Week One, Day Six. Today Was A Toughie!

Today was the proverbial bitch. For no reason except Sam and I went to a friends house to hang out and for him to play with her little guy and against my better judgment, I didn't pack my lunch. I did eat an apple and peanut butter for breakfast so I wouldn't be too hungry. AND, I took a fruit salad just in case but then they were eating turkey and cheese sandwiches and all I could think about was the bread, and mayonnaise, and pickles, and cheese, and turkey!

 

The thing is, I realize that because of my body and it's particular processes and shortcomings, I will be confronted with delicious things all of the time that I can only have rarely. It was a good confrontation actually because she also had spinach, cherry tomatoes, and organic lemon juice. So I wasn't stuck AND that's what I had while they had their fabulous sandwiches and Snikiddy Cheese Puffs. Ok, I had one Cheese Puff, seriously, these things are great! If you eat organic and like cheese puffs, they're super light and crunchy and have no GMO, no MSG, are gluten free, have no trans fat, and are kosher. They're still cheese puffs, but as far as brands go, this is a winner!

 

We played hard enough that Sam didn't make it home without passing out.

 

 

I also knew that I has a Simple Bean Burger waiting for me in the fridge when I got home. I made two major changes to this burger. 1) I don't like ketchup, so I used yellow mustard instead. 2) Instead of lettuce and tomato, I had a Tablespoon of vegan cheese. The patties aren't super easy to keep together and aren't pretty, but they're delish!

 

Dr. Furman's Simple Bean Burger

 

Remember how I said they save the best recipes for after you're used to eating pretty bland? Yes again! Dinner was Eggplant Roll-Ups, a spinach salad and steamed asparagus. The eggplant roll-ups had ALL the flavors of veggie pizza and was TOOOOO DIE FOR! I squeezed lemon over the asparagus for a little extra kick and Sam and I ate it like it was going out of style with some leftover mixed fruit from lunch!

 

Dr. Fuhrman's Eggplant Roll-ups

 

 

Dinner totally made up for lunch AND I got a nap in. Overall, a win. Mostly because I had to be really honest with myself about the future and eating with other people. But also because the more recipes I find that are like yesterday's and today's, the easier this is because delicious, colorful food isn't sad, disappointing, or deprivation.

Week One, Day Five. My First Off Day But It's Not What You Think

About a month ago, as my work was nearing the end of it's fiscal year, I scheduled today off for a Mommy day. I like to have a day all to myself about 4-5 times a year and I always end up with a GIANT list of things to do. Today was no different. I dropped Sam this morning and jumped straight into my day.

 

Today's breakfast was supposed to be Blue Apple Nut Oatmeal but I just couldn't get excited about oatmeal so instead I ate the banana and apple I was going to use in the recipe with about a Tablespoon of the peanut butter Sam didn't finish with his breakfast. The nice thing about my breakfast is that it went in the car with me as I headed out.

 

I'm thinking that I might abandon the breakfast recipes for the most part. They are sweetening already sweet fruit up too much for my liking. I'm going to, pending approval of my doctor, just eat the fruit. Back to it.

 

First stop, our local organic, locally grown market. It's SO great, like a farmer's market that's open all year round. Look at this beautiful selection. Seriously, if you have access to a locally grown produce market, whatever it's format, GO THERE!

 

 

I got almost everything on my list including something I've never tried before, gooseberries. Look at these beauties.

 

 

The clerk at the market said "they're really tart, you may not like them". I thought "perfect, tart is what I have really been missing!". Let me tell you I tried one and they were indeed, crazy, deliciously tart.

 

I finished the rest of my shopping at a chain store and then ran some fun errands. Hello Hobby Lobby! Look at these cool flowers. Made me want tea in the garden with Alice.

 

 

Lunch was meant to be edamame with no salt seasoning, Bean Enchiladas, and papaya with lime. I had the edamame and enchiladas BUT replaced the papaya with a handful of gooseberries and about a cup of cherry tomatoes that didn't make it home from the market, oops. I used about a Tablespoon of left-over Simple Guacamole that was left from last night's dinner on top of the enchilada to dress it up a little.

