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Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?


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We all have been drawn into off-topic discussions, me included. There's little that's off-topic when it comes to Chit Chat, so the only ask is that you please remember that this is the Chit Chat topic and that there's a subforum for all things health and wellness here.

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(edited)

I think the only thing we're meant to eat is a balanced diet, and there are numerous ways to accomplish that, whether or not animal products are included. 

I generally like my meal to include some sort of meat (I eat a lot of chicken and seafood, a moderate amount of pork, and a little bit of beef [I love ribeye steak, tri-tip, and cheeseburgers, but other than that will take a pass on most cuts of beef]), but I also generally make sure it constitutes a smaller portion of the meal than vegetables.  My average dinner is a meat-based main course, a green vegetable side, and some sort of side salad.  I don't eat a lot of grains, because not many are favorites, but I do love an all-in-one pasta dish (whole wheat pasta with some combination of meat, vegetables, and sauce).

Even though it's not how I want to regularly eat and it's not how I cook, I have no problem going to a vegetarian restaurant if someone prefers that, or eating a vegetarian meal they've cooked; there are oodles of delicious vegetarian meals to be had.  But vegan is much more limited than I'm interested in, as I dislike most vegan substitutes for things (for example, get the hell away from me with non-dairy cheese).  So with a vegan restaurant I want to check the menu before deciding if I want to go (and I'll probably decline; I don't eat out a lot [in general, not just now], so I want my meals out to be a treat -- especially at today's prices!).

Edited by Bastet
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Speaking of weight, my dad goes on and on about how skinny my son is.  He’s on the lighter side for his height but that’s how he’s built and his doctor says he’s doing fine.  My dad blames it on me and what I feed him.  The kid eats very well.  
 

What my dad doesn’t get is that body image affects boys just as much.  It’s just different.  I worry that my son may eventually develop an eating disorder because he’s not big like the other boys (not that all of the boys WILL be big and muscular).  

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1 hour ago, PRgal said:

Speaking of weight, my dad goes on and on about how skinny my son is.  He’s on the lighter side for his height but that’s how he’s built and his doctor says he’s doing fine.  My dad blames it on me and what I feed him.  The kid eats very well.

I was very skinny up until my forties, and I ate very well.  I also was very active and people would be surprised how strong I was. It's just how some of us are built. I got lots of comments on how I looked anorexic. Well thanks for your unneeded comment, random person.

I've put on weight since menopause, but I don't worry too much about calories and just try to eat more vegetables and whole grains. Yes I eat meat but my meals aren't necessarily based on it.  I do like potatoes though, but I tell myself they are a source of potassium, which I tend to be low on.

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20 minutes ago, nokat said:

I was very skinny up until my forties, and I ate very well.  I also was very active and people would be surprised how strong I was. It's just how some of us are built. I got lots of comments on how I looked anorexic. Well thanks for your unneeded comment, random person.

I've put on weight since menopause, but I don't worry too much about calories and just try to eat more vegetables and whole grains. Yes I eat meat but my meals aren't necessarily based on it.  I do like potatoes though, but I tell myself they are a source of potassium, which I tend to be low on.

I was the same. I barely cracked 100 lbs when I got married. Menopause has added a little tummy but I still barely weigh over 105 lbs.

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5 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I was the same. I barely cracked 100 lbs when I got married. Menopause has added a little tummy but I still barely weigh over 105 lbs.

As a teen I was about 110 but I also was just shy of 5'10". I was a stick. I could also haul around 50 lb hay bales.

My recent more sedentary lifestyle has added pounds. I wrote more about that in Health and Wellness.

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I didn't break 100 pounds until I was in grad school ( I'm 5'4") and I have long limbs for my height.  I usually compare myself to a spider -- little round body and long arms and legs.  Of course, I only have the four limbs, not eight...

