I just made a very emotional decision, and I'm doing it in the best interest of myself and my family and what is right for all of us, for right now...
I will be taking a short break from my Allergy Discovery Challenge.
As soon as I said the words "I'm going to jump ship today..." to my hubby just a bit ago, I was flooded with emotion aka: tears. It wasn't a sense relief...it wasn't necessarily like I felt I was giving up... I've put nearly 12 days into my challenge; it has not been an easy ride, but I've done it. I know WHY I was doing it; it was for a good reason and I'm sad to let it go...
Things were a bit easier with the kids gone these past several day while we worked on the house, since I could just make whatever it was I needed to eat that day, whenever I needed to make it. My hubby could make what he wanted for breakfast/lunch, and dinner I tried to make something that we could both eat, while still following the safe list. The kids came home today, and we are so happy to be with them again!
It takes a lot of time to prepare multiple meals, and with everything we have going on right now (with the house and such) I've realized that time spent with my family is more important that following my safe lists. I don't mean this in a way that I shouldn't also be taking care of myself - because I know I need to take care of myself, to take care of my family - BUT - with the knowledge I've gained from this challenge thus far (as well as the many nutrition books I've been reading), I will continue to eat healthy. I don't plan to "splurge" and eat a bunch of junk-that's not my style anyways. I will experience some of the 15 foods that I haven't reintroduced yet; I will have more choices; I will be able to spend more time with my family...
I plan to continue on with the challenge after things with the house settle down a bit. But, in the meantime, I will also continue to track what I am eating and maybe I will discover what else affects my body in positive and negative ways, but without following the safe lists and such.
Thank you all for reading along and following me during my challenge! I will still "check-in" from time to time, and will definitely report any new discoveries I encounter along the way.
Oh, and just because....
Here is what I ate on Day 12-Wheat:
Breakfast: Wheat Farina (Cream of Wheat), Honey Creme, Apple
Snack: Apple
Lunch...To Be Determined...
As of yet, I have not experienced any adverse reactions to wheat, so I'm going to call it as 'Wheat is IN'. So, when I continue, I will begin with Soy...
~A
Sunday, June 17, 2012
TODAY IS THE DAY - Day 11 - Eggs & Moving Day, Kinda :-)
(click here to read Day 10)
This morning I woke up with a sore foot, still. The eggs didn't seem to bother me at all otherwise...but I think my possible reaction from the cherries the other day just wasn't able to calm down and clear itself. Yesterday was kind of a pseudo-moving day. My mom came up to help with the yard, and brought their Blazer. And, throughout the day, everything that I packed over the last several days was loaded up, and driven down to my parent's house. I made one trip mid-day with a truck full (and made 24 trips down and up my parent's full set of 12 stairs to put boxes/bags in the storage area) not to mention all the trips up and down at home beforehand to load up everything - no wonder my foot is still sore!! Then in the evening I filled the truck again with some furniture and more packed stuff, as well as my car, and my mom and I each drove one down. It was nice that my parent's could help unload for the second trip!
I know it seems strange to move things out, and then move them again when we get into a new house - but we are down to the bare minimums here now; the kids still have enough toys to play with, and markers/paint/playdoh/etc. because we still need to play, and the kitchen has been stripped, but we still have blenders and pans and popcorn poppers - because we gotta eat! But, it's enough to live on, and my hope is that we will find we don't actually NEED all that stuff, and we will eventually figure out what we DO need, and the rest will be put in a garage sale and/or donated. I'm craving living the simple life :-) And the best part of all this is that when our actual moving day is nearing - I can probably have us packed up in a day, two at the most! Then it's mostly a matter of getting a moving truck to load up furniture.
Today I will be working around the house, getting it set for the kids to come home today; we are missing them like crazy! Once they are home, we are done with any work for today... We are still aiming to be ready by the end of June, but most of the big stuff was completed this week, so we are in good shape. I know this has been really hard on the kids, and I wish they could understand that we are doing this for them, and for us: for our family. Someday when they are older they will understand...it's just tough to see them having a hard time with things...
