Hello!

I get tired of having to use my phone to post, so I end up not doing it as often as I'd like :p One of my biggest dreams right now is to get a laptop! So many reasons it would be good... One day :)

Hmmm... Looking back, I haven't done a health update on here in quite a while! I'm on the computer, so now's probably a good time to do it ;)

1. I started a natural progesterone cream in January. My hormones were getting waaay off and I had to do something. Something cheap. So I went with a cream instead of the super awesome (but expensive) drops I was using last time. It worked pretty good at first, but in April I started having problems with it and had to stop using it :( I had read that it would only have full effectiveness for a few months but I was hoping I would be one of the ladies it worked longer... I tried to go back on the wild yam drops I was using but the company no longer had them! I started a desperate search to find some locally because, well, let's just say I needed them AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. I called around and found some at a health food store I go to occasionally. Whew! They're not the same exact formulation, but lots cheaper! I've been taking them for almost two months now and am responding very well to them :) (FYI - wild yam is bioidentical to human progesterone so it's the perfect supplement when you need it!)

2. I've started muscle testing all my supplements almost every day. (I'll do a post about muscle testing soon!) It's nice to see my body needing less and less of them as time goes on :) I don't know if it's because they're building up in my body, or if my stomach is absorbing more from what I eat as the gluten damage heals. If you're curious, here's what I'm taking:
Liquid B Complex http://www.nowfoods.com/Supplements/Products-by-Category/Vitamins/Vitamin-B/Vitamin-B-12-Complex-Liquid-2oz.htm#.UbElZJxdAp8
Liquid D3 http://www.cilihealthstore.com
Wild yam
Probiotic Boost http://www.cilihealthstore.com
Angstrom minerals (all from http://www.cilihealthstore.com):
Iron
Silver
Zinc/copper

3. I've been reading some of Matt Stone (www.180degreehealth.com)'s ebooks. Interesting information about metabolism and disease! I don't know that I believe it all, but he definitely makes sense about a lot! Your basal body temperature (upon first waking) is supposed to be a good indicator of how well your metabolism is functioning. You want to be in the 98s, preferably the upper 98s. My basal temp is in the 95-96s :( It gets up in the high 97s during the day, occasionally the 98s. But that's it. I'd like to try some of his tips and see if I can give my metabolism a boost!

4. My weight... I've hovered around 175 for a long time now. I got a little below that a couple months ago, then gained almost 10 lbs, and am now back to 177. I think the gain was a reaction to environmental toxins. My apartment complex is doing major renovations to the outsides of the buildings so there were a lot of chemicals and dust floating around that normally aren't there. As soon as work on our building was done, my body decided to do a small detox :p Before the detox, I was in the 180s. A week later, I was back between 175-180. Coincidence? I don't think so!

5. I must say... Jesse and I are healthier than we've been in a long time! Jesse isn't taking supplements (unless he feels like he's starting to get sick), but even with the massive stress he's been under the past 9 months, his body seems to be doing well :) I've noticed my energy gradually going back up. I think a lot of it with me is hormone related. Even the boys are healthier! They're having some slight allergy issues, but I think a lot of that is from the renovations that are still going on. No colds, no tummy bugs :) I think for all of us it's a combination of the overall stress being lower, our way of eating, the supplements (the boys take some too), and the gluten damage healing. We never had medical tests done to assess gluten damage, but it seems like I've turned a corner the past few months with my digestive system. It's so nice that heartburn rarely happens, my bowel movements are normal, I rarely get indigestion, no gallbladder issues, etc! Praise God!


Last but certainly not least... Our current eating plan!

Breakfast - Greek yogurt - I mix Chobani brand flavored yogurt with an equal part of plain, then add heavy cream.

Lunch - main meal of the day - 1 lb meat + 2 (cooked) cups brown rice OR 2 (cooked) cups quinoa OR potatoes OR 8 oz (uncooked, GF) pasta + seasonings, sauces, etc + lots of fat (butter, cream and/or olive oil) + usually 24 oz frozen veggies OR raw veggies (Total amounts to feed all 4 of us)

Supper - mixed bag... - This is our smaller meal so things you might eat for lunch - salad w/meat and/or cheese, mashed potatoes with cheese, eggs and rice for the guys, etc. Usually our protein at supper is cheese but not always.

