Last night I cooked up some Amaranth for dinner.  I haven’t had it in YEARS but I do remember really liking it.  I took some pictures to show y’all what it looks like since most people have never had it.

It’s very nutty tasting to me and has a crunch-ier texture than most grains.  I made it with some chicken stock and then topped it with a little butter/olive oil mix.  ‘Twas delicious. I have to warn you though that it does come out looking very much like it went IN-so don’t be shocked.

Lu LOVED it and ate a good 2 cups of it. I tried to get a picture of her amaranth covered self but it’s so small that you can’t really see it.

Last night Shaun had to work late so I was in bed by 8:30 and fast asleep by 9.  We didn’t set the alarm and we both woke up around 7:15.  It felt glorious!

The sun is shining today and I took the opportunity to wear my flippies.

One of my co-workers gave me shit for my shoe attire but I told him that I didn’t care.  It was flip flop weather!  And hey, I have co-workers who wear their bike shorts all day with NO shoes so I think my flippies are A-OK.

What’s appropriate attire where you work?

Me to my doctor:

Hi My Doctor,

Ever since I started the new program I have been extremely tired.  At first I attributed it to the head cold that I had but 3+ weeks later I don’t think I can attribute it to that.  I used to get up every morning at 5:30 to go work out and now I can’t get out of bed.  I’ve been making sure to get between 7-8 hours of sleep and I’m still extremely tired.

My hypothesis is that my body is busy healing itself but I have no clue.  I know it’s not good to NOT exercise so I have been trying to get out for walks and things but my early morning exercise is not happening.  Is this normal?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Chelsea

My doctor back to me:

Hi Chelsea-

Sometimes that does happen when the body is needing more time of rest to help repair. Try getting a little more sleep if possible for the next week and see how you feel. More like 8.5 – 9 hours. I will also take a look at your chart and see if anything else comes to mind.

Your Doctor

This exhaustion meets or even exceeds what I felt in my first trimester-that’s saying A LOT.  BOO.

To end this post on a positive note.  My Mom sent me this:

I’m excited! Now excuse me while I go take a nap.

I’m not feeling particularly chatty today but I thought y’all might enjoy this.  I put together a white bean chili today using this:

Plus the beans, onions, 2 chicken breasts, and chicken broth.  While I was preparing it I was planning what I was wearing to a business dinner tonight.  Yes you read right.  I was planning my outfit for a dinner tonight while making dinner for tonight.

Good thing Lu, Auntie Laina and Uncle Richard will enjoy this!

I also picked up some daffodils yesterday. COME ON SPRING!

And lastly, our friend John came over last night.  He was here for an interview from DC.  He hadn’t met Lu yet so he brought her a present. Here’s an awful picture of it.

How sweet of him?  We had a blast with him last night.  WE MISS JOHN!

I made the boys (2 friends came over with John) 2 pans of Pizza Bombs!  They were a huge hit! YAY Pizza Bombs!

Pizza Bombs! and beer seemed to be a hit with boys!

I ended up having leftovers since my planned food added too much stress to my night.  The tomato-less Mexican Pasta was just as good the second day.

My magic sleep number used to be 7 hours.  It’s now jumped to 8.  I’ve been working under the assumption that I need 7 hours and for the last 2 weeks I haven’t made it to the gym because the alarm goes off after 7 hours and I can’t get out of bed. Maybe my body is focusing on healing itself and needs more sleep?  I don’t know. All I know is that 8 hours seems to be the magic number.  To get up at 5:30 that means going to bed at 9:30 and starting the process to get ready for bed at 9.  That won’t be happening tonight since I have a friend visiting from DC but from here on out, it’s a 9:30 bedtime for me!

I am going to go on a walk at lunch today.  Heather wrote a great post about walking last week and it makes me want to walk more.  So I shall!

