Koo-Koo for Coco-nut!

Coconut Lovers: REJOICE!!! Remember how coconut yogurt took over the world not too long ago? Well, Turtle Mountain brand is selling “Coconut Milk Beverage” 

^ unsweetened, vanilla & original, from Turtle Mountain

I saw it at work last night, for the 1st time. My eyes sent my heart a bit of excitement! 

It’s gluten-, soy-, lactose-/dairy-, cholesterol-FREE!

From this website:

So Delicious Original Coconut Milk Beverage – Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup (240 mL)
Servings Per Container 8

Calories 80 
Calories from Fat 50
Total Fat 5g (9%)
Saturated Fat 5g† (25%)
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg (0%)
Sodium 15mg (1%)
Potassium 90mg (3%)
Total Carbohydrate 7g (2%)
Dietary Fiber 0g (0%)
Sugars 6g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 10% 
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 10% 
Iron 4%
Vitamin D 30% 
Folate 6%
Vitamin B12 50% 
Magnesium 10%
Zinc 4% 
Selenium 8%

INGREDIENTS: Coconut Cream (Water, Coconut, Guar Gum), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Calcium Phosphate, Magnesium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D-2, L-Selenomethionine (Selenium), Zinc Oxide, Folic Acid, Vitamin B-12.

The Vanilla flavor has 6g of sugar and 90 calories per serving, while the Unsweetened has 0g of sugar and 50 calories per serving. Otherwise, they looked pretty well the same.

I hope you find it, if you’re interested & enjoy it, if you do!

2009 is mine!

Hi beauts! I hope you all had a lovely New Year’s Eve & celebration!

Yesterday I went to the beach– can ya believe it?! I’m sorry to those of you in horrible snowy/stormy weather! I’ll soak up some rays and tan my cancer-free skin for ya! There were tons of tourists because of the football Bowl game in town, but still, awesome! I took a run for a little over 30 minutes- not on the sand like the other day, because my calves were feeling really tight today. Light & breezy! Then, I became a bum and laid on the beach, writing my holiday thank you notes! I had a salad with some of my newest produce:

< mixed greens with roasted garlic beets, carrots, sprouts, tomatoes, & avocado. I wasn’t reallllly hungry, but I wanted something fresh, yanno?! Great, beautiful, healthy fats, with my fave Annie’s dressing, to boot! Later, I had some nuts & trailmix for some protein, mates.

I laid low, went to dinner with my parents, then settled back into my uncle’s place to watch the movie Elf about 3 times because it’s on for 24 hours! Everytime I watch it, I find something new to laugh at. Har! Har! Har! I think it’s weird, too, that Christmas is over, and we’re still watching holiday movies & sing[ing] loud for all to hear… still & always cute!

The boy, like me, is NOT a night-owl. I talked to him today and he went to bed early, haha. I wasn’t expecting any real romance for the New Year, and I’m a casual gal (fancy things don’t fit my fancy!), but a lil’ movie-watchin’ or something would have been nice. Oh, well.

I like to think I started my 2009 off well!

I bought some really great-sounding cereal the other day, by Ruth’s Hemp Foods:

I guess a lady from California requested that we order it, and you know how people in Cali are about health, so it just must be worth carrying. I actually talked to her the day she 1st bought it from us, so she kinda suckered ME into trying it! I am so-o-o glad she did & I did try it! It’s gluten-free, high in fiber, Omega 3’s & so-o-o much more, so check out the link, for more!

< pre-cook

< when I added some water, to just ~2-3 T. cereal

cha-cha-cha-CHIA, in a bowl! It plumped up!

 

 

 

 

 

< then, I decided I still needed more, so I added some cooked rolled oats & more water & soymilk… then some cinnamon, even though there’s already some in the product!

I LOVED this! It made me feel really good, not too full & not bogged-down at all, & it gave me a great feeling of energy. It says you can try it in yogurt, baked goods, or whatever your lil’ heart desires, so I will do just that!

It was a good feeling to have, because I had decided yesterday to go to a hot yoga class! Boy, did I sweat out some toxins! It was my 1st one, but like I said, I was feeling kind of tight and restless, especially when I try to sleep, so I wanted to sttttrreeeettchhh it out! Miss OP LOVED it! hmmm, guess what color my mat was?!

I drove the long way home, by the water because the sun was shining, but my tummy was talkin’ to me (“FEED ME! *nom*nom*”) I wanted to continue treating myself right, so I made a huge-ontic salad with the same goodies as yesterday, plus garlic & Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. I also had extra carrots with hummus!

< I ate it outside on the porch, because my Mother Nature asked me to join her! …and I always obey my mother!

 

 

 

I also had a Kombucha for more purification & energy for my innards!

