The doctor was wrong?

When I went to see the endo specialist he told me that the endo diet didn't work. Oh really? Well then neither do your stupid hormone pills!  When I started with the hormone pills I decided not to be so strict and let up on my vegan diet. Well, here we are a month later and I have more pain than a woman in labor. Seriously.  I should have never stopped the endo diet.

Back on again today. But the pain is almost unbearable. I'm gonna go juice something...maybe I'll feel better.

Namaste!

Taking a break...

I am taking a break from being veg. I had only gone veg to see if it would help my endo.  Since the endo specialist said it doesn't help I've been bummed about it.  Not saying I'm gonna turn into a carnivore, never was one in the first place. LOL!

We'll see how I do with some animal protein back in my diet.  And if I don't like it then I'll just go back to being veg. After all, I saw I am able to do it. Not like I was really missing out on anything. LOL! 

Pineapple bliss

Today's green smoothie....I'm calling it pineapple bliss.  I think it could have been sweeter but it was still good!

1/4 C pineapple
1 banana
1 round of spinach (frozen)
1 c yogurt (active cultures)
1 tsp flax seed
1 small lime

blend together...viola! 

I haven't had a smoothie or green juice in three days now.  Either it's all in my head or I am really feeling it.  I also hadn't been drinking my ginger tea.  The arthritis in my knee was killing me.  Have gone back to my ginger tea the last two evenings....knee is feeling ok today. 

Back on track with my smoothies and will do some kind of green juice tonight.  Going to visit a friend this evening so hope she doesn't make too many goodies!

Namaste!

Juice feasting (aka fasting)

So after my idiocy of going off my diet this past weekend I have decided that not only do I need to get back on it....I'm going to try a juice feast at least 3 days a week if not more. 

Today's lovely....what I am calling a half juice half smoothie.  And of course, it's green.  But yummy.  I tried something different today and I really like it.

Today's Juice/smoothie's recipe:

(Juiced)

1 apple (I have braeburn at the moment)
2 carrots
1 lime (with the peel)
2 handfuls of fresh spinach (first time juicing these babies)
a handful of red grapes

Add to this in the blender (I use a stand mixer)
1 banana
5-6 strawberries
1 tablespoon flax seed

Tada!  I wasn't sure about juicing the fresh spinach at first. When the smell hit me as I juiced it I thought uh oh....but it is just a neutral tasting as the frozen spinach.  The lime really adds a kick to it that I like.

And before I forget, I started off the day by drinking a cup of warm (not hot) water with half a lemon squeezed in it.  I read it is supposed to alkalize your body, fight off cravings, help with digestion, etc. So I figured why not.  This isn't the first time I've read about this.  I just thought now is the right time to incorporate it into my diet. 

That said...I drank it around 0930 and didn't want anything until 1200.  So if this is the case I'm gonna have to force myself to have some kind of breakfast.  We'll see how it goes. Maybe today is just one of those days I'm not craving anything cause my body is still pissed off at me for eating a bit of hamburger meat. ;-P

Namaste!

Didn't I already say this?

I'm pretty sure I've already written the blog where I swear off eating things that are on my off limits list.  But I did it again. Bread. Couldn't resist, was tired of having pain anyway, so I figured what the hell. 

Oh really? Ms. what the hell? Well my knee and shoulder and back have been killing me for the last few days. What do you say to that now?

Not much. I know, I know.

Ok, it's a new day. A new week. So back on my off limits list. Except for one cup of regular, caffeinated coffee. I had a headache for a week straight! I really don't' want to take any more pills. I mean, come on. My stomach is just starting to get back to 'normal'. I have pain in my lower abdomen all the time. Do I have to take a pill?! 

I'm really tired. Physically, emotionally, mentally. All of it. I want to just go to sleep and wake up feeling 'normal'. No pain, no tiredness, no grumpiness. Just be happy to be alive.

Am I asking too much?

Green juice with berries

This mornings smoothie was my usual spinach and banana but I added some strawberries today, oh and a bit of rice milk as always.

The taste was great....the color.....pretty gross.  I sipped out of a straw and surfed FB so I wouldn't have to look at the color. lol! 

Last night I made Pineapple Green Juice. Was very good.  1/2   pineapple, 1 cucumber, 4-5 handfuls  spinach, a bunch of mint (which I forgot). It was palatable and didn't have a smell that bothered me.

That's it for today!

Namaste!

Liking the green smoothies

I am really digging them!  Same recipe as yesterday but still loving it! I have a pineapple here, staring at me, just waiting for me to cut it open. I am in one of those moods...ya know....no mood. lol!

Am going to really try to get it cut and juiced today. I read that the middle part has the most of some vitamin/mineral that I can't remember the name of right now that is really good for you. Helps fight cancer.  Does so many things for us and most of us throw it away.  Who knew?

