Reflections on Healthier Living

This picture reminds me that we need to eat to live, not live to eat!  Embarking on a healthier lifestyle these past few months has opened my eyes to so much!  With the help of Leah, I have been introduced to so many new types of foods and a new way of eating!   I thought I was eating healthy all these years, when in actuality  the foods I was eating were not good for my body and did nothing to help my illness .

Eliminating dairy, processed foods, refined sugars and now gluten from my diet has been a bit challenging, but there are so many tasty alternatives out there that I hardly miss anything!  Except ice cream--still have not found a tasty non-dairy, low sugar option yet...but I am still searching!!

Of course, it was my decision to continue with the elimination even after the 21 days that Leah had asked me to go without was over.  Don't get me wrong, once in awhile I may have dairy or something if I am out of town and there no alternatives available, but generally I try to find something else to eat!

My weight loss is stuck at 40 pounds. I am happy with that number in the 2.5 months since I have had this flare up, but I would like to lose about 60 more pounds!! For health, to decrease my pain, and so that I can shop in any store I want--that is a major goal for me!!  I know I will get there, just have to step up my game a bit!!

I need to exercise more, if my body would just cooperate!! I walk all the time, but I need to add some other exercise as well since water aerobics is over for the season.  The outdoor pool is opening on 6/10, so I want to swim every day if I am able to.  I will be starting a pain management program 6/23 twice a week for 6 weeks and that will involve PT/OT and stress/pain management.  Hopefully by the end of the program at the end of July, I can join a gym again, and then I will be back to work and hopefully my life will return to some semblance of normalcy, whatever that means!!

No one ever wants to get sick, but maybe this flare up was a wakeup call for me to start taking better care of myself!! Well I certainly am awake now!!  These changes that I have made will not end once I am feeling better and able to go back to work.  These will be put in place so that nothing like this happens again, and if I do have another bad flare up, hopefully I will be better equipped to handle it if there is a next time!

The best six doctors anywhere

And no one can deny it

Are sunshine, water, rest, and air

Exercise and diet.

These six will gladly you attend

If only you are willing

Your mind they'll ease

Your will they'll mend

And charge you not a shilling.

~Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990

What's Cookin'? Gluten Free Day Two

Day two not much better than day one, as I still feel like crap and can't really eat much of anything. The nice Dr. and I decided it is "most likely a ruptured ovarian cyst", which I have had many times before and hurts like heck for a few days and goes away.  Nevertheless, I had more blood work, and am scheduled for a Pelvic Ultrasound 6/9 (the day after my yearly GYN exam) and I have to get an abdominal X-Ray when I go out on Friday ( I cancelled my Dr's appointments for tomorrow and am going to rest for the next few days, because it hurts to walk) .  Silly me thought I could call Magee up and get my ultrasound today, ya right!  Sometimes it works, usually it doesn't. I hope they can find my left ovary this time, because the last time I had a Pelvic Ultrasound, it was hiding, and the procedure was VERY painful and took two technicians to complete.  But enough about me and my lovely medical problems...

I made all kinds of interesting food after my trip to the doctors office today, too bad I really couldn't enjoy it!!

I made Veggie Quiche --same variation of the recipe I posted on Mother's day: egg white substitute, spinach, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, Cheddar Veggie Shreds, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 min...YUMMY!

Baked Greens--I went to Trader Joe's as I had mentioned, to get my gluten free supplies, and found 5.5 bags of great stuff for 81$ (I am shopping at Trader Joe's from now on--the only thing they did not have was my Veggie/Rice shreds which I will get at GE/RBN when I cook with a recipe that requires them).  Back to the greens, I got a huge bag of mixed greens (Spinach, Turnip, Collard, Mustard) for $3.  There were recipes on the back, but I wasn't equipped with the ingredients, so I baked them in EVOO and Seasoned Salt like I do my Kale Chips--DELICIOUS!!

Finally, I made Veggie Stir Fry with Rice Stick noodles--weird little buggers.  You don't need to cook them, just put them in hot water to soften for 10 minutes.  Were kind of tasty once they were in with the Broccoli, Mushrooms, Baby Corn, Bean Sprouts, Carrots, Water Chestnuts, Bamboo Shoots and Teriyaki sauce!

So those were my cooking adventures, probably for the rest of the week, unless I feel up to getting the ingredients for/baking the Gluten Free Banana Bread I posted yesterday.  I think I will save that for next week!

