Merry Christmas! It's the seventh anniversary of the blog. Just as I was seven years ago, I've had some health problems--but I know how to deal with them now.
The past few years put me through the wringer mentally and physically: my parents' problems, being accused of elder abuse (without any basis), an infected tooth, my father dying and my mother moving, and then my own moving and working at five different jobs this year. The stress and illness made my stomach too sensitive for me to want to eat fat--but with my stress level cranked up, I lived on a higher-carb diet and still lost weight. I also had acne and scary palpitations. Last Christmas, fumes from wasabi nuts roasting in the oven made me so ill I spent the day in bed.
This Christmas season, feasting at holiday parties kept me up those nights with an upset stomach. I've adopted a Midwestern niceness that makes it hard to say no to goodies. But the same kindness of the people around me has removed a layer of stress that I've had for years. A few years ago, reading the section on the social connection in The Primal Connection by Mark Sisson gave me an empty feeling. Many of the people I was around weren't "my people." They weren't necessarily bad people, but casual acquaintances I didn't connect with. Here in Indianapolis, I finally feel like I've found my tribe.
It's easy to find pasture-raised meat, dairy and lard here, too. I even found goat cheese from a school a mile from my house. I'm not sure what took me so long--maybe I needed to be not just frugal, but immersed in a frugal community--but I realized how to make stock in a jiffy.
1 chicken carcass, cooked
2 stalks celery sliced 1" thick
1 bay leaf
pepper
Put the chicken in a pressure cooker and cover with water. Add a bay leaf and pepper. Bring to pressure and cook for 30 minutes; let pressure fall on its own.
The past few years put me through the wringer mentally and physically: my parents' problems, being accused of elder abuse (without any basis), an infected tooth, my father dying and my mother moving, and then my own moving and working at five different jobs this year. The stress and illness made my stomach too sensitive for me to want to eat fat--but with my stress level cranked up, I lived on a higher-carb diet and still lost weight. I also had acne and scary palpitations. Last Christmas, fumes from wasabi nuts roasting in the oven made me so ill I spent the day in bed.
This Christmas season, feasting at holiday parties kept me up those nights with an upset stomach. I've adopted a Midwestern niceness that makes it hard to say no to goodies. But the same kindness of the people around me has removed a layer of stress that I've had for years. A few years ago, reading the section on the social connection in The Primal Connection by Mark Sisson gave me an empty feeling. Many of the people I was around weren't "my people." They weren't necessarily bad people, but casual acquaintances I didn't connect with. Here in Indianapolis, I finally feel like I've found my tribe.
It's easy to find pasture-raised meat, dairy and lard here, too. I even found goat cheese from a school a mile from my house. I'm not sure what took me so long--maybe I needed to be not just frugal, but immersed in a frugal community--but I realized how to make stock in a jiffy.
1 chicken carcass, cooked
2 stalks celery sliced 1" thick
1 bay leaf
pepper
Put the chicken in a pressure cooker and cover with water. Add a bay leaf and pepper. Bring to pressure and cook for 30 minutes; let pressure fall on its own.
Comments
That chicken stock sounds good.
Sending Christmas Greetings and all good wishes for the coming New Year
All the best Jan