Merry Christmas!! Let the celebrations begin. It feels like we already started since we spent yesterday with my family celebrating my BIL’s 40th birthday. We’ll be back there in two days to celebrate Jesus’ birthday.

Last week was a bit crazy. I had a ton of stuff to get done. Somehow I managed to do most of it. We also had a couple important doctor appointments. Unfortunately I had to reschedule mine. So it’ll be this week instead.

I had plenty of Christmas prep to accomplish. Over the course of the week I made chocolate covered pretzels, caramels, homemade chocolates, hot fudge, peppermint stick ice cream, Christmas cookies, banana bread, yogurt, kefir and yeast free bread. I also FINALLY finished my sewing project (pictures to come after we open gifts :). And I did some much needed cleaning around the house (bathrooms, linens, kitchen, etc.). My helpful husband also got some of the gift wrapping done. Hopefully we can finish it today.

We had a great appointment for Rebecca with a new specialist last week. We’ll be seeing her again in January. And we got great updates from her teachers about how well she’s doing in school. We also had another session with the speech therapist. Now we need to keep up with the exercises at home.

This week will be busy with the start of our Christmas festivities (there will be more next week too). We will be celebrating as a family and with my family. We will also be seeing some of my extended relatives at some point this week. We have milk pick up, some errands and my doctor’s appt. as well. Plus preparing for visiting more family next week.

I think we are about done with our Christmas baking projects. I do have to make one or two more things for my grandparents (they are getting edible gifts this year :). I already made a batch of granola this morning. I had intended to make a new batch of oreos, but we’ll see if there is time. I am getting low on soaked graham crackers and golden grahams. So maybe I’ll try to squeeze those in as well.

No big updates on me. Hopefully I’ll have more direction after I see this new doctor. The past week was a little all over the place because of hormone fluctuations with Abram nursing a ton and then not much. It really impacts my mood and my weight. Plus I know the stress/anxiety of Christmas parties and travel is already impacting me. I’ll be glad to get to January and back to a normal routine 🙂

On to the menu. I don’t have all of the breakfasts and lunches planned out yet. I’ll fill the rest in as the week goes on. I often don’t figure it out until the night before. I’m trying to really listen to my body and what it’s craving/what it’s lacking. So I usually wait until the night before to figure out my breakfast when I have a better idea of what I need. Sometimes I’m really craving salty foods sometimes sweet. So I go with what my body tells me.

This could be a week of stress, recovery and start over again. Yesterday was stress. Today is recovery (I’ve had so many great mornings/days lately…now after a day of travel it’s back to all tensed up). I’m going to do my best to eat well and take time for myself. And try to enjoy the festivities and the real reason we celebrate. Happy Birthday Jesus! Merry Christmas everyone!
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S (prep dinner, make gifts, church, wrap presents, prep smoothiesj)
  B – banana bread, yogurt (J), yogurt, golden grahams, avocado (M)
  L – cp chicken and broccoli over couscous
  D – stove top mac ‘n’ cheese w/ hot dogs, sauteed brussels sprouts, applesauce

M (bake brownies, make hot fudge, milk, celebrate Christmas, pack for Tuesday, VanH Christmas)
  B – banana bread, mixed berry yogurt (J), sauteed broccoli, cauliflower, beets, cucubmer, soaked graham crackers (M)
  L – leftover chicken and broccoli w/ couscous
  D – ham, scalloped potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower, applesauce
  Dessert – peppermint stick ice cream w/ hot fudge
D – (light/early) – cheeseburger nuggets, peas, chips, applesauce

T (make fruit salad, pack, church, Holleboom family Christmas)
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit (J), yogurt, golden grahams, avocado (M)
  L – (quick/light) – leftover mac ‘n’ cheese, broccoli (J), broccoli, peas, cheeseburger nugget (M)
  D – w/ family – bringing fruit salad, hot fudge and brownies

W (clean, Dr. A.)
  B – toast w/ pb, fruit salad (J), yogurt w/ brownie, sauteed brussels sprouts and avocado (M)
  L – cheeseburger nuggets, chips, fruit (J), sugar snap peas, TBD (M)
  D – salmon cakes, tator tots, peas

Th (bake bread, soak flour, Meijer, bank)
  B – scrambled eggs, toast (J), (M)
  L – lasagna (J), leftover salmon cakes and veggies (M)
  D – split pea soup w/ ham, TBD sweet bread

F (make graham crackers, golden grahams)
  B – TBD
  L – leftover pea soup
  D – sweet bread french toast, roasted veggies, fruit

S (bake yeast free bread, bake brownies)
  B – leftover french toast (J),  (M)
  L – TBD
  D – grilled cheese w/ ham, broccoli, chips, fruit

Good morning. One more week to get things done before Christmas. How are you doing? I finished my shopping yesterday and got my cards mailed. I’m glad to check those off my list. Now it’s on to baking goodies and wrapping presents. All the final details.

