Betty, Francis, Mark, Effer, and Dusty Walk Into a Body

There’s no time like the present. 3:30 am, listening to Pandora, wiggling in bed attempting to lessen the pain. So here goes.

As some of you know, my life has taken a train wreck turn these last few years. No one plans for a train wreck, especially one that seems to stay off the tracks indefinitely, but that’s where I find myself. Sleepless, in pain, unable to change the course. I have a long laundry list of diagnosed conditions, and an even longer list of symptoms that point to additional conditions yet to be diagnosed. It seems, though, the central component is Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a genetic collagen disorder. Just fyi, here’s a definition of collagen:

“any of a class of extracellular proteins abundant in higher animals, especially in the skin, bone, cartilage, tendon, and teeth, forming strong insoluble fibers and serving as connective tissue between cells, yielding gelatin when denatured by boiling.”

So, yea, having a collagen disorder means the very basics of your body are messed up. And it means literally anything can go wrong. Like intense leg pains at 3 am. Why? Well, I’m sure some very well-paid doctor at the Mayo Clinic could explain it all very eloquently, but I’m still waiting for that appointment. As soon as I find $5k to foot the bill, I’ll have that conversation with that doctor. Until then, I just try to make the pain stop.

In laymen’s terms, my nerves, muscles, and connective tissues betray me. And then there’s the good ol Autonomic Nervous System, or Dysautonomia in my case. It’s the joker that’s always trying to make me think a hungry lion is chasing me. Ugh. It’s getting old. Lions don’t even live near me!! Just chill out.

As a coping mechanism, I’ve given my most frustrating/debilitating conditions names. Most are not pg rated, but just this little bit of separation from illness helps. And tonight “Francis” (the leg pain) needs to tone it down. Then there’s the ever-present “Effer,” the usual pain. I say “usual,” not because it’s a normal or moderate pain, but because it’s the usual high-level muscle/nerve/connective tissue/skin pain I have every moment of every day. It is a real bugger. Sometimes it keeps me from walking or even moving much. Other times I’m able to move some. But if I overdo it on the moving around, or haven’t moved quite enough to his tastes, Effer definitely lets me know.

Tomorrow I drive to the Immunologist, who treats “Mark,” the Mast Cell Disorder. Basically, Mark lies to my body and tells it that I’m allergic to nearly everything in the universe. In truth, I’m not. But Mark is pretty loud. He’s obnoxious. And he never shuts up.

I’d like to begin writing a bit about my journey, and I invite you to come along. I have no idea what to expect, but I’m sure it’ll be a grand adventure!

Alright, “Betty” the Brain Fog says it’s time to go now. I’ll be back later. 🙂 Now can someone please tell “Dusty” the Dysautonomia that there is no lion!!! And seriously, Francis, it’s really time to put a lid on it.

To learn more about Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, or EDS, read stuff from this site: https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/

When life gives you cherries, make muffins!

Sometimes life is about what you do with what you’ve been given, or what materials you have on hand.

This morning as I lay in bed assessing my exhaustion, I began craving muffins. My mouth began to water, and I swear I could feel myself biting into the fluffy goodness of a warm, soft, moist, and delicious muffin. This was no store-bought,  pre-made, or frozen for 2 years muffin, this was a homemade muffin.

So my first task of the morning (after making coffee) was to assess my baking supplies and find a suitable muffin recipe. I found an easy blueberry muffin recipe from Brown Eyed Baker ( http://www.browneyedbaker.com/). Sounded delicious to me, and I even had dairy-free/gluten-free sour cream in the fridge!

See the yummy muffin recipe here.

I had the gluten-free flour. I had dairy-free butter and sour cream. The only problem was that I didn’t have blueberries. I could get dressed and go to the store for blueberries, but we all know that wasn’t gonna happen. So I looked for another fruit to substitite. Apples? No, I didn’t want cinnamon-apple muffins. Avocado. Um, no. Celery? Ha. Orange? Next time. Add vanilla to the mix for “plain”? That was an option. Then I looked in the freezer. Cherries! I had cherries left from a Chia cherry pudding I made last month (yummy, btw).

