Don't Cry over Spilled Milk- Or a Forgotten Smoothie

Cutting out all of my comfort foods has been a really emotional experience for me this time around. I have been brought to tears multiple times just because of food. I am going to share my favorite crying story with you.

Last Wednesday I got up early enough to make my smoothie with enzymes and protein  packed my lunch, got ready for my day, and pleased my husband by actually leaving on time. Mornings are always a little rough for us because saying I am not a morning person is the understatement of a century. Typically I snooze for about an hour, jump up with 10 minutes left until I have to leave, shower, grab whatever food I need for the day, and leave the house about 5 minutes late. Dan typically makes me a smoothie while reminding me often that it is time to go. If Dan tries to talk to me until we are half way to school his words are met with grunts and glares.

So you can imagine why I was so excited to have gotten up when my alarm went off and made my own smoothie! Only problem was- we got half way to school and I realized that my smoothie was still home. I asked Dan if we could turn around, but because it was a testing day we really needed to be there on time. At this point I began to cry. Seriously?! I am typically a somewhat even keeled person, able to keep irrational emotions to myself, but I was so mad at myself for forgetting the only food that would hold me over until lunch. I was upset that there was no where I could stop that would truly be on my diet, and I was just tired and emotional. I also realized that each smoothie I make costs me $9.00 worth of products!

Dan proceeded to stop by Keva Juice and get me a smoothie. I was on the verge of tears the rest of the day. I know now to never forget my smoothie at home!

Anyways- with this being such an emotional experience, I have been searching for guilt free comfort foods. I have also been cooking multiple meals a night to keep me busy and full.

One thing I have been making a lot of is ICE CREAM! I can hear you all exclaiming "What? How is there any way she can eat ice cream?!" For those of you who are just tuning in let me give you a quick recap: I cannot eat any dairy, soy, or any fast processing sugar which includes sugar, honey, or maple syrup. There is not much left to resemble any sort of ice cream. What I CAN eat is coconut milk, agave, and coconut nectar. We got this awesome half pint sized ice cream maker for our wedding, and it has saved my emotional, comfort food craving soul.

Now, before I give you the recipe I have to warn you- I tried this out on my family- Dan says it is okay, my brother politely ate a few bites and then went for the real dairy free ice cream (with sugar), and my mom said "well, that tastes alternative.." But for me, it is frozen, somewhat sweet, and won't spike my blood sugar. For those of you who have dietary restrictions- I know you know what I am talking about! Nothing ever truly tastes like the real thing, but sometimes you need something that resembles the real thing!

So, here is my ice cream recipe
1 cup coconut milk
1-2 teaspoons light agave
1-2 teaspoons coconut nectar
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

I start with just a little bit of each of the flavorings and add to taste. If you don't have to cut out sugar- you can use real sugar with this, or honey, or any sweetener you like! I choose light agave because the darker the color, the stronger the taste.

Looking forward- my next blog will be tips on how to travel and deal with dietary restrictions!

Chicken, GF noodles, and Fresh Veggie Salad

Well, today is day four of my new dietary restrictions. It has been a rough four days! The last time I had to do this diet I lived at home and my mom cooked dinner, packed my lunches, and made my breakfast smoothies. I did not realize how nice I had it until Saturday when I had no food at home, any food I bought would need to be cooked, and I could not eat at any fast food restaurants. Also, I think my husband took the doctors advise to support me and do the restriction diet with me and ran the opposite direction. Also, I think the junk food demons are plotting against me, trying to tempt me into their sugary and greasy abyss. Let me tell you about my last 4 days.

Saturday Dan and I ran errands. Half way through we were both starving, so I got a carrot juice and banana Jamba Juice and Dan got Arby's. Not only did he get Arby's, I had to keep it on my lap while we drove home. Then, Saturday night Dan picked me up to head to an ice cream party with Taco Bell because he did not hear me say dinner was ready and in the fridge. How I love my husband! Don't worry, we were able to laugh about it.

Sunday Dan and I drove up into the mountains. For lunch Dan ate Jack in the Box and finished it off with a Caramello chocolate bar. I ate a qdoba naked burrito with black beans, no meat, and guac. Lunch was not too hard, but that chocolate bar called out to me the whole way home! By the time I pointed out that Dan had eaten fast food three times in 24 hours, he did agree to start eating a bit healthier.

