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Okay, so I'm tired of the Healthy Pregnancy Series. It's been going on for 10 full months now (yikes) and I think we've pretty well covered all the issues there that we need to cover. Sure, there's more I could say about pregnancy and babies and postpartum, and I will say some in my pregnancy journals and I'll do a few posts after this baby arrives. But, enough is enough for now. Moving right along.
It's been awhile since I've done an update on some of the issues facing our family, namely my husband's arsenic detox and our goal to get rid of "stuff." So here we go!
One side effect of this detox is that it has left him nutritionally depleted, which has led to energy issues (i.e. he doesn't have any) and some depression. He's been taking some high quality supplements for a week or so and I've been trying to get extra nutrient-dense food for him. I'm starting to stock up on healthy snacks for us -- jerky (I'm making a TON! Like 14 lbs. of meat worth), nuts, dried fruits, occasionally baking with almond flour, yogurt, cheese, etc. A lot of these are good in the pantry, so that's really helpful. Part of the idea is to get a bunch for when the baby comes, too, so that there are "easy" foods to eat if no one feels like cooking or heating a meal (that is just 9 weeks away now).
It hasn't been that easy to deal with the lack of energy and depression -- for either of us. But luckily the extra supplements and nourishing foods are helping that issue. I honestly believe the nutritional depletion is more responsible for symptoms now than the arsenic is.
As he's gone through the detox, Ben has needed fewer and fewer supplements (the ones to cause the detox) to acheive the same reaction. He started out on 5 parotid, but is down to just 1. In fact, until they discovered the nutritional deficiencies, he was down to only about 10 pills per day, vs. 40 - 50 he'd initially been on! Yet the detox was still progressing well. He's still unfortunately unable to take the FCLO, because that makes the detox worse. I'm hoping within a month or so he'll be able to start on that.
After the arsenic is gone, we'll be looking at banishing the candida that remains. We're mostly grain-free again, and will go back on GAPS in a couple months. Frankly we all feel better when we're grain-free anyway (although corn seems to be one exception; it doesn't bother anyone so we include it in small amounts). And when that's done, Ben plans to start exercising to build up strength and stamina.
When it's all said and done, I'll ask Ben if he'd like to post his own thoughts, if anyone's interested.
I'm told that we got rid of more than 100 items in April -- so yay for that! May, I'm not sure where we stand, honestly -- I don't think we made it. We "collected" a bit in May, although I'm not sure it really counts. It was mostly plants for the garden!
In June it'll definitely be harder, because we'll be "collecting" a lot more. We're seeking canning jars so that I can begin to preserve the harvest I'm gathering! The jars do count "against" us (i.e. as we acquire them we'll have to get rid of extra to offset this), though they are going to used for consumables! I love my jars and i can't wait to preserve so much stuff this year! I plan to do about three times as much as I did last year, when it's all said and done.
Thankfully I have become a little more creative now, and have been able to bake many of the things I really need from almond flour. For example, I recently tried out almond flour biscuits so I could make my sausage gravy with biscuits again! They didn't look very good, but they tasted good! (I'm not 100% satisfied with it yet, but all I did was swap the sprouted flour for almond flour in the biscuit recipe currently on here.) I'm working towards doing coconut flour crepes and almond flour tortillas and things along those lines just to simplify some meals. I'll also be trying out various almond flour cracker recipes until I find one everyone will eat. We need some "grain" products in order to serve certain meals!
We're also adapting to eating the jerky, nuts, and dried fruits for snacks instead of grain-based snacks, and luckily these all travel well. The jerky is especially a family favorite (and you can find it in Against the Grain). Hopefully we will be successful this time, especially with a plentiful garden and farmer's market available now! We are continuing to keep our budget fairly low even though we are mostly off grains. Spaghetti squash is a big help and the kids seem to really like it. We are learning to. :)
Some of the items that stood out to us there were: onions, maple syrup, brown rice (if we ever eat that), almonds, dried cranberries, prunes, organic frozen fruit and veggies, butter (if we can't get raw), organic eggs (if our farm is out), almond butter. There were other things that were kind of awesome, too, like individual bottles of Lifeway kefir (which my kids love) that are cheaper than buying a big bottle at a health food store.
I saw the opportunity to save enough to buy up some of these "convenience" items for occasional use. I even bought the kids a box of individual packs of Annie's bunny crackers, which they love, and are good for occasional snacks while on the go (and the price per oz. was about half what we'd pay for a normal box at the health food store). In this season, being very pregnant, I need those types of things occasionally, but I'm not willing to pay an arm and a leg!
I can't find my receipts for this week, unfortunately, but I'll post the meal plans shortly and you can see what we're eating. I've been buying many of the same things I did in the previous weeks, except I'm also doing a bulk nut order.
