Preparedness for when

Frugalsod

Many here will know that I have been warning about Deutsche Bank for a long time and it seems to be developing as I expected.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-04/german-dax-plunges-1-year-lows-deutsche-bank-cocos-crash

The fact the convertible bonds are collapsing in value indicates that they are being sold off rather than risk conversion into equity which would also be wiped out in a serious crisis. The credit default swaps are also rising in price significantly which means that counter parties that are insuring this debt are concerned that there are problems in the bank. It might fall back in due course but it might be a while.

mardatha

Oh that kefir stuff sound absolutely digusting!! BLEUGH!

Frugalsod

VJsmum wrote: »

I also make sourdough, eat yogurt and kimchi. Never tried Kefir or kombucha though..... or sauerkraut come to that. I adore kimchi - i buy it in the asian supermarket (having had it in S. Korea) - and find it totally addictive.

I am looking into the idea of making my own sourdough bread, yoghurt and kimchi but the need to get starters for the sourdough and yoghurt have deterred me so far. Not looked into making kimchi yet but it looks like I will give it a try eventually.

greenbee

Frugalsod - all you need to start yogurt is a couple of spoonfuls of live yogurt. I make my own - I keep longlife milk in stock, and whenever I get back from a work trip I buy a small pot of live yogurt, use half to get the new batch going and eat the other half.

Sourdough starters people sometimes offer on freegle.

[Deleted User]

Frugalsod wrote: »

I am looking into the idea of making my own sourdough bread, yoghurt and kimchi but the need to get starters for the sourdough and yoghurt have deterred me so far. Not looked into making kimchi yet but it looks like I will give it a try eventually.

sourdough starter

http://bakerybits.co.uk/bakery-ingredients/yeast-and-starters/san-francisco-sourdough-bread-starter.html

I made my own from yeasts in the air, such fun. Google what to do. Mine is about 8 years old now. Last one was 10 years and then I forgot to keep some to one side and that was the end of that. The starter is very easy going, I let it sleep for weeks sometimes and just feed and water it to wake it up

Sauerkrout:

not the stuff in shops, which is pasteurised. I use a 5l fermenting crockpot, it has a water barrier to keep the air out and then I pot into kilner jars and store dark and cool under the stairs. Last time I made any was in 2014 but I have my get up and go back so will be growing cabbages to make more this year. I have plenty left in store, I just have a small amount every day

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/surprising-health-benefits-of-sauerkraut

optibac sell probiotics and looking at the ingredients, most are found in fermented foods

I am interested in water kefir, sounds very nice. Will google later.

moneyistooshorttomention

thriftwizard wrote: »

Fuddle, I can't digest ordinary milk. But kefir, being fermented (i.e. in a sense pre-digested) is much easier on the stomach; when I have milk kefir, I have it whizzed up with banana & cinnamon similar to a milk-shake, but not as sweet. But mostly I have water-kefir, made with honey-sweetened water, a slice of lemon & a handful of raisins, which is pleasantly sparkling and rather delicious.

That water kefir drink sounds nice - as I'm quite partial to champagne (when I can afford it and life merits a "reward") so that might be a good substitute for me. I'm on the lookout generally for "drink" type drinks of a non-alcoholic variety as replacement for the wine-drinking (ahem...on calculating units I was having about twice the Government guidelines on average). I think the wine was part of the cause of what I have self-diagnosed as Gerd (which is causing me some chest pain over recent weeks) - well a combination of that and squeezing myself into size 14 clothes when I'd actually reached size 16:(:eek:. Thankfully, I really am size 14 again now - so one size left to get shot of (ie get back to size 12) and I will be able to wear the majority of my clothes again. I must get hold of some water kefir grains too then.

So - yep some nice non-alcoholic drinks and meanwhile I've started having aloe vera juice and have got some slippery elm on order to get rid of the Gerd for good (bar Kittie having some ideas on other suitable remedies for it).

I've only got milk kefir grains. I must get hold of some water kefir ones and have a go at that.

[Deleted User]

I just ordered water kefir grains from ebay, £2.99 with no p&p

Thriftwizard, what type of jar do you use? kilner? and do you cover with a cloth?

money, gerd is my weakpoint, has been for 30 years. Slippery elm is good when you feel that dull ache, the one that feels soothed or cooled when you drink cold water. It works like a soothing bandage when you have that damaged place. Google cabbage juice, it is a very good os healer when gerd has resulted in soreness. A tight bra and sitting slightly forward as in typing is a bad combo for gerd btw.

