Time to Talk Tools

Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome had smacked me, sacked me, and whacked me. I was exhausted and wracked with pain.  Eating a healthy diet free from processed foods, dyes, and chemicals was an absolutely essential component in the plan I was designing to try to feel better. 

But how was I supposed to find the energy to prepare healthy foods when I barely had the energy to rip open a box of something? 

I discovered that having the right tools really helps cut the time it takes to prepare fresh, whole foods.  Here are some of my favorites.

Microplane grater.   I drink fresh ginger tea every day and put freshly grated ginger in a lot of things I cook.  It only takes a few minutes to peel the amount of ginger I need and grate it with the microplane.  I keep a brush in my dish drainer to rinse and scrub the grater as soon as I use it, so clean up is a snap too.

Pineapple corer.   I eat fresh pineapple every day but cutting through that tough skin to get to the good stuff can be a chore.  You can buy a simple pineapple corer/cutter for about $15 at your favorite kitchen store.  Mine cuts out the core, takes off the skin, and cuts the fruit into rings or slices in two minutes.

Vegetable Steamer.  Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and a ton of other yummy vegetables can be prepared quickly in a vegetable steamer.

Rice Cooker. Toss brown rice into your rice cooker and you have a great side dish with no muss, no fuss.

Crockpot.  Fill it up in the morning and dinner is ready when you are in the evening.  Cook a roast with potatoes and carrots.  You will have a meal ready and leftover meat to freeze for sandwiches later.

Freezer. I don’t eat processed lunchmeat.  So I grill a whole package of chicken breasts at one time, wrap and freeze.  When I need to fix a quick sandwich, I just defrost in the microwave and enjoy.  Grapes are a delicious frozen treat.  Wash a large bunch of grapes, place in a freezer safe container, and take out a handful to munch for a healthy, satisfying snack.   

Please share your favorite kitchen gadgets.

What tips do you have for making eating healthy easier?

No More Ice Cream? Arrgghhhh!

One day a friend who knew how sick I was emailed me some information I did not want to hear. A friend of hers with fibromyalgia had stopped eating certain foods and was feeling a lot better.  She didn't have all the details but said that it involved foods that might cause allergies.  The only specific food she remembered was ice cream.

Nooooooooo!!!!  I love ice cream in all its forms: from the homemade vanilla delight we hand cranked on the back porch when I was a child to the most elaborate treats offered by my local ice cream parlor.  I just tucked the information from my friend away for a while.

After all, I was busy eliminating chemicals from my environment and food, changing my house cleaning and personal grooming routines, clearing all the processed food out of the pantry, and searching for anti-inflammatory, antioxidant rich whole foods to add to my diet.  

For six months I completely ignored that email info because, frankly, I did not want to delve into a whole list of other things I might have to give up. However, I finally decided I wanted to give up feeling horrible the rest of my life more than I wanted to hold on to old food habits.  So I took the plunge and started reading about foods that might cause allergies.

I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants in this whole process of searching for ways to get better.  I kept praying for God to show me what steps to take next.  And he kept nudging me in new directions.  I took a deep breath and started investigating.

One of the foods that may produce allergies is shellfish.  I was already allergic to that food group. Eating shellfish made me go into anaphylactic shock and quit breathing so it was a no brainer to avoid shellfish. When I read about how contaminated our seafood is from chemical pollution pouring into the oceans, I decided I might as well be glad I couldn't eat seafood instead of being bummed out over no more shrimp and lobster.  

The other foods I read about that produced allergic reactions in some people were going to be a little more problematical because they were things I really enjoyed.  I narrowed the list down to three groups: 

 foods that have gluten 

 milk products that could cause lactose intolerance 

peanuts.

I devised a plan.  I would leave off each group of foods for three months to see if it made a difference in my pain and fatigue level. I figured it would take that long to get each food group completely out of my system.  Then I would add them back to my diet to see if the symptoms changed.  

I started with gluten. Eating gluten free foods has been in the news a lot lately so that seemed a logical place to begin. That meant no bread, no cookies, nothing with flour. I didn't notice any changes when I left gluten products off or when I added them back.  That was a relief.

I tackled peanuts next.  It didn't seem to bother me if I ate something that contained trace amounts of peanuts.  But I could tell a definite difference when I left peanut butter off and when I added it back.  I love peanut butter.  But there are so many good substitutes - soy nut butter, sunflower butter, almond butter - that this was not a difficult change.  I decided to switch to almond butter because almonds were already on my super foods list.

And then there was lactose.  For three months I left off ice cream, milk, and cheese.  When it was time to add those foods back, I started with Greek yogurt.  Because of the way it is processed, people with lactose intolerance can often still eat yogurt.  I eat Greek yogurt two or three times a week and have had no difficulty with it.  However, when I added ice cream, cheese, and other raw milk products back to my diet, my pain level skyrocketed.  So I quit eating those things.  I can tolerate a sprinkle of cheese every now and then and I can cook with milk as long as that is not the main ingredient.  I do not drink milk or eat foods where milk is the primary ingredient.  And I never eat ice cream.  I feel so much better that I haven't even missed it.  And feeling better is after all the point.

Have you noticed any changes in your fibromyalgia symptoms related to the food you eat?

What foods do you recommend leaving out of your diet?

Please share foods that you eat to improve your health.

Hooray for Antioxidants!

c
































In my quest to improve my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue symptoms I had already gotten the harmful chemicals out of my food and environment and started putting helpful things into my diet.

It didn't take me long to become a huge fan of foods with antioxidants.  Oxidation is what happens to iron when it is exposed to the air and develops rust.  In our bodies the rust equivalent is known as free radicals.  They are created when we use oxygen.  If the air we breathe is polluted by chemicals from industrial waste, cigarette smoke, cleaning products, and other chemicals in our environment then the damage to our cells from free radicals gets worse.

