So today was another semi-lazy day. Did a bunch of laundry that had been kind of sitting around for a while, and paid some bills online. Had to call the Culligan water people today because our filtration system outside is leaking and the water in the house is starting to stink again. Yes. Our water is beautifully crystal blue, but it smells like dog poo. And tastes like the smell of dog poo. Never thought that was possible until one day when we were working on the remodel and I didn't bring any bottled water with me, so I went to the hose out back. I was SO hot, it was like August or September, so after rinsing my face and head I took a long sip....and promptly spit it out. I didn't know the had filtration to take care of such a strong sulfur smell and taste and immediately I told my husband we had to sell the house. The water stunk up the entire house when we flushed the toilets while working. Fortunately they do make filter systems for us out here in the boondocks, so we had one installed. On with the story, the water has started to stink again so my husband went and checked the system and there seems to be a gasket leak. 2 years outside in the elements will probably do that though.
Today was leftovers for lunch and snacking throughout the day of course. For dinner I wanted to find something to do with broccoli and carrots, and another dish with Portobellos. I already had some huge potatoes for baking, so that was my third dish. I found a lovely recipe for Honey Sauteed Broccoli and Carrots which turned out amazing. I kind of had a question about whether vegans can use honey or not, which turns out to be an age old question with battles being fought for both sides. The honey that I had was raw, unpasteurized, and local (which helps with allergies), and I figured the bees are going to make the honey anyways, there is no harm in harvesting what nature provides without doing harm to any animals which is the basis for the entire vegan movement. Anyways, I decided the honey was ok for our family so I went forward with that recipe. It was a total hit and we will be making it again.
The other recipe I found was for Sauteed Portobellos and Spinach. Now, this recipe called for butter which I easily traded out for Earth Balance spread, dry red wine which I subbed sherry cooking wine for (only because I didn't have any dry red on hand), and Parmesan cheese which I didn't sub out with anything but I did cut down on. Told you the cheese thing was very hard, but half of what the recipe called for was plenty to flavor the spinach. It turned out delicious and surprisingly elegant. It was a strange addition to the broccoli and carrots, and the potato, but they were all their own flavors and they were all very much a surprise to me as someone who didn't care for cooked spinach, raw broccoli or raw carrots. It's not that I don't like vegetables, I just don't think I have ever had them seasoned correctly. And I wonder if that's the same reason why I hear people say "I don't like vegetables" because when you mention the v word, they think of the dried out powder coated vegetable trays famous for being mysteriously full at get-togethers that you have to coat with the ranch dip to even choke down. Or worse, the over salted canned crap that most people open and dump in a saucepan to heat for 'sides' (guilty as charged!). Well no wonder people hate vegetables!
This is beginning to be an exciting adventure in food for me. I love to cook and to see me, you can tell I love to eat too! I like experimenting with new flavors and seeing how they come together in harmony. I have noticed since changing my diet in only one week I have had a 95% decrease in heartburn, I feel lighter, my sleep cycles are returning to normal, my mood is improving, and I have some energy returning. I know the last part will be sluggish to return though, because of the pregnancy and the little girl in my tummy pulling nutrients from everything I eat. I will say in one week via ultrasound 7 days apart, she gained 5oz. This doesn't sound like much, but the first week she weighed 9oz, and when I came back for the second ultrasound she was 14oz! Almost doubled in body weight in one week of clean eating!
On that note, it had come to mind over the week if that's why my first child was born at 6lbs 13oz instead of the larger size the physician told me she would be. Back then, we lived a constant diet of canned crap, instant food, junk food, fast food, and above all-Mountain Dew. The doctor told me to cut back on the MD when I told him that was mainly all I drank, so I went to Crystal Light lemonade and 2 Diet Mountain Dews a day. Looking back with what I know now, I honestly wonder if the aspartame didn't contribute to her low birth weight. I know that the worst thing that happened the entire time was a kidney stone at about 36 weeks. Talk about awful, and I know it was the MD that caused it!
I did not significantly keep weight off during pregnancy either like I thought I would by drinking diet drinks, and had a 50lbs weight gain. This is a lot for an obese woman to gain during pregnancy with our average supposedly between 10 and 20lbs. However, with the botched Cesarean section, ignorant overmedicating, and the normal postpartum tiredness, I lost 30lbs in 2 weeks. The other 20....well they come and go unfortunately. Got tired of battling with them, so I went and saw a doctor that I knew would prescribe me what I was asking for. Phentermine. Talk about adding fuel to the fire. Yes, I did lose an additional 45lbs and had energy out the wazoo, however, some of the side effects were awful. My hair started falling out (I have [had] long luxurious FULL curly hair, I can now barely make a ponytail), my periods were irregular and at times nonexistent, my mood was snappy and irritable 90% of the time, and worst of all, I was on them so long my body got used to them and I couldn't function 2 or 3 days after I stopped taking them.
My metabolism is shot and my body is still trying to reset itself even now, a year later after I stopped taking them. I do not recommend them at all. And that's when I started thinking maybe pharmaceuticals weren't the way to do anything. I think a lot of times Americans try to treat the symptoms instead of the actual problem. Headache? Take some aspirin and forget that your body is asking for water. Backache? Take some acetaminophen and forget your body is telling you not to strain it that way again and let it heal for a while. Heartburn? Take some antacids/prescriptions to lessen the acid instead of changing your diet. Sometimes I think Americans (myself included!) need to be kicked in their pansy, whiny, self-centered asses and told to get up, exercise, change your stinking gross diet, and listen to what your body tells you. But most doctors don't want to offend you for fear of losing income, and others are just as oblivious and hooked on Big Pharma to care. *sigh*
Well that's my rant/post for the evening. Hope you are all doing well and I wish you happy eating!
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