That was my old screenname back in the AOL days.  I thought of it because last night was all about chickpeas!  I had never made beans before and I just eyeballed it this weekend.  I ended up with massive amounts of chickpeas.  Not wanting to waste them I:

Roasted them.

Which Lucy LOVED.

I got them ready to store in the freezer.

I peeled them to make hummus.

That brown thing is a lentil.

I made cilantro jalapeño hummus.

Trader Joes used to have this flavor and I LOVED it but they stopped carrying it.  This is a good approximation but it’s not perfect.  When the recipe is perfected, I promise to share.

I also ate some chickpeas!

That’s spinach with refried beans, chicken and pepper fajitas, avocado, roasted chickpeas, and hot sauce.  I missed salsa but not too much.  It was still DELISH.  I wonder if I can have tomatillo salsa?  Something to ask the doctor.

That’s a lot of chickpeas!  Wouldn’t you say?

I also found a perfect sweet treat (after attempting hot cocoa with stevia, unsweetened almond milk and cocoa powder-it tasted like ass).

Honeydew!

Seriously delicious.  Thank you all for your suggestions.  I will definitely be using some of them.  It sucks that I can’t do banana or dates or citrus-boo.  There’s always honeydew!

Also, yesterday Monica asked about the skin brushing.  I’ve been doing it.  I have no clue what it’s doing.  Well I just looked it up and it’s supposed to help with detoxifying which I do remember my doctor talking about.  I haven’t noticed any immediate changes but I don’t think anything I’m doing is going to be immediate.  I will say though that I feel a lot better this week (even though I’m still fighting this head cold) and many of my GI issues are incredibly better.  I can’t believe the difference BUT I’m not getting too excited because it could totally be placebo effect.  Only time will tell.

Lastly, I’ve been thinking of going back to my old format of just doing a morning post and then posting at night if I have a good recipe or something interesting to share. Which is basically what I just did. To be quite frank, it’s boring to take a picture of all your food and if it’s boring for me, I’m sure it’s boring for you. I did take a picture of my toast this morning but it looks just like my toast from yesterday morning.  Not very exciting.  Thoughts?

Shaun’s home sick-poor dude.  He had to go to work at 11:30 last night and didn’t get home until 12:40.  He woke up this morning feeling pretty bad.  It looks and sounds like he has what I had last week.  I foresee lots and lots of sleeping on the couch, Peggle playing, and TV watching in his future.  I always find it funny that his sickness is so much worse than mine.  I think boys are just big babies 😉

I got up this morning to go to Bootcamp.  Beforehand I toasted some gluten free bread with fruit sweetened blackberry jam and raw pecan butter.

It was really good.  Rich tasting.  I could have sworn that there was butter in this bread, but nope, no butter.  It is sort of calorie dense with 110 calories per slice and it’s pretty small.

I do not have big hands.

You know it’s been awhile since you’ve washed your whites when your gym socks look like this:

Meh, they worked.

Boot camp was pretty good.  I felt like it was aerobics more than boot camp but whatever.  I had my heart rate strap ON but I forgot my watch. Doh. It would have been cool to compare my heart rate from today’s class to yesterday’s spin class.  It wouldn’t have been as high but maybe pretty close.

After class I put 1/4 cup gluten free oats, 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/4 cup water, a dash of cinnamon, and vanilla in the microwave for 2 minutes.  It exploded and then had to be zapped for another 30 seconds and then covered for 2 minutes.  I think making it in the pan would actually be faster and have less clean up in the long run. I mixed in about 2 tsp of maple syrup and then topped it with some chopped cashews, coconut butter, and strawberries.

That’s my bowl after I cleaned it up. Ick.  I didn’t eat all of this because Lu woke up and wanted some of Mommy’s breakfast.  I’d say she ate about a fourth of it.  Sharing breakfast was really sweet and such a great moment.  I went into her room after she woke up and she stood in the crib while I ate my oats and we shared.  She loves to hang out in her crib in the morning for a bit so this was perfect.

