Day One Hundred nineteen

An apple and a brown rice cake for breakfast,

Grilled round steak and a blueberry mango smoothie for lunch.

Went to Pita Pita for dinner. I had gyro meat over rice with greek salad and dolmas. It was so good I almost forget to take a picture.

Day One Hundred Eighteen

I had a very emotional day today, but the dam finally burst and I was able to let go and have a deep cleansing cry.

Breakfast was a brown rice cake and an apple.

I wish I had taken a picture of lunch, it was beautiful. I sliced and grilled a zucchini, a small round steak, and had some roasted butternut squash.

Finally for dinner, I had a grilled pork chop, some kale and cabbage slaw with cranberries and pepitas, and some maple ginger carrots.

Day One Hundred Seventeen

Today I'm starting to feel the effects of the grief and stress. I have some inflammation and low grade itching. I'm trying to be careful to keep it under control, but my diet hasn't been the best either -- although still extremely healthy, I've just been eating things I haven't reintroduced properly and so I'm not sure if it's just the stress or if I'm reacting to something I'm eating. At the same time, I'm still steering clear of processed foods, soy, and gluten. I may need to go back to the basics and go through reintroductions again, but not until I'm settled into the new job and the level of stress has abated.

Today for breakfast, I had an apple, some sunbutter, and a piece of fig & almond bar (the ingredients are simply fig and almond).  For lunch I had a lamb steak with garlic chive spread, and roasted butternut squash with cinnamon spread.

Tonight we didn't get home until almost 9:00, so instead of cooking we just stopped at Chipotle. I had a salad bowl with lettuce, cilantro lime rice, and carnitas. I did drizzle just a touch of the dressing over it for flavor.

Day One Hundred Sixteen

Had a sinus headache all day. Feel like I'm fighting a sinus infection. Been using my colloidal silver spray and plan to do a sinus flush tomorrow.

This morning I made a smoothie with mangoes, blueberries, and apple juice. For lunch I had roasted turkey with a bit of cranberry wrapped in lettuce with sweet potato fries. Before dinner we stopped at Whole Foods and I picked up a burger patty with bacon and some quinoa with asparagus. I popped the burger on the grill along with some sliced zucchini and voila` dinner was done and delicious.

Day One Hundred Fourteen

For brunch today I made paleo pancakes with turkey sausage. I don't know what culinary genius figured out that mixing banana with egg came out tasting like pancakes, but they deserve an award.

This afternoon my mom called to tell me my grandmother isn't doing well. My grandmother and I are very very close, and it's been so hard to be so far away. She has alzheimer's. I called her on a Sunday afternoon a couple weeks ago, and she didn't know me. That was the hardest. But I called her back early the next morning, and she did know and told me she loves me. That was the last time I talked to her. I tried to call her yesterday, but she refused to get up and come to the phone. She has stopped eating or drinking and just sleeps all day. She has signed a DNR order. They don't expect her to last the week. I'm very depressed because there is no way I can go back east to be with her. Thankfully I went back last year while she was still alert and aware and spent time with her. 

For dinner, I sliced up some purple sweet potatoes and tossed them with sea salt, garlic, and olive oil and put them in the oven. Then I mixed some artichoke hearts with lemon juice and dipped chicken strips in it before putting them in a baking dish. I sprinkled them with salt and garlic and then scooped out the artichoke hearts and put them over the chicken before putting that in the oven as well. Finally I cut up some broccoli and put it in a baking dish and sprinkled a tiny bit of the lemon juice over that as well before putting in the oven with the other. Once all three were baking (at 400f) I set the timer for 30 minutes. Everything got done at once and it all tasted great. I seem to be doing ok with the lemon juice so far.

Day One Hundred Thirteen

I woke up sneezing this morning and a bit achy in my knees and ankles. I think I've been pushing the boundaries a little too much lately. So for brunch, I stuck with the basics, one poached egg, 2 slices of bacon, and a cup of fresh raspberries. I did have half a cup of coffee with almond milk and maple syrup.

Then for dinner, I used the bacon grease from breakfast to sautee some cabbage with sea salt and garlic. I boiled some rutabaga and mashed it with garlic chive spread and mixed it into the cabbage with some chicken strips. Basically it was colcannon with chicken. It was really good, though I do have some tinnitus happening. I've seen rutabagas on the list for high oxalates, but I've also seen them on the list for low oxalates -- I think I have to consider them on the list for high oxalates for myself and be very sparing with them. It sucks because those and sweet potatoes are my go to starches. I guess I'm gonna have to stick with acorn squash and butternut squash for the time being and consider rutabagas and sweet potatoes a once in a while treat.

Day One Hundred Twelve

Last night about 10:00 I could not keep my eyes open another minute. I went to bed early (for me), then I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I was hot and stuffy, so I turned on the ac, then I was cold. I finally fell asleep again at about 5 am, only to have the alarm go off at 6. But I felt surprisingly good today, in spite of the interrupted sleep, although I've had tinnitus again all day. Maybe the sweet potato.

On the upside, I got my lab results back today, and the oxalate crystals that were high just two weeks ago are completely normal now. I didn't cut them out, I merely cut back to a more moderate intake level.

I had a vega one shake for breakfast, left over chicken, sweet potato, and cole slaw for lunch. 

For dinner I made meatzza. I used grass fed ground beef mixed with uncured bacon for the crust. I topped it with garlic chive spread, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, garlic, olives, pimentos, and just a bit of fresh goat cheese.

