Food Additives

Day 23.

Today was an interesting day. My mouth was pretty consistent around a 5/6, so not terrible, but not great! My stomach was great until about an hour after lunch. It was still a little bloated and twisted-feeling, but today not as bad as yesterday and definitely no left-sided pain like yesterday. The one thing that came about today, though, was that dreaded fatigue. I had it immediately upon waking. Then, it subsided until about 5:45pm and I was so tired! I did my workout as usual, but I could not even make it through my entire Yoga class - I made it one hour. Hm, not Om tonight.

Here was my day:

Breakfast

• Nutribiotic Vanilla Rice Protein Powder with Unsweetened Rice Milk, Banana, Spirulina, Aloe Vera, Fish Oil, Flax and Stevia
• 1/2 Fruit Fusion Bar
  

Snack

• Organic Apple
• Organic, Raw Carrots

Lunch

• Organic Spring Mix + Sea Salt
  
• Olive Oil
  
• 1/4 c. Salmon
• 2 Scallops
  
• 1/2 Fruit Fusion Bar
  

Pre-Workout Snack

• Orange
• 1/4 c. Salmon

Post-Workout Snack

• Organic Apple
  

Dinner

• Organic Spring Mix
  
• Olive Oil + Flax + Sea Salt
  
• Salmon
  
• 2 Organic, Dried Mangos

I found something today called, "Food Additives," that I wanted to share. Directly from the beginning of the site,

Food Additives

"Shopping was easy when most food came from farms. Now, factory-made foods have made chemical additives a significant part of our diet. Most people may not be able to pronounce the names of many of these chemicals, but they still want to know what the chemicals do and which ones are safe and which are poorly tested or possibly dangerous.

A simple general rule about additives is to avoid sodium nitrite, saccharin, caffeine, olestra, acesulfame K, and artificial coloring. Not only are they among the most questionable additives, but they are used primarily in foods of low nutritional value.

Also, don’t forget the two most familiar additives: sugar and salt. They may pose the greatest risk because we consume so much of them. Fortunately, most additives are safe and some even increase the nutritional value of the food."

Click HERE for a huge list of additives - what they are and what they do us!

I am a firm believer that these additives have only hurt my food allergies over time. I am also a firm believer that these food additives slowly kill people. As a matter of fact, many of them are illegal in other places of the world. Do yourself a favor - no additives if and when at all possible - your body will thank you!

One Step Forward & Two Steps Back.

Day 22.

I had such great stomach days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. As a matter-of-fact I had literally no stomach problems those days. I felt like I was a huge step forward.

Like clockwork, though, a couple hours after lunch today it all started again! Two steps back for me. But, perhaps I know the difference. I think the only difference - the Collard Greens. I sent Leah a message, inquiring about this. She said, "Makes sense. Collard Greens are in the Mustard Family." Mustard was one of the 22 foods I am allergic to. Furthermore, Mustard was one of the 4 that I had the biggest reaction to.

So, I found out what exactly is in the Mustard Family:

Mustard: Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Collard, Colza Shoots, Kale, Kohlrabi, Kraut, Horse Radish, Mustard, Mustard Greens, Radish, Rutabaga, Turnips, Watercress

This is interesting. These are foods I eat a lot of. I will be keeping my eye on this over the next few days. I've decided no Collard Greens tomorrow to see what happens. If nothing happens, I'll have them again on Wednesday and test the reaction.

Today my mouth annoyed me. Probably a level 6/7. My stomach twisted and I had that lower, left-sided pain - about 1-3 hours post-lunch. The stomach bloat and pain had subsided, sometime around 6pm.

Here was my day:

Breakfast

• Nutribiotic Vanilla Rice Protein Powder with Unsweetened Rice Milk, Spirulina, Aloe Vera, Fish Oil, Flax and Stevia
• 1/2 Fruit Fusion Bar
  

Snack

• Organic Apple
• Organic, Raw Carrots

Lunch

• Organic Spring Mix + Organic Basil + Collard Greens + Garlic + Sea Salt
  
• Olive Oil
  
• 1/4 c. Salmon
• 1/4 c. Mung Dal Kitcheree
• Organic Winter Squash Baby Food
  

Pre-Workout Snack

• 1/2 Fruit Fusion
  
• 1/4 c. Salmon
• 1/4 c. Mung Dal Kitcheree
• Orange

Post-Workout Snack

• Organic Raw Carrots
  
• Organic Apple
  

Dinner

• Organic Spring Mix
  
• Olive Oil + Flax + Sea Salt
  
• Salmon
  
• 2 Organic, Dried Mangos

Refreshing Weekend

Day 21.

Let me just say this: Today has nothing to do with food for the most part! Sometimes, you just have to step away. You need to enjoy "other" things. And here's the real thing - I am so absolutely, positively passionate about food, health and fitness, but I am a much more in-depth and complex individual than that.

I have mind and a voice and quite often you can find me being very open and verbal with what I'm thinking and passionate about! I will tell anyone at anytime that their views about "what's good for them" and what's not, is not what I believe. And by the same token, I will also tell anyone about my opinions with other things I am passionate about.

