Entries from April 2009
Oh man, let me tell you I had an interesting day. Lets say that work was a bit annoying today..however I woke up and shredded, and got such a great surprise..flowers from my sister!!!!!
I started off the day w/ Carmalised Banana and Date ‘Porridge’ minus the honey. It was fabulous!
But I was still hungry. I actually woke up hungry which isn’t a good thing, but it’s the truth. Actually in all honesty it means that I didn’t binge the night before which is the case!!!!! WINNER! I snacked on a large grapefruit and was still hungry. So I cut up an apple and pear added a little bit of water and microwaved it for 2 minutes. Sprinkle w/ cinnamon and you’ll be in a small slice of heaven.
For lunch I went to a Tapas Bar. I mean I like the idea of Tapas because you get to try a lot of different things. However, in my opinion it’s totally overpriced for what you get. Jillian or Alison if you’re reading this I had a fabulous time..I was just starving.
I was still a bit hungry so I grabbed a pear and then headed to work. I am not to sure what happened at work this afternoon, but I felt rushed and annoyed. Does that ever happen to you. Anyways, I get a call from reception ‘you have flowers’. I panicked…cause my ex- had sent me flowers after we broke up and I freaked out..what if it was him? Then I thought to myself, maybe it was my mom. I walked up to reception and my SISTER AND HER BOYFRIEND HAD SENT THEM TO ME. It’s exactly what I needed.
I am a bit annoyed right now because I know that I am going to have to be on this diet lifestyle for a long time. Further, the amount of medical tests which I’ll have to do again (colonoscopy, blood work, stool samples) will mean that I won’t be able to go home for Christmas…again. Not a happy camper.
However, I am thankful to be alive.
I came home and worked on some amazing stew…recipe to be posted later. Here it is in the pot boiling.
In an attempt to embrace my gut more it’s still a bit sore today I decided to roast a whole bunch of vegetables that I need to eat up. I am not too sure what I am going to make with them..but at least I have options..options are good when you’re me.
Man a lot of baking tonight. It shall continue with these amazing cookies ‘Coconut Butterscotch Cookies’. I only had about 1 tsp of the dough, 10 chips and 1/4 of a cookie. Yeah, I shouldn’t have had any. But frankly I didn’t binge and I am so thankful. I am finally getting my eating under control.
These were flown in from America…Thanks Alison!
Ok, I should get to dinner because it was so AMAZING! Beef steak salad w/ avocado, tomato and fried zuch and peppers. Topped with Black Beans for the Soul!
Ok, I’ll be posting recipes tomorrow…for the stew and cookies…I know they aren’t SCD/Gut friendly..but for those of you who have a happy gut..you must feed them these…NOW!
Night.
p.s. I am trying to plan another date for Sunday…I like being single.
Categories: thoughts
Tagged: baking, Breakfast, cookies, dating, dinner, family, flowers, lunch, salad, vegetables
I should start off by saying that I have the most amazing family and friends.
Yesterday was no different from any other day…but ‘it’ hit me. It hit me that I have this STUPID, ANNOYING, LIFE-ALTERING, INCONVENIENT, CUMBERSOME, LENGTHY, OVERWHELMING, MOTHER TRUCKING OF ALL ISSUES WITH MY GUT!
I haven’t had a breakdown about my stupid stomach in a long time, well it’s not actually my stomach it’s my intestine or at least that’s what the doctors ‘the almighty know-it-alls’ says. I am not sure what set my stomach off yesterday but man I wasn’t feeling hot at all. I think it’s either the new vitamin I was taking, but it stated it didn’t have anything naughty in it, or it was the ‘decaf’ coffee that I got–maybe it wasn’t decaf. must stick to tea. Either which way I felt like crap for the remainder of the day.
I came home and ate mashed cauliflower and pumpkin because that’s the only thing that I thought my stomach could handle and a fresh juice with these players.
I had to go into the city to host a function for work w/ international and study abroad students. This is the sunset on the train platform.
It went well, I think that everyone had a good buzz going on–it was a beer tasting.
However, even on the train with a bloated stomach and feeling fat I just wanted to cry. That is exactly what I did when I got home. I called my mom and bawled. Yes, Yes I am 25 and called my mom bawling. She must love me..love the fact that she never knows what she’s going to get from a late-night Australian/early-morning America phone call. The things which I struggle with are:
- Why me?
- I want to be able to have a convenient lifestyle again
- I didn’t eat anything that I shouldn’t have eaten last night and what is going on?
