The Giving of Thanks!

I am grateful that we did not end up in a full blown financial crisis before I came to my senses!

I am grateful for my husband & kids, & that they are healthy and bright.

That my husband is a hard worker who has fully supprted me while I have been a stay at home Mum, being unwell & working volunteer.

I am grateful for the financial help of family that has enabled us to purchase a home.

I am grateful for internet access where I can learn about so many things & keep in contact with friends & family all from the comfort of my own home...it is amazing!

I am grateful for the kindness of others, like a lady visiting with me this week even though her troubles are many, she thought of me. Amazing!


I am gratful for podcasts, I love to learn through audio and podcasts keep me stimulated, interested and aware. Amazing!

I am grateful for many Mum who helps me in so many ways, so does my Dad. Amazing! That should be near the top of my list.

I am grateful for my sister. She inspired me through her weight loss and maintenence that I too could have a lifestyle change. She has a positive can do attitude with most things and has raised 4 great kids. Amazing!

Hope that inspires you to think of things/people you are gratful for too!

Tired

I have had a cold for the past wek or more & have been so very tired during the day but have failed getting to bed early. Why is this so? I intened to but usually get distracted by the TV (when I go to say good night to hubby watching it) or the computer (particularly as I have trying to blog daily). But I need to extra sleep!
So I am off for a good nights sleep, now that is Paleo.

Good night!

Joint pain

Awoke this morning with joint pain, a forgotten symptom that I had gone to the dieticain with & that an amine free diet resolved. So was is caused by pork, increase of green vegetables or taking some decaf tea this week? I had it quite bad after my second child and it could be any of those three. I am loathe to eliminate them all & start over, it just takes so much time! I am thinking tea the most likely, though I don't know why perhaps it is related to the tannins? I''ll google it.

Lovely weekend here, hope you made good use of yours.

Paleo Schmaleo

Having been diagnosed with MS in 2006 the Paleo diet for MS by Prof Loren Cordain caught my attention.

Initially I tried the injections but they gave me gut problems (like most things do). Iwas sleep deprived and confused, I had loads of tests that were not explained to me and no answers at all. I didn't really believe that I had MS either. I had no resolution with any of my symptoms, I just kept going to the doctors with constipation, sleep disturbances, upper tummy pain to name just a few of my symptoms. I had leaky gut & had never even heard of it, it was only this year as I begun a crash course in learning about my own health that I heard/saw the term for the first time ever! Why had the nuerologist not mentioned this? I shall ask that question at my next appointment in 2011.

I wached & purchased the Paleo Diet for MS, you eat whole foods excluding; grain, dairy, egg, legumes, nightshades and add to that my diagnoses of Fructose Malabsorption and there is not much left for me to eat. I initially got to day 20 and craved butter & egg so bad I ate them, only to soon discover I am allergic/intolerant to dairy & egg!

Recently I took a doctors referral to a dietician when I mentioned that I was reacting to even more food (anything with histamines in it) who tested me for a SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) for which I tested positive and put me on an low chemical/amine free diet. In the mean time I got allergy tested & cut out egg & dairy and am no longer constipated. I am in the slow process of reintroducing individual foods.

The Menu
I can currently eat, lettuce, cucumber, celery, rocket, swede, carrot, zucchini, beans (green & yellow) pumpkin and sweet potato, lamb, white fish, pork (no bacon), beef, chicken, chilli, chives, parsley, mint, rosemary and some spices (no paprika or cinnamon) and carob powder, tinned pears and bananas (just ripe) and tonight I added in silver beet, because I grow it. Sound yummy? For fat I use olive oil, lard and coconut oil (yum).

I have been attempting to eat mostly paleo since first hearing Prof Cordain, it just made sense. But it is such hard work with such limited food choices.

Non Paleo extras
I also do nibble, roasted salted cashews which are the only nut that is low chemical and does not irritate my tummy. Plain rice crackers, one packet of these bland suckers has lasted a LONG time! The occasional pancake made with gluten free flour, an egg susstitute and water. they are not very tasty and I'll have that with a piece of tinned pear, 2 small pancakes that don't brown and that my teeth can hardly cut through, I am serious! Rice milk in decaf coffee. The decaf is so bland and the texture like filtered sand that I have the occassional one with rice milk. I usually drink black tea but it gives me gas & heartbrurn at the moment.

I eat meat & veg for every meal and nibble cooked leftover meat if I get extra hungry, I like coconut oil and olive oil but eat fatty cuts of meat too,especially pork! But no bacon, it makes my tongue swell.

I subscribe to some paleo recipe sites but have found none that I can use.

So am I a paleo wanna be, psuedo paleo or just a boring eater?

What do you think & do you have any recipes?

A breather!

Got an amount from an expected source but of unexpected size, just in time for Christmas...phew!
I have been so vague for so long my partner may well think I made up any sense of panic in the financial area, I didn't though I did delight in it a little. We can now tidy up few things & end the year nicely.

I am attempting to blog daily as I have always thought I wanted to write & that this a good way to try it out, I do need some better more interesting topics!

There are bugs eating all our strawberries, mongrels, I need to fix that ASAP!

Some financial wellness goals!

We had a wak up call recently. As I have not been well I had lost sight of our current financial status & got into spending mode. By the time I had some mental clarity we had a pile of bills & expenses well past our ability to meet them, alarm bells rang & we had to take action or end up in trouble.

I was going to post on the the dumb things I have done with money but I thought better of it. It's not time to focus on dumb stuff from the past, no matter how recent, it is time to make goals to move ahead like never before.

Here are my goals for the remainder of 2010.

1. Pay off one Credit Card and closeit.

2. Stay within planned budget for Christmas.

3. Stay within grocery budget.

4. Continue with exercise and eating low carb.

5. Enquire about bartering for hair cuts.

I am new to goal setting and planning so achieving these 5 should give me confidence for 2011, when I shall begin setting larger goals and entering the workforce or creating streams of income.

What are your short term goals?

Jane

Feeling much better!

Had some allergy testing done after hearing a podcast & got a positive result on dairy & egg, the proteins in them. It has been 3 weeks now without dairy and 6 days without egg & I feel heaps better. Today I lay on the big pillow on the floor with my son, he is 5. I bought this pillow just over 7 years ago as I liked to lay on the floor but have been pregnant & had a sore belly ever since! What a good day, it is nice to be feeling better, I look forward to continued improvement!

I made a cake today from the Simple Savings website, No Fuss Fudge Cake! I made it with carob powder in stead of cocoa and it worked fabulously. It was egg, dairy and gluten free, I would also like it to be sugar free so I shall investigate some stevia.

Hooray for improved health!