Primal Journal - Siobhan page 2

[Siobhan]

Is there a way to carve up a roast chicken without eating half of it? I brought home a beautiful roast bird from the local coop - locally raised, natural - ate about a quarter of it while cutting it into more convenient bits. Mmm mmmm mmmm.

HIIT went great, although I am not up to full speed yet. Taking it easy to avoid injury. I pushed myself to maybe 85%. Felt really good afterwards, not tired. I'm using my cross-country ski machine, which is maybe the world's most boring exerciser, but I think it is really good for HIIT. Simple to go from easy peasy to all out and has a big old timer right at eye level. I could go all crazy with a HR monitor but who cares? KISS all the way. (I bought the CC machine at a garage sale for $10 about a year ago and have used it intermittently since.) My major goal right now is AVOIDING INJURY - which has derailed my health and exercise repeatedly throughout my life. There is really no reason to get injured on the PBF. I will admit to coveting some really old school looking weights or something like Indian clubs (anyone remember those?)

[Siobhan]

Wow, I am really blogging a lot! I have tried this before but never really liked it or stuck with it. I think having a real focus is making it more fun. So far I'm leaving out huge parts of my life and just focusing on the eating/exercise part. I can't really imagine the other parts being that interesting. (Like this part is interesting? Hmmm. Maybe to me...)

A friend who went veg gave me a package of organic/natural ground turkey. I am very, very grateful to her as I am not a rich person and this is a significant piece of protein. But, let's face it, white meat ground turkey is not flavorful. I sauteed up some onions and garlic in olive oil, crumbled in the turkey, added tomatoes, hot sauce, coriander, cardamon, cinnamon, salt, lots of chopped ginger - and it was still bland. How could that be? All that spice but still blah. So I threw in about 2 Tbsps of wine and Puh-Zow! The alcohol pulled in those flavors like magic. Spooned a nice portion over some leafy greens dressed in BV and OO, sprinkled some fresh mint over the top and tucked in. Will have to remember this one. It's good enough to serve company, although maybe too weird for most people. A ground meat salad is not really on most people's list. And now the house smells so good it is like a second meal.

I'm enjoying my usual Saturday night (when I'm not working). A great home-cooked meal, a glass of red wine, and jazz on the radio. Yes, I am very boring, but this is my idea of a great evening. This Saturday is even better because I have been primal for 6 days, feeling better than I would have dreamed possible. And I don't have to feel guilty about what I ate or waste time resolving to fix my diet/exercise routine/life. I am very grateful.

[Bashajz]

Siobhan, I am enjoying reading your journal! You will lose the weight, it seems it is already happening. I went from size 22 down to 5/6 or 7/8. I had to keep throwing clothes out, and getting new ones!

I love Maine, also. My Dad was living in a Kennebunk assisted-living facility for the last couple of years of his life, and before that he lived in Alfred with his wife and her son, for about 15 years, so I have been up quite a few times. I saw one of the most beautiful beaches ever in Wells.

Keep on eating this way, it really works.

[Siobhan]

Thank you! Maine is a great place. It seems like a perfect place for primal types. We certainly have the right kind of food readily available.

It would be a dream to get down to size 6. I'm a 12 now, have been for some time. Time will tell!

[Siobhan]

Thoughts on eating animals:

I love animals dearly. The truth be told, I like them more than I like most people. Okay, more than virtually everyone. I like their honesty, lack of ego, lack of game-playing, lack of judgmentalism. And they are usually more attractive and smell better than people. I work in a hospital, I know. Seriously.

I love the idea that I could go through this life without harming another living creature. It is just not possible. Everything I do impacts something or someone, usually in a negative though unintentional way. I have a dear friend who is a veg for moral reasons. She is horrified at eating animals - yet her diet is made up of almost entirely processed foods. She doesn't cook, lives on Lean Cuisine, chips, fries, etc. I tried to tell her once, very gently, that processed foods harm the environment and harm animals. Chip factories cause more pollution than she can imagine. Anything that harms the environment harms animals, and in a direct and big way. In all my soul searching and reading research, and in my personal experience with different eating habits, I keep coming back to supporting small family farms that are really trying to change the paradigm, raising their animals humanely and also slaughtering them with as little violence and fear as possible. I buy all my beef from a local farm that I have visited. They are fourth-generation farmers and have forgotten more about cows than most farmers ever know. They avoid things that scare them. They keep them longer than any factory farm - usually two years - and they have short but truly great lives. They are curious and gentle and are always healthy looking and clean, eating grass only, some for all their lives and some fed grain towards the end. The slaugherhouse is an hour away, and prides itself on humane and efficient methods. Now, should I really withdraw my custom from this farm and eat Lean Cuisine? Am I serving myself or society by purchasing processed food, even if it is 'vegetarian?'