Happy Hump Day Eve!!

My Belly Hurts!!! Gluten Free, Day 1

I think I have the stomach flu, a UTI, or an ovarian cyst...not like I don't have enough problems already, but my stomach/left side has been killing me the past few days! Today I started the gluten-free portion of my diet and here is how it went:

Breakfast-

Nothing.... belly was killing me

Lunch

piece of chicken
apple
celery
lots of water


Dinner

broth
2 pieces of gluten free toast
1/2 tsp of peanut butter
lots of water
banana

Snack

celery
Trader Joe's Natural Turkey Jerky (yummy, no preservatives, no nitrates)
lots of water

Overall, not the best diet day, as usually I eat veggies 3x a day, including a morning smoothie, but I just wasn't feeling it today!  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to see what is going on...hopefully nothing serious, as I am so tired of being sick!!

I am looking forward to trying out all kinds of gluten-free recipes that I have found online!  This Banana Bread  looks particularly yummy.  Of course, I will have to make all my substitutions as usual.  I may make it this week and if so, will let you all know how it turns out!

'Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open". --B.K.S Iyengar

Bye, Bye Gluten!

That's right kids!  Not only am I off dairy, refined sugars and processed foods, but we are saying goodbye to gluten as well! At least for 21 days, that is!  I am armed with gluten free items from Trader Joe's that I purchased yesterday.  Since I started this diet, veggies have been my staple, along with chicken and whole grain pasta.  But now, I switched to rice pasta, which Leah says holds the flavor much better than the pasta I was eating, so I am anxious to try it!

Last week I was telling some different friends about my diet, weight loss and foods I had eliminated.  My friend Dave remarked, "If I was eating cardboard, I would lose 40 pounds too."  Of  course we all had a good laugh, but as I have said many times, I do not miss anything that I used to eat.  I have found tasty alternatives for everything...except ice cream.  I tried the Rice milk ice cream, and it was pretty nasty!!   I am still on the search for a non-dairy , gluten free, low sugar alternative to ice cream.  Anyone know of one, let me know!!

I am not sure what I am making this week for dinner...blogging regularly has been hard for me!  I am starting the no-gluten phase tomorrow, so I will try to update as much as I can.  Gluten Free Goddess is one of the blogs I read and she has some yummy posts, so I expect to be making some of her culinary creations! Please remember to send me recipes, especially now if you have a favorite that is gluten free!

The power of love to change bodies is legendary, built into folklore, common sense, and everyday experience.  Love moves the flesh, it pushes matter around.... Throughout history, "tender loving care" has uniformly been recognized as a valuable element in healing.  ~Larry Dossey

I have been a bad blogger!

Sorry loyal readers, I have been a bad blogger!! Life has been crazy lately but to update, I have lost over 40 pounds, 20 of it since I started my new diet.  I cannot say that I notice any decrease in my pain, but I love what I have been eating!  My family is skeptical ( I made a vegan cheesecake and a veggie quiche for mother's day), but they are supportive of my lifestyle changes!

Its been a little over a month since starting this diet.  If you recall, I was initially supposed to go 21 days witout dairy, which I did.  Mothers day weekend, I went out and had dairy Friday and Saturday (12 pudding shots for a good cause Friday night--lol and Saturday there was cheese in the Vegetable Lasagna.) Needless to say, I got very sick from eating the dairy, so I must have an intolerance.  So I am sticking to the Rice milk and Rice Shreds when I make a recipe that calls for cheese!

I had friends over for lunch yesterday and I introduced them to my healthy cooking and they were in love!! I made pasta salad (tri color/whole grain pasta with fat free italian dressing, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, peppers, salad supreme); kale chips, and 4 types of flat out bread pizza (sundried tomato and mozzarella veggie shreds, red and orange pepper, mushroom and olive and mozzarella veggie shreds, spinach, mushroom and chicken, then a chicken and broccoli, both with mozzarella veggie shreds).  I received many compliments and everyone took leftovers home!  I was so happy to have people to cook for!!

Not sure what I am cooking this week, but will post updates when I do!  Thanks for reading and remember to send me some of your favorite recipes!!!

Two Weeks In and Not Looking Back!

