Tag Archives: healthy eating

My Typical Day Now

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I am trying to practice consistency in all areas of my life…nutrition, physical activity, stress management, time management, studying for my LMSW exam….and my blog. To help facilitate making the blog portion of my daily life more consistent, I’ve created a Facebook page just for my blog. https://www.facebook.com/wozaniwaste/

One of my biggest decisions in the last few weeks was to give up trying to make deadlines for powwows. My friends and family know that I love to sew. It’s a form of stress relief. I sew for my entire family and I take orders for friends and families. Over the years I’ve developed a habit of what I would refer to as “binge sewing”….meaning I get frantic about meeting a deadline and I end up spending all my time trying to get an item done for a specific powwow, either for my family or for an order. Powwow beaders and seamstresses are well acquainted with this. Lol. It is anything but “stress relief”. What occurs in those instances is that my cooking and healthy eating go out the window. My sleep is little to non-existent. I don’t take the time to exercise because I’m too focused on getting something finished. And my time and attention is taken away from my kids and family. I decided two weeks ago that I am no longer going to do it. The cost to my health and my family’s health isn’t worth wearing a new item immediately at a powwow, or even fulfilling an order. I will have to get used to giving a much more generous estimate on completion dates for orders. My family will understand if I don’t get something done. And I can deal with my own impatience of wanting something done right away. At least I think I can…..haha.

I also asked one of my former students, and recent MSW graduate, to be my study partner so I can finally sit for the LMSW test. Leaving myself to my own devices has resulted in no studying getting done. So I reached out and we have made arrangements to meet once per week to study together. I even downloaded an app she sent that sends me one practice exam question everyday. I am proud to say I got my first question right today. Lol.

So….my typical day consists of the following:

I try to get at least 6-7 hours of sleep. When I wake up I drink 2 big cups of water and have my beloved coffee. I just drink it straight up…no creamer or sweetener. I have to take a synthetic thyroid pill every morning on an empty stomach to treat hypothyroidism (was diagnosed in my early 20’s), so I have to wait an hour before I eat anything. My breakfast after the hour is either a smoothie made with unsweetened cashew milk, natural PB, whey protein powder, a handful of spinach and ice cubes, or I poach an egg and eat it on a slice of low-carb toast. Or low-carb toast and PB. It’s rare that I have the time and alertness enough to make a veggie omelet. The Metabolism Miracle book has a good “hot cereal” that I like to make as well on occasion. On days where I am really rushed I just use a shaker cup and throw some cashew or almond milk and a heaping scoop of protein powder and run out the door.

I pack my lunch every day to take to work. My lunch box today consists of leftover steak and pepper stir fry, an Atkins protein shake, celery and natural peanut butter, and a bag of mini sweet peppers. There’s a water cooler at work so I keep a 32 oz water bottle at my desk and I try to drink 2 a day. This sames me money and I’m not tempted my restaurant food that’s not in my eating plan.

I have a membership to the wellness facility at my work. Costs me less than a dollar a day and they have an indoor track, weight machines, free weights, cardio equipment, basketball court, racquetball courts, and a small pool. I pack my workout bag every time I go to work (45-50 min drive from home) even if I don’t use it everyday. When I do use it, I use a combination of the cardio equipment, and yesterday I started in on the weights. I need to use the pool more but it’s a pain washing the chlorine out of my hair and trying to get back to the office within my allotted wellness leave time. If I run out of time to workout at work, I make sure I do something at home. Usually walking in my neighborhood with my girls. I’ve also been trying to do something during commercials if I’m watching TV, like squats or push-ups. Lately I’ve added the stadium steps once per week. That’s a killer so I don’t see myself doing that anymore that once every 7 days anytime soon. I try to do any activity for 45 minutes, the very minimum of 30 minutes per day, 6 days out of the week.

