Better late than...

Oh boy. Late start to the day today. The unfortunate happening of taking muscle relaxants too late at night made it extremely difficult to get out of bed this morning. Lesson learned on that one! Even though my first chance to eat wasn't until after noon, breakfast still sounded good to me.

Enter waffles! I'm out of yogurt, so today's waffle toppings are applesauce, granola, and 1/2 banana. Cinnamon would have been delicious on these too, but I didn't think to add it until about... now. Oops! Add this with my OJ with a touch of protein powder and my morning tea and good to go now.


So this is yesterday's little green-but-not-green smoothie! I think I've about nailed down what I like best here. So here goes!

Green-but-not-green delight
1 handful spinach
3 big frozen strawberries
1 handful frozen blueberries
1/2 banana
1/3-ish cup of silken tofu (or plain yogurt)
3/4 scoop protein powder
Big drizzle of agave nectar
Little bit of water

I could easily sub out the mango for an extra strawberry and be fine. This was great! No OJ this time, but I found it's not needed if I just get enough water in there so my blender is happy. I'm pretty sure that even without the tofu or yogurt this'd be good too - I'd just have to make sure that I'm balancing the texture right with other ingredients.

Had some recipe failure last night so nothing else new foodwise until I can get back into the kitchen for more experiments. Trying new things isn't always perfect the first time!

Another day, another chance for experiments

Late night tonight! I get those a lot with TOS, particularly if my medicines aren't kicking in when they should. It's interesting to find even if I'm just mildly uncomfortable, I just have such a hard time falling asleep. Of course drinking tea too late in the day will do that to you too, and I think tonight's culprit is a little of column A, and a little of column B.

I did wake with an unusual ease this morning however, especially because my nightly muscle relaxant makes it very hard to get out of bed. I can't help but wonder if shifting my diet is helping, if at least a little bit. It may not take away the pain but at least it's helping the rest of me feel better.

Here's what's made up my breakfast these past couple mornings: Strawberry yogurt bowls! So here's plain soy yogurt, strawberries, Cheerios, granola, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I'm a bit sad we're out of non-frozen strawberries now because I loved this even more than with bananas. Oh yeah, I'm hooked on these. Easy to make and they're delicious!

I'm still experimenting with my Green Monsters. I thought today's mix tasted odd because I didn't put orange juice in it, but then I realized I'd forgotten to add my usual banana to it! I'll just try again tomorrow, hopefully with a successful "recipe" variation to post as well.

Soups are on the agenda this week! I'm hoping I'll need a little less assistance than with my pasta, but if need help then I need help. My theory is that if I make a big batch of soup and freeze what I don't eat small ziploc baggies, then I'm free to just heat and serve at will, making food prep all the more easier on me later. We shall see how my theory pans out.

Sunny, happy day

I woke up feeling much better than I did last night, and got some great news along with a big dose of sunshine. But first... breakfast!

Decided to try something different, so with my waffles I've got plain soy yogurt, bananas, broken up walnuts, and heaps of cinnamon. I only wanted a sprinkle but my container decided I should have more. Fine by me!

So after that came a discussion followed by news. I was sure that I'd be talking with the surgery scheduler today plotting out my exact date that I'd have it in a couple weeks. However, I was very very nervous about having the surgery in general. Who wouldn't be? My mother knows I'm having it as an absolute last resort, so after discussion she's letting me try a Botox injection first instead of going straight into the surgery.

I'm hearing people say "Why Botox?" already. Botox will be injected into my affected scalene muscle in my neck to relax it and stop my pain in the same fashion that wrinkles are "relaxed" away in the face for cosmetic purposes. Hopefully this will stop pinching off my nerve and let me feel normal for a few months. Yes, unfortunately it's temporary just like it is for facial treatments.

Another downside along with Botox being temporary is that it's expensive. $575 every three months expensive. It's considered an "off-label" use of the drug, so insurance will not cover it even though it's for a medical reason. This may be the first and last time I get this because of the cost. Can I win the lottery, please?

Well. After that bit of news I perked up a bit and joined my mum for some grocery shopping. Awesome day to do it because of how sunny it is today! When we came back, I found something in the mail I'd been waiting for...

Behold my blotchy, TOS-affected left hand. And my new bracelet. Woo hoo! These are just like the ones you see for breast cancer and the like, mine's just different colors. I got it from this little store here. I really think it's great to have a little way of spreading the word on TOS since it can happen to anyone at any age at any time, and it's sadly not very well known at all. Figure if I can at least tell a couple people here and there, especially if they ask about my little bracelet, it's a help to get the word out on this awful condition.

And so wrap this all up, I will end with my first Green Monster! No picture since it looks like my purple delight from yesterday thanks to the blueberries, but here's roughly what I put in mine today.

2 handfuls spinach
1/2 cup or so of silken tofu
1/3 cup or so of mango
1 handful frozen blueberries
2 frozen strawberries
1/2 banana
3/4 scoop soy protein powder
Big splash of orange juice
A drizzling of agave nectar

Conclusion? It was delicious! I couldn't even tell that there was spinach in this at all. I just tasted the fruit! I'll definitely be making this often. I'm still sneaking in that protein even though I'm not having surgery right away after all. It just good for me!

Until next time!

Dinner experimentation is served

I've been delving into new worlds eating dairy-free. I've been doing moreso since receiving La Dolce Vegan! as a birthday gift last month. Richard if you're reading this, you are more awesome than you know for getting me this book, my goodness.

First up comes the "Creamy Basil & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta" recipe I decided to pick out. Pasta is always great in my book.

