I have some avocado oil bought last winter. Still good? If yes, what should I use it for?
How has it been stored? Cool dry place? Unopened?
Avocado oil can be used for cooking at a higher smoke point, which means it can be used to cook at higher heat (like stir fries) So for instance olive oil has a lower heat point. Use avocado oil more like you would use a canola oil. Avocado oil doesn’t have the flavor of olive oil. Has more health benefits than a vegetable oil.
I would think the avocado oil has a date on it. I use a lot of avocado oil. I use it whenever I need a basic oil. I have three oils in my pantry. Olive oil, avocado oil and sunflower oil. We rarely use the sunflower oil.
I finally did find a date on bottom of the avocado oil can “best by 16 Oct 2021”. But that would be if unopened. I’ve had it in the cupboard opened since February. It does have a slight aroma, but I assume that is normal (?)
@colorado_mom I think you might try switching your snacks from fruit and yogurt to vegetables and hummus. Though like you I do like that as a snack. When I’m hungry I have a cup of decaf and eat my daily gummi-vitamins. That usually does the trick so I only rarely eat anything more substantial between meals. I never drink fruit juice.
Generally, I eat very little bread, if any, but lately, I’ve been making these peanut butter (peanuts only), banana slices, sprinkle my usual seed mix (hemp, chia, flax and wheat germ) on it and a few droplets of honey on some thinly sliced Dave’s Killer Power Seed (more seeds yay!) bread.
Typically, I eat half of the sandwich one day and the other half the next day. It’s very filling for snack.
For the cauliflower since it’s so messy to rice, you could do a bunch of heads at once and freeze what you don’t use for later. I buy lots of veggies and then freeze after processing them - stuff like carrots, celery, peppers, onions - chicken breast too. I cut up the veggies and then freeze them for meal prep taking care to cut them to size for the meal that they’re for (soup, taco, stir fry). For the chicken I trim and pound them into cutlets and then freeze for later use. Veggie scraps and any chicken trimmings get cooked to make broth which I freeze for piccata, vegetable soups, etc.
I like @sushiritto snack! Except I prefer diced apple or fresh strawberries instead of banana.
If you make a good choice, bread and fats do not need to be taboo!
Well, for me, I’ve reached my body weight and composition goals, so if anything should change, then I know the culprit. And “you” can say “goodbye” to my new snack. 
I think of it as an alternative to oatmeal most days and a different method in which to deliver some whole grain, fiber, all those seeds, and protein to my diet.
@mathmom - Thought of you at our happy hour zoom tonight … had yellow peppers and hummus. I prefer crackers and hummus, but I know veggies are healthier. I usually avoid juice but do drink wine- at least hubby is trained to pour it in my small, narrow wine glass (a bit like eating a meal on a smaller plate)
@drrrm - Good hints about freezing veggies.
This week we decided to try using the Instant Pot again. The chicken and dumplings seemed a lot of work but it was pretty good. WIth only two of us we did get 2 nights dinner out of the effort. I liked the first step for cooking chicken / fork shredding and may try doing some plaln cooked chicken for the freezer.
@colorado_mom I am hoping we go back to drinking a healthier amount of wine after the election. 
So one of the benefits for me during wfh has been that I am cooking and eating a lot more fish and seafood. My H does not eat fish and when it was just the two of us I would not cook much fish for just me. Now that D2 is with us I find myself cooking fish for the two of us and making something else for H. I make a really nice salmon now that I like in salads and also a good halibut with a lemon capers. I also have tuna on toast or in a salad for lunch a couple of times a week and when I do go to the grocery store that has a really good sushi bar I get sushi for lunch that day. My lobster tacos (copied from Eddie V’s restaurant) are delicious, but not cheap!
We eat a lot of salmon. My husband does such a wonderful job with it on the grill that I rarely order it out in restaurants, though tempted. It provides a lot of protein for not a lot of calories/fat. Usually we buy salmon in the meat department, but I’ve found it handy to keep a frozen package of individually frozen fillets (from Sam’s.
When my husband went to Japan, he got to like sushi. Over time, I got to really like it too. Darn… he seems not often in the mood for it. I like @showmom858 idea to get sushi for lunch. If fact, there is a place I could walk to for pickup - we’ve never tried it since our favorite place was on his way home from work (but he retired last year).
“halibut with a lemon capers.” - I may need to try that!
https://www.afamilyfeast.com/pan-seared-halibut-lemon-caper-sauce/
@colorado_mom this is the recipe I use for halibut.
I’m no sushi expert and I don’t really like the raw fish varieties - so actually I’m a sushi novice. 
H would not touch it with a 10 foot pole. One of our local grocery stores makes a decent sushi pack - like 8-10 in a pack? I’ll buy one and enjoy it for two lunches.
A1C (pre-diabetes indicator) musings…
Last year I had a physical where the doctor ordered blood tests including A1C check for the first time. She was concerned about borderline reading (5.7, over the 5.6 normal range)… in conjunction with high cholesterol (partly due to very high HCL). She had the nurse call me to give referral to endocrinologist at same big clinic group.
The specialist was booked out 3 months. It seemed I would have needed another blood test, a few pricey self-pay visits with just generic advise. After messaging with the nurse and doc about it, I declined the referral. Instead I met a few times with a nutritional therapist and studied my food log results more carefully to adjust my eating. After a few months of watching sugar intake instead of just calories (and fat, protein, calcium), I did my own testing at MyQuest lab at local supermarket. I was glad it came down to 5.5 but realized things can vary from test to test, lab to lab.
Yesterday I had another physical, and this time I was able to get an appt with my long time GP rather than the doc from prior two physicals. He was glad that I eat better and exercise/run now, and he was not concerned about last year’s results or the new test (A1C 5.6). Now I wonder if last year there was some kind of kickback for referral from the other doc. But I will continue to keep up my efforts to eat healthier, improve more if possible.