxidents (especially the extra-virgin kind)--here is a link to a webpage that has just about all you need to know about olive oil: http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/olive-oil.htm

Be careful when you are watching your diet to lose weight that you don't end up not eating enough, because you can send your body the message that it's starving and it will start holding onto as much fat as possible. You want to eat nutrient-rich calories, and olive oil is one way to do that. Don't be skeered of it! It's so good for you! :D

That said: CAKE. Definitely. :D And why choose between the Eagles and Queen? Take both. And yeah...Styx. And the Bee Gees! Yay! No really--I dare you to listen to "Jive Talkin'" and not dance. Just try it. :D

Peas! Sugar snaps! It's been so long. I remember a neighbor of Grandma's in Jersey who had those in her garden. We'd end up eating a bunch of them as we picked and then cleaned them up for dinner or whatever. Heh.

*nods* okay. And I will go check out the link. Thanks. ^^

Yeah, that much I know. Just like cuttng out all sugars will make your bopdy crave it worse (and likewise hold onto whatever gets stuck in after that). I atill eat food with fatty stuff in it--I just try to look out for the transfat stuff and avoid it. But, like the steak when I cook it today? I'll still eat the fat rather than cut it off. And I still sautee with butter as often as I use Pam. And my eggs are still whole--no egg white diet for me. ^^. I just want to keep from loading down on unecessary fats if there's healthier alternatives. 'Everything in moderation'--I just have to make sure that what I think is moderate, really is moderate.

LOL! I like the Bee Gees! I just don't have any of their albums. Yet. Give me time--I'm sure I will before I'm done.

Ah, but the very healthiest fats are in olive oil! And no transfats at all. Look no further! :D And cut off the beef fat. That's just...ew. Heh.

We have a Best of the BeeGees album, and it's awesome. I highly recommend it.

I mostly do frozen veggies, but when I'm doing fresh I really love chard and bok choy, especially baby bok choy. I kinda just do the steaming and then the...sauteeing? Is that the word?...anyway, the tossing in hot olive oil, maybe with some garlic and red pepper flakes. I find chard easier to clean than spinach and beet greens.

I'm also a fan of broccolini, though they aren't always easy to find.

And happy early birthday! If I'm counting days right, you share it with one of my cousins.

*nods* yeah--frozen seems to be a popular choice. I think I'll do that for just a couple of favorites (Small freezer, it being an apartment and all...), and then just keep enough money on hand to buy different fresh greens for specific dinners as the mood strikes me.

And thanks! yeah, if it's the 22cnd, then I share it. :)

Ideas? Suggestions?

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