I happen to like pasta… really like it, always have. Unfortunately that love affair helped me put on far more pounds than any body should have to carry! Add to that, that I found out in the last year that I have problems digesting foods with wheat, rye & barley (a condition called Celiac Disease) I have checked out various foods to lose weight & yet still give me the nutrition and versatility of pasta type foods.  Brown & wild rice are good options but still too high in calories for the amount of nutrition they provide that I choose it as a more occasional option.  But I came across a real authentic tasty, filling, versatile miracle food, packed with nutrition & health benefits galore!  Although many people have still not heard much if anything about it, quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly nutty texture when cooked. Quinoa is most commonly considered a grain, but is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is a recently rediscovered ancient “grain” once considered “the gold of the Incas.” Quinoa’s (pronounced Keen-wah) light, fluffy texture and mild flavor makes it a far more nutritious alternative to rice or couscous. It is naturally gluten free food and can be used in many variations as is, but as an added benefit, it can e ground and used for a healthy flour alternative. This very versatile tasty “find” is also one of the few foods considered to be a complete protein (due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids). In fact a mere 1/2 cup of quinoa provides the daily protein needs of the average sized 12 year old child!

Nutritional breakdown in 1/4 cup serving:
Calories 180
Fat 3.5g 5%
Saturated Fat 0
Trans Fats 0
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 10 mg < 0%
Potassium 260 mg 7%
Carbohydrates 29g 10%
~Dietary Fiber 11g 44%
~Sugars 2g
Protein 7g 14%
Vitamin A 4%, Calcium 2%, Iron 15%, Vitamin E 10%, Thiamin B1 6%, Riboflavin B2 15%, Folate 4%, Phosphorus 25%, Magnesium 15%, Zinc 15%

A Few of The Many Reasons That Quinoa is Considered a Miracle Food:

Quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids required by the body as building blocks for muscles.

Quinoa has a  a high level of magnesium which helps relax your muscles,blood vessels & improves blood pressure.

Quinoa contains the valuable fiber needed by the body to aid in heart and digestive health. And it is far easier to digest than other grains.

Quinoa has a good source of the minerals that act as antioxidants in the body to get rid of dangerous cancer and disease-causing substances.

Compared to other grains, quinoa is far higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn.

Researchers attribute the many health benefits of quinoa to its complete nutritional makeup. What a bonus for us that it tastes great too!

Additionally, quinoa  does not feed fungal and bacterial infections in the body (doctors estimate that 8 in 10 Americans have fungal infections, like candida!).

To get you started, check out over 40 Quinoa recipes here: http://www.edenfoods.com/recipes

You can find Quinoa at some grocery stores, most all Health oriented stores & where I purchase it: at Amazon.com. I buy Eden Organic Quinoa as it is the top quality 100% organic whole grain and quick and easy to prepare.

From the back of the package:

Eden Organic QUINOA – rare authentic “chisiya mama” (mother of all grain) of the Americas grown on small family plots at over 11,000 feet in the Andes. The saponin coating on Eden Quinoa is mechanically removed by rubbing. Others water wash, depleting flavor and nutrients. Versatile as rice. The best amino acid profile of all grain. Gluten Free. Heart Healthy Whole Grain. Rich in Fiber.

To Prepare: Wash in cold water and add 1 cup of quinoa to 1 1/4 cup of boiling water. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 12 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, and fluff.

My Note: I have actually simplified the process for myself by placing 2 servings (1/2 cup of quinoa & 1 cup of water) in a bowl in the microwave, and cook it on high, about 3 minutes, until the liquid bubbles. Then I cover the bowl with a plate or lid & zap it for another 2 minutes. I then let it “steep” in the microwave, without opening it, for another few minutes. (About 5 minutes for me but since microwave ovens and tastes for texture differ, you’ll have to experiment with to get results that work best for you. In the microwave, Quinoa seems to cook easier than rice.

A few days ago I heard a newscast where a corporate group was crucifying “Ronald McDonald” & calling for the advertisements with him in it to be banned!  Their argument is that he appeals to kids & their food is not good for kids. Well, my take on that is this: “That’s what advertisement is! It’s marketing. The parents can choose to get the sliced apples & low fat milk etcetera, they don’t have to choose the burger! I haven’t seen a 7 year old yet that drove to McDonalds & ordered his/her own food! C’mon… really? Lay the blame where the blame lies… within our choices as parents for our young children & in our choices for ourselves.  The majority of fast food places now do have healthier options but their traditional fare is what makes them the most money. Speaking as a marketing person: “Ronald McDonald” was a brilliant & effective advertising campaign that has lasted for a heck of a lot of years!”

