Chicken, Veggie & Pasta Casserole

I adapted this recipe from my friend's blog called Chicken Veggie Pasta.

My daughter loves veggies and chicken and pasta so I was pretty sure she'd gobble up this one. In fact, this was our very first family dinner that she inhaled and cleaned her plate in a long time! We also had plenty of leftovers to enjoy for lunches throughout the week. A great meal that stretches the dollar nicely.

Chicken, Veggie & Pasta Casserole

1 -16 oz package rice pasta spirals
1 recipe of creamy mushroom soup (recipe below)
1 cup frozen organic peas
2-3 cups organic fresh broccoli florets
4-5 medium carrots, chopped
1 organic chicken breast, cooked and shredded
Freshly grated parmesean cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.
Steam broccoli and carrots until tender.
Make creamy soup and add peas once mixture is thickened.
Combine everything together in a casserole dish.
Serve hot.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

2 Tbs grapeseed oil
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1 sm onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sat
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup flour (I used almond flour)
1 1/2 cup gluten-free chicken broth
1 cup milk (I used Unsweetened Almond milk)

In a medium skillet, heat oil and add veggies; saute until soft and onions are translucent. Add seasonings and flour, stir until combined. Add broth and milk at the same time. Stirring frequently, bring soup to a simmer and let cook until thickened.

GF Chicken Nuggets

My daughter loves "chickies." Chick-fil-a is her most favorite place to eat. Chickies, ketchup, lemonade and fries -- how could one go wrong? I was discouraged when I noticed how much GF chicken nuggets cost pre-made at the grocery store. I also needed to find a recipe that would be easy to do fresh each time because my daughter won't eat re-heated homemade chicken nuggets. Picky? Just a little. She is two and half after all.

We love blanched almond flour. The taste is great and the health benefits are the best of all the GF flours out there. Below is my version of quick and easy chicken nuggets that my daughter inhales right along with her ketchup and sweet potato fries.


Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets

Preheat oven to 350.

1/3 cup blanched almond flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Italian seasonings
1/2 tsp grapeseed oil

Combine until crumbly.

1/2 organic chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces.

Coat chicken pieces with the almond flour crumb mixture. Place on wire rack on top of baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Days of Detox

Our week of detoxing is over! And, boy, are we glad!

We set out to do seven days.

Last Sunday I made a huge pot of the detox soup (that smelled oh-so-delicious) and chopped up 3 1/2 pounds of carrots into sticks for snacking purposes. I wrote out our menu plan, which went something like this:

Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, 1/2 cup of cooked veg's and Cleanse pills
Morning snack: 1 cup detox soup (with rice or quinoa added if desired)
Lunch: Salad
Afternoon snack: 1 rice cake w/ 1/2 avocado or carrot sticks
Dinner: Rice/Quinoa with roasted veggies
Before bed: 1/2 grapefruit, Cleanse pills


We had to drink 3 liters of water (which is a TON) throughout the day and could have as much herbal tea as we wanted. Peppermint ended up being my husband's tea of choice, ginger being mine.

Our first day was the most difficult. Our first taste of the detox soup proved to be extremely disappointing -- it tasted nothing like it had smelled while simmering. Really bummed! Basically, it was mushy veggies and water in a bowl. We added rice or quinoa hoping it would make it more edible. It didn't, but we had to eat it so we chocked it down from that moment on. By 9am my husband was already starving, and my tummy wasn't too far behind in the complaints department. Day One was pretty much our starvation day.

Day Two turned into our grouchy fasting day. We both woke up with splitting headaches and neither of us wanted to eat the bland food that filled our refrigerator. So, we ate as little as possible. This is the day we discovered the delicious combination of avocado spread on top of a rice cake -- pure yumminess! My husband was also dealing with chills and nausea throughout the day (on top of the nasty headache). We were not pleasant to be around and were so ready for the day to end when our heads hit the pillow at 9 pm.

