Good evening!
I know; I was away all day again. Shame on me.
The reality is, I’ve had another afternoon spent researching what I can and cannot eat. I keep finding things that say I should eat this, I should eschew that…I had a talk with Amor, and I’ve decided just to get some blood work done and find out if something shows up on a test.
The deciding factor was the fact that I’m now developing “fear” foods and stood in the kitchen, paralyzed by indecision, unsure of what to eat lest it hurt me.
I have an idea of what’s making me ill: nightshades, strawberries, flax, beans/legumes, certain grains, and the kasha.
They’re all the things I’ve recently added to my diet, and since then, the localized edema has occurred.
In the end, I shrugged my shoulders, decided on blood work, and went with my cravings.
I’ll get up early tomorrow morning and see if I can’t make an appointment at the open-door community clinic later tomorrow or early next week.
Lunch was delicious, but inhaled. I was so caught up in my research, that I didn’t even notice the hours creep by, and by the time I sat down for lunch, I was famished.
Oh, good news, at least! Cooked peaches do not give me false-hunger. I didn’t get hungry until about four, but then again, I didn’t finish my breakfast until nearly noon.
Since there aren’t many veggies in the house right now, I went with cucumber.
I don’t really like cucumber that much — it’s too watery. However, with a dip, it’s pretty good.
However, both sesame seeds and chickpeas are high in lignans, so I steered clear of them.
Instead, my thought process was, “Cucumbers are fruit. What goes with fruit?”
Peanut butter, of course.
I dipped about a half a cucumber into a tablespoon of peanut butter and dined happily.
Hey, peanut butter goes well with celery and carrots, so why not cucumber? My mouth and tummy happily agreed.
I still had a bit of a hungry after my sandwich and cucumbers, so I enjoyed a pink grapefruit on the side.
I admit, I ate it at the computer, straight off the cutting board, as I kept googling what might be making me unwell.
I’m more confused than ever, but I’m going to go ahead and eliminate nightshades, strawberries, kasha, beans, and flax. If my symptoms fade, I’ll them back one by one.
I was famished by nine tonight, when dinner time rolled around.
I had no idea what to make, and my mind was racing. Peas are legumes. Rice is a grain. Hummus is full of lignans.
Forget it. I’m eating what I want, edema be cursed.
Amor had chicken and yellow rice for dinner, a total comfort food for me growing up. While I was plating his rice (prepared separately from the chicken), I snagged about 1/3 of a cup for myself.
I mixed in in with some brown rice (1/4 cup pre-cooked), a cup of peas, about 1/4 cup hummus, a chopped stalk of celery, and about 1/4 of an avocado.
It was absolutely delicious, and right now I’m praying that I don’t have to give up any of these foods.
I was still hungry after dinner, despite it filling up an entire plate, and helped myself to a Cashew Cookie Larabar.
I’m still feeling peckish, though, so I may scrounge something else up.
What’s your favorite kind of sandwich? Mine is peanut butter and banana, but this egg and avocado one was pretty delicious, too.
Thanks for reading!
❤ Kaz
10 comments
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August 6, 2010 at 00:00
elaine @ Om Sweet Om
WOw you’re right! Cucumbers SHOULD go well with peanut butter! I should try that 😉
I’m currently addicted to any types of grilled (or microwaved) sliced fruits (usually apples or peaches) with cheese. Or raw tempeh and jam. Or jam and cheese. Sounds weird, but DE-FRIGGIN-LISH!
August 6, 2010 at 01:14
Jenn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog)
So sorry about your new symptoms! It’s so hard to figure out what it could be, there’s so many variables! 😦 Have you ever had an ELISA test done? It’s an allergy test that tests for 300 different allergens. Also, being you’ve never been officially tested for gluten-intolerance or celiac, do you think that it could be something else and certain foods just happen to aggravate it? I know that’s true with colitis and Crohn’s disease.
