One day at a time...

I have given in to my cravings for things entirely unhealthy for me... So, I am resolving to not buy that crap any more (or, let's be completely honest, not as often as I have been buying it) and make my lunch each day... I even bought special "bento box" style lunch containers to help me with this endeavor...

Breakfast today:
1 c. Vanilla Greek Yogurt
1/2 banana, sliced
1/4 c. Gluten-Free granola

Beverage of choice:
Stash Moroccan Mint Green Tea

Lunch:
1/2 Roast Beef bagel sandwich
Baby Carrots

Snack:
Dried Apricots
Dry Roasted Almonds

How to not be angry...

I've spent the last few months in various stages of anger... I've come to terms (sort of) with my impending divorce and how it's made me feel, etc. But, that's not what I'm going to write about today...

I've spent the better part of this day in various stages of anger... from irritated to frustrated to almost blind rage... Yep, I had it all today (aren't I lucky)... It started with a nice thing we like to call a winter storm... (I am so over the concept of winter, by the way).

I got up early as I had agreed to pick up a coworker from the automotive maintenance shop. I went to start my car so it would warm up and kind of thaw out before I left. While I was outside, the guy who plows our driveway was here. I started my car and proceeded to clear the snow from it so I could move the car (and he could clear my spot). As soon as I was done with my car, apparently so was he... grumble grumble... That meant that I had 6 inches of snow directly around my car (as he had done the rest of the driveway).

Before leaving my house, I broke ice off my wipers 3 times so that they would work properly... Which didn't work... While driving, I had to stoop low in my seat so I could see out of the clear part of the windshield (the bottom 4 inches)...

Then, on my way to pick up my coworker, it was school-zone traffic time on the main road to my neighborhood. I planned ahead and took the road that leads to a traffic light (rather than a stop sign), but I still had to sit in slow moving traffic for quite a while (there went my plan of picking up breakfast at McD's).

I got to the shop a little ahead of my coworker and, seeing that I had a bit of time and the parking lot for the shop was full, I parked in the lot across the street, which belongs to a Salvation Army-type store. I proceeded yet again to break the ice off my wiper blades. I finally got the one on the driver side of the car to work better than before (but still not quite perfect)... The one on the passenger side was just along for the ride.

I saw my coworker pull up, so I moved over to the shop's lot, assuming that all she needed to do was drop off the car and we'd be on our way... Nope! She had to go inside and wait in line, all the while I was blocking the flow of traffic in the parking lot (primarily because there was no place to park). I moved back over to the lot across the street, where they proceeded to give me the evil eye... So, I decided to basically park in the street with my hazard lights on... My coworker was in the shop for almost 15 minutes, basically due to incompetence on the shop's part... grumble grumble grumble...

Did I mention that this was at a time of day where the lighting was "just right" and you couldn't tell what had been plowed and what hadn't? (no shadows) Yep... The drive in to the office was "fun"...

My morning at the office was uneventful, for the most part. I got online to check my school forum and see if any of my teammates had posted comments about our paper that I was to compile and post last night (but didn't because a couple of the parts were poorly written - so poorly written that I had no idea what they were trying to say so that I could rewrite it in a way that made sense in the paper). No responses...

At lunch time, I had to venture out to get some dog food for Noni. Road conditions had not really improved from that morning... I had to break ice off my wipers again. I decided to get lunch at McD's (since I got screwed out of my breakfast) and I ended up getting stuck in the snow at the first window... Yep, I really hate winter... Got going again and headed back to the office, where my straw for my drink fell between the passenger door and the passenger seat... grumble, grumble, grrrr....

The afternoon passed almost as uneventfully... I got online yet again to check the comments from my team on the unfinished paper... Still nothing...

The drive home was no better than the morning... It snowed throughout the day, so city maintenance crews had difficulty keeping up... The road into my neighborhood was still pretty sloppy... I pulled into the driveway to see that the snow plow guy hadn't been back to get the snow that accrued from the day. This meant another 4 inches of snow on top of the 6 that was left around my car... I got out so I could shovel the excess around my car spot away... I ended up pinching a nerve in my low back which shot pain down my legs... I stopped shoveling as soon as I got around the first half of the car... I remembered to pull my wipers AWAY from the window after I parked in my spot (after cleaning more ice off them... seriously, what's with the rapid ice formation on wiper blades today?)...

I got inside and turned on my computer to check, yet again, if team members had posted anything... Nope... Nada... argghhh...

I posted a rather passive-aggressive message that I would submit the paper "as-is" and "the grade we get is the grade we get"... I also sent a note to the instructor following up on my message from last night explaining the delay in posting the paper... By this time, one of the "absent" team members proceeded to read me the riot act because she had never submitted a paper late before and I should have called her so she could submit "her" portion directly for grading (Ironically, her portion was one of the ones I had issues with... I haven't directly pointed that out to her, but if she reviewed the draft I posted for review, she would have seen that her entire contribution was highlighted)... It was basically a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situation... If I had posted the poorly drafted paper for grading on the day it was due, and we got marked down for the quality of the paper, I would have been given the riot act for not allowing the group to review the draft before posting for grading... There was no "good" option in this scenario...

By this point, I'm really peeved...

Then, my roommate comes home with her 7-year-old boy... Who (unknowingly) is doing everything in his power to annoy the crap out of me... From the high-pitched cry of his mothers name, to his laugh, to his chatter about his school day... Also at this point, even Noni is pissing me off...

Now, after all the experiences of the day had built up to a time bomb waiting to explode... I was so stuck in my stories about the day that I could hardly think straight... My heart was racing, I was shaking (like I needed to eat, but I didn't because I had just eaten), and I could not find a nice word to say about anyone or anything... I had to close myself in my room so I wouldn't lash out at the boy...

So, why did I title this post with "How not to be angry" when all I've done is write about "How to be angry"? Bear with me...

A couple of years ago, before I got my "iPod" icon figured out on my phone and I needed to listen to "something" while doing homework at the library, I had downloaded a podcast for meditation. I found it helpful to focus my thoughts while doing homework... There were about 8 of them each lasting around an hour. I felt like I needed a bit of focus to get over my anger issues today, so I grabbed my phone and opened my "iPod" icon to listen to the podcast... It wasn't there... I couldn't find it anywhere! I logically assumed that, since I got a new phone and a new computer where my iTunes stuff is held, that I would need to re-download the podcast... Stupid Apple changed the format so now podcasts only work in their own "podcast" icon... Which I couldn't get to install on my iPhone... Reviews for the app complain of bugs that cause things to not download or not install... I was getting more and more incensed by the minute!

Finally, I said "screw it" and I started looking for a meditation album on iTunes to listen on my iPod  I found one (eventually) that was 18 minutes long. Most of the "songs" are 1-4 minutes (How are you supposed to meditate in that short amount of time?). I downloaded the long song and played it as soon as it downloaded...

I sat myself on my bed and drew my legs up in a comfortable seating position. I let my arms rest on my knees... I focused on my breathing... I let my mind clear...

I didn't need the full 18 minute track to relax and calm down... About 10 minutes did it... I wasn't shaking... My heart beat was normal... I no longer wanted to throw my dog through a window... I could stand the boy's presence and no longer wanted to strangle him...

After my meditation session, I was able to complete my own assignment that had been put to the wayside in favor of the team effort. I felt energized enough to stay up late to get caught up on reading my text books... All in all, meditation worked like a RESET button allowing me to focus in many areas of my life... I definitely must remember to take a break and meditate when I start feeling overwhelmed and stressed and irritated... Maybe then, I won't get so angry...

So, that is how to NOT be angry...

(By the way... the city snow plow guys came to do our street around 9 PM... leaving a 3 foot berm at the entrance to our driveway... the morning should be another "fun" one... I'll need to bring my earbuds so I can listen to my meditation track when I get to work... maybe start the day out on a better note than today)

Additional challenges...

I took advantage of my day off today to take my dog for a walk - we both desperately needed it... Although I immediately regretting it afterwards... My RA does NOT like the cold and by the time I got back home, my joints were stiff and my whole body felt like it had been put through the ringer... I know it is because it was around 25 degrees today... Movement is supposed to help the stiffness, not cause it!

With my additional life changes, and these new challenges that seem to affect my mobility, I have some difficult choices to make in the months ahead.

I am planning on moving out of Juneau and back to the "lower-48" by the end of summer... This goal gives me some time to take care of things here and save up some money for the move...

But, after today, I'm wondering if I should change my plans to someplace that stays warmer during the winter... I know that this change will make it so that I am practically dying in the summer (I don't handle heat well either), but I need to be able to move... If a warmer climate will help me to be more active during any time of the year, I'm willing to try it...

As luck would have it, I have a friend that may be moving to the Dallas area. I'm contemplating living with or near her, as she is currently pregnant with her first child and her husband is in the aviation industry (which means he won't be home a lot to help with the kid)... If I move to Dallas with them, I can help her with the baby and be able to keep my expenses down at the same time...