- I feel like I would try anything to get this to rectify itself and everyone is telling me that medicine works
- I need to find an electric yogurt maker and have been TOTALLY unsuccessful in this
- I don’t like having to explain to people that I have this stupid thing when I go out for dinner…I can eat only about 2% of what’s on the menu–of which I have to modify. It look high maintenance…and I am not (most of the time).
- I AM SICK OF NOT KNOWING WHAT IS GOING ON
- I AM EXHAUSTED THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY ALL OF THE FUTURE TESTING IS GOING TO COST ME.
Like I’ve stated before, I have to harness the mentality that this is happening for a reason..otherwise more melt-downs well ensue. However, I am over it.
Categories: health · thoughts
Tagged: crohns, family, friends, life
Coconut Bread
1- 9×5 bread pan
You could make muffins as well
1 2/3 c. of coconut flour or shredded coconut that has been food processed down into really small pieces
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 TB of baking powder–gluten free
1/4 c. + 1 TB of honey
Preheat oven at 330/160
1. If you can find coconut flour–fantastic. If you can what I do is buy the coconut and blend it down until it’s very fine. Be sure not too blend it down too much because it will turn into a paste.
2. Place all ingredients together and mix in a bowl
3. Place the batter into a greased bread pan or an un-greased silicon bread pan.
5. I like to top the dough with a sprinkle of cinnamon and about 1 TB of honey–in the picture is creamed honey–any honey will do.
6. Bake for about 45-50 minutes
7. I have topped it with whipped butter and honey..it’s amazing. 1 TB of honey 2 TB of butter whipped together.
You could add bananas, berries, nuts, etc. Just adjust the coconut ratio so that the batter isn’t too runny.
Categories: dessert · recipes · snacks
Tagged: bread, coconut, crohns, Recipe, SCD
Black Beans for the Soul
2-3 cups
1 c. of dried black beans
7 1/2 – 8 c. of water
1 onion
1/2 chili
salt
lime juice
1. In a tupperware container, or something that you can place a lid on, combine 1 c. of black beans and 3 c. of water. Let this soak overnight.
2. Once soaked place beans and water into a large sauce pan along with 5 c. of additional water, 1 large whole onion and 1/2 of a chili sliced up.
3. Place on high heat for 2+ hours.
4. Make sure to stir every 10-15 minutes and add addtional water while cooking.
5. Taste the beans after about 1 1/2 hours of boiling to see if they’re soft enough for you liking.
6. For refried beans you want there to be enough water that you can see it through the beans (that picture doesn’t have enough water and I had to add about a cup when blending them)
7. You can them them whole and enjoy–salt, seasoning, lime juice to your liking
8. Or you can place them into a blender, food processor or use an immersion blender to get ‘refried beans’.
If you wanted to add butter or bacon grease for a more rich flavour I’d add about 1 TB. Otherwise salt, lime juice and season away.
Categories: recipes · side dish
Tagged: black beans, crohns, Recipe, SCD, side dish
I swear to the gods of gold, white gold, platinum, tool, lace, tuxedos, and weddings that EVERYONE is either in a long term relationship, engaged, or married…and in some cases divorced.
Lets back track a bit here. My date went well. He’s paid for dinner, was intelligent, charming, kind, has a bit of fire and can handle his food spicy. He brought wine was was so nice…it was red..which makes my gut sad. But I had a glass to appease the fact that we went out of his way and planned ahead. Anyways it was a nice date. I have no idea what is going to go on with it…like I said before dating is like a bottle of red, you’ve got to let it breathe to make it great or it was just off from the start. I am not writing this post to say that I would marry or not marry this man, it’s just ironically times with my gut reaction to the idea of it. Well, maybe we had an intense conversation–which isn’t abdnormal for me–about abortion, gay marriage, USA–he’s American–and other topics which ‘aren’t first date material’–but then again I’ve never followed rules.
Which leads me to the next point…marriage makes me want to vomit. Honestly, it does. I saw some new photos of my friend Amy’s photos that she has taken of a marriage this weekend. I thought to myself I am SO not ready to be married. The thought of taking 10,000 pictures in an uncomfortable dress, while having cake fed to me is something that makes me want to vomit. I don’t know if the instant vomit reaction is due to one or more of the following reasons:
- I can’t imagine myself with anyone. I am SO enjoying my freedom and bliss right now of being single that I don’t feel like messing it up with this and that of dating. I hate games.
- It’s a lot of money to get married
- I have NEVER EVER found someone that I could honestly see myself with for the rest of my life.
