Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Vegan Experiment

Wesley Chapel, Florida

Yesterday, I went with Al to his appointment with the ENT doctor.   I wanted to make sure they didn’t start talking sinus surgery!  

The doctor put a scope up his nose and confirmed he has a lot of  “stuff”  clogging his sinuses.  He gave him a prescription for prednisone,  and an antibiotic.  He wants him to have a sinus CT scan done in 3-4 weeks (after he completes the drugs) and see how the sinuses look.

I hate for Al to take either of these drugs, but he’s feeling so bad, that we need to get him feeling better as soon as possible.   He has tried treating it on his own , but it’s been going on too long.  I have heard that dairy products can cause some of these problems. Maybe our new diet will help also.

After we got home with the prescriptions, Al read the warnings on the antibiotic and realized the antibiotic  will cause a sensitivity to the sun.  He’s taken those before and knows that he will really be bothered by the heat and sun.  It’s beyond a minor sensitivity.  He feels miserable when he’s in the heat or sun. 

That’s not good news considering we’re planning to leave for Vero Beach on Sunday.  We have beach and kayaking plans.  He decided to call the doctor and see if he can prescribe anything else.

Last night we got a comment from the Good Luck Ducks with a link for a way to massage your head and neck to help get the sinuses to drain.

Some people have had good luck with this.  

Here it is for anybody who might be interested.

He will give it a try, but at this point I think he needs drugs!

I apologize to my rv blog readers out there that are getting bored with our new vegan diet experiment.   I promise, I’ll have something more exciting to write about soon.  (I hope)

I think I’m going to start another blog where I can detail our experience with this vegan thing.  I want to keep track of things for my own personal use. 

So……today is day 4  of our Vegan diet experiment.

I got a milder energy boost yesterday.  It wasn’t like the first day where I couldn’t stop talking…Al was probably glad for that.

This morning for breakfast I drank another Vegan protein shake, and ate some fresh blueberries and cherries.

I am now getting that little burst of energy again.  No humus this time, so I guess that’s not where the energy boost was coming from.

So far, none of these energy boosts for Al.  It could be because of his sinus infection.  I hope he will get the energy boost too because it’s making me really like this new way of eating.

We ate all we wanted yesterday….and then some.  By the time dinner time arrived,  I was not hungry, but I figured I’d better fix Al something good for dinner.  He’s doing so well with this new style of eating,  that I don’t want him to revolt and head   to Outback for a big fat steak!

For dinner,  I fixed spaghetti with garlic bread.  I used my favorite Prego Tomato, garlic and onion spaghetti sauce.  No meat.   The margarine for the garlic toast is not completely vegan, but we compromised on that.   I made a salad with Kale, pumpkin nuts and baby spinach. It was actually pretty good.  We went to bed satisfied and full.

When we were out at the doctors office and shopping yesterday I was concerned we’d get hungry and go looking for a McDonalds or Pizza Hut.   We decided to bring along a little baggie filled with salted almonds, (no, I am not giving up salt), walnuts and salted pumpkin seeds.  We didn’t get hungry so we didn’t need them but it was best to be prepared.

So far, it’s been a breeze except for a few minutes in the grocery store yesterday.  I went to look for some hummus, and ended up in the cheese and dairy aisle, which was right next to the meat display.  I never found the hummus.  I felt kind of lost and a little sad,  realizing there was nothing there for me at all.   It was an odd feeling.    Wow…it was an eye opener. 

However, I recovered and  the next aisle I found had a lot of stuff we could eat….rice, beans, and the like.  I felt much better!

It’s currently 4:30 pm.  My burst of energy has continued.   I have been doing some house cleaning and laundry.  I finally got hungry about 3pm and fixed a vegan sandwich that I had to invent.  I was surprised how good it was.

I had a flour tortilla that I spread a thick layer of hot spicy hummus on.  I spread some uncooked baby spinach then some partially cooked lentils.  The lentils were in a pot with onions and chopped garlic, but they hadn’t gotten done yet so they were a bit crunchy.

