Seinlife

• Xtracycle: Sport Utility Bicycle

  Posted: June 24, 2008, 7:25 pm by Seinlife

  This beauty would come in handy for the frequent runs to the grocery store and blockbuster which are a mere mile and a half away from my house. Not only will I get some more exercise in but will certainly put a dent, as small as it may, to my gas bill and of course help do my bit on the environment. I love that it has saddlebags to hold your cargo and a platform for a passenger or two. Did I mention that I want one! Yes I so do. I will even take it on frequent trips to yoga and a spin or two around the park.

   

  Xtracycle

   

   

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• Greenpeace Humor: You Are My Sunshine

  Posted: June 19, 2008, 4:32 am by Seinlife

  Be part of the energy revolution with some Wednesday humor brought to you courtesy of Greenpeace.
  
  

   

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• New Shower Curtain Smell Toxic ?

  Posted: June 17, 2008, 10:13 pm by Seinlife

  According to a study done by a national environmental group, that not so appealing smell that your new shower curtain has might be giving off toxic chemicals linked to serious health problems.
  
  The group tested vinyl shower curtains from places like WalMart, KMart, Bed Bath and Beyond and found they contained high concentrations of phthalates, varying concentrations of organotins as well as other chemicals that are known to be either air pollutants or harmful to our health.

   

  Read more from this LA Times Article.

   

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• How I Spent My Stimulus

  Posted: June 15, 2008, 8:07 pm by Seinlife

  If you live in the US, you have either already received or are about to receive your cut of President Bush’s economic stimulus. The stimulus ranges from $600 upward depending on your income and dependents. The idea behind it is to promote overall spending and hopefully limit the looming recession. The goal will most likely be negated if people pay debt, spend the money overseas, save the money or do anything else but spend the money to buy stuff right here in the good old USA.

   

  So I found this site, How I Spent My Stimulus, where folks share how they spent their cuts. It’s very interesting when all is said and done where most of the piece of the pie will actually have gone. This one , of course, caught my eye.

   

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• Urban Farming: Eradicating Hunger

  Posted: June 11, 2008, 5:36 pm by Seinlife

  Urban Farming is an international non profit based in Detroit, Michigan that is bent on eliminating hunger and ensuring that everyone eats healthy by planting food in unused city land and empty spaces and giving it to those that need it. What an excellent idea for a time when people are struggling with foreclosures, loosing their jobs and gas prices are soaring. These farms are unfenced and anybody can come by and harvest and take home what they need.

   

  Check out the Urban Farming Trailer from the Urban Farming web site and read how these Farms take root on NPR.

   

   

   

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• The World Without Us

  Posted: June 10, 2008, 11:58 pm by Seinlife

  What would happen to the planet if we were to suddenly disappear? How long do you think it will take your house to degenerate when you are gone?

   

  The World Without Us by Alan Weisman delves into these and many other human environmental implications. Certainly rouses a call for us to respect the ecosystem and stop our destructive ways.
  
  

   

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• Clean Eating - Day 26 - 30

  Posted: June 8, 2008, 7:07 pm by Seinlife

  So I have been quite the slacker and running way behind with my posts. So in an attempt to catch up am going to combine the last 4 days of my clean eating into one post.
  
  So on day 26, I had breakfast at work, a bowl of fruit, yogurt and a cup of strong black tea. For lunch I had blackened tuna steak with peas and carrots.
  
  That meal kept me happy for the rest of the afternoon. I was not hungry at all this evening but I decided to eat something nevertheless, so I had whole grain bread with a teaspoon of peanut butter downed with a blend of orange and cranberry juice. I didn’t need to eat anything else for the rest of the evening.

   

  For breakfast on Day 27, I had my usual without yogurt - they didn’t have any in the cafeteria - I substituted a banana for it. Not quite the same but it did the job. From now one I plan to buy my own yogurt and have it in the fridge at work that way I always have my protein in the AM when I need it.
  
  I had a couple errands to ran on this humid and pouring day - yuck! I was surprisingly famished when I was done with errands. I promptly stopped at panera for some chicken noodle soup and a whole grain baguette.
  
  
  For dinner, I put together a hearty salad that was quite enjoyable.
  
  - mixed greens
  - alfalfa
  - tomatoes
  - avocado
  - strawberries
  - pumpkin seeds

   

  For Day 28, breakfast was the usual; tea, bowl of fruit and yogurt. For lunch, a friend and I went to panera where I had a bowl of black bean soup and a side of their strawberry poppyseed salad.
  
  It was absolutely delightful and had me full all afternoon into the evening. For dinner, my husband and I went to a local eatery, one we frequent almost on a weekly basis now, where we had a hummus appetizer and I had steak, potatoes and roasted vegetables. I had half the meal and saved the rest for the next days dinner.

   

  On Day 29, breakfast was the usual even though it is Friday - free donuts and bagels at work! I of course stuck to my daily regiment of fruit and yogurt.
  
  Lunch was an old favorite - salad bar. I started building my salad at around 11:35 am with the usual make up of spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, cottage cheese, sunflower seeds etc
  
  Dinner was leftovers from night before - tasted even better than it did the previous night.

   

  It’s Day 30! where did the days go? So this is a pancake morning - I love pancakes. This week at my CSA pick up, they had graham flour as an item of choice to get which I did. So this morning I made our regular pancakes with an equal mix of both spelt flour and graham flour. Woow - what a difference - the pancakes cooked easier and tasted less grainy. My plan when I got it was to use it to make a crust for a rhubarb pie, which I still might do, but now I love it so much in my pancakes that I will continue to use it here too. I will give it a go with chapati’s as well especially since it is so much more nutritious than regular white flour.
  
