Whole30 I Love You

[Emma]

Physibeth, Thanks for the suggestion on Dirty Poo.  I'd never heard of it so I googled it last night and I think I even dreamed about it.  It sounds like such a big step!  But then so was Whole30 and that's been well worth it.

 

Pjena, I'm sure the creativity will wear off within days, but I will make sure to appreciate my enthusiastic eater.  Elementary kids are a whole different ball game.

 

I was crabby and grumpy this morning as I raced around trying to cook up breakfast, clean up that mess and prepare lunch and get my own stuff ready for my morning meetings.  I was resentful that my husband was sitting and eating while I hadn't even had my coffee yet.  That's not a good space to be in.  Nothing this morning was that different other than my stress over the meetings and if I'd packed up my work last night, it wouldn't have been an issue.  OR - if I'd sat down and had a few minutes of my coffee.  I need to make sure to have my stuff done (bathroom, shower, dressed, coffee) otherwise I get annoyed that I have to jam it all in.  Everything will get done because I'm pretty much in super flash mode so I need to reorganize what happens first, second, etc. so I can do things without resentment.  Tomorrow!

 

I'm horribly bloated in the evenings - every evening, but by morning I feel super lean.  This has been going on a while.  I don't know if it's because I eat a lot at dinner or from the Natural Calm or from just lying down.  I feel very unromantic in my bloated gurgly stomach way.  Right now I'm feeling it as well.  At lunch I had digestive enzymes AND the probiotic I'm taking.  It's amazing how much they impact what's going on in my gut.

 

Mood wise I'm okay.  Energy wise I'm okay.  I don't feel like I'm slogging along, but I don't feel like I'm on fire.  My stress is building up, but sometimes that's a good thing because it allows me to get things done and that's what I'm hoping to do today and tomorrow.

 

And now my kids are asleep so I'm off to read some other posts and then off to get cracking on this work project.

[pjena]

Take care of yourself and don't let the stress get to you!  I'm usually in super flash mode in the morning, too, and my husband takes a while to get moving.  It annoys me sometimes, but I try to remind myself that I could choose to slow down in the mornnig and catch up later, so it's my problem not his.  It helps most of the time.  

[Physibeth]

This is where I'm glad that my husband likes to sleep in and generally needs nothing from me in the morning. Course my kids are furry with paws and whiskers and easily ignored.  

 

I agree, take the time to slow down a little in the morning. If that means getting more stuff prepped at night then do it. I know I personally have a better day when I have everything ready to go the night before and can just enjoy my breakfast, bible, computer time in the morning and not worry about all the other things I have to do before I go to work (like I am now...so didn't get things ready last night  )

[Emma]

Last night the kids slept without waking once!  My boy had another accident so maybe it would be better if he did wake once, but other than that - the good sleep is starting to happen.  We are on Day 11 and so far have been pretty on track without cheating though there was that day of extended lunch snacking and I did munch on foods while prepping dinner, but other than that - we're pretty good.

 

I do drink coffee though and have no plans to give it up at this point, but maybe once life is settled back down and our healthy eating is under our belts for a bit, then I'll toy with giving it up.  I don't doubt that it taxes my system, but right now I sure like it.

 

I am going to up the probiotic use - I think it might make things go right through me, but maybe it needs a chance to get in there - kinda like watering a plant that is in over dry soil.

 

I also have a headache today and some stuffiness - crud.  I'll have some ACV tea at lunch if it doesn't clear up.

 

Went to zumba last night.  It was good. Got a nice mild sweat and felt like I could do most of the moves if I concentrated.  I like the cognitive challenge of trying to concentrate and hear the music and do it right.  My foot twinged during one of the moves so I tried to be aware of it.  Later when we were stomping our feet (and I was having a lot of fun), the back of my knee all of a sudden got super tight and a tightening in my calf.  It was so much that I stopped to try to feel it out and decide if I needed to lay off or if I could keep going.  I'm pretty certain that my foot tendon is the root of all the stuff with my left leg.  Stomping on it wasn't the best move - this is good to know.  I iced it when I got home and could feel a tightening all the way from my foot, up my calf, to my knee.  In the middle of the night, my ankle had a sharp pain, but by morning it was all just a bit stiff and tired and tight, but not bad.  This too I think is good.  My foot/ankle is behavior more like tendonitis and if I can take care of it and massage out the tightness up above, I have hopes that I can prevent injuries, build in exercise and let it all heal.

