Archive | June, 2012

Meal plan and not so great lab results.

24 Jun

I have been in a flare for a while.  I got labs back this week and they show 8 or 9 things abnormal that hadn’t been recently.  Things that make me feel like I am not crazy for feeling like poop recently.  Of course this leaves me wondering what my future course of action will be.  I will email my doc this week and ask what his thoughts are.  But he is super committed to keeping me med free, as long as my organs stay happy.  Lets pray that is the case!

What are you eating this week?

Here is our meal plan:

Sunday:  Salad.  Kids had to pick 4 veggies each.  Luck and I loaded up.  Options: Romaine and spinach mix, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, avocados, slaw, and green olives.  Reid ate his with NO dressing. And rated the meal a TEN!  What?!?!?  Dani even gave it a 7 or 8!  They didn’t complain that it was a small meal or not filling. They just ate their salads.  While they may not love vegan casseroles or mixed dishes AT ALL (been getting a lot of low ratings) they just want straight up raw veggies.  I can do that!

Monday: Veggie burgers from Costco with side salad and blueberries and strawberries.  I like easy meals on the days I teach in the evenings.

Tuesday: My mom’s birthday!  Celebrating with the fam!

Wednesday: Making Mexican Lettuce Wraps.  The recipe calls for roasted chickpeas as one of the filling ingredients!  I am hopeful this will go over well.  Just like the salad tonight, the kids really do well when they have some control.  Ironically, that is exactly why the author of the recipe wrote it!  One thing that caught my eye is that the roasted chickpeas are marinated before roasting.  Yum!

Thursday: Potato Alfredo Pasta with roasted broccoli that I will then add in to the pasta before serving.

Friday: Pizza Night!

Post your plans!  Link to recipes you like!  Or just tell me if you are overwhelmed with trying to eat healthy.  I love feedback!

Vegan Quesadillas

24 Jun

Don’t you just love super easy meals?  If you follow our meal plans, you will see a lot of quesadillas.  I realize that a vegan quesadilla is an oxymoron.  But read on…it is one of our favorites!  (the kids eat cheese on theirs)
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Oh how I love colored peppers!  Just slice those babies (as well as some serranos or jalapenos) and put them dry on a grill pan.

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Look how good those veggie look!

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Gluten free, vegan quesadillas

Brown rice tortillas

Vegan black beans (I like Central Market Organics)

Colored peppers, jalapenos, and any other pepper you like

Avocado

Optional, cumin and chili powder

Optional, cilantro, pickled jalapenos, pickled onions, slaw, olives, and anything your heart desires

Earth Balance

Heat the grill pan or electric grill.  Slice peppers and place on the grill.  You don’t need anything on the pan, just some heat.  While those are cooking, spread the refried beans on the tortilla.  Add any seasonings you may want, any veggies, and top with peppers.  I love mixing some spicy peppers in there.  They lose heat as they cook.  And really amp up the flavor.  Place some Earth Balance on the grill, add the quesadillas and grill until they are browning.  SO good! So cheap!  So easy!

Meal plan

10 Jun

So, I am still in this flare.  I have had horrible stomach pain, as well as the regular fatigue, losing feeling in toes and fingers, face breaking out, etc…

It is prob time to drink some serious juice again. But I am just not there mentally.  I may be by the end of the week.  I have been CRAVING tomato soup and marina again!  I think about it all of the time. It is so weird how this craving hits me so hard during flares!!!

Here is our meal plan for the week:

Sunday: Pancakes!  Luck is a good chef 🙂  And mangoes.

Monday: Roasted zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and broccoli served over brown rice with a rose’ sauce (Thanks, Kathleen!) and a salad with tomatoes, beets (Cortney, you made me a fan of salad with beets!), carrots, and whatever else looks ready to eat from the farmer’s market.

Tuesday: Baked potatoes with leftover roasted veggies and fresh pineapple.

Wednesday: My homemade tomato basil soup (anyone have an abundance of basil?) served with vegan grilled cheese and apples.  I found a rice cheese that is actually good! The kids even love it!  It isn’t completely vegan, as it has an ingredient derived from milk. But the amount of dairy is so small and the kids like it so much, I am good with it.

Thursday: Brown rice tortilla quesadillas with sauteed peppers, refried beans, and avocado.  The kids eat cheese on theirs.

Friday: I have a shower that night and Luck and Justin are taking all of the kiddos on a daddy date together.  So I am off the hook for cooking.

Have a wonderful week!  And don’t forget to share recipes here that people may like!  I would also love to know what you are planning to eat.

Truth.

6 Jun

So back when I started this blog, I said I would keep it real and just speak the truth.  I haven’t wanted to blog this past week because I am, quite simply, DEPRESSED.

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Here is why:

-I went to the doc this week.  He was thrilled with how I am doing. He is proud of me and wants me to keep at it.  Yay!  HOWEVER, he thinks I am in a flare right now not because of my travels and stress, but because of my nemesis since day one: the sun.  He wants me completely out of the sun.  He wants me in all of that expensive sun protective clothing. He wants me parking in the handicap space and carrying an umbrella and wearing a hat.  Now I realize that this is not a huge deal in the span of life.  But I let myself dare to believe that this wasn’t the case for me anymore.  I thought I was getting better and that this would just be a sad thing of the past.  I envisioned triathlons and marathons.  I thought I could take the kids to the pool this year.  Now I drive by and see all of those good moms out there with their kids and feel like a loser.

-I’ve been feeling badly for weeks now and spending time in bed and missing out on life is depressing.

-Okay, this one should have gone first.  But it is the one I am both embarrassed and excited about: I am COMPLETELY off of my antidepressant.  That is right.  I am 100% prescription med free!  While it is a blessing, it is one I won’t enjoy until it is all out of my system.  I am SO low right now. I cry a lot, get angry really quickly, feel worthless, think everyone is better off without me, etc….  I am only on day 3 of this.  So please don’t scold me.  If this persists, I will not stay off forever.  I have a husband who is in complete control over my meds.  He will put my hiney back on it the second he thinks I need it.  But we both know that it takes a while for my body to adjust  and we want to give it a chance!

So there you have it.  I am depressed, sad, lonely, blue…whatever you call it.  And I pray it lifts soon!  I know my joy will return.  My God is faithful.

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