What’s Cooking 4/6/16?

It’s been a little over a week now I’ve been weaning off the Omeprazole and honestly the first few days I thought it was going to be a walk in the park. I even mentioned to the Z Man that I wasn’t having any problems and I wanted to “hurry up” the weaning process. Patience is not one of my strong points. I’m glad I didn’t rush it because I began to feel the effects of lowering the Omeprazole dosage after about 4 days into the process. It makes sense that while lowering the dosage, the first few days would have remnants of the higher dosage still in my system. It was on Wednesday of last week when I began to feel a little burning and a little reflux, but it wasn’t too bad at all and it wasn’t continuous.

When I felt a little discomfort I chewed one of my Slippery Elm lozenges which made it very manageable.

Here is a little information on Slippery Elm…

What is Slippery Elm?
The slippery elm tree is native to eastern Canada and eastern and central US, where it is found most commonly in the Appalachian mountains. The trunk is reddish brown with gray-white bark on the branches. In the spring, dark brown floral buds appear and open into small, clustered flowers at the branch tips. White elm (U. americana) is a related species used in a similar manner.

What is it used for?

North American Indians and early settlers used the inner bark of the slippery elm not only to build canoes, shelter, and baskets, but as a poultice or as a soothing drink. Upon contact with water, the inner bark, collected in spring, yields a thick mucilage or demulcent that was used as an ointment or salve to treat urinary tract inflammation and was applied topically for cold sores and boils. A decoction of the leaves was used as a poultice to remove discoloration around blackened or bruised eyes. Surgeons during the American Revolution treated gun-shot wounds in this manner. Early settlers boiled bear fat with the bark to prevent rancidity. Late in the 19th century, a preparation of elm mucilage was officially recognized in the United States Pharmacopoeia.

Slippery elm prepared as a poultice coats and protects irritated tissues such as skin or intestinal membranes. The powdered bark has been used in this manner for local application to treat gout, rheumatism, cold sores, wounds, abscesses, ulcers, and toothaches. The tannins present are known to possess astringent actions. It also has been known to “draw out” toxins, boils, splinters, or other irritants.
Powdered bark is incorporated into lozenges to provide demulcent action (soothing to mucous membranes) in the treatment of throat irritation. It also is used for its emollient and antitussive actions, to treat bronchitis and other lung afflictions, and to relieve thirst.

When slippery elm preparations are taken internally, they cause reflex stimulation of nerve endings in the GI tract, leading to mucus secretion. This may be the reason they are effective for protection against stomach ulcers, colitis, diverticulitis, gut inflammation, and acidity. Slippery elm also is useful for diarrhea, constipation, hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome, and to expel tapeworms. It also has been used to treat cystitis and urinary inflammations.

I have noticed some foods that triggered some discomfort. Raw onions, cooked and raw cabbage, bananas, and raw green peppers. No big deal, as these foods, for me won’t be difficult to manage. Actually, it gives me a reason to not feel guilty about really not liking bananas. Hand count, who out there honestly really likes bananas?

This week I begin a week of a little lower dosage, and it will be very important to maintain a meal plan, and portion control, otherwise I know I’ll have some discomfort. I do expect some discomfort, but what I don’t want to do is to cause more damage to my esophagus and stomach lining in the process.

During the summer months I work longer hours and six days a week at my “job” which makes it difficult to get a lot of other stuff done. I get especially busy when it’s time to harvest and “put up” the gardens. I’m hoping to use the blog as a tool for meal planning, a food diary, and hopefully a tool for my grocery budget. We’ll see how it all plays out as it goes along. That’s the idea behind “What’s Cooking”

So, What’s Cooking 4/6/16?

Breakfast: overnight oats – oats soaked in milk with a few walnuts, dried cranberries, drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Lunch: leftover vegetable stir fry from dinner last night.

Dinner: chili and cornbread

What’s cooking for you today?

