posted on August 8, 2000 12:10:43 PM
KRS, No way was I suggesting that an underactive thyroid was a way out. BUT an underactive thyroid can cause high cholesteral levels. Getting an underactive thyroid under control can save your life!It can cause heart troubles and really wreaks havoc with many body functions,even hair loss.SO it was just a suggestion to have the thyroid checked to make certain that it was not an underlying factor as many doctors overlook it as a cause. By the way I am not a fatty and had no idea my thyroid was out of whack until my blood tests showed it. I was however tired all the time and had heart palpatations [which are now gone thank you]. So the thyroid is nothing to mess around with.
posted on August 8, 2000 12:12:21 PM
bunnicula, if you like carrots, you might like parsnips. I don't know their cholesterol count, though--some vegetables are high. Make sure they're fresh. Good luck with bringing down your numbers.
Don't take it so personal; I wasn't responding to you, rather to the out that that particular condition has provided for very many overweight people. My mother fed everyone horrible stuff for years, starved my father near to death I think, all the while claiming that she couldn't help her weight because she had a "thyroid condition".
As the oldest and tallest I was the first to discover that she kept the top kitchen cabinets well supplied with goodies that noone else saw, much less ate. And when at 14 I went to get her car started at a busstop where she parked to go to work, I found that the back seat was trashed with empty wrappers of twinkies and all the like, and the trunk actually held a case of Peanut Butter Cups.
posted on August 8, 2000 02:24:24 PM
KRS, I have known people who acted just like your mother and blamed everything on their "thyroid condition".They do give people who really do have a thyroid problem a bad rap. Sorry you had to put up with that growing up.I begin to think that all mothers are weird [myself included].Still we love them....don't we?Really, I did not take it as personal as it appeared.
Pareau, I had forgotten about parsnips! I hate them but the rest of my family loves them so I have to cook them for the holidays.Mashed as well as fried.They aren't as bad as turnips but they are still kind of yucky.Defeats the purpose for me as they must be drenched in butter and salt to be palatable.
posted on August 8, 2000 04:10:51 PM
No one's mentioned jicama, or pinto beans.
Jicama is a root vegetable, looks kind of like a fat round potato. Inside looks like a water chestnut. Eat it raw, sliced or slivered, in a salad. It's crunchy, slightly sweet, and is different but actually rather nice. I like the texture.
Pinto beans I like better than kidney beans. Look for them in the Mexican food section, but don't get refried beans - those are traditionally prepared with lard and are high in fat. (The low-fat ones are not worth feeding to the dog.)
Other beans to try: small white beans (cannelini), and sweet soybeans. Birdseye has a frozen mix of broccoli, baby carrots, water chestnuts, and sweet soybeans that I absolutely love. Just steam it and dress with a little lemon juice and strips of red (bell) pepper.
Look for cookbooks by Curtis Aikens and Deborah Madison for wonderful vegetarian meals. And if you go up to San Francisco, check out Greens restaurant. You'll never look at tofu the same way again.
posted on August 8, 2000 04:59:54 PM
Think I'll get both parsnips & turnips at the store tonight--maybe I can wangle a single representative of each from the person in charge of the fruit/veggie department
KatieP: although I like most beans, I find pinto beans to have a bitter aftertaste for some reason
But...what's a "sweet" soybean? I've never seen those! I have eaten soybeans roasted & salted as a snack, though.
posted on August 8, 2000 07:20:59 PM
I would agree that the first suspect for weight gain should not be the thyroid, however, if you are dieting and exercising and are NOT seeing any results a thyroid test is in order.
My best friend has a thyroid problem (although I can't remember at the moment if it is hyper or hypo)....having it diagnosed and treated changed her life.
posted on August 8, 2000 07:29:21 PM
TURNIPS?? I love em! Cooked and mashed, that is - with butter and salt - just like mashed potatoes. My Irish mom always served them at holiday dinners. I didn't even know they were "veggies" because I HATED veggies back then! They are sweet, not bitter. They do get bitter if cooked too long or if they were "old" when you bought them. I would suggest for starters that you try frozen turnip. Add butter buds, mash til smooth, eat! Yummy!
posted on August 8, 2000 07:36:59 PM
They say all parts of kudzu are ok to eat(Y2K research)...or you could dig up the neighbor's yucca plant and eat the root.
Then there is always dandelions and violets. I have eatten those.
(I hate to see this thread die for lack of new veggies.)
T
posted on August 8, 2000 07:43:28 PM
I just came from the Farmer's Market that was held this evening. Usually I don't go because I'm working, but this is a vacation week. What wonderful food I saw (and I quit smoking six weeks ago, so all food looks good!!!!!! You know, that old see-food diet!)
I've got razberries, peaches, green beans, onions, potatoes, sugar watermelon, cantelope, green peppers, red peppers, yellow peppers, orange peppers. Jams and jellies. Sweet corn.
Will spend tomorrow freezing lots of goodies. My downfall was the kettle corn with all that sugar. And the strawberry-rhubarb pie. But, I had no resistance.
posted on August 8, 2000 10:20:56 PMjt: No kudzu growing, to my knowledge, in California And I do believe there is some sort of law against destroying yuccas--was told that years ago.
