Vegan Thanksgiving

Since I'm trying to be kind to my liver while I pump it full of even more supplements this week, I'm eating vegan, and avoiding processed foods as much as possible on top of that. That means that a lot of my traditional Thanksgiving foods will be missing today. So, I'm trying to make some foods that are interesting or treat-worthy. I plan on making a variety of things that I can munch on for the next couple of days, just like a 'normal' Thanksgiving.

• Cranberry Sauce (I will be using some raw sugar to help thicken/set it)
• Roasted Squash w/Cardamom
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts
• Salad
• Chantarelle Mushrooms, sauteed with garlic, parsley, and onions in butter (Must be 'butter', after all these are Chantarelles!)
• Red beans and red rice, Caribbean style (except that I'm using red rice)

Another tradition that I hope to indulge in is not food related. This morning I'm going to try to tune in on the Macy's parade, even though TV reception here is tough. Then, while I have my dinner I'm going to watch "Dan in Real Life" and/or "Pieces of April". Happy Thanksgiving!

Preparing to wallow in the 'ick'

Last Sunday and Monday I felt utterly awful. Headache, nausea, intestinal weirdness, and general 'ick'. I had been taking two new sets of supplements for several days and suspected them. So, Monday I did not take them. Tuesday, I did not take them. By Tuesday afternoon I almost felt like me again. Wednesday, I did not take them. I was definitely back to being me. On Thursday night, I added the least suspicious supplements back into my routine. Friday and Saturday as well. No 'ill' effects. So, yay. The other supplement that I held off on is recommended for liver support/detox. I initially took 2 in the mornings on an empty stomach (well, except for the other 6 pills that I take in the morning on an empty stomach). With all the drugs and supplements I am taking, and the fact that I may actually be experiencing some toxicity from the die off of the Lyme bugs, I do need to help my liver along. Unfortunately, if the liver does its job it will spew some toxins into my system so that they can make their way out. My naturopath warned me that if the Lyme started dying off, I could feel worse before I felt better. So, I am hoping that last week's episode was a good sign. However, I couldn't afford to be as ill as I was last Monday for the rest of last week. So, I've decided to reintroduce the Vital Nutrients Liver Support II (with Picrorhiza) into my system this week. This morning and tomorrow morning I will just take one of them. From Thursday on I'll go for two pills. To help my system deal with the potential flood of toxins, I decided that I needed to detoxify my diet as much as possible. So long as I have an appetite, I will be eating fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole unprocessed grains. This means that I will be cooking for myself a lot, and hopefully eating a lot of raw food as well. Since I do need to 'work' today and tomorrow, I need to keep taking my Adderall to stay productive and focused. However, to give my system a break from at least one drug, I plan on staying off all amphetamines for the holiday weekend. I had plans to join some friends on Thursday, but decided that it was better not to 'plan' on doing anything this weekend. There are things I want to try to do. but that will all depend on how I end up feeling. At the very least I'll probably be sluggish and feeling a little 'ick'. Though I am mentally prepared to feel utterly wretched. While planning on making myself ill may not sound like a great way to spend Thanksgiving weekend, if this helps rid me of the Lyme buggers I will have something to be thankful for.