Saturday, May 11, 2019

Aprons I made for plant swappers made Mary, Lindsay, and Valerie happy, too.




Tim's strawberries were a huge hit at today's plant swap.

     Tim shared strawberries from his Grainger County farm and even cut the stems for us.
THANKS!!!  He says he will return in October with fresh figs. Can't wait!

Photos from Spring East Tennessee Plant Swap

These were the plants I swapped for at today's meeting.


East Tennessee Plant Swap May 11, 2019


                               
These iris were given to me at the last swap and lived through the winter. 

                  May 11,2019 East Tennessee Plant Swap Another Big Success

        By Martha Rose Woodward, Advertising  Committee 

     Once again approximately 50 to 70 avid gardeners and plant lovers gathered at the large shelter at New Harvest Park in Knoxville, Tennessee to swap plants, enjoy friendships, and share a tasty meal. Although the day started off with a light rain, it soon stopped, making for great weather for most of the event. 
      The unexpected, big hits of the day were fresh, homegrown strawberries from Tim’s place in Grainger County and birdhouses along with a pack of seeds from Joe and Josh’s Landscaping. Joe and Josh, long-time members of the group, hand-made the birdhouses, especially for their fellow swappers.
   Shelia also brought a table full of gardening, cooking, and sewing books and magazines, and Barrett sent his famous signs hand-painted with garden terms and names.
     Swappers in trucks, vans, and trunks arrived laden with a wide variety of plants while members of the group were eager to see old friends, discuss knowledge of plants, swap plants, or give them away. The same trucks, vans, and trunks happily drove away filled with plants that found new homes.
    A potluck lunch was shared while a few stranglers arrived. These folks joined in all the fun and found plants to swap while giving theirs away with plenty of lively discussions. Several new faces were seen throughout the event. 
  Most everyone found their way to Tim’s table full of strawberries where he was cutting the stems from the berries and passing them out as quickly as possible. Folks were soon munching the luscious, sweet treats while listening to Tim discuss his growing techniques. He also shared numerous strawberry plants and many other items with the group.
   The East Tennessee Plant Swap is open to everyone. The group meets 2 times a year (May and October) and is free other than a donation of a few dollars needed to pay for rent on the shelter and hosting for the web site. All you have to do to become a member is attend a meeting. There are no dues or membership fees. 
  More information can be found at www.easttnplantswap.com.

Sunday, April 21, 2019

What to eat on Keto to be successful at weight loss.

I've had several questions about Keto. Here are the answers:

                                 What I eat to MAINTAIN loss of 73 pounds.
                        Not much different from what I ate to lose the weight.

Martha Rose's Daily Food Diary.

Breakfast: (either of these menus for any day of the week):
                       3 pieces of crisp bacon, and/or l egg cooked in real butter any style; coffee with one creamer or diet coke, or water NO JUICE!!!!!!!!!! JUICE is pure sugar.
                                 OR
                       2 pieces crisp bacon and/or 2 eggs any style; can cook in real butter
                       1 coffee (with ONLY one creamer) or one cup of tea or one diet cola, and
                       1  egg any style
                                 OR
                       2 pieces sausage, 1 egg any style, choice of beverage
                                  OR
                       bacon and sausage---in other words, mix bacon, sausage and eggs

Lunch: 1 package tuna, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, squirt mustard, hot sauce, 1 cup (handful) lettuce with 1 tablespoon ranch dressing. OR 4 smoked hot dogs (all beef), OR any other fatty meat (I limit servings to 4 to 5 ounces), squirt mustard, 1 cup some dark green vegetable like broccoli, turnip greens, green beans cooked in butter. iced tea, diet coke, coffee or water

Dinner: Any of these choices; I rotate favorite recipes and enjoy about 12 to 15 from list
 when I want to prepare them:  chicken wings, Keto pizza, grilled steak, ribs or pork butt, baked chicken,  mashed cauliflower with cheese along with pork chop or meat dish, keto tacos (made with pork skins instead of taco shells), Keto casserole made with pork skins, tomato sauce, ground beef or turkey, zucchini hash browns topped with sour cream, bacon lettuce and tomato sandwiches (NO bread), baked chicken with salad, grilled fish with broccoli with cheese sauce and butter, deviled eggs with choice of meat, hamburger with cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickle; onion, Polish sausage fried with cabbage and dried onions. List can go on and on.
     Limit portions according to your size. I am 5'4". A perfect portion for me is 4 to 5 ounces. I ate more when I was heavier. As I lost pounds, I trimmed portions off so am eating smaller amounts. Makes sense: A smaller person should eat less food. Duh.

  I often wheel in to Buddy's BBQ and order one pound of ribs with no sauce. The entire pound is both my lunch and dinner for that day. I might add a pickle or l/2 cup of some veggie. YES, you can eat the ENTIRE POUND OF RIBS.
  Also, IF you do NOT order the biscuits and can limit yourself to leg and thigh, you can order KFC once a week, be sure it is original recipe. Add a serving of veggie and peppers or pickles and you have a great meal. KFC has changed the way they bread their chicken so as to meld with the KETO style of preparing food. I use this as a meal once a week, but no more.