I never did get out to buy the parsnips & turnips--made the mistake of turning on Animal Planet which was showing two episodes of Emergency Vets back-to-back Then I noticed that Trauma was on after that on TLC...
I buy 'em tomorrow.
UBB...UBB...woe is me!
[ edited by bunnicula on Aug 8, 2000 10:21 PM ]
posted on August 8, 2000 11:57:29 PMmybidness: I'm sorry, but I do have to draw the line somewhere! While I have been able to disguise & eat cauliflower, *it* is lower in the list of Top 5 Worst Vegetables! Broccoli is just too high (2nd) on the list to be stomached.
posted on August 9, 2000 12:07:19 PM
Hey, don't forget raw salad-type veggies for snacks--cucumbers, radishes, celery, green onions. Pickles have no cholesterol, dill pickles have hardly any calories, sweet gherkins have some sugar, but still no cholesterol. Most giardinara mixes don't have oil, just brine, and have a lot of flavor.
Hot-air popped popcorn has no fat and is filling and keeps hands & mouth busy.
You could make some coleslaw with no-fat dressing. Sugar snap peas are great for eating raw, too.
posted on August 9, 2000 12:25:59 PMPat: Sweet Baby Gherkins! I love those I hadn't given them a thoughts. The only time I eat & *like* dill pickles is when I have worked at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire--then you get a craving for them! Those costumes are heavy & *hot,* and dill pickles help restore your electrolytes...
posted on August 9, 2000 12:50:44 PM
I am practically addicted to something called Twang. It started as beer salt but now it comes in dill pickle. It is basically dill pickle flavored salt or everything but the cucumber. It is better.
My chicken said, "Sento l'odore della schiuma dello stagno" this morning.
T
posted on August 9, 2000 01:51:46 PM
Bunnicula, I love broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Hate peas and lima beans, unless it's something chinese. If you want to make a change in your diet, re-examine your list of least favorite vegetables. I suggest you try some of them in a strong-flavored sauce. Once you can stomach that, cut back on the sauce or use a milder flavoring. People have been known to eat broccoli and survive. And don't forget the exercise. I didn't notice tofu so I'm throwing it in here. Mix a little raw in salad if you can't fry it.
posted on August 9, 2000 06:50:22 PMI ate a Parsnip! Actually it was quite tasty, but *very* "woody," with lots of strings. Not quite as sweet as a carrot, but not bad either. Ate it raw. New addition to diet.
Looked at the turnips, but they didn't look right to me. Had a slight slimy feel & white fuzzies. Are they supposed to be like that?
Twinsoft: No, no Tofu. It's not that I dislike its flavor (well, it doesn't really *have* a flavor, does it)--I don't like its texture. I tend to prefer foods that crunch or have more substance than tofu. It's too soft with nothing to get my teeth into
As to the rest: believe me, I have eaten broccoli in the past. It is quite horrid, thank you anyway. Brussell Sprouts are the number one worst veggie in the world--not only do they taste like dreck, but they also stink up the entire house at the same time. Second is Broccoli, Third is Lima Beans, Fourth is Zucchini, and Fifth is Cauliflower (which is tolerable with enough hot sauce).
posted on August 9, 2000 07:00:01 PM
Just to illustrate how taste can vary so much, I actually love brussell sprouts, broccolli, lima beans and cauliflower (not zucchini, though *shudders*). Go figure...
posted on August 9, 2000 07:04:12 PM
Have you ever tried TVP? I use it instead of ground meat in chili, tacos, pitas, and the first time I gave it to my husband, he
didn't even know it wasn't meat. It is priced high in the grocery store here, but is 50 cents/lb. at the health food store. It's ground up flakes and small nuggets, made from soy.
posted on August 9, 2000 07:27:36 PMSnowyegret: I've never even heard of it! Is it anything like those veggieburgers you can get in the frozen food section? Those aren't bad at all, I've discovered...
posted on August 9, 2000 07:52:27 PM
Kind of. It's called texturized vegetable protein, TVP for short. We started using it when my husband's cholestral was up to 250. You can just heat it in the sauce of whatever you're using, but not for more than 10 minutes. It really soaks up water too. He was a big meat eater, and said he really couldn't tell the difference (once I told him).
Congratulations on your parsnip encounter. Cooked, they are much better. Fresher will be less woody.
Turnips may be waxy, but should not be slimy. White fuzz is for bunnies, not your food, so you did right to pass on them. Fresh root vegetables should be arriving in the next month.
If you go for tofu or its variations, I'd make sure it's in a sealed package and has an expiration date. Steer clear of those pans at the deli with white lumps swimming in cloudy water. Think of them as great big Petri dishes, and you get the picture.
Last suggestion: You might consider mashing cauliflower, then spicing it up with a few jolts of Tabasco and enriching it with some Butter Buds. It's like potatos with personality, and it doesn't look like you've got a plateful of small brains.
Now I'm hungry. I want those veg, james--they're my favorites, too.
- Pareau
And I do believe there is some sort of law against destroying yuccas--was told that years ago.
Second is Broccoli, Third is Lima Beans, Fourth is Zucchini, and Fifth is Cauliflower (which is tolerable with enough hot sauce).