When I was a freshman in college, the RA in my dorm sat down with me and asked, "Are you anorexic?"  I actually had the presence of mind to reply, "No, but if I were, do you really think I'd answer that question honestly?"  🙄

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14 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I didn't break 100 pounds until I was in grad school ( I'm 5'4") and I have long limbs for my height.  I usually compare myself to a spider -- little round body and long arms and legs.  Of course, I only have the four limbs, not eight...

When I was a freshman in college, the RA in my dorm sat down with me and asked, "Are you anorexic?"  I actually had the presence of mind to reply, "No, but if I were, do you really think I'd answer that question honestly?"  🙄

That reminds me of when a guy casually asked a group of us at a dinner party if any of us had ever been raped. Who just asks that? 

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1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

I didn't break 100 pounds until I was in grad school ( I'm 5'4") and I have long limbs for my height.  I usually compare myself to a spider -- little round body and long arms and legs.  Of course, I only have the four limbs, not eight...

When I was a freshman in college, the RA in my dorm sat down with me and asked, "Are you anorexic?"  I actually had the presence of mind to reply, "No, but if I were, do you really think I'd answer that question honestly?"  🙄

I have long legs and short arms. I take a 33" inseam but I can barely reach into my oven.

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5 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

Getting these scam texts daily…

Leave me alone scammers.

748FA6C7-34CB-4283-8AC1-5A9583A11C4B.jpeg

41BB0AD1-4888-4D5D-9393-FA1B0DAE7460.jpeg

I keep getting that sort of message about "my Netflix" account. Haven't had one for around 18 years. Also get ones that my Amazon Prime is going to be cancelled because monthly payments late. I check my dashboard every time and I am fine. I pay dues yearly. 

The same two over and over again...just give up scammers!!

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On 5/9/2023 at 9:32 AM, RealHousewife said:

 

I haven’t had meat in many years, and I try to eat plant-based as much as possible. If I’m a guest somewhere or traveling, I am not a strict vegan.

A part of me is relieved that I found food that agrees with me, and it’s not some gluten-free boring food. But the part of me that loves animals doesn’t know what to do. I try to be vegan as much as possible, and now I’m also wondering if my body would be even happier if I ate meat. After all these years, I can’t look at any of them as food, just dead animals. I have never pushed my diet/lifestyles on to anyone, but meat still doesn’t remotely appeal to me.

Do you all think we were meant to eat meat or more plant-based? 

I think it's very thoughtful of you to adapt your diet to a certain situation.  Some people aren't able to do so, and I understand that, but your doing that rather than saying "I don't like beans" (or whatever) is lovely.

As for whether our diet should be meat or more plant-based, I don't know anymore.  I've read a lot and eaten a lot over the years.  The balance that seems to work best for me is very little meat, but I think maybe trial by error and patience can lead to a good solution.

On 5/9/2023 at 12:48 PM, JTMacc99 said:

I lived with a person who was vegan for a while. That was, in my opinion, more like a hobby than a lifestyle choice. Spending all day, every day, trying to figure out if somebody used egg whites to clarify the wine you were about to drink was too much for me.

I think you may have lived with someone who wasn't a typical vegan.  I've known and lived with several for whom being vegan was certainly not a hobby, and definitely didn't consume their daily lives.

On 5/9/2023 at 2:49 PM, RealHousewife said:

It's much easier to be a vegan these days than it was when I first attempted it in my teens. More vegan restaurants and more vegan options at regular restaurants and grocery stores. 

This very much depends on where you live.

On 5/9/2023 at 4:20 PM, Bastet said:

 

Even though it's not how I want to regularly eat and it's not how I cook, I have no problem going to a vegetarian restaurant if someone prefers that, or eating a vegetarian meal they've cooked; there are oodles of delicious vegetarian meals to be had.  But vegan is much more limited than I'm interested in, as I dislike most vegan substitutes for things (for example, get the hell away from me with non-dairy cheese).  So with a vegan restaurant I want to check the menu before deciding if I want to go (and I'll probably decline; I don't eat out a lot [in general, not just now], so I want my meals out to be a treat -- especially at today's prices!).