As far as liquids, I drink half a cup of strong coffee with stevia and heavy cream, sometimes another half cup later, 1-2 cups of decaf tea (mixed half and half with water), and water to taste. And an ounce or two of grape juice with my supplements at night. My liquid consumption is below what the "experts" say it should be. But I'm not convinced they're right ;)

I guess that's it for now! If you're still following along, leave me a comment and let me know! Also, feel free to ask questions or request clarification on anything I've said here :)

God bless!

Pasta with Italian Sausage and Peppers

Sometimes simple is best!

Pasta with Italian Sausage and Peppers

8 oz pasta (I used elbows)
Olive oil (1/2 to 3/4 c)
12 oz al fresco brand Italian sausage, casing removed, chopped or sliced
1 large onion, chopped
16 oz jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta a couple of minutes under the recommended time in salted water.

While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil over medium-high in a large pot. Brown sausage and onions. Add peppers and cook a minute or two more.

Stir in drained pasta. Season to taste.

Top individual servings with freshly grated parmesan.

I think what makes this so yummy is the sausage! We absolutely love every variety of al fresco brand (chicken) sausage we've tried! And it's made of real ingredients ;)

Here is the ingredient list for the Italian sausage we ate today:

SKINLESS CHICKEN MEAT,RED AND GREEN PEPPERS,WATER,AND CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF FENNEL,BLACK PEPPER,SALT,SUGAR.IN A NATURAL PORK CASING.

Here's a close-up after I chopped the sausage showing those yummy peppers. It tastes as good as it looks :)

A Few Thoughts from After the Liver/Gallbladder Flush...

1. I had an extremely hard time getting the "concoction" down :( But once I did, my body handled it really well! Very little nausea and heartburn :) I think this is because I've been eating more (healthy) fats, so ingesting that much fat at once wasn't such a shock to my system. It was very encouraging to me because my gallbladder must be functioning well for me to not react so much. I think if it wasn't functioning properly, I would not have ingested the olive oil without a lot of nausea and heartburn. (I really hope that makes sense... I keep trying to rewrite it but can't make it clearer right now :p)

2. When I was doing the flush, I found some info online that makes a lot of sense to me and backs up my experiences lately. When you eat a lowfat diet, the bile just sits in your gallbladder (bile is used to digest fats - if you're not eating many of them, it's not needed as much). When it sits, it concentrates. Concentrated bile = gallstones. When you eat a higher (healthy) fat diet, the bile doesn't have time to concentrate. Your gallbladder holds it for a while, then releases it in response to the fats you've eaten. I have found that my gallbladder problems STOPPED when I increased my fats. Fats are supposedly what cause gallbladder problems, and I was a bit scared to increase fats because I was scared of how my gallbladder would handle it. But it has responded beautifully! I think the stone I had was just an old one that hadn't come out yet. It definitely wasn't very big. I can tell by the amount of pain I was in compared to previous times :p And I didn't see many stones after the flush. I don't think I have zero stones, but I do believe that the ones that are still there were formed at a time when I wasn't eating much fats.

And as a side note... If I needed confirmation that my body does better eating less carbs (grains in particular), I certainly got it yesterday! I ate a (whole grain, lots of fat) high carb lunch, and oh man, did I pay for it! I had terrible brain fog. A stomachache. My gallbladder protested a bit (no real pain, but definite twinges). Ugh! Not doing that again :p

Meal Plan 11-2 to 11-12

Our big meal is at lunch. I need one supper still... When everyone else has eggs, I'll have leftovers.