Till Next Time,

Lori

April Goals and Little Balls

It’s time to start thinking about April’s goals. As I mentioned in a previous post a group of friends and I set goals for ourselves each month. Monthly goals for me are easier to focus on rather than 3 or 4 or 12 goals for the entire year all made on January 1st, which are usually forgotten about and / or given up on by the end of March.

My big goal or resolution if you will for 2016 was to quit smoking. I had also set a smaller goal to get some exercise in to try and offset the 20# “quit” gain. So far so good with those goals. And on a side note, I have to admit that the smell of cigarette smoke disgust me so much now that it’s hard for me to believe that I ever smoked. How cool is that?

My April challenge / goal is to kick the Omeprazole. If you’ve been reading my blog then you know I started my April challenge in March. But I’ll be refining it in April to include daily exercise, keeping a food journal of what I can and can’t eat, when I can and can’t eat, and slowly lowering the dose of the medicine.

All the research that I’ve done so far indicates that there really isn’t one diet that fits all, especially in this area of trying to heal the gut and prevent GERD. There are many different opinions out there about what foods to eat and what foods not to eat. But one thing that does seem consistent in the research is eating habits that will help. Such as smaller portions, eat less but a little more frequent, drink plenty of water, but don’t drink beverages with your meals, go for a little walk after your meals if you can, and don’t eat 2 to 3 hours before going to bed. Also there is a consensus that there are specific triggers for GERD and should be avoided. Chocolate, Alcohol, Mint, Coffee, Caffeine and Smoking.

There is a lot of information out there on different ways of lowering the Omeprazole dosage. This is what I’ve done. Each of my capsules is 40mg which has approximately 190 to 200 microscopic little pain in the ass to count balls in them.

Yes, I did that, I opened a capsule and counted the little microscopic balls of one pill and decided that it would be a fair assumption that every pill would have the same number of balls in them. Think about that for a minute. You probably have the same look on your face that the Z Man was giving me. That side eye look like “what the hell is she doing now”

Anyway… I removed 50 of the little microscopic little balls and closed the capsule back up. Then I repeated this process for 6 more pills. See where I’m going with this? This is what I have in mind….

3/27 – 4/2 capsule with 150 little balls
4/3 – 4/9 capsule with 125 little balls
4/10 – 4/16 capsule with 100 little balls
4/17 – 4/23 capsule with 75 little balls
4/24 – 4/30 capsule with 50 little balls
5/1 – 5/7 I will take a capsule with 50 little balls in it every other day. Then DONE!

And I am fully aware that after I’ve counted out all these microscopic little balls for a month that I will probably be in need of some other form of medication for my insanity, but hey, we’ll cross that bridge then.

So, that’s my challenge for April. I’m going to be playing with a lot of little balls all month. WOW, did I really just type that?

What’s you April challenge going to be?

Till Next Time,

Lori

Friday’s Frugal Five

If you haven’t visited the Non-Consumer Advocate site, you should. Katy is the creator of Five Frugal Things and is my inspiration for Friday’s Frugal Five.

I have a confession to make. While the MMGC is going well and I’m staying within my budget, albeit by the skin of my teeth, I have to tell you that I have been spending in others areas as if I had won the lottery or something. In the past few weeks I have carried new item after new item into the house. To the point where I have a guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Let me explain… for a while now I’ve been trying to switch out my (old) teflon cookware for stainless steel and cast iron, so about a week ago I purchased a new set of stainless steel cookware. But, I did get it at 60% off, so that’s good. Also, I have limited cabinet space in my kitchen and had been wanting to get a hanging pot rack to help with storage. I found one that was 40% off, so I bought that. Last fall when we processed our hog, I cured and smoked about 60lbs of pork belly into bacon, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not slice the meat thin enough to get a bacon texture. So, I bought a meat slicer and I also got 25% off of that. Hoping for a solution to my cabinet storage situation I purchased 8 large jars with $1 off of each to store things like grains and beans instead of just having bags laying in the cabinets. I bought some half gallon mason jars and large mouth plastic lids for better storage also. I bought seeds for our garden starters, instead of waiting and starting the gardens with established plants from the nursery. Admittedly in the past we have not done well starting our own seedlings, and also admittedly these seeds were not cheap as I chose organic heirloom seeds. I could go on I’m sure, but you get the idea. The point I suppose is that I have been talking out of both sides of my mouth about being frugal. Being frugal includes more than just what you spend on groceries. Well, it absolutely should anyway, and in that regard I have failed.

