Heed the warning signs your body is
broadcasting, my friends. That's number one right there. For years I
was complaining to my Doctors about chest pain and shortness of
breath. They did all kinds of tests and found nothing. The pains
continued and I wrote it off as anything but what it really was. At
my peak I was hitting 248, then I would cut back for a while and drop
down into the 230s. But I didn't really change my diet. Rather than
list all the bad food I was eating lets just say this. I lived in Las
Vegas, NV. for thirty years and never met a buffet I didn't fall in
love with.
In the 90s I was writing a lot and
sitting around all day, by the turn of the century I was really
getting weaker and having difficulty with physical excretion. But
still the Doctors could find no abnormality with my heart. I was
getting so tired I couldn’t even write or concentrate. We like to
fantasize about a catastrophic end by super storms, biblical plagues,
or the eminent zombi apocalypse, but the real danger is right in our
refrigerators.
In my life time I’ve eaten hundreds
of cows, pigs, turkeys, sheep, countless chickens and just about
everything else even fried gator. I
especially loved them deep fried with buckets of gravy and potatoes.
Fried catfish! Oh shit, don't get me
going on catfish. Everywhere I went it was all you can eat catfish,
breakfast lunch and dinner, YUM.
In 2008 we sold our Vegas properties
and bought Mystic Canyon Ranch in New Mexico. At last I could devote
more time to writing Sci Fi novels. I was getting more exercise
working around the ranch but New Mexican cuisine is so freaking good
and I do love spicy food. You know I found a place down here that
serves deep fried avocados with jalapeno ranch. Kill me to death!
Unfortunately, the chest pains got
worse, so bad I couldn’t ignore them any longer. At one point I was
flat on my back like a five hundred pound gorilla was bouncing on my
chest. What's his problem? I never ate any primates.
I went to the Doctor he took one look
at my EKG and rushed me to the emergency room. They did some tests
and determined that I had one foot in the grave and the other on a
banana peel. They shipped me by ambulance a hundred miles away to a
crack team of cardiologists. My surgeon was ancient shriveled up with
hunched shoulders. He reminded me of the proverbial mad scientist, I
new right away I was in good hands.
They went to work on me immediately
making an incision in my artery and inserted wires and cables from my
groin to my heart. They pumped a special dye in to track my blood
flow through my heart. Once they determined my arteries were 91%
blocked they inflated balloons in there and inserted three stints. Little tubes to
keep the arteries open.
You know when you’re laid out on a
slab wide awake and some guy you just met five minutes ago is using your heart as a sock puppet.
You get a new perspective on life really quick. You also discover just how much excruciating
pain you can endure without flinching. For to do so would instantly change the outcome of the
procedure. Well, I guess I had it coming, I did eat all those
animals.
After my near death experience 16
months ago I had to make a lot of changes. Diet mainly I’ve
lost 40 lbs on my salsa diet. Yeah you
eat a lot of greens, very little meat and you cover all that
grass up with SALSA. It’s great and I
feel good. I also had to reevaluate my perception of time.
You do that when you pass the reaper in
the hall and he winks at you. I’ve been working my crossbreed
series for five years and I decided I’ve got to get on with it
because time is fleeting.
So how did I do it? Changing my diet
was key. No fried food, no pork in any form and yes bacon is pork and
stacking it a mile high on everything is not good. No sugary sweets
or ice cream except on birthdays. Milk yogurt and cheese in extreme
moderation.
Now days I have to eat a lot of vegies
fruit and Oatmeal. so it’s good I like them but they can get boring
if you must cut out red meat. Now that’s tough if you’re an
omnivore. So here’s a tip, but I warn you it’s not for the weak
of stomach.
SALSA OLE'
Slice and dice 1 cup of onion, 5 cloves
fresh garlic, chile peppers to taste. I like a lot, but you should be careful if you haven’t
built up resistance. Add a little cilantro if you have it and a squeeze of lime juice. Now comes the
tomatoes. Dice them fresh as many as you need. 5 big ones will make a good amount of salsa. A
faster way is 2 cans of diced tomatoes. Either way is good. Add all ingredients to a large pan and
bring to a boil. Warning, pan searing peppers, onion and
garlic together requires some ventilation. Very powerful combination.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer ten
minutes or longer as needed. This is the basic recipe for salsa. From this platform you can run
wild. Add almost anything, ground turkey meat cooked
separately or steamed vegies and
mushrooms. Pour over rice, noodles, toasted bread of course chips
will do but they are high in fat. Salsa has no fat or cholesterol.
