@Jennifer You're welcome. I can't help but reference these authors that have been such an influence on my me. I stress again, I know everyone is different, in that the paths we've been on have us favoring different voices and styles, though I believe truth is truth, which survives above style and preference. At the least, a truth discovered, even from an author who is not preferred, could lead us deeper into a subject, searching out an author we do prefer, who speaks to us better. I do like archive.org. I used to use them quite a bit, but then I got spoiled with how cheap some ebooks have become, and how the formatting allows for ease of use. But, I will give this to the PDF format, you get the images of the original pages of books, which gives you some of that physical book quality, which can't be replicated in a full digital format. I actually used to prefer the PDF for this reason, but now I can't resist the ease of full digital format. Though, I will still go to archive.org for books not yet available as an ebook. Your religious history is very common, having touched upon various aspects of Faith through family, and educational institutions. That's all of us, really; which is Lewis's story as well, until he became fully immersed.
I do like the Alexandre brand very much. I think there is hardly a better brand available for dairy, at least at a chain store. Kalona is a good brand too, but like Alexandre, expensive. Okay, so Nounos is cheaper, comparatively. So, you were basically making Greek yogurt from the regular versions, by straining it? I never thought to do that, but can definitely see how that is costly.
Yeah, stress is brutal on our health. I can see how your mother's passing was hard. Interesting, but kind of understandable, how plant-based foods were hard on your thyroid. When I was at my worst, raw foods were hard on me. Maybe my correlation is off, but the strong natural defenses of plants, and especially with raw, seem the culprit. Though, even as I type this, I remember raw juices made me feel good. Maybe the juicing broke down those defenses. This is my bro-science ...something worked by juicing them! I have tried olive oil based D3. A very lean version, with the only ingredient listed besides the D3 (cholecalciferol) being olive oil. And strangely, I still had issues with it. I've tried so many different versions. I forget which was the most temporarily tolerable — which is the only possible scenario for me. I can take nothing long term, and I really can't remember a vitamin D supplement that didn't make me sick for at least a week...haha. Funny stuff. I may go back to putting mushrooms out in the sun, but there isn't really a way to know the true potency, though it would still be more than I'm getting. Most of all, though, it would be costlier and more time consuming. Maybe Haidut's is worth another try (if he has a non-ethanol version).
Funny. My only claim to being partially Italian is the claim itself (apart from my ancestors proving it): I don't think anyone would ever call me Italian by looking at me. I like butter as well; even better than olive oil. In most recipes, if I can use butter instead of oil, I'll do it. But, right on cue, since I've started making banana bread, I've switched to coconut oil, and it is more moist. From my limited experience, your mother is correct! My understanding of olive oil is that you want a single source, cold pressed, and minimal time from harvesting, to manufacturing, to consumer. This would eliminate, seemingly, as much potential for unwanted variables as possible. It seems olive oil imported from outside the US is very subject to being something other than what is stated. When I was researching this about a year or so ago, there were reports that the oils were not necessarily what was being claimed on the bottle, for non-US oils. There were claims they were mixed (i.e., contaminated with lesser or other olive oils); and if not that, prolonged storage and transit was reducing the quality. But, these days, who knows about the oils in the US. My rule of thumb, is you do your best research, then just go with what you have have access to, and don't worry after that. As for the 100% CA oil, it can be costly, but I only buy it on sale. I normally use the Amazon brand, which is cheaper than the other popular, 100% CA brand (California Olive Ranch). Olive oil is the one food item I consistently splurge on. I splurge because of the potential rancidity of oils and other negative factors. But, should my budget get even tighter, I'd simply buy a cheaper oil and not worry about it; though, always olive or coconut oil, not soy, canola, etc. It's worth adding, that even though the olive oil is a higher quality, it doesn't make the best tasting mayo, by itself. My understanding is that the blending breaks the fragile EVOO and makes it a bit bitter. I counter this by putting a little sugar in it.
