Marsia's Diary

Thanks for the encouragement, Petal! I think I will!! We can always start with a few raised beds and keep going, too! I discovered that mitzuna is nice, too, and they are stocking that in the supermarket instead of lettuce, so maybe I don't have to try to grow a ton of lettuce this winter, just a few flats!
 
Yay for diversity :) My parents have a kind of spinach in their (cold) greenhouse that just keeps going and going as long as temperatures don't drop below zero. It makes a great addition to salads.
 
Spoke to my husband yesterday about this so he said we will do something as he needs something else other then work to focus on !!! But we will keep it small . We talked about a greenhouse but with all the storms we have I don't think it's a good idea . I know very little really , only success I have had is peas really lol . Oh and tomatoes . I'll be looking for advice Marsia
 
When I was a kid in the early spring my parents always had some veggie beds protected from the wind with simple planking and covered with old windows set at an angle to catch the sun as much as possible instead of a greenhouse. Worked just as well. It´s mostly a matter of creativity, hard work, and a bit of luck.
 
I was looking up how sugar raises blood pressure worse than salt so I can send something to my mom who keeps trying to buy groceries loaded with sugar right in front of me (most of which have a first ingredient of sugar), while I cart her around to urgent care centers and cook extra for her so her blood pressure will get out of the critical range. Thought I would share what I found.

A study published in Open Heart by Drs. DiNicolantonio and Lucan explores which white crystal (sugar or salt) has the biggest impact on blood pressure levels. (DiNicolantonio JJ, Lucan SC. Open Heart 2014;1:3000167)

Their findings show that:
Eating more sugar increases systolic blood pressure 6.9 mm Hg points and diastolic blood pressure 5.6 mm Hg in the short term, and 7.6/6.1 mm Hg if followed for more than 8 weeks.
  • Drinking one 24-ounce soft drink can increase blood pressure by 15 systolic and 9 diastolic points and raise heart rate by 9 beats per minute.
  • People who consume 25% more calories from sugar (which is easy to do) have a 300% increase in death rate due to cardiovascular disease.
  • A high-fructose (sugar) diet for just 2 weeks increases blood pressure 7 mm Hg systolic and 5 diastolic, but also raises pulse rate, triglycerides, fasting insulin and is associated with fatty liver.
  • The good news is there is no harm noted from eating more fruit, so don’t fret over having an apple, a peach, or a cup of berries. Do avoid fruit juice and dried fruit.
For the last 100,000 years, humans consumed not more than a few pounds of sugar per year, in the form of hard-earned honey, maple syrup, or sugar cane. It is only in the last few years that our intake has leaped to 100 to 150 pounds per year. Today, one in six people get 25% of all their calories from sugar, which is way too much! No wonder rates for diabetes and metabolic syndrome are skyrocketing at epidemic rates.

I think the data is crystal clear—we should spend more energy avoiding sugar. Sugar doesn’t just raise blood pressure levels. Eating more sugar and refined carbs (any grain processed into flour) will also:
  • Worsen your cholesterol profile (makes your LDL and HDL sizes smaller) and lowers overall healthy HDL levels.
  • Increase your risk for -
  • Diabetes
  • Heart disease and strokes
  • Weight gain
  • Memory loss
  • Cancer

So we should be limiting our sugar intake to what I’d call an occasional treat, clearly not every day. When it is a special occasion, enjoy it.
 
Hi Petal, you are gardening at a great time, there is soooo much great advice on the internet for beginning gardeners. It's mostly a matter of what type of soil your plants want, and how much sun and water. Also some like to be mulched to keep down the weeds and to keep in the moisture in the soil. Most plants you grow in the garden are not too fussy and come with instructions on the seed packet or six pack. I am having a hard time here because of all the wild critters who love eating my seedlings and because we live in a fog bank, but if you have a patch of sun and fairly good soil, you should be all set! They have German made greenhouses like the Riga (expensive though!) that can withstand a lot of wind, but greenhouses have a big learning curve, so if you are able to grow most things in the ground, that would be easiest. Look on pinterest for ideas, there is a lot about how to care for each kind of plant and on different types of gardening, all in picture form so it isn't overwhelming and is visually exciting, so it gets you dreaming and planning! Also there is a lot on youtube so you can see what they are talking about. I have been watching a lot of Monty Don to get me into the spirit!

