Maybe Butter isn't as bad as you think

Pass The Butter .. Please.

This is interesting . .. .

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back.

It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow colouring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavourings..

DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?

Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams; compared to 5 grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and
only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years .

And now, for Margarine..

Very High in Trans fatty acids.

Triples risk of coronary heart disease .
Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five times..

Lowers quality of breast milk.

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

You can try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Share This With Your Friends.....(If you want to butter them up')!

Chinese Proverb: When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.
Pass the BUTTER PLEASE

Aspartame (formaldehyde) doesn't help to lose weight

Several months ago I ran into an old friend of mine at a health food store. She was there looking for Agave sweetner. Even though she works out like a maniac (seriously - like a maniac) and watches what she eats, she could not manage to lose any weight and so she visited a doctor. That doctor told her that one of her problems was using Aspartame sweetner and sent her in search of all natural sweetner. So even though women (and men) take the risk of eating and drinking what is basically formaldehyde (you know, the stuff they embalm dead people with), it apparently doesn't even help to lose weight. What a rip off!

Frankly, I had always wondered. Years ago, my sister who had a terrible coke habit, switched to diet sodas and other no sugar foods. She drank at least a 6 pack per day (though I imagine more than that) and you would think that switching to a diet soda and no sugar foods, since she really didn't eat much, would have caused her to lose a few pounds, but no.

For Men - What we don't want for Valentine's Day

Contrary to what TV and radio might make you believe, most of us don't want pajamas


or a teddy bear


We are your wife or your girlfriend, not your daughter or niece.

I think I speak for most women when I say we would rather have jewelry, even if it isn't the expensive kind. I would love a sterling silver heart necklace (especially if it were engraved with something special) waaaaaaaaay more than either of those things above.

Other good choices are more tried a true standbys (there is a reason they are always popular) chocolate, flowers and/or a romantic dinner somewhere nice. Lingerie isn't bad either, just not those pajamas they constantly advertise on TV - something way sexier than that. Although, I think a box of chocolates (or something else) with lingerie is a good match because likely the lingerie is more for the guy than the lady (I think that is true even if your lover is another woman). :)

7 Reasons You're Still Overweight (and How to Get Slim Fast)

7 Reasons You're Still Overweight (and How to Get Slim Fast) on Yahoo! Health

#7. Overweight people skip breakfast.
A simple habit, but missing this crucial meal raises your risk of obesity by a whopping 450 percent! Start your day with some lean protein and fiber—which will jumpstart your metabolism and keep you full. (An egg sandwich is actually a great choice.)

I keep hearing this and so I guess I will try to start eating breakfast. I have never eaten breakfast, except for when I am on vacation, which for some reason makes me extra hungry. Even as a child my grandmother would cook these huge breakfast meals with hash browns, bacon, eggs, toast and I would take about two bites and feed the rest to the dog. I am not hungry when I have just got up from sleep, it normally takes at least 2 hours.

Evolving Diet Thoughts

So it occurred to me at the grocery store today, it isn't that I eat a lot - it is what I eat that is the problem. Most days I have 1 meal, instead of three meals I snack a lot. Normally my snacks are more fattening than my meals. My favorite being salami, yogurt with mint (and/or sometimes cheese) and crackers (triscuit hint of salt) or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Also, add lots of chocolate throughout the day and anything else that is easy to grab like crackers (luckily I have never cared much for potato chips, unless they are BBQ which I rarely buy). So anyway I thought to myself that I will never eat more healthy and less fattening unless those healthy snacks are easy to grab, which means I always need a lots of washed and cut fresh veggies and fruit, ready for me to grab and eat. So that is what I did when I returned from the grocery, washing and cutting -- ready for when I get hungry.

I also bought some Boca burgers. I have never really minded those. They don't taste like a hamburger and anyone that tells you they do are lying, but they don't taste bad. I also found these amazing buns -


I have never really cared for big thick buns anyhow and these only have 100 calories, which is less than half of a regular bun and less than a wheat pita pocket or whole wheat tortilla. I haven't eat one yet, but I took a nibble and they seemed tasty.

All that said, somethings I consider outside the realm of diet. For example, when we go out to dinner (which we don't do very often, once a week at most) I will eat whatever I want. If I make myself feel too deprived this will not work. I will do my best to stay away from white at home and to make the less fattening choice, so long as it is bearable. There are some low fat things that are unbearable - mayo and cheese come to mind. I would rather have neither if I have to do the no or low fat alternative. I also stay away from most things that are not naturally low fat because often they have aspartame sweetner or something equally as bad. If I wanted to eat formaldehyde I would just buy some. Also, I am convinced that the stuff they call margarine is really just whipped plastic. Although, there is a yogurt spread (that I will start buying again) that is pretty tasty and all natural.

So those are my updated plans. We will see if they do any good.

