#I decided to do A Little More and bought ingredients for green bean casserole and potato gratin

[whileyoureinschoolidothisallday]

HAVING THE MOST "FUCK IT WE'LL DO IT LIVE" LATE YULE OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!

[mypoisonedvine]

Home for the Holidays | Robert Pronge (aka Mr. Freezy) x reader

summary: robert is tired of pretending to be normal, he’s tired of the shitty holiday known as christmas and he’s really fucking tired of watching his adorable, innocent next door neighbor without getting a real taste.  luckily, he has a plan to solve all three of these things.

word count: a bit over 5k

warnings: smut (noncon, vaginal and anal), gunplay, bondage, stalking, kidnapping, slight-to-medium breeding kink, innocent!reader, lots of degradation, blood mention, pain kink, spitting, implied age gap (??? kinda), cringy and disturbing dirty talk, maaaaybe the darkest thing I’ve ever written… proceed with extreme caution

Robert hated the holidays.  The fact that it was too cold to sell ice cream was a factor, sure, but he didn’t like anything else about them either— the cheesy music, the stupid advertisements on TV, the gaudy decorations everywhere… he wasn’t sure if there was anything he liked about this time of year.  Getting gifts would be nice if he actually had any friends or family to do that with.  Giving gifts sounded like too much fucking work anyway.  He was sick and tired of this stupid holiday and the way it started sooner every year, too.  

This year, when he heard Jingle Bell Rock on the radio for the first time of the season, something snapped.  He wasn’t going to just sit idly by and let the holidays come and go.  He wasn’t going to avoid and half-tolerate all the dreaded ‘cheer’ and ‘spirit’ like he had for the past few years.  No no, this year was going to be different.

This year, he was going to get a Christmas present for himself: you.

He’d been watching you for a long time, since the day you moved in next door.  It wasn’t often that a young woman lived alone around here, and for good reason.  Still, you had this air of blissful ignorance about you— you never caught him spying on you, for one, and when he was spying you were always off in your own little world, listening to your records, daydreaming about god-knows-what.  He wished he could know, because he figured it was something innocent and wholesome.  

You weren’t all innocent and wholesome, though.  He’d seen you doing the things you did when you were totally alone (or at least, you thought you were), late at night, cuddled up under the covers…

He wanted to see more, though.  He wanted to see everything.  And he was tired of waiting.

He was on his porch when you came home, and he waved; you waved back, your hands obscured by big fuzzy mittens.  Damn did he miss the summers, when you would wear tank tops and short shorts and wash your car in the sunlight.  Now you were all bundled up in coats and scarves, and even though you looked sort of adorable like this, he missed that perfect body he knew you were hiding under there.  

You were bringing groceries in from the car, and he could see you had a few bags in the backseat.  “That’s a lot to carry, lemme help you,” he offered as he jumped up from his seat and walked towards you.

“Oh, it’s fine, I’ve got it,” you dismissed, but you started to stumble and he had to catch you so you wouldn’t fall and drop your stuff.  “Thanks,” you mumbled awkwardly as you caught your footing— you felt so good in his arms he could barely stand it.  

“What is all this?” he asked as he glanced into the bags.

“Oh, uh, just Christmas stuff,” you explained.  He furrowed his brow as he saw you had bought enough food to feed a whole family.  

“Your folks comin’ into town or something?” he pressed, pulling one of the paper bags open to see inside.  “Or are you hosting a party I didn’t get invited to?”

“Uh, neither,” you laughed, “my family doesn’t… no, they’re not coming.  And there’s no party.  I just love cooking Christmas food and I thought, why not?  I mean, I’ll freeze whatever I can’t finish and have meals for the next month…”

“So you’re gonna make this whole ham just for yourself?” he clarified, admiring your ambition.

“Yep!” you grinned.  “I know it’s stupid, but I just love Christmas and I don’t think I need to justify celebrating it to a grinch like you.”

“A grinch?  Says who?”

“Freezy, you’re the only house on the block that hasn’t put up lights yet,” you smirked.  “It’s sort of obvious you don’t like this time of year.”

“Are you kidding?  I love Christmas!  I’m just subtle about it, that’s all,” he decided sternly.

“Really?  Are you going to see anyone for the holidays then?” you pressed.

“Uh, no, I’m sort of an… orphan, I guess you could say.  No parents or siblings or anything like that.”

“No girlfriend?” you grinned, elbowing him playfully.  

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” he laughed, “I just know a few women who would be really mad if they heard me say that.”

“You’re such a dog,” you rolled your eyes.  “Will you help me carry these in or not?”

He sighed as he picked up two bags and carried them up to your porch, pushing the door open with his back to set them on your counters.  He’d been inside your place a few times— mostly with you there, a few times when you weren’t— and he noticed how much you’d changed in the spirit of the season: an enormous, real pine covered in lights and ribbons; decorative ceramic figures all over the place including Santa, elves, reindeer, and even a nativity on the dining table; stockings on the mantle, god knows who those were even for. 

You had literally decked your halls with boughs of holly.  

“Damn, woman, you went all out!” he observed with wide eyes.

“Well, I thought it would be nice,” you smiled, although it was a somber smile, “you know, Christmas like it used to be…” you trailed off as your gaze became distant.  You snapped back to reality with a little sigh, shaking it off and heading back to the car for another load of bags.  He understood that emptiness he saw in your eyes, it was all he felt anymore.  Maybe you could change that for him; maybe he could change that for you.

Aw, who was he kidding?  He didn’t care about that.  He just wanted to figure out what you were hiding underneath those puffy winter clothes.  If the smell of your stolen panties was anything to go by, it was going to be worth the wait.

//

Christmas Eve was just as boring and cold as any other day, except that it was filled with a riveting anticipation.  That was probably true for most people, but for Robert it was for something much more exciting than presents under the tree.  

Nightfall came early, it being winter and all, so it was already pitch dark outside when it was just about time for him to go over for dinner.  He considered smashing a window to get in, but then you might call the cops before he had time to explain, so he decided the easier method was just to knock on the front door.  He didn’t really care who saw at this point— besides, who’d be staring out their window to spy on their neighbors the night before Christmas?  Aside from Robert, that is.

“Oh!” you gasped when you answered the door.  The dark red turtleneck looked even better on you up close, like you’d jumped right out of a Norman Rockwell postcard— or a festive pin-up.  He didn’t wait for your approval before stepping in and shutting the door behind him, relishing the adorable look you wore as you stared up at him with the perfect mix of confusion and concern.

“I know you didn’t invite me,” he smirked, “but I figure two people alone on Christmas ought to be together, don’t you think?”

“Robert, I—”

He pulled his gun out from his belt, watching you freeze as he pointed it at you.

“I think you should start making dinner, sweetheart,” he instructed darkly.  You nodded quickly, walking to the kitchen as he followed you closely.  “What are you making?”

“H-ham,” you stuttered nervously as you turned on the stove before slipping on a cute little apron with white lace around the edges.  “With green bean casserole, and some gingerbread for dessert.”

“Sounds delicious,” he grinned, taking a seat at the bar and keeping his gun pointed towards you.  

Your hands were shaking as you tried to chop the ingredients, and he tutted a little in sympathy.  “Don’t be scared, honey, ‘m not gonna hurt ya.  It’s gonna be a great Christmas— just like the way it used to be, huh?”

“Y-yeah,” you shivered, lip quivering, “I… I wish you just would’ve asked if you could have some dinner, Robert, I would’ve happily had you.”

“Oh, you’re gonna have me either way.  Up to you if you wanna be happy about it.”

He laughed as he watched your eyes start to water, a meek little sniffle 

“Aw, don’t cry, pretty baby,” he cooed, “it’ll make me wanna skip right to the good stuff.  But, let’s just have dinner first.”

You stayed quiet after that, cooking in silence as he unabashedly undressed you with his eyes.  You looked like a perfect little housewife in that apron; he wanted to see you wearing just that, so he could bend you over the counter and— 

Damn, he was already hard, just like that.  You’d always had such an effect on him.

He went ahead and took a seat at the table once you were nearly done with the meal, leaning back to let you drape the fancy napkin over his lap (and smirking when you gasped a bit, obviously noticing the bulge in his jeans).

“I hope you like it,” you offered weakly as you set his plate in front of him.

“I’m sure you do,” he grinned, picking up his fork.  “You won’t like what’s gonna happen if I don’t.”

You just stood beside him for a moment as he took the first bite, smiling weakly when he hummed in content at the taste.  “Aren’t ya gonna eat?” he asked, looking you up and down.

“I’m not hungry,” you explained quickly.

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged, “it’s good.  You’re quite the little chef, aren’t ya?”

“Um, I suppose…” you deflected awkwardly.

“Learn to take a compliment,” he hissed, “say ‘thank you.’”

“Thank you,” you replied dutifully.  

“That’s better,” he announced firmly, shovelling the last bite of casserole into his mouth before working on the slices of ham.  Your ability to follow instructions was a good sign for how tonight was going to go— apparently for all your naivete, you still had a self-preservation instinct.  He couldn’t wait to exploit it.

He continued his meal in silence, delighting in the way your eyes watered and your lip quivered.  “Alright, sweetie, dinner’s over,” he announced when he was finished.  “Time for dessert.”

You shivered slightly as he stood up and approached you.  “You want gingerbread?” you asked innocently.  He frowned and shook his head, watching you start to cry again as he roughly grabbed your arm and pulled you closer.  

“I had something even sweeter in mind,” he informed you with a low growl, taking a big whiff of your scent— that same shampoo smell he was used to by now, mixed in with the new perfume you’d gotten a few weeks ago along with the warm, spicy smells of Christmas.  “Been waitin’ so long for this,” he groaned lowly as he leaned down to stare right into your fear-widened eyes.

“N-no, please,” you whimpered, weakly attempting to twist out of his grip, “you wouldn’t—”

“I would,” he disagreed as he turned his gun backwards, whipping you across the head with the handle.  He caught you before you collapsed, and hoped you wouldn’t be hurting too much when you woke up.  But he would deal with that then.  Right now, he had a present to wrap.

//

There was a radiating ache in your skull.  You felt that first as you groggily opened your eyes.  The next thing you noticed was that you weren’t in your bed.  Looking around, you couldn’t see well because the only light was from your Christmas tree, but you could see that you were naked and bound with ropes.  Oddly enough, on top of the ropes was thick red ribbon, gathered in a big bow right at your chest.

What the fuck is going on? you were about to ask yourself, but then it all became clear.

The shadows shifted, and your neighbor emerged from them.  You struggled against the ropes as you remembered everything, realizing what was happening.  Of course you had always thought he was a bit creepy (who didn’t?) but you were nice to him and he was nice to you.  How could you have known he was this disturbed?  

“That’s my favorite part,” he purred as he stooped down to be eye-level with you.  “The moment when they realize what’s going to happen.  You were so peaceful just a moment ago, knocked out and without a care in the world, and now you’re fighting for your life.”

You whimpered into the gag as he smiled at you, running his hands over your skin.

“I mean, not fighting very well, but fighting.”

You tried to kick him as he stepped closer but the ropes made it impossible.

“I think it’s time to open my present, hm?” he grinned.  You shook your head but he ignored you, slowly pushing your legs apart and growling a little when he saw your exposed pussy, ripe for the taking.  “Look at that, you’re wet,” he laughed.  You wrenched your eyes shut, refusing to believe this was happening.  “Don’t be embarrassed, that happens a lot.  Although I’ll admit, I don’t think any of them were ever this wet before…”

You jumped when his thumb started to rub your clit, the pressure much too intense and unexpected.  He laughed at your struggle, and you could feel your walls throbbing in response to the stimulation.

“I know I didn’t need to do all this to get you in bed,” he continued his taunting rant.  “I know you wanted me already— don’t think I didn’t notice you makin’ googly eyes at me like a dumb little schoolgirl.  If I’d’ve asked you out, I could’ve had you under me after a few drinks… but it’s better this way.  You probably would’ve made me wear a condom, would’ve made me be all gentle with ya, some wholesome missionary shit,” he laughed.  “I don’t have time for that crap.  It’s so much better with your body at my disposal, and you cryin’ those pretty tears.”

The shocks that shot up your spine from the way he was touching you made you feel like your body was betraying you.  How could this actually feel good?  How was it that the fear burning in your gut was actually adding to your pleasure and not nullifying it?

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” he groaned as if he were reading your mind.  “I know you love it, little girl, don’t act so innocent.  I know you’re not the good girl everybody thinks you are.  You’ve been naughty this year, haven’t you?”

Even though logic told you not to play into his twisted game, you felt compelled to shake your head ‘no.’

“Don’t lie,” he warned, “I’ve seen you.  I’ve watched you play with this pretty pussy every fucking night.”

You couldn’t watch this any more, you couldn’t look at him while he did this to you.  Forcing your eyes shut, you tried to find a place in your mind to run away to.  Instead, he slapped you right on your clit and your eyes shot open as you whined.

“Keep looking,” he instructed.  “I want you to see it.  I want you to know that it’s me.  I want you to see what I’m about to put in you.”

He stepped back and hastily discarded his shirt, making quick work of his boots and trousers, too.  Then it was just his boxers, and you could see the outline of his erection already.  You hoped it wasn’t as big as it looked, but then he grinned as he pulled the fabric down and yep, it was— you tried to squirm away, uselessly.

“Aw, don’t be scared, baby,” he pouted, “I know it’s big, but with how wet you are I bet it’ll fit like a glove.  A really, really tight glove…”

He leaned down and pressed his lips right against your ear, rubbing his swollen head through your slick folds as you whined.  

“Gloves can tear,” he chuckled.  “Gloves can rip.”

Tears stained the ribbon of your gag as you tried to beg him not to, but it was too late— he was pushing forward and spearing you onto him.

“Fuck!” he groaned as he pushed all the way to the hilt, and your eyes rolled back as the stinging, burning pain shot up your spine.  “So fuckin’ tight, fuck, can’t believe I waited this long to get my hands on you.”

He pulled the gag down, smiling at you tenderly when you coughed out a cry of pain.  “Please,” you sobbed, “please stop…”

“No no, babygirl, I’m not gonna stop.  I wanna fill this slutty little cunt with my come.”

Renewed sobs shook your chest as your nails dug into your own palms, each thrust somehow going even deeper than the last, somehow hurting even more.

