Thursday, September 29, 2011

I May Have Lost My Whey

As I have shared with you many times before, one very important aspect to my life is patterns. Once I establish a certain routine, I tend not to deviate from it unless circumstances force me to. This trait is VERY common among people with Asperger's. We need a particular order to our lives -- even when or if that order doesn't seem to make sense to anyone else! :-)

Back before I had all my teeth removed and switched to dentures, I started a routine of having a fruit smoothie for brunch (my combined breakfast/lunch) everyday. Due to my dental issues, chewing had become problematic and so the smoothie guaranteed needed nutrition in a liquidized and tasty form.

Upon having my teeth removed and taking several months to get used to my plastic replacements, the smoothie routine become embedded in my everyday life. Despite the fact I have finally gotten to the point in which I can chew almost anything now, I continue to have my morning smoothie.

This liquid concoction is not a typical smoothie, however. It starts with one banana and I rotate between frozen blueberries and frozen strawberries. Next, I add one individual serving of the appropriate flavor of non-fat yogurt. At this juncture, the supplements get added to the blender. These supplements include: 1 heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast, a healthy dose of a fiber source (choices are wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ or Metamucil), and one tablespoon of dried sweet whey. Before the liquid goes in, I add 8 - 12 oz. of nonfat frozen yogurt.

The liquid is then added. In the old days, I used skim milk. I now use Rice Dream Enriched Vanilla. If I have some on hand, I may also add a small amount of Coconut Dream (Unsweetened).

These varied ingredients are blended together and then 6 ice cubes are added using the ice crusher setting on my blender. The frosty mixture is poured into one of two large mugs, at which point, the final supplement -- one heaping tablespoon of ground flax seeds -- is stirred in. I then drink my smoothie slowly over the next 1 - 2 hours, often while sitting here pecking out blog posts.

I follow this routine day-in and day-out. I only deviate from it on those days when I must leave the house early and, for most of those days, the smoothie is consumed as a late lunch or supper.

Here's my problem. The health food store in Aberdeen no longer sells sweet dry whey! (They told me it had something to do with availability.) Yesterday, while in Astoria, OR, we went to their health food co-op and they don't sell whey either. I only have enough whey for another 6 or 7 smoothies and then I'm out. This is generating much anxiety.

There may be a way for my whey, though. My local grocery stores carries a lot of products from Bob's Red Mill (a quasi-local company located in the Portland Metro area) and Bob's sells sweet whey. So, I'm going to see if I can special order it.

It's just one ingredient among many, but, for this Taoist, it is a critical one. I like to think of it as the Whey of Tao!

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