What a week to stay clean! My Sunday review!

What a week we had. A bit of a roller coaster. Here is my recap, because like I said on Friday, journal-ling is helping me stay clean.

Started out the week with my oldest daughter being sick. She recovered nicely and quickly but I kept her home for a day from school anyway just because I could.............the smile on her face when she announced to her Dad that she "got to stay home with her brother and sister" was priceless.

I had several really good workouts this week. I can tell how I'm feeling overall by how much energy I have at the gym. So I think my anemia is under control for now. The "gentle" iron pills are still a bit hard on my stomach so I have to eat a ton of Chia (no hardship for me - still love those little seeds) and I really have to keep the eating clean or my stomach gets angry (not ladylike to discuss the repercussions) . The adrenal pills I'm taking are doing their job as my night sweats, anxiety and hanger (lunch time angry/hungry period) have been non-existent. I also got my 5th weekly B12 injection on Thursday. One more week to go and then hopefully I can start cutting it back to once every two weeks or once a month.  

So basically I'm feeling pretty great. But it is super HIGH MAINTENANCE to feel this good. Within an hour of waking up I have to drink a glass of lemon water, take my adrenal pills (on an empty stomach), take two stomach acid pills immediately before eating, eat breakfast, take an iron pill, Vitamin C and Vitamin D with my food. Not to mention dress and feed 3 kids and make myself presentable. Plus I need my de-caf coffee in there. I just need it. Its part of my day even though it would be so much easier if I would give it up. 

Oh yeah, and my breakfast needs to have lots of protein (for my adrenal fatigue) and lots of fibre (to offset the iron pills). And that's just in the first hour. Its not as intense the rest of the day but it continues with lots more protein and supplements throughout the day........and a weekly trip to the Naturopath for my B12. I'm not complaining.......it is so worth it to feel energetic all day. I just hope at some point I get to the root of the problem so that I don't need to be on such a regimen - especially with the supplements. And I'm just pointing it out to show that the solution to digestive problems can be complex and require vigilance. If you are as messed up as me you might want to try and consult with someone on how to come up with a plan tailored to you - because it can be darn confusing. 

In the meantime, my little 9 month old started standing on his own, got a helmet for his odd-shaped melon (more on that another time) and got the stomach flu. He is a trooper. Through it all he still gave us tons of giggles and was his usual playful self when he wasn't puking or listless. He is an awesome little dude.

So we started and ended the week sick, had lots of laughs in between (especially at the expense of the helmet) and ate really clean with some (okay lots of) dark chocolate on the side. Here are some of the meals we squeezed into our week.........maybe it will give you some ideas. 

Have a great Sunday and a clean and healthy week!

I made my daughter some home-made chicken noodle soup when she got sick. I used rotisserie chicken and brown rice noodles.  She loved it!

One of my breakfast smoothies. I have these most days. They are usually chocolate protein powder (Vega-One) with ice, chia seeds, dark choc chips, cacao nibs, soy milk and sometimes banana,  plain Greek yogurt  or avocado for creaminess. I actually think this one was French Vanilla flavor.

Coconut flour chocolate banana pancakes. An experiment that the kids actually loved. I might share the recipe if I make it again. Another chocolate breakfast - sigh - I'm so predictable. 

Omelet with free run eggs, sun-dried tomato's , nitrate free ham and mozza. A quick and clean lunch.

Oh - this was a YUMMY supper. I made Mama's Ribs using the organic/pastured/anti-biotic free side ribs I got from Harvest Moon. I served with steamed brocolli, Ranch Roasted Cauliflower and a smidgen of white rice.

Wheat belly Pizza Crust #1 (again). This time with spinach, red onion, shrimp, black olives and mozza. And I used organic vodka sauce for the base. It was pretty fantastic. Here's the link again to the Dr. Oz Wheat Belly Pizza recipe. I made a double batch of dry ingredients and froze it. I'll let you know if it works - starting to experiment with meal planning for when I go back to work.

Yep - that's my sweetheart in his new lid. He's "got a flat" spot. He is really a happy man - that's the first day in his helmet - didn't faze him at all. We are going to be de-calling it up with his name and a couple of other things..........leave a comment if you have a suggestion. I think "what the frog you staring at - I've got a flat" with a picture of a frog in a helmet riding a bike with two flat tires.  But hubby says we wouldn't really be able to take him out in public and definitely not to church like that. He gets lots of stares and lots of "he's a cutey" comments in his new lid. He is a cutey but it definitely makes people a little uncomfortable and not sure what to say so they overcompensate. 

Chocolate Chia Pudding/frozen  yogurt. Yum!

Oven roasted sole with a chopped salad. I baked the sole on a bed of onions with some spices and topped with lemon for about 20 minutes at 425. I still prefer my fish to taste like chicken fingers (i.e. breaded) but this was pretty good.

Baked Eggs. Free-run eggs on a bed of spinach, tomato and green onion. I seasoned and poured some butter on it and then baked for about 20 minutes at 425.  Quick, easy and clean.

Baked eggs - a quick supper you can whip together and throw in the oven while you try to make something wheat-free to go with it or something else for your fussy kids. I did some hungry man sausages. 

These looked awesome. They tasted okay. I put hemp protein powder in them - they were a little "weedy". 

We were totally out of protein bars so I whipped up a batch of avocado/walnut/chia/hemp/date/sunflower bars. Hubby thought they tasted like chocolate cake batter - now that's a compliment.

Left-over grilled chicken, salad and Shiratake noodles with cheese sauce. I decided Shiratake noodles are best with Asian dishes. I couldn't eat them. Plus baby decided to get sick during our lunch so I lost my appetite. Or re-directed my appetite to apple nacho's instead of this. Any excuse to eat apple nacho's. I eat them EVERY day.

I made the girls some gluten-free "macaroni and cheese" using organic brown rice noodles. I thickened the cheese sauce with arrowroot powder. They loved it!

Meatballs topped with my left-over apple honey garlic grilling sauce. I also roasted cabbage and asparagus.Watch for the cabbage recipe - it was really fabulous, easy and so GOOD for us!

I made the girls this crazy/borderline gross nitrate free wiener and noodles dish. I've made it before but I still get a kick out of it. 

So that's what I got pictures of - lots missing - most of it clean. I don't dare take pictures of all the dark chocolate I consume - its disgusting. I also eat lots of breakfast shakes and snacks that I don't take pictures of because it gets really repetitive...............apple nacho's anyone??