That's where we are now! In the upcoming weeks, expect to see lots more cooking and real food stuff as we dive into garden and preservation season!
I'm almost 31 weeks pregnant now, and it's just flying by. It's kind of ridiculous. I mean, my next midwives' appointment, which is in 2 weeks, puts me at 33 weeks (almost). Then two more weeks and I have another, at almost 35 weeks. Then my home visit two weeks after that...and then weekly visits until baby decides to arrive. I'm still feeling "late" but who knows. I better be prepared from anywhere from July 22 (two weeks early) to August 19th (two weeks late)!
Every time I become convinced that I am crazy and it's definitely not twins, something else happens. Awhile ago I felt what I thought was two sets of hiccups simultaneously. I feel movement and body parts all over my belly at the same time, and my entire belly is usually very hard. I remember in the past that there would be a hard area where the baby was, but it would be a bit softer around that. This time that's not true. I asked my chiropractor today what he thought. He found the baby (head down again, though it changes practically hourly), but noted that on the other side it was unusually hard -- just as I thought. He said this could indicate either unusually high fluid volume, or a second baby hiding slightly behind and to the side of the first. So, it's not impossible. He thinks we should definitely have the midwives check for a second one at our next appointment. I also thought I felt two backs, one along each side, and two heads (one right above each of my hip bones) a few days ago. I haven't felt a lot of limbs, but it seems like "too much baby" sometimes. So really...is it just the high fluid volume, or is it a second baby?? We don't really know.
Now, 'tis gardening season! And the very beginning of preservation season too. We've put in a massive garden (no easy feat while 7 months pregnant) and gone strawberry picking, too. It took me three days to get the whole later-season garden in, actually. I had to work in short bursts to get it done. But all in all I'm very glad I did it that way, and very proud it's in! Now I go out once or twice a day and pull a few weeds or water the garden a bit. My lettuce is in a box and it gets dry easily. The weather's been really hot anyway (90s) so my tomatoes and strawberries often "need a drink," as my daughter says.
I don't know why I feel so motivated to do so much gardening and preservation while I'm so pregnant and when I'll have a newborn. I have no idea at all. Perhaps my nesting instincts are kicking in already. But I'm more on top of it than ever and feel so excited by all the progress I'm making!
We are planning massive preservation, too, which starts now (with some frozen strawberries and strawberry jam) and will carry straight into October, when we finish up with applesauce. I can't wait to have all those beautiful jars of delicious, fresh food in my pantry! We are canning and freezing about three times as much as last year. Even things we don't usually like store-bought (like peaches), we loved home-canned.
People do think I'm crazy to do this now. But somehow I don't feel like I'll need to "stop" anything for this baby. I mean, I'm already super busy with two kids and friends and various activities, and we do need to eat healthy and frugal food all winter. So...this baby will have to learn to live in a wrap and go with the flow!
Expect to see a lot more cooking and food stuff here soon as I dive into my gardening and preserving season!
Update on Us: Arsenic, Getting Rid of "Stuff" and More!
Thanks for subscribing to us! If you're not connected with me on Facebook or following me on Twitter yet, you're missing the conversation! You can also find me blogging about pregnancy on Babble. Have you read my eBooks Real Food Basics, Healthy Pregnancy Super Foods, and Against the Grain: Delicious Recipes for the Whole Food and Grain-Free Diet yet?
Okay, so I'm tired of the Healthy Pregnancy Series. It's been going on for 10 full months now (yikes) and I think we've pretty well covered all the issues there that we need to cover. Sure, there's more I could say about pregnancy and babies and postpartum, and I will say some in my pregnancy journals and I'll do a few posts after this baby arrives. But, enough is enough for now. Moving right along.
It's been awhile since I've done an update on some of the issues facing our family, namely my husband's arsenic detox and our goal to get rid of "stuff." So here we go!
Arsenic Detox
It's gotten to an interesting point recently. My husband's been on a detox protocol for about four months now, and his levels have gone from a 6 (high) to 250 (much lower).The doctor says that he should feel noticeably better by the time he hits 300 -- not too much longer! Supposedly he has about 6 - 7 weeks left.One side effect of this detox is that it has left him nutritionally depleted, which has led to energy issues (i.e. he doesn't have any) and some depression. He's been taking some high quality supplements for a week or so and I've been trying to get extra nutrient-dense food for him. I'm starting to stock up on healthy snacks for us -- jerky (I'm making a TON! Like 14 lbs. of meat worth), nuts, dried fruits, occasionally baking with almond flour, yogurt, cheese, etc. A lot of these are good in the pantry, so that's really helpful. Part of the idea is to get a bunch for when the baby comes, too, so that there are "easy" foods to eat if no one feels like cooking or heating a meal (that is just 9 weeks away now).
