Pending Surgery

Sunday morning, I woke with excruciating pain that made me feel like jumping out of my skin. I thought it was gas pains. The pain intensified. My back was aching where my angel wings would sprout if I were an angel. 3 days later, I am still in the hospital. I had a wicked gall bladder attack. I have gall stones. Last night, I woke with a high fever and chills. Plans changed. Instead of going home today, taking antibiotics for two weeks and then scheduling surgery... It is happening either today or tomorrow. Wish me luck. My next post, I will share more of what I have learned about gall bladders and our diets. Tid bit... Did you know that if you have pain on the right upper back/ shoulder area with pain under your right rib cage... Could be your gallbladder.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies - Gluten Free

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

I'm a big fan of food as medicine where organic and natural foods contribute to improved health and happiness.  My mission is to create food that is not only delicious but satisfying.

These cookie treats are delicious and nutritious.  Creamed Clover Honey (found it at Trader Joe's) adds a buttery flavor and acts as a natural antibiotic.  Shredded coconut keeps the cookies soft and chewy.  Coconut also has  numerous health benefits.  Fenugreek's maple flavor enhances the oatmeal while helps to naturally keep blood sugar from spiking while acting as a diuretic.

Here's a cookie recipe that everyone seems to enjoy, especially my mom.  

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Ingredients

1 cup Pasture Butter melted

1 cup Organic Dark Brown Sugar

1 cup Creamed Clover Honey

1 tsp Fenugreek Extract (or Powdered Fenugreek)

1 tsp Organic Free Trade Vanilla Extract

1 egg beaten with 1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp Aluminum Free Baking Soda

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

4 Tbsp Lecithin Granules (Mom used it as an alternative to the Excelon Patch - good for overall health)

1 cup Shredded Organic Coconut 

2 cups Organic Oatmeal 

Instructions

Melt the butter.  Add the brown sugar and clover honey and mix well.  Add fenugreek and vanilla extracts,  mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix gluten free flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cinnamon and lecithin granules.

Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture; mix well.

Add the shredded coconut and oatmeal.

Mix well.

Take about 1 - 2 tablespoons of raw cookie dough and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands and gently flatten.  Place on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.

Tip... have several cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and place all of the cookie sheets in the oven at the same time.  Bake for 8-10 minutes - when the cookies are golden (not burnt) they are ready.  Allow to cool.

The Action Figure Mobile

Looking in the rear-view mirror.... ACTION FIGURE MOBILE!

Friday was a beautiful day; a good day to visit my mom at the nursing home.  Driving along 3A, music playing, singing and feeling good about my life; I noticed something odd in my rear-view mirror.

On top of the car someone had glued action figures.  Lots and lots of action figures.  Spiderman stood in Super Hero fashion, holding his fist to the air with his blue cape flapping in the wind.

I laughed out loud.

Hoping for traffic to back up so that I could look and snap a picture for posterity (and this blog post); the traffic light turned red.

I wondered how many motor vehicle accidents the Action Figure Mobile has caused?

I stopped just before I took the right turn on 2A, camera ready, I waited for the car to pull up beside me.  The driver stopped too.  She didn't seem to want her Action Figure Mobile photographed.

I got a picture anyway.

Action Figure Mobile

Warm Kale and Strawberry Salad

Warm Kale and Strawberry Salad

Today, I decided to look through the fridge and create something healthy for lunch.

I had a bunch of Kale that needed to be cooked.

Yesterday, I bought strawberries.

1. Wash and cut the Kale crosswise, starting at the top and working my way to the bottom coarse end.  I discarded the bottom stems.
2. Add a little Sea Salt to the cut Kale and tossed it in a big bowl.
3. Wash the strawberries (about 3-4 strawberries per dish) and cut them in half lengthwise.
4. Chop fine 3 cloves of garlic.
5. Put 1 tablespoon of good quality olive oil in the bottom of a big sauce pan and heat the oil on medium heat.  
6. Add the garlic when the oil is hot, stir it around quickly and then add the chopped Kale.  
7. Mix it around, cooking the kale so that the leaves are soft; about 5 minutes.
8. Remove from the heat and put the Kale into a salad bowl.  Top with a little Sea Salt and Strawberries.

Mmmmmm.

A blast of feta cheese or goat cheese would really spice this up.  Next time, I will try it with cheese.

The Hardest Part About Visiting the Nursing Home

Mom and Bob, August 2011

I've spent countless hours at the nursing home, doing my best to help ease my mom's transition from living with me to living in a facility.  I have made friends with many of the residents.  I believed most would live longer than my mother; shocked to find that death took them sooner and without warning.

We never know when death will come, but it is a certainty of life; just like taxes.  

Ruthie, Harvey and soon to add to the list of those who went "home", Bob.  

Of all the friends that I have made, it's difficult seeing Bob enter into the dying phase of his illness.  He's hot, appears to have difficulty breathing and is hallucinating a lot more than he had been.

"Ellen! Ellen!  Ellen!"  Bob screamed when he heard my voice yesterday afternoon.  Bob believes that I am Ellen, his Caregiver from home before he was placed in a facility.

"Bob.  Are you OK?  Can I help you?"  I asked as I entered his room.

"No.  I need you. Come here."  Bob answered as he mumbled something while pointing to the ceiling across the room. 

"Do you see it?"  Bob yelled at me.  I tried all the techniques I knew.

"Hmmm, I am not sure.  Can you give me some advice?"  I asked in a calm tone.  

"Do you see it?!"  He repeated with more expression.

"Come on.  .... Ice cream.... " He tried to add in order for me to understand.

"Do you want some ice cream?"  I asked.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  Aww, come on!  You can't be that stupid, can you?!"  Bob was frustrated.  

No words I said could calm him.  Instead of talking, I sat next to his bed, held his hand and prayed to Mother Mary to ease my friends pain.

Bob is dying.  I can see it in his eyes.  I remember seeing this look on my father's face when he laid in a hospital bed dying of cancer over 30 years ago.  Like my dad, Bob doesn't like to be alone; who would when they are dying?  

All we can do at this point is hold Bob's hand, let him know that he's not alone and keep him comfortable while he waits for "Heaven's Bus" to come and pick him up.

I will miss Bob.  I will miss seeing him smile when he holds one of Mom's babies.  I will miss answering his hallucinations; weaving a story to ease his agitation.  

I will NOT miss seeing Bob suffer.  

The hardest part about visiting the nursing home is learning that one of my friends has died or is standing on death's door.