Day One Hundred Eleven

I woke up this morning with raging sinus pain, I thought the right side of my head was going to fall off. My knees and ankles ached all day and my tummy was bloated so I looked 6 months pregnant. I don't know if it was the noodles or the minute amount of nutritional yeast in the sauce, but either way, I threw the rest of it away. Thankfully it cleared up fairly quickly, though I had a slight headache and congestion off and on and my legs still feel a bit inflamed.

For breakfast I had a Vega One shake. This is the second day I've had it and I seem to do really well with them. It keeps my energy up all day with no reactions. Yesterday I had the vanilla one, today I had chocolate. I like the vanilla better. A couple hours later, I snacked on an apple with some sunbutter.

Then for lunch -- since I tossed the leftovers -- I had to order out. I got a roasted turkey lettuce wrap with cranberry chutney and a side of fresh fruit.

At dinner, I went back to basics with some chicken strips and sweet potato in the pressure cooker. I added sea salt, garlic, and fresh basil. After it cooked, I mashed the sweet potato with a bit of maple. While it was cooking, I took a bag of asian style salad, and tossed it in a homemade slaw dressing. It had green and red cabbage, carrots, broccoli, kale, and sugar peas, and the dressing had olive oil mayo, mustard, rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, celery salt, and black pepper. Mike joined me for dinner this evening, and even he thought everything was really good. (there's hope for him yet)

Day One Hundred Ten

I had a Vega One protein shake for breakfast, and I did really good with it. I felt great all day. My energy was up, I was in a good mood, and I didn't get sleepy in the afternoon like I usually do.

For lunch, I had a bit of left over rice from last night and I put it on the plantain wraps.

This afternoon I realized I hadn't drank very much water, so while I was at Trader Joe's I grabbed a green juice. It gave me heartburn.

For dinner, I had picked up some awesome meatballs at the co-op. I put them with some shiritaki noodles, fresh basil, and caulifredo sauce. The meatballs were great and paired with the sauce really well. Fresh basil goes with anything. I could have done without the noodles. I didn't care for the texture, they were kind of slimy. And now, sitting here, my eyes feel swollen, dry, and itchy, and I have a slight headache, plus my legs are itching. I hope it doesn't get worse.

The caulifredo recipe is here: (I didn't use cayenne, but I did use black pepper). I don't know if it's the noodles or the yeast in the sauce that did me in. 

Day One Hundred Nine

TMI alert: I woke up this morning with a seriously upset stomach -- nothing but green liquid. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to go to work, but it calmed down fairly quickly. I was afraid to eat though.

Finally about 11:00, I was really hungry, so I risked an apple. Once that went down well, I went ahead and ate lunch and did fine with it. I had left overs from dinner last night, but I went much lighter on the pumpkin seed spread just in case.

Before dinner, I went downtown and met my daughter at the Natural Foods Co-op and spent the evening playing with my grandson -- he is growing soooo fast, all wiggly and babbling away! While I was there, I picked up some Persian rice, with dates, walnuts, lemon, olive oil, parsley, green onion, dill, and sea salt. I also picked up some organic lamb chorizo, browned it, and put it over the rice. (a little risky with the touchy tummy this morning, but I didn't have very much of it and figured it would be balanced by the rice). It was really good.

Day One Hundred Eight

So I was a bit bloated this morning, but not as bad as I expected. I had some cramping, just enough to get my attention and let me know my body is really not happy with what I put in it yesterday. I took some extra magnesium last night just to move everything along a bit faster, and it definitely moved a bit faster than usual today. However, I had heartburn really bad this afternoon, for the first time since the surgery, and had a bit of a sour stomach early this evening. So I kind of went back to basics on the food today.

I had an apple for breakfast, and some chicken strips and a baked sweet potato for lunch. Then this evening I made some plantain wraps, spread with pumpkin seed spread (from The Cultured Kitchen). Then I sauteed some grass fed ground beef with some zucchini, sauteed in garlic chive spread (also from The Cultured Kitchen) and sprinkled it with granulated garlic and sea salt. I put it on top of the wrap and pumpkin seed spread. I don't have any idea what to call this recipe, but it was really good.

Day One Hundred Seven

I had bacon and an egg with a fruit smoothie for brunch. I snacked on some rice crackers with pumpkin seed spread and olive tapenade before we took off to the mountains for the afternoon. We went up to Sly Park and hung out by the lake for a couple of hours before going into Placerville to the HeyDay Cafe for dinner.

HeyDay has one of the best salads going, it's mixed baby greens with apples, Maytag bleu cheese, cinnamon pecans, and balsamic dressing. We shared a salad, and Mike ordered a pizza. This is where I have a confession to make. I had a piece -- a very small one -- and there was not a thing on it that I am allowed to eat. It was not gluten free, it had tomato sauce, house made sausage, peppers, and cheese. It was ok, but not great. Not worth it.

On the other hand, I didn't react to it nearly as badly as I expected to. I had a slight headache and some sinus stuffiness. Now I have a little bloating and a small amount of itching. We'll see how I feel in the morning.

Day One Hundred Six

I never really sat down for a meal today. I went to work for a half hour this morning, then to the farmer's market. I wondered around and tasted a few samples, Then I came home and snacked on a few cherries, some rice crackers with a bit of pumpkin seed spread and some olive tapenade that I picked up from The Cultured Kitchen. My roommate made coffee so I had a half cup of coffee with almond milk and maple syrup.

After being at the farmer's market, I had an allergy attack -- sneezing and itchy eyes. So I took a half a meclizine.