Day Three was much better! We woke up, still with slight headaches, but feeling much more energized and ready for the day. This was also Will's first day back to work since we started detoxing. A much better day!

Days Four through Six were pretty easy. We got the hang of food preparation and our headaches were gone. Will lost his voice (somehow -- he doesn't have a sore throat) and is hoping that will come back soon. Weakness and constant tiredness were our only companions on these days. We had crazy conversations about the sweetness (yes, you read that right) of grapefruit. Proof that our sugar intake was at zero!

By day six, though, we had had enough. It was while I was fixing dinner that we both decided we were just sick of eating the same exact thing for six days straight, so we ended it... one day shy of our goal.

Oh well. The spaghetti and meatballs I cooked for tonight's dinner was so worth it. Not one ounce of guilt whatsoever.

We did lose weight -- my husband more than me, which is the way weight loss seems to go between the sexes.  But, six pounds for me is a good thing. Anything is a good thing! Our appetites have shrunk quite a bit, as well. Another good thing.

Now we start our new eating lifestyle. I'm looking forward to trying new recipes and conquering the challenge of gluten-free baking.

Information Overload!

I am one of those types of people who like to read a lot of different books (or blogs) that focus on the same subject. My husband is the opposite of me in this regard. I regurgitate fact after (what I believe to be) interesting fact and he gets all the "important" information without having to skim pages or posts. We work well together. :-)

The book that comes with the Natural Fertility Prescription program is 400+ pages. It's not so menacing on the computer, but it's not quite as easy for me to ingest the information either. I'm old-fashioned. Give me paper so I can highlight and write notes. In paper form this book is monstrous! But, I'm inhaling it nonetheless.

Everything is so interesting. Here are some pretty interesting facts I've gleaned thus far (I'm only half way through):

~ A study done by Rutgers University in the USA found that organically grown food contain between 48% - 390% more nutrients crucial for fertility than non-organically grown food: Over 50% more zinc; 390% more selenium; 120% more potassium; 90% more phosphorus; 170% more manganese; 140% more magnesium; 60% more iron; 80% more iodine; 48% more copper; 80% more chromium; 70% more boron; and nearly 50% fewer toxic heavy metals such as mercury, lead and aluminum!

~Soy consumption has been linked to prolonged menstrual cycles in women, therefore narrowing the windows of opportunity to conceive. It also negatively affects sperm quality due to soy's estrogenic compounds. Also, soy has been genetically modified (a GMO food). The only soy product deemed "permissible" by the author is Tempeh.

~ Ah...dairy. Want to know why we're so addicted to cheese, milk and yogurts? Milk contains natural morphine, codeine and other opiates. The feel-good chemicals are in the milk so that the calf gets addicted to the milk and bonds with the mother in order to survive. No wonder grilled cheese sandwiches are a comfort food!

~ We consume milk from cows that are lactating in the second half of their pregnancy which is when the estrogen levels are at it's highest.

~ Milk is declared the best way to get calcium by most people, but there are way better sources. They are: seaweed, collard greens, beets, dandelion, turnip greens, parsley, watercress, broccoli, spinach, sesame seeds, tahini, brazil nuts, tofu, ripe olives, cooked soya beans, salmon and sardines.

~ Meat, meat, meat...I have a love hate relationship with you. Animal products bring so many issues to the fertility issue. We'll be cutting back a lot. I can't cut it out of our diet entirely because I'm married to a southern boy -- he likes his meat. Plus, there are times when I find myself craving a good hamburger or a juicy steak. These just blew my mind:
     ~ One serving of red meat, turkey or chicken a day increase the risk of ovulatory infertility by one third!
     ~ Further studies have found that by replacing 25g of animal protein with 25g of plant protein, the risk of ovulatory infertility decreased by 50%. Fifty percent!!
We're switching to grass-fed, organic and free-range.

