Free Flax Oil

If you've been following the blog, you will know that I have been taking flax oil to help with my joints. After checking out all the local health food stores to see who had the cheapest, I thought I would check it out online. I got the BEST deal! I ordered one of each type of the samples that they have listed for shipping of $5.95 each. These are the full size bottles that I paid $15 for! Granted, they charged me $5.95 for each one, so it was $17.85, but still a steal for what I paid for just one bottle to get 3. Go check it out and get yours today!!
http://www.barleans.com/store/productlist_sample.asp?departmentid=29&d=Free+Samples+%2D+Try+it+For+Yourself%21

Post Master Cleanse Revisited

Well, I expected to gain some weight back after going off of the Master Cleanse. I did regain some weight, but it was only 2 pounds! I have found that I can eat a lot less now. I believe that my stomach had a chance to shrink back to the correct size. I've also been eating more salads and soups for lunch and eating my largest meal at lunch time. I only need a small snack for dinner these days.

The flax oil that I bought is starting to help with my knees. I am having less pain each day. Melissa even liked the taste of it.

Hand Sanitizer Recipe

Since reading about the hand sanitizer from Snopes I have been on the lookout for an alcohol free version. Since this is nearly alcohol free, I thought I would try it out.

Waterless Hand Sanitizer
1 cup aloe vera gel
1 tsp. rubbing alcohol
2 tsp. vegetable glycerin
6-8 drops Eucalyptus or Tea Tree Essential oil* Not Fragrance Oil!

Blend well. Use as you would commercial hand sanitizer.

Tantalizing Tuesday Chocolat Chip Cookies with chickpeas

I have decided to spice things up with a recipe on Tuesdays!

This recipe was modified from one in Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.
http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com/site/

Chocolate Chip Cookies (with chickpeas)
makes 2 dozen cookies

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup trans fat free soft tub margarine spread (I used shortening, because we were out of margarine and added a touch of butter flavoring)
2 large egg whites (I used 2 whole eggs)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups (12 oz.) semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats (I used a bit more than that)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
(I added about 1/8 cup ground flax)

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a baking sheet with cooking sprayIn a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and magarine with a wooden spoon or on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the chick peas and chocolate chips (and optional ingredients). Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed until a thick dough forms.Dropt the dough by the tablespoonful onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. (They don't spread much) Press gently with a fork to flatten. Bake until the cookies are golden brown and just set, 11 - 15 minutes; do not overbake. Transfer to a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days (if they last that long).

Post Master Cleanse

Doing well post-cleanse. The leg pain was severe for the next day, and has tapered off since. I tried to call the doctor this morning to make an appointment, but they are closed until June 2, so I will make an appointment next week. I got some flax oil in the mean time to take to help lubricate the joints. It's a lovely cinnamon flavor and quite easy going down. I do feel better after taking it, as I had some pain this afternoon after putting the car seat in Dad's car, and it is much better this evening.

We're getting ready to head down to Ft. Lauderdale for Bruce's graduation soon. Looking forward to seeing the family, and having some away time. Then later next month we're going to have our first vacation in 5 years. We're heading to Montana!

Day 6, Master Cleanse -- Last Day

Lost another pound, for a total of 8.5 pounds lost!

I needed to stop the cleanse yesterday. I did a partial day. The pain in my knee and leg was unbearable. I could barely walk and while Melissa and I were out, all the elderly people were looking at me hobbling around. That's saying something, because we were in the villages where they consider anyone under 30 to be "pediatic". Severe pain and inability to walk were not helpful in keeping a positive attitude for this.

I still feel good that I did 6 days at all. The pain is soooo much better this morning, and I feel like I can actually walk around for the time being. I will make an appt. to see the doctor next week, and have my knee looked at. I wonder if she will suggest a handicapped sticker for me?? Sometimes I wonder how I get around.

Master Cleanse, Day 5

Down another 1 1/2 pounds! That's a total of 6 pounds in 4 days. We'll see what I'm at tonight.

I think that the detox in my legs is going to kill me. I could just really use a tylenol or advil now to make the pain go away. I was up last night at 3:00 because my legs were hurting, and I was having back cramps. I used the heating pad on my back for a bit, and then on to my knee. It did help a little, but not a whole lot. I've got a compression wrap on it now, and it feels a bit better.
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Okay, so it's 8:20 now and I'm HUNGRY! I thought that the hunger was going to be better by now, but I still feel like at any moment I could run into the kitchen and eat everything in sight. What will power I have! At least my knee is feeling slightly better after having it wrapped for about 7 hours. I'm off to pick up the baby.......

