Snap..Crackle..POP

How do you feel about chiropractors? It's still considered an "alternative" form of medicine or healing. According to Wikipedia,, as late as 1987, the American Medical Association called it an "unscientific cult". I'm sure many of you have heard the jokes about chiropractors not being real doctors. Even to this day, people still have doubts about the validity of it.

Chiropractor "ism"(?) is the belief or practice of manipulating your spine and the belief that it is related to health and that it involves your nervous system. People usually go to them for an "adjustment" because they have back or neck pain, headaches or have had some trauma that might cause chronic pain.

I have been to chiropractors quite a few times in my life. When I was a small child I had asthma and had pretty severe attacks quite often. I remember being sick and not being able to breath for a week at a time. My Mom use to take me to a chiropractor that had an office in our neighborhood. From the little that I remember and from what my Mom has told me, after I would get an adjustment, my asthma would ease up quite a bit and I would get over the attack much sooner that I normally would. Coincidence, maybe but who knows, my Mom swore by it.

Several years later, it was determined that I was allergic to quite a few things, pollen, mold, dander and quite a few foods and I was started on allergy shots. Eventually my Mom stopped taking me to the chiropractor because my asthma attacks where getting fewer and fewer, but I really believed that they helped.

In 2001 I was in a car accident, I was stopped waiting to turn into the parking lot at my work when a girl on her way to school rear ended me. My car was totaled and I ended up with whiplash. I was referred to a chiropractor to help with the neck injury. And it was wonderful!!

She took x-rays and took a history and physical and we talked about past injuries. I probably went to about a dozen sessions and it really did make a differenct and made my neck and shoulders feel a lot better. Although she did tell me that in time I would probably have some arthritis in my neck...and she was right! If I could afford it, I would go to a chiropractor on a regular basis.

The spinal manipulation does feel good, believe it or not. The stretching and twisting and tugging may feel a little uncomfortable for a minute but afterwards.........ahh, it really feels relaxing. The only thing that I don't like is when they pop your neck. They cradle your head until your neck is really relaxed then BAM...they twist your head and you hear your neck pop. I don't like that one.

 My favorite was she had this machine that you lay flat on and under the cushion are these three big rollers. When they turn the machine on, the rollers very slowly move up and down underneath of your body. At first it feels a little uncomfortable, but after a few minutes I was so relaxed I could have fallen asleep. I felt like I had no bones in my body, I have always said that if I ever when the lottery I am going to buy one of those beds for myself.

I don't know how any of you feel about any kind of alternative medicine, but I am always open to the idea. Going to a chiropractor is just one alternative. I really think there is something to alternative medicine and to the idea of preventative "medicine", by taking care of yourself before you even have a problem.

I'd like to know what y'all think about it. Has anyone else had any experiences, good or bad, with any kind of alternative or homeopathic medicine or cures?


Kathy

I'm Relaxed.....Really, I Am

I don't know why it's so hard for me to relax, I want to, but I have a hard time making myself. When I talk about relaxing, I mean just sitting around, not doing too much, reading, watching a movie, sitting on the deck. Now I can do all that stuff in the evening, it's during the day that I have a hard time. I ALWAYS feel like I should be doing something, being productive during the day. I've tried to sit and do nothing but all I can think of is everything I could be getting done, then I get tired of sitting.

This weekend I had planned to clean my bedroom but something else came up and it didn't get done, but I'm glad, I had fun going out to lunch with a dear friend who was in town for the weekend. (and I discovered a Irish pub where lots of men gather on a Saturday afternoon when there is a soccer game on. While I'm don't really care about soccer, I did hear a few Irish accents and I'm a sucker for an Irish accent). Today I kept feeling like I needed to do that cleaning, but I try to tell myself that the dirt will still be there next weekend.

Instead, I cooked, which believe it or not is relaxing for me. So I guess it was a productive day afterall.

This is what I'm looking forward to this upcoming week:

I'm planning on planting the cute little carrots and brussel sprouts this week. They are supposed to be planted a couple of months before the first frost which around here is towards the end of October.

This next weekend is the start of college football.....WoooHooo, I love me some college football.

I actually have a couple of tomatoes growing on my one plant and the squirrels haven't got to it yet. I'll be keeping an eye on them  this week. They're getting a pretty good size so here's hoping.......

It's going to be a really hot week, in the mid 90's all week and I'm going to enjoy the heat before Autumn gets here.

And there will be more cooking adventures, I need all the relaxation I can get.


Kathy

Odds And Ends

I have to say that the weather around here the last couple of days has  been FABULOUS!! Despite the fact that I adore the heat and humidity, as the summer wanes, I do look forward to Autumn weather....cool, crisp mornings and sunny, warm afternoons. But to have Autumn-like weather in the middle of August is almost unheard of around here. I will admit it has been a nice surprise and I am enjoying it, turning off the air conditioning and sleeping with a window open.

