Learn Something New Everyday

Here are some things I am learning:)

1-I need to start a strict anti-candida diet! The ND is going to have me do a test that we send off that tells how bad it is and what strand of yeast I have. We can then proceed to treat accordingly with herbal/natural supplements. Main point-I have severe candida!!

2-I learned today that green monsters without ANY fruit are REALLY nasty!! ‘Nuff said! That also means I learned that breakfast on high raw, anti-candida is going to be tricky! Any ideas?

3– I learned that I like raw rutabaga blended with garlic, olive oil, salt etc. These were supposed to be patties, but didn’t quiet work the way they were supposed to. So, I learned that they make great croutons!

This is my salad I packed for lunch today. It had:

romaine, english cucumber, yellow pepper, cherry tomatoes, carrots, sprouts, sprouted black quinoa, and broken up rutabaga “patties”

4-I learned that raw broccoli is NOT my friend. I didn’t take a picture. For snack today, I had raw broccoli with some black bean dip.

5-I learned that I LOVE Gena’s BEST. SOUP. EVER.!!

I do not typically like raw soups at all, but this one, well it was a different story!

6-I then proceeded to learn that butternut is probably not good for candida. Not sure about that though. Raw foods have less sugar and carbs than cooked food. Any info. here?

7-I learned that chia pudding has a very weird texture that I’m not sure I like.

Raw cocoa chia pudding

I tasted this and stuck it back in the fridge. Will taste again later:)

8-I learned that this is my favorite raw meal so far:

Raw bread with tomato, sprouts and raw cheese with coleslaw

9-I learned that cheese is a no-no for anti-candida diet:( I rarely ever have it, but it’s nice every once in a while. So long cheese!

10-I learned that functioning on VERY little sleep is TORTURE when you have to go clean someone’s house!! I NEED SLEEP!!!

There– I learned at least TEN new things today!! Never too old to learn!:)

Have you learned anything new today? I also learned that I can’t spell or type very well today!LOL!

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Girls just wanna have FUN!

I have been having a blast lately! If any of you read Heather’s blog, you know by now that I was in Nashville last week.  What a TREAT! My hubby had to go to some classes for his job and I got to tag along. This is the first time since having kids that we got away for a whole week–alone:)

I want to back up first though and show you some hotel yoga from the weekend before while I was in Charlotte:

teaching my friend some yoga--in street clothes--in the hotel floor:)

She's NOT dead--just learning to relax!

feels SO good to stretch

Okay, back to Nashville!

Enjoyed every minute with my hubby:)

Got to spend a day with Heather--Thanks HEAB's!!!

We enjoyed a 90 minute Vinyasa yoga class first. Then we headed to Whole Foods–my first time!!!

Whole Foods Heaven!

I ate here THREE times while in Nashville. My hubby is glad we DON’T have one where we live–he said he couldn’t afford it:)

After Whole Foods, we headed to Trader Joe’s–another first for me!

TJ's stash--had to refrain from buying the whole store!

Sadly, these are almost gone:( They are YUMMO!

I also had my first trip to the Cheesecake factory:

Grilled Mahi Mahi with steamed veggies--fed me for two days!

Here are a couple of pics of the retreat center we stayed at(Scarritt Bennett):

Beautiful Cathedral

Loved all the stone buildings

I’m glad to be home, but reality hit just a little too fast.

While I was away, I decided to relax more about my food–a.k.a. less raw.  I think the season is changing where my diet is concerned. Today, I ate about 50/50–raw/cooked. I’m just trying to have a healthy relationship with food–whatever that looks like. I realized while I was away how many ‘rules’ I have been trying to follow. Why do I have to be such a rule person?! So, trying to relax and rethink some things about my diet. One thing I DO know for sure is that I HAVE to stay away from sugar!! I ate too much while I was gone and it REALLY got to me. I also ate more grains and was feeling really out of sorts by the end of the week. That really makes me sad–no matter how much I try to tell my body that it likes grains–it just won’t listen!!

Tried a new dish for dinner tonight but will have to share that later. This turned out to be really long. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Question: Are you a ‘rule’ follower? If so, how do you ‘let go’ of so many ‘rules’?

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The Avocado Lady

I have been enjoying avocados immensely lately! But, I have also been reminded of a funny story about avocados. A couple of years ago, I was in the store picking through the avocados when this complete stranger came up to me and proceeded to tell me which avocado I should buy. Now, her advice was not bad and in fact I probably needed to be told which one was the best. I had just discovered avocados at that time. There were a couple of problems though. First of all, I did not ask for her advice and most importantly, I let her tell me what to do and I did NOT even know her!! You may ask what the big deal is. Well, I was SO mad at myself because my whole life has been about pleasing other people. I let a complete stranger tell me what was best for me! When I got home from the store and was telling a friend what had happened, she laughed at how easily swayed I am. Now, every time I do something JUST to please someone else, she reminds me of the avocado lady.

