Now that I’m officially a registered yoga teacher, I am going a different direction with my blogging! Yoga with Shawnee will be a combination of my thoughts on yoga and paleo/clean eating posts. I hope you will join me. Check out:
http://www.yogawithshawnee.com
You can also follow my paleo eats on Instagram:
http://instagram.com/yogishawnee
See you there!
Namaste,
Shawnee
Scrambled egg with red onions, green pepper, salsa verde and tapatillo sauce rolled up in a Socca.
Simplicity.
One would think this is a word that carries meaning across all walks of life.
It doesn’t.
Don’t get me wrong. I thought it did. I have been under the false impression that simplicity is defined as: 1.) Easy; and 2.) Fast.
Looking over a much broader spectrum of people and cultures that definition would clash. Take for example, the definition of American simplicity. Our Container Stores and 10 minute meals would be completely foreign to a Buddhist monk. The monk might say to us, all the technology, day planners and containers we use to try to simplify life actually makes our life more cluttered. We might say to the monk, your life is boring.
Side note: At this point in life, I think I’d prefer the quiet of a convent. Send thee to a nunnery!
Recently I visited a naturopath to set up a supplement, eating and lifestyle plan to heal me from my Hashimoto’s disease. It is anti my definition of simplicity. It is not fitting into my box. It is not fast and it is in no way easy.
No longer can I get a quick bite to eat. I can’t take 10 minutes to get ready for bed. I can’t pack my lunch in under 5 minutes, and it is absolutely essential that I plan and pre cook meals.
BAH!
I found a little slice of my New Simplicity. It isn’t quite as quick as grabbing a corn tortilla from the fridge, throwing on a small handful of pre-shredded cheese , topping it with salsa, and microwaving it all in 30 seconds.
But under my new definition of simplicity, it doesn’t get much simpler.
Behold Socca. According to Wikipedia: “Socca is a specialty of southeastern French cuisine, particularly in and around the city of Nice. Its primary ingredients are chickpea flour and olive oil, like the northern Italian farinata.”
Socca: 1 cup garbanzo flour (aka chickpea flour), 1 cup water, salt, pepper and your choice of seasoning. Whisk all ingredients together. Cook like a pancake in a well oiled pan. I used coconut oil. This recipe makes about 4 Soccas.
From the time of starting the recipe to the time I took my first bite it was about 10 minutes. Keep in mind I stopped to take a picture.
It’s crisp, it’s soft and it’s warm. Plus it is gluten, dairy, corn, soy, sugar, peanut, and processed food free.
I got my new edition of Real Simple Magazine in the mail today. My husband said, “But you know, it really isn’t simple.” Fitting right?
Because I like food and I like cooking… (really I do…I know. I know. My fellow foodie bloggers have pretty much disowned me because of my over abundant writing prompts and no food pictures.)
And because I love writing, check out this list of food writing writing prompts from Build-Creative-Writing-Ideas. And Because it really is ok for food blogs to have some depth. 🙂
Check out this fantastic article on the Himalayan Institute website about “The Yoga of Simplicity.”
Fun tid bit about me that kind of goes along with this: To simplify my life, I packed away all my extra dishes and have only kept two of each dish (except the butter knives…my husband insists on three). I am planning to do this with my clothes as well. I am going to pack away all my clothes except for two weeks worth. This is all in an attempt to simplify. I thinks this counts as a yogic practice.
*All artwork by me. No stealing it now. 😛
A questions for the comments: Ever had or heard of a socca.? What do you do to keep your life simple? Because no one every comments any more…I’ll send something to the first commenter. Even if you comment two months after this post is posted. I’m not desperate or anything. I just like to share. Most likely the prize will be a coupon for a free product.
My step-sister once tricked me into believing the dried seaweed she held in her hand was good. Even though it happened about 17 years ago I still distinctly remember it being one of the most revolting things I have ever allowed to cross my lips. Since then my taste for seaweed has slowly developed, as has my love for sushi (I am still totally a sushi beginner). I’d only eat sushi that was not wrapped in seaweed, but instead only had a fine inside layer.
About a year ago I found myself at an Uwajimaya in Seattle (It’s like the Asian food Mecca). I sampled a pretzle stick wrapped in dried seaweed. Much to my suprise I liked it. This past weekend after my yoga teacher training, I ordered a couple rolls from “I Love Sushi” in Beaverton. I am pretty sure the avocado rolls, wrapped in thick seaweed, may have been the best sushi/seaweed I’ve had. I am amazed at how much I now like the stuff.
This aquatic plant has some amazing nutritional values as well.
From oceanvegetables.com:
“Seaweed is the secret to super nutrition
Ocean vegetables are getting more and more in demand today mainly due to their many health benefits, and not just because sushi bars have mushroomed in our midst!
It is also high in iodine, which is like a super-nutrient for thyroid function. I may be hooked.
Any thoughts? Like, love, hate seaweed or sushi?
–Shawnee, The Ex-Perfectionist
The experts say resting, relaxing, eating the right foods, and moderate exercise are key to the healing process for Hashimoto’s/Hypothyroidism. But they left off spending time with my besties, singing my heart out at the VoiceBox and eating fabulous Japanese cuisine. It’s totally stress relieving.
