Posts by Austin White13

Look, I’m not usually one to preach about freezing food, but I had this leftover bag from my grandmother's garden sitting around, and today was just one of those days where I couldn't make it out to the farmer's market.
So, I ended up with a bag of frozen green beans and an even smaller amount of fava beans mixed with some barley.
First, boil the barley in salted water until it's tender, then drain it off.
Sauté a small head of onion in olive oil, toss in some sliced carrots, and let them cook down a bit. Throw in the green beans and fava beans, then add a splash of water and let everything simmer for about ten minutes until it's soft. To finish it off, stir in some fresh dill, two cloves of garlic, salt, and pepper.
Once the veggies are ready, fold in the cooked barley and give it all a gentle mix so the flavors really marry together.

Chicken salad with peas, potatoes, and dried mint.
To whip up the dressing, you'll need
- about 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- a spoonful of honey
- a spoonful of dried mint (though if you can grab some fresh mint from the grocery store, even better!)
- a pinch of salt
First, toss your sliced potatoes into a pot of cold water and bring them to a boil. Once they start bubbling, throw in the peas and let everything simmer for about 15 minutes. While that's going, dice up your chicken into small cubes and sauté them in a bit of olive oil until they're just right.
Once everything is cooked, just fold all those ingredients straight into your dressing.

Here is another quick, budget-friendly, and healthy lunch idea.
An egg salad.
For the dressing, I just used a splash of olive oil and a dollop of mustard with just a tiny pinch of salt.
While you have two eggs boiling on the stove, go ahead and chop up some lettuce leaves and grate one large carrot.
Once the eggs are cooled, slice them into rounds and toss everything together with that dressing.
Oh, I almost forgot—I actually swapped out the vinegar for a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice.

Since I was all out of couscous—which is usually my go-to for a quick meal—I decided to whip up some millet with veggies instead.
I tossed some onions and sliced bell peppers into a wok with a bit of olive oil, then followed that up with eggplant and zucchini. After boiling the millet in salted water, I folded it right into the veggie mix and finished everything off with a handful of minced garlic and fresh parsley. The whole thing takes barely 20 minutes from start to finish.

These discussions are getting a little bizarre. I honestly don't get how anyone can summarize all these cheap supplements as a legitimate substitute for actual healthy eating. How does that even make sense? They’re fine as an addition, sure, but I’ve been sitting here stressing out for months just looking at the sheer amount of additives packed into them. Is the real issue just laziness? Is it the time it takes to prep one decent, nutritious meal? It feels totally paradoxical. You have people spending half their lives hitting the gym and pumping themselves up while they're essentially falling apart on the inside. When it comes to sweeteners, I highly recommend using Stevia. Here is a helpful link if you want to look into it.🙂

Paul Baker29 said:Technically, soy has a complete amino acid profile, but you should still avoid it because of the heavy processing and GMOs.

Honestly, the GMO thing doesn't really bother me. Given everything else we put in our bodies—everything canned or loaded with random additives—I’m at least less frustrated by genetic engineering. It feels like everything is heading toward us eating nothing else anyway. I'll check back in with you guys in ten years and let you know if I've grown a tail or something similar.🙂

Jonathan James7 said:It won't work because it lacks a complete amino acid profile, meaning it’s basically useless. Plus, soy is processed using hexane, so you're better off staying far away from soy...
The only plant option with a full amino acid profile is hemp.

Whey is fine. Nothing crazy is going to happen other than building muscle, but don't worry—you aren't going to wake up looking like a pro bodybuilder overnight..
If you aren't trying to lose weight, just eat more complex carbs. You need protein regardless.
Some people think they can just go on a diet and survive solely on whey. Listen, you need to combine whey with complex carbs plus Omega-3s or CLA to help burn fat while training. That's how the fat actually starts to drop.
Otherwise, if you cut out carbs entirely, you'll lose muscle and end up with saggy skin that only a surgeon's scalpel can fix.
It's a simple formula. Yet I see these TV commercials for "miracle" waist trainers and random pills. It's honestly hilarious.
Look, folks, you can't just melt fat off your stomach specifically; you have to lower your total body fat percentage.

