Melissa Jones

I now have a very bad cold, bordering on larengitis and ear infections. Rats. I think the antibiotics for strep and UTI did nothing for my overall immunity. Now I need to rebuild. I'm going somewhat back on the O-nonsecretor diet for now. I may have to cut out dairy almost entirely. If I followed the serving suggestions and avoided the toxins, it would probably work out fine. However, just a little casein triggers some major cravings for more. I may just have to be a gluten-free, casein-free and oat-free gatherer. I still haven't run swami on myself (or gotten genotype swami), but for a lectin-sensitive gatherer, some changes would probably show up there. Giving up the oats and dairy may make me return more to O-non permanently. I found some superfoods for gatherers that I absolutely love, so if they're neutral or beter (and GFCF) then I'll continue enjoying those regularly, and I'll keep cutting back on the high glycemic gatherer toxins or black dots, even if they're neutral or better for O-nons. That may be restrictive, but lately I haven't had much appetite and have to force myself to eat anything, so no biggie right now.

I did test positive (through enterolabs) for casein intolerance, but figured it was worth trying for a while, now I may have to finally accept my casein intolerance. No more denial. Certainly eating it every day may not have served me well. There's no denying that we're all individuals, and tweaks are necessary even to the most individualized diets.

Aside from cutting out dairy for at least the month to see the results, I'm also taking NAPs immunity pack. The redoxa seems to work better than Mucinex for breaking up the mucus, and the proberry seems to be helping this time around.

I almost didn't get up and go to Taekwondo today, I turned off my alarm when one of my kids woke me up at 3 am. I still happened to wake up, and couldn't quiet my mind again, so I got up and loaded the kids in the car, with smoothies in hand, and we made it. I was afraid I'd still be too weak, but we mostly worked on technique (rather than core-strengthening torture), so it worked out well. I did have to put my knees down a little sooner than usual when we did a little core strengthening of holding a pushup position, but overall it was good.

My son also went to his class after mine, and did much better than he has for a while. Ever since the hornet incident he's more inclined to be in fantasy than reality, and has had trouble focusing. He's also worried about his first loose tooth and starting kindergarten next week. The other problem he's had lately was that when I was sick I let him play xbox as much as he wanted...not good for getting back into reality.

I still have a couple sore spots in my throat, so I've been making lots of egg drop seaweed soup http://www.dadamo.com/typebase4/recipedepictor7x.cgi?1049. It's very soothing and nourishing. I like to make it hot and sour.

Smoothies are on my mind today. My throat is still so sore that I can hardly handle solid food. My body feels much better and I got a good night's sleep last night, but I feel like my throat is attempting to do a spontaneous tonsillectomy.

Before taekwondo I usually just feel like having a smoothie for breakfast. Apricots, almond butter, rice bran and rice milk (with a little veggie glycerine) make for a satisfying smoothie. My kids don't like the texture of it, but that leaves more for me. Today I didn't feel like almond butter either, with my throat, so I used 3 frozen apricots, about 5 frozen cranberries, rice milk, v.glycerine, cinnamon and a mild cottage cheese. I'd prefer ricotta, it's smoother, but I only had cottage cheese. It was tangy and good. I think I'll call it my Thanksgiving smoothie.

I often have a simple green tea smoothie, as an energy drink, though it doesn't have quite as much substance: ice cubes, powdered green tea, v.glycerine, and rice milk. Ricotta works well in it too, but cottage cheese might be too tangy for this one.

I found a new organic energy drink that is sweetened with agave nectar. I don't see much use for pre-packaged energy drinks in my life, but it's nice to see improvements in them. When my workouts are never more than and hour, I have plenty of time to make a smoothie beforehand and eat a meal afterward. I do sweat plenty in that hour, so I may consider adding a little sea salt in there somewhere, though I have developed such a taste for salt, that I probably get enough.

After taekwondo I always shower and sit in my infrared sauna, to reduce sore muscles. Hmm, maybe I should add a pinch of sea salt to the water I drink for sauna-ing.

For my trip last month I bought some raw power berry trail mix (Navita, I think). It was expensive, but better than the toxins I would have eaten without it. It had dried goji berries, dried mulberries (not rated, but more tasty than I expected), dried aztec berries (not rated on the diet, and not my favorite), cashews, and cocoa nibs. I pawned off the cashews to my family for the most part.

What excited me about this was how good the cocoa nibs are in a trail mix! They work really well, with no sugar or other toxins, like chocolate chips have, and they won't melt in the heat. I don't like them by themselves, but when eaten with a handful of slightly sweet dried fruit, they really hit the spot. Their crunch is also a nice contrast to chewy dried fruit.

If you make your own trail mix (and chocolate is allowed for your type), try it with cocoa nibs. You can easily crush the whole cocoa beans into nibs, if needed. I've since made it with just goji berries, pecans, and cocoa nibs. Even though it's not a chocolate bar, it really satisfies.

I had planned to make Turkey Meatloaf last week, but was intimidated by the idea. My egg-free beef meatloaf is nothing to shout about, so how could a turkey meatloaf be any better (my son is allergic to eggs). I found a recipe at epicurious that I could adapt to use up some of the ingredients I needed to use up in my refrigerator, so I went for it.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/TURKEY-MEATLOAF-107599

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I only had dried garlic, which I crushed and added in with the carrots)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/8-inch dice (gatherer black dot, could sub zucchini or perhaps bell peppers depending on type)
3/4 lb cremini mushrooms, trimmed and very finely chopped in a food processor (I only had button mushrooms, but I think cremini are neutral for more types)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (I used crushed onion seeds instead)
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (I used 1/2 tsp marmite + 1 teaspoon ume plum vinegar + 1/4 tsp seaweed flakes)
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (I had none, so left it out)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ketchup (Organicville, or homemade)
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread) I used rice bread, full of gatherer black dots and toxins, but for a GF bread it worked well...will think of a better substitute next time
1/3 cup 1% milk (rice milk)
1 whole large egg, lightly beaten + 1 large egg white, lightly beaten (I used 1/4 cup boiling water and 2 T flax meal, let sit to gel)
1 1/4 lb ground turkey (mix of dark and light meat)

"Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cook onion and garlic in oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened, about 2 minutes. Add carrot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and they are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and 3 tablespoons ketchup, then transfer vegetables to a large bowl and cool.

Stir together bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in egg and egg white, then add to vegetables. Add turkey and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to vegetable mixture and mix well with your hands. (Mixture will be very moist.)

Form into a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf in a lightly oiled 13- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan and brush meatloaf evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup. Bake in middle of oven until thermometer inserted into meatloaf registers 170°F, 50 to 55 minutes.

Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before serving."

I thought the worchestershire substitute worked out well, though I'm no worchestershire connoisseur. My husband and 2 year old loved the results. It was lot of work, but worth it. It will be easier the next time around.