I rolled the tortilla up and cooked it in the Nu-wave for 4 minutes.  I expected it to be bland and dry, but it was spicy and good. 

I took a picture before I rolled and cooked it.  I looked pretty good to me.

IMG_3987

So far, this vegan experiment is going well.  I have energy, have eaten all that I wanted, and have been satisfied.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

In the meantime….any of you vegans out there can feel free to share some tips or recipes.

18 comments:

  1. I'm not Vegan, but your mention of Spaghetti reminded me of one of the meals I made on our recent trip. Craig had bought a good size spaghetti squash on one of our shopping trips. I cut it in half, wrapped it in foil, and baked it until it was soft, about an hour. I let it cool enough to handle, and scrapped out the inside. It comes out sort. of stringy like spaghetti. The little sticker suggested butter and maple syrup, but I put a half bottle of left over spaghetti sauce over it and reheated it in the microwave.

    Not being Vegan I sliced up a couple of chicken Italian sausages and topped it with some Parmesan. It was really good. You can leave off the sausage and cheese.

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  2. This is your blog and this is your life and if what you are doing is experimenting with Vegan, I think you should blog about that. Good heavens I'm blogging the minutia of Multiple Myeloma. Your readers are intersted in you not just your travels. Or at least that's my opinion. And yes I'm biased because I am very interested in your experiment.

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  3. Actually, your experiment is of interest in a lot of ways..... Fruits and vegetables are favorites in my daily diet but I am not a vegan ..... It is something to ponder and become more educated about ..... Some of the recipes are very interesting and have to be tasty !!!! Count me in as looking forward to your reports and discoveries......there is something to be said for incorporating more vegan meals in any diet ....at least that's of value in my book ....
    I have been enjoying your blog for awhile now, in fact since you had the flooring layer in your RV .... Especially enjoy your insights along the way and the details you provide.... You fooled me with the BOAT blog !!!!!
    Enjoying the ride and your photos....thank you for sharing...

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  4. Good for you for experimenting with veganism!

    I make all of our hummus these days. It's super easy and healthier because I leave out the oil. You can use other beans besides garbanzos; pintos, black beans, great northern, or a combination (we use organic). I add things like black olives, sundried tomatoes, dill weed, cayenne pepper, artichoke hearts. Really anything that strikes your fancy could go into a batch.

    A typical batch looks like this (in case you want to try it):
    1 can of beans, drained but keep the liquid in reserve.
    Minced garlic - I use the jarred kind, about a tablespoon.
    Lemon or lime juice, about 3 tablespoons.
    Tahini, you can play around with the amount but I like to keep it rather sparse at about 1 tablespoon.
    A few shakes of cayenne pepper.
    Half a can of black olives, drained.

    Throw all this in a blender and add a couple of tablespoons of the bean liquid (you'll need less if you use pinto or great northern beans as they're juicer to begin with). Blend it up then taste and add more of anything as you see fit.

    We don't miss the oil at all and we love that we know exactly what's going into our hummus. Plus it's cheaper this way.

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  5. I'm also interested in the diet! I'm not a vegetarian, but don't eat much meat. Just prefer veggies and fruit and other non-meat things. Love fish, though, and chicken sometimes. Not a lot of beef. So I like to see what others are doing with this vegan diet and their recipes.

    Have you guys tried a netti pot for sinus issues? I don't have one, but got one of those little rubber bulb things moms use to get babies' noses cleaned out. My doctor suggested it when I was having some issues. I put the saline solution in it and squirt it into each nostril two or three times while leaning over the bathroom sink, and it's amazing how much it helps. I'm told if you do that every day, it helps you not catch colds, too. Honestly I only think of it if I'm sick, but... :)

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  6. Blog away about whatever you want... I'm with Sherry, it's your blog!!!

