WFPB Journey June
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Well hello everyone! I think I last posted in back in Magical May - before or after husband's prostate surgery? He had excellent care in the hospital and lymph nodes were clean. Hurray! Unfortunately, he's miserable right now as the incontinence is much worse than he bargained for. It will last for 3 to 18 months.
I've been making better food choices and feeling the benefits - adding more veggies and whole grains. Bisky, I've been picking up pre-cut from the produce. Loving it!
My daughter, 24, is making better choices with me. Her weight has crept up and she's at a point of being motivated. It's great to support each other.
Now that things have settled down with husband's recovery, I'm hoping to be here more regularly. You are all an inspiration.1 -
Nanc, I could see that definitely. I miss having pets so much. If I could at least cut back on my hours a bit I could get another dog. I just decided that when my last pupper died (after 14 happy years together!) that I wouldn't get another until I wasn't working like this. He was my first only dog as I had always had 2 or 3 at a time before that, and it was kind of cool how much of a groove we got into just being the two of us.
Coffee, glad to see you and very happy to hear your husband's surgery went well and lymph nodes were clear. That's awesome your daughter is on board with you.
I was so tired yesterday that I went to bed as soon as I got home around 6:00 and slept until 3 am! I will get to the office early today.
Plan for today:
B - oats with all the usual goodies
L - big ol' salad
D - asparagus with cheezy chickpeas (recipe link below)
https://mealplanner.plantstrong.com/recipe/59e78ce9f83f55a2e4088ce8
I won't have the potato and spinach in the recipe since I'm making asparagus but may make some brown rice or farro to go with it. The microwave steamer makes quick work of steamed asparagus!
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Hi! I’m Sue, and live on Long Island, NY.
I joined here a while back but haven’t jumped in yet. Have been part of a challenge with a nice group of women who are mostly keto, no to low carb, and intermittent fasters. Interesting to see others’ viewpoints, and I have gotten and given support, but am quiet about eating plant based. Looking to share this with others of like mind and appetites. I am recently retired, an artist, and I have an ever growing collection of vegan ecookbooks I’m constantly experimenting with.
Ate vegetarian in college and on and off since. Mostly vegan last 5 years, myself and my husband. Enjoy cooking and learning about plant based nutrition.1 -
Hi Sue! Glad you jumped in. What kind of stuff do you enjoy cooking? I used to do a lot of cooking and baking, but I am all about hurry up and get something on a plate these days.
Didn't end up making the cheezy chickpeas tonight. Worked until almost 6:00 so got home too late. Steamed the asparagus and nuked a sweet potato. Sprinkled with a little balsamic and Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper. It was tasty!
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Hi Sue and welcome! It is wonderful that you and your spouse are like minded! I am not very consistent with checking in with the group, but I do love the support and ideas shared here.
Mihani, I must try balsamic on sweet potato - sounds delicious!
I am curious if anyone in this group has a diagnosis of diabetes. Since my sister passed from diabetes complications in April, my other two sisters and I are taking our health much more seriously. I was diagnosed with T2 last September and one of my sister's was diagnosed this past May. I know that most, if not all, of the WFPB doctors say that you can turn T2 around with a plant based diet - just curious if anyone here has had success.
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Mornin' all! I woke up at 4 am again for some stupid reason, but I feel good so may as well get on with the day.
Nanc, how's your tooth feeling?
Coffee, I remember you saying your sister had passed and I'm very sorry for your loss. About 12 or 14 years ago when I was an obese vegetarian, I was pre-diabetic and with a history on my dad's side of diabetes that seemed inevitable. I went vegan and "accidentally" lost 70 pounds. Only kind of half kidding there. I didn't really go vegan to lose weight so much as it seemed like the next logical step after learning more about the dairy industry, and suddenly the weight just started dropping off. My guess is because of giving up cheese, which was my favorite thing in the world. Since losing that weight my labs have been perfect and doc says I am in no danger of diabetes.
