B Vitamins - and why they're great for FMS patients.

I know that a lot of us with fibromyalgia struggle with insomnia from the constant high amounts of pain we're in and that consequentially, this also makes us have to push ourselves through our daily routines because of low energy.
B-Vitamins are a good way to get that energy up, just a little. And as I know from experience, a little bit of extra energy can go a long way.
So, here I will be listing the different types of foods you can eat to get some extra b-vitamins in your diet - and get a little boost to help you get through the day. Later, I will be adding some recipes that'll tell you how to use these foods; such as a way to eat brussels sprouts without the dreaded boiling of them.
Of course, if you're not able to cook - the simplest way to get B in your diet would be to take supplements. Buy B-Complex if you do this, not B12 or B6. B-Complex supplements cover every daily vitamin B need you may have.

Here's a list of the foods you can eat:

Eggs
Dairy products (Milk, butter, unprocessed cheese - I suggest Sargento if you're on a budget)
Meat (Lamb, beef, chicken, shrimp, crab, lobster - these contain the most amount of B12)
Fish (wild-caught AND farm-raised salmon - again, frozen works too but fresh works best; trout, catfish, tuna, halibut, cod)
Leafy green vegetables (Kale, amaranth, bok choy, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, squashes - all types, parsnips)
Legumes (Soy beans, black-eyed peas, edamame - these have the highest amount of B9, also known as folate)
Pomegrantes (Juice works, too - but whole is best; I suggest putting the seeds in a salad, for example)

And for all you vegans out there: yeast supplements will also work as an alternative to get b-vitamins. Or you can just take B-Complex. Your choice.

I hope this helps somebody out there who needs it.

Gabrielle

For my personal reference - and yours. =)

4 Grain Bread / Rolls Recipe (Serving Size TBA)

Ingredients

1 cup Arrowhead Mills Organic 4 Grain Plus Flax Hot Cereal

1 1/2 Cups Water (Using purified water personally)

1/4 Cup Butter (Using buffalo butter, not cow butter for this one)

1/4 Cup Honey SUB: 1/4 cup organic sugar (Using organic sugar in this recipe, not honey as I have a reaction to the former)

1 Package Dry Yeast

1/4 Cup Milk or Milk Alternative (Goat Milk, Soymilk, Almond Milk, etc)

1 Egg

3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 Tsp. Kosher Salt/Sea Salt (Your choice - am using kosher salt, myself, as I don't like the taste of sea salt much)

Directions

1) Optional: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. (Will warm up your whole kitchen - more on that at number 6. We didn't preheat the oven - never do. Just a personal preference.)

2) Place first 4 ingredients (Arrowhead Mills Organic 4 grain plus flax hot cereal, water, butter, honey/sugar) in a saucepan and cook until cereal is done. SUB: Alternatively, place in large plastic bowl/glass casserole dish and microwave for 4 minutes until cereal is cooked - give or take, depending on your microwave.

3) Stir in milk and let cool for 10 minutes.

4) Sprinkle in yeast (don't stir yet!) and remaining ingredients (egg, whole wheat flour, salt) in order listed. Now mix together.

5) Turn onto floured surface, and knead for 5 - 7 minutes (it took about 5 for mine). Place in oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Let rise until double bulk (until dough rises to double in size). Optional: Cover bowl while rising. Will stop the dough from drying out. It's not a big deal if you can't, though.

6) Turn onto floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Shape into rolls or loaf and let rise until double in bulk (yes, this means let it double in size one more time - it is necessary). It doesn't take overnight - only about 45 minutes. Note: You can speed up rise-time in a warmer kitchen, or slow it down by putting it in a cooler kitchen or refrigerator.

7) Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes or until done (for rolls bake for 15 minutes). Store in a cool, dry place.

