"Life Without Bread"

[Mrs. Peel]

If you use lye to clean a greasy drain, you run the risk of turning the grease into a solid plug of soap.

Just wipe the excess grease off into the trash with a paper towel if you have no other options. I wouldn't use a dishwasher if I had to wash the dishes before I put them in it!

Yeah, that always baffled me, seemed like it defeated the purpose. We grew up washing dishes by hand and I still do. I lived in my previous house for 12 years and we used the automatic dishwasher once, right when we moved in just to see if it worked! When I eventually sold the house, I had to replace the dishwasher cause it was all rusted away.

 

[Jones]

If you use lye to clean a greasy drain, you run the risk of turning the grease into a solid plug of soap.

Just wipe the excess grease off into the trash with a paper towel if you have no other options. I wouldn't use a dishwasher if I had to wash the dishes before I put them in it!

Yeah, that always baffled me, seemed like it defeated the purpose. We grew up washing dishes by hand and I still do. I lived in my previous house for 12 years and we used the automatic dishwasher once, right when we moved in just to see if it worked! When I eventually sold the house, I had to replace the dishwasher cause it was all rusted away.

Yup. I never saw the point with dishwashers. I figure if you've got to rinse everything first, then you may as well just make the water hot, put the plug and some soap in and do the dishes. My folks got a dishwasher and claimed that it saved them water, but they weren't considering the water that was going down the drain while they rinsed.

I've also been known to let my dog do the first rinse ;D

 

[Horseofadifferentcolor]

If you use lye to clean a greasy drain, you run the risk of turning the grease into a solid plug of soap.

Just wipe the excess grease off into the trash with a paper towel if you have no other options. I wouldn't use a dishwasher if I had to wash the dishes before I put them in it!

Yeah, that always baffled me, seemed like it defeated the purpose. We grew up washing dishes by hand and I still do. I lived in my previous house for 12 years and we used the automatic dishwasher once, right when we moved in just to see if it worked! When I eventually sold the house, I had to replace the dishwasher cause it was all rusted away.

Yup. I never saw the point with dishwashers. I figure if you've got to rinse everything first, then you may as well just make the water hot, put the plug and some soap in and do the dishes. My folks got a dishwasher and claimed that it saved them water, but they weren't considering the water that was going down the drain while they rinsed.

I've also been known to let my dog do the first rinse ;D

We have a brand new Bosch dishwasher and the whole reason I bought it was to save water and energy. We started getting film on our glasses after starting high fat. I hate doing dishes. Guess my doggies and paper towel dispencer will be geting more use. Thanks

 

[Alana]

My new crockpot filled my room with a horrid burning plastic smell. Cause: probably the stickers at the bottom. I removed the stickers... Hope that solves it. Ugh.


Edit: God help me the offgas is awful! Did any of you guys have this problem with new slow cookers?

Edit 2: I'm returning this crockpot.

Did you read the manual of instructions before you used it? I don't see why a slow-cooker would fume....

Regarding dishwashers, we use it every other day (as it gets full) and there's still a lot to wash by hand that don't fit in the machine, or are not dishwasher friendly. We only once had a clogging problem, and it was before we started using more fats. But we also let our dog lick the fat from the plates (if there's any left) so that might be helping

I am actually liking that I get to learn to do all kinds of new things in the kitchen, and using equipment that I never used before with our new way of eating, preserving, etc. I finally feel like an adult woman in the kitchen

 

[Guardian]

I've also been known to let my dog do the first rinse ;D

That's what many of our ancestors have done for generations. I've never owned a dishwasher, but I've always had critters with tongues like sandpaper, so no scrubbing plates and pans for me. They wash and I rinse real good in hot water. They're happy and I'm happy :)

 

[Laura]

We don't let the dogs lick the plates because it offends some people plus we monitor their diets carefully for health reasons.

We use our dishwasher every day, sometimes twice a day, and it cleans perfectly if loaded correctly and the water is hot enough. Just one meal can put 20 or more dishes in there. The dishwasher is our friend and we have learned how to take care of it and optimize its use.

