Gardening to poop? Sounds about right in this week’s edition of Manch Talk. We sing the praises of the volunteers helping to clean our parks, and talk about other crap (literally). Want to improve your health? Start here: watch the documentary we are discussing on Netflix: HACK YOUR HEALTH.
This is not an April Fool’s joke, this IS a delicious orange and feta lamb heart salad with radishes, shallots, and pumpkin seeds. 
The trick is to cook the heart in a hot pan for ONLY a minute on each side.
I trimmed the white bits off (Obi said NOM) and then cut the heart into 3 pieces per internet instructions.
The three pieces vary in thickness so be sure to cook the thinnest piece the shortest (30 secs per side) and let everything rest for 5 minutes before salting and slicing.
Organ meats are incredibly good for your health!
Once you learn how to prepare them correctly, you’ll wonder why you haven’t been indulging for years.
If you’ve been avoiding getting into the organ meat consumption business because you hate the taste of liver, know this, I prefer heart to liver by orders of magnitude, so try it!
What’s the worst that can happen?
Broke my 3-day fast last night with meatballs (Bardo Farm lamb, pork, beef w/parmesan), daikon, and homemade broth.
Since I was in it to win it, meaning in that high-energy, “can-do” phase you often encounter when fasting, I batch-cooked 3 additional meals, ensuring that Yesterday Carla has Tomorrow Carla’s back.
In my quest to rewire negative self-talk (cognitive behavioral therapy), I’ve made it a habit to acknowledge this “Time Travel Gratitude Loop” when I grab a pre-planned meal from the freezer, especially on nights when I don’t feel like cooking, because I know my food is a healthier choice for me than takeout.
Why do I fast?
* Health benefits including autophagy;
* Extra energy directed at extra tasks (e.g. great time to clean the fridge);
* Ritual for contemplation/meditation;
* It’s a mental test.
Before jumping into fasting, I suggest you:
1. Do your own research;
2. Consider becoming fat-adapted first (i.e. low-carb/glucose managed)–it’s x100 easier when you don’t have carb-withdrawal cravings too, so start there for long-term success;
3. Build up incrementally by doing intermittent fasts (e.g. skip breakfast);
4. If/when you fail, roll with it, learn something, then try again!
The Number One thing I love about fasting is the relationship it reestablishes between my mind, body, and spirit.
There is a deep sense of awe you feel when you realize:
1. You can do hard things;
2. You are in control and it truly is mind over matter;
3. Hunger comes in waves and quickly recedes thus reminding you to treat the experience more like you are a surfer, and not a drowning man;
4. Fasting isn’t as hard as you thought it would be… leading you to wonder what else may be conquered next.
Tell me down below what you’re hoping to conquer next, whether it’s intermittent fasting until lunchtime a few times a week to, say, literally learning to surf.
Big or small, we are all hopefully striving to improve at least one thing in our lives! Let that one thing be… YOU!
Today’s the final day of a 3-day quick fast (started on Monday 8p). It’s also Thursday, so gym time!
For those following along, you may recall my goal last year was to fast 5 days every month for a year.
I made it until June, then discovered I had severe anemia, so put the fasting on hold while I sorted that out.
After months of experimenting, I finally boosted my ferritin by 25%, putting me on the low line of the normal range.
So back to fasting! Why? So many benefits, including autophagy, which has cancer-preventing benefits.
Today at the gym, I again upped my weights by 5 lbs and just lifted until I couldn’t anymore. Just 1 set each.
While waiting for Louis, I tried one of the water massage tables. Not bad.
***
What is autophagy?
Autophagy is a natural, self-preservation mechanism whereby the body removes damaged or dysfunctional parts of a cell and recycles other parts toward cellular repair.
Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells, according to Priya Khorana, PhD, in nutrition education from Columbia University.
“Auto” means self and “phagy” means eat. So the literal meaning of autophagy is “self-eating.”
It’s also referred to as “self-devouring.” While that may sound like something you never want to happen to your body, it’s actually beneficial to your overall health.
I was looking for something entirely different when I ran across this photo of me in my early Thirties in a waterfall in, I’m pretty sure, Thailand (but could have been Laos or Vietnam) but more to the point, I’m sharing this because rarely does one run across a photo of yourself in a bikini and go, You know what I should do, I should share this pic with the whole world, but then, once in a while, you DO run across that pic, and you’re just in the right mood and frame of mind, and you’re now just old and wise enough to appreciate yourself in your youth, which you did not do back then when you should have, so now Old Prime Carla has your back! LOL
Today’s lesson: Rarely should we be as hard on ourselves as we are. Unless you’re not even trying. Then, BUCK THE FUCK UP!