Lastly, two follow-ups on yesterday’s posts.  First, did you notice how many things I made for dinner?  It was a lot-meatloaf (one for me with no ketchup, one for Shaun and Lu with ketchup), green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, cauliflower, and rice.  Last night was Shaun’s night to do the dishes and look what I did to my poor husband:

That’s ALL from last night.  I try to be much better about this but last night was a big fail in the dishes department.  I think dinner was worth it though 🙂

And finally, MANY of you commented on the canisters that I got this weekend.  I got them at Target for $3 a pop.  That’s much better than the $10 a pop that Bed, Bath, and Beyond wanted to charge me.  They’re glass and the lid has rubber in it to form a good seal.  I think $3 is a steal!

Four days in and I think it’s going well.  For dinner tonight I modified my meatloaf recipe to make it gluten free and it was a success!  I’ll get to that but first the rest of today’s eats.

For snack I had some almonds and cashews and 2 kiwis.

Here was my YUMMY lunch:

A bed of lettuce with great northern beans, chicken from the other night, roasted beets, and broccoli. YOM.  Someone in the kitchen even commented on how good my lunch looked.  It tasted better. 

This afternoon I finished up my nuts and had some strawberries too.

On the way home from work I stopped at the grocery store because I forgot to get creamed corn for Shaun for his potatoes.  He LOVES creamed corn on meatloaf night and I couldn’t disappoint.  Guess what I found?

Hello breakfast!  The lady at the bakery said that they have gluten free pies where they use garbanzo beans for the crust!  I see some experimentation in my future 🙂

Our nightly schedule is pretty packed.  I get home around 5:45 and have to have dinner on the table by 6:30.  Lu is really scheduled (both Shaun and I are too-it must run in the family) and she gets VERY hungry at 6:30 and VERY tired at 7.  Tonight was even more jammed packed because I had to give her a bath.  Shaun’s job while I rush to get dinner done is to entertain Lu.  Tonight they had a blast with a raw green bean.

I’m one lucky chick 🙂

As I mentioned above I made meatloaf gluten free tonight.  I used ~3/4 cup cooked quinoa instead of crackers, Braggs instead of Worchetershire Sauce (yes it has gluten), I also added some grated garlic.  I grated the onion and garlic and then mixed everything else in my food processor-it worked great.  The meatloaf turned out wonderfully.  For mine I left off the ketchup.

I made some red rice (which tasted like spelt), steamed cauliflower, and green beans sautéed in some coconut oil.  This dinner was awesome.  Shaun made numerous comments about how good it was-he and Lu both got mashed potatoes (thank you frozen section at Trader Joes) and the aforementioned creamed corn-no rice.  He told Lu about 4 times that she was lucky to have such a good cook for a Mom.  So contrary to popular belief meatloaf can be GOOD.

For dessert I tried Mochi again-this time with some preserves, pecan butter, and unsweetened coconut.

Meh.  I’m still on the search for a god “dessert” that doesn’t have sweetener of any kind.

Yesterday was my first full day of following all of my doctor’s orders.  I had to hold off on any supplements until my test for parasites was done.  I finished it yesterday and started the full program.  It’s not that bad.  There’s a lot to remember but I was expecting to be taking some nasty tasting stuff (fish oil doesn’t happen for 2 weeks).  The liquid B vitamin is pretty gross but other than that, not too bad.  I did write it all out in a scheduled way so that I could insure that I wouldn’t forget anything.

I’m going to make a copy for work.  That way I’ll have one here and one at home.  All I really have to remember at work is the Apple Cider Vinegar (which actually is also pretty gross) and what seeds when (depending on my cycle).  I also wrote when to take everything on the bottles so I figure that’ll help as well.

The biggest hassle? My bedtime routine.  It takes a good 20-30 minutes now (not including the Castor Oil Pack) BUT I will say that it’s entirely relaxing and nice.  The “warming socks treatment” where I soak my feet in hot water for 5 minutes and then put wet cold cotton socks on followed by dry wool socks, is like a natural sleeping pill for me.  I only HAVE to do it until my congestion goes away but I may continue to do it because it makes me so sleepy.  I’m usually one of those people who CAN’T fall asleep.  It takes me a good 45 minutes to an hour on a normal night to fall asleep.  This has me out in about 5 minutes tops.

With all the new nuts and seeds I decided to do a little decorating :)  I really don’t like those bulk bags sitting in my cupboards and I usually forget what’s in them.  I went to Target and got some canisters.  Look how pretty!

