Atypical Presentation

I've Moved!!!

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:22:20 -0600

http://brittluck.wordpress.com/

I don’t like the functionality of tumblr at all! So I am packing up and moving. It is pretty bare over at my new place, but given time, I will look nicer.

As I get healthier, I want to start turning my focus on helping others more. I still have lots of bad days, but I am having more and more good ones! I am hoping to post more fitness tips, as well as keeping up new recipes that are good for your body AND your taste buds.

Thanks for following along! Add me to you feed!

See ya at the other place!

Great Start Shake

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:31:40 -0600

Take a challenge: make a green shake every day for a week!

In your blender, put:

1-2 cups almond milk

1 entire carrot

1-2 Tbsp milled flax seeds

1/2 -3/4 cups frozen kale or collard greens

1/2 - 1 cup frozen fruit (mixed berries are good, but I do all of frozen fruits)

(start with less of the greens and more of the fruits then wean yourself onto more veg)

Your insides will love you. I have posted this before, but wanted to again as the new year is here.

I am very frustrated with my blog. I want a blog where I can catalog my recipes. Hang in there with me as I try and change things up. In the meantime, make this!!!!!

The "right" decision!

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:28:00 -0600

I went to the doc this week for a follow up. All in all, I am improving very SLOWLY. He was very pleased that nothing new had popped up. He said that my white blood cell count is still below normal, which is a typical disease marker. Also, I still have a positive ANA. Again, just another marker that yes, I have a disease.

BUT…and here is the awesome news…nothing else in my bloodwork has taken a hit since going med free! No organ involvement! HUGE thing! If the diet was not controlling the health of my organs, I would have had to consider some meds.

He looked at me square in the eyes and said, “Do you hear what I am telling you? Brittany, you made the right decision! You did it! Keep going. As much as I enjoy seeing you, I don’t need to see you back here for 6 months!”

He REALLY emphasized that I need to find rest in life. He wants me to keep at the exercise because he feels it will help me with peace. But he paused and just looked at me and told me that stress of any sort will set me back.

Our family is already home a lot. It is by far our favorite place to be. Because of our diets, we don’t eat out all that much. I am not in any mom groups or Bible studies. Since we homeschool 3 days, you can often find us in pjs more days out the week than not. Because of the way we school, we do not have homework. So while our evening are full because of me teaching or the kids having activities, all in all, we are not rushing around.

We like it this way. I believe this has contributed to my healing, as well.

Sleep. Lots of it.

Good food. Lots of it.

Exercise. Lots of it.

And avoiding stress. It can’t always be helped. But for that reason, we often say no to extra things. We stay home from things a lot more often than we ever did. Please don’t be offended if we say no. :)

I felt led by God to do this. I do not take any credit. He has put the people in my life (Dr. Wickersham, Elisa Rodriguez, my FAMILY and friends) who have supported me and fed me and carried me through. We have not arrived at health, yet. But it is coming.

God is REAL. And oh how He loves us!

Turkey Day, with a vegan twist.

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 14:28:00 -0600

For Thanksgiving this year, our family will be eating the following. It will be all of us cooking, my parents, sister and fam, and us.

Turkey (prob fried by my dad) for the omnivores
Shitake mushroom and vegetable stuffing (gluten free) (http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Thanksgiving-Daphne-Oz-Mushroom-Vegetable-Stuffing)
Vegan mashed potatoes (using Earth Balance and almond milk)
Sweet potato, fresh cranberry and apple bake
Pomegranate, apple, and walnut with mixed greens salad
Pumpkin ice cream (vegan) and Gabi is making mint chocolate chip ice cream
Decadent chocolate pie (vegan). I posted this pie a long time ago. This tumblr blog doesn’t let me link back to that post, so I will copy and paste below.
Michelle will prob do a pumpkin or pecan pie or both?

And whatever else we throw in. I am blessed with a family who likes to eat healthfully. Though it is not your traditional meal, it is our way of pressing on toward health. And for some members of the family, it is simply kindness and sacrificing for me. :)

Here is the pie! Make it!!!