It hasn't been that easy to deal with the lack of energy and depression -- for either of us. But luckily the extra supplements and nourishing foods are helping that issue. I honestly believe the nutritional depletion is more responsible for symptoms now than the arsenic is.
As he's gone through the detox, Ben has needed fewer and fewer supplements (the ones to cause the detox) to acheive the same reaction. He started out on 5 parotid, but is down to just 1. In fact, until they discovered the nutritional deficiencies, he was down to only about 10 pills per day, vs. 40 - 50 he'd initially been on! Yet the detox was still progressing well. He's still unfortunately unable to take the FCLO, because that makes the detox worse. I'm hoping within a month or so he'll be able to start on that.
After the arsenic is gone, we'll be looking at banishing the candida that remains. We're mostly grain-free again, and will go back on GAPS in a couple months. Frankly we all feel better when we're grain-free anyway (although corn seems to be one exception; it doesn't bother anyone so we include it in small amounts). And when that's done, Ben plans to start exercising to build up strength and stamina.
When it's all said and done, I'll ask Ben if he'd like to post his own thoughts, if anyone's interested.
Simplifying Our "Stuff"
We've been working to simplify our "stuff" for awhile now -- our goal was to get rid of 100 items per month. And yes, my initial post on that was two months ago.I'm told that we got rid of more than 100 items in April -- so yay for that! May, I'm not sure where we stand, honestly -- I don't think we made it. We "collected" a bit in May, although I'm not sure it really counts. It was mostly plants for the garden!
In June it'll definitely be harder, because we'll be "collecting" a lot more. We're seeking canning jars so that I can begin to preserve the harvest I'm gathering! The jars do count "against" us (i.e. as we acquire them we'll have to get rid of extra to offset this), though they are going to used for consumables! I love my jars and i can't wait to preserve so much stuff this year! I plan to do about three times as much as I did last year, when it's all said and done.
The GAPS Diet
Yes, we were on the GAPS diet, as many of you know, from the beginning of the year (mid-January) through about mid-April. I began to crave sourdough bread, and it kind of went downhill from there. I wanted just a bit of grains to make our favorite meals easier!Thankfully I have become a little more creative now, and have been able to bake many of the things I really need from almond flour. For example, I recently tried out almond flour biscuits so I could make my sausage gravy with biscuits again! They didn't look very good, but they tasted good! (I'm not 100% satisfied with it yet, but all I did was swap the sprouted flour for almond flour in the biscuit recipe currently on here.) I'm working towards doing coconut flour crepes and almond flour tortillas and things along those lines just to simplify some meals. I'll also be trying out various almond flour cracker recipes until I find one everyone will eat. We need some "grain" products in order to serve certain meals!
We're also adapting to eating the jerky, nuts, and dried fruits for snacks instead of grain-based snacks, and luckily these all travel well. The jerky is especially a family favorite (and you can find it in Against the Grain). Hopefully we will be successful this time, especially with a plentiful garden and farmer's market available now! We are continuing to keep our budget fairly low even though we are mostly off grains. Spaghetti squash is a big help and the kids seem to really like it. We are learning to. :)
Grocery Budget
We've made the decision to buy a membership to Costco. A trip around the store making notes showed me I could save over $100/year just making typical purchases, while the membership costs $50. We decided it was worth it to us to go ahead.Some of the items that stood out to us there were: onions, maple syrup, brown rice (if we ever eat that), almonds, dried cranberries, prunes, organic frozen fruit and veggies, butter (if we can't get raw), organic eggs (if our farm is out), almond butter. There were other things that were kind of awesome, too, like individual bottles of Lifeway kefir (which my kids love) that are cheaper than buying a big bottle at a health food store.
I saw the opportunity to save enough to buy up some of these "convenience" items for occasional use. I even bought the kids a box of individual packs of Annie's bunny crackers, which they love, and are good for occasional snacks while on the go (and the price per oz. was about half what we'd pay for a normal box at the health food store). In this season, being very pregnant, I need those types of things occasionally, but I'm not willing to pay an arm and a leg!
I can't find my receipts for this week, unfortunately, but I'll post the meal plans shortly and you can see what we're eating. I've been buying many of the same things I did in the previous weeks, except I'm also doing a bulk nut order.
That's where we are now! In the upcoming weeks, expect to see lots more cooking and real food stuff as we dive into garden and preservation season!
Thanks for subscribing to us! If you're not connected with me on Facebook or following me on Twitter yet, you're missing the conversation! You can also find me blogging about pregnancy on Babble. Have you read my eBooks Real Food Basics, Healthy Pregnancy Super Foods, and Against the Grain: Delicious Recipes for the Whole Food and Grain-Free Diet yet?
