Tasty Foods: Zucchini Hummus

I'm tempted to run upstairs and whip up a batch of zucchini hummus just so I can take some photos for this post, but I'm out of avocados and there are no grocery stores open after 10 PM in SOMA (don't get me started on the EBAY Now ads that make ZERO sense to me.  Who goes to the park, thinks they are starting to burn and orders sun screen for delivery in about an hour????? By the time your sun screen arrives you WILL have a sunburn, I'm sorry to say.). 

Rod and Judy were awesome enough to share the recipe they served for zucchini hummus when we went over for dinner at their place the first time. I have to say, I like it more than "standard" hummus, and I really like hummus. 

Zucchini hummus is amazingly light and doesn't have the same heaviness that a bean based hummus has (though I guess you may be okay with that fullness). It's raw, it's vegan and it's delicious.  

I made two batches for our wedding. Originally I was going to make a double batch using the recipe from ibreatheimhungry, which is pretty darn delicious on it's own. It was the morning before the wedding and I had a couple of avocados that needed to be used so I decided to throw them in the mix.  

Zucchini hummus + Avocados = AMAZING!  

The original recipe is as follows.  I made it the first few times using my Ninja and it took a while to really break everything down and get it smooth.  We got a BlendTec (of Will it Blend? fame) and it made short work of the hummus (about 45 seconds).  Play with what you've got to find out how awesome this recipe is.  

It's amazing as a dip but I've also discovered how rad it goes with just about everything. Top a steak with it. Top a chicken breast with it.  Breakfast sausage?  It's delicious. 

ORIGINAL LOW CARB HUMMUS (from ibreatheimhungry.com)

Ingredients:

4 cups peeled & chopped raw zucchini

3/4 cups tahini (sesame paste)

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste)

1 Tbl ground cumin

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until thick and smooth.  Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.  Pour into a shallow bowl and garnish with parsley, paprika and a drizzle of olive oil if desired.  

My modified version of this recipe swaps out the 1/4 cup of olive oil for 2 avocados.  The remaining ingredients remain the same as do the instructions.  
 
This was one of the first non-AIP foods I tried eating and it appears I can tolerate seeds (sesame paste), which made me really happy.  Cumin is technically not AIP friendly, but I was going a bit nuts and just wanted "regular" food. I haven't had any sort of noticeable reaction to this recipe, so it's in regular rotation. 
 
Speaking of AIP, I think I need to get back to being super serious about it. For days now, my sinuses have been swollen (they feel like they "pop") and I've had terrible headaches. I'm not sure if it's the pressure changes due to the rain or what, but I'm pretty miserable. Loosening up made getting through the wedding a bit easier, but I really need to isolate foods to find out what is tolerable and what is not (the sunbutter cookies I came up with last week were amazing. Hopefully they weren't the issue). 

Waging a war.......... on YOU

I've been really terrible at updating the blog lately.

I've been busy with work, school, wedding prep and projects.

We finally got the invitations done and mailed out.  It was the perfect excuse for me to buy a craft cutter and now I just need to find enough time to work on .svg files for paper crafting as well as creating jewelry designs and finishing out the semester :)

I've noticed that weight loss/health has taken sort of an angry path these days.  Everyone is intent on getting ripped, demolishing fat, getting their asses kicked, etc. I'm not sure why every woman thinks they need to get below 20% body fat and needs six pack abs. I really don't want to "kill it", whatever "it" may be. I'm sick of the screaming commercials for some new ass kicking workout.

Does it really have to be that way?

Don't get me wrong. I don't think there is anything wrong with being strong.  I don't think there's anything wrong with being muscular. I've worked plenty of jobs in my life that required me to be strong.  But really, do we need to look like body builders (I've always been rather grossed out by them personally).

Is this necessary? Or attractive?

I'm not sure what people are into killing, but if killing it equals the above, I'll let it live.

I have to say if I've learned anything in the last 3 years its to be gentle with myself.  I didn't get that principle in all the years I did yoga. I pushed myself to be the most flexible in a class. I pushed myself as hard as I could. Which is totally NOT what yoga is about. I pushed my body by working out 3 hours a day, 7 days a week.

My shoulder injury has taught me to be gentle with myself. I have learned my limits. I may not like my limits all of the time, but I accept them.

I don't need to destroy fat. I don't need to punish myself for my food choices by spending an extra hour at the gym if I eat something "bad". Hell, my entire diet is "bad" by the standards of most of the diet industry. I eat fat. Lots of fat.  I eat protein, a pretty good amount of protein. I eat veggies, probably more than I ever did as a vegetarian in my youth.

As much as it pained me, I threw out everything I thought I new about health and fitness and I've changed my life for the better. Without supplements. Without shakes. Without punishing my body. Without punishing my spirit.