I could give a suitable explanation for all of my purchases about having the right tools for the jobs (the slicer) or about trying to get away from toxic teflon (the cookware) or perhaps because I spend 75% of my home life in the kitchen and would like it to be better organized (the hanging pot rack and storage jars) and even the seeds in hopes that they will be successful (meaning not die) this year and will provide us with seeds for several years and in turn save money.

So, no more! No more of the spending with out at least trying to find a suitable solution first. Make do or do without. Luckily I have not gone into debt for these purchases (thanks to the pickle jar). I believe to some degree perhaps I’ve been treating myself with these purchases for quitting smoking. Anyway…. full disclosure, clearly I’ve still got a long way to go in the frugal department. Thanks for letting me share. Now on to Friday’s Frugal Five…

With my new eating plan to kick the omeprazole (generic for prilosec) that I posted about earlier this week. I can’t have caffeine. This doesn’t really rattle me too much because I’m not one of those die hard coffee drinkers some people are (not judging at all, the Z Man loves his coffee too) I do enjoy 1 or 2 cups of hot tea in the morning and some iced tea from time to time. Why is this frugal? I returned an unopened huge box of tea bags to the grocery store. I also returned a bag of organic onions that were half rotten, limes that were hard as rocks and a couple other things which netted me $23 in returns.
I returned an unopened bottle of agave sweetener because a friend told me that it could flare up my indigestion and heartburn more than just a small amount of unpasteurized honey, which I already have. I’m not counting this in the MMGC because it was purchased for medicinal purposes along with the supplements.
Bartered again this week with my friend which will get me some lovely dairy and grass fed beef.
Made some yogurt this past weekend which not only is quite cheaper than buying yogurt, it taste so much better. I also cooked and canned 15 quarts of homemade chicken stock. Returned my book on cd to the library and picked up a couple more. Checked out several books on kicking the omeprazole and healing the gut. Interesting but not shocking how it basically boils down to no one diet fits all and so far, being early on in my research, I am finding a strong consensus of managing portion control, which makes perfect sense when trying to prevent GERD. (more on all this later)
The Z Man stopped and asked about a few trees that he has seen down in someone’s yard for quite a while. He offered to clear it away for them, they are happy to have it gone and we are happy to have the wood. He also used a $20 coupon at Advance Auto to get the break parts to make repairs to our truck. Yea, he’s handy like that. I’m such a lucky girl 🙂

We’ve been eating leftovers for lunches, making meals from freezer and pantry items, hanging clothes on the clothes line to dry, driving the speed limit to save on gas, combining errands with work schedule to avoid unnecessary driving.

As for the MMGC I bought some fresh veggies this week spending $28, but I did get the grocery store to price match the Aldi price for avocados for 59¢ instead of 98¢ each. So, with my returns and the $10.50 I had left over from last week that leaves me with $5.50 left for the month.

Most frugal of all, we are still breathing fresh air from quitting smoking, and adding that money to my pickle jar each week.

How about you, what frugal fun have you had this week?

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Easter. Thank you GOD for loving us!

Till Next Time,

Lori

Medicinal Supplements and New Eating Habits

Caution: This post is going to contain some graphic content. You may or may not want to continue reading. I mean it’s not gross and graphic like the HORRIBLY AWFUL movie that we watched on Netflix the other night that literally gave me nightmares for 2 nights, leaving me in a very bad mood and feeling as if I had done something wrong and needing to visit a Priest for confession and I’m not even Catholic. Yes, It WAS that BAD! It was like a really bad car accident where you hate everything about it but you can’t stop looking at it. I’m not going to share the name of the movie because just in case Nicole Kidman, Mathew McConaughey or John Cusack are reading my blog, I would hate to offend them, uh because “it’s their job” and / or because “it’s art” Bullshit! Everybody has choices and they chose to make that trash, even for their kids to possibly see some day, which is beyond messed up. It’s just my little opinion which means nothing and actually has nothing to do with medicinal supplements or new eating habits. Sorry, moving on now….

