Winter Food Challenge Update - February 21, 2023

Hello! I thought that those of you who are following along, might enjoy an update on how the winter food challenge is going.

I still have plenty of canned and boxed goods on hand (mostly pasta, some sugar-free Jello, instant brown rice, and organic chicken and beef bone broth), but was down to pretty much nothing in the freezer, except grains and nuts. I did still have the two packages of chicken breasts that I purchased on mark-down a couple of weeks ago, but I vowed that I would not to get into them until everything else was cleaned up and I didn't...until last night!!! 😊

It may have taken most of the winter to do it, but I have finally used up all the little bits and pieces of meat that were left in the house...two or three small packages of ham, several bags of oven-roasted turkey (sliced and cubed), chicken (whole), bison steak, salmon fillets, deli meats (turkey and ham), cod fillets, and more. I was down to the last few slices of cooked turkey bacon and a pound of ground turkey, when I went to the store over the weekend to restock. It feels great having plenty of meat in the deep-freeze again!

There are a still a few weeks left until the official arrival of spring, so I will continue to focus on cleaning up canned goods, boxed items, and grains on-hand, but, in future, will only purchase select items, mainly canned beans (black, chili, and green), green chilies, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and albacore tuna, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. My goal is to choose from as many whole foods as possible and make right (or at least better) food choices at every opportunity.  

I plan to make most of my own sweets and treats from scratch using high quality and healthful ingredients. Things that immediately come to mind are protein snack balls and my mother's oatmeal drop cookies (right now I've got a batch of oat bran muffins in the oven), and I plan to substitute stevia for sugar as much as possible

Anyway, the challenge is coming along quite nicely and I have saved a bundle by cleaning up the food on-hand and not buying meat all winter. Plus, I actually have room in my freezer now for other things that I enjoy...like frozen berries, frozen grapes, and frozen yogurt! Yum! 😋

Well, that's a look at where I'm at with the winter food challenge and, in all probability, this will be last update that I give concerning it, as there's really not too much left to say about it. If anything interesting arises I will just include it in my regular posts. 

How about you? How have those of you who have been following along fared with your own clean-up-the-food challenges?

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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The Winter Food Challenge Continues

The 21-Day Salad Challenge, A Liver Saturation Issue, and The Healing Process

Today marks Day #21 of the 21-Day Salad Challenge that I chose to take up. 

The rules were simple...a salad a day for 21 days, any kind, big or small...they all count. For accountability, I checked in with my aunt each evening, sending her a photo of each day's salad.

Most, if not all, of the salads that I chose to eat, started with a bed of romaine and spinach. To that various other ingredients would be added...red onion, green pepper, cucumber, grape tomatoes, grated carrot, feta cheese...perhaps shredded cheddar, a boiled egg, bacon bits, and/or garlic and cheese croutons. 

Some salads were a meal in themselves; others were served as a side-salad. All were enjoyed with Ranch dressing, which was a complete joy! 

You see, due to a liver saturation issue, back in 2016 I had developed an allergic reaction to anything with vinegar in it...ANY thing!!! Before figuring out what was causing the problem, the allergic reaction had become so bad that I ended up in an emergency room with anaphylactic shock. My heart rate was over 200 beats per minute, I had a raised and itchy rash from head to toe, and could not breathe. Thank God I was less than five minutes away from the hospital when the incident occurred. Otherwise they said I wouldn't have made it. I left the hospital with an EpiPen and strict orders to follow up with my regular doctor and an allergy specialist. The reaction had been caused by eating one bite of a taco containing one package of taco sauce on it at Taco Bell. I've never eaten there since.

It took a while to figure out what the underlying problem really was, but, once it was (a liver saturation issue due to too much Vitamin A), the allergy specialist at Springfield told me to stay away from anything with vinegar in it and warned me that places like Subway could prove deadly (open salad bins and so many sauces being used and distributed directly over top of them).

For over five years I have had to give up everything with vinegar completely and, for the most part, stay away from restaurants. If I did eat out somewhere, or at somebody else's house, I had to choose foods with no possibility of vinegar in them. (You would be surprised at what all has vinegar in it!) 

The issue pretty much eliminated salads of any kind even at home. Who wants to eat a bowl of raw vegetables with nothing to give it some flavor? 

For the past five-plus years I have had to stick with very plain food...cheeseburgers with nothing on the bun but meat and cheese, a plain grilled chicken breast with a baked potato, etc. I even had to be careful with meats (ground chicken contains vinegar) and luncheon and deli meats. Most are clearly marked as to containing vinegar and some just say that they are packaged in an "acidic solution"...that's code word for vinegar. It was cRaZy!!!