I may have mentioned in a previous blog entry that I have battled depression in the past. It’s something I try to stay on top of because I don’t like taking medication. I mean I will if necessary, I just try to manage things so that it doesn’t get to that point. Exercise can change and lift your mood in as little as a 15 minute walk. So not only is exercise important to my goal of getting rid of pre-diabetes, it is a powerful tool in my efforts to combat depression. I’ve also started a gratitude journal and I have my girls keeping a gratitude journal of their own. Staying optimistic is very important to health. Writing things down and practicing gratitude will change ones outlook for the better. Which is also very important to preventing depression and staying motivated on this health journey.

I try to cook as often as I can. I like to make extra of whatever I cook so we can have leftovers the next day. That saves me at least 3 nights of cooking every week. Lol. Once in awhile I would prep several meals in one afternoon and I haven’t been able to make the time to that in a long time. Something I need to prioritize because it was really nice to have a full meal that I just had to thaw and re-heat on very busy days, or post-powwow travel days.

We are in softball season now, so Joe B and I run practice or coach games 3 nights per week. Time management and prioritizing are essential. It has been testing my resolve from the 1st paragraph daily….do I cook or sew some more shells on the dentalium cape sitting on a table in front of the TV???? Of course I cook. But the answer even one month ago would have been “Are you kidding? SEW SHELLS ON THE CAPE!!!”

The biggest differences for me between now and 2 months ago are the daily activity and keeping my grams of carbohydrates to less than 5 net grams per meal and if I eat a snack before bedtime. And not obsessing over getting sewing done. That’s huge.

I try to patient with myself, reminding myself daily that it’s a journey, not a race. Which is why I don’t step on the scale anymore and just focus on today, and when I need extra motivation, I focus on my next A1c in August. Daily gratitude and daily focus. 🙂

16-Week Follow-Up Post-THR + Recovery Frustration

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Tuesday marked 16 weeks since I had total hip replacement on my right hip. This time I went to the appointment in workout pants that didn’t have any zippers so I wouldn’t have to change into the beautiful mesh shorts the doctor’s office provides to get the x-rays on my hip. The x-rays showed that my hip is healing nicely. There is no loosening of the device from the bone….he noted that my left hip looks bad (as it has since 2012) but he would leave it up to me as to when I wanted to get that hip replaced.

I was looking forward to having my non-impact exercise restrictions lifted and possibly be given the green light to get back to shawl dancing. He did reduce several of my restrictions. I can now squat or leg press up to 100% of my body weight (I was at 50% at my 6-week follow-up), I can pick up or deadlift up to 90 lbs (up from 40 lbs), and I can now do low-impact activity, such as Zumba or the modified T25 workouts, and continue with the walking, elliptical, stationary bike, swimming. I can also get back to pushing a prowler with weights, using my judgement on how my hip and muscles feel. But no attempts at returning to shawl dancing until I am 6-months post-surgery, which puts me at mid-June.

I’ll admit I was a little disappointed to hear that. But I’m realistic enough with myself to know that even in mid-June, had he given me the green light to return now, I wouldn’t be ready. I gained approximately 15 lbs since having my surgery. I feel like my muscle tone is zero. I’ve dealt with weight issues during my adult life, twice gaining and losing 30-36 lbs (NOT including pregnancy weight gain for my 2 daughters), and what feels different this time is that I always felt like I had a base to work from…even if I was overweight and out of shape, I still had a base of conditioning to build on. I don’t feel like I have that base in this instance.

I’ve said this to a few people…coming back after this surgery is harder than coming back after having 2 babies. After having both C-sections, I remember returning to the track to walk….and I couldn’t get my heart rate up enough for walking to feel like a workout, so I started walking the stairs. Not this time…even walking for distance is challenging. My muscles hurt. My arches hurt. None of the work clothes I bought last summer and fall fit me. I had to move my dance belt out when I danced traditional at KU powwow last weekend. And when I weighed and measured myself on Monday, I realized that I am the heaviest I have been in my adult life, not counting how much I weighed post-pregnancy.