This is the situation. Right now at this very moment I have a 5 alarm fire burning in my chest with the occasional reflux of sour disgusting mucus surging up into my throat, causing coughing and sometimes my throat to close up. It’s as if I have a cauldron of billion degree lava in my stomach and chest just waiting to blow like a volcano. Now, before I continue I should tell you that I went to the doctor about this very thing and I was going to be scheduled for an upper GI scope with another doctor, but as it turns out the “specialist” can’t see me for about 6 months. Fine…. whatever….

I have been taking Ompralzone for about 25 years now. Along with the reflux and heartburn there are also other digestive issues I deal with that really are T.M.I to talk about. Look , I am not a doctor and I do not play one on tv. But since I can’t get an appointment for almost 6 months to see a specialist, I figure that gives me a little time to try other alternatives to hopefully give me some relief from all this discomfort.

I went to my local health food store and met a very pleasant gentleman who seemed to be very knowledgeable in his business. (I actually think the store is his business) He was very intuitive and honestly took the time to listen to my story and what I was hoping to accomplish. We discussed the process of weaning off of the Ompralzone while healing my digestive system as it begins to start working again in producing the natural acids it’s supposed to. Yes, I have discussed with my doctor the desire to stop taking ompralzone and his response was “if it isn’t broke, why fix it” That’s fine and good except that my body has become used to the 40mg I’m currently taking and seems to be wanting more. I don’t want to do that. So, this is what I’m going to do…

Stay away from carbohydrates and sugars (except the naturals such as fruits and veggies)
Eat (homemade from raw milk) yogurt daily for the probiotic
Stay away from caffeine (decaffeinated tea only – I am not a coffee drinker)
1 tsp of extra virgin organic coconut oil mixed in my hot tea every morning (it sounds weird, but it really is good)
1 chewable tablet of Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice before every meal
2 tablets of Superzymes after each meal
1 tablet of coconut & aloe daily supplement in the morning and before bed
2 ounces twice daily of aloe vera juice
1 turmeric gel tab daily
1 tablespoon organic AC vinegar daily
Slowly wean myself off of the Ompralzone over the next 90 days.

My second trip to the health food store I picked up a few more things and returned the turmeric gel tabs because I can add ground turmeric to the L-Glutamine in a glass of aloe juice each morning, which cost a lot less than the turmeric gel tabs. I also picked up a second aloe juice and the DGL Ultra to keep at work. The Slippery Elm I’ll carry in my purse to use as needed for acid heartburn flair ups. The L-Glutamine will help heal my digestive system, which after 25 years of abuse I’m sure needs it.

Some habits I need to change are:

Chew my food well
Don’t eat fast, slow down
Stop eating before I’m full, eat smaller portions
Don’t eat or drink anything 2 hours before bed.
No white wine… so sad, so very very sad.

Can you tell I’m anxious / nervous about this? This process of weaning off of Ompralzone is going to need to be a long patient process, and I am not a patient person at all. But if I don’t take my time with it, it could cause me even more discomfort and damage to my digestive system.

Keep in mind, I am doing this for personal reasons, and I did check with my doctor. I’ve also been tested for specific food allergies, and I have none. I’ve just not treated my body very well in the past 25 years with the not eating well, smoking and wine and now my body is paying for it. I’m doing this in an effort to get away from the proton pump inhibitors such as Ompralzone (generic for Prilosec). Look them up, you’ll see why I want to get away from them, it’s not good! But more importantly I want to start treating my body better. I am certainly not suggesting this for anyone else. But if this interest you and sounds like something you may want to do also, certainly talk to your doctor before you try any of these things because I am not an expert.

If you have any suggestions for me I’d love to hear them too.

Till Next Time

Lori