 

 

Okay, WTF. ALL the best recipes are saved for the last couple days. Seriously, are they trying to get you so used to plain food for a couple days that days 5+ are extra jazzy?!? Suffice to say, dinner was fab! We had mixed green salad with the Tofu Ranch that was left over from the other day. I brightened it up with a little lemon juice. The entrée was Thai Vegetable Curry. I have to be honest, I was worried that I would be disappointed. Thai food is one of my favs and I just thought it wouldn't measure up. Shame on me for thinking that over it before I even tasted it. Apart from adding some Dr. Bragg's liquid aminos (less than 1/8 teaspoon), and about 1/4 teaspoon Sambal Oelek because I really wanted it to be spicy, it was perfect. Once again, I say, it really is lovely to taste food without all of the chemicals.

 

 

Sam wanted to eat on the patio again so pardon the tray. It's not to be fancy, it's to get it all out there. After we scarfed our dinner down (I didn't even try to make Sam something different tonight,  I just added raisins to his), we got a yummy treat. Sam said it was his fav-it ouce ceam. Cantaloupe Slush. It was SO perfect that this was on our Friday night menu because it felt special, like we were being naughty. I know it doesn't look pretty but I don't have any parfait glasses and if I did am I put it in there to take a picture and then didn't let Sam have it to drink out of, we would have had a meltdown, and possibly a broken glass for me to clean up.

 

 

This was all I saw of his face until his was all gone......and then he wanted mine.

 

So I was technically "off" the plan a little today but acceptable deviations and delicious meals. Keep it coming Eat To Live!

 

 

 

 

Week One, Day Four. I Love Feeling Full Without Feeling Regret(full)!

Author's Note: I realize regretful is spelled wrong but it's cute, give me a break. Artistic license and all........

I thought I felt great yesterday. I felt even better this morning. That was a surprise considering my dogs kept me up half the night growling at something. I don't love that, right in the middle of the night, when their ruffs are up but nothing is there, or is it? Shit, I don't know but they woke me up enough I finally closed the door and locked them out! I never do that. BUT then I was creeped out and wanted them back in to protect me. We watched Jimmy Fallon clips on Youtube, it was a good time.

 

I was definitely hungry this morning after the exodus yesterday and breakfast was really good despite my reservation of another sweet dish. It was dried apricots that I had soaked overnight in almond milk. The apricots sweetened the milk and the milk softened the apricots just enough that it all got kind of yogurty and perfect. Well, almost perfect. Next time, I'm going to blend it a little so it's just like yogurt. I may also try freezing it, will let you know how that turns out!

 

 

P.S. There has got to be something wrong with my camera phone. All of my photos this morning are turning out looking like they have filters circa 1984 glamour shots.

 

Lunch was supposed to be a mixed green salad with Dijon Date Dressing and berries/fruit of my choosing but I added a cup of last night's soup (Dr. Fuhrman's Anti-Cancer Soup) because YUMMMM! I literally threw every sweet dressing I had left this morning out and will be replacing all of them with this dressing!! It's that amazing. As I did last night, I added a touch of Dr. Bragg's liquid aminos to both the dressing and the soup. Baby steps, baby steps.

 

 

Dinner was raw veggies with Simple Guacamole, Lisa's Lovely Lentil Stew, and Collard Greens with Carrots. The guacamole was awesome on the veggies. I liked it more than most restaurant guacamoles AND Sam learned how to say gack-a-molay, SO cute. He also ate most of it with his fingers while he ran around the table. Sheesh! The lentil stew was yum, of course with a little liquid aminos. I think that's just going to be a thing for me. But I figure an 1/8 of a teaspoon in a cup of beans isn't so bad. I DID NOT like the collard greens! The tahini/cashew butter sauce ruined them. I will not be making that again. I really rather just have steamed greens....or maybe some more of that Dijon dressing.

