Popular Posts

Saturday 11 August 2012

Hooray! It's Monday...

Really? A rousing cheer for Monday? Of course. Monday is do over day. I get a fresh start if I choose. At least that's how I choose to see Mondays now. I need do overs. So, today I am shooting for health supportive, nutrient dense foods to nourish my body with. Today is the last day of anitbiotics...hooray again! I still feel groggy, tired and very low energy. So, I need to find a way to support myself to bounce back to health and vitality.

I didn't do much this weekend, including shopping. Have I ever told you how much I love to shop? Well....I used to shop for recreation. I enjoyed browsing, touching and drooling over all sorts of pretty little things. But in the past couple of years, I have been feeling smothered by all our stuff. There is stuff everywhere, it is amazing that we can even breathe! So after many many trips to donate all the excess stuff, I stopped shopping for the sake of shopping. Shopping is not entertainment, is what I tell myself.

I went beachcombing and pulled together all the ingredients to complete all of the centrepeices for my daughter's wedding. Yay! I got to check something else off my list! All I have to do now is find the fabric for the dress I dreamed up while I was sick. Other than that, all the other wedding related projects on my list will be completed the week prior while I am at my daughter's. Fun fun fun!!!

I have some nice black beluga lentils in my cupboard. They call to me every time I open the cupboard, so I am thinking about a salad. I actually bought the lentils because I used to get the most amazingly delicious beluga lentil burgers...mmmmm loved them! I saw the lentils, thought of the burgers and made the purchase. However, I find that I am not as interested in the "burger" experience as I once was, so the lentils have been sitting there, neglected and lonely. So, I decided to find some other ways to use beluga lentils. I think salad. I will let you know how that goes. I should think a few brightly colored vegges, mixed with shiney black lentils will be a treat for the eyes and for the palate. Of course, I will let you know how it goes.

Lentils are high in fiber and protein, and since I don't eat any red meat (or chicken or pork) I am always on the lookout for good sources of protein.

Update: The beluga lentils remain lonely and untouched in the cupboard. They did not turn themselves into a salad, and although I beleive in magic, I am no Samantha Stevens. I apparently have to do something more than twitch my nose in order to turn a pantry staple into a salad. I will keep you posted. Until then, I continue to have do-overs, Monday or not!

I have also made a choice to include some chicken and a little beef into my diet...we will see how that goes.

I`m Back!!

Yummy! Israeli Couscous salad.

We have returned from a 2 week summer vacation. On the agenda this trip was a family reunion. I have known about the reunion for at least a year, and as the excitement mounted, so have the pounds. I have put on even more weight, and I think I have broken my own record for all time high...even during pregnancy! Sigh.....

I learned even more about my family at this reunion. I have an even deeper understanding of my Mom and the choices that she made in her efforts to protect me. I am not saying I agree with all of those choices, but I am able to understand them. I have a deeper sense of respect for the lived experiences of famly members, for theirs are stories of love, loss and courage...This is where I come from, and in them I also see myself...humour, creativity, strength and courage... Our family story is one of loss, separation, and coming back together again. My story is their story too.

We have returned home, and along the way discovered that both 100 Mile House and Williams Lake have Farmers Markets on Fridays...cool! We stopped at fruit and veggie stands and filled the coolers with yummy food.  So, this morning, I decided the israeli couscous would come out of the cupboard.

I bought the couscous at a health food store in Powell River last summer. I have browsed recipes and found a few I would like to try, but haven't yet. Today, I decided not to (re) invent the wheel, and just make something relatively simple and yummy.

Israeli couscous are little pasta nuggets, lightly toased and yummy. I cooked one cup in 2 cups of boiling water until the water was all gone. Then a quick, cold rinse to end the cooking process. What I have learned in my extensive research about all food and diet related topics, is that cooking your pasta el dente makes it lower on the glycemic index than if it is (over) cooked. This means it takes more energy over a longer period of time to digest properly which may result in feeling satieted longer, and may help to keep blood sugar more steady.

I added the following veggies, all diced approximately equal in size: 3 celery ribs, one red pepper, 3 carrots, one small zucchini, 1/4 sweet onion, one broccoli head separated into small florets....tossed with the cooked couscous and the following as a dressing:  4 cloves garlic minced, 2 T extra virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper, juice of one lemon, 3 packets of stevia, italian herb mix, tarragon and a little water (about 3 T). Shake the dressing ingredients in a jar then pour over the other ingrediants. Toss together.

It tastes yummy right away, but I am going to let the salad marinate until dinner time. I plan to have a green salad, israeli couscous salad and a bbq chicken breast for dinner. A delicious start to a renewed commitment to good goddess health.


Thursday 5 January 2012

Turning the Page

I won't say that I am sorry to see the end of 2011. Many challenges have been met on my path and I have to say...I am tired!! I have few regrets left over from last year, mainly that I haven't taken the time available to me and used it in the best way possible. It has been a year of learning, and my aim is to put what I have learned into action during 2012.

At the end of 2011, I again succumbed to pressure and took up smoking cigarettes. It lasted a month. Today is day 5 smoke free...again. I also smoked during my daughter's wedding and preparations, and at other stressful times during the year. This is what I learned. I replaced tobacco use with food, I replaced alcohol use with food, then I tried to work on my relationship with food. However, I did not focus quite enough (for me) on coping strategies to replace those self harming behaviors. So, when stress arose, as it will, I was not prepared to meet it head on in a healthy way, so I revisited old ways of "coping".

So, my plan for 2012 will include ways of coping with the loss of those self harming (yet somehow self soothing) behaviors, as well as learning to cope with whatever stresses I encounter on my path in healthier ways. I have purchased a Tai Chi dvd which has 5 different healing approaches. I had initially thought that I would go to Tai Chi classes, but since I opened my heart to embrace all possibilities, my career has taken a different path than I thought it would. This puts those classes out of reach (geographically) for now. So, I purchased the dvd to support me to develop a more consistent practice. I will also include Yoga and walking to meet my physical and emotional health needs. Truth is though, I haven't started any of these practices yet, as I am recovering from a couple of relatively minor slip and fall incidents over the holidays. Relatively minor, because the old me would hardly have even noticed. The current me still copes with life with one unstable knee which appears to decide all on its own when it will function and when it will give up. Ouch. To support me to increase awareness of my physical capabilities, I plan to engage in a much more consistent way with my meditation practice. My goal is to become less distanced from my body and the messages it provides me about how I am doing and what I need.

I am returning to a health supportive, nutrient dense diet. I have been eating primarily veggies, fruit and grains since my return home. I have had stir fried veggies on brown rice, and made a fabulous pot of bean and veggie soup last night. The fruit bowl is filled and sitting on my desk at work. This weekend, I am making a borscht inspired stir fry, which not only sounds yummy to me, but makes economic sense as these seem to be the veggies readily available and at a reasonable cost. I will let you know how it turns out.

There are many things to look forward to this year. Multiple exciting possibilities, and the likelihood of significant change....but we are not there yet. Right now, I am grateful that the babies were born healthy, that both Mama's are now doing well. I am grateful for family, and embracing all that it means to be part of a family. I will work on strengthening relationships during this year. I will also work on letting go...I simply cannot continue to carry all that I have been for such a long time.

I embrace 2012 ... in good Goddess health....and my hope for you is that 2012 brings all you can wish for!