Breakfast:
Boys - yogurt, fruit
Me - yogurt or cheese

Lunch:
Macaroni and cheese
Roast (leftover in freezer), bleu cheese potatoes, broccoli (green beans for Jesse)
Bacon, overnight oatmeal
Leftover beef veggie soup
Burgers on English muffin halves, celery
Loaded potatoes - turkey, cheese, sour cream, California mix veggies (green beans for Jesse)
Sweet Beef and Rice
Mexican - turkey, canned chiles, cheese, rice
Homemade breakfast sausage crumbles, fried potatoes, sauteed red bell peppers
Turkey casserole w/rice, cream cheese, and green beans
Ground beef casserole w/beef broth, cream, rice; carrots

Supper:
(Restaurant with extended family)
Scrambled eggs w/rice x 4 (two plain, two with tomato puree)
Beef veggie soup x 2
Mexican - turkey, enchilada sauce, rice, cheese
Cottage cheese w/peaches and almonds x 2

Anniversary Crawfish Lunch

Jesse and I celebrated 16 years of marriage last week! I had some boiled crawfish tails in the freezer and knew I wanted to use them to make something special. Our anniversary was the perfect time :)

I looked at a few different creamy crawfish pasta recipes and decided to make up my own. Big surprise ;) The taste of the crawfish really comes through!

I used leftovers from a crawfish boil, so the tails were seasoned really well. If yours are not preseasoned, don't forget to spice them up!

ANNIVERSARY CRAWFISH LUNCH

16 oz pasta, cooked (I used spaghetti, broken into 1/2 inch pieces)
1 stick butter
3/4 c. chopped onion
2/3 c. chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped celery
2 chopped green onions
2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 lbs cooked crawfish tails
2 c. heavy cream

Melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, red bell peppers, and celery. Cook until almost soft. Add green onions and garlic. Cook for a few more minutes. Mix in crawfish, cream, and parsley. Heat through. Combine with pasta.

Friday Night

I took it really easy today. Lunch was the precooked steak strips, rice, beef broth, and some cheese, all mixed together. I enjoyed a Ghirardelli 72% for dessert :) Supper was canned chicken mixed with rice, butter, and parsley, buttered peas on the side. And another chocolate :yum The chocolate tasted so good today!

Late this afternoon I had another BM. It was round 1 of the concoction working its way through. There was some gritty stuff in the toilet. Based on last time I know I dissolved a stone, I'm pretty sure that was the remnants of the stuck stone :)

My stomach feels like round 2 is coming. Eventually :p

For now, I'm thankful that I can eat regular food again! Hopefully in the morning I'll be okay to drink a cup of coffee. This is the third day in a row without caffeine and I miss it! No withdrawal symptoms though :) I was a little surprised I didn't have so much as a slight headache!

Friday Morning

After I got the concoction down, the rest of the night went pretty well :) I put on some quiet worship music and read on my nook for the hour. When my timer went off, I sipped some mint/green tea. I had minimal heartburn and nausea. Phew!

I slept through the night. Woke up earlier than I hoped but thankful for the sleep I got! Not long after I woke up I had a BM. It was a little loose but almost normal. I know there's another one coming, and that one WON'T be normal :p

After the BM, I was pretty nauseous :( Thankfully it passed before too long. Until I walked into the kitchen... The juiced lemon carcasses were still on the counter. I got one whiff of them and started gagging :( Jesse came and put them in the trash for me while I turned on the ac fan to help dissipate the smell.

My stomach feels yucky. I know that big, bad BM is coming. But I can happily (and thankfully!) report that I can no longer feel the stone :) There's some lingering soreness where it was but that's it!

So far today I've just eaten a banana. I bought some precooked steak strips and romaine for today, but I don't know if we'll have that for lunch or supper.

I'm really encouraged that 1. I don't feel the stone, and 2. I tolerated the concoction really well once I got it down. Supposedly, the more toxic your body is, the worse your body reacts to it. Last flush was pretty bad. I thought this one would be too since my body was so rundown etc.

The fast/juice was rough :( But I'm not feeling too bad today, all things considered. I feel the effects of the fast. I'm a little nauseous when I stand up but that's from lack of food. I have to remind myself to go slow with food today. And fairly low fat.

I'm so glad it's over...