Master Cleanse, Day 4

It is not advisable to bake bread or pizza while doing the Master Cleanse. It will make you very hungry and that is not a good thing.

But, I made some sprouted seed bread that smelled absolutely delicous. I also made pizza dough, and pizzas for Melissa and Neil for dinner. I feel very productive today, as I did all of that and some laundry, and chopped up mushrooms and onions for the freezer.

I lost another pound last night. This morning the salt water did not go down well, so I had an additional cup of the laxative tea. I drank that at 10:00 and didn't go until after 2:00. I don't think I'll be trying that again. I guess I will have to choke down the salt water. I made up 7 servings of the lemonade, but I don't know if I will be able to drink in all. I had to chug the last of the lemonade I made last night too. Hopefully that means that my stomach is shrinking back to the proper size. I had a lot of pain in my leg and knee last night too. Mostly in the back of my knee which is odd, because it never bothers me there. I had a lot of tonsil stones this morning too.

I am really looking forward to eating in 7 days. That is for sure! I was looking though my bread machine cookbook and marked off about 7 recipes that I would like to try out. I also need to find a pizza dough recipe that is going to work. I tried out two already, and have had a terrible time with them. They turn to glue during the 2nd rise and I have to add oodles of flour to them. I am going to try one more from my Kitchen Aid cookbook before I break out the heavy guns and go for the CIA recipe from my Pro-Chef book.

Master Cleanse, Day 3

Today has gone well so far. I managed to choke down half of the salt water I was supposed to drink. I did a little shopping and bought veggies for the soup I need to make for after I'm finished. I will finish cutting them up during my afternoon work break. My mouth was coated and yucky last night, so I scrubbed it really well and it's maybe a little better today. My knee hurts a lot though. I can tell I am losing some weight. My rings are starting to slide around. I did get on the scale last night and lost another 1 1/2 pounds. That's a total of 4 pounds!! Exciting! I stopped at Publix to pick up some soy milk for Melissa, and they were cooking this shrimp stir fry....it smelled so good, and I don't even like shrimp! Needless to say, I picked up the recipe for when I'm through with the cleanse. I think that my hunger is subsiding today. I was really hungry yesterday. I drank 10 glasses of lemonade. The first day I only had 8. I might end up with about 8 again today.

Master Cleanse, Day 2 aka AC Fiasco

Well, Our AC is down, and its 83° in the house. I guess the capacitor went out. $105 to fix it. Fun times.

Now on to my progress on the cleanse.
Laxative tea was much better last night. It's funny because I woke up this morning not hungry at all. I didn't get to drink my salt water this morning...(oh darn), but have started on the lemonade. I really wanted to just grab something to eat this morning. Especially with the heat in the house, and Melissa being grumpy from the heat and running around! Grrrr. But, I did lose 2.5 lbs so far. No inches yet. Off to drink more lemonade!
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Ok, so I'm hungry today. And I have a headache. But otherwise, my cold which was coming on full force yesterday is practically gone. I am assuming the headache has something to do with the AC being off, and getting all hot from that. But I'm doing it. It's almost back to a normal temperature in the house now, at least. I am going to drink more lemonade today than I did yesterday. I think that the additional maple syrup may help with the headache. I did cut the recommended amount of 2 Tbsp per glass down to 1 Tbsp to help lose more weight, but I think I need the full amount today.

Master Cleanse Day 1

I have started the Master Cleanse today, and it is going well so far. For those who don't know what that is, I will explain. No there is not enough time. I will sum up. (Can you tell we just recently watched The Princess Bride?) Okay, so it's 10 days where you don't eat anything. Every evening you are supposed to drink an herbal laxative tea and every morning you are to do a top-down enema of salt water rinse. The rest of the day you drink as much water as you wish, and 6 - 12 10oz. glasses of "lemonade" made with lemon or lime juice and grade b maple syrup. This is to cleanse your system of toxins and give you a fresh start.

The reason for me doing the cleanse is to help with my knees. Everyone knows that my knees are the standard party trick for grossing everyone out. And before I head to the doctor who will for sure be saying that I need a knee replacement before I turn 30, I wanted to give it a go and try this out. I also need to lose some weight, but the cleanse isn't really a diet per se, but it does have that effect. As such, I did take my weight and measurements which I will not post here, but will post a total lost when I'm through. Christina, my sister, was supposed to be starting today with me, but she ended up chickening out having a migrane and not starting today. My brother, Bruce, is already on day 7, and looking forward to eating again soon.

