We’re into the second half of May already. And warm weather is finally back! We’ve been trying to get outside often and enjoy it. So far Abram LOVES being outside. But Rebecca usually requires some convincing. She’s not a fan of bugs 😛  Abram sits by the door saying “socks”…what he calls shoes…and banging on the door. I have a feeling we’ll be spending a lot of time outside this summer. We also did our first wagon ride of the year…first time for Abram. I learned that I am going to get quite a workout on our weekly walks to the farmer’s market this summer with a wagon, 2 kids and lots of produce.

This week will probably be pretty busy. But some plans are not set in stone yet. Today is church. I didn’t get to Heffron Farms last week, so I’d like to go this week. Maybe Monday or Tuesday. Monday evening is my last nursery cmt meeting. My term is over in June 🙂  Wednesday is Meijer and co-op pick up. I also might take the kids to a varsity soccer game at the local high school. Thursday I’d like to take yoga. We’ll see how the week goes. Friday I might be heading to Lansing or Flint for a girl’s day for my SIL. But I haven’t heard of definite plans yet. No plans for the holiday weekend at this point.

Last week was my sleep challenge. I did get more sleep. And I do feel more rested. But I also know that one week of a little more sleep is not going to change my health that much. There weren’t any noticeable differences aside from not feeling as tired 😛  I will still try to get more sleep when I can. But this week is back to getting stuff done 🙂

Since I didn’t do much extra baking, etc. last week I have a lot I’d like to get done this week. I want to make pudding, bread, graham crackers, some type of sourdough bread, granola bars and chicken broth.

I’m not really sure what to say about myself. My colon seems to have gone into spastic mode over the last week or so. I don’t know what caused it or how to make it stop. So I’m still doing lots of experimenting and reading. It’s all very confusing. I have started keeping a food journal to see if I can pinpoint anything. In the end I don’t think it’s any one particular thing I did or ate. I’m finding that my body just needs variety. I tend to find something that seems to “work” for a few days…and then keep eating the same stuff day after day. Then things get worse again and I’m confused. I seem to do better if I don’t go overboard on any one thing and if I keep changing it up every few days. I go a few days with eating lots of soft, low fiber foods. Then I go a couple days with bumping up fiber. And back. This seems to keep things calm, yet stimulated. I can’t just do one or the other. I need balance. It’s easier to eat the same things day after day. But my body doesn’t like to do that I guess. So I was avoiding much fiber for a bit. Then the last couple days I’ve had salad, nuts, dried fruit, etc. Gotta keep my body guessing 😛  I hope that will help. No extremes (I was going a bit crazy with the ice cream again…my favorite food and the one I have the one hardest time with portion control). Lots of variety. Hopefully this will keep everything balanced and allow me to not feel like I have to give up any food I love. Just because I have to take it easy with something for a few days or weeks doesn’t mean it’s out of my diet forever. Things are constantly changing…and so should my diet.

One other thing that stood out to me this week was that I need to not always be waiting to feel better. I need to live life to the fullest where I’m at as much as I can. I may never reach my ideal of feeling good/being healthy. I may never be “healed.” I hope to figure out how best to control my symptoms, but ultimately I just want to live. Live for God. Live for my family. Not make myself such a focus. Kelly the Kitchen Kop did a post yesterday about health in the US. And one thing she said really made me think:

“I also have a hunch that for some who have been sick for years and years, their body chemistry and hormones are so screwed up that even if they are doing everything right, it still might be nearly impossible to “reset” themselves. All the chemicals and weird stuff in our food, not to mention the huge number of pharmaceuticals many are taking, that has to make any effort at getting healthy much more difficult, right? I’m curious if any of you are with me on this one. Obviously, this isn’t the case for everyone, because I hear stories all the time of people who have been sick and/or overweight their whole lives, and then when they go back to Real Food and a more natural lifestyle, they get better. But I also know of some who, try as they might, just can’t get their body back.”

I eat a very nourishing real food diet. I try to do everything “right.” I put in the effort 10x over to figure out what’s healthy and what works for me. But I just might never get back to square one. I have to be ok with that and accept myself where I’m at. It doesn’t mean I should be ok with always feeling rotten. I will continue to try to figure things out and live the best life possible. But I also shouldn’t let it limit my life and always wait until I’m “healed” to do the things I want to do.

