Our Changes

Today's Reading - Theme "Cute"

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:14:00 +0000

I bounce around all over the internets. Here's some of the stuff I came across today.

One of my favorite blogs, Farmgirl Fare, posted some pics Thursday of a momma ewe bonding with her 10 lb baby girl.
If you need some cheering up, an excuse to make cooing noises at your computer, or you simply like to burn extreme cuteness into your retinas, check them out.

Maybe favorite blogs should have been the theme for today, cuz this one is another of mine. The Pioneer Woman. This post, My Favorite Swaddling Blanket, made me cry. The good kind, from laughing uncontrollably. I made so much noise, The Fiance had to come and see what the fuss was about. I LOVE a story with a hilarious surprise ending!

Silly Saturday - A Garden Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:17:00 +0000

Things are different out here.

It's bright.


Oops, I forgot to clean my toes.

Is this for me?


I found my special water!

Spotted a dog... four floors down.

Growling.

Turf defended... where are my eyes?

Today's Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 05:22:00 +0000

I read a bunch of stuff everyday. Today's links were all from this post by Holly Would If She Could.

Why Grains Are Unhealthy from Mark's Daily Apple.
A tongue in cheek look at why humans shouldn't be scarfing grains.

What is the Paleo Diet? by Fit Bomb
While it sounds like an article about... the Paleo Diet, haha, it is, it's also smack full of information that the average Joe or Joette needs to get straight in their head. Stuff like, do I need to count calories? Does fat make me fat? If not, why not? And, what happens to the macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) I eat?
If you think all calories are created equal or that the carbs you're loading up on at each meal aren't affecting your health, you should read this.
Actually, everyone should read this, it's well written, entertaining, and OH NO! You might learn something ;-p
If you aren't into the paleo aspect of it, start with Part 2: Carbohydrates and the Science of Body Fat.

The Grain Manifesto by Whole Nine
Hmmm... I'm sensing a theme.
Another take on why we humans shouldn't be eating the grains.
I guess I've had a few people asking me recently if I will eat grains in the future. It's on my mind. Answer? I don't know. I'm far from healed so we'll have to see. If I do, the quantity compared to my former carb snarfer life will be greatly reduced and definitely prepared a la Nourishing Traditions/Weston Price Foundation style.

Setting Up the Shop Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:38:00 +0000

The shop lights are set up on the bottom shelf. I haven't bought lights for the other shelf yet. I want to experiment first. Didn't get around to planting a tray... that's what tomorrow is for, right?


Shining away on Disaster Tray.

Disaster Tray is a story for another day. Maybe tomorrow.

Those skinny mini lights... not sure how they are going to work. When I first arranged them I had them evenly spaced out and there were shadows at each end of the tray. The Fiance sorted me out by pulling the lights apart more and now they seem to be giving fairly even coverage.

See?


Up close and personal with Disaster Tray.

But who knows, maybe I'll have to arrange them like this.


Coulda taken that chunk of cardboard out.

However they get arranged, I can still fit FOUR trays per shelf. Magical fantasticness! And if I really can't stand not knowing how evenly the light is falling I can always take out my lovely light meter, that barely sees the light of day, and take a few readings. I have a feeling future microgreens are going to tell me exactly what is happening.

I'm Back

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 04:52:00 +0000

That was a longer vacation from blogging than intended. Oops.

We're still doing GAPS. I'm still experiencing healing. It's become part of who we are and less... novelty. Though friends and family still think we're nuts :-)

But it's spring, so enough of that. I've been itching to share my "crazy". Microgreens! Growing food indoors! Fun-ness amplified!!

We live in an apartment and there is (was) a window seat in our living room. It's been appropriated, by me, to become our new indoor garden.

See?

That's a BIG shelf you have there.

The shelf was this one from Walmart. It's huge. It needed to be 4 feet wide, so I could use standard shop-light fluorescents.

I'm going to light the bottom two shelves with these shop-lights from Rona. In the description it says they are 48" x12". Liars! They must be including the hanging chain or something. These guys are teeny weeny, maybe 3" x 3". Maybe. So, it's going to take two of them per shelf to light things up.

I'll be alternating regular warm & cool T8 fluorescent bulbs to get most of the colour spectrum happening.

