Thursday’s Breakfast

Grits with chopped spinach mixed in, topped with an egg, and some soup on the side. And a cup of herbal detox tea. Only ate about half and had to take a pain pill this morning. Feeling about the same as yesterday.

There is some dairy in the soup. I’m toying with the idea of eliminating dairy completely, but not ready quite yet.

SUPER EXCITED for my appointment with the Naturopathic Doctor this afternoon!!!!! Praying that this will lead to the TRUE healing I’ve been searching for and that I believe is possible WITHOUT medications!

Wednesday’s Dinner

I ate mine without taking a pic, but this is my daughter’s portion. It’s just rice noodles with chopped tomato, basil, olive oil, and a bit of garlic salt.

I was still hungry and really struggling with the pain of eating, so I needed something soft and filling and delicious enough to really motivate me to eat it. And it needed to be super easy to make, since my energy was waning.

Super easy and I swear this is just as delicious as mashed potatoes. Wayyyyy healthier and actually easier to make. Five minutes in the microwave, it already has garlic in it. I just dumped it in the blender cup, added a tablespoon of heart-healthy vegenaise with grapeseed oil, and…. voila!

Sorry for lack of presentation. I was tired and ate it directly out of the blender cup. Easily consumed 4 servings of cauliflower on my own in less than 5 minutes. Well, my daughter had 2 bites, but I ate the rest. And it was just as yummy as a tub of KFC mashed potatoes. Seriously. Try it. So delicious.

Wednesday’s Lunch

We spent the afternoon at the zoo, where I carried thirty pounds of wiggly, squirmy toddler around on my shoulders for most of the way (since my husband’s back is out of commission and she is accustomed to being carried around this way when he takes her to the zoo, I had to stand in). We had so much fun. Riding the carousel and the train. Playing giant life-size checkers, and swinging on the big tire swing, and of course, seeing all the animals and feeding the ones in the petting zoo. Granted, I had to take a pain pill and wait about an hour for it to kick in before we could go. But I’m so grateful to have something that works well enough to manage my pain so that I can enjoy my family and my life.

This was lunch when we got back. Grilled peanut butter (the natural kind) sandwich with a bit of sorghum syrup on gluten free bread with a pear on the side. And a cup of hot chocolate (unsweetened vanilla almond milk, cocoa powder, agave nectar).

And an alkalizing green juice. It has kale, romaine, cucumber, cilantro, and a green apple in it. Much better for ya than the beverage that was originally intended by the makers of this glass.

Wednesday’s Breakfast

Woke up feeling sorry for myself this morning. My mouth was hurting, and I was laying in a cold pool of night sweat. Ewwww. Thought I’d be doing better already after 3 days of 20mg prednisone. Then I thought about how bad things really are- which is not bad at all. And I thought about how bad things COULD be, how bad they are for so many people who have this disease, and other debilitating, chronic illnesses. So I rolled my eyes at myself and resolved to make the most of today. Because, though I’m uncomfortable, I’m not in pain and I CAN function and get out and do things and enjoy my family and my life today.

Decided to try the banana pancakes recipe… with sweet potatoes.

That’s one cup of cooked sweet potato and 2 eggs. After mixing it up, the batter seemed off, so I added another egg. So, ONE CUP sweet potato and THREE eggs. I also added a splash of vanilla and some pumpkin pie spice.

Drizzled a little sorghum syrup over top…

I like these even better than the banana ones. The texture is more pancakey. I need to find a healthy whipped cream recipe. That would’ve been REALLY good on top.

Tuesday’s Dinner

Tired from flaring and had no energy to put into dinner. Husband made food for himself and the baby (with gluten) so I did simple rice noodles with olive oil and pesto for myself.

Oh- and some leftover red juice.

Mouth feels very uncomfortable tonight. Praying for some overnight healing and a good day tomorrow.

Tuesday’s Lunch

I ate a few bits of leftover stir-fry, and it was just too painful. So I sucked down a couple of these.

Met with rheumatologist. He’s pushing methotrexate again (as I knew he would). He said the goal is to get me on a steroid substitute as soon as possible. This really frustrated me, because NO- that is NOT the goal. I told him I want to see my specialist in NY (Dr. Yazici) or a new guy at the Mayo clinic who specializes in Behcet’s, before making a long-term decision. The GOAL is remission. And I decided I need to enlist some new partners to help me get there.

So I called the Center for Natural and Integrative Medicine and got an appointment for Thursday. It costs an arm and a leg, but I need to talk to somebody who has some experience solving health problems naturally. Somebody who’s not going to brush it off when I bring up my diet or what supplements I’m taking. I know my doctors do the best they can with what they know, but all they know are prescriptions. And prescriptions aren’t going to bring me true healing. They’re a bandaid until they either stop working or cause problems of their own (side effects). Before I go that route, I have to know I tried everything else first.