Enjoy one dessert per day. Only eat l/2 cup. Use sour cream, whipped cream, and cream cheese and REMEMBER, ONLY 2 tablespoons per day each. Search internet for recipes. Here is one I made up:
2 tablespoons of real, non-sugared coconut flakes, spray whipped cream into a bowl and fill it about 3/4 full...I use a cereal bowl...sweeten with Sweet N Low or your choice of sweetner. Stir and enjoy. Spray whipped cream is allowed any day.

Keep cheese to 2 ounces per day. IF you are not losing, you should stop eating cheese and see if that breaks your stall. 

Drink when thirsty. Do not go overboard on water. Use tea, coffee, or diet sodas when needed, but limit to reasonable servings. 8 to 12 a day would not be reasonable.  NO one needs to drink tons of water. The people who sell bottled water put out the findings that drinking water helps with weight loss---a trick...tons of water is not good for kidneys and bladder. You can die from drinking too much water.

Rules:
Pay chose attention to total CARBS. No such thing as net carbs. A carb is a carb. Up to 20 grams a day; no more. Veggies have a lot of carbs and are NOT free foods.
Eat REAL food. Nothing from a bag (except pork rinds) or a box.
Eat when hungry.
Stay prepared. Keep foods on hand you know are what you need to be eating.
Do not buy junk foods.
No nuts until you have gotten to your goal weight.
At a meal, eat enough to sustain you for 3 to 4 hours.
Eat from choices/ no cheating
Eat when body needs food NOT when time for a meal.
Limit snacking.
Limit food after 8 PM.
Have a full photo made of yourself at your current weight: hard to do, but you will be glad you have it.
Weigh often. I vowed to weigh every day for a year and it helped me immensely to stay on point. Expect your weight to fluctuate daily. Can go up and down as much as 2 pounds. Do NOT get upset over an unexplained gain. YOUR body will do what you body will do.
Keep a detailed food diary. You will be glad you did. You will want to remember some great recipes.
Keep records of your losses for future references. Again, you will be glad you did.
Reward yourself for "non-scale" successes.
Make adjustments as needed.
Expect to hit stalls.
REMEMBER: NO ONE GETS A VOTE AS TO WHAT YOU GET TO EAT BUT YOU.
Do NOT pay attention to others and what they say or might think. IF they make a comment, repeat, "You do not get a vote in what I eat."

HOW do you start on Keto?  Make sure the next meal you eat has very few carbs--read labels. Enjoy fatty meat and leafy green veggies, but do not go overboard with veggies as some a high in carbs. Keep that plan going...that's it. IF you get so hungry you think you will go nuts, fix 3 pieces of bacon, eat them, and you will feel better. Eggs and bacon will always be your friend.
IF you have a true hunger alert, boil eggs and eat one with an 8 ounce glass of tea or water. If that does not quell you hunger, eat another boiled egg and smear it with mayonnaise and drink another glass of tea or water. If that does not quell hunger, go for the 3rd egg. Most folks report they never get to the 3rd egg. Remember, deviled eggs are free. You can eat daily. You can also eat 2 dill pickles a day and drink the juice which is vinegar and is good for you--keeps inflammation down.
REMEMBER to write down every bite you eat and time of day. Eat ONLY when hungry. Figure out if you are eating for pleasure, for anxiety, for enjoyment or for fuel. 

Sunday, March 3, 2019

How I lost 73 pounds and have kept it off 2 years and 3 months.

How to Lose Weight on High Fat/Low Carb Food Plan

Viewers had several questions about Keto. Here are the answers:

                                 What I eat to MAINTAIN loss of 73 pounds.
                        Not much different from what I ate to lose the weight.

Martha Rose's Daily Food Diary.

Breakfast: (either of these menus for any day of the week):
                       3 pieces of crisp bacon, and/or l egg cooked in real butter any style; coffee with one creamer,  or diet coke, or water NO JUICE!!!!!!!!!! JUICE is pure sugar.
                                 OR
                       2 pieces crisp bacon and/or 2 eggs any style; can cook in real butter
                       1 coffee (with ONLY one creamer) or one cup of tea or one diet cola, and
                       1  egg any style
                                 OR
                       2 pieces sausage, 1 egg any style, choice of beverage
                                  OR
                       bacon and sausage---in other words, mix bacon, sausage and eggs

Lunch: 1 package tuna, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, squirt mustard, hot sauce, 1 cup (handful) lettuce with 1 tablespoon ranch dressing. OR 4 smoked hot dogs (all beef), OR any other fatty meat (I limit servings to 4 to 5 ounces), squirt mustard, 1 cup some dark green vegetable like broccoli, turnip greens, green beans cooked in butter. iced tea, diet coke, coffee or water

Dinner: Any of these choices; I rotate favorite recipes and enjoy about 12 to 15 from list
 when I want to prepare them. :
             chicken wings, Keto pizza, grilled steak, ribs or pork butt, baked chicken,  mashed cauliflower with cheese along with pork chop or meat dish, keto tacos (made with pork skins instead of taco shells, Keto casserole made with pork skins, tomato sauce, ground beef or turkey, faux hash browns made from zucchini noodles topped with sour cream, bacon lettuce and tomato sandwiches (NO bread), baked chicken with salad, grilled fish with broccoli with cheese sauce and butter, deviled eggs with choice of meat, hamburger with cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickle; onion, Polish sausage fried with cabbage and dried onions. List can go on and on.
     Limit portions according to your size. I am 5'4". A perfect portion for me is 4 to 5 ounces. I ate more when I was heavier. As I lost pounds, I trimmed portions off so am eating smaller amounts. Makes sense: A smaller person should eat less food. Duh.

