Reboot

I had something of a crisis in confidence when I realized snacking more wasn't helping me eat less.  I've been drifiting aimlessly, going according to the same old rules, with a few new kickers.  No sweetened beverages (that includes flavored kefir -- I only drink unflavored).  Purchase only 100% whole grain pasta/bread/groat.  I eat my share of processed grain foods.  Trying to lower that share.  Eat fatty fish a couple times a week, chum salmon, sardines, mackerel.  Eat mirepoix plus cruciferous at least once a day.  Eat legumes at least once a day.  Limit meat intake (I'm not so good at doing this, especially when cooking for my meat & sides wife).  Just general basic good food sense.  The kickers -- more ginger, for one thing.  I eat more mushrooms in the past year than in my entire prior life.  Things I've picked up from Dr. Weil and anti-inflammatory diet advice.  I've started buying produce dept juices (e.g. Odwalla brand) and taking an occasional sip.  I'm more a sipper than a chugger of these and kefir.  price is a part of it.  Gratification I guess is another.  Plain juices and dairy milk I tend to chug.  Almond milk, somewhere in between.  Unsweetened tea, I chug sans remorse.

OA recovery has taken a turn.  At the same time I was neglecting this blog, I was neglecting other writing.  My sponsor gave me a pen and pad, saying "Now you have no excuses."  I stared at a blank pad for 3 days and couldn't make my morning call.  After 3 days, I still stopped calling, but stopped trying to plan diets, write gratitudes, and other such exercises.  I'm writing some lately -- not food or recovery related for the most part.  Finally I felt motivated to write again here.  I may or may not brag on my shopping/cooking/eating (or confess).  I still believe that recovery for me is not about food.  But I enjoy thinking about healthy eating, and doing what I can to bring it into my life.  A confession -- I've started doing Indian buffet about once a week.  No more CiCi's.  I've not been to Chinese but haven't ruled it out.  I'm OK with the one available American buffet, Wood Grill, but not with Country Cookin'.

At home -- I've just come off a hard cold.  In fact, I still have chest congestion.  I did no shopping for over a week.  Lots of brewed tea -- two pots a day, chai/green/earl gray, then at night chamomile  I finished off my probiotics early -- Sauerkraut salad (not sure if that had live culture), kimchi, kefir,  At some point all I had was pills.  Cleaned out all the veggies.  Thawed out some smoothies in the freezer and melon cubes.  Found that in my illness I was craving Miso soup, which I hate.  In refilling the fridge, just got mirepoix veggies (made chicken soup), lots of cabbage (ate some earlier today with ginger and juniper, cooked in corned beef lard and dressed with malt vinegar).  But that was just Kroger.  I need to get to other stores, especially Whole Foods and oriental grocery.  But what I need is a path to follow.... a manner of eating which is not onerous -- which I'm not suffering through counting the days until I no longer have to.  A sustainable program of eating.  And I think this can only happen if I eat when I'm hungry and don't eat when I'm not -- and most of all -- FEED HUNGER, not JONESIN'.

I've been thinking about an Intermittent Fasting schedule of eating, and how to break my fasts.  A fast needs to be broken with antioxidants and protein.  With greek yogurt and berries.  With salmon and greens.  With salsa/beans/guacamole.  With mirepoix and mushroom omelet.  With mirepoix and cauliflower and lentils.  Plenty of options.  I ought put nuts in the picture.  Nothing listed above needs me to wear my dentures.  Nuts would.  Not nut butter.

What I was doing when I said -- Heck, why not reboot the blog -- was looking up juice options.  My standard smoothie additions -- jicama, cucumber, celery, radish, bell pepper.  I really need to try V8 some time.  I still hate raw tomato, but have come to used it, and don't mind it in salsa and pico and such.  I need to give it chance (slap head).  But there is no juice out there that doesn't sugar one up as bad a soft drinks.  Flavored kefir is just as bad.  V8 fusion is just as bad.  Silk Fruit and protein is just as bad.  Beverage choices generally suck.  Of course, they add something along with the sugar -- all but the soda drinks.  But whole solid foods is the way I'd prefer to get all that.  Hydration -- water is fine.  I'm not a big water drinker.  The bottled stuff, only when I need portable like on a hike.  I keep some at work where I really need to set up to brew tea.  I've been there almost two years not and still unpacking.  Anyhow.... perhaps I'll take this up again soon.  Writing hasn't gotten me any closer to a plan.  But maybe it will point me to something.  Right now, I'm pondering homemade juice -- celery ginger and such, and see if it keeps for sipping like the too-sweet Odwalla stuff.  That's a plan.