THE BARRY MONTH OF MAY CHALLENGE

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

It's Graduation Weekend!!

Carolyn - no clue! I'd bee afraid the chicken would get dry . . . . You could pick up a couple of roasters from the deli!

Becky - Sandy sounds like she knows what she's talking about!

Sandy - Oprah has a big head - really!? I didn't notice that - now I want to meet her too!

[Buffy45]

Morning peeps!
I have been to the Ophra show, once my DD's and I were in Chicago and went. Boring guest that day and they gave us his book, I can't even remember who it was but we left the books in our hotel room since we didn't want to cart them back home. I don't remember her head being big but maybe she had little hair that day instead of TX big hair .

Tossed and turned all night, woke up and got up early but now here it is at 10:45 and I am tired and lazy feeling.

I have received 2 graduation annoucements this week. I always give gifts of cash, hoping they are saving up for something special and it will be appreciated.

700+ calories for the day sounds really low??

My eating still not back on plan, I hope to really get in gear on Monday, Monday is always a "starting" day.

Rainy and dreary here today, I need to go watch the weather to see how long this is to continue. I may go see Tom Hanks new movie this afternoon.

Have a great graduation and otherwise weekend everyone!

[CarolynF]

Hi gang..

Did some minor exercising this morning..

Sandy is our expert on points..However, those "fat" points really add up, don't they?

Waiting for Brett to come home..I'm sure he will be here later in the day..He likes to sleep in..don't we all?

Dianne called, and we are going to do some WWagon calls, so I need to put some packets together.

It's chilly here..I hope the weather is better for Beth's garage sale in KC..

Did anyone watch Farah's Story last night? So sad..Too bad her son is such a jerk..but someone said that Ryan was smoking dope right with him, but he went to jail..I don't know..

[CindyCRNA]

Carolyn, we both saw the Coconut flour pound cake thread! Man, that looked good! I want a slice with fresh strawberries and whipped cream!!

[ebheffernan]

hmmmm...I used my points calculator on everything-but maybe it didn't translate to ****** very well. Oh well, I added 8oz raw goat milk last night so that probably brought me up to 20 (I thought I had gone over by 2 pts!) I'll do both points and ****** again today and see what I come up with. Perhaps I was rounding up on some stuff without realizing it and total came out to less, I think the calculator does that. Ill plug my ending ****** results in tomorrow to double check. Thanks Sandy!
Buffy and carolyn sorry it's chilly where you are-we're supposed to get mid 80's today but I have to work tonight our first weekend of hot weather!
everyone have a great weekend!
Becky

[CindyCRNA]

Yeah, it was 50 degrees here this morning.

I have a friend at work with a 3 year old with about a 6 month diagnosis of epilepsy. Meds have helped but he continues to have seizures. A last ditch effort to control them is a ketogenic diet that is about 90% fat! I have helped her a lot with recipes, coconut oil, Netrition, ect. I think he has to have a 3:1 ratio where you have 3 times as many grams of fat as carbs and protein combined. So if a meal has 20 grams of net carbs and protein combined, he has to offset it by 60 grams of fat. And this is for a 3 year old! I found a 1.5:1 ratio difficult and I'm an adult. Imagine trying to convince a 3 year old! Any ideas or threads would be helpful as all I have to go on is this forum. She is on a epilepsy forum where kids are on this diet but said she got better ideas from me.

[CarolynF]

Hi everyone..

Gary called from Germany..They were selling sausages in the town square which is right outside his window.. Yummmm..

Cindy: I have heard about the diet for epilepsy. She just needs to buy quarts of whipping cream and cook with that..Custards are great..1 cup of cream to 4 eggs and some sweetener and vanilla..Ice cream would be wonderful..Cheesecake..yummy.
Lots of butter on things..cheese.. Pizza that one made with cheese/eggs for crust..
The key is not to use sugar because that will make you eat more fat as opposed to Splenda..Chocolate milk made with whipping cream/water/cocoa/sweetener..Honestly, I wonder why it has to be 90 percent fat??? Ketogenic could be 80 percent or less, I would think.

Hallelujah!!! Brett is cleaning up his room at the apartment..He might be home tomorrow instead of tonight..which is fine..Don't want to keep the boy from cleaning up..

[hilltownmom]

Just in case you may not know; goat yogurt is wonderful, but it does not thicken like cow milk does. Also...you will lose the "raw" benefit of the milk if you make it the traditonal way with heat.

