A Professional Redraws My Map on the Search

Five days after my last post I had an appointment that would change my life. I don't necessarily mean this in the grandiose way that one usually means such a statement, but I mean it literally: it changed every single day of my existence since then, very often framed the course a day would take and has brought me, personally, to a brand new place in my health, in my path toward better health and has altered my search for sustenance dramatically. The appointment I had was the first one with my nutritionist.

I had always wanted to go to a nutritionist, but I consistently talked myself out of it (especially since my insurance didn't always cover the people I was interested in seeing). I figured that there was enough information out in the world about what the "right" foods are for us that seeking professional advice in this part of my life was both superfluous and financially wasteful. And yet, nearly every single year of my life I would come back around to this thought, "I should go see a nutritionist..." but never would. Then, last Spring I got the most terrifying sickness of my life, more terrifying than my Crohn's disease diagnosis and it absolutely dwarfed my Pseudotumor Cerebri in terms of scaring me to my core - from April 22, 2010 through May 22, 2010 I battled Antibiotic Associated Colitis, more commonly known as "C. Diff." I wish this on NO ONE and I pray that it never happens to me again. The sheer terror of it came from the fact that I knew, since I was not in the hospital and, therefore, not even hooked up to an IV, I was completely malnourished. I lost 15 pounds in two weeks. I was terrified to eat.

When I finally recovered I was still terrified to eat. It took three different treatments to make the C. Diff. finally go away and my doctor said I may get it again. After a discussion like this I knew it was finally time to seek professional help in terms of my consumption. I made an appointment to see a nutritionist I had long wanted to see that came highly recommended by many coworkers.

As I got ready for the upcoming appointment I became more and more excited wondering what she would say, what she would find and what she would suggest. I knew a number of other people over the years that had gone to her and had come out with extreme diet restrictions; I was ready for whatever she wanted to take away, but I had one food in my corner to determine whether or not she a complete fraud: gluten.

Nearly every person I had spoken to that had seen this women suddenly had gluten sensitivities or allergies. I was beginning to wonder as I spoke to more and more people leading up to my appointment if this was her panacea for all patients. I discussed my concerns with my husband, "I'll do whatever she says, but if she even tries to take gluten away from me I am going to have a ton of questions!" He agreed with me (so sweet when I am ranting) knowing that gluten foods like white bread are my "safety" and "go-to" foods when I am having a flare up from IBS or, now Crohn's. In fact, when I had C. Diff. the only things I would even try to eat were gluten-filled foods! I knew my body - this woman couldn't try her little gluten trick on me!

The doctor is homeopathic and uses kinesiology, not blood tests or anything, so it is an interesting examination and one that I could also feel safe questioning in the end(if the need arises), unlike cold hard science. After examining me, the doctor and her assistant concluded that my body

• was completely toxic (that was not surprising considering the cocktail of drugs I had to take each  day),
• had minimal evidence of any vitamins in my system (some were missing completely), 
• showed a sensitivity to dairy as I had suspected, but more than anything
• had an extreme sensitivity to GLUTEN

I think I actually laughed when she said this. She actually went on to explain that the gluten wasn't only affecting my digestive system, but also my head (What?! I was thinking she would say ANYTHING to get me off this gluten!). Since I had a sensitivity to it my body was creating histamines on overdrive every time I ate it and that could be leading to some of my congestion issues (Wait... what? She was starting to break me down with this argument now). I waited politely for her to say, as all good doctors do, "Do you have any questions?" when I responded, "Yeah. Just one..." and went on my diatribe about gluten and how bread has been saving me from severe stomach attacks. I have to admit, my argument was not as impassioned as I had planned after all of her justifications, but I still didn't understand how it could have been helping me if, according to her judgement, it was actually the cause of my problems. Then she said something that made so much sense I wanted to cry, she said, "Maybe it has been acting like a band-aid for you - stopping the attack temporarily, but ultimately just hiding the bigger problem until it comes back." I was done arguing. I would try it. Maybe she was right, and if she was - how much time I wasted unintentionally hurting myself... what a heartbreak!

The last step to my appointment was to sit with the assistant to go over what I could and could not eat and to get a menu of ideas that could work for me. I did not feel intimidated by the undertaking of a gluten-free, dairy-free diet especially since we had started eating a lot more fresh veggies and examining what we were eating anyway. However, when I sat down to discuss the food I discovered how much gluten I actually consumed in a day. The assistant asked me to go through a normal day's food. I was originally only worried about dinner (NO MORE PASTA!!), but I quickly learned I was a gluten-addict!