This, my friends, is a chocolate pie! And it is delicious. And check out the ingredient list…absolutely everything in it nourishes you!

Coconut Pie Crust

3/4 cups blanched almond flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

3/4 cups UNSWEETENED, shredded coconut, toasted (just put in toaster until slightly browned)

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted over very low heat

1 Tbl. agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, and coconut. In a med bowl, whisk coconut oil, agave, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the almond flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Press into a deep dish pie pan. Bake for 7-9 minutes and then let it cool completely before filling.

Chocolate Cream Filling
2 cans coconut milk

pinch sea salt

¼ cup arrowroot powder

½ cup agave nectar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 cups dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Bring coconut milk and salt to a boil in a medium pot. Sift arrowroot powder into the pot, whisk vigorously by hand or with a hand blender for 2 minutes. Whisk in agave and vanilla. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 minute. Add chocolate, stirring vigorously until completely melted. Chill in refrigerator for ½ hour until cool.

Fill the crust with the chocolate filling and cover and chill for at least an hour.

A time to fast.

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 09:40:00 -0600

Watching my family drive away to church without me led to tears. Tears of sadness that I am not with them having those conversations in the car. Tears of sadness for Lucky having to go places without his partner. Tears of guilt for not being with Daniella and Reid and spending so much time in bed.

I have been having constant stomach aches, total fatigue, headaches, face broken out, joint pain, etc… It is time I do something about it. So starting today, I am going on a juice/blending fast again. I honestly don’t know how long I will do it. It is not an ideal time for me. Mostly because I teach Body Pump and Boot Camp tomorrow. And oh, that big holiday THANKSGIVING is just 4 days away!

Yesterday I was angry. Angry that I am still sick all of the time. But I am not angry at God. I actually prefer times like this. Simply because I am more aware of my need for Him. When I am feeling okay, well, I don’t always feel I need Him for each breath. Right now, however, I am acutely aware of how I can’t do this alone. I rely on Him for so much more. This is how I should always be. I guess that is why Paul said that, …when he is weak, then he is strong. I wholeheartedly agree.

So this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all of the good things Lupus brings to my life. And I am hopeful that I will feel better soon.

I can’t ever decide when and what to post. I am getting better little by little. However,...

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:31:00 -0600

I can’t ever decide when and what to post. I am getting better little by little.

However, Lupus still sucks a lot of the life out of me. I maintain some normalcy through the week while I homeschool and teach classes. And I am able to attend more functions than I used to. But I spend most weeknights and weekends in bed. And this week I had a day where tears took over and I couldn’t get out of bed to homeschool. The kids are troopers. Luck is amazing.

Along with other symptoms, I am having an upset stomach every day. Really not sure why on that one, as I am eating such a limited diet. I think that it could be inflammation inside of me. I’ve been considering getting a more in depth food intolerance test. But frankly, I don’t want to! I don’t want any other foods taken away from me right now. We need to have it done for Daniella and Reid, as well. It isn’t covered by insurance. And that fact, along with a lack of desire to take anything else out, has my head stuck in the sand. At least I am admitting it, right? The first step is acknowledgement….

So besides a few things here and there, this weekend I was busy putting a giant dent in our bed. I am once again sad to constantly miss sweet time with the family, but so appreciative that I can take the time to let my body heal.

Christians and vegans.

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:12:00 -0600

My observations:

Christians don’t always respond well to vegans. There is an instant defense mechanism that seems to kick in whenever I tell one that we (Sometimes I, but for the most part, we) are eating vegan in the home. I tend to get the vibe that Christians feel that God intended for us to eat meat and therefore, this is NOT something they want to be a part of. Biblical references are always tossed out there.

Here is my personal place of reconciliation. Yes, God did provide quail for the Israelites in the wilderness. Yes, rabbinical law speaks clearly of how to handle animal foods. And yes, the New Testament speaks of slaughtering the fattened calf when the prodigal son returned home. And so many, many more examples. The Bible also clearly states that all foods are permissable.