LaMa, my husband wants the garden to be visually modern and clean looking, so I have to sneak in the recycled window greenhouse stuff where you can't see it from the house! But if he will save up for a greenhouse instead, I am fine with that. Then I can grow limes and lemons and tomatoes, so I will be really thrilled!

Petal, that would be wonderful if we both can do a veggie garden and encourage each other!
 
I made the best miso soup tonight - I simmered kombu seaweed and added bonito flakes and strained the broth I made first, and then added the miso, green onions, and shitakes, and it came out better than in a restaurant. New favorite soup!

Also went for a walk at the ocean, and it was very low tide, so got some beautiful shells and a lot of beautiful pictures of high blue gray clouds with yellow backlit lower clouds reflecting into the ocean. The waves had silver edges, and it was so beautiful! I took my mom and we were both so happy going our own pace so my mom didn't have to rush, and I didn't have to stand and wait for her for thirty thousand years. It's such a nice walk because it is a wide avenue where everyone strolls and hangs out on benches overlooking the ocean from the top of the cliffs. I got a lovely part of a tree that I can root on the way back - it is palm-like and has purple fronds, and the gardeners were just going to cut it up, so I fit it in the car and put it in a bucket to grow new roots. I have done this with a relative of this plant, so hope it works again!
 
Marsia said:
I was looking up how sugar raises blood pressure worse than salt so I can send something to my mom who keeps trying to buy groceries loaded with sugar right in front of me (most of which have a first ingredient of sugar), while I cart her around to urgent care centers and cook extra for her so her blood pressure will get out of the critical range. Thought I would share what I found.

A study published in Open Heart by Drs. DiNicolantonio and Lucan explores which white crystal (sugar or salt) has the biggest impact on blood pressure levels. (DiNicolantonio JJ, Lucan SC. Open Heart 2014;1:3000167)

Their findings show that:
Eating more sugar increases systolic blood pressure 6.9 mm Hg points and diastolic blood pressure 5.6 mm Hg in the short term, and 7.6/6.1 mm Hg if followed for more than 8 weeks.
  • Drinking one 24-ounce soft drink can increase blood pressure by 15 systolic and 9 diastolic points and raise heart rate by 9 beats per minute.
  • People who consume 25% more calories from sugar (which is easy to do) have a 300% increase in death rate due to cardiovascular disease.
  • A high-fructose (sugar) diet for just 2 weeks increases blood pressure 7 mm Hg systolic and 5 diastolic, but also raises pulse rate, triglycerides, fasting insulin and is associated with fatty liver.
  • The good news is there is no harm noted from eating more fruit, so don’t fret over having an apple, a peach, or a cup of berries. Do avoid fruit juice and dried fruit.
For the last 100,000 years, humans consumed not more than a few pounds of sugar per year, in the form of hard-earned honey, maple syrup, or sugar cane. It is only in the last few years that our intake has leaped to 100 to 150 pounds per year. Today, one in six people get 25% of all their calories from sugar, which is way too much! No wonder rates for diabetes and metabolic syndrome are skyrocketing at epidemic rates.

I think the data is crystal clear—we should spend more energy avoiding sugar. Sugar doesn’t just raise blood pressure levels. Eating more sugar and refined carbs (any grain processed into flour) will also:
  • Worsen your cholesterol profile (makes your LDL and HDL sizes smaller) and lowers overall healthy HDL levels.
  • Increase your risk for -
  • Diabetes
  • Heart disease and strokes
  • Weight gain
  • Memory loss
  • Cancer

So we should be limiting our sugar intake to what I’d call an occasional treat, clearly not every day. When it is a special occasion, enjoy it.
Click to expand...
Marsia what a great article . Thank you for posting it . It makes great sense and right now for me it's totally helpful .
 
Marsia yes you really are encouraging me to get going with the veggie garden however small it maybe . Will start research and a plan as can't physically do much until spring . Have critter problems here too in the form of rabbits and hares . And of course remember something ate my whole crop of plums lol .

The ocean walk sounds wonderful. Raining here full time at the moment so can't get out .
 