The beauty of microgreens is that they don't grow until maturity, they only grow (in most cases) until their true leaves come in. The point is that they don't need massive amounts of light. They will be overjoyed with what the fluorescents provide.

The top two shelves will be used for germination and the bottom two for the last week or so of growth, to green em up.

I thought I'd only be able to fit two trays per shelf, but I was wrong. I can fit FOUR!!! That means I can have 16 trays at various stages going at once. Holy cow! That will be a lot of greens! Did I mention that was one big shelf?

I'm a BIG shelf.

See the tray? That tiny little black thing in the bottom right corner. It's 11" x 21". A standard gardening tray. I'll be able to fit 16 of them on that thing. Crazy. Haven't quite gotten over it :-)

We have a deck so I garden outdoors in containers all summer. I'll write more about that soon, as stuff is sprouting up all over the place. The indoor "grow" is going to be about winter food, mostly. Next year it will also be about starting seeds to get a head start on the season. And I'm sure I will find time for an experiment. Or two. Or more.

I'll eventually start a resource page for gardening as well. There is a lot of good info out there on indoor gardening and much of it is free.

Cheesy Coconut Flour Biscuits.

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 04:01:00 +0000

I used the recipe part way down this page called Cheese Biscuits. They were really good.

I made them pretty much as written except I used baking soda instead of baking powder. I used melted butter as the oil.

I cooked them in a muffin tin at 400F for 15 minutes. The recipe made 6 biscuits. Next time I'll double it and make a dozen.

They were fan-freakin-tastic :]

Thai Curry Butternut Squash Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 03:50:00 +0000

1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
1 medium cooking onion, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1" piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 generous tbsp Thai green or red curry paste
1 cup whey leftover from straining yogurt or water
4 cups chicken stock
1 average sized butternut squash, roasted and peeled
1 400 ml (14 fl oz) can coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp unprocessed salt

In a large dutch oven, sauté onion in coconut oil over med-low heat.

Make a paste of the garlic, ginger, and curry paste. When the onion starts to brown add the paste. Sauté for a minute or two, until fragrant. Add the whey and chicken stock. Stir and let cook for 10 minutes.

Add the cooked squash. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.

If you don't have and immersion blender, add the cooked squash with the whey and stock and don't let it heat up. Instead puree the soup in a blender or food processor and then let it come to a simmer.

After the soup has been pureed, by either method, let it come to a simmer. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Let it come to a simmer again and then serve.

You can also turn the heat to low and let it cook for a while longer (up to an hour). This will improve the flavour. Soup is always better the next day as flavours get a chance to blend.

Coleslaw w/ Peanut Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:53:00 +0000

We had this for dinner the other night topped with chicken breast (boneless, skin on) that had been fried in virgin coconut oil. I drizzled the leftover peanut sauce over the chicken. Yum.

1 small white cabbage, sliced thin
1 small head romaine, sliced thin
2 carrots, grated
1 red pepper, julienned
1/2 cup sweet onion, sliced thin
1 handful of chopped cilantro
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
Peanut Sauce

Put all of the prepared veggies and the sesame seeds into a large bowl and toss with peanut sauce to taste.

This recipe made enough for 2 adults to have as the main part of their dinner plus leftovers for a few lunches.

Peanut Sauce/Dressing

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:49:00 +0000

I love peanut sauce. Love love love it.

I've been making this one from Elana's Pantry because there's no soy sauce in it, plus it doesn't need to be cooked. Bonus. Besides that, it tastes very good.

The only changes I make are to sub honey for the agave nectar, coconut milk for the water, and sambal oelek for the chili powder.

So good and so easy. One thing though, this sauce really, really needs to sit for at least 2 hours before you eat it. If it doesn't it tastes weird. I think it's the ume plum vinegar.

Full-Gaps Day 90 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:31:00 +0000

Wow, time kinda got away from me.

I was feeling crappy for a while so I took a break from blogging. Then time passed and I wasn't feeling so horrid, but I still wasn't blogging. Then I'd start thinking about getting back to blogging and realized I really didn't want to. After more thought, I realized that it was the format I was using. It's boring me to tears. It's good to see my progress all layed out, but if I can't make myself sit down and record it, it isn't very useful, right?

