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Category: Food allergies

Does one (or all!) of your children have food allergies? Sadly this is no longer a rare thing. More and more kids struggle with food allergies now than ever before.

I’ve been there too. Skin testing, blood work, epi-pens…the works. It can be challenging or down right scary.

But you don’t have to live in fear. And you don’t have to just accept food allergies as a life sentence. There is help!

My son went from over twenty food allergies and an epi-pen to being able to eat just about anything. Even nuts!

There are ways to heal the gut and nourish the body so your child can get back to a normal life. Food allergies have so many underlying causes. Once you figure out the root problem and treat it the body will begin to heal.

Don’t let food allergies define your life. I’m here to help you and your child heal.

Meal Plans Week of 11-3-13

Good morning! Did you remember to give yourself an extra hour to sleep? I’ve never been a fan of the time change…especially after having kids. But with lack of sleep the past week and a half from sick kids up in the night I appreciated a little extra rest. I’m just not sure my kids are going to go along with the sleep an extra hour idea. I just hope everyone is back to full health soon.

This will be another fairly normal week. I have to go to the chiropractor, grocery shopping and to a MomBreak steering team meeting. We are also taking the kids to see Veggie Tales Live. I’m not sure if I should be excited or scared 😛

I still have a lot to do in the kitchen. My apples once again had to take a back seat with most of the family being sick. I didn’t have much energy, and my legs were really swollen and painful. So I couldn’t stand for a long time working on apples. And my son was hardly napping and up a lot in the night. So I’m really hoping I can go a bit apple crazy this week and get a good stock of applesauce in the pantry. And make more dried apples. Other than that I will probably be making another batch of yogurt. That may become a weekly thing now that we have extra milk. I also still have to make a batch of cheese crackers. I might experiment to see if I can make a version that is dairy free!

The cutest doctor and Mickey Mouse around.

My other assignment this week is my writing. I was pretty productive last week getting blog posts up. I have another writing assignment due this week that I haven’t started. I need to get on that asap!

I’m excited that I’m finally figuring out my root issue that I think is what started all of my health problems – low estrogen. It’s not that common. Most women have the opposite problem. And when you don’t ever hear or read about it, it is not the first thing you think of when looking for answers for your health. But I finally figured it out. And it makes my entire life make sense. Now that I’ve got that figured out I need to understand how to remedy it. And that could be tougher than finding the problem. But I’m working on it. One potential positive thing that could come from this is being able to add some foods back to my diet that I thought I was sensitive to. I have some experimenting to do now…which could be unpleasant at first. But it could be just what I need. I’ll give an update some time when I know the results of my experiment.

On to the menu. It is getting harder and harder each week to come up with meals the whole family can (and will) eat and that fit into our schedule. I think I managed for another week. How about you? What’s on your menu? Eet smakelijk!

****MENU****

S (prep lunch, church, make/can applesauce, roast beets, roast/freeze squash)
  B – chicken sausage, corn muffins w/ syrup
  L – cp pork roast, rice, beans
  D – grilled cheese, egg salad or pb/j, broccoli, fruit salad, chips w/ salsa

M (make/can applesauce, chiro)
  B – yogurt, muffins
  D – pork, pea and mashed potato casserole (Rebecca’s recipe), applesauce

T (prep dinner, make yogurt, make bread pudding, vote, AKM, make coconut milk ice cream, RKM)
  B – corn muffin bread pudding, grapes
  D – (quick prep) – cp chicken and quinoa

W (chop veggies and potatoes, chiro, Meijer)
  B – yogurt, granola bar
  D – chicken nuggets, roasted brussels sprouts, homemade french fries

Th (make/can applesauce, dance)
  B – hard boiled egg, toast
  D – (early/eat separate) – cp meatballs, potatoes, carrots

F (make dried apples, MBST, VT)
  B – yogurt, 
  D – (early/quick/easy clean up) – hobo dinners OR sandwiches, chips, fruit, veg

S (soccer)
  B – TBD
  D – tacos

Monthly Goals – November 2013

November…time for the holiday madness to begin. I’m hoping to stay on top of things this month. But also keep my focus on being thankful and letting God be in control. All thanks go to Him. Here is what I have planned for the month.

1. Health and Healing

*Make sleep a priority. I need to work on getting 8 hours of sleep a night or from a combination of night time and nap. My body really needs this to keep healing.