There are some things that still have to be washed by hand, like large mixing bowls, pots, baking pans. We have some dishes we do NOT put in the dishwasher, such as delicate things or plastic since the dishwasher doesn't do plastic well for some reason. But even doing all of that by hand, we still end up with two loads a day and if we were washing all of that by hand, it would be a real chore. If it were just 3 or 4 people, I would do them by hand.

 

[Voyageur]

About this Drainbo - Thank Megan, my worry is always about the septic tank and field; sounds like good gut-flora for the tank.

_http://www.drainbo.com/septic.html

Drainbo keeps septic systems clean and clear with three paths of action.
The first is to treat all drain lines in the home that include kitchen, bath and laundry. The second is to increase digestion in the septic tank through a natural process of seven bacterial strains each formulated to digest fats, oils, grease, protein, urine and starch. Third is regular treatment with Drainbo is the digestion and removal of sludge deposited in the leach system which impedes the ability of liquid to disperse and evaporate: when not properly and regularly addressed, the system is highly prone to failure and the possibility of replacement of the leach field which can be very costly.

PS. use a dishwasher too with a good natural soap (also good for the septic field as we have had trees die off due to the bad stuff in commercial soap).

 

[Gimpy]

We use our dishwasher every day, sometimes twice a day, and it cleans perfectly if loaded correctly and the water is hot enough. Just one meal can put 20 or more dishes in there. The dishwasher is our friend and we have learned how to take care of it and optimize its use.

I can't do without one, ours has a 'sterilize' feature that I use whenever Hubby brings home a cold, or I need to sterilize glassware. The only dishes done by hand are greasy pots, roasters, or the crock pots. The roasters get a run through the dishwasher even then. My hands are too numb to do everything the old fashioned way. (Especially silver ware and knives.) I don't put tea pots or cups through either. Too risky that they'll break. Now that we don't bake, I'm not running it twice a day. When we were still baking? It was common to spend an entire day baking breads for the week, and running the dishwasher multiple times. (Most of my day is spent either cooking food or cleaning up.)

The few visitors we do receive are amazed that, even though I've got cooking down to use the least amount of pots, pans, etc...we go through a lot of dishes for two people. Its amazing to me that so few we know as a couple actually cook. Things are prepackaged or take out or done to minimize 'mess', so that the kitchen appears unused.

We don't let the dogs lick the plates because it offends some people plus we monitor their diets carefully for health reasons.

Yeah, Doggie Pre-wash, in addition to living in a woods full to the brim with large wolf spiders, are the two "Evil Relative Repellents" we put forward at our house. The majority of our friends don't care. We meet the rest in other places to avoid offending, because I'm not always going to remember who's fussy and who's not, or care...especially when its someone I don't like to begin with.

 

[monotonic]

What is a good way to clean a counter that has hardened-on beef tallow? That stuff is already hard enough to get off the Corell... And even licking doesn't work well for that!

 

[Psalehesost]

What is a good way to clean a counter that has hardened-on beef tallow? That stuff is already hard enough to get off the Corell... And even licking doesn't work well for that!

Plain warm water?

 

[monotonic]

That doesn't work on this stuff. It has to get hot before it comes off. Sometimes it responds to dish detergent if it hasn't sit for a while, but other times it comes off only after lots of scalding hot water and vigorous scrubbing with dish detergent. Our cheap plyboard counters are already warping from moisture and stained so we try not to get things more wet than we need.

 

[Laura]

Geeze, just scrape it and use a soapy pot scrubber. It's not rocket science.

 

[theos]

That doesn't work on this stuff. It has to get hot before it comes off. Sometimes it responds to dish detergent if it hasn't sit for a while, but other times it comes off only after lots of scalding hot water and vigorous scrubbing with dish detergent. Our cheap plyboard counters are already warping from moisture and stained so we try not to get things more wet than we need.