I still had 20 to 25 pounds to lose, and over the past few years I have struggled with gaining a little and then taking it back off. At the moment I am determined to lose the last 20 because I ended up at the doc on Tuesday with high BP and started on a very low dose medication to prevent spikes. It's not high all the time, and I'm pretty sure it is stress-related because it only happens at work, but the spikes were pretty awful and scary. Hoping a few tweaks to my diet and losing the last of the weight will help and I can get off the meds sooner than later.
Okay y'all, off to get busy with the day. My favorite easy lunch salad to take to work right now is baked sweet potato, steamed broccoli and kale, and grape tomatoes on a bed of lettuce. I usually just use a little bragg's, dijon and nooch for "dressing" but thinking I should avoid the bragg's for now since it is high in sodium.
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I typed up a long post two days ago and hit the done button and lost it. 😱. I have done this more times that I care to admit.
Coffee…I am happy to hear your hubby’s surgery went well. I would like to pm you some tips for post op problems. Let me know if you are interested.
As far as turning around Type 2 diabetes ….the main culprit is refined carbs including the “whole grain, wheat flour, brown or white rice, juices and all processed sugars including honey and maple)”. All fruits are actually good, berries the best but even bananas have fiber, mineral and vitamins and don’t raise the blood sugar as fast and stimulate insulin that causes fat storage to be released. Avoid dried fruits for type 2DM. Dr. Furman has an excellent book about treating T2DM. Transformation 20 Diabetes. Type 2DM is caused by poor nutrition and genetics. The Mayo Clinic has a wonderful article about it too. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20351193
Sue - Welcome! What type of an art do you do? Please post pics! I hope you share your favorite vegan and vegetarian recipes. I am 90% vegetarian…some days are vegan days. I have celiacs so wheat free. Mainly trying to not eat any processed foods, alcohol or sugar. I have a bad chocolate addiction and over a year and a half seeing a nutritionist and an eating disorder therapist have resulted in 75 lb weight loss. 25 more lbs to go. Goal is now 1-2 lbs a MONTH! Previous 6 month goal was 5 lbs/ month and before that at my highest weight was 8 lbs a month. This is the most weight I have ever lost and have kept it off. Also the slowest weight loss….to avoid the rebound, body not reacting to starvation mode and releasing a flood of hormones that increase hunger plus not losing muscle.
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This is part 2 as I don’t want to lose my posts again!
Mihani - I loved Magic’s suggestion of you fostering a dog or two. You can become a foster fail like us. Obi and Brooks are really bonding lately. Brooks did not care for him initially and he was totally bonded to me. Now he is bringing Brooks toys and excited when Brooks comes home from work….he is learning a lot from Cleo who aka Miss Perfect. I am sorry to hear about the BP problems. Better to take the meds to prevent heart damage or stroke and then do tweaks to help you get it down. I LOVE SWEET POTATOES WITH BALSAMIC GLAZE! Actually I just love sweet potatoes and balsamic glaze on tomatoes, strawberries, salads, vegetables…especially Brussels sprouts. Did you try tahini on sweet potatoes yet?
Magic - glad to hear you healing …. Plant based and no sugar diets are the best for healing plus no smoking. Some oral surgeon will refuse to do implants on smokers or diabetics because of poor post op surgical healing.0 -
Part 3
Miss Perfect and Mr. Grubby Pants are off to groomers this am. I have swim and then yoga.
Pics of a rainy day after walk.
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So happy Obi found such a great home! How did spa day go for the other two? Great info and links, thanks Bisky.
I had a good day. I feel remarkably better after just two days on the medication. Main thing now is to monitor closely to be sure it doesn't start dropping too low because it only spikes at random times (mostly at work) and my BP has always been low. Really weird.
I've done well at staying away from anything high in salt the past 3 days. I've cut back on nuts and seeds and making sure to portion them out and spread them throughout my meals.
Stopped at the store and got more sweet potatoes, some broccoli and broccolini, kale, cabbage. Also got some of the Lundberg rice cakes (no salt variety) in case I want a crunchy snack.
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I decided to have all 3 done. Obi just shampoo & dry. It was my yoga/swim day. I was going to be gone for several hours and didn’t want Obi to freak out being left all alone. (Previous home he was left alone in backyard day and night). Plus it rained all day. I walked dogs with Brooks at 5:30 am before the rain arrived. Wanted to make him a protein shake. CB won’t stay this clean long.