This week was tough. I was beyond frustrated. I know now what people mean when they say they “raged inside”. Lol. That’s how I felt. I struggle with having patience, I want stuff to happen RIGHT NOW. So I started using my weight watchers app again on Monday, tracking my points, and my husband got all of us out for a walk after work. Wednesday I felt like I was coming unglued…my frustration with myself was hitting its peak, work stress piled up….I texted my adopted sister, letting her know how unglued I was becoming….lol. Then I grabbed my workout bag and headed for the rec center at my work. When I walked in I saw the recumbent step machine, just like the one they had at my physical therapy place. I used the 15-Minute Rule on myself, saying I would only get on that thing for 15 minutes then I was out of here. I listened to some Queen & David Bowie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Steve Winwood while I pushed the pedals. Felt my nerves start to soothe. I did 20 minutes on the stepper and then set the machine for another 20. I felt so much better after. I felt like I got a good workout. I broke a sweat and I could tell my muscles did good work without anything else hurting. I felt calm. I felt optimistic. I was able to return to my work station and get a bunch of work done.

Yesterday I woke up not feeling much better than Wednesday. Some good talk about nutrition with MPH students and interns while working a career fair brightened my day. And then I got my family out for a walk while our dinner cooked. And once again, I returned feeling calm. Feeling optimistic. And I slept really good both nights.

Some people operate well by telling themselves “I HAVE to do this. I have no other choice.” I don’t do well with that type of self-talk. Telling myself that only increases frustration. I do believe I can do this now. I believe things are going to be ok. I’m getting back into the habit of tracking my food and generating ideas for healthy meals for my family. I feel like I’m finally ready to return to weight training, which always gave me good results. I am back to believing that walking will do me a world of good until I am ready to do more. I am looking forward to using that recumbent stepper more frequently until I feel like doing the elliptical. I have had several people tell me, “If anyone can come back from this strong, it’s you.”

I just need to keep telling myself that. Each and every day.

6 Successful Vegetarian Days

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We did it. We ate like vegetarians for 6 whole days. I’ve often wondered what it would be like and now I know.

I actually enjoyed my meat-free 6 days. I found myself eating a variety of grains and vegetables. I ate a little more dairy than I usually do, but I look at that as a good thing because of all the calcium and the protein found in dairy milk (I usually stick to almond milk which has little to no protein). The timing of the class I teach was awesome because we covered protein last week.  We looked at the benefits and some of the potential risks of vegetarian and vegan diets, such as becoming deficient in B12, and non-heme iron being harder to absorb than heme iron. I did some research on food combinations and saw the controversy from the plant-based diet people who don’t believe you need to combine different plant-based foods in order to complete the amino acid chains and get a complete protein. I reviewed my own nutrition course notes that says combining whole grain rice and beans, or grains and legumes, or grains and dairy, gives you a meal that has all the essential amino acids. Whatever side of the fence you fall on with the food combination argument, the idea that you need a variety of plant-based foods to create a healthy diet was just reinforced.

I have been trying to convince my husband for awhile now that we don’t NEED to have meat at every single dinner. I have proposed the idea of having one or two meals every week that are vegetarian, and that didn’t go over very well. However, now that he has seen that he can survive an entire 6 days straight with no meat, he is now open to the idea of a “Meatless Monday” or whatever day of the week we decide to this. Maybe now I can get my family to cut back on meat consumption by substituting more vegetables in meat dishes and by having the weekly vegetarian dinner. I am a bit more relieved about how my kids eat, that they actually will get a sufficient amount of protein from combining different plant based foods with a healthy and non-factory farmed source of dairy.

I weighed myself to see if I would lose any pounds during our week. I did not. Just goes to show you that eliminating meat from our diets (meat is very calorie dense) doesn’t necessarily mean you will lose weight. Different forms of dairy can be very calorie dense, as well as nuts and legumes. Also, eliminating meat from your diet doesn’t automatically mean all your food choices are healthy. Like one of my students said recently, “Chips don’t have meat in them.” Losing weight on a vegetarian diet is just like losing weight on the standard American diet: portion control, plenty of non-starchy vegetables & whole fruit, no sugar-sweetened beverages, limiting processed foods, being mindful of your sodium intake, and most importantly – paying attention to how you feel when you eat and stopping when you are either satisfied, or when you are no longer hungry.