Now, I’ve never heard of cherry muffins, though. Was there a reason? Was I about to discover that cherries + muffin tin = disaster? Despite the risk, I went with it. I like to break the mold, as you might know. I began to think harder about muffins, and why I had never thought to try cherry muffins before now. My family was the kind that fought over the last cherry popsicle, devoured a jar of cherries before we even got home from the grocery store, had cherry poptarts, struddels, soda, pies, and anything else cherry we could find. But I never remember cherry muffins.

Well, today was the day. I chopped up the frozen cherries and added them to the dry mix, just like the brown eyed baker said. Plopped them in the oven. Waited impatiently. Got them out and bit into one before they even cooled. And what do ya know, they were amazing! Even better than I had imagined earlier. I had put some Enjoy Life chocolate chips in a few of them, and I liked it, but it didn’t knock my socks, er, chacos off. I also drizzled a little juice from jarred cherries over top the muffins before baking. It made them sticky, but definitely enhanced the flavor.

So here’s the lesson – just because you haven’t seen it tried it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be tried. Who knows, you might really like the thing you haven’t tried. Only one way to find out.

But there’s no way I’m letting you find out how many of those amazing muffins I had today. 🙂

Above the Clouds

So as you may have guessed,  I have no cell service in my cottage. Which I typically don’t mind, but it would be very helpful to have access to Google while cooking all these new recipes. Such is life.

Yesterday was very cold, so I only hiked around the retreat center. They have a beautiful creek going through and one small waterfall.

Today was much nicer, so I went over to my ole favorite Roan Mountain. What a gorgeous day for hiking! Most of the trails I hiked were covered in ice, so that part was a bit anxiety producing. I could just imagine myself falling & busting a hip. Then I’d be stuck until someone came by. Then they’d probably bust a hip trying to help me. So I ended up watching my steps carefully.

I ended up on a more difficult trail than I would’ve chosen, but it was very beautiful! Fortunately, there was a road I could take back to the car instead of coming back down the glacier express & busting the other hip. 🙂 Just before I got to the road, I came across some MASSIVE paw prints – basically the size of my palm. That caused just a bit of angst as I thought about what creatures might devour me should I bust a hip and get stuck overnight. Here’s a shot.

And here’s the glacier express.

I’ve been cooking some amazing dishes here. Pumpkin apple latkes, Cauliflower Bacon & Spinach Melt, Overnight Raspberry Oatmeal, Apple Parsnip Soup, & Reuben sandwich. I’ll share those recipes & photos when I come to town next.

Yesterday was a particularly bad day health wise. I was exhausted, it was rainy and cloudy, and I ached all over. Today has been exactly the opposite. I woke up full of energy, excited to start my day.  I haven’t even had to take pain meds today! Maybe I should find a place that’s sunny every day.

That’s all for now folks. Off to make some black bean spaghetti & visit with Sean Connery.

Mountaintop Express

I wrote this Monday night, but couldn’t get enough signal to publish it. Enjoy!

I’m spending the week in a beautiful cottage up on a mountaintop.  Here are some shots of my temporary home.

Yes, there is a loft,  and yes I’m like a kid when it comes to lofts. 🙂 Pretty cozy place. I’ll share more photos of my mountaintop scenery tomorrow when the weather is a bit nicer.

It’s a rainy, dreary day outside, which means I’m not on top of my game. All I can do is take some extra vitamin d, drink some coffee, and try to be patient with myself. I had several things to do before heading up the mountain, including my grocery shopping for the week. Only took 2 hours and 3 grocery stores. No big deal. Small price to pay for feeling healthy.

