Healthy Mondays Fiber

I hear and read this alot; most of us do not get enough fiber in our diets. So how can we add it?

I started back using psyllium and I love the brand Konsyl cause that is the only ingredient in the product and I can just add a teaspoon into my protein shake.

Links on psyllium here and here The second link explains some of the side effects-like bloating etc. and tips to minimize. It does take getting used to sometimes-so I start with half the amount per serving and work up to the full serving of the psyllium.

Foods with high fiber:

Highest Fiber Vegetables
Avocado
Beans
Broccoli*
Brussels sprouts*
Cabbage*
Carrot
Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans
Eggplant
Greens -- collards, kale, turnip greens*
Lima beans
Mushrooms
Potato with skin
Pumpkin, canned
Peas -- black-eyed peas, green peas
Peppers
Rhubarb
Spinach*
Sweet Potatoes

These high-fiber vegetables are also goitrogenic, meaning that they promote thyroid enlargement and can potentially cause or aggravate hypothyroidism. Typically, the risk is highest when these foods are consumed raw, regularly, and in substantial quantity. Cooking eliminates most goitrogenic properties.
Highest Fiber Fruits
Apples
Avocado
Bananas
Berries -- Blueberies, Blackberries, Raspberries, etc.
Dried Fruits -- Figs, Raisins, Apricots, Dates, etc.
Guava
Kiwi
Orange
Pears
Prunes

Other High Fiber Foods
Bran Cereals, 5-10 grams - All-Bran, Bran Buds, 100% Bran, Raisin Bran
Bread, whole grain
Beans, Lentils, Lima Beans
Nuts -- Almonds, Brazil nuts, Peanuts, Walnuts, Cashews

from here

So how much fiber do we need, and why do we need it?? Answers from webmd here and from Livestrong here and here too

Song Saturday Changes

A little different music for me but this just popped into my head when I was thinking of a song.

Can't Mess with Mother Nature

Around midnight last night-tornados and storms hit all over Missouri. Woke up to a phone call around 6 am this morning; a friend who went to work at Tracker Boats in Lebanon called to say he found tornado and golf ball hail damage everywhere at his work siteso everyone was sent home. Boats thrown every where. That end of town is our Wal mart store-haven't heard yet what kind of damage they had.

Branson was hit very hard, in Buffalo the tornado went right thru a trailor park there. Also tomorrow is opening trout season here at Bennett Springs-a really big deal, and they showed a nearby camping area had gottont damaged pretty bad-campers upside down.

I was up at midnight with our Nikita (she does not like storms) and I heard lots and lots of strong winds here go thru, but glad to say no damage right here where I live.

These storms are now traveling thru arkansas tennessee and more-so please stay safe. There is also a major snow storm developing now in the upper midwest-dakotas-minnesota, wisconsin and more

My hubby always says-we can't mess with mother nature.

stay safe everyone

Art Sunday The River

from here

from here

from here

My Quilt Block Sample

This went together really nice-the bottom photo is of the spray I had left over. My mom bought it for me probably 5 years ago, something she used alot when putting together baby charity quilts. I was not so crazy about it, but worked great for this project.

I did put my walking foot on the machine; the only way to sew together three layers like this.

I started out with big X and then decided to do two more lines, so there is lots of quilting in this now on the edges to keep it from stretching. The photo is the back side of this piece-I see now I missed cleaning off a stray thread on the bottom

I started out with the quilting foot-but decided I want this project to go fast, get finished, so it's completed, we are using it, and one more scratched off my list-lol I am determined to get my projects in process finished and if I no longer want to make them, they are going to the resale shop.

This spray will probably be all gone in the fabric in a couple days, so I can sew a few blocks together and see how I like this. I used 80/20 cotton poly batting, as I want this quilt to stay mostly cotton. Hopefully this will not end up super heavy with the quilting and when washed will be a bit fluffy too.

But so far I am pleased how this first one went together, and I am not buying stabilizer, but I will need another can of this spray, and I am using t shirst on the top and the bottom-so no backing to purchase.

Quilt Ideas Popping in my Head

Bummer, I woke up early again this morning around 2:30 am, when I do that I rarely go back to sleep. So I came in the living room and got that wood stove going (we were in the 20s last night) and read thru my rug hooking books again.

Last year I went thru all of my long time best loved t shirst and sweat shirts and cut out bit squares from them-12 1/2". I have all my Bulls shirts from when Michael Jordan played in Chicago, lots of green bay packer shirts, my orange crush t shirt from the denver broncos back in the late 70s, and bird shirts from our business and much more. I have plenty to make a pretty large size quilt.

I have had it put away, cause most of the directions say one must use interfacing on all of the pieces-for ease of sewing, do to the stretchiness of the knits. However I just really do not want to that. Those interfacings take away the softness of the shirts, and it would cost alot of money to buy all that interfacing too. So for the last year I have been thinking of ways to sew these blocks without doing that. I have also seen articles online where they carefully sew the knits together with out the added bulk of the interfacing. I think also the problem of machine quilting could pose a problem as well, due to the stretchiness.

So anyways the last couple mornings when I woke up in the middle of the night-was to sew these blocks together style. Like when I sewed up all those raggy jeans and flannel quilts. This would also take care of the quilting problem as well.

To sew these squares you layer them-the back piece, batting, and the top piece and then sew a big X on the square-to "quilt" it. Then you just join these blocks together as big and as long as you want. I am thinking this would use up lots of these t shirt squares I have cut out and by using a special walking foot, should be able to get this together with no interfacing-I need to do a test square on a really stretchy piece and see how it goes.

The guys are checking out the gun show this morning, they went last week and discovered it was today instead. Later this afternoon, several locals go down and jump in the cold river and then have lots of food afterwards. I am definately not jumping in-but may go this year to watch. We have full sunshine, no wind now, and will get to 50 degrees so will actually be "warm" for them this year.

I am off to finish watching my quilt shows on pbs this morning-and then try out my "theory"

Happy weekend everyone

Song Saturday The Wind by Cat Stevens