thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jul 16, 2012 15:16:00 GMT -5
"Buckwheat - not just a little rascal"
"Sorghum - it only sounds delicious"
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jul 16, 2012 15:16:57 GMT -5
"Triticale - the original hybrid"
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Rocky Mtn Saver
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Post by Rocky Mtn Saver on Jul 16, 2012 15:19:45 GMT -5
"Triticale - the original hybrid" The nerd in me responded, 'hey, isn't that the stuff that killed all the tribbles in that Star Trek episode?'
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jul 16, 2012 15:20:31 GMT -5
That, too, would make an awesome bumper sticker.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Jul 16, 2012 15:53:49 GMT -5
I know this is cliche, but we just didn't eat a lot of processed snack food to substitute. Not that we were the paradigm of health, but grilled cheese/quesidillas, mac and cheese, and cereal were dinner lots and lots of nights. Those are all cheaper than 3-4 oz of lien meat and fresh veggies. At least that is what I've found. Rae, I have a similar experience to you. Right now a bag of chips is a splurge so devoting that occasional $2 to something else is the norm not the exception. I've been everywhere between $2/wk plus food pantry food to over $80/wk years ago when I had a great job. I'm on the lower end now and I can't eat much better without more funds. I do find lean meat usually on sale or via meat coupons. It is true I tend to buy cheap store brand cookies at less than $3 instead of berries mainly because 6oz. of raspberries will last me two days, and my generic cookies will be dessert for a couple weeks or so. Strawberries do last a little longer but I like them less and I think they've moved past apples now on the pesticide residue list. The only thing I buy organic is celery, currently $2.69 versus 1.49/1.99. Celery is still high on the dirty dozen list for pesticides. Like most financial things whether you save or increase your budget is highly dependent on what your budget is to start with and what you used to purchase.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jul 16, 2012 15:59:47 GMT -5
You guys are hilarious, and there is a bumper sticker in here anyway:
"Triticale - not just for tribble troubles anymore"
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jul 16, 2012 16:02:32 GMT -5
Nancy - you get the credit for starting it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2012 16:24:01 GMT -5
I guess part of my problem is I have never even heard of a farro? Both of my teenagers can eat a peanut butter sandwich 1/2 hour before dinner and then eat the entire meal with seconds. The caloric needs of a young adult male are pretty amazing. My oldest is 6" 4' tall and is rail thin. My dwarf son eats more than he does and yet is also thin. If I ate what they do I would be 600 pounds. I think some of the people who claim the healthy is cheaper do eat a lot of grains and the cheaper healthy foods. They also do a lot of prep and cooking work to keep the costs lower. Or, they have $600+ a month grocery budgets to start with. For those of us trying to get down much lower, it is nearly impossible to eat cheaply and healthy at the same time for all things. But, I also don't think it is an all or nothing kind of thing. I am happy with a "mostly healthy" diet and have no issue with the men of the house wanting commercial cereal over oatmeal that they don't like. (we also don't like yogurt in our house or hummus.) I buy the regular pasta when it is on sale 10 for $10. Whole wheat pasta at my local store was $3 a box when I priced it. And, honestly, it is kinda gross. Hamburger here is now routinely $4.99 a pound, for the cheap stuff, when not on sale. On sale, $3.69 is about as cheap as it gets. I do try to buy on sale and use a market that grinds their own and doesn't use pink slime. I am also trying to use it in things like taco salads where I don't have to use much meat for the meal. We make a big salad and then top it with some taco meat.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jul 16, 2012 16:26:06 GMT -5
That makes you normal. Who really knows about farro? (Besides Kitty)
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Jul 16, 2012 16:28:59 GMT -5
I saw a farro risotto on some cooking show this weekend and I still have no idea what it is. They had a lot of wine in it though, so I bet it tasted good.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jul 16, 2012 16:30:18 GMT -5
The problem with farro, and all those weirdo grains, is that it takes so long to make them. I'm sorry - but I gots things to do!
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Rocky Mtn Saver
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Post by Rocky Mtn Saver on Jul 16, 2012 16:34:04 GMT -5
I buy the regular pasta when it is on sale 10 for $10. Whole wheat pasta at my local store was $3 a box when I priced it. And, honestly, it is kinda gross. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that! ;D I can honestly say I tried it, but it just wasn't my thing.
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milee
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Post by milee on Jul 17, 2012 7:12:33 GMT -5
"Teff it out" or "When the Going Gets Teff, the Teff Get Going" "Milo - a New High" "Amaranth... I Got Nothing, Just Eat It"
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jul 17, 2012 9:05:28 GMT -5
Love it! And I'm not a big fan of the texture of whole wheat or whole-grain pasta, but DH just hates it. So I compromise by mixing it fifity-fifty with the regular stuff. Works pretty well for just an ordinary plate of spaghetti, but even better in a baked pasta dish, like lasagna or ziti; you notice the difference even less. Since we're on the subject of some of these grains, I'm wondering if layering them into a baked dish, like lasagna, would make them easier for some folks to try out. And my sympathies on the cost of feeding kids/teens. My brother has a teen, a preteen and a six-year-old. My manicurist has a 20 -year-old and a 17-year-old. In both cases it's like feeding a bottomless pit crossed with a trash compactor; food input never seems to end. My manicurist told me she spent almost $300 at the grocery store last week. No sweets or junk, just the basics of veggies, fruit, proteins, grains, beverages and some pet food. After three days, she still had pet food left. And her kids were complaining that the fridge and spare freezer were empty.