*Chiropractic care. I will be visiting the chiropractor two times a week for the next 11 weeks. I am so excited to see the end results and see if it has any impact on my overall health. I’ve lived my whole life leaning to the left. I’m not sure how it will feel to not do that anymore. I will also be doing more therapeutic massages.

*Exercise. I will continue to try different forms and durations of exercise to see what works best for my body. I’m hoping over time I will be able to increase the intensity a little bit to get back in shape. But my health/the healing process comes first.

*Balance hormones. My main health focus right now is balancing my hormones. I have already seen huge improvements over the last few months. Honestly I am quite amazed. But there is still more to be done. I think I might actually have a problem with low estrogen production. So I’m looking into ways to help that. If I can get my hormones properly balanced I think a lot of my other issues will resolve easily. I am learning that my anxiety, my OCD, my acne, my swelling…a host of issues…are due to hormonal imbalance. Who knows…maybe by the end of the year I’ll have good posture, clear skin and be rid of anxiety and OCD. That would be amazing!


*Healing for my son. Now that my son has been diagnosed with some food allergies I want to keep his health a priority. I am not going to put him on a diet like GAPS. But I will try to incorporate as many healing and nourishing foods in his diet as I can – broth, gelatin, etc.

2. Writing

I have to write my Jan./Feb. article for Real Food and Health magazine. I hope to keep up with plenty of blog posts as well. I know that I post mostly recipes on my blog. That’s my thing. But I would like to branch into other topics as well. Since I’m learning so much about hormones and the female reproductive system maybe I’ll start sharing some of that information as well.

3. Food

*I need to really get busy processing apples – applesauce, dried apples, baked goods.

*I need to keep stocking our cupboards with homemade snacks. I also need to make sure I have plenty of food my son can eat.

4. Mommy Daughter Date

I think our M/D date this month might turn into a whole family outing. We are considering seeing Veggie Tales Live. I think both kids would really enjoy it.

5. Crafts

*I’ve been saying this since January. But I really do want to work on some homemade Christmas gifts. At least some things with the kids. So I’ll be scanning Pinterest for some cute ideas and hopefully get started.

*I will continue to do our weekly homeschool crafts.

6. Acceptance

This month I am going to focus on accepting my body the way it is/being patient with the healing process. And I’m going to focus on the members of my family. I want to focus each day on the things I love about them and try to be positive and encouraging.

End of Month Recap and Links – October 2013


Happy Halloween! Another month is coming to an end. Overall October was a good month. I made a lot of progress on my healing. I’m still learning new things every day. And putting all the puzzle pieces together one step at a time. Although the waiting is hard, God is doing great things. I think I did pretty well on my goals this month. I probably could have used a little more rest…but that’s life. Here’s how it went.

1. Healing

  *Continue to push my OCD – sleep in more, eliminate compulsions, give up control. I will also be using my afternoon free time to do my baking and experimenting. It will be a good distraction for me. – I continue to push myself. I am happy with the progress I’ve made.

  *Start seeing a chiropractor to help with healing and overall body function and to address my scoliosis. I hope to also do some massage therapy. – I have had a few chiro appointments now. I am working on fixing my scoliosis and getting some curve back in my neck. The massage is amazing too!


  *Exercise regularly – walking, jogging, biking, yoga, kettlebells, hooping, jumping (whatever I feel like each day)  – I have learned that my body is not quite ready for a lot of cardio. I try to do some weights/kettlebells, yoga, stretching, jumping and hooping most days. Once in a while I bike or walk. I hope I can gradually increase as my body heals.


  *I hope my swelling/fluid retention starts to go down at some point this month. I’m wondering if it could partly be due to estrogen dominance. I will be doing more research on that. – Unfortunately I still have swelling. I think it is hormone-related. And I think (HOPE!) it will gradually subside as my hormones continue to balance.


  *Hopefully purchase a Berkey water filter to remove fluoride (and other heavy metals) from our water. – We decided not to do this right now.

2. Writing

I think I might be ready to give a health update soon. I don’t know how long it will take or how tough it will be, but I want to tell a little more of my story. So be on the lookout. Hopefully I’ll do it this month. – I wrote about how I really spent my summer. It was hard to write, but also very freeing.

3. Food

  *Can applesauce – I just started.

  *Gluten free baking experiments – always 🙂


4. Mommy-Daughter Date

Rebecca and I are going to the ballet to see The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe with my mother-in-law. – We had so much fun at the ballet!

