Monday, April 13, 2026

Some Challenges Started And Some Achieved

I had two Spring Forward challengesthis week and a bonus activity waiting for me in my Inbox yesterday. The challenges were try a new recipe from another culture (or order takeout from a place I haven't tried before) and try an online stretch, dance, or yoga video. The bonus activity was to clean out a junk drawer or closet.

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I am an adventurous cook and eater, and there isn't much I haven't tried before, but I decided to finally tackle preparing the lupini beans I bought a couple of years ago at a local Italian grocery store.

The reason I never got around to cooking them is that when I got them home found out that unless they're prepared in a specific manner the beans are bitter and toxic due to alkaloids. The elaborate preparation involves soaking for 24 hours / cooking on the stove for 60-90 minutes / rinsing with water / putting in the refrigerator for 5-7 days and changing the water a couple of times a day / soaking for 24 hours in a salt brine.

So far I have soaked and cooked. More will be revealed on this project.

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The vast majority of days I meet my 10,000 step goal, and I go to the gym four times a week for a group class, so I really didn't feel the need to add anything. However, in the spirit of trying new things I took a look at the YMCA app and discovered they had a pretty robust selection of on demand videos. I picked a spinal mobility stretch, which was just challenging enough

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And finally, the bonus challenge was just what I needed to get around to posting the pile of things in my office to the Buy Nothing Facebook group this afternoon and make a pile of old tax papers from three years ago that I can shred on April 15th.

Five years ago today: Taking Care Of Business...And More

27 comments:

  1. Those lupini beans sound challenging good luck I know you will do a good job with them! -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com

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  2. And that's why I prefer the ones I used to buy in a jar! I haven't had any in years. I'm no longer adventurous with my eating due to tummy issues.It's a bummer.

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  3. Bravo, you're well on your way to your Goals and challenges. The Lupini Beans better taste fabulous after that much prep work before they can even be eaten!

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    1. I agree that these beans better taste great!

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  4. Poisonous beans...yum. add some fugu (puffer fish) for a well balanced meal. ☠️

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    1. I've always wondered about the people who discovered different foods, and then figured out how some were poisonous when raw but edible when cooked.

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  5. Those beans sound very challenging. I hope the end result is really tasty.

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  6. I've never heard of lupini beans before -- interesting. Those challenges are great at keeping life and interests moving and evolving.

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    1. The older I get the easier it is for me to get in a rut.

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  7. Wow that is a lot of work for those beans-let us know how they turn out good for you doing these challenges

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    1. I'm finding that after the initial cooking each change of water takes just a couple of minutes, so not much hands-on work.

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  8. We easily reach our 15,000 steps daily...some days even 20,000. What did you do in a gym? Weight lifting?

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    1. Wow! You are very active. At the gym I do Pilates twice a week, Aqua Zumba, and Cycling.

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  9. Don't forget to watch the food video for old people I posted today.

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  10. it sure takes a big effort to prepare those beans and I applaud you for doing so. awesome job on getting your steps in. I need to do better.. and ..those tax files. I need to shred as well. thanks kathy for the motivation.

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    1. You're welcome. I personally find shredding a lot of fun.

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  11. I've never heard of these beans. Looking forward to learning more.

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  12. I think I know lupini beans. Please include a photo next time you up-date this post.

    God bless.

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  13. Looks like you got a lot accomplished! Those lupini beans sound like more of a hassle than they are worth!

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    1. Once the beans were cooked the hands-on time for water changes is less than five minutes a day. If they taste good the time will have been worth it.

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  14. Lupini beans sound exhausting honestly,hats off to you for trying them dear Kathy 👍
    I will check what the spinal stretch is out of curiosity

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