  Breakfast held me over until about 4 pm - which I thought was rather odd when I did look at a clock - but again it was a busy day. For dinner, I had mixed greens, roasted potatoes and pumpkin seeds served with whole grain bread with avocado spread. Sloppy but delicious!

   

  Observation
  - I have lost a total of 8.2 lbs
  - PMS was a little bit of an obstacle through the process but am sure it gets better as the body adjusts to eating healthier
  - Am surprised at how much variety in food is out there and how much of it is so enjoyable - Just because a food is good for you does not mean it will be bland and boring.
  - It is funny that when I decide to eat better that is when all the bad foods are everywhere. I can’t tell you the number of times that coffee cakes, chocolate etc were flaunted in my face especially at work. At first it was very hard to say no but for every no I said it got easier.
  - I plan to add, sparingly, dark chocolate and wine to my diet as they have amazing benefits
  - I plan to experiment with making my own cooking oils using whole milk.
  - It was a good 30 days and I thank all the people that came back to check on me- Thank you for holding me accountable to my health!

   

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• Clean Eating - Day 25

  Posted: June 3, 2008, 4:19 pm by Seinlife

  Another peaceful night with no tornado watches or warnings-Yay! I slept like a baby and woke up refreshed and ready for whatever the day brings. I got up so early I was off to work an hour earlier than usual - I know! what a suprise.
  
  
  For breakfast was yogurt and fruit, followed with a cup of tea enjoyed for most the morning.

   

  Lunch
  I had to pick up some items from the whole food store so I figured I might as well dine there too.
  
  - rice
  - beans
  - tabbouleh
  - quinoa
  - chinese cabbage
  - noodles
  - red pepper
  
  Always so good a meal and held me over until dinner.

   

  Dinner
  Dinner was at about 6 pm and it was a salad.
  
  - mixed greens
  - egg
  - sunflower seeds
  - pumpkin seeds
  - alfalfa
  - tomatoes
  - avocado
  - homemade dressing (yogurt, balsamic vinagrette and freshly squizzed orange juice)

   

  Observations
  - No PMS [doing one heck of a dance]
  - My appetite is still way low compared to when I first began eating clean. I thought this might be due to PMS but now am sort of wondering if it has to do with my body adjusting to eating better. If all I feed myself is good nutritious food and no empty calories then could it be that am never wanting for more since am not just full of empty calories?
  - My weigh in this morning indicating a drop in .4lbs.

   

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• Clean Eating - Day 24

  Posted: June 2, 2008, 4:23 pm by Seinlife

  After yesterday long hard day, I hit the sack pretty early and when I got up this AM feeling fresh and awake, I knew it had paid off! For breakfast, we had our Spelt Pancakes without sugar. Delicous as always!

   

   

  Lack of appetite continued to hound me for yet another day. I skipped lunch and had a craving for fries in the late afternoon. Instead I boiled some red potatoes and browned them with onions, garlic and paprika. That seemed to do the trick and my fries craving was gone.
  
  I remained satisfied through the evening.

   

  Observations
  - Can’t wait for PMS to pass!

   

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• Clean Eating - Day 23

  Posted: June 2, 2008, 4:14 pm by Seinlife

  So last night we were jolted from sleep by a tornado warning blarring off our all harzards alert radio. We dragged our sleepy selves down to the basement and tried to settle-in for the rest of the night. Unfortunately the dogs are super sensitive to weather changes and just could not relax and to make it worse the alert went off again. Needless to say we didn’t get much sleep and today was our scheduled garage sale bright and early in the morning. So I got up feeling like a zombie with a serious headache. I had no time for breakfast so I downed my usual 2 glasses of water and headed out. I have never had a garage sale before but the thought of getting rid of all the clutter to make room for more clutter is just way too enticing. By mid morning most of the stuff was gone - Yay! Got me thinking what else can I get rid off LOL! We were successfully done with the garage sale by late morning.

   

   

  For lunch I had rice and beef which I ate despite the fact that I was not hungry at all. My appetite is just not at its best. By late afternoon, my headache was worse and so I decided to treat it with a strong cup of coffee.
  
  Dinner was no different - no appetite but I had rice and beef again anyway. I had nothing else all evening.

   

  Observation
  - Weigh in this AM remained constant
  - Lack of appetite might be due to PMS (the mother of all womanly troubles!)

   

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• Clean Eating - Day 22

  Posted: June 1, 2008, 10:43 pm by Seinlife

  No yogurt again this morning just a bowl of fruit and some tea! Not a good way to start a day but I will make do!

   

   

  Lunch
  I ventured into whole foods for lunch and hit the salad bar but skipped all greens and settled on a combination of rice, beans, tabbouleh and chinese cabbage. Yummilicious!
  
  
  
  Lunch held me over till dinner which was left over steak, mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables from last nights local restaurant. Tasted even better than it did yesterday!

   

  Observations
  - I don’t have much of an appetite when I do eat and don’t seem to feel hungry in between meals like I used to. Am attributing this to PMS for now and will return to it post PMS to see if there any changes.
  - This mornings weigh in indicated a 2lbs gain - again am blaming PMS for this at least for now and will revisit this after PMS to observe any difference in weight.

   

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Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes