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!