- The thought of being committed to someone FOREVER (divorce isn’t an option in my brain) is overwhelming to me. I can’t really stand myself sometimes.
- Who would honestly want to deal with me forever.
Needless to say I think that being married is such a beautiful thing..for other people. I love going to weddings because (in theory) you’re seeing two people proclaim their undying love/commitment to one another. It’s blissful—for them.
That’s just my thought. I love being single.
Categories: thoughts
Tagged: life, marriage, single, thoughts
When I went down south this weekend I think that I became addicted to honey.
Which of course is a good thing, because frankly it’s the only method of getting a sugar high that I am allowed on my ‘lifestyle change’ to make my gut happy. Thus, I think that I may turn into a bee and start pollinating flowers in my past time. So what are the benefits of honey…why is my gut so obliged to process large quantities when I can’t stop shoving it in my face?
Both sweeteners contain glucose and fructose. However, for sugar, in the process of manufacturing, the organic acids, protein, nitrogen elements, enzymes and vitamins in the sugar cane are destroyed, whereas honey, a natural sweetener, subjects only to minimal heating.
Table sugar is sucrose, which is made up of two molecules bonded together. When we eat table sugar, our stomach has to use its own enzymes to separate the molecules apart before we can use the sugar’s energy. Honey is quite different. The bees have added a special enzyme to the nectar that divides the sucrose into glucose and fructose -- two simple sugars for our bodies can absorb directly. Hence, compared to table sugar, honey has a healthier Glycemic Index (GI) The lower the GI rating, the slower the absorption and infusion of sugars into the bloodstream and hence a more gradual and healthier digestion process.
Unlike honey, table sugar lacks minerals and vitamins (hence it’s been often called empty calories), they draw upon the body’s nutrients to be metabolized into the system. When these nutrients are all used up, metabolizing of undesirable cholesterol and fatty acid is impeded, contributing to higher cholesterol and promoting obesity due to higher fatty acid on the organs and tissues. That is why it is not uncommon for fat people to suffer from malnutrition and many other health related problems. So the message is, honey vs sugar, if you are watching your weight, honey will be a smarter choice than sugar. website
Jena and I stopped by a honey farm on our drive abouts over the weekend and I think that I am in love. Totally and completley in love.
That’s Jena and I with our loot after my purchase of a dark honey and a creamed honey. I didn’t even know that there were so many different types of honey….I have been missing out.
OH MY GOD! Creamed honey is probably the most AMAZING thing that I’ve ever eaten. I may have eaten and/or used 1 c. of it in three days…may have. I thought that creamed honey was ‘whipped’ honey, but I shall stand corrected:
Creamed honey is not whipped honey. There shouldn’t be any air in your creamed honey. Creamed honey is controlled granulation of honey which results in extremely small sugar crystals. The smaller the crystals the better the creamed honey. A good creamed honey should be smooth, not grainy, like velvet on the tongue. from Betterbee
In a quest to continue our honey adventure Jena and I stopped by another place called Bartholomeus’s Meadery–which basically means that everything is made from honey.
Their honey selection was of course great. They had one which was chocolate honey and sesame honey–mix tahini w/ honey..it was fabulous. But we were honestly there for their amazing wine. Wine made from honey and not sugar–my gut smiled. I of course wasn’t driving so I left with a buzz at about 10:30am..which of course isn’t such a bad thing. I didn’t take any pictures cause I didn’t want to stop my flow of free samples, but if you follow the above link you can see all of their wines. I got the following two wines, yeah a bit of a lush I know.
BERRY MEAD
Made with Moort honey. Fermented along with 2% blackcurrant juice, to produce a wonderful Rose style. Great with salads, BBQ’s, and chicken. A wonderfully refreshing table wine.
12.5% alc/vol
METHEGLIN
Originally for healing purposes, this mead is spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves and rosemary. A rich spicy aroma precedes the enjoyment of this superb mead. The honey flavour is beautifully married with the spices and undertones of oak complement this delightful wine. An ideal wine to have after a meal, with a cheese platter or enjoy on it¹s own in the evening. Of course there is nothing better then a mulled Metheglin on a cold winters night in front of a log fire. Drink now or cellar for several years.
12.5 % alc/vol
Anyways, it was a good little adventure throughout the weekend and I was glad to be able to get to know honey a lot better. It’s always nice to be able to find something that has variety and brings a smile to my gut!
Categories: food/diet · health · thoughts · travel · weight
Tagged: benefits of honey, crohns, diet, honey, SCD, sugar, weight loss, wine
So why am I going on a date at 7pm?