Also got some oranges cause it doesn't seem to be warming up anytime soon and we need our vitamin c. 

Wishing the weather would warm up so I can start to make some sorbet. I love sorbet. I still remember the very first time I tried it. We were at a fancy restaurant. (with my family) I was around 12 ish...not sure anymore.  It was strawberry sorbet and served in a big shell that they had filled with some kind of gelatin that was hardened and had a small scoop cut out in it.  In that scoop they   put the sorbet. Just they display of it was fascinating to my eyes. And then I tasted it. I've been hooked every since.

Today I found a recipe to make my own at home. And you don't even need an ice cream maker. Of course, it's better if you have one but it can be done without . And seeing as how I don't have one...

So, let's hope the weather warms up soon because I want some sorbet!  Also the Italian ice cream places around here have the best sorbet.  Can't wait for it to warm up!  Haven I said that already? 

Sorry....this Texas gal just can't get used to the cold, even 14 years after being in good 'ol Germany. I'd rather be in Texas. (or at the beach in Texas to be more exact.)

Namaste!

Today's Green smoothie

1 banana
1 c. milk (I use rice milk)
1/2 apple
1 kiwi
1 tsp honey
1 round spinach (I use frozen so they come in 'rounds')

Blend together well. Enjoy!

I'm digging these green smoothies.  I don't know why I thought they were full of cabbage.  That was horrible. lol!  My mom likes those with cabbage and garlic. yuck!  Too spicy for me. Makes my stomach hurt and activates my gag reflex. lol!

So, this was my breakfast.  Now I just need to do my green juice at night before I go to bed.

Enjoy!  Namaste!

No turning back....

Last evening the male unit brought home a doner sandwich (which is just like a gyro sandwich) for the child. Since I had already made said child tacos, child did not want doner. Male unit also did not want to eat it. He told me, here you can have it. You can go off your diet for once.

So being that I was hungry and an idiot, I said why not. What will one hurt? I'm already in pain anyway.

Big mistake! I didn't get halfway through. I felt sick at my stomach. I wished I could have puked. The pain is no worse today than it had been but I feel sluggish. Just plain blah.

So this shows me there is no going back to being a carnivore. lol!

Sticking with my beg and even made my first green smoothie today. Yup... a smoothie with some spinach in it. Was pretty good.  I like spinach but wasn't sure how I was going to like it in a smoothie. Don't even taste it.

This evening...going to try pineapple green juice. Recipe I got off the internet from a gal that does green juices and smoothies.

1/2 Pineapple
1 cucumber
4-5 handfuls of spinach
half bunch of mint

I'm going to use frozen spinach and dried mint cause that's what I have.  Will blog on how it turned out!

Namaste!

Juice..it's what's for breakfast!

Juiced pears, apples, kiwi, carrots. I have to stop trying to put green stuff in my juice. lol!  The kiwi either wasn't ripe enough (thought it was) or it is just it's taste. The juice had a 'grassy' taste to it.

Other than the grassy taste, it was ok. Drank a whole bunch for breakfast and took it with me so when I got hungry I could drink. 

I wish I could get used to the 'green' stuff taste. It is sooo good for you. Lots of people drink green juice. How do they do it?  Maybe if I throw in some stevia.....

Juicing...why I love to hate it

I love to juice. I love drinking the different juices I can create.  I love the way I feel when I drink my fresh juice.

I HATE to clean the juicer. 

Why couldn't they have invented it so it cleaned itself?  I mean seriously.  It's not enough that I have to peel everything I juice before I juice it...then I have to clean the juicer too!  Come on!!!

Ok, that is my rant for the day. Now I need to get off my 4th point of contact and go juice some carrots cause I have another pressure headache.

Namaste!

No more sugar...

I made myself some vegan slopppy joe last night. Boy got meat in his. It was good. Thing is recipe calls for ketsup. Now, I know ketsup has sugar in it and I know it's one of the things I'm not supposed to have. But I figured what the hell? Once in a while coulnd't hurt.

Was I ever wrong. Woke up in a pissy mood. And I mean bad.

Ok, lesson learned. No sugar. No ketsup. Just gotta find something to dip my fries in man....I mean if they are from McD's or Whataburger they are ok without. But home made? I need something. Tried mustard. Not so great.

Can't have mayo so....any suggestions?

Oh and if you're wondering, I used quinoa for the vegan sloppy joe's.

Off to see if my bread turned out....

Much better

Feeling much better now that I am back on 'my' diet. Pain is almost completely gone. I feel like my new self again. Sure didn't like feeling like my old self. LOL!

So, on the menu tonight? Sloppy Joe's!  Except I'll be making two portions. One for my boy and one for me. Mine will be made with quinoa. This stuff is great. It tastes like whatever you spice it up with. Want tacos? Make some quinoa and add your taco spice. Want sloppy Joe's? Make some quinoa and add your sloppy joe stuff.

