mandycat223 Member

Somewhere I ran across an article about the way our Big Pharma Mafia tots up its costs. One line item was for the amount of money a company could have earned elsewhere with the funds it spent to make its products. This in ECON 101 is called opportunity cost. It's supposed to be a decision factor ("What return will be lost…

Obviously there's a typo in your original post. What you meant was "former friends." These people need to be either out of your life or pushed as far towards the perimeter as possible. Life's too short to deal with morons. "You are dead to me" comes to mind as a courteous rejoinder. Having said that, facial exercises can…

"How do I tell whether it's hunger or my carb addiction or some passing craving that's speaking?" I've had good luck with the ten minute rule: You can postpone just about anything for ten minutes, especially if you fill in the time with some physical activity. Frequently I find that at the end of ten minutes, the desire…

Here in the South, you can always find Dukes Mayonnaise. It's the only one I know of that doesn't have sugar as an ingredient. If you order online, it's pretty pricey, so I was happy to find Dukes at my local Publix grocery store. My own DIY-mayo attempts have been less than stellar.

This reminds me of a study done decades ago by university researchers. They had two test groups of rats: one fed on nothing but best selling breakfast cereals with milk and the other fed on nothing but the cereal cardboard boxes with milk. Neither group did all that well but the cardboard eaters didn't do any worse.

Ground turkey. I was surprised to find not many but some carb grams listed for the frozen turkey patties I've been buying at Sam's Club. When I read the ingredient list, what should appear but sugar. Back to where I should have stayed: sirloin patties, ingredients = sirloin.

Speaking of fermented foodstuffs: I recently had a sudden (but temporary) urge to make my own kombucha tea. The "temporary" part came into play when I found an online site complete with full color photographs describing the process. One of the component parts looks like, how can I say it, "a mucous fluid that frequently is…

Here's something I've been making almost daily this past month. It's more of a bun than a cracker but very satisfying and filling. For extra crispiness, carefully cut one bun in half width-wise and toast. Note that it calls for a "muffin top pan" which isn't found in everyone's kitchen. If you're going to be making LC buns…

The only item with the word "Atkins" on it that isn't either a waste of money or downright treacherous would be the good doctor's original book. Since Dr. Atkins' death, the Atkins company has fallen into the reptilian hands of corporate bigwigs. You know, the ones who would cheerfully use you to harvest body parts if it…

Here's one book to AVOID. Periodically I browse amazon's "Free Kindle Book" section, usually to find that there's a good reason why they're free. My most recent download was "Ketogenic Diet Air Fryer Cookbook" by Jeanine Bryson, since I've been eyeing this gadget. This lady must have stumbled across the term "ketogenic"…

We're lucky enough to have a genuine butcher shop available to us (in fact, they are opening a second location just around the corner -- yeahhhh, no more schlepping to the other side of town) and they sell real fajita meat. I've been meaning to try my hand at jerky with this meat. It's razor thin and completely lean so I…

Just a guess here but I'm pretty sure the hospital staff will make sure she's fully nourished before being discharged: white bread sandwich, sugar-added fruit cocktail, canned cream of something soup, chocolate cupcake with that glow in the dark, mad scientist version of frosting on top. That's what I was offered in the…

It's interesting how the definitions of "attractive" change. If you look at photographs of Lillian Russell, THE dream girl of the 1890's, you have to guess that stage floors were concrete reinforced at the time. Lillian and a herd of Floradora Girls must have totaled a ton and a half.

I went LC strictly for weight control reasons. To my surprise, my chronic digestive issues were vastly improved within weeks. You don't have to have celiac disease to be wheat sensitive. If you react badly to wheat, just leave it alone. That nonsense about "you need whole grains to be healthy" is probably the American…

I'm guessing some orthopedic surgeons could name their 36 foot cabin cruisers "The Lunge." Lunges done incorrectly (the way 99% of us do them) are bad news for our poor, unprotected joints.