Last week was a bit rough since Abram did not sleep well at all. Poor kid is teething so badly. It’s rare that he doesn’t have a finger or a toy in his mouth trying to get some comfort. Abram not sleeping = Mommy not sleeping 😛  Not good for any of us. Thankfully last night was a good night. I feel much more rested this morning. Aside from the sleep issues we had some rough days with Rebecca as well. It even showed up in her behavior at school…first time the teacher has had to talk to me. But on a positive note I am learning a few things that have a big impact on her behavior. So hopefully making some simple changes will help. She also had her first session with the speech therapist. I’m so excited to see the impact of this treatment. I think Rebecca is too.

This week is shaping up to be quite busy. In addition to our usual activities we have a few very anticipated doctor visits. I’ll finally be seeing a new doctor to hopefully help me get more insight on what’s going on in my body. And Rebecca is meeting with another specialist. Then we will hopefully have a better plan of action for her/see if we get any kind of diagnosis. We are also meeting with the speech therapist again tomorrow. This week we have our last day of Kindermusik. It’ll be nice to have a little break. When we start up later in January both kids will be in it! I hope Abram likes it as much as his sister. This week we have co-op pick up and Justin has worship team. Friday is also Rebecca’s Christmas party. I’ll be going to that while Justin is home with Abram…on vacation 🙂  Friday we have MomBreak as well. And we need to get to the grocery store. Our fridge is bare! I hope the kids can keep up with this crazy week.

Inbetween all of our running around I have a lot to get done at home. I’ve been working diligently on my sewing project. I’m ALMOST done. I will finish it this week 🙂  I need to make cookies for Rebecca’s Christmas party. Our freezer stock of baked goods is getting low. So I might work on some breakfast baked goods. I need to get going on some of our Christmas baking (more flavored oreos, maybe peppermint stick ice cream). And Rebecca wants to make homemade candy bars and kit-kat bars. We’ll see if we have time for it. I need to make yogurt and kefir. And I’d like to make a new loaf of yeast free bread for myself.

The end of last week was a bit rough for me. The lack of sleep definitely made a difference. But I also had a big response to something I ate. I think it was fennel…but I’m not totally sure. It came the day after I ate 9 different veggies in one day 😛  Smart move. It could also have been from mushrooms. Those are two things I rarely eat/were out of the ordinary. I do know that since then my usual symptoms have come on strong. The cystic acne/oily dull skin, eye pain, a whole host of things that I now know aren’t just random annoyances. They all come on together as a response in my body to something I ate and/or did. So that kicked off some bad inflammation and pain. The next day I tried a few nuts. Poor timing. Then I ate a fair amount of olives, cheese and yeast yesterday which bothered me as well. So it was a combination of poor sleep, an inflammatory response to something I ate, too much yeast and not rotating foods much (I think I’ve eaten avocado every day for 5 or 6 days now). Now I have to wait it out again to return to “normal.” I was also not rotating food as well. I was getting variety…but I was getting a lot of the same variety each day. So one day I would eat 9 veggies…then I had to repeat many of the same ones the next day and the next. Eating a large variety of veggies each day is healthy, but maybe I should stick to only a few so I can rotate them more easily. Especially when it’s grocery week and we don’t have many left.

I’ve been reading Eat For Heat. So much great information. And it’s helping me learn better what works for me and how I should eat throughout the day. I need to start my day with plenty of food, including lots of salt and saturated fat. I also need to have enough carbohydrates and not drink too much. Later in the day I can eat lighter and have a little more fluid. And not eat a huge amount before bed. This will keep me warm and keep my metabolism running well. A good breakfast for me is vegetables sauteed in lots of butter with sea salt and some yeast free bread with butter and salt. Then for dinner I can ease up on the fat and salt and eat something like salad or raw veggies.

One key thing that Matt Stone says in his book is that to eat for heat you need the four S’s: salt, sugar, starch and saturated fat. And you need it at the right time of day for you. For some this is early in the day (like me). For some it’s later in the evening.