 A bit later I chopped up a little bit of cabbage (from the farmer's market) and made some homemade cole slaw. Finally this evening, Mike and I had to run an errand, and he wanted to stop at Togo's for some pastrami, so I got what they call a sandwich in a bowl -- it was basically some lettuce with a bit of chicken, mustard, and pickles. It made me very cranky.

Day One Hundred Five

I had some mixed fruit for breakfast, melon, blueberries, grapes, and mango. Left over lamb with a mixed greens salad for lunch.

Then for dinner, I had to pick up Mike in El Dorado Hills, and we stopped at Relish Bar. I got a Painted Hills burger, lettuce wrapped, with a mixed greens salad topped with Mango Curry dressing from the Cultured Kitchen.

I felt really good all day, but just now I have some itching on my arms. Possibly the curry in the dressing? I was hoping that the tumeric and ginger in the dressing would counteract it, but maybe not. I'll test it again to see if that's what's doing it. Meanwhile, it was really tasty.

Day One Hundred Four

So my ears are still ringing off and on all day -- but the vertigo and blurred vision is much better. I haven't really made any major changes, I'm just trying to be conscious of the oxalates and make lower oxalate choices. I'm hoping just doing that much will be enough to get it under control without having to make a list of foods that are not allowed.

I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. I woke up at 2:30 am and didn't get back to sleep until after 5. Because of that, I've felt absolutely famished all day, but I know it's because I'm low on resources, so I haven't given in to the urge to snack.

I had an apple for breakfast. For lunch I took some veggies leftover from dinner last night and put a couple chicken strips with it. I had a bout of itching this afternoon, I'm not sure what that was about.

For dinner, I had a 90 minute break between clients so I ran home and sauteed some lamb chops and baby bok choy in garlic chive spread, sprinkled them with garlic and sea salt. Then after I took the bok choy out of the pan, I tossed in a handful of cilantro to finish with the lamb. It was an awesome quick dinner. I'm looking forward to finishing off the lamb with lunch tomorrow.

Day One Hundred Three

So I did an experiment with oxalates today. I had an apple for breakfast, which is low oxalate. around 11:00, I noted that I had no tinnitus. I then at a snack of a handful of almonds. Within an hour, my ears were ringing. Then about 12:30 or so, I had lunch which was low oxalate -- london broil, zucchini, and acorn squash. About 3:30, I had no tinnitus, but I was sooooo sleepy -- total narcolepsy -- and I had to go massage for 2 1/2 hours in a warm, softly lit room with relaxing music playing. I know caffeine is bad for adrenals, but staying awake took priority. I stopped at Dutch Brothers, and asked them to create a blended coffee drink with just almond milk and espresso (half caff). An hour later, I was awake, but my ears were singing like crazy. It's convenient that my symptoms are so obliging, but a total bummer that it's one more thing I have to limit. I'm not going to cut them out completely for right now, I'm just going to cut down and see if that is enough. The problem I'm running into so far is the conflicting lists -- foods that are low on one list are listed as very high on others, and vice versa. Apparently I'm going to have to figure this one out by trial and error. Here's hoping.

For dinner, I put some rutabaga, baby carrots, and broccoli in the pressure cooker with pork chops seasoned with sea salt and garlic. I added a handful of fresh basil and fresh cilantro. It was really good. My mouth wanted more. And the tinnitus is humming right now, it hasn't quite abated from the coffee yet, but it's bearable. Since I found all three veggies (rutabaga, broccoli, and carrots) on the list for both high and low oxalate -- and still another one said they are medium when raw, low when boiled, but high when steamed (I have no idea how cooking in the pressure cooker affects it). But something has definitely triggered a reaction. This one might take some time to sort out.

Day One Hundred Two

I made a blueberry smoothie for breakfast. For lunch, I reheated the other half of the sweet potato from yesterday, baked a couple of chicken strips, put it over the potato and topped it with some sesame ginger dressing.

Then I went and got a massage after works. I needed that!! When I came out, I felt really hungry and a little shakey, so I ate a few almonds.

I've still been having a really bad problem with tinnitus and vertigo. I've been assuming it's allergies because I also have random sneezing and it does seem to have some correlation with the weather (it's been windy). However I've also started questioning my oxalate intake. I've upped my water intake to try to flush out my kidneys well. I have also cut back on leafy greens a bit.

I realized I had blueberries, sweet potato and almonds, which are all high oxalate, so for dinner I made grass fed london broil, sauteed zucchini, and baked acorn squash. The squash wasn't ready in time for dinner, so I put it away to take for lunch tomorrow, and just had the beef and zucchini.

Epstein Barr, Herpes, and Genital Acne

If there is anything I've learned on these boards it's that none of us are alone in what we experience, which is why I felt it was important to explore this subject.

A while back I ran across an article I read linking Hashimoto's to other autoimmune dysfunction, including Epstein Barr Virus. The article mentioned that Epstein Barr is actually a form of Herpes and said that almost everyone contracts it in childhood. I had cold sores frequently as a child, but have never had them as an adult and hadn't thought about it or made any connection between the two. 

About 20 years ago, I was diagnosed with Epstein Barr, Chronic Fatigue, and Fibromyalgia. My husband at the time was completely unsupportive and accused me of looking for an excuse to be lazy. I was busy raising two young girls, and the internet was in its infancy; the doctors had no clue of what to do with any of these diagnoses; so I just put it away and kept putting one foot in front of another. 