Thanks, I mostly get it now. Honestly though, I have this real phobia of all these artificial supplements. I'm training hard right now, and my biggest struggle is pure exhaustion, especially since I'm at a stage where I can't really afford much downtime for rest.
I'll look into what's available and how much to take. And hey, if I end up getting too bulky, I'll make sure to blame you!🙂

Question🙂
I’ve been playing around with my routine lately, pushing myself a bit harder than usual—about two hours of cardio every single day. It’s starting to take its toll. I feel completely wiped out, and honestly, I really don't want to lose weight. So, I wanted to ask: how effective are protein supplements for women? To be blunt, I'm a little intimidated by the idea. I’m definitely not a meat eater, and I find it pretty tough to sit down to heavy meat-based meals.
Also, does anyone know if soy and soy products can actually provide enough protein to meet my body's needs?

Paul Baker29 said:Don't sweat it, I've already taken care of that.
Someone needs to get a camera on this breakdancing kid immediately!
Check out this clip on YouTube. It’s worth a look.

Absolutely stunning.😍
As far as what I’m getting at goes, I have to admit I’m stepping outside the realm of reality here. To be totally honest, I started dancing pretty late in the game—well into my late twenties.🙂 The dance I do is incredibly demanding physically—honestly, just about as grueling as any sport out there. But the results? They’ve been amazing. It’s a massive pile of love and passion. At the end of the day, I'm just genuinely happy to finally be doing what I truly love.🙂
Don't go in with massive expectations or get too caught up in the math. Honestly? Just lead with more heart. If you approach things that way, I truly believe you can make it. Even if you don't hit that peak level of professional success, you’re going to be incredibly happy just getting to do what you love every single day. Isn't that the whole point?

Beyond the actual hatred directed at gay people, what really gets to me is the constant ignoring and whitewashing of the whole topic. We’re living in the 21st century on a planet where about 10 percent of the population identifies as gay. Isn't it time we had an honest discussion? I truly believe open dialogue does way more to educate and shape the minds of young people than this endless parade of "sanitized" opinions marching through this Reddit thread. In my view, bans and censorship don't actually help anyone understand those with different sexual orientations. On the contrary, real debate fosters healthy critical thinking. Just one instance where a hater realizes a gay kid deals with the exact same struggles as anyone else in the straight world—that's a massive step forward for this online community.

Speaking from experience, I have a tendency to fall hard. It usually starts with about a month of total, hysterical infatuation where I act completely irrational—like saying, "I’ll move into a shantytown with you right now, just as long as you love me." Then comes a few months of being stuck in that intense, crazy crush phase. After that, I hit denial. Suddenly, I’m telling myself I don't even like him, and the fact that I’m obsessively thinking about him feels totally irrelevant. Then comes the hatred phase. I curse his name and destroy everything that reminds me of him. Finally, it all ends in this blissful apathy. The whole cycle usually lasts about six months.😁Hang in there, sweetie.🤣🤣

blueotter70 said:What does the school system have to do with a kid deciding to swing a weapon and kill people using terrorist tactics? Schools can't do anything about it—they won't be able to do anything—as long as there are mentally unstable parents at home feeding him this stuff. But does that mean we should let him off the hook? Definitely not, because at sixteen, he knows exactly what he's doing... Also, we aren't even talking about America here—this little terrorist lived in Canada, not the US. He had a totally normal life in Canada (as much as possible given his sick family), yet he still chose terrorism. Maybe try actually looking into the situation before you start typing. First, you were drawing parallels between the Taliban and American veterans, and now you're showing you don't even know where the kid was living before he headed to Afghanistan.

Sure, I can correct those tiny little details that seem to bother you so much, but the bottom line remains: these "socially and morally" advanced countries that are so desperate to manipulate the rest of the world have totally broken social policies and zero solutions for their own problems, yet they want to run everyone else? It's ridiculous. I still believe we're looking at an unfortunate boy who grew up under the wrong ideology.

blueotter70 said:If he was old enough to trek into Afghanistan, old enough to handle detonators, old enough to plant mines, and old enough to buy into the Taliban's twisted worldview... then yeah, he’s old enough to face the consequences of his own terrorist actions. I don't feel bad for him—not even a little bit.