I struggled a bit with meal planning this week. I have yet to fill in a couple spots. And we aren’t sure yet what our plans for Saturday are, so that is still TBD. I’ll hopefully fill in the rest soon. I am hoping to get a little extra broth in my diet this week. And I’ll have to fill in my vegetables each day. I’ll have more options after I get to the store. What are you eating this week? Any good new recipes you’ve tried lately? Do you need a big breakfast to keep you going all day or do you prefer to start your day off light?
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S (sewing, church, make yeast free bread, make chocolates, make caramels, prep smoothies, soak beans, soak flour)
  B – french toast casserole, cheesy scrambled eggs (J), squash, broth, butter, peas, avocado, egg yolk, vanilla wafer (M)
  L – tomato noodle soup, grilled cheese (J), broth with butter, salt, peas,squash, breans, vanilla wafer (M)
  D – leftover pizza, crispy fennel (J), broth w/ butter, salt, peas, zucchini, yeast free bread w/ butter (M)

M (cook beans, bake scones, sewing, SP, PS, Dr. A.)
  B – smoothie, soaked date scones (J), sauteed brussels sprouts, soaked date scone (M)
  L – pizza, soup (J), brussels sprouts, pinto beans, olives, soaked date scone (M)
  D – pesto rice and beans, peas, peaches, garlic toast

T (make yogurt, skim cream, KM)
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit (J), broth w/ pesto rice, peas, beans (M)
  L – at work (J), broth w/ pesto rice, peas, brussels sprouts, beans (M)
  D – baked white fish w/ tartar sauce, broccoli, french fries

W (prep dinner, make hot fudge, Meijer, PS, make ice cream, co-op, WT, make cookie dough, sewing)
  B – smoothie, date scones (J), raw brussels sprouts w/ pesto, date scone w/ butter (M)
  L – pesto rice and beans (J), yogurt w/ cereal, sugar snap peas(M)
  D – (separate) – hamburger corn bake, carrots, applesauce (J), cucumber, avocado, pinto beans, raisins w/ honey mustard (w/ extra egg yolk) (M)

Th (bake cookies, roast beets, chop veggies, Dr. M., make chocolate covered pretzels, make frosting, sewing)
  B – waffle, banana (J), sugar snap peas, avocado, bread w/ butter (M)
  L – hot dog, carrots, tator tots (J), vegetables cooked in broth, egg yolk (M)
  D – leftover casserole, beans, fruit (J), broth w/ pesto rice, veggies and egg yolk (M)

F (chop fruits and veggies, freeze butter, MB, PS/party)
  B – waffle (J), sugar snap peas, pineapple, bread w/ butter (M)
  L – hot dogs or leftovers (J), sautted beets, beet greens, broccoli, avocado w/ egg yolk and cheese (M)
  D – cinnamon cranberry rice, fried eggs (just yolk for me), toast, roasted cauliflower, fruit

S (clean, bake bread, family gathring)
  B – banana bread, fruit (J), sugar snap peas, cucumber, bread w/ butter (M)
  L – hot dogs (J), sauteed veggies w/ egg yolk (M)
  D – w/ family

Somebody tell December to slow down! I’ve got too much to do before Christmas and the time is just flying by. Last week already seems like a blur. I did get a lot accomplished, though. And we even had our first date night in 19 months. What a treat. Hopefully we won’t wait that long before the next one 😛

Last week I made a new batch of homemade golden grahams. I might have to make a new batch this week. They were such a hit that they are just about gone. I also made some progress on my sewing projects. I just might finish them before Christmas.

This week will be quite busy. We have our church Christmas program. I can’t wait to see Rebecca dressed up like a little angel 🙂  It’s our week to pick up  milk. I might go to a West MI bloggers meet up Tuesday night. We have our first session with a speech pathologist this week. And I might go to a seminar at the office where we go for SP. There is also an event with one of Justin’s co-workers this weekend – a big train display. We might stop by that.

My to-do list seems to be ever expanding with Christmas quickly approaching. I still have quite a few Christmas presents to buy. At least I managed to do all of the shopping for my grandma yesterday so she doesn’t have to worry about that. I also need to get Christmas cards sent out this week. We got our tree yesterday, so we’ll be decorating today. I have at least three blog posts I’d like to get up. And some other social media stuff to do.

Potential kitchen projects this week: golden grahams, yogurt, ice cream, sour cream, brownies. I’m trying a new bread recipe today too.