We are still doing Full GAPS. Even fuller now as we have reintroduced raw dairy. I'm doing fabulous on dairy and am super happy to have it be part of my diet again. I'm also being super picky about what kind of dairy I'm ingesting. Next time you're in the supermarket, pick up a carton of whip cream or yogurt and check out the ingredients. "What's that?" you say, "Whip cream has ingredients? Shouldn't it be 100% cream?" You would think, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

So, we are sticking to dairy that is either raw or has no "additives". To note, I consider the mysterious "milk ingredients" to be an additive as they most likely contain milk powders which aren't good for you, plus who knows where they are sourced from.

Anyway, I'm done with the structured blog for now. I can still record how I'm feeling,what we eat, and recipes and all that yazz.

Tonight I'm too tired. It's bed time. I'll start my post earlier tomorrow.

Full-Gaps Day 74 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 05:43:00 +0000

Breakfast:
-fresh nectarine
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-leftover Roast Beef
-leftover coleslaw

Snacks:
-crispy walnuts & hazelnuts
-raw kefir

Dinner:
-leftover Roast Beef
-leftover coleslaw
-Bubbies pickles

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with breakfast
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with dinner
No foot or leg cramps last night.

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: introduced raw kefir last week
Both The Fiancé and I are doing well on raw kefir. I did a second fermentation and it was really good.
How To Make Your Kefir Taste Extra Yummy
Ripening Kefir under AirLock

Energy Level:
OK.

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
Low back is getting better. I put it out last week by sitting on a chair wrong. Gotta love that.

Foot pain:
Very mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
A bit in the left knee when sitting.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
4 (.)

Last nights sleep:
Good.

Anxiety:
Oh boy, a new category.

Anxiety is my newest most annoying Adrenal Fatigue symptom. It's especially annoying as it has decided to manifest itself, not as a panic attack like in a normal person, but as diarrhea. Yep, the joke's on me. Why, oh why, oh why, oh why does it have to be that? No idea. It is what it is.

I've been reluctant to talk about this, as it's a tiny bit (= A LOT!!) embarrassing, not to mention really gross. I'm not a good public pooper and what's been coming out of me is far from normal, so I've been pretty much homebound. There are little things I get out to do, within range of my toilet =] Groceries and such. But longer excursions, yikes, they come at a risk. I've had to turn down so many fun events and visits because of it and it really sucks.

I was really, super-duper hoping GAPS would address this sooner rather than later, but it hasn't. If anything it might be worse.

So, I'm about to do something drastic. I'm weaning myself off coffee. Oh dear coffee, I love you so. It's a necessary evil. It'll get The Fiancé off my back, as I shouldn't be drinking it at all with Adrenal Fatigue and he loves to remind me of that daily, and it will answer the question lurking somewhere in the back of my mind... Is coffee part of my poopy problem?

The other thing is that I really should be recording when it happens. Don't panic, I'm not going to be describing anything here, I'm not that gross. Well, actually I am, but I'm still not going to post it. I mostly want to see the frequency and what days it happens on. I'm hoping to see a pattern emerge. Something that will clue me in to the inner workings of my weird brain and help me figure out why the heck this is happening. I'm ready for my life back, please.

So in the spirit of documenting my progress on GAPS...
(d) x 3

Comments:
Missed a few days of posting again, oops!
Hurt my back last week and couldn't sit comfortably to type. Then I got busy. Then I was a lil' bit hungover. The truth hurts.

Lots of fun stuff going on with our Milk Share. To make life easier for our new Agister, I've put our share back to "normal". This means we'll be messing up our reintroduction schedule and will have raw milk to "bathe in" this week. (I secretly can't wait!!!! I miss it soooooooooo much!!) I like kefir, but I don't want to "bathe in" 4 litres of it a week. I was intending to wait and bring raw milk back last. It's not even officially GAPS legal, being a more advanced "bath product". Whatcha gonna do? At this time I feel it's more important to support the cause, our Agister, and our herd, so we'll be "bathing in" raw milk before I'd planned. (secret YAHOO!!)

Besides, I'm confident we won't have any negative reactions to it. We've been "using" it for 3 years and had no problems with the dairy we've reintroduced so far. The Fiancé reacts instantly to pasteurized dairy. His nose runs, he sneezes, and he even gets asthmatic at times. Scary. He's A-OK on raw dairy.