Now after the chatter about Ronald McDonald, came some news that stunned & sickened me so much that I immediately began to do some research & what I found blew me away!  The New York Times wrote an article about this as well as a few bloggers for better health and/or vegetarian bloggers, but I had never heard anything about it! Prior to 2002 the trimmings from beef (fat & who knows what else…. yikes) was primarily used for dog food & some cooking oils (I’ll stick with my olive oil thank you). The meat suppliers (it started with the top supplier from South Dakota) decided it would be a good idea to use the filler in their ground beef products to save money! Of course using the former “dog food” trimmings, they found it resulted in too many pathogens in the beef, causing outbreaks of e coli & salmonella. Their solution: That it was a mistake to add the “trimmings”? Nope… they decided to add a bit of ammonia to the product to cut down on the food poisoning! Can it get worse: Yes, unfortunately it did, as federal officials with the USDA not only allowed this, but decided by 2007 when they began inspecting meats sold to the general public to exempt beef products from inspection! (They let the ammonia be the “acceptable solution”.)

WHAT??? Sadly, it is not only fast food companies like McDonald’s, Burger King & many others that sell the burgers and foods made with the trimmings (formerly used for dog food) and ammonia added ground or pressed beef products, but also many school cafeterias. And as of 2009,  it has become common in many grocery stores!  The labels do not reflect this filler product or ammonia being added and per the USDA guidelines, is not required to!  I don’t know about you but I am shocked that this has become so common & has been kept so quiet! (Even though in the same time period there has been a huge increase of food poisoning cases reported with quite a few resulting in death!) As of early 2010 this beef now makes up over 70% of the “ground” beef products sold & it is estimated to become 100% in less than 5 years!

I quit eating burgers & “pressed chicken meat” at McDonald’s & Burger King a while back after watching the documentary “Super Size Me”.  After I found out I had Celiac disease (allergic to wheat, rye, barley etc.) I would occasionally get just cheeseburgers with no bread (the meat, cheese pickles, mustard, lettuce etc. put into a container) in a pinch. I had to stop doing that as it didn’t taste very good to begin with & would make me really sick. Now I know why!!!  But I still would occasionally (once a quarter or so)  treat myself to a Hardees or Wendy’s premium burger.  I don’t know about you, but I personally will never eat ground beef products of any kind from anywhere except 100% certified organic grain fed beef with no additives. (Which means I won’t most likely be eating any except on a very rare occasion!)

I think this is such a sad state of news on many levels. First, though I suspected I couldn’t trust the USDA to make decisions for reasons of health over the almighty dollar, now I am 100% sure that is a fact.  ( I would much rather my suspicions to have been wrong about that.) Secondly, there is just no doubt about the validity of the many sounding the alarms in regards to the chemicals in our foods, as well as what is being fed to the animals that become our meat products, to either increase the shelf life, save money in production, make the product more attractive (primarily colorings) or as in this case to cheaply cut down on overall production costs and the resulting pathogens (any disease-producing agent such as bacterium or other microorganism causing food poisoning and/or other stomach & digestion illnesses).

Please be aware of the importance of not only reading labels but being “in the know”. Don’t count on those who sell you their products or those who are supposed to inspect the products to be looking out for your best interests. I will be featuring many articles here about good for you foods & seasonings. I will also include important news such as this that I think everyone should be aware of!

So please think twice before you or your child eats that burger with a side of formerly “dog food” trimmings (if I had a dog I wouldn’t feed it this junk either!) & ammonia. Unbelievable! In our kids cafeterias??? And even our grocery stores & not labeled as such…. crazy!!! I am literally outraged & sickened. But this has just spurred me on to choose well & eat more fresh wholesome whole foods. You know the things God made before we humans worked so hard to screw it up! Seriously, the foods that are in their most natural state without the processing & bleaching & chemicals added are nutritious & full of vitamins & minerals. It really makes me look at an apple vs. a pastry in a whole different light! Not in the mood for an apple? You can keep the pastry as I would much rather have a banana with a bit of peanut butter on it… almost decadent and yet has 2.5 grams of protein + loaded with potassium, vitamin A & C + calcium among several other nutrients! I was taught in the dieting world, that bananas were bad because they had too much sugar & yet your body can break it down and utilize the nutrients beautifully as it is complex carbs, NOT processed carbs… HUGE difference! OK, I’ll save that for another blog post…

So tell me folks, is it just me???  How do you feel about all this???

Comments welcomed & appreciated.

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(Pictures: 1. At largest before 260+ Loss 2002 ~ 2. On “Body by Brenda” 2005

3. Heading back down: Casual Day in 11/2009)

Sometimes I feel like I am hiding out here behind this keyboard.  I have a pretty decent looking face and often take a pretty decent picture.   I have had my share of compliments. But honestly, at times I feel like a fraud, because you see although my face & hair have held up pretty well for an old lady (tongue in cheek, hey I am only 51…  I am going to be 52 in a couple months… whew life goes crazy fast!) my body is a mess! So…. of course the rule for anyone who knows me and who might have a camera around me is: shoulders up only!  When I get complimentary comments it makes me feel good… but I usually also think “yeah but if you saw how huge I am you would be shocked!”