[ebheffernan]

Thanks hilltownmom, I realized that once I read up on it so I might try more along the lines of kefir, although I"m not brave enough to try the real grains-I'm going to get the body ecology kefir starter I think and try it-no scalding the milk so all the stuff is in there and the bacteria eat all the lactose. I read that if you refridgerate it for at least 12 hours it will thicken up some, my kiddo's really enjoy helios kefir so I'm hoping it turns out similar to that. Even though it might not have all the strains of real kefir grains, it will still have more than yogurt.
carolyn-my DH lived in germany for four years while in the army-he really wants to take me there sometime around christmas for all the street vendors, etc and that whole experience-I have to admit, it sounds wonderful! I've always wanted to see neuschfanstein (sp?) ever since I was a little girl!
That's interesting about the epilepsy diet-I've heard similar about autism, lots of fat, especially raw butter-something about the omega 3's in raw butter and raw colostrum and no sugars. but it makes sense if you think about it-you would want to get the nervous system and brain as much "brain food" as possible and cholesterol/omega's are brain/nerve food. I had a friend who's grandbaby was diagnosed with seizures as an infant, and the specialist told them never to give their child artificial sweeteners at any cost because they will block neurons in children's brains-I've always remembered that and I'm a **** when it comes to AS with my kids, sometimes to the chagrin of my DH :blush: Body Ecology has a lot of stuff about the raw butter and cream as well as coconut kefir and other interesting foods especially triggered to autism. Their big thing is fermented foods every day so that the kids can easily digest the high level of fats and assimilate them properly. She can just type body ecology into google and it will come up, there's an autism/ADD link on the side. Between that and nourishing traditions my kids have been getting all sorts of interesting things from the time they were infants like cod liver oil, undercooked egg yolks (mostly from our own free range chickens so I know their health), coconut cream concentrate and oil, and most recently raw milk that I hope to kefir-ize. They eat a primarily gluten-free diet (about 95% GF) and I have found that that alone cuts out most of the trans fats and HFCS they might eat-with the added benefit of completely clearing up my son's eczema. Makes you wonder about the food guide pyramid, which my son recently learned about in his kindergarten class-grrrrrr
Well, I'm off to bed-talk to you all this evening!
Becky

[CindyCRNA]

Has anyone ever tried to make yogurt with heavy cream? My friend was asking as she was trying to keep the high fat with low protein. I've never made yogurt so I wasn't sure but saw a method using a slow cooker on low.

[CarolynF]

Hi gals..

Back from church..Still waiting for Brett to come here..I don't think he has left Manhattan yet. Maybe he is still cleaning his room. Got a tiny bit of takeout from the Chinese buffet for myself..No seconds that way.

I have been playing with 154-155..grumble..Now, I am taking my hormones and taking my optimized thyroid..I want to see results!!!!!!!! Now!!!!!!!!! LOLOL..

Heavy cream yogurt sounds like heaven..Go the recipe bulletin board and do a search or
just ask the question..There are lots of yogurt makers there.

[CarolynF]

Heavy Cream Yogurt - questions & pictures...

[CindyCRNA]

Carolyn, thank you so much! That was a fabulous thread! That answered a lot of questions and some even make yocheese with it. Made me think that you could fake it with softened cream cheese and a little heavy cream to thin it out. Probably fine for a 3 year old but if an adult wanted tang, you could add a couple tablespoons of buttermilk.

[ebheffernan]

mmmmm, I just looked at the yogurt thread and my mouth was watering LOL! heavy cream yogurt.......probably wouldn't work with my 1000 calorie restriction but when I get down to goal I will definitely try it! I know you can add cream to milk to make yogurt too-I'm eager to try it with the goat milk because it's so high in butterfat, you can taste it when you drink it. Maybe I'll add in some HWC when I try it! I read if you heat the milk under 110 degrees you don't kill off the enzymes and your yogurt will just be thinner. I would love to make the yocheese from it! I'll have to pick up some cheesecloth
Becky

[CarolynF]

On the yocheese..I have used a coffee filter in a colander..Works great!!

[sjl330]

Here's my before & after pics of my kitchen. The white is before, the black is after.

[ebheffernan]

oops-I made the mistake of making an egg cream today and used up 10 flex points right there and it's only 4:30 pm! No more of those with HWC for me-will work with less fat. Oh well, the protein boost was probably good for me given that the last couple days have sat between 45-55gms. I can't get it above that for 1000 calories if not using protein powder, and I don't like to use that very much as it is kind of artificial. It's day three and I had all my flex pts still anyways. Was down to 147 again last night so I think I"m on the right track. anyone have combined barry groves/weight watchers secrets to share with me??? I"m all over the map right now trying to figure out proportions and points at the same time! And because you don't count dk green veggies but I still enter them into ******, my pts come out different on the book vs ******-I've been just giving myself the pts for broccoli, spinach, etc for free and ignoring the elevation in ******. Is that ok to do? Thanks!
Becky

[ebheffernan]

WOW, really like the black countertops!!! Your kitchen looks great!

[CarolynF]

Sandy: What a huge difference..I'm so glad you did the back splash, too........Looks fabulouso!!!

Brett got home fine..He wants to learn some recipes in case he has a dinner party this summer..I have to educate him on the crockpot..