 

And that's it for the day.  Oh!  I massaged the kale last night and forgot to have it for breakfast!  Dang.  Lunch is the plan.  I got red kale and lasinta kale.  Not loving the taste when I ate it last night, but not hating it either.  I'm looking forward to testing it out at lunch.  I also got figs.  We've never had figs.  I knew nothing about them.  They're plump and they made the journey here in pretty good shape.  I might bake some at lunch and maybe make a coulee for dinner??   I don't really have a clue.

 

This morning went better than yesterday.  Not much was different except that I wasn't feeling as internally stressed about getting things done in the morning.  I did snuggle with the kids for the first ten minutes on the sofa - if I'd had my coffee in hand for that ten minutes, all would have been even better.  It's a learning process getting our family morning routine down.

 

But for now - I had best get my butt back to working on what I need to do to relieve my stress.

[pjena]

Put the figs on your kale salad and dress it with balsamic vinegar.  Mmmmm!

[Physibeth]

Give up coffee. Say it ain't so. *takes a sip of her Americano*

 

 

I've gone 3-4 weeks without coffee before just to take a break and remind myself I don't need it. But I love it and I don't abuse it anymore so I will keep it. Mmmm coffee.

[pjena]

Ditto that!  I've given it up before, too, just to prove to myself that I can, but I like it and am ok with one vice.

[Emma]

Good morning Monday!

Tiger blood I am not, but I do know I overall feel better than I did a few weeks ago.  I've forgotten what day I'm on and I'm hopeful to experience tiger blood on a daily basis, but for now this state of being is okay.

My son and I both have some congestion which gave me a bit of a headache all day Saturday, but the ACV kinda keeps things at bay.  We're both doing okay this morning.  This is the way to have a cold.

Our family all got flu shots on Saturday as well and then did a pretty strenuous hike (for kids) for four hours.  We were beat at the end of the day, but it was a good full day of beautiful outdoors and things done at home.

Yesterday we went outside in the morning and the late afternoon.  The weather was wonderful.  In between, I made some good headway on my work and, if I keep it up, will be doing okay

We had our figs and we were both surprised by how much we liked the coulee with our bison.  I also tried making fig deserts by broiling them, but none of us really cared for them that way.

The kale salads are going okay - I'm not loving the kale but I'm liking the things at the bottom of the bowl after I get through the kale.  I'm not disliking the kale either.  I think it's one of those relationships that has room to grow.

Oh crud - I thought my kids were cool with salmon chowder for breakfast but they have just announced they are waiting for their sweet potato hash.  Well shucks - I'd better go do that.

[Emma]

Went outside to pick berries (eating blueberries right off the bush isn't cheating is it?  Hope not because I do it all the time!)  We saw a couple bear tracks in the mud and hightailed it back towards the truck kicking ourselves for not bringing the dogs with us which we usually do.  It was cold out and there was the stress of the bears and then when we got home it was late and it took forever for my kids to finish cleaning up so they could eat lunch and I'm trying to get the house picked up since a babysitter is coming over tonight and I'm hoping to have time this afternoon to make some more headway on my work and from this run on sentence one could maybe see how I'm feeling - and breathing!  I'm totally holding the stress in me.  Things aren't really in that bad of shape though I won't get as much done as I'd hoped (at all) and I still have to shower, clean the bathroom, the kitchen and make some dinner before I leave, but much will be done and holding the stress in just doesn't help.  So, I'm off to go do the cleaning that I really want done, take my shower and then crack open the computer to work.  Maybe tomorrow I can go to yoga once my husband is back.

[Physibeth]

Breath!!  

 

Is this like a teenage babysitter? Will they actually care if your house isn't clean?

[Emma]

Laughing - well of course they won't care.  No, wait - there are a few layers of grunginess that are just not cool like the bathroom and the kitchen floor that could cause one to be a bit grossed out.  And, of course, there was the fact that there was no clean surface area thanks to all our crap.  But now our house looks like a reasonably messy house with kids.  There are stacks of stuff and books askew and things shoved in corners and a chair covered with project stuff and a couple mealworms here and there from when I dropped the container as I was feeding the newts, but now that the bathroom feels cleaner and the kitchen sink and counters are better, I'm feeling not so concerned.

