The Weird stuff we do in the name of dieting and health

I’m still maintaining the diet wagon losing about 1lb a week right now. I could do better if I cut out carbs completely and alcohol. I have to admit, I have cut way back on alcohol. I use to pound done a bottle of wine or more a week, plus have the occasional cocktail. Geez that makes me looking like a alcoholic. I have questioned that reasoning. Now I’m drinking a total of four drinks a week, or less. I don’t miss it. Okay I’ll be honest, I miss the wine. Since I rode my bike, 2 hours today, at jet speed up and down some pretty steep hills, I figure I burned 1,300 calories. Not bad for 2 hours of work. None of this is weird, but there are some habits we all live up to religiously in the name of health and diet. For me its two things, kale juice and Asian soup called Pho’.

Kale juice has replaced my alcohol consumption. And since my dad is still stressing me out and making me crazy, that’s pretty damn good. Because there are days I feel like running for the Honey JD, but instead I reach in the fridge for my bottle of dark green really nasty tasting kale juice. To make it palatable I squeeze fresh lemon in it, and I also juice it with apple. I make my own juice. Hubs bought me this big nice juicer that sounds like a Rolls Royce, it’s so smooth. Kale is nasty, but it is sooooo good for the body, especially women. I swear my hair and skin is just not the same unless I’m downing my green juice daily. I also eat a lot of leafy green salads daily, and every chance I get. Go green in the body!!

Pho is an Asian soup made with rice noodles and the most fantastic broth. But-here is where you need to be careful with Asian food and restaurants, MSG, or its real name, Monosodium glutamate. The key word here is sodium. It’s very common in Asian foods, added for flavoring. It really doesn’t have its own flavor, but enhances the savory flavor of other foods. It is a common additive to processed foods around the world. And it’s not good for you in large amounts. In my opinion it’s not good for the body at all. I can tell when I get too much of it in my system, it’s very simple I bloat like I’m a walrus ready to give birth. Which is why I rarely eat processed food. I cook. Make my own sauces, and pasta. It’s bit more work, but not really when you get into the rhythm of it.

As for Pho’. My daughter-in-law introduced me to a restaurant in Silicon Valley off the freeway that is basically a hole in the wall that serves the best freak’n Pho on earth, with very little MSG. When I first pulled up to this place to meet her for lunch, I freaked. It really looks like a dump in a scrappy industrial area. Trash was floating around the area from the freeway, type spot. At first I thought she liked me, but when I saw this place, I sincerely questioned it. But I was pleasantly surprised. My DIL is Cambodian and knows all the best Asian restaurants in the bay area. And she's very sensitive to MSG. So much so, she gets physically ill from it. So this place was heaven sent for her. This is what I do to get Pho made with little MSG. I drive 20 minutes, on three different freeways in traffic heavy Silicon Valley. Then I drive those same three crappy freeways through the same insane traffic back to my son’s house to eat my Pho. There is road rage on my mind as I’m driving through the traffic, wonder why no one is at WORK and why they insist on getting in my way when I’m hungry for Pho’. I do this once a week, when I’m at my son’s babysitting my grandkids.

As for calories with Pho, there is very little, unless you get it loaded with pork skins or something like that. I love veggie Pho. It’s also made with vegan broth, and noodles are rice so if you’re on a gluten free diet, this is perfect.

These are the two things, no matter what kind of diet I'm on I won't give up. Asian soups are fantastic, but just ask about the MSG. I've learned to make my own to make sure there is no problem with unknown additives. I was told by a Asian chef once, a whole cup of MSG might be dumped in foods. The thought made me ill. I also love Japanese Soba, made with a wonderful mushroom broth, buckwheat noodles and veggies, again very low in calories, but ask about the MSG. 

As for kale, just work with it until you find a recipe for juice or salad where you can eat it. It's really good for you. Nasty but good. There is two varieties, try each one. For juicing I use the lacinto variety it's much darker in color and stronger in taste, then the curly leaf one.