Now for TMI: While I've never had a problem with acne on my face -- just the occasional zit here and there -- I have long had a problem with breakouts around my genital area. I get really big zits both on my glutes and on my outer labia. I've asked my gyno about it before, but she had no answers, just said it happens and is actually fairly common. Again I never made any connection between that and the Epstein Barr or the Hashimoto's. 

In researching supplements, at some point I had begun taking L-lysine. I honestly can't remember why or what led me to it,  -- I believe it was because we were eating mostly vegetarian for a long time and lysine is found mostly in meat sources. (your body doesn't make it, so you have to get it through diet). I just know that over the years I've felt better when I take it, it seems to make the texture of my hair smoother and fuller, reduce hair loss, and help control the interstital cystitis. HOWEVER, after reading that Epstein Barr is a form of herpes, I went back and started researching herpes. What I found was that L-lysine helps to suppress herpes symptoms and control the virus. So I had apparently been treating my Epstein Barr by taking L-lysine without even realizing it. 

To test this theory, I picked up a bottle of L-lysine and started taking it regularly. The first week, I took two a day to build up my levels, since I haven't taken it in a while. Then I cut back to one a day. I have noticed that I do feel better with it, but this morning, while showering, I noticed that there was no trace of acne 'down there'. It's the first time I haven't had that particular symptom in a very long time. 

So, if you have any strain of herpes -- Type 1, Type 2, Zoster, or EBV -- I highly recommend you test out the L-lysine and experiment for yourself. Please share your results with us, if you're comfortable doing so. You will also want to reduce intake of L-arginine as it is antagonistic to L-lysine.   

Day One Hundred and One

First of all, I had a pear with some almond butter for breakfast. For lunch was some baked chicken strips over mixed greens with sesame ginger dressing, and 1/2 a baked potato. I was so spacey this afternoon, that I stayed at my first job way too long and was late for my second job. I kept looking at the clock and reading 2:15, 2:30. then I glanced at the clock on my computer and realized it wasn't 2:45, it was 3:45. However, I didn't get much sleep last night. I slept late yesterday and sat here all day working on homework, so I was not sleepy at all. Then at bedtime, it was really stuffy in the bedroom and I laid there til after 2 am and had to turn around and wake up at 6. I'm going to bed early tonight!

For dinner, I was too sleepy to even think of coming home to cook. First we stopped at a deli, but I totally didn't want another lettuce wrap. So we went across to a pub where I ordered a salad. The guy who took the order assured me I could customize my order. A half hour later, I asked about the food, and they finally brought it out -- it was completely wrong. I didn't want to wait another half hour, I was already hangry, so I just ate it. I just hope the big pile of arugula and blueberries was enough to counterbalance the strawberries, mandarins, walnuts, and blue cheese that was sprinkled all over it. It did taste good though. So far I'm doing well with it.

Day One Hundred

Rutabaga, egg, and bacon for brunch.

For dinner, I grilled some chicken strips and put it over some mixed greens with a bit of brown mustard and finished off the rutabaga from breakfast.

I didn't do anything except homework all day. I don't seem to have suffered any long term ill effects from my splurge yesterday. That's awesome, but I have to make sure I don't let it become a frequent type outing.

Day Ninety-nine

I woke up this morning with an upset tummy and made a mad dash for the bathroom. I'm not sure if it was the vitamin D I added or the magnesium -- maybe a combination. But I had places to go and things to do, so I ate a banana and went for it.

Mike and I had a couple of exams to sit for, so I had to have lunch on the go. Since my digestion was already iffy and I didn't want to have to run out during the exams, I just had part of a protein box from Starbucks for lunch -- I ate 3 apple slices, a boiled egg, the pack of peanut butter, and 4 grapes.

By the time we finished the testing, we were both starving. We were happy to have the testing done and decided to celebrate by going to one of our favorite restaurants, Matteo's. I had already decided that I was going to indulge. We started with a spring salad that had avocado, strawberries, pickled red onions, and goat cheese. Then I had gluten free pizza with white garlic sauce, chicken, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and feta cheese.(Mike had the all meat combo)

It was really good, but it wasn't the taste bud heaven I had expected. It was good though. But it was a lot of histamine rich foods, and right after I ate I felt some pressure in my head. I took half a meclizine to head off a reaction, and some arnica to reduce inflammation, then I came home and fell asleep for an hour. I feel better but I'm still really sleepy and my stomach is still pretty unhappy with me (although not as bad as this morning). I'm fine with the fact that I indulged, and so far, I seem to have minor repercussions, but I definitely not do this on a regular basis -- or even on an occasional basis. This is an indulgence for once in a very very great while. I'm going back to basics for a few days to make sure it clears my system.

Day Ninety-seven

Had an apple for breakfast. Left over chicken breast and mashed sweet potato for lunch.

I was starving between jobs, so I stopped at Sprouts and grabbed some organic carrots and tahini to snack on. I also got a call from my doctor saying my vitamin D is low (22) and my oxalates are high. So I grabbed a bottle of vitamin D while I was at the store, and I need to start spending time in my garden to soak up the good yellow energy. I'm also going to have to cut back on the blueberries and sweet potatoes I guess.

For dinner, I cut the rest of the chicken off the carcass from last night and made some chicken salad. I added carrot, celery, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, some rosemary, garlic, and sea salt. I used just a touch of brown mustard, and I used mayo from Trader Joe's. It's made with canola, which isn't the best, but at least it's not soy. I put the chicken salad over a bed of mixed greens.

I also tossed the chicken carcass in a pot of water to boil and make some homemade chicken broth for later.