But, I know next to nothing about Dallas... I do know that Aaron and I tried to live in Texas twice (and both attempts failed miserably)... But, that was west Texas... Not Dallas... hmmm....

Other areas up for consideration are Denver and Salt Lake City... SLC is warmer, but it can still have some really cold winters... Denver too...

Maybe I should move back to Hawaii? I know that I didn't feel the RA pain as bad when I was there... I could probably put up with the constant summer if I am not experiencing constant pain...

Maybe I should look for something overseas? In another tropical area? I'm just not sure.. I'm just tired of being in pain all the time..

What do you think?

Getting back on my feet...

Since my last blog post, life has turned upside-down... My husband and I have seperated and are in the process of getting a divorce. As you can imagine, I haven't really been focused on "me" or "my health" for a while as I deal with this new adjustment...

I am getting settled into my new place (I rent a room from a nice lady) and am getting myself familiar with her kitchen. Last night, I was inspired to actually cook a meal (as opposed to just boiling a pot of water for pasta and adding jarred sauce to it)... It was very tasty and quite healthy, using quinoa and spinach. I posted the full process on my food blog that I share with my good friend, Jessie. It is an easy recipe and I recommend that everyone try it.

Today, I am focused on staying warm and fulfilled... It has been snowing here for 3 days now, so I decided to make soup at my office. It's another recipe I found online that I made a few tweaks to. I hope it is good (it is cooking right now)... Since it makes a LARGE crock pot full of soup, I decided to share it with my co-workers. Look for the recipe for the soup on the food blog. I will post it tonight or tomorrow...

Day #2

To be completely honest, I didn't do THAT great yesterday... After my morning calorie binge, I was doing pretty well until dinner. I made an awesome GF chicken stew and decided to splurge and get some decadent croissants for dipping... I know, the croissants are not GF, but I had a craving. I had every intention of only having one, but after that one, I really wanted a second. And after the second, I really wanted a third (and ate Aaron's second roll)... I really need to work on my self control! The stew was a little over 200 calories for a bowl, but the 3 croissants were over 700 calories!

Today has been a good day. Had some oatmeal and peaches for breakfast, turkey and cantelope for my mid-morning snack, and a tuna and spinach salad for lunch. I wasn't really craving my rice (and I found a package of Vanilla Oreos in my desk) so I decided to change up my "carb" for lunch. I know, vanilla oreos are not the BEST carb to be eating, but I was proud of myself for only having one appropriate serving (3 cookies). Calorie-wise, I'm doing great! Nutrition-wise, not so much...

My afternoon snack was a GF snack. I had some more sugar snap peas and I made little peanut butter sandwiches out of Schar Crispbread. I used only 2 crisps and about a tablespoon of PB, so it was fairly low calorie as well and a tasty snack.

Dinner will be left over stew. I plan on getting some more croissants, but I think I'm only going to get 2 for now (1 for me, 1 for my hubby). That way, I won't be tempted to eat nothing but bread!

If I'm able to control myself at dinner, I'll be able to splurge on dessert - 1 serving of either blueberry frozen greek yogurt or 1 serving of peach sorbet... The yogurt has about 10 more calories than the sorbet. I'll make up my mind later. But that will be a nice way to cap the day.

Getting back on track...

My birthday is this month.... I will be 32... I am tired of putting my health on hold while other things take priority in my life (school/work/etc). I am also tired of weighing around the 180 mark (my weight has been fluctuating about 5 lbs in either direction for a while now). Going by body mass index, I am clinically obese. Anyway...

When rooting around the back of my closet for something over the weekend, I came across a small, black binder. I had completely forgotten about a "diet" program that I purchased off the TV back in 2002 (when I was only about 30 lbs overweight). It is the original (or 2nd version, I think) of the 6-Week Body Makeover... Now, I'm not suggesting that my goal is to lose weight in 6 weeks ('cuz I know that's not healthy), but I am going to use my little black binder as a guideline of sorts. I need to get better at tracking what I eat and sticking to portion sizes and such. I also need to get better at not eating gluten (which is banned in the book anyway). The biggest change that I need to make is to NOT eat eggs. Egg whites are one of the primary proteins allowed in the book, but since I'm allergic to eggs, I won't be eating them. Tuna, turkey, and chicken are going to get very boring after a while (I predict).

The book also comes with an exercise plan that is twice a week using a resistance band... I remember not having problems with the exercises and my arthritis years ago, so I shouldn't have too much of a problem this time around.