By the time I left the third grocery store, I was ready for a retreat from my retreat prep. 🙂 But as I drove up the mountain, snacking on snickerdoodle cookies (enjoy life makes some great ones!) & avocado tuna salad, I began thinking about how much fun I’ll have this week. Hiking, cooking, music, Sean Connery, sitting in a beautiful cottage.

Unfortunately, it’s been raining since I got here, so I haven’t had much time to explore around my cottage. I did take a look at the trail maps to see where I should start tomorrow. So excited!!

Dinner tonight was Coconut Curry Shrimp & Green Beans.

9 Raw shrimp
4 oz Green beans
1 small can coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp Thai Kitchen red curry paste (+ 1 pinch sugar if you want to tone down spice – yes, please)
1 tsp smoked paprika
Olive oil to sauté green beans
1 tsp or so tapioca starch (to thicken curry to your preference)
A sprinkle of garlic powder, for good measure

Sauté green beans in olive oil until beans soften slightly. Add garlic & onion, let them cook a minute. Turn down heat to medium and add coconut milk, curry paste (& sugar), paprika, tapioca starch. If you find it easier, take out the green beans while you mix all this goodness. Once it’s all mixed & to the thickness you want, add shrimp (and return the beans to the pan). Cook until the shrimp is done.

Enjoy! I’m off to start my Sean Connery marathon. (Only made it through half of Dr No before exhaustion overtook me.)

O Sunny Day

Another wonderful day in the beautiful mountains.

Unfortunately it wasn’t such a wonderful day for nutrition. I barely reached 800 calories!  That was largely because I forgot to eat breakfast. Straight up forgot. Like how I made myself a cup of coffee and completely forgot about it. Yea, one of THOSE days. Sleep was rough last night, and pain was high.
It got much better, though, as the day went on. Thankfully it was a sunny day. I always feel better & think more clearly on sunny days. Plus, I got to see some of my favorite people & pups in the world today! It does a soul good to feel loved and cherished. 🙂

For lunch I ate a sandwich of leftover avocado tuna salad – absolutely delicious, and high in protein! For dinner I had bacon and roasted asparagus. I love asparagus. I think I may even be addicted to asparagus. Drizzle with Canaan fair trade olive oil,  cover with garlic powder, sprinkle a little salt, and roast until the tips get a little crispy. Yum!

While I was out today I picked up a pasta maker. I’ve been eyeballing some gf/df/potato free recipes lately, and I’m thinking I’ll try my hand at it this week. If y’all have any recipes or suggestions, feel free to share!

Speaking of this week, I’m going to a retreat center this week that’s up on a mountaintop. A cozy cottage, alone with a kitchen, surrounded by countless hiking expeditions, lots of good books, the whole Sean Connery James Bond series…. I’m bursting with excitement! 🙂 I’ll make a big shopping trip tomorrow before I head up the mountain, so I’m finalizing my meal plan now. I’ve got a few Asian dishes, a few mexican dishes, a Greek dish (if I can find a dairy free feta alternative – ideas?), and lots of all-time favorites. Can’t wait to share them with you!

I’ll leave you with a view of today’s sunset. I just love sunset in the mountains.

My head in the mountains

The last two days have been full of adventure, family, and lots of laughter and rest. And my meals have been excellent, too! What more could a girl ask for.

Yesterday morning I started my day with a protein-filled breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs and leftover corned beef. Yum! Then I went on a 2 mile walk/hike here in Bristol. I love being in the mountains! I especially love being 10 minutes away from a really good hike! It was a cold morning. I had to wait for it to “warm up” before I headed out – about 25 degrees. Good thing I have such a warm and cozy carhart vest.

Proved to be a very beautiful walk. The trees had ice skirts, parts of the dam were still frozen, and it was chilly enough to make me move fast! Here are some shots I got while walking.

