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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!
----------------------------------------
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.