Anyway...long story short...I have only just recently been able to start adding things back to my diet that contain vinegar without incident. The first thing that I was able to add back in was mustard; then, Miracle Whip. Just within the past month or so I have been able to add ketchup back into my diet, A-1 Sauce (which I love and have missed soooo much!) and, yes, miracle of miracles, RANCH DRESSING! 

I tried ranch dressing a year or so ago on a chicken ranch salad and, nope, couldn't do it! I only had a small amount. I didn't have the breathing issues, but I did break out in welts that itched like crazy all over my ears, neck, and back. That was one of the mildest reactions to anything with vinegar that I've had since this ordeal started. Without the breathing issues and the welts from head to toe I knew I was on my way to recovery!

Praise God! Within the past few things seem to be normalizing completely. I'm still not ready to tackle apple cider vinegar and don't know that I ever will be again. THAT is what I was using regularly when all this started and sparked everything off, but, the point is, I am finally getting to a place that I can once again enjoy so many things that I've had to give up for so long and salad with Ranch dressing is one of them!

I cannot even begin to express the joy I have in, not only completing the 21-day challenge, but in knowing that this liver saturation issue is behind me, and that my body is healed! Praise the name of the Lord for His blessings are many!!! 

Until next time,

~Rebecca

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Encouragement In Times Of Trouble - Psalm 37

Good Morning, Dear Ladies!

It's not even noon and the temperatures, here on the tall-grass prairie of southwest Missouri, are already registering in the low-90's. The humidity is out of this world and today promises to be another scorcher. 

You know, there are so many things going on out there...so many of us are under attack of various kinds...there are so many hurting people. This morning as I was praying and seeking the LORD, Psalm 37 was brought to my attention, as it has been so many times in the past, but this morning I wanted to share.

 

This Psalm is not a prayer. It's more of set of instructions on godly wisdom. Its theme concerns the believer's attitude toward the apparent success of the wicked and the hardships of the righteous. It teaches that the ungodly will eventually be cast down and lose all they acquired on earth, whereas the righteous who remain loyal to God will have His presence, help, and guidance on earth, as well as an eternal inheritance...salvation and eternal life in the new heaven and the new earth.

 

Some of the instructions found in Psalm 37 include "Fret not thyself because of evildoers..." (v. 1), "Trust in the Lord, and do good..." (v. 3), "Delight thyself also in the Lord..." (v. 4), "Commit thy way unto the Lord..." (v. 5), "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him..." (v. 7), "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath..." (v. 8). The Word promises that "...evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth" (v. 9), that, even though " The wicked plotteth against the just..." (v. 12), that "The Lord shall laugh at him...(v. 13) and cause the sword that they have drawn (v. 14) to "enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken" (v. 15). Verses 16 and 17 tells us that, "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the rightous." Furthermore, verses 23 and 24 assure us that, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand." The Psalm ends with, "But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him" (v. 39 and 40).

Are you going through trial and tribulation today? If so, stand firm, dear child of God! He is there with you...right now. Nothing is happening to you that He doesn't already know about, and that isn't being filtered through His loving fingers. I'd like to challenge you to pick up your Bible right now and study Psalm 37 for yourself. What instructions are waiting there for you at this very moment? What promises belong to you? Take the time to find out, then stand on that Word!

God's blessings be upon you! My thoughts and prayers are with you!

All My Love,

~Rebecca

RESHAPING IT ALL 65-Day Challenge

As most of you know, I recently gave away a copy of Candace Cameron Bure's (along with Canadian co-author, Darlene Schact's) new book Reshaping It All. It's a book that I've read almost all the way through (and I say almost because I was almost done with it when the challenge started, so now I am starting all over again...and that's okay) because I have really enjoyed it. 

Reshaping It All is not a typical diet book at all. Instead of offering fad diets and/or a big list of diet dos and don'ts, Candace and Darlene have succeeded in taking our perspective on food back to it's roots where it belongs...into the realm of the spiritual. Everything in this book just keeps taking you back to God and the value that He places on your life...back to Jesus and what His blood paid for on your behalf. It really is a good book and I highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about getting their physical, as well as their spiritual, life in order or back on track.

And, on top of everything else (this is the proverbial icing on the cake), Candace and Darlene have partnered together again to bring us a '65-day Reshaping It All Challenge' to help jumpstart our success! We're in day 5 of the challenge, but it's not too late to join. To find out more click HERE.

Have a beautiful and blessed day,

~Rebecca