When I got home, I made some fried eggplant slices, leftover from when I made lasagna last week. Now, if you’ve never fried eggplant, beware, you’ll never get it “crispy.” Eggplant is like a sponge. I soaks in everything. Here’s how I made mine. Mix an egg in a wide, shallow bowl. Dip the eggplant in the egg, then dredge through the batter – I use gluten free bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika (my new favorite spice). I use Canaan Fair Trade olive oil for all my stovetop cooking. It’s got a rich flavor, so I didn’t mind so much when the eggplant tasted of it. I cooked the slices until the crust was crispy – about 5 to 10 minutes over medium heat, then placed the eggplant slices on a plate with paper towels, then proceeded to “flatten” the slices, trying to squeeze out as much oil as I could. It did make a difference!

Here’s a photo of the yummy goodness.

After lunch, I finished a crochet project I started an undetermined amount of years ago – could be 1 year, could be 5 years. I have no clue. The important part is that it’s finished! It’s an infinity scarf, made from soft yarn. Here it is:

Dinner last night was a fancy rice with the amazing meat sauce left over from the lasagna filling. I’ll post that recipe here this week. It was pretty amazing.

I visited with my family yesterday evening, which basically means an evening of laughing so hard my face hurts. It’s wonderful to be in a room of people who all share your sarcastic sense of humor and aren’t overly sensitive about it. Plus, I got to see my brother walk a bit and move his fingers and shoulder! (He’s been in a wheel chair more than a year now after a stroke left his left side paralyzed.) He’s such an inspiration to me and so many other people.

This morning I made tuna avocado salad (AMAZING – recipe here: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/avocado-tuna-salad/), and headed out for another hike. This time I went to a local park (my “childhood” park) with several trails. I hiked for 3 hours! There’s something about  being deep in the mountain forest that is both terrifying and exhilarating. I kept thinking of scenes from “Justified” (one of my favorite tv shows!), and of the “Man Cave” incident in Johnson City about 9 years ago. Interesting combination. Anyway, I didn’t come across Raylan, unfortunately, nor any guys hanging out together. But I did get these shots.

I absolutely love hiking in the mountains with a body of water nearby. I was completely exhausted by the end of my hike. I seriously thought my feet were going to fall off or my hips would pop a spring. Definitely a bad day to forget my anti-inflammatory pain med. Lesson learned. It felt so good though, to do a strenuous hike, especially since all my hikes in Georgia consist of level grasslands. Overall, the hike ended up being 5-6 miles, with most of that being literally going up and down the mountainside on a very narrow path. If I got dizzy or lost my footing, I’d have started tumbling down the mountain.

I came home to a nice shower and a terrific home-cooked meal: roasted spinach & parsnips with leftover barbecue. Now parsnips are a funny thing. Raw, I think they taste like spicy dirt. But when you cook them, they take on a whole new taste and texture. Like the other day when I made mashed garlic parsnips. (See that recipe here.) Today I sliced them thin, heated some Canaan Fair Trade olive oil, added a little oil, and cooked the parsnips until crispy golden on both sides (about 10 minutes on medium heat). As I cooked the parsnips, even the smell changed. I suddenly smelled cinnamon! It was like I was roasting carrots in cinnamon. And when I tasted the parsnips, they had a distinctly sweet taste. Very delicious! And so easy!

Alright, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

Breakfast of champions!

Yum yum in my tum!! I’ve had a craving for waffles for about 2 years now. Not the freezer burned cardboard kind, but the warm and fluffy fruit covered kind. But a waffle maker is a specialty kitchen item, and always seemed a bit too fancy for my style. If freezer burned cardboard was good enough for me as a kid, it should suffice now, right? (By the way, Van’s makes a great apple cinnamon gluten free cardboard variety!)

Well, I finally broke down and bought a waffle maker. Remember that celebratory day when I had a good visit to the doctor? Yea, it was a pretty celebratory day. So as I picked up my slim pickins meat and veggies at the local grocery store, my free-loving hands snuck in a waffle maker while my guilty conscience was checking out the hummus ingredients. I regret nothing. And I got the hummus, too! It was a good day.

So, back to breakfast.