    Check out this web site for recipes: http://fatfreevegan.com/index/ Cutting the oil is very important as well.

    As for Al and his sinus issues. Dairy really does effect the sinus. I can tell if Bill has had real ice cream...he snores terrible. If I eat any dairy now, I get a stuff up nose and then it starts to run;o(( You body really does not know what to do with COWS milk only baby cows know what to do with COWS milk;o))

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  7. Glad you are still sticking to the vegan way. So happy you are getting great results!
    Thanks for the video. I get sinus heads a ton...but just certain times of the year. I will now try all the video suggests. I also bookmarked this for quick reference.

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  8. I'd probably go Pagan before Vegan but I do find your blogging about Vegan food very interesting and encourage you to keep writing about it.

    After all, a lot of us post photos about BBQ's with burgers, hot dogs, steaks and chicken and I wouldn't stop because other folks might not like it.

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  9. i think the reason I have molars is for crushing grains... I assume the canines and incisors are for shearing meat... call me an omnivore!

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  10. Good to hear how you are doing.

    Blessings

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  11. I am enjoying following your vegan diet journey. I don't think I will be taking that trip. :-)

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  12. take a look here

    http://casualkitchen.blogspot.com/2009/06/hummus-blogroll-16-easy-to-make-hummus.html

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  13. Boy, I wish I had you or Sherry to give me some samples of this way of eating. None of it sounds good to me, but if I were to taste it, I bet I'd change my mind. I don't have any energy problem at all with my current eating habits (which are awful) and since I hate to cook, it's a real problem! I really need to change! for Eldy's sake, too...

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    Replies
    1. I hate to cook too and I also hate the planning involved in making a meal. We always wait until we're starved and then grab what we can find. At least that's what we used to do...now we're having to plan better in order to stay out of fast food places.

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  14. Hey, I know this post is a few days old but... you can always make your garlic bread with olive oil! It's just as tasty as when you make it with butter, and even more tasty than with margarine.

    You could also make your 'garlic bread' in the Italian style, grill or toast some good country-style bread. When it's toasty, slice a garlic clove in half lengthwise (no need to peel it) and then drizzle it with olive oil. The essential oils from the garlic seep into the bread and make it more delicious and also more subtle than regular garlic bread. Yum!

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  15. kudos to you for trying a vegan diet. i can say without a doubt that your bidy, the planet and all the animals will thank you.

    personally going vegan, vegetarian at first, vegan later ( i watched Earthlings) these are the results thus far.

    200 lbs of fat gone (yes, 200 lbs)
    high blood pressure gone
    bad cholesterol issues gone
    arthritis pain gone
    fibromyagia pain gone
    IBS gone
    constant Fatigue gone
    chronic major depression gone
    chronic anxiety gone
    plus more....

    on the flip side i have gained a life back, have enery, think faster and better, i do go for hours, bone density is now that of a twenty year old, i am 43. blood sugar levels better than my dr has seen on anyone my age, and more.

    i still get migraines but not as frequently as i used too.
    WRT your hubbys sinus issues, do look into the detox process when switching to a vegan dietary intake.

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  16. kudos to you for trying a vegan diet. i can say without a doubt that your bidy, the planet and all the animals will thank you.

    personally going vegan, vegetarian at first, vegan later ( i watched Earthlings) these are the results thus far.

    200 lbs of fat gone (yes, 200 lbs)
    high blood pressure gone
    bad cholesterol issues gone
    arthritis pain gone
    fibromyagia pain gone
    IBS gone
    constant Fatigue gone
    chronic major depression gone
    chronic anxiety gone
    plus more....

    on the flip side i have gained a life back, have enery, think faster and better, i do go for hours, bone density is now that of a twenty year old, i am 43. blood sugar levels better than my dr has seen on anyone my age, and more.

    i still get migraines but not as frequently as i used too.
    WRT your hubbys sinus issues, do look into the detox process when switching to a vegan dietary intake.

    ReplyDelete

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