Of cabbages and kings... Cashews, BP, maple syrup, et all

I've been pretty busy lately, dabbling with multiple things. I've made a Dex+ ketchup, which my daughter says tastes too much like tomatoes (?!); it does need a bit more zing. Not ready for prime-time yet, but it's promising. It tasted better warm than it did after chilling down. I'm close on some other new recipes too; wish there was more time in the day!

A montage of thoughts...

Thermogenex: another thing to try

A friend recently started trying Dex+, and also mentioned adding exercise. Next thing I know, I'm telling her cold showers are probably better. That sounded kind of crazy, even to me. My husband had been telling me about this crazy self-experimentation guy has been loosing weight by taking cold showers. A crazy guy that worked for NASA, seems to have a spread-sheet and data collecting fetish, and worked on ECLSS for Space Station. Then I thought, wait, do I know him? Why have I been ignoring that guy? Just because I like hot showers? Ummm, yes, I think that's it.

Now I've been reading his Hypothermics blog, trying to catch up. It makes a lot of sense to me. Wouldn't sacrificing steamy showers be worth loosing weight a lot faster? Today the answer is yes, it's certainly worth a try! So, I've downloaded the spread sheet. I've taken measurements, and recorded all my starting data. And, I took my first Thermogenex contrast shower. Not so terribly bad... if the payoff is high, it just might be worth it. It should complement Dex+ nicely. It's free, and if it works, I'll give him a donation. And maybe once the weight is gone, I can have my hot showers back...

Trust but verify. We'll see how it goes.

Controlling Fructose: Yep, I got it! Dex+

Took me a while to notice there was a second "Bitter Truth" video: 

Fat Chance: Fructose 2.0

I watched it to see if I'd missed anything, or gotten anything wrong. There is new info, and it tracks with what I've been experiencing (happy!). TL;DR: Here's my take on it:

European-Style Hot Chocolate Dex+

I'm so pleased! My daughter went to Hamacon last night, and got hot chocolate. Now, here's the awesome part: she said it tasted so weak and sickly sweet that she had to give it away! She also couldn't drink the Dr Pepper! My scheme is working; my children don't like fructose-laden foods any more. Of course this also means that her friends think our "sweets" aren't sweet enough... I may need to add extra sweeteners when they visit.

In her honor, I wanted to make some real hot chocolate. I've had Jacques Torres' hot chocolate on Valantine's before (hugs to my DH); it's delicious, rich and thick. If I could Dex+ that, wow! But he doesn't share his recipe; hmmm.

Tasty Salad with Basil Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is one of my son's favorite things. In fact, he claimed the over-filled bowl in the photo here, because it was the largest. :)  I've been making vinaigrette and tossing it into salad before serving ever since I saw it done on America's Test Kitchen, although I skip the shallots and mustard. Then my sister-in-law gave us a bottle of basil olive oil, and a bottle of fig balsamic vinegar; that added a new lovely dimension I would not have thought of! Now that we've run out, I add those flavors back in myself.

Lessons Learned: Dex+

Look at my beautiful weight chart!

My weight chart, starting from the beginning of Dex+; each line is a pound.

Last August, I discovered "The bitter truth" about fructose. That day, I started my mission to control fructose.  I also started telling my kids all about what I had learned. They clearly found my enthusiasm humorous, but they also appreciate my quirks and determination. And they like my cooking; if reducing fructose means more tasty food experiments, where's the down side?

Berries and Vanilla Yogurt Dex+

We wanted some dessert, so I added a little Simple Syrup Dex+ and vanilla to some yogurt, and poured it over some fresh blueberries. Perfect! I love it when berries are in season.

Blueberry or Strawberry Jam Dex++

Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, these are very nutritious and healthy to eat. What a shame that all the jars of jam at the grocery are sweetened with extra doses of fructose without the fiber to balance. It's not hard to do, especially with a bread machine that has a "jam" cycle. That's right, my Zojirushi bread machine. For more on fructose and Dex+, see the tabs, above.

I'm sure this could be made on the stove; I tried once, and was disappointed. Apparently they mean it when they warn about not over-stirring tapioca. If I didn't have the Zo, I'd probably try different thickeners that are easier to handle, but keep the rest of the recipe.

How does it taste? Well, like intense blueberries. Nice, clean, bold solid flavor. Same for strawberries. My daughter says it's way better than regular jam. It's a little less thick than store-bought jam, which makes it easier to spread, and it can also be used as a topping.

 

Blueberry preserves, left, and strawberry jam, right. Blackberries would be good too, or maybe a blend.

Doughnut Muffins Dex+

Breakfast food can be delicious, especially something sweet. I thought I'd give muffins a try, and I've made the regular version of these before. They're called doughnut muffins because the nutmeg and cinnamon make them taste a bit like doughnuts. I love doughnuts, but I don't love the hassle of frying them. Muffins are a lot easier.

A dozen warm Doughnut Muffins Dex+

Here is my Dex+ version of King Arthur Flour’s doughnut muffin recipe. My family all liked them a lot.

"Greek" Yogurt

I think actual Greek yogurt is made from sheep's milk, and then the whey is strained out to make it thicker and creamier. However, here in America, we tend to use the term "Greek" yogurt to mean strained cows' milk yogurt. That is the kind I've been making, because I haven't noticed any sheep's milk at the grocery in, um, well, ever actually.

Skip to the recipe if you're not interested in how to make a strainer. Greek yogurt is easy to make, and a lot less expensive than buying.

Yogurt Strainer

While looking around for a way to strain yogurt, I found a variety of uni-taskers like this one for sale.


I'm sure it works great, but I wanted to put something together myself.

Homemade Whole Milk Yogurt, no yogurt machines needed!

Why on earth would someone MAKE yogurt? Here's my list of reasons:

1. Whole is the best kind, and it is hard to find at the store. 
2. Homemade is cheaper. 
3. You know exactly what's in it.
4. It's kinda cool to know how, don't you think? 
5. It's good, and not very hard to do. 
6. Obviously yogurt is only a few steps away from becoming Greek yogurt and then frozen yogurt dex+!

The finished yogurt, after chilling.

Shout out to thefrugalgirl for sharing how she makes hers. I used to use more ingredients than necessary. I also like using the canning jars.

Sweet Iced Tea Dex+

makes 2 quarts

Ingredients:

• 10 single tea bags
• 300 g Simple Syrup Dex+
• ½ pinch citric acid, or small squeeze of lemon (optional)*

Instructions:

1. Bring 1 quart of water to a boil. Pour over tea bags and steep for 3 min, then remove and discard tea bags.
2. Stir in the syrup. Add cold water to make two quarts. Stir in citric acid or lemon, if you want.

*The lemon can easily overpower the tea, as the syrup is not as intensely sweet as traditional syrup. Use caution.

More about Dex+ here.