“Want my come, pretty girl?” he pressed, refusing to let you ignore him.  “Want me to shoot my load into this sweet pussy a’yours?”

“No,” you sobbed weakly, shaking your head, “no, no…” you trailed off, chanting it like a mantra as you felt like you might pass out.

“Aw, you’re not on the pill, are you?” he realized with a toothy grin.  “Never saw any empty packs in your trash.  Are you worried I’ll knock you up?”

“Please, please don’t,” you shivered.  There was nothing quite as demeaning as having no recourse but to beg even when you knew it would do nothing.  The only thing that came close was the knowledge that your orgasm wasn’t so far off— his cock was slamming right into your spot with every movement, his hips rubbing your swollen clit, and it was impossible to avoid the pleasure that was making your walls tighten around him.

“How could I not?” he countered.  “Fuck, you feel so good, how could I not breed this dripping, desperate cunt, hm?  There’s no way I’m pulling out now when you’re squeezin’ my dick so good like this.”

“Please,” you repeated, so quiet you couldn’t be sure he heard it at all.  You could hardly breathe with his weight on your chest, black static dancing at the edges of your peripheral vision.

“I’ll be honest— I hate kids,” he growled, “never wanted ‘em, but it does sound like a lot of fun to get you pregnant.  Would you like that, pretty baby?  Bein’ full of my kid?  I’d be so nice to watch you get big and know it was all my fault.  Think of it like a Christmas gift, from one neighbor to another.”

“Robert, please!” you cried, although it sounded a lot like you were begging him for more as opposed to begging him for mercy.  You weren’t sure how that happened, except that you could feel the coil in your gut tightening and tightening and tightening until it finally fucking snapped and you choked on nothing, your walls fluttering as a gush of wetness seeped out between your bodies.

“That’s it,” he groaned, “fuck, what a nasty little skank you are, Jesus… coming so hard from being tied up and abused by your neighbor, who knew you were a total freak?”

You couldn’t say anything, you couldn’t even think as hazy pleasure flooded your brain and you went limp in his oppressive grasp.  Exhaustedly, you slumped down and let him use you— all you could do now was hope he would finish soon.

“I mean, I knew,” he laughed, “but damn… you’re somethin’ else.”

He said it with pride in his voice, as your entire body burned with shame.  How had you already given in so quickly, accepted your fate and come harder than you ever had before?  It sort of made sense that this would be more intense than what you got from getting yourself off at night (and the thought that he’d been watching you made your stomach churn), but why was this so much better than the sweet, loving sex you’d had with your boyfriend way back when, before he’d run out on you?  Why was Robert, as disturbed as he was, the best you’d ever had?

“God, you’re so wet, I can fucking smell you,” he grunted through his teeth.  “You made such a pretty mess on my cock, babygirl.”

You could hear that he was right, you could feel the wetness that had dripped down to cover both of you— the wet slapping of his balls against your ass was disgusting, yet arousing, and you hated yourself for it.

“Shit, I’m close,” he moaned, “fuck yeah, just like that.”

You weren’t sure what he was referring to until you realized you were arching your back, forcing his cock to hit your overstimulated spot directly.  It made jolts of electricity course through your veins, pleasure sizzling just beneath your skin.  

“Kiss me,” he instructed, and you were too far gone to disobey as you turned and captured his lips in a kiss, instantly accepting his tongue into your mouth.  It was sloppy and forceful and kinda gross and he tasted like Christmas dinner and cigarettes, but it made your walls tighten around him again anyways.  Something about his beard against your face made you moan a little, the sound lost into his mouth but unfortunately not unnoticed.  “Fuck, I know you love my cock so much,” he purred, pulling back only as much as he needed to to speak— he was so close that his lips brushed yours with every word, those dark eyes staring right into yours until you felt entirely helpless to his gaze.

“Please,” you whimpered, not even sure what you were asking for.

“Best pussy I’ve ever had, you know that?” he praised, grinning as you bit down on your lip.  “Yeah, you love being my good girl, you love pleasin’ me, don’tcha?”

“I— I don’t—”

“Just nod your head, dumb baby,” he grunted coldly.  After a moment of hesitation, you nodded ever so slightly and he moaned above you.

“Fuck— gonna come,” he informed you breathlessly, “gonna fill up your wet fuckin’ hole, ‘m so close, ah fuck—”

The first pump of his cock painted your insides and you cringed as you tried not to moan at the feeling.  His come was hot and thick as it filled you, the faltering thrusts of his hips making your swollen walls flutter weakly.  It felt like it would go on forever— his weak groans in your ear, his thick cock pulsing inside you, your breathing quick and fast until it felt like you weren’t getting any air in your lungs at all.  It stopped, finally, as he sighed and relaxed a little bit.

“Goddamn,” he breathed as he pulled out of you, making you both wince.  Already you felt soreness radiating from your opening, and your face burned as he looked down between your legs.  “Look at that, what a perfect little pussy I just ruined.  It’s all stretched out and red and covered in my come,” he announced proudly.  “There’s a little blood, too, but you’ll be better in no time,” he assured with a smirk.  “Red and white— it’s sort of festive, don’t you think?”

You swallowed down the acid threatening to come up your throat— of course he was disturbed, but did he have to be so disgusting?

Again, it was like he read your mind as he grabbed your jaw and forced you to open your mouth, spitting onto your tongue before commanding you to swallow it.  Just when you thought you’d reached the limits of his depravity, he found some new way to up the ante.  What worried you most, though, was the fact that he’d already come and hadn’t left yet.  Deep down, you knew it wasn’t over yet, but you hadn’t accepted it consciously.

“Such a good slut for me,” he praised through his teeth, “I bet I can go again, fuck, you turn me on so much.”  Pulling back a bit and gripping his cock at the base, you squirmed a little as you looked at it.  “You see this?  I’m still hard.  You make me feel like a fuckin’ teenager again, I swear.”

“I can’t…” you sighed weakly, your voice sounding all cracked and whiny as it moved through your sore throat.  “I can’t take it again…”

“Don’t worry,” he soothed, “I’m gonna give your poor cunt a break… so I can rape this cute little ass.”

“No!” you yelped.  “Please!  Not there!”

He slapped you quickly before maneuvering two fingers to your other hole, teasing it as he laughed at your pre-emptive wince.

“It’s not gonna be so bad, baby, I’m gonna get you ready for it first, see?  I bet you’ll love it, nasty little thing like you.”

The first finger slipped in with a little pop as the tight ring of muscle shifted to accommodate him.  You’d never had anything go up that way before, and it was nothing like you could’ve imagined.  Hissing in a breath through your teeth, you whimpered as he added a second finger already.

“Just relax,” he instructed.  “Not that I don’t love you gripping my fingers with your tight little hole, but it’ll hurt less if you just let it happen.”

You willed your muscles not to tighten even as he twisted his fingers inside you, moving slowly until he was buried all the way to the knuckle and then finally pulling back.  The third was a bit more of a challenge as he opened you wider, your fists clenching at the sting of pain.  He let his come drip down from your pussy to use as lube, which was undoubtedly the filthiest thing you’d ever experienced.  You tried to keep quiet and relax as he told you to, but your fight was renewed slightly as he pulled his fingers out and lined up his cock with your hole.  

“Please,” you shivered, “don’t do this…”

“When are you gonna stop fucking fighting it, huh?  How stupid are you?  You’re tied up on the floor, I already made this pussy mine and you fucking loved it, how much more obvious could it be that I’m gonna do this?  You’re fucked.  It’s over.  Just accept it and I’ll make it good for you.”

“This can’t be good for me,” you hissed through your teeth.

“Well, in that case,” he groaned, interrupting himself as he roughly shoved his cock into your ass.  The air was punched from your lungs as pain burned white-hot through your body— it didn’t feel like his fingers had done much to prepare you at all, with the way this hurt.  As soon as you had the oxygen needed to do so, you were crying again, loud sobs echoing around your dark, empty living room.  “I was gonna be gentle,” he taunted you darkly, “but you had to run that mouth of yours.”

You tried to choke out an apology, but it was useless as he shoved his fingers into your mouth. 

“Suck on ‘em, show me what your mouth is good for,” he demanded as you closed your lips and swirled your tongue around his fingers.  “Fuck, that’s better.  See how good it is when you know your place?”

You couldn’t really process his words, though, as you spent all your energy on trying not to think about how his cock felt in your ass.  It was like being full in a completely different way than before, like being opened wider than you knew was possible.  He pulled his fingers from your mouth and you hated the moan that spilled out after them.

“Your cunt is getting wet,” he sing-songed mockingly as he leaned back and looked down at it.  “You love it up the ass, huh?  Dirty bitch.”

You shook your head in denial (even though you could feel that he was right, at least about the first part), but he grabbed your jaw and forced you to look at him.

“Say it,” he grunted.  “Admit it, slut.  Admit you love getting fucked up the ass.”

“I…” you whimpered, barely able to get the words out even though you knew you needed to if you wanted to prevent him from hurting you worse.  “I love… getting fucked—” you stopped to swallow the lump in your throat— “up the ass.”

He backhanded you, hard, right across the face.  You cried and gasped all at once, choking on air from the force of the hit.  “WHORE!” he yelled right in your face.

You sobbed uncontrollably as he fucked you with more brutality than you’d known was possible.  “Please,” you tried to beg, even if you knew it was useless, but it was totally incomprehensible as you shook with the force of your cries, hissing in breaths through your teeth to try to cope with the pain.

“Thought it would take me a while to come again, but your ass feels so goddamn good— fuck, I’m close already.  Want me to fill up that tight little ass?”

You shook your head as you sobbed, shaking violently against the confines of the ropes.  Distantly, you heard the chimes of your clock in the other room.

“You hear that?” he whispered.  “That means it’s midnight— it’s Christmas.”

He leaned in until his hot breath tickled your ear and neck, making you wish you could turn your head away more than just a few centimeters.

“Merry fucking Christmas,” he purred, just as you felt his cock swell and pulse inside you.  Your eyes rolled back as you wondered if you’d ever been so full before.

It was a haze after that as he gently untied you, getting his gun out again and keeping it trained on you as he followed you to the bathroom and forced you to shower.  Force was a bit of an overstatement, though, considering your desire to clean him off of you as much as possible.  “I’m not gonna tell anyone, Robert,” you tried to calm him down as you shivered under the stream of water that hadn’t quite warmed up yet.

“Yeah, well, just in case,” he insisted as he waved the gun pointed in your direction.  “Wash between your legs real good, push my come out.”

“Not gonna matter if you knocked me up like you said,” you reminded him.  “A paternity test will be evidence enough.”

“Shut up,” he grimaced.  “Can’t prove you didn’t want it, anyway.  We both know you did.”

You didn’t respond to that, opting to shower silently instead and wincing every time you tried to clean between your legs.  You were going to be sore for days, if not weeks.

“We both know I’m gonna be back for more real soon,” he added darkly.  “Too good for just one night.” 

[lillianfromaccounting]

This ended up being a very long post and I'm on mobile, so I'll fix the read more in the morning when I get on the computer.

TW: covid, depression, Thanksgiving, a lot of food talk

-----------

Today, we officially called off Thanksgiving with family (it had pretty much been decided but today we called the few people to confirm it).

Some background: my family only started celebrating Thanksgiving because I wanted to. We're Chinese, so growing up, it wasn't a thing for us, plus my mom wasn't fond of turkey.

At the age of 13, I picked up a bread baking recipe book at a Scholastic book drive. Up until that point, I had been baking stuff from box mixes, so making bread from scratch was a huge deal for me. Age 14, I told my parents I wanted to do Thanksgiving the American way. We qualified for a free turkey at our local supermarket anyway, so why not? To make it more palatable, I incorporated Chinese elements into the menu--various Chinese vegetables (choy) instead of green bean casserole, sticky rice (loh mai fan) stuffing--and i would bake fresh bread. There would always be white rice.

I have a huge extended family and on the weekends, my parents would have family and friends over to play mahjong, so Thanksgiving went over great because they loved trying all these new foods, and I loved trying new recipes. We always had a rotation of at least thirty people, so the food went. I think one year, I counted just over fifty people--it was like a revolving door at my parents' house, some people would pop in around lunch time and hang out until they had to go to their own family's Thanksgiving dinners, some came for dinner, and some came for dessert and coffee with a side of mahjong.

As the years went on, my menus got more and more elaborate, and I would enlist my younger siblings (I have three) to be my sous chefs. It was a THING. Thanksgiving was my thing.

The college I went to is very involved with the Macy's Thanksgiving parade balloons, and while it would have been an awesome experience, it required giving up your Wednesday night and most of Thanksgiving Thursday. That was a deal breaker for me. That's how much my Thanksgiving ritual meant to me.

Some of my favorite memories are waiting in line at DiPalo's (before they expanded, back when it was just the corner storefront) with my sister the weekend before Thanksgiving to get fresh mozzarella and ricotta and parmigiano (lasagna was a huge hit with my family). The longest we waited was three hours one year.

Another year, this was after I had graduated and moved out and was working. My work let us out early (around 2pm), but this asshat in another department ensured me that he needed these numbers so he can work over the weekend. I ended up running out to DiPalo's to pick up my order and going back to work, working to 9pm to get those numbers out, before going back to my parents' house to start cooking. The asshat didn't look at them that weekend (we get the Friday off too).

Mind you, it's not that I couldn't get the ingredients in Jersey, I just honestly had no idea where to go. My parents did the bulk of their grocery shopping in Chinatown and DiPalo's was right at the border of Chinatown and Little Italy.

As I said earlier, my menus got more elaborate over the years. Everyone kept eating the loaves of fresh bread for breakfast, so I made Thanksgiving an all day affair, with a breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu.

One year, the theme was fried foods (fried turkey legs, homemade mozzarella sticks, etc.). I always tried new recipes on Thanksgiving, because honestly, what I enjoyed most about it was the process, the production of creating something delicious.

My siblings started sending me recipes throughout the year. One year, I made a vegan raspberry cheesecake (the base was cashews and almonds).

My siblings also said that they knew my now husband was a keeper because he had not only survived Thanksgiving at my parents' house, but he rolled with it (I'm pretty sure I put him to work too).

After we got married and bought our house, I claimed Thanksgiving for both sides of the family (there were no objections, because I didn't care about Christmas, so they had Christmas). My husband's family had been getting their Thanksgiving meals catered for a few years at this point, so they didn't mind not cooking.

