A Little about me...

I feel in the last year I have learned soo much about myself.  Little did I know before, I was terrified to let anyone really KNOW me.  I had this deep rooted fear that I would be found out, that people would see who I REALLY am and they would be disgusted by me.  I also thought that I was so "different" that I would lack acceptance.  All these characteristics are what makes me sooo beautifully ME.  I love me. 


Those three words have taken a long time to come to terms with. 


I have so many quirks and weird tidbits and guess what? I am quite proud and excited that I have them because no one else does.  Yes, many people are similar: they are fearful, timid, shy, thoughtful, passionate, heartfelt, a dreamer.  But all of the little characteristics, personal past experiences, relationships, and everything else that's what defines me. 


Definition of Lucy:


I am a passionate, visionary who seeks harmony in the world for everyone I am around.  I care about the wellbeing and livelihood of people who are underprivileged.  I work tirelessly for those that need my help and expertise and will not back down until everything is finished.  I find my cause and I run after it for the rest of my life because my Creator, God is my center.  I believe, trust and follow my Heavenly Father who loves me for who I am.  This truth is what sets me free and allows me exploration and acceptance to be who I really am with no regret or distaste.  I encourage and seek close relationship with others because God first loved me, I can love others. 


What does this have to do with candida, college and a guide to living on this specific diet:


Find YOU.

Be YOU.


Love YOU.


Not only will this free your mind, but your gut.  Our internal emotions are so interconnected with our health and wellbeing that we cannot live one without the other.  I hope this encourages you to be who you really are.  Coming from a woman who has lived 21 years of disappointing herself to just now learning to embrace herself, it's so incredibly worth it. 


Lucy

Rice con Leche

This is a recipe my roommates made often, I just adapted it by putting in coconut milk and using brown rice. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 C cooked brown rice

3/4 C coconut milk 

Pinch cinnamon

Directions: 

Mix rice and milk in microwave safe bowl put in microwave for 60 sec on high. 

Easy to make and eat anytime of the day or night.

Meal Plan

Next week I start working 50+ hours a week...I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING. 

I have just received a job as a Program Assistant!  I am pretty excited to say the least, I will be working with a program called SUN (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods) here in Portland.  It helps low-income families and at-risk youth at schools all over the county.  I will be at just one high school working on the credit recovery program and after school coordination as well as giving support to the office. 

Anyway, I wanted to make a post mostly for myself to stay on track, but it made me realize that during college it can almost seem as if you are working 50+ hours in a week between school, jobs if you have one, spending time with friends, working out, studying and more.

Next Week's schedule:

9/30 Monday
Coffee Shop 4:30am-9:45am

10/1 Tuesday
Coffee Shop 4:30am-9:30am
High School 10am-5pm

10/2 Wednesday
Coffee Shop 4:30am-9:30am
High School 10am-5pm

10/3 Thursday
Coffee Shop 5:15am-10:00am
High School 10:30am-5:30am
Event Services 7pm-8pm

10/4 Friday
Coffee Shop 6:00am-10:15am
High School 10:45am-3:45pm

LUCKY ME I also work a couple events next weekend too!!! I will be exhausted at the end of these next two weeks. 

Breakfast switch these around same meals though:

Gluten Free Overnight Oats from In Johanna's Kitchen Blog

 

 

Brown Puffed Rice Cereal with Banana and Almond Milk

 

Hard Boiled Egg with Apple Slices

Lunch is a little more difficult, I'll have to pack something for in between jobs as well as some snacks for my actual lunch during the day. 

Salmon Salad Wrap: made with ice berg lettuce to hold it together, wrap in tin foil and it will be a perfect wrap for the drive over. 

Chicken Fajita Salad with Avocado Dressing: Minus the avocado for me, so I would make this with Greek yogurt dressing and more lettuce/tomato. 

 

Zucchini Crostata: I believe I will just make this zucchini white sauce gluten free pizza with parmesan. 

 

Snacks to make ahead and bring in my car, purse and everywhere else:

 

Strawberries and Cream Muffins: Make these gluten free with very little sweetener, teff, coconut flour, raspberries (if you want the least amount of fruit sugar) and coconut milk. 