I'm showered and coffeed and about to do some prep for tonight.  After that, I guess I'll be making dinner and clearing off our table and playing with kids.  My hopes of getting work done just won't happen, BUT our house is in a lot better shape than it was and that always helps me feel better and helps tomorrow be an easier and more productive day.  And yes - I will try to breathe.

[pjena]

Eating blueberries off the bush is always ok!  I'm glad you didn't see a bear!  Scary.  I grew up in the country in Northern MN and one night when we left leftover pizza and cookies on the counter and the window open, a black bear came into the kitchen!  It was a polite bear - it took the screen off rather than ripping it and left through the same window when it was done with its snack.  But, it left quite the gross mess in the kitchen.  Luckily, we were all asleep and didn't know it was there until it was over.  Scary to think about now, but it makes for a good story.  We also saw moose while waiting for the school bus and timberwolves on the front walk one time.  A little different from what my city living kids see waiting for the bus - maybe a squirrel. 

[Emma]

"A polite bear" - that's funny.  Would be scary to have that happen while you were home in bed unawares.  Our bears are also big nasty grizzlies.  Last night a friend was chased by one on his bike and then it went wandering through a couple streets in the middle of the night - lots of fun small town talk today!

 

So, yesterday, I did everything - had my bag packed, prepped sweet potato hash for the morning, cooked dinner (including meatballs requested by my son) and was ready to head to work and the babysitter DIDN'T SHOW UP!  She's really a good kid and very conscientious so I knew it was just one of those really bad moments where you forget (and aren't around your phone to get my texts or phone calls).  I went into Plan B mode and set up an office as far from my kids as I could and put a Dora DVD in the computer (we never watch videos) and things went relatively okay.  But woo - was I tired.

 

This morning has also been busy and I have big plans for getting work done, but right now I'm not feeling the desire to do anything!  Dang.  

 

The great thing about yesterday is that our house is picked up and things are fairly clean.  It feels a lot better.  If I can just keep my kids from touching anything, playing with anything or doing anything than maybe it could stay this way.    

 

Breakfast - wasn't hungry at all  - ate some eggs

Lunch - Applegate turkey slices, red pepper, hard boiled egg, butternut squash

Dinner - Steak, broccoli? idk

 

I mentioned eating the colors of the rainbow to my kids and they just glommed right onto that idea and now will talk about the colors of their food during their imaginary play.  Green and purples are the hardest, but my daughter has identified avocado for herself and my boy chose seaweed. Blue/purple is blueberries, raisins (that one's a stretch I know), and prunes.   For red, my boy likes peppers and my girl likes strawberries.  It's kinda fun and definitely gets me trying to think of the variety of colors - otherwise I seem to get stuck in orange.

[pjena]

Grizzlies are scarier than black bears!

 

I would have resorted to a dvd, too.  It works in a pinch. 

 

That's awesome that your kids are so into the eating the rainbow!  Anything that gets them thinking of healthy food as fun is great.  I think I am turning orange.

[Emma]

Getting things done - getting things done.  This morning was wonderfully productive.  I know I won't get as much done this afternoon as I hope, but I'm feeling more confident about the amount that has to get done in the time provided.  I'm still having a hard time falling back asleep if I get up in the middle of the night to help my boy.  Seems like it takes me a good hour before I start falling asleep again.  I was never a bad sleeper so this is frustrating, but I'm assuming it will pass.

 

Breakfast - Duck egg with broccoli

Lunch - Chicken, butternut squash, seaweed

Dinner - ???

 

Our house still feels cleaner than a couple days ago which is nice.  My energy is okay - nothing great, but certainly not slogging.

[Emma]

Lots or rain and none of us woke up before the alarm clock this morning.  I much preferred our summer sleep patterns where we woke up on our own (often quite early).  I also find it painful to have my kids have to get up to an alarm.  We're working on earlier bedtimes but it will probably take a good few weeks before the kids actually fall asleep earlier.

 

I wasn't hungry and didn't eat breakfast.  I figured I'd make something after taking my little guy to school.  So far I haven't.  I have had a cup of coffee which helped some of my grumbly morning thoughts, but hasn't helped my get-up-and-start-working energy.  After this post I will get up though.  I want to make some more headway on work.  I have moments of thinking I could really get ahead and I love that, but the reality is I probably won't - if I can at least have things not behind, I'll feel good.  Yesterday was a full day with lots getting done.  Would be nice if today was as well.  There's zumba tonight and I'd like to go, but at the moment I can barely fathom standing up!    I'll probably feel better once I get up off my arse and start doing things.  