Monday was staff lunch day and a team brought lovely tacos and toppings. The smell filled the halls and stayed all day. Oh how good it smelled. Plus day 3 was when the caffeine headaches and sugar headaches really hit hard. I was seriously on a war path. The staff also brought in 3 tubs of ice cream, and toppings galore! By the end of lunch I was in possibly the most foul mood I have ever been in, only to remember that my algebra class was bringing in pies to celebrate Pi day! 6 home made pies ranging from a divine looking chocolate, to key lime, to fruit pies. 12 students + 6 pies = lots of left overs! After work Monday, Dan took me to vitamin cottage and let me fill up a cart of snacks I can eat, no questions asked. So good to me!!!

Those last three days taught me that I must get used to others eating around me, and I cannot expect people around me to avoid food I cant eat! I have to find the self discipline and motivation to be content with the food I can eat, and be content with feeling well! I don't wish dietary restrictions on anyone!! Especially not Dan! I also do not want people to feel weird eating around me, so I need to get my attitude under control. I think as I get the sugar and caffeine withdrawals over and done with, it will be easier.

Tuesday has been better, as I have really gotten into cooking and making protein packed dishes that I can eat for dinner and lunch. I find that I need to eat twice as much food to stay full, and snack much more often or I am just a mean, horrible person. "The Healthy Gluten Free Life" Cookbook has been a huge blessing, and possibly the only think keeping me sane. Seriously- it has breakfast dishes, dinners, lunches, and deserts- most of which I can eat! My first recipe is a chicken veggie salad. It is inspired by a shrimp salad in the cookbook, just chicken-ized.

Chicken/Veggie Salad

I diced the following ingredients:

• 2 roma tomatoes
• 4 celery stalks
• a handful of radishes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 red onion
• 3 chicken breasts that I poached (use whatever protein you like)
• 3 green onions

I added to that mix:

• 2 small cans of sliced olives
• 1/2 a bag of gluten free pasta
• salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

Then I made the dressing:

• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp dijon mustard (I like the taste of mustard, so I used extra.. I would suggest less than 2 tbsp if you do not like a mustardy taste).
• 4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• 1/2 tsp of each: oregano, thyme, onion powder and garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together, and enjoy! I added kidney beans after the first 2 times I ate this salad, which really helped make it a full meal in my opinion. It helped me stay full a bit longer. 

What I absolutely loved about this is I can go to our farmers market, pick up the veggies on sale, and throw together a similar dish. I am in love with this salad.

The Doctor's Update

Friday after work, Dan and I drove up to Woodland park to get the results from some lab work we had done last month and for me to get an all around wellness check.

We decided when we got married if we were not pregnant by 8 months, that we would begin the process of getting my hormones checked, due to my past issues with hormones and health. We are in a phase of life where we are not specifically trying to get pregnant, but we are not doing anything to stop it either. Due to my medical history we wanted to make sure we begin this process early so that when we are to the point where we definitely want to start trying, we are set up to.

So, wellness check wise, the Pneumonia wiped me out again, so I am back on a very restrictive diet to bounce back. My vitamin D is barely adequate now (which is better than crazy low), but I am still taking 10,000 IU's a day. I am also trying out a new probiotic mix, back on an enzyme protein powder, and taking extra enzymes. Other then that, my health is pretty normal for someone with Adrenal Fatigue. He said next time I start getting sick, to start taking my cortisol again, as it can be used to prevent the fatigue from kicking you while you are down and taking advantage of your immune system.

On to hormones:
 Each month, when a girl ovulates her basel (waking) body temperature will drop, then spike high the next day. Her temperature should then stay elevated until her period when it drops again. Also, during that time, after ovulation her progesterone rises and stays elevated until the end of her cycle when it drops and her period starts. A great resource on all of this is "Taking Charge of your Fertility." Seriously, I love that book. Here is a picture that shows all the changes that happen in hormones and temps, because there is way more going on than what I described.

So, my estrodial and estrogen were within normal range, or at least did not bring up any concern. My progesterone on the other hand was on the very low end of "normal." That, coupled with the fact that after my temperature low day, my temps do not spike high or remain high it seems I am either not ovulating or having some progesterone issues. In fact, my temperature charts look sort of like a 5 year old's drawing of a mountain range. There is no definite sign yet that we will have issues getting pregnant, but there are signs that point that direction. He also talked about Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and irregular periods- he explained that I could be conceiving and have early miscarriages- as there are definite signs this may be happening, or my PCOS could just be really out of whack right now. His suggestion was that we start doing all the research we need to do so that when we start proactively trying, we know who to go see, and what to start doing. He also said I could start progesterone cream from a whole foods store on day 14 of the month and stop on the last day of my cycle. If this is unsuccessful, then I could start taking a higher dose of progesterone during those days, but the concern of carrying a full pregnancy is still there. He also wants me on the elimination diet to regulate my hormones. Apparently a sugar free, gluten free, low carb, dairy, soy, and egg free diet can help your hormones regulate themselves, and many couples conceive after starting an elimination diet.