Ontario raw milk farmer takes over Home on the Range cows

Full-Gaps Day 69 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 05:17:00 +0000

Breakfast:
-fresh pear
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-Organic Deli Roast Beef from Choices
-apple

Snacks:
-none

Dinner:
-Hot Wings
-steamed Brussels sprouts with butter

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with breakfast
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with dinner
No foot or leg cramps last night.

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: nothing new this week

Energy Level:
Good.

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
Had the between the shoulder blades pain while cleaning the chicken. No low back pain today. Yay.

Foot pain:
Mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
A bit in the left knee when sitting.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
35

Last nights sleep:
Good. Weird dreams.

Comments:
Not today. Tired & gotta hit the hay.

Full-Gaps Day 68 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 05:31:00 +0000

Breakfast:
-fresh peach
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-Left over Chicken Salad from yesterday
-Leftover Grain Free Tabouli
-Leftover Boozy Flank Steak
-kalamata olives

Snacks:
-crispy hazelnuts & walnuts
-coconut macaroons (the recipe was a flop so I'll post it when I work out the kinks)

Dinner:
-Classic Drop Biscuits with raw butter, mayo, mustard, and leftover Boozy Flank Steak
-steamed beans with butter & unprocessed salt
-Simple Veggie Salad (tomato, avocado & lime)

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with breakfast
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with dinner
No foot or leg cramps last night.

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: nothing new this week

Energy Level:
Good. I'm finally waking up feeling refreshed again. We'll see for how long :-)

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
You bet. No low back pain today, but loads of between the shoulder blades pain while working in the kitchen.

Foot pain:
Mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
A bit in the left knee when sitting.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
34
?? What happened to my reset button? Last month was only 29 days.

Last nights sleep:
Good! I love the times of the month when I am sleeping well. I feel so much more productive.

Comments:
Holy cow! We had a sandwich for dinner tonight! The first honest to goodness pick it up and eat it with your hands sandwich. No wheat was harmed during this meal :]

Speaking of cows, our cow share is under attack, again.
Here's a little of what' going on out there...

What is white, frothy, and illegal to sell in B.C.?

Bovinity

B.C. judge orders Alice Jongerden not to milk the cows

Thank you, Alice, for taking this on. I know you didn't ask to be thrust into the spotlight. You're doing a wonderful job!

Poor Fraser Health doesn't understand the community Alice has created around our cows and the precious milk they produce. Our share members will band together to support each other and do their best to ensure each of us keeps getting our property. We won't let a little Contempt of Court get us down.

This fight has become more about basic personal rights than actual access to a truly healthy food. Deny people their rights and you are going to have a revolution on your hands. Well, maybe a change in law anyway.

Full-Gaps Day 67 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 05:43:00 +0000

Breakfast:
-fresh peach
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-Chicken Salad; leftover lemon roast chicken, sweet onion, celery, mayo, basil (dry), and pepper
-Leftover Grain Free Tabouli
-red & orange bell pepper slices
-dates for dessert

Snacks:
-raw yogurt

Dinner:
-Leftover Chicken Salad from lunch
-Leftover Grain Free Tabouli
-Beef Broth

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with breakfast
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with dinner
No foot or leg cramps last night.

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: nothing new this week

Energy Level:
OK.

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
A bit of that between the shoulder blades stuff.

Foot pain:
Mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
A bit in the left knee when sitting.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
33
Hmmm...

Last nights sleep:
Good!

Comments:
Wanna check out the ingredients in your make-up, skin care, or hair products?

Skin Deep: The Cosmetic Safety Database

Full-Gaps Day 66 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 05:07:00 +0000

Breakfast:
-fresh nectarine
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-Spinach sauteed in coconut oil, leftover lemon roast chicken, raw hollandaise sauce.

Snacks:
-raw yogurt

Dinner:
-Boozy Flank Steak
-Grain Free Tabouli

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with breakfast
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with dinner
No foot or leg cramps last night.

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: pasteurized butter

Energy Level:
OK.