5. Crafts

It’s October now. I suppose I should start thinking about Christmas. Maybe I’ll actually make a few things this year. I will also keep doing weekly crafts with the kids for our toddler homeschool. – I did not start any big crafts. I have kept up with weekly crafts for the kids, though. We are up to letter H this week.

6. Acceptance

 I still have to work on this every day. Accepting myself, accepting my circumstances and accepting others. I will address this more in my health update as well. – This is still tough.  But I try to do it daily.

And now for some interesting reads from fellow bloggers and a recap of my own posts from the month.

****OCTOBER LINKS****

A recipe for coconut milk yogurt! I may have to try this for my son.

A fun post on what to give the real foodie in your life…it’s not what you expect…but it is appreciated!

Want to stay healthy? Try honey and cinnamon for colds and flu.

Gutsy gives an in-depth review of h. pylori – what it is and how best to treat it.

Carageenan is in so many products…even the “healthy” organic ones. Girl Meets Nourishment explains exactly what it is.

Oh Lardy gives some great reasons for avoiding low fat dairy.

Meal Plans Week of 10-27-13

It’s the last week of October already! How did that happen? I guess I’ve been too busy to notice. Last week was crazy busy. And to top it off the kids were sick. But we managed. And thankfully this week isn’t so busy.

I do have two chiropractor visits this week (and will for quite a few weeks to come). Rebecca has a field trip for school. And we aren’t sure yet what we’re doing on Halloween. It depends on what time Rebecca has dance that day. We also have a MomBreak meeting this week. I’m pretty sure the kids and I will be staying home from church today.

I have a list a mile long of things I need to catch up on in the kitchen. Last week my cupboards were bare. And to top it off we had Abram tested for allergies. So what was left he couldn’t even eat. I managed to make graham crackers, granola, a few batches of gummies, two batches of ice cream (one dairy free), roast beets, roast and freeze squash, make yogurt and make an apple breakfast cake (recipe coming soon). But I still have a long list. And on the top is making and canning applesauce. So that will be my focus first. After that I can get back to restocking the fridge and cupboards with healthy, homemade food for the kids, like muffins, granola bars, cheese crackers and some gluten free bars for myself.

My husband’s new toy and Abram’s new obsession.

I mentioned my son’s allergies. We found out that his main allergy is to dairy. But the list also includes eggs, wheat, rice, almonds, grapes, pears, bananas, peas and beans. So we are in the process of making this adjustment. It definitely makes meal planning harder! It’s quite difficult to come up with meals the whole family can eat. I’m not even sure what vegetable to cook anymore. I guess I’ll be making more meals that have individual components so everyone can pick and choose what they like/what they can have.

I’m trying to focus on keeping Abram nourished and doing what I can to help his body heal quickly. I hope some day he can add most if not all of these foods back into his diet.

My health seems to continue to improve. I recently had my hormone levels checked…and they are perfectly normal!!! That is truly amazing. God is good. My body temperature has been great too. 98’s and even 99’s! I learned that I do have PCOS, but not the typical form. Mine is simply from undereating/overexercising/stress. And now that I’m taking care of myself it’s reversing quickly. My thyroid problems are the same. I’m in the 10% that simply have hypothyroid due to stress, etc. instead of an autoimmune disease. So that is reverseable as well. I’m on my way to good health again. I still need to work on getting more sleep and reducing stress and making sure I’m eating plenty of nutrient dense foods that I tolerate. But I am truly amazed at how much progress I’ve made in just a few months. God has done great things. And I’m excited to experience more healing.

I also got to see the details of my scoliosis/spine issues last week. As I’ve known since I was 16 my spine curves to the left. And now it also curves back to the right at the top (must be from compensation over the years). I also have hardly any curve in my neck…the beginning stages of a hunch back that runs in my family. Thankfully the chiropractor said he could fix both! So I will be going for adjustments and traction two times a week for a while. I also had my first therapeutic massage. Wow, was that great! I’ll be doing that again for sure.

On to the menu. Like I mentioned, meal planning is becoming more and more difficult. But I think I came up with an ok menu for the week. What’s on your menu? Eet smakelijk!