On that note...I'll be making mine homemade for the first time. Got a great recipe from an online friend and can't wait to try it out.

I'll also be eating mine without a hamburger bun while the boy gets a bun. lol! I'm thinking rice cakes in place of saltine crackers.

Will let you all know how it turned out!

Note to self...do not go off this diet!!!

So a girlfriend has a birthday last week and the gang all went out to celebrate at a local restaurant. Figured I'd be smart and stick with a salad. Salad had turkey breast on it but I figured it'd be ok. I stayed away from the ice cream and had decaf coffee.

Then Saturday the weather was so nice and was already scheduled to turn cold and start snowing so I took my son into the city and we went to one of his fav place's...Pizza Hut. Ordered a salad there too but couldn't resist having a taste, which turned into two slices. Cheese pizza but still.

Sunday I had a sandwich. Wholewheat bread. Hey! What could it hurt right? Never mind I was having some pain in my under section.

Well, in comes Monday and low and behold....my everything hurts! My arthritis is acting up, so that means shoulder, back and knee hurt. My anything on my body that has to do with female organs is screaming in pain. My boobs feel worse than when you find out you're pregnant.

Yeah, the food was good but sooo not worth this. So, am back on track and wondering how long it will take for the pain to go away. Of course DH will say it's all in my head.

I tell you it's not! Oh and I woke up in a seriously crappy mood this morning. Like, PMS bitch from hell mood.

Did not miss her at all. She needs to go away.

Stick to veg and fruit....that is all.

Is it helping?

I think so...I really do. I have dropped 3 kilos and I'm not doing it for weightloss. I did notice until this week that I had really bad breath, however after doing some reading up I find it is because my body was de-toxing. So far this week my breath seems to be back to normal.

I have still not gotten back to juicing the cabbage. I think the only green thing I can do now is cucumbers in with my other stuff. 

Also I am doing smoothies every morning. Banana and some other kind of fruit. Yesterday and today it has been pineapple. And of course I throw some flax seed in there. Yerterday I threw in some grapes too and didn't process it all the way so it gave me something to chew on. That was kind of cool.

As far as my diet is going I do notice that when I go off of it (which means just eat something I shouldn't) I have pain within two days.  So I am trying to do little things at a time to see what is really affecting me. I miss eating bread, though I do have a recipe I am going to try out as soon as I get some spelt. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Oh! And I found gluten free noodles! woo-hoo!  I love pasta! Now if only I could have my gorgonzola sauce.....

Recipe of the day...

The last few days I've been trying to get used to 'green juice'. Well, I'm not used to it. In fact the last mouthful I drank yesterday I nearly spit out cause it made me gag. Also I'm just not digging the cabbage kind of spicy taste in my juice.

So this morning I said no green stuff.  Apples, a pomegranate, a carrot then made a smoothie by blending in a banana. 

MUCH better!  I'm not much of a sweets person but I just can't get past that tanginess with the cabbage. And I can't bring myself to try spinach just yet. Kale I can't even find here. Probably have to look at the health food store.

On the good side I stepped on the scale yesterday and I was down 3 kilos. Mind you I haven't stepped on the scale in about two weeks but to see that the numbers are starting to go down is a good sign to me!  LOL!

Till the next veggie adventure!

Broiling

I can eat fish and should cause I need the omega's. I do take a plant based suppliment (when I remember). lol!

So I figured if I have to learn to make fish I should try broiling it. I do like fish but do not like fish smell.  So any fish that I eat has to not have a strong smell to it.  I have a very sensitive nose. My FIL says I can smell 2 KM away.

Found a recipe I like and going to try it this evening.  Hope it turns out well.  If not I'm sure the male unit will bitch about it.

Juiced....

I juiced for the first time last evening. Well, ok I have juiced since I got the juicer but like o.j., apple juice. Not veg. I juiced cabbage, cucumber, carrot and apple. It was not bad. It smells totally like veg but does have a sweet taste to it.

My mom has been juicing for years off and on.  Last summer when I was visiting. It was ok except she puts garlic in hers. (mind you I said she's been doing it for years so she's used to it) I was like...gag!!!!!

I love garlic don't get me wrong, but in pasta. Sauces. Not in my juice.

So...I'll keep trying the recipes for green juices as long as I can throw in a couple of apples or pineapple to sweeten it up. I drank mine in the evening last night. Think maybe I should drink it earlier in the day. Dunno.  Have to read up on it.

Till next time!

No turning back

The last few days have been hectic for me. Bought a new bed, have to break down and re-build beds, rearrange furniture. In doing all this I didn't make time the time to cook anything that I could eat. To top that off on Friday my car battery decided it didn't want to work and I had to wait two hours in the cold for a jump. My son was with me the whole time and though he said he was ok I knew he was cold. I mean it was only 23 F outside. So when we got the card started I told him I'd run through Mc D's drive through for him. Of course, I was really cold (couldn't feel my finger tips) and was also hungry. I decided to slip off the diet for this meal since I had stuff to do as soon as we got home. Ordered up some nuggets and fries and off we went.