So eating meat is not a spiritual problem. What my research has found is that the meat we eat now, the milk we drink, the eggs we cook with, etc…. have all been raised and fed very differently than what God intended. And THAT is the problem.

Cows used to eat grass and wander in fields. Now they are fed corn, which is toxic to them. But it fattens them. And they get stuck with hormones to further fatten them up. The same is true for all other animal products. From the fish we eat from “fish farms” to the cheese we buy at HEB. It has all been made “better” by our American way. Our gov’t so heavily supports the corn industry, there is no question why corn syrup is in everything. (And no, it is not just corn sugar. The process it goes through to make it in to high fructose corn sugar is so chemically laden, it is sad) There is also no question why our cows are fed corn. They were not meant to eat it. Go ahead, watch some of the food documentaries floating around out there. You will see! I am not making this stuff up! And if you want a list, start with Forks Over Knives. Then watch King Corn, Food, Inc, and SO many others!!

Well, there is my explanation. I DO believe God gave us animals to sustain us. But we were not meant to eat the portions we eat here in the US. We don’t consider it a meal unless something had a mama on the plate. And our animals were not meant to be fed and housed the way they are. I think that eating healthy animals in moderation is perfectly healthy! For our family, that means a few times a week. For me, none.

And THAT is how I, as a Christian, can swallow the fact that being vegan is contributing to the improvement of my disease, as well as many others.

And before you ask…yes, we still buy some animal products. The kids still love grilled cheese and egg in the holes. They like cheese on their pizza. When we are out to eat or at people’s houses, all 3 of the other Smiths eat whatever is served. But we don’t buy meat or cook it. And we don’t drink cow’s milk. We have completely switched to almond milk. The kids prob go for days eating vegan and don’t even know it. They are getting plenty of calories, plenty of protein, and LOTS of veggies, fruits, and nuts.

Please don’t judge us. I don’t judge you. Promise. And I never forget that no matter what I do or don’t do…I know who is in control. It is not my diet alone making me better. ;)

Thai soup success!

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:27:00 -0600

I looooooooove the tangy, coconutty soups filled with veggies that I have found at good Thai places. I think about them and long for those flavors. (most of them have chicken, but you can order them with veg stock and no chicken)

Don’t get me wrong. The first time I took a sip/bite, I was horrified by the clashing of flavors on my tongue. Heat, lime, sweet, OVERLOAD. And then I wanted another and another and another bite. I was hooked!

Today, I decided to not follow any recipes, to not even look any up. Instead, I went with my gut. If you are from Thailand or know authentic Thai cooking methods, please don’t judge! Just try it! I made the pot today and between my mom, hubs and myself, we ate the whole thing. So sad!

Thai Soup

1 Container organic (or not) veggie broth

1 onion, sliced into rings and cut into half

1 head cabbage, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

2 cans coconut milk

Gluten free soy sauce

4 limes

Cilantro, handful, chopped

Red pepper flakes, to taste (I like mine spicy)

Shitake mushrooms, sliced in to quarters

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Heat a soup pot on high with a small amount of the veg broth. Add the onions and “water saute” them for a few minutes. Then add the remaining broth and all of the cabbage and red pepper slices. Bring it all to a simmer, then turn the heat down just to maintain the simmer. Add the coconut milk, several shakes of soy sauce, the juice of 4 limes, the cilantro, red pepper flakes and mushrooms. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Then put the lid on that simmering pot of yummy and let it cook until the mushrooms look cooked.

You can literally add any vegetable you want here. I have had this soup with fresh tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and carrots. I would have used Bok Choy, but just used a regular head of cabbage b/c it is what I had on hand.

Holy cow, I love this soup!

Italian style yum.

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 19:23:56 -0500

My sweet friend, Melanie, sent me this book a while back along with another Vegan must have: The Veganomicon. I have loved having these books!