****MENU****

S (prep lunch, church, make/can applesauce, prep smoothies, make kettle corn)
  B – pancakes, banana
  L – meatloaf, baked potatoes, carrots
  D – (snack foods) – popcorn, pecans, crackers w/ cheese, peas

M (chop veggies, cut butter, organize kithcen, chiro, health food store)
  B – smoothie, TBD from freezer
  D – baked pork chops, broccoli, rice

T (make/can applesauce, AKM, RKM, soak flour)
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit
  D – (quick prep) – pan seared salmon, hashbrowns, beans

W (make gf cheese crackers, chiro, make gf bars)
  B – smoothie, granola bar
  D – spaghetti, broccoli, garlic toast

Th (make dried apples, make egg puff, make yogurt, cut up butter, field trip, dance, work party?, Halloween)
  B – egg puff, toast smoothie, gf zucchini bread
  D – (prep ahead/eat whenever) – cp roast chicken and veggies

F (make egg puffs, chop veggies, make df granola bars, MB, bake muffins)
  B – granola bars, yogurt, fruit egg puff, toast
  D – sausage, gf muffins, roasted veggies, fruit

S ()
  B – leftovers
  D – chicken noodle soup, gf muffins

How I Really Spent My Summer…

*Note – This will be a long and personal post. But I think I need to write it. I need to let it out and let it go.

Baseball game.

I made a post on our family blog recently about what we did all summer. We did a lot of fun things like cherry picking, Michigan’s Adventure, my brother-in-law’s wedding, baseball games, camps and time with family. Sounds like a typical summer in Michigan.

But I left out one teeny, tiny detail.

I left out a detail so small that you can’t see it…without an ultrasound. And at some point you can’t see it at all.

I did a lot of fun things this summer. But I really spent most of my summer feeling sick and sad.

On June 1, 2013 I did my 7th IVF transfer (just getting to this point was a bit crazy with our endocrinologist getting sick and retiring in the middle of the process and having to go to a new office/doctor). The transfer went well. I waited through the two weeks of torture.

I felt every pregnancy symptom possible. And on June 11, 2013 we got the exciting news that I was pregnant! Two days later I had my second test. Another great hcg level. I was feeling sick and so excited.

On June 24, 2013 I had my first ultrasound. We were so excited about possibly seeing a heartbeat or two! Instead we saw a sac and what was probably an embryo. It was still early (5 1/2 weeks). I had another hcg test – normal.

 

Strawberry picking on June 28.

On June 28, 2013 I started to have pain. And after a quick strawberry picking trip with the kids I started bleeding.  I was terrified. I went in for another ultrasound. Again, inconclusive.

I had another hcg test – it hardly rose from a week earlier.

On July 1, 2013 I had a final ultrasound that confirmed there was no heartbeat.  It was a blighted ovum.

I stopped all medications/hormones and waited for the process to begin.

 

4th of July parade the day before things started – my face says it all.

On July 5, 2013 my miscarriage began. It was quite difficult the first night. I was up in the night in pain. Then the physical part gradually got a little easier. I had no idea what to expect. A lot of emotions. A lot of physical discomfort. A lot of isolation and sadness and anger.

What I did not expect was for the process to take over a month to complete. To be reminded of what would not be day after day after day and not being able to start the true healing process. It was brutal.

What I did not expect was how lonely it felt.  Even people that knew what was going on did not say a word. Nobody asked how I was feeling. Nobody asked if I needed help. I did my best to keep up with daily life, taking care of my kids, cooking meals, writing, etc. But inside I was crushed. Some days about all I could do was get myself dressed and make sure my family was fed.

My hormones were still crazy. My emotions were all over the place. And physically my body was making changes that were completely out of my control.

 

A trip to the beach in July – trying to enjoy some time with my precious kids in the midst of pain.

Over the course of about 2 months I gained almost 20 pounds. My body was swollen. My belly was puffed out. I couldn’t fit into my clothes. So I wasn’t pregnant, but it kind of looked like I was.

My mind pondered the “why” and the “what now.” This was not our first failed IVF cycle. But it was likely our last. And we’ve never been in this situation before. There was always a next time. A hope for the next try. But not this time.

So what has happened to the “why” and the “what now”? God has given me some answers.

Why?

I have struggled with disordered eating and obsessive compulsive disorder for almost 20 years now. I have gone through ups and downs with both disorders over the years. But they still had a tight grip on me.

And I didn’t know how to give up control. I longed to give it over to God. But I couldn’t. Until he stepped in and made me do it.

I knew it would be good for me to gain a little weight. But I couldn’t do it on my own. So God took it completely out of my control. And it still is. I have not weighed myself in almost 2 months. But I know I am still up about 20 pounds from where I started in June. And there isn’t really anything I can do about it.

