Healthful Pursuits
Today we are working more on the health of our bodies and our home. If you've been following this blog for a long time, you know I struggle with severe allergies and am also always trying to lose or maintain my weight. An issue I have with weight control is a persistent Vitamin D deficiency. I don't produce this vitamin well and struggle to absorb all my fat-soluble vitamins. This makes low-carb diets the best for me in terms of nutrition. Right now I'm avoiding all grains and sugars and keeping my carbohydrate intake as close to 20 grams a day as possible, so really low. It's a challenge to find new menus so I don't get burned out on the restrictions, so I've been spending a lot of time lately making up diet-friendly recipes. Today at lunch I think I came up with a real winner: Crunchy BLT Salad! In actuality, I used baby spinach rather than lettuce, so mine was BST salad, but it was good!
I used crunchy peanut butter to give more texture so I wouldn't miss the bread from the BLT sandwich as much. I also cooked the bacon right before making the salad so it was still warm when we ate. Delish! I think this is going to be a new favorite salad for me!
Besides our healthy new recipe, we are getting our air ducts cleaned today. Our house sat empty for a long time before we bought it and prior to that it had renters who didn't leave it terribly clean when they left. When we moved in the house was beyond filthy. The curtains and carpet in our bedroom were full of dead insects and gray with dust. The walls were dirty, and we found old food behind the drawers in the kitchen. We cleaned and cleaned, replaced the curtains and carpet, painted, took out the drawers and vacuumed behind them, but we still found clouds of dust as thick as dryer lint almost daily and my allergies have been just terrible all year. I have suspected for some time the air ducts were to blame, and today the technician confirmed they were choked with dust. I'm looking forward to a new year of enhanced health, with fewer allergies!
Crunchy BLT Salad
Serves 4
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce or baby spinach leaves
12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I use uncured, nitrate-free bacon)
2 cups grape tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
Peanut Dressing
Toss lettuce and tomatoes together. Top with crumbled bacon and peanut dressing. Use warm bacon if desired.
Peanut Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
Mix mayonnaise and peanut butter well until smooth. Set aside until salad is ready to serve.
I used crunchy peanut butter to give more texture so I wouldn't miss the bread from the BLT sandwich as much. I also cooked the bacon right before making the salad so it was still warm when we ate. Delish! I think this is going to be a new favorite salad for me!
Besides our healthy new recipe, we are getting our air ducts cleaned today. Our house sat empty for a long time before we bought it and prior to that it had renters who didn't leave it terribly clean when they left. When we moved in the house was beyond filthy. The curtains and carpet in our bedroom were full of dead insects and gray with dust. The walls were dirty, and we found old food behind the drawers in the kitchen. We cleaned and cleaned, replaced the curtains and carpet, painted, took out the drawers and vacuumed behind them, but we still found clouds of dust as thick as dryer lint almost daily and my allergies have been just terrible all year. I have suspected for some time the air ducts were to blame, and today the technician confirmed they were choked with dust. I'm looking forward to a new year of enhanced health, with fewer allergies!
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