This past week as also reinforced my motivation for another venture. Learning how to garden. The seeds Sara planted are sprouting and we are keeping them alive….if you knew how I have failed to keep house plants alive in my adult life, you would understand what a big deal that is. Shelby convinced me to buy a small mint plant awhile back and we have had to replant it in a bigger pot because it’s growing and growing. She wants to make her own mint tea and have mint for infused water and to put in lemonade. I am reviving the jade plant given to me as a gift. I am starting to believe that I will actually have a garden this summer and I am excited for me and my girls.

Being a vegetarian or wanting more plant-based foods in our diets isn’t just about health, it’s about sustainability. It’s about reconnecting with where our food comes from. This week was beneficial to me and my family in a multitude of ways. Now we just have to keep the momentum going.

Going Vegetarian for 7 Days

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*Sigh* Although I am not the meat-lover my Kiowa husband is, (there are several Kiowa meat-loving people I know who insist there is no word in their language for “vegetable”), I do enjoy cooking and eating animal products. Especially game meat. Ever since I became more enlightened about factory farming and where my beef and chicken comes from and the conditions under which they are raised, I’ve tried to cut back and just buy from local sources and local butchers. I’ve entertained the occasional thought about going vegan or vegetarian, but then I always told myself, “I come from hunter-gatherer people…..not just gatherers.” Hahaha.

Anyway, I have been to several lectures and presentations on the benefits of plant-based diets. I know I have a strong family history of heart disease and I’ve learned how a plant-based diet can help prevent heart attacks and strokes. I am a huge fan of author Michael Pollan. Reading his work is part of my inspiration to learn how to garden, or up until now – buying into a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group. But I always felt that meat had its place in our diets and food systems, especially with Indigenous people. So I never seriously considered a meatless diet.

Until now.

My daughter Samantha is back in school to get her RN (she has been an pediatric LPN for years), and she is taking a nutrition class this semester. One of their assignments is to adopt the vegan lifestyle for a week. Vegan means that one doesn’t consume any animal products in their diets…..in addition to no meat, there is no butter, milk, yogurt, eggs, or dairy-based coffee creamer. I even saw on an episode of “Chopped” where a vegan chef was forced to use honey in his dish because it was a basket ingredient, but he refused to taste the food after he added it.

I know any lifestyle change beyond a couple of days is daunting. So I told her I would do it with her to support her. Her carnivore dad got on-board and said he would be a vegan for a week as well, even though he seriously believed it would kill him. Thank goodness her instructor changed the assignment from 7 days of vegan-ism to 7 days of lacto-ovo-vegetarianism. So we can eat dairy products and eggs, just no meat or fish.

The assignment began yesterday. And as luck would have it, I got sick yesterday. Some type of weird allergy attack that began as soon as I woke up. I was strung out on antihistamines all day. Miserable. So my plans of cooking homemade cheese pizza with whole wheat crust went out the window. My 1st day of being a vegetarian almost went out the window as well. I just wanted comfort food, and something I could taste. I had some leftover homemade chicken noodle soup with dumplings that I wanted more than anything else yesterday evening. But I hung tough and didn’t cave in to my omnivore tendencies.

Day 1 had to be the most unhealthy eating day I can remember in a long time. Just goes to show you that vegan-ism or vegetarianism isn’t always about health. Lol. I started out good. I had a slice of my homemade whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter and a sliced banana on top. As my misery set in with my allergies, I ended up eating microwave popcorn and diet 7-up for lunch…the yogurt and fruit I packed for lunch was the last thing I felt like eating because of my sinuses and drainage. I came home and almost heated up some soup for myself, but Joe saved me. He came home from work and made us grilled cheese on whole wheat bread. I am counting the potato chips I ate with it as mental health food….I needed some comfort!! Lol. And they were meatless….so bonus! And I had some mixed nuts with some M&Ms tossed in, again as a mental health necessity.

Today I did much better. Poached a couple of eggs on toast with my homemade bread. Went to the doctor and got a prescription, then headed over to The Merc to look for a vegetarian lunch for Joe B and I. The Merc is going to save us this week, I think. I got a bean and kale soup that was sooo good. Joe B liked it too, but his comment was, “This needs some ham hock in it.” Hahahaha. I also picked up a black bean and quinoa salad, and a root vegetable pot pie.

