Motivational Musings
A Grain of Salt
Salt, also known as sodium chloride, is our number-one source of sodium. It is an important, much needed mineral in our diets. Sodium regulates the water in our bodies, and it controls muscle and nerve function. We only need 500 mg of sodium per day, but the average American ingests five or six grams of sodium per day! That’s about two and a half times the amount needed.
Excess sodium levels may lead to fluid retention, which can lead to increased circulatory volume (which can put a strain on the heart and kidneys), hypertension and high blood pressure. (Oh my!)
Unless you’re running marathons, swimming the British Channel or climbing mountains (in other words, engaging in arduous exercise in sweltering environments wherein you need extra sodium to compensate for the amount of fluids you’re sweating out), you should be thinking of ways to reduce your sodium intake.
- The amount of sodium found in processed foods is very high. Try to reduce or (if you can – eliminate) the amount of processed meals, canned soups and snack foods that you eat.
- Read the nutrition labels on all packages. Check the sodium levels. It's a real eye-opener.
- Out of sight – out of mind: keep the salt off the table.
- Remove excess salt from pretzels. Stay away from salted chips and nuts.
- Eat fresh fruits and vegetables!
In lieu of salt, try these seasonings. (Source: National Institutes of Health)
For Meat, Poultry, and Fish —
Beef - Bay leaf, marjoram, nutmeg, onion, pepper, sage, thyme
Lamb - Curry powder, garlic, rosemary, mint
Pork - Garlic, onion, sage, pepper, oregano
Veal - Bay leaf, curry powder, ginger, marjoram, oregano
Chicken - Ginger, marjoram, oregano, paprika, poultry seasoning, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme
Fish - Curry powder, dill, dry mustard, lemon juice, marjoram, paprika, pepper
For Vegetables —
Carrots - Cinnamon, cloves, marjoram, nutmeg, rosemary, sage
Corn - Cumin, curry powder, onion, paprika, parsley
Green Beans - Dill, curry powder, lemon juice, marjoram, oregano, tarragon, thyme
Greens - Onion, Pepper
Peas - Ginger, marjoram, onion, parsley, sage
Potatoes - Dill, garlic, onion, paprika, parsley, sage
Summer Squash - Cloves, curry powder, marjoram, nutmeg, rosemary, sage
Winter Squash - Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, onion
Tomatoes - Basil, bay leaf, dill, marjoram, onion, oregano, parsley, pepper
What to do with all your left-over salt? Here are a few of my favorite beauty tips!
- Want to whiten your teeth? Pulverize one part salt to two parts baking soda. (Can either use mortal and pester or rolling pin.) Brush your teeth with mixture. It whitens, removes plaque and is said to promote healthier gums!
- Eyes puffy? Mix one teaspoon of salt in a pint of hot water. Soak cotton balls or pads in it and apply to puffy areas. (I'm boiling water right now - no kidding!)
- Need a facial? Mix equal parts of salt and olive oil. Massage into face, throat and neck. Leave on for five minutes. Remove with warm water.
- It’s bath time! Mix the following ingredients together in a plastic container - 1/2 cup baking soda; 1/2 cup dry milk; 1 cup Epson salt; 1 cup sea salt. Add ‘salt bath’ to taste.
LINKS:
A Handbook to the Dietary Guidelines - simply put. (Not salt related, but looked helpful).
For the scientifically minded: Sodium explosions!
Sodom and Gomorrah (and Lot, too!)
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Righteous Recipe - Caramelized Onion Tart - Sumptuously Salt-Free
Note: I discussed this recipe with my dear friend, the world famous pastry chef, Stevie Dinner (like T.V. Dinner). He explained that the more fat (olive oil and butter) the faster the onion will caramelize. BUT we don't want that much fat in our diets, so I kept the fats to what I consider a reasonable amount. It may take longer than anticipated to fully caramelize. Patience is a good thing! Stevie Dinner also said that if you throw whole garlic cloves in the mix (do not chop), they caramelize and are heavenly. I made this tart for friends this weekend, and it was a huge hit. Everyone felt like they got a special surprise when their piece had a huge garlic clove in it!
Ingredients:
2 large sweet onions, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon unsalted margarine
8-10 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/3 cup low-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pie crust shell |
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degress F. Prebake crust for about 10 minutes; remove from oven and cool.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil and margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat; saute onions until they begin to turn golden. Then toss in whole garlic cloves and continue to saute. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 30 minutes more or until carmelized. (The more patient and caramelized you are, the better.) Let cool slightly.
3. Add pepper, egg whites and sour cream to onions, mixing well. Pour into prepared pie shell. Sprinkle Parmesan and nutmeg evenly over the top. Bake for 35–40 minutes or until filling is set; let stand for 5 minutes before removing from oven. Cut into 6 wedges and serve.
Approximately: 250 calories per slice
(Non-scientific analysis - I added up all ingredients and divided.)
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Fruitful Contest -
This is a tough one. Are you ready?
Salt is one of only four tastes that the human tongue can distinguish. Name the other three tastes.
The first to enlighten Our Lady wins an Our Lady of Weight Loss prize!
NOTE: Last week, Our Lady received a recordbreaking number of responses to the Famous Lovers Fruitful Query. So many that she couldn't reply to each email. (She usually let's people know if they won or not.) If you don't hear from OLofWL, it doesn't mean that she didn't get your email (or that she doesn't care!) - it just means that she didn't get a chance to respond. Thanks for playing Fruitful Contest!
Write Our Lady.
