Elimination Diet: The First Few Days

See those roots? They are a perfect illustration of how my health feels like these days. Twisting, turning and ever ready to trip me up. Near constant flare ups that have become increasingly debilitating are beginning to seriously impact my quality of life, ability to do things and mental health. The inflammation has become constant and pervasive.

In an attempt to find some relief and turn things around the decision was made to go back to my Naturopath (who I haven't seen since early 2017). Conventional medicine wasn't working well enough to make a real difference and I was tired of living the way I was. Plus living with medication side effects when you the medication isn't working all that well anyway was beginning to feel like an extremely ridiculous thing to be doing.

After an hour and half appointment and a review of my bloodwork the Doctor added a few supplements to the ones I was already taking and she recommended that I do a four week elimination diet to see if there were any foods that could be causing or contributing to the chronic inflammation and flare ups I was experiencing. 

I spent a few days getting ready and started this past Monday. I'm not going to lie, it hasn't been easy! But I'm on my 6th day and still trucking along. And in the spirit of full disclosure it has been a rough week. Lots of inflammation and pain, flu like symptoms and too many bathroom trips...ugh. 

But I'm holding on to the hope that in the end this will be worth it and I'll begin to feel better. It's been a little frustrating coming up with a meal plan that works within the strictures of the diet. Any ideas are more than welcome! 

Some of the rules of the Elimination Diet that I'm following are:

-no gluten

-no dairy (can have ghee which helps!)

-no eggs

-no sugar (I can have maple syrup, honey or stevia in small amounts)

-no soy

-no nightshades (so no potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant etc)

-no mushrooms

-no bananas

-no chocolate

-no strawberries

-no cashews

-no peanuts (which I'm allergic too anyway so no big loss there)

and I could go on...but I wont so I don't depress myself even more than I already am (kidding, sort of)

Here are some of the meals I've been eating

One of my chosen breakfast. I decided that in the interest of saving my sanity I'd only make a couple a week and just eat the leftovers the other days. It's hard to come up with breakfast ideas when you can't have eggs or bread. I am going to have a look at some of the gluten free brands and see if there is one that I like and am allowed. This breakfast was made up of leftover rice simmered in coconut milk, sulphite free cranberries, cardamom, cinnamon and maple syrup. I topped it off with almond milk and walnuts for protein.

I made myself a creamer for my coffee (which I have to stop but I'm on the slow train to cut it back as approved by the doctor). I usually use half and half in my coffee but it's a no go so I thought I'd try to come up with something. This is made with a can of coconut milk, a couple of medjool dates, water and a bit of vanilla. It's not half bad but I'm still missing the cream in my coffee!

I've been drinking a lot of this. The licorice in it has been soothing my stomach a bit and it's helped somewhat with the congestion and flu like symptoms I've been having

The second breakfast of the week. Oatmeal with added flaxseeds, hemp seeds and chia seeds. I cooked them up with some frozen raspberries and ate them with walnuts and almond milk.

For my lunch I've been keeping it simple since I tend to eat breakfast closer to 11 or noon. So really it's more of a snack. A couple of days I had this tuna salad with carrots and celery topped with diced avocado. I used lemon juice and avocado oil to hold it together.

Other days I kept it even simpler with carrots, celery and hummus.

I've tried to make our dinners at least somewhat interesting within the parameters of what I'm allowed. The first night I made haddock and broccoli en papillote with rice and a detox salad blend topped with avocado slices

A sort of chicken lo mein. I used a bag of coleslaw mix for the vegetables in this and lots of garlic and ginger. The noodles are asian rice sticks. I seasoned it simply with wheat free tamari.

Baked Greek chicken, green beans and parsnip mash. I didn't know what to expect from the mashed parsnips to be honest nut oh my goodness they were delicious! Roasted parsnips, coconut milk, ghee, salt and pepper all thrown into the blender and sent spinning. I will be making this again for sure!

Pan-seared salmon topped with a cranberry compote. Side of roasted broccoli and steamed carrots.

