Primal Journal - onalark page 24

[onalark]

oooooo kimchi! I'm making coconut kefir...er...as soon as I find some kefir grains. Which, I think I finally found a store but its only open Mon-Fri so *sigh* have to wait two more days.

Water kefir is next on my fermentation list. Just need to score some grains!

[onalark]

I'm so very sorry about your miscarriage. (((hugs))) I have two boys now, but I had a missed miscarriage at 11 weeks before my first son and two miscarriages between my first and second successful pregnancy. I am sorry you had to go through it. I temped and tracked for a couple of years trying to get preggers. My miscarriages were related to my autoimmune issues.

I was a total wuss just going through one. I can't imagine doing this two or even three times, so you have MY (((hugs))) for having the tenacity to endure that.

We're going to try again, but if it happens a second time...I just don't know. Part of me wants to say if we wind up with another miscarriage, I should just take 6 months off or so and chill. Another part is reminding me that I am later 30s now, and if we wait much longer, we're going to head into dangerous territory. Ah well. We'll dynamite that bridge when we get to it.

My cycle seems to have lengthened on primal though this is only my second cycle. They seem to be about 3-4 days longer. But I'm still breastfeeding my 13 month old so it can be wacky while nursing.

My cycle seems to be pretty normal since going primal, though I do have a shortened window between menses and ovulation. Or so says Fertility Friend. Total roundtrip is 24 or 28 days. I sometimes wonder if one ovary fires at different times then the other. No idea. At least my body gives solid signals when it's ready to go, so I'm never surprised when Aunt Flo shows up. And she's definitely less intense than she was when I was pre-primal.

Those pork chops look fantastic!!

Thanks! I vacuumed sealed a mess of chicken, sausage, steak, and more steak tonight. Looking forward to meals this month!

[onalark]

I made coconut flour pancakes for breakfast. They were...dense. I'm off the butter and maple syrup, so I tried them with sunbutter and blueberries. Couldn't really eat more than one and a half. I'm always pondering how to fix these things. I miss my soaked buckwheat, but the Whole 30 Must Be Obeyed. Even if the Whole 30 says paleo pancakes are "sex with your pants on". Once again, the Whole 30 Can Suck It.

Dinner we went to a BBQ place, and once again -- California BBQ sucks. Overcooked meat they claim they've smoked, but doesn't have a lick of lipstick when you slice into it. I can't say I miss much about St. Louis...but I miss the BBQ. Sigh. The sweet potato was good, though. And so was the grilled asparagus. Not a total loss.

I treated myself to a massage and facial today, and we wandered around Ikea and Whole Paycheck a bit. We returned with lots of on-sale meats and sausage for future meals, and a beautiful cast-iron enameled fondue pot from Ikea. Because when you can't eat cheese (because the Whole 30 Says So, That's Why), a fondue pot is an awesome way to dream.

[onalark]

Sunday night had a few drinks. Also, dessert. There may have been a cookie involved. DEFINITELY NOT WHOLE30 APPROVED.

So NOW I'm doing the Whole15, part 2! Because I can, that's why! I've already lost most of the unpregnancy weight and feeling back to normal, so the next 15 days are basically just gravy. We have family coming to town August 10-12, and I'm probably going to kick up my heels while we're at Disneyland, but until then I stay on the straight and narrow, with a side of guacamole.

Monday I was hungover, so no cooking. I came home, Mr. Onalark took pity on me, and we went to Chipotle for dinner. Tonight I plan to make a nice salad with the fish I sous-vide'd, and tomorrow I think we'll go for a bacon and escarole salad with some gazpacho on the side.

Oh, I also made gazpacho. It's very tasty. Very summery. It makes me smile.

One big mistake: I drank iced tea at Chipotle. I was up until 2 AM. I'm all like...what happened to the girl who used to drink an entire Big Gulp of iced coffee before bedtime? I don't know. It's crazy, though.

Thursday I will probably crank up the water bath again and make us a lovely steak. And then a repeat performance on Friday with chicken or pork chops or something.