Tuesday’s Breakfast

Our unexpected date night extended to this morning. We slept in and didn’t have breakfast until 10am. I’d found gluten free oats at the health food store, so that’s what we had. With bananas, raisins, spices, honey, and sorghum syrup.

When my husband is home in the mornings and drinking his coffee, it really makes me miss it. I haven’t had coffee since I left the hospital, but I had been a cup-a-day girl forever. This hot chocolate does a better job of filling the craving than green tea some days. I need to get some cacao (raw chocolate) for better health benefits than this cocoa powder I’ve been using.

Monday’s Dinner

Got an unexpected date night at home. My MIL offered to keep the baby for us, since I’m not feeling great and my husband’s having back issues. We’re just a mess right now. Lol. So we needed a break and some time to relax and reconnect. Even though neither of us was feeling well, we enjoyed the time alone together. This is what we ate.

Baked potatoes stuffed with veggies- onions, garlic, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, and topped with avocado. Really good and filling.

Also munched on some homemade (NOT microwave) popcorn popped in olive oil. It tastes so fresh when cooked this way, compared to what you get at the theater or in a microwave bag. Sorry- forgot to take a photo.

And then blended up a couple of juices. A green one and a red one.

I’m confident that this flare isn’t going to get much worse, since I’m taking prednisone again. I’ll probably just be slightly uncomfortable the next couple of days. But I’ve got to figure out how to get my body in balance so my immune system won’t be so confused. There’s got to be a way to do this without being dependent on all these crazy medications for the rest of my life.

Monday’s Lunch

Veggie stir fry with tofu over brown rice. Lots of garlic and ginger. And low sodium tamari (gluten-free soy sauce).

I was only able to eat half of mine, since my mouth was getting really uncomfortable. But I snacked on these later.

Monday’s Breakfast

We had to be out early to get our taxes done, so my husband made breakfast.

Health update:

Had a headache when I went to bed last night, but just hoped it would be gone in the morning. I woke up at 3am and it was worse, so I took an aleve. The headache went away after about half an hour, but I couldn’t go back to sleep. Was up until 7, then slept half an hour until my daughter woke up. I do feel like, ironically, when I’m flaring, along with the fatigue comes a little insomnia. I don’t know if it’s worry over getting sick, or just out-of-whack biological processes, but I almost always have some trouble sleeping during a flare.

Lesions definitely got worse overnight. Was thinking of taking a pain pill this afternoon, but decided to take prednisone instead, so this flare can go ahead and be on it’s way. I’d tapered down to 10mg this morning, so I just took another 10mg this afternoon to equal the dosage that’s typically been prescribed for me (20mg). Hoping my doctor agrees with this course of action when I see him tomorrow.

Sunday’s Dinner

Another cookout tonight, but this one was at my mother-in-law’s. I made this salad to take with us.

And this I what I ended up eating. Researched everything used for seasoning, etc… and pretty sure I avoided any sneaky gluten or MSG.

That’s a glass of apple/pineapple juice, a filet, potato, and my big ol’ salad with tofu-cilantro dressing. It was all super delicious.

Sunday’s Snack

Hot chocolate. 🙂

And I figure I’ll also include some of my homemade cleaning products on here as I make new batches, since it’s related to health and minimizing exposure to weird chemicals and stuff. This is one of my favorites.

HOMEMADE COLOR SAFE BLEACH ALTERNATIVE

So cheap. So easy. Works great as a color safe bleach in the laundry, as a spray stain remover, and sink/toilet/bath/shower sanitizer. I used this to clean moldy spots off our patio furniture. So simple. It’s my main go-to cleaner for most jobs.

Sunday’s Lunch

Chopped grilled chicken (leftover from yesterday) sautéed with white beans, garlic, olive oil, and a homemade salsa verde I dug out of the freezer. (I’ll make another batch soon and post the recipe- it’s really good and super healthy.) Put all that on toasted corn tortillas, and topped ’em with tomatoes, cilantro, and lime. Brown rice on the side. And a glass of carrot-orange juice.

Sunday’s Breakfast

Quick smoothie before church. Avocado, banana, handful of spinach, frozen blueberries, almond milk, OJ.

