Write 31 Days - Confront

I am not great with confrontation, good or bad.
I don't like speaking up. I don't like when someone argues with me.
I get warm and panic inside as the blood visibly rushes to my face.
I never know what to say in the moment.

I am much, much better at ignoring a problem or letting it get buried deep down.
But that's never a solution to confrontation.

This September I decided it was high time to confront something head on, no matter what the outcome: my health.

I hadn't seen my doctor other than briefly for prescription renewals over the past several years so it was time for a check up.

First he gave me an order for blood work for pretty much everything just to have a starting point.
Then I had an appointment to go over all the test results.

Almost everything we tested was flagged at either too high or two low...and not in a good way.  
That was not quite a shock but still a little upsetting.

My doctor is on the quieter, more serious side, but he was kind and asked lots of good, thoughtful questions. We put some new treatments into motion addressing my lack of energy, poor sleep, and my weight issues, with which I've struggled all my life.

To hopefully avoid taking numerous new medications to lower some of those not-so-good numbers, for the next first six months I am going to try and start on a healthier path with better choices revolving around food and exercise.

Driving home after that appointment I was a bit of a basket case.
The tears flowed and I just couldn't wrap my head around how I'd gotten to this point in my life.
Not that anything was really bad, just borderline, and I could no longer ignore it.
I was just so very overwhelmed with everything.  

This was NOT where I wanted to be.
I didn't want pain or discomfort or weight to every hold me back from anything. And I've truly tried to not let it, but I has been happening more and more.
Now was time to put my plan into action for me to get health.

This had been coming for a long time. And now I was forcing myself to confront it.
But that was a good thing. A difficult thing, but a step in the right direction.

So far, things are going well. I'm feeling good.
We increased my dosage of my thyroid medication and I have more energy than I used to.
I'm making better choices, thus eating better and I'm down 15 pounds since I starting keep track at the beginning of September. A small victory!

I still tend to get overwhelmed easily and shut down or off and ignore what I need to do.
But I've been taking everything a little bit at a time, trying not to focus on the small tasks rather than the larger picture and have it overtake me.

I plan my week, taking time to make healthy meals that I can eat for lunch or supper. Lots of veggies, enough protein at every meal, less snacking, and forcing myself to get out to walk or some other exercise when I can.

I'm not thinking about this as a temporary thing...this is my life.
I cannot waste a moment.

I need to confront what's not working head-on and change, bit by bit until my life looks and feels like healthy and whole, noting holding me back.

Thanks for reading.
Thanks for not judging.
We are all on our own journey. 


I'm sure I'll write more on this topic as the weeks go on, so stay tuned!

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This has been a writing prompt post from #Write31Days, join in the fun. 

Catch up on all my 31Days + 5MinFriday posts by clicking here. 

Five Minute Friday - Eat

Lately I've been making a concerted effort to make healthy meals at home.
(read about my health journey here)

I know many of us can get into a bad habit of eating out way too often, which is never a great idea for your health, let alone your monthly budget.
I've really been enjoying fresh local produce, yummy and filling salads, and easy hot meat and veggie dinners I can take to work.
Here are a few of my recent favourites.

Salads: I used to dread making and eating salads!
They always tasted the same. They never seemed filling or satisfying.
They never felt like a good, hearty meal.

BUT!
I've been experimenting and here are a few tricks I've learned that are helping me to LOVE my lunchtime or supper salads.

Romaine Hearts - these crisp, dark green leafy lettuces have been my staple base for my salads. Romaine is packed with nutrients—vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber!
They tend to stay crisp in my fridge for a week or two and can even replace taco shells or wraps for a change at meal times.

Bell Peppers - I never used to like peppers, but now I love the solid, tangy crunch these bright veggies add to my meal. I either dice them or I use my slicer (mandolin style, mine's from Epicure) to make thin strips (which can also be stored and used later sauteed for fajitas for stir frys!). Bell peppers are full of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory health benefits!

Tomatoes - Most summers I've tried to grow my own tomatoes. I had a decent crop this year of small cherry and romas and add a good 6-10 of these small fruits to my salads. Did you know that tomatoes have long been linked to heart health? Fresh tomatoes and tomato extracts have been shown to help lower total cholesterol!

