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| 'A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.' |
After that it's all half avocado here and small tomato there, and how much supper can I eat, and I'm starving: time for another "small handful" of raw, unsalted nuts.
Apparently low-carbohydrate diet are not good for those with "active lifestyles" or are into endurance sports, which is indeed why I should not have started mine just before the Chartres Pilgrimage. As a scribbler, I most definitely do not have an active lifestyle, except very periodically when I do a massive in-depth Historical Flat clean or cook for a dinner party, or do both on the same day, plus grocery shopping. Yesterday was one such day.
Up at six. Tidy a bit. Off to Tesco. Back from Tesco. Bake gingerbread cake (without white sugar, very exciting). In-depth tidy of this room. Adequate tidy of that room. Scrubbing of the bathroom, including the tub. Desperate dusting of tricky place under the skylight. .Sweeping of ancient stone stairs. Cooking of traditional Polish koperkowa soup, only with veggie broth instead of veal.
"I have never seen this so-called Polish soup," said Polish Pretend Son, who nevertheless had seconds.
By ten-thirty in the evening I was starting to flag. At about 11:45 PM, having slipped out of the masculine gathering to wash the dishes, I broke one of the sacred cream jugs. B.A. rushed to my aid, and determined that the cream jug was the one I broke before, and all that had happened was the invisible mend had come unstuck. This was very good news, but all the same I thought I had better go to bed.
This morning I awoke at 7:12 AM, feeling excited that despite hosting a dinner party for six the night before, I would walk into a clean kitchen. And there would be oatmeal with blueberries and yogurt!
Cookie update: I have relaxed my anti-sugar scruples enough to use a little maple syrup, but I must say that as retrained as my palate is, I can't taste it in this recipe. I think next time I'll try an extra Tbsp. Of course, extra retraining may be needed, as I have preconceived notions of what peanut butter cookies are supposed to taste like.
By the way, the gingerbread recipe in Sugared Orange is the bomb. I used 80% cocoa chocolate and kept the honey but substituted xylitol for the caster sugar, It is pure spicy, plumy, gingery goodness.
You might suffer less from hunger if you allowed yourself a little more fat and cut back on starchy (oatmeal) and sugary carbs (fruit). I discovered years ago that oatmeal for breakfast made me hungry. At the least, you should make sure your yogurt is full fat (10%), which is hard to find here in North America.
ReplyDeleteAs I am decidedly pudgy at the moment it feels a bit silly to be giving dietary advice. And of course it probably sounds paradoxical to fight carb cravings by eating fewer carbs, but many people don't realize that starchy carbs, even those that are called 'complex carbs' raise insulin levels in exactly the same way as sugar does. (I have seen it in a glucose meter in diabetic relatives.) As you know, it's insulin flooding the body that sharpens the appetite.
Alias Clio
Fear not, I am eating full-fat yogurt. And when I am hungry, I eat nuts, which are full of fat. I flee from white bread and crackers. It's all good.
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