Photo: Arabe Datsh - another good recipe for bread pudding. |
vanilla extract, and cinnamon.
Photo: Arabe Datsh - another good recipe for bread pudding. |
Photo: Unsplash |
Today let's make a healthy, thick chocolate milkshake as a snack. It has the protein of milk and potassium of a banana but for a meal, I need additional whey protein.
Ideally, a healthy snack should be 100 to 200 calories and not more. The banana gives the milkshake its thickness, but the unsweetened cocoa powder will dominate its flavor. Here's the recipe:
Healthy Thick Chocolate Milkshake
Royalty free photo |
People make the mistake of buying single packages of instant oats when 1-minute or 5-minute oatmeal flakes quickly cook in a microwave just like the more expensive less healthy instant oatmeal. Knockoff brands from Amazon Walmart or supermarkets are great too and cheap. You can then add healthy ingredients like berries or nuts to it if you wish.
Another way I use oatmeal is in most recipes that call for breadcrumbs. Oatmeal comes in a big size while breadcrumbs come in much smaller quantities. I don't tend to stock breadcrumbs.
Photo & recipe courtesy of How To Cook Smarter |
1) An Egg Cooker - When I first saw egg cookers on the market I thought how ridiculous to buy a special gadget to boil eggs, but I've changed my mind! The reason is you can cook either hard, medium, or soft boiled eggs perfectly every time. Not so in a pan of boiling water on a stovetop, where the results of getting the eggs cooked just right can be mixed. Cooking time is less using the egg cooker also because you use far less water. You pour a small amount of water into the egg cooker which quickly brings the water to a boil. A see-through cover lets the eggs steam until the water disappears which activates an alarm telling you the eggs are done. To clean, just raise the parts with tap water as they get steamed, not dirty.
Egg cookers come in mini, small, medium, and double-decker sizes corresponding to how many eggs you need to cook at once. They'll also make a custard, though I don't plan to utilize this function.
Wow, 3 economical simple cookers to make home-cooked meals better and more convenient. From cooking to serving dish to dishwasher!
👺Just for fun, here are 3 gadgets that tend to be a complete waste of money: 1) a George Foreman grill, 2) a sandwich maker, and 3) a breadmaker as you'll rarely reach for them. Tasty hamburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, and a loaf of bread can be made as easily or consistently on a stovetop or inside an oven without special gadgets -- the reason you'll stop using them. I had a small George Forman grill. It grilled burgers no better than a frying pan on a stovetop, but I had to wash a special catch-the-meat-juices tray that is placed under, in front of it, so I gave it away. I never bought a breadmaker as I knew from experience you don't need one, and the devices seem to produce small loaves. When I bake bread I like sandwich-sized slices.
Bon Appetite at home!🍷
EELHOE |
Hydra |
Colorscience |
Image: USA Today |
The pain of plantar fasciitis is caused by inflammation after tiny tears ensue in the plantar fascia, the tissue that connects our heels to our toes. These tiny tears are very slow to heal.
TheraFlow is a reflexology foot massager that promises to relieve pain, which can be intense. Massaging the bottom of our feet eases tension, loosens knots, and reduces stress. But the most important benefit of massage therapy is improving blood flow which is thought by doctors to promote healing. As it turns out, our legs below our knees are slower to heal because they receive less blood circulation than areas of the body in closer proximity to our hearts.
I can support trying this therapy because it feels great and the device is inexpensive. You'll see it as high as $50 but as cheap as $17.99 on Amazon and in family stores such as Walmart. The massager is lightweight, compact, and portable. I also think the low-tech method of sliding your feet back and forth with muscle power is all you really need -- it's not strenuous nor tiring to do it, so there's no need to buy a pricier electronic device that does the rotations to massage your feet for you. The 1st 4 wheels give you a gentler message and the 5th wheel with rounded wooden spikes is a tad more intense, like acupuncture without piercing the skin.I doubt the TheraFlow Foot Massager is a miracle holistic cure, however, I say take relief however/wherever you can get it, and hope it promotes faster healing! What do we have to lose but $17.99 for a cheap feel-good foot massage?
Photo: Avita Health System |
In my 30s I wisely started selecting shoes with arch support and stable heels, as well as, putting insoles with arch support inside my shoes. Years ago a podiatrist also made custom orthotics for my high arches, but they don't fit most of my shoes including my Nike sneakers! They are so wide they only fit my Ugg boots and Croc ballet flats. His answer was I had to buy very big shoes! {Ridiculous! ... clown shoes!?!} I've read this is the wrong solution as custom orthotics can and should be made to fit most of a wearer's shoes, and one shouldn't have to go up more than 1/2 shoe size. Alas, I gave up on the podiatrist several years ago.:)
Well, luckily I averted heel pain until this November 2023 when suddenly I developed worrisome pain in my right heel. Now I'm on a quest to find an effective drugstore pair of orthotics to fit my other shoes. Recommendations are welcome!