As someone who eats almost predominantly vegetarian/vegan, I have zero interest in eating food that's trying to masquerade as something that is "real" meat or cheese.

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3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I didn't break 100 pounds until I was in grad school ( I'm 5'4") and I have long limbs for my height.  I usually compare myself to a spider -- little round body and long arms and legs.  Of course, I only have the four limbs, not eight...

When I was a freshman in college, the RA in my dorm sat down with me and asked, "Are you anorexic?"  I actually had the presence of mind to reply, "No, but if I were, do you really think I'd answer that question honestly?"  🙄

You sound like my mom (full height at 5'5" and was super-tiny until she got pregnant with me).  I broke 100 lb in high school and I'm approximately 5'2".  Stayed in the 99-103 range until I was 23 and went down to the low-mid 90s - lowest point was actually at 35 when I was dangerously going to be below 90...and that was without dieting.  I think I had some weird immune issue at that time.  I'm now still under 100, but in the 95-97 range. 

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52 minutes ago, ABay said:

I signed up for an online drawing course by a YouTuber whose videos I'd watched. I am trying to come to terms with just how badly I draw. There have been 5 projects so far and I don't seem to be improving. Lack of time, carpal tunnel, impatience with details...I have many excuses, but chiefly lack of talent. So depressing.

I don't know if you have access to it, but there's a show I watch on Tubi called Portrait Artist of the Year.  Amateurs and professionals compete through various rounds of three people painting a well-known subject in whatever medium they choose, having originally submitted photos of a self portrait.  You see the process from initial sketches through finished article.

I don't have an artistic bone in my body, but it's another of those gentle, thoughtful shows where the competitors seem nice, the judges are knowledgeable, and inter-personal drama is non-existent.

I specifically remember one moment where the host tells one of the artists that he can't draw to save his life, and the artist assures him that it's a matter of patience and practice and everyone can learn.

(There's also a series Landscape Artist of the Year.)

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8 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

I am still upset that my event got canceled. I was going to see Bill Hader a few days ago. Cries sadly. I am a huge fan of his.

Bill Hader can "do" anyone, IMO. He's hilarious. In Documentary Now (with Fred Armisen), they kept creating funnier & funnier sketches, especially "Gray Gardens".  I could watch this over & over. If they returned to SNL, I'd watch it again. The two of them are in the Phil Hartman & Dan Akroyd class (the sketch artists who can truly become any outrageous character).

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Does anyone else still see their followed topics like this? Is there something wrong with my settings? It's been awhile since there were the site updates. I also still have to click into the specific page I want to see. It takes more clicks than before, whereas I used to just click the topic and automatically get to the most recent unread post.

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2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Bill Hader can "do" anyone, IMO. He's hilarious. In Documentary Now (with Fred Armisen), they kept creating funnier & funnier sketches, especially "Gray Gardens".  I could watch this over & over. If they returned to SNL, I'd watch it again. The two of them are in the Phil Hartman & Dan Akroyd class (the sketch artists who can truly become any outrageous character).

Sandy Passage! I loved that.

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5 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Does anyone else still see their followed topics like this? Is there something wrong with my settings? It's been awhile since there were the site updates. I also still have to click into the specific page I want to see. It takes more clicks than before, whereas I used to just click the topic and automatically get to the most recent unread post.

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No. Looks like a case for the Bugs topic. 

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Late to the conversation, but I'm a vegetarian (not vegan) and have been for years. I'll never eat meat again but do eat eggs from free range chickens, a bit of regular cheese, and skim milk in my coffee. I dabble in keto and some vegan food. I stay away from grains because of the carbs but also because they (especially quinoa and barley) make my stomach swell up like a balloon. Sometimes kale will do it, too, so it's not something I eat a lot of anymore. Black bean burgers are an absolute no way, no how. I eat a lot of bananas but only eat grapes in moderation.