Enjoy! I know I will.. once it's done. lol

Gabby

Food Log (10/30/12 - 11/4/12)

This is my first log of the food I've eaten from last week on, and how I've reacted pain-wise to it. I'm doing this so you can see for yourself the results I'm getting from the salicylclic acid-free diet - and also see just how bad for you the junk food is, in more ways than one. I'm learning that the hard way.

Tuesday - TGI Fridays

Ordered: Pot stickers with sauce (appetizer - split it with with mom), Chef's Burger with french fries with ranch dressing (had bleu cheese, cheddar cheese and bacon - as well as what looked like mayonaise on it), and a Dr. Pepper.

Reacted Like: Not well. I didn't have an allergic reaction per se, but I was in more pain than usual for about 2-3 days afterward; just a general sort of soreness. My legs hurt the worst.
My stomach also got upset - I was downing antacids for a few days afterward.

Friday - Jason's Deli

Ordered: Something I thought would be healthy - a salad. It had apple slices, raisins, walnuts (or pecans - couldn't tell) and dried cranberries. I ordered it with the raspberry vinagrette dressing and without the pumpkin seeds.

Reacted Like: Not good. I asked them to leave off the pumpkin seeds - as that's one of the "bad" foods for me - and they did not. I didn't realize this until I was already almost done eating it and it was too late.
On top of that - I think they had some sort of pepper on the chicken that was not mentioned on the menu/website. Pepper is one of my worst foods and I'll be in bed for a week after having the smallest amount.
Again, it didn't click until I was already almost done eating it. I'm still suffering the effects.

Saturday - At Home

Ate: 4-grain hot cereal with raisins and organic brown sugar; some almonds and a couple of Gala apples; late-night snack of goat cheddar cheese/soft goat cheese and Gala apple slices.

Reacted Like: No extra pain that day. In fact, after the 4-grain hot cereal, I noticed a reduction of pain and a sort-of mood elevation - I felt great for about an hour or so afterwards. I was mellow for the rest of the night, too.

Sunday - At Home

Ate: Cashews; chicken fajitas and some Pepsi; Gala apple slices and a half of a banana.

Reacted Like: So-so. I had no problem with the cashews, and I was alright with the chicken fajitas - so far I am, anyway - but they did make me a little nauseous.


See the difference? 'Cause I certainly am. =/

Gabby

Recipe: Au Naturel Pecan 'n' Fruit Medley Salad

Went on a shopping spree to Whole Foods a couple days ago. With my moms' help, I bought a bunch of organic, really good food.
If you can't afford to buy organic food at Whole Foods, that's okay! This is still healthy.
Walmart as well as Sprouts/Sunflower Market has cheap organics, however - so if you're on a tight budget, go there. All organics are pretty much made the same - or atleast, so says Dr. Oz. ;)

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. organic spring mix lettuce(s)
• 4 small sprinkles (pinches) of organic, pre-chopped pecans
• 1 small box of organic raisins - Thompson seedless, 1.5 oz/42g (To be exact!)
• 5 small sprinkles fresh, organic cranberries; SUB: dried cranberries (They're cheaper, just not quite as healthy)
• 1 Gala apple, chopped into small pieces (or big ones - whichever is easier for you). SUB: Pre-chopped apple slices from Walmart's (or your local/favorite grocery store) produce section
• 5 - 10 pieces fresh chopped, organic bleu cheese chunks  SUB: Bleu cheese crumbles from the Deli Section of Walmart (or your local/favorite grocery store)
• Tupperware container to store salad in
• Cutting board to chop things on
• Knife to cut things with - no particular type needed, as long as it works!

Directions

1. Wash hands with soap and water.
2. Put spring mix into tupperware; put off to the side.
3. Mix in pecans; hand toss into salad (or toss with tongs if you prefer - I prefer hand tossed; it tastes better imho).
4. Repeat above with raisins, cranberries and chopped apple (hand toss into salad).
5. Finally, mix in bleu cheese chunks. Toss with tongs as it will get VERY messy if hand tossed!
6. Make sure all ingredients are mixed well and spread evenly throughout the salad. Enjoy with dressing of your choice.

