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Disclaimer: I am not terribly overweight, just fluffy in the wrong places! For years I've struggled to tighten things up ... until now. After happening on Homemade Method, we have really enjoyed EATING without restrictions. I find myself scouring their app for what I can make next. I'm fortunate to be retired so I can focus on new recipes without too many challenges. But, if you're looking for the recipes I've tried, I'm sorry. Homemade Method asks that I don't share the recipes and there are good reasons. I will honor that request. I will say this: each recipe has a paragraph or two on how and why the recipes works - this was a game changer for me. Of course, they have a free version and you can follow them on Facebook; but, if you choose to pay for it, you will have access to their "members-only" page that is filled with like-minded people sharing what recipes they made and how it's working for them. I am glad Tom and I made the decision to jump in with both feet while our scale isn't racing to our desired weight - after all it did take years to get here - I am seeing some changes in how my clothes fit. LINKS: Why I Paid for the App:
Beyond Dieting, Beyond Tracking After realizing dieting was a dead-end, I started looking for a solution that respected my body, not punished it. That's when I found out about the Homemade Method —a Stanford-developed program, particularly targeted toward women 50+, though my husband is loving the recipes, which promises something revolutionary: fixing hunger hormones through the simple act of cooking. This isn't another meal plan; it's a profound shift in how we approach food and our bodies. The Homemade Method Philosophy  The Hormone Connection
The core genius of the Homemade Method lies in bypassing willpower and addressing biology. I often struggle because my key hunger hormones—like leptin (which signals fullness) and ghrelin (which signals hunger)—get out of balance, especially as we age or after years of restrictive dieting. When I eat highly processed foods (which is pretty rare), or when I chronically restrict, these signals become confused. The Homemade Method uses specific recipes and whole-food principles to promote gut health and nutrient density, which in turn helps naturally re-sensitize the body to its own fullness cues. This is how you "fix hunger hormones" without resorting to drugs or extreme diets. The power is in the kitchen! This method empowers me to be my own solution, transforming cooking from a chore into a foundational tool for hormonal peace. No more chasing fads; it's about learning simple, effective cooking techniques that deliver tasty, hormone-balancing results.
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If you're reading this, you care about what is in your food. If not, this may change your mind. Clean eating isn't just about giving up chips and candy, it's about making better choices and preparing food to nourish your body.
Check this out and if you're concerned, get the Yuka app for your phone! "The vocation of bringing food to your table is more than business to us - it's a personal ministry and responsibility that we take very seriously!" – Lee & Beth Hitzfield (Founders) ### On a recent road trip, my husband, Tom, and I made an 800-mile trip to visit our favorite online meat purveyor, Seven Sons Farm in Roanoke, Indiana. After making the decision to bypass most local meats in favor of ethnically raised meat, we’ve been buying from them for over two years, and they’ve never disappointed. After trying other companies that lacked consistency, had poor packaging, and delayed shipping, Seven Sons has been a breath of fresh air. Their quality and communication are unmatched.When we were about an hour and a half away, I decided to call ahead, and Sonsee answered the phone. Her cheerful voice was instantly welcoming. "Come on down!" she said, "I'll see if I can round up a couple of the brothers!" Her willingness to accommodate an unannounced visit completely made my day. We didn't expect a full tour, especially since it was a workday, but we were able to meet four of the seven brothers. What an amazing family! Sonsee met us at the farm store, which I would happily shop at every day. She brought over Brandt, the youngest brother, whose warm smile immediately put us at ease. We spent our time talking about everything, and he answered all our questions. It was clear we were all on the same page about quality food and farming. Next, we chatted with brothers Bruce and Brock. The conversation flowed easily with more laughter and a feeling of being part of the family. The conversations were fun, informative, and truly inspiring. Our visit concluded with the oldest brother, Blake, who greeted us with such enthusiasm we knew he and his family were thankful we stopped by. He and his brothers thanked us for our support and were genuinely happy we wanted to share their story. We left feeling like family, a feeling that extends from their farm to our dinner table. Seven Sons’ website is full of blogs, videos, and photos that share their history and vision. Their parents’ story is particularly heartwarming and explains the mission behind their impressive operation. We hope to meet the rest of the family on our next trip! Visit the farm online Their story Take a Virtual Tour
Allow me to introduce Turq2. This is a 1966 Buick LeSabre 2-door, hardtop sporting a mere 47,000 miles. She left Massachusetts on Friday afternoon, August 8 and should be here sometime Monday, August 11.