But including his family meant I had to start making sacrifices to my process. One person only liked Stove Top stuffing (don't get me wrong, Stove Top chicken flavor is amazing, but so is a sausage stuffing from scratch). The year my second child was born, I think I was a bit burned out by everything, so we ended up ordering a whole pig (think spit roast, but Chinese style) and some roast ducks that year. We were told the next year that some people would prefer to have turkey. One year, we decided to smoke our turkey, and the feedback we had gotten was that some people really preferred oven roasted. So the following year, we did turkey three ways (roasted, smoked, and deep fried) and we started getting feedback that we were doing too much variety. This happened with the sides too. Heirloom vegetable recipes (guys, I used to watch the Food Network religiously) were reduced to sauteed green beans or asparagus. We were told to reduce the variety of things, so the only pasta dish that kept making it onto the menu was mac and cheese, because that was someone else's preference. And I couldn't even play around with the mac and cheese, because the family's recipe used Velveeta (yes, I know I sound like a food snob, and it's because I was back then).

But year after year, the creativity of the menu decreased and decreased, to the point where my husband and I felt it wasn't enjoyable anymore.

This morning, after we had called the family (it was really just my and his parents, whom we have been seeing during this whole time because we live close and do shopping for them, etc.), part of me was excited to finally make a menu and my husband and I agreed on a very small menu, because it's just us and our two kids.

And by the time I went to bed, I was excited again for Thanksgiving because we will be cooking things that we want. There are three, possibly four varieties of scones on the breakfast menu right now. I haven't mentioned this yet, but my menus are always too ambitious. I almost never get every single dish on the table, but the important ones get there. The experimental ones get ranked in order of what I want to taste.

After all these years, we have established staples. We always have bacon cheddar scones with breakfast. My sons requested chocolate chip and vanilla, respectively, and I want pumpkin. We'll see how many varieties actually get made. I always make fresh cranberry sauce for the sole reason of baking it into a crumb cake for Friday morning. We also eat the Ocean Spray jellied (with whole berries), and I serve it in slices. My husband is the mashed potato king, so he handles that. The King Arthur masala chai pumpkin pie recipe has been a hit year after year, so that is a staple now. I was excited to be able to cook what we wanted again.

It even inspired a Thanksgiving chapter in the fic I am writing. (I am so, so, so happy and excited for this chapter now.)

But as I was going to bed tonight, I was thinking about those memories at DiPalo's and cooking with my siblings, and pandemic sadness hit me like a ton of bricks. I cried hard. I miss my siblings. I miss the hospitality of it all. Just like my parents' house was a revolving door, when my husband and I took over Thanksgiving, it was an unspoken rule that extended friends and family were welcomed. My siblings' friends from high school and college would stop by. My one sister's friend would even ask to be on the menu distribution list (I usually drafted a menu and my family members would vote on which dishes they wanted, and that was partially how the menu was created) and invite himself over lol.

I miss that company--the people who understood my Thanksgiving--my family. I haven't seen (in person) one sister since January and the other since March. And while we're constantly talking to each other and do the occasional video chat, it's just not the same.

If you read this far, thank you for your time and energy.

I don't have a point to this post, except maybe wear a fucking mask and stay home, so we can eventually beat this pandemic and resume some semblance of pre-covid life.

And I know this post is very much a first world problem. We have enough to eat and a warm roof over our heads. I am very grateful for that. But I am allowed to be sad too. This year would have been my 25th anniversary with Thanksgiving.

Writing all this out really helped though.

[freyjaiam]

Part of ‘Frey’s 12 Days of Ficmas���

03: Peraltiago: The Battle of Turkeys

Holidays were always chaotic for Amy. She just wanted them to be perfect. She always made a plan and did her best to stick with it so that there was no discord. If one thing went wrong it rocked her. She did her best to keep it cool, her friends and husband always there to try and ease her nerves in a way her parents never could when she was younger. However, being married to Jake was a new pressure she hadn’t dealt with before. Her husband didn’t have many fond memories of any holiday. She wanted to change that. Which was why she was up at four in the morning opening her binder to start the day. She had many pieces of the puzzle already in play.

Gifts?

Wrapped and under the tree her and Jake decorated on December first. Half of Jake’s were decoys because she knew he was impatient and did his best to guess what she’d gotten him by shaking and “accidentally” opening gifts. Socks, underwear, and other random things were under that tree. His real gifts were safely stashed with Rosa, who would be bringing them at dinner. Save for the one gift she still had to pick up before the dinner started.

The table?

Already set. She’d been up until midnight making sure it was perfect. She’d researched many websites, magazines, and even watched some daytime television to get these ideas. Her colors were traditional. The plates each had a little sheer giftbag coordinated with the person assigned to that seat. Gina had promised her that she’d get the flowers for her centerpiece, but since Amy knew Gina liked to sabotage her due to thinking it was funny she also bought extra flowers which she had in the fridge to keep them as fresh as possible.

Alcohol?

Alcohol is a must for parties. Especially with the precinct. Jake’s parents were also coming. Not Amy’s. They decided to visit her brother this year. Her and Jake had bought some and everyone else attending said they would bring something as well. Needless to say it wasn’t going to be a dry party.

Food?

Amy had a slight fight with Charles about the food. She knew she wasn’t a great cook. Despite her promise to always follow the recipe, and despite Charles having gone to the store with her to make sure she had all the ingredients for everything she said she wanted to make, he still insisted on coming to help cook. All Amy could think about was the food truck fiasco where both her and Gina quit because they weren’t cutting the bread right. She didn’t want a hospital visit this holiday, and she knew if Charles was in the kitchen with her she’d probably stab him in the face with her best kitchen knife. So they eventually agreed to split the side dishes in half. She would be in charge of the potatoes, gravy, and green bean casserole. They argued over the turkey. He finally relented but she knew that sneaky sonuvabitch  was making his own turkey to bring here. She just knew it. The little attention whore was probably hoping she’d fail so that he could take the credit for—

“Okay, Amy, focus,” she said outloud with a shake of her head. “You got this. Just…” She checked her watch. “Just under ten hours until people start to show up.”

She went to the fridge to pull out the turkey that she’d taken out of the freezer and—

“Oh… Oh no…” She set it on the counter and it thunked. “WHY ARE YOU STILL FROZEN?!”

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“JAKE!” Jake bolted up from bed. His heart was racing and his hand went over it as he looked at his wife. He instantly knew something was wrong due to the wild look on her face. Well that and the giant nicotine patch he saw on her forehead. He hadn’t seen that since their wedding. “We have an emergency!”

“You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“We have more important things to worry about than your heart, Jake!”

“Ouch. Okay. Hurtful. But okay.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just really freaking out, because I already messed up this morning. Jake, the turkey is frozen. Frozen! There is no way I’m going to get it thawed out, in the oven, and ready in time for dinner.”

“Can’t we just, I don’t know, put it in the oven to thaw out?”

“No Jake, that is how you get raw turkey in the middle and dry and burnt turkey on the outside. I’m a disaster in the kitchen but even I know that! I need your help!”

“Okay,” he crawled out of bed and walked to her. He put his hands on her shoulders. “Breathe Amy. We got this. We’re a team, now, remember?”

“Yeah.” She took a calming breath. “Jake, what are we going to do?”

“I’ll put on some pants and find us a turkey. Shouldn’t be too hard since its still early. Right? I mean, corporate America cares more about making the extra dollar now than taking a holiday off for their employees so… I’m sure I’ll find something.”

“Thanks. I’ll start the other stuff but… Please hurry.”

Jake slipped on a shirt, shrugged on his jacket, and found his wallet and keys. On his way out the door he didn’t ask once about the turkey wedged in the microwave that was destroyed due to the door being on the kitchen floor. He just hoped to God he found a turkey before it was more than just the microwave receiving a beating from Amy today.

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“Jake? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, nooooooooooooo—-Hey Charles!” Jake spun around to see his best friend. “Just picking up a few things we forgot.”

“Really? But I went shopping with Amy the other day. She should have everything.” Jake hated the almost gleeful look that came upon his best friend’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” insisted Jake.

“Then why are you here?”

“I told you-”

“No, nope, not buying it,” said Charles, hands on his hips. He was practically bouncing on the heels of his shoes. “Something is up. I can smell it.”

“Well… Get your nose checked. Because we’re fine!” Jake then decided to flip the tables. “Why are you here?”

“Amy said I could make a dessert so I’m making pecan pie. All the extra hours we got this week I couldn’t make the trip until now…”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you went shopping with Amy this week?”

“I did.”

And there it was. The small hiccup. The slight catch of breath, the way Charles slightly adjusted his brown tie, something was up with him. Jake didn’t know what it was, but he was the best damn detective in the city, so he was going to sniff it out.

“Oh? Then why are you here? If you went shopping with Amy then you should have everything you need as well. So, Boyle, why are you really here?”

They stood, face to face, waiting for the other to break. They stood like that for a good minute before Charles cleared his throat and backed off. They silently regarded one another and then separated. Jake sighed a sigh of relief when Charles exited into the pasta aisle. He then made his move. He went down the cookie aisle, knowing Charles would be following him. He knew his friend, and he knew he’d be watching. He took a sharp left down the the dairy aisle, apologizing to the woman whose cart he ran into when he was too busy looking to see where Charles was. Little did Jake know, Charles was doing the same thing, and they both froze in slight surprise when they met again near the turkeys.

“Aha! I knew it! Something is wrong! She messed up the turkey already, hasn’t she?!”

“What? No! I’m just…”

“Oh save it, Jake. I know you’re covering for her.”

“Okay, then why are you here?” Jake raised an accusatory finger at Charles. “You’re here for turkey, too. Aren’t you? You promised me you wouldn’t interfere with Amy’s turkey!”

“My toes were crossed, Jake, no promise was made!”

“Dammit. I forgot about your freakishly long toes,” muttered Jake. “Rookie mistake. Next time I make a promise with you the shoes come off, Buddy!”

“Admit defeat, Jake. I’m going to make the best turkey, and you can’t stop me,” said Charles, showing his ugly side, but Jake could get ugly, too. “I knew she couldn’t do it. I was going to just let the chips fall where they may but decided that swooping in with the better turkey would be better.”

“You know what?” Jake grabbed a turkey. It was perfect. And not frozen at all. “There will be no swooping today! Amy and I are going to make the best turkey. Better than any dry piece of meat you’ll have to offer!”

Charles gasped, then snagged his own turkey. “All have you know my turkey is moist and delicious and it will beat the pants off of your turkey! So bring it, Bitch!”

Challenge accepted.

Merry freaking Christmas.

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“Amy! Amy we need to…” It was quiet. Too quiet. Jake locked the door and timidly made his way to the kitchen, hoping she was ok. Amy wasn’t there. There was a pile of potatoes, half peeled and half not. There was also a bag of green beans on the counter. He set the turkey in the sink because he remembered something about a turkey needing to be in the sink from his mother. It was now eight in the morning. They had six hours. They needed to get this bird in the oven. “Ames? Where are you?”

It was then he realized she wasn’t there. He pulled out his phone and texted her that he was home with the turkey. He saw her start to reply, but no message was sent. Did she not trust him to do it? Had she thought he’d fail at getting them a turkey? The thought hurt a little, but he couldn’t let it get to him. Not yet.

Because he had to beat Charles.

How hard could it be to make a turkey?

He removed the plastic and only puked one when pulling out all the guts from the ass of the turkey. Thankfully he made it to the trash can. He threw the guts over his vomit and then took out the trash to remove the evidence of him yaking in the bin. Twenty minutes later he heard the jangling of keys in the door right after he finished cramming stuffing back up the ass he’d just pulled guts out of.  He was washing his hands and talking as he heard someone approaching him from behind.

“Amy, not cool, where have you-” He turned around and the woman in front of him wasn’t Amy. She had long, brunette hair, blue eyes, and was smiling nervously while wringing her hands before placing them in the back pockets of her jeans. “You aren’t Amy.”

“Jake…” Amy stepped into the kitchen. She had an easygoing smile as she approached him. She took his hand then tugged him forward a little closer to the mystery woman. “Jake this is Victoria. Your half-sister.”

“My…” He looked her over once more. She had Dad’s nose. “Oh.”

“Um… Surprise?” said Victoria before letting out a nervous laugh.

“Um, yeah… Hi!” Jake eagerly opened his arms for a hug and she gave him one. She was tense at first but relaxed slightly before he pulled away. “Victoria, huh?”

“Vicki, please, only my mother calls me Victoria and usually that’s when I did something pretty bad,” she said with a laugh.

“Right. Right. So, where are you from?”

“Minneapolis, Minnesota originally but currently living in Fargo, North Dakota.”

“Oh, you don’t sound like—”

“Yeah, trust me, not everyone from there talks like the people from the movie,” she said with a laugh. “Everyone from that town hates that damn movie.”

“Right,” said Jake, chancing a look to Amy, who loved that movie. She seemed unphased about it though. “Fargo sucks. I mean, if you want a good movie, then the one to watch is Die Hard, right?”

“Let me show you where to put your stuff while Jake processes,” said Amy, gesturing toward the hall that lead to the spare bedroom, shaking her head at Jake’s poor attempt to see if his sister liked the movie he loved. When she returned she wrapped her arms around Jake. “Hey… Doing okay?”

“How… When…”

“I kinda went over your notes, and babe we really have to work on your organizational skills, but I managed to track down Vicki with the help of your dad. Um, I didn’t give him a heads up about her being here today either. But she wanted to meet you. More than him. Um… She’s never met your dad so…”

“That’ll be interesting.”

“You’re okay with this?” she asked, her eyes searching his.

“What? Are you kidding me? I love it. I’m just surprised you kept the secret that long from everyone or that no one found out. Wait… Did you fake a turkey emergency to get me out of the apartment or…”

“Oh, no, the turkey is a disaster. I really did need a new one that wasn’t a solid brick of ice. But I see you got one, and started it, thanks Babe.”

“Yeah, about that…”

Jake filled in Amy about meeting Charles at the store. Suddenly, gone was the bubbly woman he loved and in her place was a demon ready to suck the soul out of Boyle’s body and place it into the fiery pits of hell.

“We need to destroy him,” she said flatly.

“Okay, but it’s Charles,” said Jake. “The guy can cook. And let’s be honest, the two of us can barely manage not burning a pizza in the oven.”