That's pretty much it. Hangovers, work, overtime, lack of sleep, everything else same-same. On the "freedom from debt" side of things...we're paying off Mr. Onalark's car. I will (crossed fingers) (crossed ankles) (crossed eyes) be out of credit debt by the end of the year. I should have been out by now, but then the house in Missouri got mold damage and I had to fix it. Because that's what you do. You fix shit.

Wheeeeeee.

[onalark]

Dinner!


Arctic Char and Improvised Caesar Salad by fivebyevif, on Flickr

Uh, it looks better than it tasted. Yeah. Arctic char is fishy, even with a sous vide machine and a quick sear in bacon fat. Blergh. But the salad was great, and my improvised caesar dressing was tangy and delicious. Eating bites of avocado with the fish helped alleviate some of the unbearable fishiness, but I'm starting to feel like maybe I should just take fish oil pills. Because...I don't like fish. BUT I KEEP TRYING.

Mr. Onalark is on a long business trip to San Francisco tomorrow, so I'll probably eat at work. Photos of glorious steak on Thursday, I hope.

[avocadogirl]

Your dinner looks absolutely delicious. I'm not a huge fan of Arctic char either, generally sticking to salmon and the more mild white fish. At least you keep trying. My husband likes sardines and I know they are so good for me, but I just...can't.

I look forwad to your steak photos.

And as an aside, I wanted to share that in order for me to have my two successful pregnancies, I had to take progesterone supplements for the first 10-12 weeks in my first tri. I wonder now if my vegetarian diet had anything to do with my hormone imbalance. It probably did but I try not to beat myself up over it as now I do have two precious boys, and had two great pregnancies and natural births. Still, I don't feel great about having had to take the progesterone, but it did help. We did wait about 4-5 months between miscarriages before trying again, and at one point, nearly gave up. My kids are 4 1/2 years apart in age difference. I was hoping to space them closer but it is what it is. They already play together and there are advantages to this spacing, yet I wish I didn't have those miscarriages in between.

[Richardmac]

Thought id check out your log, and its great. Full of real life and real people. Im sorry to hear about your recent troubles. I have been there twice.

Id be interested in your paleo pancake recipe. I got one from seaside kitchen.com. Great site.

Richard

[onalark]

Your dinner looks absolutely delicious. I'm not a huge fan of Arctic char either, generally sticking to salmon and the more mild white fish. At least you keep trying. My husband likes sardines and I know they are so good for me, but I just...can't.

I look forwad to your steak photos.

And as an aside, I wanted to share that in order for me to have my two successful pregnancies, I had to take progesterone supplements for the first 10-12 weeks in my first tri. I wonder now if my vegetarian diet had anything to do with my hormone imbalance. It probably did but I try not to beat myself up over it as now I do have two precious boys, and had two great pregnancies and natural births. Still, I don't feel great about having had to take the progesterone, but it did help. We did wait about 4-5 months between miscarriages before trying again, and at one point, nearly gave up. My kids are 4 1/2 years apart in age difference. I was hoping to space them closer but it is what it is. They already play together and there are advantages to this spacing, yet I wish I didn't have those miscarriages in between.

That's good to know. Thank you!

Occasionally I catch myself thinking, "If I hadn't miscarried, we'd be X days along now!" Then I have to push that aside, because man, those kinds of thoughts will make you crazy if you think 'em too much.

[onalark]

Thought id check out your log, and its great. Full of real life and real people. Im sorry to hear about your recent troubles. I have been there twice.

Id be interested in your paleo pancake recipe. I got one from seaside kitchen.com. Great site.

Richard

Thanks! I got the pancake recipe from here:
Vanilla Pancakes - The Food Lovers Kitchen

Personally, I think I like the pancakes I make from bananas, almond butter, and eggs. They aren't as thick, but they're sweeter and tastier. And the buckwheat pancakes I make tops them all.

[onalark]

Thai chicken for lunch, eggs for breakfast, who knows what for dinner.

Reeeeally need to exercise again but...stressful week. Takes it right out of me. I know. It's an excuse. I know, I know.

Edited to add: I also made the raspberry coconut gelatin recipe that was posted on MDA homepage last night. It's setting up in my fridge. Alas, no raspberries, so I used blackberries. It's a lovely shade of lavender. Can't wait to have some tonight.