Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Weigh in Wednesday with a Probiotic Review


I weighed in last night down a little .2 lbs. I'll take it with the craziness of my body is putting me through right now!

The lab work came back negative except there was an excess of white blood cells in my urine.  They sent a culture for testing and it came back positive for E. Coli. So the doctor put me on an antibiotic.

Friday morning I had an ultrasound of the right side of my abdomen. The results were populated into my EMR on Monday but the doctor has yet to discuss any plan of action.

Stones are seen throughout the gallbladder. No gallbladder wall thickening or pericholecystic fluid.
A large stone is seen in the inferior pole of the right kidney. This measures 1.5 cm. There is no associated hydronephrosis.


I received the Doctor's Choice Probiotic for free in exchange for my honest review.  So far it's my favorite solely because you only have to take one pill, once a day (for maintenance).  All the others I've tried required two or more capsules.  That kinda gets a little old when you're not used to taking much medication.  Of course if you're having issues you can take up to 3, which I might do until my body settles down.

Weigh-in Wednesday!

THURSDAY I did Lean Circuit 3.

SATURDAY was Burn Intervals & Extreme Abs.

SUNDAY was Burn It Off & Recharge.

MONDAY my back seemed to be getting more and more stiff and I can't recall the last time it popped. So I found a different yoga workout on Grokker. My back finally popped! It did so a few more times throughout the day.

TUESDAY wrapped up the first week of the lean phase with Lean Circuit 1. I felt a little weaker than normal during the workout but pushed through.

This morning my triceps were sore from yesterday's workout but I pushed through Lean Circuit 2.  No rain in the forecast today so I'll be able to get in my walk this afternoon.




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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

WIW Goes #GreenInTheCity317

 
No weigh in this week since we ventured to the MashCraft Brewing Company last night.  I want to thank Lori, The Produce Mom, for putting the #GreenInTheCity317 event together.

We drove past MashCraft a couple of times before I finally spotted the sign.  When we pulled in we immediately saw Nature Fresh's greenhouse on wheels.  They had bell peppers, tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes on the vine to display.  They wrap the vines around otherwise they can go 40 ft or so!


They also brought some of their bees with strawberry plants from a neighboring farm.


Inside the brewery some culinary students from IvyTech had prepared some appetizers with cucumbers, tomatoes, and cream cheese, as well as some soup, all made with Nature Fresh produce.

 
Benny tried one of Mashcraft's regular taps (I have no clue what he ordered).  I tried some of the Red Pepper Ale made with Nature Fresh's peppers.  I could slightly smell and taste the peppers at first (was surprised with my sinus issues) but the regular smells and tastes of beer quickly took over.  Nothing we tried was as sour as I'd remembered but it didn't change my mind of not liking beer LOL.
 
We had a good time; I just wished we knew people there so we could be more social.  We brought home a swagbag of Nature Fresh goodies.  When I was putting them in the fridge I discovered we had some Nature Fresh tomatoes and peppers already there!
 
 
And now on to our regularly schedule programming...
Weigh-in Wednesday!
 
Have to back up to Wednesday...I woke up in the 4 o'clock hour with tummy/abdominal distress (pain, bloating, etc.) so I didn't get my workout done but I still walked.  I picked up a Mediterranean spice blend at the farmer's market.


When I got home I staked the rest of the tomatoes and watered the garden.  The lettuce, arugula, and Swiss chard are indistinguishable from the weeds so I didn't take a picture.

 
 
THURSDAY was Push Circuit 1.
 
FRIDAY was a makeup day from Wednesday so I did Push Circuit 2.
 
SATURDAY was Burn Intervals & Extreme Abs in the morning followed by standing around for a few hours watching the feis.  My cousin placed 4th in one of her dances; this was her first performance outside of Ohio.  After we got back I trimmed the bushes in the front of the house; Benny and Austin cleaned up.
 
SUNDAY was Burn It Off & Recharge.
 
MONDAY I woke up in the 3 o'clock hour with different tummy/abdominal distress so I took another rest day.
 
TUESDAY I wrapped up the push phase with Push Circuit 3.
 
Today I began the lean phase.  OMG Chalene has complex exercises for just about everything.  So many I did awkwardly in Lean Circuit 2!