“Yeah, but we have a secret weapon,” said Amy with a grin.

“What is that?” asked Jake as Vicki entered the kitchen.

“Hey, Vicki, I was just telling Jake that you are part owner of a restaurant up in Fargo,” said Amy, giving Jake a slight nudge.

��Oh, really?” said Jake, a sneaky smiling on his face as he pressed his fingertips together.

“Okay. I’ve only known you both for a couple hours but I can see something is going on,” said Victoria. “What’s up?”

“Well…”

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Charles felt pretty damn smug. His turkey was perfect. Along with the cranberry sauce and desserts Amy asked him for after their little fight over cooking dinner. He also made some sweet potatoes, just to be safe. Oh, and some fresh rolls. He nodded to Rosa who had a sack full of gifts as well as some beer. The girl she was dating, the one she met on Jake and Amy’s wedding day, was with her parents instead. Their relationship being new Rosa had turned down the idea of meeting her parents on the holiday and instead decided to celebrate with her second family.

“Charles.”

“Hey Rosa! What’s with all the gifts?”

“None of your business.”

“Okay, okay…”

“What’s with all the food?” asked Rosa, nodding toward the bag. “I thought Amy was cooking.”

“We decided to split the cooking duties this year.”

“Uh huh… But wasn’t she making the turkey?”

“Well… I figured—”

“You went behind her back and made your own, didn’t you? Bad move Charles. Though I approve because it’ll be funny to see Amy annihilate you when you come in the door with it.”

“Trust me, you’ll thank me later,” said Charles as they got to the door. He knocked and it was Jake who answered. His face stern as he looked at Charles. “Hello, Jake.”

“Charles.”

“Ugh,” said Rosa, shouldering her way in with her stuff, avoiding the standoff at the door. She nodded to those who were there. When she noticed a new face she turned to Amy with a questioning look.

“That is Victoria,” said Amy, taking the bag of gifts. “Jake’s sister.”

“Holy crap,” said Rosa. “Well that’s a surprise.”

“Yeah, he thought so, too. Thanks for keeping his gifts. Glasses are in the kitchen for drinks.”

“Okay. Hey, just a heads up, Charles-”

“Oh, I know, Jake told me. Don’t worry. We have it handled.”

Rosa had to admit. It smelled damn good in the kitchen when she got her drink. She also noticed the perfectly cooked pies cooling on the counter top. She smirked at that, remembering Charles saying something about cooking the desserts. Rosa poured her drink and went into the living room to ready herself for the fireworks.

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“Oh, Charles, sorry. I had no room for the turkey in the oven,” said Amy. “Your sweet potatoes went in there though. They fit just fine.”

“That’s ok, Amy, my turkey will be fine sitting out for the next couple minutes. Since it’s done and perfect. Oh, I saw the pies. Where did you buy them from?”

“I didn’t buy them,” said Amy with a smug grin. “They’re homemade.”

Charles scoffed at that. “Oh, please, no one here will believe that.”

“Ohhh, but it is the truth,” said Jake, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “They are homemade. My sister made them.”

“Kate?” asked Charles. “Well now no one will eat your food. There will probably be glass in it!”

“No, not Kate,” said a woman Charles didn’t know, hands on her hips and her eyebrow quirked. Charles instantly disliked her. “Me.”

“Charles, I’d like for you to meet my sister Vicki. She is a co-owner to a wonderful little restaurant and OUR FOOD IS GOING TO WIN! In your face!”

“Oh, bring it, Jake. My palette is superior in every way. I’m going to wipe the floor with you!” Charles then quickly shifted gears. Because since she was Jake’s sister he totally loved her already. “My name is Charles, I’m Jake’s best friend, it’s really nice to meet you by the way–-Now get ready to suck it!”

“Wow,” said Vicki as Charles marched out of the kitchen area. “He’s… A lot.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s very intense. Maybe a little insane. But he’s my partner and best friend aside from Amy and means a lot to me so hopefully we can get along after all this.”

“Who cares. I just want to win,” said Amy, taking another drink for herself before announcing that dinner was ready.

Jake’s dad had cancelled. Which was fine with Amy but heartbreaking for Jake so she supported him with a half hug. Vicki wasn’t too sad about the dad she never met not showing. Surprisingly she got along really well with Jake’s mother and Kevin, the both of them very curious about her business at home. When it came time to carve the turkeys Amy and Charles faced off at opposite ends of the table. Everyone got a helping of each turkey. From the looks of it Amy and Vicki’s looked better. But looks weren’t everything. They took their seats. Amy cut her toast in half so that the eating could start, and then she just watched. Everyone seemed happy with all the food and that made her feel better by a lot. The turkey was what mattered the most. Charles tried to say she cheated by not making it. Vicki intervened by saying she never touched the turkey and only gave guidance while making the pies.

That had shut him up.

“Okay, you have to settle this for us, who had the better turkey?”

“Must we really?” Kevin sighed before sharing a look with Vicki. “I must warn you. This group of individuals are always involved in some inane quarrel about who is better at what.”

“Competition is healthy, Kevin, and I must say that Santiago had the best turkey,” said Raymond Holt. “Properly cooked. Properly seasoned.”

“Hah, suck it Charles!” sneered Amy.

“I pick Charles,” said Gina.

“Oh you would,” scoffed Amy. “Just like I knew you wouldn’t bring the flowers.”

“Get off my back, Amy, damn!” said Gina before grabbing her wine.

They all went around the table. It was close. Charles was ahead by two before they got to the last of the guests. Rosa picked Amy as did Jake’s mom, which rocked Charles because apparently he’d been trying to butter her up all night. The final vote came to Kevin and everyone looked at him expectantly. He sighed, finally relenting, placing his cutlery down before pondering his decision.

“I’m with Raymond. Amy had the better dish.”

“YES!” Amy cheered before standing up and starting her celebration dance.

“NOOOOOOOO!” shouted Charles at the same time, hands slamming on the table and rattling everything on it.

“Hey, can we get some pie now?” asked Scully.

“We saw the pies cooling on the counter and if you make us wait any longer we may just burn the place down,” said Hitchcock.

“This is the best Christmas ever,” said Rosa, laughing at Charles losing it once more when his pie was bypassed in favor of Vicki’s when he tried to say his pies would be better than hers—then losing tremendously.

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Everyone was gone. Vicki was in the guest room getting ready for bed. Amy was putting the last of the dishes away when two arms wrapped around her middle. She smiled, hands settling over his as he hugged her tightly.

“Can I say this was probably the best Christmas I ever had. Meeting Victoria at the top of the list and then beating Charles in the Battle of Turkeys. Also, present decoys? Nioce.”

“I’m glad you’re happy,” she said turning in his embrace so that she could wrap her arms around him fully. “I’m sorry your dad didn’t show.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

“Hey-oh. Sorry,” said Vicki, who’d come into the kitchen. “I’ll come back.”

“No, no, we’re cool. What’s up?” asked Amy.

“Well I’m not quite tired yet since it’s only nine where I’m from. I was going to ask if you all wanted to watch a movie or something.”

“We… We could watch Die Hard,” said Jake almost breathlessly.

“Oh, yeah. That’d be good. I like that movie.” said Vicki. “Just let me take my contacts out!”

“Oh my God I love her,” said Jake as she left, making Amy laugh. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers for a quick yet satisfying kiss. “I love you, Ames. Merry Christmas.”

“I love you, too. Merry Christmas.”

END

[oneelleofablog]

Lessons I Learned + Recipes I Liked From The Whole30.

I finished the Whole30 about two weeks ago. And while it was as hard as I was told it would be, the results were just as satisfying. 

I did the Whole30 because I was having trouble putting off some weight that I thought would go away like it normally does with some good old fashioned working out. My workout isn’t even that old fashioned – it’s a pretty intense kickboxing /circuit training gym that I go to three to four times a week. I guess my mental fear of getting closer to 30 decided to manifest itself physically. 

While I did lose the weight, I also learned some things from the whole process, which was a pleasant surprise since it seemed to me like just a food thing (or maybe I’m just naive to diets being so holistic). 

Here are some of the lessons I learned.

It’s okay to take as long as you need leading up to actually doing the Whole30 to prepare. I took about a month to mentally prep myself, look up recipes, map out my social calendar, etc. so I would not feel as overwhelmed as I already knew I would when I actually started the diet.

I’m so much better at meal planning before going to the grocery store since doing Whole30. Not only do I have more recipes to choose from, but that time to Google, Pinterest, and list make is now a part of my weekly routine. I don’t feel like it’s an event anymore, and I know the payoff is worth it once I get to the grocery store(s) and know what I’m looking for.

I’m never going to make negative comments to people doing diets of any sort again. I can’t tell you how many people told me The Whole30 was something they would never do, they couldn’t believe I was doing it, it sounded miserable, etc. I felt like I had to defend and explain myself for something that truly did not affect anyone but me (and my husband, who chose to do it with me). Listen, I get it, it’s not the most fun thing to discipline your food and drink, but it’s thirty days. That’s it. Anyone can do almost anything for thirty days, for whatever reason they decide. I know the people making these comments did not mean harm, but it was actually a vulnerable and personal thing for me to do this diet, because it acknowledged dissatisfaction with something in my life that I wanted to change. Moving forward, instead of verbalizing how I would hate to be in someone else’s disciplined shoes, my goal is to encourage them on their personal endeavor, because they are living their life, not me.

Making sauces & dips is fun.

I cannot wait to have a dishwasher in my next home.

Practice makes confidence. Making beautiful and flavorful meals is actually not that difficult the more you try. And the more you invest the first few times, the easier it becomes. I still can’t whip something elaborate up from random ingredients in my house, but I do have many more mixing ingredients in my pantry now that I can look up a new recipe with 15 ingredients and I probably already have over half. Whole30 gave me a reason to invest in the ingredients and the time to actually practice cooking.

I feel like I have more control over my eating & drinking choices after being so disciplined with them for thirty days. I changed my Starbucks drink from Iced Coffee with toffeenut and cream so an Ice Americano, black. I am food prepping for my work lunches with minimum grains and dairy, and I’m still buying all the same healthy snacks for the work week as I did on Whole30. I also have continued to incorporate some of the recipes I really enjoyed during the diet into my weekly meals. 

Here is my list of favorite recipes (and my modifications) that I will continue to use after Whole30. I hope if you’re reading this you will find these recipes yummy and useful to your health endeavors. : ) 

BREAKFAST

Turkey + Egg Breakfast Casserole I used 2 to 3 sweet potatoes for the crust, and I added 1 tomato and half an onion to the egg mixture to give it some more flavor. I would make this on Sunday nights and bring it to work every morning during the week. I put a little Frank’s Hot Sauce on it too. : ) 

Frozen Fruit in the fridge - I bought Trader Joe’s mango chunks and pineapple tidbits, let them thaw in the fridge for about a day, and grabbed some each day for work. I also bought Publix frozen mixed fruit, but it tended to get soggy more than the TJ’s fruit. 

LUNCH

Turkey + Bacon + Basil-Mayo Lettuce Wraps Be sure to buy the appropriate Mayo (I bought Primal at Publix) and bacon (I actually bought mine at TJ’s and it had a tad bit of sugar (less than 2%) but I understand you can find 100% compliant bacon at Whole Foods or Costco). 

Balsamic Shredded Chicken + Mushrooms + Brussel Sprouts I doubled this recipe and it made two days of lunch at work for me. 

DINNER

Crockpot Balsamic Beef Roast + Veggies. This is great when you need to throw something in the crockpot. I made garlic green beans to serve something green with the meal. 

Orange Chicken + Cauliflower Rice (I steamed mine with 1 tsp of water for 3 minutes in the microwave for this meal so it was more like white rice). 

Taco Salad + Dressing

This Salmon. I fell in love with this recipe immediately. It’s probably my favorite find of the recipes, and it’s so simple. I served it with mashed potatoes and garlic green beans. 

Lemon Pepper Chicken 

Pork Taco Salad + Guacamole

Skillet Balsamic Chicken + Mushrooms (Can you tell I like balsamic?)

SIDES + SNACKS

Asian Slaw. I never made this with the chicken in it. This is a great side with the orange chicken or just as something to snack on throughout the week. 

Buffalo Chicken Dip I used this ranch seasoning

This list of 30 snacks

Happy Health to everyone reading this post. I hope you find something useful in here, if only the encouragement to take that first step toward whatever goal you desire. 

[operationjustdoit]

Week Two - period.

January 15th - January 21st, 2017

1/15     We ate out for the first time and it went great! Phil was kicked out of ketosis though for a day or so because we think his chicken may have had a flour based sauce. Oh well, live and learn.

1/16     Started taking fish oils, 5HTP and a multivitamin. Had previously been taking biotin too. 

1/17     I was in a GREAT mood.

1/18     My period has been light and brown until today when it’s turned red when I wipe - even though nothing was going onto my liner. Definitely felt cramped up though.

NOTE: I’m on birthcontrol and normally do not start my period until day 2 or 3 of the “sugar pills” but with keto it can mess with your period for the first few months I’ve read. This totally happened to me because I started about a week and a half early.

1/19     Definitely on my period and feeling stronger cramps than normal.

1/20     Had a get together with a bunch of friends and served a keto friendly dinner! Phil made the bacon and cheddar stuffed ranch chicken breasts, Lexi and Nathan brought the cheesy green bean casserole, Kat and Rachael brought the mini cheesecakes with fruit, Stefan brought the drinks, and Chris brought home made flaxseed bread. It was pretty delicious and everyone loved the meal regardless of their diet status :D 

1/21     Period is still strong and seems heavier than my normal flow, I’m cramping up a lot and even decided to buy midol. Hopefully that helps. 

Overview: I guess I’d call this week period week due to the gradual introduction to an early and more pronounced period lol However, that being said, I think my emotions were generally better this week. I did get pretty irritable as my period came on stronger and even cried a little one night because I was frustrated that my fat bombs didn’t turn out/wasted groceries because I was really craving something sweet this week. Speaking of sweets, we bought an ice cream maker to make keto friendly ice cream for a sweet treat. So far, the cold crock the ingredients go into doesn’t seem to be freezing properly but we think it might be because there's plenty of food in the freezer at the moment (dang costco and their bulk deals hahaha). 

CW: 313.0

Down 2.6lbs this week, 7lbs so far.