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
It's ba-ack. Drat. Got the dreaded between the shoulder blades pain while picking the rest of the meat off the chicken I roasted the other day. It stayed with me while I made dinner and washed dishes too. Oh yay :-(

Foot pain:
Mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
A bit in the left knee when sitting.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
32
Where are you (.)?

Last nights sleep:
Good!

Comments:
Had an OK day, except for the between the shoulder blades pain. The day I get to say good bye to that particular pain forever is going to be a great day!

From the WWW...

The Story of Cosmetics, short video

The Story of Cosmetics: Frequently Asked Questions, article

The Story of Cosmetics: Personal Care Products Myths and Facts, article

Grain Free Tabouli

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 05:01:00 +0000

We both love tabouli. It's one of our favourite summer salads. Traditionally it's made with cracked wheat or bulgar, which is a no go for us right now. The sesame seeds worked out really well, providing the correct texture and crunch.
Make this in the morning to have for dinner, it needs to marinate.

3 bunches parsley
1 bunch cilantro
1 cup sesame seeds, toasted
4 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped into 1/2" pieces
1/3 cup sweet onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 - 1 tsp unprocessed salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup good quality organic olive oil
3 dashes Tabasco sauce

Wash and trim the parsley and cilantro. You can chop the heck out of it into tiny bits by hand or you can whiz it in your food processor like I do.

Place the parsley & cilantro into a large bowl. Add the toasted sesame seeds. You can toast them easily in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat (4 out of 10 for my stove). Stir often and watch that they don't burn. You'll know they're done when they've browned a bit and are fragrant.

Seed the tomatoes by cutting in half and squishing the half over the sink to get rid of excess juice. Cut them up and throw them in the bowl too.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Start with 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 tsp salt. This salad needs to marinate at room temperature for several hours, at least 6. After time has passed, you can do a taste test and add more garlic & salt if you want.

Boozy Flank Steak

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 04:38:00 +0000

For the Marinade:

1/2 cup red wine (I used a cab sauv/merlot blend)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

For the meat:

1 flank steak
1 batch marinade
unprocessed salt

Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl or Pyrex lasagna dish that is big enough to hold your flank steak. You can also use a large ziplock freezer bag.

Let the steak marinate in the fridge for 6-24 hours. The longer the better.

Take the meat out of the fridge 1/2 hour before you're going to cook it. Preheat the broiler and prepare a broiler pan. I line the bottom part of the pan with foil to make cleanup easier.

When the oven is hot, place the meat on the broiler pan, discard the marinade, and sprinkle both sides with salt. I find cooking it 5 minutes per side works well for me. You will have to experiment to find the right time for you. We like it raw, I mean rare, in the middle.

Once both sides have been broiled, take the steak out, cover with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Slice thin, at an angle, against the grain to reduce the chewiness of this cut.

Smoked Salmon, Spinach & Avocado Eggs Benny

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 05:30:00 +0000

Breakfast for dinner? Or a decadent brunch.

This fed the two of us with a couple leftover coconut flour pancakes and hollandaise for tomorrow.

1 batch coconut flour pancakes
1 small (85g) pack cold smoked salmon, look at the ingredients and find one without sugar, not that easy it turns out. I think I ended up with Western Family brand Wild Sockeye from Save-On
1 avocado, halved, peeled & sliced
1 bunch spinach, sautéed in coconut oil
4 poached eggs, we've been using these Poach Pods and they rock!
1 batch raw hollandaise

To plate, place a few coconut flour pancakes on a dinner plate. Layer smoked salmon over them. Then the slices of avocado and the sautéed spinach. Pop the eggs on top and then slather with hollandaise.

Raw Hollandaise Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 05:12:00 +0000

Hand me a spoon please! This is one serious bowl of yumminess :-)
If you don't have raw use regular old pasteurized butter, organic if you can.

This recipe is based on the one from The Best of Bridge, The Best of the Best - Vol. 1 (Page: 38) Never Fail Blender Hollandaise Sauce

1 cup or 8 oz raw butter
4 egg yolks, fresh from pastured birds
1/4 tsp unprocessed salt
1/4 tsp honey
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp tobasco
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Melt the butter in a small pot over the lowest heat setting your stove has. If you are using raw butter this is important or it isn't going to be raw anymore, so let it take it's time.

