Primal Journal (Judg) page 73

[tomi]

I wonder if the dragging today is due to the alcohol in the Nyquil?? I know you don't drink and maybe you're system is very sensitive to it. ??? I've never heard of vinegar being bad for anything --- have you researched that idea?

[lopisheep]

Won't go into the evils of Nyquil, but here's some of the possible negative sides of vinegar, for those people sensitive to it.

First, similarly to MSG, it is made by fermenting wine, potatoes, fruits, coconuts, honey, beer, beets, molasses, malt, sorghum, grains, or maple syrup -- mostly non-primal stuff. It ferments the ethanol into acetic acid.

It can be damaging to teeth enamel and adversely impact potassium levels.

It can cause swelling, hives, difficulty in breathing.

Oh, wow! Just thinking. Chocolate is also high caffeine. Trouble sleeping and chocolate might not be the best mixture. Maybe chocolate for breakfast:-)

It can aggravate indigestion and heartburn.

If unpasturized, can have harmful bacteria and toxins.

One article said it is still unknown whether iti is safe in pregnancies or when trying to conceive. Interesting, but I wasn't sure if this was just the unpasturized kind.

It is a HUGE migraine trigger near the top of all migraine food triggers. One is to avoid all processed, fermented, pickled, or marinated foods -- pickled eggplant, salad dressings, etc.

Anyway, it could be that vinegar could be a part of the problem making you tired. Especially when combined with Nyquil.

I just read up on Nyquil. Man, I wouldn't touch it. Still wondering whatever happened to hot whole milk with a dab of raw local honey and a hefty dose of turmeric for falling asleep.

I think MSG, vinegar/fermented/pickled, and Nyquil can probably be eaten with seeming impunity by many, but....

Just some thoughts from the dark side, so to speak!

[Judg]

I welcome all the thoughts from the dark side. It's all worth pondering. I'm not too concerned about it being a migraine trigger for me; I eat vinegar often and get migraines very seldom.

Pedi, I usually check out all my subscriptions when I come in. Some days I comment a lot, other days I can't think of much to say. I'll blame you guys...

Tomi, I've taken the NyQuil a few times lately, because I was sick and I knew I wasn't going to sleep for hours afterwards. Most of the time, I felt quite refreshed the next day. Having said that, it is not a habit I want to get into, for sure.

I caved on the vinegar today, I'm afraid. I made one of my serendipitous salads (like, what's in the fridge that needs to be eaten up) and it was just calling out for rice vinegar. I wrote down the ingredients, because this one is definitely worth doing again sometime on purpose. And here it is, for your edification: (I'm sure it would work with lime juice instead of vinegar)

Shrimp Fennel Salad

10-12 large shrimp
Romaine lettuce
½ bulb fennel (anise), quartered, cored, sliced
1 slice red onion, coarsely chopped
1 small tomato, cut into small wedges
1-2 slices crisp bacon, crumbled

Dressing:
½ avocado, mashed
1-2 tbsp. rice vinegar
sprinkle garlic powder
sprinkle ginger powder
salt to taste

Sautee peeled shrimp in butter until fully cooked and the liquid has all boiled off. Put all the other salad ingredients in a large bowl and add the shrimp.

Mash avocado in a small bowl, add the other ingredients, blend well, adjust to taste. Add to the salad bowl and toss well until everything is well coated.

Makes one very large helping. Increase it slightly to make two moderate portions.

Yesterday I got a good walk in. I had to go to the bank, which is 2.5 km away, about 1 1/2 miles, I think. And went and blew my birthday money buying clothes. My first skinny jeans! Cobalt blue! And "career" leggings: a heavier knit that can be worn with tunics without looking like a teenager. And a few other smaller things. I am going to have to be careful not to get addicted to shopping... It's just so new to me to have it be fun. And then I did a bit of grocery shopping. Also got in some translating for hubby when I got home.

And today I have done yet more translating, and a good workout with the resistance bands, as well as various household chores. And no NyQuil last night! Yay. Slept very well anyway, which was nice. So all in all, I'm better.

Now I'm a little zonked from all that, so I'm going to rest a bit before tackling more translating. I'm redoing hubby's slides for his teaching in Mtl. Heh. He hasn't used his French in years. Could be a bit hard on the students' ears...

[jenn26point2]

Hi Judg! Finally getting caught up... Pam makes me glad I only really use vinegar for cleaning. I don't have any recipes that I can think of that include vinegar (except maybe deviled eggs, but I haven't made them in YEARS!!)

Vinegar is such a nice cleaner! I love it for cleaning my microwave (1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup water - nuke for 5 minutes to get mixture boiling) - very nicely steams the nuker.