I’ve wanted so badly to let go of my compulsions for many, many years. But they controlled my life. They controlled my daily routine. But over the last 2 months I have let go of almost all of them. And I feel so free.

God knew that the only way to get these issues resolved was for Him to take control. And for me to have the only motivation possible that means more to me than anything…more than being thin, more than looks, more than being in control. The only thing that I would give up everything for is to have another child.

 

My precious little guy after coming home from the hospital.

And that is my drive now. On days where I feel so uncomfortable in my skin and in my clothes I remind myself what I’m longing for. On days where my legs are so painful from the swelling I think about all the healing that’s going on and what could be possible. On days when I don’t feel like eating much I think about how important it is to nourish my body to get it fully functional again.

Why? If I had gotten pregnant through this last round of IVF I would have called our family complete. I would have stayed in my same disordered frame of mind. I don’t know how long or how much damage it would have done to me or my family. But I am thankful that God gave me a way out. I wish it didn’t have to happen this way. But I am stubborn. I like to be in control. And God had to get me to listen.

What now?

That’s a tough question to answer. For now I’m trying to heal in so many ways.

The miscarriage spurred on some disordered eating healing without me even realizing it. My body is in repair mode right now. And I have no idea how long it will take. I still have swelling all over. I still have a lot of extra weight in my belly as my body makes sure there is no sign of starvation any time soon. It’s not fun, but it is necessary.

And it is working. My adrenal system is back to full function. I get plenty of rest now. And I have much less stress. So my body can start to wake up other systems again.

And they are. My reproductive system has been shut down for over 10 years now. Ever since starting birth control in 2003. The birth control itself made me sick. It made my digestive issues worse. It made my anxiety worse. It made my OCD worse. And lead to a long journey with restricted diets, trying to figure out how to feel better. But it just fueled my psychological problems and made me lose a lot of weight. Which in turn shut things down. Even just earlier this year all of my reproductive hormone levels were in the pre-pubertal range. Basically non-existent.

After 3 years on birth control my reproductive system was completely non-functional. And my health was poor.

I do have two children. Both through IVF. Going through that process put more strain on my body.

But now just a couple months after a miscarriage I have ovulated without medication/fertility treatments for the first time in over 10 years! That is truly amazing. And I praise God for how he has already started this healing process.

I still think almost daily about what life would have been like if I hadn’t had a miscarriage. I’d be over 20 weeks pregnant and getting excited about a new life in February. I still cry sometimes because the sadness is great.

It’s still a struggle to see other pregnant women. I think the miracle of a baby is such a blessing. And I am truly happy for anyone that gets to experience it. But it still reminds me of what will not be and how messed up my body is. (If you are pregnant and I tend not to look at you/talk much with you please don’t take it personally. It’s not about you. It’s just hard for me. And if I don’t congratulate you on a pregnancy announcement I apologize. I really am happy for you. But it is hard.)

It’s still a struggle to go about life feeling like I have a big secret. It’s hard to appear happy on the outside when inside you’re crushed. Which is why I wanted to write this. Walking into church last Sunday I realized I felt like I was walking around hiding something. Three months after this pregnancy ended and my hope was crushed I am ready to share my story.

I am thankful for a few friends like Renee and Donielle that helped me walk through this by sharing their stories and allowing me to talk to them and ask questions. And I hope I can be that person for someone else.

I am hopeful for the future. But I still have a long way to go. I still have a lot of healing to do. I still struggle each day. I struggle each time I’m with other women and I don’t feel “normal’ because my body can’t do what most can.

I’m still trying to figure out each day what my body needs – what to eat, how much rest to take, how much exercise my body can handle. But I know it’s in God’s hands.

The waiting and wondering is hard. Sometimes I don’t think I can wait one more day. Sometimes my entire body aches with the desire for another child and I can’t bear the thought of the “what if” it doesn’t happen.

So I’m holding on to hope. I’m focusing on the good that has come from this experience. I’m focusing on how God has taken control and allowed me to heal in so many ways. I’m focusing on the little triumphs each day as I see more signs of healing. I’m trusting that God has good things planned and that He will use this as one more part of my story to share with others and be a help to others.