Everyone knows that below is a picture of my fondest wish and every once in a while I just have to put that thought out there in the universe and see what happen

I also really, really, really want an ice cream maker....really, really.

I think I'm going to make a custard pie this weekend. I saw a recipe on Facebook and it looks pretty simple and I've always loved a good custard pie. I also want to make some sugar cookies. I have a great recipe for them and I haven't made them is a while. Also, I want to freeze a few of them to use to make a crust for a pie that I'm working on.....my own creation.

Remember when I told you that I had to pull up one of my tomato plants because it was dying and I pruned the dead branches off of the other one? Well, the one seems to be thriving, somewhat, with lots of new blossoms and a couple of teny tiny baby tomatoes. Although I don't have much faith that the little tomatoes will be there for long because of.........

well, you know. Actually I can't say for sure that this little guy is the culprit. I feed this little guy on my front porch and surely he wouldn't have the audacity to then go around back and eat my tomatoes.

I have a new TV fascination, Duck Dynasty. It's a "reality" show about a family who's father invented a particular kind of duck call and they have built it into a multi-million dollar business. The whole family works there. I'm really surprised by how much I like this show since I've never been a big fan of hunting and the father and sons are always going hunting, ducks (of course), doves, squirrels, frogs, deer. But I justify it to myself that they eat what they hunt, they aren't trophy hunters. They're a close knit family with a strong faith in God and family. But the best part is that they're funny. As with most reality shows, they put people in situations and then film what happens and the reactions of the people involved. I always have a good laugh when I watch.

It's going to be a busy weekend, bank business to take care of, haircut, glasses fixed. I'm also planning on scrubbing down the bathroom this weekend. The grass needs to be cut, again. Usually by this time of the year we don't have to cut the grass every week, but since it's been a pretty rainy summer, it has to be cut just about every week. My son takes care of the front yard and I do the back. But....in a month and a half it will be all over with. YAY! My deadline for cutting grass is September 30. I don't care what happens after that, I refuse to cut grass after September 30.  Oh yeah, and I'm going out for margaritas and dinner with a good friend.

Have a good weekend everyone.


Kathy

Souper Sunday

I've been cooking like a fiend today. I truly enjoy it and it is a stress reliever for me. I made a pie, you know of course I'm still fascinated with pies. This pie was really something that I threw together out of ingredients I had in my cabinets.....vanilla pudding, cool whip, and graham crackers. I did buy cream cheese to make this pie also. Although I noticed when I was putting the cream cheese in that it was reduced fat. Arrrggg. If you're going to make a pie for gosh sakes putting something reduced fat into it is just crazy. But I used it anyway since that's what I had, I don't think it will affect the taste any, but it might affect how the pie filling sets up. If it doesn't set up right it will just be like eating a parfait-pie.

Now, since I've made this souper Sunday, I made a Tex-Mex Chicken soup. It's really a recipe called Chicken Tortilla soup from Ree Drummond-The Pioneer Woman, but I changed up some of the ingredients and I didn't put cut up corn tortillas in mine, I don't think I'd like the texture of soggy tortillas.

 

 

Here are the volunteers for this soup.

 

 

First you make a spice mixture of 1-1/2 tsp of ground cumin, 1-1/4 tsp of chili powder, 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Then rub some olive oil on 2 boneless chicken breasts and sprinkle 1 tsp. of spice mixture on them and bake at 375 til done. Let cool, shred and set to the side.

You then heat 1 tbl of olive oil in a pot, add 1 cup diced onion, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1/4 cup of green bell pepper an d 1/4 cup of red bell pepper. (I had a red and orange pepper so that is what I used.) Add 1tsp or so of the spice mixture to the pot plus a little more chili powder, 3/4 tsp. or so, for extra heat. Stir and cook veggies for about 5 minutes or so then add the shredded chicken, 1 can of Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles, 10 oz. can, 4 cups of chicken broth, 3 tbls of tomato paste and 4 cups of hot water. (Here I only used 2 cups of hot water and it seemed plenty).

Next rinse and drain 2 cans of black beans. Here again is where I stray from the recipe. I only used one can of black beans and then added the kernels off of 2 ears of corn. I also added a diced jalapeno pepper that isn't called for in the original recipe. Remember, when  you dice a jalapeno pepper, remove the ribs and seeds which is where the heat comes from, the green part will give you spice. Wash your hands after cutting up the pepper. (Even after washing your hands and then you use a Kleenex to wipe your nose, your nostril can still feel like it's on fire...I'm just sayn'). Then you mix together 3tbls of cornmeal and 1/2 cup of water (I used a cup of hot water here), and add to the pot. This helps thicken up the juice. Then let the soup simmer for 15 minutes or so, taste to adjust any seasoning that it may need.