• Typical breakfast on a work day: A bowl of cereal -- GONE: gluten & dairy!!
• Typical lunch on a work day: A Subway sandwich (so happy that Subway came to our school!!) -- GONE: super gluten!!
• Typical dinner: I can avoid it, but I do love pasta... "I am half Italian-American!" (I actually said this to her as if this should somehow grant me some magical powers.)

After that, the assistant exhaled and brought out my cheat-sheets; one for dairy-free eating, one for gluten free eating and the last for just plain-old healthy eating. They have all been extremely educational.

DAIRY-FREE DOC:

This has been extremely helpful. I was very surprised to find dairy as a hidden ingredient in so many things! I am a complete nut when it comes to reading food labels now - WHAT a headache.

GLUTEN-FREE DOC:

I found myself having to do more research about gluten at home, but at least this was a starting point. 

HEALTHY EATING:

I think most of us know these, but it is nice to have them all in one place, in our faces as a constant reminder. Knowing them and FOLLOWING them are two entirely different things.

In the end, I was thoroughly surprised by my results at the nutritionist. It has been four months and nothing has changed - no new restrictions and none of my restrictions lifted: I am living gluten and dairy free and it has changed my life! I do feel much better, I have lost even more weight (which I needed to, so don't worry that I am wasting away) and because I have to look closely at what I am eating I now look closely at everything I eat. I don't cheat because I don't have to and, more than anything I don't want to. I know I probably won't get C. Diff. if I have one piece of pizza, but I believe my body is still healing and some day, hopefully soon, I would like to invite a little one to live in there for nine months - I have to spruce the place up!

From Pod to Plate

It began with a simple request - "Let's stop at Gerardi's on the way home..."

Gerardi's is a farmer's market that I have driven by for nearly all twelve years of my teaching. I don't know why, when I first set out on this quest for sustenance, I didn't think of Gerardi's right away, but I imagine that it has something to do with the fact that Gerardi's has become nothing more than scenery on my daily commute. A couple of weeks ago, when I was talking to my mother-in-law about my one trip to the St. George farmer's market, she thought I was talking about about Gerardi's. When I finally realized what she was talking about I thought, "Why not? I should check out Gerardi's!"

Today, my husband and I finally checked it out and cashed in. Due to a long stint of my sickness, a death in the family that caused my husband to leave town, followed by my husband suddenly suffering from some pretty severe back issues; our fridge and our pantries were barren - we were in desperate need of all types of sustenance! I thought, for sure, I was going to break the bank when it was time to ring up, but everything came to less than $40 - woo hoo!

There is one purchase that I planned on blogging about today: peas. As we walked around the market we grabbed some plums, a pineapple, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, cherries, strawberries, bananas, lemons, grapes and I looked longingly at bok choy, brussell sprouts and beets (ie. things I am a fan of, but still haven't convinced the husband of their true splendor), and then, at one point a large pie of pods caught my eye...


Whoa - look at that! The sign says "PEAS", but they are still in the PODS. Oh my... that is just so cool! That looks like fun!

I poked my husband and, as I smiled from ear to ear, said, "You want to try some fresh peas?" I was so excited by this prospect. Then came his response, "No, I don't want to do all of that work. That's just too much work."

Now let me pause for a moment. There are two reasons that this was NOT an appropriate response.

#1. It is the last week of school. Why is that relevant, you ask? Well, that's a really good question if you don't live in my world. In my world this is the week where students who didn't want to do the work all semester or all term come a callin' to beg for dispensation just in time for graduation. It is frustrating. It is unfair to those who worked SO hard all year to earn the right to graduate and... I will end this explanation there, before I continue ranting on about things that are not relevant to my sustenance.

#2. What is wrong with a little work to get some good food on the table? Am I the only one that has a desire to touch my food in its natural state? I appreciate where my food comes from even more when I can feel its skin versus its insides, when I can see its stem, its seeds, et cetera! In addition, this can all be safely said tonight because I have no lessons to write tonight, my year is coming to a close, my at-home work is winding down.

So, my response to my husband, "I don't think it's that big of a deal. I want to try them." A funny thing then happened - he started suggesting all types of things we could make with peas!

When we arrived home, I put our purchases in their appropriate places. For some, that meant the fridge, for some others, that meant our fruit bowl:

And then I realized it was high time that I got to work. I decided to check out my reference materials first to see exactly how much work I actually had in store (if you heard the tone of my husband's voice you would have thought that we would not be able to actually consume the peas after about a week of drudgery!).  I grabbed my copy of Vegetables Everyday by Jack Bishop feeling absolutely confident that Jack Bishop's sound advice would be soothing, rewarding and fodder for a later "I told you so," stance with my husband! I was, regrettably, wrong. I could not believe what I was reading, but even Jack Bishop - my veggie vishnu - wrote (And I QUOTE!!), "Part of the problem is the labor. It takes a long time to shell the peas and most people would rather not bother" (Bishop, 241). I read with mouth agape. How difficult was this going to be??? Of course, I read further, and Bishop's main point was that it was so difficult to find the right place to purchase fresh peas at just the right time, that, gathered all together, all of these variables made it seemingly not worth the effort especially since frozen peas weren't so terrible and snow peas make a suitable substitute.