Have you thought of using a cutting board for your food prep?

 

[monotonic]

Of course we use cutting boards, but some of it spilled during rendering, and this batch rendered well.

 

[Drazen]

His level of triglycerides was low, but his level of cholesterol was high. The PD started talking about change of diet and medication, but when I asked whether it was HDL or LDL that was elevated he just glared at me...

The thing to keep in mind and that is very relevant for all of you who has had high LDL levels and low triglycerides from a low carb diet, is the following from Art and Science of Low Carb Living:

Can You Trust Your LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) Numbers?

The most common way LDL-C is determined is to estimate its concentration using a formula derived from direct measurement of total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides. The equation was developed in 1972 by William Friedewald and colleagues[51] and continues to be routinely used in clinical assessment of cardiovascular risk and research studies, including those involving low carbohydrate diets. LDL-C is calculated as total cholesterol minus the sum of HDL-C and VLDL-C.

LDL-C = Total Cholesterol -[HDL-C + (Triglycerides/5)]​

A major assumption is that the ratio of triglyceride to cholesterol is constant. VLDL is estimated as equal to triglycerides (mg/dL) divided by 5. This presumed 5: 1 ratio is not constant, and the errors from this LDL-C calculation are significant[52]. In the original 1972 paper, these researchers noted that the calculation of LDL-C was inaccurate when chylomicrons were present or triglycerides were above 400 mg/dL. These essential limitations under conditions of high plasma triglycerides are widely recognized today. Less appreciated are the potential errors associated with low plasma triglycerides, a condition that is highly relevant when interpreting the LDL-C response to low carbohydrate diets since they often result in marked reductions in triglycerides.

For example, a published case report describes a man with plasma triglycerides of 55 mg/dL who had an estimated LDL-C of 172 mg/ dL using the traditional Freidewald equation. But when measured by two separate direct methods, his actual LDL-C proved to be 126 mg/dL (this was also substantiated by a normal apo B level) [53].

In a formal study of 115 volunteers with plasma triglycerides less than 100 mg/dL, use of the Friedewald formula resulted in a statistically significant overestimation of LDL-C by an average of 12 mg/dL[54].

How does this play out if you are on a low carbohydrate diet? Let's assume that a low carbohydrate diet causes a reduction of triglycerides from 200 to 75 mg/dL with no change in total and HDL cholesterol. As a result, the calculated LDL-C from the Friedewald equation would necessarily increase from 100 to 125 mg/dL. How much of this 25% increase is real and how much artifact? That can only be determined by a direct assessment of LDL-C, which most physicians do not bother to do.

In other words, if you have low triglyceride levels, they are most likely overestimating your LDL cholesterol levels which in actuality could be much lower when measured by reliable tests which are never done.

A low carb diet brings your triglyceride levels down, and that IS good. Low triglyceride levels are never seen in a high-carb diet.

My partner get her blood and urin test today and she has low trigyceride levels (88 mg/dL), high LDL (290 mg/dL) which is probably false due to this kind of unreliable test, HDL is 73 mg/dL and total cholesterol 382 mg/dL (9.9 mmol/L). She's been on ketogenic diet for two months with very low carbs (5-15 grams per day). When her doctor looked at test results she started to ramble to my partner about dangerously high levels of cholesterol and that she should stop eating wheat flour, vegetable oils and carbs. She responded to the doctor that she is on a ketogenic diet and haven't been eating oils, flour for a year and that in last two months she restricted her carb levels to very low. Doctor responded that that must be IT then, "You, in emergency, must do very strict diet of eating only fruit and vegetable carbs with fat-free chicken meat only." My partner stayed calm, laughing inside of her, and leaved her doctor with promise that she will come back in three months to check her blood after doing the strict diet ordered by a doctor. Of course, there will be no more visits to this doctor. Regarding the rest of a blood test all is fine and my partner feels good generally enjoying high fat diet and its benefits and she's no worried about cholesterol so... let's get some more organic eggs and bacon! :D