Thanks for subscribing to Modern Alternative Mama! To show our appreciation, we are sending you this FREE ebook full of soaked and sprouted grain recipes. It's a compilation by several different bloggers, and created by Katie of Kitchen Stewardship. Thanks so much for your support! Click here to download the book.
Thanks for subscribing to Modern Alternative Mama! To show our appreciation, we are sending you this FREE ebook full of soaked and sprouted grain recipes. It's a compilation by several different bloggers, and created by Katie of Kitchen Stewardship. Thanks so much for your support! Click here to download the book.
Pregnancy Journal: Preservation Season
Thanks for subscribing to us! If you're not connected with me on Facebook or following me on Twitter yet, you're missing the conversation! You can also find me blogging about pregnancy on Babble. Have you read my eBooks Real Food Basics, Healthy Pregnancy Super Foods, and Against the Grain: Delicious Recipes for the Whole Food and Grain-Free Diet yet?
I'm almost 31 weeks pregnant now, and it's just flying by. It's kind of ridiculous. I mean, my next midwives' appointment, which is in 2 weeks, puts me at 33 weeks (almost). Then two more weeks and I have another, at almost 35 weeks. Then my home visit two weeks after that...and then weekly visits until baby decides to arrive. I'm still feeling "late" but who knows. I better be prepared from anywhere from July 22 (two weeks early) to August 19th (two weeks late)!
Every time I become convinced that I am crazy and it's definitely not twins, something else happens. Awhile ago I felt what I thought was two sets of hiccups simultaneously. I feel movement and body parts all over my belly at the same time, and my entire belly is usually very hard. I remember in the past that there would be a hard area where the baby was, but it would be a bit softer around that. This time that's not true. I asked my chiropractor today what he thought. He found the baby (head down again, though it changes practically hourly), but noted that on the other side it was unusually hard -- just as I thought. He said this could indicate either unusually high fluid volume, or a second baby hiding slightly behind and to the side of the first. So, it's not impossible. He thinks we should definitely have the midwives check for a second one at our next appointment. I also thought I felt two backs, one along each side, and two heads (one right above each of my hip bones) a few days ago. I haven't felt a lot of limbs, but it seems like "too much baby" sometimes. So really...is it just the high fluid volume, or is it a second baby?? We don't really know.
Now, 'tis gardening season! And the very beginning of preservation season too. We've put in a massive garden (no easy feat while 7 months pregnant) and gone strawberry picking, too. It took me three days to get the whole later-season garden in, actually. I had to work in short bursts to get it done. But all in all I'm very glad I did it that way, and very proud it's in! Now I go out once or twice a day and pull a few weeds or water the garden a bit. My lettuce is in a box and it gets dry easily. The weather's been really hot anyway (90s) so my tomatoes and strawberries often "need a drink," as my daughter says.
I don't know why I feel so motivated to do so much gardening and preservation while I'm so pregnant and when I'll have a newborn. I have no idea at all. Perhaps my nesting instincts are kicking in already. But I'm more on top of it than ever and feel so excited by all the progress I'm making!
We are planning massive preservation, too, which starts now (with some frozen strawberries and strawberry jam) and will carry straight into October, when we finish up with applesauce. I can't wait to have all those beautiful jars of delicious, fresh food in my pantry! We are canning and freezing about three times as much as last year. Even things we don't usually like store-bought (like peaches), we loved home-canned.
People do think I'm crazy to do this now. But somehow I don't feel like I'll need to "stop" anything for this baby. I mean, I'm already super busy with two kids and friends and various activities, and we do need to eat healthy and frugal food all winter. So...this baby will have to learn to live in a wrap and go with the flow!
Expect to see a lot more cooking and food stuff here soon as I dive into my gardening and preserving season!
Thanks for subscribing to us! If you're not connected with me on Facebook or following me on Twitter yet, you're missing the conversation! You can also find me blogging about pregnancy on Babble. Have you read my eBooks Real Food Basics, Healthy Pregnancy Super Foods, and Against the Grain: Delicious Recipes for the Whole Food and Grain-Free Diet yet?
Thanks for subscribing to Modern Alternative Mama! To show our appreciation, we are sending you this FREE ebook full of soaked and sprouted grain recipes. It's a compilation by several different bloggers, and created by Katie of Kitchen Stewardship. Thanks so much for your support! Click here to download the book.
Thanks for subscribing to Modern Alternative Mama! To show our appreciation, we are sending you this FREE ebook full of soaked and sprouted grain recipes. It's a compilation by several different bloggers, and created by Katie of Kitchen Stewardship. Thanks so much for your support! Click here to download the book.
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