I am pretty sure every time I shook the tambourine stress-fighting endorphins were released. 😀
Ok, so I was totally wiped out for about three days after this. It was so worth it.
–Shawnee, The Ex-Perfectionist
This post is brought to you by I-haven’t-posted-a-food-blog-in-a-month Tuesday. 🙂
A month ago…ok may be two months ago, foodbuzz sent me several Tostitos All Natural Dip Creations. I tried them, liked them and created a few meals with them.
Below is Ranchy, Bacony Chicken bake. I didn’t write down the recipe. Basic idea: mix ranch packet with sour cream add a generous handful of chopped cilantro and bacon. Smother chicken. Turned out pretty good. The sauce ended up being a little runny. It was good mixed with rice though. 🙂
Quesadilla with cheese, black beans, spinach and guacamole from fresh avocados and the guacamole mix.
More chicken backed with the guacamole seasoning. Served with spanish quinoa and veggies.
Anyone try these dip creations? I probably won’t purchase these as they still contained maltodextrin, even though they are “all natural.”
–Shawnee, The Ex-Perfectionist
But first an update: My ANA panel came back negative. This means I don’t have lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. My doctor said it was either one of those or Hashimoto’s. I see the endocrinologist this Thursday. Hopefully she will get me on some synthetic thyroids for now…
Back to food:
That’s not really the question. The question is more like “What the heck am I supposed to eat?” Before I had all my thyroid junk tested all I knew for sure was that I have this pain in my side, slow digestion, and I was fatigued and emotional. I also had this suspicion my hormones were acting up and were the culprit behind all my issues.
I was following a combination of the gallbladder diet (low in fats, all organic fruits and veggies) and the IBS diet (making sure to combine certain fibers with other fibers). I had pretty much cut out meat, dairy, egg yolks, nuts, and gluten.
Then once I found out about my Thyroid issues and Hashimoto’s, I started researching. And researching. And researching. I found a few cases of people who, with the help of naturopathic doctors/nutritionists or their own research were able to cure their Hashimoto’s and get their Thyroid levels evened out. These people did it all through nutrition and eliminating their food intolerances. Continue reading
Scramble: 1 all natural apple chicken sausage link, 2 eggs, 2 big handfuls of spinach, 3 asparagus stalks, onion, 1 garlic clove, tbspn fresh cilantro, salt, pepper and cumin.
Fruit: 1 banana, 5 strawberries and blueberries.
Perfect start to a fabulous Easter morning.
Happy Easter everyone. Jesus is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
–Shawnee, The Ex-Perfectionist
I’m not really sure where to start. In my last saga post, I left you hanging with a promise to provide you with what I am and am not eating. But since that post, some recent discoveries about my health have been made. Here are some recent test outcomes:
What does this mean?
B12 is not such a huge deal. It was on the “higher” side of low, which means I can just take a supplement.
TSH is the test doctors do to test your thyroid levels. What my doctor told me is most of the population is between a 1-2 range. However, the lab that did my results has a “normal range” of 0.5 – 5. In their eyes as long as I don’t dip over 5 I am not considered hypothyroid, even though many labs have lowered their range to 0.5 – 3 and most naturopathic doctors have a range even smaller than this.
Thyroid peroxidase is an antibody. My doctor told me levels should never be higher than 30, mine is 300+. Higher levels can mean a lot of different things including Hashimoto’s Disease, Lupus (in all it’s various forms), Rheumatoid Arthritis, or other auto-immune diseases.
Low white blood cell count may or may not be related to all of this. Though, some Lupus patients have low white blood cell count. My doctor ordered an ANA panel to be done to test for Lupus or other auto immune diseases.
Because of my family history (all the women on my mom’s side have hypothyroidism) and the fact that my TSH has been getting progressively higher (worse), my doctor (and I, who pretty much diagnosed myself in the first place) is leaning towards Hashimoto’s Disease. Hashimoto’s is where your thyroid peroxidase (the antibody) basically attacks your thyroid and eventually kills it. Hashimoto’s itself does not have any symptoms outstanding from hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism Symptoms (I’ve bolded my symptoms) Continue reading
It started with a platter of aged cheeses and a bottle of wine.
In August 2008 my two gorgeous friends and I ventured to a little town called Independence, Oregon for a much needed Girls Weekend. We sat on the vast wraparound porch of the Victorian Independence B&B. The sun set behind the trees. The candles flickered. We laughed, chatted and consumed ungodly amounts of cheese paired with apples and pears perfect enough to be featured on a Harry and David billboard.
That’s when I felt it – a pinch under my right rib cage. I immediately stood up and pointed to the spot. “What organ is right here,” I demanded. Dumbfounded, they looked at me. I assumed they would know; they were after all more experienced in the medical field than I, a humble Journalism Major. The CNA and the veterinary assistant continued to stare. I explained to them my reasoning behind the random question. “Oh um, not sure,” they responded. No help. Continue reading
The Ex-Perfectionist 