Here is what I ate on Day 11-Egg*s:
Breakfast: Hot Millet Cereal w/Maple Syrup, Fried Egg (w/Olive Oil & Salt)
Lunch: Fried Eggs w/Olive Oil, Salt, Oregano (not a good lunch, I know, but had to leave quick...so had to eat)
Snack: Millet w/Coconut & Maple Syrup
Snack: Crunch Chickpeas
Dinner: Baked Tilapia w/Olive Oil & Oregano, Zucchini, Skillet Potatoes
Snack: Baked Red Potato
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
I have already begun Day 12...reintroducing Wheat!
Have a fabulous Sunday!
This morning I woke up with a sore foot, still. The eggs didn't seem to bother me at all otherwise...but I think my possible reaction from the cherries the other day just wasn't able to calm down and clear itself. Yesterday was kind of a pseudo-moving day. My mom came up to help with the yard, and brought their Blazer. And, throughout the day, everything that I packed over the last several days was loaded up, and driven down to my parent's house. I made one trip mid-day with a truck full (and made 24 trips down and up my parent's full set of 12 stairs to put boxes/bags in the storage area) not to mention all the trips up and down at home beforehand to load up everything - no wonder my foot is still sore!! Then in the evening I filled the truck again with some furniture and more packed stuff, as well as my car, and my mom and I each drove one down. It was nice that my parent's could help unload for the second trip!
I know it seems strange to move things out, and then move them again when we get into a new house - but we are down to the bare minimums here now; the kids still have enough toys to play with, and markers/paint/playdoh/etc. because we still need to play, and the kitchen has been stripped, but we still have blenders and pans and popcorn poppers - because we gotta eat! But, it's enough to live on, and my hope is that we will find we don't actually NEED all that stuff, and we will eventually figure out what we DO need, and the rest will be put in a garage sale and/or donated. I'm craving living the simple life :-) And the best part of all this is that when our actual moving day is nearing - I can probably have us packed up in a day, two at the most! Then it's mostly a matter of getting a moving truck to load up furniture.
Today I will be working around the house, getting it set for the kids to come home today; we are missing them like crazy! Once they are home, we are done with any work for today... We are still aiming to be ready by the end of June, but most of the big stuff was completed this week, so we are in good shape. I know this has been really hard on the kids, and I wish they could understand that we are doing this for them, and for us: for our family. Someday when they are older they will understand...it's just tough to see them having a hard time with things...
Here is what I ate on Day 11-Egg*s:
Breakfast: Hot Millet Cereal w/Maple Syrup, Fried Egg (w/Olive Oil & Salt)
Lunch: Fried Eggs w/Olive Oil, Salt, Oregano (not a good lunch, I know, but had to leave quick...so had to eat)
Snack: Millet w/Coconut & Maple Syrup
Snack: Crunch Chickpeas
Dinner: Baked Tilapia w/Olive Oil & Oregano, Zucchini, Skillet Potatoes
Snack: Baked Red Potato
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
I have already begun Day 12...reintroducing Wheat!
Have a fabulous Sunday!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
TODAY IS THE DAY: Day 10 - Oats
(click here to read Day 9)
I'm happy to report that I used my new pillows for the first time last night, and I had just a tiny bit of a stuffed nose when I went to bed...and it was the same when I got up! Maybe I really am allergic/sensitive to the down/feathers that were in my old pillows. I think after I break them in a bit more (I'm used to my pillows being a little less fluffy) they will be perfect! Otherwise my tummy feels better this morning, and my foot is just a bit sore (read about possibly why, below).
Yesterday was a bit of a messed up day, as far as testing for oats (besides the fact that my safe list of foods was very short so I was hungry...). I had oats for breakfast and after a couple hours I didn't see any reactions...so I decided to go off track and have Cherries again (I had had them on Day 6 as an afternoon snack). Things seemed ok, until shortly after I ate lunch; my stomach became rumbly/gassy (which continued into the evening). Later in the afternoon I had oats again for a snack before running into town to collect more boxes - but those didn't seem to affect me. Then, after dinner my feet became sore (similar to Day 7 after eating oranges).