I have an array of Mio flavors, plus the Publix house brand versions. They haven't given me any problems (and if anyone on this forum is going to have digestive issues, I'm a prime candidate.) I don't use them so much for flavoring water as for adding to smoothies and yogurt, so I probably use less than some folks. A few…

For a tasty dessert (kinda like a cheesecake and kinda like a cheesecake flavored gelatin dessert) I make the cheesecake recipe on the back of the Knox unflavored gelatin box, substituting granulated Splenda for the sugar and adding a few drops of McCormick lemon or orange extract to amp up the flavor. And, of course,…

Regulations about animals (of any kind) in suburban neighborhoods never make much sense until you put your own home up for sale. Not every prospective buyer is happy to find a DIY farm yard next door. When you're talking about the value of what for most of us is far and away our most valuable asset, things get tricky.

If you have a choice between a chemistry experiment created in some lab and real food, I don't think there's much choice. There's a reason why we see a never ending parade of magic potions for sale.

The rationale for drinking quoted in this article made about as much sense as that provided by one of the characters in a "Cheers" episode. "Drinking makes us smarter. When a mountain lion attacks a herd of buffalo only the slower and stupider buffaloes are eaten, thus improving the herd. Same with our brains. Alcohol…

Ah, yes: Demon Salt. Decades ago, my mother invited a friend for lunch. The friend's husband was enduring one of those frequently prescribed no fat/no salt diets and, of course, so was the wife. My mother asked the friend if there was anything special she'd like to have. The friend's answer: "A can of Crisco and a salt…

Artificial sweeteners. I know they're not good for us. But they add so many different flavors to an otherwise sugar-free lifestyle and for me don't trigger sugar cravings. I've been reading about the Whole 30 plan; going on the plan would be quite easy for me since I've already cut out most of the no-nos. But giving up my…

This is terrific news and you should be very proud. After 15 years of dealing with digestive issues and never ONCE having a lineup of gastroenterology "experts" ask me about what I eat, I'm pretty cynical about the medical profession and nutrition. Apparently, if any topic isn't a big deal in medical school it doesn't…

I've been buying GNC's unflavored Wheybolic protein for years now. It's the only one I can find that is truly unflavored (I have a shelf full of various flavoring agents so I don't get tired of one or two flavors) and that isn't grainy tasting. Some of the vegan protein powders are like drinking powdered blackboard chalk.…

I'm surprised in this day and age that people are still exerting peer pressure to get others to eat what they've already said they don't want. Unless your fellow workers are illiterate peasants without access to television, they ought to know better. Next time, just smile knowingly and move on. This is unacceptable…

I've made fridge pickles in the past and found the white vinegar rather too sharp for my taste. I'll definitely try again but with ACV this time. Thanks. For folks who like dill pickles but don't want to go the DIY route, I've been buying the Mt. Olive Kosher Dill Petites "Pickle Pak." It's six individual containers, 51…

If anyone can recommend a coconut oil that doesn't make every single food item it touches taste like coconut, please let me in on the secret. The flavor of coconut is okay for some things like certain chicken recipes. But wrecking havoc in my tomato sauce or my coffee, eee-yuck!!! My first (and last) jar of coconut oil…

I was recently re-reading H.H. Munro (better known as "Saki.") In one story, a young man is lamenting the way his mother insists on reading his mail in spite of his complaints. His friend: "You haven't used the right kind of argument, I expect. If every time one of your letters was opened you lay on your back on the dining…

Yuck, of all the scents in the world, you had to have cigarette smoke inflicted upon you. I've become so sensitive to smokers that I can sniff them from a distance of ten feet but at least I can usually move away and escape the stench. Hope you find out the cause of this; it sounds dreadful.

I'd have to disagree with the advice about adding weights while walking. Ankle and wrist weights distort our natural movement patterns and up our chances of injury. Ankle weights especially can be a trip to the chiropractor about to happen. Wearing a weight vest or carrying a backpack is generally okay if you have no back…