Antique Show (aka Flea Market)

After I had a fantastic celebration of March 8th, first just us, girls, and later at home with my men, I was all the sunshine and the most positive person. I wanted to save this state of being as long as possible, and I also needed to take my usual break from all media.
So Friday was my outdoor day, and the weather cooperated with me, gifting me (and everyone in the area) with a warm, sunny spring day. I went for a ride in a Boston Mountains just to escape surroundings and have some time just with myself...
It was a Zen drive. It was a Me time.

Back home I worked in my garden. I still have to clean a few raised beds from the last year harvest. My procrastination to do it last fall paid off: I have some carrots already, and a lot of different parsley: all flat leaf with some root variety. It's only March and I already have to preserve: I won't use all the parsley before it starts bolting. But this time I want to step away from a traditional freezing, and do something more interesting. I found a few recipes to try, so wish me luck!

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Hello?!

On Saturday I went to an Antique show/Flea Market in town.
First, I've never been to one, hence my excitement to experience something new, well, actually in this case to experience something old!
Second, those markets are the best place to find interesting things for my kitchen and to use in decoration.
And Third, it fits my philosophy of reduce, reuse, recycle. I had a budget of $20 to spent if I wanted something.
I entered the Phoenix Expo Center from the 21st century, and went back in time. It was fascinating to see the era gone by in furniture, tools, clothes.
I took some pictures (with my Droid) to share with you.

A pitcher and a wash bawl

Kitchen tools -  some things never change...

A doughnut mold

A Soap Dish

A Samovar lamp

A pillow  fluffer

A washboard

A laundry pins

A horseradish root grinder

Can someone explain why those bottles are so expensive?

An apple cider press

Another pitcher

How was you weekend?

Did you manage to have some Me Time?

Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

Happy March 8th!

Dear friends,

Today many countries celebrate an International Women's Day. 
And I want to wish all my friends all around the world a day filled with love, smiles, happiness, joy, music and good food! To you!

Happy March 8th!

Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

Buckyballs

Source

I was shocked when I read this story yesterday. Because we have children, or we have friends with children, I decided to post today this information to spread the word around.
A few word about what happened: a 3-year old girl swallowed 37 (!) buckyballs, which had her intestines ruptured. The girl had an emergency surgery to repair damaged intestines. Poor little girl! 


I decide to participate in the action "Spread the word" - small magnets are dangerous and should be kept away from young children who might swallow them. In fact, the CPSC warns that high powered magnet sets, like BuckyBalls, should be kept away from children under age 14 years". Source

Source 

This accident is a pure example of parental negligence. 37 buckyballs? Not one, not two, but 37!!! This child was left unattended for quite some time (the social worker in me speaks here). Come  on, where were you, mom and dad? 

What do you think?

Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

Super Tuesday (in Photos)

Sometimes life gives lemons...

Sometimes it's a flower surprise... (Lemon in bloom)

For me every Tuesday is a Super Tuesday with a kale salad...

Magnolia

Freedom...

and key to it... :)

Had a stressful day?

That may help...:)

Put a smile on your heart...

Until next time,

Cowboy Country Vegetarian


Copyright © Cowboycountryvegetarian 2011. The whole content of this pages are sole property of the author and can not be used without a consent. Please, e-mail me: tomatomarina@gmail.com to ask questions.

Fats, Good Fats

Walnuts and sunflower seeds honey bar... What a treat! 

I don't have an intention to preach here what is good and what is bad for you. We are all adults and free to make our own choices. What I want to do is I want to share with you, my friends, what I love to eat and how it helps me to loose weight. And I want everyone to be comfortable here...
Today we are talking fats. Oils, batter, nuts, avocado (although botanically it's  a berry, a big one), and seeds.
My favorite oils are olive, walnut, hemp and sunflower. And I use it just a little, a drizzle, a spray puff (I use spritzer), a teaspoon when cooking. I am not talking about moderation here. Rather enjoyable minimization, and for that I use a high quality oils like Greek, Tuscan, French. Instead of frying I bake my food with either wine, lemon juice, or vegetable stock. Eggplants, cut in half, and baked with a white wine have a delicious taste, creamy texture, and a thin golden brown crust on the cut.

Lunch: open sandwich with mushroom caviar, tomatoes, sprouts and parsley. Unsweetened green tea with lemon and mint.

Butter. I've tried the healthy stuff out there, but butter is still the best choice for me. The real butter, made with milk from pasture raised cows. A few times a month we would start our Saturday morning with a freshly brewed coffee and a toast with a butter: spread a small piece on a warm toast and the aroma of the meadow pleasantly hits your senses. It's a treat...
Nuts. Of that we eat a lot, walnuts being our absolute favorite. An apple and a few walnuts make a perfect never boring snack. I eat about 10-15 walnut halves per day, sometimes 20, sometimes none. I've read somewhere that walnuts are good for my brain as well, so there is a double benefit! :)
I do love avocado from time to time. I use it more for my kale dressing, and about once a week for a sandwich.

Dinner: angel hair Jerusalem artichoke pasta with sprouts, roasted red pepper, and drizzle of Greek olive oil.

