Song: Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Artist: Elton John
Remember these Good Seasonings Packets and Carafes?
They were everywhere in the 60s and 70s.
I now order them off of Amazon
(less than $1 a packet).
Why not just buy any of the pre-made salad dressings?
The reason is much more than just the great flavor.
It has to do with the unadulterated ingredients you put in...
specifically...the Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
There is a world wide problem with the adulteration of Olive Oils...
most of which are
(as verified by independent research labs).
This particular brand from Trader Joe's
(and only this particular brand from Trader Joe's)...
was certified by Consumer Reports laboratories
as being pure Extra Virgin.
It is also much cheaper than many of the other brands...
especially the ones from Italy
(most of which are very expensive...
and are heavily adulterated).
They are also available from Amazon.
The health benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil have been substantiated by numerous studies.
It is one of the few truly healthful oils one should consume on a regular basis.
This Good Seasonings Carafe is also available on Amazon.
It is very handy as it has the exact measurements of each component
(Vinegar / Water / Oil).
After the vinegar and water are added...
the seasoning packet is added and...
shaken in the carafe.
The oil is then added
(which should be Extra Virgin Olive Oil)...
and a final shaking is given.
Now...
that's Italian :)
After use...
it is then stored in the fridge.
Addendum: If you will use the dressing within a week or two...
it may just be stored outside the fridge.
If it is stored in the fridge, it must be taken out about 1 hour before use
so it may warm to room temperature and the carafe shaken before use.
The olive oil solidifies in the fridge.
My mother had ordered 24 packets of Zesty Italian (the regular Italian came with the carafe)...
24 Packets of Balsamic Vinaigrette...
4 - 17 ounce bottles of the Red Wine Vinegar...
4 - 17 ounce bottles of the Balsamic Vinegar...
and 5 more bottles of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
My mother will alternate between one carafe of Zesty Italian dressing...
and one carafe of Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing at a time.
She will be eating sprout (or mostly sprout) salads everyday.
So...
what about all of the 'extra virgin olive oil' ready made dressings?
Well...
when it is relatively expensive to use real Extra Virgin Olive Oil...
especially in the amounts you control for your own salad dressings...
especially when most of the Extra Virgin Olive Oils are adulterated...
and especially when profits are higher if cheaper olive oils in lesser amounts are used...
hmmm....
I say...
do it this way.
It will not only taste so much better...
something so valuable to you as your long term health...
demands nothing less.
------------------
After an overnight soaking of the sprout seeds...
and with them having been placed in a tray a half day earlier...
the tray is ready for one of two daily rinses.
As my mother is staggering the trays by two or so days...
today was the first rinse of her first tray of sprouts.
You simply uncover the tray to be rinsed...
run water over them for, but a few seconds
(this particular tap is fed directly by a carbon filter and reverse osmosis purification system)...
let the water drain through the drain holes along the bottom at the sides...
place the tray on its base...
and place the cover back on.
You are done until the final rinse of the day
(twice daily rinses...that is it. The sprouts do all the rest of the work :)
My mother then began soaking another tray's worth of sprouts.
------------------
Before this night's activity...
my mother... my son, Alex...and I, went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants
for our once weekly dinner out.
It is good to occasionally eat out...
so long as you eat very healthfully the rest of the time.
Speaking of which...
unless you are very mindful of what you eat...
it is sometimes difficult to get all of the nutrients necessary for optimum health...
especially if you are 'dieting' or are eating an unbalanced diet.
I had my mother buy a multi vitamin container of packets in powdered form.
Why powdered?
It is much more easily absorbed...
especially by senior citizens.
As we age...
the amount of Hydrochloric Acid released in our stomaches is much less
than in our younger years.
The especially hardened pills of most vitamins simply pass through our
digestive tracts undigested.
I had her get ones especially formulated for elderly women.
Elderly Women?
How would vitamins differ from man to woman...
or from young women to elderly women?
Young women have a need for more Iron in their diets or supplements.
As men don't have a menstrual cycle...
nor do elderly women...
too much Iron...
especially in the form and amounts given in many supplements...
can be toxic to the heart.
There is no added Iron in these particular supplements...
but there is plenty of many other nutrients not gotten unless
a person is very conscientious with his/her diet.
They have many types for women over 50 yrs of age.
Just be sure they are in capsules (powder form)...
and that they include no Iron.
Why supplements at all?
Many of the elderly...
as their metabolic rates slow...
also have a greatly decreased appetite.
This is exacerbated if the person doesn't eat enough meats...or enough vegetables...
or enough whole grains and nuts...etc.
With what everyone already spends money on that which is completely unnecessary...
a little spent here just may be what keeps your immune system healthy...
and what keeps you from becoming deficient in a necessary component of good health.
Now...the only other supplement I have my mother take on a daily basis is...
Why this...
especially if one eats fish often?
Because most will never eat enough of the right types of fish...
and which are cooked in the right manner...
and eaten regularly enough.
Research has pointed to the fish oils as being very beneficial...
not only for the health...
but for the mind.
Be sure you get the ones with the Vitamin D.
It is generally deficient in the American diet...
unless you spend enough time in the sun...
with much of your bare unprotected skin showing...especially in Winter...
which most elderly people do not
(remember...wearing a hat...long sleeves...sunscreen...
all decrease exposure to the UV rays which force our bodies
to produce Vitamin D as a way to protect ourselves from the damaging
effects of those same UV rays).
More and more research points to many maladies
associated to a lack of Vitamin D.
You will get a whole day's worth of Vitamin D and your Omegas with one packet...
and it tastes delicious.
Speaking of fish...
my next article will demonstrate a very healthful and delicious meal...
one which is very inexpensive...
easy to store in large amounts frozen...
easy to make...
and most of which may even be made ahead of time...
for a quick meal in minutes.
It is the Japanese super meal...
Salmon Ochazuke.
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