world bread day, 2009

today is world bread day and to celebrate the day, i baked a loaf of my demo garden sour dough bread. this is the first year that i am participating in the event and to be honest, i can't think of a better reason to bake bread. lets get this party started...

this week, i received the results of my annual exam, specifically my blood test. have you noticed that no matter what, numbers rule? at least for me they do and the numbers in question are not good. never in my life have i been truly over weight for very long and i'm not the least bit overweight at this moment. i do go to the gym regularly and i try to behave, food wise that is. but it seems that i have a cholesterol count that is unacceptable and needs to come down. last year i was told that my triglycerides were way out there, over 300 and my cholesterol was 217. a list of suggestions was given to me and away i went. this year, the triglycerides were down to a normal reading of 145-an impressive feat. unfortunately, the cholesterol was up to 224...that's when the family history questions started and i could see a prescription in my future. nothing like a little controversy to get you going in the right direction. you see, i am not willing to let a pill do the job for me. i told the nice nurse that i was sure this was the result of some poor choices and i would make some changes.

one of the changes i have made, less meat/fat and more whole grains. in my demo garden sour dough bread i used some white whole wheat flour so i could hide it from the finicky family members. the only thing in this bread is the starter, water and flour-bread flour and white whole wheat. in my haste to make the bread before dinner, i forgot the salt! honestly though, aside from rising faster, it really didn't matter. sure, the taste was a little bland, but if you slather the bread with something or dip into something, it really doesn't matter.

don't worry, the slathering was with hummus. a nice cholesterol free and fiber rich choice that left me sated and guilt free! after a few days of this new diet, i am really beginning to adjust. it presents a new challenge-adapting recipes to eliminate the bad fats and add fiber and good fats. but what kind of baker would i be if i was afraid of a challenge?

celebrate world bread day and bake some bread. while your at it, celebrate life and be good to yourself with some healthy choices. see you at the gym! thanks to zorra for hosting this year's world bread day and check out her website in a few days to see the roundup of participants.