It was a very off day. I had yellow summer squash with my lunch (which I hadn't had before)...so I don't know if it was maybe that that affected my stomach, or maybe a combination of the cherries and squash...not sure. My guess is that my body does not like the cherries. If that is the case, it would make sense because the only times I've had the foot issues that bad, were many hours following me eating cherries. A delayed reaction. So, maybe Citrus is ok afterall? Oats, as well? I will be avoiding cherries and summer squash for the remainder of my allergy discovery challenge. I may add a couple days to the end and re-test citrus and oats; if they give me no reaction, then I will be testing cherries and squash as well - my own little experiment :-)
Here is what I ate on Day 10-Oats*:
Breakfast: Hot Oatmeal; Fresh Pears
Snack: Cherries
Lunch: Summer Squash/Zucchini Saute
Snack: A couple Cherries here and there (won't do that again!)
Snack: Cold Oatmeal w/Fresh Pears
Dinner: Beef Cube Steak w/Olive Oil & Dry Mustard
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
Now it's time to go reintroduce Eggs! I'm half way through my challenge, and I've really been looking forward to having a fried egg this morning :-) The kids will be home tomorrow (I've missed them!) so we have a lot of work yet to get through today while we don't have little ones underfoot :-) My mom is also coming up this morning to help clean up gardens and such in the yard (THANK YOU MOM!!!).
Have a wonderful Saturday!
I'm happy to report that I used my new pillows for the first time last night, and I had just a tiny bit of a stuffed nose when I went to bed...and it was the same when I got up! Maybe I really am allergic/sensitive to the down/feathers that were in my old pillows. I think after I break them in a bit more (I'm used to my pillows being a little less fluffy) they will be perfect! Otherwise my tummy feels better this morning, and my foot is just a bit sore (read about possibly why, below).
Yesterday was a bit of a messed up day, as far as testing for oats (besides the fact that my safe list of foods was very short so I was hungry...). I had oats for breakfast and after a couple hours I didn't see any reactions...so I decided to go off track and have Cherries again (I had had them on Day 6 as an afternoon snack). Things seemed ok, until shortly after I ate lunch; my stomach became rumbly/gassy (which continued into the evening). Later in the afternoon I had oats again for a snack before running into town to collect more boxes - but those didn't seem to affect me. Then, after dinner my feet became sore (similar to Day 7 after eating oranges).
It was a very off day. I had yellow summer squash with my lunch (which I hadn't had before)...so I don't know if it was maybe that that affected my stomach, or maybe a combination of the cherries and squash...not sure. My guess is that my body does not like the cherries. If that is the case, it would make sense because the only times I've had the foot issues that bad, were many hours following me eating cherries. A delayed reaction. So, maybe Citrus is ok afterall? Oats, as well? I will be avoiding cherries and summer squash for the remainder of my allergy discovery challenge. I may add a couple days to the end and re-test citrus and oats; if they give me no reaction, then I will be testing cherries and squash as well - my own little experiment :-)
Here is what I ate on Day 10-Oats*:
Breakfast: Hot Oatmeal; Fresh Pears
Snack: Cherries
Lunch: Summer Squash/Zucchini Saute
Snack: A couple Cherries here and there (won't do that again!)
Snack: Cold Oatmeal w/Fresh Pears
Dinner: Beef Cube Steak w/Olive Oil & Dry Mustard
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
Now it's time to go reintroduce Eggs! I'm half way through my challenge, and I've really been looking forward to having a fried egg this morning :-) The kids will be home tomorrow (I've missed them!) so we have a lot of work yet to get through today while we don't have little ones underfoot :-) My mom is also coming up this morning to help clean up gardens and such in the yard (THANK YOU MOM!!!).
Have a wonderful Saturday!