Though I left a very unhealthy mess of a personal life with my now ex behind 4 & 1/2 years ago, a deep rooted feeling that even though I had lost so much weight, had a weekly TV spot called “Body by Brenda” and other men sure found me attractive, I was never pretty enough to be truly valued “by him”. That feeling lingered on in me. And once again I felt the same feelings I felt growing up through the eyes of a father that made me feel that way from the time I was 9 years old on. I had no idea until looking at photos years later that I wasn’t fat then. Fast forward: God truly has loved me back to life.  My  professional side stayed strong and I ended up managing a company again. It went well, but with the intensity, responsibility and stress, I even more quickly continued to gain excess weight back.  Last year when I got way too close to regaining to my highest weight, it scared me so badly that I began to get myself together enough to lose 100 lbs throughout the year.  Most of it (60 lbs) was lost after I got off the roller coaster ride of a job that I was allowing to destroy my health. I have learned the hard way that when you lose a great deal of excess weight and get much healthier and then suddenly begin to quickly regain the weight… it wreaks havoc on your health (well in my case it sure did)! Unfortunately, even losing 100 lbs was only a small feat compared to where I was at that point (again). And when dealing with the aftermath of the subsequential health issues, it became disheartening.

So… I am on the journey again. This journey…more like a mission to reclaim my health… my life! Which brings me to the last few weeks: My son has been considered for a weight loss reality TV show. First for ABC and that didn’t come to fruition but it did lead to a very good chance of him being featured on another weight loss reality show on A&E (not a done deal it is still in the works). I’ll keep you posted!  I will also put his blog url here so you can follow his progress as well! During the videos he had to do and information he had to write as he came face to face with his story, it hit me hard as well, especially realizing how my own issues had affected him when he was growing up. A hard awakening…  remembering and then the light bulb moment of realization… when my being manager in high intensity positions left me exhausted and somewhere along the line I began to treat us to movies and nice dinners out instead of hikes and camping out.  Oh if I could go back and redo some things…

I don’t want to “hide” anymore. This is who I am. This is where I am. And you know what I am a really cool lady no matter where I am in my body and health journey. My mind and spirit is in great shape! So I am out of hiding.  I am no longer going to allow myself to feel like I am lessor of a person because I am so fat again! So what! I screwed up…  I gained most of the weight back. I have beat myself up a million times over it and kept gaining as a result of feeling so bad about it. So no more! Hey I am 100 lbs down again and I will get my health back & regain my life! So I am coming out of the closet so to speak… No! Not that closet! I’m a very straight woman!  Seriously, I hope you see me with the same eyes you saw me before you realized how large I am again.  It has nothing to do with who I am other than this is a continued journey I must take. I truly hope my story will help a few (especially extra large) people along the way.

Oh and today on Dr. Oz, he brought a woman about my size (heavier but not really because she was much taller) along with 2 other heavy family members to view an open heart surgery. As he was doing the surgery (aired on TV) he said, “You are worried about the fat on your thighs. I am worried about  this fat… the fat around your heart… it is fatal!” I sat there and cried… I so got it. I saw it for myself. I know and understand well that I am on a crucial mission for my health, my life even, and that the appearance part of it is just a side benefit. But wow when I saw that fat around that man’s heart and heard how it was literally choking the life out of him… that my friends is quite a call to reality.

Hiding no more… Blessings to you & yours, Brenda (ie: FatLadySingN)

In the past few years I have gone from being absolutely huge (497 lbs)  to losing over 250 lbs and hosting a weekly spot on a local Nevada Morning TV Show called “Body by Brenda”.  I was also in a couple commercials including one as a spokesperson for a Weight Loss Program. I never dreamed I would ever be this fat again! I worked out, ate well and looked good on the outside but I lived with a big secret: My marriage was a mess;  dark, abusive and depleting…Unfortunately, I gained back over 100 lbs the 1st year I left my ex, everything I owned and friends. I left my life there in the west and moved back closer to family in the east. It was a tough journey; excruciatingly painful at times.  I am now happy and whole, but my weight has spiraled badly out of control again and this time taking my health along  with it. I have learned a whole lot in the process about losing and regaining weight, about people’s treatment and views of people of different sizes and about many other weight, size and health related elements of life. I decided to use that knowledge, experience and success as well as what I have learned from my failures, to provide the tools and information to help others like myself make peace with their (our) fat frustrations so we can improve the quality of our lives.

I used to be a very energetic person. Today I have serious mobility issues, in addition to arthritis, type 2 diabetes and a number of other health problems, I am currently (again!!!) carrying 260 lbs too much weight. The scary thing is I actually lost 100 lbs in 2009! So although I have still 260 lbs to lose to get to my 127 lb goal, I had actually crept to almost my highest weight before I it scared me enough to get me back on track again. Though I have lost that 100 lbs, when you have this much weight to lose, it is a small level of progress. I wish I had been far more serious so that my health and mobility was far better than it currently is. But at least it is a start and it reminded me that I DO know how to lose weight effectively. This time I will keep it off forever!

I am now 51 years old and some of the health issues I have, I may have had without the weight, I don’t know. But what I do know is that all this weight is hard as hell on my body and health.  If you have 100+ lbs to lose, this is the place for you to get real help, real understanding, real loving kick in the butt to action and most important:  real valid information that works even for us (often deeply hidden) stunningly beautiful people trapped in super sized bodies. So stay tuned… miracles are often assisted by every day simple decisions and actions.  Miracles are about to ensue for you and me!