Vacation

I found myself today dreaming of getting away to some remote mountain hideaway, fishing in a beautiful lake, hiking to my heart's content, and just sitting among trees, grass, rocks, and dirt. Life HAS been pretty hectic lately, and I've been too busy for my own good. Not having the option to go on a "real" vacation, I found myself wondering what I could do instead to get the same peace, as I realized that is what I'm seeking...along with some sunshine & fresh air. :)

I'm going to go on my own mini-vacation at home. This coming week, I am going to spend time with my son, visit with friends, and spend time in the sunshine.

Clam Chowder

10 oz. can baby clams (I like the Crown Prince brand because it's very low in salt, and I can use sea salt, which doesn't make me puff up with water retention like "other" salt does)
1 cup cream (preferably grass-fed)
1/2 cup whole milk (non-homogenized, preferably grass-fed)
2 - 3 small red potatoes, chopped)
garlic or diced red onions (optional)
2 Tbsp. grease from uncured bacon
(2 - 3 tsp. sea salt, only if using low sodium clams)

Put bacon grease in pan & heat. Add chopped potatoes and sautee for 3 - 5 minutes. Pour in clams, including the liquid. Add sea salt if using low sodium clams. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add milk and cream and heat to desired temperature. Enjoy!

Grateful

You know, the nice thing about being so sick you hardly have energy to move is that when I get well, I feel AWESOME just having energy to walk around & work. :)

Sick

I am sick. It serves me right, I guess. I was just last week telling people how great this year is because I used to be the one getting sick, missing work, etc. and this winter my friends, neighbors & coworkers have been sick and I get a little bit of something and then get over it right away. Not this time. :( I've now been sick for three days: sore throat, tight lungs, red watery eyes (my eyes are actually better today!), headache, getting worn out VERY easily...I've been steaming up the house and taking all kinds of stuff: stuff for immune support, stuff to kill germs, stuff to grow more good bacteria, stuff to balance my energy, stuff to support my immune system, blah blah blah...and even though I'm doing all kinds of "stuff" to get well, it is still hanging on. This monster is a toughie. My family is having a girls' weekend starting tomorrow, and I'm super lucky they love me, because when my wonderful sister-in-law found out I am sick & might not come, she called & said she'll bring me over some more "stuff" to help kick this cold's hiney outta here. Here's hoping it works!

Hungry At Night

Last night, I was so tired that I fell asleep without eating dinner. I had been craving a sandwich made with the uncured ham and sprouted grain bread I bought at Real Foods on Wednesday. About 2:00 am, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. At 3:20, I remembered I hadn't eaten and decided that having food in my tummy might help me sleep better. I made a grilled ham & cheese sandwich with artichoke hearts & a little salad dressing on it, with a Bubbies pickle on the side. Yum! I went to sleep easily after eating.

My Experiment

I have been making some changes in my lifestyle (constantly) to try to improve my health, happiness, mothering ability, and just about everything else. I have tried many different "diets" (which really just means I've tried using different combinations and/or types of foods as my daily fuel). Anyhow, I have recently had reason to ponder and ask "what next?" regarding food/health/nutrition.

After a lot of thought, observation, intuition, experimentation, and some other "tion" words, I have decided to do a 13-week experiment. Are you ready? Okay.

Here's the experiment: I am going to shop for my food at Real Foods Market, and I am going to eat whatever I want to eat from there.

It may sound silly. In fact, it sounds that way when I hear myself say it out loud. Silly, or just so simple it can't really be an experiment, right? Here's the thing: They really do their homework, and they only sell the foods they believe will contribute to optimal health. At Real Foods Market, the butter is not just free of growth hormones, it is organic and cultured, and there is a grass-fed option available. There are no hormones, pesticides, refined flours, hydrogenated oils, or harmful chemicals in anything they sell. Real Foods Market sells foods that are naturally high in vitamins & minerals because of the way they are grown & produced. Every time I eat food from there, it feels really nourishing when compared to cheaper/lower-quality versions of the "same" foods bought elsewhere. (This is part of the experimentation & observation I've been doing for a while.)

I'll be putting away my scale until the end of the 13 weeks. I'll be checking my blood sugar more regularly than I have been lately. I'll be making really delicious food. And I'll see what 13 weeks brings. :)

A Question of Calories?

I'm amazed at something I've discovered about how my body works: If/when I eat what my body needs, my weight is stable. If I don't, it's not.

I know that for me, for now, my ideal diet is extremely high in fat, mainly from animal sources, with vegetables & greens, and no carbohydrates except the lactose in my goat milk or raw milk (I'm even feeling like the lactose is a compromise so that my body can get the nutrients from the milk, because cream and raw milk cheese appeal to me much more than the milk, but goat's milk or raw cow's milk are good when I don't have cream or cheese available).

My breakfast this morning consisted of a quart of grass-fed cream, 2 pieces of coconut cake (basically coconut flour, coconut milk, coconut oil and eggs), and 8 slices of uncured bacon. Total calories? 3,923 according to www.nutritiondata.com

I have no idea how many calories I will have consumed by the end of the day. I have not been running like I planned to, so I am not burning off big amounts of calories through exercise. In contrast, I gained 10 pounds in 10 days when I added occasional grain and fruit to my diet last month, and I didn't have any significant increase in the total amount of food I was eating during that time. As soon as I stopped eating carbohydrates, I stopped gaining weight. My one "cheat" has been having some beans in soup or chili at a couple of family parties, which has added about three more pounds.

Stress & Staying Well

I have a friend whose whole family is sick. Yesterday, a coworker told me she can feel herself aching all over, getting sick. I have had a LOT going on lately, and I've gotten pretty stressed & overwhelmed. Yesterday I had two more things added to my plate for the coming week. With people getting sick around me and my history of gettting sick easily, I knew I had to take care of myself if I am going to keep functioning. I always try to eat really nutritious foods, and here's what else I do: Last night I took a hot bath with essential oils of lemon & wild orange. I took a couple of drops of each one internally, too. After my bath, I put on an essential oil blend to relax my tight shoulder & neck muscles, and I dropped some other oils on my sheet so I could breathe them through the night. I've upped my vitamin D3 dosage in order to help my immune system, and a bonus is that vitamin D3 also helps mental function & mood. I say it can't hurt! :)

p.s. I forgot to mention the B vitamins I take to help me handle stress better. Yay!

The Rainbow Train of Happiness

Santa bought my son all kinds of great coloring stuff. He brought me scrapbook paper. After we had opened gifts, my son was looking around at his gifts, trying to decide what to do first. That's when I realized/remembered just how boring scrapbook paper is and how awesome it is to color. I was wishing I had asked Santa for a coloring book. My sweet son took pity on me and offered to share. This is what I did on Christmas day:



p.s. I used some of my Christmas money to buy a big coloring pad and some markers and colored pencils, and I'm pretty sure I'll soon have enough pictures to wallpaper my bedroom. :)