I've also been enjoying using my slicer to add some more delicate slices of the more denser, hard veggies like carrots and radishes to my concoctions. (see photo above!)

I also have bulk bags of unsalted pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries in my freezer door and add a teaspoon or two of each to top off my lunch.

Some new toppers I've begun to incorporate are the Epicure brand nutritional yeasts—the Asian Umami or the Garlic & Onion. They contain inactive nutritional yeast offering a source of 8 essential vitamins & minerals. They have a rich almost cheesy flavour and have replaced my previous generous use of salt and pepper.

I'll also chop up an apple or add half a ripe avocado and finish off with some home made Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (simple olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette and Epicure dry mix).

Protein at every meal is also important, so I've either been adding some chicken I've made the night before, or from a store-bought BBQ chicken, or even my own homemade meatballs! 

Now, maybe this isn't the way you'd make a salad, or maybe you really want to tell me I'm doing it all wrong. But hey, it's working for me so far. I'm enthused about making and eating my lunchtime salads so back off and make your own. 

No really, I encourage you to experiment and try out some new combinations for your salads. Add a fruit like a pear or mandarin oranges, add nuts or seeds like almonds or sunflower seeds. 

I'd also encourage you to find out more about Epicure products. Not because I want to push selling them (yes, I do work for Epicure!), but because I am enjoying them so much! They all enhance your food in a healthy, clean-eating way. I've already had to clean out my pantry to add all my new Epicure spice blends and other products and I'm having a blast discovering new uses and flavours from all the products I have. 

Happy cooking and healthy-eating!

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This has been a writing prompt post from #Write31Days, join in the fun. 

Catch up on all my 31Days + 5MinFriday posts by clicking here. 

4-Week Health Challenge: Day 12

Well it's been 12 days on my...whatever you want to call it...cleanse, healthy kick, clean eating, Naturopath Plan and I'm still alive!

To catch you up, the Plan is basically: no wheat, no dairy, no refined sugars, no eggs, no tomatoes, no mushrooms, not much red meat, no potatoes, no peanuts or peanut butter...BUT lots of veggies and fruit, chicken, fish, cold-pressed olive oil and flax oil, pumpkin seeds, ground flax seeds, brown rice everyday and whatever else I can fit in that abides by those rules. (Plus all my vitamins and minerals and supplements etc.) It's for four weeks, then we slowly add in different foods to see if I feel okay or worse to weed out any further allergies or sensitivities to foods.
*You can read all bout my first day on this crazy plan here.

The first few days I'll admit, were a little rough, but I stuck to it. I had several severe headaches which I'm sure was my body detoxing from not having sugar or regular carbs.
After the third and fourth days I got over the worst of my cravings and at this point didn't want to wreck the good I'd already accomplished. (I was already down a couple of pounds on the scale and that in itself was encouraging!)


Today is the end of Day 12 and I'd like to share with you a few special foods and combinations that have kept me going and not feeling like I'm denying myself of special treats.

My breakfasts usually consist of either a fruit smoothie assisted by my trusty Magic Bullet small blender, or I've also found a great couple of gluten-free cereals that I now enjoy with some almond milk. Shock, I know! Even a few weeks ago, if you would have suggested to me to eat this combination...I would have laughed at you and grimaced with queasiness. However, I've taking quite a liking to it.

 As for snacks, I am a lover of salty things like potato chips or tortilla chips. My mom actually scouted out these Kale & Chia chips for me from Costco. I could eat these every day!! They have just a bit of sea salt on them, making them perfect as a salty snack on their own or even paired with some hummus.  So good!

Another snack I've been enjoying in my lunch is a brown rice cake with almond butter and a drizzle of honey. At first I tried the rice cakes with just almond butter but it's not yet a particularly favourite flavour of mine so adding the small topping of honey, especially this yummy local Blackberry honey, makes it just perfect! I will butter up two cakes and put them together, almond butter and honey sides facing, in a bag so the mess stays inside and twist apart to eat them. 

