What I'm Into, June 2012

I'm back! Not feeling in the mood to recap an entire two months or so, I'll just offer the basics: I am a B.A. or, I have a BA at least. And I moved into my new 'cottage' in the backyard of my parents' house. This evening, I think I'll do a "What I'm Into" to get back in the swing of things.

So, June 2012~ WHAT I'M INTO

On my nightstand: Just finished "Fairest" and am making my way through a couple other half-finished FUN books from January or so. My new nightstand has a fabulous lamp...I haven't had a bed-side lamp in a while.

TV show worth watching: Ooo, I am currently into Bunheads, Tia & Tamara, Touch, and The Next Food Network Star. Summer! Time for TV!

Movie I've seen: A Hallmark Hall of fame (aka, still cheesy but not as lame as regular Hallmark movies) called Firelight.

In my kitchen: The beginnings of PRODUCE. That's right, the yard is just starting to explode with fresh apricots, tomatoes, zucchini, and green beans.

In my ears: CDs, for I have a new(ish) car and found a fascinating CD collection that's kept my ears busy for a while...Laura Hackett, Civil Wars, Natalie MacMasters...

Middle-of-the-Pyramid Update

I'm calling this my middle-of-the-pyramid update because since this post, I've been eating LOTS of fruits and veggies.

No physical, emotional, or spiritual improvements from the yeast free diet as of yet. Ha. But my doctor did encourage me to focus on the foods I can have rather than those I can't. So here is a list of foods I've been enjoying for the past two weeks:

Mexican! It's surprisingly easy to do a yeast free burrito with my brown rice tortillas.

Almond milk. Gross if not refrigerated or if sipped alone, but in a cold smoothie, it really does the trick.

Oh yes, smoothies. For snacks and desserts... as a filling dessert, I've been doing frozen banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder, and almond milk in beverage-form.

Gluten free crackers.

Chocolate sweetened with beets! {Found, of course, at the one. the only. Trader Joe's!}

Farmer's marked fruits.

Itallian sausage, onions and peppers, quinoa (this was my dinner tonight).

Some days have been miserable. I am so grateful to have all the food I need in life... to live in a country where trying a diet like this is possible. But it has not been very fun. Drastically changing the way I eat begs me to pay attention to what physical desires are saying about my heart's condition. However, there is grace and I am clinging to it tightly, because never have I had so much respect for something as seemingly simple as a diet!

What I'm Into-Jan '12

I've been inspired by my bloggy friend, Megan (if you haven't seen SortaCrunchy, you haven't thoroughly experienced the mom-blog scene)... she does a "what I'm into" post each month and I find her categories inspiring. So I'll use her format as my prompt and hopefully bring you some interesting tid-bits at the end of each month this year!

What I'm into (or was into) this January, 2012:

On my nightstand: are no books... I don't keep books on my nightstand, nor do I have time for free reading right now. I did, however, recently start a reread of To Kill a Mockingbird; one of my favorites! I'm mostly reading out of my Norton Anthologies for a Lit class I'm desperately trying to finish. On my nightstand are a water bottle, vanilla candle, almond & pistachio milk lotion, and picture frame.

TV show worth watching: Once Upon a Time, Parenthood, and New Girl are back! Pan Am is also back, but I've been a little less captured by it this month.

Movie I've seen: My roommates and I started a LOTR "marathon"... we'll be stretching it out over a few weekends, so I don't know if you could really call it a marathon. It is my favorite movie series and always has been. So many spiritual analogies and so much to savor each time you watch!

In my kitchen: wheat free, sugar free everything... lots and lots of fruits and veggies. And meat! Today, I went to the farmer's market and got red potatoes, strawberries, apples, and cucumbers. Yum.

In my ears: Coldplay and other familiar comfort tunes.

What I'm looking forward to next month: The beginning of my 3 month dating fast. I'll definitely be writing about this as it may be the only actual fun aspect of the experience!

...and that's what I was into this month. Happy February, everyone!

Gluten free has got nothin' on yeast free!

That's right.

Quick update from last post: I am working on bigger and better things for myHandH... maybe a new location, maybe just a new title... it's all very behind-the-scenes at this point.

And while behind-the-scenes happens, I am here to share about my new diet. I feel like I need to say, "That's right", again because me and diet don't really go together.

This is not a weight loss diet, though I probably will slim down from its potency. I've been going to a homeopathic chiropractor for the past six months or so. She has served as a chiropractor, nutritionist, and sort of lifestyle coach to me. Sometimes I roll my eyes at her and protest that her ideas will not work. But my immune system has been seriously strengthened because of the supplements she has me on and my headaches have all but disappeared since I've started getting adjusted regularly. Since the beginning of our time together she had been warning me that eventually, she wanted to take me off of sugar completely.

This was that week of confrontation. To make a long story short, she got my attention and made me realize that if I didn't at least try her diet plan for me, I would never see the positive effects of it. So here is the diet:

Yeast free! Which means:
No wheat.
No sugar.
No dairy.

The idea is that yeast builds up in our systems and since I struggle with health-related issues such as chronic fatigue, acne, and mood swings (which yeast build up is said to bring on or contribute to), I am a perfect candidate for the program. Yeast feeds on sugar, its favorite food and since the yeast already lives in my body, I have to get rid of it.

Well, when I left her office, I cried and said to myself, "A life without milk and sugar is not a life I'm interested in living!" Seriously, I said that. But in the past few days, I've been praying for the Lord to change my heart and help me to crave healthy foods that would fit in this diet. I also felt that I could give myself permission to ease into this huge undertaking. So this week, I'm doing no wheat and no added sugar (meaning I'm still allowing myself honey and agave, but no actual sugar-as-an-ingredient). If all goes well, I'll think about reducing dairy.

Grocery shopping for this project was fun. I went to my (favorite) Trader Joe's, of course. I bought things like:

Brown rice tortillas
Bell peppers, bananas, green beans... lots of veggies
Meat! ...though I need to buy more because this is now a major food group. Why does meat have to be so expensive?
Hummus
Corn tortilla chips and salsa

So this is my plan. I will be kind to myself as I see how my body takes to these new foods. I will stave off cravings with will power and good snacks. And if I fail, I will have at least tried really, really hard.

More to come!