I’ve had kind of an up and down week. I think I’ve had some die off again. Frustrating. But at least not quite as long-lasting as usual. I’ve had some really good days as well. I’m really trying to figure out how to keep my body warm/keep my metabolism up. I’ve had some days where my hands, ears, and/or cheeks have been bright red and hot 🙂  So I’m getting there. I think I should avoid fruit most of the time. It has too much water and too much sugar. I had a handful of grapes Friday morning and I was ice cold the rest of the day.

I also tried coconut flour muffins last week. I think I still don’t tolerate coconut flour too well. I’m sure there were other factors, but my tummy was not too happy. Maybe I’ll have to try using it in very small amounts with other flours at first. Work my way up to a recipe with only coconut flour.

I still think variety/rotation is key. And I’m still working on it. It’s tough to always be able to find something different to eat. At the very least right now I’m getting a much larger variety of vegetables than I was for a while. For example, for breakfast today I’ve already had golden beets, cauliflower, mushrooms and broccoli. Later today I’ll probably have peas, beans, broccoli, zucchini. Maybe more.

I’m doing what I can to figure things out myself at the moment…and seeing some good signs. And next week I’ll meet with a new doctor to hopefully get more thorough testing and continue with the healing process.

On to the menu. I tried to get some good variety…and yet somehow I ended up with lots of beef recipes 😛  Oh well.

Finally here is a link to an article that I think is worth the read. Don’t let a number dictate the state of your health.
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S (prep lunch, church, prep dinner, bake bread, Christmas program)
  B – pancakes, fruit (J), cauliflower, beets, mushrooms, broccoli, bacon cooked in butter and broth, pancake (M)
  L – (prep ahead) – cp bbq chicken legs and sweet potatoes, sauteed sweet corn, peas
  D – (prep ahead/parents over) – beef vegetable soup, ww bread

M (boil eggs, make golden grahams, milk, PS, prep smoothies)
  B – hard boiled egg, toast (J) egg yolk salad, raw veggies (M)
  L – leftovers (J), sauteed veggies (M)
  D – bacon spinach pies, caramelized brussels sprouts, fruit

T (skim cream, make sc, sewing,  clean, KM, WMB)
  B – smoothie, golden grahams w/ milk (J), smoothie, golden grahams (M)
  L – at work (J), sauteed veggies, bacon spinach pie (M)
  D – (separate) – hamburger corn bake, broccoli, applesauce leftover beef veg. soup, bread

W (make yogurt, prep breakfast, sewing, PS, prep potluck food)
  B – pancakes w/ bacon, fruit (J), sauteed beets, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, avocado, yeast free bread w/ butter (M)
  L – soup, bread (J), salad w/ hb egg yolk, mushrooms, avocado, sauteed cauliflower, yeast free croutons, honey mustard dressing (M)
  D – sloppy joes, squash, crispy fennel

Th (prep potluck food, sewing, library, SP, seminar?, prep breakfast)
  B – smoothie, granola w/ milk (J), squash, fennel, beets, spinach pie (M)
  L – potluck at work (J),  salad w/ fennel, mushrooms, broccoli, avocado, olives, gnd beef, honey mustard (w/ whole egg yolk), golden grahams (M)
  D – (prep ahead) – beefy enchilada bake (in cp) TBD eggs, toast, veggies

F (sewing, make mud balls, make mayo, clean, sewing, PS)
  B – french toast bake (J), yogurt, nuts, avocado, pinto beans (M)
  L – spinach pie (J), sauteed cauliflower, peas, soaked grahams, swiss cheese (M)
  D – cp salsa chicken (J), salad w/ mushrooms, avocado, olives, dates, cheese (M), egg nog

S (sewing, shopping, trains?)
  B – french toast bake (J), squash soup (M)
  L – salsa chicken (J), TBD (M)
  D – homemade pepperoni pizza, beans (J), TBD (M)

First full week of December, and it’s a busy one. We have lots of places to go. And I feel like my to-do list is doubled with Christmas only a few weeks away.

Aside from our usual activities I’d like to take a couple yoga classes again this week. There is a ladies’ night out with my mom group, but I’m not sure if I’m going. Justin has worship team. I have a MomBreak meeting. Justin might go out for dinner for work one night. And finally…we have a date night on Friday!! This will be the first date night since Abram was born…he’ll be 19 months old this week. Yeah, it’s been a while.  In honor of our date night I’ll include some photos from our trip to Spain…before kids 😉

Also this week we are doing an eval for Rebecca with a speech therapist. We’re hopeful this will help with her chewing/texture/eating difficulties. Justin and Rebecca will likely go to a Christmas concert at Calvin College on Saturday. Justin wishes he could play in it again 🙂

I finally made an appointment with a new doctor for myself. I’m excited for that in 2 weeks.