Lots of social stuff this weekend plus a teething baby.  Lu’s getting her 2-year old molars (at least we think that’s the problem) and she was whiney, clingy, and just not herself this weekend.  Saturday was a housewarming/birthday party that I “made” cookies for. I only made them if you consider putting pre-made dough on a cookie sheet in the oven.

They are Immaculate Bakery which uses all organic and natural ingredients.  Nothing unpronounceable on the the package.

That was followed by a trek up to the city to have dinner with my childhood neighbors.  It was so fun to see them!  LOVE FACEBOOK for bringing us back together.

Sunday, I met up with Jill for some Thai food and Yogurtuille.  VERY preggers Jill was in LOVE with Yogurtouille.

Here’s mine:

Just fruit and roasted almonds.

Here’s Jill’s:

Vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter pieces, brownies, peanut M&Ms and chocolate sauce, I believe.

Here’s us:

The great thing about Yogurtouille is that it’s completely self-serve.  You pay by the ounce ($0.35/oz) and you get whatever you want.

Jill brought me some loose leaf tea that she packaged in tea bags.

Which I’m enjoying right now

Jill will be full term (37 weeks) on Wednesday and she looks FANTASTIC.  I think she’s having a boy but that probably means she’s having a girl.  I’ve only ever been right with my sister, so I’m 1 for like 100.  Not very good odds.  We had a blast and I can’t wait to meet her little babe! Yay internet friends!!!!

Last night I made tomato-less, corn and gluten-free Mexican Pasta. I replaced the tomatoes with 2 cans of chopped chilies and I added some jalapeños to both mine and Shaun’s for some kick.

It was DELICIOUS.  Shaun and LU agreed.  THIS is the type of dish for GF pasta.  You couldn’t even tell a difference. YOM.

Now, I’m enjoying the aforementioned tea:

And some oats with flax and maple syrup.

Now it’s time to work.

What’s your magic sleep number?

1. Stop putting myself down.  Treat me like I would want others to treat Lucy. I was doing great at this and then lately I’ve been slipping up.  This needs to go on the top of my priority list NOW.

2. Eat something green every day. Check!

3. Eat 2 servings of fruit every day. Check!

4. Completely cut out dairy. Check!

5. Get back on my bike. Rain, Rain, GO AWAY. Cold and wind too.

6. Do something only for me 1 hour each week. Check! Girls lunch today.

7. Do something with Shaun that doesn’t include me sitting on the computer and him on the XBox or us watching TV for 1 hour each week. Check!

8. Dress nicely, including putting on make-up, at least 3 times a week. Check!

9. Clean out Lucy’s drawers. This will be happening very soon.

10. Clean out and organize the filing cabinet. This too will be happening very soon.

11. Complete Lucy’s birth book. Have some more to do.

12. Become a faster walker. If you can speed train for running, you can sure as hell do it for walking. Check!

13. Send out thank you notes in a more timely fashion and to everyone that deserves one. Fail.  I start over on this one.  I may send out emails this week for Christmas.  I’m tired of feeling guilt over it.

14. Feed myself healthy food and exercise, trust myself. Exercise needs to become a priority.  Healthy eating is going very well.

15. Save my personal money for a new wardrobe. Check! Up to over $600

16. Be on top of my budget and update Quicken every 2 weeks. Check!

17. Severely limit my computer and phone time when I’m with Lucy.  On weekdays, I should never use them when she’s awake and on weekends, I should use them sparingly when she’s awake. Check!

18. Get the bird out 4 times a week. I suck at this.  I’m getting her out tonight. I wish Shaun could get her out-we’d be much better at this.  She tried to bite his head off though

19. To appease my husband, never let the gas tank get below 1/2 a tank. Check!

20. Improve on my photography. Working on it.

And, the original 10 in 2010:

1. Take time out every day to simply enjoy my daughter. Check!

2. Try not to look too far forward or lament the past.  Check!

3. Drink more water-at least 80 ounces per day. Check!

4. Use my juicer A LOT. I think it gets to make a return in a month!

5. Go to the gym more often than not. Grrr…going tomorrow.

6. Floss EVERY day. Check!

8. Run to the top of Waterdog Lake Road, while pushing Lucy, without stopping and back. Check!

9. Post at least 365 times in 2010.  I can post 3 times a day or skip a day but I want my average to be 1 post per day. Working on it.

