Practice What You Preach!

INTRODUCTION 

I haven’t blogged in a while, so if we haven't yet met, and you’re interested, there’s more about me at the end this post.

Hello again! My name is Cindy and this is my second go-around of blogging. I’m not likely to get a large following. I’m in it for my own accountability. If I “state” it, I’m likely to do it. I posted on Facebook last month that I would only eat one plate of food at our Thanksgiving dinner and have only one piece of pie for dessert. I’d never accomplished that before, but stating it online for some reason gave me the ability to follow my self-made holiday rules. Since that seemed to work for me, I decided that posting blogs online might enable me to:

PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH!

I’m often telling people who struggle, as I watch them eat, that what they’re eating is highly inflammatory, hoping they’ll look at the part they play in their own health problems.

Well, now I’m having some health problems.

For the past few months I’ve been struggling with allergies – nasal issues. Very recently it progressed into a sinus infection. I avoid doctors, tests, drugs and treatments, so I came up with a plan. First, I began using specific food items as daily supplements:

Coconut oil (2 Tbsp., 2x day) (very healing product).

Apple cider vinegar water, and lemon slices in water (to get my alkaline levels up).

Raw garlic (natural antibiotic), but I only use it at bedtime so as not offend anyone (except my husband, each evening he tells me I smell).

And after a couple of days of the above, the pain subsided. I’m still struggling with the allergies, but I’m feeling encouraged.

NOW ABOUT OUR MEALS.

My husband and I have gotten kind of ridiculous with eating more and more sweet things. I’ve made too many angel food cakes and peanut butter cookies lately, and after every meal we say, “Want some dessert?” And we have consistently been saying “yes” to ourselves. Well, if I’m going to take care of my own health, I need to:

STOP THE NONSENSE!

It occurred to me recently that by adopting a well-known philosophy just might be what I need to help myself:

IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU PLAN TO FAIL.

We’ve tried different diets in the past, usually for weight loss, but I get frustrated in the busy-ness of life. Mainly because there’s no game plan. We come home after work, wonder what to eat, and more often than not, resort to “habitual” meals like nachos or something that includes the old stand-by – bread of some sort (gluten free for me, of course).

So, a couple of weeks ago I sat down with “The Master’s Diet” by Jordan S. Rubin (an incredible story of one man’s illness and healing that I assume includes a plan for healing based on biblical teachings – I haven’t finished his story yet, I just skipped to a menu plan) and a couple of Suzanne Somers’ books and wrote down a week’s menu. The first five days are from Rubin’s book.

We started this yesterday:

MY INTENTIONAL ONE-WEEK MENU WITH NO DESSERTS

Monday

Breakfast – skillet breakfast (egg, butternut squash, spinach, onion, cheese), tea or milk

Lunch – tuna salad (tuna, homemade mayo, flaxseed meal, onion, red pepper, celery) with carrots & celery

Dinner – marinated steak & green salad

Evening Snack – strawberries & homemade yogurt

Tuesday

Breakfast – veggie frittata (broccoli flowerets, yellow pepper, onion, butter/red palm oil, eggs, yogurt, lemon zest (Gene didn’t care for the zest), Monterey Jack cheese

Lunch – coconut milk soup (fish & leftover turkey, coconut milk, chicken broth, jalapeño, ginger, lime juice)

Dinner – salmon with pecan pesto, green salad, cultured veggies (I forgot to plan ahead, so they won’t be cultured L)

Evening Snack – carrot, celery, raw almond butter

Wednesday

Breakfast – onion/red pepper/feta cheese omelet, seasoned avocado slices

Lunch – oriental red meat salad

Dinner – coconut milk soup, broiled halibut, green salad

Evening Snack – yogurt, raw honey, vanilla, blueberries

Thursday

Breakfast – fast (if we don’t feel up to fasting, we may have an egg/cheese omelet)

Lunch – fast (or broth/soup)

Dinner – cultured veggies/sauerkraut, green salad, tuna steaks

Evening Snack – none

Friday

Breakfast – artichoke frittata (eggs, onion, marinated artichoke hearts, parmesan)

Lunch – lettuce wraps (mayo, cucumber, walnuts, chicken, cheese), tortilla chips/homemade salsa

Dinner – braised salmon, baked red potatoes, strawberries/yogurt

We’re into Tuesday’s plan now. Gene was gone over lunch, so he’ll probably eat whatever is served where he’s at, but as in the past when we’ve been intentional, he’ll probably skip the dessert.

ABOUT ME

I’m in my fifties. Almost 13 years ago I discovered I needed to go gluten free. Maybe I have Celiac Disease, maybe I have something similar. All I know is that when I went gluten free my world changed. The most significant change was when a mental fog lifted one Sunday morning while I was standing in church. Talk about a life-changing moment!

And I wasn’t just gluten free then. There weren’t all these GF convenient foods in the supermarket, so I was mostly grain-free as I figured out my new normal. And I’m thankful for that. A lot of healing happens when you go grain-free and even more so when you go sugar-free – and I DON’T MEAN using diet products like diet pop, etc. By sugar-free, I mean taking sugar/sweets out of the diet.

I’ve done a lot of healing over the years, especially the first ten years. I learn as I go. There’s so much information on the web, it’s just a matter of weeding through and finding what’s true and helpful. Because, believe-you-me (I know, it’s a silly saying) there’s a ton of contradictory info out there!!! And a lot more lies in the name of making money!

I have a husband who is a minister of a Mennonite church. I’m his secretary. We have two married children, and three oh-so-delightful grandchildren.

My husband is an incredible life partner. He takes his biblical role seriously – that one that says, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church.”

And a little side note: my current favorite book is “The Power of Blessing” by Kerry Kirkwood.

____________________________________________________

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.   —2 Chronicles 7:14