Christmas Gifts: Strawberry and Rosemary Jam...

For our families and close friends, this Christmas gone by, I decided to once again make home made gifts as a small gesture of love during the Holiday Season!

This year I decided on jam, and un-made baked goods in jars (recipes to follow), and I am very happy with the results that I got and the feedback from recipients... so much so that I am now in love with making things in jars!! hehe
But seriously I am very happy with how it all turned out and how it went down, and I have had requests for more jam- so watch this space. The jam is on the healthier side of your 'normal' jam.
As it has no artificial preservatives AND is great for those with insulin resistance (PCOS and endometriosis, as well as other health conditions) and is diabetic friendly, as it uses low GI cane sugar.
Which is used to provide slow and sustained release of energy (just don't eat a whole lot at once, and pace your consumption of the jam to over at least a couple of weeks).
With the use of cane sugar (and I suppose the rosemary too) the jam developed a richer, fuller flavour. Consequently making it very different from any other strawberry jam that I have tasted... I rather enjoyed it!!
Before you start the recipe I you should always sterilise your jars!!

Now I could have posted all of that information here, which would lead to a very long a drawn out post, but I decided that I would just direct you to the Kilner Jar website.
Here they have a great detailed post on how to STERILISE your jars in numerous ways.
They also have excellent posts on The Four Spoilers, a Guide to Jams and a Checklist for Jams.

 

On the left- strawberries hulled, lemons juiced and rosemary, all ready to be chopped;
On the right- the foam ready to be skimmed off the top.

Makes: roughly 9 cups!!
Ingredients:
1360g- (5 1/2 punnets) strawberries, hulled and chopped
3 1/4 cups low GI cane sugar, divided
1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
5 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
Directions:

1. Place strawberries into a large heavy-bottomed pot. Using a sharp knife roughly chop half the rosemary, and finely chop the rest.
2. Add rosemary, sugar and lemon juice to strawberries. Bring to boil, stirring often. Cook at low boil for about 25 minutes, or until jam has thickened. Use large spoon to remove any foam that surfaces as it cooks.
3. Put plate in freezer for about 90 seconds. Spoon a teaspoon of the hot jam onto the cold plate and let it rest for 30 seconds. Tip plate to one side; jam should be a soft gel that moves slowly. If mixture is thin and runs down side of plate quickly, the jam is too soft. Return pot to heat and cook jam 5 to 10 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and repeat test.
4. Ladle hot jam into sterilised jars (I used 230ml clip top), leaving 2-3cm headspace. Wipe rims with clean, damp rag to remove any food debris.
5. Place the rubber seals onto the top of the jar and close the clips. Place the jar in a large pan and cover the whole jar with water. Bring to the boil for 30 minutes. Once boiled, leave the water and jars to cool completely before removing. The process of boiling the jars in water is adding extra heat to the contents, which is allowing a vacuum seal to form.

Allow your jam jars to cool for 24hrs, untouched. After the 24 hour cooling period you need to check your jars to make sure an airtight seal has formed. To check the seal, undo the clip and lift the jar by the lid only. If an airtight seal has formed the lid will not move, now fasten clip, label and store. If the lid moves, an airtight seal has not formed and you must reprocess your jars or eat the contents immediately.
Once the seals have formed, store your preserve jars in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. Once the jars have been opened only store your jars in the fridge and consume the contents within 2 weeks.

For your labels, I just used simple stick on labels and created my own design for a larger almost square front label, then I used a slimmer rectangle sticker and wrote on the ingredients, the date I packed the jam and 'Store your jam in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. Once the jam has been opened store your jam in the fridge and consume the contents within 2 weeks.'

So that's that!
I hope you jam turns out well, please let me know how you go and if you liked my recipe- also if you have any favourite jam recipes please share!!
xo

Hey guys,
Sorry things have been quiet and my post have been very sporadic over the past few months...
As you may or may not have guessed things have been quite busy and a bit hectic to be honest.

As stated in my last posts M. and I went to Forster for Christmas.
Over the Christmas break we saw a fair whack of our friends...before Christmas M. had his work party in Sydney, but we were already in Forster so we drove to Newcastle where he stayed with some of our friends for the night and caught the train to Syd.
I also got the chance to catch up with them, but then left to catch up with another friend for a couple of hours before heading out to yet another friends to stay the night- I maximised my time in the hunter for the short time period I was there and saw as many people as I could!!
It was great seeing them all and having a good catch up is always great for the soul!

