Showing posts with label Progress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Progress. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

This snail is getting there....

Healing can be slow. Sometimes it can be    s       l       o       w......

In the past month I noticed that my older daughter wakes up happy in the mornings. I wish I could say when that started, but the sad things is, we don't tend to notice health. Maybe it started in April or May when the longer hours of daylight seemed to suddenly mean that she needed less sleep, and she started waking me up an hour and half earlier in the mornings. (Yaaawwwwn!) Or maybe it was earlier than that. I'm not really sure. We only realized it recently. Regardless, this is new! This is healing! The first 4+ years of her life, every day started with tears and whining and cuddling with mommy for well over an hour until she could be happy about the day. To have her start the day with, "I love you mommy!" and smiles and giggles and encouraging her little sister to wake up and play, that is wonderful. Even if I am a bit groggy.

And certainly more recently, the eczema on her legs, and elsewhere, is pretty much gone. I can feel a few bumps, but she doesn't have "chicken skin" everywhere. I wish I could say what we did, but it has just been time and healing. Eczema was never a huge concern for us, as it didn't itch or bleed, but it was rather sad, and not pretty. I don't know if she'll ever have baby soft skin there, but lack of bumps is pretty good!

These things seem so small to me, given that her diet is still a short list of foods, so many other symptoms are still present, and right now we goofed and gave too much of a new probiotic so her behavior and mood have been difficult.... It is helpful to look for the sunshine amidst the clouds. Every day I praise God that despite her system being a mess, she's growing and learning and happy. And that is happening with food.


Friday, March 21, 2014

What my day would have looked like before GAPS...

Today was a full day.

Starting off sleep-deprived and groggy, the mild residuals of the previous day's headache still weighing me down, we moved slowly in the morning.

But I wasn't completely useless, I was able to wake up and get going.

A surprise interruption to my quick lunch plans and outing's preparations should have thrown me for more of a loop, but it wasn't a big deal.

I didn't turn into a clumsy person just because of surprises and playing "host" for a bit.

The stress of quickly grabbing kids, chowing down food, collecting what we needed, all while watching the clock anxiously bothered my stomach a little, but nothing terrible. I didn't forget anything either.

Then once there, I carried my toddler on my back, ran to the car for forgotten items, enjoyed the spring air.

I wasn't sneezing horribly despite forgetting to start my herbs early enough.

When I went into a room and had butterflies flying everywhere, I was able to marvel at them and felt calm.

Instead of getting jittery and squeamish.

I noticed a nasty chemical or burning smell in another building.

But it didn't give me a migraine.

Outside there is dirt and heat and the anxious watching of kids as the mingle with many others, climbing and laughing.

Meanwhile my sensory issues were very mild and I could ignore them.

And after a long afternoon visiting and giggling and playing, I drove home. In the sun. The direct sun that used to give me horrible migraines.

I only had a mild headache after the days affairs.

Arriving home, I still had energy to fix dinner and have someone over.

I didn't collapse in a chair, grateful for leftovers in the fridge and a capable husband.

Am I totally healed? Not yet, but I'm so much better.


Sunday, July 7, 2013

GAPS INTRO: Because healing can taste delicious.

Whooo! I'm finally done with one full month of the GAPS introduction diet. I will freely admit that I did tire of all the broth and soup, but the results were well worth it. Probably the hardest part was simply all the un-expected social events that required a lot more packing and planning. Hear about what intro helped me with in an upcoming post. For now, enjoy photos of food!

(Please note, these are in no particular order, as I started with stage 6, worked my way backwards to stage 1, and then moved forwards through intro again. On top of that blogger is quriky, and just getting images up is a trick by itself! I tried to note as best I can what foods were for which stages, but I know I didn't do things perfectly! My DD is still low oxalate as well, so there were several veggies I didn't use much, it's too much work to cook different meals for both of us.)




Sandwiches on intro? No way! Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes, with simple sausage (boiled) for stage 3

 Beef and mushrooms on salad - stage 5

  Beef and broccoli soup (use fresh herbs for stage 2)

A huge chuck roast! cooked for several hours with garlic and onion, with broccoli nestled around for the last hour. Yum. (stage 4)

 
Bok choy and sausage soup (stage 2 - although, bok choy is pretty fibrous so probably not ideal.)

Fishcakes (stage 3)

  Green eggs and sausage (stage 3)

 Lemon grape fruit frozenyogurt (my intro cheat stage 5, Dr. NCM says grapefruit is full GAPS though, woops!)


Mushroom Zucchini in lamb broth with boiled eggs (stage 3, softboiled eggs for stage 2) I know it looks really weird, but it was really good! You can see my plate is half-finished.

  Scrambled eggs with sausage and squash - stage 3 - shouldn't have had browned bits though!


  Simple beef stew (shouldn’t have mushrooms for stage 1)


Roast chicken and cauliflower - a staple. (If baked or boiled - stage 2)

Simple chicken cilantro soup (stage 2) Doesn’t look like anything special, but it is my favorite!


Egg custard - my blood sugar stabilizer when fixing a meal. Egg yolks + honey + butter. Stage 2.