Anyway, when I have a little more clear direction I’ll do a bigger update post about diet, etc. For now, it is what it is. On to the menu for this week.
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S (prep lunch, church, prep smoothies, grind flour, make pudding)
  B – yogurt, granola, honeydew
  L – cp pork chops, potatoes and carrots / TBD
  D – leftover lasagna / fresh pea soup pumpkin cake w/ pesto

M (soak flour, prep dinner, Heffron, nursery cmt, strain kefir)
  B – smoothie, date scones (from freezer)
  D – (early) – cp honey mustard chicken and veggies

T (make graham crackers, make bread, skim cream, make sour cream, Meijer)
  B – sd english muffin, fruit
  D – bacon, avocado, pesto, parmesan paninis, roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts, fruit

W (make sd sweet bread/feed sd, make yogurt, Heffron, soccer, co-op)
   B – smoothie, muffins (from freezer)
   D – (separate/prep ahead) – potato soup w/ bacon and cheese, sd bread / salad

Th (make granola bars, make ice cream, yoga)
  B – toast w/ pb, fruit
  D – tacos

F (Girl’s Day? make pesto, make mayo, freeze butter, make cupcakes, make ice cream)
   B – granola bars, yogurt, fruit
   D – zucchini sausage muffins (modified), peas, fruit

S (clean, make broth)
  B – zucchini sausage muffins, fruit
  D –  roasted chicken, scalloped potatoes, beans

Happy Mother’s Day! I guess Abram hasn’t quite learned what that is yet (this is his first one…he was born the day after Mother’s Day last year)…he’s already up 🙁  He’s been sleeping a lot better/longer lately. But today he has a different idea. Maybe he’s decided that now that he’s one he doesn’t need as much sleep 😛

We celebrated Abram’s birthday last week. It’s hard to belive I’m now a mom to a 4 year old and one year old!

This week is my sleep challenge. I’m hoping to minimize my house and kitchen work and get more sleep. I’ll update next week on how it went. I’m hoping it goes well and will have a noticeable impact on how I feel. Friday night I got a long stretch of uninterrupted sleep…and Saturday morning I felt well rested and my temps were higher than I’ve ever seen for a morning temp. So I’m hopeful for some improvement with sleep.

I got a fair amount of cleaning/organizing done last week. That helps things seem less chaotic around here. But there is plenty more to go.
This week we start to slow down a bit now that our regular activities are done. Today is church. Monday is milk pick up. Tuesday I might run to Heffron Farms. Wednesday Abram has his one year check up. Saturday morning is our last day of soccer. Those are the definite plans. I might go to yoga on Monday or Thursday. And my parents might be coming one day.

I am minimizing work, but I do still have to feed my family 🙂  Justin also needs a dessert for work one day. So my extras for now are grinding flour and making blueberry jubilee, sour cream, ice cream and sourdough breakfast cookies.

I continue to experiment with my diet. It’s getting easier to pinpoint specific things and how they impact me. I learned last week that even small amounts of starches/fillers really bother me. I ate ice cream for a few days last week. I mostly eat homemade. But I go through it quickly, so I also had some Breyers “natural” vanilla. I thought that wasn’t too bad. But it has tara gum. And it does not work for me. I’m also finding that I am quite sensitive to gassy veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts). It doesn’t mean I can’t eat them at all. I just have to make sure I eat plenty of “safe” food with them and not eat large amounts. Last night’s dinner was steak, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. I could be in for a rough day today 😛  I still have some experimenting to do. At some point I hope to do a diet/health update post with all of the things I’m learning. I did have a good check up with my surgeon. The issue I went for last month has healed. But aside from that he didn’t have any advice. I was actually quite disheartened when I asked him about gut flora/bacteria/probiotics…and he asked if I’ve tried Activia. Seriously?? I wouldn’t touch that stuff. Artificial sweeteners and chemicals are not going to help me feel better. I might go for a colonoscopy at some point yet. But I’m holding off at the moment. On the plus side I am going to meet one-on-one with my yoga instructor to get some pointers on things to try.