We had three Christmas'- one with my family (sans Mum, Dad, and my soon to be sister-in-law); one with M.'s Mum, Mum's partner and his brother; and one with his Dad, Grandma, Aunt and Uncles, Dad's partner and her daughters.
We did my family the weekend before Chrissy, we all gathered down at a local park and had a pretty awesome BBQ, had some pretty epic play time in the kids playground, and did presents (well M. and I did- we only do kids for presents, and as we don't have kids we don't get anything. I also give out a small handmade gift to each family- recipes to come).

On Christmas morning we headed round to M.'s mums place and had a yummy fruit breakfast, some of her AMAZING Christmas cake! and presents.
Then we headed back to M.'s Dads for more presents (the Dad's partners daughters have kids), a massive Roast Christmas Lunch with all of his Dad's side of the family and some relaxed drinks....unfortunately my body had other plans though!!
It isn't nice to talk about but I had a period from hell, it was heavy and extremely painful AND it did end up interrupting my fun on the day- I had to depart the festivities a while after lunch to go rest with ice packs and extra pain killers.

We came back just before New Years and spent New Years Eve having a lovely home cooked meal and some relaxed drinks at a friends place.
After New Years things have been rather busy between medical appts; catching up with friends in our local area; heading back to Forster again for a weekend; and then this weekend just past I flew up to Brisbane to visit my younger brother, his missus and their little one.
A couple of weeks ago, M. and I headed back to Forster to visit family again. M. did some work for his dad at the caravan park he runs and I attended my sister-in-law's (second eldest brother's wife) 30th Birthday Party at the Tuncurry Race Courses, followed by taking my eldest brothers little ones to Stardust Circus and making pizzas!!

Australia Day itself was pretty quiet for us, but on the public holiday on Monday M. and I we packed up some simple yummy food and went on a picnic out to a little park by the beach further down the South Coast.
It was very windy that day, but we lucked out and found a protected area, which was awesome.

Last weekend I flew to Brisbane to not only visit my younger brother and his little family, but to attend my soon to be sister-in-law's Bridal Shower. It was a backyard party that was truly fabulous, her bridesmaids did an amazing job with the decorations- a mad hatter like tea party theme, and some absolutely delicious food, followed by some fun games.

Since Christmas and New Years my health has been not so great, after the abysmal period I had over the break my hormones and pelvic pain and health conditions have not improved at all, in fact I'd say they have perhaps worsened.
I'm not on any Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) meds atm so my cycles are a little all over the place, even so they were normally within 34-40 days, but atm I haven't had a period in over 45 days and my pelvis is very freaking painful!!! At times I’ve had symptoms that would normally prelude a period but it does not eventuate for some reason, so for now I am just waiting.
With my IIH things have taken an interesting turn...
My GP finally listened to me and allowed me to have a blood test to prove that my dehydration was getting beyond the point of reasonable and that I was not able to treat it at home myself.
My blood results came back with some expected but not so good results, my sodium was on the high side of 'normal'; my chloride was was moderately above the 'normal' range; my renal function/kidney function was just inside the stage 2 of CKD (which I am not very happy about as I have been on her about my dropping eGFR for a while now, as it has been slowly dropping), my bicarbonate is on the lower end of 'normal'; and my blood pressure was low- all of these things clearly indicate I am dehydrated!!!
So she finally agreed that yes I am chronically dehydrated and wrote a letter to my neurologist stating that I have chronic dehydration, that my endocrinologist has previously done tests to see if the dehydration, night sweats and hot flushes were caused by hormones, sickness, or likely to be medications- it seems to be more likely medications, with Diamox (one of my IIH meds) being the culprit for the dehydration, as it is a diuretic.
So I recently went to see my Neuro, Dr O. and he agrees the dehydration is indeed chronic and in need of treatment. We talked about how I am still having headaches everyday and that sometimes I am able tell the difference between an IH high pressure headache and a dehydration headache.
Once more we talked about Intracranial Pressure (ICP) Monitoring, but I said that I am worried that with my not knowing the extent of my dehydration headaches compared to my IH headaches I do not really want to go ahead until we know for sure that it is IH. Better to be safe then sorry!
He agreed, and suggested that I come off Diamox, to treat the dehydration and see if the headaches minimise/ or if they get worse due to coming off the Diamox and my ICP increasing. Then if and or when my headaches do get worse then we go in for the ICP Monitoring.
I have now been off Diamox for three weeks and my dehydration has indeed slowly improved, but unfortunately my headaches have increased and the symptoms are more IH high ICP pressure headaches- meaning that coming off the Diamox has been a bit of a catch 22!!!
I am going to wait a bit longer until I decided for sure that we go ahead with the ICP monitoring soon, as I would prefer to wait until the Diamox is completely out of my system.