Last but certainly not least, I love a good cookie! My mom makes delicious cookies and I just had to find some kind of tasty cookie I could take with my when we go to the beach or even in my lunch. After scouring the grocery store aisles (that will be for another blog post in the near future, why some stores are easier than others to shop for natural foods!), I came across this brand, Lucy's Maple Bliss Cookie. And let me tell you, they ARE blissful! They were created by a mom who is also a doctor and she wanted to find a great gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free cookie for her own kids, but could never find anything. So she developed her own brand. They are super good, crunchy with a bit of chewiness in the middle. They make a few other varieties which I am sure I will try before the month is over.

So there you have it. Some healthy treats for snacking on. I'm quite enjoying the results of eating this way and I'm sure after this trial plan is over I'll be adopting a few of the rules to keep my eating habits clean and healthy. This morning I even saw a number on my scale I haven't seen for ...a very long time! Quite exciting!

Have you ever shopped or cooked gluten-free or dairy-free...or even sugar-free? 
I'd love to hear about it!

Do you have any favourite snacks or recipes or blogs you can recommend to me?

Thanks for reading! Please comment below.

Hey, did you know...you can sign-up at the top right of the page under "Follow by E-mail" to be notified by email when I post next.

4-Week Health Challenge: Day One

Taken on top of Mt.Tzouhalem on a hike that changed me.

Let's talk about health.

I am a relatively healthy 35 year old woman.
I say relatively because I don't have any major health issues, however, I am overweight, I have an under active thyroid gland and I don't eat very healthy or exercise as regularly as I should.

I'd love to be able to go on long hikes, trek through the forests, up and down hills with ease.
Heck, I'd love to be able to climb a few flights of stairs without being out of breath!

I am realizing that unless I change something now, my health is going to continue to creep into decline, my weight is going to continue to slowly climb and I am not going to be able to enjoy my life as I should or want to.

Enjoying life...well, okay, I think that may be part of my problem, in a cheeky, silly way.

I enjoy everything a little too much.

When it comes to eating and choosing foods, I'm not what you would call a typical emotional eater.
I don't eat because I am sad or angry or to fill a void, I mostly eat unhealthily because I just love everything! I enjoy food and I enjoy the social aspect of eating together, with friends and family or anyone, really.

(sigh)

Yes, apparently I need to tame my enjoyment a little or at least focus that joy towards some healthier alternatives and kick-start a total lifestyle change.

After this walk with my nephews I felt like scratching my face OFF!

Another of my smaller issues in allergies.

Since moving to Victoria at age 7, I have developed major seasonal allergies that affect me from Spring to Autumn. I sneeze again and again, my eyes get watery and itchy, my throat gets scratchy and my sinuses are constantly on fire.
Yes, I have taken antihistamines, every kind, every colour, every type. Nasal sprays give me nosebleeds and the pills wear off every few weeks causing me to keep switching meds. Not fun!

These past two winters I was also struck with cold after cold after bug, with my head constantly congested and my sinuses and throat never seeming to clear.
This feeling continued long after all the other cold symptoms vacated and then allergy season hit with a wham!


Enough was enough and I was ready to seek any new treatment I could find to rid myself of this awful congestion.

So, after being tossed around by several Doctors over the past years, I am trying the advice of a Naturopath.

She administered a Scratch Allergy Test which confirmed my suspicions that I am madly allergic to grasses. (Luckily not to my dog! Heh, heh.) If I ever walk through a field of any kind I come out looking like my face is melting off! Not fun for any summer outings or attempted hikes.

She also is suggesting a treatment plan to rule out any food sensitivities witch may be causing this nasty sinus issue. Her plan, which will boost my immune system, solve a few blood-related issues and kick-start some weight-loss, includes eating a lot of brown rice, veggies, fruits, supplements, oils and avoiding all dairy, gluten, egg, sugar, peanuts, anything pre-packaged and a few other items.

Oiy, this is going to be a challenge!

Yet, if I could make it through a totally liquid fast for one week, perhaps, with a little help from above and around me, I can last for 4 weeks with LOTS of healthy, delicious meal and snack options!

Yes, yes, I CAN make it!!!

A hefty trip to the grocery store later and a few hours cleaning out my fridge and freezer (thanks to a pal!) of anything out of date, old or unhealthy, and I am all set!