It’s the little things, right?

This morning I got up for spin and I took all the supplements that don’t taste gross and had some oatmeal.

Sorry about the shadow-it was 5:40! I first attempted overnight oats and then I realized that cooking my oats would probably be more gentle on my system.  Since it’s all about gentle right now, I put them in the microwave for 2 minutes.  In the bowl-1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/3 cup water, 2 TBSP sunflower seeds ground up, and 3 strawberries.  I ate half before spin and half after.  It was definitely missing sweet.  My dietary guidelines state that I should use sweeteners (like maple syrup) occasionally.  I doubt every morning=occasionally. I’m emailing to find out.  I still need to brainstorm breakfast options.  I’m not supposed to do almond milk unless it’s cooked (another reason to cook my oats this morning) so cold gluten free cereals are out. I think I should have bought some gluten free bread yesterday to check it out.

Last night, while I was soaking my tootsies I remember that I had to mail my samples in the morning.  One of the bad things about the routine is that it can’t really be interrupted once it starts.  I asked Shaun if he would put a post it on the door to remind me.  I’m glad I did.

I just noticed the DH instead of Shaun.  How cute is he?!?!

When I got to work I had the trifecta of liquid!

Water, coconut water, and mint tea.  I think I need to bring a glass in from home!

I DID bring 2 bags of food in from home.

Elaina gets first dibs and then it’s going to be a kitchen free for all.  There’s some yummy stuff in there!

And with that, I’m off!

I’m still pretty overwhelmed and I took a break from the computer this weekend.  It was nice.  I did, however, document my food.  Here’s what I ate.

Saturday’s breakfast:

Gluten free oatmeal, made with banana, half water, half unsweetened almond milk, some maple syrup, strawberries, and raw cashew nut butter.  The cashew nut butter tastes like plastic?  It’s strange because it’s in a glass bottle.  I thing it’ll be good mixed with stuff but not like this.  I got some pecan today which I’m excited to try.

Yesterday’s lunch:

Quinoa topped with kale, chard, mushrooms, chickpeas, and braggs. YOM.

Yesterday’s Dinner:

The best chicken EVER.  I put some olive oil in a pan and then coated the chicken with za’atar seasoning and baked until it reached 170 degrees.  Seriously awesome.  Shaun even LOVED it and gave it a 4! for chicken breast!  I also had some broccoli, quinoa, and sunflower seeds.

After dinner we had some friends over for game night.  I made them chocolate chip cookies but I had cantaloupe and nuts.

I ate about a fourth of this:

And probably a fourth of this (a whole cantaloupe):

This morning I had some quinoa (quinoa overload-good thing I went to the store!) with cashews, almonds, maple syrup, and sunflower seed meal.

This was EXTREMELY filling!

Lunch was leftovers from yesterday (minus the quinoa):

As I mentioned earlier, I cleaned out my cupboards and fridge today.  Anything that was “my” food (food that Lu and Shaun don’t eat) and that is no longer “allowed” either got tossed or put in a give away bag.  I have 2 bags of food to giveaway tomorrow!  I went to Whole Foods and STOCKED UP.  My bill was cringe worthy but now I have food that I can eat.  I bought some gluten free crackers:

Not “oh my god delicious” but good.  I also got some kiwi and I ate 2 (only 1 pictured):

Dinner tonight:

Grass fed lamb with chimi churri (YOM), great northern beans (that I soaked for 48 hours and made today) marinated in olive oil and balsamic, and beet greens steamed with balsamic.

For dessert, I got Mochi.

Cut:

Baked:

And enjoyed?:

I was under the misconception that Mochi was sweet.  Nope.  It tastes like rice cakes.  Oh well, it was still pretty good.

For lunch this week I prepared the great northern beans, chickpeas, broccoli, and beets.  I also have more lamb and chicken and then salad greens.  I need to figure out what the heck I’m going to eat for breakfast tomorrow…

For lunch I went to Whole Foods to get a salad.  I only had a Larabar and a bite of a nasty pear (that I promptly threw away) before going to lunch.  I know that’s not good but I was literally scared to eat.  It’s not like if I ate something that I shouldn’t that it would do anything serious but my brain said “BE CAREFUL”.  It turns out that many of my snacks at work have gluten-boo.

