Tips For Arthritis Pain - From Experts And Paully

This link from Basytr has some great information on natural treatments for arthritis pain.

http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/2433/

Diet-wise every site I visited was unanimous in recommending an anti-inflammatory diet which I have posted info on before, but I won't make you look it up again. The basics of what to eat and not to eat are as follows:

Eat as many foods as possible whole and uncooked. Most people are not going to switch to a raw diet, but make a whole food salad a regular part of your diet. That means that you want to avoid cooked items as much as possible. You won't know until you try, but raw stuff actually tastes great and the different textures with some crunchier stuff makes the salad more interesting.

Avoid acidic diet items and go more alkaline.   You know what's coming now. Avoid processed foods. They are dead - meaning they have NO NUTRITION for you. They are also VERY likely to have a bunch of the most allergic foods as ingredients. The food items that are the most allergenic are wheat, dairy, hydrogenated fats, high fructose corn syrup, sugar and corn.

Other high acid foods include meats and grains - particularly highly processed grains. Whole grains can be an essential part of a balanced diet, but shouldn't be the center of your diet.

Hydrogenated fats include margarine and shortening. You should use virgin oils such as olive oil and coconut oil instead.

Most fruits and vegetables are alkaline with a few exceptions. Asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chard, cucumber, eggplant, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, peas, peppers, pumpkin, sprouts, squashes, alfalfa, barley grass, wheat grass and wild greens are all high in alkali.

Geez! This is like deja vu all over again.

Be well and more soon.....

Easiest Tip Yet

If you read or listen to every diet that comes along you get a lot of contradictory information with one exception. The ones that aren't just stupid ideas have one thing in common - they have you eat more veggies.

So here you are and you know you need to eat more veggies but you're not excited about that because you cook boring veggies. Let's face it - you suck at making veggies. Don't despair! You just haven't had much practice.

What you don't need as a tip is cheese sauces. That isn't what is meant by eat more veggies. What you Do need to add to your repertoire is herbs and spices and - if need be- salsa.

Let me introduce you to pan steaming. What that is is a saute - steam crossover technique. What it gives you is an opportunity to add a lot of flavor without a bunch of fat and dairy.

This is what you do. Start your veggies in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Lets say you have broccolli florets. You toss them in the hot pan,  keeping them moving for a minute or two. Now you get to have fun. I like to "deglaze" the pan with a little good quality vinegar first and add whatever herbs I'm feeling like. With broccolli you can use whatever from something simple like basil and garlic and then water to steam to something spicy like some good curry and a little coconut milk that you just let cook for a while on medium low.

For the steaming add 1/2 cup of water to the pan and cover and let it steam for 5 minutes or so until it is as tender as you like it.

This works for virtually any veggie that is a little hard in texture.

For other stuff try grilling on your gas grill. That works great for asparagus, zucchini and even mushrooms. A little misting with olive oil and a dusting of salt and pepper and a few minutes on a hot grill and man they are good!

Roasting root veggies in the oven is another way to concentrate the flavors as well as is braising them in a veggie stock.

Put the time into thoughtful preparation of your veggies and there is no reason they won't rock like your special meat dishes you are so good at.

Be well and more soon....

Really?

I saw a commercial for the Golden Corral Buffet where they were touting their new options. They have a milk chocolate fountain and cotton candy. Really? 

After the buffet of processed crap and the cheapest farmed meat in the universe a person really needs some cotton candy and stuff covered in milk chocolate.

I guess the fries and mac and cheese must be leaving people too hungry! People don't really have their kids end their meal with spun sugar, do they? Wow!

I realize that the buffet mindset is very different than I am used to, but shouldn't anyone be able to see the end result of eating a bunch of sugar to finish your meal? They DO know that the sugar crap not only makes their kids fat and slow, but also makes them stupid and exposes them to EVERY chronic disease?

It can't just be me that can see the downside to this food culture we live in.

Okay. I'm better now that I got that off of my chest.

Be well and more soon....

Don't Do It Paully!

I have to. I'm giving you the facts on cheese. I used to make my decision of regular or cheeseburger based on what the price difference was. Now it seems I should have looked at the facts.

A slice of cheddar, colby, swiss or provolone range from 100-120 calories and have between 8 and 10 grams of fat most of which is saturated. What that means is that they have over 30% of the saturated fat you should get in a day if you are an average weight man who should eat 2000 calories a day.

If you are a woman who needs to lose some weight the calories may be closer to 1200 a day so the saturated fat in one slice of cheese is more than 1/2 of what you should consume in a day.

So, now the good news. If you eat one cheeseburger a week and you switch to no cheese you save nearly 6000 calories or close to 2 pounds a year.

A couple of little cubes at a cocktail party are 70 calories and 30% of your saturated fat for the day. They look so safe too. Opt for the veggies and use the hummus instead of the fatty dip and you'll like yourself better in the morning.

Find the nuts at the party. They likely are heavy in sodium, but they have some nutritional benefits and good fats. They have fiber which also means they are filling and that is a good long term help.

Swap the cheese on your tacos with tomato and avocado and save 150 calories per taco and tons of fat. There are tons of great toppings for your mexican food that are healthy and nutritious. They will make you wonder why you ever began using cheese.