I had a big leaf blowing day between the rains yesterday. The Fitbit says I burned 800 calories in 2 hours. It was nice scampering up on all the roofs and looking down at my gardens. It was very satisfying getting all that done, but now I have sore arms and don't feel like gardening today. I realized that I often plan to do too big a project and it doesn't motivate me to get it done, or if I get it done, then my regular chores get away from me if all I do is work on a big, long project. So I am going to concentrate on getting just one little thing done in the garden every few days and not stress myself out with the whole list of things waiting for me to do them. I need to not wear myself out too, because that is another form of stress that means my weight loss gets temporarily halted.

So I am with you, Petal on just starting a little garden and seeing how it goes! I wonder if we both need to plan for bird netting for our fruit? I remember about the suddenly missing crop of plums. Here everything descends on the wild plum trees the very day they are ripe, and we are lucky to get a quarter of the fruit, but never had them ALL disappear!

My daughter is trying out for a musical where they play guitar, so we have been staying up late learning songs and doing homework until midnight. When I went to the first tryout, it was all high school kids who are regularly in theater, so there is only a slim change that my daughter will get the part that she wants, but it's good that she is trying. But I'll be glad when the tryouts are over tomorrow!

I have a fridge full of yummy veggies, so am going to make baba ganoush this morning and get the kitchen nice smelling! Happy Wednesday!!
 
Good luck to your daughter . If it's to be it will be .
Yes netting would be a good idea I think .
I do that too Marsia I get overwhelmed with stuff . It can go either way where I do nothing for days or I tackle it and then am a wreck . I try to do small things and I like lists or a short daily list works well for me .

Ganoush sounds delicious , aubergine base is it not or you may say eggplant ?
 
I do the same. I went crazy last night after playing 18-holes of golf in the sun, with doing the washing, tidying & mopping & this morning I don't feel like doing any housework, let alone gardening. We need to pace ourselves, but it's hard when you feel enthusiastic, especially if it's towards housework.
Do you make a Marsia version of Baba Ganoush or just with eggplant? I had hummus yesterday as part of my lunch. I love middle eastern flavours!
 
I love hummus too one of my favourites. I remember years ago the difficulties in getting tahini .
Cate I think if enthusiasm strikes for the housework go for it !!! I need a bolt of that pretty soon lol
 
Hi everyone! I made just the traditional eggplant baba ganoush and it came out really good! I think the trick is really browning the eggplant slices on both sides so they have that smokey flavor. I tried making my own raw sesame seed tahini because it has more nutrients, but it is sort of bitter, so I mixed it with store bought sunflower butter I happened to have. While I was doing that I made a Korean beef bowl from the same instant pot recipe book because I had a huge bunch of Thai basil (possibly my favorite spice) and it came out amazing. I think I have a new favorite cookbook author, a nice Indian lady who does recipe books for the Instant Pot company. And I made riced cauliflower for the "rice" under the beef bowl, so I did "Marsia" the dinner a little! I am in a cozy, stay home and cook mood this morning, so will see if I have the ingredients for hummus (or may just try it with other beans because I decided I am ok with beans once in a while even if they aren't low carb because yum!) and make some keto puff tortillas for dinner and have the baba ganoush and hummus and a big salad with greek olives.

I invented a yummy hot drink the other day:
Make a cup of hot mint tea, whisk in a heaping spoonful of cacao powder or unsweetened coco powder, add some sweetener (I am doing zero cal sugars) and have a mint hot cocoa with almost no calories with lots of antioxidants from the cacao.

I am in a really happy mood from watching the kids at the play auditions sing for the different parts. It is amazing how many kids were incredible singers and what a happy, positive atmosphere that theater department has. I hope my daughter takes drama as an elective some time if she isn't chosen for the play this time. It's so rare to be in an atmosphere of everyone being so supportive and positive. The other day the competing team that was playing my daughter's team didn't have enough players, and they were going to cancel the match, but our team just lent them some of our players instead. Wouldn't it be amazing if the rest of the world worked like that?
 
It is awesome. I love everything about your last post, Marsia. That happiness has such a ripple effect xoxo
 
lol I love " marsia " the dinner a bit . Well I did a " Marsia " smoothie this eve . A small banana , ice cubes , low fat milk , spoon of the cacao powder ( your recommendation) . It was nice a wee bit bitter . Filled a gap though and I'm not hungry going to bed .
Too tired to write more . lol I fell asleep other night reading about the BP foods
 
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