{Coconut Palm Sugar with Glycemic Index 35}

For quite a while now I am using Coconut Palm Sugar with a Glycemic Index of 35, compared to refined sugar that has a GI of 80. That does make quite a difference for the body.

This is my source, Trader Joe's where I get it for US $ 3.99 per pound.

Also Whole Foods Market does sell it and I must say, theirs is a little lighter in color.

For that you read the text: BLONDE but it cost you US $ 1.00 more per pound.

Yep, you read that right...
It's Official: Sugar is the New Crack
Swap your sweetener for these low-glycemic alternatives

Link: Coconut Palm Sugar - Glycemic Index: 35 with more information.

We always ought to be conscious of keeping our Glycemic Index lower by eating healthier substitutes.

If we increase the Glycemic Index (number that determines the rate at which sugar enters the blood) by overcooked potatoes or pasta... So it is not ONLY from direct sugar. Starches also do become sugar once they enter the body!

Related links:

{Diabetes Type 2, & Iranian Medicine about Sesame Seed Paste or Tahini} | previous post by me

Sugar: Addiction & Dangers | VERY informative site!

{THE SKINNY RULES + GIVEAWAY} | previous post by me GIVEAWAY ENDS OCTOBER 1st...

What Are the Benefits of Coconut Sugar | LiveStrong.com
Wholesome! Organic Coconut Palm Sugar | YouTube video about how Coconut Palm Sugar is being harvested and produced!
Sugar: The Bitter Truth | A very informative video with LOTS of information

{TBT My 1st Nephew & Hand Crocheted Bikini}

• THROW BACK THURSDAY...
• In early May, my eldest nephew Eddy was born, my younger sister Diny's child... Still remember so vividly when he was born and that first summer that I'd held him so often, like a prized possession. 
• Of course the first born of each new generation is very special and then we get used to it and kind of let go of the initial excitement.

•  Here I am, in August and just returned from vacation in Germany and glad to see my nephew back! 
• Under Dad's peach tree in The Netherlands...

• Little did I know then, that I would later come to live in the Peach-State of Georgia/USA...

Being 21 years young and wearing my hand crocheted bikini...

• Eddy is born in the little hamlet of America in The Netherlands. 
• Now, years later, my Mom jokes about the fact that she has two daughters that live in America; one in the big America and the other in little America. 

• August... just the beginning of a new life.
• This used to be my wooden chaise for decades, it even went with us to the USA!

• Almost one year old now in the above photo and ready to explore the big world.

• Eddy, at age two-and-a-half here, dancing with his Mom at his Grandparents' 25th wedding anniversary. 
• In the background it's me with very long hair and wearing of course mini at that time.
• Literally a LBD (Little Black Dress)...
• 

• Eddy at the age of three on July 14, 1974, at one of my annual dinners when we had the city's Fair, in Panningen, The Netherlands, where I've lived for five years. 
• By the way; several Dutch blog readers at present are from Panningen, so just want to send a warm greeting across the Atlantic Ocean and THANKS!
• Even when I was young, I loved to cook for a crowd of seventeen. Mainly because of being the eldest alive, of a family of eight children. Then moving out to live on your own after marriage; it gets awfully quiet! That was the hardest part to get used to. So once a year I got them all together and it made me feel like being home again with a big family.

• Probably for the very same reason, I did several times take a day off on Friday and Monday, then borrowed my sister Diny's two kids, giving her a break for four days to spend time alone with her husband. That served both of us well. 
• We were very close, till of course Pieter and I immigrated to the USA.

• Another coincidence is that Eddy, being active in the Royal Netherlands Navy (Lieutenant Commander) on a submarine got to go to St. Maarten in the Caribbean, where we were on vacation a couple of times but not at the same time... He even has come to Atlanta frequently, for certain purchases on behalf of the Royal Navy but never had a chance to visit us... 

Maybe, one day we meet on this side of the ocean...

