You Are What You Eat

I'm regretting lunch today already. I had a craving for a fried chicken sandwich, so I went and ate a fried chicken sandwich.


I'm not sick, but I sure don't feel as good as I'd feel if I had fed my body, instead of my cravings, with unprocessed, unfried food like this:


Of course, in central Kansas, the former is a lot more common and easier to obtain than the latter, which is why I usually try to bring my lunch. Only, the lack of a kitchen makes bringing my lunch downright boring. It's a challenge, to say the least, to stay on the eating-healthy-wagon.

So, I've been going over in my mind all the reasons why I want to eat healthy, and since I like to share what's on my mind (for better or for worse), here's a list of those reasons:

1. I want to feel good.


The longer I choose to eat healthy, the more aware I've become at how certain foods make me feel. Of course, eating an Oreo provides much more instant gratification than eating an apple does, but half an hour after eating an apple, I feel fulfilled, energized and refreshed. Half an hour after eating an oreo (or a dozen, since who in the world can eat just one), I just want a nap.

Speaking of Oreos, do you know what the filling consists of? That creamy, sweet filling that melts when dunked in milk?


The sad truth, my friends, is it is sweetened, gelatinized crisco. Yes, it tastes great, but can you imagine what it's doing to the inside of your body? Yuck.

2. I want to taste, and I mean really taste my food.

One of the simplest, yet most successful strategies I've had in trying to lose/maintain my weight is to slow down and taste what I'm eating. I find that if I'm rushed, I will scarf down my meal and I end up feeling totally unfulfilled. However, if I slow down, savor each bite and chew each piece of food purposefully, I will not only sense more quickly when I've had enough, but the entire meal is much more enjoyable. I end the meal feeling satiated.

I realize I'm not the first person to stumble upon this discovery, but I do feel that it can be one of the most useful tools in weight loss. Not only do you learn to taste and enjoy your food, feel fuller faster, and have a wonderful excuse to slow down during a hectic day, but it allows you to listen to your body better. Eventually you'll learn, just as my lunch reminded me today, that a mental craving is much different from a physical one. Mentally I wanted that sandwich. Physically I could have eated cardboard with the same results. I feel tired and unfulfilled. Next meal will be veggies and other whole foods.

3. I want to know what I'm putting into my body.


Soylent Pink, anyone?

It's not "people." It's chicken. Seriously.

Now the USDA might say it's safe, but I don't care. That doesn't look like anything I want in my body. Just imagine all of the preservatives they use to gel that stuff together and make it last forever in those gelatinated chicken patties you find in the freezer section? It's the same way I feel about hot dogs. While they might taste good (even if I can get around the whole lips and *holes ingredients list), the amount of sodium nitrate they contain make me physically ill (same goes with processed deli meat).

I think I'll print off this picture and carry it in my wallet, so the next time someone gives me a weird look for ordering a veggie sub at Subway I'll be armed and ready. I don't know what's more depressing, living in a world where Oreos are made of crisco, or a world that thinks ordering a veggie sandwich is weird.

All I know is that I really wish I would have had the veggie sub for lunch.

Bon Appetit,

Three Things

I'm heading towards another 50+ hour workweek so tonight's post is short and sweet. Just three things:

(1) Make this recipe: Drip Beef, Two Ways

I made it today, using the crock pot, and....

YUM!

That's all I have to say about that.

(2) I've had an epiphany about Sophie.

She's a Katie Girl. That explains a LOT.

(3) For those of you who have asked about Eddie...

His mood is improving everyday! He used to "perform" for his feed--he'd get so excited, do a little dance and rear up when he was feeling really frisky. Today he nickered at me the minute I came out the door, so there is signs of his old self emerging again, thank goodness! He's still a little crabbier than he normally was, but it's to be expected when he's been in quite a bit of pain for so long. He's moving well, though, and we're just in a holding pattern, keeping him on bute to keep him comfortable and waiting for the hoof to grow so I can train it back out to its proper position.