In addition, I'll take advantage of my company's new lunch schedule where we get an hour and a half lunch 3 times a week. Today, I plan on swinging home and getting the dogs to do a quick walk over by the airport. By taking the dogs for walks at least 3 days a week, and doing the strengthening exercises 2 times a week, I'll already be better way off than I am now.

What is the first thing that I'm cutting out of my diet? Large Starbuck's Vanilla Frappuccinos... I didn't realize it until I plugged it into my calorie counter, but one bottle is 340 calories, which is more than my oatmeal and fruit (combined) that I also had for breakfast. Tomorrow, I'll have my mint green tea with breakfast. It's getting too cold to drink cold coffee anyway.

End of May

So, it's the end of May... I didn't exactly meet my budget goal, but didn't completely blow it up either.

In my quest for good food, I have started trying different gluten-free brands. So far, the one I like the most is Glutino. It all started with a package of Lemon Wafer Cookies that my mother-in-law sent me... The package was gone within hours... I have zero will power against the Lemon Wafer Cookies... I have to ration them, or I will eat so many I will make myself sick... again... (they are really really good)

I have tried other items from the Glutino brand and have been pleasantly surprised. They have a pretty good pretzel, good bagel chips that double as croutons for me, and they make a fake-oreo like no one else... Although, I prefer the vanilla oreo-type cookie, the chocolate oreo-type cookie is really good too. I didn't really care for the chocolate covered vanilla wafer cookies, but Aaron loved them. I have some chocolate covered chocolate wafer cookies still to try.

I'm still loving my quinoa pasta, but I found another good grain-blend pasta that comes in more "normal" pasta shapes, like penne. I forget the brand, but I think it is european. It is a rice/corn blend that has the taste and texture of a "normal" pasta and not the rice pasta... I made a half-way decent penne spinach bake with it the other night. I have some tweaking of the recipe to do before I post it here, but it wasn't bad.

Still loving the benefits of going gluten-free, although I do still get depressed some about the food I can't eat anymore... We've had pollen like you wouldn't believe here in Juneau (so bad you can see swirls of it on the water and you can see the layer of it on your car) but I haven't had any bad allergic reactions to the pollen like I normally do. House cleaning still gives me some allergies, especially if I use the carpet deodorizer before vacuuming my floors. The carpet deodorizer makes my house not smell like dog, but it sure does make me react. I've tried using just Baking Soda to deodorize my carpets, but it doesn't work as well as the other stuff.

Another benefit is that everyone tells me that they can tell I've lost weight... While this is AWESOME, I am still afraid to get on the scale to see how much I've lost... My clothes are not as tight as they used to be, but I'm not down a size.. I'm guessing that I haven't lost more than 10 lbs. Probably less... But, that's just me being pessimistic.

The weather hasn't really been cooperating with me so I can exercise outside with my dogs. I know that taking Lijha for a bike ride or a long walk will benefit us both, but it doesn't seem to work that way. When it is nice outside, I am usually so bogged down with school work that I don't have time to go out. When I have the time, it's usually raining sideways and neither of us want to go out in it... I guess this is what I get when I live in Alaska instead of Hawaii... At least in Hawaii, the weather was pretty predictable.

The Goal for the Month of May

The goal for the month of May is to get my grocery budget for the whole month under $400 while eating Gluten-Free. It will most definitely be a challenge. I spent almost double that for the month of April, but I had to stock up ingredients for my pantry and fill my freezer with meat.

I have been scouring websites to duplicate Gluten-Free Bisquick... There are so many recipes for pancake mix out there that my head is spinning. Most people recommend buying a certain brand rather than making the mix yourself... The only problem with that is the mix is over $20 at my grocery store... I think I'm going to have to hit the bulk bins at the health food store.

Bread that I can eat is easily $4 to $5 a loaf (and the loaves are very small). So I'll have to figure out just what I need and portion it out throughout the month. It seems that I can't get out of the store for less than $40 anymore!

The additional part of the challenge is that I have to include my husband's tastes in my shopping list. He eats GF main meals when he is with me at home, but he does love his chips and ice-cream and soda. I don't get paid again for another week, so I'll be planning out my menu this week and will be scouring the Internet for coupons on the stuff I like to buy.

I think I'm going to try my hand at growing herbs in the house again... I didn't have much luck last time, but I think Noni got into the plants. This requires a lot more investment of my time but after the plants are established, will save me money. I sent Aaron to the store to get some flat-leaf parsley and he came back with limp curly parsley... I was very disappointed... I just have to figure out where they will live in the house. We don't have the best light, so I'll have to have a grow light for the plants...