EDIT: I originally posted this on Facebook, but now changed that “Old Carla” to PRIME CARLA, because I believe we are what we think, and I’m not old yet–I’m not even half way! Those who caught my emceeing at Anarchapulco will get the “Prime” joke, which goes something like this: When you can’t read your cue cards on stage without glasses and you’re trying to be smooth and proffesh, while trying to balance the cue cards and your “Old Lady glasses” between speakers, and so finally, you just end up just yelling, “THESE ARE MY ‘IN MY PRIME’ GLASSES, PEEPS! IN MY PRIME!!!”
Did Carla do BUFO in Mexico, and other stories from Anarchapulco… And, Tammy announces a great get in Tulsi Gabbard speaking at Liberty Forum on March 16th. GET YOUR TIX NOW.
I have been remiss in my #freedomnomnom postings, as some friends recently reminded me!
This isn’t because I’m not cooking, but rather, because I am in the process of kicking my real estate career into gear, and frankly, I’m a bit overwhelmed.
Add winter to the mix, starting the year with the cooties, and you’ve got a recipe for potential backsliding…
It’s true, I did, for a hot second, stop doing some of the good habits I’ve adopted, and then I remembered what I’ve learned over the past few years, which is: leverage your good base habits, NO BACKSLIDING!
BUILD! BUILD ON YOUR BASES!
Good habits are actions so deeply ingrained, they make your life better automatically.
Which means, knowing and reminding yourself you MUST TAKE TIME to:
A growth mindset is vital to success in life. But perfectionists–or maybe it’s just me?–struggle when they’re not great at something from the onset.
But here’s the reality: you can’t get better if you don’t try.
Every small failure is a step on the path of greater achievements, but you’ve got to keep trucking!
I only learned to cook in my late 20s. As a high school student, I actually got banned from my Home Ec class for burning my brownies so badly the class had to be evacuated.
I decided cooking was not a skill a future professional like me needed to know. I took pride in only being able to subsist on Marmite toast and popcorn during law school. (And two packs a day.)
Both my parents were decent cooks, but I learned to cook from a Dotcom era “chef box” delivered twice a week to my doorstep in San Francisco.
“Flaky halibut with lemon sauce and crisp asparagus.” The magic was in the box: Self-contained meals with easy instructions on the proper cooking techniques.
Someone recently told me most 20-somethings don’t know how to cook.
Is this true?
If YOU don’t know how to cook, do you want to learn to make food like this?
Are there steps you can start to take so long? Have you checked out my “Freedomnomnom” Playlist on YouTube?
Much like I resisted learning to cook when I was younger, I’ve resisted focusing on my cooking beyond trying to inspire you through my own actions.
But if there’s interest and demand for more, let me know in the comments and maybe, maaaaybe we can get a cooking class… cooking?!?!
Out on the trail with 2 dogs when it’s 17F makes me… a Granite Stater! 
The cold hardly bothers me anymore and I love the crunch of snow under my boots. Whenever I hear that sound I think how bizarre it is to be walking on frozen water that fell from the sky! Grrtz, grrtz.
I’m not sure what’s been most instrumental in my acclimatization:
* Proper winter outergear
* Woolen underthings
* Living here 15+ years
* THE ROUTINE COLD SHOWERS I NOW TAKE <— longevity tool
In any event, I’m glad I learned to love winter like some people love the bomb… or bong… or sumthang?!? lol
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
AKA: You become what you think.
Do you even KNOW your own thoughts?
That’s the #1 reason to journal, btw. To capture your thoughts, to see what is delighting or troubling you. To notice patterns, cycles, and ruminating loops.
By way of example, years ago when I started journaling, I became aware of a Super-Cunt who lived rent-free in my mind.
Only by isolating her, could I start to deal with her crap. But I could only isolate her by becoming aware of her.
This is one of the gifts of journaling.
Other advantages I’ve discovered to daily journaling:
* You think faster on your feet! Why? Because you know what you think!
* You become a better writer. Practice makes perfect, and by adopting a daily habit of writing, you will improve this skill.
* Sticking to one daily habit builds trust with yourself which can then be leveraged with other habits you want to adopt.
* You create a record of your life.
Yes, because the modern term is “journaling,” but really, it’s a diary and that’s OK!
“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?” ~ Marcus Aurelius
AKA:
People in glass houses should not cast the first stone.
Take the log out of your own eye first.
This is a tough one because it requires you to be aware of your own shortcomings, but also, it’s tough because we often most resent in others that which we recognize as failings in ourselves.
Here’s a hack I’ve learned: When I feel a twinge of envy, I stop and try to identify WHY. Is this something I would like more of in my own life? If yes, what concrete steps can I take to put me on the path to getting it?
If I feel the need to be critical or tear someone down–this is not an instinct I naturally have, having actively tried to reduce these urges in myself because I understand you don’t have to step on others to get where you want to go (unless you want to be part of the club of assholes who step on others)–again, I like to pause and analyze WHY.
There is usually a reason that has very little to do with your nemesis and a lot more to do with YOU.
USE this desire, this emotion, this feeling, not to REACT, but rather to focus your FUTURE PURSUITS.