Friday, June 15, 2012
TODAY IS THE DAY: Day 9 - CHICKEN
(click here to read Day 8)
Remember yesterday morning I was wondering if I might have an actual cold? I'm pretty sure it is. I'll just say that my mucous color has changed, which is most often an indicator of a cold. It's not a full blown cold (just more stuffed up than usual) so I will continue on my adventure here. I splurged last night and made myself a strawberry-banana-spinach-coconut milk smoothie, so maybe the vitamin C boost will help a bit. Not mention it was absolutely the most delicious thing I have had in over a week...I even told my hubby that I would maybe.MAYBE even choose it over eating something made out of cookie dough. I just said maybe though ;-) Bananas and Spinach were on yesterday's list, and Coconut isn't for a couple days (so I'll just skip it then)...so I didn't stray too much. Strawberries aren't on any list but they didn't have an effect on me when I chanced it last week, so it seemed safe to me!
I didn't get around to the pillow/bedding thing last night since I came home from watching our friends kids, ate dinner, and got to packing for the rest of the night. No place to go today, so it will definitely happen on this day.
Back to the matter at hand...Chicken! I got a slight rumbly tummy after eating the soup I made for lunch (I served the kiddos pasta w/tomato sauce...it smelled so good...). But, I'm thinking it was because I may have added a bit too much salt (I didn't want to bring my salt grinder, so I brought the extra that I put into the grinder...a little too much may have slid out of the bag...oops! Lesson learned.) and then I drank extra water because of it, but the water was cold from in the fridge - I'm used to drinking room temp water. Anyways, I diluted my soup and ate it again for dinner - with no effect afterwards, so I think I'm safe.
I better wrap this up so I can eat a quick breakfast and get to work on the house! Today I will be reintroducing oats! Yay!
Here is what I ate on Day 9-Chicken*:
Breakfast: Kasha w/Ginger & a sliced Banana
Lunch: Soup (chicken, celery, kasha, salt, water)
Snack: Banana Ice Cream (frozen bananas simply blended!)
Dinner: Soup (chicken, celery, kasha, salt, water)
Snack: Crunch Chickpeas (chickpeas soaked, cooked, and baked)
Snack: Strawberry-Banana-Spinach-Coconut Milk Smoothie
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
Ready to tackle Day 10 with some Oats!
Remember yesterday morning I was wondering if I might have an actual cold? I'm pretty sure it is. I'll just say that my mucous color has changed, which is most often an indicator of a cold. It's not a full blown cold (just more stuffed up than usual) so I will continue on my adventure here. I splurged last night and made myself a strawberry-banana-spinach-coconut milk smoothie, so maybe the vitamin C boost will help a bit. Not mention it was absolutely the most delicious thing I have had in over a week...I even told my hubby that I would maybe.MAYBE even choose it over eating something made out of cookie dough. I just said maybe though ;-) Bananas and Spinach were on yesterday's list, and Coconut isn't for a couple days (so I'll just skip it then)...so I didn't stray too much. Strawberries aren't on any list but they didn't have an effect on me when I chanced it last week, so it seemed safe to me!
I didn't get around to the pillow/bedding thing last night since I came home from watching our friends kids, ate dinner, and got to packing for the rest of the night. No place to go today, so it will definitely happen on this day.
Back to the matter at hand...Chicken! I got a slight rumbly tummy after eating the soup I made for lunch (I served the kiddos pasta w/tomato sauce...it smelled so good...). But, I'm thinking it was because I may have added a bit too much salt (I didn't want to bring my salt grinder, so I brought the extra that I put into the grinder...a little too much may have slid out of the bag...oops! Lesson learned.) and then I drank extra water because of it, but the water was cold from in the fridge - I'm used to drinking room temp water. Anyways, I diluted my soup and ate it again for dinner - with no effect afterwards, so I think I'm safe.
I better wrap this up so I can eat a quick breakfast and get to work on the house! Today I will be reintroducing oats! Yay!