 

 

I'm glad to have my tummy back today exodus-wise and feeling a little less sad about pickles and cheese!

 

 

 

Week One, Day Three. Let's Just Call Today The Mass Exodus

I felt absolutely great this morning. I was worried about energy without animal protein but with beans and tofu, and ALL the spinach, collard greens, and kale I get to eat, energy is not a problem. I did wake up starving so I hurried through my morning routine so that I could get Sam ready and we could have breakfast.

 

I (we, that should just become and automatic exchange when I'm eating with Sam) had an Eat Your Greens Smoothie. I think what I loved most about it was that although it felt a little bit like a shake because of the banana and frozen blueberries, the spinach tamed the sweet factor down. I will be making this again!! Sam says "Sam loooves dis, all time!". I tried to get an adorable picture of his smoothie mustache, but as per usual, he would not slow down long enough to not be a blur across the screen!

 

 

Lunch was Black Bean Mango Salad and pineapple. I didn't actually have any black beans because Sam ate them all but I had red so I improvised. I also added 2 Tablespoons of oil free salsa. I specifically chose pineapple because breakfast was pretty sweet and there was mango in the salad. I wanted something with a little bite because I ate a lot of pickles before and I was missing the sour element. It was all delicious!

 

 

Before I tell you about dinner, let me tell you why I titled today's post mass exodus. If you are reading this you are smart enough to know what that means. Be prepared when your body responds to the huge amount of wonderful fruits and veggies, and beans you'll be enjoying. I was glad to be in my office without outside appointments today. Enough said. Just be prepared in case you respond similarly!

 

On to dinner. Dinner was a mixed green salad with Dijon Date Dressing and Dr. Fuhrman's Anti-Cancer Soup. If I said in either previous post that any meal was my favorite, I was wrong...this was my favorite! I LOVED the dressing and plan to always keep it in the fridge. The cashew butter led such a fantastic richness to the Dijon and the dates added a surprisingly welcome sweet note. The anti-cancer soup sounds very clinical, plain and bland I realize. They should name it veggie bomb or something because it was fantastic. I added about 1/8 teaspoon of Dr. Braggs liquid aminos just because I'm not sure I was ready to give up salt cold turkey. It gave it a little salty kick with low low low sodium

 

I heated up some chicken spaghetti for Sam but, big surprise, he wanted my food. We ate our soup in the dining room..........

 



 

  and then retired to the patio to have our salad. 

 

 

I'm happy that my guy is picking up some cleaner eating habits with me! I kind of makes me think I haven't really tasted food, just salt and preservatives and processing, in a long time because his taste buds haven't had all the years mine have had to get used to, and crave, things that are awful for me. I'm still waiting for that salt craving to wane............

Week One, Day Two. It's Gray Outside But I've Got REALLY Colorful Food!

I woke up feeling pretty great which was surprising considering it was still really overcast after the thunderstorms we had last night. I don't usually sleep well through storms, especially with Jeff gone. I noticed one thing right off, my wedding ring, which had gotten embarrassingly snug, felt a little looser on my finger. Can one day of no salt consumption really make that much of a difference? Who knows, but I don't think it's my imagination. I did resist the urge to weigh myself since it's ONLY BEEN A DAY and I feel good.

Breakfast was a Banana Breakfast to Go. I misread and only microwaved for a minute so the oatmeal was still pretty crunchy but I think this was a happy, fortuitous mistake because I'm not a major oatmeal fan and the thought of WAY mushy oatmeal is NOT appealing to me. Despite the fact that once again, it was slightly sweet for my taste, it was a yum breakfast. I promise it tasted better than it looks. It's not easy to get a pretty picture of oatmeal, blueberries, nuts, and bananas that have been microwaved with liquid.

 

Lunch was my favorite so far. Raw spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, celery, carrots, and peppers, cherries and a kiwi, and steamed broccoli with Sesame Ginger Sauce. The sauce didn't add much to the broccoli so I'm not certain I'd add it again. It might be better as a salad dressing or to mix with black beans for a kick! I made a month's worth so you bet your ass I'll find a way to use it.