I made the cranberry compote with cranberries from the freezer, honey and a little bit of water. It's definitely helping with the meals around here!

That's about it for now...hoping this will all be worthwhile!

xo

Last week in my kitchen

It's been a fairly busy week in my kitchen. From jam and donut making to regular meals and a birthday dinner a lot got done.

wild blueberry jam and the first snow fall

I only got a couple of regular meal photos but last week's menu was pretty easy. They included:

Sole topped with creamed spinach. Steamed carrots and rice on the side.

Sausage, eggplant and mushrooms over egg noodles

Gluten free fusilli with cheese and bacon

As well as burgers with oven fries one night, beef stir fry another and a couple of nights of leftovers. I kept the meals easy last week because we celebrated my aunt's 81st birthday last night. My husband's aunt and uncle were visiting from New Brunswick and we had them over, along with my aunt, my mom and my husband's sister. I spent a good portion of Saturday getting ready for it but that made the day itself fairly easy. It's all in the planning. We had:

-roast beef and gravy

-mashed potato casserole 

-rolls

-burgundy mushrooms

-beets vinaigrette

-pickles

-black forest cake

It was basically all made ahead except for the beef and gravy. The cake layers I made on Saturday then I made the frosting and assembled the cake on Sunday afternoon. It was a good evening with great company. Unfortunately, I had such a good time that I forgot to take all of the photos that I wanted to!

Tray of dishes for dessert ready to go

The table is set

Bread and buns. I used the rolls for the birthday dinner

Burgundy mushrooms...or as I like to call them nine hour mushrooms! These are amazing and well worth the nine hours, especially since most of it is hands off cooking

Black Forest Cake

My lovely aunt with her mile high Black Forest Cake

Cut view of the cake

Beyond that there's some other things I've been working on which I'm almost ready to share about. And our washing machine broke this morning...ugh. After my husband spending two hours trying to fix it we decided that it had given up the ghost so I need to make time for washing machine buying this week. And so it goes....

Seasons of grief and Thanksgiving

We celebrated our Canadian Thanksgiving last week. It was lovely to have some of the children here for the weekend Sadly, they weren't able to all be here as one lives with her husband in Switzerland and two others were working. Regardless, it was a beautiful day and we were 10 around a table laden with plentiful food and decorated with autumn harvest decor. As my husband said the blessing I was struck by such a stab of grief that I almost doubled over in pain. This was the first major holiday that we've had were my father wasn't with us to say the blessing. 

Loss is a part of life. We live (hopefully we live well), we die, we leave others behind. My grief is no more special than anyone else's. When we lose someone we love, we all hurt. My father passed away on May 16, 2019, so just a little over 5 months ago. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was extremely busy for the first few months after Dad's passing. Beyond that, I had to be strong, for my mom, my kids, my grandson, my husband (who has lost both of his parents since July 2018, within a 6 month period of each other)....there was no time to actually stop and process his death and deal with grief of my own.

But lately, the thoughts of loss and sense of despair at his passing have been pushing ever closer to the surface of my thoughts and I realized as I sat around our Thanksgiving table that the time had come to try to process his passing and the big hole he left in my life. I'm thankful that I had 51 years with him. I'm thankful that he was the man that he was. I'm thankful that I was able to be with him the last seven weeks of his life, from the time of a definitive diagnosis to his death. I wish I could have done more for him. Did he know how much I loved and appreciated him? I pray he did.