I’m in the same boat as you though, girlie. 10 years ago I woke up with swollen ankles/feet/legs so bad that I went to the ER in a panic. They didn’t know what it was from, and my symptoms have progress from there, escalating rapidly in the past 3 or 4 years. I haven’t had the testing yet, but being I have so many issues with water retention, I’m wondering if I have a pituitary gland problem, which is where water balance and all other hormones are regulated. It seems that whenever I have too much water in my body (which is always), my symptoms are at their worst. But when I was at my lowest weight in 2008, my symptoms were improving because I lost so much water weight. Then when I gained a lot of water weight rapidly, they came back with a vengeance! So 2 years later, I’m still struggling with just getting back to my lowest weight and constantly fighting water weight. I know that a lot of my gain was water weight, nobody realistically gains 10 lbs in one weekend and then another 10 lbs, and so on. Not when you’re not eating enough to even gain 1 or 2 lbs a week over maintenance. Ugh, so frustrating! Sorry, I’m rambling. 😀
Anyway, I know that eliminating certain foods can fix things the simple way, but you want to also be sure that there’s not an underlying issue that’s not food-related. That’s why I’m not doing any sort of elimination until I get the proper testing. I want to be as bad as possible when the tests are performed, lol. Hopefully by next month I’ll have some answers.
Ok, I’m done writing this mini novel. haha
Jenn
August 6, 2010 at 18:22
kaztronomic
Thank you for such a detailed and thoughtful comment! I’ve never had an ELISA test before, but I’ll be sure to ask about it at my doctor’s appointment.
I’ve never been tested for celiac, but I know that many of my symptoms got better after I stopped eating gluten. Your hypothesis is a valid one, and something I definitely need to look into and research more. I know my inability to eat dairy/soy got worse after I gave up the gluten, too.
I’m sorry that you struggle with edema, too. -hugs- I never thought it might be related to my pituitary gland, but I want to find out more about it, because it sounds logical.
I’m in the exact same boat! The weight came on almost overnight, and yes, I’ve been overeating due to stress and anxiety, but not THAT much! Plus, the localized retention tells me it *has* to be hormone related or something, right?
I know; I’m so tempted to give up the foods I think may be making me sick, but I need them in my system to get them measured. I’m not going to add back in soy or dairy or gluten, though, because I don’t think I could build up enough in that short of time and I KNOW they made me sick. But I’m going to keep eating what I am eating and hope and pray the doctors find something.
Again, thank you so much for your in-depth and thoughtful reply. It is so appreciated, seriously! ❤
August 6, 2010 at 01:15
Jenn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog)
Oh, I think cheese sandwiches would qualify as my favorite. I love just about anything between 2 pieces of bread. hehe
August 6, 2010 at 04:14
Chef Dennis
I hope your able to find what is causing you problems….i know how frustrating it can be……what you did have to eat looked wonderful!
August 6, 2010 at 05:39
Simply Life
Oh I love that Udi’s bread!
August 6, 2010 at 06:25
couchpotatoathlete
I will have to try avocado and egg together — that sounds (and looks) delicious!
I love PB and J sandwiches — they are the best!
Sorry about all this trouble you’re having. I think it is smart to get blood work done and to ask a professional. You could drive yourself bonkers trying to figure this out on your own. I hope you get an appt soon!
August 6, 2010 at 08:09
Erin @ A Girl and Her Mutt
I love cheddar cheese and apple sandwiches. Mmm…
Good luck with your blood tests. I know it will be a relief when you get to the bottom of all this!
August 6, 2010 at 08:17
lizlivingvegan
I love cucumber dipped in hummus!!! So good. Favorite sandwiches hmm back when I ate eggs, I really liked Avocado + Egg whites on toasted bread. YUM! So good. Now I really like sprouts, avocado & shredded carrots. I love the crunch!
August 6, 2010 at 09:06
Tes
Oh yummm do you know that your sandwich is my favourite breakfast sandwich! My own favourite sandwich is simple chicken sandwich with salsa 🙂