Sunday, June 9, 2013

Sunday Snippets #1

I've been toying with the idea of a weekly Sunday post for a while now. Mainly because so many other bloggers, who I read regularly, do it, and those posts are always very interesting glances into their lives. Lives somewhat outside the books, that is :) 

Often I feel like writing a blog post, but not necessarily a book review. It actually takes me quite a bit of composing myself to write a book review - no idea, why. So, sometimes it would be nice to simply chat and not feel the literary pressure. 



So, since I like talking (obviously), I will start my own Sunday Snippets, featuring (likely) what I did that week, maybe some culinary experiments, probably also photos of the kitties, or anything else I might find worth noting down. I'll try to be coherent, and fiddle with these Sunday posts to find the kind of format that suits the best for me, but will apologise in advance over possible ramblings, because I do get digressed very easily.

Pancake experiement from this weekend - I used only eggs and banana. Served with fresh strawberries, raspberries and honey. I dare say, these are better than "regular" pancakes :)






This was a good week overall. A few weeks ago I started eating Paleo, after long time of self-contemplation and being stressed for eating very unhealthily at times. To put it short, I've dropped all grain, dairy and processed foods from my menu and basically only eat meat (fish, seafood, etc), veggies, fruits, eggs. And other tidbits, like coconut milk, but counting all would take too much post space :) I've been making three meals a day (at least) from scratch since I began, and I feel awesome. I've eaten more vegetbles in a few weeks than I ate in months' time before that, I don't feel any hunger thanks to my sugar levels being in balance and not jumping up and down like before, and I feel overall awesome for giving my body healthy foods.


Robert enjoying the sunny Sunday on the couch.

Book wise, I am in a bit of a difficult place right now. I have been reading both, my Classics Club Spin book "Villette" and Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" this week, but I didn't finish any books. I am mentally in a bit of a tough place (long story, but basically it has to do with AD withdrawal effects), so it's hard to concentrate at times, but I do enjoy both the books and  I'm doing my best and reading a little bit every day, even if not in huge amounts. 

Watched this week: 
"Iron Man 3" in the movie theatre.
"Food Matters" at home (a doc about how food matters and how it is a cause - and a cure - for many illnesses). 
 

14 comments:

  1. One thing I don't understand: why dairy products are bad? I thought that it's vice-versa... Apart from this my diet seems similar to yours, and I'm also enjoying it a lot!
    And I want more kittens and pancakes on Sundays, so go on with weekend posts! :)

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    1. Thanks! I like kittens and pancakes too :)

      I don't think dairy products are bad per se, it's more like they don't go with the whole Paleo philosophy (to attempt eating like cavemen, basically). Many people nowadays have developed lactose intolerance and although I have no reason to believe I am intolerant to lactose, it makes sense if you think that dairy products are also processed food, thus they are in a bit of a conflict with this particular system. I do love dairy products and I tend to ate too much of them (mmmmm yoghurt :D), and since I believe I am getting more than enough calcium from all the spinach and other veggies I eat right now, it's not very difficult for me to exclude them.

      (Here is a link to 3 reasons why dairy has no place in Paleo system, I cannot of course vouch how scientifically accurate everything is there, but a few of those make sense I think: http://www.eat-real-food-paleodietitian.com/paleo-diet-and-dairy.html)

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    2. Oh, I'm sure I've read something about hormones in the milk, but going without it seems too much for me... Nothing better than a yogurt in the evening, especially if your stomach is too sensitive after a lot of student-style food and stresses.