Put the rest of the ingredients into the blender in the order shown.

When the butter is melted, whiz the stuff in the blender for 5-10 seconds and then slowly pour the melted butter through the hole in the lid (not that tiny hole people use for making mayo, that big hole that the handle thing slips into) whizzing the entire time. I use the low setting on my blender (Bosch), other blenders might need medium or high.

Ta-da! Yummy creamy delish raw hollandaise!

Full-Gaps Day 65 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 04:47:00 +0000

Breakfast:
-fresh pear
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-bunless hotdog (GAPS legal bison dogs cut into chunks) with sweet onion, mustard, homemade ketchup, homemade mayo, & homemade sauerkraut (this one is white cabbage, onion, garlic & fresh dill = yum!)

Snacks:
-raw yogurt
-crispy almonds

Dinner:
-Smoked Salmon, Spinach & Avocado Eggs Benny
-homemade sauerkraut
-red wine

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with breakfast
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm)with dinner
I finally remembered! Yay me!
Not a moment too soon, I've been waking in the middle of the night with foot and leg cramps. Not a great way to wake up. Lets hope this nips it in the butt.

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: pasteurized butter
We got our fill of raw butter today with the hollandaise, sooooo good!

Energy Level:
OK. A bit better than yesterday, but still not where I should be at this time of the month.

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
Low back pain this afternoon and evening.
Still haven't experienced that super debilitating between the shoulder blades pain. I'm not going to say it's gone... but it's definitely on a leave of absence.

Foot pain:
Mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
A bit in the right knee when sitting.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
31
Last month my period had started already... further hormonal reset buttons being pushed??

Last nights sleep:
Good. Really good. I LOVE a good nights sleep. Makes me feel like being nice.

Comments:
For some reason I had it in my head that breakfast for dinner was an easy thing. A simple and relaxing meal to prepare. I haven't made benny's for a while... maybe I forgot how everything is ready at exactly the same time and you're raging around the kitchen trying to put it all together. Spilling raw eggs out of poach pods, decorating the cabinets with that delightful yellow hollandaise, and the floor after an over vigorous stir of the spinach.

Once it all comes together and your plate is swimming in that heavenly sauce it's all worth it. Well, maybe after a few bites and a few more sips of wine.

More interesting stuff from the land of the internet...

146 Reasons Why Sugar Is Ruining Your Health

Top 10 Junk Foods in Disguise

Why we are obese

Full-GAPS Days 61-90 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 18:31:00 +0000

Full-Gaps Day 61 (Pre-Intro)
Full-Gaps Day 62 (Pre-Intro)
Full-Gaps Day 63 (Pre-Intro)
Full-Gaps Day 64 (Pre-Intro)
Full-Gaps Day 65 (Pre-Intro)
Full-Gaps Day 66 (Pre-Intro)
Full-Gaps Day 67 (Pre-Intro)
Full-Gaps Day 68 (Pre-Intro)
Full-Gaps Day 69 (Pre-Intro)
Full-Gaps Day 70 (Pre-Intro)

Full-Gaps Day 64 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 04:32:00 +0000

Breakfast:
-fresh peach
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-Leftover Beef Stew with Root Veggies
-leftover Classic Drop Biscuit

Snacks:
-raw yogurt
-crispy almonds

Dinner:
-Roast Lemon Chicken (with broccoli instead of carrots, broccoli doesn't take as long to cook as carrots, so add it for the last 45-60 minutes of cooking)
-homemade sauerkraut

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) in the morning

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: pasteurized butter

Energy Level:
OK.

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
None.

Foot pain:
Mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
A bit in the right knee when sitting.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
30

Last nights sleep:
Good.

Comments:
Came across a few interesting articles...

Buying Meat Directly From a Farmer: 7 Things You Need to Know

Behind the Egg Labels: What Do They Really Mean?

GMO corn is everyone's problem!

Full-Gaps Day 63 (Pre-Intro)

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 05:09:00 +0000

Breakfast:
-leftover Spicy Meatloaf, with homemade ketchup and mustard
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-Bison hotdog (GAPS legal), with sweet onion, ketchup, mayo, yellow mustard, and sauerkraut

Snacks:
-raw yogurt
-fresh prune plum & nectarine

Dinner:
-Beef Stew with Root Veggies
-Classic Drop Biscuits

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) in the morning

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: pasteurized butter
Both of us are doing well with all of the dairy we've reintroduced so far.