One other exciting thing this past week is that I am now a regular contributor at Real Food and Health magazine! I will be contributing articles to each issue. I am enjoying these new opportunities to write and share my real food knowledge.

That’s all for this week. Happy Mother’s Day. Happy sleeping. Here’s what’s on the menu.
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S (prep lunch, church, Mother’s Day, prep smoothies, grind flour)
  B  – peach yogurt, granola, honeydew
  L – cp ham and carrots, roasted potato wedges
  D – mini ham pizzas / GAPS croque madame

M (milk)
  B – smoothie, sd muffins (from freezer)
  D – sweet and sour beef and veggie stir fry over rice

T (skim cream, make sour cream, make ice cream, make jubilee)
  B – granola w/ milk, banana
  D – hot dog fries, peas, chips, fruit

W (boil eggs, Dr. S., make ice cream)
  B – hard boiled egg, toast
  D – spaghetti, corn, garlic bread / leftover hot dog fries

Th (make breakfast cookies, heffron?, family over)
  B – sd breakfast cookies, smoothie
  D – sloppy joes, beans, fruit quiche w/ soaked crust (from freezer), beans, fruit, tbd bread/muffins

F (clean, heffron?)
  B – sd breakfast cookies, fruit
  D – quiche w/ soaked crust (from freezer), peas, tbd muffins (from freezer) sloppy joes, peas, fruit

S (clean, soccer)
  B – quiche, fruit
  D – fish sticks, beans, chips, fruit

April showers bring May flowers…oh wait, we already saw all the flowers bloom in April and we’ve had tons of rain already in May. More crazy Michigan weather with lots of wind, followed by a couple of hot days, then back to rain and cold. Hopefully normal spring will arrive soon.

Another busy week here. The biggest event of the week…my baby turns one!! I can’t believe it’s been a year since Abram was born. We’ll be celebrating as a family on Wednesday. After this week things should slow down a little. Today is church. Monday is my check up with my surgeon. Tuesday is Kindermusik (last class this semester!) and voting. Wednesday is groceries and celebrating Abram’s birthday. Thursday I have yoga. Friday is MOPS (last meeting this year!). Saturday is soccer. There is also a Lego event at the library that Rebecca and Justin might attend. We could also go to Tulip Time. There is also a chance my parents will come out on Friday to celebrate Abram’s birthday. Lots of potentials at the moment.

Plenty to keep me busy in the kitchen this week. I baked Abram’s cake last week. This week I have to decorate it. I also have to make some kind of bread or muffin for our MOPS meeting on Friday. I might try experimenting with some homemade toddler snacks. I also need to make yogurt, kefir, mayo, sour cream, ice cream and grind flour. Aside from food I want to make some thank yous for the MOPS volunteers in Rebecca’s class. I would also like to continue some thorough house cleaning. I got a little done yesterday. But there is plenty more to go.

Last week started out quite rough. But with some diet changes things improved quite a bit by the end of the week. I think I may have finally figured out part of the root issue as I mentioned in my goals – inflammation. At this point it seems as though some of the major contributors are grains, nuts, fiber and PUFAs. So those are very limited in my diet right now. I have to focus on what is calming and easily digested. I found more great info regarding this. And it reminded me of just how great broth/stock/gelatin is for healing and nourishing. So I’m trying to add that back to my diet regularly again. I may have to make a new batch of stock soon. I don’t have a ton in the freezer. One other interesting thing I read was about how digestion actually works…that you need some sugar to help with digestion. An easy to remember phrase is “root plus fruit.” Eat fruit with starchy food to help digest them. And focus on root vegetables instead of fibrous vegetables. I also have to focus on easily digested sources of protein – broth, eggs and dairy. I’ve been eating a lot more sour cream and yogurt again, mixed with some fruit. It seems to be working well so far. Hopefully I can get things calmed again and when I think I’m ready start adding foods back in very gradually. I don’t know what my diet will be like long term. I’m just taking things one day at a time and doing what works at the moment. I’m trying to enjoy the good days when they come. As a side note, since I’ve cut way back on the inflammatory foods I feel like I deflated 😛  The puffy/bloated feeilng is gone. And…my weight is down 1 1/2 lbs. since last week! Crazy.

