A Dose of Health

Turkey bacon or pork bacon, which one is healthier? Honestly, I’m not going to take sides in the debate. I used to eat turkey bacon because I believed it was healthier then I thought about it for a moment. They’re both processed foods so how healthy can either of them be?

Rather than stand in the grocery store comparing turkey bacon to pork bacon I decided to forgo the both of them and make my own chicken bacon instead. It takes a little longer to prepare than turkey or pork bacon, but I believe its worth the extra time.

Ingredients:

• Chicken tenderloin or chicken breasts
• Sea Salt (I prefer sea salt but any salt will do)
• Pure Maple syrup
• Cayenne pepper (we like spicy bacon)

Here’s how to make chicken bacon

1. Flatten the chicken breast or tenderloin as flat if you can get it. Remember, you’re trying to make bacon so the flatter you get the chicken the more bacon like it will appear. I don’t have fancy chicken flattening tools so I place the chicken on my cutting board, cover it with a little plastic wrap and then I pound it with my cast iron skillet until they are good and flat (this is not a meal to make when the family is asleep).
2. Season both sides of the chicken with the salt.
3. Drizzle the maple syrup over the salted chicken.
4. Pour a hint of oil in a heated skillet (just enough oil so the chicken won’t stick) and cook the chicken on high heat until done. The crispiness of the chickens depends on how flat it is before you put it in the pan.

The chicken bacon works just as well, if not better, when cooked on a grill. There’s something about the taste of food cooked on an outdoor grill.

This is a very forgiving dish.  You can control the amount of salt and the intensity of the maple flavor. In my family we tend to like things a little spicy so I add cayenne pepper to the chicken when seasoning it. It can get quite noisy flattening the chicken but its well worth it.

Time Saving Tip: Buy a few chicken breasts/tenderloins and flatten them all at one time. Freeze the chicken in portion sizes so you can quickly defrost, season and cook the ‘bacon’ when needed.

This post is not for the squeamish.

If you’re pretty close to your goal weight (I’d say within 10 to 20 pounds) and you seem to have excess belly bloat and your pant waist seems tight, maybe it’s the poop.

Hear me out…I’ll try to start from the beginning.

Quite some time ago when I first heard about the benefits of alkalizing my system, I started drinking lemon water. Although lemon is acidic, for some reason once it interacts with your system it has an alkalizing effect. I won’t go into the how to’s or why’s. There’s plenty of info available on the internet.

Anyway, somehow (can’t remember how), I started drinking a warm glass of lemon water first thing in the morning. In the glass I’d squeeze about ¼ of a lemon, a shot of organic apple cider vinegar and either pure maple syrup (or agave nectar) for sweetness.

I’d drink my glass of lemon water and go on about my day. Usually within an hour or so, the lemon water would have its way with my system. In other words it helps to clear out yesterday’s gunk.

It would only take a week of drinking lemon water in the morning to notice a change in my waistline and the scale. Granted, I did clean up my diet a bit while drinking the lemon water in the morning, but nothing too drastic.

Feeling good, then not so good.

The first time I happened upon the lemon water ritual, I did it for two whole weeks. About a week or so after I stopped drinking the lemon water, I had a weird sensation in my lower back. I though I had pulled something so I went to my chiropractor.

He adjusted me and told me I was completely balanced and aligned. Hmm, if I were so well balanced, why do I suffer from such discomfort when I bend over to touch my toes? I couldn’t touch my toes. In addition to that, there was an extreme discomfort (not an all out pain), in my lower back.

Signs of Aging?

I chalked it up to aging and though this was just something else I had to deal with. Well, it wasn’t old age (here’s where the squeamish should click away). It was a major evacuation! I don’t know if you’re familiar with the term ‘mucoid plaque.’ If not, check out these sites to get a real feeling for what it is (if you’re squeamish, don’t click on the links below).

Mucoid Plaque
Colon Cleansing
Dr. Natura

Not to get into the gory details, suffice it to say that when I was done, I felt like I could float. I felt much lighter, I was able to touch my toes and I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale. It appears that my couple of weeks of drinking lemon water is what set everything in motion.

The lemon water some how started to dislodge all of the mucoid plaque in my digestive tract. Because of the length of the tract (I’m assuming), it took a week or so to slowly dislodge the stuff to the point where it was ready to be evacuated.

In addition to getting rid of the yucky stuff, I noticed that my energy level improved and I felt great!

Fast Forward

About a year or so later, feeling the effects of a bloated belly, tight pants, etc., etc. I remembered the lemon water trick. For one week I drank lemon water in the morning and again, the very same results. At least this time, when I felt the discomfort in the lower back, I knew exactly what was going on (although the thought of what was causing the discomfort grossed me out).

Disclaimer:

The recipe does not work the same for everyone. Fine tune it for your system. Some folks have to drink lemon water for close to a month before they get the desired results while others find a week is more than enough. It all depends on your system and dietary/health habits.

Warning:

For those with more sensitive systems, one week is more than enough. When you find that the majority of your day is spent in the bathroom, discontinue the lemon water.

Another Disclaimer:

I’m not promoting or endorsing any colon cleaning product. I’m just sharing my lemon water experience. So, if the links above endorse a colon cleansing products, please proceed with caution and do your homework.

Why bother with the expense of a gym membership when for the same amount of money I can invest it in a home project. I get to do the heavy lifting and have something more to show for my investment than a gym T-Shirt bearing the gym’s logo.

Think about it for a minute. You go to the gym, you run, bike, lift weights, sweat and when you’re done, what do you have to show for it. You feel better because you got a workout, but when you get home, what do you see?

Now, take that month’s membership fee and start working on a home project. My home project of the month involves sand, rocks and brick. The sand and rock are sold in 50 pound bags. Those bags don’t mysteriously end up on the lawn. You’ve got to get the bag from the store’s shelf into the cart, from the cart into the car and from the car to the lawn.

Once on the lawn, you’ve got to dump, spread and go back for more. No matter how small the project, you always underestimate the amount of work involved; it will take longer and you must work harder. The good thing about a project is that when you get through with a day’s work, not only do you feel the benefits of the workout; there is a visual reminder of your hard work.

Take it Slow

Just like going to the gym, you’ve got to take it slow. Don’t get carried away. You will, however, notice quick improvement. Unlike a 45 minute spinning class or a few reps with weights, manual labor usually requires hours of work. The goal with manual labor is to get the job done, getting in shape is a perk.

Getting to the gym, on the other hand, is often times the goal. Once you’re done, you have sweaty clothes and a feeling of “whew, I’m glad that’s over with.”

Gaining Muscle Tone

Since starting this project, I feel energized. The first day of lifting 50 pound bags was pretty interesting. After my body got over the initial shock, I began to look forward to working on my project and lifting heavy items. I make sure that I use proper form when lifting to prevent injury.

This project has been coming along so well, that I started project number 2 which involves 12” x 12” heavy paving stones. The first time I put two stones into the wheel barrel I almost tipped over. I’m now able to trot across the yard with 4 paving stones in the wheel barrel. Who knows, maybe next week I’ll get up to 5 stones.

Nothing like the Great Outdoors

Except for a few weird looking bugs and several large spiders (some spiders are so large that they look like hermit crabs), I’m having a great time getting in shape and improving my landscaping. The only downside is that even with using protective gloves; my hands are turning into sandpaper. Oh well, time to use my homemade Rough-Hands-B-Gone recipe.