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent well-wishes and prayers for him. I've passed along all your hugs and kisses to him, plus a few of my own :~)

A Very Productive Day

Although I was a little surprised that I was up and ready to get to work at 6am this morning (what is wrong with me?! Wait, don't answer that!) it ended up being one of those rare days when time was on my side. If my back would have been on my side, I could have gotten everything done I wanted to, but unfortunately it forced me to stop short. I'm still feeling pretty darned productive, though!

First, after everyone was finished with breakfast, I doled out the shots and wormer. The horses were thrilled, let me tell ya.

Then it was Paula's turn to be trimmed.



She wasn't even due for her trim yet, but obviously there's a lot of work that could be done here.


If you compare the below photo with the one above, you can see I really dug into the flare on the right. I used the nippers to cut it out, then used the rasp to smooth it into place. I also took the hoof knife (which I rarely use) and cleaned up the heels a bit.

Her feet have really recovered from being so neglected last year. It's taken me over a year now to get her back to where I had her before she left my care. This is how her feet were supposed to look and I'm thrilled we're finally back to that point. Progress!

I went ahead and led her out into the driveway. Yes, even after trimming she can walk on rocks with no pain. I love barefoot trimming....

Side view below. I'm finally getting some heel back on her.

Dakota was asleep in the warm sun. She's next!

I had to take a break though. Charlie's already taking one.

I came inside and iced my back for a few minutes. Sophie joined me.


Once I was finished with my little break, Dakota was next. You might remember her leg issues we've been working on. This was when she arrived at my place:

Wasn't for a lack of care whatsoever--she looked great! I just wanted to try some things to see if I could get her looking a bit better. I've had lots of experience with epiphisitis while working with halter horses and I also have experience with specialized trimming because of Eddie, so I was hoping that what I've learned could be applied to Dakota.

In September I was able to get this far with her.

I took quite a bit of weight off of her to smooth out her legs and did a pretty drastic corrective trim. She was sore and didn't look nearly as good as when she was dropped off, but we were making progress.

Today, she's got her weight back up (obviously from her snoozing picture) and I didn't have to correct her nearly as much. She was a tad sore from the adjustment I did do but not nearly as bad as our first try, so I feel like we're making a ton of progress. Here's after today's trim:

Still far from perfect but she's getting there. She's come along a lot further than I ever thought she would. I had figured she would be a pasture pet. Now there's hope for a job for her as well! She runs around like a banshee once she's healed and I'm pleased that as I've let her gain weight she's not gotten worse, so keep your fingers crossed for us that our success continues!

Below is how the bottom of her foot looks before trimming. If you study the hoof long enough, it will tell you a lot about the horse. Here you can see that Dakota wears her toe into a point, which is consistent with the swinging motion she uses when she walks. I want to make it easy for her to bring her foot straight out in front of her rather than swinging it to the side, so I'll round off the toe, almost overexaggerating a mustang roll and I'll clean up the rest of her foot and balance it out.

Balance is very important when working with a horse with leg issues. Compare the top and bottom photos--you can see I've change the whole shape of the foot, not just trimmed the excess. The hoof below is a healthy, properly traveling hoof and since we want to encourage Dakota to get healthy feet and legs, I'll keep pushing her into that direction by forcing the proper shape through nipping and rasping.

On the right side she is terribly flared out, so I've gut that part off, rounded it with my rasp and will need to try to be better about trimming her every 4 weeks instead of 6. If I can get to her sooner then we'll get to where we want to be much more quickly and smoothly.

Dakota is the worst one to trim, in terms of her behavior. She's not awful but she fights a lot, which results in the rasp grazing my knuckles as I carefully try to balance her feet out.

Actually, this isn't too bad. Usually it's much worse--I have scars! LOL I could use my brain and put on a pair of gloves but I haven't found a pair I like yet. Usually they are too bulky to be able to feel what I'm doing with the feet.

JJ also got trimmed but I didn't take pics as I was wore out and just wanted to get him done fast. Poor JJ also has some sort of fungus in his coat--it makes him very rough so I have him a medicated bath and then rubbed MTG all over him.