However, there I was, in my kitchen with a pile of plain-old shelling peas and a point to make with my husband. I took a deep breath, grabbed my first pod and slightly squeezed it between my thumb and fore finger, when it split, straight down the middle and revealed and entire family of the cutest little peas I have ever seen! I took a picture of my first-ever shelling:

 (impressive, I know)

Not all of the pods split so simply, or were so full, but it was still so much fun. The peas were attached to the pod so I would slide my finger down the pod to pop - pop - pop - pop each pea out of the pod into my strainer waiting below. I guess it took a little while, I didn't time myself or anything, but it was fun (maybe I am a food-nerd or something). Here's how it turned out:

Only one, very important step remained: preparation. What should I do with these peas? Will their taste be worth the effort? Will my husband and Jack Bishop be right about it simply not being worth my efforts?? 

I selected a simple recipe from Bishop's book Buttered Peas with Fresh Herbs (Bishop, 247) and used chives as my "herb" since that is what I had. My husband wanted to have his peas with saffron rice and chicken and I thought this recipe would be mesh the best with this. (Side note: This was also a ridiculously easy recipe and I had already worked sooo hard, right?)

The results? 

They were super-delicious and worth the effort. 

However, if I want to believe what I read today, I should count myself as lucky that the stars aligned - the peas must have been picked today (yesterday the earliest), I bought them and, not knowing this, prepared them right away (peas, evidently, can NOT wait) and they were a relatively good batch of peas in the first place! Do I recommend that you try to make fresh peas yourself? Well, let me recount a bit of a conversation that happened tonight over dinner:

My Husband, out of nowhere says, "I feel lucky."

I, having no idea what he is talking about, because our previous conversation does not seem to connect to this, simply ask, "And why would that be?" (I was half-laughing, because I really never know what to expect from him!)

"I just had real peas. I don't think a lot of people - anyway, people I know - have eaten peas like this before. These are really good."

Whoa. He was serious, he was talking about the peas, and the experience of eating them made him feel "lucky." I understood what he meant, though... both of us could have easily traveled through this life without ever eating fresh peas, it is not something that is ever on anyone's life "to do" list, and it is really easy to avoid since frozen peas are not that bad, but the fresh peas were different - they were fresh and that's a flavor all its own!

It is something to consider when making your next meal. It doesn't have to be fresh peas, but is there something fresh you could be making that you would be lucky to have? Something that your senses and your sensibilities will thank you for?

On that note, it is time for dessert and I believe I have some berries waiting for me in the fridge!

Green Peas

Blue Gold

I, unfortunately, have some familiarity with dehydration. Due to the medication I take and the conditions I have I am constantly reminded by doctors, "Drink plenty of water," or "You should ALWAYS have a bottle of water with you," and, finally, "Nicole, when you don't drink enough, you lose your precious electrolytes - it can be VERY dangerous for you." I heed their advice, of course, but there are times when I simply can not keep up with the chemical or physical imbalance my body presents on a particular day or two and those times I find myself thirsty, weak, dry and, most of all, fragile.

It seems to me, especially tonight, that I would be remiss in my search for true sustenance without taking at least one blog moment to discuss that from which all life spews from: WATER.

Why tonight, you ask? It began with a thunder clap, then I heard the downpour. This was in the middle of my husband and I searching through Netflix to find something to rent. This did not matter to me, though, when I hear a deluge, there is only one thing I can do: run to the front door, with my two dogs to watch. It is a wonderful sight, smell and experience at this time of year. When the rain hits the cement a small fog evaporates, only in the first minutes of the downpour, then the smell finds you - a clean, fresh smell of the earth getting a clean rinse. Then, finally, I love to watch the trees sway in the wind, rocking back and forth ensuring every leaf gets a shot at its very own raindrop, they look just like the ladies in the shampoo commercials. And, then, shortly after, it quiets. Not that the storm ends, but the water is calmer now, the winds have slowed, because the tempest is tamed and falls into a rhythm. At that point, my show is over...

As I get up from sitting in front of the door I think to myself, I wish I had some buckets out there - that was so much water! I have been reading the special edition of the National Geographic on Water this week and, needless to say, it has raised some concerns.