I tried the Goji Berry one today, for more anti-oxidents (the Wild Root one is great for detoxifying because of the added herbs, though!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later, I had a red banana for some potassium for my cramped muscles

 

…with a container of plain lowfat yogurt (hello, protein!), cinnamon (of course!), & a few swirls of Agave Nectar, to make this mess:

I love those lil’ red bananas because yes, they’re smaller, but they’re so pretty, like a sunset, when you open it up to eat it… that’s why I photo’ed it before adding anything! ...so photogenic! 

Honestly (because I’m an ethical blogger), I’ve thought about New Year’s resolutions, but I have come up with few things to be concrete. I must do this. I have a journal, where I can draft my ideas & things I want to work on… then, perhaps I’ll share, but I don’t know. Sorry. I think personal changes are sort of… personal.

Anyway, Happy & Healthy New Year in 2009!!! THANK YOU for reading & commenting on occasion… it lets me know I’m not alone in this bloggity-world!

The family is all gathering together again at my grandparents’ house for dinner… for the 1st time this year!  (*rolls eyes in anticipation for, “I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU SINCE LAST YEAR!” comments*) But, really, it should be a good time! It always is, when family is together!

peace

Bloody Heck!

Yesterday, I got some blood drawn, just to check up on things and I asked for my doctor to check for gluten intolerance. I think this is a way to tell, am I right? In the mean time, the past couple of days, my appetite hasn’t been so present… this is weird for me. And definately a sign something’s up! I figured I’d be more hungry because a lot of products I’ve been eating are more corn and rice-based, with less fiber, though I am having a lot of fruits and veggies as calorie-sources. My aunt took me out to eat at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, which is mostly vegetarian/vegan-friendly. Rare, where I’m from. It was easy, as far as I could tell, to order because they served corn tortilla chips and I asked for corn tortillas, instead of flour. Very chewy, though. I’ve got to say I’m not a huge corn-lover. I love my veggies, but corn- eh, I’d rather pick it out of my food, than try to enjoy it. But, corn-products… we’ll see. My aunt left and as I dog-sit for her, she got me some rice cereal. Thanks, but it has barley and malt ingredients=no good. I’m doing a test-run at a gluten-free diet, and so far, it’s been good. Quinoa, soy proteins, fruits, veggies, beans… all things I love. I’ve been doing a lotttt of research, via the internet and talking to people with CD experience! Thanks to those of you who can relate and have shown me that!

The other night for dinner I had some BBQ tempeh strips (with Amy’s bbq sauce + more for dipping) with a sliced tomater and sauteed peppers and onions.

Today for lunch my mom helped me chop a boat-load of veggies for a stir-fry with tempeh, Braggs and chili sauce. Sister 2 painted this bowl for me at one of those pottery places, because she knows I love using chopsticks… it has it’s own “holder!”

It’s orange! My color, favorite!

My parents got home from Ireland on Wednesday night, zonked! They had an incredible trip, but I’m still waiting to see pictures. They wrote down new, cute little phrases those silly Irish people use and are trying to incorporate them into everyday language here. hehe. They brought me some… salt-and-pepper shakers! The black pepper-shaker has a little shamrock on it’s butt. I don’t know why (yes I do- it’s the eyes!), but they remind me of Jasper. Maybe I’ll shake him to see if anything edible comes out… er, um, let’s not be silly by what I just said…

Alright, folks. There you have it. An update from yours, truly. I’ll let ya know what I hear about the blood work! I’m kind of hoping it is, in fact, CD just so I can pin-point the problem! Yes, that’d make it a little more difficult, especially eating out, but I figure once I load up my pantry with g-f foods, I won’t have to continuously search the internet or read the labels of the foods already on my shelves and fridge! Very meticulous!

I deposited my check after the blood-bath work. I also watched Sleepless in Seattle and settled in with a giant bowl of popcorn (my favorite movie, with my favorite type of corn, and my 2nd-favorite pop!) during a rainstorm the other day. Ah, life is grand!

Sisters, Events & A Symptomatic Quest!

So, I’ve got a lot to catch up on!

1st of all, I have got to give a “shout-out” to Luna Bars! The other day, I was making my way home from Target, stopped at a light, and there was a homeless man with a sign that read, “Please Help- Hungry!” I just bought a PB Cookie flavor Luna (99 cents! I had to!) and know miserable it is to be hungry, so I rolled down my window and gave him the bar. I realize Luna’s are geared toward women, but this man had no idea! All he knew was he liked peanut butter and he was hungry! And, he was very appreciative, which was nice. So, thank you to Luna! I felt good about this deed.