Okay, so I had my lemon mint laxative tea last night about 11pm, and woke up at about 5am with stomach cramps. Thinking they would go away, I curled up in a ball and attempted to go back to sleep. At 6, I just got up and eliminated and felt much better, no cramps. Went back to sleep. The salt water rinse, was bad. I only drank half of what I was supposed to. I seriously though about it coming back up, but it did it's job. I dropped Melissa off at my parents this morning, and felt a few hunger pangs on the way, so I slurped up some more lemonade and water. So far so good.

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Evening update.....
Neil made rice to go with the curry chicken I made on Sunday, and it smelled so good! I never knew plain rice smelled so yummy! Even with a stuffed up nose. I am pretty hungry at the moment. And I did speak to Christina who is going to start tomorrow. I was expecting to be running to the bathroom every hour, but so far it has been going pretty good. Just as you would expect if you drank a bunch of liquids, I have peed a whole lot. Bruce said that the second day was harder for him. I feel like I may be able to do this for the full time, but I'm taking it as it comes, one day at a time. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. But at the same time, I feel prepared for it. The week I spent in the hospital on a liquid diet was so much harder than this. Granted, I was really sick, and drugged up and feverish, but I couldn't get up and move around much, and Melissa was away from me. It's about 8:00 now and I am finishing up my 6th glass of lemonade. I may have 1 or 2 more.

Food, Act II

Okay, so in addition to those lovely poor man's crab cakes, I also made Seed Cheese. We didn't really like it so much as a cheese, but it wasn't bad as a dip. What we really enjoyed it as, was a salad dressing/remoulade to those crab cakes. So, here's the basic recipe, and you can add anything additional to it you would like. I added some relish and chives to make it more like remoulade.

Seed Cheese
1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked 4 - 8 hours, hulled
1/4 cup almond milk
1 generous Tbsp. Ume plum vinegar, apple cida vinegar or rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. celtic sea salt
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Pepper to taste

Preparation
Additional almond mild or water to blend as neeeded. Ume plum vinegar contains high amounts of sea salt.

Put sunflower seeds in bowl. Cover with several inces of water, and let soak 4-8 hours. Pour water off. Over again with water. Gently rub seeds between palms of hands to remove skins, which will float to the surface. Pour most of the water and the floating skins off, and repeat process several times. To minimize loss of seeds, pour through a strainer. When most of the skins have been removed, Drain. Place seeds in a blender or food procesor with almond milk or water, lemon juice, garlic, vinegar and salt. Blend, adding more liquid if necessary. When using a food processor, scrape mix down from the sides once or twice. Add Pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving or storing container. Cover leftovers and refrigerate for 2-3 days. Enjoy!

Food Glorious Food

A few weeks ago, I made Poor Man's Crab Cakes, and they were so good that I had to take a picture!!

The real truth of the matter is that the first batch came out so badly that I got mad and threw them in the sink making a huge mess, and then had to go to the store to pickup ingredients. My wonderful husband cleaned up the mess, and I came home and made these beauties.

The original recipe came from my mother who got it from someone else. We used to eat these all the time growing up in Maryland. They taste just as good as the real thing! Here's my newly tweaked recipe.

Poor Mans Crab Cakes

2 cups grated zucchini

1 large egg

1/4 cup italian bread crumbs

1/2 cup cracker crumbs

1/4 cup ground flax seed

3/4 - 1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning (the more the better)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. melted butter

Mix all ingredients well. Fom patties and fry in vegetable oil until browned. Drain, and enjoy!

Poopy on the Potty!

Well, Melissa managed to actually poop on the potty!!! It wasn't much but it is a start! So, I've been meaning to go to the mall and pick up a potty book for her for a few weeks. Neil and I finally made it to Books A Million this weekend, and I was reminded why I hate them! I don't understand why, but they have complete and utter morons working there. After spending about 10 minutes trying to locate a book in the childrens section, I went and asked an oh so pleasant guy about finding a potty book. He looked at me like I had three heads, and walked me over to the parenting books. After telling him about a hundred times that I was looking for a children's board book for my 21 month old, he continued to point out adult books on PTing your child. At that point we said thank you and he walked away. Another 30 minutes later and having walked the entire aisle looking at every learning book, another woman asks us if we need help and low and behold she actually knew what she was talking about!! We ended up getting a book that Melissa loves and has a little flush button on it that she pressed 27 times before we left the store.
Neil and Melissa are at the doctor's now, and I'm waiting for their update. She's been sick for almost 2 months straight now, and she had a fever of 103° last night. He just said that she has a temp of 100° now. I wish my baby was well!

Well, the verdict is....................Strep Throat. The doctor said he could see a few white spots on her tonsils, so we get another round of Keflex, and in addition to that, he added in Singulair 4 mg chewables to try and clear out her lungs.