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Rocky Mtn Saver
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Post by Rocky Mtn Saver on Jul 17, 2012 9:17:33 GMT -5
And I'm not a big fan of the texture of whole wheat or whole-grain pasta, but DH just hates it. So I compromise by mixing it fifity-fifty with the regular stuff. Works pretty well for just an ordinary plate of spaghetti, but even better in a baked pasta dish, like lasagna or ziti; you notice the difference even less. This is an interesting idea. I may try 'hiding' the whole wheat stuff in with the regular stuff. Maybe not going cold-turkey will help me get over my dislike of the whole wheat pastas. Or not.
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milee
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Post by milee on Jul 17, 2012 9:25:28 GMT -5
Many of the taste/texture issues can be modified if you use a gradual approach. I grew up in a family of obese people - German background and good German/American cooking. Lots of potatoes, fatty meats, pastas, saltines, inexpensive fillers. When we did have salad, it was iceberg lettuce with a few toppings. In fact, our family recipe for salad involved first cooking a package of bacon and using the bacon grease to make dressing for the iceberg lettuce, potato and bacon combination. Not healthy, but it was filling and tasted good. It was what we knew and what I grew up liking.
When I grew up and decided I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle and didn't really know how. Not only that, but most of the stuff that was supposed to be good for me tasted awful to me. It's been a long, slow process. Very long, very slow.
But over time, you do not only get used to things but start to actually like them. Don't give up on new foods immediately. Try a little tiny bit with each meal over a period of time. Like with the pasta - start by mixing in a little of the whole wheat stuff and over the next few months, gradually adjust the mix. Or with the sweetened cereals, start by making oatmeal and letting the kids add as much sugar as they want; this is still much less expensive and much healthier for you than most cereals. Over time, gradually reduce the sugar until you're at the level that's comfy for you.
If you need to stretch the $$$s, go to the weirdo health food store and buy from the bulk bins. Even at Whole Foods, the organic oatmeal in the bulk bins is about 1/2 the price of the non-organic Quaker Oats at the regular grocery store. Oatmeal is around $1 a pound, incredibly healthy and also filling, total win.
Bulk dried beans are another bargain superfood. $1-$2 a pound, incredibly healthy and filling. We have bean soup (usually Lablabi, a Tunisian garbanzo bean stew) at least once a week. Some of the healthiest food possible. The first time I made it the boys wouldn't eat it. Within three months, though, they started asking for it.
Just don't give up. Keep trying new things and mixing in small amounts of the healthy stuff. Over time, it will be easier. Promise.
Another thought, but if you have a kid at home with free time, get that kid on garden duty. Not only will that give you healthy food to eat, but my kids are willing to eat a lot more of anything they've made or grown, no matter how weird it is.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Jul 17, 2012 9:33:54 GMT -5
Amaranth... I Got Nothing, Just Eat ItI just bought some because I read you can pop it like popcorn. I thought it would be a great healthy treat for Gwen to try. Well it pops. .. kinda. I was expecting mini-popcorn like kernels. OMFG you would think I'd know better than to hand a bowl of that to a toddler. It got EVERYWHERE! We'll be picking Amaranth kernels out of our butt cracks for days (she got it all over the chair)! I put her in her hight chair and that didn't help. She got it all over herself, it was coming out of her diaper, her clothes, her slippers it was a nightmare. Yeah. .. we're not doing that again. I'm going to try cooking it like you would Quinoa since the HY-Vee dietician said you can do it that way too but if that doesn't work I think I am just going to accept I'll die at 88 rather than 120.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Jul 17, 2012 9:38:15 GMT -5
My kids love couscous, but that is an absolute disaster when I feed it to them.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Jul 17, 2012 9:40:10 GMT -5
DH hid in the sunroom, he didn't want to know. He said that is what I get for trying to feed the kid healthy food.
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milee
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Post by milee on Jul 17, 2012 9:40:33 GMT -5
My kids love couscous, but that is an absolute disaster when I feed it to them. My kids are kind of a disaster no matter what I feed them.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2012 9:48:29 GMT -5
we're having couscous tonight. I'm putting a tsp of chicken bullion and a splash of lemon juice in. We're having it with BBQ chicken (on the grill ) and salad. cheap meats.... canned tuna in water, eggs, and chicken. I usually get the bnls chicken breasts (with some rib meat attached) for $1.99/lb or less. I just trim off the fat/rib meat and do whatever - stir fry, fried rice, lemon chicken, BBQ chicken, chicken and dumplings, etc. Tuna is used for sandwiches and cold tuna salad with pasta. If I was still single I'd be having eggs a lot more (quiche, breakfast for dinner) but DH doesn't really do eggs that much.