 

Dinner last night was broccoli, onions, and chicken

Breakfast today - eggs and butternut squash

Lunch - not sure yet (might need to run to the store for some produce)

Dinner tonight - zoodles and ground beef

 

So I'm off!  Good day to you all.

[Emma]

Seems like one day I'm beat and the next day I'm great.  Today has been a really good day and my energy is good and I'm getting things done.  Of course, I'm still using coffee to assist with that process, but some days coffee doesn't seem to make much of a dent.

 

I woke up twice last night and helped change my boy and his sheets, but both times I was able to get back to sleep.  When the alarm went off at seven the kids and I were all still sound asleep.  My first thoughts were that I'm glad tomorrow is Saturday and we can wake up naturally.  One of these days, we will all fall asleep at nine (for the kids) and ten (for the adults) and sleep perfectly all night.

 

My kids are about to go down for a nap (maybe) and I've high hopes of getting my next lecture up and ready to go.  IF I can get it done while they're napping, then I won't have to do it tonight and I'll have all tomorrow morning to just hang out with the family.  Of course, things never go as quickly and smoothly as I plan so I'll probably be using some of that time for preparation, but it will be more fine-tuning and not the foundation.

 

If my husband can get home early tonight, I'm going to head to a zumba class.  I didn't go last night.  I did at least go for a 2.6 mile walk working on using a chi walking posture.  I don't think I was very good at it, but my posture was at least somewhat better.  My foot hurt afterwards so I iced it.  When I woke up the first time last night it was hurting quite a bit, but by morning was relatively okay.  I'm going down the stairs fairly normally today though I can feel tightness in my knee.  I think I'll try to roll out the arch of my foot while I'm working.

 

Yesterday in my slothy feeling ways, I ate a bunch of almond butter with my afternoon coffee.  It was good, but last night my system felt bloated and non-content.  This morning my back hurt.  Today with my energy feeling better I don't have those same desires to snack - it really is a powerfully subtle way of my body/brain trying to medicate and normalize things I think (when I start scavenging).

 

Breakfast: sweet potatoes and eggs

Lunch: Beef stick, beets, leftover zoodles with sauce and mushrooms

Dinner: Not sure yet

 

My rings are super loose.  The jeans I haven't worn for a while are not.  I was hoping they would be, but they're not.  Ah well.

[Emma]

Gosh darn - The back to school colds are making their rounds!  My kids both have stuffy noses.  My boy (who is more like me and gets nasty respiratory infections) sounds far worse than my daughter.  I've always lived in dread of little colds because they're so big in me, but this time I feel more confident (though apprehensive) and a bit like saying, "Bring it on!" yet I'm not going to say that because I haven't had a lot of success with attitude overcoming the insidiousness of those nasty viruses.

 

The kids love drinking ACV with a touch of honey so they're quite content to have stuffy noses.  My own symptoms were more pronounced this morning, but seem okay now.  I am oh-so-thankful for eating this way though.  This morning as we ate our banana pancakes (yes yes I know it's SWPO, but we have kids and it's our weekend pattern) I very much appreciated how this food sat so well in my system.  I ate.  I enjoyed.  I didn't feel bloated.  I didn't get foggy head.  I just ate food that seemed to know what to do with itself in my body.

 

And now I'm heading off to work and hoping for only a minor cold to pass through our house leaving us with strong healthy bodies come Monday.

[Emma]

My boy sounds cruddy, though he could sound worse.  Our friends who seem to never get sick have been hit hard by this bug and have a lot of chest congestion.  So far, I'm mainly fighting foggy head and itchy nose - things I'm quite content with!  My kids are glugging down their ACV/honey/cinnamon tea and I might break out the inhaler for my boy if his chest starts sounding worse, but hopefully we can get through this just by eating clean, drinking liquids, and taking it easy.  

 

Breakfast: zuchhini eggs and bacon

Lunch: ground turkey, broccoli, kimchi and candied carrots

Dinner: burgers, orange cauliflower roasted, golden beets

 

Our cooking has fallen into a bit of a comfortable rut.  It's easy to cook up those ground packages of meats from US Wellness meats as a stir fry with some veggies and kimchi.  Unfortunately we don't try different spices or flavors.  I am trying to order a few new things here and there.