Take a second to think about it before you wage another war with yourself.  Take a second to think about being gentle and kind to yourself.  It might make all the difference in your life and in the world. Our lives are full of enough crap - everyone's a warrior, everything needs to be destroyed, killed, ripped, etc.

Think about the impact those words have. Affect a positive change in your mind and you will see positive changes in your body.

Sovereign Silver Part II

Okay, after a ton of sleep (and Sabrina The Teenage Witch) yesterday afternoon and last night, I feel doubleplusgood.

I know sleep is an integral part of the body's healing process, but I also think the Sovereign Silver nasal spray had something to do with it as well.  I had been masking my symptoms with cold medicine all weekend, which did me no good and I kept feeling worse.

I used the nasal spray 5 times yesterday (7 times is the recommended for short term immune support - being sick).  By the time I went back to bed last night (I spent most of the day in bed), I was able to breathe through both nostrils and the crud was making its way out of my body.

I had been trying desperately to netti pot for days with no real luck getting anything through.  Well, it started moving yesterday evening after 2 doses of Sovereign Silver.  By the late evening the crud was no longer chartreuse, it was only a pale green.

This morning when I woke up, I could actually breathe.  Through both nostrils. I didn't wake up all night long due to congestion.  I felt well enough to go put some seeds in the ground (only some chard seeds this morning) while walking the dog.

Oh by the way, I did another round of Lavender essential oil/cotton in my ears when I went to bed.  My ears do NOT hurt at all today.

Seriously, I feel doubleplusgood today.

I'll keep track of how I feel for the rest of the week.  Sovereign Silver may be worth adding to my usual arsenal of immune builders that includes ferments, cod liver oil, coconut oil and honey.

You don't soy

I think I may have pinpointed one of my allergens tonight.  I went to dinner tonight and tried a bowl of Miso Soup.

By the time the meal was over my nose was running, my sinuses swelling and I had started sneezing.

The only other thing I had was a sashimi plate and if I'm allergic to raw fish, I'm screwed.

At first I thought it was the obnoxious VS fragrance of a patron at the table next to us.  Earlier in the day, the drunk girls on the train started spraying that garbage and the nose running and sneezing started but went away within an hour of getting away from the stink.

It's been more than 5 hours now and my symptoms have NOT gone away at all.  My poor nose is raw from tissues (and yes, mom, I have the ones with "potion").

I had to take a box of tissues upstairs with me when I was working on my homework.  I haven't had to take a box of tissues up to the common area since prior to the start of my AIP diet.  For me, more than a month of not having to have tissues available in every room of the house (or in my car, in my purse, in my messenger bag, etc.) is a miracle.

With the obvious triggers, like that VS garbage (how does anyone think that stuff smells good and why do people feel it necessary to carry fragrances and reapply throughout the day?  If you shower on a regular basis, you should be good to go.), I have found that smelling something else can ease the reaction.  So far the "other smell" that is working for me is peppermint essential oil.  It seems to "reset" my sense of smell so I can no longer smell/taste the offending odor, but it doesn't linger and cause me to smell peppermint for a period afterward.

The peppermint oil does NOT alleviate the symptoms I am currently experiencing.  I am miserable.  I sound like crap. I feel like crap.  My nose is running so badly that it's actually dripping.  The right side of my sinuses are totally swollen (I can still move some air through the left side of my nose).

The good thing is though, I can live without soy.  That is one of the many things that I have eliminated that I can care less about consuming again.  It DOES eliminate any number of "convenience foods" that I may have consumed before because almost anything that has an ingredient list has soy or some soy derivative in it.  But, if that's the case, so be it.  I've grown accustomed to making almost all of my own meals.  It's not that hard to do (although if you ask the people in my CA Art in Cultural Context Class, people have no choice but to eat convenience foods because, like, cooking is haaaaaaaaaaaaard.)

What I can't wait to reintroduce are nuts and eggs.  I tried an egg yolk a couple of days ago (apparently the whites have proteins that can be more allergenic than the yolk as a defense mechanism).  My sinuses felt slightly swollen, but I can't tell if that was coincidence or a reaction to the egg.  After my sinuses calm back down from this incident, I will try another yolk to see what happens.

This whole process has been annoying and time consuming but not needing to carry tissues with me everywhere I go or having intense sneezing fits has been pretty awesome.  I can say I still feel as though NST adjustments may help with any alignment issues of my sinus cavities but until I get the food sorted out, I'm not going to get my sinuses adjusted.

Still at it

Okay, I'm still at the no dairy thing.  I'm adjusting to it.  I don't have raging cravings for cheese like I thought I would, though there have been a few days that I REALLY wanted a gluten free pizza, but take the cheese away and it's just not worth it.