10. Fold my laundry by Sunday night. This is hit and miss.

I’m a work in progress that’s for sure!!!

I almost forgot to do this this month.  What is wrong with me?!?!

I forgot that today was Lucy’s first swim lesson of the season.  Major fail.

She probably shouldn’t have gone since she had a fever yesterday but I would have liked to have made that decision before the fact not after.

Note to self-buy swim diapers.

I’ll miss you…

I had my doctors appointment yesterday and it’s official-I’m allergic to gluten.  I DID test negative for Celiac but I tested positive for Gluten Intolerance.  Here’s a great site that describes the difference.

From the above mentioned site:

Gluten intolerance is a broad term which includes all kinds of sensitivity to Gluten. A small proportion of Gluten intolerant people will test positive to Celiac Disease test, and so are called Celiacs (~0.5% of the population).
But most Gluten sensitive people return negative or inconclusive results upon Celiac testing. The correct term for these people is Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitive (NCGS) and may be as many as ~15% of all people or 1 in 7.

People who are not Gluten Intolerant usually have Gliadin antibody count of 0-13.  Mine is 43.

Yeah, so no more Gluten.  French bread, sourdough bread, spelt, traditional pasta-farewell.  I’ll miss you!

The tests also found a lot of different bacteria in my intestines.  The doctor said that this is to be expected given my GI issues.  Also my Intestinal SIgA (shows if your intestines are inflamed) was 90.  Normal is 400-800, low is <400.  The diet I’m on now will help with this as will the additional supplements she gave me yesterday.  As if what I showed you yesterday wasn’t enough, I get to take this twice a day:

Yep, 12 more capsules for the next 6 weeks.  I’m okay with this-it’s going to get me better!  I’m just so glad to have answers!  I can’t even tell you.  And? I’m NOT allergic to dairy, eggs, or soy.  The doctor wants me to stay on this diet (that cuts out dairy) for another month at least and then we can try adding in some dairy to see how I do.

The basic explanation for my systems is that I’m allergic to gluten and it’s causing some severe inflammation in my intestines which is basically making my intestines shut down.  The test was able to confirm that my stool had been in my intestines for longer than 96 hours.  Isn’t that lovely?

Like I said-I’m so happy that I know the issue and that we can deal with it.

Now that I’ve completely disgusted you, don’t you want to see my food? HA!

Last night I did make a pretty spectacular dinner.

I marinated the chicken in a Tandoori mix from Whole Foods for 48 hours and then grilled it until it reached 170*.  On the side I mixed kale, chard, and spinach which I sautéed with coconut milk, a bit of Braggs, and cracked pepper and some rice.  Both Shaun and Lu loved the chicken and the rice and didn’t love the “green stuff”.  I thought it was delicious

Speaking of Lu we’re home today.  She’s got a 102* temp but she’s acting fine? I don’t get it.  She’s dancing right now and giggling but her temp is up so we’re home.

Did you see that I posted the Japanese Chicken recipe from Sunday night?

Do you have any allergies?  Do you ever stop yearning for that food?

I found the original recipe on recipezaar by searching for “chicken” and then sorting by rating to get the top rated chicken recipes. It’s the fourth one down with almost 700 ratings.

I’ve changed it up a bit to make it gluten and refined sugar free.

Ingredients:

-8 chicken drumsticks, skin on (you can do any cut of meat and you can take off the skin-the skin does make it taste amazing though)
-1 cup water
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/3 cup Braggs Amino
-2 TBSP honey
-4 garlic cloves-peeled and bruised (just smush it under a knife)
-1 jalapeño, seeds removed

Instructions:

-Put all ingredients in a pan over high heat. 