He now smells like an iodine campfire! LOL

Seriously, though, JJ did great. This was the first bath I had ever given him (terrible, I know!). He didn't care at all! He just ate the grass in the yard and I scrubbed him up and rinsed him off. He reminds me a lot of Eddie--he will reach for his grain while I'm pouring it and take a huge mouthful of the grain waterfall :) He doesn't mind being sprayed down with water at all. He's incredibly sweet and smart, but easy going. JJ looks just like his momma but he acts just like his daddy.

I also rode Paula today. I did get a bit of video but she was having a bad day today. I don't know what was up, but she wasn't as spot-on as she usually is. I'll work on the video or get more tomorrow, or both!

I got some water hauled as well and when I got back I was too tired--Laramie and Bambi will have to wait for their trim until tomorrow. I had so much stuff to put away after the horses' day of health and beauty!

I forgot to mention, when I came inside for lunch I made some Chili and put it in the crockpot. I just made up a recipe and it happened to turn out great!

It's a little healthier form of Chili:

1 lb 93% lean ground beef

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 jalapenos, chopped

1 can rotel

1 can black beans

1 can chili beans

handfull of chopped red onion

1/2 package of chili seasoning

I browned the ground beef, added the onion and let it cook a bit before combining it with the rest of the ingredients on the crock pot. I set it on low, went out and had fun with the horses and by the time I came back in it was all ready to be served! Enjoy!

Buffalo Tacos

Remember a little earlier when I asked what this

and this

had in common?

Well, I got some pretty interesting guesses (things I would have never thought of in my life :) but this is actually what I was hinting at: Buffalo Tacos.

I love buffalo meat. I love the flavor of it and it holds spices so well. Problem was I had the hardest time coming up with a proper recipe for buffalo tacos. So often it just didn't go together quite right. The seasoning just didn't compliment the meat.

Well, after many tries I finally found out that simple is best. I thought I'd share the recipe that I felt finally suited buffalo meat the best.

First, brown up some ground buffalo meat. I also add a bit of salt and pepper.

You might had to add a bit of water as buffalo meat is very lean. Try not to let it get too dry.

Then chop up a couple of jalapenos and some onion to taste.

Of course the more seeds you leave in the jalapenos, the hotter it will be. Strip all the seeds out before chopping if you want a mild dish. I wanted this to have a little kick, so I left them all in.

Once the buffalo is almost browned, add the chopped onion and jalapeno.

Stir and let it simmer for a while. Add more water if needed. It's very important not to let it dry out.

While that's simmering, warm up some tortillas. Once the onion has gone clear and all the ingredients are sufficiently cooked and combined, put a nice pile of the buffalo mixture in the center of a warm tortilla.

I'll try not to use the term "pile" next to "buffalo" again.

And by the way, I do have regular plates. They are pretty and dainty--not very adequate for a hearty, rustic meal like this. OK, if you don't buy that then fine--I was just too lazy to do dishes that night.

Add some cheese and let it melt in on its own. This is montery jack, but use your favorite kind.

Then add lettuce, a bit of chopped cilantro and your favorite ready-made taco sauce.

Sour cream is heaven on this, too, but I was out that night.

I promise to someday share my homemade taco sauce recipe, but since this isn't really a food blog and I'm definitely no great cook, I need to stretch out the recipes as long as I can.

In the meantime, I hope you try this one out. I love it and it's great reheated (very handy for us single cowgirls). Enjoy!!

My Favorite Blogs

I thought since I didn't have much to write about tonight (unless you're dying to hear about my fantastic grocery store trip, searching for an hour for foods that are both healthy and easy on my wallet, including the half hour I spent searching for whole wheat pita bread LOL), I would mention some of my personal favorite blogs. If you have any favorites of your own, please feel free to share in the comments!

AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

I don't care who ya are, that's funny right there....

The Pioneer Woman Blog

WARNING: You will definitely get addicted! Amazing photography, great writing, fun contests and great recipes! Try the Ginger Steak Salad --YUMMY!!

NorCal Equine Rescue

These people do rescue RIGHT! Check out Phoenix, their latest rescue. I didn't know a horse could be that thin and still alive :(