Related links:

{Our Brown Jordan Chaise & Wolford Bathing Suit Score} | previous post by me
{What Type of Feet do YOU have?} | previous post by me
{My First Trip to the City of Romance | VENICE, ITALY} | previous post by me

{THE SKINNY RULES + GIVEAWAY}

As promised earlier, here is my GIVEAWAY for English speaking readers, since it is written in English.
 'THE SKINNY RULES' by BOB HARPER with GREG CRITSER.

Just LOVED this book; not for trying to lose weight but for EATING healthy and especially in regard to Diabetes type 2 and Pre-Diabetes.

What I learned from this book especially is Rule #18: Finish eating your meals by 8:00 PM for having a better and healthier sleep too. Makes sense! All babies are being fed on a very regular schedule, so where did we all get side-tracked?

Yes, BOB HARPER is a world-renowned fitness trainer and star of the NBC reality series The Biggest Loser, which finished its thirteenth season in 2012.

His way of writing is also full of humor!

Being Bob Harper appeared in the Costco Connection on June, 2012 (click it) on 

Pages 26, 27 and 28.

Page 27

Page 28

His book I only can highly recommend to anyone wanting to find out more about eating healthy!

The book also is full of practical, easy to follow recipes.

Harper's approach on Page 18, about going vegan...

'But after a few years, the benefits start to wane. I was fatigued. And I was getting... soft, which is not a particularly good thing if you are the trainer for a show called The Biggest Loser...

Page 55 - BE YOUR OWN SUGAR POLICE

Page 57 - We like potatoes so much we're beginning to look like them.

Page 65 - Let us now come to your pancreas and liver. Chronic eating of concentrated sugars and bad fats tells the organs to make more insulin and more blood fat, as your muscles become resistant to the insulin. This is called type 2 diabetes. 

Page 77  Salt - Puffy bags under the eyes...

Page 161 about PROTEINS

Protein helps keep blood sugar and insulin in check, making it easier to maintain weight loss and keeping chronic diseases like diabetes and high cholesterol at bay.

Guess this did give you a good insight into what type of book it is.

Very beneficial for all those that like to prevent Diabetes Type 2 or even Pre-Diabetes.

For the year 2050 it is said that one in three could end up having the disease. You can read more in my previous article, via link below. 

~~0~~

You can either order THE SKINNY RULES book at Amazon (click) or get a FREE copy as a GIVEAWAY if you manage the English language. 

How can you earn this FREE book?

Go to my website: Mariette's Back to Basics and click on my Google+ Page button and follow.

Once on my Google+ Page, leave a message there.

If you do Tweet about my Google+ Page let me know via: AngelsnRosebuds

From my website, you can have another entry when going to the top right and click on the FB Page logo. Click LIKE  and do leave me a message; making sure to do so UNDER any story that is on my Timeline.

If you again do Tweet about my FB Page, or share, let me know and that too counts as an entry.

THAT'S IT - GOOD LUCK

Ends September 30, 8:00 PM EST

Related link:
{Diabetes Type 2, & Iranian Medicine about Sesame Seed Paste or Tahini} | previous post

{Tuscan Red Quinoa Salad - Whole Foods Sarasota FL}

When we were in Sarasota, FL during our stay at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota we went shopping at Whole Foods Market for our next stay at the Hyatt House Miami Airport. That's when I did spot this healthy looking Tuscan Red Quinoa Salad. Sure enough, before we did go on vacation to Arizona, I did prepare this and want to share it with you here.

This is how it looked at Whole Foods in Sarasota, FL...

Thanks to my iPhone, I captured the 'ingredients'...

Also ribbon kale, a healthy Superfood.