Challenges and Progress

My gluten-free diet has presented some challenges, but it has given me some progress. I have noticed that I am slowly losing weight now that my body can metabolize my food properly. My allergies are down to about 15-25% of what they were. I'm sneaking dairy in here and there, and my doctor feels that could be why my allergies haven't reduced even further... I guess I'll be weaning myself off cheese, since that is what I have been sneaking.

We are planning on going to the Reno Air Races this September and we already have our hotel booked. It didn't hit me until today that I need to research gluten-free restaurant options in Reno. First thing tomorrow, I need to call the hotel and see if they have gluten-free options available. I really hate having to bring my own food on vacation, but I will if I have to. It might get challenging (and boring) because the hotel where we are staying won't have a kitchenette. If I can't find a gluten-free restaurant, I'll need to find a store that sells gluten-free food. I'll need to plan ahead and bring my insulated lunch box to pack snacks for the air races anyway. I doubt that the vendors at the races will have gluten-free options for food.

Another thought just hit me... My favorite thing at air shows is funnel cake.... sad.... apple slices probably won't be nearly as satisfying, but they will be healthier... Maybe I'll lose some more weight by then and will get to reward myself by hitting the malls and doing some shopping! That just might make up for not getting to eat funnel cake...

Gluten-Free Pasta

In my attempt to be as gluten-free as possible (with a few slip ups for Pizza in the last month or so... I'm so not perfect), I have been trying different kinds of pasta that are wheat free... They are few and far between, my friend. Most recipes for gluten-free pasta dishes call for a rice pasta... Um, yeah... Not liking the rice pasta...

First, the texture is SO DIFFERENT from regular pasta. Normal tricks to keep pasta from gumming together don't work with rice pasta (as I learned when I tried to make rice-angel hair pasta to go with my gluten-free version of Chicken Marsala). I tried drizzling the pasta with a little EVOO to keep it from lumping together, but it just gave me an olive oil flavored lump of rice pasta... sigh... The flavor of the rice pasta was nice in my Chicken Marsala dish - so much so that I actually ate all my mushrooms instead of passing them over to my husband (I don't usually care for mushrooms, but combined with my rice blob, they were quite nice).

Other than my somewhat pleasant experience with Chicken Marsala, rice pasta is awful... just horrible. I love pasta and I would be a very depressed person if I had to eat rice pasta on a regular basis.

I did try another grain variety of pasta. I tried a quinoa/corn blend. Texture-wise, it was closer to regular pasta and it was way more flavorful than the rice pasta. I had it the other night paired with regular marinara sauce (from a jar) and it was nice. It would also go well with pesto. Not sure about alfredo sauce, but I can't eat that anymore anyway, so why punish myself? I'm going to try a recipe for mac & cheese that uses the quinoa pasta.

Another variety I need to try is spelt pasta. I have yet to find any at my local grocery store (which has a surprisingly good selection of gluten-free products). The next time I go downtown, I'll check and see if the "health food store" has it in stock. If not, I'm not going to worry about it too much. I've got my quinoa version.

Another plus? My husband actually LIKED the quinoa pasta. That means that I don't have to buy two different kinds of pasta and cook two different batches each time we eat spagetti. Nice, huh?

Progress!

I've been on a wheat-free/dairy-free diet for the month of February so far (at least, mostly wheat-free/dairy-free). I have noticed significant differences in my health. I am no longer hyper-allergic to things. I still sneeze now and then, but I haven't had one of my major allergy attacks at all this month. Not even when Aaron and I were cleaning the house last weekend in preparations for his parents to come visit us. Awesome!

Another change I've noticed is that I am not so bloated in the mid-section as I was before.

I have found additional bread that I can eat. The local baker makes a lovely sourdough spelt bread with sunflower seeds on it... Yummy! I foresee myself making more trips downtown to his shop to get a loaf...

I have also learned what I can and cannot eat at most of the restaurants in Juneau. There is a lot of variety out there for me!

Ezekiel Bread

So, I'm not doing so great on my no wheat/no dairy diet... I have been craving cheese pizza like nobody's business... I just keep reminding myself that my body is going through withdrawals and it will get easier (I speak from personal experience... I FINALLY stopped craving eggs a few months ago).

I've been trying to be good, but I think I took it a little too far yesterday... I ate only protein and veggies (no starch - primarily because I forgot to add brown rice to my chicken vegetable soup the other day). I went to bed with a headache last night and woke up with one this morning... Not fun.