Dang it!
I am going on a date with a guy I met online. Yeah I know..silly. But it’s the truth. I find it incredibly hard to find men here and in a moment of complete tiredness…I signed up and did the eharmony quiz. About two weeks later *Dan* contacted me and wanted to start chatting. Well, that meant that I had to actually officially sign-up for the damn thing which I did at 1:30am on a random night. Now I have no idea why I did it..but I did.
It’s been about a month of exchanging silly eharmony (although I’d say it works if you’re patient) steps, HUGE e-mails and 2 phone calls and some text messages.
I am going on a date!
The first date in a YEAR…holy crap. It was a year ago that things started happening between my ex…Anzac Weekend. Anyways then of course when you go on a date, you have to shave your legs, make sure you have a good outfit on (I have been feeling a bit snacky today and have dipped into the amazing honey that I bought this weekend way too much…I am going to do the shred before I go out just so that I mentally feel better about myself). Make sure that your armpits aren’t hairy, not put too much make up on, get your hair did up nicely..blah. Then try and decide what to eat, not eat too quickly, not say something stupid..wine or no wine? BLAH.
Then do you text or not text..wait to call or call.
What I’ve learned this time around is that in my opinion a woman can’t full-on chase the guy. Further, the more you let it marinade and give it room to breathe–like a bottle of red–the better it becomes…or it was just off from the get go.
Well here’s to smooth legs, potentially awkward conversations and a great blog post.
p.s. I still like being single.
Categories: exercise · thoughts
Tagged: dating, life, single
Hey there,
Just wanted to write to say that I am headed back home today. Not too sure if we’re going to climb the mountain or if we’re going to take a long stroll across the beach or not. Either way some sort of exercise before we pile into a care for 4 1/2 hours.
Once I am home I have a person staying in my little tiny flat for two weeks….a girl…whom I’ve never met. Should be interesting, and could be really fun. Looking forward to having someone around, although I’ve realised this weekend that I am SUCH a creature of habit and space. Man that’s what living alone and being single will do to you.
Can I also say that this weekend I went out to a local bar and I was just off of men. Not that I am going to give them up forever, but the only thing that I could get out of my mouth men ‘finding someone’ came up was ‘I am SO happy being single’. So here’s to being single.
Michelle
Categories: thoughts
Tagged: life, single
Jena was almost Woman Down yesterday in the ocean.
There’s a huge staircase which leads down to this amazing beach below the hill where the windmills are on.
We walked down each of the FIVE HUNDRED steps and walked back up the FIVE HUNDRED stairs.
Once we got down there this is what resulted..’Oh My God, she’s going in’
This is where a HUGE wave almost too her under. Some how she managed to stay vertical..but her pants were not dry.
She then decided, which I would have done if I had as of a good of a body as her to take her pants off and walk back up the 500 stairs in her undies–cute ones she mentioned–to the car. Below a classic picture.
What resulted was me holding her wet jeans outside of the window by the belt loop while we drove and try and dry them. Memories.
Categories: travel
Tagged: beach, ocean, travel, water
I am offically in Albany WA! It’s gorgeous here. It’s a large town right along the coast line. It’s amazing. It vacillates between sunny and dark and rainy. JUST LIKE HOME.
Today has been all about being ‘Committed to it’.
I shredded this morning–Level 2. It’s hilarious I am staying at a friend’s house w/ his two roommates. I was bouncing around sweating this morning with people I didn’t even know. Commitment! (I love the dog!)
My friend Jena and I then went to the windfarm. It’s this awesome location outside of Albany which has 12 windmills which provides 80% of the energy needed for the town. How great is that. Here’s one of the windmills which Albany committed to having in order to have green energy.
Then we decided to hike down the HUGE amount of stairs, knowing full well that we had to be committed to walking back up.
A little plant that is committed to growing the harsh rocks of the ocean.
Then Jena and I headed to the local farmers market. Can I just say that it’s amazing! The commitment of the town to being green is something to be noticed. Jena stated that it was the greenest town in ALL of Australia! Just my kind of town. We bought all of the meat and veggies we’d need for tonights curry. I loved it so much it was awesome.
I love that the theme of commitment was circling my brain today and that I’d could find myself and other people enforcing positive commitments. I feel very refreshed down here and honestly I love it. It’s so amazing, I love the rain, I love being away from everything and I feel grounded. Loving a committed life!
Categories: exercise · thoughts · travel
Tagged: apples, commitment, life, markets, travel
