WHOO HOO, 8.5 this morning. GREAT! It needs to be lower though, so I need to work out how to get it down between 4 and 7 in the morning. Patience needed here, I guess. I keep telling myself, “My readings are consistently below 10.”
Today is Getting off the Couch Day. Not something I need to add into my daily routine, really, but I’m beginning to think that mowing the lawns, swinging the electric hedge trimmer without cutting the wire for a third time, and picking up the clippings isn’t enough exercise. I had sort of looked at any kind of exercise as being part of my daily 30 minutes worth but I now think that I need to incorporate walking as well. Walking, if you look at the book, is the best way, and so I am going to try and do that as the core exercise and just count anything on top as icing.
A beautiful day, usual Sunday affair in the garden, doing the crossword and just relaxing. I went over Phase 2 again to refresh my mind regarding what was coming up, and then went through all the recipes I had printed out before I started. I categorized them into the following categories:
“I can eat that now,” “I can’t eat that yet,” “I still don’t have an ingredient for that one,” and came down to the Rosemary Mushroom Bolognese Stew with white beans. I love mushrooms, and it sounded scrumptious.
The only thing I didn’t have was the half cup of red wine. I’m not convinced alcohol is allowed yet anyway, and as I don’t like red wine and didn’t have any, I left it out. I think that was probably an error, as I enjoyed the soup, but didn’t find it filling enough.
Maybe the wine gives it that little ‘je ne sais quoi’ or thickens it slightly but it wasn’t anything like a stew, although I noticed that it is also billed as a soup. Soup it is too. I topped up with yogurt, cinnamon and a few walnuts and took a stroll on the treadmill. It felt good to cook something different.
[Editor’s note: To thicken sauces and soups, chop up onions, then puree them with a little water, and add to sauce while it’s cooking.]
I am desperate to try making a ‘natural’ curry of some sort. I love curry and it’s SO good for me. I am beginning to fall out of favor with chicken. I bought some minced, organically raised pork for a change, and think I will try to make a chili, with beans and curry spices, but I’m not sure about the tomatoes. These tinned or carton varieties are too sweet. Maybe use fresh ones? It’s about how to make the curry sauce thicker without using one of those pre-prepared packets or jars.
[Editor’s notes: Use chopped fresh roma tomatoes, seeded bits removed.]
By Susannah
Hello from London, England. My name is Susannah Rettel and I am a retired special needs teacher with a particular interest in dyslexia. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes seven years ago and have fought constantly to control it with diet and exercise, as I firmly believed that if you could develop it you could also reverse it. My leisure time is spent gardening, reading, walking, going to Zumba dance classes, and listening to music. I became a Reiki Master/teacher and practitioner in 2001 and I haven’t looked back since. I love traveling, meeting new people, spending time with family and friends and just enjoying my retirement, preferably in the sunshine.
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