homemade

Holidays hips and giggles

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Cranberry-pistachio biscotti dipped in white chocolate

The holidays seem to be in full throttle after Halloween which makes for an exciting time of the year as it quickly buzzes by to start a new one. I love the holidays. I love everything about the holidays. Especially my holiday baking which starts in October and goes through November. I enjoy making cookies, biscotti and candy for Holiday gifts for friends and family. I’m nearly finished with 9 different cookies, two different biscotti’s and four different chocolates from caramel covered in it to seafoam both dark and milk. Something happens to me during this time of year and my clothes revolt in tightness. 2017 was an interesting year for me weight wise anyways.  I had a fungus that spread like wild fire on my face that was eventually treated with prednisone for 6 weeks prior to and while I was in the jungles of Guatemala eating the native food available which consisted of corn with more corn and the occasional boiled squash or blackberry leaves. It all seemed like a recipe for twenty pounds to find their way into my life and stick to my mid-section. It could cast a dark shadow on the holiday feasts or I can be realistic about it and approach it with wisdom (and caution). But wisdom sounds smarter and a bit more positive.

Since I am not the only one in my tribe with extra pounds showing up on the scale I have support in my efforts and attack plan. We have made a pact to go easy between now and the New Year as our goal is to stay in good condition until then. In January we will start fresh with a new exercise routine. One member of our tribe has already hit her goals of trimming not just weight but inches from her body. She looks and feels fantastic (Congrats Laura). She made a goal and stuck to it prior to the rush of the holidays. Her plan was working out an hour a day, six days a week, doing a different fitness class everyday stirring her body up enough to drop the extra insulation. She is an inspiration. Having workout buddies sure makes the journey to fitness and health a lot more enjoyable plus it helps for accountability. Between now and the New Year my time is going to be split between the mountains (where my boyfriend lives) and Tucson where all my friends live. Being in two places while splitting my time makes a routine difficult to follow but I am not making excuses.

My plan is Laura’s work out plan with two other tribe members who also have crazy travel and work schedules between now and the New Year. We have all agreed to exercise at least five times a week and attempt a calorie deficiency daily to try to get ahead of the game or at least not get behind with more weight gain through New Year’s. Even though I am not in the same town all the time a motivating text between us with words of encouragement can keep me and them on task. My text sent today stated how I missed our workouts together but that I have been trying to hike everyday while in the mountains. The fall weather is far from cold. And I feel like when I’m hiking I’m weight lifting to cus I’m carrying an extra 20 pounds around with me on my belly. I also said I’m looking forward to our January plans. And I received a text reminding me of our 2018 hiking plans. We have booked a 2-night stay at the bottom of the Grand Canyon in February. That’s a great goal to firm up for because hiking in is easy but the hike out can be daunting if your carrying a lot more than your needed gear. We also have plans to hike in March north of the Grand Canyon in southern Utah at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Keeping ourselves on track and making goals seems to be what maintains motivation among us.

I know that the older we get the easier and faster the weight piles on and then the task of getting it off seems to take almost twice as long. Given that I am going to be “double-nickels” next April; 50 and I have had a few years getting acquainted. I’m understanding the process of aging better and really hope that 2018 and I have a more mutually beneficial relationship when it come to the weight yo-yo. I’m making 55 my year to “get it” and hopefully it sticks. (I also know I will not be taking prednisone anytime soon as that seems to be the ingredient to pack on the extra pounds, but my face rash is resolved-that’s good news)

Maybe this time of year with the holidays hard to ignore and the year ending soon I reflect on what I want to change in the coming year more often. I feel at my age what seems to be of the greatest importance is my overall health and humor. So, I will embrace 2018 with a new exercise routine to shed the extra poundage. And until then I will exercise as consistently as possible given my schedule, reduce my portions and prime myself with my workout buddies for the coming year. Of course, doing all the above laughing all the way. Laughter is life and light to the soul. I just wish sometimes that laughing so hard could count as exercise and I’d lose weight. It’s gotta be good for the ab’s. Without ever taking myself too seriously I look forward to an agreed upon plan for the coming year! I am excited for the hiking trips planned and look forward to even more happening in July for a long through hike in Northern California. All I can think is let’s just do it!

Whose with me?

Kat

Staying young while we age!