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I love all the pup pics! We miss our Tucker and look forward to getting another dog in the next phase of life (now in an apartment while we reno the family home up north).
bisky, please feel free to pm!
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Mornin' all, my sleep is stupid since I started on the BP meds. This is the third morning in a row I have been up between 3:00 and 3:30. Granted, I was probably asleep by 9:00 so it's still a little over 6 hours of sleep, but geeze. I tried to go back to bed but couldn't doze back off.
Heading to the office both today and tomorrow. One of the other gals got really sick and was off most of the week and she's coming in too. I'm really grateful she's doing that!
Going to make a trip to the wholesale club after I leave the office. I need some household stuff and they have dirt cheap veggies and frozen fruit. I can get a huge container of spring mix for like $4.00. It was a gift membership and it took me a while to make my first visit, but I really like it. Definitely worth a trip once a month or so to stock up on things.
I started tracking food this week so I could check sodium and I'm going to have to start making my own beans or find salt-free varieties. According to the internet draining and rinsing canned beans doesn't really reduce sodium that much. Certainly some and it's better to drain and rinse, but still a lot in there. I won't have time this weekend but maybe next weekend I can get out the pressure cooker and make up several varieties to portion out and freeze. Just have to get over my fear of the instant pot.
Bisky, the puppers look beautiful!
Plan for today:
B - oats with all the usual goodies
L - big ol' salad
D - sauteed peppers and onions with red rice
Really enjoying the red rice. Oh, and I got both Lundberg brown rice cakes and the brown rice and quinoa thins. I hadn't had the thins in a while and they are really good! I put a dollop of apple butter on one for dessert last night and it was tasty. And no sodium.
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Good Morning!
Part of a post I had written and lost was about a book published this year that I believe several of you will enjoy. I started reading it in the Sedona library and bought it when we came home. It is called The Good Eater, a Vegan’s search for the Future of Food by Nina Guilbeault. She is a Harvard-trained sociologist PhD and vegan. It is not a diet and recipe book. It reviews the history of Vegan/ Vegetarian diets and eventually gets into modern day diets and the effect politics, big business and social norms have on our diet.
CB and Brooks are sleeping in. Cleo, Obi and I went for a very early walk. Obi had a new PB last night. Mile walk without one bark. This am a few barks at squirrels and a half hearted bark at people walking. Using a lot of “redirection” and positive feedback is working! We have obedience class at 11:00. I try to get Obi tired before class. People bring their dogs in with a lot of excitable energy and they don’t have their attention. Obi comes in “dog tired”.
. Maybe a little too tired. 😹
A friend sent me an excellent article on the importance of a fiber rich diet with colon and prostrate diets from MD Anderson. I am starting Brooks off before his radiation treatments with a spinach, banana, date, ginger and vegan protein powder every morning. I quit putting it in a see through container so he won’t be opposed to the spinach. 😂. Oh here is the link if anyone is interested.
https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/5-ways-md-anderson-is-researching-the-link-between-food-and-cancer.h00-159698334.html
Plan for Brooks to make his chipotle black beans and then I am using 1/2 for black bean soup.
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LOL... yeah Obi looking very obedient there, Bisky!
Funny you mention fiber and gut health... got an email from Forks Over Knives about a special on the microbiome: https://themicrobiome.tv/ Dr. Fuhrman is one of the speakers. I'm going to watch some tonight but probably won't be able to watch all the episodes (not sure how long each one is) since I'll be at the office all day. It's free only through this weekend. My doc asked me about fiber and I said yeah, I'm vegan. I knock out the recommended fiber at breakfast! He laughed.
Spent about 8 hours at the office yesterday as did one of the other gals who works with me. We knocked out a lot of work. It's so nice in there on the weekends with no phones and co-workers distracting us. Hopefully we can get through a bunch more today.