Listen to what your body is telling you about what you're eating and when. I don't think it means you need to eat meat (but then I'm biased) but that you need to make some tweaks to your diet.

On 5/9/2023 at 12:34 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Wendy's has a delicious salad with pecans (or walnuts??) & I think grapes. Haven't had it in a while. They put grilled chicken in it but maybe you can get it without. Good dressing too. 

Yes, you can get any Wendy's salad without meat. Wendy's even has a veggie sandwich for around $1 (it's the bun, tomato, onions, lettuce, cheese, pickles, ketchup and mustard). Rally's, Jack in the Box and McDonald's will also make their cheeseburgers without the burger.  Burger King has the Impossible Whopper. And Taco Bell will make anything on their menu without meat. While I eat healthy 90% of the time, I know my fast food, heh.

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(edited)
9 hours ago, ABay said:

I signed up for an online drawing course by a YouTuber whose videos I'd watched. I am trying to come to terms with just how badly I draw. There have been 5 projects so far and I don't seem to be improving. Lack of time, carpal tunnel, impatience with details...I have many excuses, but chiefly lack of talent. So depressing.

@ABay is there a local drawing class near your home?  If you would like to try in person it might be easier.  Maybe the teacher's feedback would also help.   Of course you can draw maybe a still life at home but I have to admit that I have never found that the most exciting subject myself.  However some people seem to love it.

Edited by roseha
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14 hours ago, ABay said:

I signed up for an online drawing course by a YouTuber whose videos I'd watched. I am trying to come to terms with just how badly I draw. There have been 5 projects so far and I don't seem to be improving. Lack of time, carpal tunnel, impatience with details...I have many excuses, but chiefly lack of talent. So depressing.

Don't give up so quickly.  You've only done five projects.  It's a matter of practice, and you have indicated you have a lack of time.  I have dabbled in drawing a bit.  So just practice in increments.  Maybe "talent" is something that is needed for great success as a professional artist, but you can learn enough as an amateur to enjoy it.  You can learn to "see" as is taught for drawing, and then you draw parts and shapes till it comes together as a real picture. 

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Not @shapeshifter but also an artist. Drawing and painting does take a lot of practice! For me, it was/is much easier to draw from an image than an object. The flatness makes it easier to capture dimension and perspective. Drawing and painting on a flat or slightly tilted surface is also much easier than working on an easel. Hopefully this helps. Give yourself time and grace, @ABay.

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Thank you all for your encouragement. I do intend to stay with the course, I'm just frustrated. There are no classes for adults in my area, that's why I'm in the online one. I'm working on a flat surface but it throws off the proportions, like faces are always too long and narrow compared to the original. An easel would be overkill so I try to tilt the surface I'm drawing on a little or stand up. I'm also struggling with how to hold the pencil...I'm going to suggest to the instructor that he invite some left-handed artists for some of the demonstrations.

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OK, some cousins of mine were clearing out their folks' belongings and came across a rather fancy portrait- and had NO idea who this person could have been. I weighed in with an idea since I have a vague memory of that portrait and  that their late parents told me that it was something like their direct ancestor's first spouse  who was somewhat prominent. .. but I couldn't remember the NAME of this person!

  I have literally hundreds of family pictures going back to the 1850's from my late father's extended families (in two different countries) that I have only recognize a few direct ancestors but so many others I have no idea whether it's on my father's paternal or maternal side (much less which  nation). .or even if they might have been family friends- and sadly there's virtually no one left to ask for IDs.

I also have quite a few from my mother's side but she's in her 90's and she's only labelled a few pictures down the years.

I guess the point I'm making is if you have aging parents or other relatives who've saved photos of their own original families PLEASE do all you can to get them to ID who these family members are (many of whom seem as though they'd be quite the characters)!.  And, yes, I've heard some stories about a good number of my parents' extended families but I would like to have faces to match the tales if they're available.