Energy Level:
OK.

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
Low back was a bit stiff today. Had a weird dream that The Fiancé rolled over onto me while we were sleeping and I was yelling at him to wake up because he was crushing my back and then I woke up (for real) and was sleeping all contorted and now my back hurts. Hee hee.
A little between the shoulder blades pain this afternoon while preparing the stew.

Foot pain:
Mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
None.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
29

Last nights sleep:
Good. Didn't have a big pee-fest like the other night. Had the weird dream I mentioned above just before I woke up this morning.

Comments:
Feeling much better today. Got more done around the house, that's my yardstick. I wonder if this tired (low) phase I've been dealing with is a recurrence of my old fatigue pattern reasserting itself or truly just a crash caused by all my anxiety over attending and shooting that wedding a week and a bit ago.

Before I started taking supplements for Adrenal Fatigue, a year before GAPS, I had a repetitive cycle of fatigue where I would feel my worst the 2 weeks before my period, every freakin' month.

After I was on supplements (and I was on a lot of them, to the tune of $300 a month) my fatigue time shifted. I would feel good up until my period and then on day two I would go into my "low time". It's stayed that way up until this month.

One of the first things I noticed about GAPS was that I didn't get a harshly defined "low time" (that 2 week stretch), I was consistently low, but not as bad as my actual "low times" of old.

So, I guess I have another wait-and-see on my hands.

Beef Stew with Root Veggies

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 05:01:00 +0000

It's been feeling a little fall-like around here. Bring on the stew! This concoction just fit into my 7 quart enameled cast iron dutch oven. If you want one, watch the Canadian Tire flyers because they go on sale quite often, at least 50% off.

When I make stew I usually brown the meat first. I didn't with this one cuz I just didn't feel like it.

To peel pearl onions, drop them into a pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and let them cool for 2 minutes or so. When you can touch them again, cut a sliver off the root end and squish the onion. Push the root end against your cutting board as you're squishing so the whole thing doesn't come apart. The onion will pop easily out of its peel. If the stem end looks gross, give it a trim too.

2 lbs stewing beef, cut into bite sized chunks
1 large cooking onion, chopped fine
1/2 lb pearl onions, peeled
5 medium sized white turnips, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
2 large beet roots, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
5 cloves garlic, quartered
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
dash cinnamon
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp tomato paste or 2 tbsp homemade ketchup
1/2-1 cup beef broth (or chicken if you don't have beef)
3 tbsp butter
unprocessed salt

Preheat the oven to 275F.

Place the beef, onions, turnips, beets, garlic, and bay leaves into a large dutch oven.

In a bowl, mix the ACV, spices, mustard, tomato paste, and beef broth. Pour the over the contents of the dutch oven and mix.

Drop the 3 tbsp's of butter on top of everything. Put the lid on and place in the oven. Cook for 4 hours. I took it out and stirred it up at the 2 & 3 hour marks. Before serving, add salt to taste.

This could be done in the crockpot too, 8 hours on low.

I used 1/2 cup stock and liked how much liquid there was in the stew, keeping in mind that there was no thickener added. The finely chopped cooking onion does help to thicken a bit. Gravy Man, aka The Fiancé, thought there should be more liquid.

It tasted really good today so it should be awesome tomorrow.

Classic Drop Biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (Changes) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:25:00 +0000

These are from Elana Amsterdam's book The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, page 20. Her site, Elana's Pantry, is great. Lots of really good GAPS friendly recipes.

The recipe isn't up on her website so you'll have to get a hold of her book to check it out. I borrowed it from the library and will probably buy it now.

I made a few changes. I subbed honey for the agave nectar and coconut oil for the grapeseed oil.

The recipe also calls for baking soda, which isn't GAPS legal. I used it because her recipe also calls for lemon juice, which is an acid and will neutralize the alkaline properties of the baking soda. It makes sense in my head.

Anyhoo, The Fiancé and I both loved them. They taste like a cross between a muffin and toasted almonds. In other words, yum. They went really well with the stew we had for dinner.