A friend messaged me on Facebook to see how my week was, so I thought it was a good time as any to check in and update everyone on my progress.  I have lost 14 pounds since I started this diet almost two weeks ago, 35 total since my late Feb/early March.  I don't miss the dairy, sugar, or processed foods at all!! I snack on fruits, veggies, nuts, drink a lot of water, feel full quickly, and am not missing any of the junk!! If I go out to eat, I have been sticking to salads or vegetarian options, just to be on the safe side.  If I eat meat, it is boneless, skinless chicken and lean ground turkey.  I am really happy with my progress so far and I don't believe that I will be returning to my former eating habits again!


Here is what I am making next week:


Split Pea Soup


Low Fat, Low Cal Spinach Quiche

• substitution--no cheese--I have cheddar and mozzarella rice shreds--pretty good for fake cheese :)
• no eggbeaters-I use egg white substitute
• no ham -I have turkey bacon in the freezer
• shockingly, I have no broccoli, but I have a ton of other veggies, so I am sure there will be more than spinach in my quiche!

Chicken Vegetable Casserole

• I will be adding my own combo of veggies and fake cheese, but using the recipe as a guideline :)

Kale Chips

I am going to try this recipe.  This is completely different from how I made them last time.  We shall see which one we like better!

Quinoa Primavera



Leah introduced me to Quinoa on our last visit and I found this recipe and I am going to try it!  I do not have fresh garlic or peppers, but I will make due with what I have!


I will be giving away a jar of Better N Peanut Butter and a package of Flat Out Bread to the first person submitting a recipe that I make and will feature on my blog!  So, get those recipes in!!!


Have a great weekend everyone!

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating".  ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

Fraggles like Radishes, and So Do I -- Days 7-8

Fraggle Rock was one of my favorite television shows growing up!  Did anyone else watch it?  While babysitting our 3 year old nephew Giovanni a few weekends ago, we tried to show him the DVD, but he was not that enthused by it.  My dad, Chris, and I, on the other hand, started talking about the show, remembering our favorite characters, and it brought back great memories from my childhood!


I bought an enormous bunch of fresh radishes yesterday, hence the Fraggle Rock reference. As you may recall from the show, the Gorgs were not big fans of the Fraggles, because they were constantly stealing the radishes from their garden! But enough about Fraggles...

My second meeting with Leah yesterday went quite well!  She was impressed with my progress, my attitude, and my desire to reach all of my goals that I had set forth to accomplish!  I told her what a positive response I had been getting from my blog, which, in all honesty, I had never expected!  I started this blog initially for myself and Leah, as a second part to another blog, to document the journey that I have been on to take control of my life and my health over the past few months.  With this particular blog, however, I hope to  inspire others to at least think about making some positive changes in their own lives, if not vicariously through my changes, and help me celebrate my successes, failures, and try some new foods in the process!


I got some great things at the store yesterday, and I am going to be cooking more, instead of just eating salads and smoothies :) So instead of telling you what I am eating every day, I will start sharing recipes of what I am cooking, and asking you to contribute your favorites as well!  I will also start giving away prizes for my favorite recipes that I make from what is submitted, so make sure you participate!


Here is what I am making today:


Dinner will be Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry--
no recipe-just boneless chicken and whatever veggies I feel like throwing in ( I have fresh celery, carrots, red cabbage, water chestnuts, green beans, spinach, radishes, kohlrabi-probably will be some of all of these)  and some type of sauce ( I will probably do something creative here with what I have on hand - I have peanut butter, Teriyaki  sauce, soy sauce, Honey BBQ sauce and French dressing--should be interesting :0)


I am also making Turkey Stuffed Cabbage Leaves with the following modifications:

• I use 99% fat free ground turkey breast from Giant Eagle, which usually comes in 19 oz packages, so I will be using the whole package (as soon as hubby brings it from the store:)
• I bought red cabbage yesterday, so that's what I am using--never had stuffed red cabbage--should be interesting :)
• I don't like/have onions, so won't be using onions
• I also have a sensitivity to eggs, so I will be using an egg white substitute I bought yesterday, not Egg Beaters though

Lastly, I am making Extra Lean Turkey Meatloaf (Chris LOVES my meatloaf) again with the following modifications:

• egg white substitute
• no onions, green peppers or mushrooms (I do not have these and he does not like them :)

Do you have a favorite recipe for any of the above dishes? I would love to hear them!  Once I am done cooking, I will post some pics!


Have a great day!

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." -- Anthelme Brillat-Savarin