So, yeah. I feel a flare coming. I was kind of expecting this to happen as I tapered off the prednisone. Definitely nothing serious yet. A few minor lesions, but the red flags are that my tongue feels too big for my mouth first thing in the morning and there is some slight thrush happening- so I’m starting the nystatin mouthwash again. I also feel it in my skin. It’s a sensitivity that’s hard to explain. Like everything hurts a little bit more than it should. Particularly areas that are shaved, like my armpits. They just hurt. It’s weird. And if I bump my hand or my daughter steps on my toe, it just hurts slightly more than usual. I don’t feel like the fatigue is a dependable indicator of a pending flare for me- because I could always say I feel tired- until it gets really bad, then it’s obvious that it’s not normal. But what I’m feeling in my mouth and skin let me know something may be on the way. I already have a rheumatologist appointment on Tuesday, so we should be able to catch it before it gets out of control. I just hate that I’ll have to start another cycle of prednisone. And that’s only if my doc agrees to comply with my wishes to stay off methotrexate for the time being.

Saturday’s Dinner

We had a cookout. Grilled cauliflower steaks topped with pesto, grilled romaine hearts topped with garlicky tomatoes and a cilantro-tofu sauce, and mashed cauliflower with basil.

Oh- and chicken and sausage. I did not eat any of the MSG laden sausage.

I didn’t get a pic, but I did make (and share) an alkalizing green juice. You know it’s a party when somebody breaks out the alkalizing green juices!

And dessert.

That’s unsweetened almond milk in the glass. But it tasted sweet to me, and balanced the chocolate really nicely. I love that my tastes are changing.

Saturday’s Snack

I had a few handfuls of my healthy snack mix, and baby girl comes toddling by wanting some. Since nuts and seeds are still a choking hazard for her, I decided to make up some little fruit snack bags for her. When looking for a container to store them in, I found these…

It should be illegal for these to be called fruit snacks. It really makes me laugh. Look at the ingredients.

It’s candy. And should be treated as such. But it’s marketed to make parents think they are giving their kids something good for them. And it’s just not.

So, let’s try to do a bit better and get the ones with less sugar, shall we?

The only way they got these to be palatable with less sugar was to add aspartame. Seriously? For a kid’s product?

Granted, the teeny fruit shapes, bright colors, and sweet taste are very appealing to kids. But I am finding that my attitude and the way I honestly feel about the food I’m trying to feed my daughter (because they KNOW when you’re lying!) makes all the difference in her response. She loves to drink the green juices I make, especially when we drink them together, taking turns with the straw. And she got so excited over her baggie of fruit snacks, because I made a big deal over it: “Look! Mommy made you a yummy special treat!” That approach may not work at all ages, but it’s (generally) working for us now.

So these are her new, REAL fruit snacks. Just as convenient, and does a lot more for her little body than those gummy candy things calling themselves fruit snacks. And small kids eat so little already, everything that goes in their mouths needs to have something positive to offer. With these, we get lots of vitamins and minerals (real ones, not created in a lab and injected into the food… “100% vitamin C” -ha!) and tons of fiber to keep her little digestive system going strong.

Saturday’s Breakfast

Sautéed sweet potatoes in olive oil with garlic, then wilted spinach greens in with the potatoes. Used this as a bed for eggs. Fresh fruits on the side. And a big mug of green tea.

The seasoning on the eggs is something I call Sazonot, as in Sazon-not. If you’re familiar with Puerto Rican cooking, they use Sazon like it’s going out of style. Most versions have turmeric (great anti-inflammatory spice), but they all have MSG. I put together my own combination. It passed my mother-in-law’s taste test, so I feel pretty good about its authentic Sazon flavor, without any of the bad stuff.

Friday’s Dinner

Looks suspiciously like lunch. Lol. Gluten-free brown rice noodles (good!) topped with olive oil, garlic, and slightly sautéed tomatoes. The tomatoes from the farmer’s market are so good. I love that I find types not so common at the grocery store (like the yellows) and the red ones are so deeply red and flavorful.

Very, very delicious.

Friday’s Lunch

I made “noodles” using a vegetable peeler on a zucchini, a yellow squash, and a carrot. And boiled them (too long- should only have put them in the water for about 30 seconds).

Sautéed garlic in olive oil and used as a sauce for the “noodles” and topped them with diced tomatoes and basil.

It was really delicious, but not too filling. So I also had a sunflower butter and strawberry mush (leftover from breakfast) sandwich on gf bread. And a glass of milk. I’ve been really limiting dairy (except Greek yogurt and very occasional cheese) so this was a deviation from the plan. But I was really craving it. I’ve been really hungry all day today, probably still refueling after my workout yesterday.

Also had a bag of my healthy snack mix and a handful of sweets and beets chips.

Friday’s Breakfast

Lovin’ these banana pancakes. Added some fresh grated ginger today, and topped them with frozen strawberries microwaved into mush. Doesn’t sound appetizing, but it works perfectly as a sauce or a jelly, and has no added sugar whatsoever, and all the nutritional goodness of strawberries.