I hope you have all been well and that your Holiday season was jolly and that this new year brings happiness and joy!
xo

Treating Dehydration the Natural Way...

Dehydration (hypohydration) in simple terms: is the excessive loss of body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes.
It is literally the removal of water from an object; however, in physiological terms, it entails a deficiency of fluid within an organism.
Taken from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydration

I am not going to get into the nitty gritty details of what dehydration is, the different types, what causes it or how it actually occurs.
If you want that info Goggle it, or I suggest this page : http://www.hydration.net.au/page/shop/info_page/a/infopage_id/e/46 is a great resource tool!!
But I will tell you that dehydration can occur due to many different reasons, some of them not easily apparent .

Instead I am going to by-pass all of that and skip straight to symptoms of dehydration, chronic dehydration and how to treat it!!

Someone who is chronically dehydrated at a point somewhere between normal and the mild dehydration may even be able to develop a tolerance for that state so that it becomes the “new normal” for them. Suffice to say that any level of dehydration can and will lead to long term consequences if left unadressed.

The initial signs and symptoms of mild dehydration in adults appear when the body is depleted by about 2% of total fluid. In this mild dehydration state symptoms are:

Thirst

Reduced Appetite (often despite a lengthy period without food)

Skin Flushing (especially face and neck)

Dark Coloured Urine (may be confused by supplement use or some foods)

Dry Mouth (and difficulty producing saliva)

Fatigue

Mild headache

Chills

Dizziness

At this point sometimes simple consumption of hydrating fluid will generally arrest any further development of symptoms.If the dehydration is allowed to continue to develop so that fluid loss reaches 5% of total fluid the following symptoms of significant dehydration are evidenced:

Decreased sweating and urination

Increased heart rate, respiration and body temperature

Extreme fatigue

Muscle cramps and Rheumatism

Severe headaches

Shrivelled and dry skin

Nausea, constipation and digestive Disorders
Rise in cholesterol levels

Cystitis and Urinary Infections

Neurosensory disturbances (tingling, numbness)

At this point simple consumption of significant amounts of hydrating fluid may arrest any further development of symptoms but often medical care and intravenous fluid are required.

When 10% of body fluid is lost immediate emergency help is required and in many cases this level of fluid loss is fatal. The symptoms of severe dehydration include:

Muscle spasms

Vomiting

Rapid pulse

Dim vision or temporary blindness

Painful urination with very low urine volume

Confusion

Respiratory depression

Neuromuscular seizures

Chest pain

Gastritis, Stomach Ulcers

Unconsciousness

Without immediate medical care including intravenous fluid, and other strategies to minimise organ damage, fatality or significant loss of organ function is almost certain.

The treatment for minor dehydration, often considered the first port of call, is drinking water and stopping fluid loss.

Plain water restores only the volume of the blood plasma, reducing the thirst mechanism so the hydration levels can be replenished.

Solid foods can contribute to fluid loss from vomiting and diarrhea.

In mild to sever cases of dehydration you need to replenish both water and electrolyte levels (through oral rehydration or fluid replacement by intravenous therapy).

This can be done by consuming clear fluids such as
water; clear broths; frozen water;

sports drinks (though you should look at the sugar levels!! It will make you more dehydrated)

electrolyte mixed drinks or ice pops (though you should check your blood results for potassium levels and sodium levels- if sodium levels are up maybe skip the pre-mixed electrolytes);

Coconut water re-hydrates more efficiently than water, has higher potassium levels than a banana, and has equal to or more electrolytes than pre-mixed specific electrolyte drinks;

Chamomile tea is an old favourite. Decaffeinated teas are an excellent choice when it comes to fluid replacement. Chamomile has the added benefit of being a natural pain reliever so it also helps relieve the stomach cramps that often accompany dehydration;

As well as consuming :

Bananas have great water content and are especially good for restoring potassium that has vanished with dehydration;

You can also try watery fruits such as cantaloupe, watermelon and strawberries. Watery vegetables such as cucumbers are good, too.