I am off to the store at some point to buy ingredients to make a vegetarian lasagna. I have locally produced vegetarian patties by Hillary’s Eat Well in my freezer in case I run out of time or energy to create a vegetarian meal. I am trying to focus on eating healthy and not just meatless. I’m also hoping to learn some good stuff this week about our eating habits and consumer habits. And I am hoping to get my amateur photography skills some practice and take pictures of some of the stuff I cook. Wish us all luck!

 

7 Weeks Post-THR

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on February 5, 2016

I am just a little over 7 weeks out of my hip replacement surgery and I’ve hit a wall. I’m still progressing, I just feel physically like I got run into a wall. Physical therapy is hard. The past 3 sessions have left me exhausted and sore. I feel fine while I’m doing it, I don’t feel like I’m overdoing it….I’m very careful about that. But when I leave, within an hour of my session ending, I feel like like crud. Yesterday was the worst. I almost didn’t go because I had muscle soreness from Tuesday’s session, but I thought I would feel better after I went. I did feel better for about 45 minutes. Lol. The joint feels fine, there isn’t any pain in the joint itself. It’s all muscle soreness. But it feels different than before my surgery…it feels achy….almost like when you are getting sick.

My kids have had a couple of viruses the past 2 weeks. Maybe I’m just fighting those off. Also I feel like I’ve been super busy at work ever since going back full-time last Wednesday. Maybe I’ve just run myself down. Either way, I’m home today and resting and recuperating and trying to get better.

After my friends saw my Facebook post, they answered with much encouragement, and a suggestion that I may not be eating enough protein to fuel the tissue growth that is occurring in the recovery from my surgery. I was already starting to look at my protein intake as one of the reasons for the muscle soreness and fatigue. So I started a protein shake…and if anyone knows me, they know how I hate having to default to a shake, I would much rather get it from real foods. But I needed to do something quick, and the shakes actually helped!

Kurbo Health – a media savvy way for kids and teens to manage their health and lose weight

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I have cut and pasted this blog from the Kurbo Health website (www.kurbo.com). My family has been doing this program since March and I’ve been waiting to see how we liked the program before posting about it. Based on Shelby’s great progress thus far in the program, I was asked to contribute a guest blog to their website. It was long and detailed, and I told Kurbo they could edit it for length as needed or give me suggestions on where to cut it down and I would do it. They ended up running my whole story in two parts. This is Part 1.

It’s an awesome feeling to see your words in print on a national website, as well as links to the article posted on Kurbo’s FaceBook page. So here it is. I am posting the link to the blog on the Kurbo website at the bottom of this blog entry.

Seeking Good Health: Story of a Kurbo Mom Part 1 – Quick Results

This article is Part One of a two-part series from a Kurbo mom, Shelley Bointy.

My family began doing the Kurbo program in March 2015 to support my daughter Shelby, 10 years old, in her quest to become healthier. I teach a diabetes education course at an American Indian tribal college, so I am well-versed in the signs and symptoms of metabolic disorder and type 2 diabetes. Although I am health conscious and have training and education in nutrition and wellness, I am susceptible to the same traps that other parents fall into when it comes to helping their kids develop healthy habits and achieving good health.

Depending on my stress levels and workload, I used to have chips and sweets in the house, default to Jimmy John’s for dinner, and physical activity was negotiable. My health habits had a big impact on my oldest daughter Shelby. She loves to snack on carbohydrate-rich snacks and will always choose simple carbs over proteins. Shelby dislikes soda and I don’t buy juice, so that’s a battle I’m thankful I never had to fight but I realized the “occasional” treats were becoming more frequent.