 

 

Dinner was salad again with lemon juice and a pear, Chard and Vegetable Medley, and Jenna's Peach Freeze. I totally caved and salted the salad with a tiny smidge of a pinch. It really only added the illusion of saltiness but it psyched my tongue out so I'm happy. I was wrong about lunch being my favorite, the chard and veg was my favorite. That's going in the "Favorites" cookbook.

 

 

The Peach Freeze was totally better out of a zombie cup than it would have been in any other vessel, and as with last nights dinner, I didn't get the whole thing. My little dinner thief stole the last half of my drink and several bites of the chard and veg to go with his tacos and broccoli. His cuteness totally makes up for his thievery!

 

 

Couple notes for today.

I do have a massive headache but I think that's just because I just learned my roof is total crap and will have to be replaced, soon. Dammit!

Also, I think after this week, I may replace some of the fruit dishes with my favorite veggie dishes. I'm just more of a savory lover!

I'm definitely making extra next week since Sam seems to love most of the dishes. More than his own food in some cases.

 

Week One, Day One. How Ominous Does That Sound?

I made an absolute TON of food yesterday (Sunday). It turns out, if you aren't eating animal proteins, you have to (get to) eat scads of food! Just because I'm eating differently doesn't mean I'm suspending my "get it all ready while Sam naps on Sunday so I can enjoy the rest of the week without scrambling to make dinner" habits. Since my plan is to eat the same things for the first couple weeks since there's so much variety, I went ahead and made a couple weeks worth of most of the sauces, veggie dishes, and bean dishes. I also made extra because the veggie dishes sounded so good I thought they could be the sides for the boys, who do not want to give up their meat! Couple that with the chicken spaghetti, taco fixings, and pork chops I made for Sam (Jeff's out of town for work) and my fridge is PACKED. I honestly do not think I could fit anything else in there! I don't think I'll miss the meat much. When it's hot, I don't eat much meat anyway. We'll find out next Sunday when I haven't had animal protein in a week and I'm making the boys food for the week.

 

Right, on to day one.

 

Breakfast was about half a cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries and an orange sprinkled with ground flax seed. Flax seeds are full of Omega-3 fatty acids which are great for lowering elevated triglyceride levels! And, bonus, they added a nice texture. I didn't take a picture because if you don't know what cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries and oranges look like, you might not be ready to eat a fruit heavy diet :).

 

Lunch was a GIANT (as in, I couldn't fit it all on the plate) baby kale, chard, and spinach salad with 1 1/2 cups black beans and balsamic vinegar and a whole wheat pita with tahini spread, roasted red onion and portabello mushroom, fire roasted red peppers, and arugula. Get the recipe HERE. I don't think I got the tahini spread mixed up good enough because there were big chucks of tahini remaining which tastes a little bitter without the accompaniment of the other ingredients. Otherwise yummmm!

 

Dr. Fuhrman's Red Pepper Portobello Pita

 

Here's what was left (not including the cup of baby kale, chard and spinach mix that's in my work fridge). Honestly, I just can't, I'm too full!

 

 

Dinner was another mixed green salad (I used the same mix from lunch) with red peppers and tofu/dill/lemon juice, Golden Austrian Cauliflower Cream Soup, and strawberries sprinkled with cocoa powder. The lemon juice on the salad was a breeze because this was already my favorite "dressing" and the tofu and dill with it were a nice combo. The soup was a touch sweet for my taste, likely due to the ground cashew in it but it was not bad. 

 

 

I didn't get all of the peppers or hardly any of the strawberries with cocoa. My little food thief thought it was all too yummy. He even ate about a third of my soup. And this was all in addition to his own dinner!!! Observe......

 

 

 With the amount of food this boy is packing in, he may be 7 feet tall by next week.

 

Day one a success. The food is delicious if a little focused on the sweet side, I felt good and full all day and my little guy likes it all too. So far, I just, plain miss salt. Keeping my fingers crossed the craving is short lived. It IS interesting to taste food, really taste it without all of the salt. I'm excited for what this journey holds yet.

