Thanks to Olivia's cardiologist, I have made the decision to change the way I eat. Although I will refer to this new way of eating as a "diet", The purpose is not to lose weight, but to improve one's general health and well-being. Meatless, dairyless, oilless (is that even a word, and how is my spelling), veggie-full, legume-full, whole wheat-full, and avocado-less. I think that just about sums it up.
While Paul is attempting to offer support, the carnivore in him is rebelling. Thus, I'm not pushing, and I'm making a slow transition to this new style of eating. My secret plan is to eventually convert my husband by refusing to cook anything with meat and oil. Muahahahahaha.
I started on November 4th. I went hardcore for about five days, and then I got really busy. Unfortunately, this diet requires some manor attention to detail in the kitchen. I was nowhere near the kitchen for about two weeks prior to Thanksgiving. Thus, my vegan diet became a vegetarian diet. Ooops. I'm getting back on track as of this last week. I even made some vegan Thanksgiving food.
So on Saturday night we had some friends over for dinner. I made a fantasic (I hope) piggy for Paul and our guests, whose privacy I am respecting by keeping them nameless. For myself, a lentil loaf (don't act like you don't wanna munch on THAT all night). I did a meatlovers mashed potato (butter and milk), and a slightly healthier version with oat milk, onion powder, pepper, and a bit of garlic salt. Vegan not so bad, I must say. And the best part, the hit of the night, my Fat free vegan green beans. I can't even explain how tasty these things are. Blanched, chilled, then tossed into a high heat pan with onion powder, pepper, soy sauce, and garlic. They were crunchy and just perfect. The highlight of my life was Paul declaring how yummy they tasted. Okay, not exactly the highlight of my life, but it was the first time he ever ate and liked a green bean. I may just be able to convert him, after all.
While I definitely am not putting pressure on anyone to try a new diet, I have been shocked by the number of people who seem genuinely interested in my new eating habits and the ratiomale behind the change. It seems that most people have a family history of high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Based on what I have learned, I firmly believe fat free vegan is the best possible way a person can eat. Check out www.heartattackproof.com and after reading, decide for yourself. Agreeing that this is the way I should feed my family was the easy part. Making the changes is the challenge.
For the record, my omnivore friends and family have said the vegan recipes taste pretty good. Kind of shocking that such healthy food can be so satisfying.
ps...the babies have eaten everything I have offered, too. Lola luuuuvs her lentil loaf!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
A Whole Year...
The last four months were apparently sucked into a black hole because this is my first blog post since July. Yes, I suck. And for those of you on facebook who are seeing this "note" pop up, I didn't actually create a FB note all about me and the girls...it's an auto update from my google blog, in which I write all about me...and the girls. Just had to clarify that, Lauren ;-P
On with the blog...
Well, October 29th came and went. One entire year of mommyhood. Not sure how it goes for "normal" mothers (ie, the ones who birth only one child a a time), but it's not such a glam life over here in tripletland. I had my hair trimmed only twice. Not one single mani or pedi. And when I go clothes shopping, it's never for myself, and often I pick something up in haste at Target or Costco. Shit, I rarely leave the house without at least one, if not two to three babies in tote. And on the days I do have just one, it's an absolute breeze. But, while I look like ass, I'm actually pretty stoked about our life with the girlies. Things couldn't get much better.
The girls will hit 13 months tomorrow. This is the point in time where I think it's a bit retarded to refer to one's age in months, but whatever. I think it's babymama law to use such measures of age, so I'll oblige. So, yeah, 13 months. Lola started walking 2 days before her first birthday. One month later, she is still trying to get the hang of it, but that's just her way. Makenna, on the other hand, appears to be months away from walking, but will surely come out of nowhere one day soon and just walk across the entire living room without looking back. Within a week, she'll start running. Unfortunately, I can't even predict what Livy will do being that she is just now starting to crawl a little. And it's not pretty.
Speaking of Olivia, today was an absolute blast. We have decided to change most of her docs so that we can stay within one healthcare system. Cleveland Clinic wins. Not because we think CC is totally awesome, but because we heart her Cardiologist and that's where he now works. Okay, it does go beyond that. We aren't blindly following our love of Livy's amazing doctor. Many of her current specialists suck. Okay, they don't totally suck, but members of their staff aren't so suckless. One assistant can't seem to wrap her brain around how to prepare a referral for our insurance company, while another can't seem to figure out how to schedule an appt within a reasonable time frame. Furthermore, Olivia has been having some strange choking/barfing episodes and we want specialists who won't stop until they get to the root of the problem. A 1-yr-old who barely crawls, only makes two sounds, can't lie flat to sleep, wakes up choking, and gags and vomits when anything other than a bottle hits her lips isn't exactly on the "normal" chart in my book. But her little heart seems to be in great shape thanks to her superfaboo Cardiologist. He worked some serious magic during her last cath in October. Prior to that cath, she couldn't sit up on her own, didn't even attempt to crawl, and was gaining very little weight because she just wasn't eating well. Post cath, we have the most energetic little pistol. We LOVE the changes we see and just need to find a solution to this choking/vomiting issue. Thus, I made many appointments today, all of which fall in the next two weeks. Cleveland Clinic, pretty awesome.