I made water sauteed peppers and onions with fajita seasoning last night and had them in corn tortillas with lettuce and salsa. Found Frog Ranch salsa which has only 40 mg of sodium per serving and it tasted great. Happy about that. I've been tracking my food to watch sodium and staying between 1500 and 1600 per day. Probably half of that is the canned beans. I tried making taco shells in the oven from the corn tortillas and they didn't turn out great. Tonight for leftovers I'll just heat them up in a skillet like usual.
Got up at 3 am again but forced myself to go back to bed. Not sure how well I slept from there but woke up again at 5 am. Much better.
I haven't had any coffee for over two weeks now. I have one cup of breakfast tea in the morning with the mushroom extract added, then a cup of green tea when I get to the office, and that's it. Sometimes I have a cup of herbal after lunch.
Determined to get the blood pressure under control and get off the meds sooner than later.
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Hi gals, sorry i have been MIA for so long. the amount of posts I have missed is overwhelming, so I will catch up over the next few days.
Joe and I went away to celebrate our 15th anniversary this weekend. My cousin took care of our doggos. She is so good with them. We came home to happy and relaxed dogs.
For our trip we didn't go far, just down the coast a few hours from our place. We got in some good hiking at one of the state parks, and explored a few of the nearby towns. I love spending time by the ocean. It was good to get away for a bit.
Now that we are back, we're going to make good food choices. I have put on weight over the last 6 months and need to turn it around before I have to start buying clothes in a larger size. I hate doing that!
I plan to get back into more regular posting again. At a glance, it looks like everyone is doing well.1 -
Carla's back!
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Sounds like a nice trip, Carla. Happy anniversary!
Spent about 7 hours in the office today. We got a lot done this weekend but the backlog is still tremendous.
Never took time to eat my lunch salad today so I left it there for tomorrow and will eat leftover fajita veggies and corn tortillas tonight. I'm hungry now I'm thinking about it so it will be an early dinner!
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Happy Anniversary Carla and Joe. So glad you found dog care you can rely on. We have missed you and your creative posts on menus and recipes.
Mihani are you back on the 6week ETL now?
Magic - how is the tooth?
Brooks is definitely feeling effects of radiation. I think he has 5 more treatments left. Got almost all the GBOMBs in him today except mushrooms. We had a cabbage salad with cashews, almonds and sunflower seeds. Watermelon for dessert. He had a big serving of mushrooms yesterday plus he takes the mushroom turkey tail capsules. Tomorrow a spinach salad with red onions, mushrooms, roasted cashews and pine nuts with balsamic glaze.
I am so inspired. One of the aquarium stores I sell my mystery snails, bristle nose plecos and aquatic plants to want wants to see if my fishy themed cards might sell! I made her a snail card a few months ago and she has it displayed by the cash register. She stated she could have sold dozens and people ask her where it came from! Cards I made in the past.
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Thank you for the warm welcome. Been eating mostly plant based about six years now. First became aware in college years ago taking an educational seminar given by Seventh Day Adventists who ran a local vegan restaurant. Ate this way on and off for years. Life kept interfering.
Now I enjoy cooking vegan and own a lot of ecookbooks that I try out recipes from. My husband has a sophisticated palate and wouldn’t go for a plate of plain rice and beans so I use lots of savory vegetables; onions are the queen of my kitchen, and I make use of spices, herbs, and ethnic recipes. Asian cooking is a favorite.
I got lazy when I was still working and had prepared foods for lunch: knishes, canned soup, frozen pizza. My husband developed high blood pressure partly from the salt, so I am finding meals to make. Plus I’m now retired. Bean and grain salads and eggless egg salad sandwiches made with tofu are examples.
I enjoy the approach and chats I see of here and hope I can join in and learn and share. I’ve lost 30 pounds from my highest weight and have done it eating mostly plant based. That’s my story. Nice to be here.
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Love the cards, Bisky! Very cool the aquarium store wants to sell them. Congratulations! Sorry to hear Brooks is having a rough time of it. Hope he feels better soon.
Sue, I tend to get lazy too but lately I'm all about simple and easy. I was never a big fan of microwave but I've been using it a lot more over the past few months when I started eating more potatoes and sweet potatoes. I never liked microwaved russets but gold and sweet are great microwaved. Then I got a microwave steamer a few weeks ago and I love that thing! Use it almost daily and it's so easy to perfectly cook up some fresh broccoli, kale, asparagus, etc. to add to salads or eat with a grain and beans.