So it begins.........

Monday, June 9th, 2014

 

At 5 AM, when I woke up, a new journey began, a quest really. For health, for normalcy, to "feel right" again, and to live as long as I can for my son Sam, and for my husband Jeff, and for me. I want the footprint that I leave behind to mean as much as possible and not to be dragging behind for anything. My main reasons for wanting to improve my health in a major way?

 

 

Words have not actually been invented that can describe my love for these two, my boys! You can read lots more about them, our lives, our travels, our fun at redheadedmother.blogspot.com.

 

I recently began seeing a Doctor. Things didn't feel normal. It didn't matter what I did, how much I exercised, or what I ate (or didn't), after my pregnancy, things got out of whack.

 

 Will this disclosure be embarrassing? Yes, but I am committed to keeping myself honest by sharing the journey. I am starting out today at 221 lbs. This is unacceptable. Further more, and much more importantly, I don't really feel good, a lot. Not bad, just not great. I'm going to share my ups and downs because it's important for other women to know how to avoid having to take this journey too.

Almost immediately after delivering Sam, I was sick and my Doctors weren't sure why. My liver enzymes were through the roof and my platelet count was through the floor. A liver specialist was called in and I was diagnosed with HELLP Syndrome. HELLP Syndrome is a life-threatening pregnancy complication usually considered to be a variant of preeclampsia. Both conditions usually occur during the later stages of pregnancy, or sometimes (as in my case) after childbirth. Read more HERE.

 

My OB/GYN and the liver specialist both said it would take a while to get back to normal but Sam is going to be three in November and I can still see the outline of myself on the sheets from the night sweats and despite several different lifestyle changes, my weight has actually increased about 20 lbs in the last year.

 

Was it possible that there were other things going on? Was it possible that the HELLP Syndrome played a hand in other issues? Does it really matter why when you don't feel right? Tell your Doctor and get well! My OB/GYN recommended I see a hormone specialist since late pregnancy/delivery complications can force other body systems into over/under drive.

 

I had a complete battery of blood tests and learned the following:

1) I have hypothyroidism.

2) My body is no longer producing estrogen/progesterone OR testosterone normally.

3) I have high cholesterol.

4) I am Niacin deficient.

5) Although not diseased (thank GOD!!), my liver is underprocessing which may be a result of the incidence of increased liver enzymes due to HELLP Syndrome.

 

I was certainly non-plussed, depressed even, to hear this news but my Doctor assured me that we could pretty easily get back on track. He prescribed the following (numbers correspond to numbers above):

1) 1-Grain for the thyroid

2) topical testosterone first thing in the morning and topical estrogen/progesterone right at bedtime

3) Alaskan salmon oil for cholesterol

4) Niacin (duh)

5) Sam-E to support my liver

 

One of the things I love about my Doctor is that he is passionate about ONLY the necessary prescription medications. 1-Grain and the topical hormones are the only prescription medicines listed, the others are supplements. In the interest of the "let's handle this without a medicine cabinet for of drugs" philosophy, he also recommended a diet change. A rather extreme (on the face of it) diet change.

 

This will be the primary focus of this blog. Dr. Fuhrman's Eat To Live program is usually meant for weight loss but my Doctor recommended it for me as a way to improve overall health. Weight loss should be a nice side-effect. The main tenant of the program is that the more nutrient-dense food you consume, the more you will be satisfied with fewer calories and the less you will crave fat and high-calorie foods.

 

As recommended, I will start out with six weeks of the strictly vegan part of the plan to see how it affects, along with my supplements, my LDL, HDL, triglycerides, etc. The worst part, no wine with dinner :(. I'm kidding, that's miniscule price to pay.

I will share the recipe information from Dr. Fuhrman's on a day-by-day basis because otherwise, this blog will be even ridiculously longer than it already is, phew! More information can be found HERE or buy the book HERE.