[centralparkpawsblog]

The Best Homemade Dog Food Recipes

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Why I Switched to Homemade Dog Food

A few years ago, I came home to find my poor 16 year old pup lying on the ground in agony. I quickly rushed her to the vet to find out that she had broken her back leg, probably from something as normal as jumping down from the couch, and had to have it amputated.

But that wasn’t the whole story.

It turned out that her bone was extremely brittle due to cancer.

That terrifying ‘C’ word.

The vet recommended a biweekly course of chemo for my baby. It would cost about $500 a visit and there was only a 30% chance of survival.

I decided, after seeing my aunt and stepfather go through the process, that I would rather enjoy the remaining time I had with her rather than subject her to that poison.

Of course, I didn’t just take it lying down, I researched as much as I could about the condition and what I could do about it.

That’s when I came across an article (can’t find it now, unfortunately) that led me to believe that Lady’s food might have something to do with her problems. So I decided to do something about it.

I began cooking her meals of chicken (livers, gizzards, breasts, etc), black beans, and rice in a big batch every Sunday evening.

Within a few weeks, my old girl was acting 10 years younger, her coat was looking better than it had in years, and she was much less “snippy” with the other animals.

She outlived her “life expectancy” by 3x, and passed away happy and full of life. My final memories of the dog that had been with me for all of my major life events are of how she really was, not slowly, painfully deteriorating away.

And I credit that to feeding her homemade dog food instead of relying on a big brand mystery bag.

Why You Should Make Your Own Dog Food

If that story wasn’t enough for you, there are many other reasons to ditch the bag and make your own dog food.

First, I would like to point out that commercial pet food is much less regulated than you think. The FDA and AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) have rules in place but they are not as strict or scrutinized as hard as human food.

Which means that these companies can put almost whatever they like into your dog’s food. And they put a lot of trash in there. Why do you think pet food is constantly getting recalled? And pet owners CONTINUE to buy it!

So that’s why you shouldn’t buy commercial pet food but here’s why you should make your own:

Homemade pet food typically has more nutrients, less preservatives, can be tailored specifically to your furry friend, and actually costs less than store bought food!

That’s right, you can save money while providing your pup a healthier food option.

And if your canine companion has health issues like irritable bowel syndrome or allergies, DIY dog food can make a huge difference.

How to Make Your Own Dog Food

Making your own dog food really isn’t difficult as long as you follow a few simple rules.

First, unless your pup needs a special diet like grain free or vegan, you should try to stick to this meal ratio: 50% protein, 25% veggies, and 25% grain. You can also follow this ratio of 40-60% raw meat/protein, 20-30% cooked starch, and 20-30% raw vegetables/fruit.

Second, be sure to know what foods dogs can and can’t eat. I’ll go into this more later.

Lastly, add supplements to their meals to make up for nutrients that they aren’t getting from the food alone. There are 6 essential nutrients that every dog needs.

The National Academies of Sciences has put together an amazing resource detailing which vitamins and minerals dogs must have and the exact amount to feed them daily based on age.

But don’t start worrying that you’ll need to take a science class to feed your dog, we’ve compiled a collection of over 80 recipes below that cover almost every type of diet.

Resources

Adding Fresh Foods to Commercial Food

10 Foods You Should Be Adding to Your Dog’s Food

Create a free custom recipe

What Should and Shouldn’t Go Into Your Recipe

Of course, dogs can’t eat all of the same foods that we can. So before you start whipping up something in the kitchen for your pooch, you’re going to need to know what you can and can’t feed a dog.

Can

Here are some popular ingredients to use when cooking for your pup. These are only the most popular so if you’re not sure, consult an authority like your vet or a trusted website like the AKC or PetMD.

Proteins

The protein portion of your dog’s diet can come from poultry (chicken, turkey, etc) – including organ meats such as livers, hearts, and gizzards – eggs, beef, tuna, salmon, venison, lamb, or pork (be mindful of the fat though).

There are also a few less common safe meats like kangaroo and rabbit, just check with your vet before adding to your menu.

Veggies

Some of the best vegetables to add to your pet’s bowl include broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, celery, cucumbers, green beans, peas, spinach, and sweet potatoes. So basically everything that your 3 year old won’t eat.

Grains

If your dog has a grain allergy, or you just prefer a grain free diet, feel free to skip this section. If grains aren’t an issue to you, especially for larger dogs who take more to fill up, oatmeal and rice (preferably brown rice) are great choices and they are ridiculously cheap.

Supplements

Which supplements your dog needs will depend on what you choose to feed them, what conditions they may have, and even their breed. For example, glucosamine would make a good addition for older dogs – especially those with arthritis.

For dogs with digestive issues, you may want to try out a probiotic.

We’ve also included a few recipes down below for “toppings” to add to your dog’s food that can make up for missing nutrients.

Resources

6 essential nutrients for dogs

Dog’s nutritional diet

Foods for senior dogs

Can’t

Here are some of the most common foods that are dangerous to dogs. This list is not exhaustive so if you’re not sure, do your research first.

Grapes/raisins

Cherries

Avocado

Onions/leeks

Macadamia nuts

Garlic

Brewer’s yeast

Alcohol

Avocado

Uncooked spinach

Chocolate

Coffee

Caffeine

Citrus

Coconut and Coconut Oil

Milk and Dairy

Nuts

Chives

Xylitol

Yeast Dough

Tips for Making DIY Dog Food

As with most things in life, preplanning can make your life a lot easier. Many of these meals can be made in large batches and used throughout the week (obviously you should refrigerate it).

Most of them can also be frozen if you decide to make a really big batch. Don’t worry, I’ve included a section for that too.

And if you don’t have enough freezer space, you can also can your homemade dog food for long term storage.

Lastly, if you’re making a meal with eggs, don’t throw away the eggshells, add them to the mix for extra calcium.

Choosing the Right Diet for Your Pet

The diet that you ultimately decide on for your pet will, of course, depend largely on your pet (breed, age, medical conditions, size, etc), your budget, and your schedule.

There are meals that can help with diabetes, healthy coats, arthritis, allergies, weight loss, and diarrhea. There are also recipes specific to puppies or senior dogs.

Here are a few resources:

Choosing the right diet

Pet diet types

Dangers of homemade dog food

Dog Food Secrets

Homemade Dog Food Recipes

I know that was a lot of information and you’re probably overwhelmed. But really all you need to do is pick a diet plan and then choose a recipe that you like from the list we’ve compiled.

Many of these meals can fit into multiple categories (like a grain free puppy food that can be made in a crockpot) so be sure to scan through them all.

If you can’t find one you like, you can create a free pet recipe here.

Healthy Dog Food Recipes

While almost all home cooked dog food recipes are healthier than commercial pet food, the ones below are specifically designed for dogs with diabetes, arthritis, diarrhea, and general health.

Mini Omelettes – Vet approved

Ruby Stewbie – For diabetes

Healing Mash – For Diarrhea

Hamburger, Lettuce, and Tomato – Holistic

Multi Grain Dog Food Recipe – Multi grain

Arthritis Dog Food Recipe – For arthritis

Arthritis Stew – For arthritis

Chicken Casserole

Meatloaf

Holly’s Healthy Homemade Recipe

Pancreatitis Recipes – For pancreatitis

Cookbooks

Feed Your Best Friend Better

Home Cooking for Your Dog

Dog Food Secrets

The Dog-Gone Good Cookbook

Dinner PAWsible

Dog Food Recipes for Puppies

Puppy Power Smoothies!

Puppies need extra nutrition to feed their growing bodies. These recipes pack in a lot of nutrients into a smaller package. You might want to think about adding supplements to your puppy’s food as well.

Puppy Power Smoothies

Snap Guide’s Puppy Food Recipe

Puppy Stew

Daily Puppy’s Home Cooked Recipe

Puppy Patties

Recipes for Senior Dogs

Older dogs require a different diet than their younger counterparts. Their food is generally easy to chew and has supplements for joint pain relief. Cutting calories while maintaining protein intake is also important as their metabolism slows down.

Auntie Stew

Restless Chipotle’s Low Protein Senior Recipes

Daily Puppy’s Elderly Dog Recipe

Grain Free Recipes for Allergies

Grain free meals have many benefits over those with corn, wheat, rice, soy, or oats. Many dogs have an allergic reaction to soy, corn, and/or wheat, causing them to scratch incessantly, develop sores, sneeze, or have digestive issues. Fortunately, switching to a grain free diet can solve many of these issues quickly and without medication.

It is important to note, though, that many dogs are also allergic to protein sources such as beef, chicken, or eggs.

You can also make any of these other recipes grain free by following this guide.

Food Pucks

Chicken Liver Meatballs

3 Little Pitties Raw Food (and grain free) Recipes

Doggy Fishcake (video)

Cookbooks

Cookbook for Dogs

Dog Food Cookbook: 41 Healthy and Easy Recipes for Your Best Friend

56 Homemade Dog Food Recipes

High Protein Recipes

Most dogs, especially younger ones, need a large amount of protein. Pregnant and lactating dogs also need a lot of protein. Canines are not carnivores though, they are omnivores like us. So don’t feed them just meat.

High protein diets can also be used for weight loss since extra protein doesn’t get stored as fat.

Beefaloaf

Doggie Chili

High Protein Puppy Chow

Cookbooks

Good Food Cookbook for Dogs

Dog Obsessed: The Honest Kitchen’s Complete Guide to a Happier, Healthier Life for the Pup You Love

The Healthy Hound Cookbook

Low Protein Recipes

Woofloaf

Low protein diets are typically recommended for dogs with kidney disease. However, the article above, by T. J. Dunn, Jr., DVM, argues that that myth was started by a study using rats, not dogs. And rats don’t eat meat naturally.

Eggs and Potato (and more) – There are 9 recipes in this list

Woofloaf

Recipes for Kidney Failure

Cookbooks

Becker Animal Hospital & Pet Resort’s Cookbook

Raw Food Diet Recipes

While there is a lot of hype around raw food diets, both for pets and humans, many vets aren’t as quick to jump on board. Some even recommend cooking the meal before serving (is it still raw food at that point?).

If you do decide to go with a raw food diet, be careful of salmonella. Up to 80% of animals on raw food diets were exposed to it.

Midsummer Farm Homemade Fish-Based Dog Dinner – Can be frozen

Jenny’s DIY Raw Dog Food Recipe – Grain free

7 Day Raw Food Plan (video)

Cookbooks

The Healthy Hound Cookbook

Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog

Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs

Easy Crockpot Dog Food Recipes

I don’t know about you but I absolutely love my crockpot. It’s almost magical how I can put food into it in the morning and come home to a meal.

If you want to cut down on the time you spend cooking your dog’s meals, a crockpot can do that for you.

Scooby’s Organic Stew

Easy Crockpot Dog Food

Chicken and veggie crockpot

Double Meat Slow Cooker

High Iron Dog Food Recipe – High iron

Crockpot Chicken

Home Cooking Low Fat Recipe (video)

Beef Stew with Chef Poodle (video)

Cookbooks

Proud Dog Chef: Tail-Wagging Good Treat Recipes

Dr. Greg’s Canine Crock Cuisine

Vegetarian Dog Food Recipes

As we established before, dogs are omnivores. Which means they eat meat and plants. So can dogs survive and stay healthy on a meatless diet? The short answer is yes (but NOT cats).

For those owners who would like to switch their dog to a vegetarian diet, there are a lot of options. Here are a few:

Black Bean Bowl

Kale and Quinoa

Fruit and Veggie Melee

Homemade Sweet Potato–Peanut Butter Vegan-Dog Delight

Dr Ben’s Vegan Dog Food Recipe (video)

Cookbooks

Homemade Vegetarian Dog Food & Treat Recipes

Dog Food Love: Allergy-Free Recipes, Vegetarian Edition

Simple Little Vegan Dog Book

Vegan Dogs

Natural Dog Food Recipes

Preservatives and chemicals are what you’re trying to avoid by not buying dog food from the store. So why would you use foods with preservatives and chemicals when you’re making Fido’s dinner?

Turkey Veggie

Chicken Rice Balls

Ace’s All Natural Dog Food Recipe – Organic

Salmon Delight

Cookbooks

Cooking for Dogs

The Animal Wellness Natural Cookbook for Dogs

The Natural Pet Food Cookbook

Dry Dog Food Recipes

While all of these recipes are nutritious and delicious, they are a bit of a pain to serve. But dry dog food keeps longer and can be served with one hand in ten seconds. Or you can make your wet food stores last longer by mixing them with some kibble.

Crunchy Dog Food

Droolworthy DIY Dry Dog Food Recipe

Homemade Kibble

Baked Dog Kibble

DIY Dog Food (video)

Cookbooks

Yin & Yang Nutrition for Dogs

Dr Becker’s Real Food For Healthy Dogs and Cats: Simple Homemade Food

Recipes for Weight Loss

With America leading the globe in obesity rates, it’s no wonder that our dogs get fat too. And just like us, this extra weight can have a negative impact on their health.

If your pooch needs to lose his pooch, try out a few of these recipes. He’ll get back into his beach body in no time.

Damn Delicious

Weight Loss Diet

Chicken, Rice, and Carrots – Healthy coat

Turkey, Rice, and Veggies

Shredded Chicken Salad – Low fat

Healthy Hot Air (video)

Cookbooks

Your Pet Chef Cookbook

Frozen Dog Food Recipes

For those of us who are short on time, or just like to do everything at once, making a large batch of dog food and freezing it is very handy. Take them out the day before or in the morning and they’ll be ready for Fido’s dinner.

The Farmer’s Dog

Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Kale

Chicken Spinach Balls

Raw Beef & Vegetable (video)

Cheap Dog Food Recipes

Getting prepped to make beef stew

Most of the recipes on this list are pretty cheap to make, especially when you cook in bulk. Here are a couple of meals that won’t dent your wallet.

Muttloaf

Beef Stew

WiseBread’s Homemade Dog Food

Cooked or Raw

Food52’s Cheap Recipe

Healthy & Inexpensive

Easy, Healthy, and Cheap (video)

Food Addins/Toppers

Whether your dog isn’t getting enough nutrients out of his regular diet or he needs extra supplements for a medical condition, adding what he needs into his food is pretty easy. And there are a lot of options. Adding glucosamine can ease joint pain and if your pup is lacking calcium, sprinkling egg shells into his meal can be a simple solution.

