Friday, June 8, 2012

Liking what I see.


     Liking what I see. For a short while I struggled staying on top of my healthy lifestyle. I would like to say that I have returned. Hopefully for the best. I have been continuing to look for new things to do with my exercise, new things to eat, and new ways to have my garden. I am getting there. The most important thing to remember is that if you do stumble it is not the end of the world. When you realize that you are not on the right path just pull yourself up and keep going.  If you 

Exercise and Martial Arts

     I hope that I have hit upon a great exercise for hand strengthening. Three weeks ago I started using 8 lb. medicine balls to help strengthen my hands. I have come up with some exercises that seem to work.
     Using the medicine balls I do a combination of the following exercises.
  • Punches - middle punch aiming at the sternum area of the body.  
  • Blocks - these are taken from karate, I mostly am doing upper blocks but have done middle and lower blocks.
  • Kata (patterned movements) - I use some of the kata that I have learned most notably Kihon Kata Ichi . This one has a combination of easy to do punches and blocks.
Typically these techniques take less then ten minutes and as of right now my arms really feel the effects, to the point of barely being able to hang on to the medicine balls. I perform these exercises virtually everyday (with few exceptions). The exercise is not really designed for bulk but rather toning the arms. 

     I am adding a hand strength chart to my favorite likes to the right side of this posting. Every Friday I do test to determine my grip strength.  I do three tests and take the average of the tests and that is what my grip strength is.

Cooking and Eating Healthy

     Wow this week has been the week for new beginnings. Even though I love the taste of nice prepackaged yogurts that you can buy at the store I have decided to take a different path. I grew up on a home made yogurt that would traditionally come from Finland. My dad has long since lost that culture and cannot find any more. What he has been doing is making yogurt from buttermilk. I decided to take on this venture myself. I found that it was rather easy. I have mad two batches this week and love it.
     Making this yogurt is simple and any one can do it. You only need three "ingredients" 

  1. Milk  (scald the milk up to 185 degrees then cool to 90-100 degrees)
  2. Buttermilk
  3. warmth
     I have been making mine in large quantities because I have a fair amount every morning for breakfast. I pour about 3 cups into a 5 qt. glass mixing bowl. Add about 1/4 cup of buttermilk. Mix together. I cover the bowl with a lid, though a plate would work fine too. Now I want to put it in a warm place, but not hot. The bacteria that creates the yogurt does well in a temperature between 90 - 100 degrees. I turn on the oven light, not the oven itself. I find that by having on the light only provides just the right amount of warmth. Let the yogurt sit in the oven overnight and in the morning you have yogurt. Take it out of the oven and eat it warm or chill it for a cool meal.
     You can also add sweeteners and fruit to it. I like to do 1/2 cup of oatmeal (raw), 1/2 cup of chia (pre-soaked), and yogurt. When I have fruit around I also enjoy adding things like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and even bananas. Use you imagination. I would like to caution  you when using honey as a sweetener. It works well and really adds to the flavor. Whatever you do do not put honey in until you are ready to eat it. Honey is a natural anti-bacterial substance. Put it in too early and the honey actually starts to destroy the bacteria that was used to create the yogurt. I did this once and I only had liquid with no thickness.
     When you make this yogurt to do not have to follow these exact quantities in the above recipe. You will get use to working without the need to measure as time goes on. For smaller quantities just use a 1 qt canning jar with a lid. Add milk, then add two tablespoons of buttermilk.  
     I also forgot to mention that when you want to make more just take a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt and add it to another jar of milk and heat. It will keep itself going providing you do not let it get too old.


Gardening

     I cannot say that gardening has been on the top of my mind lately. I have been over-run buy my spinach and kale. I hope to be taming it tomorrow.
     I will also be dropping in a few tomato plants and other seeds this coming weekend. Yes I have a little late start on some of my plants but I will recover.



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