For severe cases of dehydration where fainting, unconsciousness, or other severely inhibiting symptom is present (the subject is incapable of standing or thinking clearly), and emergency attention is required.
Fluids containing a proper balance of replacement electrolytes are given orally or intravenously with continuing assessment of electrolyte status; complete resolution is the norm in all but the most extreme cases.

People who are dehydrated should avoid drinks containing caffeine such as coffee, caffeinated tea, and sodas.

…...........................................................................................

I personally chow down on bananas, A LOT of them!!!
And I looked into how to best replenish my electrolyte levels without affecting my pre-exisiting health conditions or making my dehydration worse... for me the pre-mixed electrolyte drinks, ice pops and sports drinks are a BIG HELL NO- they have waaayyy too much sugar in them, but also the sodium levels are too high.
Being chronically dehydrated for an extended period of time has driven up my sodium levels and severely depleted my potassium levels- HUZZAH!
So the best thing for me is coconut water and lots of it!!!

As well as drinking at least 2-3 ltrs of water a day.
At this point in time we are still not entirely sure what is causing my dehydration; we think it is most likely medication based.
But until we know for sure we cannot treat the cause of the problem, only the symptoms- even when we do know we may not be able to do anything about it as the medication in question is a vital one in the treatment of my IIH!!

ANYWHO... below are some yummy electrolyte drink recipes I snagged and minimally adapted from Everyday Roots.

Make Your Own Electrolyte Energy Drinks...

http://everydayroots.com/homemade-energy-drink

Lay-Low Recipe

1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 to 2 cups coconut water

2 tablespoons agave or honey, to taste

Method:

Toss everything into a food blender and blend until the honey is dissolved, or just use some elbow grease and blend it by hand. Pour yourself a tall glass, drop in a few ice cubes, and enjoy.

Bright ‘n Early Recipe

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 1/2 to 2 cups of coconut water

2 tablespoons agave or honey, to taste

Method:

Same as above. You can halve or double the recipe as you need, and feel free to experiment with flavours. Keep in mind citrus fruits, especially orange, are a good source of electrolytes.

Sweet and Smooth-ie recipe

3 cups of coconut water

1 cup of strawberries

1 cup of ice

2 tablespoons agave r or honey, to taste

Method:

Throw into you blender and let it run until everything is thoroughly mixed together and the mixture is smooth.

What's been going on??? Why the break again?? PART III

What the hell is going on with my body?!

In the last several months my body has been having some symptoms that have my specialists and myself worried.
I have been enduring chronic dehydration, worsening night sweats and hot flushes, changes with my bowels, and hormonal changes… 
I first really took notice of my dehydration back in April this year.
I knew I had been feeling dehydrated for a while before and I had mentioned it to both my GP and my Neuro Dr. P, I thought it was just a few times I hadn’t drunk enough that day, or that the level of toxicity release during physical therapy sessions were causing it so I increased my fluid intake and took the occasional electrolyte drink/ ice-e-pole.

But then in April I started to get twitching (mainly in the left eye area), tingling and numbness on the face. My Neuro’s first response was to take me off Diamox, and dramatically reduce my Topomax dose and to get bloods done and urine done- potassium, phosphate, renal and kidney function.
These all came back relatively normal- it did show that I was dehydrated and I stayed off Diamox and on low dose Topomax for 3 months… it did nothing for the symptoms so he put me back on the high dosages.
 I talked to my naturopath about the symptoms and she got me taking a higher dose of Magnesium and Fish Oil. But it still hasn’t made much difference to the symptoms.
My dehydration has stayed put the whole time, and has gotten worse.
My BP is lowish; I have high levels of inflammation throughout my whole body causing cramping (and increasing toxicity); I am constantly thirsty no matter how much I drink; and the ‘moist’ (hehe not the nicest word- but sums it all up) areas of my body (that should stay that way) are drier; my LDL (bad cholesterol) is up; my reflux/ heart burn is worse; I have constipation (though lately it comes and goes due to hormonal changes we think?!); and I am constantly tired and have less energy.
AND my headaches are worse- but that could also be my IIH… or both the IIH and the dehydration we have no way to find out unless we do the ICP monitoring- but we can’t do that until my dehydration, night sweats and hot flushes settle…

I have been getting night sweats and hot flushes for quite a few years now, this comes as part and parcel of having seriously F*$@ UP hormones due to Endometriosis, PCOS, and as a result of having been on at least 12 different HRT in the last 8 years (including a HRT that put me through synthetic menopause).
But in the last 3-4 months my night sweats have gotten to the stage where they are nightly and are waking and/or keeping me up.
And I am waking up in a pool of my sweat every morning- causing me to wash my sheets everyday- it’s a pain in the arse to say the least!!

