Tasting Life Abundant

 I had a doctor appointment yesterday,  and I've been treating SIBO again for the last three weeks.  Treating SIBO again was not fun, but I didn't have any die off symptoms, and after the usual "mourning period" I always go through, it wasn't really all that hard.  I've done elimination diets/special diets so many times now that I know that I will always be able to eat something and that I will get through it, but I still have what I call the mourning period where, usually one or two days into the diet, I feel really discouraged and disappointed and cry about not being to eat freely. It usually lasts a day or two now. And then I feel guilty because at least I have access to healthy, whole foods and a variety of options that people in many countries do not have. And then I let it go and move forward and it goes alot better. But it seems no matter how many times I go through a special diet as treatment,  there is always this little mourning period, so now I ju

I've been having s ome emotions lately that have been hard to sit with. They have to do with my miscarriages, and not knowing what to do with the feelings that are still there surrounding all of them.  It's not something I talk about really, except with my husband, because I don't ever want to make any of my friends feel bad about having babies. It's not about other people's babies, it's about mine. And I am truly happy for my family and friends when they announce pregnancies and newborns and get their babies baptized, and when they talk about how they're growing and so on.  It's just that, even in that joy, there's also pain.  They coexist. It's like nothing I've ever felt before... How do you mourn for someone you don't even know? Someone that feels more like a some thing;  an idea, a thought, rather than an actual some one . How do you find closure when that part of you doesn't get to experience moving on? And y

This is my current protocol of supplements we are using to support my body in healing my gut, hormones, and overall health. I am posting this partly to document my progress, and also to share what is working for me,  and to maybe give people ideas to ask their doctor about. Do not just start taking any supplement without working with a trained practitioner. There are too many personal and varying factors to navigate the world of supplements and vitamins alone. Do yourself a favor and get professional, knowledgeable help to give you the best chance at complete recovery and fastest results. I saw my Naturopath last week, and we went over my symptoms and adjusted my supplements and added in a couple new things. This protein shake is one of the new additions to my treatment plan. OptiCleanse GHI is a protein powder supplement that we are using to support healing my gut, specifically leaky gut, and also support liver detox. It tastes quite good actually, which I was ver

One of the hardest things about being on a special diet is that I love cooking and baking and enjoying meals with my family and friends; not being able to fully include myself in meals and enjoy desserts with everyone is really a downer. I have gotten used to it as much as anyone can, and I don't want a pity party, but I am sure grateful for the times I get to eat what everyone else is eating. These paleo chocolate chip cookies were made for company and I had a little nibble of one, but I wasn't to the point of being comfortable eating a whole one. Thankfully now, as my diet becomes more varied and less strict, I am able to have a treat with my family again- something I will never take for granted again. My SIBO bread was a lifesaver! It made me feel like I was able to eat kind of normal food. Even though this bread is very low carb and not really like normal bread, it has a good taste and texture and holds up without being toasted even. Being able to have sandwiches at

I haven't posted my meals for awhile, so here is the last of my SIBO diet and when I started adding more foods back in again.     Frittata and a paleo coconut cinnamon muffin with butter. That yolk though😍 Leftover steamed mixed veggies, with avocado mayo and salmon, sprinkled with black sesame seeds for nutrition and texture. With a side of my SIBO-safe bread spread with ghee. Salmon, gently simmered in butter, seasoned with chives and parsley, and a side of broccoli cooked in the same pan. Crispy fried eggs, avocado, and a spoonful of almond butter. Fried eggs, sauteed kale, my bread with ghee, sliced turkey with avo. mayo and brown mustard.  My bread, with butter, Manuka honey, cinnamon and hemp hearts. Soup: ground turkey, kale, broth, herbs and spices, especially turmeric. Bread with ghee. Kombucha. First sandwich in months! My bread, avo. mayo, sliced turkey, butter lettuce and radicchio. Bowl of soup.  Frittata with

Life has been so busy lately in our house. I kept meaning to sit down and write a little update, but with vacations, and a kitchen makeover, and beginning a new school year, I just haven't had time. Today is the first day that Sophie and Nathaniel have school campus classes AND I have no urgent errands or appointments, so here I am!  A little overview of the past couple months: -Brian and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in July. I am so grateful that we are closer and happier together than ever. God has been so good to us. I don't know what I would do without my caring, thoughtful, patient husband. He is my biggest earthly blessing, and I just love him.👫 -We went on a family camping trip at Cape Lookout State Park in Oregon, end of July/start of August. 🏕We could hear the ocean's roar as we lay in our tent at night, and it was such a beautiful location. I love the ocean. We also got to take the kids to several museums, a salt harvesting company, and

Coconut yogurt, Root Beer kombucha, Beet kvass, Coconut Lime Mojito water kefir, and Gingerade kombucha. Since treating my gut for SIBO (a.k.a. small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) for about five months this year, I have been slowly adding foods back in to my diet.  Thankfully, the treatment protocol my Naturopathic doctor recommended seems to have done the job; the herbal antimicrobials and biofilm disrupter supplements combined with a special Low FODMAP& SCD diet killed off or starved the bad and/or misplaced "tummy bugs", as they're known in our house, and I have been quite successful with the food reintroductions for the most part.  One of the most important foods to add back into your diet after doing some major gut microbiome altering treatment is probiotic foods. What you actually want is for your gut flora to as diverse as possible. The more the merrier! The idea is that having a broad spectrum of those little tummy bugs helps keep everyone in check,

Nathaniel is almost always the first one to come downstairs in the mornings. He usually comes into our bedroom while I'm doing devotions and wants to talk and snuggle. One morning recently, he brought down one of his Lego creations and was showing me and telling me about it. Then he asked if I wanted to see him build it and immediately started taking it apart.... Now, when I'm in the middle of my devotions, my quiet time to start the day, I don't really want to sit and watch Nathaniel rebuild a Lego robot arm... But I'm trying to be patient so I say "Sure". As I'm watching him put each piece carefully and thoughtfully back into place and listening to him explain why he chose each piece, and seeing his little hands (which aren't that little anymore, really) skillfully rebuilding this well designed, mechanical arm, I am suddenly struck with this realization: This little boy can't sit still in church or at the dinner table, but he can sit buildin

"...Faith looks back upon the past, for her battles have strengthened her, and her victories have given her courage. She remembers that God has never failed her, that He never once failed any of His children. She recalls times of great peril when deliverance came, hours of awful need when as her day her strength was found and she cries,'No I never will be led to think that He can change and leave His servant now. Thus far the Lord has helped me, and He will help me still.' Thus faith views each promise in its connection with the promise giver and, because she does so, can with assurance say, 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life!'" [Spurgeon&Beggs Morning and Evening Devotional] "Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard, Who keeps our soul among the living and does not allow our feet to be moved. For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. You broug