Recommended Dressing: Oil & Vinegar Salad Dressing (Semi-Home Made)

Take 3 quarters of a cup of olive oil and then a quarter cup of balsamic vinegar. Mix, pour on salad.

Serves: 2-4 people

Enjoy!

Gabby

What This Blog is All About

I have fibromyalgia.  As anyone knows who has it - you can have days when you not only suffer from a lot of physical pain, but you also suffer from "fibro-fog".  Fibro-fog is when your brain feels all "fogged" up and you can't think clearly.  So at any given moment - your body and your brain can be really letting you down when you suffer from fibromyalgia.

While many doctors don't agree on fibromyalgia yet, and very little is known about it - there are some theories that if you eat (or don't eat) foods that have certain ingredients in them you can reduce your symptoms. 

One of them is salicylic acid.  I have had a great deal of relief by not eating foods that have a lot of this in them.  I also know that msg and aspartame are considered "excito-toxins" and they also make my pain worse.  I had one diet soda last night - and today my legs are already killing me way more than usual.  I also just read that some people are having success with reducing their symptoms by eating foods that are low in oxalate.  When I read the list of foods that are high in oxalate - I think there might be something to this.

One of my biggest problems has been trying to figure out how to live on the foods that I can eat - when I'm having days with physical pain and/or brain fog.  I haven't found any cookbooks for fibromyalgia patients on the market either.  Anything I do find just says "don't eat these foods", basically.

I can't cook five course meals or do complicated recipes though with fibromyalgia.  I figure if I'm having this problem - so is probably everyone else with fibromyalgia too.  So welcome to my blog.  My mom is going to help me put up a list of recipes that not only contain foods I can eat that reduce my symptoms - but also are easy enough for me to cook physically and uncomplicated enough for me mentally as well.  Sadly many fibromyalgia sufferers wind up having to cook for themselves - so I wanted to put this out there with recipes that any of us could cook for ourselves even on a bad day.

Like one of my "go to" plans when I'm having a really, really bad day symptom-wise.  I'm not a doctor nor a dietician.  So please consult with the appropriate medical people before embarking upon using any of my recipe or food ideas. 

Now, Walmart has in their freezer section where the fish is in a bag that has four "wild" salmon filets.  It sells for about $5, including tax.  That's $1.25 each filet which also fits my budget. 

I also go to the produce section and get long green beans in a bag by where the lettuce is sold.  I get two bags for $5 also - or $2.50 each. They're organic as well, which is great!  I then put a filet in a pan or even a piece of foil.  I pour on a little olive oil - if I'm really feeling creative I'll smear it in a little - and sprinkle on kosher salt after that. I don't use pepper or lemon because of the salicylic acid (even the slightest bit of pepper or lemon gives me great pain).  I do the same for the green beans.  I put the fish and the beans in different pans or foil pieces (if I haven't washed my pans that day I use the foil to cook on).  I keep them separate so I don't get fish juice on my green beans when they cook.
( Sidenote: If you're really on a tight budget, Walmart's brand Great Value has canned green beans for about 68 cents each with nothing in it I react to - so you shouldn't either! With these, it's the same concept - you don't even need a pan to cook it in! When I'm having a really bad day, I'll just open the top of it,  take the paper off of the can, put the stove on low heat and put 'em on. Stick the green beans in a bowl after they're cooked, salt them, and you have a meal all on its own. )

I then put the oven about at about 375 degrees.  It takes about 15-20 minutes and I have a good healthy dinner that didn't cost me a lot of money or physical energy to make.  If I haven't washed my dishes that day and don't feel like it - I can also just eat the fish on the foil, and the green beans in the foil/pan as well.
When I am too sick to even wash a fork - I find I can eat the salmon filet and the green beans with my fingers. Messy yes, but delicious nonetheless.

Gabby