My hot flushes aren’t just happening at night but during the day, causing me to feel like my body is an asteroid entering earth atmosphere (i.e. on fire) and I have to take all my clothes off, sit under the fan on the highest setting, drink lots of water, get ice packs (or if I had a bath tub sit in an ice bath), and get a bucket ready in case I need to heave!!

 

I have been having some pretty radical hormonal changes in the past two months!!
It is a big statement to say but I know it has been happening because of:

1. I am in-tune with my body and take note of everything that happens and changes.
and 2. These hormonal changes would be hard to miss- some of them really freaking hurt!!!
It started with my spotting between induced menses cycles (I am/ was on Provera to induce a period- a 10 day course once every 2 months); then viscous discharge between periods- indicating that I may be ovulating again finally!; then PMS symptoms in the forms of horrendous pain swelling and tenderness in my breasts, mood changes, abdominal bloating, fluid retention, acne, digestive upsets- including constipation and diarrhoea, drop in self-esteem and confidence, feelings of loneliness, food cravings, increased appetite, irritability-including angry outbursts, mood swings and crying, sleep changes-including, and insomnia or excessive sleepiness.
Then last fortnight mixed in with all of these symptoms I got my first natural period!!! 

A first for me in at least 5 years.

I have spoken with my GP about these issues numerous times- I personally think that there is an interaction occurring between my brain drugs (mainly Diamox as it is a diuretic) and my hormones.
Whereas my GP first thought was maybe all of my symptoms were indicative of just basic hormonal changes and possibly diabetes.
Because I have PCOS I am insulin resistant and she thought that maybe I had developed diabetes…
I knew I wasn’t because I have done everything within my power to stop that from occurring, but I was happy to do the blood tests to rule it out- and I was right I wasn’t!!
So then she thought that it was all hormonal and suggested I see my endocrinologist again.

I saw him last fortnight and I had a lengthy chat with me about all of my symptoms, not just hormonal. He personally thinks that it is more likely to be medication based side effects- especially the dehydration (he thinks that is Diamox), but that there are a lot of other medications that I am on that could be causing the worsening night sweats and hot flushes.
He is very happy that I have had my first natural period, and he thinks that all of the PMS symptoms are explained by that, but that we need to keep an eye on my hormones now. As rising oestrogen levels can be bad for my PCOS and Endo.
I am to stop taking Provera to induce a period if I have a cycle naturally, but if I don’t get a period within two months then I should induce one!
He has ordered full spectrum blood tests (in other words a hell of a lot) to try and figure out what is going on with the night sweats, hot flushes and dehydration.
And has asked me to take my temperature each time I have a hot flush or wake up during the night with excessive sweating… as this is a basic method to help him determine whether it is bacterial/ viral or hormonal/ drug based: if I have a raised body temp then it means there is something else going on indicative of a bacterial or viral infection. Whereas is my temp is normal but I just ‘feel’ hot then it is more likely to be hormonal or medications!! 

In the mean time I have been trying to Treat my Dehydration Naturally…

Raspberry Marshmallow Cream Chocolate Pie...

This scrumptious pie is completely sugar free!!

Lately I have been craving marshmallows and haven't given into temptation because the traditional marshmallow are jammed packed full of sugar...

This is a problem for me because of my whole reproductive hormonal crap that I have going on (I talk about it so lovingly don't I lol).

The basic gist of it is that when I eat sugar, in all its forms it screws with my insulin levels.

Now I am not diabetic, or at immediate risk of becoming one, but yes I need to watch my insulin levels.

This is because my PCOS severely affects my insulin levels, and insulin levels affect my hormone production- which means that with the consumption of sugar and high processed carbs my body automatically makes fats cells and fat cells manufacture oestrogen!!