Hodgson Mills makes a good mix without potato starch (potatoes are on my naughty list). Crack a few farm fresh eggs, mix in a few tablespoons of earth melted earth balance non – dairy butter, spill some sugar in if youre so inclined (I was. I mean, it did have flax. I feel a bit of sugar only balanced it out.) Mix gently if you like an airy, fluffy waffle. And HOLY COW DON’T TOUCH ANY PART OF THE WAFFLE MAKER EXCEPT THE TINY HANDLE. Seriously. It’s smoking hot. And not the pretty lady kind. I burned myself twice in the span of two minutes. And I worked in a restaurant for years and never burned myself on a commercial grade.

The waffle was worth it though.  Smoking hot. Pretty waffle kind. Smother it with a blackberry maple syrup (mashed blackberries & a bit of your favorite syrup), and you’ve got a bit of heaven on your plate.

Just after breakfast I hit the road for Tennessee.  It was an 8 hour drive, so I loaded my pre-portioned frozen & cold foods in a cooler with lots of ice packs, and loaded all my dry goods in a plastic bin. Now all I have to buy in Tennessee is vegetables! For lunch I had the last portion of my amazing lasagna from last week, and followed that with a handful of Enjoy Life snickerdoodle soft baked cookies.  These cookies are an outstanding little cookie. Even my gluttenous (gluten eating) friends like them ! Moist, flavorful & not filled with nasty ingredients.

The drive was filled with country music, 90s comedy (my favorite Pandora station for traveling), yelling at truckers who decide to jump in front of me and “race” past the superslow trucker in front of them, and a beautiful sunset over my beloved mountains. I was too busy driving to snap a shot. Just use your imagination. 🙂

Tonight I had a serving of my barbecue from the other night,  vegged in front of a TV for a while, and started planning my next meal. All made possible by that wonderful breakfast of champions.

Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to avocado tuna salad. Get ready!

A day to cook

I woke up this morning to the amazing smell of barbecue filling my house!! Made for a yummy breakfast, too – paired with some farm fresh eggs. May be a bit of an unorthodox breakfast, but I like testing the limits of normalcy anyhow. 🙂  My first crockpot barbecue, and it definitely won’t be my last. I’ve prepared 9 servings to freeze for later, and I have a lot of barbecue sauce to have on hand, too.

As soon as the barbecue came out of the crock pot, I started a corned beef, below. Pretty excited for that, too. Should be ready by dinner time.

For lunch I heated up some left over chicken soup from the other night (loads of veggies, garlic, herbs, & chicken stock) and made mashed parnsips. What’s a parsnip,  you ask? Well, it looks like a carrot, except it’s a cream color, and it’s a bit more spicy than carrots. It’s a super food in my book. It has a fair amount of potassium, iron, folate, b vitamins. Chop up a few parsnips (sold by the bag in your local grocery store), boil till tender, drain, add milk & butter (dairy free if necessary – earth balance carries an excellent option), salt, a little garlic, and viola – you have a yummy and healthy alternative to mashed potatoes!! See how creamy they are! (I used a food processor.)

Parsnips

Mashed parsnips

Homemade chicken soup

After that, I made a pecan pie, to make up for last night’s disappointing lemon bars. The pie was hard work – getting the jar open, that is. 🙂 My housemates brought back a pecan-pie-in-a-jar from Texas, and it’s just been chilling out on the counter staring me down. I finally got some gluten free pie crusts yesterday (Mi-del – graham style), so I made that bad boy. Man is it yummy!! Thanks, San Saba Ricer Pecan Company. Just add butter & eggs and put in the oven. My kind of dessert today.

As much as I’ve enjoyed cooking all these fine dishes, days like today make me want to stay in bed. The second I woke up, I knew it was a cloudy, dreary day. I didn’t even have to open the curtains. I ached, felt foggy brained, and struggled pulling myself out of bed, even though I had slept enough hours. As the day has progressed, the pain & fog have increased. Pain meds & vitamin d help some, but they never quite pull me out of the fog. It’s like my brain is vegging out on the couch, and someone has decided to use my body as a punching bag. At least I can feel productive by preparing some food and trying some new recipes.