Squash and garlic scapes soup - with a little chicken and lots of garlic. Fresh parmesan adds a nice touch, but without that you can have it on stage 2!

 Photo dissapeared, but another staple: Basic green bean and broccoli stew. yum! Stage 1


Buttered spagetti and meatballs - stage 2 (if you boil/bake all)



Garlic Green Beans! I think they might be too high fiber, but they are in season and we don't have trouble with fiber. Bake in a little broth and fat for stage 3


Bok choy soup with fish (stage 2)

 Boiled Brussell Boats (stage 2) - when well boiled (in chicken stock that had sausage boiled in it first for flavor) you can squish the little sprouts with a fork, and use them as delivery devices for huge chunks of butter!

 Salad soup (it was going to be chicken romaine soup, but cilantro was thrown in) Should have pureed avocado before adding for stage 3)


Ginger Shrimp with green beans - (stage 2 I think) - 2 hunks ginger (about 2 tsp) a few garlic cloves chunked, 1 lb shrimp, 1 lb green beans, a little cilantro (optional) - add shrimp last after green beans are done. So so good!

 Angel eggs! Mix egg yolks with melted butter and salt. Yum! (Regular mayo would be legal stage 4 if made with just olive oil, eggs, and vinegar/lemon juice.)


Didn’t take a picture till after I started tasting it! So yummy! This is a terrible photo, but it had amazing flavor. A whole red snapper, baked in broth and onions, with herbs stuck inside the cavity. Yum yum.


 Snapper Teriyaki - leftover snapper joins other veggies (boiled or baked) and then all the broth from baking and cooking the fish and veggies is boiled with garlic and fresh ginger to a wonderful sauce. Add a little honey to tone down the spice, and some SK juice to add some tang. Cauli-rice on the side. Stage 3/4

Egg drop soup with real fish broth. Mmm! Stage 2.


Stage 4 means olive oil! Simple mayo with boiled chicken, boiled eggs, and other goodies turns into chicken salad. Mmm... I went ahead and added spices since our issues are mild, so we put in plenty of mustard. Don't forget your mug of broth on the side!


Simple but delish - Chicken and zucchini soup. Some lard added for fat and flavor. (Stage 1)





Roasted burgers! So much better than boiled. Perched on top of veggies for better finish. Stage 4. A couple eggs yolks per lb of meat helps them hold together well.

Beef and Zucchini bake - with lots of garlic of course! I added a little oregano as well. Stage 3/4


Leftover Beef and zucchini becomes quiche the next day! Add cheese if you’ve introduced dairy, though it was still excellent without. Stage 3.


Fresh salad! Bitter greens from the garden, apple sauce, a few roasted pecans, and a smidge of honey and olive oil. Yum! Stage 6 - I also did a variation with some leftover ham roast in it too. Mmm!



Ham Hash - uncured ham roast with mustard is tossed with boiled cauliflower and other veggies. Reduce the leftover liquid and pile on the butter. Stage 4.




More salad - this is excellent for packing and a perfect mix of the springtime season. Roasted butternut squash, fresh grapes if you have them, sour cream, and some chicken or turkey. Wonderful way to use bitter greens from the garden! Stage 6.




Classic intro food - egg poached in chicken broth. A little cilantro because it is my favorite. Stage 2.






Another easy "snack" food - boiled peas with butter and chicken. Stage 1/2 I think.

My goodness, I guess I did do a lot of eating! There are a lot of other foods I didn't even photograph or note! Stay tuned for my next post about what GAPS intro helped with!


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

One month of Meal Photos!

 Menu planning. That daunting task that greats me with each new month like bright sunshine on a pounding headache. To make this task easier on my visually-minded self, I took photos of our dinner every most nights. And now I can share these images of inspiration with you!

Right now, my older Daughter is very low oxalate, mommy is on full GAPS, and Daddy can eat anything, so he sometimes has some grains on the side. We're eating a LOT of butter right now and loving it. What's been on your plate lately? Here are pictures of ours:

Lemon herbed chicken with Brussells

"White Castles"

Buttered Shrimp and Cabbage

Really a snack - Crispy Chicken Skin

Clam Chowder with navy beans

Browned Butternut salad with Chicken

Simple Lentil Stew

Bacon arugula quiche and butternut hash browns (a special breakfast!)

Buttered burgers with caramelized onions and bacon broccoli

Bok Choy Chicken Teriyaki

This was almost gone by time I took a photo - simple green bean and broccoli soup

Buttered Bacon Boiled Cabbage

Buttered Spagetti and Meatballs

Garlic Shrimp Scampi and Broccoli


Butternut Fried Greens Casserole

Beef roast and fried turnip greens

Lamb Meatballs with buttered cabbage

Salmon salad

Scrambled Broccoli Eggs

Sweet avocado salad with fried eggs


Steak and Brussells

Squash,Bean, and Arugula Stew

Simple Creamed Lentils

Sweet n Sour Lentils with chicken fried cauli-rice

Roast and fried greens

Bok Choy clam soup

Teriyaki beef and Broccoli (with lentils and noodles for Daddy)

Fried Green beans with Garlic (a fantastic snack)

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