Fighting PCOS Naturally

I was in for a surprise when I got my food allergy test results this past Wednesday. For the few days prior, my thoughts were wrought with fear that I may be allergic to garlic or nuts. I even started designing my garlic and nut super-villain tattoos. Thankfully those weren't on my list. The shock came with the 29 other items on my list! Moderate allergies Baker’s and brewer's yeast Pineapple Vanilla White mushroom Sensitivities Broccoli Buttermilk Carrots Casein Celery Cilantro Cinnamon Cod Dates Iceberg lettuce Kiwi Lamb Millet Onion Oregano Parsley Plum Potato Raspberry Rosemary Sage Strawberry Swiss cheese Turkey I was upset to see so many yummy foods on the list, including my go-to meat, turkey, and some of my usual spices. I was glad to see celery and onions, though. I’ve detested them for years and I always get laughed at for hating onions. Now I have a legitimate reason for hating them! I can live with this list. Well, I...

Sometimes you just have to have chocolate, right? Last weekend a couple of friends of ours came over to hang out for their birthday. As the end of the day was nearing, I realized that they didn't get any birthday cake. *I'll pause for you to gasp like I did :)* I made sure they liked chocolate, then proceeded to make them a birthday cake! The best part - besides the cake itself - it only takes a couple of minutes to cook, in the MICROWAVE!!! Enjoy drooling over the picture, then make one for yourself! You won't regret it! (I topped this one with chocolate dipped strawberries to make it pretty) Gluten Free Chocolate Cake in A Mug: Ingredients: 4 tbsp almond flour 4 tbsp honey powder (or sugar/powdered sugar substitute) 2 tbsp cocoa powder (the darker the better) 1 egg 3 tbsp milk (I use chocolate hemp milk. almond milk is also really good) 3 tbsp flax oil (various oils can be substituted) 1/2 tsp GF vanilla extract 3 tbsp chocolate chips (optional) Directio...

Last night I went shopping with my e-mealz shopping list. I'm on the Low Carb Any Store for 2 plan. The average is supposed to be around $50. I would agree that $50 is about right for this list. However, I don't shop cheap. I buy organic, grass-fed beef and hormone free chicken. That increased my budget by about $20. I also bought a whole bunch of other stuff, like chips and salsa, extra fruits and veggies, and lunch stuff for Hubs. I'll let you know next week if the recipes are as good as they sound :) I would be super happy if we lived on a farm and I could raise my own chickens. I'm not sure it would save me a lot of money, but it would make me feel better. At least the money I'm spending on the meat I purchase now is going to local farms instead of store chains. I guess I need to start looking for homes for rent out in the country, where I can have some chickens. And goats. Why? Because goats are cute. They jump in the air and dance. How can you be stressed an...

So the next step I have taken in my weight loss journey is my new subscription to e-mealz.com. I have heard rave reviews about this company, and for the low price of $5 a month, I decided it wouldn't hurt to try. e-mealz is a subscription service that provides you with a menu plan for the week, as well as a shopping list (in most cases, with prices!) to help you shop. With the recent changes Hubs and I are making to better take care of my health, I'm trying to save money anywhere I can. (Reducing stress does wonders for weight loss!) I waste a TON of money on food. I buy more than I need, and it goes bad. Not cool when you're on a budget. They have low carb, gluten free, and portion control menus, as well as regular, no limits menus. For those with kids, they have larger plans to feed more, and they have one for people like me, who only need to feed 2 people. The 2 people menu plans are budgeted to spend $30-$50 a week, and the larger, 4-6 people plans are $80-$100. Al...

A week or two ago I posted about my morning smoothies. (Link: Smoothies! ) They have been really good, but I knew they were missing something. Then it hit me - PROTEIN! I was getting no protein in the mornings because I was just drinking a lot of fruit. I hopped on Amazon and found Hemp Protein Powder and Hemp Oil by Nutiva. Click on the pictures to make them bigger I've really been on a hemp kick lately. This is mainly because I'm really trying to take control of my health and do what I need to do to make myself better. One of those is making sure I am getting my Essential Fatty Acids, like Omega 3s and Omega 6s. Hemp is full of it. 1 tbsp of hemp oil has a full day's worth of omega 3s and omega 6s. It's also my little way of 'sticking it to the man', since commercial hemp production is illegal in the United States, because the DEA is too dumb to classify hemp and marijuana as two different substances. The legalization of both should happen, but that...