We had been told by her doctor a few years ago that she was overweight. Her doctor wanted to see her maintain her weight during the next year, or not gain more than 5 pounds. Shelby continued to gain more than what was recommended each year, even though we kept her active in sports. Last September I noticed that the skin around her neck was starting to darken and it worried me. That darkening and thickening of the skin around her neck (Acanthosis Nigricans) is a symptom of metabolic disorder and can be a symptom of type 2 diabetes. I brought her in to see her doctor and she ordered a full blood workup to test her glucose and lipid panel (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL cholesterols and triglycerides). She also strongly suggested that we get my youngest daughter tested as well, so that we would be taking a family approach to this so it wouldn’t be perceived as “there is something wrong with Shelby”.

Taking my girls in for that fasting blood test made me feel like the worst parent on the planet. I taught a diabetes class and my husband is a health instructor and a college sports coach. I felt like we were both failures at that moment, but I also felt that we were well-equipped to find a solution and carry it out. We were beyond grateful when Shelby’s bloodwork all came back well within the normal ranges, as did her sister’s. But we knew we had to make some serious and lasting changes.

My motivation to find and try Kurbo didn’t come until March, almost 6 months after the girls’ fasting tests. Shelby had gone through an entire season of competitive basketball and 2 seasons of volleyball, and she still gained weight. I knew we had to try something different to help her return to good health and we are fortunate we came across the Kurbo program.

Kurbo Mom Shelley shares her family’s journey to better health using Kurbo #KurboTips

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Shelby and her coach, Arielle, seemed to hit it off right away. Shelby and her sister downloaded the Kurbo app and began tracking, played the games to learn all the different green light, yellow light, and red light foods.  We decided everyone in the family was going to track and do the same thing.

Shelby saw positive results right away. She lost 5 pounds within the first few weeks of the program and we noticed that her energy level had increased. She was more active in her playtime, she ran and jumped around the house more. It was a little difficult for her to understand at first how to budget her red lights but she quickly realized that she could have her favorite red light foods, she just had to plan and pick and choose with discernment.

Her motivation is strong on some days and wanes on other days, as does my own motivation. She has had some awesome moments where she has really thought about her goals and battled through some tough junk food situations. This is where the weekly coaching sessions with Arielle have been the most beneficial. As her mom, I’ve had my own difficult moments as well. I tend to be a stress eater, and there were several times I wanted chips at work, but knowing how hard she was working kept me on plan. We are all supporting each other and doing our best to make healthier choices with every meal and snack. I am extremely proud of her effort and her dedication to be healthier.

Shelley Bointy is a mother of two, a health educator and award-winning Powwow dancer. She shares her Indigenous/Native/Dakota Winyan perspective on her health/wellness blog, www.wozaniwaste.com.

https://www.kurbo.com/blog/seeking-good-health-part-1/

Bringing Back an Old Pow-Wow Traveling Tradition

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Powwow Food Prep

When I was little and my mom took us on vacation, she would always pack a cooler. Sandwiches, fruit, crackers, chips, etc. We looked forward to stopping at this rest area north of Grand Rapids that had a creek, lots of trees, and picnic tables. We had our lunch there and then continued on. When we started traveling to powwows my mom would bring a cooler as well. She would surprise us at some powwows by bringing out a package of ring bologna and crackers and some sliced cheese.

Over the years as we camped less and stayed in hotels more, we relied less on coolers and more on food available at powwows. The usual fair: Indian Tacos, soup with none of the fat trimmed off the meat, and Ndn dogs. Now we have walking tacos, cheeseburger, Ndn burgers (cheeseburger in a piece of fry bread instead of a bun), funnel cakes, chicken strips. A plethora of fried foods, white flour, and saturated fat. And not to mention the casino buffets that we frequent now that casino powwows are well-attended. I know from research that the reason many people gain weight is because they overestimate the calories they burn through exercise and they underestimate the calories they consume. I think this is common during powwow weekends where we think we are burning more calories that we actually do when dancing. I know several people who feels its challenging to maintain their healthy habits during powwow weekends.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, preparing for powwows this summer is my priority. I wanted to get back to bringing my own food like my mom used to, and when we used to camp. There was nothing better than a sandwich and fruit (and maybe some chips) at our camp after a session, and fresh fruit always helps during the hot afternoon sessions. I did my powwow prep a few weeks ago when we traveled 7 Clans Casino Powwow in Thief River Falls, MN and it worked out great. I made smoothies and the kids had all kinds of fruit. No one gained weight that weekend and we actually saved some money.