-Once it starts to boil, reduce it to a  a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered-turning frequently.

-Remove any scum that rises-scum has never risen for me but just in case!

-Increase heat to medium/high and boil until sauce is thick.  Remember to turn chicken frequently.  This takes a good 20 minutes.

-Serve over rice and ENJOY!

Serves 4

Shaun LOVES this meal and give it a 5.  Lu loved it too.  I had to remove the skin and I wish I would have removed the skin BEFORE I cooked it so that the meat could soak up all the yummy sauce.

Look at Lucy this morning!

Many of you have asked in the comments how everything is going and how I’m feeling.  (If you missed it, here’s the new healthy living plan that my naturopathic doctor put me on-and why I’m on it.)

I am feeling so much better.  I can’t even tell you.  My GI distress has vanished.  I am the most regular that I have ever been in my entire life.  Granted, it’s only been 2 weeks but the improvement is HUGE.  I’m also sleeping much better and I’m much less moody. 

I just started my period two days ago and usually I have a day or two where I would say that I am extremely depressed-like scary depressed.  I didn’t get that this month.  My cramps were also much better.  It’s amazing. 

Still, it’s only been 2 weeks but I am VERY encouraged.  I have been doing EVERYTHING that is laid out.  The sock treatment was only for my head cold so I don’t do that everyday but everything else is done pretty much everyday.  At first I didn’t think the skin brushing was doing anything but now I feel much better after I do it.  That could totally be my mind playing tricks with me, but if it is, oh well-it’s WORKING!

I go in today for acupuncture and I’m hopeful that my test results are back. The lab charged me, so I’m think that that means that my results are done.  The results will tell if I have a parasite and if I’m actually allergic to milk, soy, gluten, and/or eggs. We shall see!

I thought it may be interesting for you all to see what my supplement look like and how I take them.

Day 1-14 of my cycle, here’s what I take in the morning:

Days 15-menses just take away the fish oil (EFA Liquid) and add a bottle of Evening Primrose Oil.

First I star with the magnelevures-that little packet thingy up there.  I take half in the morning and half at night.  I mix it with 1-2 ounces of warm water.

With that I take my vitamin D:

Day 15-menses, I take the vitamin D AND the 3 capsules of Evening Primrose Oil:

Then twice a day, with food (breakfast and dinner), I take 1/2 tsp of probiotics:

In the morning, I also take a TBSP of vitamin B:

It’s not quite as gross as it looks, but it’s still pretty gross.

Also in the morning, from day 1-14 of my cycle I take the fish oil:

The icky aftertaste stayed with me for a looooong time yesterday but today I ate immediately after taking it, instead of before and there’s no aftertaste-YAY!

Finally, at night, I take 3 capsules of Biotone EFAs at bedtime:

Additionally, I drink 2 tsp of apple cidar vinegar mixed with 6-8 ounces of water before lunch and dinner-this is gross, I won’t lie.  But I AM getting used to it.  I also make sure to have 2 TBSP of fresh ground flax everyday during days 1-14 of my cycle and then either fresh ground sesame or fresh ground sunflower seeds day 15-menses.

Those are my supplements!  And?  I did that all from memory.  It has definitely already become a routine and it’s not too bad.  It may look like a lot but it’s really not.

This morning I made a ROCKING bowl of pumpkin oats!

-1/3 cup of GF oats, unsweetened almond milk, water, and pumpkin
-Cooked with Vietnamese cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  (I need to pick up some vanilla! It was sorely missed)
-I mixed in about a TBSP of maple syrup at the end
-Topped with coconut, pecans, flax, and pecan butter

It was really good!  I know it’s chock full of calories but I’ve been eating really small breakfasts lately (a piece of GF bread toasted with pecan butter and jam) and it caught up with me last night.  I was super snacky so I decided to flip my calories on their head (where they should be) and I had a huge breakfast.  I’m F-U-L-L.

I’ll leave you how I started-with the cutest kid on the planet!