Tom is beside himself and we are both anxious to see and test drive her. Link to the Hemmings post Some of the comments on the link above included: "Super clean Buick that was well bought at fair price. I would have thought it would have brought more but the market spoke. Good luck." "That thing is absolutely gorgeous! I had a later LeSabre that called herself BUCK after she got poked in the "I." She ran for many miles! Yours looks better. Enjoy!" On another note ... we still have Tom's son's 1961 Imperial by Chrysler and it is for sale. This car, a testament to a bygone era when automotive craftsmanship heavily relied on the strength and heft of steel, possesses a solidity akin to a rock. Unlike some of their more modern, lighter counterparts, its construction speaks of enduring quality. While time and the elements have likely taken their toll, requiring some tender loving care (TLC), the fundamental structure remains sound, offering a fantastic foundation. With the right attention to detail – perhaps a fresh coat of paint, some interior restoration, and mechanical fine-tuning – this vehicle has the potential to transform into a truly head-turning show car, a rolling piece of history that commands attention and admiration wherever it goes. Unfortunately, my current circumstances lack the essential resources of a dedicated shop space for storage and the necessary area to undertake the restoration work.  I recently visited Christian, my physical therapist, and he offered me a quiz, of sorts, to determine my overall health. I love quizzes like this because I work really hard to maintain my health. My excitement was short-lived when I started the ‘movement’ section. Everyone thinks I’m so active, but honestly, I knew I’d fall short. The other section is my emotional health. I sleep pretty well most of the time, but as a people-pleaser, caregiver, and over-organizer, I expected to fall short again. I wasn’t wrong. In reviewing my scores with Christian, my PT, he noted the same thing I did. Movement and emotional health needed some improvement. Yippee. He suggested I utilize my Fitbit app for meditation … that quiet time between one minute and several minutes. I started with one and struggled. I knew Christian was on to something. It’s been one day and I’m up to three minutes twice a day. It’s not so bad but it is a conscience effort. Now movement will take more effort. While I play pickleball at least twice a week, it’s not enough. I noticed about a year ago that I wasn’t meeting my 10,000 step goal so I did the most obvious … reduced my steps to 8,000 and I still wasn’t cutting it on most days. My Fitbit buddies were beating me every week. Christian’s little test was right. He suggested I take a meditation walk - basically killing two birds with one stone. He urged me to modify my walk to include listening, touching, smelling, and seeing - four of the five senses. Yeah, it’s trickier than it sounds. Of course, two days later I found myself stuck in a doctor’s office for over two hours … but had a lovely and lengthy conversation with a delightful woman. I felt so energized chatting with her … we were like kindred souls, like-minded, caregivers, people-pleasers. We validated each other and we both saw ourselves in each other. What I didn’t expect is it checked one of the emotional health boxes … engaging with someone. Good for me. They say pictures are worth a thousand words … so welcome to my meditative walk … I have spent more of my day being present - I mean really present. One thing at a time has never been easy for me. Even now, as I write, I have a cat on my lap and music is playing. There is a gentle breeze coming through our opened windows - deep breathing is a given. Oh, and there is aroma of bacon cooking in the oven as BLTs are for lunch. Allow me to qualify that ... Tom is having a standard BLT, I'm having a BSTA sandwich (bacon, spinach, tomatoes, and avocado).
For those who know me, yes, I eat bacon, but it's not your standard grocery store fare. My bacon is:
If you are over 65, you likely received an AARP membership when you turned 50. That is a milestone for many as they enter old age. Then, you're ordering coffee at McDonald's and they offer you a senior discount! Whoops ... another hint we're fast approaching old age. Then, today, I got it one more time ... I was updating my LinkedIn account and was asked my birth year .... you know the drill ... I scrolled and scrolled and scrolled and voile ... it stopped at 1950. I was born in 1949 so apparently, I am no longer employable. Is that the final slap in the face? Probably not.
New Year's Day has come and gone did you make a resolution? Many people do and if it works for you - YEA! I made my final resolution in 2000 vowing to never make a resolution on January 1 again and it has worked for me.