I wish I could make this look as delicious as it tasted. My home is full of not-so-photo-friendly lighting unfortunately. But anyway! Here's the version of this dish my mother and I came up with:

Ingredients for 4 people
12 oz dry pasta
1 small (8 oz?) jar sun-dried tomatoes (original recipe called for 7-8 sun-dried tomatoes for 2 people. I guesstimated with what I had on hand)
20 oz silken tofu (can use firm or soft as well)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 tsp salt
4 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

Boil the noodles of your choice in a large pot. In a food processor combine tofu, tomatoes, garlic, salt, and basil until smooth and set aside. When pasta is almost done, add broccoli to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli. In a large bowl (or the cooking pot) combine the tomato sauce and pasta. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

My thoughts on this next time I make it is use a little less garlic, maybe 2-3 cloves, and maybe 1/3 cup basil instead. Those seemed to be overpowering, especially the garlic, whew! Other than that this was good! Not head-over-heels about it, but I'd make it again with the changes noted and see if I didn't like that more.

And the last tidbit of the day ends with smoothie experimentations! I love smoothies. They're fantastic because you can play with ingredients freely and see what makes the best combination of fruits, veggies, whatever you please.

This is my latest fantastically purple concoction. The past few days I've been using 1/2 cup plain soy yogurt, 1 banana, 2 large handfuls of blueberries, 1 small handful of raspberries, a little bit of orange juice, and 3/4 scoop of soy protein powder. It's a great mid-afternoon pick-me-up and another good way for me to sneak my protein in.

Tonight I tried using almond milk in place of the yogurt, and it wasn't too bad, but definitely not as creamy as with yogurt. I just don't want to use up all the yogurt I have so quickly! I have leftover silken tofu from my noodle dish, so I'll give that a go tomorrow and see how it is then. Next grocery trip will involve picking up spinach to make "green smoothies" as well. I bet these will be awesome for when I'm feeling crummy after surgery and don't want to eat much since they're so nutrient-packed.

I do end the day hurting quite a bit after cooking dinner. Even with help, doing things with my arm throughout the day lands me in a lot of pain. I think what really did me in tonight was holding up the plastic food processor bit with one hand while I scooped out the tomato sauce with the other. Seems like such a simple task doesn't it?

It does feel defeating since I wanted to cook dinner with my mom's help, but it might end up my mom cooking dinner with my help next time. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome leaves one quite dependent on those around you, believe you me. You want to be more active and not just a lump in the house, but your body only lets you do so much.

The rest of the night will definitely be spent resting. Tomorrow it's time for shopping for button-up shirts for post-surgery dressing as well as grocery shopping time!

Start to a new day

I thought that I would get right to posting! And what better way to start than with the first meal of the day?

I'd been intrigued with these really easy yogurt bowls that I decided to try one myself today. In this experiment, I have plain soy yogurt, 1/2 banana, and some plain Cheerios. After this picture was taken I found my cinnamon which made for a nice little flavor addition. I snuck some soy protein powder into my orange juice since with surgery upcoming, I need all the protein I can get so my body can easily heal.

The only problem was this experiment wasn't very filling! I could easily fix that by using granola and perhaps some walnuts instead of plain Cheerios. Granola is going on my grocery list now.

I thought I'd also share what has to be one of my favourite teas I've ever had: Black Lychee. It came from a store near Pike Place Market in Seattle called Vital Tea Leaf. My dearest and I stumbled upon it while out for my birthday, and being the big tea fan that I am we had to take a peek! It was an amazing little store. They have free tea samplings, and believe you me we sampled quite a bit that day. This ended up being the winner by far. It's got the black tea flavor you'll know and love, but also just a hint of natural fruity sweetness from the lychee.

I do love my teas with milk, and have been experimenting with different milks to put in my teas since I'm allergic to dairy milk proteins. So far I have tried plain soy milk, plain rice milk, and am trying out unsweetened almond milk. Soy tasted great, but I am trying to cut down on soy where I can so in comes rice milk. That was much too watery and I didn't care for the taste, so I switched to almond. Ding! We have a winner! I bought one plain and one vanilla carton of almond, so I'll see which I like best in the end.

Have some goodies planned for tonight with the help of my folks. Major cooking operations do require a helping hand or two because of my TOS pain unfortunately, but hopefully I will have culinary success to report on later!

Introductions

This blog is still fresh from the farm and a little rough around the edges, but I wanted to make some little introduction before I got started.

My name is Jenn, and this is my blog spot on the 'net "Orange Lemonade". Quirky name, but it's dear to me. I had thought about creating a blog for forever, but finally decided to go for it after finally nailing what I wanted to share with the world!

I have been suffering from Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome for 2 1/2 years now. Just a few days ago, I had been told that after battling it with so many alternative treatments, my only option now is a scalenectomy. I am doing one last treatment, a Botox injection to my affected scalenes, before I go though with it. My only hope now is that I can find some alternative I have not looked into by the time the injection has worn out, which is roughly three months.

I am also doing my best to change my diet and lifestyle since developing a dairy allergy a couple years ago. I felt completely stuck because all the foods that I loved and were familiar to me were now completely off-limits to me. This year has been a kickstart to better eating after my new year's resolution to buy only cruelty-free products, or products made by companies that do not test on animals. This has also led me to try and eat more "cruelty-free" as well, but more for the health benefits than anything else. While I do not consider myself to be vegan or vegetarian, I do tend to eat that way, and would like to try and not just have tendencies in the long run!

So I hope to bring light to TOS as someone who struggles with it, and I also hope to share my adventures with food along the way!