Meanwhile, daily stretching of the foot and calf can help ease pain by helping to decrease the amount of tension in the plantar fascia. Pain is caused by the inflammation of this connective tissue. If you've ever experienced it, you know you can barely walk when you rise from bed, or sit for a while, but moving makes walking and the extreme pain better.
Podiatrists recommend 3 exercises that stretch the plantar fascia:
Wall Stretch
Photo: The Healing Sole |
2) Keeping both feet on the ground, lean towards the wall and bend the front knee until you feel a stretch in the back leg.
3) Stop if you feel pain.
4) Hold for 20 - 30 seconds and repeat with the opposite leg.
Towel Stretch
Photo: Versus Arthritis |
2) Loop a towel over the ball of one foot at a time while keeping your leg straight. Pull it towards you until you feel a stretch in your calf and hold for 20 - 30 seconds.
3) Repeat with your other leg.
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UVM Health org |
2) Slowly lower the heels until you feel a stretch.
3) Hold for 20 - 30 seconds.
Other actions to ease the pain include:
The Tennis Ball RollI'm also rolling my arches and heels over a tennis ball which brings relief. It's advice I read years ago. Btw tennis balls are multi-taskers. Toss them into the dryer in place of fabric sofer. They work!
Other exercises to gently stretch the foot help too like flexing and pointing your toes up to the sky.
It's a pity no matter what we do to slow it down, the years inevitably take their toll. We are all destined to fall apart. Teeth, feet, ligaments, and bones, wear out. Aim to slow "it" -- i.e. your state of disrepair down with sensible strategies. :)
I had a jar of Grandma Hoerner's Pecan Pie Filling in my pantry. It has the bourbon, you add the eggs. I bought it at Whole Foods reduced for about $3 dollars before the pandemic ... it was time to use it! I should have made a traditional flaky pie crust but I didn't want to consume the calories of a stick of butter. Since I'd be the only person eating the pie, I decided to play around with trying to make a healthy pie crust. No visitors to worry about feeding it to! I can eat a less-than-perfect dish but have higher standards for what I serve guests.
I'm not unhappy with the results and yet I'm not quite there. What I produced was tasty and editable and I think if I add a little butter and a sprinkle of baking soda to the dough next time I'll get the missing flaky texture. The following is the recipe for the very editable, yet chewy crust with my next attempt's 2 additional ingredients:
A Healthy Banana Crust For Pies
Photo: clean.png |
Here's what I buy to counter her self-imposed limited diet:
1) low-fat milk - I drink skim, but bumped her up to 1%. She doesn't need to watch her weight.2) vanilla Greek yogurt
3) multi-grain bread
4) crunchy peanut butter - Toast, pb, and a drizzle of honey every morning is her only daily meal of real food.
5) honey
6) 30-gram protein powder - that I add to milk if she refuses lunch. Sometimes I toss in fruit, or spinach, or walnuts. Sometimes I lose the battle and she refuses to drink it.
7) 20-gram protein bars - She is getting tired of these, so I cut them into 3 smaller pieces and give her one piece. It's better than nothing.
8) cheddar cheese - She'll only eat one bite of cheese but sometimes will eat a grilled cheese sandwich.
9) fruit - apples, oranges, pears, bananas, and berries
10) eggs - She'll only consume one egg for dinner about twice a week. I scramble 2 eggs and scrunch them up on a plate to look like one egg. She is suspicious but eats them.
11) coffee - My mother says coffee is number one. Lord save the caregiver if she is denied her morning coffee! She drinks coffee and about one cup of milk with her breakfast. Great!
12) ice cream and dark chocolate - as treats and for calories. She only wants a serving. I toss dark chocolate chips on her ice cream for its anti-oxidants. I hear dark chocolate is good for the brain.
I am closer to having an understanding of what it must be like to care for an anorexic child. It's a daily struggle to keep them healthy. I dislike having to put so much thought into the daily necessity of eating. I, myself, have always been a healthy eater and never a problem eater.
As long as mom looks healthy and is of normal weight I shake off over worrying and just do the best I can by making food available. I always offer her a bite of my meals but don't push her if she refuses a taste. However I'm strict on 2 points -- I do nudge her to have a small taste, and once in her mouth, I tell her she can't spit out such a small morsel of food, as it's not poison, but to please swallow it. I'm nipping a bad habit before it begins!
Life's challenges! If you feed an undereater and have ideas that work feel free to share them.