Here is the best pasta sauce! (I may even like it as much as my homemade marinara!)

Italian Style Pasta (Adapted from The Gluten Free Vegan)

1 tsp olive oil

1 large onion

¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers

¼ cup sundried tomatoes

5-6 cloves garlic

½ cup drained and chopped artichoke hearts

1 diced fresh tomatoes

1 cup washed spinach and chopped spinach (sub kale if you are eating high cruciferous)

¼ cup white wine

3 T chopped fresh basil

½ cup pine nuts

20 kalamata olives, coarsely chopped

Brown rice pasta, cooked (if gluten free)

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute’ until soft. (when cooking with less oil, like this recipe, if the veggies start to stick, keep a cup of water nearby and splash a bit in every so often). Add the red peppers, sundried tomatoes and garlic. Cook for a few minutes. Then add the spinach or kale and cook a bit longer. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until heated through. Season to taste with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

The beauty of this recipe is that I keep most of these ingredients in my fridge/freezer/pantry. I buy kalamatas, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and pine nuts in bulk from Costco. And there is no real cooking involved. Except for the onions, the rest is just heating. So cook your pasta while you throw this together and you have a healthy, vegan meal!

I served this to a friend who kept some sauce to top her vegan pizza and said it was fabulous. So heck, use it as a pizza sauce or whatever you want!

Meal Planning Monday!

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:55:46 -0500

Each week, Melanie Flinn from Nutritious Eats has a Meal Planning Monday. She posts her meals for the week and invites you to do the same. Here is her blog:

Nutritious Eats

What is has done for me:

1) I ALWAYS meal plan on the weekends and am much more organized throughout the week.

2) I have drastically cut down on my trips to HEB. If I get all of my evenings planned, I am ready for them and am not doing last minute shopping.

3) I am MUCH less likely to make unhealthy choices for the family when I have planned ahead and stick with it.

As Melanie says, you don’t need to impress on the site. Just simply lay out what you will be eating. It keeps you accountable and at the same time helps you to get new and great ideas! So come join us! You won’t regret it!

Here is mine for the week:

Sunday: we made eggrolls found here: http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=82 SO good! Vegan and yummy. I didn’t use any oil.
Monday: Gretchen cooks…yippee!!
Tuesday: Have a meeting where dinner is provided
Wednesday: Crock pot black beans, brown rice, guacamole
Thursday: Good ‘ole tostadas from leftover beans (on Romaine, no cheese for me)
Friday: Lucky still traveling…so may go out?

Have a healthy week!

Learning and relief.

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:55:00 -0500

This weekend was a test for me. We had a garage sale. These are typically stressful, exhausting, and LONG. So last week, I took the challenge upon myself to not let it be those things. Knowing that I was starting to come out of a flare scared me that this would send me back in. If you don’t yet know autoimmune diseases, know this: Stress = disease flare (gets worse for a week or two). So last week, I paced myself and went through our whole house and purged. It felt great. I still napped every day and did fun stuff with the kids (no school last week). Friday, we priced a few things, borrowed some tables, and called it quits at 8 pm. We relaxed and knew that whatever was supposed to sell, would. Sat morning, we pulled our unorganized junk out, had a sweet friend bring her much cuter junk, and sold until noon. I came in and layed down during the sale for a bit (nobody even knew!) because my body needed it. And at noon, we packed up the car and took everything to Goodwill. We didn’t make a ton of money, but we made some, we decluttered, and I learned how to have a garage sale without making myself sick! Yay! The relief is that this flare has settled! My fevers have finally gone away after 2 weeks of them being non stop. I am grateful and still resting and trying to care for myself so that it doesn’t happen again. (April, it was a blast doing that together! You are generous and sweet! Friends who came, thank you!! You are a blessing to me and you are all sweet for buying Gatorade and Rice Krispy treats from our kids)

Fever, go away!

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:58:08 -0500

Fever won’t let up, body aches, total and extreme exhaustion. This is one of the worst flares I can remember.