I am also reading more and more about the importance of sleep. I’m hoping to do a sleep challenge for myself in the next week or two…plan my week so that I don’t have much “extra” stuff to do and focus on getting to bed early and sleeping later (as much as my children will allow :P). My OCD makes this difficult, but I’m trying to push myself a little. I figure if what I’m doing isn’t working it can’t hurt to try something new, right?

Finally I had my first two yoga classes last week. I think I’m hooked 🙂  I LOVED it. I hope to make this a regular part of my life. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to take classes. But I hope at least once in a while. I need to get some good videos as well so I can do it at home. The classes were so relaxing and yet challenging. It was so nice to have an hour of quiet and time to myself. What a treat. I’m thankful that Justin is willing to watch the kids while I go. I think it is very good for me mentally.

On to the menu. I’m trying to plan with a new challenge now…making plenty of food that Abram can eat. So far he seems to be a cheese and chicken lover. Meals at the end of the week might change depending on whether or not my parents come and what we end up doing on Saturday.
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S (prep lunch, make yogurt, church, make mayo, grind flour, prep smoothies, boil eggs, strain kefir)
  B – leftover pb honey stuffed french toast
  L – cp meatloaf, potatoes and carrots
  D – avocado cheddar omelet, peas, fruit

M (prep dinner, clean, make snacks, Dr. L.)
  B – sd english muffin, fruit
  D – (prep ahead) – squash soup, bread

T (crumb coat/frost cake, skim cream, make sour cream KM, vote)
  B – chewy granola bar, smoothie
  D – pan seared salmon, cheesy potatoes, beans

W (decorate cake, Meijer, Abram’s birthday, make ice cream,  make kefir)
  B – breakfast cookie, smoothie
  D – (prep ahead) – chicken, squash (all food that Abram loves :), asparagus, pears
  des – birthday cake and homemade ice cream

Th (prep dinner, feed sd, bake for MOPS, roast beets, make thank yous, make ice cream, yoga, strain kefir)
  B – yogurt, granola, grapefruit
  D – (separate/snack for me) – chili, cornbread

F (make yogurt, bake scones and muffins, MOPS – bring sd/kefir grains)
  B – tbd
  D – scrambled eggs, cornbread w/ syrup, broccoli

S (clean, soccer, Lego event?, Tulip Time?)
  B – cornbread w/ syrup, fruit
  D – grilled steak, roasted veggies

Almost the end of another month. I’m ready for May…and the return of warmer weather. It’s been so windy and chilly lately. We’re all anxious to spend more time outside.

This week will be fairly busy. Today is church. Monday I have milk pick up. I am also going to do something new…a yoga class!! A new studio just opened by our house. I’ve been wanting to try yoga for a long time. I’m very excited. Tuesday is Kindermusik. Then Saturday is soccer and possibly Tulip Time. There are no set plans for W/Th/F yet. But there is a chance my MOPS table could have a dinner outing. And I might go to Harvest Health and Target. I could also do another yoga class on Thursday if I really like it on Monday. I purchased a 2 week pass. We’ll just see how the week goes.

I’m hoping to do some sewing this week since I don’t have too many other things to get done. I’d like to make some sourdough muffins, ice cream and pesto. I also need to reorganize our bookshelf. Abram can now reach the 3rd shelf…which contains all of Rebecca’s books. Time to move things up again 😛  I also need to plan Abram’s cake! I can’t believe he’s going to be one next week!! My baby is growing up so quickly. I need to figure out what kind of cake I’m making and possibly do the baking this week.