Here is what I ate on Day 9-Chicken*:
Breakfast: Kasha w/Ginger & a sliced Banana
Lunch: Soup (chicken, celery, kasha, salt, water)
Snack: Banana Ice Cream (frozen bananas simply blended!)
Dinner: Soup (chicken, celery, kasha, salt, water)
Snack: Crunch Chickpeas (chickpeas soaked, cooked, and baked)
Snack: Strawberry-Banana-Spinach-Coconut Milk Smoothie
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
Ready to tackle Day 10 with some Oats!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
TODAY IS THE DAY: Day 8 - CORN
(click here to read Day 7)
I woke up this morning feeling a little more stuffed up than usual (wondering if I'm getting a bit of an actual cold), but it's not as bad after my hot shower. Foot is feeling fine though, so that makes for a good morning :-)
I am happy to say that I didn't seem to notice any adverse reactions after eating corn yesterday! My stuffy nose seemed to stick around most of the day (some days is clears up after I've been up and moving around for a bit) but it didn't change after eating, so being it stayed consistent I am not too concerned about the corn.
I picked up new pillows yesterday (thank you Kohls for Buy-One-Get-One-Free!) to see if that will make a difference at all with my stuffy nose. I want to completely strip the bed and put on new sheets and pillow cases before I test them out (and I just changed bedding the other day...before I had thought about doing this) but after running all my errandsand collecting a car full of boxes I was back to packing until past my bedtime and I ran out of time.
Today I am caring for our friends three children since their daycare is closed, so I will resume packing/cleaning/organizing when I get home late this afternoon. I'll also get the bed switched up so I can start seeing if the non-down feather pillows make a difference. Crossing my fingers that they'll help!
Here is what I ate on Day 8-Corn*:
Breakfast: Hasty Pudding (Cornmeal Mush) with Cinnamon and Maple Syrup (yum!); Pink Lady Apple; Cinnamon Stick Tea
Snack: Hot Air Popped Corn w/Olive Oil & Salt
Snack (Lunchtime): Sweet Potato
Snack (Afternoon): Hasty Pudding; Granny Smith Apple
Dinner: Baked Pork Chop w/Olive Oil & Rosemary; Broccoli; Sweet Potato
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
Now I am on to Day 9 - reintroducing Chicken!
I woke up this morning feeling a little more stuffed up than usual (wondering if I'm getting a bit of an actual cold), but it's not as bad after my hot shower. Foot is feeling fine though, so that makes for a good morning :-)
I am happy to say that I didn't seem to notice any adverse reactions after eating corn yesterday! My stuffy nose seemed to stick around most of the day (some days is clears up after I've been up and moving around for a bit) but it didn't change after eating, so being it stayed consistent I am not too concerned about the corn.
I picked up new pillows yesterday (thank you Kohls for Buy-One-Get-One-Free!) to see if that will make a difference at all with my stuffy nose. I want to completely strip the bed and put on new sheets and pillow cases before I test them out (and I just changed bedding the other day...before I had thought about doing this) but after running all my errands
Today I am caring for our friends three children since their daycare is closed, so I will resume packing/cleaning/organizing when I get home late this afternoon. I'll also get the bed switched up so I can start seeing if the non-down feather pillows make a difference. Crossing my fingers that they'll help!
Here is what I ate on Day 8-Corn*:
Breakfast: Hasty Pudding (Cornmeal Mush) with Cinnamon and Maple Syrup (yum!); Pink Lady Apple; Cinnamon Stick Tea
Snack: Hot Air Popped Corn w/Olive Oil & Salt
Snack (Lunchtime): Sweet Potato
Snack (Afternoon): Hasty Pudding; Granny Smith Apple
Dinner: Baked Pork Chop w/Olive Oil & Rosemary; Broccoli; Sweet Potato
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
Now I am on to Day 9 - reintroducing Chicken!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
TODAY IS THE DAY: Day 7 - CITRUS
(click here to read Day 6)
Good Morning! This will be short and sweet and to the point, because I have lots of packing/cleaning/organizing/etc. to do today and I am ready to have at it!
