Psoriasis journey: days 18&19

These last few days I have had a hard time following the plan to the letter. I have had a bit too much meat and not near enough veggies. Too much celebrating my birthday and not enough healthy eating, oh and I can't forget the bits of white flour. Although, it was unbleached. And then this weekend is Labor Day weekend, and we have a BBQ on Sunday and holiday Monday.

Nothing else too fancy going on, so here's the last two days' menu plan:

Breakfast - bacon and mushroom omelette.
Lunch - whole wheat chicken stuffed pitta with spinach, black olives, broccoli, mushrooms, and balsamic vinaigerette.
Dinner - ground lamb and rice with chocolate torte for dessert.
Evening beverage - kombucha lime flavor.

Brunch - puff pastry braid with bacon and eggs.
Dinner - pizza with black olives, green olives, mushroom, bacon and mozzarella cheese and chicken.
Evening beverage - kombucha tea orange flavor.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

Psoriasis journey: days 16&17

Had a good birthday today, until I came home from dropping of dinner to a friend and found vomit all over the couch, the floor, and cushions. And then there was more, and it continued on for the rest of the evening. I am so thankful for my dog though, as he loves to lick up vomit. Of course there was still a bit of cleanup with my handy bottle of vinegar and a towel, but way better than cleaning up chunks.

Had a great birthday dinner last night. My amazingly wonderful hubby arranged for a sitter and took me out to a fancy restaurant. We had a fabulous gourmet meal. Seared scallops, duck breast, and a lovely glass of wine, just to give a hint. It's been such a fabulous birthday week: first a new camera, bowling with my kiddos, ice cream maker in the mail, date day with the hubby, and then dinner last night. It's been a wonderful, incredible week.

And to top it all off, I have definitely seen improvement in the patches. Although, I have been slacking on the plan these last few days. But, I haven't eaten any night shades! Maybe a tad to few many sweets and not enough veggies, but no night shades.

With that being said, here's the meal plans from the last two days:

Breakfast - spelt pancakes with butter, maple syrup, and ice cream(loving the new ice cream maker)!
Lunch - lamb burger on whole wheat bun with white cheddar cheese, blue corn tortilla chips, vanilla bean ice cream with a tad bit of banana pudding(we had a bbq with some friends today).
Dinner - leftover steak and a bit more ice cream(I've got to make sure all the ice cream gets eaten before it goes bad ;-)
Evening beverage - orange flavored kombucha.

Breakfast - over easy eggs and sausage.
Lunch - grilled chicken salad with feta, walnuts, apples, red onions and an apple vinaigrette dressing.
Dinner - seared scallops with garlic sauce and sea veggies, stout and molasses muffin bread,  pan fried duck breast, butternut squash purée, broccoli, honey roasted carrots, and sweet potato fries, with a glass of Riesling.
Dessert - homemade chocolate tart with pecan nut crust.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Psoriasis journey: days 14 & 15

I missed yet another day, but for good reason this time. Yesterday, I got an early birthday present in the mail, an ice cream maker!!! I spent the evening making some delicious vanilla bean ice cream. I have been trying to upload the pictures I took, but my computer skills seem to be lagging at nearly midnight.

I will share the recipe I used though.
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
900 ml cream (non-UHT or raw if you can find it)
500 ml whole milk (unhomogenized if you can find it, raw is even better)
1/2 cup ground sucanat or maple syrup (I used the sucanat plus a dash of the maple syrup)
3 free range egg yolks
1.5 teaspoon vanilla
1.5 teaspoon arrowroot/tapioca starch/cornstarch (optional to give ice cream a bit more thickness)
1 vanilla bean - scraped down

Mix all the ingredients and make ice cream according to machine directions. Boom! Scrummy, delicious vanilla bean ice cream!

And here are the menus for the last two days:

Breakfast - millet with butter and maple syrup
Snack - apple
Lunch - Cod and a soft boiled egg.
Dinner - broccoli soup with cheese and ham

Breakfast - spelt pancakes with butter, maple syrup, and ice cream(loving the new ice cream maker)!
Lunch - lamb burger on whole wheat bun with white cheddar cheese, blue corn tortilla chips, vanilla bean ice cream with a tad bit of banana pudding(we had a bbq with some friends today).
Dinner - leftover steak and a bit more ice cream(I've got to make sure all the ice cream gets eaten before it goes bad ;-)
Evening beverage - orange flavored kombucha.

