New(s)

22 May 2015 2 Comments

by Lori in Uncategorized Tags: , ,

  

This was yesterday. The end of a very bumpy year. I cannot express how happy I am that it is summer break!!!

This past school year I started a new job. It is a physically taxing job, but it gives me much more time with my family. I am looking forward to lots of pool time and watermelon!

If you follow my blog, you know I have been playing around with my diet. I probably won’t be posting much more about that. A mostly Paleo diet is where I have landed. Lots of vegetables. Moderate fruits. Some meat. Light on the grains. Some great resources for this way of eating are: Paleo Leap, Amy Myers, and the Paleo Mom. The Wheat Belly cookbook is great for some quick meals, it does include dairy. Also, there is My Paleo Pal app, where people post their meals and exercise. Like Pinterest for Paleo. 
The reason I won’t be posting much more about my diet is that I will be posting about adoption again. We are in the process of adopting a baby girl from Poland!

We are still pretty early in the process. The first home study visit is under our belts. Also, hubs is in paperwork mode. He will probably blog about that soon. My task for today is to complete a biography for our home study. You see I am blogging instead. Paperwork makes my brain shut off. 

We will be selling some things (probably on Etsy). So be watching for that if you would like to support us on our journey. Last adoption, we really did not blog/talk much about adoption costs. It is a costly thing. Adoption drains your time, resources, and emotions. It will stretch you, mold you, and change you. More about that to come. 

My favorite verse right now: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭18‬ ESV)

It was true for our boys. It is true for our baby girl. It is true for me. 

Have you ever felt abandoned, unwanted, or forgotten? God is here. 

Restart

01 Mar 2015 1 Comment

by Lori in Uncategorized Tags: , ,

Today, I am starting again. For my health and happiness and that of my family. We won’t talk about how much I failed over the last week and a half.

So, for breakfast this morning I had 2 eggs, a sweet potato, and some sautéed onions. And coffee. I know I need to scale back on the caffeine intake, but not yet. 

There is a chicken in the oven. Once it is done, I will pull the meat off the bone and freeze it in portions (eating leftover animal protein is a no-no in the low histamine world). I will then put the carcass and maybe some veggies in the crockpot, cover it with water, and cook on low for 24 hours. 

Once the 24 hours is up, I will strain out/scoop out the fat/bones/veggies. What is left will be “bone broth”. I will freeze it in 4 oz portions. Every day or two, I will thaw a portion, mix it with 4 oz water, heat the mixture in the microwave, and drink it. (I personally cannot drink bone broth straight. It is too strong for my palate right now.)

The gelatin in bone broth is good for digestion. Bone broth is also good for the immune system (much like chicken soup). It is also high in protein and minerals. 

My family may not drink the bone broth, but they sure are happy that I am eating meat!

Immune

15 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

by Lori in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Two weeks ago I started following a 30 Day Autoimmune Protocol published by a famous Dr. (Not Oz). It did pretty well, but I still had at least 3-4 histamine episodes during that time. It is really true that certain fish/shellfish can trigger a histamine reaction. It is really true that certain spices can trigger a histamine reaction.

Some things I learned over the last 2 weeks:
1. There are 1001 things you can do with cauliflower. You can make it look like rice. You can make it into crust. You can make it into bread. Etc.
2. You really can have a balanced diet (fat, carbs, protein) eating Paleo.
3. You can make a lot of dishes with sweet potatoes and onions.
4. You can scramble a wide variety of foods together for a quick meal.
5. Fresh is best.

So, from here I am tweaking my Autoimmune diet to be mostly low histamine, quick, and fresh. Whole chickens can be cooked ahead and the meat frozen. Turkey and beef can be browned or made into patties and cooked (also frozen right away to prevent a histamine reaction later). A wide variety of vegetables can be sautéed, roasted, and steamed. Throw a little green leafy in there, and you have a meal.

Idea: bake a chicken breast in the morning and eat on it all day.

Here was my lunch today:

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Browned ground beef (seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder) and sautéed onions (in coconut oil) on slices of romaine. Easy.

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭4 ESV)

Off

28 Jan 2015 Leave a comment

by Lori in Food Tags: , , , , , , ,

I have been off the grid and off the wagon. It is hard following a strict diet during the holidays. It is also hard following a strict diet while changing jobs.

Now, we are though the holidays. I am in the swing of my job change. I may have been on the wrong track diet wise.

There are several foods that are naturally high in histamine. These include tomatoes, spinach, dairy products, fermented foods, citrus, and aged meats. Other foods can cause your body to release histamine. Even other foods can aggravate the inflammatory process, putting stress on your body.

This would be vegetarian may be experimenting with a Paleo-type diet. I don’t think I can completely cut out grains and beans, but there are ways to prepare them to be less inflammatory. We got a pressure cooker for Christmas. Let me say, they are awesome! (Black-eyed peas for New Years done in 10 minutes-from dry.)

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I have lots of books to read.