Wednesday, October 22, 2008


Yams right now are 79 cents a pound at King ranch Supermarket and 1.49 a pound at my nearby Stater Bros. market. I bought these 2 big ones... which ended up weighin 3 pounds all $2.40. The 4 pictures here are

1.the whole yams,

2. then how I cooked them...I scrubbed them and sliced them in thick chunks and steamed them. You can bake them but it takes an hour, whereas steaming goes faster.

3. after they cool, take off skins and slice them and put them in a container to be stored in the fridge.

4. And here is breakfast today (sliced tomatoes, yams, and some hot chili beans!) I love having cooked yams always available in my fridge. I will be using them in my meals all week.

I look forward to Thanksgiving season when these wonderful tubers will be on sale.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Warm Lemon Water in the Morning

Over 30 years ago, I read about a famous model who drank a glass of lemon water every morning. So, I decided to do the same and actually followed through. It has kept me, I believe, from getting colds in the winter. Since then, I have read many sources about how this is good for you..good for your body's Ph level, good for cleansing the liver, etc. I recently read about how it helps your body get ready for the day...

I have been reading a fascinating book: The CR Way (published 2008), by McGlothin and Averill (you can look it up on CR means calorie restriction and it is about how you can live longer, have a stronger heart and avoid or keep cancer and diabetes under control by restricting your daily calorie intake. It is not about starvation or anything, just about eating really good food that is nutrient dense, the right amount of finer and fats, etc...and not going over certain set number of calories (depending on your body type and activity)

Here is an excerpt: from p. 36

"Regardless of how early or late you finished eating the night before, the overnight period before breakfast will almost always be your longest time away from food. During this fasting period, your insulin is likely to fall to low levels. When you break your fast, you are asking your body to make a 180 degree reversal from this low insulin state to the normal range for processing food and keeping glucose low. You want to help ease your body back into this normal state. Otherwise you are likely to not have enough insulin to process the glucose, leading to a spike in the level of glucose in your blood. Insulin will often respond by spiking, too. The sudden need to process food having shocked your system into producing more than necessary.
"Break your fast as gently as possible-with a tablespoon of lemon or lime juice in a cup of warm water. Both of these juices, as well as vinegar, fit into the category of acidic foods that are known to lower glucose levels.
"The lemon juice in warm water needs only 15 minutes to work its magic. Warm water facilitates digestion."