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4 hours ago, Blergh said:

I guess the point I'm making is if you have aging parents or other relatives who've saved photos of their own original families PLEASE do all you can to get them to ID who these family members are (many of whom seem as though they'd be quite the characters)!.  And, yes, I've heard some stories about a good number of my parents' extended families but I would like to have faces to match the tales if they're available.

That happened in one case in my family.  We have some very old photos that were in a book with penciled names on the pages.  The photos got separated from the pages so we  couldn't know who they were.

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12 hours ago, Blergh said:

OK, some cousins of mine were clearing out their folks' belongings and came across a rather fancy portrait- and had NO idea who this person could have been. I weighed in with an idea since I have a vague memory of that portrait and  that their late parents told me that it was something like their direct ancestor's first spouse  who was somewhat prominent. .. but I couldn't remember the NAME of this person!

  I have literally hundreds of family pictures going back to the 1850's from my late father's extended families (in two different countries) that I have only recognize a few direct ancestors but so many others I have no idea whether it's on my father's paternal or maternal side (much less which  nation). .or even if they might have been family friends- and sadly there's virtually no one left to ask for IDs.

I also have quite a few from my mother's side but she's in her 90's and she's only labelled a few pictures down the years.

I guess the point I'm making is if you have aging parents or other relatives who've saved photos of their own original families PLEASE do all you can to get them to ID who these family members are (many of whom seem as though they'd be quite the characters)!.  And, yes, I've heard some stories about a good number of my parents' extended families but I would like to have faces to match the tales if they're available.

I have a mountain of old photo albums with pics of relatives (I think) I don't even know. Beautiful old pictures, but they mean absolutely nothing to me because no one thought to label the names or dates on them. So they have no sentimental value or attachment for me at all. It's like looking at strangers. I finally ended up putting them in storage because I can't figure out what to do with them.

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(edited)

Random comments from the discussion above

First, Bill Hader and Ali Wong are a couple again. I disliked her one comedy show because it was over kill of her doing one acting out a thing, that was not funny but gross, 

Spoiler

It was licking someone's butthole during sex. She even went so far as to say she would act out licking a butthole repeatedly to her mother because her mother, to her, was a prude. 

and she just kept randomly inserting it into the show. But I do think she is funny and I hope they are a good thing together.

Second, I watched John Mulvaney Baby J this week and if you haven't watched yet, (don't read the spoiler if you haven't watched yet)

Spoiler

his Bill and Fred mentions had me do a mushy notgoingtocrywon'tcryokayIwannacry face. Also recommend you read to the first credit after his final scene. 

 

I love Documentary Now! Watching it is just happy times because of the actors. I just watched the beauty shop episode yesterday. 

Spoiler

The mailman! and Cate Blanchett!

Also if you just love comedians, wide variety, you can't go wrong with Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. People who do comedy are such interesting people and Jerry just free flows with them in so many ways. Comedians really have a connection with each other behind the scenes. 

Sigh, I miss Portlandia. I know I can watch what was made on Netflix but I wish the show had gone on with more. 

 

 

Edited by stewedsquash
added another spoiler tag
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5 hours ago, emma675 said:

I have a mountain of old photo albums with pics of relatives (I think) I don't even know. Beautiful old pictures, but they mean absolutely nothing to me because no one thought to label the names or dates on them. So they have no sentimental value or attachment for me at all. It's like looking at strangers. I finally ended up putting them in storage because I can't figure out what to do with them.

This breaks my heart.  People are lost to history because those in the pictures are unidentified and they won't find their way to anyone who cares.  I do genealogical research and it would mean the world to me to have pictures of people I am researching.