Have you ever tried pickled onions? I make some pretty much every week. Great on salads or to top just about any dish. Chop up a red onion, throw in a container and cover with white vinegar. They reach peak flavor in about two days and keep a long time (if you don't eat them all up quickly like I do LOL). I usually add some black peppercorns as well, and have also tried adding cumin which is good too. Infuses the onions with even more flavor.
Well done on the 30 pound loss!
Going to be a day. One gal was scheduled off and the other is running a fever and her husband tested positive for covid, so I'm going to be on my own today. Sure hope she didn't spread germs yesterday.
Off to work I go,
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Sorry I am MIA. Just so much going on...taking a toll but dealing. Back when the dust settles.
TC and do make it deeeeeeeeeelicous!1 -
OMG y'all I never post from my phone but just had to tell you even our receptionist just called off sick. I'm on my own today! 😬
Nanc, so glad you checked in was worried about you.1 -
bisky, How many treatments total of radiation for Brooks? I hope he feels better soon. Good work with the g-bombs. And congrats on your cards! They are gorgeous, no wonder they want to carry them in their store!
Hi Sue, welcome to the group!
@CoffeeandHumblePie Nice to see you back I have type 2 diabetes. I had great success with eating whole food plant based 10 or so years ago. I was totally off meds. I was strict and lost a lot of weight, both contributing factors, oh and daily exercise. Then I started slipping up here and there, before you know it, weight gained and back on meds. I am trying to get back into the groove.
Yikes, Mihani! Are you the only person in the office today? Fingers crossed that you don't get covid. Just when you guys were making a little bit of headway.
Hope you are feeling better, Nanc. I have had a lot of dental work done, so I feel for you. No implants so far, mostly because the few I've had pulled are in the back.
I am feeling lethargic. Our getaway was great, but longer would have been better for getting out of my rut. We tried pausing our Plantage meals for a week since we were going away. We ended up not eating as healthy as we would have with the meals, but we haven't gone anywhere in over a year and haven't been eating great recently anyway, so it didn't seem like the best time to start.
Plantage meals this week. I am going to do my smoothies for breakfast, and have the dinner followed by fruit for dessert. Once I get that down, we might try pausing the meal plan for a bit and doing some salads for dinner.
This week:
2x Mexican Quinoa and Yam & Jackfruit Quesadillas with Pico and Cilantro Lime Aioli
2x Panang Curry
2x Pesto Zoodles with Tempeh Italian Sausage and a Tomato salad
We'll do a salad with baked tofu for our 7th meal.0 -
Carla, yep just me and the boss today. It was okay. Sure went fast because i was hopping all day. Didn't get anything I wanted to work on done though and didn't get out of there until 6:00. Your dinners sound yum!
I've been eating the same basic meals for over a week. Oats with all the usual goodies for breakfast. I am good with salads every day for lunch as long as they are huge and have a big variety of veggies in them. This week has been spring mix, steamed broccoli and kale, grape tomatoes, half a baked sweet potato, chickpeas, pickled onions, topped with balsamic, dijon, nooch and Mrs. Dash. Trying to keep dinner very light just 400 or so calories. Not snacking because breakfast and lunch are so big I am not hungry in between meals. Past few days dinner has been fajita veggies, salsa and pinto beans and 2 corn tortillas.
I've been using the Mrs. Dash table blend for a while now and really like it.
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Carla - He will have a total or 28 treatments. Then in 3 months they will re check his prostate level to see if it worked. He is very fatigued right now. Speaking of fatigued, is your iron okay?
Magic - take care…you and Mihani have a lot going on.
Mihani, oh gosh I hope you don’t get covid. This is the last thing you need.