The entire chapter dealing with supplements was enlightening. We're looking into seeing a Natropathic Doctor who can help us figure out what supplements we'll need. I've been faithful about taking my prenatal vitamin, but it's not enough. Not even close. I'm pretty sure I've got a zinc deficiency simply because I've got a few of the symptoms listed. Below are some interesting facts about how different elements affect our bodies:
     ~ Chromium is essential for healthy blood sugar levels. (As a hypoglycemic, this would have been nice to know when I was diagnosed 6 years ago!)
     ~ CoQ10 has been known to increase sperm mobility. A must-have for guys.
     ~ EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids) can protect against SIDS and post-natal depression. They've also been known to help treat endometriosis, heavy periods, cramping and mild depression.
     ~ Magnesium helps promote sleep and muscle relaxation, maintains normal blood pressure, blood sugar and insulin levels.
     ~ Zinc plays a major role in both men and women's fertility. Deficiencies in men have been linked to low testosterone, low sperm count, poor sperm shape, chromosomal abnormalities, and poor mobility. In women, zinc is required for ovulation and healthy egg production. Stretch marks during pregnancy is a good sign of a zinc deficiency, as well as hair loss and white spots or bands on fingernails.

So, is that enough information to overload your brain yet? I feel like a walking encyclopedia on all that is fertility. It helps that I'm carrying around a book plenty big to be called an encyclopedia!

We are getting ready to start our detox in 2 weeks. Until then, we've got plenty to read. I've got to clean out our pantry and freezer of foods that are being eliminated from our diet. And, we've got to go shopping and start cooking so we can be prepared when it's crunch time!

And so it begins...

Children... I love them. Especially when they are mine. The way my daughter smelled the first time I held her to present day two and a half years later makes my heart swell. Her smile changes my mood instantly. She is so full of life and joy that I cannot keep from joining her in this celebration of living. Motherhood is what I was created for. This role that is so exhausting and exhilarating at the same time makes my heart happy. So, naturally, I want more than just one.
I have wanted to be a mother since my baby sister entered the world. I was two and a half. I would tell my Mom stories of how I was going to grow up, have a husband and then have my very own baby. Whenever I was asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" my response was always, "A Mom." I never really thought about a career in any other line of work.
Well, I stuck to my plan. I got married and we had a baby after two years of marriage. Both of us, coming from large-ish families (I'm from a family of six and my husband is from a family of five), have always wanted a minimum of three kids. When it came time for us to start trying for baby #2 (keeping our children two years apart was our goal), we were excited. What couple isn't excited about the prospect of holding their own flesh and blood?
It's been fourteen months since we started. This was not part of the plan. At all. I am not one who easily slides into depression, but I have gotten to the place where the pain constricts my heart so deeply that I let myself wallow in the darkness for a little while. Mourning is okay. So long as I get back up. Which is required thanks to my darling girl who needs her Mama.
I have had some hormone testing done and everything came back normal. We are now going through more testing. My husband is getting a semen analysis and I have to undergo a sonogram to make sure my uterus and fallopian tubes are working and shaped correctly. If these tests come back normal my Doctor said she'll send us to a fertility specialist to seek further treatment.
It was after my last appointment that spurred me on to research fertility treatments. I am drawn to doing things naturally as possible. I grew up with a health-nut for a Mother, so I know quite a bit about that whole world. Long before it gained the momentum it has in the last decade, we ate and lived naturally. With this predisposition I web-searched natural methods for increasing fertility. I came across the Natural Fertility Prescription and purchased it after reading her website. After reading through her research and talking with my husband, we have decided this is the best route for us.
While we eat healthy as it is, big changes are still required of us. Quite a few foods we indulge will be cut from our diet. The way we live, clean, eat and exercise will be transformed. I'm excited and nervous. Change is not always easy, but this is for the best. Investing in our health is the best investment we can make.
So, the journey continues. And I plan to write often as we walk forward. I hope this will be a place for encouragement, support, and helpful information on the quest to finding fertility naturally.