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20

Psoriasis journey: day 13

I am a day behind yet again. It seems the only time I can be sure to write my posts on time is when I stay up to all hours of the night after everyone has fallen asleep. I shall be brief and just post the meal plan for yesterday: Breakfast - plain cheerios with milk and honey (I know this is not exactly an approved food, but it was easiest, and what the kids were eating.) Lunch - apple. Dinner - spelt pasts with a white cream sauce. Evening beverage - kombucha. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:3-4

Psoriasis journey: day 12

Today is the first day my psoriasis has actually been painful. There are a couple patches on my torso, one of which is about the size of a half dollar, and anytime fabric rubs up against them, there is instant pain. The largest patch has even started bleeding a bit. I have some lotion I make specifically for the kiddos' dry skin, and I have seen some improvement through applying it. The lotion is shea butter creamed with jojoba oil and a few drops of lavender and German chamomile essential oils. I am so thankful it has brought some relief. I am still waiting on the hubby to help take some more pictures to see the healing progress I have made if any. I definitely feel like the skin is healing, but it's hard to tell since I look at my skin every day. I want to write up a healing progress post with pictures very soon. I find making time to write such a post is the hard part. But soon, I promise. :-) Here is the menu for today: Breakfast - slippery elm bark tea and two eggs over easy and half a waffle. Snack - apple. Lunch - sweet potato mash. Dinner - spinach salad with olives, cucumbers, mushrooms, broccoli, pancetta, feta cheese, and a small piece of cod with a balsamic vinegar dressing. Evening beverage - kombucha tea. For the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of love and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:8

Psoriasis journey: days 10&11

The last few days have been busy, and I've gotten behind with my posts. This is a catch up post for the last two days. The spots on my torso and hips seem to be fading quite nicely. I'm am also noticing fading along my hairline. I took picture last week and want to take some more today to show my healing. I can definitely tell the skin cell growth is slowing down in certain patches, most noticeably at the hairline. Hubby got me a new camera for my birthday, so I'm hoping to figure out how to use it soon and start posting pictures. Yesterday was a tough day in avoiding food. Hubby had the day off, so we were out about and ended up eating lunch out. We went to a made to order sandwich shop who also serves fries. It was a struggle to not eat any, especially since they are one of my favorite foods. It was even harder to explain to Bug why mommy can't eat French fries anymore. I found the hardest part about ordering was finding something new to eat on the menu. My go to sandwich at his particular restaurant is a buffalo chicken wrap. So, I went with just plain chicken with provolone cheese, but then I didn't know what sauce to get. I think that is a very diffficult thing to figure when dining out. There is no way of knowing just what goes into sauces and condiments. I ended up eating mine plain which was a little bland, but worth not interrupting the healing process. Here's the menu breakdown for the last two days: Breakfast - spelt pancakes with butter and maple syrup Snack - apple Lunch - avocado, cucumbers, grapes, and white cheddar cheese(usually once a week we have a day where lunch is whatever I can find in the trudge. We call it mush mash lunch day). Snack - apple Dinner - pan fried fish with whole wheat bread crumb crust, black beans, spinach, and avocado all in a whole wheat tortilla with lime juice squeezed over. Evening beverage - chamomile tea and fresh squeezed apple juice with a lemon. Breakfast - spelt waffled with butter and maple syrup (special request by hubs for his day off). Lunch - grilled chicken, provolone cheese, lettuce, black olives, and pickle on a whole wheat tortilla. Dinner - yogurt and granola. Evening beverage - orange/lime flavored kombucha. Be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:6-7

Psoriasis journey: day 9

I'm getting to writing about day ten a bit late. It's going to be short and quick. On Monday, I hosted a lotion/scrub making workshop at my house. Last night I enjoyed the fruits of my labor. And I realized and remembered just how beneficial scrubs are to the skin, especially for a psoriasis sufferer.

I started off just using the scrub on my feet. It was comprised of adzuki beans, avocado oil, sweet almond oil, peppermint essential oil, geranium essential oil, and lavender essential oil. It is a very lovely scrub. As I was applying it to my feet, I thought why not do my legs as well. That led to me using it as a whole body scrub, and it was fabulous!

With the adzuki beans, it was a bit rough as an all over body scrub, but it gave me the idea to make a scrub designed for all over body use. My psoriasis generally doesn't have any issue with using soap as does some peoples(but I make my own soap as well and tailor it to my condition), but just using the scrub last night I could definitely tell a difference. The oils in the scrub work to moisturize and clean the skin as the beans slough off the old skin and exfoliate. I'm thinking of an oatmeal based scrub and a sugar based scrub to make later this week. I also want to add, I haven't had any itch since using the scrub. Thumbs up!

The thing I struggle most with about this nightshade free diet is adapting our favorite dishes. One reason I've been writing this blog is to keep track of what I'm eating, so I can make up a sort of monthly meal plan. Hopefully it will help others as it is helping me.

With that being said here is yesterdays meal breakdown:
Breakfast - slippery elm tea, over easy egg, slice of whole grain toast with butter
Lunch - leftover chicken with rice(I think there is something in the rice that has not been agreeing with me the last few days, a friend made it, so I'm not sure what all is in it)
Dinner - Mexican themed rice bowls: spinach, brown rice, black beans, mushrooms, ground lamb(seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cilantro, cumin), white cheddar cheese, and avocado, all drizzled with a cilantro, lime, olive oil dressing. I really missed the traditional kick from the chili powder and red pepper, but it was still a really good dish. And the kiddos devoured it. It will definitely be something to make again.
Evening - chamomile tea

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28