Prevention is better than cure, what I do
no eating after 5.30 pm
no chocolate after 12.30 pm
no alcohol after 6 pm (I hardly drink anyway, red wine was bad)
no bread except sd or maybe long fermentation
If I get into a bad patch with gerd then I sleep on a sloping wedge

If gerd is currently a problem then smooth soup at teatime. I even soak my sd bread in the soup if I get a sore patch (rarely TG)

I always carry gaviscon in my bag, haven`t used it in a while but the alginates are good as they form a raft of bubbles to stop acid coming up

Also don`t assume gerd is from too much acid, many people have too little acid, me included, hence cannot digest red meat easily. Just that the sphincter at the top is weak. Personally I am going to lose that weight as I know that my fat presses on my stomach when I sleep. Sleeping on back is bad for gerd. Sleeping on left side is best

Re alcohol, TG I have never drunk a lot, I could well have gone down that slippery slope last year as it is a g&t is still a nice guilt-free treat, hangs head, maybe once a month 25 mls in one glass. A friend newly widowed, said that wine was her downfall. I understand where she came from as she had been her husbands carer

GreyQueen

I'm considerably over-weight but have managed to misplace 7 lb of that since the start of the year through less eating of sugary nonsense (I have had some chocolate and a bit of cake, just much less).

I've allowed over-indulgent eating to creep up on me over the years, with the result of steady weight-gain. I'm tall and rangy in build, and used to have one of those metabolisms where I could eat like a horse and not gain weight. Alas, all that is long in the past, and I'm not liking the unweildiness of being about 4 stone heavier than I should be.

Besides, it's not preptastic if you're not able to keep yourself reasonably fit and mobile, is it?:rotfl:

Amazingly, even a little weight loss is making me feel better and more active, so heaven knows what I'll be like when I've lost a stone or two - bring it!

moneyistooshorttomention

Losing that couple of stones you have decided to lose Kittie should help - as I've read that bit about extra weight pressing on the relevant area.

The wine-drinking is very insidious in a way. It has come to represent "Get back from the day at the office and reward yourself for the stress of the day with a glass - or three" and that was exactly what I did and then continued with it whilst the neighbours were playing silly b&ggers for about 2 years.

That's the thing - the advertisers' message slips straight into the unconscious that the wine-drinking is "after a day at THE OFFICE". It's not after a 12 hour night shift at the factory or x hours driving around or y hours on your feet as a shop assistant. Get what the advertisers just did there? They have got the message over of "After your day (yes we do mean "daytime hours") at a middle-class job" and bingo...your subconscious is saying "Oh - they mean me then.....".

That really struck me on buying one of the recent tranche of genuinely healthy cookbooks that have been coming onto the market the last couple of years or so. It's "Whole Food Energy" by Elise Museles and its a good book and I shall be using a lot of the recipes from it. But I was rather losing count of the number of references she made in the sideline text to "after your morning run", "after the day at the office", "office meetings" (with implication you will be one of the decision-makers at those meetings). Lots of assumptions there of the lifestyle the reader will be having and its no problem to me/wouldn't have been whilst working to work around her assumptions about the readers' lifestyles. But I was very conscious it wasn't slanted at shiftworkers doing 12 hour nightshifts and no decision-making powers/etc whatsoever in their jobs. I very much doubt she would have meant it that way and it really IS for everyone - but the sidetext didn't read that way iyswim.

I think the wine-drinking habit has taken such a hold across our Society because of what we feel it says about us personally iyswim - ie "My job situation is well under control - its confined to workday daytimes and is in an office etc etc and that's ME" iyswim.

That's much clearer now that I am retired - so I'm not at risk of anyone trying to say I should do a job that's antisocial hours/etc/etc any longer and I'm wondering how "not to" have to do so. It's like ready "weapons of choice" to say "I wont be doing that" include a bottle of wine brandished in the direction of anyone saying "Just go and do a 12 hour nightshift in a factory for your money dear". NB; No disrespect implied obviously to anyone who has no choice but to do so.

The advertisers message is really quite insidious at quite a deep level - and many of us fall for it.

GreyQueen

MTSTM, some people do night shifts rather than day shifts because there is usually a bit more money on the table. Not a lot, laughable by the standards of professional pay, but a useful increment if you are just a working joe.

I have been a factory hand, and so were my parents, and my Dad used to do nights some of the time when we were growing up.

Having worked production lines of 8 hrs at a stretch, on my feet, I have to note two things; no one was overweight and no one had any energy to go to the gym by the time we clocked off at 22.00. Most of my workmates were mums with young kids, hubbies worked days, MILs covered the gap when the kids got in from school until their dad got in, the parents saw each other for an hour or so before their own bedtime, and it was up-and-at-it for another day by about 6 am.

Having spare energy to 'exercise' doesn't feature in many people's lives.