Of course, there are plenty of companies out there more than willing to sell you a pill or powder to add to your dog’s food but we’re talking about homemade solutions here! So check out these food toppers for improving your dog’s health:

Not-Quite Satin Balls – For weight gain

Bone Broth

Pumpkin Please – Pumpkin

Chicken Stock

Superfoods Topping (video)

Egg Shell Calcium (video)

Dog Food Recipes for Small Dogs

When feeding a small dog, there are some things you need to keep in mind. They have smaller mouths so whatever you feed them shouldn’t be too large for them to eat or get stuck in their throats. They also have smaller stomachs (go figure!) so adjust their portions proportionally.

For more information on their nutrient needs, check out this article.

Chicken and Veggies

Georgie Meatloaf

Noreen’s Kitchen (video)

Homemade Food for Yorkies (video)

Dog Food Recipes for Large Dogs

This might come as a shocker to you but large dogs weigh more and have bigger bones than their smaller cousins. Carrying around all that weight means that the larger your dog, the more prone to joint pain and calcium deficiencies.

Big dogs are also more likely to have digestive issues.

Raw Diet for Big Dogs (video)

Most of these recipes will work for big dogs, just keep an eye on if you need to add supplements

Your Turn

Do you have a recipe for homemade dog food that you’d like to share? Send it on over!

The post The Best Homemade Dog Food Recipes appeared first on Central Park Paws.

from https://www.centralparkpaws.net/dog-food/best-homemade-diy-dog-food-recipes/

[healthbolt-blog]

New Post has been published on Health bolt

New Post has been published on http://www.healthbolt.net/cooking/healthy-hands-cooking/

Healthy Hands Cooking

Contents

Ramen.

Dishes 39 perfect vegetable

Ground beef. healthy cooking courses london

Cook chicken breast (

Convenient store-bought versions

Fried rice recipe

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[healthon]

What to Eat and Not Eat if Your LDL and Triglycerides are Too High

So, I was searching the internet for a bare bones list of yes and no, good and bad foods for my fiance's "new" diet. He just found out his LDL cholesterol and triglycerides are WAY too high, so I'm practicing tough love and making ... well, encouraging ... him to make some lifestyle changes and give up some of the foods he loves--foods that I told him could kill him. And I won't have that.

In order to help him (not just nag him) I wanted to give him a list of what he can and should eat--and those foods he shouldn't--to help lower his cholesterol. Seeing it on paper would make it easier for him, since he keeps asking me (sometimes texting me if he's out) if he can eat this or that. So, I wanted to give him a nice long list. (And, yes, I'll be eating what he eats ... and not eating what he shouldn't.)

But with all the searching I did online, I kept coming up with sites that would list maybe five GOOD foods and/or a few BAD foods, along with a lot of blah-blah. (Like I'm doing now.) I just want a LIST! So, fine, I'll make one myself. And you can certainly use it, too.

This will be an ongoing, growing list, as nitty-gritty as can be, so please help me out by adding what I've missed in either category--good or bad--as well as dessert/sweet foods that are okay for someone with high cholesterol. And I'll add an "in moderation" list too, since some foods aren't quite right for "good" or "bad."

If you disagree with something on either list, please let me know (and why) in the comments section below. Thank you!

Note: I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor. I've just compiled this list from a variety of sources and double-checked as much as possible to be sure that more than one source agrees. Of course, you should check with your own doctor to find out the "diet" that's right for you.

First Things First for High Cholesterol

Lose some weight

Exercise

Drink plenty of water

Stop smoking

List of Foods BAD for Cholesterol Levels - Try to avoid these items as much as possible

Please help me out by adding any that I've missed. If you want, you can add some explanation in the box below the list item, including a better alternative if you have one.

Red meat (If you're going to eat red meat, choose the leanest cuts possible and trim as much visible fat as you can)

Organ meat (liver, for example)

Veal, lamb and pork (but, as far as I've read and heard, these are better choices than red meat, but keep portions to no more than 4 ounces and trim all visible fat)

Processed lunch meats, especially bologna, ham, salami, roast beef

Bacon (make it turkey bacon if you're going to eat it)

Sausage (although lean turkey sausage is a much better choice, such as the Jennie-O brand, which comes in Sweet Italian and Spicy too)

Hot dogs

Duck and goose

Butter (Choose vegetable oil spread or margarine without trans fats or saturated fats instead)

Full fat dairy products (Choose lowfat or, best of all, skim cheeses)

Coconut oil, Palm kernel oil, Palm oil, and Cocoa butter

Shrimp

Shellfish (such as mussels and clams)

Ice cream and heavy cream

Candy bars and sugary candy

Cakes, pies and cookies

French fries

Chicken wings, fried with skin

White bread

Full fat salad dressings (Ranch, Blue Cheese, Thousand Island, French, etc.)

Egg noodles and pasta made with white flour (Whole wheat pasta and rice noodles are much better choices.)

**See "Are There Really Any Substitutes for Cheese?" for a bunch of healthier ideas (not just vegetarian substitutes) and suggestions.

**These are saturated fats

Foods You SHOULD Eat or CAN eat if You Have High Cholesterol - And drinks too

I'm being very specific when it comes to things like fruits and veggies, to give my fiancé ideas rather than just listing "fruits" and "vegetables." I want to make this "yes food" list a long one, so he doesn't feel so much like there's so much he can't have and not much that he can.

Please help me out by adding any good foods or foods that are okay in moderation that I've missed in the comments section below.

Apples

Oranges, grapefruits and other citrus

Bananas

Pears

Berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc.)

Melon (watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, etc.)

Peaches, plums, nectarines

Grapes

Tomatoes

Avocado (a healthy fat)

Salad greens (but iceberg lettuce isn't so great because it has few nutrients; better to choose other leafy greens)

Cucumbers

Onions, leeks, shallots

Peppers

Mushrooms (incl. Portobellos, which are excellent grilled as "burgers")

Squash (zucchini, spaghetti squash, butternut, winter squash, etc.)

Cabbage and sauerkraut

Broccoli and cauliflower

Spinach

Eggplant

Green beans

Kale

Corn

Potatoes and yams

Carrots

Raisins and cranberries (which add great sweetness to so many things, including salads, casseroles, rice, oatmeal, etc.)

Oatmeal and oat bran

Beans (pinto, black beans, lima beans, garbanzo beans, etc.)

Rice (especially brown rice)

Quinoa

Hummus

Whole wheat / whole grain breads, including whole wheat tortillas and pita pockets

Corn tortillas

Salsa

Soy products (soy milk, tofu, edamame, etc.)

Salmon (Fish in general, but I'll list some types separately)

Albacore tuna (packed in water if canned)

Lake trout

Herring

Halibut

Mackerel

Sardines

Chicken, skinless, especially white meat (baked, broiled, grilled ... not fried)

Turkey, skinless, especially white meat (baked, roasted, grilled, etc.)

Whole wheat pasta ...and Soba noodles, rice noodles

Nuts, unsweetened (almonds, pistachios, walnuts, etc.) and seeds (such as sunflower seeds)

Garlic

Veggie burgers / Black bean burgers

Pickles

Peas

Lentils and barley

Oil & Vinegar (made with olive oil) and Balsamic Vinagrette dressings

White wine vinegar (great for cooking with instead of oil, because it doesn't change the taste of food and doesn't add fat)

Olive oil, Canola oil, Peanut oil

Low fat soups (especially vegetable and broth-based soups, including lentil soup, minestrone, chicken and rice, etc.)

Cream of wheat

Low sugar cereals (Corn Flakes, Rice Crispies, Cheerios, etc.)

Air-popped popcorn

Skim milk (or at least low fat if you really don't like skim)

Nonfat yogurt

Egg whites or egg substitute

Low fat or nonfat cottage cheese

Green tea (or any other tea is good, too)

Coffee (but no cream ... choose skim milk instead)

Herbs and spices (to add flavor instead of fatty additives)

Olives

Low fat condiments (mustard, catsup, relish, low-sodium soy sauce, lowfat mayonnaise)

Pita chips (at least, the brand I saw in the store today had no trans fats, no saturated fat, and just a small amount of monounsaturated fat, so check the container for this information)

**The Mayo Clinic says this is one of the top 5 foods for lowering cholesterol.

This is a very versatile, healthy food, which is a great base for many recipes. See "A Recipe for Quinoa Salad" with alternatives and other ideas for cooking with quinoa.

**Best to grill or bake fish

**Since nuts high in calories, just grab a handful now and then. Nuts are great, healthy fat substitutes for croutons, meats and cheese in salad. AVOID Brazil nuts, however.

**These are monounsaturated fats.

**Examples include oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, coriander, black pepper, and cumin. But stay away from a lot of salt, which can raise blood pressure and contribute towards water retention.

Foods to Eat in MODERATION

I guess you could say "everything in moderation," especially the good desserty/sweet foods listed above. But there are some foods that aren't dessert and don't really quite fit in the BAD or GOOD lists as much as others. So that's what this category is for. For example, people with high cholesterol don't really have to give up eggs altogether, but they should try to most often use egg whites or egg substitute when possible. And while olive oil, for one, is a good oil, it's better to use just a light, sprayed on coating instead of dousing the food.

Eggs, no more than 4 yolks per week. (Best to use egg whites only or egg substitute as much as possible.)

Margarine, soft tub or liquid (Look for little to no trans fat)

Red wine (All alcohol in moderation, but red wine is best. It's said to actually help lower cholesterol.)

Fruit juices (100%, unsweetened juice is best.)

Peanut butter

Safflower, Sunflower, Corn, and Soybean oil

**See "New Cholesterol Fighter Found in Red Wine" from Science Daily.

**EverydayHealth.com says that grape juice is especially beneficial.

**This is one source of information I used to decide is peanut butter was "okay" or not: "Is Peanut Butter Bad if You Have High Cholesterol?" from Livestrong.com

**These are polyunsaturated fats

Dessert / Sweet Foods You Can Eat

I'm separating this out, since this is one area where my fiancé is feeling especially deprived right now

Dark chocolate (The darker the better, but it depends how bitter you like it.)

Fat-free, sugar-free pudding

Jell-O, especially sugar-free

Angel food cake

Fat-free sorbet

Nonfat frozen yogurt

Fig bars or other types of "newtons"

Low-fat vanilla wafers (which are good with the fat-free, sugar-free pudding)

**Definitely in moderation on this one. Dark chocolate shouldn't be mistaken for a "health food," but studies have shown that the antioxidants it contains helps lower bad (LDL) cholesterol and increase the good (HDL). See one of many sources at EverydayHealth.com.

**The Nabisco 100% Whole Grain, Triple Berry Newtons we just bought have no trans fat and no saturated fat. Just .5mg of polyunsaturated fat per two newtons.

Low Cholesterol Recipes

A Cookbook from the American Heart Association

Sometimes we need a little help putting the good ingredients together.

It's one thing to pick up a piece of fruit or grill a piece of chicken (no skin, of course), but if you're like me, you might have a bit of trouble combining the healthy stuff into tasty recipes, without adding ingredients that defeat the purpose. This cookbook will help you do that.

American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook, 4th edition: Delicious Recipes to Help Lower Your Cholesterol

This cookbook includes 50 heart-healthy recipes along with current information on nutrition and fat.

Making a lifestyle change? This book will make a helpful additional to your arsenal of tools to accomplish your goals.

Buy Now

There are Lots of Low-Cholesterol Recipes Online

27 Low-Cholesterol Recipes from Heart Healthy Living

Over 400 Low-Cholesterol Recipes from The Food Network

Low-Cholesterol Recipes from AllRecipes.com More than I can count, but you can search in a variety of ways, including by ingredient, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, the top 20, etc.

More Reading About Low Cholesterol Diets - And how to lower your LDL and Triglycerides

These are sites I've found to be very reputable and sources I used to help me build my lists.

Checklist: Your Low Cholesterol Diet From the Cholesterol Management Center at WebMD.com

The Low Cholesterol Diet From HeartHealthyOnline.com

11 Foods That Lower Cholesterol From Harvard Medical School

© 2012 Deb Kingsbury

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LET ME KNOW THAT YOU STOPPED BY AND WHAT YOU THINK. DO YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE HAVE HIGH CHOLESTEROL? OR DID YOU (THEY) CONTROL IT WITH DIET AND EXERCISE (WEIGH

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Delia 4 years ago

Oh My....poor my hubby eats all the stuff on the first bad list...I barely eat stuff like that, yet I have a cholesterol problem...I think mine is due to my Thyroid Meds...well I try cooking healthy for hubby but I'm not with him 24 hrs.

thanks for sharing!

othellos 3 years ago

Thanks for this essential list. I bookmarked it for reference at any time. I think I eat a lot from the "Good" list plus coffee of course. Thanks for sharing:=)

msblacque46 3 years ago

My cholesterol was completely out of control,and last November I ended up in the hospital with a "silent heartattack". This is how the doctor described it.Diabetic for 18yrs.,and trying to live a normal life eating all kinds of junk food,and paying a narrow fatal price for it. I was hospitalized for 6days. I was placed on a low sodium/low cholesterol diet,and i've lost 3opds. since November. I'm so happy to run cross your info,and the delicious things that I can eat.. I season my food with many of the things you've listed,and i'm doing very well now.My cholesterol was so bad my heart wasn't pumping the amount of blood required(@25%),but it's increased greatly since my check-up. I share my experiences with the world now,to take better care of themselves,otherwise they'll have serious problems later on. Again,Thanks soooooooooo very much for sharing.Ms. C.F.B.

debra1026 2 years ago

better cut some of my foods that are bad according to this essential lists of yours,Really great lens,Very helpful, gonna print it out..

with this essential list and my www.jeffersonnutrition.com I see good result in my future.Thanks..

Joyette Fabien 2 years ago from Dominica

Thanks for sharing these very useful tips!

CrisSp 2 years ago from Sky Is The Limit Adventure

No, not me (yet) but hubby is in trouble with his cholesterol and I'm sure to pass this on.

Useful and very informative hub.

Lisa Steinberg 8 months ago

I just found out I have high cholesterol and triglycerides (I have a family history on my dad's side) and I have heard many times it is hereditary. With that being said your list is very comprehensive and I quite like the way you have organized it. One thing I would recommend adding to the "What not to eat list" for snacks are most crackers. They seem healthy but many of them are high in saturated fats. I haven't researched what brands are heart smart but I assume ones that are made with whole grains like melba toast or Ryveta are cracker type substitutes that would work. Thanks again for sharing.