So here is my #HealthyPowwowFoodPrep for this weekend. Shelby and I stayed up late last night making whole grain muffins and shredding chicken I cooked in a crockpot. We are staying in a hotel where all the rooms have refrigerators. I’m packing the following in my cooler.

  • Lunchpail Muffins
  • Lean deli turkey
  • Diced chicken cooked in a crockpot
  • Chicken salad with diced celery, apples, almonds in low-fat olive oil mayo
  • Boiled eggs
  • Sliced apples
  • Grapes (in 1-cup portions in zip-lock bags)
  • Whole wheat sandwich thins
  • Nonfat vanilla yogurt
  • Plain nonfat greek yogurt
  • celery
  • What is left of the blueberries and strawberries in my fridge
  • Thin sliced Colby-Jack cheese
  • String cheese
  • I have cherries washed but they didn’t make into the picture. They WILL be in the cooler

My girls are learning nutrition through Kurbo Health (I’ll write about our experience in a separate blog entry) so making these preparations has become even more important. If we can make 90% of our food choices over the course of a powwow weekend healthy choices, then I won’t have any problem with splitting a piece of fry bread with someone and enjoying.

Our friend Grace Pushetonequa asked for suggestions on healthy food to bring to powwows on FaceBook and then she posted a picture of her food prep today. I’m going to encourage people to do the same….take pictures of their healthy powwow food prep and post them on their social media. You never know who you will positively impact just by sharing your experiences.

2 Smoothie Recipes from The Swirlies

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What an extremely hectic April and May we had!!! Too much to write about so I’ll just cut to the chase.

We ended our indoor powwow season last weekend with Haskell’s Commencement Powwow. Two weekends in a row of working powwows (for me), and 2 weekends in a row of my kids dancing. I got a rude awakening once again at how difficult it is to maintain healthy eating habits during powwow season. Fry bread everywhere you turn, fatty/starchy soups, candy, Gatorade and soda/pop…..*sigh*  And I didn’t have time to prepare and bring healthy snacks like my own fruit, veggies, cheese sticks, turkey, boiled eggs, etc. Making time to prepare before every powwow will be my priority this year.

So, in an effort to get back on track, the Swirlies (my 2 daughters) decided to have smoothies for breakfast this week. They both have their own recipes, and both are delicious! And very simple to make.

I keep forgetting how small their tummies are, so I made too much the first day. By this morning I had the ingredients down to where they fit into a regular size coffee cup (8 oz, or 1 measuring cup), which is the perfect amount for them. Myself, I can always knock out at least 12-16 ounces of one of my smoothies.

Shelby’s Smoothie – Strawberry Pineapple

  • 1 C-heaping, sliced fresh strawberries and pineapple combined
  • 1/3 C fat-free vanilla yogurt (I buy the Dannon Lite & Fit vanilla because it has much less added sugar than other non-fat vanilla brands)
  • 2 Tbs (1/8 C) water
  • Add ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Fits in the coffee cup.

Sara’s Smoothie – Pineapple Apple

  • 1 C-heaping, sliced fresh pineapple and apple combined (I leave the skin on)
  • 1/3 C fat-free vanilla yogurt
  • 2 Tbs (1/8 C) water
  • Add ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth

I was amazed at how sweet the Pineapple Apple smoothie was. Almost tasted like a treat!

I am going to try to talk the girls into having a “Smoothie Party” for their combined birthday parties. Let them and their friends have fun creating and get many different fruits (and veggies) in their systems!

No picture this blog entry, but will try to summon up my amateur photography skills on the next one. 🙂

Turmeric Tea to Manage Inflammation

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Turmeric Tea

Over the course of the last 2.5 years, I’ve been looking for natural remedies to manage my hip osteo-arthritis. Changing my diet was a big part of that. Although I have no cartilage in either hip and am looking to schedule hip replacement surgery in the fall, I don’t need pain medications such as ibuprofen to get me through the day. I only take my ibuprofen in the evenings before I go to sleep. I have stronger pain meds that I can take only when the ibuprofen doesn’t work, which is rare.