 

We're beginning to appreciate chard and have managed to cook it up several ways that we like

We had purple bell peppers - nothing spectacular

Tonight is orange cauliflower that I'll roast at a high heat

I ordered more kale, but it didn't come in - it's a budding relationship.

Nothing terribly novel going on with food, but at least we're semi trying a few new things here and there.

 

Entering another busy week as I try to get things done and get things planned ahead for the next month.  Much to do, but I don't feel so behind.  Getting ahead is rather motivating so hopefully I ride that wave and actually get things done.

[pjena]

I hope the colds pass quickly.  I'm down to a tickle in the throat.  It was better than it could have been.  And I quite enjoy the ACV tea!  Weird.   

 

Which recipe for banana pancakes do you use?  I'd like to try it for my kids.

 

Totally off topic, but if you're working on night training your son, I highly recommend the potty pager.  It's a miracle worker!  My son was still having night accidents at 5 even though he was day trained well before that.  We got the potty pager and after one night, I never had to change sheets again.  I think he just needed help getting the bladder to brain signal firing correctly. 

[Emma]

pjena - I just googled the potty pager - thanks for the suggestion.  I'll certainly keep it in mind as a possibility.  My guy was doing really well for a few months, but Whole30 seems to really mess things up for him.  He needs to urinate more at night and then he sleeps more deeply.  He's not a kid super tuned in to his body and I can see something like the pager working for him.  Too bad it's not cheaper!  For now we'll plug along as we are (and use pullups for travel) and hope we settle into a better groove, but I'll play with it as an idea to consider.

 

Our recipe for banana pancakes changes tremendously each week and we've had some that are simpler and some that are certainly making paleoized pancakes:

 

Our simplest are just an equal number of eggs to bananas and maybe some almond butter or some vanilla or some baking soda.

Our most complex are based off of this site:

http://paleospirit.com/2013/paleo-banana-pancakes/

 

BUT we use way more bananas.  We use at least one banana per person (probably 1.5 bananas per person) and an equal number of eggs and then the other ingredients she listed perhaps doubled.  We don't use any sweetener or honey and they don't need it at all.

 

Glad you're down to a tickle in your throat.  My kids are I are doing a lot better as well.  My guy might even get to go to school tomorrow.  (Did I just say we were doing better?  Ha.  Just gave a time out.  Solving problems together is not their strength when feeling a bit under the weather!)

 

Dinner last night was pretty good - burgers with onions and zucchini, orange cauliflower roasted for an hour at 400 degrees with cumin and garlic (I liked it), salmon chowder

Breakfast today - sweet potatoes and duck eggs

Lunch - bratwurst and squash maybe and pineapple

Dinner - bison meatballs and something

 

Enough procrastination - I'm off to get work done for a bit so I can hang with the kids (who are pretty much sitting on my lap anyway )

[Emma]

Last night I tried Natural Calm with Calcium and let me just tell you that I slept GREAT!  Till three.  But then I slept great again from 3:30 till six.  The daughter screaming about her missing baby doll at six was a bit of a shock to my system, but once I'd completely woken up, I was able to appreciate just how nice my chunks of sleep were.

 

I've been taking Natural Calm every night for a while.  All I can manage is a half teaspoon and that usually almost always sends my stomach into a gurgling factory of movement.  It's distracting.  I fall asleep an hour later and in the morning my system has settled.  I decided I might as well try the calcium and see if that made a difference.  (I've got thinning bones and have never been able to take calcium without getting the runs)  

 

So last night I took it and had none of the stomach gurgling.  An hour later I was ready for sleep and I slept.

 

Of course, I am also fighting this cold and drinking lots of ACV and maybe ate differently and had a stressful day so it could be other contributing factors, but so far, it was a nice new move.

 

This afternoon when the kids fell asleep I was going to do some work.  I really was motivated and feeling ahead and excited to make more headway but I was super crazy tired - so I took a nap and it was great.  It was the kind where you lie down and then you're out and you wake up and you're in the exact same position as before.  I feel far better than I did before though a bit groggy and my head is still congested, but overall, it was nice.  I woke up to SILENCE!  Ohhhh how often does a parent get that?!

 

We had frost on the ground this morning, but today is blue skies and sunny.  I was rather hoping for gray because then I could stay inside and work, but instead I think I'll throw the kids and the dog in the car and take us out for a walk once they wake up.  I won't get any work done, but the bright sun will be good for all of us.