Tomorrow I head to Tennessee for a bit. I hope it’s not another dreary day! And don’t be afraid of parsnips if you haven’t tried them. They don’t bite. 🙂

Good food!!

Here’s one of my favorite things I’ve made lately. Lasagna – with eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, grass-fed beef, onion, spices, tomato passata, red cooking wine, daiya cheddar & mozzarella cheese,  and a few brown rice lasagna noodles. I topped the cheese with a bit of gluten free bread crumbs to give it a bit of a crusty feel. I’ve been eating on this for nearly a week!!

Here’s the recipe I loosely followed: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/no-pasta-lasagna/

Here’s the other thing I was very excited to enjoy this evening – Blueberry Lemon Bars. Unfortunately it wasn’t as amazing as I had hoped. The recipe I followed called for the wrong kind of flour & didn’t warn about coconut sugar darkening during baking, so my bars turned out very dark & very dense. However, I found a better recipe to try next time!
Here’s the recipe you’ll want to try: http://brittanyangell.com/blueberry-lemon-breakfast-bars-glutengrainsugareggdairy-free/

Now I’ve got a pork roast, spices, & kraft barbeque sauce in the crock pot slowly turning to yummy, southern, pulled pork barbecue. Can’t wait for that!

I’m a bit of a celebratory mood this evening, hence the lemon bars. I had an appointment with my endocrinologist this morning that went very well! I went with 5 specific questions to ask her, and she answered 3 of them before I even asked! I honestly think I have one of the best endocrinologists in this part of the country! She’s open-minded, takes time to answer all my questions, is up to date on all the latest treatment methods, and generally seems like someone you’d like to meet out for beers. Great combination!

Apparently my t3 level is low for the first time ever, so I’m now taking a synthetic t3 replacer. My doc thinks it may help with the fatigue & aching, but it’ll take a few weeks to see. In the meantime, she suggested some pain relief tips, applauded & encouraged me on my gluten free food journey, and was very supportive of me seeing a functional medicine doctor as well.

Hope it’s been a good day for y’all,  too!

What’s in a month?

Some of y’all know I’ve been struggling to find balance with my life and health lately. It’s become pretty overwhelming, with all my responsibilities at Koinonia. So I’ve been given this month free of all responsibilities at the farm to dedicate myself to resting, finding healthy habits, patterns, and ways of thriving. I’ll be sleeping a lot, exercising regularly, eating good food, doing some fun activities, and trying not to stress out over anything (aka – giving myself permission to take some space).

Part of what I want to do with this month is to read & write regularly. I’ve not done any non-work related writing in years (as y’all can tell by how sparsely populated my blog is). So I hope you’ll be hearing from me more often.

Another part of this month is to try to eliminate any and all possibilities of problems with food allergies, to see if that helps. So I’ll be preparing all of my meals – free of gluten, dairy, potato – to make sure I’m not getting any cross-contamination & to pay extra attention to nutrition and calorie count (I regularly eat less than 1000 calories a day, and almost never get all my vit/minerals…yea, that’s not cool.). It’s not that I’m starving myself – I’m eating! It’s just pretty hard to get the recommended calories eating only veggies & meat. I’ll try to post some of my favorite recipes I’m preparing. And if y’all have any suggestions, send ’em my way!

I’m very aware of what a gift this is I’ve been given, and I hope it creates lasting change in my life – helping me learn the art of soul care, self care, and mind care.

Pray for me as I start this February journey. And if you need a break from the heavy burdens you’re carrying around, considering taking this journey with me! Remember, if you don’t take care of yourself (your WHOLE self), you won’t be here to help take care of others.

(p.s. I took the above photo last summer at Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Cali. If you  haven’t been & you’re a tree hugger, you should make plans to camp there.)