Recently read and reading

- I Regret Nothing, A Memoir by Jen Lancaster (it's a LOL book)
- 'Til Death Do Us Part, another in a series of mysteries by a former Cosmopolitan editor
- Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India, by a young, female NPR reporter
- Home Sweet Anywhere: How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life, and Saw the World
- The Receptionist: An Education at the New Yorker
- Romance is my Day Job: A Memoir of Finding Love at Last, by a Harlequin romance editor.
- An Italian Journey: a Harvest of Revelations in the Olive Groves of Tuscany
- There was a Little Girl: the Real Story of My Mother and Me, by Brooke Shields
- Nine Lives to Die: a Mrs. Murphy Mystery

Entering the Zone:

No aches, no stiffness, no lie!

So I had a house call from a doctor several weeks ago. When I originally was contacted about this visit, I was assured that it wasn’t because I was, well, getting a little long on the tooth, but rather just a courtesy to participants in my self-insured health plan.

Well, it actually was generated by my advancing age, I discovered, but once we got past the preliminaries and he realized I wasn’t exactly homebound and shuffling around with a cane (wait, what!), I decided to pump him for information. He told me that his three biggest preventative health suggestions were mammograms, colonoscopies and daily baby aspirin use. Having once worked for the maker of Bayer Aspirin, I was a little skeptical about his assertion that aspirin can help one become a vegetarian, but I do plan to ask my primary care physician if the regimen would be a good idea for someone not knowingly at risk for heart attack or stroke.

What I really wanted to ask this doctor about was my joint stiffness, ie likely arthritis, and his response was astounding. He said that if I started following an anti-inflammation diet called the Zone, enhanced by some supplements, that I could likely dramatically reduce the aches and pains. Wow, this guy was so worth the initial annoyance of being put on his senior citizen client list. After all, he wasn’t exactly wet behind the ears either.

Anyway, I first went out and loaded up on a multivitamin, a joint health herbal formula with turmeric and fish oil/omega-3 (which is supposedly purified and contains no nasty mercury, PCBs and dioxins from our bodies of water). Then I went to the library to look for The Zone book, written by a researcher on inflammation named Barry Sears. Unfortunately, since the book was about 20 years old the library didn’t carry it so off I went to a local bookstore which has a large used books section. Voila – I found the book. But, in looking at current titles, I realized that Sears has actually updated the book with The Mediterranean Zone, published just last year.

Before I invested in this book, however, I had to make sure that his dietary recommendations were not going to be too restrictive or complicated. Bottom line, could I still have my beloved cottage cheese and other dairy products, my coffee and the occasional dark chocolate?

The answer is yes, in moderation of course.

 

It’s all about reducing cell inflammation, which can  lead to lots of bad stuff, including stiff joints, weight gain and even aging too fast. And to do this, you simply need to avoid gorging on sugar and other white stuff such as bread, pasta, rice and potatoes and start focusing on polyphenols – antioxidants found in colorful fruits and vegetables. If your plate at every meal is about one-third protein and two thirds of these vegetables and fruits (with an emphasis on vegetables), you’re in the Zone.

Initially, it was a little challenging reverting to this eating plan, but a grocery list in the book definitely helped. My morning cereal was replaced by egg white omelets with veggies or plain yogurt and fruit, along with coffee. Lunch sandwiches were replaced by Wasa crackers with lean meat, veggies and mozzarella cheese, along with cottage cheese., For dinner, I’ve been eating a variety of sautéed veggies and throwing in some shrimp or other “easy” meat. I also like veggie or fruit spinach salads. Later, I’ll have some berries and a square of dark chocolate.

 

I’ve discovered that I like eggplant, brussel sprouts and hummus, in addition to cheese sticks and lowfat cottage cheese. Plain yogurt was definitely an adjustment, as were the dry red wines and the more bitter dark chocolate that fit better in the Zone. I’m still working on an optimum eating schedule (which should happen every five hours) and haven’t yet finished reading the book.

But what a payback already! In addition to losing about 35 pounds in a relatively short time, I’ve lost most of the joint pain. No aches, no stiffness, no lie! And grocery shopping is now so much easier when you can bypass all that processed food and just head for the fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat.

So I may be getting a little long in the tooth, but if it weren’t for this fact I would have likely never been visited by this doctor and discovered the Zone. Better late than never to begin eating healthier and yes, I still have the occasional ice cream.

No words needed for this cuteness.

New backsplash brings back Contac paper memories
Maybe I’ve overloaded on home redecorating television lately. Or perhaps I’ve been spending too much time admiring my neighbors’ kitchen repainting and tiling project. At any rate, I decided it was time to cover my kitchen’s mottled gray laminate backsplash with something less mottled, but much less expensive than my neighbors’ pretty but pricey subway tile.

I started researching ideas on the internet and first found self-adhesive synthetic trimable tiles that could be ordered from a manufacturer in Canada. But they were quite pricey, difficult to determine their color and, most importantly, my trusted contractor/friend had never heard of them. Then it was on to the usual building supply stores to see if I could find any other alternatives. I even looked at Contac paper, which was very limited in design.

Then, while roaming the aisles of Target, looking for inspiration, I found some self-adhesive rolls of wallcovering that looked, well, like more sophisticated Contac paper. There was even a blue and white striped design that would complement my refaced beadboard kitchen cupboards. And for less than $25 per roll, it was worth a try.

I used to be a bit of a Contac paper aficionado back in my early-apartment days. I used it mainly to cover stained shelves and drawer interiors, but had never attempted anything as large or as visible as a kitchen backsplash.

The key is to measure carefully and leave enough length for trimming with a razor. Then, as the paper is applied, the backing can be smoothed off with a ruler or yardstick to minimize bubbling. I started slow with about three feet of backsplash surface to make sure I liked the look. And I liked it so much that I finished the project in just a few hours over a few days.



You can't have too many stripes in your kitchen.

The only tricky part was matching the stripe pattern when adjusting the adhesive around the stove and outlet covers. But otherwise, it was a pretty easy application, requiring just one roll of the adhesive, and brightened up my kitchen considerably. I even hung a couple of cute 88-cent fish plates I found at Target over the stove.

 
One thing leads to another, however, so now I’m swapping out my black metal/wood kitchen set for a white one and plan to add a couple of white bar stools to improve the view of the new backsplash. Now if I can just figure out how to get rid of the mottled gray laminate countertops . . . .