Also, my blood work came back with less than stellar reports. 5 of my blood irregularities worsened. My WBC count is too low. And other oddities. I am sure this is normal when you go off your meds. I am just ready for some of these natural remedies to work. I don’t pretend to enjoy kale for breakfast!

And yes, my doctor is monitoring me. I have a call in to him right now and am guessing I am going to need a small amount of prednisone to get this one to quit. I am also considering a juice fast since it did the trick last time.

These days are long and hard. And I am so grateful to sweet friends who check on me and help me out.

I asked God for strength to homeschool today. And He not only gave it to me, but allowed both of the kids’ workloads to be light enough that we can actually do it all without having to let the teachers know that I am not well. I HATE playing the “I am sick” card. Sometimes I have to. Not today :)

Had a bit of a stressful week. Sure enough, it send me in a flare. I am hoping it will go away...

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:27:58 -0500

Had a bit of a stressful week. Sure enough, it send me in a flare. I am hoping it will go away soon. On Friday, I started getting a fever and stayed in bed almost all day. Followed that up by today and tomorrow in bed with fever.

Still eating vegan. Still exercising. Still losing weight. Slowly, but surely! Hair falling out and face breaking out (always happens on flares).

But tomorrow is a new day! Hopefully I will wake up ready to take on a new week. Until then, yaaaaaawn. :)

How I am feeling.

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:42:36 -0500

For those of you who would like to know how this new diet is affecting me, I can tell you the following:

-I am NO worse than I was ON the meds. Yay! I am hoping it will only go up from here.

-I do have more symptoms like sores in my nose and hair loss and fever, BUT I have NO tummy pain! This has been a life of tummy pain that I am out of for the first time EVER.

-I think it may be working! I have moments of normalcy now and then. And it feels fabulous! I still nap for hours at a time (I am not a natural napper) and my body aches regularly. BUT there are actually times where I feel totally normal!!!!

This is great news! By the way, have you watched Forks Over Knives? If not, do so. You will have a greater understanding of the “why” behind the madness! Don’t worry, it won’t show bloody cows or disgusting chicken fat! Just a great documentary I think everyone should see.

Thanks for checking in and caring!

Healthy and Fabulous Tacos! (Shhhh, they are vegan!)

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:57:00 -0500

Today, dinner was a huge success! I was really skeptical that I could pull this one off. My kids know that every dish I put in front of them these days is somehow a vegetable….either in disguise or straight up. One cares, the other doesn’t. My picky one takes a microscope out, it seems! And she is the one who first said the meat was great! Yes, she thought it was taco MEAT! And the best part, this was an inexpensive, easy meal that I made in under 30 minutes.

I took 2 recipes and put them together for these fabulous tacos. Thank you Gretchen and Kate! You are both fabulous cooks and I love using your great ideas! You can even make these for carnivores! They are full of good protein between the quinoa and black beans and there is nothing from a packet in sight. SO good!

Black Bean and Quinoa Tacos

½ cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced through press

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup of quinoa

1 T chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

8 oz can tomato sauce

Taco shells or Romaine lettuce to make wraps

Taco garnishes of your choice

Bring quinoa and water to a boil in 2 cups of water. Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Meanwhile….

Sautee onion and garlic in a pan. You can add a little water for moisture of use a little oil. I did mine dry and they were fine. Cook over medium heat. Once the onions are translucent, add in the drained and rinsed beans. Add all of the spices and the tomato sauce. Stir and cook while the quinoa cooks. Lower the heat when the mixtures has lost most of it’s moisture. (I used a non stick pan. I usually steer clear of non stick b/c…I just do…, but thought it would be helpful tonight while avoiding oil)

Once your quinoa is cooked, add a cup or two to your beans. Continue cooking until the entire pan is heated through.

Stir and taste…. taco meat!!!

Here is my harder to please eater eating her LAST bite of the taco!

And here is the eats-almost-anything one. After he finished his taco, he asked for a bowl of just meat. For realz. (he likes being cozy… can you tell by the fact that he is ALWAYS in his undershirt. I promise we make him wear clothes in public!)

