Four Koi Fish in My Small Pond

Lose Weight with White Tea

Seems like things really do come in threes. I've come across 2 different easy ways to kind of 'passively' lose weight recently. Can't wait for the third to show up! This second one is based on recent studies that showed that drinking White Tea daily can help you not just lose weight, but keep fat off- AND reduce fat you've already stored. The weight loss part probably has to do with the small amount of caffeine in it, but the other ingredients supposedly inhibit and reduce fat.

So, since I have a larger waistline than I'd like, I'm going to try this one, too. It helps that I already like and drink tea.

Here's a link to the article about White Tea-
http://www.ehow.com/how_5150739_lose-weight-white-tea.html

Easy Weight Loss with Vegetable Juice

Losing weight just by drinking 8oz of vegetable juice a day seems pretty silly, but new research has shown that doing just that can triple your actual weight loss. Of course, I like this idea because I already love V8 vegetable juice, as well as the Knudsen Very Veggie vegetable juice. For some reason I just always forget to buy it. This is a good reason to remember!

As a long-term vegetarian, I'm not overweight. More, that because of having two children, I've had a hard time losing weight in my waist. I know I'll never have a 22 inch waist again, but it would be nice to go down a couple of inches. Having Fibromyalgia doesn't help, because it lowers your metabolism, and for some people like myself, over-exercise makes you feel worse.

I'm going to try to add in that extra cup of vegetable juice a day for a couple of months and see what happens. Why don't you try it, too?
Here's a link to an article I have written giving tips on how to incorporate that extra veggie juice into your daily schedule.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5176689_lose-weight-easy-vegetable-juice.html

Dog Movies

Tonight I watched 'Marley and Me' with the boys for about the 3rd time. At 2AM. What the heck, they're on summer vacation, right?

What a sad movie. The kids think it's funny, but it makes me think of Patty when she was old. She was such a brat when she was young, and then when she was old she was so good with the kids. She used to eat the Cheerios that got stuck in the top of the kid's diapers.

Another good movie is 'The Year of the Dog'. It's sad, too, but it also touches on animal rights and vegetarianism. If you like dogs, watch these movies.

4th of July

This is Grif with a sparkler. Wow, things have changed. The new sparklers are more like flares or torches. And they don't have that yummy sulphur smell like they used to. It's the first time in 3 years that I've had the boys on the 4th of July- somehow the custody schedule has always ended up the opposite- so it was really fun. We're all pyromaniacs, so we really went to town. We lit all kinds of things on fire!

Striped Beetle Bug

What do you think of this big guy? He's about an inch and a half long, and he's got huge moose antlers. Some people call these beetles June Bugs, but we've always called the little bronze beetles June Bugs. We've always called these guys 'Hissing Beetles', because the entire time they're doing anything they make a peculiar noise that sounds like they are cussing you out. Grif found this guy in the kitchen. Isn't he cute? Gryphon took this picture, while Zephyr was cringing in the office. He doesn't like grabby bugs as much as Grif and I do.

Product Review- Trader Joe's Chicken-less Strips

I made vegan Fajitas for the boys tonight. Pretty simple, just Trader Joe's Chicken-less Strips and sauteed sliced red and green Bell Peppers and onions. Served on Corn Tortillas with soy cheese, Romaine lettuce and Avocados. Grif said it was one of the best dinners I've ever made- he ate 4 of them.

I started with a package of Trader Joe's Chicken-less Strips. I used half a package, but my guess is that a full package would feed four people depending on how it was used. I cut the strips a little thinner for the fajitas. I then tossed them in a mix of 2 tablespoons of flour, and 1/4 teaspoon of Onion powder, Garlic powder, paprika and poultry seasonings as well as a tad of flaked chili. The Product is supposedly already seasoned.
I then tried to fry the strips in a couple of teaspoons of corn oil. They really didn't brown, but after a while it looked like they were as brown as they were going to get. When I tasted them, they were hard and chewy. So, after I cooked the other veggies, I added them back in and tossed a splash of white wine in. This somehow softened them back up. Pooh. I was wanting crispy non-chicken fajitas.

While I did not personally like or dislike them, my children did. While they were supposedly already seasoned, even with my added seasonings they were still bland.

I think they have potential. Tomorrow I'll try to make corned beef hash with the leftovers.

Just don't fry them, I guess.

More Black Salt

Well the boys are back, so our mango supply has diminished greatly. I wanted to know what they thought of my new Black Salt, so I put the tiniest dust of a taste on their tongues. Both of them immediately made a sour face and said EWWWW! I asked each of them separately what they thought it tasted like, and surprisingly both said 'popcorn'. Popcorn?
I'm not a fan of popcorn because I hate those crunchy little hard kernel bits in it. But if you're a popcorn fan, I'm guessing that sprinkling a teensy bit of Black Salt on your popcorn might make it more 'popcorn-y' tasting.

This as about the cheapest I've seen online, at $3.49. The shipping isn't cheap, but it averages out pretty good, especially if you don't have an Indian Grocery store nearby.
Click here
Black Salt (Kala Namak) 7oz

Black Salt - Kala Namak

Yay! I have finally found some Black Salt, or Kala Namak.

It's an earth salt- a volcanic salt, rather than a sea salt. And it's not black at all, it's a peachy beige colour. It was only $2.49 for 7oz.

I was so looking forward to this. I opened the bag and sniffed- nothing. Sigh. So I licked a finger and stuck it in. WHOAH! I have not eaten eggs for 24 years, yet I immediately recognized the taste- yolks from hard-boiled eggs.

It was easy to give up eggs. I never really liked them without dressing them up. But I really understand why some of the Indian websites say they use it as an appetizer, because I can't stop tasting it. I haven't even cooked with it yet! Maybe as a vegan I just haven't been getting enough sulphur? Who knows? All I know is that this stuff is good. I have a feeling I might not like it in cooked food, since I've never liked eggs, but I intend to try to make a vegan omelette and a quiche with it and test it out on my neighbors. I'll let you know how it goes. Buy some Black Salt.

Click here
Black Salt (Kala Namak) 7oz