Day Ninety-eight

I had some organic carrots with tahini for breakfast. and some leftover chicken salad for lunch. I had a kale smoothie for a snack between jobs. I've had a lot of brain fog and some sinus issues today.

For dinner, I put one cup of brown and wild rice in the pressure cooker with about 4 cups of chicken broth. I added 2 chicken strips, 1 baby bok choy, some carrots, a couple slices of fresh ginger, fresh basil, granulated garlic, and sea salt, and cooked it for 18 minutes. I ate two bowls and had half a glass of unsulfured wine. It was divinely yummy but I feel a little flushed from the wine. .

Day Ninety-six

Had to go downtown this morning, didn't have breakfast until late -- stopped at the Co-op and got a Kickin' Kale Smoothie -- it had kale juice, celery juice, cucumber juice, ginger, lemon juice, and banana. I also grabbed some quinoa with cashews and cranberries to eat for lunch.

By 3:00 I was really hungry and had a bit of time between jobs, so I ran home and ate a pear with some nut butter before going back to work.

Then I got home late. I put a whole chicken in the pressure cooker with some sweet potato, basil, cilatro, sea salt, and granulated garlic. I also added a bit of Pacific brand chicken broth because it says it has nothing but chicken, water, sea salt, and rosemary extract. I mashed the sweet potato with some maple and added a mixed green salad with olive oil and basil. I fell asleep on the sofa right after dinner and just woke up to go into the bedroom, so I will let you know for sure how I tolerated it. I had a few hives on my fingers, but I'm not sure if that's related to the chicken or to the dish soap I was at the store. It really bothered my eyes and throat when I was trying to decide which one to buy. I'm too tired to sort it out tonight.

Day Ninety-five

I walked out of the house this morning without my lunch. Luckily my roommate saw it and put it away so it didn't spoil, but that meant I had to wing it all day. I had some cucumber and sesame dressing as a late breakfast, and then didn't have lunch until about 4:00 after I left work. I stopped at Whole foods and got a chicken lettuce wrap. I also got a blended espresso with unsweetened almond milk and a bit of agave syrup because I was wiped out from not eating all day. Definitely not something I will be making a habit.

Since I ate lunch so late, I was totally not hungry when I got home. Around 8:30, I was suddenly starving, so I ate the leftovers I didn't take for lunch. Now I'm a bit itchy, but not too too bad. I have an important appointment in the morning and I need to be at my best, so hopefully I haven't shot myself in the foot today.

Day Ninety-four

For breakfast this morning, I had some leftover cole slaw and an apple. I had planned to have the apple, and had taken the cole slaw for lunch, but I was craving it, so I ate it. Then for lunch I had leftover everything else: lamb, a couple tablespoons of rice, a few glazed carrots, and green salad.

Then for dinner, I made a grass-fed burger seasoned with garlic and sea salt. I put it on a plantain wrap and topped it with mixed greens, fresh basil, a tiny bit of brown mustard, and some olive tapenade. The flavors were excellent, but I'm a bit flushed and slightly itchy. I think I've really overdone the vinegar with the cole slaw and the tapenade (also a bit in the mustard). Have to back off.  -- with the burger, I had white sweet potato fries. I sliced up the potato, tossed it in olive oil, sprinkled sea salt and garlic, and baked it. This is just half of the potato, I put away the other half for lunch tomorrow.

Day Ninety-three -- Easter Sunday

For brunch today I had some bacon and some greens. I wanted to save my egg for the week because I knew we would be having deviled eggs for dinner.

I've been having kind of a lazy day, not a lot of energy. I did manage to give my dog a haircut and a bath -- and fix dinner. But that's pretty much it.

For dinner we had a huge spread: grilled lamb, cole slaw, glazed carrots, rice pilaf, deviled egg, and green salad. I splurged with a couple slices of strawberry on the salad. Everybody else also had ham and potato salad, but I abstained. I did have a half glass of unsulfured wine. For dessert we had berry sorbet and mango sorbet.Everything was delicious. I felt a little flushed after the wine, and I'm really exhausted now, but other than that I feel good and I really enjoyed dinner.

Day Ninety-two

I got up early this morning to go get blood drawn. It was a fasting draw so I couldn't eat or drink anything. I ran by the farmer's market afterward to get more garlic chive spread, but they were out :-( I have a little bit to get me through tomorrow's dinner, but then I'll have to get through the week without it.

My throat was a bit sore this morning (I don't know if I was snoring or if it's allergies), and I've been freezing all day. Just could not get warm.

When I got home, Mike and I were supposed to go out to the garden to do some work, but it took him forever to get ready, then we needed to run some errands and do some grocery shopping and we never made it out there. I may or may not go early in the morning, I'll see how I feel when I wake up.

I ate some dried mango before we went out to run errands. Then at the store I got a mixed greens smoothie. It had celery, apple,cucumber, spinach, romaine lettuce, kale, lime, lemon, and parsley. I knew it had some high histamine ingredients, but I needed something and it was the healthiest thing I could find. I did fine with it, no itching, but then on the way home I was suddenly so sleepy.I came home and laid down but couldn't sleep at all. I also felt really really cold all day long (even before I ate the mango or drank the smoothie).

Finally I gave up and got up to make dinner. Talk about tasting the rainbow:

I sauteed some red chard, (from my last trip to the garden), with salt and garlic. I steamed some 'cheddar color-flower' that I picked up at the farmer's market, and grilled an Open Nature pork chop with salt, garlic, and some crumbled pineapple sage (also from my last trip to the garden). Everything was delicious, and I feel warm for the first time all day. 