I also use it in my dishwasher. Fill a measuring cup with 1 cup of vinegar. Set measuring cup on top shelf (do not dump) and run a cycle. The water will fill the measuring cup, overflow it and it'll clean during both the "wash" and "rinse" cycles.

I also use it to clean my floors. I have wood laminate floors and they're VERY picky about cleaners (most leave streaks). I use vinegar on a mop head, and then put it in my steam mop as well (I mop twice - once with water and once with steam).

Love me some vinegar for cleaning... lol

[Siobhan]

Also vinegar is great for laundry, especially as an alternative to bleach and bleach substitutes. Whitens and brightens, and also will fix color in a new garment that hasn't been washed.

[tomi]

awesome tips for vinegar

Judg -- I want to see a picture of those skinny jeans and leggings! and not on the hanger - on you! How fun! Hearing you talk about it makes me YEARN for the time I will be back in skinny jeans Can't wait!!!! As I was walking this evening I was thinking of how badly I want to see the 170's show up on my scale! I'm really really tired of the 180's! and then to see it slowly but consistantly move on down! You are my inspiration to keep my eyes on the goal!

[Judg]

Yup, great vinegar tips! I will try some of them. It's supposed to restore the shine to silk scarves too, if you use some in the rinse wash. Having said all that, I don't know if I'm prepared to give it the boot altogether. I'll just try to be more moderate.

Tomi, I've put the new clothes (except the scarves, in my reward drawer for now. Still a wee bit of muffin top with those pants, but just a bit. I want the leggings and black tunic top especially for Christmas, and I should be able to get to them by then, even if I only do two pounds a month. I suggest you award yourself with a new piece of clothing every pound, like I have been. Even if they're already in your closet... Knowing what's waiting for you is a nice, concrete goal that you can visualize when you're tempted, LOL! My last one was a black rayon long-sleeved T. Very basic, but something that can go with jeans or heels and bling. I enjoyed wearing it for the first time for sure. I'll be wearing the white version tomorrow.

And I am very glad to be an inspiration to you. That is a new experience in my life. Slow and steady really does win the race. Who woulda thunk it?

Feeling a little drained today. I think that is because I swept out some very dusty rooms last night and this morning, and the dust allergy is biting my butt. But right now there's nobody else around right now to do it if I don't. I'm trying to get disciplined to do it regularly so it won't be so hard on my system. Still and all, I have been trying to organize my life and work on to-do lists, now that I have a bit more energy on hand. It's working pretty well. I give myself permission to crash on the couch and sip herb teas and listen to music if I get too tired, and not to start doing things again until I feel better. So I do try to get the more important things done first, for obvious reasons. The fact that I am able to do this at all without feeling overwhelmed is a clear sign that things have improved.

DD will be here soon, to pick up her organic veggie delivery and to eat frittata with me. (It's always got to be an egg/cheese/nuts meal when she's here; she's the vegetarian.) She will cheerfully help me make it if I'm too tired, which might just happen...

[Judg]

Hello all. Nothing major to report here. I am still a little tired, but better. I think I'm fighting something but I appear to be winning, slowly but surely. I ate lightly yesterday, and considered fasting today, but I was very hungry mid-morning, so decided to have a salsa omelet. I cleaned up my chaotic kitchen, did a couple of loads of laundry, some tidying and other than that I've been resting. I've got finances and translating to tackle a bit later.

My weight is still above my recent low, but I think that's mainly due to backlog. Ahem. No idea why, although I have been eating a lot of iron-rich food lately, which might be a factor. I'm going to go on a magnesium attack if it doesn't ease soon. I know, TMI.

The frittata was excellent, by the way. We had sweet potatoes (because I had to cook them, they were starting to mould on the outside) and Brazilian cheese bread (different recipe from Siobhan's). I added some oregano and thyme to the batter, which was very nice and used old cheddar cheese because that it all I had. And I virtuously had only two (of twelve, because I use standard, not mini, muffin tins) and then froze the rest.

My neighbours are trying to tell me I should stop losing weight. It's not working... But I take it as a compliment. It was especially nice because I was actually feeling rather fat yesterday.

[winencandy]

My first skinny jeans! Cobalt blue!

Excellent!!

I give myself permission to crash on the couch and sip herb teas and listen to music if I get too tired, and not to start doing things again until I feel better.

Good.

[Judg]

Raw turnip greens do NOT make a good smoothie. Just sayin'.

My tummy is unhappy with me. I don't think it's entirely the fault of the (unfinished) smoothie though. It's been mildly unhappy the last few days.