New Eating Habbits

I found on the internet a diet that claims to stop and in some cases reverse heart disease. I really have no other options since this thing is progressing so fast. We are constantly increasing meds to keep up with the chest pain and keep it bearable. So after finding Calldwell Essestyn's ideas on how to fix the problem I googled some more. I found that his son Rip is an iron man, holds records swimming, and running all over. He swam from Alcatraz to the bay and won that. He came in third in a race that Lance Armstrong took first. The guy is also a fireman. He managed to win over his whole station to eating a plant based diet after a bet of who could have the lowest cholesterol. They found out that one of their fireman brothers had an almost deadly number and combined with his family history he was a walking heart attack. Long story short the guys went on this plant based diet to save one of their own and have stayed on this diet ever since. The diet is great for heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimers .

I started this plant based diet on Monday the 4th of April. So far so good, no meat, no dairy and no oil! There are two ways to doing it, one way they ease you into it eliminating something each week, cadet style. The other way is "fireman" style which I did. Its all hands on the first day out of the gate. I have had a lot of firsts during this week, Hummus (which I made) , Kale and some fake sausage patties.

First off the food I'm eating is so good! I can't believe the tastes that can come from some of these plants. I have always eaten a well balanced diet but vegetables meant peas, carrots, corn or salad. My first day out for lunch I had toasted bread with hummus spread generously on it, green onions and cilantro on top of that, thinly sliced lemons covering that. My cooked Kale came next piled high with lemon zest on top and a few slices of tomatoes. It was so good! I would never have eaten those things together let alone on a sandwich but it was the most flavorful sandwich I have ever eaten. I got the recipe from Rip's book The Engine 2 Diet. Tomorrow Phil has obliged me with an opportunity to make our main dinner dish vegan style. I think I won him over with my home fries tonight. The potatoes and onions were cooked with no oil or butter but had some of the best flavor we have ever had in home fries (breakfast potatoes), they were also topped with quartered cherry tomatoes...mmmmm.

If any of you were thinking about doing a plant based diet there is a web site that has great recipes. Even if you wanted to just change one or two meals a day that's a huge deal on starting to clean out your system. http://pcrm.org/kickstartHome/mealplan/index.cfm I got my home fry recipe from this site. Now I'm not against eating meat, I cook my husband and son meat every day. My dad is a cattle rancher, its in my blood. But I can't live for my food, I have get my food working for me to live for my son and family. If this is my best shot other than the 18 pills I have to take each day than so be it. Plus its kinda fun to say I eat vegan style. I'm not in the norm anymore...going against the grain. :)

Busy Meline's

We finally got heat in this house this winter! It got below zero for a few nights in a row so we pitched a tent in the living room. Placed the space heaters to point in and camped out. Bradach loved it and it was a nice way to keep our minds off how real the situation was. Here is a pic of our new pellet stove, we got a steal on it. Its one of the best and the guy just never used it so he sold it cheap.

Bradach playing in the tent
Bradach and his best friend and sister :) Sadi, they wrestled in the tent.
Mommy and Bradach laying down for bed in the tentOur new pellet stove, Phil made the hearth, he did a great job!

We took a trip to visit my new nephew, and of course his sister and parents. We also got to visit and meet the newest member of the Meline family, Carl and LeeAnn's little girl Mallie.

We stayed the first night of our trip at the Come on Inn in MT. Forgot the swim suits (well Grandpa packed his) but for some reason I packed a swim diaper, lucked out there!

Meet Robert Morris Moldenhauer the 4th aka Bob
This is Mallie, she is adorable.

Mardi and Bradach frosted Sugar Cookie hearts for VAlentine's day....we strategically left the cookies there when we left :) I think these two stinkers ate more frosting than they got on the cookies.

Just an update since the last post was about my trip to the Mayo. I went and got home safely. It was well worth the trip. I got a diagnosis, and even though I'm not better and they can't fix it we can treat my symptoms. I'm learning to not let my chest pain get out of control or even last for more than a few minutes. Its causing my heart to starve of oxygen (ischemia). If I want the best possible outcome of a long happy life I have to stay on my meds and keep my symptoms under control. The disease is called Mircrovascular dysfunction and Prinzmetal's(which just started a few weeks ago), in a nut shell if I get over stressed or exert myself my microvessels (the smallest ones, capillaries) close off instead of open to get my heart oxygen. I'm tired most of the time, its an extreme fatigue...not just a "I didn't get that much sleep tired". Life is changing and we are adapting to my new life, it affects my husband and son as much as it does me. I'm glad Phil was already capable of many household duties ie cooking, cleaning, dishes and laundry because most days I can't do it. I'm learning some new hobbies like fly tying and knitting, we also got net flix so I'm watching some TV series that I never watched before. If one GREAT thing came out of this disease its that I have a new found patients with those around me. I'm not so quick to scold Bradach or make sure he is doing the things that are socially acceptable. I'm learning to enjoy the good days and push through the hard ones. I'm especially thankful for my love of my Heavenly Father and the love he has for me. Without it I wouldn't be functioning as well as I do now.