It has been 23 days since my last sinus adjustment, which was seemingly easier than ever before (I had been dairy free for about 3 weeks prior to that adjustment).  I don't think I'll be able to make it up for another adjustment for at least 2 more weeks though (going to Gunny's 90th (yes, I typed 90th) birthday party.

I hadn't really been using my netti pot with much regularity since I started getting my sinus adjustments (for the sake of science) just to make sure that the effects I was feeling were truly related to the adjustment.  I've used it here and there in the last 6 months (typically after working on a particularly dusty project) and noticed that the drainage was still slow even when I wasn't cruddy.

Well, I accidentally killed my Kombucha Mother (it caught the mold - first time ever in almost 10 years of brewing) so I was without my Kombucha for more than a week and caught whatever nastiness is going around the elementary schools right now.  I've been sickly for a little over a week (super congested, headache, cough, etc), which blew the plans for Thanksgiving crabbing.

Due to the amount of crud building up in my face, I decided to bust out the old netti pot.  Prior to sinus adjustments and dietary changes, it could take 10 minutes just to get the water moving through my sinuses (I know, it's gross) and even then, it was barely a trickle.  And no, that was NOT when I had a cold.  That was just daily, run of the mill netti usage.  Even after I started adjustments, it was still a bit slow going, like everything was swollen.

I have to tell you, even with all the crud built up, the water is flowing freely.  It's moving the crud quickly and easily, which has never been the case before.

As much as I had to admit it, I think my nasal swelling was largely related to dairy.  I still have a bit more "science" to do though.  Raw dairy has different effects on people than pasteurized, homogenized dairy from what I have read.  My next step will be to test to see if there is a difference between the two that I notice.

Adventures in Allergy Treatments - Days 13 - 21

I am pretty sure people were getting a little bored with all of my snot talk, so I gave it a rest for a bit. :)

Well, today was treatment 4 (and day 21) of the sinus adjustments.  I will say the adjustment itself has become so much easier.  We were done in about 15 minutes today and it would have been even faster if it weren't for me having to sit up and blow my nose.

The adjustment only took a couple of pumps per sinus cavity (it seemed about 3 pumps per cavity, but really it is hard to count while you've got something expanding in your sinuses).  It is far less painful than it was the first time.

I still have some sneezing and runny nose issues (mostly at work - mostly), BUT I can say it is amazing NOT going through a box of tissues or more in a week. I'm not alone with the sneezing and runny nose in the office though. Almost everyone has had some sort of allergy issues and/or headaches since moving into the office.

I have not had a single sinus headache in 21 days.  21 days!  I had experienced some degree of sinus pressure and pain almost daily for quite some time.  No sinus pain in 21 days!

I have also only had 1 migraine in the last 21 days.  While I've been able to reduce the amount of migraines I have had tremendously through diet, I would still have them from time to time. Fat, magnesium and potassium have made a world of difference in my life.

I can't say the same things work for the everyone, but the sinus adjustments seem to be working wonders for me.

Adventures in Allergy Treatments - Day 11

Okay, it's day 11.  I woke up slightly congested on the right side, but I was able to get the congestion moving within a few minutes and it is still a thousand times better than it was 12 days ago.

No headache today, which was awesome. Unfortunately, I can't tell if the slight increase in congestion is related to the move into the new office or not. It was only a week at the old office and I felt great and then we moved to the dungeon Monday and have had a slight increase in symptoms.

A few sneezes here and there, definitely better than before.

Even with the slight increase this week, it is still a massive improvement over a box of Kleenex a week and uncontrollable sneezing.

I have another treatment scheduled for Monday.  Perhaps an adjustment and time to get used to the dungeon  and I'll be back on track.

An allergy note, I am NOT allergic to bees.  I had never been stung by a bee until today and my mom is deathly allergic.  I was sitting on the library lawn enjoying my book and lunch.  When it was time to go back to work, I went to get up and smashed a bee.  In his anger, he stung the crap out of my finger. I cursed him and then apologized to him for smashing him.

Adventures in Allergy Treatments - 10

Okay, it's been 10 days.  10 glorious days of breathing. Through my nose. Unlike creepy mouth breathers.

I can say with certainty the headache yesterday was work related.  I couldn't pinpoint a smell yesterday because it was faint but it was enough to get to me. I was able to identify it today (someone's lotion). That coupled with a lack of adequate water equaled a killer headache for the last two days in the afternoon.

I stopped by the store and picked up a couple of gallons of water to last the next few days until we get water delivered at the office on Monday.  (The only sinks are in the bathrooms or in the print shop - the print shop water smells like sewage)

Proper hydration definitely makes a difference. I made sure to take potassium at lunch and between that and the water, the smell didn't get to me QUITE as much.  I still don't know how to broach the subject of overwhelming fragrances in the office, especially in the basement without a lot of ventilation.