Last week we filled our freezer with 80 lbs. of grass-fed ground beef. That should last a while 🙂

Last week Abram was on a baking streak, so we ended up making our first batch of Christmas cookies, a batch of vanilla wafers (egg white free version), muesli, banana bread and coconut flour bread (egg white free version). I also made mayo and yogurt.

On the agenda for this week: soaked graham crackers, yogurt, kefir, turkey broth, homemade golden grahams, grain free sandwich buns and sewing.

Updates on me: I’m doing quite well overall. I’m learning that eating a variety of foods and making sure a good bulk of my meal is vegetables makes a big impact. By rotating foods I’ve been able to tolerate some of my “maybe” foods and even some foods on my no list. I’ve been able to increase the amount of raw and fibrous foods I eat as well. I’ve been eating blueberries, pineapple, grapes, raspberries, lettuce, raw broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts and a few nuts here and there. With no pain!! That is truly amazing.

I know I have a lot of healing to do yet, but this is encouraging. I still have to avoid my big no-no foods. I tried a couple bites of cooked carrot last week…nope, still doesn’t work. But being able to expand my diet even a little bit and add in some raw foods and more fruits and vegetables has been so wonderful! I did some baking with coconut flour last week. The jury is still out on whether I tolerate that or not now. I have found that Rebecca is pretty sensitive to coconut. So I have to be careful with how much I give her.

On Friday I was warm and my ears were hot all evening…a good sign of a boosted metabolism and healing! I’m getting there. I think I’m about to order Eat For Heat to keep going in this healing/heating process. I’ve already been through Diet Recovery. I think this will be just as good. Check them both out at 180 Degree Health if you haven’t already. How do you keep your body temp up and your metabolism burning?

On to this week’s menu. To help with meal planning I decided to do a different protein every evening this week: chicken, beef, beans, turkey, fish, dairy and pork/eggs. I’m still trying to plan all my meals ahead to help with variety and keeping track of what does/doesn’t work. It gets tough as I get closer to grocery day. Almost all of our fresh produce is gone. So it’s hard to get much variety. But I’m doing my best. Here’s what’s on the menu for now.
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S (prep dinner, church, program practice, prep smoothies, soak flour, make kefir)
  B – lemon blueberry yogurt, soaked cereal bar (J), chicken salad (chx, avocado, peas, raisins) over squash (M)
  L – cp chicken meatloaf, baked potatoes, carrots, sqaush, avocado
  D – sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, peas

M (make grahams, make golden grahams, FTT, PS, prep dinner, yoga, strain kefir)
  B – smoothie, granola bar (J), smoothie (M)
  L – meatloaf (J), salad (M)
  D – lasagna, corn

T (make turkey stock, cook beans, KM, MNO?)
  B – homemade cereal w/ milk, fruit (J), sauteed brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, peas w/ fried egg yolks (M)
  L – lasagna (J), salad w/ beans, avocado, meatloaf, olives (M)
  D – baked beans w/ hot dogs over rice, squash

W (strain/freeze stock, bake gf muffins, Meijer, PS, yoga, WT)
  B – sd breakfast cookie, fruit (J), smoothie, cereal, squash (M)
  L – meatloaf sandwich (J), baked beans, raw sugar snap peas (M)
  D – turkey noodle soup, coconut flour blueberry muffins

Th (clean, Justin out for dinner, strain kefir)
  B – sd breakfast cookie, orange (J), turkey noodle soup w/ squash, soaked graham crackers (M)
  L – at work (J),  turkey noodle soup, raw sugar snap peas, coconut flour muffin (M)
  D – salmon, peas, squash

F (chop veggies, sewing, MB, PS, Date Night!!!)
  B – sd breakfast cookie, yogurt, banana (J),  sauteed brussels sprouts and cauliflower w/ fried egg yolks (M)
  L – lasagna (J), salad (M)
  D – crackers w/ cheese, broccoli, applesauce (kids/with baby-sitter), out to eat (J/M)

S (sewing, make gf buns?, concert)
  B – waffles (J), misc. veggies (M)
  L – leftovers (J), squash soup (M)
  D – Bacon, lettuce, avocado sandwiches topped w/ fried eggs, sauteed broccoli, fruit