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Regardless of where you are in life we all want to be able to do as much as we can while looking and being as healthy as possible. So of course, I read all the trending ideas of how to have healthy this or that. Some I try and some I’d rather not. Some ideas make more sense than others. At my last visit to my OB/GYN she went into why having probiotics was so essential and gave me a recipe for homemade Kiefer. I tried it for a while, but warm dairy products sitting on my kitchen counter started to turn my stomach at sight…. let alone knowing I had to drink a half of cup a day. That was my motivation to move on to the next idea for natural probiotics. I began my search.

After a lot of “googling”, which sometimes I wonder if ‘that’ much information is good or bad. I kept seeing the benefits of fermented drinks, particularly kombucha. Kombucha can help maintain cholesterol levels, strengthen immune system, helps with arthritis and aids in maintaining cellular health. The cellular health part resonated with me because I have heard that some cultures that eat a lot of fermented foods maintain their youthful looks longer which appealed to my 54-year-old face. It also helps to detoxify the body, aids in digestion, boosts energy and helps fight inflammation. Those are all great reasons to at least try it, so I did!

I love kombucha but not the price of commercially sold kombucha. Pre-bottled, commercially sold kombucha’s even at Costco or Sam’s Club are pricey if you want to drink a bottle a day. The breakdown for an 8 bottle case is $2.00 a bottle. That is not bad, but it can be home-made a whole lot cheaper and I think even tastier. Flavors of homemade kombucha are endless and fun to experiment in making. So far, I have mastered pineapple with ground fresh ginger and turmeric root (I keep them in the freezer to keep them fresh & they are easier to shred on the cheese grater when frozen). Yummy and my newest addition is chai seeds for an added benefit of proteins and other important nutrients, antioxidants, fiber (which can make you feel full and help you lose weight) and they contain Omega-3 fatty acids.

To start making kombucha at home you need to start with a SCOBY which is an acronym for ‘symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast’. A starter SCOBY can be purchased on-line or ask around: your friends might be secretly making kombucha and might have a ‘baby’ from their mother SCOBY. Get a hold of one and start today. It takes a couple of weeks to ferment depending on the temperature in your house, the warmer it is the faster it ferments. You will need a large container that holds at least a gallon, cheese cloth and bottles to harvest your batch. Gather the ingredients listed below and you are on your way to saving money and feeling better while looking great too!

Ingredients:

1 kombucha SCOBY

1 gallon purified water*

4 green tea* *bags

4 black tea* *bags

1 cup turbinado (raw) sugar

*have extra water on hand when harvesting to dilute the flavor if needed after adding juices.

**must be caffeinated tea

Instructions:

Heat 4 cups of water to seep tea bags for at least ten minutes and add sugar to dissolve. After tea has seeped, remove tea bags and stir water to ensure all sugar is dissolved. Add the rest of the gallon of water to mixture and place in container.

Once the mixture has reached room temperature add the SCOBY (just like in making bread the SCOBY is yeast and can NOT get too hot). Place cheese cloth over the container and secure with a rubber band. Do not let it in direct sun light. I lightly spray the cheese cloth with vinegar daily to stop bacterial growth on the cloth.

The process takes anywhere from 10 to 21 days depending on temperature. After 7 to 10 days you may want to stick a straw down the side of the container and taste the mixture. If you like it than it is done, if you want more fermentation let it continue to sit and taste test every couple of days. Helpful hint: mark on your calander when you start your batch.

When it is just right take out the SCOBY and a cup of the mixture. Put it in a tightly sealed jar for your next batch and store in the refrigerator. The cold temperatures stop the fermenting process but keeps your SCOBY  fresh. If you want to flavor your kombucha this would be the time to do it. Add fresh juice to taste. Then bottle the contents and refrigerate if you like the taste. OR you want to ferment longer keep it on the counter in the continer with cheese cloth secured with rubber band. Taste it as the days go by to see if you like it.

Rumor has it that you can grow your own mother SCOBY on your kitchen counter in a glass jar containing plain kombucha. The jar needs to be covered with cheesecloth and let it sit for a week or so. Eventually a skin will form on the top of the mixture and that is SCOBY!!!

NOTE: I did not grow my own SCOBY  because I had a friend secretly making her own kombucha and when I told her I wanted to make it as well she gave me her SCOBY baby. SCOBY gets thicker and can be peeled off in layers…. those layers are babies to share (or toss).

Good luck and have fun! You are off to a healthier, younger looking YOU

-Kat