And what happens if I have more oestrogen- well it screws with my hormones, creates more symptoms and problems AND it gives into the cycle of sugar- high insulin- fat cells- oestrogen- resistance to insulin- repeat...which makes it very hard for one to loose any weight!

For more info read: http://kerryg.hubpages.com/hub/Lose-Weight-With-PCOS

Along with any PCOS guide book.

Ta-da mini biology lesson... I bet you didn't know all of that stuff now did you?!

So anyway, back to craving marshmallows, hehe, I have been thinking about it's pillowy soft yumminess for a while and I decided that I may as well try my hand at making sugar free marshmallow.

It isn't too different from the traditional recipe I used to make with my mum.

AND it's a whole lot healthier to boot as it is not just sugar free but also: wheat, gluten, dairy and soy free (the basics for Doe-full); and it is low GI, low carb and low fat!

Serves: 8-12 (depending on how big of a slice you like hehe)

Ingredients:

   3 envelopes unflavoured gelatin

   1/4 cup cold water

   3/4 cup boiling water

   3 tablespoons granulated sugar replacement or liquid sweetener (I used Natvia)

   3 egg whites

   1/2 cup frozen raspberries, loosely broken up with your hands

   1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

   2-3 tbsp solidified coconut cream

         (from a cold can, tipped upside down- take only the solidified cream)

Chocolate Pie Case:

   1/2 tsp salt

   8 tbsp vegan spread, very cold

          (OR ¼ 2tbsp oil- I used macadamia as I had run out of spread)

   1 1/2 cups GF/WF plain flour

   2 tbsp cocoa

         (or in my case as I had run out- and had to use drinking chocolate, and
                less 'sugar'. With 2 tbsp grated dark chocolate)

   1 tbsp granulated sugar replacement or liquid sweetener (I used Natvia)

   2-3 tbsp ice cold water

Method- Pie Crust:

1. Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar substitute and salt in a mixing bowl, add the spread or oil.
2. Cut the spread or oil into the flour mixture using either your hands or two knives.
3. Continue cutting them into the flour until the shortening and butter are mixed into pieces a little smaller than the size of peas.
4. Slowly add the water, dribbling it over the flour mixture one tablespoon at a time. While dribbling the water, toss the mixture lightly with a fork.
5. After the mixture is wet, use your hands to press it into a ball, scooping up any remainders from the bowl along the way. If the dough isn’t sticking together well enough, add a little more water.
6. Don’t over mix when pressing the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180
7. After the dough is chilled, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness. Turning it over a few times while rolling out to prevent sticking.
8. Cook for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Method- Marshmallow:

1. While the pie crust is cooking, sprinkle gelatin over cold water in mixing bowl; set aside 5 minutes to soften. Add to boiling water in a small saucepan; cook and whisk until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
2. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar replacement. Chill until the gelatin mixture is cool and slightly thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so stir until sugar is dissolved.
3. Meanwhile beat egg whites in an electric mixer on high speed into soft peaks.
4. Very slowly, trickle a small stream of the gelatin mixture into egg whites, beating until all gelatin mixture is blended. Continue beating until light and fluffy.
5. Using a spatula fold through the raspberries and cream. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly.
6. Scatter some raspberries and raspberry jewels into the cooled pie case and pour in marshmallow mix, top with grated dark chocolate and extra raspberries and jewels. Refrigerate until set.

Serve alone, or with some whipped coconut cream and enjoy!

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Will keep for up to a week in the fridge or a month in the freezer.

Why have things been OH SOO QUIET????

I haven't written since late December, and I apologise for such the long break in writing. I have wanted to write but have been unable to as there were many things prevented me from doing so.
 

Well I am happy to announce I AM BACK and I have a bevy of stored recipes waiting and ready to be published.
 
When so much time has passed it is hard to know where to start or how to express what has been going on...
So I'll just start with the big obvious thing- my health has taken a dive and this has affected me in so many ways!
My neurological health condition has taken a front seat for a while and has forced me to drop everything so that I can purely focus on my health!!
This includes my decision to completely discontinue University for the time being- this does not mean I am giving up, but that I am just 'putting a pin' in my uni aspirations.
 