Throughout the last three months God has allowed me to open my eyes and ears to his little whispers throughout the day. Little things that I may not have noticed before. Little reassurances from him that He’s taking care of things. Maybe a book my child picks out and brings to me to read. Or a song that comes on the radio. Some little reminder that makes me smile.

 

A few days before my first ultrasound – trying to hide how sick I felt while seeing family.

Yes, we had a fun summer. But it was also the saddest summer of my life. I can hardly even look back at pictures from June and July. All I can remember is what was going on at the time. I hope and pray that next summer is much more joyful.

And I hope and pray God will use me through my experience. God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good.

Goals of the Month – October 2013


It’s October. But it sure doesn’t feel like it! It’s sunny and 70’s. I’m loving it. Although I wouldn’t mind it being slightly cooler.

We are starting to get settled into routines. I continue to try to make progress on my health and figure out a good balance in all areas of my life.

No major goals this month. Just keep moving. Here’s what I have planned. Do you have any specific goals for this month?

1. Healing

  *Continue to push my OCD – sleep in more, eliminate compulsions, give up control. I will also be using my afternoon free time to do my baking and experimenting. It will be a good distraction for me.

  *Start seeing a chiropractor to help with healing and overall body function and to address my scoliosis. I hope to also do some massage therapy.   
  *Exercise regularly – walking, jogging, biking, yoga, kettlebells, hooping, jumping (whatever I feel like each day) 

  *I hope my swelling/fluid retention starts to go down at some point this month. I’m wondering if it could partly be due to estrogen dominance. I will be doing more research on that.   
  *Hopefully purchase a Berkey water filter to remove fluoride (and other heavy metals) from our water.

2. Writing

I think I might be ready to give a health update soon. I don’t know how long it will take or how tough it will be, but I want to tell a little more of my story. So be on the lookout. Hopefully I’ll do it this month.

3. Food

  *Can applesauce

  *Gluten free baking experiments



4. Mommy-Daughter Date

Rebecca and I are going to the ballet to see The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe with my mother-in-law.



5. Crafts

It’s October now. I suppose I should start thinking about Christmas. Maybe I’ll actually make a few things this year. I will also keep doing weekly crafts with the kids for our toddler homeschool

6. Acceptance

I still have to work on this every day. Accepting myself, accepting my circumstances and accepting others. I will address this more in my health update as well.

End of Month Recap and Links – September 2013

Wow. September was quite a whirlwind of activities, new routines, lifestyle changes, health ups and downs. It’s good to take a minute and look back at how the month went. Overall I made huge strides in my healing. But I also had some setbacks last week while my husband was out of town and I was a bit over-stressed. I won’t give up, though. Even with the setbacks I’ve come a long way in a short amount of time. Here’s how it went. And some links from this month.

1. Healing

  *Experiment with my Betaine dosage – I started just taking one with breakfast each day. While I know it would be very helpful to take one (or more) with each meal, I just can’t spend that kind of money on supplements right now.
  *Possibly start seeing a chiropractor to help with healing and overall body function and to address my scoliosis. – I have not gone yet, but I do have my first visit scheduled. And I found out that I can go up to 25 times from now until the end of year…and it’s mostly covered by insurance! And I can get  free message therapy too.
  *Light exercise, possibly start taking yoga classes again. – I have started walking briskly on the treadmill for 15-20 minutes a day. Nothing major. But it feels good to move my body a little. I would love to take yoga classes, but again, the cost. We had a lot of expenses in September and really need to watch our spending.

  *Continue to push my OCD – sleep in more, eliminate compulsions, give up control. I will also be using my afternoon free time to do my baking and experimenting. It will be a good distraction for me. – I have been quite amazed with the progress I’ve made on my OCD. I’ve pushed myself harder and let go of more in the past month than I have in the past 3 years. It gives me a lot of hope for healing that area of my life.

  *I hope my swelling/fluid retention starts to go down at some point this month if I continue to eat well and get rest. – Sadly I do still have swelling. But I hope it gets better as I find balance and keep allowing my body to heal.
  *Research leptin – a critical thing for hormone function. – I did not look into this, but did look at overall body healing.
  *Research and maybe purchase a water filter to remove fluoride (and other heavy metals) from our water. – I have figured out which water filter I would like. We have to discuss when to purchase it…again, the money. Why does everything have to cost so much? Being healthy sure is expensive.

2. Food Preservation

September is when my canning really gets going! – I canned pearsauce, peaches and salsa.

3. Mommy-Daughter Date

Sadly this did not happen. But we already have one planned for this Saturday.