Fortunately, there are many foods which are loaded with antioxidants.  These foods not only help prevent destruction to our cells from free radicals, they also help repair damage that is already there.  Foods loaded with antioxidants help prevent disease, repair damaged cells, and boost our immune systems.  

If you Google the terms antioxidant foods or super foods, a whole lot of different lists will pop up. There are many delicious foods for you to choose from.  If you have trouble remembering all the different foods on the lists, just think colorfully.  Usually the foods with the deepest, richest colors have the most antioxidants.

My Favorite Fifteen

Almonds - plain with no salt

Apples - try to find organic ones

Beans - especially black and dark red

Berries - blueberries are my favorite

Broccoli - steamed is delicious and nutritious 

Carrots - eat them raw in salads

Grapes - red and dark purple

Green and red peppers - try them in fajitas

Oranges - the easy peel, no seed variety are a fun snack

Raisins - eat by the handful

Sweet Potatoes - eat instead of white potatoes

Tea green or black - drink several cups a day

Tomatoes - very versatile raw or cooked

Walnuts - sprinkle on cereal and yogurt

Yogurt - Greek yogurt has more protein than regular

By the time I got to this step in my journey, my fibromyalgia pain was vastly improved.  I still had occasional flareups which were especially severe when the weather changed or if I did too much in one day.  My chronic fatigue symptoms were still quite debilitating.  It was depressing to be so tired all the time.  I kept on praying that God would show me new possibilities for coping and recovery. 

Let the Good Food Roll

I was exhausted from being tired all the time and I was tired of constantly having to think about things to eliminate from my life.  I had zapped all the chemicals from my environment, my food, and my daily routine.  My world soon devolved into too much don't, don't, don't and no, no, no.  On the other hand my fibromyalgia pain was a lot better. So I couldn't complain.  (But I did anyway on days when my chronic fatigue symptoms were unrelenting and overwhelming.) 

I had taken positive steps to add more whole foods to my diet.  Now it was time to dive into the adventure of finding foods that might actually help strengthen my immune system, reduce my symptoms, and kick this disease into remission.  I was scrolling through my Facebook feed one morning when I came across the list posted above. I seldom make smoothies and I have found a lot of ways to use these foods besides in soups and salads although they are certainly delicious and easy to incorporate into those dishes.  I eat as many things off this list as I can creatively work into my menus each day.

Here are some ideas:

Sprinkle dried cherries and almonds over organic granola and mix with Greek yogurt.

Add chopped garlic to crock pot dishes, spaghetti sauce, casseroles, meat, poultry, vegetables, and,well honestly, just about everything you cook.

Make fresh ginger tea. I drink at least one cup of this each day and often enjoy two or three cups. Here's the recipe:

Fresh Ginger Tea

Use a micro plane grater to grate 1 T of fresh ginger

Put the ginger in a large mug.

Add a couple of tsp. of raw local honey.

Add the juice from one slice of lime.

Add 1/4 tsp. of ground cinnamon.

Add your favorite tea bag.

Wait for the teakettle to whistle.

Fill the mug with boiling water.

Steep for three minutes.

Remove tea bag.

Here are some tips for using and storing fresh ginger. Peel only as much as you need before grating. Never store in plastic containers or plastic wrap.  It will stay fresher longer if you pop the unused pieces into a plain brown paper lunch bag and keep in the vegetable crisper in your refrigerator. Gotta run.  For some reason I'm suddenly craving a cup of ginger tea.

Well, Then: What Can I Eat?

Hmm...No processed food at all sounds impossible

Okay. By now, I had eliminated tons of chemicals from my environment. I had been on a mission to eliminate chemically laden processed foods from my diet.  I was eating a lot of fruit and vegetables and other whole foods.  But there was a potential glitch looming ahead. I didn't always have the time or the energy to prepare every single thing that I ate completely from scratch.  I needed either a personal chef or a new idea. I couldn't afford a chef so I went with the new idea.  I felt that being able to use some packaged foods would help me make this a lifelong lifestyle change instead of a temporary experiment.  

I wanted to feel as well as possible despite having this awful disease. My fibromyalgia pain was actually getting better. Some days I didn't have any pain at all. This was an exciting and unexpected development.  Although I was still having a lot of chronic fatigue symptoms, there were some days when my energy level kicked it up a notch. I certainly didn't want to do anything to hinder my progress.  But in order for me to stay consistent with this plan for the rest of my life, there had to be some way to make the process more  practical.

I decided to see what happened if I ate mostly whole foods, but occasionally used some prepackaged products. My formula would be to eat whole, natural foods 95% of the time and use some packaged products for the other 5% of what I consumed.  All packaged foods are not the same. There is a big difference between something that comes prepackaged and items that are overly processed. There were some non negotiable qualifiers for any packaged product I tried:

no preservatives 

no food dyes

no trans fats

no chemical additives

no artifical sweeteners

no excessive sugar, fat, or salt

the fewer ingredients the better

read all the labels all the time

The prepackaged foods I added to my diet included: dried fruits such as raisins and cherries, canned low sodium chicken broth, canned tomatoes, canned beans, plain saltine crackers, graham crackers, Greek yogurt.  I love granola but this was a particularly tricky item. Just because the word, "natural" is on the box, that does not mean the food item has no chemicals.  But there are some packaged granola cereals that meet the criteria above. I always read every item on every label of every product so that I have the facts I need to make an informed decision.  

I subtracted a lot of negative chemicals from my environment and from my food.  That left plenty of room for a lot of positive choices.  A little flexibility has made it possible for me to continue a healthy lifestyle.  I feel great and am greatly grateful!