These past few months have been quite tumultuous for me and my partner M., physically and emotionally.
My IH has at times left me feeling completely physically and and emotionally ruined. When my pressures go high for an extended period of time all of my symptoms are ramped up to the extreme.
This would sometimes leave me literally incapacitated with pain; would severely affect my balance, coordination and overall mobility; leave me with poor visual and audio acuity; and impacts my cognition skills as well as my speech, language and memory.
Since December I have been in and out of hospital (and learnt that I can't really go to ED for my IH as they can't do much anyway); I have had numerous tests done (inc. EEG, MRI, LP, CT and the never ending blood tests); and I have started, stopped, increased and decreased medications.
That being said, having this time has also allowed me to explore different avenues of treatment and research further into nutrition and my other health conditions, including mind and sense of spirituality.
All of this has been very helpful considering the project I am currently in the ideas phase of... I won't tell you what it is right now, you'll find out soon enough- but it's really awesome and very positive!!
AND more importantly it has also allowed me to have the time to re-focus and re-think my pain management and overall thinking processes!!
 
For a long time I ignored my pain, and occasionally still do.
I put up walls, and did everything I could think of to block feeling the pain, just to get through the day and distract myself from it and not completely deal with it.
Yes I saw therapists (physio, psych, osteo, acupuncture, naturopath, gyneas, etc.) and I helped myself using ice packs and positive influences, but I began to rely on pain killers.
I had a tenancy to frequently push myself too far, this didn't always happen in a short space of time, but would also happen slowly over time as well (like a build up), and would lead to me harming myself in the process because I was ignoring my health!
Last month one such event occurred- it started out with just washing up, then cleaning the benches, then sweeping the kitchen, then the hallways, then moving furniture to sweep more thoroughly, then doing the stairs, then the landing, the bathroom, and dusting and damp wiping...needless to say it turned into a frenzied over the top cleaning.
My body gave me some small warning signs, but I pushed through them as “I only had one more thing to”, “I only have to finish this, then I'll sit down..”
I didn't end up stopping till I had to run to the sink, throw my guts up, and almost blacked out- I pushed WAY TOO FAR!!
I spent the rest of the day on the couch with a throbbing head, a bucket in hand, constantly throwing up and packed with ice packs.
 

I am now taking a different path, I accept and feel the pain, but I don't let it control me. I still use distractions but I aim to make them positive.
I use nutrition, diet, daily stretches and weekly meditation, holistic therapy, and light exercise (swimming is great). Each plays a big big role. I focus on little things and short term goals instead of long term ones (so I feel like I'm actually
getting somewhere). 
I use a folder to document my progress in slowly rebuilding strength, thresholds and resistance levels.
I am finding that changing my thinking patterns, balancing and choosing options for my pain management is influencing much more than just my pain!!!
It turns out I was ignoring much more than my pain. And other areas in my life were negatively impacted, including at times my partner M.
I am finding that by changing my thinking and reactions I am becoming more aware of EVERYTHING and I am able to prioritise these 'everythings' more rationally.
This does mean that yes I feel the pain all the time, but it also means that I am learning different ways to alleviate the pain and to also use the pain as a guide during my therapy sessions...with my therapists guidance I am now clearly seeing a decrease in muscle tension, inflammation and injury.
My muscles, with time, will slowly learn to finally let go, as they have for such a long time been holding on. And with this comes less pain!!
 
This time off has allowed me to recuperate and refresh.
There will be a few changes over the coming months for the blog and refocused direction.
You will also regularly see posts, or snippets, about the upcoming project that I am working on.
I hope you stick by me and that you like the new directions I am heading in.
All feedback is not just welcome, but eagerly wanted.
xo

Healing...

My Laparoscopy, on Tuesday 13th Nov, went well.
There was a fair amount of endo cells: located predominantly in  the right side of my pelvis; some on the left side of the pelvis; and a few in the middle- nice to know it links up with my pain patterns. 
I do not know exact areas yet (but I do know there was none on my major organs, and no endo cells on my ovaries {just cysts}), as I haven't had a lengthy discussion with my pelvic pain specialist, I will get that chance in three weeks time.

They got all of the cells out which is great news.

 Each day I am getting a little better.  I am still fairly bloated/ swollen and sore, so I'll just take things slowly and steadily for a while (but do little walks, as this will help with the healing and will ensure I don't get cabin fever), as I don't want to aggravate the incision sites (inside and out) .
The swelling is starting to go down, my tummy looks a bit distorted atm - I am sure when everything settles it will look fine again! I can move a bit easier as the days goes on as well, so this is great progress.
I am looking forward to next week and seeing how things are then!
 