4. Simply settle into routines

We’re still getting there. Our days are much busier. And Rebecca is still trying to adjust. But we’re working on it.

5. Acceptance

This seems to get harder by the day. I don’t like being at the middle of this process. I know somewhere down the road my body will be done with the intense healing. I know my weight will stabilize. I know the swelling will go down. I know I will be able to exercise a little more and get my body back in shape/get stronger. But I’m not there yet. And I have to accept it. This is so hard for me. I’m not one to just sit back and wait. I like to be proactive and productive! But I can’t really speed this up. I just have to let my body do what it needs to do. And accept that I’m uncomfortable in my own skin. Accept that I have to go up 3 or 4 sizes for a while. Accept that sometimes I need to put my feet up when I’d rather be getting things done. Accept that a lot of this is the result of poor choices I made almost 20 years ago. Accept that this is not an overnight fix. Accept that I am not in control. And trust that God has good things planned. He is good. He can do amazing things. And He will use this for his glory.

This is still a work in progress. But I am accepting things. And I’m hopeful for what God has in store.

****LINKS****

Here are some great links from fellow bloggers.

-> A round up of healthy chocolate recipes. Yes, please!

-> Another recipe for homemade gummies. I might have to tr this. Watermelon sounds delicious!

-> Some great remedies for arthritis and joint pain. I need to try more of these as I heal I think.

-> I still always use unrefined coconut oil. But I really should try the refined. It can be very healthy as well. And maybe easier to digest.

-> Some natural remedies for eczema. I may have to try these on my son.

-> A great post on recovering fertility after birth control. I wish I had known all of this 7 years ago!

Here are my posts from September. As you can see life was quite busy this month, and I didn’t have much time for creating recipes. I also spent a lot of my kitchen time canning peaches, pears, spaghetti sauce and salsa.

Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers

 

 

Last week I needed to make a snack for my daughter that was comparable to “vanilla cookies.” So I came up with a gluten free vanilla wafer.

Both kids LOVE these. My husband and I do too!

These wafers are very easy to make. And one batch makes about 60 cookies. You can eat them plain. Or even put peanut butter or homemade frosting between two cookies for a real treat.


We tried chocolate frosting. My daughter said they were her “Oreos.”

If you need an easy treat that isn’t full of preservatives give these a try. Gluten free vanilla wafers are a great snack for any age at any time of day.

Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers
makes about 60 cookies

6 Tbsp. butter or palm shortening
1/3 cup organic cane sugar
1/3 cup organic brown cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar*
3/4 cups tapioca flour*
1/2 cup white rice flour* (or amaranth or sorghum flour)
1/4 tsp. sea salt*
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well. Add the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir with a spoon until combined.

Drop quarter-sized mounds onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes. Turn off oven. Leave cookies in the oven to crisp for 10 – 20 minutes.

*These are affiliate links. It will not change the cost for you if you buy through the link, but I will get a small commission. It helps me earn a small amount to keep putting in the time and effort to do what I do 🙂

 

Goals of the Month – September 2013

Summer is coming to an end. Labor Day is over. And the day has finally come. My baby girl is off to her first day of kindergarten! I’m probably more anxious than she is. That is our first big change. I’m anticipating (and hoping for) a lot more change this month.

I will now have a long afternoon to myself every day. I hope my healing process starts to show some big signs of improvement. The weather has already started to change. Lots of things. And I’m sure God has more planned that I would never even dream of.

Here is what I have planned for the month. We’ll see how it goes!

1. Healing

   *Continue to push my OCD – sleep in more, eliminate compulsions, give up control. I will also be using my afternoon free time to do my baking and experimenting. It will be a good distraction for me.
   *Experiment with my Betaine dosage.
   *Possibly start seeing a chiropractor to help with healing and overall body function and to address my scoliosis.
   *Light exercise, possibly start taking yoga classes again.

   *I hope my swelling/fluid retention starts to go down at some point this month if I continue to eat well and get rest.
   *Research leptin – a critical thing for hormone function.
   *Research and maybe purchase a water filter to remove fluoride (and other heavy metals) from our water.

2. Food Preservation – September is when my canning really gets going!

   *Spaghetti sauce
   *Salsa
   *Peaches
   *Pears?
   *Applesauce?

3. Mommy-Daughter Date

This is still TBD. It could be a trip to the Children’s Museum. Our September is already quite full. So we’ll have to see what activity we can squeeze in.

