A few necessary changes.

I'm going to go somewhere I've never really gone to on my blog.  Personal life issues.  But, this is going to be a big part of my life now, so I figured why not talk about it here.  I've had some health issues for awhile, and I admit, I'm not the best at taking care of myself.  But forces of nature were aligned in a way that I've been forced to take care of myself, and make some really hard chances to my life.

New staple...

I'm not thrilled, but I've had to cut all sugar, flour, pasta, rice, potatoes, and most fruit from my diet.  I can't even seem to have "artificial" sweeteners.  I'm trying to be positive, and look at it as a "challenge" to find alternatives...but really...I'm going to sulk a little and complain on how tough it is.

My normal preferred breakfast is steel cut oats.  I love oats, cooked in milk with fresh fruit added.  No need for added sweeteners of any kind.  Right now, I'm eating 2 eggs a morning, usually mixed with veggies, and a side of cottage cheese.  I haven't completely given up creamer in coffee, but it's one of those measure carefully types of situations.

Rinsed well, these are pretty decent.

Lunches are probably the hardest, just because I love soup, or ramen, or sandwiches.  Since all those are off the list, I've had to be pretty innovative.  Last week I made pizzas out of eggplant.  This weekend I did the same with zucchini.  I also made a spaghetti meal out of Shirataki tofu noodles.  They aren't the best, let me tell you.  They really taste like nothing.  If I made them again, I'd aim to use a better sauce, and maybe add some turkey meatballs, just for flavor.  More veggies, and a thicker sauce might help as well.  And cheese.  Or seasoning.

Dinners are the easiest though.  It's easy to pick a protein, do something delicious to it, and serve it up with a ton of vegetables.  We've already done a good amount of grilling in this warm weather, and I can think of a good number of slow-cooker recipes.  It's not easy though- some days you really just want a piece of bread, or a plate of pasta.  Or a bowl of oatmeal.  And we won't even get into desserts and snacks.  But as I adjust and learn new recipes, I'll try to share them.

At least I haven't had to cut dairy- home made yogurt with some chia seeds, a few blueberries and a small handful of granola have been the only thing that keeps me going in the afternoon.  I truly mean that too.