aSummer is in full force in southern Saskatchewan!
This morning, I heard some commotion at the front door and found this cheeky little fellow taunting my boy:
He was not timid! I opened the door and he just hopped down a step. I had to grab Neelix by the scruff of his neck as he was ready to bound out after his prize!
After finishing my work for the day, I headed to Willow Bunch to get some produce, more gas for Miranda’s tank, and also to check in with the RM office about getting garbage pickup and a water tap.
It was a bad day to be on the road east since they were grading. Thank goodness I have a truck!
The gals at the RM office recognized me quickly from my emails. They will bill me for garbage and water until November 15th. As long as I can find a trash barrel, I can put my trash at the curb for pickup next week!
As for water, they said that they will send someone over tomorrow to talk to me about it. *all appendages crossed that he shows up*
The Willow Bunch Co-Op had some really nice produce, so I was quite pleased and filled my basket to the brim with the best of summer’s bounty.
I stopped at C&C’s on the way home to pick up some lettuce and green onions from their garden, and then went to work on the generator.
It would not spark again as it did the other day. I am so frustrated with manufacturers who don’t consider maintenance work. I went through the troubleshooting guidebook I got from Onan at the seminar and traced the non-spark to a section that is not accessible without pulling the entire genset unit. It has a two-part cover that is bolted and screwed in areas that you can’t get out with standard sized tools.
I am so irked to have gotten that far: oil good, fuel line clean, carb spic and span, air filter clean, 12V power getting to the unit and to not be able to clean and tighten some leads near the brushes!
I may tackle that bolts and such again tomorrow. By the time I realised how much elbow grease was going to be needed, it was way past dinnertime and I was getting the shakes.
When I saw a doctor in Lethbridge way back in the summer of 2012, I got the first full workup of my life and still the doctor could not figure out why I was just plain exhausted all the time and had been for years, which meant stress wasn’t the answer. He suggested that as soon as I had a two-week window of time with no social commitments, I should go on an elimination diet of no wheat, soy, dairy, yeast, and eggs to rule out a potential allergy that could be sapping my energy.
Well, the summer of 2012 at my mother’s was no place to try such a diet. Nor was fall and early winter in Hampton Roads, what with the holiday season. And neither was later winter and early spring of 2013, what with all my social commitments! I finally got a window of time after my Kelowna expedition.
So birthday cake on Friday notwithstanding (and this wasn’t a gooey sort of cake, but rather a lemon bundt), I have been off not only wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, and yeast for a solid week, but also all carbs except fruit, and no caffeine either. And I haven’t felt this good EVER. I’ve had no bad days at all and no withdrawal symptoms, and I haven’t had this much energy in all my life! I never ever thought I would get on the low-carb bandwagon, but something in my diet had to change and apparently that was it.
All that to say, I was thinking the other night about what to put in a tuna salad to make it creamy without using dairy and the answer came to me quickly: avocado. So tonight I whipped up some guacamole (with a Willow Bunch-purchased avocado), mixed in a can of tuna, and served a scoop of this over C&C’s lettuce and some delicious cherry tomatoes:
Dinner was as tasty as it looks! I make my guac with lots of lime juice and garlic, so it is very flavourful and a perfect complement to the bland tuna.
Later, I will treat myself to a bowl of fresh local raspberries!
Having many, many food sensitivities, if I were you I would have gone off one thing at a time, start with gluten, then dairy etc. You may not have needed to go off all of them.
I agree with Sandra that you should try to find out which one you were allergic to. Maybe you could introduce each one back into your diet one at a time and see if you still feel well. If you start feeling bad again, you will know which one is the culprit.
Here’s a tip I plan to try. Use a zester to make zucchini noodles. Use instead of wheat noodles under your marinara sauce. I plan to put chicken on mine.
This time I did it first. March 27th I went off the most common sensitive foods: corn, dairy, eggs, gluten, peanuts, soy, sugar and artificial sugars. I went off all of them in order to have a clean system. After 21 days I was feeling wonderful but I added eggs. After two days I was very sick: swollen joints, headache, etc. I stopped the eggs. Than stayed off all seven for another week. I have tested soy and dairy now separately with no problems. I now know for sure that corn, gluten, peanuts and eggs are triggers for me. I have chosen to eliminate all of them. I have found that, for me, abstinence is much easier than moderation. I love the way I feel, and have lost 28 pounds at week 15. A bonus, all my cravings are gone, and the foods I am eating taste wonderful.
Sorry this got so long.
You could also use spaghetti squash for noodles but you can buy quinoa spaghetti that’s really good. I like it better than corn or rice.
I’m doing like Joni, eliminating the potential allergens to get a clean system and will reintroduce one at a time (good for you, btw!).
I’m not jumping on the load carb bandwagon. If wheat is okay, I’ll have pasta. If not, no loss, I’ll stick to rice. You’d have to pay me to eat zucchini! Spaghetti squash, on the other hand, I love. Had some last night actually! 🙂
What I’m learning through this exercise is I don’t need to eat carb heavy all the time. A day like today, where I literally toiled outside under a hot sun from dawn till dusk, I had no trouble justifying a small portion of rice with my dinner. But days when I’m just sitting at the desk typing? Lean protein and veggies plus a piece or two of fruit suffice.
Regarding your sleep, I had the same problem and my naturopath suggested I take magnesium citrate or glycinate. Citrate you can buy at most pharmacies, glycinate at health food stores or chiropractors. It’s made a big difference for me. BUT it can cause the runs (if you’re not low in magnesium).
Sandra, I have to be careful with anything that can affect my digestion, so I’m leery of taking magnesium. I’m used to my sleep patterns now and they haven’t stopped me from living in the past few months. I’ve finally separated general weariness not related to sleep to being tired from lack of sleep.