4. Simply settle into routines.

We will have school, dance and kindermusik (for both kids). We might put Abram in soccer as well. And I’ll be starting MomBreak steering team meetings this month. It will take some adjusting to be this busy all of a sudden.

5. Acceptance

This seems to get harder by the day. I don’t like being at the middle of this process. I know somewhere down the road my body will be done with the intense healing. I know my weight will stabilize. I know the swelling will go down. I know I will be able to exercise a little more and get my body back in shape/get stronger. But I’m not there yet. And I have to accept it. This is so hard for me. I’m not one to just sit back and wait. I like to be proactive and productive! But I can’t really speed this up. I just have to let my body do what it needs to do. And accept that I’m uncomfortable in my own skin. Accept that I have to go up 3 or 4 sizes for a while. Accept that sometimes I need to put my feet up when I’d rather be getting things done. Accept that a lot of this is the result of poor choices I made almost 20 years ago. Accept that this is not an overnight fix. Accept that I am not in control. And trust that God has good things planned. He is good. He can do amazing things. And He will use this for his glory.

End of Month Recap and Links – August 2013

The end of August is always bittersweet. It’s sad to see summer go. But it’s exciting to start school and activities and see friends. On the whole the month ended better than it started. My body has gone through a lot of healing in the past few weeks.

There have been really good days. And really bad days. I guess a general theme for the month is bittersweet. And how fitting that I FINALLY finished reading the book Bittersweet that I got for Christmas. Here is a quick recap of how the month went and links from some fellow bloggers. 


1. Writing – Brainstorm ideas for the Real Food and Health Nov/Dec issue (check!) and write for Grand Rapids Natural Living (check!).


2. Healing – I need to finally start taking an HCI supplement to help with digestion so I’m getting the most out of my food. – I have been doing this for a couple weeks now. I might start increasing my dose soon to see if I notice more improvements.

I am going to take a bold leap for me and try to start sleeping later some days. This will challenge my OCD big time! And could cause some pretty severe anxiety. But I won’t know unless I try. Until now I’ve been too scared to try. But I want to take that step. As much as I hate it it’s time for exposure therapy. It’s the only way I’m going to make the progress I need. – I started this process sleeping until 5/5:15. Now I’ve pushed myself to 6:45!! Truly amazing for me.


I want to start exercising regularly again. Which means I have to be sure I’m eating enough. So I will be checking calories once in a while to be sure I’m on track. Nothing obsessive. Just a check here and there. And listen to my body. – I’m still working on this. I’m still doing research to figure out if I should be exercising right now or wait until I have experienced more healing.


3. Food preservation – I need to keep working on beans and zucchini. I would also like to can peaches. And of course I’ll be baking up a storm as usual. – I froze lots of beans, zucchini and corn. I canned my first batch of spaghetti sauce.

4. Mommy-Daughter date – Rebecca and I will be getting our yearly before school hair cuts. – today!

5. Husband-Wife date – Justin and I will be going out to celebrate our anniversary (finally) and go to an event with other couples from church. – fun, fun!!


6. Acceptance – This is a big one for me right now. I guess it has been the whole year…which is why God laid it on my heart to focus on this. I’m learning to accept loss. I’m learning to accept change. I’m learning to accept a time of waiting. I’m learning to accept where I’m at each day. I’m learning to accept my physical body. I’m learning to accept who God made me to be. I’m learning to accept that I’m not in control. – This is a work in progress. But I’ve definitely done a lot of accepting this month.

****LINKS****
Make your kids’ breakfasts or lunches a bit more fun by making their hard boiled eggs into shapes!

Ever made your own vanilla extract? It’s actually quite simple!

I’ve heard great things about the book Seven. Here is a look back at one woman’s journey through the book. Not sure I could do it! But it would be a great experiment with minimalism.

This is an interesting read on the dangers of peanut butter. Really makes you think twice about giving it to your family.

Mmmm. This overnight blueberry french toast sure sounds good!

Yes, chocolate can be healthy!! (and it’s why I drink my hot cocoa pretty much every day 🙂

Ever wonder what causes hypothyroidism? Here is some great information.

****AUGUST HDAP LINKS****
Easy Pink Lemonade

Soaked Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

Soaked Gluten Free Blueberry Pie

Soaked Gluten Free Blueberry Pie Bars

Soaked Gluten Free Blueberry Buckle