"For those who don't know me, my name is Carolyn Bateman and I am Bob's daughter.
Writing this eulogy is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Not because there isn't anything to say about Dad but because There's too much to say and I couldn't find the right words to encompass all that he was.
When my children were young people started wearing bracelets with the letters WWJD on them, they stood for What Would Jesus Do. But in my house the question wasn't What Would Jesus Do? It was What Would Poppa Do? Whenever any kind of problem, moral dilemma  would arise; my kids knew, as did I, that whatever Poppa did would be the good thing, the kind thing and the right thing.
Tuesday night was difficult for me. I was really missing Dad and the grief felt overwhelming and soul crushing. When I told my friend Scott about it, he asked me one question "What Would Poppa Do?" Immediately I responded that he would have a good cry, pray, then go to sleep, knowing that tomorrow was a new day. His question brought instant clarity and was a reminder that Dad was still with me.
My Dad had an unshakable faith, even at the end of his life he knew that God was with him.
The day that he went into hospice I wept as I hugged him and he put his frail arms around me and whispered "Don't cry, I'm not gone yet and I'll always be with you". Whereas others would have been numb with fear he was comforting me, putting aside his own needs, as he had always done. He offered us all his unconditional love, his helping hands and the voice of reason. In his quiet way Dad made his voice heard. Dad knew words mattered and he chose them thoughtfully and carefully. When he spoke, he truly had something to say and people listened.
If anyone at church, work, in the neighborhood or in the family needed a helping hand we all knew what Poppa would do- he would be there to do whatever had to be done, no questions asked and no payment necessary. It didn't matter whether he had known someone for years, days or not at all. He was the go to guy. Ever resourceful, Dad had the knack of being able to find a solution for whatever problem you had. He was our own personal McGyver.
To Dad community was everything- the world was his family. No one was a stranger. In Dad's eyes we were all painted by the same brush- we were all children of God. He found value in people and relationships not in things or possessions.
Dad appreciated the subtle things in life and found joy in even the smallest things. And he loved to laugh. As everyone knew, Dad had the world's worst puns mastered, a trait some of my children have sadly inherited. As bad as they sometimes were we always had to laugh after our initial groans.
Dad instilled in me a love of the outdoors, a sense of right and wrong and the belief that no matter how bad things got I could get through it.
My cousin said something that perfectly illustrates my Dad's character. He said that Dad had the wisdom of Solomon and The patience of Job. The many sorrows and challenges that Dad faced in his life only seemed to solidify his faith and hone his strength, which he gladly shared with anyone who needed it.
The last nine days of Dad's life were fraught with unbearable suffering. But I believe that the closeness that was knit as friends and family alike sat by his side and surrounded him with our love and prayers, would have made the sacrifice worth it in Dad's eyes. Bringing people closer to God and to each other was something he always strove to do. Bringing us together was his last gift to we who loved him.
My father was my hero and my rock. The person I could always count on. On the drive back from what turned out to be Dad's last appointment in Ottawa he asked me again what the Oncologist had said at his appointment on April 3rd. I told Dad that the doctor had said that he only had months left. I began to cry and said that wasn't enough time. Dad took my hand and replied: "there will never be enough time". And he was right. All the time in the world wouldn't have been enough to tell him how much he meant to me or to repay him for of the love and care he gave to em.
Dad's quiet dignity and kind heart equaled a huge presence. And life is much emptier without him in it. I will miss him to the end of my days and am so thankful to have had him in my life. We are all blessed to have known him."


That was my eulogy.
I wish he was here.

something's new

New post over at www.project21days.blogspot.com

I've got a bit of a reinvention going on and I'll be posting all about it over there for those who are interested :)

Since school began my normal rhythm has flown out the window. Because my morning gets thrown off it ends up throwing every single bit of the rest of the day off, including my weekly plan. So after two weeks of this mess I decided that it was time to rework the routines a bit. The biggest changes are in the morning but the remainder of the day has gotten some attention too. As has my weekly rhythm.

Because I'm still not back at work it has been easy to fit everything in. It's not so easy when you're working an 8 or 12 hour day (as a nurse I do both). For now this will work for me. When I do return to work the plan will likely remain the same with the knowledge that if I'm working on a particular day then things will get put off until the following day or just not done that week at all. It is impossible to make a plan for a traditional work week because I don't work the same days or shifts from week to week.