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5 hours ago, emma675 said:

I have a mountain of old photo albums with pics of relatives (I think) I don't even know. Beautiful old pictures, but they mean absolutely nothing to me because no one thought to label the names or dates on them. So they have no sentimental value or attachment for me at all. It's like looking at strangers. I finally ended up putting them in storage because I can't figure out what to do with them.

We have this problem with boxes of photos and albums that belonged to my FIL and now I am experiencing the same thing as I go through the albums my mother had.  I do know a lot of the faces at least (unlike the FILs where my husband has no idea) but even with that the further back the pictures go the less sure I am of who is who.

I hate to throw any of these out so, yeah, into storage they go.  Down the road I am thinking my daughter will go through these, and my own photos and either store them too or be the one who finally throws them all out!

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(edited)

This is also a good argument for having paper prints made, whether you take photos with your phone or a film camera.  I use film cameras almost all of the time because I learned on them and also I like the look (I also have a fine art Epson printer for making prints for shows).  However there's no reason you can't upload a digital file and have a company make prints for you.    It's certainly the best way to keep memories, who wants to lose those to a computer crash?

Edited by roseha
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My mom has a lot of photos of people who were dead long before I even came along, and I sure as hell don't want them.  I'm an only child, and so is my mom.  She has lots of cousins on both her mom's side and dad's side as they both came from large families, and those cousins produced a lot of kids, grandkids, and some great-grandkids.  But I don't know most of them.  What are the odds that when the time comes I will find someone on each side who wants these damn pictures? 

The upside is probably about 75% of them are labeled (my mom did it years ago, for the ones she could identify).

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All the photos I have will die with me, there isn’t anyone left to pass them on to, but there are very few people in them that I can’t name. My dad got rid of a lot after my mum died so what I have is limited to one box that I haven’t opened in a long while.

Posting on a sewing forum recently there was a dress pattern from the 80s that I made but the ordeal of opening the box to see if there was a photo of me wearing it was too much work.  I prefer to scroll through the digital ones as it’s much easier to find things. I do have them backed up with iCloud, Amazon, and Dropbox so lots of redundancy!

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I do make cauliflower "rice" because I'm the odd duck who likes the taste of cauliflower more than the taste of rice, but otherwise - yes!  I am all for a healthier substitute if I like the healthier thing just as much (or more, obviously).  But if not, no thanks; I'd much rather just eat less of the thing I love. 

Prime example: Cheeseburgers.  I have no interest in ground beef in any other application, and don't eat a lot of beef in general.  But I love a good cheeseburger, and it has to be beef (80/20 beef at that; none of the lean stuff).  I like turkey and love chicken, but I'm not eating a turkey or chicken burger (and certainly not a veggie burger) in order to have more burgers; I am quite content to consume fewer burgers in order to have all the ones I do eat be absolutely delicious to me.

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1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I love cauliflower. Raw or steamed. But it’s the one vegetable that I don’t like when made as an Indian dish. 
 

I found it that I can still eat Basmati rice, but in smaller portions.

 

What about pseudograins like quinoa?  Quinoa is my go-to a lot of the time (along with bulgur).  I don't make rice at home - even for Chinese food - and got rid of my rice cooker some 10 years ago.  Kitchen sink fried quinoa is on our rotation quite a lot.  

I often prefer barley over rice. But I love rice WITH cauliflower. But I like cauliflower in general. Rice, it really depends what I eat it with. Or the kind of rice. I have found a brand of Japanese rice that I like a lot. I eat Quinoa more since I found one that is grown right here in Saskatchewan. Most of my vegetables are made in the oven on a sheet. Tossed in a bit of oil and spices/herbs.

I have replaced beef burgers with meat replacement like impossible meat. It feels less heavy. I can't do a whole beef burger anymore. Even one of those, I eat maybe once every two months.

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Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,

We all have been drawn into off-topic discussions, me included. There's little that's off-topic when it comes to Chit Chat, so the only ask is that you please remember that this is the Chit Chat topic and that there's a subforum for all things health and wellness here.

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