Yesterday I went to the doctor about my abdominal issues.  I told him it was similar to IBS but without the diarrhea and constipation.  He pushed on my abdomen and found some tender spots in the upper right quadrant that took me by surprise.  Everything combined leads the doctor to believe that it's gall stones.  They drew blood and took my urine for testing.  The doctor said that he should have the results today but my EMR shows it won't be available until the wee hours tomorrow.  If the lab work shows something then an ultrasound will be ordered.  If it is the stones I hope they recommend the medication route rather than surgery.

TESTING: Blood Urine POC, Bilirubin Urine POC, Urobilinogen Urine POC, Ketones Urine POC, Glucose Urine POC, Protein Urine POC, Nitrite Urine POC, Leukocytes Urine POC, pH Urine POC, Specific Gravity Urine POC, Total Protein SerPI QN, Bilirubin Direct SerPI QN, Bilirubin Total SerPI QN, AST SerPI QN, Alkaline Phos SerPI QN, Albumin SerPI QN, ALT SerPI QN



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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Hot Time in the City


I weighed in up 1.2 lbs last night while TOM creeps into the picture.

With Erin and Heather no longer hosting Weigh-In Wednesday I've stepped up to co-host with Winter. In doing so I must have something ready to share so you'll see the link up Wednesday morning. This first week I've typed up the entire post Tuesday night on my phone. Will see how I manage this every week.

Week of Workouts

FRIDAY was a Soulful Heart Opening yoga flow.
SATURDAY I did Burn Intervals and Extreme Abs. That was some awkward abs for me! I got confused a few times trying to figure out what they were doing. Hopefully this weekend I'll have a better hold on things.
SUNDAY was Burn It Off! & Recharge.
MONDAY was a Better than Coffee detoxifying yoga session.
TUESDAY I wrapped up week 7 with Push Circuit 3.

Today I'll begin week 8 with Push Circuit 2 and melt my way to the farmer's market. Tomorrow is the strawberry festival and I plan to pick up one of the shortcakes for Benny if the rain stays away.

Goodwill Haul

I wanted to get some summer clothes so I told Benny we were going to Goodwill's monthly 50% off sale Saturday.


I had totally forgotten that with their rewards card you get an additional 10% off. So I got 12 pieces of clothing, Benny got a painting by an obscure artist, Austin got a book cover to use for school in the fall, and donated my change....all for


Next Week

I won't be going to Weight Watchers Tuesday night. Instead Benny and I will be attending an event at MashCraft Brewing Company in Greenwood.

NatureFresh Farms, North America's largest bell pepper grower, is making a stop in Indy as part of their North American Agriculture Education Tour. We'll be touring their Greenhouse Education Center, learning how NatureFresh grows produce, sampling recipes prepared by culinary students, and experiencing MashCraft tapping their #GreenInTheCity317 limited edition brew made from NatureFresh bell peppers.  When I tried several varieties of beer during my beer & spirits management class I thought they were all sour. My taste buds have changed a lot since then so I'm curious if introducing bell peppers into the beer will change my opinion of it.

Have you ever had a beer made with a different ingredient in the mix?




Pretty Strong Medicine



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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Morning Pep Blanched Almond Flour Review



I received the 2 and 5 lb bags of Morning Pep Blanched Almond Flour for free in exchange for my honest review.  I struggled with finding recipes for which I had all the ingredients or at least easy swaps.  Then, when I did, they seemed to flood in!

This was my first time using almond flour so I didn't know what to expect.  It seemed to bring a slightly different taste and texture to what I made but otherwise it was great!  I can't wait to see what else I can play with.

What I had an issue with was the seal on both bags.  The plastic zip is sealed on one side of the bag instead of both.  I was glad that I only opened the 2 lb bag since I had a container to fit the leftover almond flour.  I don't know what I'm going to do about the 5 lb bag yet.


Wednesday night I used Fit and Awesome's recipe for Paleo Chicken Fingers as my model since you can play around with different spice combinations to find out what you like.  I didn't have any ground mustard or curry powder to work with.  When I looked in the spice cabinet I discovered I still had an ancient curry blend (ancient because it's about 10 years old LOL).  At the last minute I decided to add garlic.  Why I didn't think about it until later I don't know....I put garlic in EVERYTHING I possibly can LOL.

Here are my ingredients

2 chicken breasts cut into strips (or 1 lb chicken tenders)
1 cup Morning Pep Blanched Almond Flour
1 tbsp curry blend
1 tsp organic turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 egg
1/2 tsp garlic

Somehow my picture of the prep came out blurry...