Honestly, if you just take a second to look around, you realize how easy it is to manipulate adults, let alone a sixteen-year-old. There are so many clear examples of this within Western society—and I won't even list them all. Just look at what the media does to kids, or how many broken homes have completely ruined their children. It’s nothing compared to an upbringing that is systematically designed toward terrorism. Personally? I’d put some blame on the American school system. If a kid spends years sitting in those classrooms and they never once notice his views or the obvious signs that he isn't functioning right in society, then they were clearly just indifferent.

blueotter70 said:That's not the same thing at all—honestly, that comparison just shows you haven't done your homework. I don't know if you're familiar with the background of the conflict in Afghanistan, but what this underage terrorist is doing doesn't even come close to comparing to what happened back home. In Afghanistan, we're dealing with the absolute worst kind of human scum calling themselves the Taliban... and those same guys seized power through pure bloodshed against the Afghan people. It looks like you haven't watched a single documentary on these monsters, so I'd highly suggest checking a few out. The Taliban are the ones who destroyed centuries-old statues in Bamiyan... they're the ones who slaughtered and liquidated any Afghans who wouldn't bow down to their hardline version of Islam. They even banned radio and TV in Afghanistan. These sick people turned football stadiums into execution arenas—places where women were killed for offending Islam, and men were hung naked from beams for the same reason. It wasn't until after September 11, 2001, that coalition forces led by Americans with the blessing of the UN finally kicked these killers and trash off the throne. So, I truly have no idea how you can draw parallels to the US. In Afghanistan, we have the globally notorious terrorist killers known as the Taliban, and an Afghan people trying to maintain whatever peace they can with the help of NATO forces. It's not just Americans fighting there—the whole civilized world has troops there, including the US. Those troops in Afghanistan fall under the protection of the UN and operate under one name: ISAF. This kid is just a terrorist killing NATO soldiers and Afghan forces, all so he can get back to slaughtering people across Afghanistan with his terrorist brothers. I don't feel a shred of sympathy for him... he's a terrorist, and he should be judged as one.

I never said I support terrorism or the Taliban, but I can't tolerate "blood for oil." As for the boy, hasn't it been enough that his parents essentially sucked his brain out? Now he has to endure abuse too? I think there should be a more educational and humane approach toward children caught up in war, regardless of which side they are on. I'm not comparing our situation to their war, but you have to realize how emotional people get about war and killing in their own country. Like I mentioned, I'm not being political; this is just my emotional reaction to the suffering of a child whose life is already ruined.

Paul Johnson5 said:Why on earth should being a minor be considered a mitigating factor in his case? 🤷 He didn't seem to care much about being a kid when he packed his bags and left Canada to head off to some remote corner of Afghanistan to join a terrorist camp. ☕

Isn't that just like when people arrived in America to defend their own country?
I’m honestly not entirely sure how to classify those terrorist camps. Don't get me wrong—I am definitely not out here promoting terrorism. But let's be realistic: the Afghans simply don't have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the US military in a conventional fight. Because they can't match that level of force, their struggle unfortunately ends up being tied to terrorist tactics. I just can't shake the feeling that there is so much more to the situation in Afghanistan or Iraq than just terrorism. Isn't it true that this endless, violent tug-of-war over natural resources is what's actually killing so many people?
As a pacifist, I truly want to believe that peacekeeping forces actually matter. I want to believe they can step in and secure peace for the people who need it most. But looking at history—from the tragedies in Rwanda to the wars we've faced here at home—it seems like a pattern is emerging. It feels like, ultimately, people are forced to fight their own battles to secure their own peace. If that's the case, then what are these detention centers like Guantanamo Bay? Are they anything more than just terrorism wrapped up in a different package?

redcyclist33 said:First of all—there is absolutely NO PROOF that he was throwing bombs...
Secondly, those recordings you're talking about simply don't exist...
Thirdly—even if he actually did drop those bombs, he was targeting a SOLDIER, so there is absolutely no way he can be labeled a "terrorist"...

Get a grip on what actually defines terrorism... The killing of civilians...And not killing American soldiers! ☕

I'm mostly on board here, but we need to be careful with our definitions. Sure, killing an American soldier outside of an active combat zone can definitely be classified as terrorism. But let’s look at the bigger picture: the U.S. started this war, and they are fighting it on foreign soil. Shouldn't that change how we view the situation? It feels especially wrong given that he was detained as a minor and his guilt hasn't even been proven in court. If Americans want to boast about being the world's greatest champions of democracy, shouldn't they actually act like it?

From my own experience, there isn't really a silver bullet. It just takes time and finding a new obsession to keep you going.🙂

What a total joke🤣