Here’s my salad:

A bed of spinach with beets, carrots, cucumbers, lentils, red quinoa, hearts of palm (that I kept thinking was jicama and it was really disconcerting!), olives, pumpkin seeds, hummus, and some balsamic dressing.  It was really good.  I have to admit that I really like my salads DRESSED.  That whole dipping your fork in the dressing and then the salad thing? I hate it.

I decided to try some young coconut juice. 

I wanted a “treat” and it seemed like all the chocolate had refined sugar in it.  This stuff was actually pretty good.  I enjoyed it.

They are carrying a new line in the bakery that is gluten and refined sugar free but they hadn’t made today’s batch yet.

I did a quick shopping trip to get some snacks.  I have to say that I was a bit overwhelmed.  I think the Whole Foods by my house will be better because they have an entire aisle of gluten free food.  At the Whole Foods by work it was all over the place.

Here’s the haul from Whole Foods:

Flax seeds, strawberries, sesame seeds, cacao nibs, coconut oil, dried garbanzo beans, sunflower seeds, great northern beans, stevia, gluten free oats, a loofa, unsweetened almond milk, some more coconut water, za’atar (so excited!), cashew nut butter, vitamin D, cashews, and almonds.

Both of the beans are soaking now.  I have plans for some roasted garbanzos!

For my snack this afternoon, I had some organic strawberries and organic raw cashews that I didn’t get a picture of.

Tonight was sushi night.  Rolls are a no go for me because of the sugar in the rice but I got some sashimi and put it over steamed rice and added some avocado and Braggs.

Two of those pieces of salmon did not get eaten.  This is more Chinese style sashimi and I’ve gotta say that real Japanese sashimi that is cut properly is about 1000 times better.

Here’s what I got Shaun and Lu:

A salmon and avocado roll and rainbow roll for Shaun.  A yam, avocado, cucumber roll for Lu.

That would have been plenty of food but I also ordered this monster for Shaun.

I DID NOT expect it to be so large.  What the description sounded like was tempura shrimp with tuna and salmon inside the roll, covered with crab, scallions, and spicy sauce.  Instead it was a California roll, with the addition of a tempura shrimp, topped with salmon and tuna and then crab on top of that.  Shaun said it was delicious.  I hate crab (imitation and fake) and can’t eat it now anyway, so I’ll take his word for it.  Shaun has a FULL meal left for lunch tomorrow.  I over-ordered 🙂

Lastly, I stopped on my way home from work (yay no traffic today!) and got some wool socks.  I’ll have to report back on the foot treatment.  My Mom, Shaun, and Elaina all agree that the foot treatment is by far the weirdest thing.

I thought the skin brushing was pretty weird but they all thing that the foot treatment is much stranger.

Again, I want to thank EVERYONE for their support.  I really appreciate it.  I’m sure some of you must thing I’m a quack but if you do, you’re keeping it to yourself and that’s helpful right now.  I really do enjoy discussion and invite it but I also just want to give this a shot.  I figure that I’ve tried everything else and it’s not working so I’m going to be open minded!  I hope it works!

If you missed it, my blood results came in and here’s the scoop.

Sorry, no pictures again on this post.  I’ve been processing a lot and haven’t been focusing on the camera. 

Actually, will this tide you over?

Lucy yawning while in Mommy’s tummy:

One of my favorite pictures of Lucy (she was 4 months old):

And some food porn:

Okay, back to what’s been consuming me since yesterday. Yes, it is a lot to digest but I do think it’s manageable.  Some things that I didn’t mention yesterday was that I asked her if it was normal for her to see this many things out of whack and she said that it isn’t necessarily BUT that all of my “out of whack” numbers point towards definite patterns.  They are NOT all over the place but rather paint a pretty complete picture of what’s going on with me.  That’s good news.  I also forgot to mention that I’ll be doing acupuncture with her twice a month. I think that will be good.

After I talked to Shaun about it his response was, “that can’t be YOUR blood work-there’s so much wrong!” I thought about it and it actually doesn’t surprise me.  I’m an optimist and like to see the glass half full but if I’m being really honest, I haven’t felt GOOD in a REALLY long time.  I’ve actually felt REALLY BAD for quite some time.  It makes sense that my blood work is that “wrong”.  It does make me REALLY mad that no other doctor took me seriously or could figure out this issue.  It also doesn’t surprise me because my Mom has many of these same issues.  My Mom eats gluten free but is also vegan.  Eating this way has really helped her.

