Pumpkin & Pomegranate

On Saturday  I started off the morning at my favorite coffee place. Fonté is in downtown Seattle, so it is a bit of a trek (plus paying for parking), but the coffee is so worth it. I had a little bit of time to catch up on my magazines before heading out to drop off my cookies at the vegan bake sale.

BUST & Martha Stewart, kind of like me ;-)

I ended up adapting the recipe I told you about in a previous post. I didn’t have any molasses so I used some brown rice syrup and I switched the plain sugar to brown sugar (which has a molasses flavor). I also didn’t have enough grape seed oil in my fridge (and I won’t be buying more, as it isn’t a healthy fat) so I added a wee bit extra pumpkin. They came out really well, albeit a little moist and cakey. Not so much a bad thing overall, but a little difficult to pack. I didn’t try them, but my mother and my friend Valentina had looks of ecstasy cross their faces as they savored their samples. I dropped off the cookies and headed over for a follow up with my naturopath.

I got the results back from my blood work, overall everything was good but there are some areas I need to touch on. My Vitamin D for one, I have to start taking about 1,000 I.U.s a day, or 7,000 a week. I have been supplementing that, but apparently not enough! Also while my cholesterol levels are overall amazing, my triglycerides are a bit on the low side, and also while my TSH levels are perfect, my T3 is low…so for a month I am going to be taking a supplement that has selenium, iodine, and zinc in it to see if that kick starts the T3 a bit. To tell you the truth I am a bit worried about that, but I know I am also a worrier, and my naturopath didn’t seem overly concerned about it. She is very pleased with my overall diet, and I am going to try and trust her on this one. I am going to try to relax about it, and just trust that she will let me know if I need to worry. She did say that it would help if I ate more fat. I said “So I shouldn’t fear the fat?” and she said “No, and I am going to write that on your chart!” She also recommended more zinc, selenium, and iodine…like in pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, seaweed, kelp, and beans. Plus for a month I will be taking a supplement to see if that does the trick. I hope it does, I would prefer to manage things with foods, and if I can get the effects from the supplement, then I can get them with whole foods as well. I would prefer not to have to take medication. Also she does recommend that I take fish oil, and that it would be helpful for my body if I did consume more fish. Many people cannot efficiently convert the omega fatty acids from the vegetarian sources and need to get them from animal sources. I want to be healthy, and I am trying to to find a way to cause the least amount of harm, while still living a long and healthy life, right now that means I will be taking fish oil from 1 of 3 companies that use sustainable sources. The brand I am currently using uses sardines which are sustainable and while it makes me a bit uneasy, I am not willing to compromise with it comes to my health. I am doing what I can do while still staying within my ethical principles.

Overall she was very happy with my blood work and my diet. My B12 levels were great as were my iron levels (I had been worried about anemia). I don’t have a reason to take a multivitamin which is really nice for my bank account. I am a little low in magnesium, which is probably due to stress levels. I am going to try my best to learn how to relax, and also eat MORE vegetables (not even sure how this is possible).  For right now though, I am not going to change too much. We want to see if the supplement does it’s job, and then work from there. I am going to be upping the nuts and the fat though, and yep…more veggies! Just trying to remind myself not to fear the fat ;-)

I had my first long un-cooking shift at Healeo. I am still getting used to being in someone else’s kitchen, but I think it is going well! My Menu for Saturday was:

• Eggplant Pizza Chips
• Italian Kale Chips
• Thai Pumpkin Curry Soup
• Chocolate Cookie Dough Balls
• Brownies with Orange Zest

Now, I don’t mean to toot my own horn but that pumpkin soup was BRILLIANT. I so wish I had a Vita-Mix at home so I could make it easily. I am fairy certain my trusty food processor could do it, but it would take a lot of time and patience. For the Vita-Mix all I had to do was load the ingredients and press a button…suddenly it was SOUP.

Ha! Sorry it isn’t more elegant, but I am sure it will look better once it is in the cold case.

I thought I’d be buying a Vita-Mix with my new income, but alas…it has gone into new tires and yep, my car “Buffy” is still in the shop. Please send her good vibes, vibes that include the mechanic being a decent and honest human being who gives me a fair price and actually fixes my car. Then hopefully I can start putting away some savings for the beloved Vita-Mix. She is such a beautiful machine.

After work I headed to Matt’s. I was too pooped to cook and so I just had Trader Joe’s eggplant hummus with crudite and whined about how I thought I was getting sick (by the way my naturopath recommends this if you get the flu. H1N1 apparently gets kicked to the curb fairly quickly if you start taking it as soon as you have symptoms). Matt made me tea and tucked me in the covers, and somehow I was feeling better within about 20 minutes. After a full night’s sleep I realized I had just been tired from a log day and I needed rest. I can be such a stinker sometimes.

Not only does he put up with me, but he makes me brunch!

Omelette with veg and refritos!

And his roommate’s gorgeous witchey cat watched on in hopes of us dropping some tasty morsel.

Santo the Cat

We then headed out to the country for fresh pastured eggs. Matt got to meet the ladies (who run completely free), and the 2 roosters (Alien and Predator). I ended up with 8 dozen eggs, so I think baked goods will be in the future. Plus I need to re-do my buckwheat pancakes…which I just had for a snack.

the sorry pancakes

The solution here is another egg or two. I tried chia and they were a no go when it came to texture.

For Dinner last night we made another huge pot of soup akin to the Autumn Fiesta soup from last week. Nothing says cold weather goodness to me like squash and soup!

I think I might have to make another batch of beetballs. They were SO good, and don’t take my word for it! Heather and Jen also made them and I am really tickled that the liked them so much! Looks delicious!