I still had a bit of congestion when I woke up this morning, but it resolves itself within minutes instead of one or more hours.  A few nose blows, and I'm good to go these days.  If I sneeze, it's 3 sneezes and I'm done. Usually I will sneeze uncontrollably.

I still haven't used a neti pot, taken any benedryl or used any sort of sinus/nasal remedy in 10 days.

I still think that the air feels rather "cold" coming through my nose.  I love not being a mouth breather any more though!

Adventures in Allergy Treatments - Day 9

Okay, it's been 9 days of being able to breathe.

Unfortunately, I am not sure if it is the air in the new building or if someone is using scented lotion or something in the afternoon, but yesterday and today, after full days in the new office, I have had a wicked headache by 2 p.m..  I haven't missed taking my potassium at lunch, so I don't think that is the issue. I've avoided everything else that may or may not influence the results of the adjustments, but I didn't really figure in the air in the dungeon.

There is a slight smell that I can't place in the afternoon.  I am not the only one who has had this problem (the person who sits next to me is having similar issues with afternoon headaches and not being able to place the smell either).  I'm actually glad I'm tracking all of this so I can try to determine what triggers my allergy symptoms.

Even though I have been getting headaches the last two days, I can still breathe through my nose.  I was a bit on the stuffy side waking up this morning, but still much better than it was.

After leaving the office, my headache started to subside in about an hour.  Coincidence?  Maybe.

Adventures In Allergy Treatments - Day 8

I think adventures in allergy treatments sounds a little better than "Endonasal Balloon Therapy" (really, I just got tired of typing it).  It at least sounds a bit more fun. 

I woke up this morning slightly congested on the right side from sleeping on my side.  While it was more congestion than I have had for the last week, it was still less than my best day previously.  I sat up and things got moving. 

I felt a bit foggy today, but I think that was more desiring to be outside since I got moved to the basement and there are NO WINDOWS!!!!!!!!!!!  Well, there is one in a conference room, but I don't think I want to go in there.  There is a sign on the window warning people to be careful of the snake when opening and closing the window. 

I had a few sneezes here and there throughout the day.  The thing that sucks is the first week I was in a different office building all together, so now I'm not sure if any mid day sneezing is related to overall allergy symptoms or if it is related to the new building's air. They told us they had the HVAC system cleaned and evaluated before moving people in, but you never know how well anything gets cleaned.

It's really hard to do a "controlled" study to see what works and what doesn't. BUT, I have made it through an entire week with no benedryl, no allergy medications of any sort, minimal nose blowing and no neti pot.  For me, that is a pretty big deal.

I'm trying to convince my mom, who can't go a day without a Zyrtec D (can't even get out of bed in the morning without it) to try it. 

Endonasal Balloon Therapy - Day 7

Okay, it's been a full week since starting the nasal adjustments.  Today was the second treatment, which went much faster and more smoothly than last week.  My chiro was happy to hear that I am documenting the results I'm having, both good and bad. 

I did find out that while some call it Endonasal Balloon Therapy, it is also called the Nasal Specific Technique (my chiro's preferred reference). 

I will say that the jaunt through Bloomingdales messed me up seriously.  I was sneezing and nose running pretty much all day from it.  I woke up mostly able to breathe through my nose (it was slightly more congested and I feel it was related to the reaction to the cosmetics/fragrances). 

I got a call from my chiro's office just before lunch, asking if I could come in at lunch or if I could leave work early to come in.  I ran down at lunch (we moved to the new office today, so I'm really close to the chiro's office). 

I had her do the nasal adjustment before my normal adjustment, and it was super fast this time!  She's also getting the feel of using the nitrile (which is less stretchy than latex), so she was able to feel when she hit the right level of inflation. 

This time there was FAR less nasal discharge from the actual adjustment and I even teared up less.  I was back to my office in 1/2 an hour including drive time. 

I had a bit of a headache this afternoon, but I think that was partly due to the fact I didn't get any potassium at lunch (I thought I needed CVT glasses because I was getting a wicked headache every afternoon. I also was seriously craving salt in the afternoons as well. Turns out eating a banana or taking a potassium supplement has helped immensely).  My desk wasn't fully unpacked and once I got it unpacked, I didn't really think about the potassium. 

Overall, I still maintain that letting someone stick "balloons" up my nose is worth it.  I am only blowing my nose a few times a day, only sneezing a few times a day and fewer headaches. 

I know I try weird for weird's sake most of the time. I've tried anything and everything for my allergies (which I never had until AFTER moving back to Northern CA after living in San Diego): bee pollen, local honey, SinuOrega spray, various herbs, Elemental Silver spray, coconut oil up my nose, all with zero to minimal results.  It has been a week and I have greatly reduced symptoms. 

Life is so much more pleasant when you can breathe.  Exercise is almost enjoyable again now that I can breathe through my nose.  I didn't realize how limited my breathing was until after the first adjustment.