Let me answer some of your questions.  Actually, before that I wanted to thank you all for all the support you showed.  There were some mighty nice things said and I truly appreciate it.

Questions:

Have you thought about seeing an Endocrinologist?

Yes.  It’s on my list of things to do 🙂

Will all of these “rules” be forever?

NO!  That’s the good news.  We’re working to detoxify my body right now and as I start to feel better I can add things in and see how I do with them.  I’m very hopeful (as is the doctor) that I will be a pretty “normal” eater once I get everything regulated.  I may always need to be gluten free though. Sigh.

I guess those were really the two big questions.  Everyone else just gave me a lot to ponder (and lots of love!). 

I really appreciate all the support and I’m really hopeful that things will start to look better.  I’m also extremely thankful that I’m already part of this community and that I already know what much of this stuff is (food wise).  I can’t imagine how overwhelming it would be if I were eating a “normal” American diet and I got this one.  I think I would freak out.  At least I have THAT going for me 😉

Wow.  I had my appointment with the Naturopath today.  It took an hour and a half and I’m overwhelmed.  I don’t even know where to start.

I guess I’ll start with my blood work and what’s not normal.  I don’t feel comfortable sharing the numbers but I will share what is either high or low.Are you ready for this?

Blood Test Results:

Glucose, Serum=Low
Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN)=Low-evidence of malabsorption in digestive tract
Creatinine, Serum=Little Low
Calcium, Serum=Low
Phosphorus, Serum=Low
Protein, Total, Serum=Low
Albumin, Serum=Low
Globulin, Total=High
A/G Ratio=Low (evidence of anemia)
GGT=Low
Total Cholesterol=Low (I didn’t even know that was possible)
Triglycerides=Extremely Low
Thyroid, TSH=Slightly High
Thyroxine (T4)=Low
Triiodothyrine (T3)=Low
Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy=Extremely Low
White Blood Cells=Low
Hemoglobin=Low
Hematocrit=Low
MCV=High
MCH=High
RDW=High
Neutrophils=Low
Lymphs=High
Monocytes=High
Neutrophils (Absolute)=Low

Diagnosis:

So yeah, there’s a reason I’m not feeling well.  She thinks that I’m having malabsorption issues-meaning I’m not getting the nutrients from my food.  The low protein is really evidence of this since I’m eating more than enough protein.  There are also issues with my thyroid, glucose, and issues with vitamin B and vitamin D deficiencies.  I have anemia but not in the way that you usually think of anemia, my iron is fine but my hemoglobin isn’t.   

She mentioned the possibility of Hashimoto’s Disease, which is a type of hypothyroidism that I’m almost 100% positive that my Mom has.  She also thinks that I may have a parasite.  I’m taking samples (oh JOY) for the parasite and this test will also tell us if I do in fact have an allergy to milk, gluten, soy, or eggs. 

It’s alot to take in.  The good news?  There are things that can be done to help.

Treatment:

-Diet-GLUTEN-FREE (sad face) Anti-Inflammatory Diet. 

• No restriction on the amount of food I can eat but I should try to compose my meals of 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% healthy fats.
• Vegetables need to be steamed (except lettuce) and NO tomatoes (sad face) or potatoes.  Artichokes, parsnips, green peas, squash, carrot, and yam should be eaten on a limited basis since they are high in carbohydrates.  I should eat something green everyday.
• Grains:eat 1-2 cups of cooked grains per day (excluding gluten and corn)
• Legumes: eat a variety of legumes but make sure to soak them for 48-72 hours, changing the water frequently
• Fish:deep-sea ocean fish are okay (no farmed). NO SHELLFISH.
• Poultry:free-range organic and do not eat the skin.
• Red Meat: 100% free-range, grass-fed including lamb, buffalo, venison, elk, and beef
• NO PORK 🙁
• Fruit:1-2 servings per day and try to eat them steamed or baked. Limit apples, blueberries, cherries, grapes, mango, pear, pineapple, pomegranate, bananas, figs, and prunes as they are high in carbohydrates.
• Sweeteners: Use maple syrup, rice syrup, barley syrup, raw honey or stevia-ONLY with meals.  Absolutely no sugar, NutraSweet, AGAVE NECTAR, or other chemical sweetener is allowed.
• Seeds and Nuts: Grind flax, pumpkin, sesame, or sunflower seeds to add to food (more on this later).  Nut and seed butter such as almond, brazil, cashew, sesame, etc is good.  NO PEANUT BUTTER (it’s not actually a nut rather a legume)
• Oil: Use butter mixed with extra virgin olive oil, just extra virgin olive oil, or coconut oil.
• Spices: whatever floats my boat
• Nut milks: use sparingly and only on cooked grains or in cooking.
• Foods to avoid: all animal milks, all animal cheeses, all corn products, commercial eggs (organic okay), potatoes-red or white, tomatoes, citrus fruits, all fruit juices, all dried fruits, peanuts/peanut butter, any processed foods, fried foods, pork, caffeine, alcohol, GLUTEN.