 

I was also planning on going to a yoga class tonight if my husband can get home in time.  It's a pretty intense class that I used to go to and used to be strong enough for.  Now I'm not.  I'm going to feel flubby and weak and old in comparison to others.  And of course I know the comparison doesn't matter, but it happens in my own head.  Nonetheless, I'll hopefully go and get through those negative mental spaces and then feel pleased with myself for going.

 

Breakfast: eggs and sp

Lunch: leftover chicken with almond butter and sweet potato (omg - all mixed together was so crazy good!)

Dinner:  something with broccoli

[Physibeth]

On this ACV discussion. I had massive heartburn on Sunday night (can't imagine why considering I ate so well this weekend  ) and I mixed up a glass of water and ACV and guzzled it (yuck) and it did help calm the tummy down. Now that the weather is getting cooler I might start the ACV tea thing every morning to help fend off the cold nasties. I've been sneezing my head off but considering how much dust gets tossed about in the moving process I'm not surprised.

 

Sounds like a nap and some sun were just what you needed! The cold, gray of Seattle fall has settled in on us and seems to be here to stay. *sigh* Trying to decide if it is time to put away the summer clothes and get out the fall/winter stuff. I need to put the off season (and still too small) clothes in our storage unit so I guess it might be time to just embrace fall.

 

Beef is always a something good with broccoli. Just saying. 

[Emma]

Beef (well, Bison) it was.  My husband is experimenting with chopping up vegetables into very fine pieces to mix into things.  I like bigger pieces, but those are minor details.  Top it with kimchi and all is good.

 

I did go to the yoga class and it was good and this morning I woke up with a nice sore butt!  I love that.  The yoga class was hard in places - I could feel my weak legs and butt and abs, but I was also still decently flexible and I was able to do the planks and I've very thankful for that.   

 

After the yoga class, my foot hurt.  Looking back over the last bunch of years, I think my foot always hurt but I just ignored it.  Now I know (or at least i think I know) that that foot is the source of all the problems with my knee.  I massaged my foot, but didn't ice it.  Today it's not any worse.  I'm going to shoot for a low key goal of trying to exercise once or twice a week.  It would certainly be nice if I did more, but I also think taking the slow approach isn't so bad.  I do miss running though.

 

This cold is still hanging on, but it's not getting worse and I certainly don't look like I have a cold.  My boy was exhausted after school yesterday but he too is looking and acting okay though I know the virus is still trying to get a foothold.  ACV morning, noon and night for us.

 

I took the Natural Calm with Calcium again last night.  An hour later I was ready to sleep and sleep I did until 5:30 this morning.  Seven and a half hours without really waking up.  That was pretty  nice!  I didn't even get up to use the bathroom although I'd had two cups of tea before bed.  Of course, that's partly what got me out of bed at 5:30 so perhaps I could have used another complete sleep cycle, but that didn't happen.  My kids also slept through the night without waking once.  It might not be the calcium addition - it might just be that we are at Day twenty something of Whole30.  

 

And now I'm going to have some coffee and try to make some headway on work while my kiddo works on puzzles.

[Emma]

Last night I was all set to go to bed and sleep and then 2.5 hours later I woke up to pee.  Then the dog woke me up to go out.  Then he did it again.  And then it was 2:30 and I was still awake.  And then my kid woke me up.  And then an hour later the other one.  What gives!?  But my last three hours of sleep were pretty good and my boy came and snuggled up with me and that was nice.

 

But what I'm most noticing today is the great wonderful tightness and soreness in my abs - not my belly abs, but up on the sides of my ribcage.  It's from that yoga class and it feels great.  I feel taller and I want to suck in my gut and I feel leaner.  It's so nice to feel one's muscles!  Yoga is definitely a better workout than the zumba class.  Both are offered tonight, but I think schedule wise I can only go to zumba.  Alas.  The yoga is really what I'm yearning for with it's darker room and mellow music and more challenging workout.

 

Food?  Everything is compliant shmiant.  I am going to try out the cocoa cauliflower later this week and am looking forward to that.  Otherwise, I'm very uninspired.

 

Oh - I made some sauerkraut!  I addressed my fears of creating my own fermented food and bought a small head of purple cabbage and massaged it and salted it and smushed it into a jar.  Today is day 4.  It's been leaking purple juices the last few days so I know something is going on in there, but I have to tell you - I'm scared to actually open it and taste it.  I have little faith in my fermenting skills.