Ate that meal, fries coke included. Then yesterday (Saturday) during the afternoon, DH made DS a Nutella bread. Well, there was half a slice left and I said wtf....I ate it.

How do I feel today? Horrible. My hands are swollen and it hurts when I make a fist. My face is swollen. And I feel really tired.

Granted the tiredness may be just that I haven't been able to catch up and rest since I've been going non-stop since Thursday. (actually since I got out of the hospital but oh well)

So today I am back on track. I thought I might be able to allow myself to jump off the wagon once in a while but I see now that's a no-go. Unless I want to feel like this again.

Have some bread in the oven baking. Picked up the mix at the local organic store. No gluten, no soy, so egg, no sugar. If it turns out then I will probably stick with it. I'm not good at baking and the recipes I have found call for about 5 different flours. I also haven't been able to find all the different flours here.

Will blog about bread tomorrow.....

Juicing

Got a juicer yesterday. Been wanting one for a while. Like juicing (or  pressing or whatever the heck it is called) my own juice. Especially OJ.

So, after I read the manual (yes I'm anal like that) and took it apart and put it back together (again...anal) I juiced what fruits I had in the house.

So...everything juiced well. No weird  noises...and it isn't that loud either. Did the juice turn out good?  Nope.

Why? you ask.....because brains (that be me) juiced a grapefruit in with the apples, pears, oranges and pomegranate. Should 've left it out. OMG! It tasted like straight up grapefruit peel. Not that nice sweet nectar I was expecting. I actually spit it out in the sink.

To make matters even better (this has been a dinger of a day anyway) I STILL have the stingy feeling in my mouth.

Note to self....when juicing...leave the grapefruit in the bowl.

I am now on week 2 1/2 of this new diet.  So far not too bad. There are things I have had to get used to...like I can't wake up and have my caffinated coffee with toast, butter and honey. Instead it's decaf with this bread that is gluten, soy, egg, lactose, sugar free...margarine and organic honey.

Little things like this I have been able to replace in my diet. Of course there are no more chips but I like nuts (cause I am one...lol!) so I have substituted those instead. 

Yes I am craving hamburgers but hey....give in to what I want or try to stay endo free and avoid surgery.  Of course, I realise that there is no given it will not come back. Especially since I still have my ovaries and haven't started HRT (hormone therapy) yet.  But I must try.

Bought some organic raw sugar. Haven't tried it yet but am planning to use it in my oatmeal. I do use stevia and don't mind it in my drinks or smoothies but in things like oatmeal or cereal I have found I do not like the taste.

Speaking of cereal...I finally found some corn flakes that are gluten free.  Tried some with rice milk. Had to put in a banana. It was ok. I liken it to wood chips in white colored water with a bit of sweetness thanks to the bananas.  LOL! 

It is an adventure but one I am finding is do-able.  This weeks target....try to find all the different flours I need so I can make pizza dough. 

Almost a month now....

I officially went vegetarian as of 01/01/2013.  I have never been a big meat eater and after doing tons of research on how diet affects endometriosis I figured it was time.

Well, it was actually past time. Even going total vegetarian I still ended up in the hospital with emergency surgery for a 5 cm cyst and endometriosis, again, last weekend.

That said I have gone back to the research that I had originally started last year after my hysterectomy. (actually my hysterectomy was in Nov 2011) Anyway...I did ask my gyn after the hysterectomy if I should adjust my diet so the endo wouldn't come back. Oh, no! was the response. This should do it.

Well, he obviously didn't realise that if it weren't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all. lol!  I happen to be the 1:1000 that gets the recurrence.

So this last emergency surgery the doc suggested that I might have to have an ovary removed, but would most definitely have to be on some type of hormone therapy for at least the next ten years.

As soon as I was home I started back on my research. Found the book entitled "The Endo Diet" and started to make the change.

Now this change has become more than vegetarian. Turns out anything with the presence of the female hormone, estrogen, can kick off my endo.

What does this mean for me as far as eating goes? No gluten, no sugar, no caffeine, no dairy, no eggs, no soy. What does that leave? lol!  Fruits and veg.

Yes there are alternatives. I know. But this is totally new to me and there are so many different flours out there. When to use which one, which to mix with which?  I admit, it is making my head spin. But I'll get the hang of it just like everything else that has come my way.

I am not one to experiment when cooking/baking so this is gonna be interesting. Thankfully I have found a website that is gluten/dairy free and she also has a vegan/vegetarian page with recipes.  Wish me luck....I know I'm gonna need it.