Now, we all know I can’t have corn and must have cruciferous veggies at every meal. So here is my version. I made a slaw with no oil or sugar and it was a perfect accompaniment. If you have not been here: http://www.nutritiouseats.com/ you should. I got my slaw recipe that I adapted, along with many other recipes. My favorite blog out there for recipes!

Someday I will have a fancy camera! Until then, enjoy the dark pictures :)

Try a vegan meal today! You will be amazed at how good food can taste!

And like I say…if I am attempting to reverse a disease this this diet, could you be preventing one??? Food for thought!

(note, the family had cheese on theirs….just mine was totally vegan)

The shake blues.

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:18:58 -0500

So sometimes I am all gung ho on those shakes of mine! I have now managed to get to the 3:1 ratio of veg to fruit, on the recommendation of Elisa at http://www.eaturveggies.com. Yay, me!

And then today, I woke up and wanted NOTHING to do with those dang shakes! I am tired of kale and collard greens for breakfast! One kidlet was having cereal with bananas in it and the other was having buttered gluten free toast with a banana on the side. Their food smelled FABULOUS! And, I wanted COFFEE! I made it through, drank my shake and had my water like a good girl :).

It is now lunch time. And I don’t want to go downstairs and face it. I want something tasty. And it is all because I have eaten out more this week. (thank you, Elisa, again, for teaching me!) My taste buds are starting to want more oil, more salt, more FOOD! They don’t like being tempted by what is out there.

But I am gonna pull up my big girl pants and see the next meal and the next and the next after that as my medicine. And I am not going to complain any more. I am blessed to have beautiful food to eat!

So broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc…bring it ON!

(ps…I have neither craved nor had chocolate in MONTHS. Can you believe THAT one?!?!?)

My doc ROCKS!

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:52:00 -0500

For real. People constantly say things about doctors not being on board with natural remedies. Well, mine is defying the odds!

I went in today, the first time seeing him since going off of my meds, fully expecting him to make some sort of medical recommendation. He didn’t! He was happy with where I am. He wanted me to keep at it. He asked specifically what foods I was avoiding and was happy to see that corn was on the list of no’s for me. (this was before he knew I was allergic to corn) He likes that I am completely off of gluten. And we had a great discussion about what animals eat (CORN!) and why that can be so bad for us and, specifically, me.

He recommended I start taking Tumeric (not just plain ‘ole, but a specialized form which is basically wrapped in a fat molecule so it is delivered directly to where it needs to be absorbed). He also wants me on algea oil. Gave me the number of Omega 3’s he wants and explained the science behind it and that was that.

He said he would be happy for more of his patients to be like this but that the majority are just not interested. And he said that he expects to see good results. I think his main reasoning was that patients who actively seek alternatives and take steps to improve their condition, do!

He doesn’t like that I had fever for a week and a half and that my hair is falling out like CRAZY again. These are things that have not happened since my disease was extremely active. So he wants to see if these supplements knock some of that out. And he took blood to see what is happening inside of me. If my body is showing that some of my markers are getting worse, we will stay the course for the next few months and then reevaluate. He wants to give this time to really work.

On a side note, I got stung under my arm by a bee in the Costco parking lot! We were loading the car and I felt it and asked Lucky what on EARTH was dangling from my arm (it was right on the inside of my arm near my triceps). He pulled the stinger out. It hurt, but whatever. Just pain. HOWEVER, over the last few days it has been SO bothersome! My arm is still so swollen and red (2 1/2 days later). I held my arm up to my doc today and said, “So, I guess it is normal when you have an autoimmune disease to have a reaction like this to a bee sting?” He said, “No! THAT is an allergic reaction to a bee sting! Do you have an epi pen?” I don’t and should since I have had anaphylactic shock before. So by tomorrow I will have one. They have never tested for bees b/c I have never been stung. For some reason, you can’t test for them until you have. And you just never know when you will get a bad enough sting for a bad reaction.