Day Ninety-one

I had an apple and a handful of almonds for breakfast, and the last of my chicken stir-fry from the freezer for lunch.

It's been a long two weeks, and I'm so glad it's Friday. I'm looking forward to spending some time in my garden tomorrow and having a nice lazy day on Sunday before dinner with my daughter.

For dinner today, I had a mixed green salad with roasted turkey, roasted sweet potato chunks, apple, celery, cucumber, artichoke, and dried cranberries, tossed with olive oil, fresh cilantro, and sea salt.

Day Ninety

For breakfast I made a smoothie with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and a couple of basil leaves with unsweetened apple juice.

For lunch, I had some leftover chicken stir-fry that I had frozen. I liked it a lot better without the rice. I think the flavors were so subtle that the rice really made it bland, but without it, those flavors came through.

I've been feeling a lot better -- I think I'm finally getting the hummus out of my system. I can't believe that small amount caused such an extended reaction. I'm bummed about it too, cuz I love hummus. I had thought it might have been airborne allergies, but the wind is kicking up today and I'm still feeling better, so I don't think it could be that after all.

I had to work until almost 9:00 tonight, so dinner was the standby lettuce wrap from Sprouts. It had turkey (with no nitrates), cucumber, artichoke hearts, and some yellow mustard. I also had gotten some olives to put on it, but I didn't realize they had pits in them, so I just ate them on the side.

Day Eighty-nine

I had a blueberry smoothie with basil leaves for breakfast and leftover steak and sauteed zucchini for lunch.

Someone tried to be really nice to me today and brought me a box of chocolate truffles. I thanked them kindly and then set the box on my desk (they're individually wrapped) and encouraged everyone who walked in to take some. There are still a lot of them left and they're very tempting. I love truffles.

Then this evening, Mike really wanted to go out. He got a small promotion today at work and wanted to celebrate. We went to a place called Early Toast. Their specialty is breakfast -- I hope they do better with breakfast than they do with dinner. There was us and one other couple in the place. I told the waitress that, if the salad dressing had no soybean oil in it, then I would do the salad. Otherwise I wanted the street tacos lettuce wrapped instead of tortillas. Mike got a reuben sandwich.

It took more than 20 minutes to get our food. She brought my salad with tomatoes all over it. So she took it back and brought another one. Then I asked about the salad dressing being safe, just to be sure. She hadn't checked. So she went back t check and said it was not safe. I pointed out that without the dressing, I had told her I would rather have the street tacos. The problem was I had already waited 20 minutes and didn't want to wait any more. So I asked her for some olive oil, chopped cilantro, and sea salt. Once I had resigned myself to that, it was actually preppy good.

Day Eighty-eight

Today was kind of rough. I woke up at 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep -- until 7:00 and it was time to get up, then all I wanted to do was sleep. When I got up, I had vertigo really badly. Driving to work, I felt like I was going to fall asleep every time I stopped at a light. I was wondering what I was going to do when I got to work. I finally admitted to myself I had to have some coffee. Contemplating options -- Starbucks is a total no-go for me -- since I absolute can't stomach black coffee. At work there is not sweetener or creamer that I can have, so I made a pit stop at Whole Foods. I went to their coffee counter and had them make a blended coffee with unsweetened almond milk and some unsweetened dark cocoa powder. It wasn't bad, and it woke me up, but of course I had heartburn all day. Then this afternoon I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. By the time I got home at 6:00, I had to have a nap. I intended to lay down for ten minutes and get up and fix dinner, but I slept for an hour and a half.

So I just had the coffee for breakfast. Then I sat on hold with a state office for five hours, afraid to go in the kitchen to get lunch -- only to find out that the state offices weren't open today because of Cesar Chavez day. A little bit of frustration. I did finally run in and grabbed a leftover turkey burger from last night. Then on the way to mechanic shop to get my brakes done, I took half a meclizine, and I swear it seemed like it made the vertigo worse. Oy vey.

When I finally got up at 7:30, I put a NY strip on the grill, roasted some rutabaga, and sauteed some zucchini -- all seasoned with salt, granulated garlic and garlic-chive spread. It was all delicious.

Day Eighty-seven

So for breakfast this morning, in addition to my usual blueberry smoothie, I ate some raw veggies (broccoli, carrots, celery, and sugar snap peas) with just a bit of plain hummus (maybe about 2 tablespoons). I don't think my body liked the hummus. It's not a bad reaction, but my tummy is definitely grumbly, I've gone to the bathroom twice and will definitely go again before bedtime, and I'm just on the edge of being crampy. I guess I will save the hummus for those days when I need to get things moving.

For lunch I made a foil packet with a chicken breast, the last of the broccoli and carrots, and a touch of garlic chive spread, along with the second half of the acorn squash with cinnamon and maple. Yumminess.

Then for dinner, we got home late, so I just tossed together a turkey burger with sea salt, garlic, and fresh basil. I wrapped it with some fresh red chard (from my garden), and added a bit of brown mustard (mustard seed, tumeric, and acv). Then I had some frozen blueberries with maple syrup for dessert.

Day Eighty-six

I had to take a meclizine last night because my nose was so stuffy I could barely breathe. I think it was probably from being in the garden and doing all that weeding. I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning -- I just never found my get up and go. I think it got up and went yesterday enough to last a while. So I've just had a lazy day in my pj's today -- did pretty much nothing physical at all, which is good because I'm sore from overdoing it.