I was hesitant about using wax paper in the oven.  I know even the package says you can but I'd never done it before.

I paired the chicken tenders with leftover potatoes and gravy.  Benny ate a salad while I had steamed broccoli.  He thought it tasted like soap.  I thought it tasted salty.  I blame it on that ancient curry blend.  Should I throw it away now?
 
 
 
Austin REALLY wanted me to make pancakes with the almond flour.  I'm not sure why since I was never able to make them before; I always burned them.  I guess he thought I've improved over the years... Austin requested pancakes without eggs (Benny's "eggcake" disaster) but I didn't find one.  So I went with this recipe from Simple Green Moms for Paleo Almond Pancakes as my base.
 
Here are my ingredients
 
1.75 cup Morning Pep Almond Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup almond milk
2 eggs, whisked
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Nu Naturals Cocoa Syrup, to taste (not shown)
 
Ready to scoop into the pan.
 

Austin had no complaints but the nibbles I had I thought tasted a little weird.  Nothing like pancakes out of a box.  It wasn't sweet enough for my liking.  Perhaps I can try it with some apple chunks?
 
 
 
 
After my workout I wanted some flatbread to use for my lunch as a sandwich wrap.  So I used a Coconut Flour Flatbread recipe that I found on Foodie Fiasco.  Well, let's just say it didn't turn out as expected.
 
Here are my ingredients
 
2 Tbsp Morning Pep Almond Flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 almond milk
 
Ready to go into the pan.
 
The recipe called for splitting the mix in half to make two pieces but I didn't want to do that.
 
Immediately I started smelling the eggs.  YUCK!  When it was all done I cut off a nibble and confirmed the egginess.  DOUBLE YUCK!  I told Benny this one was his because it tastes too much like eggs and I don't like the taste of them.  I asked him how he wanted it since it was more of an omelet.  He asked for the flatbread to be cut up into strips so that's what I did.
 
 
 
Last night I wanted dessert so I used this No Bake Brownie Bites recipe from Simple Green Moms.
 
Here are my ingredients
 
2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup Morning Pep Almond Flour
2 Tbsp baking cocoa
1 packet Lean1 chocolate shake mix
2 Tbsp almond milk (plus a little more since it was dry)
 
Before even trying to make the balls I had to have a taste.  OMG it was SOOO good!  I said forget making these into balls I'm eating this straight up.  I ate about half of it last night and put the rest into the fridge for later.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

My Garden


This year the only things I planted from seed are the leafy kind - Arugula, Lettuce, & Swiss Chard.  It looks like one of them has sprouted but I don't remember which it was LOL.  Benny overloaded on the tomatoes this year; he REALLY wants garden fresh!  I picked up the Eggplant and two of the tomatoes at the farmer's market.  The broccoli somehow came up from last year so hopefully it'll produce something this time.  Most of the other starters we picked up at Menards, and a couple from Walmart (i.e. the squash).  The seeds I won on Listia.  I didn't find any good looking zucchini to plant like I wanted this year.  How does your garden grow?

Weigh-In

I weighed in Tuesday night down 2.6 lbs, which put me .8 lbs above my goal window.  Benny finally took my measurements last night (first time in 3 months!) but there weren't really any changes.  He did say that my muscles felt firmer so I guess that counts...

Week of Workouts

FRIDAY I did some twisted yoga.

SATURDAY I did Burn Intervals & Ab Burner.  Since this was the 6th one I'll be switching to Extreme Abs instead of the burner one.  I haven't peeked to see what's different.  Will see this weekend!

SUNDAY was Burn It Off! & Recharge.

TUESDAY I wrapped up the second week of the push phase with Push Circuit 3.  I can hardly believe I'm halfway through ChaLEAN Extreme already!  This program just seems to be flying by much quicker than any other one I've done.

WEDNESDAY I did Push Circuit 2 in the morning.  I made it on time to the farmer's market and picked up some Organic Turmeric from Redwine Farms.  I used it in a recipe last night (will be seeing that by this weekend).  Does your Turmeric look more yellow or orange?

THURSDAY I did Push Circuit 1.

Surgery is Official!

I got a call from the scheduling lady and everything's confirmed for September 22nd at 7:30 AM.  We'll have to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM.  When Benny saw that arrival time on the paperwork he was like WHAT?? LOL  So now that's all taken care of I can sit back and wait just under 16 weeks to have the polyp removed, getting back to a normal TOM (we hope)!

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