  I often wheel in to Buddy's BBQ and order one pound of ribs with no sauce. The entire pound is both my lunch and dinner for that day. I might add a pickle or l/2 cup of some veggie. YES, you can eat the ENTIRE POUND OF RIBS.
  Also, IF you do NOT order the biscuits and can limit yourself to leg and thigh, you can order KFC once a week, be sure it is original recipe. Add a serving of veggie and peppers or pickles and you have a great meal. KFC has changed the way they bread their chicken so as to meld with the KETO style of preparing food. I use this as a meal once a week, but no more.

Enjoy one dessert per day. Only eat l/2 cup. Use sour cream, whipped cream, and cream cheese and REMEMBER, ONLY 2 tablespoons per day each. Search internet for recipes. Here is one I made up:
2 tablespoons of real, non-sugared coconut flakes, spray whipped cream into a bowl and fill it about 3/4 full...I use a cereal bowl...sweeten with Sweet N Low or your choice of sweetner. Stir and enjoy. Spray whipped cream is allowed any day.

Keep cheese to 2 ounces per day. IF you are not losing, you should stop eating cheese and see if that breaks your stall. 

Drink when thirsty. Do not go overboard on water. Use tea, coffee, or diet sodas when needed, but limit to reasonable servings. 8 to 12 a day would not be reasonable.  NO one needs to drink tons of water. The people who sell bottled water put out the findings that drinking water helps with weight loss---a trick...tons of water is not good for kidneys and bladder. You can die from drinking too much water.

Rules:
Pay chose attention to total CARBS. No such thing as net carbs. A carb is a carb. Up to 20 grams a day; no more. Veggies have a lot of carbs and are NOT free foods.
Eat REAL food. Nothing from a bag (except pork rinds) or a box.
Eat ONLY when hungry. Learn real hunger is when you have not eaten 3 or more hours.
Stay prepared. Keep foods on hand you know are what you need to be eating.
Do not buy junk foods.
Eat l/4 cup of sauerkraut per day and one dill pickles--needed as probiotics.
No nuts until you have gotten to your goal weight.
At a meal, eat enough to sustain you for 3 to 4 hours.
Eat from choices/ no cheating
Eat when body needs food NOT when time for a meal.
Limit snacking.
Limit food after 8 PM.
Have a full photo made of yourself at your current weight: hard to do, but you will be glad you have it.
Weigh often. I vowed to weigh every day for a year and it helped me immensely to stay on point. Expect your weight to fluctuate daily. Can go up and down as much as 2 pounds. Do NOT get upset over an unexplained gain. YOUR body will do what you body will do.
Keep a detailed food diary. You will be glad you did. You will want to remember some great recipes.
Keep records of your losses for future references. Again, you will be glad you did.
Reward yourself for "non-scale" successes.
Make adjustments as needed.
Expect to hit stalls.
REMEMBER: NO ONE GETS A VOTE AS TO WHAT YOU GET TO EAT BUT YOU.
Do NOT pay attention to others and what they say or might think. IF they make a comment, repeat, "You do not get a vote in what I eat."

HOW do you start on Keto?  Make sure the next meal you eat has very few carbs--read labels. Enjoy fatty meats and leafy green veggies, but do not go overboard with veggies as some are high in carbs. Keep that plan going...that's it. IF you get so hungry you think you will go nuts, fix 3 pieces of bacon, eat them, and you will feel better. Eggs and bacon will always be your friend.
IF you have a true hunger alert, boil eggs and eat one with an 8 ounce glass of tea or water. If that does not quell you hunger, eat another boiled egg and smear it with mayonnaise and drink another glass of tea or water. If that does not quell hunger, go for the 3rd egg. Most folks report they never get to the 3rd egg. Remember, deviled eggs are free. You can eat daily. You can also eat 2 dill pickles a day and drink the juice which is vinegar and is good for you--keeps inflammation down.
REMEMBER to write down every bite you eat and time of day. Eat ONLY when hungry. Figure out if you are eating for pleasure, for anxiety, for enjoyment or for fuel. Always ask yourself, "Am I trying to fill a need with food?" "What feeling am I trying to hide?" "Am I bored?" Redirect your behavior to something positive. Remember, sleep is better than eating. 

Enjoyed meeting Mayor Glenn Jacobs--a heck of
a nice guy.