In the original recipe she cuts up corn tortillas and adds them to the soup when ready to dish up, but I'm not doing that. She also suggest topping to add to your bowl of soup like cheese, sour cream, avacodo, red onion, salsa or anything you might like on there. I think I will had some shredded cheese to my soup when I eat it. I bet some cornbread would be good with it also.

I have to admit the soup turned out pretty good, spicy yet not to hot and a good piece of cool pie afterwards doesn't hurt either.
 

The volunteers for the pie.

I also made these no-bake cookies today as a birthday present for a friend, but I kept a few for myself. Shhhh.....

Happy Souper Sunday!!


Kathy

Not Giving Up

Okay, okay, so my first year planting a small garden hasn't been the stellar success that I had hoped it would be. There were some successes....the lettuce, lots and lots of herbs. And some failures...tomatoes and baby bok choy.

 

My tomato plants seem to be dying, the leaves are turning yellow then drying up. See those cotton balls, someone told me to soak them in pure peppermint oil and set them by the plants and it will keep the squirrels away. Pffssstt......the squirrels have stripped every tomato and every "whisper" of a tomato off of these plants.

This tomato plant I kept. I pulled up the other one, I believe it was done. This one didn't have quite as many dead spots and there was actually a little baby tomato growing. So I cut off the dead spots and it does seem to be growing some new leaves. It may survive, I'm not too sure about the baby tomato, I'll be lucky if it's still there tomorrow.......I'm thinking positive thoughts.

My baby bok choy never quite came together, although it did better than the first time I planted it. But as you can see, the leaves and stalks never closed up and they started going to seed. There's always next year.

But I'm not through for this year yet. I have another trick of my sleeve.

I'm going to plant these two fall crops, brussels sprouts and these cute little carrots. They are supposed to be planted a couple of months before the first frost, which around here will be towards the end of October, so I will plant them in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'm going to use some plant and soil food to enrich the soil in the containers.

I have high hopes for these fall veggies (please..please..please).


Kathy

Wheat...Apparently A Complicated Issue

Who knew wheat could be so complicated, but it seems to be. I'm sure many of you have been online and seen different health stories. Sometimes it says "10 Foods You Should Never Eat", "7 Foods You Should Never Eat", These Foods Cause Cancer", yada, yada, yada. I've read quite a few of those articles and while I'm sure there is a lot of validity to some of the stories, some probably should be taken with a grain of salt. (Oh that's right, salt is bad for you too).

And yes,  I realized that you have to take the information in, research some of the data that is given out and make up your own mind. Needless to say I find at lot of the information is something to keep in mind when you are eating and buying your food.

But let's take wheat. I read one article that says ALL white food is bad. It's refined, overly processed, stripped of nutrients, causes blood sugar to spike and should not be eaten. These include white potatoes, white bread, white rice......well, you get the picture.

Then there was another article I read that NO wheat products should be eaten, doesn't matter if it's white, rye, whole wheat, 7 grain, organic, etc., etc., etc. They claim that the wheat today is not the same wheat that our grandparents ate. They say that the wheat of today, no matter what kind, has been modified, manipulated and changed in such a way that there is really no nutritional value and could possibly be bad for you. Now, I don't doubt, unfortunately, that the wheat of today isn't the same as it was 50-60 years ago.  Seems scientists and the big food corporations can't leave our food alone. But I love me some carbs.

This is a piece of information that I intend to process and keep in mind, but it will no keep me from eating carbs....white, wheat, rye or whatever.

That's not to say that I crave carbs, but I do like bread, and pasta and rice and all other carb related items. Do I eat them everyday, no. Do I eat only "white" carbs, no. I switch it up, sometimes white rice, sometimes brown, the same with bread. I  must say though that with pasta, I really don't like the texture of whole wheat pasta, so usually I only eat white pasta.

What does all this mean? Well, for me anyway, it all comes down to "all things in moderation". Really that's all that any of us can do.






































So, in honor of that news, I made homemade bread today! This was a recipe that was shared on Facebook. It really was pretty easy. Just mix all the ingredients together and put in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it set for 12-18 hrs. (overnight). The bake it in an iron dutch oven. And even if I say so myself, it was very tasty!

The way I see it, since I like to do a lot of scratch cooking, I don't have a lot of choice in not using flour (wheat). But in my heart I believe that even if the wheat has little or no nutritional value, eating foods and baked goods that I've made from scratch is still better for me than buying the overly processed items, with questionable ingredients, from the grocery.

Bake on I say........


Kathy