I don’t have too many updates on myself. I’m still doing a lot of searching and guessing. I had a few rough days recently. I’m wondering if it’s wheat (I ate a lot of sourdough bread last week). So back to cutting back on wheat and seeing what happens. I’m researching the role of fiber in your diet…it might actually be what’s causing me trouble instead of helping. I may need a low fiber diet temporarily to stop the irritation and inflammation. I’m also looking into other vitamin/mineral deficiencies and what role they play. I have a pretty solid list of foods I just can’t eat…but is it because my body can’t digest them or is it because there is something in them I’m missing and my body holds on to them to squeeze out every last bit of it? If so, would it help if I ate more of my “trouble” foods? I still enjoy reading Matt Stones work on 180 Degree Health. But after 4 months of RRARFing (to the extent I’m able) and over 10 lbs. later with no big change in my temps I’m taking it easy on RRARFing. I can’t fully commit to it right now since I can’t get the sleep, rest, etc. I need. And breastfeeding is draining on the body as well. So why gain the weight if it’s not going to help right now? I’m still making sure I eat enough, but I’m not pushing myself to eat more. I’m also trying to get a good balance of protein, carbs and fat. I’m thinking somewhere around 20/40/40 is a good ratio for me. So much information to process. So many different opinions. It’s hard to figure out what works for me. I go back to my surgeon next week. We’ll see what he says.

That’s all for now. Here’s what’s on the menu.
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S (prep lunch, church, meeting, boil eggs, prep smoothies, chop veggies, grind flour, make pesto)
  B – sd pancakes w/ butter and syrup
  L – cp split pea soup, soaked bread
  D – leftover beef stroganoff / salad

M (prep breakfast and dinner, milk, bake banana bread, yoga)
  B – hard boiled egg, toast banana caramel boats, yogurt
  D – (separate/snack for me) – chop suey, peas, banana bread peaches

T (skim cream, chop veggies, KM, feed sd, prep smoothies)
  B – smoothie, breakfast cookie (from freezer) banana bread, orange
  D – pan fried white fish, brown rice pilaf, roasted brussels sprouts

W (make muffins, HH, make ice cream)
  B – sd muffins, smoothie
  D – leftover chop suey / salad chicken cutlets, baked french fries, beans

Th (bake cake, yoga)
  B – sd muffins, smoothie
  D – (separate/snack for me) – chicken cutlets, roasted brussels sprouts, baked potato OR crockpot bbq ribs, baked potato, broccoli (if I go to yoga)

F (clean, Whitecaps game)
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit
  D – french toast, fresh fruit / salad at baseball game

S (soccer, Tulip Time?)
  B – french toast
  D – pizza balls / salad grill/TBD

We made it through another busy week. We had fun celebrating Rebecca’s birthday and spending time with family. My in-laws are still here, but will be heading home later today.

This week shouldn’t be quite as busy, but still plenty going on. Today is church. Monday is milk pick up. Tuesday is Kindermusik. Wednesday is Meijer and co-op pick up. Thursday Rebecca and I are going out for dinner with my grandma. That is our mommy/daughter date for April. Rebecca loves to see her great grandma and chat with her. Friday is MOPS. Saturday is soccer.

I was very busy in the kitchen last week with a birthday and house guests. I made vanilla wafers, mud balls, vanilla ice cream, two batches of pesto, hummus, caramel dip, mayo and cinnamon raisin bread. I also finished my sourdough starter and baked a loaf of bread…yum!!! And I decorated Rebecca’s cake.

This week I don’t think I’ll be doing quite so much 😛  I would like to use my sourdough, maybe make english muffins. I want to make a new batch of ice cream and yogurt. Nothing else too major. I’m hoping I’ll have time to do some sewing this week. And start planning Abram’s birthday cake.

In terms of meals this week I’ve been trying lately to eat a bigger breakfast and smaller dinner. So a lot of our dinners are more geared towards Justin’s tastes. I try to stick mostly to lighter things like lots of vegetables. I’m also trying to find more things to feed Abram. He’s getting a lot better at chewing and seems very excited to try new foods right now. Maybe in a few weeks (after he’s one) I’ll start small amounts of sourdough or soaked bread. See how that goes.

