my health { or lack thereof }

ah shucks.

i really wanted to avoid this,

but let's just spew it all out at once and be done with it shall we?

family, friends, and long term readers will remember that i had a an MRI almost a year ago.

the results were a little strange, but not alarming.

It was my second MRI, and it had confirmed that i had an enlarged trigeminal nerve on one side, and excess fluid.

there was no cause for it that they could find.

the thing is, for  a little over the last 4 years,

there has been concern regarding multiple sclerosis.

yep, i've spent years with that in the back of my mind, that i could be walking along with ms, prediagnosis, and nobody understands how crappy i feel except for my husband and mom, and a handful of close friends.

well, here we are,

i have now seen a naturopath who is looking seriously into all my 'issues'.

what has he found?

welp.

what hasn't he found is a better question.

while he does not make diagnosis, or distinctly believe in receiving them, he basically told me that if i continue on the path i'm on with my body, that i will have full blown MS within 5 years, 10 at best.

he has encouraged me not to seek further diagnosis.

he says he can, with my hard work, reverse the effects that this disease is attempting to conquer me with.

my medical dr.,

a casual friend, has also been very concerned for me over the last year. and believed that we needed to keep ms as the focus of investigation.

i have decided to skip the diagnosis part, the western medicine part, and jump straight to keeping my body as healthy as i can without outside medication, etc.

if, in the future, what i am doing is not enough, and i do in fact see it worsening, i will then go that avenue...

but i am hoping and praying to kick it now while in the early years!

so aside from that,

i have some other junkiness happening.

blood work:

the good doc told me to go home and take 20 vitamin d pills.

seriously, i am that deficient,

and that's taking one multi and another vit. d everyday!

also?

i have hypothyroid problems,

adrenal problems,

pretty bad anemia,

a high white blood cell count, a low red blood cell count,

significant dehydration issues.

and and and.

i can't even keep it all straight.

he ordered more blood work,

to see if it is all consistent.

long story short...

i now am confirmed, feel validated in my exhaustion, inability to loose weight, aching joints, and all the issues that come with ms.

my autoimmune system is in complete melt down,

and in turn i am taking on a gluten free diet along with many other things.

i will know more when i speak to the doctor next, with the result of the next round of blood testing.

thanks for reading this far,

it was a much easier way to answer questions people were asking than calling and explaining to all.

now you all see why i hadn't shared this, even years ago when people were curious!

with God's grace and mercy,

i am looking forward to a much healthier 2012!

blessings,

mandy

cookin' in the chicken*...

when my daughter was a toddler, she was known to yell, "hey mommy, are you in the chicken?"

meaning of course, kitchen.  we still giggle about it now and she's almost 8. *ignore me while i go faint for a second*

okay, i feel better now.

i mean she's 5.

i can handle 5.

anyways.

today i'm going to share with you all some of my completely unprofessional, usually sloppy, and always lacking kitchen tips.

who needs martha, right?

cooking for a largish family can be tricky.

i still have not mastered the 'frugal' part of it.

i need to desperately, but as i love feeding my monkeys and love healthy, homemade foods, it is increasingly difficult to be thrifty at it.

tip # 1:

make a weekly menu/list.

i try to have a menu weekly.

i succeed about 3 weeks out of the month.

and i'm about 80% with actually sticking to it completely,

but man does it make life easier!

keepin' it real.  i could have made this look all pretty.

but i didn't.

this is what my list/menu looks like after 2 grocery stores.

tip #2:

roast a chicken (or two!)

this is something i do , if not every week, at least every two weeks.

 and i always make 2.

why?

well, it takes no more effort to roast two than it does one.

and i'm all about lazy. oops, i mean time management.

whole chickens are cheaper, healthier, and tastier than bags of frozen chicken.

the day i roast them (in a turkey pan instead of the chicken one!), we eat one that night for dinner.

the other one is processed for chicken dishes later that week, lunches, etc.

it makes it so nice when i have a chicken dish to prepare, and the meat is already there, cooked and ready!

and roasting chickens is easy-peasy!

simply throw whatever seasoning, herbs, etc you like, (  i like herbs de provence blend with a little oil, or lemon wedges with garlic cloves and rubbed in butter) cook it for a couple hours covered, another bit uncovered till brown on top and cooked through!

tip #3:

this tip correlates with tip 2.

use those bones, etc to make your own broth!

want to be really lazy about it?

after getting the meat off the carcasses, just add water to the roasting pan!

i don't know if this is actually  good for your roasting pan, but remember? i'm all about lazy.

if i have to clean one less pan i'm for it!

once water is added, throw in a few cloves of garlic, a whole onion, a carrot, celery, a splash of raw a.c. vinegar, a few more herbs.

simmer on stove top for 24 hours or so with the lid on.

once it's simmered, pour through fine strainer into a large bowl.

cool on counter .

put in refrigerator until fat forms on top,

then scrap off fat.

 i then pour mine into ball jars, and store in freezer.

wa-la! homemade broth whenever you need!

tip #4 :

use a dry erase marker on ball jar lids

i use jars for lots of storage,

if you use a dry erase marker on the lid for contents and date, it wipes right off when done:)

that says tuscan chick. soup for those of you that lack my elegant handwriting skills.

tip #5 :

pay more attention to price per ounce than price tag.

often my hubby will ask what a good price for ( fill in the blank)

is.

i usually don't know if we are talking in actual price #s.

since getting married, i have always paid more attention to price per unit than the tag price.

it's simple really.

even if the almonds you're looking at are $4.99 vs, $7.99, if price per ounce is .58 as opposed to .37, buy the more expensive bag and get more for your money.

tip # 6:

buy it cheap, even if you don't need it.

the other day i saw a bag of red bell peppers for $4.99.

there were ten in the bag!

now, red bell pepper wasn't even on my list that day, but that is one heck of a deal!

normally here, they run about 1.49 a piece.

i brought them home, chopped them up, and put them in the freezer for when i do need them:)

tip #7:

that pinterest pin circulating about growing your own green onions?

it works!

simply put the ends of your onions in a shallow dish of water, and you will have endless onions!  i'm easy to please apparently, because this makes me ecstatic!

organic, fresh green onions any time!

just be sure to keep an eye on the water level, and add as needed.

  this week's menu is up in the side bar!
have fun in the chicken today!
blessings,
 mandy