      The system looks reasonable, though, although I hope some changes were introduced comparing with the real cavemen diet, as we move FAR less then our ancestors now :)

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    3. I agree, yoghurts are good, though I tried sticking to natural yoghurt only and mix it with honey/berries because all those flavoured ones they sell in regular shop seem to contain so much... flavours and sugar and stuff. But they are sooo tasty :)

      As to how we move a lot less, this is a very fair point and I think it comes to everyone to make their choices of how much fats (even if those are very good fats) they consume in a day. It's easy to overdo it with nuts and things, that's for sure (as well as fruit sugar). But I like to think of myself as a person with strong common sense and try to keep things in balance and in general, I will try to eat good food and not burden my body with too much artificial/toxic stuff that the shops seem to be full of nowadays. As with everything in life, balance is difficult to find, but once you find it, it's a good place to be in :)

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  2. That is amazing, only last weekend we had the same type of pancakes! They're so delicious. My mother and I are all about eating Organically and with pure ingredients. :)

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    1. Aren't they - so delicious and fluffy. I was so close to making them again today - because they are also so mega easy to make, but I think it's better to keep the pancakes for weekends :) But yay to eating good food in general!

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  3. Those pancakes looks CRAZY delicious! And Robert is adorable :)

    I really hope you're enjoying Outlander!! It definitely starts to pick up after the first 100-150 pages or so, or at least that's how long it took me to really get into it.

    Hooray for your new Sunday posts! I look forward to many more :)

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    1. Thanks Sarah, and they were - boyfriend was gobbling down like there's no tomorrow :)

      I think you are right about Outlander, I started from 150ish page today and it's definitely picking up the pace now with the marriage and all those other schenanigans! I'm actually really looking forward to getting back to it in a bit, and this is very good for my mental state too - to be able to read like this.

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  4. Yay, I love Sunday posts! :)
    Your new eating regime sounds awesome. I have inflammatory bowel disease so I have to cook everything from scratch, so I can control what's going in. Aside from the side effects, processed foods taste awful now.

    Don't stress out about the reading. Reading moods come and go, you'll be back in the reading zone before you know it!

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    1. I am already looking forward to noticing the difference between "good" food and "bad" food. It's been very interesting to observe my cravings and hunger, as with high-carb diet you are basically hungry all the time, and only now, eating balanced food, I kind of realise how horrible it actually is. Also I think it's time for another food-related non-fiction book soon :)

      And thanks, I try not to stress, though it is strange not to read... But we all have those slumps I guess, and it's also a lot about picking the right book, so when I can't concentrate, I'm not gonna push that deep classics novel maybe but choose something lighter to help me get over this obstacle.

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  5. This is a great idea! Those pancakes look delicious and your kitty is adorable (as usual!) I really enjoyed the Food Matters documentary - very interesting. And yay for starting Outlander :) It does pick up once you really start getting into it and getting to know the characters - hope you love it!

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    1. I am half-way through Outlander now and there is a lot I like about this book. In a way it *is* a perfect summer-read :)

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  6. I love that you're doing this :) chatty posts are the best sometimes, plus I'm super nosy. Never apologise for rambling, it's pretty much all I ever do and I'm pretty happy to own up to it.

    I'm interested to see how you get on with the paleo diet. I have a terrible relationship with food (I eat healthily but way too much) and I'm looking to try and put some structure in my diet. It would be nice not to have to exercise quite so hard all the time to avoid turning into a chunkster myself. I think my body would definitely thank me for sticking to a healthier lifestyle and I would love to grab some of that natural energy!

    Don't stress yourself out about the reading. That's the good thing about books, they're always there waiting for when you're ready for them again.

    I look forward to more of these posts! Have a good week :)

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    1. I'm glad you like rambling :) I like chatty people too but sometimes I get a bit annoyed with myself when I want to express poignantly and coherently and it just doesn't happen.

      I've been off Paleo now for this holiday week, mostly because I didn't want additional stress for having to search for certain foods during the trip and also during Midsummer's, which I didn't spend at home so I couldn't make all the food decisions. All I can say I can't wait to go back, because I felt so much better when eating "cleaner" stuff. A few cookbooks arrived as well last week so I am curious to try new recipes :) I understand about finding the balance when it comes to health and balance, I also love food and it's easy to eat too much (just because it's so tasty!).

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Leave a comment if you feel like it - it warms my little bookish heart. :)