Overall I had an ok week. But I’m still far from where I want to be. For the first time I’ve been checking my temperature throughout the day. That is the best indicator of your metabolism…and your overall health. A higher temp = a higher metabolism = better functioning body. How am I doing…NOT good. The “normal” body temp is 98.6. But I doubt most people’s temp is actually that high. If yours is in the 99s you are doing awesome! When I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago they took my temp. It was in the 97s and the nurse acted like that was pretty normal (even though it shouldn’t be). But that was at 5 pm. A better indicator is your temp in the morning. Usually at first mine is 94/95. But what’s worse is that after being up and around for a bit and doing a little exercise it drops to 92/93!! Exercising seems to put my metabolism to a halt. Who knew? No wonder my digestion is so slow. I seem to have the metabolism of a sloth 😛  And no wonder I’m gaining weight non-stop lately. So that is a big problem. Unfortunately the solution isn’t so easy. I’m still trying to figure out what keeps me warm/boosts my metabolism. I think it’s different things at different times of the day. I know I need plenty of salt and carbs. I’ve been trying to eat lots of salty veggies and some ice cream for breakfast lately. I also seem to do better if I avoid sweets during the day. If I eat a salty lunch I do ok. If I eat sweet stuff I feel rotten. I’m still trying to figure out if wheat is helping or hurting. Sometimes I think it’s not working. But then this week I made sd bread. The day I made it I had a huge piece with my lunch. Right after lunch my temp was in the 98s! That’s the only time I’ve seen a temp that high all week. I did feel super stuffed and kind of bloated afterwards. But my temp was up. So it’s hard to say. The idea is to eat plenty to get your temp up/metabolism up. Once that happens your body will function better…you’ll lose the extra weight since your metabolism will be restored. And digestion will improve. It will help with all of your bodily processes…thyroid function, adrenal function, etc. Unfortunately it can take a while…and take some temporary weight gain. And it can take longer if you are nursing. The other big factors are sleep and stress relief. I obviously don’t get near enough sleep. So that makes it tougher for me to heal.

I’m also confused about exercise. Steady-state cardio can actually kill your metabolism. After all my years of jogging day after day…maybe I was doing more harm than good. This is a tough one for me. I’m not one to give up my exercise 🙂  It does seem to help me relax and help with my anxiety. But I guess I have to be more careful about what kind of exercise I do and how strenuous it is. I’ve really been experimenting lately with getting more variety at least. Sometimes I do sprints. Sometimes I take it easy. Sometimes I do high intensity. Sometimes I bike. Sometimes I jog. The last two days I have actually not done any type of cardio in the morning. I think the last time that happened was when I was in the hospital when my son was born 😛  Instead I did some toning exercises, like squats, lunges, push ups, etc. It really amazed me how quickly I got out of breath doing this stuff. Shows me I really need to get some more variety! I’ve got lots of muscles that are never worked/challenged. So, what does it mean? I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll start taking more days off from exercising. See if that helps boost my temps a bit. I just need to give my body a break overall…as much as that’s possible with little kids.

Over the last few days my appetite has really gone down. I’m wondering (and hoping) if my body is reaching it’s limit and saying ok, that’s enough overfeeding. You’ve added enough weight (11 lbs. in 4 months). I need a little break. You can tone it down a bit. We’ll see.

Thankfully my medication is helping and I’m starting to add a few raw fruits and veggies back into my diet. Very exciting!!

I guess that’s enough update for now. I’ve got more to say, but maybe I’ll have to save it for a separate post. I’ve got a hungry little boy to deal with right now. We’ll see how this week goes. Hopefully higher temps and no weight gain. Here’s what’s on the menu.
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S (prep lunch, church, grind flour, prep smoothies)
  B – cinnamon raisin swirl bread, apples w/ caramel dip, oranges, hard boiled eggs
  L – cp roasted chicken w/ potatoes and veggies
  D – leftovers from Fri/Sat

M (milk)
  B – cinnamon raisin bread, smoothie
  D – chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries, peas

T (skim cream, make yogurt, KM, make ice cream, feed sd, prep dough)
  B – apples w/ caramel dip, yogurt
  D – tacos

W (make english muffins, Meijer, co-op)
  B – sd english muffins, fruit
  D – (separate) – beef stroganoff, corn / salad or misc.

Th (feed sd, out for dinner)
  B – sd english muffin, smoothie
  D – out to eat /leftovers
F (clean, MOPS – bring sd/kefir)
  B – yogurt, muesli, fruit
  D – sd pancakes w/ fruit topping, nuts, syrup

S (soccer)
  B – sd pancakes
  D – tuna zucchini cakes, peas