While a new year is a good kickstarter, it rarely holds much past mid-January. Why? Oh, there are many reasons least of all there are so many options presented to us via television, social media, links promising success, and then there are those who have had success sharing their how-to! Well, be that as it may, until you are ready to make a change it just won't happen. Recently, it was suggested I try Noom and yes, I'm calling them out specifically because it is just one of the many ways to create failure. I paid their whopping 3-month fee and was pumped and ready to go. In the first three weeks I did lose a respectable amount, impressing even my nurse practitioner. But the kudos stop there. While the 'lessons' were somewhat helpful it wasn't anything I didn't already know. And, yes, I gave it my all! About midway, I found my scale inching up. I hate food logging mostly because I make all my own food so breaking down recipes was a pain in the you know what! But, I was dutiful and hopeful. When my 3-month stint was coming to an end, I reached out to Noom inquiring how to transition to their free version. After all, I had done all my lessons (yeah, that's the psychology part of the program), saved them for future reference (as suggested by the customer service person) and as my renew date approached I was pumped to do it on my own! I felt ready even though my scale was not my friend. As much as I love accountability, I was disappointed at my obvious failure. But, I was ready to move on. After several ... rather, many attempts to make the free version work giving me access to the lessons and food diary, as promised all I got were incessant pleas from Noom to upgrade. The free version never did what I was told it would do. Then, another plea to upgrade, but now it's free for a short time. After numerous emails and texts, I blocked them. I'm done with you, Noom. You are scamming the public with your promises of personal coaches - yeah, there aren't any, just if you join a community then maybe, possibly, a coach will pipe in. Then, get this ... I could be a coach, too ... apparently, anyone can be a coach. Oh, please ... Bottom line? I went back to MyFitnessPal ... logging food is still a pain, but it is considerably more user friendly - maybe it's because I 'grew up using it' or perhaps, it really is a better app. Then, get this ... on my Fitbit, they now offer a 'food' tab allowing me to enter my food. All in all, it is a struggle for me. Now, if you know me personally, you know I'm pretty fit, and depend on my village to keep me that way. What village, you ask? Ah, so easy ... as we age stuff starts to happen - stupid stuff that we either ignored as younger people or it wasn't a big deal because we healed more quickly. Now that I've hit 75, it takes a wee bit longer to 'get over' whatever it is. Who's in my village? My chiropractor - two visits a month keep me aligned. My massage therapist - one to two visits a month to work out the knots I create playing pickleball, walking, exercising, etc. My physical therapist who is always just a prescription away! Oh, yoga. My yogis cover me inside and out! But, the biggest part of my village is my husband, Tom. He is my rock ... always. Happy 77th birthday to my DOH, Tom.
His goto breakfast has always been waffles! Give him a hot waffle slathered in grassfed butter, with a side of bacon and an ice cold glass of milk and he will smile all day! As a young woman, I was always told, "a way to a man's heart is through his stomach!" Fortunately, I enjoy cooking and Tom is always quick to say I am a magician with it comes to preparing our meals. Most cooks can throw a meal together with little effort - we're the ones who shop, know what we have 'in stock' and have learned the trick of modifying! Happy birthday, sweetheart! Eating low-glycemic can be a challenge especially when I'm looking for something sweet. I know it's best to eat sweet foods with a healthy fat and protein but sometimes it's hard. Imagine my surprise when I have some apple left over from another recipe that I remembered one of my grandkid's favorites snacks ... apple nachos!
The wonderful crunch from the apple, coconut, and pecans, the tartness from the lemon juice, plus the mellow, melt-in-your mouth peanut butter just made my day! This recipe is so open to variations that you can pretty much do what you want! Apple Nachos Everyone - well, if you're over 60 - is thinking about brain health these days. All of us have misplaced our keys, phone or walked into a room wondering why. It happens. We're busy, we're tired, and we're old. But what can we do about our forgetfulness? Is it something to worry about? Yes and no.
Don't panic. Just take a look at what you're eating and see if you can make some changes ... and by all means don't do it all at once or your family and friends will notice!! Recently, I have been reading about dementia and wondered why the US is riddled with dementia patients. What gives? I thought long and hard about it and wondered if the craze for low fat diets was really as helpful and we were being told. I don't think so. Our brain needs GOOD fats and sadly Americans are eating way too much food and BAD fats. Yes, it makes a difference. I'll let you do your own research, so don't just listen to me. What I do works for me - at least so far - and my husband and I are happy with our choices. Here is a link to get you started ... please remember ... not everything thing you read, hear, learn, and utilize is the final answer. Research continues daily ... be a life-long learner. Here's your link: https://www.eatingwell.com/article/290813/mind-diet-best-foods-to-eat-to-keep-your-brain-young/ |