Diet Dummy

For most of my life I was one of those rare and lucky women that could eat whatever I wanted and not gain an ounce. As a result, I have never learned anything about dieting. I don't know how many calories someone is suppose to have and I totally have no clue about this "points" system that people talk about.

A few months back I read about Jennifer Aniston's diet, which is simply that she doesn't eat white food -- that I could understand. I noticed that Rapunzel over at In Pursuit of my Inner Pin-up also seems to follow this. I am sure like all diets it isn't as easy as it sounds, but it sounds easier than counting calories or points. I don't buy white bread, except tortillas, but I rarely eat those. I am going to guess my biggest problem will be the no potato part. I love them in any form, mashed, baked, fried and I like to put more white stuff on them, like sour cream, butter (is butter considered white?), gravy and sometimes ranch dressing. Still, at least I can understand the basic concept of it. Best of all, by those guidelines white wine is out (which I don't like anyway) and red wine is perfectly fine!

So anyhow, that is my plan because so far over the last 6 months (most of which I worked out pretty regularly during) I haven't lost a pound, in fact, I gained 2.

BTW, Rapunzel also has a yummy sounding veggie recipe on her blog that I am dying to try!

The Happy 101 Award!

Thanks to Rapunzel for giving us this award! Hopefully, Regan will do it too!

The award is called "HAPPY 101", the instructions that come along with this award:

1. Copy the image and display it on your blog.
2.List 10 things thatmake you happy.
3. Try to do at least one of them today.
4. Pass on the award to 10 bloggers who brighten your day.

Hmmmmm, Ten things that make me happy....

1. My pets, Sweetie and other family
2. Good books (and even some bad ones)
3. A good movie/ TV show
4. Jewelry, anything sparkly, it doesn't have to be expensive
5. Chocolate
6. Wine
7. Friends
8. Good music
9. Feeding my neighbor's horses apples
10. It has never happened, but I am pretty sure that winning the lottery would also make me happy.

Now to pass it on to 10 Bloggers that brighten our day:

1. Girl in a Satin Slip
2. Female of the Species
3. Beamships Equal Love
4. SoCal L.O.W.F.I. (Skylaire)
5. Surfing the Tao
6. The Spirit Guide
7. Any women not already mentioned from Women of Esoterica
8. The Bigfoot Field Reporter
9. A Halo of Dust
10. The Pink Flamingo

The Shake Weight

That's right, I bought one! And it's great. Silly, but great. I use it in the morning, and work out on the bike/elliptical thing in the evening.

I bought it at Target, which was good; I didn't have to order it and wait, etc. It comes with a short DVD which is easy to follow. Six minutes or so, really, and you can really feel it as you work out with it! It doesn't use batteries or anything; it's just the one weight that you, well, shake.

The advertising proudly announces that the Shake Weight has been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Well, yes, it has, but not exactly what you'd think; this is pretty funny. I love Queen Latifah's handling of the thing:

Still, the thing works, and that's all I care about. I don't feel ripped off or anyting, it's easy to use, and that's what matters to me when it comes to things like this.

Not a resolution, but...

I have now not had a cigarette in 8 hours. I know that doesn't seem like much to non-smokers, but it is to me. It isn't a new years resolution (I hate those) it is a coincidence that it happens to be new years. Last week when we were in Taos Ski Valley, there were very few places we could smoke and all of them were outside where it was freezing. So during that time I got down to about 6 cigarettes per day and it really wasn't that hard or bad. So I have been thinking about that and decided to try to quit once again and just maybe this time I won't fail. Really, you would think that watching my older sister die of lung cancer should be enough to make me quit because it was a really horrible death and not the way I would like to die if there is any way I might prevent it. Not to mention that I am genetically prone to have heart problems, though to my knowledge my heart is in pretty good shape.

However, just to warn you - it is quite likely that I will be posting a lot about food. Yep, even more than I do. As I look back on my vacation status updates at facebook they totally revolved around food because I was hardly smoking and I also am a foodie. :)

Art costs teacher her job?

I just noticed this link in Anna Murphy's tweets. What does society have to do to be rid of this type of puritanism? Really I believe that at least 95% of people in America understand that there is nothing wrong with their child seeing a nude piece of art and that the human form is not shameful or evil. That a teacher could be fired (or even put on leave) for taking children to an art museum is really unbelievably stupid and wrong of the administration of that school.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. My SO, Britton, is a sculptor and he mainly does female nudes and/or partly nudes. I have seen grown men in there 50's that blush and have to turn away from looking at them. This is especially true for the total nudes. Remember when John Ashcroft put curtains over those semi-nude statues of Lady Justice? While I am sure this type of nudity phobia is not just confined to men, they do in many cases seem to be more freaked out by it.

Although, it is true that good art should cause some sort of reaction, firing a teacher over a nude or any type of art in a museum should never be the reaction.