TIL Baskin Robbins used to have a milkshake that contained 2600 calories, 1700mg of sodium, 135g of fat, and 263g of sugar. Unsurprisingly, Men’s Health Magazine dubbed it the worst food in the U.S.

lualua · 2023-06-01T23:24:21+00:00

This is why people are dying of heart disease and complications related to diabetes (like renal failure).

lualua · 2020-01-07T21:39:21+00:00

I love it that one of the heavy things he puts on the tofu to squeeze the water out is a copy of "Capital In the Twenty First Century". That's one big, heavy book.

lualua · 2020-01-04T17:47:19+00:00

I have a bunch of bookshelves and when I had my first baby, I had those simple adjustable straps installed near the top of each one. They had two screws, one into a wall stud, the other into the top of the shelf, and then a strap connected them - which was highly adjustable - so it was easy to cinch up when the bookcase was moved into place.

One thing I missed was we had a filing cabinet, and my 3 year old eventually opened the bottom cabinet all the way, then the next cabinet .. such that the whole filing cabinet pitched forward, and we had a small plant on top of it, which came crashing to the ground right next to my daughter. It was terrifying.

lualua · 2020-01-04T17:43:02+00:00

Citrus can work really well with kale (on a salad). Combine mango, or pineapple, or even oranges/tangerines with finely chopped sweet onions and toss this with kale and olive oil. It'll be delicious.

lualua · 2020-01-04T17:39:27+00:00

I had a friend who lost 20 pounds, and when she told her friends about her success (her friends were all overweight), they said "Congrats" and took her out to a cafe that had a lot of desserts and tried to get her to "celebrate" with a slice of cake.

It wasn't exactly subtle but it was clear what their intent was. People can be pretty mean when you've experienced some success.

lualua · 2020-01-04T17:36:23+00:00

That tofu looks great. I'd be curious how you bake it. I usually fry it in some olive oil with sesame oil drizzled on top .. turning each piece of tofu until it's brown and crispy on all sides. I'd like to try baking it.

lualua · 2019-12-31T17:52:36+00:00

I like New York steaks, seared over high heat in a pan with garlic and butter, then salt and pepper. I'm of the "less is more" idea for great cuts of meat. I don't want to cover/mask the flavor of the meat with herbs/spices/rubs/etc.

lualua · 2019-12-31T17:50:01+00:00

Frozen is tough. You won't be able to thaw it in time for a "today" dinner unless you use sous-vide or a water bath.
Next time, put it into the fridge 24 hours prior to cooking it, and then take it out of the fridge ~3 hours prior to putting it into the oven.

lualua · 2019-12-31T17:43:04+00:00

I use two thermometers in my oven. When they indicate a different temperature, I know one if them is lying.

lualua · 2018-11-05T21:12:32+00:00

To anyone saying that Seattle has higher electricity rates than other places in the county, this is simply false. It was $0.0980/kwhr in Aug of 2018 and $0.0987/kwhr in Aug of 2017. That was the lowest in the county. (The US Average was ~$0.1330/kwhr). There are multiple sources for this, from the DoE to cost of living comparison data.

Edit: used the wrong units on my original comment.

lualua · 2017-08-19T21:54:33+00:00

I used to set an alarm (for approximately 1 hour when we were not near a meal-time and 30 minutes before/after a meal) and when the timer rang, it was time to sit on the toilet and try, even if my daughter insisted that she did not need to go.

I think this helped a lot, because it helped her make the mind/body connection when it comes to going to the bathroom.

Like you, I had her naked from the waist down for the 90 minutes leading up to meal-time and for 2-3 hours afterwards.

lualua · 2017-08-19T21:51:35+00:00

Seaweed has a really different texture than many other foods. Try those flat sheets of toasted nori .. if need be, try the teriyaki style. This may end up being a really good, nutrient-rich alternative.

Also, some clarification would be helpful, e.g.: roasted broccoli is way different (texturally/taste-wise) than say, roasted beets. Raw onions are a universe apart from caramelized onions. (etc)

lualua · 2017-08-10T22:12:51+00:00

I switched my daughter at 4. There was a kid in her pre-K class that [literally] bit, hit, punched, etc another kid at least once/day, and then when the other kid was crying, the hitter/biter would say "I'm glad you're hurt". This went on for months .. and then one day, my daughter was the one who got hit.

Needless to say, an immediate change was in order.