So, today, I took myself to the grocery store for lunch and restocked up on Honey Nut Chex (gluten free!) and I picked up a loaf of Ezekiel bread. I have been a little wary of Ezekiel bread, expecting it to be a little too hippy-dippy-trippy for my tastes (kind of like my experience with freezer waffles). But, I have been longing for toast for so long now that I just had to try the one product that the doctor said I could eat... So, I dipped my toe into the Ezekiel bread world by buying the Cinnamon-Raisin variety, hoping that the sweetness from the raisins and cinnamon would ease me in to the hippy-dippy-trippy world.

I made a slice of toast with butter (I'm not giving up on my butter, just cutting back... I don't want to eat chemically engineered "butter" just because it's non-dairy)... It was so tasty! But, that could be because I haven't had bread in over a week... I'm still going to eat it! A slice with some peanut butter might be nice... Or I still have some apple-pear butter from Christmas that would be nice as well...

I guess what I'm saying here is to not be afraid of Ezekiel Bread... It is lower in glycemic index than regular bread and it is made with sprouted grain - not flour (according to the info on the packaging) - which makes it easier to digest than regular bread. I'm not sure if Aaron will go for it, or if he is going to stick with his buttermilk-white bread that he likes. Either way, I will have Ezekial bread on-hand in the future!

The weekend....

I thought I was doing very well this weekend... My office had a party at my favorite pizza place and I didn't eat the pizza, only salad. It was kind of depressing, though. The salad was good (it always is), but without the pizza skins (basically breadsticks), it wasn't very satisfying. Oh well... I also consumed the rest of my pop tarts (purchased before the Dr put me on the new diet and I wanted to remove the temptation as early as possible... I know, my logic kind of sucks right now) and some poorly baked sourdough bread... But that was it for the "wheat" products. The only other grains I consumed were either rice or oatmeal.

For today:

Breakfast:

• Coffee w/ sugar
• 2 Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage patties

AM Snack:

• 1 Braeburn Apple
• a handful of raw almonds

Lunch:

• Garden salad with Tuna and peas, no dressing (Tuna was expired when I tried to eat it... so no tuna today)

PM Snack:

• Vanilla yogurt

Dinner:

• Lentil soup

Dessert:

• probably not going to have dessert...

On the menu for today:

Breakfast:

• Honey-Nut Chex (Gluten Free)
• Almond Milk

AM Snack:

• Fruit Salad with Low-fat Vanilla Yogurt
• (I know I said "No-Dairy" this month, but yogurt doesn't count. It is easier to digest than other dairies and has beneficial bacteria in it. So it's the only dairy on my list right now)

Lunch:

• Garden Salad with Chicken, Almonds, and Leftover Rice
• Apple

PM Snack:

• Wheat-free Granola Bar w/ Peanuts

Dinner:

• Lentil Soup (Lentils, Mixed Veggies)

Dessert:

• Not sure yet... probably some fruit w/ yogurt...

Off-Track

So, life has smacked me upside the head and my health has taken a back seat. I started feeling like crap and feeling extremely fatigued. Like, I felt the constant need to rest my head on my desk at work... Not really good for a productive work day... I was also having frequent migraines, several times a week... Not fun...

I decided that I needed to take a little break from school so that I could get to the bottom of my fatigue, especially since the overwhelming fatigue usually made it difficult to keep up with my school work. I still want to work towards my degree, so I just took a leave of absence for about a month.

I made an appointment with my doctor to get to the bottom of things... Where she promptly smacked me upside the head for overlooking my health due to the increasing stress in my life... Initially, she discussed the winter blues (SAD) and recommended that I get a SAD light (kind of expensive, though, so it might be a little while before I get one). She also put me on a medication to help combat my fibromyalgia and fatigue... It has also helped with my insomnia. I was told to reduce stress as much as possible and rest as much as possible (which means I need to go to bed at a decent hour and aim for 8-10 hours of sleep at night).

I saw my doctor today for a follow up to see how the meds are treating me. In addition to increasing my dosage, she wants me on a wheat-free/dairy-free diet for at least a month... She feels that my diet of pretty much nothing but carbs is making my allergies to other things (dust, mold, dogs, etc) worse than they should be. She also feels that the migraines are exacerbated by my diet (or lack thereof of a "healthy" diet).

