It’s a bit warm for me today, not like Summer heat, but I prefer for it to be in the upper 60′s by this point. I am ready for sweater weather. I shouldn’t complain, and I know this will bite me on the butt when January rolls around, but I can’t help it. Fall is my favorite season! I mean I even named my blog after 2 of my favorite Autumn harvest fruits.
I am ready for it to be the weekend already too. Tomorrow afternoon I am going to be meeting up with a new friend from the blogosphere for a walk and I am really excited to meet her! She doesn’t blog about food, but she does blog about Seattle. In particular Seattle fashion (and yes we do in fact have style here!). Many people seem to think the city is full of flannel and fleece, but Kam clearly shows that there are more sartorial folks running about. Sadly I am unable to dress in a manner in which I feel most comfortable, mostly due to not being able to afford my own taste. I am hoping that I can get some tips on thrifting at some point. I never seem to have any luck there!
I admit, I am hoping to trade some food goodies for fashion help ;-)
Cacao Pow @ Healeo!
Saturday I will be meeting up at my favorite smoothie/health cafe Healeo for a treat and chat with my friend Hannah, she is simply awesome. We have a lot of interests in common and I am really looking forward to seeing her again. Plus I am always looking for an excuse to get to Healeo. The owner and I have gotten into very enthusiastic conversations about health and nutrition and I just feel so much better after leaving there with a nutritious smoothie in my belly.
If you are in the Seattle Area I HIGHLY recommend checking Healeo out. You can follow them on twitter too! They announce specials, recipes, yoga classes, and the occasional well wishes to the Huskies ;-)
So far, aside from those plans and my plans to see my sweet boyfriend Saturday night, I have no other plans. I am LOVING that. I might get some errands run, but then I might just do some yoga and catch up on some reading. It’s been a while since I have had a big block of time where I didn’t have something that needed to get done, and I am seeing this as a blessing. I pack way too much in, and sometimes get anxious when I cannot get it all done. I need to actively work on relaxing and just enjoying life.
This leads into more that I am working on. Stress relief, BIG time. I have some parts of my life that cause me a great deal of stress and I know I am not alone. IN our culture we are sort of raised to believe that stress is good and necessary, and I just am not buying that anymore. Sure, it is a good thing to have ambition and a work ethic, those are positives. But constant stress isn’t doing anyone any good. Ultimately your physical and mental health will be damaged by it, and so will your relationships with others.
Right now I know for a fact that my health is taking a bit of a beating. I alluded to some health concerns a few posts ago, and the main one that is sending me to the naturopath next week is one where the symptoms can be brought on by stress. I haven’t talked about it much with many people at all but I have suffered from IBS for about 10 years now. It started suddenly, and I can actually pinpoint to the day when I first experienced problems. Unfortunately it is not something that doctors seem to know much about, but one thing is certain…stress can bring on symptoms. So yes, working on that stress relief. I am also looking into some other avenues as well. I am trying some things with the way I eat my food and I do hope to have some success there. I did notice a change in my symptoms when I went off grains, but there are other symptoms that remained. Right now this is probably way too much information.
One thing I have been trying out is pro-biotics. Sadly thus far they have done nothing to help in that arena, but I am still consuming them (in various ways) as they ARE healthy, and I am hoping to find a culture that does offer me some relief.
Bubbies!
My most recent discovery? Bubbies pickles. They are raw, fermented, and full of live culture goodness! Plus, no sugar which is a BIG plus for me. I first found out they were raw on The Sunny Raw Kitchen (which is a great blog for raw cuisine BTW). Carmella has answered a lot of my raw questions and she always does so with such kindness and joy. I may not be fully raw, but I really love that cuisine.