Also awesome is the fact that it's 4:30 am and I'm the only one in the house who hasn't slept throught the night. We finally just went cold turkey on Makenna's middle-of-the-night nonsense. She got the memo on night one and hasn't pulled any crap for the last two. I have decided that we will not be offering bottles until 6am and nobody leaves her crib until 7am unless she has pooped herself silly and needs a change. Go ahead and try to change my mind about this shit. But unless you have spent a year in my shoes, your opinion doesn't matter. Seriously, I don't care what you think unless you have a better way of helping my children sleep that doesn't involve me morphing into an octopus so that I can collectively rock them to sleep on a nightly basis.
Aside from the sleep and health issues, life is actually really happy around here. The babies are always laughing, have absolutely no fear, and just seem so well-adjusted. I honestly could not ask for anything more. Healthy and happy, happy babies are about as good as it gets. And while Olivia's health isn't stellar, it's so much better than it could be and I feel her "issues" are totally correctable...just a matter of getting the right docs involved.
1 year down, and life is pretty great.
On with the blog...
Well, October 29th came and went. One entire year of mommyhood. Not sure how it goes for "normal" mothers (ie, the ones who birth only one child a a time), but it's not such a glam life over here in tripletland. I had my hair trimmed only twice. Not one single mani or pedi. And when I go clothes shopping, it's never for myself, and often I pick something up in haste at Target or Costco. Shit, I rarely leave the house without at least one, if not two to three babies in tote. And on the days I do have just one, it's an absolute breeze. But, while I look like ass, I'm actually pretty stoked about our life with the girlies. Things couldn't get much better.
The girls will hit 13 months tomorrow. This is the point in time where I think it's a bit retarded to refer to one's age in months, but whatever. I think it's babymama law to use such measures of age, so I'll oblige. So, yeah, 13 months. Lola started walking 2 days before her first birthday. One month later, she is still trying to get the hang of it, but that's just her way. Makenna, on the other hand, appears to be months away from walking, but will surely come out of nowhere one day soon and just walk across the entire living room without looking back. Within a week, she'll start running. Unfortunately, I can't even predict what Livy will do being that she is just now starting to crawl a little. And it's not pretty.
Speaking of Olivia, today was an absolute blast. We have decided to change most of her docs so that we can stay within one healthcare system. Cleveland Clinic wins. Not because we think CC is totally awesome, but because we heart her Cardiologist and that's where he now works. Okay, it does go beyond that. We aren't blindly following our love of Livy's amazing doctor. Many of her current specialists suck. Okay, they don't totally suck, but members of their staff aren't so suckless. One assistant can't seem to wrap her brain around how to prepare a referral for our insurance company, while another can't seem to figure out how to schedule an appt within a reasonable time frame. Furthermore, Olivia has been having some strange choking/barfing episodes and we want specialists who won't stop until they get to the root of the problem. A 1-yr-old who barely crawls, only makes two sounds, can't lie flat to sleep, wakes up choking, and gags and vomits when anything other than a bottle hits her lips isn't exactly on the "normal" chart in my book. But her little heart seems to be in great shape thanks to her superfaboo Cardiologist. He worked some serious magic during her last cath in October. Prior to that cath, she couldn't sit up on her own, didn't even attempt to crawl, and was gaining very little weight because she just wasn't eating well. Post cath, we have the most energetic little pistol. We LOVE the changes we see and just need to find a solution to this choking/vomiting issue. Thus, I made many appointments today, all of which fall in the next two weeks. Cleveland Clinic, pretty awesome.
Also awesome is the fact that it's 4:30 am and I'm the only one in the house who hasn't slept throught the night. We finally just went cold turkey on Makenna's middle-of-the-night nonsense. She got the memo on night one and hasn't pulled any crap for the last two. I have decided that we will not be offering bottles until 6am and nobody leaves her crib until 7am unless she has pooped herself silly and needs a change. Go ahead and try to change my mind about this shit. But unless you have spent a year in my shoes, your opinion doesn't matter. Seriously, I don't care what you think unless you have a better way of helping my children sleep that doesn't involve me morphing into an octopus so that I can collectively rock them to sleep on a nightly basis.
Aside from the sleep and health issues, life is actually really happy around here. The babies are always laughing, have absolutely no fear, and just seem so well-adjusted. I honestly could not ask for anything more. Healthy and happy, happy babies are about as good as it gets. And while Olivia's health isn't stellar, it's so much better than it could be and I feel her "issues" are totally correctable...just a matter of getting the right docs involved.
1 year down, and life is pretty great.
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