Last week's Fruitful query: Famous Lovers.
Anthony & Cleopatra were famous lovers who were played by a pair of famous lovers in the 1963 classic movie, Cleopatra.
Who were these actors? Liz Taylor and Richard Burton! Fruitful Contest winners are: Kate, Portland, OR. - Joanne, Warren, IL - Sharon, Fowler, MI
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Chewing the Fat - How you doin'? Write Our Lady.
I finally got a Costco card--walked past all the nuts/candies/ice creams--and then bought a 40 count box of Rice Krispie Treats-my fave.
This is insanity.
All is Forgiven * Move On.
Send your confession to info@ourladyofweightloss.com.
No Names - Strictly Anonymous |
Dear OLofWL, I read about you in this month's Family Circle, but it was the visit to your website and viewing the products you had for sale that really cracked my cosmic egg. I resonated with your story, but looking at that 2-layer slice of devil's food cake, the stack of waffles and bisquits covered with honey, I found myself wanting to run for the hills.
Over the course of the weekend, I couldn't shake the visceral response I had to all the pictures of food on your site. Your artwork wasn't just a distraction from food -- it embraced food. You had stared down "the enemy" and learned how to befriend and play with it. That led to a profound awakening. The short version: "I can run, but I can't hide." LOL!
Intellectually, I know food is just food -- but over the decades, I've given it so much power and energy. Overthinking and overanalysing just digs deeper ruts. Fiddling with, playing and remembering how to have fun with food -- and life -- are clearly key pieces to this puzzle.
Rejoicing! This is going to be a wonderful adventure ... and the "art" piece feels like breadcrumbs out of what has been a 40-year jungle of dieting, fear of regaining, binging and purging. At 52, I now find myself in this emerging class of older women with eating disorders. Whooohoo. Thanks, but no thanks. I'm ready to matriculate. When the student is ready, teachers appear. ~Jody, just outside of Richmond, VA.
Dear Jody, Yes, exactly! It's all about lightening up in every way - making friends with and having fun with food. It's about changing your relationship to food and yourself - making a healthy lifestyle a fun adventure! Thank you for sharing your inspiring thoughts with us! ~OLofWL
"Don't walk behind me. I may not lead. Don't walk in front me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend"
~ Albert Camus
* * *
Dear OLofWL, Please tell me more about dues, regional meetings, etc. I may want to sign all of our girls (including sons' wives) up! Thanks! ~ Kay
Dear Kay, There are no dues! Membership to the KICK in the TUSH Club is free. Just click on the boot on the bottom of this page and sign yourself up and your girls! If you'd like to form a group in your neighborhood, I'd be happy to help. What fun! You can use each KICK as the theme for the week, and I'll supply a couple of thoughts/questions you can toss about amongst yourselves. Only one thing you must promise me - that you keep me in the loop. I want to be a part of your group too! Support is so important - for all of us! ~ OLofWL
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The Art of Weight Loss Workshop
Interested in joining the next Six Week Workshop? TWO seats open - Starts Saturday, March 5.
Gain insight into your inner Weight Loss Artist ™while steadily shedding pounds.
From weight loss mantras to songs to sacrificial Twinkies. When it comes to permanent fat removal, thinking outside of the donut box is key!
What's Your Weight Loss Mantra?
You need to insert a pause somewhere between seeing the donut and eating the donut. A few meaningful words that give you a moment to think this donut thing through may give an opportunity to make another choice. My Weight Loss Mantra is "STOP! In the name of love."
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The Art of Weight Loss is a six-week workshop that is dedicated to approaching weight loss from a creative place. We will share weight-loss thoughts, frustrations, successes, recipes, and find creative ways, both literally and figuratively, to redirect our feeding frenzies. You need not have an artistic bone in your body - just the desire to have some fun.
Here's what one participant had to say!
" As I was walking along 3rd Avenue this morning, passing all those yummy bakeries and thinking that I really need to take a different route for my daily walks,"my song" popped into my head. I started humming "HELP" by the Beatles. By the time my walk was completed I was singing it out loud and chuckling to myself. It worked!!! I didn't buy even one crumb. Hooray for me! ~ Leslie J-M."
IF YOU ARE NOT able to attend group meetings but wish to be a part of it, please read on.
There will be a weekly goodie bag filled with some very cool handouts that can be snail-mailed to you.
For more info... click here or
contact: info@ourladyofweightloss.com
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The KICK in the TUSH Club provides a weekly reminder in the form of an Art-KICK for those who wish to anchor themselves to their weight loss and/or health goals (or for those who need to satisfy their craving for a quirky kick). It's fun, fab and fat-free. Sign-up now (there's no charge). Click here! Our Lady. (Or send an email to: info@OurLadyofWeightLoss.com) and say, "YES! I need a KICK in the TUSH.
Volume II, KICK #8™©
Janice Taylor
www.OurLadyofWeightLoss.com™®
a Division of Oy-Caramba, Ltd!
Interested in reprinting the KICK in the TUSH or licensing the art?
Contact: info@ourladyofweightloss.com
Our Lady of Weight Loss has been recommended by:
The New York Daily News,
The Arizona Republic Newspaper,
SKIRT! Magazine,
Energy Express, Tribune Media Co., Herbs for Health,
Good Housekeeping, First for Women,
Family Circle and
more...
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Disclaimer: This column is for information only and no part of its contents should be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, recommendation or endorsement by Our Lady of Weight Loss, Oy-Caramba, Ltd! or Ms. Taylor.
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