The Monster Kohlrabi!

I had a good time today after finding that in my town a guy was selling his extra garden produce on a you-pick-it bases. I went out there this morning around ten and found a very nice raised bed garden full of tomatoes, lots of peppers, kohlrabi, sorrel, grapes, cukes and lots of fruit trees. I did not think about taking my camera with me but I wish I would have. The tomatoes were just about gone and were getting sunscald pretty bad but I picked enough for a nice tomato based veggie soup that I was craving. I looked over to the edge and saw these huge kohlrabi plants. I am used to seeing regular sized kohlrabi but these things were the size of cabbage. The owner is from Bulgaria so Bulgarian veggies are what are there, and he was telling me how he cooked all this stuff and it sounded interesting but mostly was with added sour cream or chicken so I my wheels started turning about how I could use them in my Eat For Health program. I did purchase a huge one and he weighed it out but I did ask for the leaves which he said he threw away. I brought it all home and steamed the tomatoes and then put them in ice water, broke them up in the pot, added some of his peppers and an onion cut up along with the five of the kohlrabi leaves put through the high speed blender. I did pour that through a nut milk bag though but it was the brightest, greenest juice that I have ever seen. I set it to cooking, scorched the bottom (but that made it taste like fire roasted tomatoes) and added some cut up cabbage. Well, it was so salty tasting that I could not believe it was not salted. I did add a ton of herbs especially some frozen basil but wow, all I can figure is that my taste has finally totally changed. I loved it but my hubby did not care for it because he said it had too much flavor, go figure. I don’t think the huge greens I got with it are going to be good as cooked greens but I am going to blender-juice them and use them in smoothies and soup. I took the huge kohlrabi and carved off the outer skin (I saved it to liquefy in my next creamy soup) and cut it into slabs. Hubby tasted it raw and said he liked it and it reminded him of diakon so I bagged up some of those. I took the rest and cut in strips and baked with a few yams for an hour ten minutes with herbs and balsamic vinegar. I liked it but I noticed that it was hard to cook to soft stage so I will probably use those for soup too but I like the yams a lot. I think it may be good cooked some more on the stove and run through the HS blender for a mash. This is all very low calorie food that is loaded with phytochemicals. I am having fun just seeing how many ways I can make EFH program foods and eek out ever cent I can so I can continue to buy the best in nutrition. I see it as a fun challenge and try never to throw any food away. At the garden I also got some nice pears, figs, grapes and the sorrel that I have never used before. Next time I visit the garden I am going to get some pics for the blog so stay tuned.

Attack Of The Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy!

I have been on Eat For Health now exclusively, 100% now for over two months and this report will include my recent experience of a heart attack, yes that is what I said, “Heart attack!” It was a very painful scary ordeal that earned my four days in the hospital and a heart cath to boot. I learned through all this that my heart arteries were very clear and that was good to know after a year and a half on a vegan low fat diet but apparently I experienced a condition called Takotsbo’s cardiomyopathy that caused the heart attack but I also have something called Cardio Microvalve Disease. It is when the micro vessels in the heart constrict in theory because of something going on at the molecular level, but I guess they really don’t know what. I do believe after the experience of the nitroglycerin relieving my so called fibromyalgia pain, that they are connected. The cardiologist says he has never heard of that but that it could be possible. Right now I am home trying to take life a lot easier and get some of the stress managed a little bit in my life. I am very glad that I was eating the way I have been for awhile because, who knows, it could have been much worse. I believe that my body needs to work right now at its optimum level now more than ever. I am a little discouraged about taking 7 different medications now and not being able to fight this with just a lifestyle change. I am happy to have beat diabetes, high blood pressure and am working on obesity but I don’t know how to fight this one. If the Lord does not heal me I am afraid I am stuck.
My hospital eating experience was not bad though. I was at an Adventist hospital which means they at least know how to cook a vegetable. They were quite astounded though when I told them the amount of greens I wanted and salad and absolutely no salt, etc. I did end up eating a few pieces of bread while I was there but that was ok. I had a tomato based soup that had very little salt but they kept sending me a tiny little kid-size fruit smoothies! I lick that amount off the spoon at home. Also it was impossible to get them to give me more than a half cup of cooked greens . All in all they tried very hard to accommodate my needs and what they did do, they did very well. The platters even came with these beautiful, edible, orchid looking flowers. I just pulled them off and put them on the bed table so I could look at them all day.
As far as my EFH journey is going, all I can say is it is going fantastic. My greens are my favorite food followed by the huge 3 fruit ice cream I make myself at times. If people would only know how satisfying this is and how it makes you feel! I have other family members now taking this stuff much more seriously and I really hope they will enjoy the food and the feeling as much as I do. I am still dropping weight but I don’t like to weight a lot because my weight fluctuates like crazy so I just keep faith in what I am doing because I know it will come off and move right along forward.

The New Baby

Frugality

I have given frugality a lot of thought this week after my great quest to obtain my new vintage Singer 500A Rocketeer sewing machine. I started out just checking out the machine on Google to find out how to use the one I have better and then ran into all of them on Ebay. Then the wheels started turning in my head that maybe I should just get another one to have the carrying case that I did really need. The next few days were spent off and on doing Google searches and by “accident” I ran into a local add from a town 80 miles away, for a 500A with portable case and home cabinet for $60.00. I really could not pass that up easily so after approaching my husband and being that the next day was his day off, we took the long trip to pick it up. It was in pristine shape except for the carrying case that was slightly warped and to my surprised it came with a Professional Singer Buttonholer and a box of special cams, both of which can cost a lot to obtain. Ever sense I have just been dancing a jig. I can’t wait to get my old one all cleaned up, lubed and oiled and have them both set up for some marathon sewing with my friends and family. How does this tie in with frugality? Well, I believe that true frugality for me does not mean just cheap. A cheap sewing machine can be a real pain to deal with and just not make you want to sew anymore. New is not necessarily better by any means. This machine just happens to be touted by many home sewers as being the best sewing machine ever made. Do most people know this? No, of course not. It would not even be considered because all of us are brainwashed by the hard charging advertizing campaigns that force us to go into the wilderness to get away from it all. Why do we succumb and cave? I say we can fight back! We can look for true value and be truly happy with our decisions. All we have to do is just take a breath, think about it and consider all the options. Maybe sometimes new is better, sometimes vintage, and sometimes just do without it as it may complicate our lives, but at least THINK about it first.