For a splash of western flavor add a squirt of BBQ sauce.
Salsa really takes the boredom out of
vegetarian fare. You can also add cheese and other meats if your heart Doc doesn’t find out.
Those days are over for me but the party must go on.
If you’re looking to shed a few
pounds my salsa diet works as long as you eliminate the obvious
pound packers. You know the ones
without me listing them. Alcoholic beverages are a factor too, I only
have a glass of wine rarely anymore. There was a time when I launched
battleships on seas of booze but not for many years.
I eventually dropped down to 195. after
a year and just stopped, for months I was stuck. This was not good
and my cholesterol count was still bad. So I had to make another
change. I cut way back on carbohydrates. About a hundred grams a day.
I dramatically reduced my bread, tortillas, rice, noodles, potatoes
and defiantly cut back on sweets. Oh yeah gravy is for holidays only.
I know that's rough but fear not, salsa will save the day I assure
you. At this point I started eating the occasional steak, beef has
vital nutrients and 2 or 3 times a month is acceptable. You can have
a few bites of rice, bread and pasta... I said bites not bowls. A
bite fits on the end of a fork. I don't care if it is fat free it's
the carbs that kill you.
ZUCCHINI BOATS
We are lucky that we can grow organic
vegetables in our garden. This year we started Habanero peppers. Ye
ha! Hot!
So what do you do with a squash that’s
as big as a watermelon? First you cut it in half and hollow
out the seeds then place in turkey pan.
Then get out your slicer-dicer thingy and finely chop up
about a ½ cup each of onion,
cauliflower, celery, cabbage, carrots, and broccoli. Then 1 or 2
jalapeno peppers, 5 cloves garlic, 2
eggs and 2 cups turkey stuffing. Moisten with chicken broth.
Grind up 2 skinless chicken breasts and
mix it all in a large bowel. Then stuff the boats. Add some
vegies around the side and bake for 1&
1/2 hours at 450. Adjust cooking time to size of zuks.
This recipe is based on what you like
and have in the fridge. If you want to go totally vegan leave
out the chicken and sub with lots of
mushrooms. If you’re not too keen on all those vegies then
just smother it in salsa like me.
LINTAL FEISTA
Start with chopping red onions, garlic
and a pepper. Add a leek if you've got it. Pressure cook a bag of
lintels in four quarts of water. Very good for you and goes well with
salsa. Actually most any beans will work with this recipe.
HUEVOS CON SALSA
I love eggs but I eat eggbeaters now [0
Cholesterol], I make spinach mushroom omelets with salsa for
breakfast. Or oatmeal and fruit. No cholesterol to worry about and
the carbs in oatmeal are off set by the fact that oatmeal helps
control cholesterol. Unfortunately, oatmeal gets tiresome so I add
peanut butter and pecans with blackberries.
NO BURN NO LOSS
Well that covers the diet, but if you
don't burn the calories you take in it will never work. I get up
before dawn and drink steaming hot Chinese green tea and watch the
sun come up over Mystic Canyon. Some times I do this from the tree
house. It gets my Zin going to face the day. I work on the computer
for a while then I go out and work until around 3pm. I stay really
busy just read the other blogs before this one. Physical activity is
painful at my age but it keeps me from stagnating. You have to burn
those cals and keep the body limber.
So why the big emphasis on salsa? Look
at the ingredients. Onions, garlic, tomatoes, and peppers. These four
items are packed with nature's healers, all four are known to aid
with a score of conditions that plague humans. Thousands of books and
articles have been written about them, you've got the internet at
your finger tips look it up.
Then you must deal with the fact that
we are carnivorous creatures. We love meat, dairy, sweats and bread
products. If you cut all that out you will give up in short order
because of boredom. Spicy food is not boring, salsa added to most
meals will liven up your day. You don't have to go wild like me, I
love the burn. You can turn the pepper down to a warm glow and be
satisfied.
My current weight is 190 Lbs. When I
went in for surgery I was 230. You do the math it's no magic formula.
Eat less of fat and carbs work out a lot and spice up your meals to
make them fun and exciting. I hope this helps and even if you're not
concerned about your weight Salsa is a great party food.
FINAL NOTES
Counting carbs is a pain so I made a
carb chart of all my favorite foods by looking them up on the net. I
keep it handy where I cook and a small one in my wallet. Don't keep
your peppers in the fridge. They tend to rot so leave them in a bowl
on the counter. They dry out and turn red but you can still eat them.
Also fresh salsa is the best but I always keep a dozen jars of store
bought in the pantry. You know just in case the zombies overrun
Walmart.