Yesterday was the reintroduction of citrus. It seems that my body was not a big fan of it...I ate an orange with breakfast and within an hour or two my minor 'setback' had flared up again, my throat became very phlegmy, and my voice was raspy.
I went to bed late last night since we were working on the house, and I am happy to wake up this morning with my usual stuffed up nose and just a tiny tinge of a sore foot (just the right one); only enough to let me know that I need to be aware of it. I am SO thankful!
Here is what I ate on Day 7-CITRUS*:
Pre-Bfast Snack: Pear
Breakfast: Honey Millet Cereal; Orange
Snack: Millet
Lunch: Baked Salmon; Roasted Carrots w/Olive Oil & Oregano
Dinner: Soup-Salmon/Carrot/Green Bean/Millet
Snack: Pear
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
Today is Day 8 and I'll be reintroducing Corn. I'm praying that I find I have no reaction to many of the 15 - and this is a big one. I L.O.V.E. air popped popcorn, and corn tortilla chips with salsa & sour cream...two of my favorite quick snacks. Although I love many things made with the other foods items I have yet to reintroduce...so we will just wait and see! I will work around anything I will need to avoid, because feeling good and having a healthy body is SO much more important to me than eating whatever I want :-)
Have a wonderful day, and we'll see you back tomorrow morning for results of Day 8...
Thank you for reading!
Good Morning! This will be short and sweet and to the point, because I have lots of packing/cleaning/organizing/etc. to do today and I am ready to have at it!
Yesterday was the reintroduction of citrus. It seems that my body was not a big fan of it...I ate an orange with breakfast and within an hour or two my minor 'setback' had flared up again, my throat became very phlegmy, and my voice was raspy.
(Ok, ok, I'll stop calling it a minor 'setback'; it is the foot pain that I experienced many years ago, and it started to come back and that is why I am trying so hard to figure things out...my fear is that it would come back full force, because I feel like it took 3 years of my life away from me; it was that BAD - I WON'T let that happen again. You can read about it here under Out With It, starting on paragraph 4).The reactions continued for several hours, and my foot became worse and my left one even became a bit sore in the arch (it has mainly been the right foot since I began this challenge). Needless to say, I did not eat any more citrus during the day. I took that as enough of a sign that my body did not appreciate it.
I went to bed late last night since we were working on the house, and I am happy to wake up this morning with my usual stuffed up nose and just a tiny tinge of a sore foot (just the right one); only enough to let me know that I need to be aware of it. I am SO thankful!
Here is what I ate on Day 7-CITRUS*:
Pre-Bfast Snack: Pear
Breakfast: Honey Millet Cereal; Orange
Snack: Millet
Lunch: Baked Salmon; Roasted Carrots w/Olive Oil & Oregano
Dinner: Soup-Salmon/Carrot/Green Bean/Millet
Snack: Pear
*I also drink 2+ quarts of water throughout the day.
Today is Day 8 and I'll be reintroducing Corn. I'm praying that I find I have no reaction to many of the 15 - and this is a big one. I L.O.V.E. air popped popcorn, and corn tortilla chips with salsa & sour cream...two of my favorite quick snacks. Although I love many things made with the other foods items I have yet to reintroduce...so we will just wait and see! I will work around anything I will need to avoid, because feeling good and having a healthy body is SO much more important to me than eating whatever I want :-)
Have a wonderful day, and we'll see you back tomorrow morning for results of Day 8...
Thank you for reading!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Packing it up...
Packing up part of our life today brings a simple sadness, and sheer excitement! Working hard on the next chapter of our lives.
Thank you mom for supporting us and caring for the kids while we put in some hard work to make things happen...we've decided to move things along a bit quicker - our goal is the end of June...so we are B.U.S.Y.!
Back to work packing boxes, while the hubby paints...
Thank you mom for supporting us and caring for the kids while we put in some hard work to make things happen...we've decided to move things along a bit quicker - our goal is the end of June...so we are B.U.S.Y.!
Back to work packing boxes, while the hubby paints...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)