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[centralparkpawsblog]

The Best Homemade Dog Food Recipes

http://www.centralparkpaws.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/dog-food-recipes.jpg

Why I Switched to Homemade Dog Food

A few years ago, I came home to find my poor 16 year old pup lying on the ground in agony. I quickly rushed her to the vet to find out that she had broken her back leg, probably from something as normal as jumping down from the couch, and had to have it amputated.

But that wasn’t the whole story.

It turned out that her bone was extremely brittle due to cancer.

That terrifying ‘C’ word.

The vet recommended a biweekly course of chemo for my baby. It would cost about $500 a visit and there was only a 30% chance of survival.

I decided, after seeing my aunt and stepfather go through the process, that I would rather enjoy the remaining time I had with her rather than subject her to that poison.

Of course, I didn’t just take it lying down, I researched as much as I could about the condition and what I could do about it.

That’s when I came across an article (can’t find it now, unfortunately) that led me to believe that Lady’s food might have something to do with her problems. So I decided to do something about it.

I began cooking her meals of chicken (livers, gizzards, breasts, etc), black beans, and rice in a big batch every Sunday evening.

Within a few weeks, my old girl was acting 10 years younger, her coat was looking better than it had in years, and she was much less “snippy” with the other animals.

She outlived her “life expectancy” by 3x, and passed away happy and full of life. My final memories of the dog that had been with me for all of my major life events are of how she really was, not slowly, painfully deteriorating away.

And I credit that to feeding her homemade dog food instead of relying on a big brand mystery bag.

Why You Should Make Your Own Dog Food

If that story wasn’t enough for you, there are many other reasons to ditch the bag and make your own dog food.

First, I would like to point out that commercial pet food is much less regulated than you think. The FDA and AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) have rules in place but they are not as strict or scrutinized as hard as human food.

Which means that these companies can put almost whatever they like into your dog’s food. And they put a lot of trash in there. Why do you think pet food is constantly getting recalled? And pet owners CONTINUE to buy it!

So that’s why you shouldn’t buy commercial pet food but here’s why you should make your own:

Homemade pet food typically has more nutrients, less preservatives, can be tailored specifically to your furry friend, and actually costs less than store bought food!

That’s right, you can save money while providing your pup a healthier food option.

And if your canine companion has health issues like irritable bowel syndrome or allergies, DIY dog food can make a huge difference.

How to Make Your Own Dog Food

Making your own dog food really isn’t difficult as long as you follow a few simple rules.

First, unless your pup needs a special diet like grain free or vegan, you should try to stick to this meal ratio: 50% protein, 25% veggies, and 25% grain. You can also follow this ratio of 40-60% raw meat/protein, 20-30% cooked starch, and 20-30% raw vegetables/fruit.

Second, be sure to know what foods dogs can and can’t eat. I’ll go into this more later.

Lastly, add supplements to their meals to make up for nutrients that they aren’t getting from the food alone. There are 6 essential nutrients that every dog needs.

The National Academies of Sciences has put together an amazing resource detailing which vitamins and minerals dogs must have and the exact amount to feed them daily based on age.

But don’t start worrying that you’ll need to take a science class to feed your dog, we’ve compiled a collection of over 80 recipes below that cover almost every type of diet.

Resources

Adding Fresh Foods to Commercial Food

10 Foods You Should Be Adding to Your Dog’s Food

Create a free custom recipe

What Should and Shouldn’t Go Into Your Recipe

Of course, dogs can’t eat all of the same foods that we can. So before you start whipping up something in the kitchen for your pooch, you’re going to need to know what you can and can’t feed a dog.

Can

Here are some popular ingredients to use when cooking for your pup. These are only the most popular so if you’re not sure, consult an authority like your vet or a trusted website like the AKC or PetMD.

Proteins

The protein portion of your dog’s diet can come from poultry (chicken, turkey, etc) – including organ meats such as livers, hearts, and gizzards – eggs, beef, tuna, salmon, venison, lamb, or pork (be mindful of the fat though).

There are also a few less common safe meats like kangaroo and rabbit, just check with your vet before adding to your menu.

Veggies

Some of the best vegetables to add to your pet’s bowl include broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, celery, cucumbers, green beans, peas, spinach, and sweet potatoes. So basically everything that your 3 year old won’t eat.

Grains

If your dog has a grain allergy, or you just prefer a grain free diet, feel free to skip this section. If grains aren’t an issue to you, especially for larger dogs who take more to fill up, oatmeal and rice (preferably brown rice) are great choices and they are ridiculously cheap.

Supplements

Which supplements your dog needs will depend on what you choose to feed them and what conditions they may have. For example, glucosamine would make a good addition for older dogs – especially those with arthritis.

For dogs with digestive issues, you may want to try out a probiotic.

We’ve also included a few recipes down below for “toppings” to add to your dog’s food that can make up for missing nutrients.

Resources

6 essential nutrients for dogs

Dog’s nutritional diet

Foods for senior dogs

Can’t

Here are some of the most common foods that are dangerous to dogs. This list is not exhaustive so if you’re not sure, do your research first.

Grapes/raisins

Cherries

Avocado

Onions/leeks

Macadamia nuts

Garlic

Brewer’s yeast

Alcohol

Avocado

Uncooked spinach

Chocolate

Coffee

Caffeine

Citrus

Coconut and Coconut Oil

Milk and Dairy

Nuts

Chives

Xylitol

Yeast Dough

Tips for Making DIY Dog Food

As with most things in life, preplanning can make your life a lot easier. Many of these meals can be made in large batches and used throughout the week (obviously you should refrigerate it).

Most of them can also be frozen if you decide to make a really big batch. Don’t worry, I’ve included a section for that too.

And if you don’t have enough freezer space, you can also can your homemade dog food for long term storage.

Lastly, if you’re making a meal with eggs, don’t throw away the eggshells, add them to the mix for extra calcium.

Choosing the Right Diet for Your Pet

The diet that you ultimately decide on for your pet will, of course, depend largely on your pet (breed, age, medical conditions, size, etc), your budget, and your schedule.

There are meals that can help with diabetes, healthy coats, arthritis, allergies, weight loss, and diarrhea. There are also recipes specific to puppies or senior dogs.

Here are a few resources:

Choosing the right diet

Pet diet types

Dangers of homemade dog food

Homemade Dog Food Recipes

I know that was a lot of information and you’re probably overwhelmed. But really all you need to do is pick a diet plan and then choose a recipe that you like from the list we’ve compiled.

Many of these meals can fit into multiple categories (like a grain free puppy food that can be made in a crockpot) so be sure to scan through them all.

If you can’t find one you like, you can create a free pet recipe here.

Healthy Dog Food Recipes

While almost all home cooked dog food recipes are healthier than commercial pet food, the ones below are specifically designed for dogs with diabetes, arthritis, diarrhea, and general health.

Mini Omelettes – Vet approved

Ruby Stewbie – For diabetes

Healing Mash – For Diarrhea

Hamburger, Lettuce, and Tomato – Holistic

Multi Grain Dog Food Recipe – Multi grain

Arthritis Dog Food Recipe – For arthritis

Arthritis Stew – For arthritis

Chicken Casserole

Meatloaf

Holly’s Healthy Homemade Recipe

Pancreatitis Recipes – For pancreatitis

Cookbooks

Feed Your Best Friend Better

Home Cooking for Your Dog

The Dog-Gone Good Cookbook

Dinner PAWsible

Dog Food Recipes for Puppies

Puppy Power Smoothies!

Puppies need extra nutrition to feed their growing bodies. These recipes pack in a lot of nutrients into a smaller package. You might want to think about adding supplements to your puppy’s food as well.

Puppy Power Smoothies

Snap Guide’s Puppy Food Recipe

Puppy Stew

Daily Puppy’s Home Cooked Recipe

Puppy Patties

Recipes for Senior Dogs

Older dogs require a different diet than their younger counterparts. Their food is generally easy to chew and has supplements for joint pain relief. Cutting calories while maintaining protein intake is also important as their metabolism slows down.

Auntie Stew

Restless Chipotle’s Low Protein Senior Recipes

Daily Puppy’s Elderly Dog Recipe

Grain Free Recipes for Allergies

Grain free meals have many benefits over those with corn, wheat, rice, soy, or oats. Many dogs have an allergic reaction to soy, corn, and/or wheat, causing them to scratch incessantly, develop sores, sneeze, or have digestive issues. Fortunately, switching to a grain free diet can solve many of these issues quickly and without medication.

It is important to note, though, that many dogs are also allergic to protein sources such as beef, chicken, or eggs.

You can also make any of these other recipes grain free by following this guide.

Food Pucks

Chicken Liver Meatballs

3 Little Pitties Raw Food (and grain free) Recipes

Doggy Fishcake (video)

Cookbooks

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Dog Food and Treat Recipes

Trudy’s Holistic Grain Free Dog Food Recipes for Home

56 Homemade Dog Food Recipes

High Protein Recipes

Most dogs, especially younger ones, need a large amount of protein. Pregnant and lactating dogs also need a lot of protein. Canines are not carnivores though, they are omnivores like us. So don’t feed them just meat.

High protein diets can also be used for weight loss since extra protein doesn’t get stored as fat.

Beefaloaf

Doggie Chili

High Protein Puppy Chow

Cookbooks

Good Food Cookbook for Dogs

Dog Obsessed: The Honest Kitchen’s Complete Guide to a Happier, Healthier Life for the Pup You Love

Better Food For Dogs

Low Protein Recipes

Woofloaf

Low protein diets are typically recommended for dogs with kidney disease. However, the article above, by T. J. Dunn, Jr., DVM, argues that that myth was started by a study using rats, not dogs. And rats don’t eat meat naturally.

Eggs and Potato (and more) – There are 9 recipes in this list

Woofloaf

Recipes for Kidney Failure

Cookbooks

Becker Animal Hospital & Pet Resort’s Cookbook

Raw Food Diet Recipes

While there is a lot of hype around raw food diets, both for pets and humans, many vets aren’t as quick to jump on board. Some even recommend cooking the meal before serving (is it still raw food at that point?).

If you do decide to go with a raw food diet, be careful of salmonella. Up to 80% of animals on raw food diets were exposed to it.

Midsummer Farm Homemade Fish-Based Dog Dinner – Can be frozen

Jenny’s DIY Raw Dog Food Recipe – Grain free

7 Day Raw Food Plan (video)

Cookbooks

The Healthy Hound Cookbook

Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog

Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs

Easy Crockpot Dog Food Recipes

I don’t know about you but I absolutely love my crockpot. It’s almost magical how I can put food into it in the morning and come home to a meal.

If you want to cut down on the time you spend cooking your dog’s meals, a crockpot can do that for you.

Scooby’s Organic Stew

Easy Crockpot Dog Food

Chicken and veggie crockpot

Double Meat Slow Cooker

High Iron Dog Food Recipe – High iron

Crockpot Chicken

Home Cooking Low Fat Recipe (video)

Beef Stew with Chef Poodle (video)

Cookbooks

Feeding Your Finicky Pooch

Dr. Greg’s Canine Crock Cuisine

Vegetarian Dog Food Recipes

As we established before, dogs are omnivores. Which means they eat meat and plants. So can dogs survive and stay healthy on a meatless diet? The short answer is yes (but NOT cats).

For those owners who would like to switch their dog to a vegetarian diet, there are a lot of options. Here are a few:

Black Bean Bowl

Kale and Quinoa

Fruit and Veggie Melee

Homemade Sweet Potato–Peanut Butter Vegan-Dog Delight

Dr Ben’s Vegan Dog Food Recipe (video)

Cookbooks

Homemade Vegetarian Dog Food & Treat Recipes

Dog Food Love: Allergy-Free Recipes, Vegetarian Edition

Simple Little Vegan Dog Book

Vegan Dogs

Natural Dog Food Recipes

Preservatives and chemicals are what you’re trying to avoid by not buying dog food from the store. So why would you use foods with preservatives and chemicals when you’re making Fido’s dinner?

Turkey Veggie

Chicken Rice Balls

Ace’s All Natural Dog Food Recipe – Organic

Salmon Delight

Cookbooks

Cooking for Dogs

The Animal Wellness Natural Cookbook for Dogs

The Natural Pet Food Cookbook

Dry Dog Food Recipes

While all of these recipes are nutritious and delicious, they are a bit of a pain to serve. But dry dog food keeps longer and can be served with one hand in ten seconds. Or you can make your wet food stores last longer by mixing them with some kibble.

Crunchy Dog Food

Droolworthy DIY Dry Dog Food Recipe

Homemade Kibble

Baked Dog Kibble

DIY Dog Food (video)

Cookbooks

The Homemade Dog Food Bible

Why Leave It to Chance?: Best 50 Homemade Dog Food Recipes

Recipes for Weight Loss

With America leading the globe in obesity rates, it’s no wonder that our dogs get fat too. And just like us, this extra weight can have a negative impact on their health.

If your pooch needs to lose his pooch, try out a few of these recipes. He’ll get back into his beach body in no time.

Damn Delicious

Weight Loss Diet

Chicken, Rice, and Carrots – Healthy coat

Turkey, Rice, and Veggies

Shredded Chicken Salad – Low fat

Healthy Hot Air (video)

Cookbooks

Your Pet Chef Cookbook

Frozen Dog Food Recipes

For those of us who are short on time, or just like to do everything at once, making a large batch of dog food and freezing it is very handy. Take them out the day before or in the morning and they’ll be ready for Fido’s dinner.

The Farmer’s Dog

Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Kale

Chicken Spinach Balls

Raw Beef & Vegetable (video)

Cheap Dog Food Recipes

Getting prepped to make beef stew

Most of the recipes on this list are pretty cheap to make, especially when you cook in bulk. Here are a couple of meals that won’t dent your wallet.

Muttloaf

Beef Stew

WiseBread’s Homemade Dog Food

Cooked or Raw

Food52’s Cheap Recipe

Healthy & Inexpensive

Easy, Healthy, and Cheap (video)

Food Addins/Toppers

Whether your dog isn’t getting enough nutrients out of his regular diet or he needs extra supplements for a medical condition, adding what he needs into his food is pretty easy. And there are a lot of options. Adding glucosamine can ease joint pain and if your pup is lacking calcium, sprinkling egg shells into his meal can be a simple solution.