I have another friend who gave up meat of unknown origin. She and her husband raise poultry and kill and process them themselves right on their property. It is extremely quick and humane. She told that in the beginning it was hard, and she had mixed feelings. These birds (ducks, chicken, and turkey) exist because she ordered them from the hatchery. They have one glorious summer and then go into the freezer. Virtually nothing is wasted. Now who is more humane, my veg friend or my poultry raising friend?

So once again, I keep coming back to the informed, logical conclusion that cows and chickens and other farm animals do something really cool - they eat stuff that I can't, and turn it into extremely healthy and nutritious food for me. I should not refuse that gift, nor should I buy into cruelty and torture. Luckily there is an alternative - small local farms that do a great job. They deserve my business. How lucky I am to live in an area where I have this available to me!

Yes, it is more expensive. Doctor bills are also expensive. So is medicine. Paying more for my food really motivates me to maximize its use, and to carefully avoid spoilage and waste.

I hope this makes some sense - I'm afraid I'm not articulating this very well.

[Siobhan]

Fed the neighbor's goats carrots this morning. They love carrots and celery. The sheep weren't around, I suspect they are being sheared. You wouldn't believe the fleece they have grown over the winter! I wonder what it is like to be encased in 14 inches of wool coat? I suppose it is okay in February but not now. They are kept strictly to keep the pasture vegetation down. I think it is cheaper and easier to keep let them eat it down rather than mowing. There are four miniature goats, three sheep, and one really large goat. The large goat and the eight foot fence with barbed wire at the top are for predator control. Oddly enough we don't really have a predator problem around here. The big goat could not, of course, hold off a pack of coyotes or dogs but can and will take on one. I like watching them graze in the pasture, it looks like a postcard. Of course reality is not a postcard, but on the whole I think they have pretty good lives. There are also a few chickens that follow them around. The chickens are really funny, almost like little clowns. They eat parasites, so it works out.

Had a bowlful of the turkey I made last night with a knob of butter in it to liven it up a bit. Ginger is kind of a magic ingredient, isn't it? Just about everything tastes better with ginger.

Well, I'm off to my adult ed class (we're studying archeology right now) and then to church. Guest pastor this morning, she has a wonderful reputation and I am looking forward to hearing her sermon. I really like female pastors although I hate to sound prejudiced. They seem to be able to hit that perfect note of emotion without being overly sentimental. Well, better get moving -

[Sabine]

I LOVE the other parts!

[Pebbles67]

Welcome Siobhan! I love your journal so far. We have a goat named Sonic. I always believed that goats would eat anything, but it turns out that they use their mouths like hands to touch and analyze things. If it is not edible, Sonic spits it out.
We have 3 cats as well. I am thinking of putting them on grain free food like the dog. Sadly, they eat Fancy Feast and Meow Mix right now.

I love Maine. My BIL lives in Bath.

[Siobhan]

Thank you Pebbles, I am glad you stopped by! Alas, my cats also eat Friskies and Fancy Feast. I have tried to introduce them to something better but they just look at me with great sadness when I set down a dish with a high-quality raw diet. Kind of like kids who will only eat mac and cheese and oreos. I am going to continue to try, however.

I was wrong about the sheep, they are back and still rocking their winter coats.

Today marks my first week going primal. It is a little scary that it has been very easy so far. I haven't had low-carb flu yet, do I still have that in my future? No cravings. Arms and shoulders a little sore but that is a positive. It's a gorgeous day so I am going to get out and enjoy it because it is supposed to rain later.

[Siobhan]

I don't think I have mentioned that I live in a small coastal village in Maine. It looks like a picture postcard no matter what the season. We have a tourist-oriented economy, which means that for most of the year it is very quiet and sleepy and then explodes with summer people and vacationers in the summer. By explodes, I mean the population goes up by a factor of ten. It hasn't exploded yet, but with the beautiful mild spring we are having, quite a number of tourists are roaming about even though only a few shops are open.

I walked to the coffee shop and ordered a coffee. Haven't had coffee in quite a while. I enjoyed it, but about 20 minutes later I got chest pain so bad I could hardly breathe. I'm really not a drama queen, I promise. I walked around a bit outside until the pain eased. I used to feel like that all the time! I love coffee but it is not for me. It will have to go on the stack with the grains.

I came home and ate a banana. Offered a sniff to big thin athletic cat and he ran away as though I had struck him. Tubby cat wanted a bite or two. Sigh. I'm not sure bananas are any better than pizza for cats.