Red Quinoa I found at Trader Joe's 

Let me list here the ingredients that I used:

Red Quinoa used the 16 oz

1 Onion diced

Garlic to taste

2 Zucchini diced

2 Yellow Squash diced

1 Red bell pepper diced

Ribbon Kale

Sun dried tomatoes

Pine nuts

1 Can Garbanzo beans

1 Can pitted green olives (I used black olives)

Lemon juice

Cook the Red Quinoa according to package.
Stir fry the onions and the garlic in some olive oil, than add the other veggies, pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes

Adding the halved olives and the ribbon kale and finally the cooked Red Quinoa and the lemon juice...

Your Tuscan Red Quinoa Salad is ready to eat!

Related link:

{Sarasota, Florida - Hyatt Regency} | previous post by me

{Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Tofu with Tri Color Quinoa} | previous post by me

{Our Brown Jordan Chaise & Wolford Bathing Suit Score}

Don't know about you, but things in life seldom go as planned... at least not for both of us.
After Pieter finished last year with the tiles on our balcony, we did order a Brown Jordan Chaise after we fell in love with it at the HYATT house Atlanta/Cobb Galleria during our stay of July 17.
First we had to search the internet and than order ONE.
The question over and over was; how many do you need for your resort?! 

It took all summer though... On September 24, finally we drove to Atlanta to the warehouse where it had been delivered. I came back with this very chaise on TOP of my cute ute; the now 17-year old Ravy, my Toyota RAV4!

BUT no more summer use for 2013, only this year after a LONG wait because of a wet spring and big part of the summer, I got to use our new Brown Jordan Chaise!

This is it; different color frame however.

Ours is: Brown Jordan Patio Stacking Adjustable Flight Chaise 3940-7000 in White Lite color 055 with Versatex Mesh in Latte 1079

Yep, that's me wearing my Outlet Score from May 3, when we went to The Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida...

Just keep in mind that I am 3 x the age of your average model of 21 years young!

The sun is way too harsh to even look...

My natural gray hair; never ever used any dye...

THIS is a professional model and a lot younger!

But this triple-age girl was mighty proud for having snatched up a Wolford Forming Swimbody in Black, size Small, in cup B, with a whopping 75% Rebate!
Now that's what I call Outlet Scores; high quality for a steal.

Yep, my Egyptian feet...

Now each of us has a chaise on the balcony...

Love this new Brown Jordan Chaise & my Wolford Bathing Suit!
I had to laugh because: Wolford will discontinue its swimwear in spring 2015 (just click it)
Even though, I never will be making over–time on the balcony like this...

Related links:

{'Ravy', my Toyota RAV4 is 15 today!} | previous post by me from 2012...

{Our now WHITE Barlow Tyrie Capri Lounger with Wheels} | previous post by me

{Barlow Tyrie Capri Lounger with Cushioned Velour Cover} | previous post by me
{The Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass} | previous post by me
{Outlet Scores} | previous post by me
{What Type of Feet do YOU have?} | previous post by me
{My First Trip to the City of Romance | VENICE, ITALY} | previous post by me

{Our Bonfire Prunus Persica - Patio Peach Foliage & Fruit}

Our Bonfire Prunus Persica or Patio Peach is supposed to have spectacular Fall Foliage & Fruit!

Well, it is not yet Fall here in the South East but yes, we were very surprised to see some PEACHES!

What do you think of that?!

All that, just from a Patio Peach as one of our pot plants...

This is the fall foliage what we are supposed to see later in the season.

Quite a surprising little Peach Tree!

Yep, we do honor our state of Georgia as it is called the PEACH STATE!
Picture taken, 5 days before we flew to Phoenix, Arizona for our 7-day vacation...

However small, those are real peaches.
When we got back from our vacation in Arizona, the peaches were gone...

Not all peaches made it as we did not use any pesticide... That's what you get if you only grow ORGANIC - whatever that really means!

For the time being, we enjoy it as a cute little tree that is full of surprises.
And again we look forward to its spectacular spring blossoms like you could see in a previous post via link below...

Related link:
{Our Bonfire Prunus Persica - Patio Peach} - previous post by me