And last but not list is my all time favorite: sunflower seeds. I was addicted to sunflower seeds, I couldn't stop eating it when I had them at home. I couldn't control myself when I had sunflower butter: one jar was often gone the same day I made it (yes, I prefer homemade sunflower butter).
Let me tell you a secret: if I am left on an exile island with a bag of sunflower seeds I would consider it a luxury vacations! Yep, that's how much I love sunflower seeds!
Although 100 gr (3.4oz) of sunflower seeds have 10 g of dietary fiber (not bad, ha?!) and 22 g of protein along with other vitamins and nutrients, it is also a high in calories, 570 kcal per same 100 grams, which is a lot! 
Sadly, my relationships with sunflower seeds had to change, dramatically and significantly. And, oh boy, did I have a withdrawal?! Ask my family... :)
I was nuts about those seeds! It took me a good five to six months to finally find a piece with the sunflower seeds, or rather with not having the sunflower seeds. I do buy the sunflower seeds from time to time, but the big craving is gone, so now I can manage having it at home. It's a big victory, if you ask me!

I made this super delicious candy as a treat. I shared it with some friends too.

How do you handle your cravings? 

Do you have your own story to share?

Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

Disclaimer: Please, consult a medical professional prior to changing your diet or starting an exercise program.

Eating is About Feeling Good

Frozen freshly squeezed orange juice "guitar" - a very good treat!

First, I want to thank everyone, who replied to my last post in comments, e-mails and phone calls. I am truly touched by amount of warm words I received. I appreciate everyone, who sent me an e-mail with a personal stories and own struggles with their weight loss. I was emotionally overwhelmed while reading through it.
While I am on a mission to respond to every e-mail, comment, message, one question was almost in every e-mail: "What do you eat? Please share!"


I am not a professional nutritional adviser, nor I am a dietitian, all I can share is my personal adventure. 
It began with analyzing of what and how much I eat.  On the "What" part I had to keep some sort of unwritten diary: how does it make me feel after I ate it? Light? Heavy? Tiered? Energized? Sleepy? Active? and so on.  It's a process of re-discovery of real good eats, and it's a fun process. 

Regular breakfast - no sugar added...

But a few foods are aliens on my list, and I limit them from a very little to none: sugar, processed foods, baked goods, fats.
Let me start with the Sugar. I thought I can't do it and I can't live without it, although I am not a big sweet eater. Surprise! I can live without sugar, or too much sugar in my case: not more than 1 teaspoon of sugar. But I had to negotiate sugar intake with myself. 
My rule: no white sugar. Period. It is the most unhealthy sweetener out there, along with artificial ones. 
Sucanat, turbinado, agave, honey, maple syrup - those products live in my kitchen. Stevia? I am not a big fan of it. 
Another rule: no sweets after 2PM. I have to burn all those calories sugar has before it becomes fat in my body at night. And it doesn't mean that I have to run. Just basic daily activities need energy, even sleeping, although that's not what I do.
Was it hard for me to stick to my plan? Not really. I had some withdrawals for about four days, but is wasn't something painful.  I can easily control my cravings with a 5-7 walnuts and 1-2 dried fruits (no sugar, no oil, no sulfur added). 

Blueberries sweetens  enough  my morning breakfast...

One person asked me how can I stay away from all the sweet food around: in the refrigerator, in the cupboard? Easy, I don't have it! That's right, not even a box of a cereal. Why? The real food, like rolled oats and rye with some blueberries taste so much better and have such a great nutritional value, that no cereal can match it. 
It makes me feel good and energized. 

Isn't it what eating is about: feeling good? 

Next time: what kind of fats live in my kitchen. 

Until next time,

Cowboy Country Vegetarian


Disclaimer: Please, consult a medical professional prior to changing your diet or starting an exercise program.

Food Matters

Me in Stockholm, circa 2000. It was a get away place...

As you know, I've been on a weight loss journey for about a year by now. Some friends know me only big and fat, some - only skinny, and some know me skinny, big, and now. 

And you know what? Food is to blame for it all. I was always skinny, my metabolism was good, I was always active. And then Bum! about five years ago I started to gain weight: pound here, pound there, and at some point I was 190lb. It was hard for me to tie  my shoes. Walking up a few stairs was a challenge to the point that I had to sleep in the leaving room to avoid shortness of breath and fatigue after climbing those stairs. 

My husband was heavy too, but he did impossible: he lost 40lb in a tree months period only by controlling what and how much he eats. 

I am not that strong, I needed food more than him, so he was more successful than me. I managed to loose 3lb! Yes, three, that's right! 

I knew I had to change something but didn't know what (food was out of the questions, I can't go hungry for a long time). 

So, I joined the gym, and forced myself to do exercise every day for at least 30 minutes. I tried different  activities and found what I like and stick to it. 

First changes were not noticeable but I could feel it: I had more energy, I could go upstairs without gasping for the air on each step. But wait wasn't going down.

I was turned on to a healthier lifestyle where "diet" wasn't on the agenda. We always ate healthy, but lately mainly processed food was occupying our refrigerator. That needed to change. I turned into a whole ingredients cook, driving nuts (not intentionally!) each sales person with a questions about the ingredients, additives, GMOs, etc. 

I was determined to eat chemical free food. The hardest part was to find a good meat, grass fed, grass finished, no antibiotics or hormones used. So we decided just not to eat meat. 

I am  not a vegetarian Nazi,  everyone should be a free to choose what and how to eat. No judgment here, dear friends! 

But what I can tell you from my experience that food, vegetarian or not, matters: the numbers on the stubborn scale started to go down when I began to watch what and how much I eat, and I still ate meat at that time. 

I am what I eat, or let the pictures speak for themselves.

Skinny Me (around 125lb) circa 2000. Stockholm, Sweden.

Big over 190lb me. Ugh! June, 2010. Cannon Beach, Oregon

Me (156 lb) today before yoga class. On my road to the skinnier me...:) 

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Do you think food matters?

Until next time,

Cowboy Country Vegetarian