In addition to the food, there are supplements and things.

-Add 1-2 tsp of organic apple cider vinegar to 6-8 ounces of water and drink 15-30 minutes before meals to help with absorption. Minimum 2x/day

-Add 2 TBSP fresh ground organic flax to meals 1x/day, Day1-Day 14 of cycle

-1 TBSP EFA liquid (fish oil), 1x/day, Day1-Day14 of cycle

-2 TBSP fresh ground organic sesame or sunflower seeds 1x/day, Day 15-Menses

-3 capsules of Evening Primrose Oil 1x/day, Day 15-Menses

-Probiotics (she recommends HMF Superpowder), 1/2 tsp, 2x/day taken with meals.

-Take 1 TBSP liquid B 1x/day in the morning.

-Take 1/2 sachet of Magnelvures each in the morning and evening (1 sachet per day)

-Take 3 capsules of Biotone EFAs at bedtime.

-Take 5000 IU/Day of liquid Vitamin D3 everyday.

-Drink at least 80 ounces of filtered or spring water everyday.

Now we move onto things that don’t have to do with eating or ingesting.

-Hydrotherapy:End my shower with a cool water spray, starting with my extremities and finishing with the low back.

-Dry Skin Brushing-using a natural loofah, before bed, thoroughly brus all of my skin, using short, very light, frequent strokes towards my heart for 45-60 seconds.

-Castor Oil Packs-Soak flannel with castor oil and place on my belly, covered with a towel, and then a hot water bottle or heating pad for 30 minutes.  Relax and do something enjoyable. (She said to try and do this at least 4 days in a row but every night is preferred)

-Deep Breathing-take at least 100 deep breaths per day.  This can be done in conjunction with the castor oil packs.  Breathe out for twice as long as you breathe in.

-Sleep-try to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday. Sleep at least 7 hours and the hours BEFORE midnight are more beneficial.

-Movement-try to exercise/move everyday.

-Go outside for at least 30 minutes everyday.

-Play and laugh EVERYDAY.

-Take my temperature at noon before I eat 10 times over the next month.  Low body temperatures (which I have) have been associated with several conditions including weakened immune systems and poor digestion!

-LASTLY, Warming Sock Treatments. Soak my feet for 5-10 minutes in hot water. Next take a pair of cotton socks and get them wet with cold water, then place the cold wet socks on my feet and cover with thick wool socks, go to bed.

And that’s it.  WOW.

If you stuck in it this long I applaud you!!!

I can’t start with the supplements until after my stool test is done (Sunday).  Everything else should start pretty immediately.

Overwhelming, huh?

I’ve been fighting a head cold since Monday.  Unfortunately, it caught up with me today.  I feel so icky that I don’t even want to be on the computer-that’s saying A LOT!

After I dropped Lu off at daycare, I got a Jamba Juice (used up the last of my gift card) and coupled it with some wheat toast.

I’ve been watching the Olympics and NBC this morning and Hoda and Kathy Lee are on now.  Oh my-Saturday Night Live ISN’T exaggerating!!!!  I think the real thing is more uncomfortable and funny than SNL.

With that, I’m signing off.

Tonight I made my Dad’s award winning chili.  I’ve even won an award with it!

Unfortunately, I can’t share the secret recipe…