Anyway, Bubbies…the kosher dills are wonderfully tangy and I cannot feel anything after only having eaten 2 pickles, but I do know that the pro-biotics are doing me good. I hope to try some raw sauerkraut soon as well, but my hopes are not too high there. One of my “issues” tends to be with cruciferous veggies. Right now I am just resigned to the pain they cause me. The pickles I can do, and I have always loved pickles anyway…it’s nice having one that is actually doing me some good ;-)
I also like Kombucha tea, but the one I like drinking is a tad on the expensive side so I see it as a treat. I’d like to find a pro-biotic supplement that is vegan and works for my gut, but thus far they haven’t done me any noticeable good. I haven’t given up! I also want to try So Delicious Coconut kefir (and maybe a hand at making my own coconut kefir), but haven’t gotten around to it.
Tonight it’s all about some yoga, leftover soup, and probably some pudding. I got 8 avocados for $4 yesterday and I have some serious pudding to make ;-)
Oh! And my extremely generous friend Tiffany, AKA Carbzilla gave me a bounty of fresh plums that are 3/4 of the way to being prunes in my lovely new pet dehydrator. I think he needs a name.
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Sounds like you have a wonderful weekend ahead of you – enjoy it immensely!! And enjoy your yoga sesion & soup tonight :)
One thing about probiotics is that sometimes it’s not good enough to just eat them. There is real debate about whether those bacteria survive the acidic environment of the stomach. I believe this is especially true for people who have digestive problems. If you were taking capsules before, that may also not have been good enough. You really need enteric-coated capsules to get the best benefits. These won’t break open until they’re actually in the small intestine, which is exactly where you want them. They’re also very sensitive to wetness, light and heat, so you may have just gotten a bad batch. Refrigerated enteric-coated capsules or powder in a dark-colored container with a batch number and close expiration date – that’s the way to go.
Cruciferous vegetables that have been fermented tend to be very digestible, so the sauerkraut should be okay. That’s the beauty of fermentation. I’ve been fermenting like crazy here and I never have problems digesting anything that hasn’t ended up like a science experiment gone wrong. :)
I used to have IBS…all through high school and college. It disappeared when I went vegan, but in the last year I’ve started having problems again. Wheat has obviously become a problem for me, as well as stress and lack of activity, but I’m definitely trying to do a LOT of probiotics, and seeing a difference when I actually remember. :) I try to have fermented foods with every meal. I’m also exercising a lot, drinking more water, and all that usual stuff…I have bad days and better days, but generally my belly just always feels angry.
Can you recommend a good (and vegan) enteric-coated capsule? I am not even sure I’d be able to tell the difference!
Good to know about the sauerkraut. I am going to purchase some from my co-op as I know they sell the raw sauerkraut in the refrigerated section. I also know someone who makes his own, so I want to see if I actually like it first. Plus I hear it is quite um…aromatic ;-) And I am not sure how my roommates will feel about it!
IBS is interesting. I tend o have much more of a problem when it comes gas pains than anything else (currently). There are times where I still have spasm problems, but usually I can keep that in check with stress relief. It is not “gone” though. The gas pain issue is something I deal with daily, and sadly seems most prominent when I eat raw vegetables. I have noticed a little bit of a difference when I eat MUCH smaller portions, but this means I basically have to eat my lunch in 3 stages. Basically I’d have to eat like a cow. Fairly regularly, but small portions. I am not against this idea in general, but some times I just cannot graze ;-)People at work already make fun of me for eating large quantities, or all the time.
I also have tried some homeopathic gas remedies with some success. They take the edge off but it isn’t perfect. Also they aren’t vegan, so if I could find something without a lactose base I’d prefer it.
I have not had success using homeopathic remedies for…well, almost anything. It’s so specialized as a tradition that you really need to use an actual homeopath to get the best results, but I’m just not rich like that. :) And as you said, they’re usually in a lactose base, so I generally skip them and try other things first.
As for vegetarian probiotic capsules, you just have to check the label to see what the capsule itself is made from. I know that most Natural Factor and New Chapter products are made with cellulose capsules. PB8 and Jarrow are often vegetarian, but I rarely see PB8 refrigerated.
I spoke with my naturopath about this and she said that the probiotic strains that would help me are generally not going to be vegan…or if they are they would be extremely expensive. She did recommend fermented vegetables and kombucha tea. Might later work with other enzymes too. Here’s to hoping! I have to keep the homeopathic gas stuff around for now.