Here's how it's going...
(I am this writing journal both for myself to keep track and for you, for entertainment and to encourage you on your health journey, whatever it may be.)

Day One, Week One:
I started out my day with a large glass of warm water and a quarter of a lemon's juice squeezed into it. (Aids in digestion, so I am told.)
Took my Thyroid & Iron pills with the last gulp and proceeded to get ready for work.

Gobind Farms berries from the James Bay Market...super yummy local fruit!

I made a quick smoothie to take with me for breakfast - frozen blueberries & strawberries, 1/2 cup mango V8 juice I need to use up (it's 100% juice so allowed in moderation) and 1/2 cup or Almond Breeze Original milk. (Note: I should have bought the Almond Breeze Vanilla, probably would've tasted a bit sweeter.) However, the smoothie was quick, tasty, thick and lasted a while. I took my Multi Glyco & Orti B supplements with the smoothie. (Gah, Note, need to go buy the correct amount of Probiotics! I didn't bring my info sheet to the store last night and too low of a dose where I'd have to take SIX pills instead of 2 or 3.)

Before leaving home I grabbed my plethora of lunch and snack items from the fridge and the other bottles of supplements I'll taking with breakfast (Note to self: I need a smallish pill container instead of taking these whopping big bottles to work with me! Those weekly ones won't do since some of these capsules are HUGE!!)
Also grabbed my bottle liquid Vitamin D...I have still to take it. (Another Note: I forgot to bring a nasty fish oil capsule with me, too!)

My breakfast smoothie cup and snack pack.

I have a snack pack of raisins (the tiny kids school ones) nearby, should I feel the need for a snack mid-morning.

I also brought along some yummy green seedless grapes, a baggie of my own home-grown radishes, and an excellent salad for lunch. More on that in a moment.

It's 10:42 am and my smoothie is done (it became a little jelly-like at the bottom but I refused to think too much about it and slurped it down). Ate the raisin snack box soon after.

12:23 pm and it's Lunch time! Yummy salad here I come...oh no, I forgot my container of brown rice...sheesh! I'm super forgetful today! Ah well, the salad with tuna will keep me full until later.

Lunch - Salad made up of green leaf lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, orange pepper, broccoli slaw, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cranberries, ground flax seed, and some drained flaked white tuna.
For a dressing I added some dried herb mixture into about 2 tbsp of olive oil and cracked pepper. This, however, was not a satisfying dressing mixture. It tasted too...oily and barely added any flavour to my salad. I ate almost all the salad and right away started looking up some alternatives that I can make for next time.

I also ate my two brown rice cakes with a bit of almond butter. A satisfying crunch and the almond butter will take some getting used to since I love peanut butter, but it was a good addition to my lunch.

Supper consisted of a rushed cup of heated brown rice with a drizzle of olive oil and 2 tbsp of tuna mixed in. Hurried, because I was going out to an evening market with some friends and I didn't want to be starving and not find anything to eat there.

Sure enough, there didn't seem to be a single stall, booth or food cart that I could indulge in (besides all the yummy fresh produce) BUT I did find a roasted spiral sliced yam on a stick at once place. Bingo! And Delish!!

I forgot to snap a photo but this was what it looked like - A Yam Tornado Potato.

I bought some huge, fresh raspberries to snack on later and some local blackberry honey (the sample tasted super good!) and a few other non-food items.

I came home a little hungry but I had some water, raspberries and some kale & chia chips my mom found for me at Costco. (Checked the label and looks okay.) Really, I could LIVE off of these chips! Very tortilla-like, crispy, a tiny bit of sea salt and great on their own or with hummus.

I went to bed, not hungry and not too dis-satisfied with my first day.

Oh, I also found a health food store open near the market where we were so I bought some flax seed oil and the proper probiotics. Yay!

So far, so good for Day One on my cleansing/health/cutting-out-everything food journey.

Stay tuned as I update you on my progress. 

(*I am currently a week ahead of filling you in so today was my actual Day 7, yay! I'll blog about my first week soon.)


Questions: Have you every tried cutting out any specific foods because of interesting allergies or health concerns? What's your favourite healthy snack or meal??