[sjl330]

Cooking Classes in Kansas!! Sounds wonderful. When do we start?

And, yes, I'm glad I went with the backsplash too. I love it!!!

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

Amazing day yesterday!

DD graduated!!
We went to Baccalaureate, went to graduation where she got her 2 degrees, we ate, enjoyed visiting with my in-laws, took a walk, . . . It was great!!

Pictures later!

Now I just have to not think about being sad that she will be leaving in a few weeks

Sandy - Great pics!!!

[sjl330]

Yes, our babies growing up is a very bittersweet experience isn't it? But I promise you, the new lives they live and the relationships we have with them as adults and the memories that creates is just as valuable to us as parents. And when all that happens you'll look back on this time as a wonderful time and enjoy all the memories, BUT you won't wish them back at home, lol. Just kidding somewhat, but it's so true too. They leave the nest and make their way and our feelings change. Which is a good thing, because as a mom I don't think I could've survived that empty nest feeling forever!!

[CarolynF]

Yup, I agree with Sandy..The best thing in the world for a parent is making your child independent and living a happy life and giving back to society. It's what parenting is all about. One of my Des Moines friends has a dd with a college degree who is 28 years old and still living at home working part-time at Barnes and Noble..Not a good thing..at all..

I'm getting really serious about carbs this week..Keeping them at bay..

[Buffy45]

Hello dear peeps!
Empty nest is hard at first but then you begin to love it, or at least I do.

Sandy, love the kitchen redo!

Finally getting rested up from vacation, LOL.

Have to pick up DGS at 3:00, then to baseball practice at 5:00. Dr. tomorrow.
Office work in between and laundry.

[CarolynF]

Buffy: You don't have an empty nest, my dear..It's full of little baby grandchicks!!

I'm trying Linda Sue's Coney Pie tonight..I might have Brett make it so he can get the idea..

[sjl330]

That sounds yummy. For some reason I've been craving hot dogs. And I had them 2x this weekend! And they still sound good, lol.

[TuscanGirl]

Originally Posted by sjl330

Yes, our babies growing up is a very bittersweet experience isn't it? But I promise you, the new lives they live and the relationships we have with them as adults and the memories that creates is just as valuable to us as parents. And when all that happens you'll look back on this time as a wonderful time and enjoy all the memories, BUT you won't wish them back at home, LOL. Just kidding somewhat, but it's so true too. They leave the nest and make their way and our feelings change. Which is a good thing, because as a mom I don't think I could've survived that empty nest feeling forever!!

Originally Posted by CarolynF

Yup, I agree with Sandy..The best thing in the world for a parent is making your child independent and living a happy life and giving back to society. It's what parenting is all about.

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Hello dear peeps!
Empty nest is hard at first but then you begin to love it, or at least I do.

Sigh.
OK

I know you all are right.

Sandy - Especially about not having the empty nest feeling forever! Just couldn't do it!


I'll try to be brave -

















Busy day.
Both boys had haircuts, lunch out with DD25, her cat is here too - the dog loves it!
A toy that runs and squeaks when he chases it!

AND

A wonderful friend sent me coffee in the mail!! My favorite - Cameron's!!


Yay!

Carolyn - we've had hot dogs a lot lately too! Maybe because we REALLY all want it to be summer!

Buffy - I keep hoping for grand-chicks! The kids just aren't cooperating!

[CarolynF]

Haircut tomorrow for Brett..I guess they don't have barbershops at KState..Anyway,
he made the casserole (with a bit of help from me). I had a piece and it was very good.
One pound of burger and 2 hotdogs, sliced. So, it's not hotdog heavy..but quite good.

MKay: You want grandchicks after the chicks are married, right? So..you have alot of celebrating to do before the chicks come. My dd has been married 7 years this June and they just have one grumpy cat. (which is really fine)

Coffee in the mail???????? Yum..

I'm sure you are enjoying your new countertops, Sandy..Do you have to treat them gingerly?

[TuscanGirl]

Maybe she has to treat them "sagely"?!



Yes Carolyn - AFTER they're married!

[sjl330]

Nope! No ginger, no sage. Just soapy water. No sealing, no maintenance and lifetime guarantee!! I just can't use bleach or abrasive products but that's not a problem. Did I say I love them, lolol.

Pssst. Guess what, grandkids are wonderful no matter what time frame they happen to show up in. I had almost as much empty nest emotions when the 2 oldest grandkids graduated and headed to college. They spent lots of time with us and we enjoyed them so, so much. We still miss that part.

Was that Coney Pie recipe the one with cauliflower rice in it?

I've been great today. Coffee/cream, then steak sliced and tossed into a green salad for lunch and a hamburger and 2 slices of bacon for dinner. And I did 2 workouts! Plus lots of movement doing errands and cleaning. I wish I could do this everyday!