I had my paleo pancake this morning and I topped it with a cinnamon maple blueberry compote. I also had a couple slices of uncured bacon and a 1/2 cup of organic coffee with unsweetened chocolate almond milk and some maple syrup to sweeten it. I had some itching after and a tiny touch of heartburn. I suspect the banana, but I think it's happening because my histamine levels were already really high from being in the garden yesterday. So I have make a note, I can tolerate a bit of banana once a week IF my levels are not already topped out.

I never really had lunch, I snacked on a couple of rice crackers with the last of the olive tapenade. Then for dinner made a chicken stir fry with sweet potato, frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, garlic, ginger, sea salt, and coconut aminos garlic sauce. I put it over steamed basmati rice. I realized this evening that I've been eating a lot of rice and rice products this week I have to cut back on that. My goal is to only have a small amount once a week or every other week and that's all.

Day Eighty-five

I got up this morning and scarfed the left-over pork chop and mashed sweet potato before I ran out to do errands all day.

This afternoon we spent a couple hours at the garden, (I have a plot at a community garden) weeding mostly, trying to get it ready to plant. At one point, I started getting really bad vertigo, I thought I was going to pass out -- so I sat down and drank some water. I didn't get the plants in the ground, so I will probably go back out early tomorrow, before it gets too warm, just long enough to plant. I did harvest a HUGE mess of red chard. Two grocery bags full, and that was only half of it.

As soon as I got home from the garden, I had to eat right away. I think my blood sugar had dropped as I was shaky and slightly homicidal. So I ate a couple of bites of olive tapenade with some rice crackers, a couple of drinks of unsweetened chocolate almond milk, and some blueberries. Plus a big glass of water. I felt way better.

Then I hit the kitchen and cleaned and cut up most of the chard, blanched it, bagged it up and put it in the freezer. I kept a big baggie of the tender baby leaves in the fridge to use in salads, and I had a batch of it with dinner tonight. I ended up with 4 gallon size baggies in the freezer.

That took another couple hours, so then we were ready for dinner. I had cut an acorn squash in half and put some cinnamon spread, maple syrup, and sea salt in the middle and put it in the oven while I was cleaning the chard. I kept the last batch of chard and simmered it with some sea salt and granulated garlic. Mike came in and made burgers, mine was seasoned with sea salt, garlic, fresh basil, and fresh dill. Everything was delicious. Now I just have to find the energy to go take a shower before I fall into bed.

Today was a good day.

Day Eighty-four

I had a bottle of Naked Blue Machine for breakfast. A mixed greens salad with chicken strips for lunch. Then I stopped for a snack between jobs this afternoon. I got an apple and a bottle of Suja Green juice -- it has apple, celery, kale and several other types of juice. It does have a bit of lemon and spinach near the bottom of the list. It also has chlorella and spirulina. It felt healthy while I was drinking it, but it is making me itch.

I'm definitely paying for the splurge yesterday. But even though I'm definitely flaring, I'm really not stressing about it. I knew I was making a choice, and I knew there would be consequences. At least I know exactly what caused it and how to avoid now. I've pretty much accepted that my eating patterns are going to have to be for the rest of my life -- this is just how I eat now. And if I splurge on occasion and have to suffer for it for a day or two, then at least I'm making that choice consciously and can decide if I think it is worth it or not. In the meantime, I'm going to take a meclizine to hopefully let me sleep tonight.

For now, I just need to get back on track and clear this out of my system this weekend.To that end, I sauteed some dandelion greens with garlic, salt, and just a tiny amount of tumeric. I sprinkled a bit of coconut aminos to try to cut the bitterness (it didn't work). I also made some mashed white skinned sweet potatoes with a bit of maple syrup. And I grilled a pork chop with sea salt, granulated garlic, and a bit of garlic chive spread.

Day Eighty-three

Had an apple with some sea salt for breakfast, and a mixed green salad with some baked chicken for lunch.

I had a really good day, except all week I've been really spacey and when I first woke up this morning, I had vertigo really bad. I'm pretty sure it's airborne allergies because everyone has them right now -- and I periodically have sneezing fits as well .Also, around 2-3 in the afternoon I get so sleepy I can barely keep my eyes open. But if I can even manage to close them for five to ten minutes, it's better. That's all I need is a brief power nap.

This evening we took a friend out for his birthday dinner. He opted for the buffet at Red Hawk. I mostly looked for meat and veggies that didn't have any sauce or nightshades. I do think the broccoli and the green beans both had butter on them. And the ribs did have a very thin coating of bbq sauce. They had some veggie sushi, I had that with some wasabi and fresh ginger. For dessert I has some melon, pineapple, and pears. I also had a cup of chamomile tea. Everything was delicious, I took a meclizine when I got home just to be safe. So far so good. and my friend won $300 playing slots.

Day Eighty-two

It's been an intensely emotional week. First the news about my grandmother. Then the Rabbi's son passed last night (he's been sick for a while, it wasn't unexpected, but still so difficult). Finally, I spent the evening with a friend who recently lost a beloved pet and is very much in mourning.

I was thinking today that so many souls are leaving all at once. I wonder if it portends some huge shift that's coming. Something is about to happen, I just hope it shifts in a positive direction -- though the fact that so many are leaving doesn't really portend a positive shift. I shall do as I always do for such things -- hold on for the ride.