A friend in Michigan sent me a link for this tea and I love it. I drink it to help fight inflammation and it’s also a nice, warm, sweet relaxing drink in the evenings before bedtime.

http://www.doctoroz.com/recipe/dr-sanjay-guptas-calming-creamy-turmeric-tea

I’ve tweaked this recipe slightly. I use almost 1.5 C of almond milk because that’s how big my coffee mug is. I will sometimes substitute stevia for the honey to cut down on sugar which can cause inflammation. You could use any type of non-dairy milk for this, I would just make sure it doesn’t contain carrageenan, which is a red seaweed extract used for thickening and adding richer texture to foods. It can cause inflammation, and as you well know, reducing inflammation is important in managing any type of arthritis.

Turmeric Tea:

1 to 1.5 Cups Almond Milk (I use unsweetened vanilla flavor)

1/2 tsp turmeric (I have been using dried, ground turmeric, haven’t tried fresh yet)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp honey (I will sometimes use Stevia instead)

1/4 tsp ginger (again, I use the ground ginger)

I whisk all the ingredients together and heat in a small saucepan on the stove. If you use fresh turmeric or ginger, you might want to strain it before you pour it in a mug.

I also take turmeric capsules on occasion to give myself a break from the ibuprofen. This was my favorite night-time cold weather drink, but I’m feeling in the mood for it this week for some reason.

Breakfast Smoothie Made with Kefir

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Kefir, fruit and spinach smoothie

I think my best smoothie concoctions are created when I just use whatever I have on-hand.

I came down with strep throat in March and was prescribed a 10-day antibiotic. I haven’t taken a 10-day round of antibiotics in decades. The only times I have needed an antibiotic were for sinus infections and I usually get a Z-pack. Right after I finished my prescription I experienced terrible stomach upset to the point where I had no appetite. I didn’t feel like eating and when I did I couldn’t eat more than a couple of bites at time. This went on for 4 days before I started looking up information on the side effects of antibiotics and gut health.

I guessed that the 10 days of amoxicillin might have caused an imbalance of the good bacteria in my gut. So off to the store I went and found a probiotic supplement. Later when I was grocery shopping I saw a bottles of kefir. Kefir is like drinkable yogurt and contains the active yogurt cultures that help maintain gut health. I have avoided buying it in the past because most of the kefir I’ve come across contains a high amount of sugar (except for the plain variety). This brand was low-fat, fruit flavored and sweetened with Stevia. I bought a bottle and tried it out immediately. I really liked the taste and texture. It must be good because my little 8-year foodie daughter loves it.

I drank a cup of the kefir every morning for a week. It helped settle my stomach and gave me a little energy (I was feeling run-down from not eating enough). Within that week my stomach finally returned to normal but I still wanted to keep kefir on hand.

Before my trip to the grocery store last week, I was rummaging around my refrigerator and freezer looking to use up food remnants for breakfast. The remains I found were some of this kefir, 1 cup of frozen cherries, half a carton of blueberries, and one big handful of spinach. I blended them all together, added a little water to make it less thick, and put a few drops of liquid stevia in so that Joe B would drink it.

This is one of the best smoothies I’ve ever come up with. I’ve made it 3 times for our breakfast since then. The exact ingredients and the amounts I used are below.

Lifeway Kefir

Kefir, Fruit and Spinach Smoothie:

Makes 2 servings

1 Cup Kefir – low-fat, fruit flavored (sweetened with Stevia)
1 heaping Cup frozen sweet cherries
1/2 Cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1-2 Cups Spinach (I just use a big handful)
1/2 C water
Drops of liquid Stevia to taste

The combination of the kefir and frozen fruit gives it a really nice cold texture, similar to a milkshake but it’s tart, not overly sweet. And the best thing is that you get a serving of dairy and fruit, and half a serving of veggies, not to mention some gut healthy probiotics, all in one shot. Let me know if you try it and if you liked it. 🙂