Tasting Life Abundant

*Saturday Morning Pancakes* (Gluten, soy, corn, dairy free) 1/3 cup almond flour 1/3 cup coconut flour 1/3 cup tapioca starch 1TBSP coconut sugar ... 1 tsp baking powder 1tsp baking soda Pinch of salt -mix dry ingredients, make sure to get clumps out of flour, make a well in the center and add: 3 eggs 1/4 cup avocado oil 1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk) 1 tsp vanilla Warm water, start with half a cup and mix, adding more to get a nice consistency, should be like normal pancake batter; not too thick, not too thin. I fry mine in butter, but can use avocado oil or coconut oil. I top mine with molasses, the kids like maple syrup or whipped cream and berries, or nut butter and honey.

 Dinner- Asparagus, sweet potato fries, and turkey patty with honey mustard dressing.  Breakfast- sauteed kale with bacon bits, scrambled eggs, and a GF butter cookie & raspberry leaf tea. The cookie is based on my Oma's recipe, which I grew up making whenever I went to her house, and a classic she is known for today. I made it gluten free by subbing in a mix of Bob's GF Flour blend, oat flour and a tiny bit of millet flour, and they taste yummy! Last time I tried to modify these cookies, I used the Namaste GF Flour blend from Costco, but they had a  funny after taste. I also cut the cookies thicker than my Oma does, since I like them to be slightly chewy. Yum!  Dinner- Pot Roast, baked/roasted sweet potato, and green beans. And a nice handful of supplements.... Breakfast- green beans and leftover roast and turkey, and tiny bit of Paleo mayo all warmed in a skillet (my kids loves it too!) Some Darigold White Sharp Cheddar cheese and a spoonful of cash...

Alicia, my NAET practitioner, was investigating what would help balance my hormones, and one of the things she found was I needed to add fruit to my diet. "Oh, whatevs, that's not weird..." right? Actually, I hate fruit. All fruit. Except, once in a great while, I will taste some watermelon, which is usually disappointing; I'm a bad watermelon selector I guess. And yes I've read all the tricks(-.-) Anyway, I need to add 1 cup of wild blueberries per day, plus apples, along with celery, ginger, spinach and asparagus. The only way I've managed to get fruit down in the past is by juicing it, thereby eliminating the various textural issues that give me goosebumps just writing about. Fruit is so....crunchy-veiny-bursting-popping. Or mushy-sticky-slimy. Just yuck. I know, I'm in the minority of the minority... But NO juicing, she said. WHOLE fruit. (-.-) ok.... "SO, how do you see yourself getting this down?" she asked. "Smoothie." I ...

 I did something scary a few days ago...  I shared my Birthday Cake  post, where I talk about my first miscarriage, on Facebook.  Honestly, I didn't really want to...I don't mind sharing my experiences when it probably won't directly change my life in any drastic way; which usually means either sharing with strangers or writing it on here. But I have noticed that I usually feel so much better when I allow myself to speak freely what is in my heart, instead of holding everything inside of me. So I'm trying to do that.  My numerous doctor appointments and counseling appointments have shown me that not everyone will misunderstand me, and there are others who think like I do, and how relieving it is to just get things out.  It gets so crowded and heavy inside when you are constantly pushing stuff down and keeping your mouth closed and your brain gets so tired when you just recirculate everything instead of releasing your thoughts and emotions. ...

A few nights ago we were eating dinner, and my family was really enjoying the food and so they were having a competition to see who loved it the most. "Who ever says it first loves it the most... I do!" "Who ever raises their hand the highest!" "Who ever eats it all first!" -and then Sophie: "Who ever plunges their face into their food!!" *instantly plunges her face into her cauliflower puree* Brian and I were like, "Whaaa...?" and then Nathaniel shoved his forehead into his plate, and then everyone was laughing. (The kids were hysterical) Kids are a lot of work, but they sure do know how to make you laugh.

  *Music I'm listening to..* T he sweet, dark, wonderful smell of a chocolate birthday cake is hanging in the air as I write this.  Today is the one year anniversary of my first miscarriage. I decided that I would be making a birthday cake today, because this day is very much a birth day to me. Not just in the sense that a baby left my womb and came into this world, but also that this day changed me in a very profound way...  One year ago I experienced something that has made me grow. My capacity for grief and sadness grew, but also my capacity to love and empathize, and just feel things. I admit I did not understand how or exactly why women mourned their miscarriages so deeply before, but Now I Know.  Now I understand.  So, like many trials do, this one brought about a type of renewal and re-birth of me as a person. And I am grateful for that.  The days leading up to this day have been hard...  But this morning when I woke up, I decided th...

  Sauteed zucchini, Yukon gold potatoes with butter, and fried/grilled trout, caught by Brian and Sophie. Simple and delicious.  The allowed foods for this week's NAET avoidance phase were fisn 'n chips and cauliflower. The end. Because like every food has B vitamins in it, because there are so many types and they are so important. Thankfully, Trader Joes has some good GF fish in their freezer section, so I managed. But it was not as enjoyable as it might sound, and I have definitely had my fill of fish 'n chips for awhile. :) Eggs, wonderful eggs! So good on salads, especially with honey mustard dressing and Spam. Oh, yes, I said Spam. I haven't had any for, like, three years, and then last week I was shopping and I saw it and I was like "Yes. I need that." Lol More salad with boiled eggs, (actually steamed. hard boiled eggs ), HM dressing, and bacon bits. And a side of my creamy, garlicky, turkey/rice/veggie casserole-risotto....I'm not ...

 In the little while it's been since my last post, I've basically just been really caught up in my NAET  treatments.  I been having one appointment a week, and each session takes a fair amount of prep work, gathering and preparing foods for the avoidance phase, which is different every time, and also going through the house and removing anything that I'm not supposed to come in contact with. I usually have my appt. in the afternoon so Brian can watch the kids when he gets home from work, which is nice not having to worry about a babysitter, but also means the 25 hour avoidance phase isn't over til like 5 or 6 the next evening, whereas, if I have a morning appt., then the avoidance phase can be over the following morning, so it feels a lot shorter. Oh well... Finding a sitter every week is too much to worry about, so it is what it is.  It's also difficult during the avoidance phase because the kids are home and unless they are eating what I'm allowed to e...