Sacrelige time. It's cold and you wanta grilled cheese sandwich. Instead of 3  or 4 slices of cheese use some thin sliced tomato and basil and 1 slice of cheese. You'll save 300 -500 calories and a couple days worth of saturated fat. Oh - it will taste better too.

Be well and more soon....

Another Meaty Talk You Need To Hear

Spend the 10 minutes to listen to this speech. It is worth every second.

http://freefromharm.org/videos/educational-inspiring-talks/philip-wollen-australian-philanthropist-former-vp-of-citibank-makes-blazing-animal-rights-speech/

Be well and more soon....

Meaty Information And Bill Paxton

I'll try anything to get you to read this. I came across this quick little video that provides a ton of information in a little time. That works for most folks - right?

Give it a watch and then remember that WE decide what is on the shelves at the store by what WE BUY. If we all stopped buying factory farmed meat and opted for organic or -at a minimum- meat that was raised without hormones and antibiotics that meat would replace the crap they peddle now and the prices wouldn't change much. It's all about supply and demand.

Demand better food.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FC_pr1T33-EM%3Frel%3D0&h=FAQFs4X2QAQF6yRMXQ1cIsZcb_P3YgB8UbwpeH6CUd0efEw

Be well and more soon....

We Don't Need No Stinking Mules - The Wrapup

The next day Pam and I walked the rim trail - stopping at virtually every store - to Yavapai and then to the Visitors' Center and finally the marketplace for some beer. We weren't the only ones with that idea as our 12 pack joined Lance and Colin's 12 pack and was later joined by Rhonda and the girls' 12 pack.



We ended that great day with Russ coming over to our room with his songbook and regaling us with some of his favorite songs. What a treat!



We had 2 nights on the South Rim to explore. The first morning Pam, Lance, Colin and I checked out the Kolb Studio where the Whites and Kolbs posed together.

The studio has a bunch of pictures and history of these photographer brothers. They were pretty crazy with some of their trips. There's even an old film of them freeing a boat from the river. There are pictures there that can no longer be taken because of the Hoover Dam. Here is a picture of one that is now mostly under water in Lake Mead.

Pam and I kept heading up the rim trail and ended up walking through the timeline of the canyon. They have chunks of the different types of stone and the ages all along the trail.

We were able to see where we had hiked from the North Rim down and Phanton Ranch as well as a chunk of the South Kaibab Trail we hiked out.

If you look closely you can see the South Kaibab trail that runs along the long jagged structure.

The small green area is the Bright Angel/Phantom Ranch area. The trail from the north comes down that canyon.



The next morning I went out for a morning shoot of the sunrise, but was stopped in my tracks by two 5 or 6 point (I don't know how to count them) elk who were munching on the local plants. I took a bunch of pictures of them and headed towards the rim only to see 6 or 7 deer on my way. A couple of sunrise shots later I headed up the rim trail towards El Tovar Lodge and was greeted by yet another elk grazing on some grass.

 Wow! What a great adventure! We met some great people and now have some great memories. Here are a couple of pictures from the South Rim including some sunset shots.

We had decided that we MUST have breakfast on Rt 66 so off we went - all 18 of us - to Lilo's on Rt 66. Pam had done her research and everyone was full and happy for the remainder of our trip back to Las Vegas. We did make a stop to the Lake Overlook by Hoover Dam on the way.

Back in Vegas, we had a group of 7 of us heading to Downtown - the Fremont area of town - so we eventually grabbed a limo for the trip. If we had walked down one more level we would have seen the WAX bus that would have taken us there for $2 each. Maybe next time.



I can't tell you anything from here on because WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS STAYS IN VEGAS.



Be well and more soon.....

We Don't Need No Stinking Mules- The Hike Up South Kaibab

Pam, Lance, Colin and I hit the trail out at 5:15 after a quick breakfast. The trail is in the open most of the way so timing is everything. I had filled an extra 3 liter water bladder for the large group ahead with Russ in case they needed extra water. I carried 4 liters for myself. We crossed paths at about 4 miles up and I passed the 3 liters to Bucky who was acting as a mad man porter shuttling supplies back and forth in their group - making sure everyone had what they needed.

The next time I saw Bucky was when he and Edward -14 years old - got to the bathroom area which is 1.5 miles to the top. They were heading up to drop their packs so Bucky could go to the last group and grab their packs. I headed up with them and made the top at 9:50 or so making the 8 miles in 4:35. I can't remember having that good of legs on an uphill hike so I made full use of them. Edward paced us the last .4 miles as he could see the trailhead and turned on the after burners.



I let out a large yee haw as I made the top. I know I'm suppose to act like it's no big thing, but it WAS a big thing! We found a picnic table to set up camp at and Bucky headed down. Lance and Colin were next up followed by Pam, Rhonda, Jene and Mary. The next one up was Russ - at 79 years old! He was apologizing for his pace which I thought was funny.

As we hung out at the top 3 condors put on a show just above us. They were birds J6, 16 and an untagged juvenile who we later learned was 1 year old. They tag the birds when they are 2 years old. The population of California Condors is growing after nearly being extinct.

One by one and sometimes 3 by 3 the rest of the group headed up the hill to applause from those of us already there. As we began to run out of space a bunch of us hit the shuttle bus to head back to the lodge for showers and food.

The rest of the story will be in the next post.

Be well and more soon.....