Soo, Sister 2 is home from working volleyball camps, with a friend. She’s been talking about dying her hair dark for a while now. Also, getting a tattoo. My parents are supportive of doing what you want to do, but they can’t get past thinking a tattoo is, in any way, classy. I say, do what you want to do. She’s paying for it, both with her money, and her life-long decision with her body! One day, while I was away from the house, dog-sitting (and watched one of my favorite movies, Love Actually…even though it’s a Christmas-sy movie and it’s the end of July!), her and her friend scheduled an appointment at an Aveda salon. I get home, she gets home, and she’s DARK! We’re both naturally blonde, and she’s tried to go strawberry-blonde before, but that didn’t turn out so well (another ORANGE POP, in a different sense!). She did that by herself, with a dye-kit, so she wanted it professionally done. Fair enough. Here she is, still beautiful and dark-haired. Her scalp is even dark. It looked reddish-brownish-purplish, but I know it will die (dye!) down!

The lighting is okay on this, but she likes it, and I like it. So glad it’s off her mind. Seriously, she collected many, many magazine cutouts of colors she was debating with, which were all the same to me!

Here’s her beautiful friend and former volleyball teammate, giving Tucker some love:

The next day, while I’m at work, my uncle biked over to have lunch with me on my break! So nice! I used my discount, but he paid… fair?! Well, I get a text-message from Sister 2 saying, “Guess what?!” (what?) “I got a tattoo!” Niiiice. Here is her “Peace Dove“:

It’s brown, if you can’t tell. Tattoo #1, and she gets it on her ribs– ow!

In other news, I’ve been having terrible stomach pains, so I’ve done a lot of research about it and paid attention to possible culprits, and you know, I’m not so excited about what I believe it is: Gluten Intolerance (aka Celiac Disease). I have many of the symptoms, which are:

• weight loss
• decreased appetite
• bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, pale + foul-smelling stool
• fatigue, weakness, lack of energy
• bruise easily
• vitamin/mineral deficiencies (vit. K) –> don’t know for sure about this one!
• hypoglycemia –> I’ve sort of felt this way, but unsure
• hair loss
• lactose intolerance
• tooth discoloration or loss of enamel
• canker sores inside mouth
• unexplained anemia –> don’t know
• bone or joint pain
• missed periods, infertility, miscarriages (well, I’m missing periods)
• behavior changes, depression, irritability

(Sorry for TMI on some of these) It’s a multi-system, multi-symptom disorder and symptoms really vary! It’s kind of unknown how it starts, but it can happen anytime in one’s life and be triggered by things like stress, surgery, viral infection… Ah, very mysterious to me!

I’ve been eating a lot of just fruits, veggies, soy products, etc, but I have been feeling fatigued, so I added more grains to my diet. Remember when I made those Chickpea Cutlets that I raved about so much?! I used whole wheat flour and my appetite was shot, and my tummy hurt. Then, that night, I had whole wheat pasta and even my new Annie’s Woodstock dressing contains wheat! I felt myself “skimping” on solid calories and added more grains. 2 nights ago, I had some awesomely delicious Thai dumplings. Oh, I love Thai! Grains + whole wheat flour. Ouch.

 

Then, I looked at my day’s worth of food from yesterday and noted my intense stomach pains, and I contribute these guys to my discomfort:

-Breakfast:  

fruit and PB&J on some whole grain + oatmeal bread

-Lunch was out (with Sister 1), and I had a sandwich on whole wheat bread and coleslaw.

-Dinner included some bean balls, which I made with whole wheat flour to bind them.

I was in dire pain for the rest of the night, and even when I woke up this morning. I wasn’t hungry, but by the time I was, I didn’t know what to make that would feel good to me. I’ve done a lot of reading and researching about gluten-free diets, and noted quinoa is okay. This morning, I went on a bike ride with my aunt and we got rained on, so afterward, I wanted something warm and comforting. I was hungry, but didn’t know what to eat!!! I’d picked up some soup the other day at work, after hearing a customer through my line rave about it, so I bought it. I went on the company’s website and it is, in fact gluten-free, but contained rice starch… rice is, indeed, gluten-free, but I’m learning. “Starch” is a word to look out for on labels. I know that foods are wheat-free if they’re gluten-free, but not always gluten-free if they say they’re wheat-free. Wow. I’m going to be holding around a list of “yes” and “no” foods/ingredients for a while until I feel comfortable. When I went into the meal, I was hungry, but my tummy was hurting. Afterward, my stomach pains disappeared! Magic! I had some Cashew-Carrot-Ginger soup over quinoa, topped with carrots, cashews and pumpkin spice (which has ginger + cinnamon!). Very good!

Well, well. I have a lot of photos for you in this post, and a lot of news. If anyone has any tips or anything like that, regarding Celiac Disease, I’d love to hear about it! I’ll be doing some more research and hopefully I’ll see the doctor soon! Is there a test he can do to tell me whether or not I am, in fact, gluten intolerant? I’ve read to not get rid of gluten in my diet before I’m diagnosed, but how long can I go on in intestinal pain?! I’m going to stay positive about this, because I can hurt or help myself on this one, and I’ve got to get educated and in-tune with myself if I want to help!