Dana's blog

Why I Don't Rely Solely On Nutrition To Treat My ADD/ADHD

I just wrote this incredibly long post on an Adult ADD/ADHD forum on Facebook, and it struck me it might make a good blog post, too, so here it is. The background is a discussion of gluten-free diets and other dietary approaches to overcoming ADD/ADHD.

... I was citing the fact that I was not breast fed for long as evidence that I've been this way since birth, not suggesting that the lack of breast feeding caused the problem. Again, I wasn't breastfed because my mother couldn't get me to hold still long enough -- I wanted to be looking around. Highly distractable since birth.

Recipe: Vietnamese Chicken Salad

This is what I had for supper tonight, though I only made a single serving, using a pan-seared chicken breast, and I shredded my own cabbage -- 1/4 head. Oh, and I didn't have sesame seeds. Still unbelievably tasty.

Reprinted by permission from 300 15 Minute Low Carb Recipes
by Dana Carpender copyright 2011 Fair Winds Press.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

It Is a Puzzlement

Those of us who eat low carb, the exploding ranks of paleo dieters, and the rapidly growing intersection of the two, all base our claims, to one degree or another, on the idea that we can improve our health by getting closer to the hereditary or evolutionary diet of human kind. We know, for instance, that grains are inessential, because they weren't anything but a trace part of the human diet up until the Agricultural Revolution about 10,000 years ago.

Well, Well, Well...

On my trip through the KFC ingredients page, I found the ingredients for their popcorn chicken. The first ingredient? Diced chicken breast meat fritters with rib meat. In other words, their popcorn chicken is not made from whole cuts of chicken breast, but from chopped up and reformed chicken. Sounding more and more like a nugget to me.

Just called KFC

I just called KFC customer service -- I'm sorry, that's "customer satisfaction" -- and told them that while their grilled chicken is low carb, and quite tasty, that more and more of the low carb community is going gluten free, and they're acing themselves out of a big chunk of their potential market for an ingredient that doesn't really even need to be in the recipe. Emphasized that I have a pretty high profile in the community, and had let my readership know that the grilled chicken contains wheat -- and that if they took it out of the recipe, I'd be happy to announce that, as well.

Recipe: Really, Truly Chicken Noodle Soup

Really Truly Chicken Noodle Soup

9 cups chicken broth
1 medium carrot
2 medium celery ribs
1/2 medium onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon concentrate
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 packet tofu shirataki, fettucini width
salt and pepper

More Stupid Food Ads

Go ahead, tell me I watch too much television. Hey, I have it on in the kitchen while I'm cooking. And loading the dishwasher. And unloading the dishwasher. Etc. So if you want the recipes, I'm going to keep watching the SVU reruns.

Anyway, two new food ads pinging my BS meter:

Recipe: Creamy, Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Creamy, Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

1/2 medium onion, diced fine
3 tablespoons butter
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cauliflower head (Mine was a big one; if you can only get little ones you might want to use a whole head.)
1 cup half and half
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt or Vege-Sal and pepper -- to taste
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
guar or xanthan

Sleep and Blood Sugar

Well, this is interesting:

I have had a lot of trouble with sleep the past few months. I have a sleep disorder, common to those of us with ADHD, called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. What this means is that my body messes up night versus day, and my cortisol -- stress hormone -- levels start rising at bed time, instead of falling, telling my body that it's morning, and time to wake up. Sometimes it's pretty well controlled, other times I have trouble sleeping for weeks, even months, on end.

Have Some Viagra With Your Corn Flakes

Ever wonder about the roots of the whole "Don't eat meat, eat lots of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, caffeine and alcohol are evil" ethos? Take a look at this excerpt from Chapter 11 of Plain Facts for Old and Young by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Yes, that Kellogg, the guy who invented the corn flake.

Pecan, Sun-Dried Tomato and Bacon Cauli-Rice

This was wonderful with a simple rib eye steak last night. It was just as good warmed up with a few slivers of leftover steak mixed in, and three fried eggs on top, for breakfast this morning. If I'd had more leftover steak, it would have made a great one-dish meal with a substantial quantity of leftover steak slivered up in it.

Pecan, Sun-Dried Tomato and Bacon Cauli-Rice

1/2 cauliflower head
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tablespoon butter
3 bacon slices
1 small onion
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, oil-packed -- chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley

A Trip To The Grocery Store

Spent the afternoon running errands, went at least a half-dozen places, including the grocery store, where I bought (I have the receipt in front of me):

2 11-ounce cans of decaf coffee @ $2.79
2 pints whipping cream @ $1.89
Automatic dishwasher detergent @$2.49
About 3.5 pounds of fresh chicken wings @1.89/pound
2 12-packs lime sparkling water @$2.29
4 7-ounce cans of tuna @ 55c
2 pounds regular pork sausage @ $2.29
2 pounds hot pork sausage @ $2.29
4 quarts half-and-half @ $1.79
4 8-ounce blocks cheddar @ $1.99
2 8-ounce blocks Monterey Jack @ $1.99

Here Be Th' Talk Like A Pirate Day Post In Pirate!

It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day! I know I’m runn'n lustily late – it’s aft 6:30 as I write this. I’m afraid I ran like salt-blastedly crazy all day, from th' moment me feet hit th' deck this morn'n. Still, "Blimey Thats Good!" I wanted t' wish ye a fine Talk Like a Pirate Day, an' t' make some suggestions fer authentic – or reasonably authentic – celebrations o' th' event. I "I Be Cuttin' Off Your Peg-Leg" gave a quick google t' th' food habits o' pirates, an' also t' their legendary appetite fer drink. Let’s "I Needs Ya Gold!" start wi' th' latter.

ARRRR, MATEYS!

It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day! I know I’m running late – it’s after 6:30 as I write this. I’m afraid I ran like crazy all day, from the moment my feet hit the floor this morning. Still, I wanted to wish you a fine Talk Like a Pirate Day, and to make some suggestions for authentic – or reasonably authentic – celebrations of the event.

Oven-Roasted Spareribs

Like so many people, I'm crazy about pork spareribs -- they're tender and juicy and bursting with flavor, and they're a good fatty cut, something I consider a virtue. Furthermore, they go on sale often; I rarely pay more than $2.39/pound, and stock the freezer when they drop to $1.99/pound.

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