Besides food/fitness/health/nutrition, here are my passions - true passions - in life:

• Entrepreneurship
• Web 2.0 and Social Media Networking/Marketing
• Country Music
• Marketing and Design
• Art and Wine
• Writing.
  

And beyond those, my passions include:

• My husband
• My Peekepoo, Fiona & My Great Dane, Reagan
• My family
• My friends

If you know me - if you really know me - you know that I am filled with passion. I do not believe you should live your life with anything but passion. Find something. Find anything. Find it - it that makes you passionate. It will lead you - it will direct you - it will consume you. And it's then that you will realize what you are doing, why you are here and what and how you will live your life!

Decide TODAY to make a life of, and filled with, PASSION! The days when I am stressed, sad or missing my family and friends back home, I take myself to my passions. I dive into them. I commit my whole self to them. I then remember the other things that make the spark in me shine. I am hopeful and I know that someday these will all come together! I will be extremely successful in helping others with my talents and my passions! And until then, I just work and work and work towards this success, gaining the knowledge and necessary experience. (Side Note: A great place to start for me...Inner Architect Website - Social Media Networking/Marketing Inspiration!)

Off my tangent for today and back to food....

My day was pretty sporadic again today, since we have visitors (However, I did wake up at 7am, before anyone was awake to go workout for about 1.5 hours!) Here is a list of what I ate:

• Orange
• Apple
• Organic Raw Carrots
• Coffee (just a tiny amount) + unsweetened rice milk + stevia
  
• Dried Bananas
• Red Wine + White Wine (Steven Kent + Rodrigue Molyneaux + Wente Vineyards)
  
• (Uncle Yu's) - Broccoli, Cauliflower, Snap Peas, Asparagus, Bok Choy, Mushrooms + White Rice
• Steel Cut Oats + Vanilla Nutribiotic Rice Protein Powder + 2 Tbsp Flax
  
• Salmon
• Sweet Potato
• Collard Greens + Spinach + Spring Mix
• Olive Oil
• Chocolate Coconut Pudding

My mouth definitely annoyed me today! My stomach did very well again! I've been eating out too much, though - so there could be many things annoying the mouth!

I am ready to head into day 21! Three weeks down....

No Bloat

Day 20.

Interesting. NO BLOAT. No bloat yesterday and no bloat today. What's the difference? The amount of vegetables. Really, I think that's all!

I can't believe it but my tummy has been near perfect for Friday and Saturday. It is now 7:23pm and I am still doing well on the tummy-front! My mouth has been about a 3/4 all day.

My day was pretty sporadic, as far as eating is concerned. No planned eating times, but here is a list of what I ate:

• Blackberry, Cantaloupe, Watermelon
• Quaker Oats + cinnamon + raisins
• Spring Mix + Vegetables from Mineral Broth (just a couple)
• Olive Oil + Flax + Fish Oil + Spirulina + Sea Salt
• Apple
• Organic Raw Carrots
• Raw Walnuts
  
• Coffee (just a tiny amount)
• Dried Bananas
• Dried Mangos
• Red Wine
• (Texas Roadhouse) - Grilled Chicken with a little Salt, Sweet Potato, Peanuts, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Carrots, Cabbage

We have friends in town today until Monday. Celebrated and had 2.5 glasses of red wine. So good!

We'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow:)

Tomorrow is Day 21!

And then life happend....

Day 19.

And then life happened...nothing more, nothing less!

I have been away from home and in San Francisco since last night. I will be here until tomorrow morning. I've had a lot of "big plans" and "great ideas." Unfortunately, most of them have fallen through. Life happened.

Working out - had every intention of it. I love working out. I had about 4 workout outfits packed. But, as it turns out, rain, rain, rain in the city. Part of my "fitness to do's" for the week included a one-day san francisco 60+ minute run. That didn't happen! As a matter of fact, no workout happened!

I had every intention of finding some great, healthy, plain food while here. And again, that didn't happen. Someone at the convention told me today, "Oh lunch will be fine for you. It's just chicken and rice." Ha! We all know by now that "just chicken and rice" never is just chicken and rice! And someone else at the convention said, "San Francisco is a 'heaven' for all you foodies out there." Unfortunately, I am a foodie, but unfortunately, this was not a heaven for me! I wish it would have been.

I barely ate all day. I was too scared to. However, around 8pm I was so hungry. I decided to try the hotel restaurant. I went to the St. Francisco Oak Room. Wonderful! I asked for Salmon, vegetables and a baked potato - PLAIN! And, miraculously, plain is what I got! It was such a great dinner, with wine of course! I am so pleased and happy with what they gave me. Thank GOD I had a restaurant that "got me!" It was a more spendy place to dine, but what a "treat" nonetheless!

Here were all the things I missed out on today when "life happened:"

• All supplements
• Workout
• San Francisco Run

Breakfast

• Quaker oats + a few raisins
  
• Mixed fruit (blackberry, watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberry)
  

Lunch

• Organic Raw Carrots
• Organic Apple
• Orange
• Tazo Green Tea
  

Dinner

• 2.5 Glasses Red Wine
• Salmon
• Baked Potato + Salt
• Mushrooms

Let me say this...NO stomach problems today. BARELY any mouth problems....and -

I guess we just move on. We don't worry about it! After all, "life just happened."