It is too hot to eat even in the ac. I walked dogs early and then swam. Caught up on cleaning kitchen, laundry and a little decluttering plus more short walks. Obi was sick in his crate while I was swimming so I had that to clean up. Carla I am about ready to load dogs in car and come your way. I made black bean soup with 1/2 the beans Brooks made recently in instant pot. He made the beans a little too spicy but then when I added the vegetables, broth and picante sauce it was perfect today. Next for IP is chickpeas for hummus and crunchy chickpeas to snack on or add to salads. I am so tired. It is only 6:30 but I think I am going to take a book and go to bed. Talked to Dr. yesterday about fatigue. She thinks I do too much at my age. 😳🙄🤭 tomorrow starting on fish cards.0 -
Today, as most days, I brought my lunch to keep it healthy. I totally forgot that the boss was catering Qdoba for staff and had already eaten. That's a win! I went in after lunch and made a bowl with beans, fresh pico, corn salsa, green salsa, and some guac. I'll have it for lunch tomorrow.
Daughter and I are getting in our walks in the evening. I've been using the vibration board as well - it may not do a thing but it's relaxing and I feel rejuvenated afterward.
Mihani, I hope your sleep patterns even out. My husband has battled poor sleep for years and it is wearing on him.
Carla, happy anniversary! It's nice to get away, even if it's not far.
bisky, refresh my memory - is Brook's radiation for prostate or is something else going on? Wes will have his PSA checked in late August. No radiation or chemo for now. However, he's dealing with incontinence and it's really cramping his style. He was discouraged the first week but is handling it better now. Supposedly, it takes up to 18 months for it to clear up.
Sue, I've made eggless egg salad (or was it "tuna" salad?) with chickpeas and it was delicious. Do you use firm tofu in your recipe?0 -
Coffee - He was diagnosed 2019 with prostate cancer and had a prostatectomy in 2020. His psa levels have been very slowly rising this year and pet scan revealed some metastasis. He also was diagnosed 2022 with squamous cell oral cancer. Being in the military and several deployments where he was exposed to burn pit carcinogens, his cancers are being attributed to that. No one in his immediate family has cancer. The incontience is totally normal and will get better. They have to do a type of kegal exercise once they are healed from surgery.
Sue I would love the egg salad or tuna salad recipe made with chickpeas too!
Mihani - how are you feeling ? I sure hope you don’t get covid!
Carla - how are the plantage meals going?
It is PCS (permanent change of station/ military moving) season for the military 😢. Losing some wonderful neighbors. My next door neighbors gave me a wonderful shed I can put all my gardening tools in and also my plants during the winter. I sure am going to miss them.
Scored some cut up watermelon, zucchini and peppers at commissary today! I gave away 2 containers of black bean soup so now will have to make more. So yummy and easy to have on hand.
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I'm sure we've all seen the news that John McDougall died in his sleep a few days ago. He was a profound voice for the WFPB lifestyle. I read that he had a massive stroke at age 18 and this impacted his health for the rest of his life. A good man.
bisky, the doctor/surgeon said that my husband's lymph nodes were clear, but we take this with a grain of salt. Hopefully, nothing got out. Cancer is in his family. I am sorry to hear that Brooks is battling with the return of cancer. Glad he has you by his side, and hopefully those GBOMBS will be a great benefit!
Carla, I'm still wrapping my brain around the fact that Type 2 will be a "rest of my life" battle. My parent's both had it but lived to 89 and 90, no T2 meds. My sister, I think I mentioned a few weeks ago, died this past April of complications of Type 2 at age 72.
I watched a Jane Esselstyn video last night featuring a Black Bean Salad that looks so delicious. Black beans, frozen corn, diced tomato, cilantro, sweet onion, sliced water chestnuts, lime zest, juice of one lime, balsamic vinegar. Yum!0 -
Oh wow, I had not heard about Dr. MacDougall. That's so sad.
So far so good Bisky. No symptoms. We're all a bit paranoid now, and I ordered some covid tests which will arrive tomorrow so if any of us feel anything we can test. Just when we were starting to make a dent in the backlog if any of the rest of us get sick it's going to seriously suck!
Rough day. I did have one gal there but I'm having to answer the phones and greet clients, etc. so it's hard to get any substantive work done. Didn't get time for my oatmeal until almost 11:00 and totally skipped lunch. Stayed until 6:00 and just had a light dinner and going to bed early.
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