Meal Plans Week of 10-21-12

We made it through another day/night.  The flu has gone through our house...and doesn't seem to want to leave.  Abram had a very mild case last weekend.  Then Rebecca got it on Wed. morning.  I came down with it Thurs. evening.  And Rebecca and I are still not over it.  Fever, aches, chills...then you feel a little better for a while...then it comes back...over and over and over.  It's pretty miserable.  Rebecca had to miss her first field trip, and we couldn't go to MomBreak.  I hope it's done soon so we can get on with life :P  We're too busy this week to be sick.

In addition to our usual activities, we'll be meeting with Rebecca's teacher to see how things are going.  We're having dinner with our host family from church (a chance to get to know some people better).  We have Bible study.  And we might stop by the PeaceLab open house (the place I take yoga).  We'll see if we need to make another trip to the dentist.  Rebecca knocked a tooth loose last week, so we're watching it for now.  I would like to make a trip to the orchard and Heffron Farms soon, but I don't think it'll happen this week.

Since we were sick half of the week I didn't get a whole lot done.  I'll try to make up for it this week.  I want to keep working on organizing the house.  If time allows I can work on sewing.  In the kitchen I'd like to roast beets, bake squash and make yogurt, toothpaste and deodorant.

I've decided to make Tuesdays my "free" days.  This week we'll be doing grain and nut free.

Last week I had a check up with my colon surgeon.  Turns out I don't have the problem I thought I did/that I had a few months ago.  So we're trying a new treatment.  So far I haven't noticed any profound improvement.  I'll give it a week or so and call back if it's not working.  He said it's kind of trial and error.  I did set up a gall bladder ultrasound.  That's next week.  I'm curious to see if that shows anything.

Aside from that I've been doing more research and trying to listen to my body.  Last week I had some pretty severe headaches again.  It could have been from the flu, but it felt more like my typical die off headache...and it came after one week of using a little sour cream every day.  It was also when I ate sourdough bread for a couple days.  So I'm not sure which was the bigger culprit.  But I've determined I can't eat sourdough :(

I'm starting to learn that my body is so sensitive to fermented and cultured food.  I thought they were supposed to be so good for you...but they always seem to make me feel rotten.  So as always I did some more digging.  I ran across something called histamine intolerance.  I'm wondering if avoiding foods with a high histamine content would be helpful.

I've also been researching candida a little more.  My friend was nice enough to send me her prescribed candida diet.  Interesting information.  I found it very fascinating that her instructions say to avoid ferments.  And I learned that dealing with candida is largely about avoiding yeast and fructose.  Not an easy task.  I'll have to look at my base diet (what I seem to tolerate at the moment) combined with low histamine foods and foods without yeast or fructose.  I'm not sure there would be much left :P  Sometimes it seems that all of the things I've been doing for so long that are in general so  healthy (ferments, cultures, only using honey for a sweetener (pure fructose), etc.) just might be the problem for some people, like me.

I have heard that glandulars can be helpful in dealing with candida.  So I'm looking into that as well.  I already take medication for my thyroid...but it is synthetic.  I wonder if glandulars would be more helpful.

Lots to think about.  I'll keep researching and experimenting.  I'll see what comes of the gall bladder ultrasound.  And go from there.  I might see a new doctor...the same one my friend goes to.

On to the menu and plans for the week.  Hopefully we're all feeling good enough to keep up.
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S (cook beans, prep lunch, church, prep smoothies) (sick)
  B - leftover waffles
  L - cp meatloaf, baked sweet potatoes, beans, biscuits w/ jam
  D - (separate) - pita bread w/ hummus, 

M (milk, ps, teacher mtg, prep squash) (sick)
  B - smoothie, tbd yogurt, zucchini cake
  D - pork chops, scalloped sweet potatoes and apples, corn

Take it out Tuesday - grain/nut free (bake squash, roast beets, make yogurt, skim cream?, km, prep squash, prep smoothies) (SICK)
  B - yogurt, granola
  D - bacon cheeseburgers, sweet potato fries, beans order pizza

W (bake squash, make toothpaste and deodorant, meijer, ps, co-op)
  B - smoothie, tbd english muffin
  D - (separate) - stuffed squash (with bacon, peas and navy beans), pears spaghetti

Th (make yogurt, make toothpaste, make deodorant, EJ, host dinner)
  B - yogurt, muffins
  D - w/ friends

F (sewing, ps, open house, Bible study)
  B- yogurt, fruit, granola
  D - scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, peas, bananas nachos w/ avocado bean dip, sour cream, salsa, olives, cheese

S (clean, dinner w/ family?)
  B - pancakes
  D - spaghetti, carrots out to eat or TBD