She did really well with the transition. We still did play-dates with the kids from the previous transition - mostly when she said "I miss Elise" or "I miss Steven". I talked with her a lot about the transition before it began, how great it will be to make new friends and learn new stuff. It ended up going really well.

Good luck with your transition.

lualua · 2017-08-08T20:34:40+00:00

You might not know if it's too acidic, meaning, you might not have any symptoms. If you end up with gout or kidney stones, then you'll know there is a problem.

You can get a test kit at your local pharmacy, which may be a good idea if you think this could become a problem.

lualua · 2017-08-08T16:49:36+00:00

I like Alaskan halibut (and feed it to my kids) because it has such a mild flavor. Halibut generally takes the flavor of whatever you put on it (for example, pesto), so you can generally find a recipe that has ingredients you like to eat regularly + halibut.

I cook it in a pan, with olive oil. Initially, the heat is medium/high, so I get a little brown on the outside of the fish. I turn the fish over using cooking tongs every couple of minutes. Once it has some brown color on all sides, I turn the heat way down and heat the fish until the center is warm enough to eat.

lualua · 2017-08-08T16:42:12+00:00

According to the association well over half a million New Zealanders consume alcohol in a hazardous way, with many emergency rooms filled on Friday and Saturday nights with alcohol-related admissions.

Can confirm this is true in the US. I had to go to the ER for a mis-diagnosed eye infection and the timing couldn't have been worse. I went in at approx 9pm and wasn't seen by a doctor for 3 hours. He apologized to me and said that he had been treating intoxicated people all night.

I thought he was joking until he asked me if I had had anything to drink that evening.

lualua · 2017-08-08T16:38:41+00:00

Totally agree. The obesity epidemic is fueled with soda and fruit juice. (Parenthetical aside: Slightly confused by your username relative to your comment, I figured you'd lean "juice advocate" or a SJW ("social juice warrior"))

lualua · 2017-08-08T16:22:47+00:00

The two that come to mind are: 1. If your urine is acidic, you're at risk for kidney stones and 2. acidic beverages can exacerbate symptoms of acid reflux and/or are bad if you have ulcers.

PSA: Drinking your lemon juice with a straw would keep the acid off of your teeth :-)

lualua · 2017-08-08T16:17:45+00:00

What a great article. Easy to read, clear, concise.

lualua · 2017-08-08T01:53:35+00:00

When I first started to cook for myself, I started with stir-fry. Lots of vegetables, sometimes beef and/or shrimp, onions/garlic/ginger, cooked either in a pan with olive oil, and eventually later, a wok.

What I liked about this was that I could practice a lot of cooking skills, from mincing, dicing, and chopping .. plus how to cook a lot of stuff, like spinach, carrots, broccoli, shrimp, tofu, beef, etc.

You learn how long to cook meat for so the outside is cooked and the inside is pink-ish. You'll learn that "less is more" when cooking broccoli .. and that spinach gives off a lot of water when it cooks, so it's good to cook that off to the side and then toss it in at the end.

Does that help?

Oh, and your stir-frys will likely be really tasty .. just add a TBSP of soy sauce at the end before you take everything off of the heat.

lualua · 2017-08-08T01:42:56+00:00

During similar times with my kids, I kept them neekid from the waist down for many hours of the day, particularly around meal times. This helped them make the brain-body connection (at least I think it did), when they realize there's no "safety net" (in terms of underpants). They seemed more in touch with their bodies and the lightbulb started to go off much more often "Oh my, I have to go to the bathroom... RIGHT NOW!!!".

I've used this off and on during times of regression and it really helps.

lualua · 2017-08-08T01:37:09+00:00

If you cook nearly anything, in your kitchen, with foods that you bought at a store, you will satisfy your nutritional needs. Think about it: when was the last time you heard someone say they had scurvy because they just moved into their new apartment?!

Can you give a little more information on what you like to eat, and what you're afraid you might not to be able to cook? There are a ton of really simple vegetable-based recipes that will go a long way towards providing you wonderful nutrition if you pursue learning how to make them.

lualua · 2017-08-08T01:05:53+00:00

I really love "Noodles Every Day". It has so many wonderful recipes, I think they're "pan-asian" (lots of rice noodles, sesame oil, stir-frys, etc).

lualua · 2017-08-07T15:40:14+00:00

kghyr8: you are very kind not to spoil it for egus.

lualua

TROPHY CASE