On the lowcarb front:
I am having some blood sugar issues so at the moment I am using Atkins for Life until I can get a call into the doctor. In the past, my blood sugar has tanked on induction. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case this time, but I am noticing the signs - the chief one being extreme irritability. So I am taking it day to day to see how I will need to do things on lowcarb.
Here is my menu so far for today:
Breakfast:
Cafe latte
Mock danish
Lunch:
cheesy joe (velveeta and ground beef)
revolution roll
WW yogurt
BBQ pork rinds
Snack:
Atkins bar
Dinner:
Dixie Diner flax muffin with 1 T. peanut butter
1 oz mixed macadamia nuts and peanuts
1/2 cup Breyer's No Sugar Added ice cream.
Carbs for the day: 50 Calories for the day: 2180
There is a discussion going on right now on several forums about calorie counting on Atkins. Here is my take on the issue. I keep track of calories for this reason; as a compulsive eater, I am not able to "eat to satiety" as Dr. Atkins recommended. For the compulsive eater, there is no such thing as satiety. Most of us don't even know what feeling full or feeling hungry feels like. We never experience either one. We may eventually learn it, but in the weight loss stage we have to use numbers to impose limits. Using a calorie limit allows me to put parameters on my food intake. This may make no sense to anyone except another compulsive eater, but there it is. I do believe that a calorie is not necessarily a calorie when it comes to low carb, but I do think that there is a breaking point beyond which you can't go without gaining weight no matter how few carbs you take in. That breaking point is definitely higher on low carb than on low fat - at least in my experience.
In an earlier post I mentioned that I use a program called Diet Power to log my foods. Well, what do you know, the Diet Power people emailed me asking if they could use me as a testimonial. I said, "sure, but I have a really old version." They went nutso because I was using an outdated program. I have tried their upgrade, but since the version I have does everything I need it to do, I see no reason to pay for an upgrade. I set my own macros and input my own food. After 3 or 4 emails, I quit responding. I'm not saying that the new and improved version isn't good - I'm sure it is, but I am an old dog and I am unwilling to learn new tricks - especially if I have to pay for them.
On the home front:
This morning I discovered I was out of laundy soap. And I had a ton of laundry to do. But do not fear. I have been making my own laundry soap for quite a while now. I started out doing it because I thought it was kind of cool. I make soap and sometimes there is a batch here and there that isn't quit up to my standards to sell, or a scent might have disappeared in the saponification process but I can't sell it as unscented because the fragrance oil is in there. When I have a botched batch, I shred it and put it into a 5 gallon bucket. My plan was to some day re-batch the stuff so as not to waste my resources. Guess what. I discovered I don't have any desire to re-batch. So what to do with the soap shreds? I found a recipe on the net for making my own laundry soap.
Here is the recipe:
1/3 bar of Fels naptha shredded (I used 4 ounces of my own handmade soap shreds)
1/2 cup washing soda (NOT BAKING SODA)
1/2 cup borax
1 T. body safe fragrance oil (optional)- I use oatmeal, milk & honey
3 gallon bucket (I use an old Sun powdered detergent bucket
Melt the soap shreds in 6 cups of water in a large saucepan on the stove.
When melted, stir in the borax and the soda until dissolved.
Remove from heat
Pour 4 cups hot water in bucket
Pour in the soap mixture
Stir well
Add another gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.
At this point I funnel the mixture into old 110 fluid oz detergent jugs for easier pouring, but you may leave it in the bucket and just scoop it out.
Let mixture sit for 24 hours. It will gel into a kind of gloppy substance - not a solid gel and, no it ain't pretty but it does the job. It is not a high sudsing soap, but suds aren't what clean your clothes anyway.
I use 1/2-1 cup of this per load depending on the size.
Besides being cool, homemade laundry soap is economical. I figured up the cost for making a batch. The most expensive ingredient for me was the washing soda because I can't find it locally any more. I ordered 14 pounds off of Ebay and paid a total of 33 dollars counting the shipping.
I figured the cost at about $3.50 for a batch that does 64 loads if I use 3/4 cup (2 of the laundry jug capfuls) per load. That's about 5 cents a load. Not bad. And I can make it smell any way I want. It's a good soap to use for anyone who has allergies. Makes me feel like Ma Ingalls.
Now, for a good cheap fabric softener - take a jug of vinegar and add 1 T body safe fragrance oil. I fill the fabric softener dispenser cup or one of those Downy dispensers.
later . . .
God bless the troops
No comments:
Post a Comment