And so, it was with this on my mind, that I came back to the couch, where my husband had a movie suggestion, "What about this one?" on the screen was, Blue Gold: World Water Wars. Does this man have the ability to read my mind? I instantly start spewing facts that I had read from the National Geographic, "Did you know that 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and, therefore, undrinkable? Did you know that of the remaining 3% of water only 1% IS drinkable?!" I pulled out my iPad, "You have to see these pictures of people buying baggies of water! Or spending FIVE HOURS A DAY walking to get dirty water!" He insisted I stop and we watch the movie, but there was one more thing I wanted to show him, one page of the National Geographic that just struck me - not a picture, but a few statements, here they are:

(National Geographic, April 2010)

"Wow, that's scary," he said, I agreed and we watched the movie. And, as for the movie - Wow, that was scary. This is another MUST SEE. Put it on your list with Food, Inc. This is a very important movie to see (or maybe you would rather read the book?). While Food, Inc. opened my eyes to the sins of industry, Blue Gold slapped me (HARD) in the face with them. I am forever in awe of the world created in the post World War era. I pray that we are not too far gone to grasp some semblance of sanity (or at least my version of it (: !!) again.

I am still processing much of what I saw in the movie, but I know this: water is not free, fresh and sent to us from the skies - it has been privatized on a scale so much larger than I ever imagined. Water is being traded on the stock market. People are dying because of water, not just because polluted, diseased water, but because of assassinations, suicides and gunshots in a water wars all over the world. I know that bottled water is a joke, but that joke is no longer funny. I know that we won't see ads about this problem, we probably won't hear anything on earth day about this... The powers that be have already begun their game of chess - strategies have been made, pieces have been placed, pawns will be sacrificed and too many of the players are still living by the mantra, "the man who dies with the most toys wins" without a care in the world about the devastation left in their wake. What does it mean when a dollar is more valuable than water? In other words, what does it mean when a dollar is more valuable than life?

So here's your homework:

1. Warm yourself up by watching The Story of Bottled Water. This is a short film on the Internet made by The Story of Stuff people (you should probably watch all of their videos if you haven't already!)

2. Check out the April 2010 Special Issue of National Geographic on Water. As usual, the pictures are breath taking, but the articles are also worth the time. Barbara Kingsolver wrote one article on water that I truly enjoyed (I always like her writing).

and, of course,

3. Watch Blue Gold: World Water Wars. It was originally aired on PBS, so you might actually find it re-run on there. We got it through Netflix, but you may find it in the library, too!

AND THERE"S AN EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT!!!

Extra Credit: Take the time to stop whatever you are doing to watch the next rainstorm you hear!

Drink up, enjoy, satiate your thirst, but be mindful. Appreciate your blue gold. :)

Avoiding GMOs - There's a Guide!!

I don't know how I missed this before in all of my web-trolling about food, but, today, while researching phytoremediation research (the study of plants fighting toxins and bad things in the air, the soil and, basically anywhere in the environment - yes, yes - I am home SICK AGAIN!) I, somehow, fell upon The Center for Food Safety which is simply amazing! On the home page of the site is

• the latest news in the food safety fight, as well as 
• a link for you to join the "True Food Network" in order to stay connected with their doings - I, of course, signed up!

Along the top of the page are a number of tabs (all of which I have not yet explored), one of which I simply could not ignore: "Non-GMO's Shoppers' Guide". Here is a snippet of their description of the guide:

After a long wait, we are pleased to announce the arrival of our updated, portable pocket shoppers’ guide to help you find and avoid GE ingredients wherever you shop. Our guide gives you valuable information on common GE ingredients, brands to look for, and look out for, and common sense tips to keep you in the know.

[UPDATE (3/30/2011): There's an APP for that now! The guide has bee made into a mobile phone application for iPhone and Android phnes as well.]

The guide is well-organized and has a "Non-GMO" and a "May Contain GMO" listing for each category. It also has, at the end of the guide, a list of "Invisible GM Ingredients" - those ingredients that may have been created using some GM product. All-in-all, I think this is a handy reference for anyone that is concerned about genetically modified food (as I am!!!), but should, as it all should be, be taken with a grain of salt. The sad, true fact is that the GMOs are out there growing and, as all of us who saw (or read) Jurassic Park know, "Life finds a way." I say this in response to the sobering "special note" found at the end of the guide:

SPECIAL NOTE: This guide was compiled based on company statements, not genetic testing. Any product labeled as Non- GMO indicates that it’s manufacturing process is designed to avoid GMOs, but consumers should be aware that GM contamination is possible due to natural pollen movement, weather events, seed contamination, or human error. Hence there is no guarantee such products are 100% free of GMOs.

...and so I am left wondering: are there or will there ever be any products free of GMOs? Terrifying thought.