Archives | Simply Susan

Flashback Friday

Some time in 2002.

I’ve never been real good at keeping my photos organised so it’s no wonder I never dated them. I simply cannot remember exactly when this photo was taken but it was before John re-joined the military. We were living in a small country town, out past the hills of Adelaide, SA. we had been homeschooling for about 4 years as we started when Falcon was born, in 1997.

And for a fast forward to the present week…

Highlights of my week – Almond Milk Latte, getting THM bound at Officeworks and three munchkins!

My Easy Almond Milk Latte

courtesy of abigrace.com.au

I can’t believe how much my palate has changed since eating according to TrimHealthyMama. THM has been a bit of an adjustment at first, but it gets easier. One thing I simply couldn’t let go of was my daily latte. I love my milk! I tried to make almond milk, but it was quite yucky to me. I bought almond milk in a carton from the supermarket. Just as yucky. I let it go and resigned myself to just doing THM but with milk consumption.

What’s wrong with milk?

Real, raw milk? Nothing per se, except that it is liquid carbs… carbs and fat combined together in liquid form. Liquid carbs are the most potent fat promoting form. Whilst raw whole milk may be a healthy superfood it is best for for growing children, pregnant women who don’t need to watch their weight, or husbands who have a high metabolism. Sadly, for the rest of us, in today’s modern world, it only fattens us up.

Which makes my morning tea latte a crossover meal. Too many crossovers inhibit weight loss. Yet I haven’t been doing THM for weight loss. I’ve been following THM for the sheer health benefits. The science behind it just makes sense! My health has improved nearly 90% and I’ve only been doing THM since early January. And, having said that I am only adhering to THM principles for 70 – 80% of the time. In the spirit of honesty I will admit to eating take-away foods more than once a week. Which means huge crossovers. Despite that, I have lost 6 kgs since the beginning of the year. But honestly, I have not been trying to lose weight but gain health. Now I am losing slowly though, I have been motivated to be a little more adherent to the weight loss part of the THM plan. And that means giving up my daily (make that twice or thrice daily) latte.

And so I made Almond Milk again.

Would you believe it? I actually can tolerate it now! How…is beyond me. But to prove it I have made my homemade almond milk and had my local barista (thanks AbiGrace) make me my afternoon latte. It is nowhere near like cows milk to work latte art with and as a barista she taught me how/why and wherefore that the milk could not be textured in such a way as to produce the same artistic pour… but for right now I am not concerned with that. Protein and carbohydrates (as opposed to dairy milk which has protein, fat & carbs) are what concerns me.

courtesy of abigrace.com.au

What do you think?

There are heaps of almond milk recipes on the Internet… I can’t lay claim to liking them all. Not at all. Some are lower in carbs than others. Some are too watery, too weak. I like my almond link to be thick and creamy but not overpowering with its nuttiness. For now, this recipe is the one that suits me just fine. I may tweak it as I go along. In fact, I already have an idea up my sleeve to increase the protein levels.

Almond Milk

½ cup almonds
3.5 cups water
2 medjool dates
½ tsp vanilla
pinch celtic sea salt
Stevia Extract (Nunaturals Pure Extract Powder or NOW Stevia or Nirvana Choc Flavoured Stevia Drops)

Soak almonds and dates in water overnight.
Drain and rinse almonds and dates.
Put into blender with water. Blend.
Add salt and stevia to taste.
Place tea towel or nut milk bag over bowl and drain/squeeze. Use liquid as milk!
Left over almond pulp can be used in cakes, muffins, breads or dehydrated and processed in food processor as almond flour.
Yummo!

And it tastes okay. Actually, it tastes mighty fine! I had 3 latte’s yesterday so it must be okay to keep me going back for more!

Addendum: This recipe is not THM plan approved. Not at all. It is simply that I am enjoying this whilst also following the THM eating plan between 70 -80%.

More Thought And Less Talk

I used to write passively, weak and ineffectual. (The archives contain old posts that haven’t been revised.) It doesn’t grab anyone. It looks wishy-washy. Why should anyone regard what I have to say when I sound so unsure of myself, of my own thoughts? I used words like “maybe, perhaps, in my opinion, for me, your mileage may vary, I think, there is no one right way,” and other such atrocious writing. I wrote this way because I didn’t have hard and fast rules, my life wasn’t black and white. I assumed people would appreciate that. After a friend offered me encouragement and advised me to stop writing passively, I spent a few years learning to be a better writer whilst also learning through living life.

Yes, my writing improved. I stopped writing passively and starting using words that displayed more authority. The problem is that now, a few years later with more life experience under my belt, I have realised that my original self was fine! Sure I needed some writing help, and it was necessary for me to learn how to communicate more effectively, but my style of communicating was okay. I think I am returning to my former self!

Not much to say

I don’t write about every new-to-me idea I read about or every new health cure that comes from the beans that the Himalayan goat digested on the peak of Mt. Everest. Maybe my experience and my opinion will not suit you. And that is okay. In fact, it is more than okay. It is good. Because our lives are not parallel or mirror images. I’ve gone back to using passive words. Again I am saying, “if it fits, maybe, perhaps, and if it works for you“.

I now see that there are more than one way to accomplish a goal, to eat, to be healthy, to exercise, to homeschool, to worship, to study, to serve. There is more than one way to live right. And I am a true homeschooler/unschooler at heart. I know that people will learn what they need to learn when they need to know it. And that what a person digs for herself will truly be theirs.

Ready for Long Service Leave

I’ve been homeschooling for 16 years now. What have I done with my 16 year effort? Am I an authority on the subject? Have I authored a book? No and no. And that is not going to happen. Because I can’t give anyone else explicit instructions about anything! I probably should have written that book years ago when I was more sure of things but now I have had more experience I am less dogmatic on many topics, I think more deeply about them now – I listen to different ideas with the aim of trying to understand.

The more I’ve experienced the more I have learned. Since gaining life experience I have more questions and less answers. More pondering, which in turn, leads me to say less.

Month: August 2013