This morning I had an apple for breakfast. I've missed apples. It's the day before payday and -- having not received the money I expected last week -- the cupboard is quite bare. Mike had a couple apples on hand so I decided to try it out. I seem to be doing fine with it. In fact, the allergies that I've been dealing with all week actually seem to be doing better today.

Then I had left over pinwheel for lunch. It was still good the second day. Mmmm.

Finally, I knew I was working late this evening, and I planned to just eat a late dinner. But in between massage patients, at about 6:30, I was absolutely starving and I knew the next one would be intense (the friend who lost the pet), so I made a pit stop at Sprouts for a lettuce wrap. What I ordered was a turkey lettuce wrap with cucumber, pickle, sunflower seeds, and a touch of yellow mustard. Apparently the person making it had some trouble with the lettuce wrap concept because what I got was this:

What you can't tell from this picture is that the lettuce underneath is not cut up at all. It's large lettuce leaves laid in the bowl with all the stuffing laid on top. Oh well . . .  it tasted good (once I figured out how to eat it) and it filled me up with no reactions. What more could I want for $3.99?

Day Eighty-one

I never got around to breakfast this morning, and just had a sweet potato for lunch.

My allergies are flaring today. My sinuses are clogged and I feel  -- not really itchy, but just on the verge of itchy. Kind of . . . raw. I don't know how else to describe it. All my nerve endings just feel raw.

For dinner, I made a stuffed flank steak and salad. Then I sauteed chopped zucchini, shredded carrots, fresh basil and fresh cilantro in a bit of garlic chive spread and olive oil. While that was cooking, I pounded out the steak and spread a thin layer of the garlic chive spread and sprinkled it with sea salt. After the veggies and herbs were cooked down, I spread them on the steak. rolled it up, and secured it with skewers. I browned it in the same skillet, and then popped it in the oven at 395f to finish.

I also roasted a red potato for Mike. I cubed it, tossed it in olive oil, and sprinkled it with sea salt, garlic, and dill and put it in the oven with the steak.

Then I tossed a salad of mixed greens, shredded carrots, cucumber, blueberries, and raisins, topped with a bit of balsamic and olive oil.

Crazy awesome!

Day Eighty

Blueberry smoothie for breakfast, left over chicken and rice for lunch.

I'm felt much better today. It rained last night and cleaned all the allergens out of the air. Still had a bit of a sore throat, but my sinuses were better.

Then this afternoon, I learned that my grandmother isn't doing well. She has alzheimer's and has been in assisted living for about a year and a half. But apparently she fell down a couple weeks ago, and broke her arm in two places. Then she stopped eating and walking. They are moving her to the advanced care ward. I feel really bad because the last time I talked to her, I kind of hurried her off the phone. And now I probably won't get to talk to her again (she's back east). I've known this was coming, but my heart is breaking in slow motion.






For dinner I did a mixed green salad with chicken strips sauteed in the garlic chive spread. I added fresh blueberries, cucumber, carrot, pecan pieces, raisins, and fresh cilantro with balsamic dressing.

Day Seventy-nine

Woke up with an upset stomach, stuffy face, headache, and sore throat this morning. I didn't feel like breakfast, so I had a half cup of coffee with hemp milk and maple syrup, and a handful of almonds. Then I just sat and did homework all morning.

This afternoon, I cut up a sweet potato, tossed it with olive oil, sea salt, and granulated garlic, added a couple of dots of garlic chive spread and roasted it. While it was roasting, my guy fixed me a couple slices of bacon and an egg to go with it. I did take some cold medicine as well. I felt a little better for a while, but my sinuses are really bugging me. I don't know if I'm fighting a bug or if it's the chemicals from the flea bombs.

For dinner, I steamed some white rice with some sea salt, garlic, and a dab of garlic chive sauce. I sauteed some chicken with zucchini, green onion, shredded carrot, and fresh ginger in the garlic chive spread of course. I stirred in the rice, threw in a handful of fresh cilantro, and sprinkled some coconut aminos over it. It was delish!

Day Seventy-eight

I did things backwards this morning. I had left over salad with chuck roast for breakfast, then I ran down to the farmer's market to pick up some more of the garlic chive spread, and I got a cinnamon spread as well. So then I came home and made paleo pancakes with cinnamon spread and bacon for lunch.

I had to bomb my house this afternoon because the fleas were getting the upper hand, so I had to leave for 4 hours. While we were out, we stopped at Pho #1 and had an early dinner. I had the chicken pho with mung bean noodles, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, celery, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, green onion, and bean sprouts.

I knew I was taking a bit of a chance, but I seemed to be doing ok. However, after dinner, I got some bad financial news -- someone who owed me some money that I was counting on to get me through the week didn't come through, so now I'm stressing about finances and I'm really very annoyed and irritated that this person let me down. Especially when I've see them spending money the last couple of days on very frivolous items, and now they don't have enough to meet the obligation they made.

So all-in-all, I'm a little bit itchy, slightly twitchy, and very very bitchy, and I don't know if it's the pho, the stress, or the chemicals in my house  -- or a combination of the above. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Day Seventy-seven

Blueberry smoothie for breakfast, mixed green salad with grilled chicken strips for lunch.

Busy day, a little stressful, but I felt good. Allergies seem to be less, the spaciness was not as bad.

For dinner I made a mixed greens salad with basil, cilantro, dill, carrots, blueberries, raspberries, cucumber and roasted sweet potato. For a protein, I put a chuck roast in the pressure cooker with carrots, rutabaga, green onion tops, granulated garlic, sea salt, ginger, and a splash of coconut aminos garlic sauce.