behind closed doors

Some may call us quirky; others may call us zealots. But regardless of our branding, we admit to being a little peculiar–at least compared to the average American household.

Here’s why:

1. We go through 5 dozen eggs a week. We eat eggs for breakfast every day, and James often eats them with his second breakfast or prepares a 5-egg omelette before heading to the gym. He was even drinking raw eggs before he learned of the recent salmonella outbreak.

I know you’re thinking our cholesterol has got to be through the roof. Well, I got mine checked this week at work and my HDL (good cholesterol) is 83mg/dL (40-59 is average and anything over 60 is best) and my total cholesterol/HDL ratio is 2.6 (3.6-5.0 is average and anything under 3.6 is best).

 
2. We eat more fat than you can imagine. Olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, eggs, red meat, nuts, nut butters. James even takes shots of olive oil. Unfortunately, that iron stomach is something I wasn’t blessed with.

At a recent nutrition consultation at work, the nutritionist was in awe that I often eat 75 to 85 grams of fat a day. When I told her that total didn’t come from massive amounts of chicken fried chicken, I think she felt a little better.

3. We run the dishwasher once a day. It’s not that we’re abusing our water supply, but we cook…all the time.

4. Last winter, we didn’t turn on our central heating system once. Instead, we used a small space heater at night. I’m sure James used it now and then during the day, but he’s a space heater himself. Our house stays around 64 degrees in the winter, and I’ve learned to adapt to that.

I once heard a story about a high school wrestler who left his window open in the winter so he could drop weight for an upcoming match. I still can’t figure out if keeping cold quarters is a good way boost to my metabolism or if my body thinks I’m hibernating.

5. We rarely eat out. With my stomach sensitivities to who knows what’s in restaurant food and James’ bottomless pit, it just doesn’t make sense for us. Plus, we’re picky and we like cooking.

6. We buy almonds in bulk (multiple 3lb bags) from Costco. We make our own almond meal and I use it for baking all sorts of concoctions, while James uses almonds for homemade trail mix.

7. We could sleep through a tornado. Besides a massive AC vent that blows on us, James we have both the overhead fan and a ground fan running. Most of the time, I have the sheet covering half my face just to protect myself from these torrential gusts.

8. We read every night before bed. I just started Stieg Larsson’s ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ and James is blowing through Ken Follet’s ‘Jackdaws.’

We don’t have cable, so watching TV on a weeknight is rare. We do download shows and movies to watch when we have time (i.e. when we aren’t cooking or being active, or when it’s raining). But my favorite phrase to say to James now when he asks if I want to watch something is, ‘I’d rather be blogging.’ 🙂