DAILY RHYTHM

Morning
~have lemon drink, make coffee, tidy main floor
~computer, drink coffee
~make breakfast, eat with kids, take vitamins
~do dishes, clean kitchen
~sweep main floor
~swish and swipe bathrooms, pick up bedroom
~workout, meditate
~skincare, shower, dress
~weekly chores
~creative time

Evening
~journal, cup of chai
~dinner prep
~dinner, take vitamins
~kids dinner chores, blog updates, herbal tea
~time with kids, husband
~skin care
~check calendar, prep for tomorrow
~gratitude journal, prayer, read

WEEKLY RHYTHM

~monday
clean master bedroom and bathroom, do my laundry, do groceries and run errands. Take garbage out and put up new menu.
~tuesday
clean main bathroom and powder room. Launder towels. Clean living room, dining room and entryway.
~wednesday
change and launder sheets. Water plants
~thursday
clean kitchen, do cooking and baking projects. Josh and Sam laundry.
~friday
Maddie and Nate laundry.
~saturday
kids household chores and clean rooms.
~sunday
church, then brunch. Clean fridge and collect garbage. Design week’s menu based on produce and sales, then make grocery list.

Rhythms not Schedules

I've been off work for a bit now and I'll continue to be off for the next 5 weeks at least. Even though I don't feel great there are still things I have to do and things that I want to do. But I find myself procrastinating and putting things off. This is not helping my energy levels or my ability to get things done.

But I don't like the term "schedule" it really bothers me. It sounds too hard and inflexible. So I've decided to use the term "rhythm". Rhythm is flexible, soft and enjoyable.

This is what I've come up with in terms of daily and weekly rhythms:

DAILY RHYTHM

morning

~have my lemon/aloe vera water upon awakening, then check blogs/emails while drinking my morning "coffee" drink

~do my workout (walk or yoga at the moment) then meditate

~wash/shower (dry brush first), dress, "swish & swipe" the bathrooms

~breakfast, second cup of "coffee" drink

~laundry, tidy up, weekly chore

~write one page

~finish weekly chores (if necessary), move laundry to dryer or hang to dry

evening

~journal, cup of chai tea

~dinner prep, cooking

~candles, grace, dinner

~kids dinner chores, update blogs, herbal tea

~wash/epsom salt bath (if no shower in am. dry brush first)

~time with kids, husband

~gratitude journal, prayer, read

WEEKLY RHYTHM

~monday

clean master bedroom and bathroom, do my laundry, do groceries and run errands. Take the garbage out and put up new menu.

~tuesday

clean main bathroom and powder room. Launder towels.

~wednesday

change and launder sheets. Water plants. Clean living room, dining room and entryway.

~thursday

clean kitchen, do cooking and baking projects. Josh and Sam laundry.

~friday

free day! Maddie and Nate laundry. Massage therapy appointment.

~saturday

kids household chores and clean rooms. Farmer's market.

~sunday

church, then brunch. Clean fridge and collect garbage. Design week's menu based on produce and sales. Make grocery list.

That's it. We'll see how it goes. A lot of this stuff is being done now anyway. It's just to try and bring more of a rhythm and regularity to my days and weeks. And hopefully, accomplish more in the long run.

update on homemade facial products

I thought I'd post an update on my homemade facial products. It's been fun and interesting but so far I've only made two things.

This is the exfoliator. I ground oatmeal, skim milk powder, oatmeal, dried lavender and cornmeal to a very fine powder in the blender. This I really like. It smells wonderful and your skin feels great after you rinse it off.

This is the citrus cream cleanser. The recipe called for lanolin but I didn't use it, I used extra beeswax instead. I made this about a month ago. It was a little tricky to make. You had to be really quick or your wax started to harden. This contains apricot oil, virgin coconut oil, beeswax, distilled water, a pinch of borax, vitamin E oil, grapefruit essential oil and lavender essential oil.

It smelled like heaven and I really liked the consistency. And it did a good job cleaning my face. BUT it's supposed to have a shelf life of 3 months if kept in the fridge and within 3 weeks it had gotten all watery underneath the cream layer. I tried to remix it but that didn't really work. Maybe I didn't do it quite right in the first place.

Both of these recipes come from the book "Do it Gorgeously" by Sophie Uliano. I'm going to be making more stuff out of here. I think as my technique improves so will the final product!

I'm still doing the vegan cleanse. You can find that blog at http://www.project21days.blogspot.com/

More later