 

 

Coconut and Almond No Bake Balls: Shredded coconut with almond butter, mix in coconut milk, chia seeds for protein and any other mix in.  From The Candida Diet

 

Baby Carrots, Cucumbers and Hummus: this would also go well with pita chips or celery.

 

Dinners

 

 

Coconut Chicken with Spinach: Mix in walnuts, onions and pepper from The Candida Diet

 

 

Chicken Soup: DIY zucchini noodles with chicken stock and assorted veggies.

 

 

 

There are only three options, but I am sure I will mix and match them throughout the week and use whatever I had the night before as a lunch or vice versa!

 

 

Living on less than a dollar a day!

Well last week I thought I was going to receive a check, and I didn't.  Has anyone been there? If you have, you know it's not a fun experience.  Talk about no food in the fridge other than that little bag of spinach, a cucumber and some almond milk. My freezer had a banana and peach slices, made for some good green smoothies.  Did I mention my pantry had .... about a cup left of Amaranth.  Yes to say the least, my week was not the most food pleasing. 

However, I am able to eat more foods now than I was a year or two ago so I had the privilege to go out and eat with friends a couple nights.  Luckily for me, they decided it was on them.

Still not using a credit card! Woooo!

The great part about going out to eat is the leftovers, I always eat my left overs for lunch or dinner the next day.  Another great way to stock up on meals if you are low on cash and if you still live near home is asking for your parents leftovers.  Or if you aren't stubborn like me (I'm like a bull sometimes, no budging me) you can just ask for some help from parents and get groceries.  I hope you are able to do this. 

In the past week I have been looking up all sorts of diets for $1 a day.  I was just curious about if it is possible here in the U.S. I have a special place in my heart for those in third world countries who live on less than a dollar a day and then it occurred to me, there are probably many of us here in the U.S. that will end up living on a dollar a day due to our economy. 

No need to get all political, just something thought provoking for myself. 

Thus my adventures brought me to a couple people who chose to live on a dollar a day with healthy meals to see if it was possible.

This blogger ate on a dollar a day for a month and lost pounds while at it-

http://mydollaradaychallenge.blogspot.com/

Andrew Hyde has quite a few great ideas, I just modified some of his suggestions for AntiCandida-

http://andrewhy.de/how-to-live-comfortably-on-36-a-month-for-food/

Here's an article on a blogger who "Ate well on just $1 A day"

http://www.grocerycouponguide.com/articles/eating-well-on-1-a-day/

Stone Soup has some budget friendly and healthy meals -

http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2012/08/is-this-the-worlds-easiest-shopping-list/#

Have a happy day and I'd invite you to try out one of these challenges if you ever find yourself living on a dollar a day.  Feel free to share your thoughts on a blog or with me!

Going out to eat!

Part of college is going out with friends.  What do  you eat while out with friends on the anti-candida diet.  Other than water.....oh yeah you need to eat right?  Water's always safe!

No really, what can you eat? 

I would say for a general restaurant or fast food place it really depends on what you are able to eat in the stage of your candida.  I was able to eat potatoes so I would get fries each time I was out, it's not the healthiest but at least you can eat along with everyone else.  And always balance this out with some extra probiotic of some sort, be it the capsules if you can take another or an antifungal like garlic, onion, lemon, and more. 

Frozen Yogurt:
When my friends went out for frozen yogurt, I found the best choice was either the lactose free yogurt or the sugar free yogurt.  I haven't tried greek frozen yogurt but if there's that option, I'd try it out.  Portion control is everything here, don't make the bowl full, just fill it a quarter maybe halfway and go light on the fruit, no candy. 

P.S. I just heard that Silk now has Silk Almond Milk Frozen Yogurt, the first dairy free almond milk frozen yogurt at TCBY (I've heard the sales have increased dramatically) check it out: https://www.facebook.com/tcby/app_618870374820011 and there's sweepstakes--makes anything worth trying!

