Wednesday, December 14, 2016

EGGS

It is not uncommon that people buy eggs at the store, keep them refrigerated and consume them before a couple of weeks have passed. Yesterday, I learned something that really surprised me. I learned that farm fresh eggs, that is, a recently laid egg, an egg one has 'plucked' from directly under the chicken who laid it can be safely stored without refrigeration for up to nine months. This seemed preposterous to me.

I visited a customer in Kankakee, Illinois, way out in the country who maintains both a quilt shop, a pumpkin farm and chickens. During my visit we discussed, fabrics, politics and her eggs (more precisely her chickens' eggs) She explained to me that chicken eggs will spoil if air gets through the porous shell. A freshly laid egg already has a natural protection that prevents this. Most farmers will wash eggs once they are collected and this removes this natural protection. An egg that has been covered in mineral oil will once again protect the porous shell from allowing air inside and will keep UNrefrigerated fresh and ready to eat for up to nine months. I learned that the eggs my customer collects each day will not be uniform in size or even color, as each chicken is from a so-called heritage line of real chickens not bred and cross bred as 'factory' chickens are. I was sent home with a few fabric orders and with a dozen eggs. My wife made me a delicious omelette today with three of these eggs, and although I will admit I could not taste the difference, I am told that these are truly more protein enriched than the eggs one would purchase at the local Kroger's.

Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Kirkland - Pre-Cooked Bacon	300	0	23	23	1,313	0
Protein Plus Protein Bar - MET-Rx	310	29	10	32	95	1
Creamy Wheat - Enriched Farina	700	146	0	23	496	6
	1,310	175	33	78	1,904	7
L U N C H
Subway - Sun Chips- Harvest Cheddar	210	27	9	4	320	3
Subway - Turkey Sub Sandwich	560	92	7	36	1,620	14
	770	119	16	40	1,940	17
D I N N E R
Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich	900	77	45	42	1,166	3
DARK COCOA MELTING WAFERS	400	44	24	5	82	38
	1,300	121	69	47	1,248	41
S N A C K S
Chewy Chocolated Chip Granola	400	63	14	3	129	37
	400	63	14	3	129	37

Totals	3,780	478	132	168	5,221	102
Your Daily Goal	2,961	370	98	149	2,300	111
Remaining	-819	-108	-34	-19	-2,921	9
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,031 extra calories from exercise today

Your Exercise Diary for:

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Elliptical Trainer	99	1,031


Daily Total / Goal	99 / 30	1,031 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	349 / 210	3,307 / 4,130

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Friday, September 2, 2016

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

No, it's not my wedding anniversary...That's still about three weeks away. No, it's not the anniversary of my decision to change my life and quit the couch potato lifestyle...that's still nearly four months away. No, it's not the anniversary of my climb up to the peak of Half Dome in Yosemite Park...that's still about one month away. It is the anniversary of the day that I turbo-charged the change in my life and purchased my fitbit. During this first year... Sept 2015 through August 2016, I have been counting steps... I am aware that there is about one person on earth who might care about this. That person being me.

In the first year that I had this fitbit, I accumulated 9,012,198 steps.
I had two months when my step count was over one million.
I had one month when my step count was under 200,000.
My average steps for this first year was 24,690 steps per day.
I earned my 'sneakers badge' (10,000 steps) 342 times.
I earned my 'cowboy badge' (50,000 steps) 22 times.
I earned my 'classics badge' (25,000 steps) 171 times.
I failed to earn my 'boat shoe badge' (5000 steps) 23 times.
I earned my 'volcano badge' (500 floors climbed in one day) once, on Half Dome.
I earned my 'genie shoe' badge (75,000 steps) once, the day I walked the Chicago Marathon before taking an additional hike in the evening that same day.

SEPT 2 - SEPTEMBER 30

OCTOBER 1 - OCTOBER 31

NOVEMBER 1 - NOVEMBER 30

DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 31

JANUARY 1 - JANUARY 31

FEBRUARY 1 - FEBRUARY 29

MARCH 1 - MARCH 31

APRIL 1 - APRIL 30
(HERNIA INJURY, SURGERY)

MAY 1 - MAY 31
(HERNIA RECOVERY)

JUNE 1 - JUNE 30

JULY 1 - JULY 31

AUGUST 1 - AUGUST 31

And now...back to our regular programming....

After an appointment in Mishawaka, Indiana, I headed towards Chicago and stopped at Indiana Dunes. As always, I parked my car at the visitors center. This time I was searching for the Little Calumet River Trail which I had not yet hiked on any of my previous visits. At one point, I lost the trail and it was a while before I 'recovered.' I never worry too much as my MapMyWalk application always tells me where I am and which direction I need to go to get back on track.

Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Mccain - Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal	600	108	10	16	0	4
Fiber One - Chewy Bars - Chocolate	90	17	2	1	80	5
	690	125	12	17	80	9
L U N C H
Power Bar - Protein Plus 20g - Chocolate	210	25	6	20	200	12
Subway - Footlong Turkey Breast on Wheat	560	92	17	36	1,890	11
Sage - Red Delicious Apple, 2 medium apple	190	50	1	1	4	38
	960	167	24	57	2,094	61
D I N N E R
Aladdin Food - Garlic Shrimp	250	14	7	31	664	0
Spaghetti - Spaghetti Noodles	221	43	1	8	1	1
Baby Spinach - Baby Spinaches	20	3	0	2	65	0
Campbell's - Condensed Tomato Soup	180	40	0	4	960	24
Quaker - Chewy Choc Chip, 1 bar	100	17	4	1	0	7
	771	117	12	46	1,690	32
S N A C K S
Generic - Twix Ice Cream Bar, 1 bar (3 oz)	250	28	14	2	75	23
	250	28	14	2	75	23

Totals	2,671	437	62	122	3,939	125
Your Daily Goal	3,569	446	119	179	2,300	133
Remaining	898	9	57	57	-1,639	8
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,639 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today... You'd weigh 191.3 lbs in 5 weeks

Your Exercise Diary for:

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
10 MILE HIKE	146	1,750


Daily Total / Goal	146 / 30	1,750 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	595 / 210	7,784 / 4,130

Little Calumet River Trail is located in the town of Porter in Porter County within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and is connected to the Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm Trails. To access the trails from US 20, turn north on Mineral Springs Rd. go ½ mile then turn left on Oak Hill Rd. another ½ mile, and then another left on Howe Rd. Parking is available near Bailly Homestead on the left and further down is additional parking to the right where the trailhead is also located.