I am slightly let down a bit that there wasn't more endo cells, I was hoping for more so that then there was a direct correlation between the cells and the amount of pain I live in on a day-to-day basis. 
As I said there was a fair amount, but Dr. V said it was more like a stage three/ three and a half to four, not stage five like my last lap. back in 2010.
Though everyone says that with endo that the amount of cells does not always equal the amount and severity of pain a patient lives in!
So at my appt in three weeks time we may look at other things to help with the pain -- other than pain killers : I am on a hell of a lot and wouldn't mind reducing them; and neuropathic pain medication as I have been on both amitriptyline and lyrica at different times (not together) and neither have done much to help with the pain!
We do know that my PCOS is a little out of control atm, and that could be causing the pain as well, but it is hard to tell...
I suppose I will just have to bring all of this up with my specialist.

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Late Wednesday afternoon, just after I came home from the hospital I turned on the tv and there was a documentary on SBS Two: 'The Brain That Changes Itself'- based on a book, same title, by Dr. Norman Doidge.
He talks about neuroplasticity, which is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable- IT CAN CHANGE.
This is an except from the blurb, but is quite good -
"It is a plastic, living organ that can actually change its own structure and function, even into old age. Arguably the most important breakthrough in neuroscience since scientists first sketched out the brain’s basic anatomy, this revolutionary discovery, called neuroplasticity, promises to overthrow the centuries-old notion that the brain is fixed and unchanging.
The brain is not, as was thought, like a machine, or “hardwired” like a computer. Neuroplasticity not only gives hope to those with mental limitations, or what was thought to be incurable brain damage, but expands our understanding of the healthy brain and the resilience of human nature."

 The documentary (and book) features studies of several patients suffering from neurological disorders, psychological disorders, people with learning disabilities and people with Chronic Pain! 

It goes into detail about how the brain adapts to compensate for their disabilities, disorders and pain.

 Is it odd that I am soo excited by all of this???

I am still having quite a lot of trouble with my balance, memory, word faculties, depth perception, tinnitus, visual distortion and of course headaches- all IH symptoms.

Then there is the whole psychological aspect of things.

But I also live in chronic pain due to the hormonal conditions, the chronic inflammation in my body and the fact that my pelvic floor muscles don't turn off, ever.

I didn't get to see the whole thing, but I did see a lady with severe vertigo (way worse than mine); a woman with 'chemo fog'- something very similar to what IH patients experience (loss of memory, struggling for words, etc.); a man with chronic pain - the use of the mirror box (I have heard about this before, but never seen it, was amazing. Esp. for someone like me who lives in chronic pain everyday!).

I am immensely interested in this, and what effect this could have on IH symptoms and chronic pain. 

I did a google search for neuroplastcicty in Australia, there are some researchers who are interested in it, but they are mainly looking at stroke victims.

I did come across a group/ 'company' of physical therapists who use techniques similar to/ combine neuroplasticity.

Feldenkrais

Scientists are now looking at neuroplasticity to approach a wide variety of cognitive problems and disorders including:

Loss of senses — vision, balance and hearing
Learning disorders and reading problems
Auditory processing problems
Autism and hypersensitivity
The ageing brain and memory
Issues related to love and sex
Stroke and brain injury recovery
Cerebral palsy
Chronic pain
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Psychological trauma
Depression and anxiety
Cognitive problems after brain surgery or trauma

 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy also clearly links in to neuroplasticity- through collaborative talk therapy, by changing perceptions and perspective, we can change the brain, which changes thinking and, by association, behaviour - for real.

CBT is a type of treatment that helps people learn how to identify and change destructive thought patterns that have a negative influence on behaviour, feelings and actions.
Offshoots of CBT also has very clear links to neuroplastcity.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) differs from CBT in that rather than trying to teach people to better control their thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories, actions and other private events, ACT teaches them to 'just notice', accept, and embrace them, especially previously unwanted ones. ACT helps the individual encourages 'self-as-context'- that you are always observing and experiencing and yet distinct from ones thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories and actions.

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), a derivative of CBT, helps patients identify thoughts, beliefs and assumptions that make their lives challenging and then learn different ways of thinking and reacting.

It is looking at the relationship between the rational mind and the reactive mind. It is good for people who shut themselves down to feeling. It's about feeling your feelings and then understanding what they are, why they are there etc.