Oh my goodness, a meal plan? Yep, I finally got around to doing another one. I went to the farmer's market again this weekend and need to plan out the usage so I don't let anything ruin. Monday: Chicken Enchilada Chicken and Garlic Brussels Sprouts The chicken has been marinating in my freezer for 2 weeks now. It's just some chicken broth and Chicken Enchilada seasoning from Homemade Gourmet . The brussels sprouts, on the other hand, will be made using a Garlic Brussels Sprouts recipe from AllRecipes.com Link: Garlic Brussels Sprouts Courtesy of AllRecipes.com Tuesday: White Bean Pizza with Tomatoes This is a repeat from a few weeks ago. I made it with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Dough, and there wasn't quite enough bean puree. This time I'm doubling the puree recipe, but using a can of black beans because I only have one can of white beans. Link: Pizza with White Bean Puree and Tomatoes Courtesy of EatingWell.com Wednesday: Spaghetti Squash w...

Normally you wouldn't think that food poisoning would intice you to create a menu plan, but it has for me. I'm getting better, so I can finally start thinking about food I can eat! We went to Austin for the weekend. We took the time to go to 2 different farmers' markets ( Sunset Valley and Barton Creek), and a grocery store much like Sprouts called Sunflower Farmers Market . We also went to one of my favorite shops, Savory Spice Shop . I was even more excited when I found out that Karen, the owner, remembered us from the one time we went over 6 months ago! Although there are spice shops much closer to home, I much prefer the fantastic customer service and amazingly fresh spices Karen has to offer! This week's menu is focused on eating the fresh veggies we got from the farmers' markets and the fabulous spices from Savory Spice Shop. Monday: Italian Spaghetti Squash I'm using fresh basil, spaghetti squash, yellow tomatoes, and roasted garlic olive oil from...

I didn't get a chance to get my menu plan up yesterday or the day before. Work was keeping me busy busy busy, and then when I got home, I had some major back pain that kept me from doing anything remotely productive. If the pain had been a little futher forward towards my chest, I'd have sworn it was a mini heart attack. But I'm still alive, so that's a good thing :) We are on an extremely tight budget for the next few weeks, thanks to the Tax Man. I spent the last $50 I could at the grocery store Monday so we had some fresh produce. Here's to hoping nothing bad happens in the next two weeks! Wednesday: Asparagus Risotto I am posting this recipe as is, but I am modifying it slightly. I am not using shallots (yuck!), and I am replacing the arborrio rice with brown rice. I'm also combining white and green asparagus, because I don't have enough of either to use just one. We'll see how it goes :) Ingredients 1/2 tsp table salt, for cooking water ...

Last week I focused on replacing carbs like rice and pasta with veggies. It went so well that we will be replacing rice and pasta with grated cauliflower and spaghetti squash in prety much every application we can. This week I wanted to focus on trying healthier grains in my attempt to go gluten-free, particulary Quinoa. Central Market has bulk whole quinoa for very cheap. It doesn't weigh much, so a pound goes SO FAR! I also purchased a package of ground quinoa flour. If I like the flour, I will probably start grinding my own to make it cheaper. Monday: Taco Salad (again!) Hubs loved this recipe, so I'm doing it again. Of course, I'll still be using cauliflower instead of rice. I used orange cauliflower last week, and it looked like spanish rice. Very cool :) Recipe can be found in last week's menu plan: April 11-15 2011 Menu Plan Tuesday: Quinoa and Black Bean Salad After reading the reviews on this recipe, I can't wait to try this. I will be canned corn...

My online meal planner will briefly highlight breakfast and lunch, but will detail dinner. I typically do not vary my breakfast and lunch. I like to get as much sleep as I can, so I usually grab a yogurt for breakfast and some sandwich meat and veggies for lunch. Sometimes I will grab leftover dinner for lunch, when I have some leftover :) Monday: Curried Chicken with Mango Rice I found some beautiful mangoes at the grocery store today. They are my favorite fruit! I found this recipe and I can't wait to try it. Ingredients 1 teaspoon curry powder, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1 cup chicken broth 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup white wine 1 cup uncooked cauliflower rice 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon dried parsley 1 cup diced mango Directions Combine curry powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Rub mixture into chicken breasts. Saute in a few tablespoons of chicken broth, white wine and olive ...