Why am I bringing this story up? Well, I have really been struggling with doing what other people say is best–even if I KNOW it may not be what is best for me. This happens mostly with my diet and health. I read something and think–‘oh, I should do that’. I think what brought this on is the fact that I stopped doing a food diary–after THREE years of doing it EVERY single day. I know it sounds silly, but somehow that food diary was a comfort for me and a way to still feel in control. Eating disorders are all about control and I ‘thought’ I had let go of all that. I am finding out differently. Since not doing my food diary, I find myself FREAKING OUT at night trying to add up everything in my head. I couldn’t even watch a movie the other night for going over my food a gazillion times in my head!! Then, that turns into—‘I should do this diet or that diet because so and so is doing it and it is working for them’. I HAVE come a LONG way in my healing from an eating disorder. I’m not saying that I am still in the grips of it. I’m not! I just get angry with myself for not listening to MY body. I was telling someone the other day about an ND (Dr. of natural medicine) that I was thinking of going to. I felt like it would be a really good thing for me to do—until I talked to this person and heard their negative opinion. Then, all of a sudden, I didn’t think it was such a good idea anymore. Why do I have to be SO influenced by what others think? I have no idea. I am thankful that I am aware of it and that I can work on it though. I need God to help me listen to HIM, not what everyone else tells me!

Now, on to some yummy eats–with avocado of course!

Salad with avocado and sprouted quinoa

Raw zucchini salad from Heather’s blog. I added sprouted mung beans. This is one of my new all time favorites:)

Avocado pudding with Hemp protein powder(chocolate)

Avocado, tomatoes, and sprouts on gluten free sprouted bread

Guacamole chicken salad with broccoli sprouts wrapped in romaine

Now, before you gasp over all those avocados I have consumed–never fear, I did NOT eat all of that in one day. This is food I have eaten over the last week or two. Had I eaten all of that in one day, I WOULD have something to worry about:) Man, I’m eating a lot of sprouts too! Didn’t realize that.

As for my struggle with doing what is best for ME, I will continue to work towards a diet that is healthy and works for MY tummy. I CAN NOT  worry about low-carb, grain free, raw, veggie or any other ‘diet’. Pray for me:) My stinkin’ thinkin’ gets me in trouble every time!

Oh, I have signed up for a HOT Yoga class!! I can’t wait! It starts tomorrow night. I have been reading up on it so that I kind of know what to expect–that would be SWEAT–A LOT!! I’ll let ya know how it goes–if I survive:)

What are your favorite ways to eat avocado?

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Gaucamole Chicken Salad

Today was a perfect day for something quick, easy and nourishing. For those of you new to my blog, I clean other people’s homes part-time. Today was one of my hard days. I am usually pretty zonked when I get home and don’t feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. While I was cleaning one of the houses today, there was a cooking show on. It was interesting because she was talking about how we usually think that quick always means out of a box. I don’t even know what the cooking show was, but it was neat how she fixed such a healthy dish and it seemed very easy and fast. That’s the kind of meals I like!

I have been thinking a lot this week about how I can simplify my food buying and cooking. I want to try to buy more local, real foods. Of course, my family is all about stuff out of a box, but I just thought–you know what–I buy the groceries, therefore I can have more control over what they eat. I usually buy them pizza on hard cleaning days but decided today not to do that. There are way too many healthy and nourishing foods in this world to default to pizza:) Not that I will never get them pizza, but I really want to help them eat better foods.

This chicken salad is my entry for the Simple and Nourishing Carnival. There are a lot of great, easy recipes here, so stop by and check it out. I really like the Nourishing Gourmet blog:) I have been so amazed lately at all the fabulous healthy blogs out there. I feel like there is no excuse for me to get in a rut when there are so many options available. I have a perfect example. Last night, I made some brownies(gluten filled) for my family and the smell was tempting me so bad. I was tired and thought–‘I’ll just have one’. Then I realized that it would be very easy for me to find a recipe that I can eat safely and whip it up in no time flat. I chose to make Elana’s brownie recipe and was delighted to have a ‘legal’ brownie:) I had to skip the chocolate chips though because I was out.

Okay, on to the recipe:

The ingredients are measurements per person.

1 chicken breast

1/2 avocado

1 plum tomato

4 green onions

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. cilantro

sprinkle of lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Cook chicken breast and let cool slightly. When cool enough to touch, cut into bit size pieces. Chop avocado, plum tomato and green onions. Mix chicken, avocado, tomato, and onions in bowl. Add cumin, basil, cilantro, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with lemon juice(to taste).
I served mine over fresh spinach. I’m not supposed to be eating raw right now, but every now and then a girl’s just gotta have some greens:)

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Black Bean And Corn Pasta Salad

My daughter and I are headed off to the zoo today! I was running low on homemade bread so I decided to throw together a pasta salad before I went to bed last night so I could pack it for lunch today. Actually, my daughter made most of it. All I did was boil the noodles:) Pasta salad is so versatile. You can put just about anything in it and have a wonderful meal. I like to include lots of veggies and usually some kind of bean. At the moment, black beans are at the top of my list. The measurements for this recipe are approximate because we just kind of put what looked good. I also like to make pasta salad ahead of time to give the flavors time to blend and intensify. This dish may be simple, but it is oh so good!

Dressing:

3 Tbs. olive oil

3 Tbs. garlic and red wine vinegar

1 tsp. basil

2 tsp. chili powder

1-1/2 tsp. cumin

Place all ingredients for the dressing in a jar or prep bowl. Place the lid on and shake to blend.

Pasta Salad:

1 can black beans(drained and rinsed)

1 cup corn

1/3 cup purple onion chopped

1-1/2 cups diced seedless cucumber

1 lg. tomato diced

8 oz. GF penne pasta

salt and papper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions on package. When tender, drain and rinse in cold water. Add beans and all the veggies. Pour dressing over salad and mix well.

Addition to original post: I think next time I will put a little more dressing in this.

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