Coffee:
Coffee is a no go, so you already know that going out to coffee would not be the best choice.  But you can always get a green tea and still have a little bit of a caffeine kick. 

Yerba Mate Green Tea is actually really good and gives a great energy jumpstart.  You are able to concentrate and do your homework, but drink it sparingly because it is supplemental energy which is always something to be careful about.

Lunch:
If you're going out for lunch, you can always get a salad and hold the cheese and dressings which will have multiple preservatives.  Sometimes salads will even come with some meat or salmon.  Hold the croutons as well. 

Dinner:
Going rice, rice is generally pretty safe.  I would try for brown rice before the white sticky rice, sticky rice has way too much sugar when it breaks down.  Mongolian Grill or a place such as this where you are able to pick and choose what you put on your rice might be a good choice, just make sure it's the actual restaurant and you hold the oils or dressings.  In some of the smaller scale grills they automatically grill it in oil, so check with them before. 

If you're able find a cute gluten free shop or café, in Portland, there's a few that you can ask whatever you want to be gluten free.

BUDGET TIP: Going out to eat is expensive, just grab a snack with friends and head back to your place!

The Breakfast Diet

I am beginning to realize I have a slight indulgence on breakfast foods.  Their fast, easy to make, and filling.  Most days I'll eat breakfast, then eat lunch, then come back home from work and eat another breakfast type meal.  Then dinner of course. 

Typical morning breakfast:

Hot Cereal
Gluten free oatmeal
Ground Flax
Almond Milk
Walnuts
Apples

Typical Lunch Breakfast (I suppose ...brunch if I must call it that)

Omelete
Eggs
Onions
Red Pepper
Spinach
Avocado

Typical afternoon breakfast:

Parfait
Yogurt
Raspberries
Crisp Rice Cereal

Typical evening breakfast:

Buckwheat Pancakes
Buckwheat Flour
Baking Powder
Egg
Almond Milk
Butter
Nut Butter and Agave

Typical Snack Breakfast

Banana Toast
Gluten Free Toast
Almond Butter
Banana (if not too sweet)

If you like breakfast a lot like I do, try these out anytime of the day.  They are all delicious, I wouldn't recommend making them your daily diet but every now and then it's alright to have a yummy breakfast instead of a regular meal. 

I really should be....

I am a big health nut, I rarely let any bad food come into my body, yet when it comes to fitness, I am the farthest from it.  I wish I could say I do yoga every other day and enjoy long runs around town, but it's just not true.  I struggle with the fitness part of my health and I really want to turn it around. I feel having an active daily routine would be a huge help not only with my digestive system, but my mental and emotional states as well. 

I have tried numerous plans and tried planners and videos, buying the cute clothing.  I did start a routine for a couple months last fall in 2012, then got injured and slacked for the past year. 

My motivation comes from climbing Mt. Adams with the leadership team at my college last year about this time.  The feeling when it was all over of exertion, physical ability, and over all strength was riveting and addicting I wanted more.  Due to lack of motivation and no one keeping me accountable, quite frankly lack of neeeeeed as was needed during my hike, I've stopped. 

I love hiking, dancing, and walking.  I regularly walk 1/2 mile to a mile a couple times a week, go swing dancing once a week and hike once a month or so.  Getting out of the house is not only good for your lungs in the fresh air, but your soul and your social appetite.

Life Gaiam.com says there's five ways to stay motivated to exercise regularly:

1. Change your perspective
2. Set a Goal
3. Set a regular work out time
4. Think fun and variety
5. Reach out to others for support

Here's my chart:

Day	Exercise	Stretch	Time	Goal
Mon	Walk	Thighs	30 min	Gain more leg strength
Tues	Yoga	Arms	30 min	Flexibility
Wed	Swing	Calves	2 hours	Gain more leg strength
Thurs	Zumba	Arms	1 hour	New
Fri	Walk	Thighs	30 min	Gain more leg strength
Sat	Hike	Body	2 hours	Go on all day hike in spring 2014
Sun

Here's an example chart for you:

Day	Exercise	Stretch	Time	Goal
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
Sun