Of course, there are plenty of companies out there more than willing to sell you a pill or powder to add to your dog’s food but we’re talking about homemade solutions here! So check out these food toppers for improving your dog’s health:

Not-Quite Satin Balls – For weight gain

Bone Broth

Pumpkin Please – Pumpkin

Chicken Stock

Superfoods Topping (video)

Egg Shell Calcium (video)

Dog Food Recipes for Small Dogs

When feeding a small dog, there are some things you need to keep in mind. They have smaller mouths so whatever you feed them shouldn’t be too large for them to eat or get stuck in their throats. They also have smaller stomachs (go figure!) so adjust their portions proportionally.

For more information on their nutrient needs, check out this article.

Chicken and Veggies

Georgie Meatloaf

Noreen’s Kitchen (video)

Homemade Food for Yorkies (video)

Dog Food Recipes for Large Dogs

This might come as a shocker to you but large dogs weigh more and have bigger bones than their smaller cousins. Carrying around all that weight means that the larger your dog, the more prone to joint pain and calcium deficiencies.

Big dogs are also more likely to have digestive issues.

Raw Diet for Big Dogs (video)

Most of these recipes will work for big dogs, just keep an eye on if you need to add supplements

Your Turn

Do you have a recipe for homemade dog food that you’d like to share? Send it on over!

The post The Best Homemade Dog Food Recipes appeared first on Central Park Paws.

from http://www.centralparkpaws.net/dog-food/best-homemade-diy-dog-food-recipes/

[healthon]

What to Eat and Not Eat if Your LDL and Triglycerides are Too High

So, I was searching the internet for a bare bones list of yes and no, good and bad foods for my fiance's "new" diet. He just found out his LDL cholesterol and triglycerides are WAY too high, so I'm practicing tough love and making ... well, encouraging ... him to make some lifestyle changes and give up some of the foods he loves--foods that I told him could kill him. And I won't have that.

In order to help him (not just nag him) I wanted to give him a list of what he can and should eat--and those foods he shouldn't--to help lower his cholesterol. Seeing it on paper would make it easier for him, since he keeps asking me (sometimes texting me if he's out) if he can eat this or that. So, I wanted to give him a nice long list. (And, yes, I'll be eating what he eats ... and not eating what he shouldn't.)

But with all the searching I did online, I kept coming up with sites that would list maybe five GOOD foods and/or a few BAD foods, along with a lot of blah-blah. (Like I'm doing now.) I just want a LIST! So, fine, I'll make one myself. And you can certainly use it, too.

This will be an ongoing, growing list, as nitty-gritty as can be, so please help me out by adding what I've missed in either category--good or bad--as well as dessert/sweet foods that are okay for someone with high cholesterol. And I'll add an "in moderation" list too, since some foods aren't quite right for "good" or "bad."

If you disagree with something on either list, please let me know (and why) in the comments section below. Thank you!

Note: I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor. I've just compiled this list from a variety of sources and double-checked as much as possible to be sure that more than one source agrees. Of course, you should check with your own doctor to find out the "diet" that's right for you.

First Things First for High Cholesterol

Lose some weight

Exercise

Drink plenty of water

Stop smoking

List of Foods BAD for Cholesterol Levels - Try to avoid these items as much as possible

Please help me out by adding any that I've missed. If you want, you can add some explanation in the box below the list item, including a better alternative if you have one.

Red meat (If you're going to eat red meat, choose the leanest cuts possible and trim as much visible fat as you can)

Organ meat (liver, for example)

Veal, lamb and pork (but, as far as I've read and heard, these are better choices than red meat, but keep portions to no more than 4 ounces and trim all visible fat)

Processed lunch meats, especially bologna, ham, salami, roast beef

Bacon (make it turkey bacon if you're going to eat it)

Sausage (although lean turkey sausage is a much better choice, such as the Jennie-O brand, which comes in Sweet Italian and Spicy too)

Hot dogs

Duck and goose

Butter (Choose vegetable oil spread or margarine without trans fats or saturated fats instead)

Full fat dairy products (Choose lowfat or, best of all, skim cheeses)

Coconut oil, Palm kernel oil, Palm oil, and Cocoa butter

Shrimp

Shellfish (such as mussels and clams)

Ice cream and heavy cream

Candy bars and sugary candy

Cakes, pies and cookies

French fries

Chicken wings, fried with skin

White bread

Full fat salad dressings (Ranch, Blue Cheese, Thousand Island, French, etc.)

Egg noodles and pasta made with white flour (Whole wheat pasta and rice noodles are much better choices.)

**See "Are There Really Any Substitutes for Cheese?" for a bunch of healthier ideas (not just vegetarian substitutes) and suggestions.

**These are saturated fats

Foods You SHOULD Eat or CAN eat if You Have High Cholesterol - And drinks too

I'm being very specific when it comes to things like fruits and veggies, to give my fiancé ideas rather than just listing "fruits" and "vegetables." I want to make this "yes food" list a long one, so he doesn't feel so much like there's so much he can't have and not much that he can.

Please help me out by adding any good foods or foods that are okay in moderation that I've missed in the comments section below.

Apples

Oranges, grapefruits and other citrus

Bananas

Pears

Berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc.)

Melon (watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, etc.)

Peaches, plums, nectarines

Grapes

Tomatoes

Avocado (a healthy fat)

Salad greens (but iceberg lettuce isn't so great because it has few nutrients; better to choose other leafy greens)

Cucumbers

Onions, leeks, shallots

Peppers

Mushrooms (incl. Portobellos, which are excellent grilled as "burgers")

Squash (zucchini, spaghetti squash, butternut, winter squash, etc.)

Cabbage and sauerkraut

Broccoli and cauliflower

Spinach

Eggplant

Green beans

Kale

Corn

Potatoes and yams

Carrots

Raisins and cranberries (which add great sweetness to so many things, including salads, casseroles, rice, oatmeal, etc.)

Oatmeal and oat bran

Beans (pinto, black beans, lima beans, garbanzo beans, etc.)

Rice (especially brown rice)

Quinoa

Hummus

Whole wheat / whole grain breads, including whole wheat tortillas and pita pockets

Corn tortillas

Salsa

Soy products (soy milk, tofu, edamame, etc.)

Salmon (Fish in general, but I'll list some types separately)

Albacore tuna (packed in water if canned)

Lake trout

Herring

Halibut

Mackerel

Sardines

Chicken, skinless, especially white meat (baked, broiled, grilled ... not fried)

Turkey, skinless, especially white meat (baked, roasted, grilled, etc.)

Whole wheat pasta ...and Soba noodles, rice noodles

Nuts, unsweetened (almonds, pistachios, walnuts, etc.) and seeds (such as sunflower seeds)

Garlic

Veggie burgers / Black bean burgers

Pickles

Peas

Lentils and barley

Oil & Vinegar (made with olive oil) and Balsamic Vinagrette dressings

White wine vinegar (great for cooking with instead of oil, because it doesn't change the taste of food and doesn't add fat)

Olive oil, Canola oil, Peanut oil

Low fat soups (especially vegetable and broth-based soups, including lentil soup, minestrone, chicken and rice, etc.)

Cream of wheat

Low sugar cereals (Corn Flakes, Rice Crispies, Cheerios, etc.)

Air-popped popcorn

Skim milk (or at least low fat if you really don't like skim)

Nonfat yogurt

Egg whites or egg substitute

Low fat or nonfat cottage cheese

Green tea (or any other tea is good, too)

Coffee (but no cream ... choose skim milk instead)

Herbs and spices (to add flavor instead of fatty additives)

Olives

Low fat condiments (mustard, catsup, relish, low-sodium soy sauce, lowfat mayonnaise)

Pita chips (at least, the brand I saw in the store today had no trans fats, no saturated fat, and just a small amount of monounsaturated fat, so check the container for this information)

**The Mayo Clinic says this is one of the top 5 foods for lowering cholesterol.

This is a very versatile, healthy food, which is a great base for many recipes. See "A Recipe for Quinoa Salad" with alternatives and other ideas for cooking with quinoa.

**Best to grill or bake fish

**Since nuts high in calories, just grab a handful now and then. Nuts are great, healthy fat substitutes for croutons, meats and cheese in salad. AVOID Brazil nuts, however.

**These are monounsaturated fats.

**Examples include oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, coriander, black pepper, and cumin. But stay away from a lot of salt, which can raise blood pressure and contribute towards water retention.

Foods to Eat in MODERATION

I guess you could say "everything in moderation," especially the good desserty/sweet foods listed above. But there are some foods that aren't dessert and don't really quite fit in the BAD or GOOD lists as much as others. So that's what this category is for. For example, people with high cholesterol don't really have to give up eggs altogether, but they should try to most often use egg whites or egg substitute when possible. And while olive oil, for one, is a good oil, it's better to use just a light, sprayed on coating instead of dousing the food.

Eggs, no more than 4 yolks per week. (Best to use egg whites only or egg substitute as much as possible.)

Margarine, soft tub or liquid (Look for little to no trans fat)

Red wine (All alcohol in moderation, but red wine is best. It's said to actually help lower cholesterol.)

Fruit juices (100%, unsweetened juice is best.)

Peanut butter

Safflower, Sunflower, Corn, and Soybean oil

**See "New Cholesterol Fighter Found in Red Wine" from Science Daily.

**EverydayHealth.com says that grape juice is especially beneficial.

**This is one source of information I used to decide is peanut butter was "okay" or not: "Is Peanut Butter Bad if You Have High Cholesterol?" from Livestrong.com

**These are polyunsaturated fats

Dessert / Sweet Foods You Can Eat

I'm separating this out, since this is one area where my fiancé is feeling especially deprived right now

Dark chocolate (The darker the better, but it depends how bitter you like it.)

Fat-free, sugar-free pudding

Jell-O, especially sugar-free

Angel food cake

Fat-free sorbet

Nonfat frozen yogurt

Fig bars or other types of "newtons"

Low-fat vanilla wafers (which are good with the fat-free, sugar-free pudding)

**Definitely in moderation on this one. Dark chocolate shouldn't be mistaken for a "health food," but studies have shown that the antioxidants it contains helps lower bad (LDL) cholesterol and increase the good (HDL). See one of many sources at EverydayHealth.com.

**The Nabisco 100% Whole Grain, Triple Berry Newtons we just bought have no trans fat and no saturated fat. Just .5mg of polyunsaturated fat per two newtons.

Low Cholesterol Recipes

A Cookbook from the American Heart Association

Sometimes we need a little help putting the good ingredients together.

It's one thing to pick up a piece of fruit or grill a piece of chicken (no skin, of course), but if you're like me, you might have a bit of trouble combining the healthy stuff into tasty recipes, without adding ingredients that defeat the purpose. This cookbook will help you do that.

American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook, 4th edition: Delicious Recipes to Help Lower Your Cholesterol

This cookbook includes 50 heart-healthy recipes along with current information on nutrition and fat.

Making a lifestyle change? This book will make a helpful additional to your arsenal of tools to accomplish your goals.

Buy Now

There are Lots of Low-Cholesterol Recipes Online

27 Low-Cholesterol Recipes from Heart Healthy Living

Over 400 Low-Cholesterol Recipes from The Food Network

Low-Cholesterol Recipes from AllRecipes.com More than I can count, but you can search in a variety of ways, including by ingredient, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, the top 20, etc.

More Reading About Low Cholesterol Diets - And how to lower your LDL and Triglycerides

These are sites I've found to be very reputable and sources I used to help me build my lists.

Checklist: Your Low Cholesterol Diet From the Cholesterol Management Center at WebMD.com

The Low Cholesterol Diet From HeartHealthyOnline.com

11 Foods That Lower Cholesterol From Harvard Medical School

© 2012 Deb Kingsbury

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LET ME KNOW THAT YOU STOPPED BY AND WHAT YOU THINK. DO YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE HAVE HIGH CHOLESTEROL? OR DID YOU (THEY) CONTROL IT WITH DIET AND EXERCISE (WEIGH

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Follow this article's comments

Delia 4 years ago

Oh My....poor my hubby eats all the stuff on the first bad list...I barely eat stuff like that, yet I have a cholesterol problem...I think mine is due to my Thyroid Meds...well I try cooking healthy for hubby but I'm not with him 24 hrs.

thanks for sharing!

othellos 3 years ago

Thanks for this essential list. I bookmarked it for reference at any time. I think I eat a lot from the "Good" list plus coffee of course. Thanks for sharing:=)

msblacque46 3 years ago

My cholesterol was completely out of control,and last November I ended up in the hospital with a "silent heartattack". This is how the doctor described it.Diabetic for 18yrs.,and trying to live a normal life eating all kinds of junk food,and paying a narrow fatal price for it. I was hospitalized for 6days. I was placed on a low sodium/low cholesterol diet,and i've lost 3opds. since November. I'm so happy to run cross your info,and the delicious things that I can eat.. I season my food with many of the things you've listed,and i'm doing very well now.My cholesterol was so bad my heart wasn't pumping the amount of blood required(@25%),but it's increased greatly since my check-up. I share my experiences with the world now,to take better care of themselves,otherwise they'll have serious problems later on. Again,Thanks soooooooooo very much for sharing.Ms. C.F.B.

debra1026 2 years ago

better cut some of my foods that are bad according to this essential lists of yours,Really great lens,Very helpful, gonna print it out..

with this essential list and my www.jeffersonnutrition.com I see good result in my future.Thanks..

Joyette Fabien 2 years ago from Dominica

Thanks for sharing these very useful tips!

CrisSp 2 years ago from Sky Is The Limit Adventure

No, not me (yet) but hubby is in trouble with his cholesterol and I'm sure to pass this on.

Useful and very informative hub.

Lisa Steinberg 8 months ago

I just found out I have high cholesterol and triglycerides (I have a family history on my dad's side) and I have heard many times it is hereditary. With that being said your list is very comprehensive and I quite like the way you have organized it. One thing I would recommend adding to the "What not to eat list" for snacks are most crackers. They seem healthy but many of them are high in saturated fats. I haven't researched what brands are heart smart but I assume ones that are made with whole grains like melba toast or Ryveta are cracker type substitutes that would work. Thanks again for sharing.

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