So, my diet is not low gluten, there will be no binge days, and I am going to be really strict. I am now free of dairy, gluten, soy, oranges, eggs, processed sugars and sweeteners, all meat outside of fish and chicken, caffeine, and chocolate free. I am also low carb, potato, and tomato. We are not going to try the progesterone just yet, but we will be looking for a fertility doctor for the near future.

On the positive note, I got a new cookbook! More cooking recipes to follow!!!

Post Pneumonia

Hmm, so after a week of being home sick and then 3 weeks of just trying to catch up at work and survive the day, I am finally feeling pretty normal.

Pneumonia really wiped me out completely. Illness and Adrenal Fatigue tend to really like each other and keep having parties in my body.  Fatigue affects my immune system allowing me to get sick, keeping me sick for longer then normal, and then because my body spent so much energy getting me healthy again, I am back to the bottom of the fatigue pit. Add in the antibiotics that trash my intestines and, well yeah... it is a vicious cycle, really. Getting sick is a huge setback in the whole healing process.

After the antibiotics started kicking in, and I could walk around again without feeling as though I was dying, I was really disheartened. I felt like I did last year when I was diagnosed, like everything I had gone through- all the restrictive diets, rest, stress management- it was all for nothing. I had to go back on the Cortisol pills, could barely get myself out of bed, and had all the major stomach issues that caused me seek help in the first place. I really was super disheartened for a while there! All I wanted to do was sleep and not eat anything, because everything made me sick! So, what did I do? I knew I needed the cortisol, so I called my doctor and got a new prescription. I took it twice a day for 2 weeks, then as needed for the last 2 weeks.  I upped my probiotics, actually followed my diet quite well, and rested ALOT! Like going to bed at 6-7 pm and sitting as much as I could at work.

The results? Success! For the last two days I have gotten up with my alarm, been early to work, had enough energy when I got home to do the laundry and cook and clean up a bit. I honestly thought that when I hit the bottom again, it would be a long haul to be normal, but what I found is that my body is much more resilient now then it was a year ago. Pneumonia would have probably hospitalized me last year, but I was able to come back so much quicker than I ever imagined! I still have bad days, and there was a while when I thought the Pneumonia was coming back and I almost screamed, but I actually feel well, normal, human even! I am so thankful!

I do have 2 pretty awesome recipes to share with you. as I mentioned previously, I have actually been cooking! No taco bell for the Yoders! :-) Now, I must warn you... I am not an excellent cook, nor do I understand the art of plating a dish to make it look pretty... I know nothing about technique or fancy cooking, but I can throw things in a pot and pray they dont burn! These two both turned out really well!

The first recipe is FAJITAS! yum :-)

I found Chicken for $1.59 a pound, peppers for $.88 each, threw in one onion, a ton of cumin, chili pepper, cayenne, garlic, salt and pepper in a pan and sauteed it up! I am all for quick and easy 1 pan dishes. This fed Dan and I for 2 days! I don't really use measurements for my spices, I just make it to taste... sorry if that does not help you much...


The second dish is a complete creation that I made just because I was craving white pepper. I am actually really proud of how it turned out!

So, I cooked some ground turkey, while boiling my favorite rice pasta- Tinkyada brand... I love their shell pasta :-) and a bag of frozen veggies- a medley of celery, onion, and carrots. The spices I used were white pepper, thyme, garlic, and a little bit of oregano. White pepper is one of my new addictions, and I wanted to make a meal where I could really taste it. Once the turkey and veggies were done, I mixed in the pasta to make like a warm pasta salad type dish. I thought everything went together really well, plus it has my veggies, carbs, and protein all in one bowl. So easy, plus super affordable.


Well, tomorrow the PTO is buying us pizza, and I probably do not have the self discipline to say no, but the great thing about getting better is I can fudge a bit here and there and not feel like my intestines are staging a mutiny against the rest of my body.

Well, that is all for now! If you try either of those spice mixes, you should let me know what you think :-)