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milee
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Post by milee on Jul 17, 2012 9:54:46 GMT -5
Not getting preachy here, just making sure you know, but couscous is nothing but tiny white pasta (unless you seek out the whole wheat version but that's really tough to find). It's not a grain and it's no healthier than regular, white pasta. If that's what you want, that's totally cool, just don't get it thinking it's a grain or healthier pasta.
You guys probably know that, though. I didn't when I started out. Took me a long time to get smart.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Jul 17, 2012 9:56:49 GMT -5
Not getting preachy here, just making sure you know, but couscous is nothing but tiny white pasta (unless you seek out the whole wheat version but that's really tough to find). It's not a grain and it's no healthier than regular, white pasta. If that's what you want, that's totally cool, just don't get it thinking it's a grain or healthier pasta. You guys probably know that, though. I didn't when I started out. Took me a long time to get smart. I get the whole wheat stuff. I'm surprised that my grocery store in BFE carries it, but it does.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Jul 17, 2012 9:57:12 GMT -5
I tried whole wheat couscous. I don't know what the heck I did wrong with it but it came out the exact consistency and color of wet dog food. I learned how to cook Quinoa at a cooking demo I went to last week. Now that I know how to make it not taste like bird seed I am willing to give it a go again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2012 10:20:01 GMT -5
I know it's just garbage, but I like it.
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cheapskate
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Post by cheapskate on Jul 17, 2012 11:06:11 GMT -5
During the last drama here, I had run out of 5HTP and everything I have read says you can stop taking it and have no adverse effects. OMG, so not true. At all. A couple of months ago, I had a lot going on one morning, and missed my daily 5HTP dose (200mg) Didn't realize it until I burst into tears, for no apparent reason, while making dinner. Hope things continue to get better for you goldpanninggirl.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2012 11:24:19 GMT -5
Milee said: "go to the weirdo health food store" That's funny. Mostly because it is what everyone refers to it here. We have a local town known for it's "crunchy granola" types and homeless summer inhabitants. They have their own store down in Mt. Shasta. Actually, I think there are actually two weirdo stores there. Might have to get past the smell of the place and go in and check things out. Cheapskate - I have read that if you take more than 100mg of 5HTP per day you can damage your heart valves, and you should stop taking it for a week every two months. This is completely impossible for me at the moment, because I am not willing to go off the deep end again without some medical help with it along the way. I am going to do some research today about medications for my condition and talk to my doc at my appt this Thursday. I am also going to look into the natruopath (sp?) recommended. Which reminds me, I should go call them.
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cheapskate
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Post by cheapskate on Jul 18, 2012 9:54:03 GMT -5
Cheapskate - I have read that if you take more than 100mg of 5HTP per day you can damage your heart valves, and you should stop taking it for a week every two months. I've seen that, and also that it doesn't have any affect on your heart, oh the joy of misinformation on the internet. One site says no more than 25mg per day, another says up to 300mg. I raised my dosage as I've been on it so long, and the traditional Doctors I've been too said their information didn't show any serious side effects. Before 5HTP I tried Prozac once, several years ago, and it gave me hot flashes and anxiety like I have never imagined.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2012 10:27:47 GMT -5
My doctor won't comment on the SJW or the 5HTP. He has no objection to me taking them, just doesn't give any information about dosage or anything and claims to not know.
I have been feeling okay, but yesterday was a really rough afternoon for me. And, today I don't feel great so far either. It is so hard to explain how I just get up and feel horrible. It's almost like the whole world is conspiring against me and I am just miserable, tired and every joint in my body hurts more than normal... I know it isn't rational and is without basis, but I still feel that way and the feeling is overwhelming.
And, it is most frustrating that I don't seem to be able to do anything about it. I have a deadline both for a job and school today, and I am doing the work and skipping the school work because I couldn't function yesterday afternoon at all. It is SO frustrating.
Something is making me hot, maybe the Lamactil, and I feel like the cycles of my mood are really fast. I felt fine yesterday am, then I was miserable emotionally by afternoon. Tried to see my doctor while I was feeling so crappy, but he only works part-time and wasn't working.
I called the natural doctor but his fee is too much money for me right now. Shit, anything is too much money right now. I have things I have to pay for and an empty checking account for the foreseeable future if I can't find a job. I have to fix my roof, I have to buy another junker so DS can get his license and a job, I have to pay last years property taxes, I badly need to see a dentist and the eye doctor... the list goes on and on. And, now that I am done with school in a month, I have student loan payments coming soon as well.
The good news is that I am doing the final qualification today for a new online job I applied for a couple weeks ago. If I pass this stage, then I will have a 12 month contract that is part-time but has decent pay.
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milee
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Post by milee on Jul 18, 2012 10:52:33 GMT -5
At the risk of getting preachy again, maybe you should take a day off from the board then. This has a particular type of fun, but it's highly unlikely to be helpful if you're already having an awful day.
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