So, armed with my new directions, I will be eating no wheat, dairy, or eggs (already a known allergen). She recommended that I follow the "Eating Right for your (Blood) Type" and stick to the foods listed for my blood type (and avoid the bad foods like the plague). Amazon has a Kindle version of the book, which has been purchased and loaded on my reading device. I'm ready to learn and prepared to focus on myself as much as possible this month... We'll see how it goes!

Has it really been three months since I posted last?

I guess so... I can only say that I've been extremely busy and stressed out... My personal health goals have been put by the wayside... I need to get back in the game, but it is now the holiday season... Pumpkin pie is my weakness (along with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy and Rolls and Turkey and.. and.. and...) My only consolation is to my egg allergy. I have adapted one of my favorite pie recipes to be egg-free and I posted the recipe on my main blog - Musings of the Wife of a Pilot.

I hope to be able to focus on myself soon and get back to posting my progress here.

Toaster Waffles

Toaster waffles have a tendency to taste like cardboard with sugar added. I usually don't buy them, unless I'm really craving that toaster waffle taste (which is pretty rare, maybe every other year or so). However, I have been severely bummed that I can't have my normal waffle excursion to the waffle place in town every weekend. I used to go down there, usually on Sunday, and get either and egg sandwich or a waffle.

So, I've been craving waffles lately (gee, I don't know why) and I came across one that said "Gluten-Free" on the package in big, bold letters. In smaller letters, but still on the front, it said "Egg-Free and Dairy-Free" so I decided to give it a try.

If regular toaster waffles taste like cardboard, this stuff tastes like granulated cardboard pressed back into a waffle shape. It was very granular and didn't hold together. It didn't taste and feel like a waffle should, even compared to other toaster waffles. I chose to do my first taste test with just butter and syrup, as it is a classic. It did have a nice crispy crust that I liked, but that is it.

I'm going to try them with some fruit and yogurt on top instead of butter and syrup to see if that makes a difference.

I think I'm going to add a waffle iron to my wish list so I can try to make my own toaster waffles at home, omitting the egg from the ingredients. They might taste better that way...

Trial and Error

So, I've been testing my new-found allergy to eggs, just to see what I react to... So far, baked goods don't usually make me react - things like cookies and cakes, as long as they don't have too many eggs. However, straight scrambled eggs tend to make my skin hyper-sensitive. It feels very itchy, but the act of scratching causes more pain, rather than alleviating the itch... Based on previous tests, I figured that anything that had the egg protein basically pulverized wouldn't make me react very much and anything that was primarily egg-based, like custard products, would make me react like the scrambled eggs.

Today, I was bored and hungry and I went in search of food. I tried a restaurant that does a fairly decent soup/sandwich lunch special, but the parking lot was full. I didn't feel like paying for parking in the garage across from the restaurant, so I headed back towards my house while figuring out what I wanted to eat. I settled on a local diner that Aaron and I like to go to. Once there, I didn't really feel like eating the lunch items, so I ordered off the breakfast menu. In defiance of my allergy (and because I was curious), I ordered French Toast. I used to enjoy the French Toast at this restaurant before my allergy was known.

Uh, yeah, that was not such a great idea. I didn't have the same skin sensitivity reaction as when I eat straight eggs, but my stomach wasn't too keen on the idea of eating such an egg-y product. I couldn't finish the plate (something I wouldn't have been able to conceive of before) and I felt rather nauseous afterward. So much so that I didn't have an appetite for dinner until around 10:00 PM this evening (even after a 3-mile hike in the mountains). I guess my aversion to eating eggs has made it more difficult to eat egg-y foods... Hopefully, this means that I will STOP craving eggs...

New Projects!

It's time to tighten the belt and get serious about saving money and getting out of debt (past time, actually). I mentioned on my other blog that an absent husband can cost more money that one that is home, simply because it is easier for me to go out to eat rather than cook a bunch of food that I won't finish (another waste of money). He hasn't been flying much recently, so our savings is dwindling (we had hoped that it would be a short-term issue, but it is turning into a long-term one).... So, we need to buckle down and I need to come up with new ways to prepare food that don't cost me more money...

I received my inspiration from the September issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray. In it, she outlines a month of dishes that use food that was prepared on one day, portioned into 1 c. portions, and frozen. Some of the stuff she made with the ingredients doesn't really fit well into my particular eating requirements (eggs were added, or it had some ingredients that I don't like, etc), but I was inspired. I took her idea and ran with it.

