The Hermit

My intention with this blog was to take daily photos of my food & post & talk about it here. I forgot to do that today :P But what I've eaten has pretty much been the same as it has the last two days, which I did remember to take photos of.

My day usually starts out this way:

Capsicum, sugar peas & snap peas

Yeah, it's pretty basic. My first meal tends to be raw veggies, or a broccoli, zucchini & cauliflower mash with onion & garlic, or a stir-fry, or a salad (in the warmer months). I say 'first meal', cause I don't like to think in terms of naming my meals 'breakfast, lunch, dinner'. I eat when I'm hungry. Which is generally often, & I feel like I eat a lot, as this is the bulk of my diet. Non-starchy, watery vegetables. Throw in a bit of meat, & that's pretty much it. Sometimes I eat eggs. Sometimes I bake. Sometimes my will breaks & I eat cheese.

I love cheese. But I'll come to that later. In my head I have a post ready for 'food I love but doesn't love me'. Then I can share my woe.

So, that was my first meal. That bowl is usually followed by another one or two. I go through about 2-3 capsicums a day, easy. I would eat more if I wasn't a little bit worried that my body would flip out  & become intolerant capsicum as well. Eh. Which it is want to do.

Pre-baked veges waiting for the oven

Last night's meal was a mix of baked vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussell sprouts, cabbage) with a bit of olive oil & apple cider vinegar. I also fry up a bit of frozen spinach with some garlic & onion to add on top. I added that with some slow-cooked spicy shredded bbq chicken based off Amy Green's recipe. It'll probably be what I have for dinner tonight.

The Boy is at work till late, so I'm home alone. Yes, it is Saturday & I'm not 70 nor do I have my own children to look after. It is, however, hovering around -20 here at the moment, & it's not the most inspiring weather to go out in. Plus I've been a bit of a hermit the last week or so. Which brings me to my next topic.

I had my test for gluten intolerance on the 30th December. Great timing, considering the holidays, & I was told that my results would be delayed because of that. It took about 4 weeks for my results to come back, & during that time my head was swimming with 'what to do' in regards to my diet leading up to getting the results.

Am I going to need a biopsy? Should I eat gluten? Should I be anal-retentive & do everything I can to avoid gluten? Should I just eat as I usually have? This continued daily, & to try & get some sense of things I read up about gluten intolerance. Too much advice & information can be This caused a dilemma in me.

Usually I'm very good with my diet. Very very good. Now & then I slip, but I don't slip too far. A slip for me is usually a bit too much cheese, or some vege chips when I crave something crunchy. But during this time, & then subsequently after, when my results came back negative, I was bad. I was eating things that I technically should be able to eat, but things that my stomach reacts violently to. After the doctor told me that there was nothing more they could do to help me, I slipped into a depression. & became a hermit. I've barely left the house this week.

I just haven't wanted to give of myself this week. I feel like I've needed to stay cocooned in my shell, protected from the world. I've felt that the own demands of my body were enough, let alone dealing with other peoples demands. So I didn't. & that's ok.

So now it's the weekend, & I'm going to continue my hermit habits tonight but still have some fun. A lil glass of wine might help with that. Cheers!