Dana's blog

Halfway to Spring!

As I write this, it is February 1st, and there is a nasty, driving ice storm going on outside. Much of the midwest is getting socked with snow, but down here, close to the Ohio River Valley, we're getting ice pellets, freezing rain, and all that dangerous stuff. I have no idea how we're going to get out to shut up the chickens for the night without falling on our butts, or worse. Heaven forbid we actually hurt ourselves; I have no idea how an ambulance would get here.

Lowcarbezine! Article Reprint: Dreamfield's Pasta

Dreamfield's Pasta has come up four or five times in the past couple of day in various Facebook discussions I've been in. Then, just last night, I had a reader email me and ask me what I thought. Seemed like it was high time I reprinted this article from December of 2004:

Dreamfield’s Pasta – Is It Really Low Carb?

Great LA Times Article

Great LA Times coverage of Dr. Eric Westman.

5 Low Carb Steps To Weight Loss

As you have probably heard, Reader's Digest did a cover article this month on low carb diets. They consulted Dr. Eric Westman, one of the nation's top low carb researchers, one of the authors of New Atkins For a New You, and all-around super-nice, super-smart guy. That Reader's Digest went to such a credible low carb source speaks very well of them.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tuna-Noodle Casserole

8 ounces mushrooms -- coarsely chopped
21 ounces canned tuna in water -- (3 cans) drained well
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal
2 ounces cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup frozen peas, `NOT thawed
2 packets tofu shirataki -- fettuccini style

Jack Lalanne, Godfather of the Nutrition and Fitness Movement, Dead at 96

There he was, in the full glory of black and white -- a handsome, friendly,ultra-energetic man, with slim hips, broad shoulders, and biceps to spare, urging Americans to stop eating garbage, and get a little exercise. He was doing this as far back as 1951. I can remember watching Jack Lalanne when I was a tiny child, maybe three; it was the first time I saw someone do jumping jacks. When they gave him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he did push ups on it.

You Need To Read This

My friend Tom Naughton, the guy who made the hilariously informative documentary Fathead, writes one of the most informative blogs out there. That it's also entertaining is just a bonus. The post he wrote this week about statins is a must-read. So go read it!

How Quickly They Forget...

Ran across a generally stupid and useless article , the jist of which was "carbs are good, but don't eat them before bed." Good advice, as far as it goes, but of course I don't eat them at breakfast or lunch, either. Or at mid-afternoon. Or at tea parties. Still, I didn't have to read that far to know it was a stupid article. It was clear from the first few sentences, which read:

Voices From the Past

In random wandering around cyberspace, I found a article from 1940 regarding constipation.. (This is part 2, which included the paragraph quoted.) One paragraph, in particular, caught my eye:

Satisfying. Yeah, Sure.

It's always amusing watching the ads during the January Diet Season. They're so transparently full of BS. Like the ads for Campbell's Select Harvest Light Soups. They show women zipping up dresses and pants, and say that fitting into clothes is "naturally satisfying." They then make the pitch for this particular line of canned soups, which have 80 calories or less per serving. Which, they say, makes the soups very "satisfying."

And the "Totally UnClear On The Concept" Award Goes To...

Ran across this article in the San Francisco Chronicle the other day. It's about "fat replacers" -- you know, stuff like Olestra, the fake oil Frito-Lay used to make laxative potato chips? It says that even though there are "concerns" about Olestra , the market for this kind of product is growing. And why?

Hand Sanitizer or Healthy Life Style?

I stopped into my local CVS pharmacy this evening to grab a bottle of cheap red wine and some sugar-free Reese's cups -- just for the antioxidants, really. ;-p I was startled to discover that the young women -- twenty-something, both of them -- running the cash registers were using hand sanitizer after every transaction. We're talking once a minute or so. They were also complaining about how dry their hands were. Uh, gee, I wonder how that happened? Maybe it's because you're rubbing your hands with alcohol gel every minute or so?

Diet Experiment Update

I wrote back in October about the Shangri-La Diet, (several more articles on the subject if you want to read them) and also about the idea of using various scents to depress appetite. I started drinking flavorless vegetable oil per the Shangri-La Diet. I also made some scent vials from old prescription bottles, each with a cotton ball with a different extract on it -- one vanilla, one orange, one chocolate, one peppermint -- and started sniffing them.

Steviva Blend

The Steviva company recently sent me samples of their three natural sugar-free sweetener products. So far I've only tried one, their Steviva Blend; I thought I should tell you about it.

How Much Fat?

A reader asks:

I've been keeping a journal tracking every single thing I eat. I was just wondering if you thought there was a limit that should be put on fats. For example, today was 119.1, it was from eggs, bacon, cheese, EVOO and pepperoni, it seemed way high and I was just looking for some input if you have time.
Thanks

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