I have only just started my new project, but I plan to stock up over the next few weeks. My plan includes preparing/roasting pork, beef, and chicken, then shredding and freezing each into Ziploc bags. Then, I plan on freezing brown rice. Since I get organic fruits and veggies every other week, I should be OK in the produce department. If I run low, I can add some frozen veggies from the store, portioned out the same way as the meat and rice. One departure that I am making from the magazine (and from all the other research done online) is that I am using MY recipes for the roasts. Why make something that I don't like to eat? Then I run into the same problem as before...

So, last night, I started with the pork roast, mostly because Aaron wanted tacos. This recipe is more of a method than an actual recipe. Feel free to adjust quantities and seasonings to your liking. Also, I cooked it in the oven, but you could easily use a crock pot.

2 Boneless Pork Shoulder roasts - about 4-5 lbs each
2 Tbsp whole black peppercorn (approx)
1 Tbsp whole Coriander (approx)
2 Tbsp Sea Salt (approx)
2-4 Cloves of Garlic (approx)
1 white onion.
2 bottles of Dos Equis Amber beer

I bought 2 bone-less pork shoulder roasts (although, bone in is probably better for flavor. My grocery store didn't have any at the time). I cracked the black peppercorn and coriander and then added all of the seasonings to the dutch oven. I roughly chopped the onion and added that to the pot. Then, I added the two roasts and then the beer. I let it slow cook in the oven at 350 for about an hour and a half, then reduced the heat to about 300 for another 2-3 hours. The beer lends a great flavor to the meat as well as helping to tenderize it. If you don't care for beer, then you can substitute water or chicken/veggie broth. It's up to you. You can do this recipe in a crock pot (I usually do, but my insert broke and I haven't replaced it yet). If so, then it is best to cook everything on low for 8-10 hours. You can do it on high in 4-6, but the meat won't be as tender as the low and slow method.

The meat was so tender, that it fell apart while taking it out of the pot :)

Once the meat has cooled enough, shred and put into Ziploc freezer bags in 1 cup portions. Add a little of the cooking liquid and then get as much air out at possible. Freeze flat and don't forget to date the baggies. When you want to use the meat, just take it out of the freezer and put in the fridge to thaw in the morning. When you get home, it should all be thawed! (I say should, because I haven't actually completed this step yet). The pork can be used in tacos (my favorite), enchiladas, soups, pasta, casseroles, sandwiches, or as a side by itself. The possibilities are endless!

Late Updates and New Cleaning Tips!

So, I haven't been as consistent as I wanted to be when I started this blog... I guess that I got a little carried away, but I'm still glad I started it...It still gives me a place to chronicle my journey and reminds me how far I've come...

When I started this journey, I weighed 187 lbs... As of the date of my last physical (a few weeks ago), I have lost 7 lbs! Yay me! Still a lot to go (target weight is 130) but progress is progress! I am still plugging away with my food goals, especially focusing on the types of ingredients and the portion sizes that I am eating. I'm glad I don't own a scale so I can't get obsessed about daily weigh-ins...

My physical brought a new diagnosis to light - fibromyalgia... I haven't really started to do anything to address this issue yet, but I will be talking to an acupuncturist in the near future, hopefully to avoid the typical medical treatment plan of anti-depressants. Other than that, I'm relatively healthy :)

In my constant fight against my allergies, I've been trying out different home cleaning options. I especially wanted to replace my dusting spray with something that doesn't give me a headache. Oddly enough, my new dusting spray is strong tea with a little lemon juice added... Seriously! It is supposed to be really good for pollen. It seems to work well with the dog hair/dander too. I usually have an allergy/asthma attack anytime I try to dust anything in the house, but I don't have the same reaction when I use the tea spray. In fact, I haven't had an allergy attack at all! It works really well on my leather furniture too! My old furniture spray would leave an oily residue on the couch that would make it more difficult to sit on the couch. The tea spray doesn't leave a residue and doesn't make everything smell like tea. It is amazing! I can't say enough things about it.

To make the tea dusting spray - boil 3 cups of water. Add 2 bags of regular tea to the water and let it sit until it cools completely (leave the tea bags in the water the whole time). Add 1 tbsp. of lemon juice and pour into a spray bottle. Spray directly on to a paper towel or rag and dust away!

I've used this on my couches, my lamps, my end tables, and my washer/dryer! Recently, I caught up on all the laundry piled around the house, most of which was covered in dog hair... My washer/dryer combo was coated in dog hair and dust as I would move things in and out of the washer. The spray worked really well at attracting the dog hair and lint dust that was all over my laundry area... AWESOME! Can't say enough good things about it :) I'm still testing other areas of the house, but so far, I haven't encountered a hard surface it CAN'T tackle!