I have had a few good days, mixed in with some hard ones. But that flare has ended and I am trying to nap a lot and avoid stress (ha!!!) as much as possible. And my dietitian, Elisa Rodriguez at http://www.eaturveggies.com, has been absolutely invaluable! Please go visit her if you are considering this lifestyle change. She has me doing things I never thought I could!

Glad to give a positive report! I am now off to bed to get that good stuff called SLEEP!

$10 for $20 to Spend at Whole Foods Market

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:18:12 -0500

$10 for $20 to Spend at Whole Foods Market

Pie!

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:58:00 -0500

To celebrate the completion of my first successful juice fast, Luck and I made a pie. Gretchen had shared the website and recipe that she found online. It seemed like just the right thing to make.
I was veeeeery skeptical what the kids would think. A pie with no added sugar? No flour? No butter or oil?
The only thing that bothers me about this pie is the canned mandarin oranges. Sure, I got the ones in pear juice, not sugar. But still, canned fruit doesn’t count as fruit in my book. But I went ahead and used them.
Even though my photography skills are lacking, it was a beautiful pie!

Here is the recipe:

Fruit Pie With Date-Nut Crust {vegan, gluten-free, raw}

Adapted from: http://amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com/

Ingredients for Crust:
1 cup dates (I prob used more)

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup cashews

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cinnamon

Ingredients for Filling:
2-3 bananas, sliced lengthwise

4 ounces strawberries, sliced

6 or 7 frozen whole strawberries, blended into a puree

4 ounces raspberries

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

Blend the crust ingredients together in a food processor to acheive a sticky consistency. Press the blended crust ingredients into a pie pan. Lay the bananas on top of the crust and press along the sides. Place the strawberry slices on top of the bananas. Pour the strawberry puree over the strawberries and bananas, and press into the gaps. Place the raspberries and mandarin oranges on top of the pie. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer before serving.

It was over the top good! We all LOVED it! Kids begged for seconds. It could not have gone over better. The only thing I wish is that I had more!!!
Happy, healthy eating!

Liquids!

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 19:53:24 -0500

Liquids, liquids, and more liquids!

I am SO ready to chew something! It is not that I am all that hungry. I just want to chew!!

Each day has looked like this:

Breakfast: Juice, that I juice myself…of any of the following: apple, beets, pear, orange, cucumber, carrots, etc… (prob a cup and a half of juice)

Lunch: Blended Kale or bok choy with carrots and tomatoes or fruits.

Snack: Another juice.

Dinner: An avocado blended with either pineapple or mango or banana

Snack: banana pureed

The smell of food has satisfied me when I feel hungry. All of the foods have been raw. And by blending or juicing I am predigesting, in a way, everything. Giving my body the instant nutrients and allowing it to focus it’s energy on healing.

I took a 2 1/2 hour nap today. That is what happens when your body is healing and doesn’t have a lot of extra calories, I guess.

The good news: I have not had fever since the juice fast began. First time in a few weeks to not have fever. So even though lots of doctors advise against fasts…I can tell you that this one did good! And it is not even a water fast or a complete juice fast! My other symptoms are still here.

I worry about eating again tomorrow and what it will do to my symptoms. But I am really excited about food!! My sweet friend, Kate, made tomato soup for her family (vegan with low salt and oil) and brought me some. I am SO excited because I will definitely be having that for breakfast (with some kale in it, of course….gotta have crucifers!).

Right now I am trying to meal plan for the week. It is challenging knowing what to feed the family in the midst of this. Lucky actually wants to eat like me. He is not wanting to be a vegan, but he feels like he gets plenty of meat outside of our dinner time. When we go out to eat or when he packs his lunches, meat is involved. Same with the kids. They get plenty. So dinner time is a way for me to introduce foods that nourish ALL of our bodies and make us all healthier. Don’t get me wrong, I made meatloaf for the family last week. But I also made a vegan black bean soup one night. Just trying to wade my through this new world….